Sfi«iL«?iyTw>:f^{^j^»?7'>':.'.V: ; ■^^^;'^v♦^■:. # THE COMPLETE WORKS REV. ANDREW FULLER, MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE. B Y ANDREW GUNTON FULLER IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. MEMOIR— CONTROVERSIES ON DEISM, SOCINIANISM AND UNIVERSALISM- CONTROVERSY ON FAITH EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. BOSTON: GOULD, KENDALL AND LINCOLN NO. 59 WASHINGTON STREET. 1836. EXTRACTS FROM THE ADVERTISEMENT TO THE ENGLISH EDITION. The editor, in presenting to the public what has been long call- ed for, viz. a complete edition of the works of his revered fa- ther, thinks it unnecessary for him to offer any remarks on the character of writings, most of which have for many years been before the public, and must now be supposed to stand on their own merits. It may, however, be proper to state, that the present edition not only contains a great number of valuable pieces which had before been unavoidably omitted, but also a portion of original manuscript, part of which is interwoven in the memoir, and part inserted in the miscellaneous volume. He is not unaware of the fact that some individuals, of whose judgment he entertains a high opinion, would have preferred a selection of those pieces pos- sessed of the greatest permanent interest. Yet, to say nothing of the extreme difficulty, or perhaps impracticability, of making such a selection as should afford general satisfaction, ample opportuni- ties have presented themselves, during the last few years, of as- certaining that such a course would by no means meet the public wishes. On the other hand, he does not profess to have inserted every fragment of Mr. Fuller's writings, some pieces being totally des- titute of present interest, and others superseded by the insertion of the substance of them in another form by the author. Of the latter description, indeed, are the letters to the late Dr. Ryland, relative to the controversy with Mr. Booth, published in the Baptist Journals in 1827; and in the insertion of these the ed- itor confesses he has rather consulted what he thought to be the wish of the public than his own private judgment. ADVERTISEMENT. In the compilation of the memoir little more is professed than a selection, arrangement, and compression of the ample materials to which the editor has had free access. In concluding this brief announcement, the editor cannot omit his grateful acknowledgments to those friends who have kindly furnished him with original manuscript sermons and other valua- ble materials. West Drmjton, Oct. 5, 1831. N. B. The references made by the author to different parts of his own writings, were adjusted to the pages of the last English edition of his works; but could not be adapted to this edition. MEMOIR. PART I. Section I. 1754 to 1776. Mr. Fuller's birth — ancestry — narrative of iiis early religious impressions, conversion, theological diffi- culties, and entrance on the jiastoral fharg-5 of Soham — gradual Change of Sentiments — narrative of the progress of his mind on Jus- tification— Marriage - - - 17 Section II. 1777 to 1783. Change in his man- ner of preaching— alienation of some of his hearers — embarrassment in his temporal cir- cumstanees — distressing agitation of mind in the prospect of leaving Soham — extracts from his diary — letters to Mr. Wallis — removal to Kettering — mutual testimonies to and from the church at Soham— statement at his ordination 30 Section III. 1784 to 1792. Labors at Ket- teri-.ig — Noilhamptonshire Association — Un- ion of ministers for prayer and conference rel- ative to the promotion of vital religion — ex- tracts from his diary — publication of his trea- tise on the Universal Obligation of Faith — controversies arising out of it — diary resum- ed— letters to Dr. Ryland on the illness and death of his daughter Sarah — further extracts from his diary — illness and death of his wife 41 Section IV. 1793 to 1814. Formation of Baptist mission — departure of missionaries — Letters on Socinianism — second marriage — preaching in Brabrook church — ^journey to Scotland — trouble relative to his eldest son — publications on deism, universal salvation, backsliding, spiritual pride — -second Journey to Scotland — ^journey to Ireland — correspon- dence with America — diplomas — third jour- ney to Scotland — correspondence — publication of Dialogues, &c. — attack on the mission — fourth journey to Scotland — charge of perse- cution— Joseph Fuller — journey to Wales — fire at Serampore East India charter — death of ftlr. Sutcliff, &c. - - 60 Section V. 1814, 1815. Journeys into va- rious parts of England — ordination of Mr. Yates at Leicester commencement of last illness — attempted excursion to the north of England — last visit to London — publication of Sermons — preparation of MSS. on the Revelations and on communion — return of dis- order— ordination of Mr. Mack — aggravated , symptoms of di.^ease — last serjnon, and di.-^tri- bution of the Lord's Supper — visit to (Jhel- tenham contemplated and relinquished — last letter lo Dr. Ryland — dying expressions — concluding scene — funeral — extract from Mr. Toller's sermon — marble tablet — testimonies of the Rev. R. Hall, Dr. Newman, and Bi- ble ciety — letter of Mrs. Fuller to Dr. Ry- land -Appendix, containing notices of his fdmi'y, &c. - - - - 87 THE GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS. the holy nature of the christian reli- gion CONTRASTED WITH THE IMMORALITY OF DEISM. Chapter I. Christianity reveals a God glorious in Holi- ness; but Deism, though it acknowledges a God, yet denies or overlooks his Moral Character - - - - 107 II. Christianity teaches us to acknowledge God, and to devote ourselves to his service ; but Deism, though it confesses one Supreme Be- ing, yet refuses to worship him - 109 III. The Christian standard of morality is en- larged, and free from impurity ; but Deism confines our obligations to thoseduties which respe('t our own species, and greatly palli- ates vice with regard to a breach even of them . - - - 112 IV. Christianity furnishes motives to a virtuous life, which Deism either rejects, or attempts to undermine . . _ 117 V. The lives of those who reject the gospel will not bear a comparison with the lives of those who embrace it VI. Christianity has not only produced good ef- fects in those who cordially believe it, but has given to the morals of society at large a tone, which Deism, so far as it operates, goes to counteract - . - VII. Christianity is a source of happiness to in- dividuals and society ; but Deism leaves both the ona and the other without hope - 139 PART II. THE HARMONY OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION CONSIDERED AS AN EVIDENCE OF ITS DIVIN- ITY. Chap. I. The harmony of Scripture with historic fact evinced by the fulfilment of prophecy - 146 II. The harmony of Scj-ipture with truth evinc- ed from its agreement with the dictates of an enlightened conscience, and the result of the closest observation - - 150 III. The harmony of Scripture with its own professions argued from the spirit and style in which it is written - - 154 IV. The consistency of the Christian doctrine, particularly that of salvation through a Me- diator, with sober reason - - 158 V. The consistency of the Scripture doctrine of redemption with the modern opinion of the magnitude of creation - - 166 CONCLUDING ADDRESSES. 122 130 Preface Tntroduction 101 104 To Deists To the Jews To Christians 176 ISO 181 VI CONTENTS. THE CALVINISTTC AND SOCINIAN SYS- Gloss on John xiv. 28, " My Father is greater TEMS EXAMINED AND COMPARED AS than 1." - - - - 828 TO THEIR MORAL TENDENCY. Review of the Reviewers - - 329 Preface .... Letter I. Introduction and general remaiks II. The systems compared as to their tendency to convert profligates III. Tendency to convert profes-ed unlielievers IV. The arjinment from the nnniber of coiiveits to Socinianism exiniiiied V. On the staiidaid (if molality VL Pi(imnti(in iif nioralily in general VII. Lo\e to God . - - VIII. Candor and benevolence to men IX. Humilily - . - - X. Charity ; in which is considered the charge of bigotry .... XL Love to Chri.-it ... XII. Veneration for the Scriptures XIII. Happiness, or cheerfulness of mind XIV. Motives to gratitude, obedience, and heav- enly-mind^diiess - - - XV. On ihe resemblance and tendency of So- cinianism to Inf.delily Postscript. Establishing the principle of the 'A'ork against the (^.\ceplions ol Dr. T'julniin, Mr. Belsham, &c. - 187 191 193 201 205 210 213 222 229 235 239 249 254 263 269 274 283 SOCINIANISM INDEFENSIBLE, &c. CON- TvINING A REPLY TO DR. TOULMIN AND MR. KENTISH. Introduction 294 REPLY TO DR. TOULMIN. REFLECTIONS ON MR. BELSHAM'S REVIEW OF MR. WILBERFORCE'S TREATISE ON CHRISTIANITY. 331 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER ON UNIVER- SAL SALVATION. Advertisement .... 336 Letter I. Expostidation ... 337 II. Reasons fir not continuing the controversy, and replies to Mr. Vidler's objections to the fnegding .... 338 III. DilhcuUies attending Mr. Vidler's scheme, and its inconsistency with Scripture 341 IV. Replies, and defences of former reasonings 344 V. Evidences of endless punishment from Scrip- tures describing the future states of men in contrast — future punishment described by the terms '• ever lasting, eternal, forevir, and forever a'ld ever " — Scri[)lure phrase- oliigy implying the doctrine — passages inti- mating that the present is the only state of probation .... 347 VI. Replies to objections ... 351 VII. Examination of .Mr. Vidler's system, and his arguments in support of it - 356 VIII. Farther examination, with replies to ani- madversions ... 360 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEP- TATION. Section I. Ground of argument stated and defended 295 II. Further remarks on Dr. Toulmin, with re- plies to his animadversions, viz. his com- plaint of the attack not being made on the fundamental principles of his systein— prin- ciples of Calvinism not essential to tlevo- liijn. — Want of piety tacitly admitted by Dr. T. — His method of accounting for it ruinous to his cause. — His method of ac- counting for the unsuccessfiilness of their preaching. — Complaint of the appellation Sociniais, and plea for that of Unitarians. — Socinianism leads to Deism. — Ca.se of the Puritans and Socinians dissimilar. — Grounds of love to Chi ist. — Complaint of injustice. — Criminality of error and judg- ing the heart - - - 298 Appendix. Remarks on Dr. Toulmin's Re- view of the Acts of the Apostles 207 REPLY TO MR. KENTISH. On the title of his discourse. — On his declining a full discussion of the subject. — The conclud- ing passage of the " Systems Compared " de- fended against .Mr. K. and the Reviewers. — Reply to Mr. K.'s Six Preliminary Remarks 311 Mr. Kentish's four heads of iii(|uiry examined. I. On the divine, the social, and personal vir- tues— love to God — love to Christ — fear of God — confidence in tiod — liusiing in Christ ' — his appeal to fact — innocence of error — further appeal to fact II. Support and consolation afforded in teinpta- tion, affliction and death III Conversion of profligates and unbelievers IV. Veneration for the Scriptuies, and confirm- ation of faiili in Christianity - 327 Advertisement to the second edition. Preface - - PART I. 368 THE SUBJECT SHOWN TO BE IMPORTANT, STA- TED, AND EXPLAINED. 372 PART II. ARGUMENTS TO PROVE FAITH IN CHRIST TO BE THE DUTY OF ALL WHO HEAR, OR HAVE OP- PORTUNITY TO HEAR, THE GOSPEL. Prop. I. Unconverted sinners are commanded, &c. to believe in Christ - - 379 II. Every m m is bound cordially to receive v\'ha\ God reveals - - - 383 HI. The Gospel, though strictly speaking not a law, vir'ually requires obedience, and such as includes saving faith - - 386 IV. Unbelief is ascribed to men's depravity, and is itself a heinous sin - - 388 V. God has threatened and inflicted the most awful punishments on sinners, for their not ljelie\ing on Jesus Christ - 390 VI. Other spiritual exercises, inseparably con- nected with faith in Christ, are represent- ed as the duty of men in general - 392 314 325 326 PART HI. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. On the principle of holiness possessed by man in innocence ... 398 Concerning the decrees of God - 400 On Particular Redemption - - 402 CONTENTS. VU On sinners being under the covenant of works 403 On the inability of sinners to believe in CIn'ist 404 Of the work of the Holy Spirit - 407 On the nccsssity of a divine principle, in order to believing ... 408 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. On the warrant to believe - - 409 On the influence of faith on justification 410 On the alarming situation of unbelievers 411 On the duty of Ministers in dealing with the unconverted . - . . 414 APPENDIX. On the question. Whether a holy disposition of heart be necessary in order to believing 417 DEFENCE OF THE "GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION," IN REPLY TO MR. BUTTON, AND PHILANTHROPOS. REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. 439 Preface .... Section I. Introduction and general remarks - 443 II. On the nature and definition of faith 445 HI. On faith being commanded by God 449 IV. On the obligation of men to embrace what- ever Gi.d reveals; on Mr. B. 's charge of illiberality, &c. - - - 451 V. On the causes to which the want of faith is ascribed .... 454 VI. On punishments being threatened and in- flicted for unbelief ... 456 VII. On spiritual dispositions - 458 VIII. IX. On the state of man in innocence 460, 462 X. Divine decrees, use of means, particular re- demption, &c. ... 4g5 XI. Tendency of these principles to establish the doctrines of hum in depravity, divine grace, work of the Spiiit, &c. - 468 XII. Considerations recommended to Mr. B. and the reader ... 470 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. 473 Introduction .... Section I. Whether regeneration is prior to our coining to Christ .... 475 II. Whether moral inability is, or is not, ex- cusable .... 482 On our being Ijorn in sin . - 483 On our moral inability being insuperable 486 On grace being provided to deliver men from it 487 III. Whether faith is required by the moral law 491 IV. On the death of Christ - - 495 1. Whether it included an abs"liife design to save some ... 496 2. The arguments of Philanthropes con- sidered - - . 500 3. Universal calls consistent with its limit- ed extent ... 504 4. General reflections - . 508 REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE, &c. BY AGNOSTOS. Advertisement from Dr. Ryland's edition of the works - - - - 516 Letter I. General remaiks ... 517 II. On the work of the Spirit - - 518 111. to VH. On inability to do the will of God Mr. Taylor's notions of free agency 523 Confounds the subject of natyral and moral ability, by a inisapplicalion of terms 523 His plea for a joint consideration of his ar- guments .... 524 Evil propnnsilics blameworthy though de- rived from the fall - - ib. If not blameworthy, in themselves consid- ered, those circumstances mentio.ied ijy Mr. T. cannot render them so 526 The bringing in the grace of the gospel to this end subversive of both law and gospel 520 Natural ability sufficient to render men ac- countibie beings, with respect to moral and s|)iritual exercises - - 535 VIII. On faith being a requirement of the mor- al law .... 537 IX. On the death of Christ — statement of the sui)ject — argument of divine goodness con- sidered .... 538 X. Proof that all who are saved are saved in consequence of a special design - 540 XI. Mr. T.'s answer to Mr. F.'s arguments for a limitation of design considered - 543 XII. Reply to Mr. T.'s defence of his former ai gtinieuts for the universal extent of Christ's demh .... 545 XIII. Defence of arguments for the consistencv of a general call with necessity of special and efficacious srrace - - 550 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANTSM, TWELVE LETTERS TO A FRIEND. IN Letter 1. Introduction ... 555 II. General view of the system, with its leading points of difference from the systems which it opposes ... 555 III. Consequences of Mr. Sandeman's view o/" jii.sti lying faith ... 566 IV. Faiih ot devils and nominal Christians 572 V. Connection iietween repentance and faith 576 VI. Connection between knowledge and dispo- sition .... 582 VII. Connection between regeneration and faith 589 VIII. Influence of tliese principles on the doc- trine of free justification by faith in die righteousness of Christ - - 599 IX. On certain New Testament practices fi02 X. Constitution of apostidic churches 606 XL Of the kingdom of Christ - 612 XII. The spirit of the system compared with that of primitive Christianity - 615 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS BETWEEN CRISPUS AND GAIUS. Dialogue I. On the peculiar turn of the present age 623 II. Importance of truth - - 625 HI. Connection of doctrine, expei-ience, and practice - - . . 626 IV. Moral ciiaracter of God - - 628 V. Free-agency of man - . 629 VI. Goodness of the moral law - - 631 V'll. Antinomianism . - . 6''2 Vlil. Human depravity ... 634 IX Total (l('pia\ ity of human nature - (-,^5 Let. I. II. 111. 'I'olid dcpiavilv of liuin;in niiture 6:i7, C;J8, 640 IV. V. Consequences resulting from this doc- trine - - - 642, 644 Vlll CONTENTS. CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN. Conversation I. On imputation II. On substitution HI. On ])articular redemption 651 656 660 LETTERS ON THE CONTROVERSY WITH THE REV. A. BOOTH. Letter I. Narrative II. Imputation III. Substitution IV. Change of sentiments V. Calvinism VI. Baxterianisni - 667 669 672 674 676 678 LETTERS RELATIVE TO MR. MARTIN'S PUBLICATION ON THE DUTY OF FAITH IN CHRIST. Letter I. Mr. Martin's accusations II. General observations III. Love to God IV. Divine efficiency V. Human endeavor 683 6S6 690 693 695 Postscript. Mr. Martin's treatment of Mr. Evans ... - 698 ANTINOMIANISM CONTRASTED WITH THE RELIGION OF THE HOLY SCRIP- TURES. Introduction . - - - 701 Part I. Brief view of Antinomianism, with argu- ments against the leading principle from wiiich it is denominated - - 706 II. Its influence in perverting some of the prin- cipal doctrines of the gospel - 711 EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES ON THE BOOK OF GENESIS. Dedication ... - 723 Discourse I. On the book in general, and the first day's creation (chap. i. 1 — 4) - - 725 II. On the last five days' creation (chap. i. 6—31) - - - - 726 III. Creation reviewed (chap, ii.) - 728 IV. The fall of man (chap. iii. 1—7) - 731 V. The trial of the transgressors (chap. iii. 8—14) - - - - 732 VI. The curse of Satan, including a b]e.«sing to man — Effects of the fall (chap. iii. 15 —24.) - - - - 734 VII. The offerings of Cain and Abel (chap. iv. 1—8) - - - - 737 VIII. Cain's punishment and posterity (chap. iv. 9— 24) - - - 739 IX. Tlie generations of Adam (chap. iv. 25, 26; chap, v.) - - - 740 X. The cause of the deluge (chap. vi. 1 — 7) 742 XL Noah favored of God, and directed to build the ark (chap. vi. 8—22) - - 744 XII. XHI. The flood (chap. vii. viii.) 747,749 XIV. God's covenant with Noah (chap. ix. 1 —24) .... 751 XV. Noah's prophecy (chap. ix. 25—27) 752 XVI. The generations of Noah (chap, x.) 755 XVII. The confusion of tongues (chap. xi. 1 —9) - - - - 757 XVIII. The generations of Shera, and call of Abram (chap, xi 10—32; xii. 1—4.) 760 XIX. Abram in Canaan — removal to Egypt (chap. xii. 6—20) - - 762 XX. The separation of Abram and Lot (chap xiii.) - - - - 763 XXI. Abram's slaughter of the kings (chap, xiv.) - - . . 765 XXII. Abram justified by faith (chap. xv. 1 —6) - - - - 768 XXIII. Renewal of promises to Abram (chap. XV. 7—21) ... 770 XXIV. Sarai's crooked policy (chap, xvi.) 771 XXV. Covenant with Abiain and liis seed (chap, xvii.) ... 773 XXVI. Abraham entertains angels — intercedes for Sodom (chap, xviii.) . . 777 XXVII. The destruction of Sodom and Go- monai) (chap, xix.) . . 779 XXV'HI. Abraham and Abimelech (chap. XX.) 782 XXIX. The birth of Isaac, &c. (chap, xxi.) 784 XXX. Abraham commanded to ofler up Isaac (chap, xxi i.) - - - . 787 XXXI. The death and burial of Sarah (chap, xxiii.) .... 796 XXXII. XXXIII. Abraham sends his servant to obtain a wife for Isaac (chap, xxiv.) 791, 793 XXXIV. Abraham marries Keturah — dies — Ishmael's posterity and death — birth, inc., of Esau and Jacob (chap, xxv.) . 796 XXXV. Isaac and Abimelech (chap, xxvi.) 800 XXXVI. Jacob obtains the blessing (chap, xxvii.) ... - 804 XXXVII. Departs'from Beersheba'(ch. xxviii.) 807 XXXVIII. Arrives at Haran (chap, xxix.) 810 XXXIX. Residence in Haran (chap, xxx.; xxxi. 1—16) ... 812 XL. Departs from Haran (chap. xxxi. 17—55) 815 XLI. Is afraid of Esau — wrestles with the an- gel (cha;i. xxxii.) ... 819 XLII. Interview with Esau — arrives in Ca- naan (chap, xxxiii.) ■ - 821 XLIII. Dinah defiled, and the Shechemites murdered (chap, xxxiv.) - - 824 XLIV. Jacob removes to Bethel — covenant re- newed— death of Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac — Esau's generations (chap. xxxv. xxxvi.) .... 827 XLV. Joseph sold for a slave (chap, xxxvii.) 831 XLVI. Judah's conduct — Joseph's promotion and temptation (chap, xxxviii. xxxix.) 834 XLVII. Joseph in jirison (chap, xl.) - 837 XLVHI. Joseph's advancement (chap, xii.) '839 XLIX. First interview Ijetween Joseph and his brethren (chap, xlii.) - - 842 L. Sec(jnd interview between Joseph and his brethren (chap, xliii.) - - 846 LI. The cup in Benjamin's sack (cliap. xliv. 1—17) - . . . 849 LII. Judah's intercession (chap. xliv. 18 — 34) 851 LIII. Joseph makes himself known to his brethren (chap, xlv.) - - 853 LIV. Jacob goes down into Egypt (chap, xlvi.) 856 LV. Joseph's conduct in the settlement of his brethren, and in the aflairs of Egypt (chap, xlvii.) - - - - 858 LVI. Interview with his dying father — blessing of his sons (chap, xlviii.) - - 861 LVII. Jacob's blessing on the tribes (chap. xlix.) . ^ . - 863 LVIII. Jacol)'s burial — Joseph removes the fears of his brethren — death of Joseph (chap. 1.) 867 Conclusion .... 870 ^C^'TOIi 'iMW^jfcfeL OF THE REV. ANDREW PULLER. SECTION I.— 1754 to 1776. His Birth — Ancestry — Narrative of his early Religious Impressions, Conver- sion, Theological Difficulties, and En- trance on the Pastoral Charge at Soham — Gradual Change of Sentiments — Nar- rative of the Progress of his Mind on Justification — Marriage. The celebrity attained by the subject of the following memoir was in no degi-ee attributable to adventitious aids of birth or education. Possessing no other ad- vantages than were open to the son of any farmer in the middle of the last century, Mr. Fuller was indebted to no one, ex- cept for the barest rudiments of English instruction, as many of his earlier manu- scripts sufficiently evince. He was born February 6th, 1754, at Wicken, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, for several centuries the residence of his paternal ancestors, some of whom, as well as those on his mother's side, had been distinguished for piety and sufferings in the cause of Christ. In or- der to avoid the persecutions of the heart- less and profligate Charles II., they wei-e accustomed to meet in the Avoods of Cam- bridgeshire, with Holcroft and Oddy, two eminent ejected ministers, the former of whom had been the medium of conversion to one of them.* His father, Robert Fuller, married Phi- lippa, daughter of Andrew Gunton, by whom he had three sons, Andrew being the youngest. The others, Robert and John, followed the occupation of their ancestors, the former at Isleham, Cam- bridgeshire, w^here he died in 1S29 ; the latter at Little Bentley, Essex, where he still resides ; both having been for many years pious and respectable deacons of Baptist churches. The account given by Mr. Fuller of his early religious impressions affords an in- teresting exhibition of the mysterious op- * Palmer, in his NonconformisV s Memorial, informs us tlint these excellent men, who both suffer- ed a long imprisonment in Cambridge castle, were the founders of nearly ail the congregational chuiches in that county. VOL. I. 3 orations of divine grace in the midst of youthful depravity, while it also shows the gradual development of those traits of character which aftei'wards excited such admiration and esteem, and led to results of such importance to the religious world, and especially to his own immediate con- nection. The system of doctrine which had at that time prevailed to a consider- able extent was a caricature of Calvinism, exercising under some of its forms a pe- culiarly degrading and pernicious influ- ence. From this he was the happy means of rescuing many of the churches, and of leading them to recognize the perfect con- sistency of the most elevated views of the sovereignty of Divine grace with the most extensive obligations of men to moral and spiritual duties, and the most unlimited invitations to unconverted hearers of the gospel. The following extracts comprise the substance of two series of letters, which, being written to friends at different peri- ods and consequently containing in many cases a repetition of the same incidents, it is judged most expedient to reduce to a uniform and continuous narrative, pre- serving at the same time a scrupulous ad- herence to the words of the writer. "You need not be told, my dear friend, that the religious experience of fallible creatures, like every thing else that at- tends them, must needs be marked with imperfection, and that the account that can be given of it on paper, after a lapse of many years, must be so in a still greater degree. I am willing, however, to comply with your request ; and the rather because it may serve to recal some things which, in passing over the mind, produce interesting and useful sensations, both of pain and pleasure. " My father and mother were dissent- ers, of the Calvinistic persuasion, and were in the habit of hearing Mr. Eve, a Baptist minister, who being what is here termed high in his sentiments, or tinged with false Calvinism, had little or noth- ing to say to the unconverted. I there- 18 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER- fore never considered myself as any way concerned in what I heard from the pul- pit. Nevertheless, by reading and reflec- tion I was sometimes strongly impressed in a way of conviction. My parents were engaged in husbandry, which occupation, therefore, I followed to the twentieth year of my age. I remember many of the sins of my childhood, among which were lying, cursing, and swearing. It is true, as to the latter, it never became habitual. I had a dread upon my spirits to svich a de- gree that, when I uttered an oath or an imprecation, it was by a kind of force put upon my feelings, and merely to appear manly, like other boys Avith whom I asso- ciated. This being the case, when I came to be about ten years old, I entirely left it off, except that I sometimes dealt in a sort of minced oaths and imprecations when my passions were excited. " In the practice of telling lies, I con- tinued some years longer ; at length, however, I began to consider this as a mean vice, and accordingly left it off, ex- cept in cases where I was under some pressing temptation. " I think I must have been nearly four- teen years old before I began to have much serious thought about futurity. The preaching upon which I attended was not adapted to awaken my conscience, as the minister had seldom any thing to say except to believers, and what believing was I neither knew, nor was I greatly concerned to know. I remember about this time, as I was walking alone, I put the question to myself. What is faith 1 there is much made of it ; What is it 1 I could not tell, but satisfied myself in thinking it was not of immediate concern, and I should understand it as I grew older. " At times conviction laid fast hold of me, and rendered me extremely unhappy. The light I had received, I know not how, would not suffer me to go into sin with that ease which I observed in other lads. One winter evening, I remember going with a number of other boys to a smith's shop, to warm myself by his fire. Pres- ently they began to sing vain songs. This appeared to me so much like revelling, that I felt something within me which would not suffer me to join them, and while I sat silently, in rather an unpleas- ant muse, those words sunk into my mind like a dagger, ' What doest thou here, Elijah 1' I immediately left the company; yet, shocking to reflect upon, I walked home, murmuring in my heart against God, that I could n.ot be let alone, and be suffered to take my pleasure like other young people ! " Sometimes I was very much affected, in thinking of the doctrines of Christiani- ty, or in reading such books as Bunyan's Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and his Pilgrim's Progress. One day in particular, I took up Ralph Erskine's Gospel Sonnets, and opening upon what he entitles A Gospel Catechism for young Christians, or Christ All in All in our Complete Redemption, I read, and as I read I wept. Indeed I was almost over- come with weeping, so interesting did the doctrine of eternal salvation appear to me : yet, there being no radical change in my heart, these thoughts passed away, and I was equally intent on the pursuit of folly as heretofore. " Yet I often felt a strange kind of re- gard towards good people, such of them especially as were familiar in their beha- viour to young persons, and would some- times talk to me about religion. I used to wish I had many thousand pounds, that I might give some of it to those of them who were poor as to their worldly circumstances. " I was at times the subject of such convictions and affections tliat I really thought myself converted, and lived under that delusion for a long time. The ground on which I rested that opinion was as fol- lows : — One morning, I think about the year 1767, as I was Avalking alone, I be- gan to think seriously what would become of my poor soul, and was deeply affected in thinking of my condition. I felt that I was the slave of sin, and that it had such power over me that it^ was in vain for me to think of extricating myself from its thraldom. Till now, I did not know but that I could repent at any time ; but now I perceived that my heart was wicked, and that it was not in me to turn to God, or to break off my sins by righteousness. I saw that if God would forgive me all the past, and offer me the kingdom of heaven on condition of giving up my wicked pur- suits, I should not accept it. This con- viction was accompanied with great de- pression of heart. I walked sorrowfully along, repeating these words : — Iniquity will be my ruin ! Iniquity will be my ruin ! While poring over my unhappy case, those words of the apostle suddenly occurred to my mind, ' Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace.' Now the sug- gestion of a text of scripture to the mind, especially if it came with power, was generally considered by the/eligious peo- ple with whom I occasionally associated, as a promise coming immediately from God. I therefore so understood it, and thought that God had thus revealed to me that I was in a state of salvation, and therefore that iniquity should not, as I had feared. MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 19 be my ruin. The effect was, I was over- come with joy and transport. I shed, I suppose, thousands of tears as I walked along, and seemed to feel myself as it were in a new world. It appeared to me that I hated ray sins, and was resolved to forsake them. Thinking on my wicked courses, I remember using those words of Paul, ' Shall I continue in sin, that grace may abound 1 God forbid !' I felt, or seemed to feel, the strongest indigna- tion at the thouglit. But, strange as it may appear, though my face that morning was, I believe, swollen with weeping, yet before night all was gone and forgotten, and I returned to my former vices with as eager a gust as ever. Nor do I remem- ber that for more than half a year after- wards I had any serious thoughts about the salvation of my soul. I lived entirely without prayer, and was wedded to my sins just the same as before, or rather was increasingly attached to them. " Some time in the following year I was again walking by myself, and began to reflect upon my course of life, particu- larly upon my former hopes and affec- tions, and how I had since forgotten them all, and returned to all my wicked ways. Instead of sin having no more dominion over me, I perceived that its dominion had been increased. Yet I still thought that must have been a promise from God to me, and that I must have been a con- verted person, but in a backsliding state ; and this persuasion was confirmed by an- other sudden impression, which dispelled my dejection, in these words : ' I have Vtlotted out as a thick cloud thy transgres- sions,and as a cloud thy sins.' This, like the former, overcame my mind with joy. I wept much at the thoughts of having backslidden so long, but yet considered myself now as restored and happy. But this also was mere transient affection. I have great reason to think that the great deep of my heart's depravity had not yet been broken up, and that all my religion was without any abiding principle. Amidst it all, I still continued in the neglect of prayer, and was never that I recollect in- duced to deny myself of any sin when temptations were presented. I now thought, however, surely I shall be better for the time to come. But, alas ! in a few days this also was forgotten, and I return- ed to my evil courses with as great an ea- gerness as ever. " I was now about fifteen years of age ; and as, notwithstanding my convictions and hopes, the bias of my heart was not changed, I became more and more addict- ed to evil, in proportion as my powers and passions strengthened. Nor was I merely prompted by my own propensi- ties ; for, having formed an acquaintance with other wicked young people, my pro- gress in the way to death became gi-eatly accelerated. Being of an athletic frame, and of a daring spirit, I was often engaged in such exercises and exploits as, if the good hand of God had not preserved me, might have issued in death. I also fre- quently engaged in games of hazard, which, though not to any great amount, yet were very bewitching to me, and tended greatly to corrupt my mind. These, with various other sinful practices, had so hardened my heart, that I seldom thought of religion. Nay, I recollect that on a Lord's-day evening about that time, when my parents were reading in the family, I was shamefully engaged with one of the servants, playing idle tricks, though I took care not to be seen in them. These things were nothing to me at that time ; for my conscience, by reiterated acts of wickedness, had become seared as with a hot iron : they were, however, heavy burdens to me afterwards. " Notwithstanding various convictions and transient affections, I was pressing on in a lamentable career of wickedness ; but about the autumn of 1769 my convic- tions revisited me, and brought on such a concern about my everlasting welfare as issued, I trust, in real conversion. " It was my common practice, after the business of the day was over, to get into bad company in the evening, and when there I indulged in sin without restraint. But, after persisting in this course for some time, I began to be very uneasy, particularly in a morning when I first awoke. It was almost as common for me to be seized with keen remorse at this hour as it was to go into vain company in the evening. At first I began to make voios of reformation, and this for the mo- ment would afford a little ease j but, as the temptations returned, my vows were of no account. It was an enlightened conscience only that wkis on the side of God : my heart was still averse to every thing that was spiritual or holy. For several weeks I went on in this way ; vow- ing, and breaking my vows, reflecting on myself for my evil conduct, and yet con- tinually repeating it. " It was not now, however, as heretofore ; my convictions followed me up closely. I could not, as formerly, forget these things, and was therefore a poor misera- ble creature ; like a drunkard, who ca- rouses in the evening, but mopes about the next day like one half dead. " One morning, I think in November, 1769, I walked out by myself with an un- usual lead of guilt upon my conscience. The remembrance of my sin, not only oxk 20 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. the past evening, but for a long time back, the breach of my vows and the shocking termination of my former hopes and af- fections, all uniting together, formed a burden which I knew not liow to bear. The reproaches of a guilty conscience seemed like the gnawing worm of hell. I thought surely that must be an earnest of hell itself. The fire and brimstone of the bottomless pit seemed to burn within my bosom . I do not write in the language of exaggeration. I now know that the sense which I then had of the evil of sin and the wrath of God was very far short of the truth ; but yet it seemed more than I was able to sustain. In reflecting upon my broken vows, I saw that there was no truth in me. I saw that God would be perfectly just in sending me to hell, and that to hell I must go unless I were saved of mere grace, and, as it were, in spite of myself. I felt that, if God were to for- give me all my past sins, I should again destroy my soul, and that in less than a day's time. I never before knew what it was to feel myself an odious lost sinner, standing in need of both pardon and puri- fication. Yet, though I needed these blessings, it seemed presumption to hope for them, after what I had done. I was absolutely helpless, and seemed to have nothing al)out me that ought to excite the pity of God, or that I could reasonably expect should do so ; but every thing dis- gusting to him, and provoking to the eyes of his glory. ' What have I done 1 Avhat must I do V These were my inquiries, perhaps ten times over. Indeed I knew not what to do ! I durst not promise amendment, for I saw that such promises were self-deception. To hope for for- giveness in the course that I was in was the height of presumption ; and to think of Christ, after having so basely abused his grace, seemed too much. So I had no refuge. At one moment I thought of giv- ing myself up to despair. ' I may (said I within myself) even return and take my fill of sin ; I can but be lost.' This thought made me shudder at myself! My heart revolted. What, thought I, give up Christ and hope of heaven ! Those lines of Ralph Ersldne's then occuiTed to my mind — 'But say, if all die gusts And grains of love be spent — Say, farewell Christ, and welcome lusts — Stop, stop ; I melt, I faint.' I could not bear the thought of plunging myself into endless ruin. " It is difficult at this distance of time to recollect with precision the minute workings of my mind ; but as near as I can remember I was like a man drowning. looking every way for help, or rather catching for something by which he might save his life. I tried to find whether there were any hope in the divine mercy — any in the Savior of sinners ; but felt repulsed l)y the thought of mercy having been so basely abused already. In this state of mind, as I was moving slowly on, I thought of the resolution of Job, ' Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.' I paused, and repeated the words over and over. Each repetition seemed to kin- dle a ray of hope mixed with a deter- mination, if I might, to cast my perishing soul upon the Lord Jesus Christ for sal- vation, to be both pardoned and puri- fied ; for I felt that I needed the one as much as the other. " I was not then aware that any poor sinner had a warrant to believe in Christ for the salvation of his soul, but supposed there must be some kind of qualification to entitle him to do it ; yet I was aware I had no qualification. On a review of my resolution at that time, it seems to resemble that of Esther, who went into the king's presence contrary to the law, and at the hazard of her life. Like her, I seemed reduced to extremities, impelled by dire necessity to run all hazards, even though I should perish in the attempt. Yet it was not altogether from a dread of wrath that I fled to this refuge ; for I well remember that I felt something attracting in the Saviour. I must — I will — yes, I will trust my soul — my sinful lost soul in his hands. If I perish, I perish. However it was, I was determined to cast myself upon Christ, thinking peradventure he would save my soul ; and, if not, I could but be lost. In this way I continued above an hour, weeping and supplicating mercy for the Saviour's sake (my soul hath it still in remembrance, and is hum- bled in me) : and, as the eye of the mind was more and more fixed upon him, my guilt and fears were gradually and insen- sibly removed. " I noAv found rest for my ti'oubled soul ; and I reckon that I should have found it sooner, if I had not entertained the no- tion of my having no warrant to come to Christ without some previous quali- fication. This notion was a bar that kept me back for a time, though through divine drawings I was enabled to over- leap it. As near as I can remember in the early part of these exercises, when I subscribed to the justice of God in my condemnation, and thought of the Saviour of sinners, I had then relinquished every false confidence, believed my help to be only in him, and approved of salvation by grace alone through his death ; and, if at that time I had known that any poor sin- MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 21 ner mis^ht warrantably have trusted in him for salvation, I conceive I should have done so, and have found rest to my soul sooner than I did. I mention this because it may be the case Avilh others, who may be kept in darkness and despondency l)y erroneous views of the gospel much longer than I was. " I think also I did repent of my sin in tlie early part of these exercises, and be- fore I thought that Christ would accept and save my soul. I conceive that justi- fying God in my condemnation, and ap- proving the way of salvation by Jesus Christ, necessarily included it ; but yet I did not think at the time that this was re- pentance, or any thing truly good. In- deed I thought nothing about the exer- cises of my own mind, but merely of my guilty and lost condition, and whether there were any hope of escape for me. But, having found rest for my soul in the cross of Christ, I was now conscious of my being the subject of repentance, faith, and love. When I thought of my past life, I abhorred myself, and repented as in dust and ashes ; and, when I thought of the gospel way of salvation, I drank it in, as cold water is imbibed by a thirsty soul. My heart felt one with Christ, and dead to every other object around me. I had thought I had found the joys of salvation heretofore ; but now I knew I had found them, and was conscious that I had pass- ed from death unto life. Yet even now my mind was not so engaged in reflecting upon my own feelings as upon the object which occasioned them. " From this time, my former wicked courses were forsaken. I had no man- ner of desire after them. They lost their influence upon me. To those evils, a glance at which before would have set my passions in a flame, I now felt no in- clination. My soul, said I, with joy and triumph, is as a weaned child ! I now knew experimentally what it was to be dead to the world by the cross of Christ, and to feel an habitual determination to devote my future life to God my Saviour, and from this time considered the vows of God as upon me. " In recollecting the early exercises of my mind, I see a great difference between respect and love. I never knew the time when I did not respect good men ; but I did not always love them for Christ's sake. There was one poor man in particular, who used to travel about three miles on a Lord's day morning to worship, and, as I often attended at the same place, I was frequently very eager to get his company. I have run miles to overtake him, though when I was with him I had nothing to say. In the autumn of this year he became my faiacr's thresher, and I was delighted on account of it, though I scarcely knew for what reason. My mind was now at rest in Christ ; yet I had never sjtoken to any one on the subject, nor did I think of do- ing so for the present. But wlictlicr the threslier perceived some alteration in me as I went about my business, or how it was, I know not, he talked to me rather freely, and I told him all my heart. After this, other Christians conversed with me, and invited me to their prayer-meetings, and I engaged with them in prayer, and other religious exercises. It was in this accidental way, and not from my own in- tention, that i became known among se- rious people. But, having opened my mind to tlic thresher, I often visited him in the barn ; and, because I hindered him in his work, I made it up by threshing for him sometimes for an hour or two to- gether. " From the month of November, 1769, I had entirely bi-oken off all my ungodly connections and courses ; yet, being a boy under sixteen, I found at times boyish in- clinations and strong struggles of mind respecting youthful follies. At Shrove- tide, in particular, when the young men met together, and practised various ath- letic exercises, their shouts, which were witliin my hearing, would throw me into agitations which rendered me very un- happy. But my good friend, the thresher, warned me tenderly and solemnly to keep out of the way of temptation, and I was enabled, though with some difficulty, to follow his counsel. As the spring of 1770 came on, the young people of the town, as usual, would meet every evening for youthful exercises. This w^as especially the case at the wake or feast ; and, though I always kept at a distance, yet I found such times very ensnaring to mv mind. To avoid this, I began a practice which I continued with great peace and comfort for several years. Whenever a feast or holiday occurred, instead of sitting at home by mvself, I went to a neighboring '••Hage 10 visit some Christian friends, and returned when all was over. By this step I was delivered from those mental partici- pations in folly w^hich had given me so much uneasiness. Thus the seasons of temptation became to me times of re- freshing from the presence of the Lord. "In March, 1770, I witnessed the bap- tizing of two young persons, having never seen that ordinance administered before, and, was considerably affected by what I saw and heard. The solemn immersion of a person, on a profession of faith in Christ, carried such a conviction with it that I wept like a child on the occasion. The words of the Psalmist, in Psal. cxi. 22 MEMOIRS OP MR. FULLER. 10, 'A good understanding have all they that do his commandments,' left a deep and abiding impression on my mind. I was fully persuaded that this was the primitive way of baptizing, and that every Christian was bound to attend to this in- stitution of our blessed Lord. About a month after this I was baptized myself, and joined the church at Soham, being then turned of sixteen years of age. " Within a day or two after I had been baptized, as I was riding through the fields, I met a company of young men. One of them especially, on my having passed them, called after me in very abu- sive language, and cursed me for having been ' dipped.' My heart instantly rose in a way of resentment ; but, though the fire burned, I held my peace ; for before I uttered a word I was checked with this passage, which occurred to my mind, ' In the world ye shall have tribulation.' I wept, and entreated the Lord to pardon me ; feeling quite willing to bear the ridi- cule of the wicked, and to go even through great tribulation, if at last I might but en- ter the kingdom. In this tender frame of mind I rode some miles, thinking of the temptations I might have to encounter. Amongst others, I was aware of the dan- ger of being drawn into any acquaintance with the other sex, which might prove injurious to my spiritual welfare. While poring over these things, and fearful of falling into the snares of youth, I was led to think of that passage, ' In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.' This made me weep for joy ; and lor forty-five years I have scarcely enter- ed on any serious engagement without thinking oi' these words, and entreating divine direction. I have been twice mar- ried, and twice settled as the pastor of a church ; which were some of the leading ways in which I had to acknowledge the Lord : and in each, when over, I could say, as Psalm cxix. 26, ' My ways have I declared, and thou heardest me.' " In reviewing the early years of my life, I see much ignorance, vanity and folly. I feel the force of Paul's consider- ing the terms carnal, and babes in Christ, as synonymous. But, amidst all my youthful follies and sins, I bless God that I was always kept from any unbe- coming freedom with the other sex, or at- tempting to engage the affections of any female, except with a view to mar- riage. " The summer of 1770 was a tinie of great religious pleasure. I loved my pas- tor, and all my brethren in the church ; and they expressed great aifeetion to- wards me in return. I esteemed the righteous as the excellent of the earth, in whom was all my delight. Those who knew not Christ seemed to me almost another species, towards whom I was in- capable of attachment. About this time I formed an intimacy with a Mr. Joseph Diver, a wise and good man, who had been baptized with me. He was about forty years of age, and had lived many years in a very recluse way, giving him- self much to reading and reflection. He had a great delight in searching after truth, which rendered his conversation peculiar- ly interesting to me ; nor was he less de- voted to universal practical godliness. I account this connexion one of the greatest blessings in my life. Notwithstanding the disparity as to years, we loved each other like David and Jonathan. My life this summer resembled the description given by Dr. Watts :— ' The day glides swiftly o'er tlieir heads. Made up of innocence and love; And soft and silent as the shades. Their nightly minutes gently move.' But in the autumn of the same year an unhappy affair occurred in the church, which occasioned a breach between our pastor, Mr. Eve, and the people, whicli terminated in his leaving them ; and, what rendered it the more afflicting to rae, I was much concerned in it. The case was this : one of the members having been guilty of drinking to excess, I was one of the first who knew of it. I immediately went and talked to him, as well as I could, on the evil of his conduct. His answer was ' He could not keep himself : and that though I bore so hard on him, I was not my own keeper.' At this I felt indignant, considering it as a base excuse. I there- fore told him that he could keep himself from such sins as these, and that his way of talking was merely to excuse what was inexcusable. I knew not what else to say at that time ; yet the idea of arrogating to be my own keeper seemed too much. He, however, was offended, and told me that I was young, and did not know the deceit- fulness of my own heart. Well, I went and told my pastor, who highly commend- ed me, and said, ' We certainly could keep ourselves from open sins. We had no power,' he observed, ' to do things spiritually good ; but, as to outward acts, we had power both to obey the will of God and to disobey it. " The business soon came before the church, and the offender was unanimously excluded : the excuse which he had made, too, was considered by all, I believe, as an aggravation of his offence. But, this affair being disposed of, the abstract question of the power of sinful men to do the ivill of God, and to keep themselves MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 23 from sin, was taken up by some of the leading members of the churcli, amongst whom was my friend Josej)h Diver. They readily excused me, as being a babe in religion ; but thougiit the pastor ought to have known better, and to have been able to answer the offender without be- traying the truth. They alleged that the greatest and best of characters, as record- ed in Scripture, never arrogated to them- selves the power of keeping tiicmselves from evil, but constantly prayed for keep- ing giace ; that, were it not for the re- straining goodness and constraining grace of God, earth would be a hell, and the best^of men incarnate devils ; in short, that though we are altogellier blameworthy for our evil propensities, yet, if they were restrained or conquered, it was altogether to be ascribed to God, and not to us. To support these ideas, they alleged the prayers of the faithful to be kept from evil, even from presumptuous sins, Ps. xix. 43 ; the declaration of the prophet, that ' the way of man is not in himself : it is not in him that walketh to direct his steps,' Jer. x. 23 ; the case of Hezekiah, whom the Lord left, that he might try him, that he might know all that was in his heart, 2 Chron. xxxii. 31 ; and the ac- knowledgments of such men as John Brad- ford the martyr, who, on seeing a man go to be publicly executed, said"' There goes John Bradford by nature.' " On the other hand, the pastor distin- guished between internal and external power. He allowed that men had no power of themselves to perform any thing spiritually good ; but contended that they could yield external obedience, and keep themselves from open acts of sin. In proof of this he alleged a great number of Scripture exhortations ; asking, If we had no power to comply with them, why were they given us 1 The opponents did not deny our being exhorted to do good and to avoid evil, nor that it was our duty to do both and our sin to act otherwise ; but they denied that this implied our being sufficient of ourselves to do any thing, even to think a good thought. " In these disputes I continued for some time on the side of my pastor ; but after a few months I felt difficulties on the subject which I could not answer, and which rendered me unhappy. I per- ceived that some kind of power was ne- cessary to render us accountable beings. If we were like stocks or stones, or liter- ally dead, like men in a burying ground, we could with no more propriety than they be commanded to perform any duty : if we were mere machines there could be no sin chargeable upon us. Yet, on the other hand, the Scriptures expressly affirm that ' the way of man is not in himself,' and represent the godly as crying to heav- en for preservation from evil, ascribing all the good that was in them to Him who worketh in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure. I prayed much and labor- ed hard to solve this difficulty. " My worthy friend Joseph Diver, who sustained a high character for wisdom and integrity would reason thus with me : — ' We ought to hate evil, and love the Lord : but it is the grace of God alone that can make us what we ought to be.' He would often speak of the equity of the divine requirements in the words of Da vid, ' I esteem all thy precepts in all things to be right ; and I hate every false way.' And again, ' Thou hast commanded us that we should keep thy precepts dili- gently : O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes !' ' Thus it is,' said he, ' that we should turn every precept into a prayer, instead of ini'erring from it a suf- ficiency in ourselves to conform to it. All our conformity to the divine precepts is of grace: it will never do to argue from our obligations against our dependence, nor from our dependence on grace against our obligations to duty. If it were not for the restraining goodness and preserving grace of God, we should be a kind of devils, and earth would resemble hell.' "In October, 1771, our pastor, Mr. Eve, left us. I loved him, and he loved me, and took it hard that I had in some respects changed my views. I learned af- terwards that he had entertained thoughts of me as being formed for the ministry, but this contention damped his hopes on that subject. He settled, when he left Soham, with a people at Wisbeach. I never look back upon these contentions but with strong feelings. They were to me the wormwood and the gall of my youth : my soul hath them still in remem- brance, and is humbled in me. But though, during these unpleasant disputes, there were many hard thoughts and hard words on almost all hands, yet they were ultimately the means of leading my mind into those views of divine truth which have since appeared in the principal part of my writings. They excited me to read and think, and pray, with more earnest- ness than I should have done without them : and, if I have judged or written to any advantage since, it was in conse- quence of what I then learned by bitter experience, and in the midst of many tears and temptations. God's way is in the deep. "About this time I met with a passage in Dr. Gill (I think it was in his Cause of God and Truth), in which he distinguished be- tween a thing being ' in the power of our 24 MEMOIRS OF MR. PULLER. hand, and in the power of our heart.' This, thought I, is the clue to our dispute. Every man has it in the power of his hand to do good and abstain from evil ; and this it is wliich makes us accountable beings. We can do, or forbear to do, this and that, if we have a mind ; but many have not a mind, and none would have such a mind but for the restraining goodness or constraining grace of God. We have it in the power of our hands to do good, but we are disposed to do evil, and so to do good is not naturally in the power of our hearts. " It was some time after this that I became acquainted with Mr. Robert Hall of Arnsby, who, in conversation on the subject, recommended Edwards on the Will. On reading this work, and some other pieces on physical and moral im- potence, I saw the same things clearly stated, in other words, which I had learn- ed by bitter experience. "Mr. Eve having removed, and the church being divided into parties, it was thought by some that we should be dis- solved ; and I went several Lord's-days to hear an Independent ministci in the neighborhood. Those members, however, who were of one mind, and who formed the majority, met together on Lord's- days ; and having no minister, and being situated too far from other Baptist churches to get supplies, they carried on the worship by singing, prayer, reading, and expounding the Scriptures. They also appointed a day for fasting and prayer, and invited all the meml)ers to unite in it. I went to this meeting, and from that time continued to assemble with them. My friend Joseph Diver was at that time chosen to be Deacon ; and, having some talent for expounding the Scriptures, he used, at the request of the church, to take up a part of every Lord's-day in that exercise. "As the disputes in the church were the occasion of turning my thoughts to most of those subjects on which I have since written, so were they the occasion of my engaging in the Christian ministry. " In November, 1771, as I was riding out on business, on a Saturday morning, to a neighboring village, my mind fell in- to a train of interesting and affecting thoughts, from that passage of Scripture, ' Weeping may endure for a night ; but joy Cometh in the morning.' I never had felt such freedom of mind in thinking on a divine subject before ; nor do I recol- lect ever having had a thought of the min- istry, but 1 then felt as if I could preach from it, and indeed I did preach in a man- ner as I rode along. I thought no more of it, however, but returned home when I had done my business. In the after- noon of tlie same day, I went to meet my mother, who had been to London, to see her mother, who was then very unwell. As we rode a few miles together, she told me she had been thinking much about me while in town, and added, ' My dear, you have often expressed your wish for a trade ; I have talked with your un- cle at Kensington about it, and he has procured a good place in the city, where, instead of paying a premium, you may, if you give satisfaction, in a little time receive wages, and learn the business. I thought, (continued she) that as we had now lost the gospel, and perhaps shall never have it again, you could have no reason for wishing to continue here. In London you can hear the gospel in its pu- rity.' That which my mother suggested was very true ; I had always been inclined to trade ; but, hoAv it was I cannot tell, my heart revolted at the proposal at (his time. It Avas not from any desire or thought of the ministry, nor any thing else in particular, unless it were a feeling towards the little scattered society of which I was a member, a kind of linger- ing to see what would become of the city. I said but little to my mother, but seem- ed to wish for time to consider of it. This was Saturday evening. " The ne>iT morning, as I was walking by myself to meeting, expecting to hear the brethren pray, and my friend Joseph Diver expound the Scriptures, I was met by one of the members whom he had re- quested to see me, who said, ' Brother Diver has by accident sprained his ancle, and cannot be at meeting to-day ; and he wishes me to sa)' to you, that he hopes the Lord will be with you.' ' The Lord be with me .' ' thought I, ' what does brother Diver mean 1 He cannot sup- pose that I can take his place, seeing I have never attempted any thing of the kind, nor been asked to do so. It then occurred, however, that I had had an in- teresting train of thought the day before, and had imagined at the time I could speak it, if I were called to it. But though I had repeatedly engaged in prayer pub- licly, yet I had never been requested to attempt any thing further, and therefore I thought no more of it. "We walked on to the meeting, and took our places, when, after singing, one of the brethren went to prayer. After which, the eldest deacon asked me if I would read some part of the Scriptures, and, if I found liberty, drop any remarks as I went on, which might occur. At first I was startled, but, conscious of what had passed in my mind the day before, I thought as brother Diver was absent it might be my MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 25 duty to try, and therefore making no ob- jections, which as it appeared to ine would have l)ecn mere aflcctation, I rose and spoke from Psalm xxx. 5, for about half an hour, with considerable freedom. After this I was asain invited by brother Diver to speak, and I did so ; but, not en- joying that lil>erty whch I did the first time I was discouraged, and, though fre- quently asked, declined all such exercises for more than a year. But early in 1773, I think it was, brother Diver was absent again through an affliction, and I was in- vited once more to take his place. Being induced to renew the attempt, I spoke froiji those words of our Lord, ' The Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost.' On this occasion, I not only felt greater freedom than I had ever found be- fore, but the attention of the people was fixed, and several young persons in the congre;gation were impressed with the subject, and afterwards joined the church. " From this time the brethren seemed to entertain an idea of my engaging in the ministry, nor was I Avithout serious thoughts of it myself. Sometimes I felt a desire after it : at other times I was much discouraged, especially through a con- sciousness of my want of spirituality of mind, which I considered as a qualification of the first importance. As to other qual- ifications, it certainly would have been of great use to me, if for a few years I had had the instructions of some father in the ministry ; and I have often since regretted that from 1771 to 1774, I lived to so little purpose. But none, of my connexions had any idea of the kind, and, being conscious of knowing about as much as those around me, I myself thought nothing of it. At one time when seriously reflecting on my own defects and insufficiency, I was great- ly relieved and encouraged by that pas- sage, Psa. Ixxxiv. 11 T' The Lord will give grace and glory.' It was now usual for my friend Diver to speak on one part of the Lord's-day, and for me to be en- gaged the other; and these exercises ap- peared to be blessed to several young peo- ple who afterwards joined the church. " In January, 1,774, an elderly lady, a member of the church, died, and left a re- quest that, if the church did not think it disorderly, I might be allowed to preach a funeral sermon on the occasion. As the members were nearly of one mind re- specting me, they agreed to set apart the twenty-sixth of that month, which was previous to the funeral, for fasting and prayer, and they then called me Xo the ministry. From that time I exercised from the pulpit. " Being now devoted to the ministry, I took a review of the doctrine I should VOL. I. 4 preach, and spent pretty much of my time in reading and in making up my mind as to various things relative to the gospel. Impressed with the importance of the connexions I should probably form in a few years, both as a man and as a minister, to my future happiness and use- fulness, I earnestly i)esought the Lord to be my guide ; and those words in Prov. iii. G, were very sweet to me, ' In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall di- rect thy paths.' In most of the important turns of my life, I have thought of that passage with renewed tenderness, as one would think of a friendly hint given him in early life, and make it a rule of con- duct. "Settling in a town where I had lived from the age of six years, I could not ex- pect to be much respected by the inhabit- ants. In this, however, I had no occa- sion to complain. I had, indeed, more respect shown me than I looked for; partly owing to the prevalence of an opin- ion when I was at school, of my being more learned than my master ; an opinion which I am certain was far from being true. But it indicated a partiality in my favor, which perhaps was of some use in leading people to hear the word. "With respect to the system of doc- trine which I had been used to hear from my youth, it was in the high Calvinistic, or rather hyper Calvinistic "strain, admit- ting nothing spiritually good to be the du- ty of the unregenerate, and nothing to be addressed to them in a way of exhorta- tion, excepting what related to external obedience. Outward services might be required, such as an attendance on the means of^ grace, and abstinence from gross evds might be enforced ; but nothing" was said to them from the pulpit, in the way of warning them to tlee from the wrath to come, or inviting them to apply to Christ for salvation, and though our late dis})utes had furnished me with some few princi- ples inconsistent with these notions, yet I did not perceive their bearings at first, and durst not for some years address an invitation to the unconverted to come to Jesus. I began, however, to doubt wheth- er I had got the truth respecting this sub- ject. This view of things didnot com- port with the ideas which I had imbibed concerning the power of man to do the will of God. I perceived that the will of God was not confined to mere outward ac- tions, but extended to the ininost thoughts and intents of the heart. The distinction of duties, therefore, into iiilernfil and ex- ternal, and making the latter only concern the unregenerate, wore a suspicious ap- pearance. But as I perceived this rea- soning would affect the whole tenor of my 26 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. preaching, I moved on with slow and trembling steps; and, having to feel my way out of a labyrinth, I was a long time ere I felt satisfied. " My mind was frequently diverted to other subjects of inquiry. In the first year of my ministry, books were put into my hands which led me to consider cer- tain questions in divinity, which it might easily be thought were improper for me at the age of twenty. One of these, by Mr. Stockell, was on the pre-existence of Chrisfs human soul, before he was born of the virgin. Another, by Mr. Al- len, was on the SonsJnp of Christ, or whether the character of the only-begot- ten Son of God would ever have belong- ed to him if he had not been the son of Mary 1 These things would not have oc- cupied my mind had they not been sug- gested by others. Yet I have reason to thank God that they were the occasion of fixing my judgment : and I have since perceived that every thing pertaining to the person of Christ is of more than ordi- nary importance. " As to the pre-existence of Christ's hu- man soul it seemed to me, in itself, a strange conceit, and such as I should never have thought of in reading the Scriptures. The texts on which it was founded seem- ed to be forced into the service, especial- ly Prov. viii. and Ps. cxxxix. 15, 16 ; and though some who professed to believe in the divinity of Christ were partial to the notion, yet I suspected it was invent- ed to undermine that important doc- trine. It is true, this notion was held by Dr. Watts, and I examined his reasoning, but without obtaining satisfaction. In consequence of the examination I made at that time, I was enabled afterwards to repel an attack from a company of minis- ters, who were warm for that opinion. When they put it to me, I offered to prove that it led to atheism, or relinquish the argument. They accepted my offer. I began by saying, ' You suppose the hu- man soul of Christ to be a party in the ev- erlasting counsels of God 1 ' — ' Yes, God could not take counsel with himself, for a council implies more than one ; but God is one.' — ' Yet you do not suppose the soul of Christ to have always existed 1 'No; it was created, and therefore could not be eternal.' — ' Then you must suppose that, till the gi-eat God had a creature to take counsel with, he had no plan — prior to the act of creation he was with- out counsel, without plan, without design ! But a being without plan, purpose, or de- sign, is not God ! ! ! Thus you are land- ed on atheism. The truth is, God never was without his plan, purpose, or design. By applying, too, those passages of Scrip- ture which express the pre-existence of Christ, and thereby prove his divinity, to the pre-existence of his human soul, you undermine his divinity, and favor the Ari- an hypothesis.' " Concerning the Sonship of Christ, I had more hesitation. I conversed upon it with my friend Diver, who was favorable to Mr. Allen's idea, namely, that Christ is called the Son of God, not as a divine person, but as assuming human nature, and being both God and man. He, how- ever, very generously advised me to read the New Testament with an eye to the question, and to observe, as I went along, whether, in any instances where Christ is represented as the Son of God, it re- spected him as a divine person antecedent to his incarnation ; and whether the scripture name for Chist's pre-incarnate person was not the Word rather than the Son of God. In reading and thinking on the subject, I found such proof as quite satisfied me that he was the Son of God, antecedently to his being born of a wo- man, and that in calling God his own Fa- ther he made himself equal with God. The following passages appeared to me to admit of no other fair interpretation than that which I Avas invited to reject: — John V. 18; Gal.iv. 4; Heb. i. 8, v. 8, 9 ; and 1 John iii. 8.* — Had I not been initiated into these pi-inciples at an early period, I should not have been able to write the treatise against Socinianism, which I have no cause to regret having written. "Besides these, I was much perplexed about the same time with the writings of Mr. John Johnson, of Liverpool, and for some time favored his sentiments. There was something imposing in his manner,by which a young and inexperienced reader is apt to be carried away : my pastor had also been one of his admirers. His de- nial of God's having decreed to permit sin, and his notion of the purposes of grace being executed upon the elect, even though sin had never intervened, much en- tangled me. It seemed as if he were concerned to vindicate his Creator from being the author of sin; and in this view I could not but approve ; but on the other hand, it appeared to me idle to speculate on what God could or would have done concerning his elect, if sin had never in- tervened, when all his revealed counsels went on the supposition of its existence ; even the incarnation of his Son was ' to destroy the works of the devil.' And all the grace given us in Christ Jesus sup- posed the intervention of sin : his scheme, therefore, appeared to have no foundation * For further remarks on this subject, see Index, Art. Sonship of Christ. MEMOIRS OP MR. PULLER. 27 in the Scriptures. And, respecting the de- cree to permit sin, I was one day convers- ing with a friend upon it, who observed, 'It is a fact, is it not, that God has per- mitted sin? And can it be a reproach to his character that he shoukl have decreed to do what he has done?' "Tiiis remark carried conviction to my mind. I saw (hat, if there were any thing inconsistent with tlie divine perfections in the affair, it must be in permitting evil, and not in the decree to permit it. If the one were right the other coukl not be wrong, unless it were wrong to deter- mine to do what is right. But to say that it is wrong for God to permit evil, is ei- ther to arraign the divine conduct or to maintain that evil exists without being per- mitted. I perceived, too, ti\at Mr. John- son availed himself of the ambiguity of the word permit, and, because it signifies on some occasions to give leave, would have it thought that God could not be said to permit it. After this I thought but little more of it, but rested in this. The Judge of the whole earth will do right. "In reviewing some of these questions, which occupied my attention at so early a period, I have seen reason to bless God for preserving me at a time when my judgment was so immature. When I have seen the zeal which has been expended in maintaining some such peculiarities, I have thought it a pity. Bunyan would have called them 'nuts which spoil the children's teeth.' They have appeared to me as a sort of spiritual narcotics, which, when a man once gets a taste for them, he will prefer to the most wholesome food. It was in recollection of these things that I lately wrote, in an Essay on Truth, as follows : — 'A man who chews opium, or tobacco, may prefer it to the most whole- some food, and may derive from it pleas- ure, and even vigor for a time; but his pale countenance and delnlitated consti- tution Avill soon bear witness to the folly of spending his money for that which is not bread.' " In the spring of 1775, I accepted the invitation of the church at Soham, and was ordained their pastor. The pastors of the other churches, who attended the ordination, took that opportunity to in- quire into the controversy wjiich had divi- ded us from our former minister, and re- quested me to state the difference. Mr. Robert Hall, of Arnsby,* who was one of * This great and excellent man was tlie father of the late Robert Hall, A. M., and author of " Help to Zion's Travellers," &c. Mr. Fuller alluding to the commencement of his acquaintance with him, obser\es, " He came seventy miles to my ordina- tion, and continued my father and friend till his death." them, expressed his satisfaction in the statement, but recommended Edwards on the Will to my careful perusal, as the most able performance on the power of man to do (lie will of God. Not being much ac- quainted with books at that time, I con- founded the work of Dr. John Edwards, of Caml)ridge, an episcopalian Calvinist, en- titled Veritas Redux with tliat of Jona- than Edwards, of New England. I read the former, and thought it a good book; but it did not seem exactly to answer Mr. Hall's reconunendation. Nor was it till the year 1777 that I discovered my mis- take. Meantime, however, I was greatly exercised ui)on the subject, and upon the work of the Christian ministry. " The principal writings with which I was first acquainted were tliose of Bun- yan, Gill, and Brine. I had read pretty much of Dr. Gill's Body of Divinity, and from many parts of it had received consid- erable instruction. I perceived, however, that the system of Bunyan was not the same with his ; for that, while he main- tained the doctrines of election and pre- destination, he nevertheless held with the free offer of salvation to sinners without distinction. These were things which I then could not reconcile, and therefore supposed that Bunyan, though a great and good man, was not so clear in his views of the doctrines of the gospel as the writers who succeeded him. I found, indeed, the same things in all the old writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that came in my way. They all dealt, as Bunyan did, in free invitations to sinners, to come to Christ and be saved; the con- sistency of which, with personal election, I could not understand. It is true, I per- ceived the Scriptures abounded with ex- hortations and invitations to sinners ; but I supposed there must be two kinds of ho- liness, one of which was possessed by man in innocence, and was binding on all his posterity — the other derived from Christ, and binding only on his people. I had not yet learned that the same things which are required by the precepts of tlie law are bestowed by the grace of the gospel. Those exhortations to repentance and faith, therefore, which are addressed in the New Testament to the unconverted, I supposed to refer only to such external repentance and faith as were within their powe», and might be complied with with- out the grace of God. The eflfect of these views was, that I had very little to say to the unconverted, indeed nothing in a way of exhortation to things spiritually good, or certainly connected with salvation. "But in the autumn of 1775, being in London, I met with a pamphlet by Dr. Abraham Taylor, concerning what* was 28 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. called The Modern Question. I had never seen any thing relative to tliis controversy before, although the subject, as I have stated, had occupied my thoughts. I was but little impressed by his reasonings till he came to the addi'esses of John the Baptist, Christ, and the apostles, which he proved to be delivered to the ungodly, and to mean spiritual repentance and faith, inasmuch as they were connected with the remission of sins. This set me fast. I read and examined the Scripture pas- sages, and the more I read and thoua;ht the more I doubted the justice of my for- mer views. " Aliout the same time, I met with a sermon by Mr. John Martin, from Rom. X. 3, On the Causes and Coiisequences of not submitting to the Righteousness of God. The drift of this discourse, as nearly as I can remember, was to show that submission to the righteousness of God was the same thing for substance as believing in Christ for righteousness ; and that non-submission to it was owing to wilful ignorance, pride, prejudice, and unbelief. I was equally unable to answer this reasoning as that of Dr. Taylor, and therefore began more and more to suspect that my views had been anti-scrii)tural. I was very unhappy. I read, thought, and prayed. Sometimes I conversed on these subjects with my friend Joseph Diver, and some others. He was nearly as much at a loss as myself. I made a point however of not introducing the ques- tion in the pulpit till my judgment was fixed. " In'1776 I became acquainted with Mr. Sutcliff, who had lately come to Olney, and soon after with Mr. John Ryland, jun., then of Northampton. In them I found familiar and faithful brethren ; and who partly by reflection, and partly by reading the writings of Edwards, Bellamy, Brainerd, &c., had begun to doubt of the system of false Calvinism to which they had been inclined when they first entered on the ministry, or rather to be decided against it. But, as I lived sixty or sev- enty miles from them, 1 seldom saw them, and did not correspond upon the subject. I therefore pursued my inquiries by my- self, and wrote out the substance of what I afterwards published under the title of The Gospel worthy of all Acceptation ; or the Obligations of Men cordially to be- lieve ivhatever God makes linown. "My change of views on these subjects never abated my zeal for the doctrine of salvation by grace, but in some respects increased it. I never had any predilec- tion'^for Arminianism, which appeared to me to ascribe the difference between one sinnef and another, not to the grace of God, but to the good improvemnt made of grace given us in common with others. Yet I saw those whom I fliought to be godly men, both among Arminians and high, or, as I now accounted them, hyper Calvinists. I perceived that men's char- acters were not always formed by their avowed principles ; that we may hold a sound faith without its having such hold of us as to form our spirit and conduct ; that we may profess an erroneous creed, and yet our spirit and conduct may be formed nearly irrespective of it ; in short, that there is a difference between principles and opinions ; the one are the actual mov- ing causes which lie at the root of action, the other often float in the mind without being reduced to practice." On the important and responsible work of the ministry Mr. Fuller entered with that humility and devotedness which it de- mands, and which the peculiar exigences of the people among whom he labored called for in no ordinary degree. Though his acceptance of the pastorate added somewhat to the pressure of those theological difficulties by which his early engagements were embarrassed, as giving to them more of a practical aspect, it had nevertheless a favorable influence on their solution, as prompting him to more vigorous efforts of thought, a more rigid examination of the word of God, and more strenuous applications at a throne of grace, and also bringing him into contact with eminent individuals who, like himself, were accustomed to pursue inquiries with a view to a practical purpose, and whose means of information had been more ex- tensive than his own. Owing however to the distance of their residence from his, as well as to the independence of his own mind, they might be said to have done lit- tle more than give an impetus to his thoughts, of which they were afterwards happy in acknowledging the benefit. Among the investigations which occu- pied his attention at this period, that on the subject of justification was not the least important. The following record of the progress of his mind on this topic, written in 1796, may not be uninterest- ing :— " ^Vhen I first set out in the ministry I had no other ideas of justification than those which are stated by Dr. Gill. 'Justification,' he says, 'may be distin- guished into active and passive. Active justification is the act of God. It is God that justifieth. Passive justification is the act of God terminating on the con- science of a believer, commonly called a transient act passing upon an external ob- ject. The former is an act internal and MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 29 eternal taken \ip in the divine mind from eternity, and is an immanent abiding one in it. It is, as Dr. Ames expresses it, a sentence conceived in tiie divine mind by the decree ofjustifying.' "In his Bod. Div. vol. ii. p. 797, the doctor speaks of justification as it 'ter- minates in tiie conscience of a believer, and which (he says) the Scriptures style justification by faiih.' " These, till within a few years, were my views. But, thinking over these subjects I felt dissatisfied ; I felt that my views did not quadrate witli the Scriptures ; I en- deavored, thereibre, to examine the mat- ter closely. It occurred to me that, what- ever disputes had arisen on this subject, all parties that I had read were agreed in considering justification as the opposite of condemnation. I found this idea also plentifully supported by the Scriptures, Deut. XXV. 1, 1 Kings viii. 32, Rom. viii. 33, 34 ; I therefore set myself to examine — What is condemnationl Is it, said I, the decree of God finally to con- demn a sinner 1 No ; for every unbe- liever, elect or non-elect, is under con- demnation, John iii. 18, 36 ; ' the wrath of God abideth on him.' Believers ' were by nature children of wrath, even as others;' Saul, therefore, while a perse- cutor, was a child of wrath, or was under condemnation; yet God ' had not appoint- ed him to wrath, but to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ.' " Hence I concluded, if condemnation be not the decree of God finally to con- demn,jnstification is not the decree of God finally to acquit. It also appeared to me inconsistent Avith the nature of things to conceive of justification as Dr. Ames ex- presses it, namely, as ' a sentence con- ceived in the divine mind;' for, whatever purpose may be conceived in a judge's mind in favor of a prisoner, it is not justi- fication till it is declared in open court. " Further : does condemnation, said I, consist in any sense or persuasion which a sinner possesses that he shall be con- demned 1 No ; for many who are under condemnation according to the Scriptures have no such persuasion, but the reverse, as was the case with the Jews, who were persuaded that God was their Father while in fact they were of their father the devil : and others, who are not under condemna- tion according to the Scriptures, are yet at times under apprehension that they are so. But if condemnation, continued I, consists not in a sense or persuasion that we are or shall be condemned, justifica- tion consists not in a sense or persuasion that we are or shall be justified. " On the whole, it seemed evident that the sentence of justification was neither a purpose in the di\ine mind nor a sense or persuasion in the human mind. The question then returned, What is it 1 Still keeping hold of my clue, I proceeded to inquire, Is not condemnation that state or condition of a sinner in which, accordino- to the revealed will of God in his holy law, all the threatenings and curses stand against him 1 Is it not the same thing as a l)eing under the curse, which all are who are of the works of the law, whether they be elect or non-elect 1 And, if so, is not justification that state or condition of a sinner lieljeving in Jesus, in which, according to the revealed will of God in the gospel, all the promises and blessings of the new covenant belong to him "? Isit not the same thing as a being under grace (Rom. vi. 14), and which is true only of believers 1 The sentence of justification is not a revelation or manifestation of something to the mind which was true before, though unknown to the party; but consists of the voice of God, in the gospel, declaring that whosoever believeth shall be saved. In this court believers in Jesus stand acquitted from all things from which they could not have been acquitted by the law of Moses." The above may be regarded as an ele- mentary sketch of the writer's sentiments on this great subject : the reader will find it amplified and exhibited in its several re- lations in various parts of his works, partic- ularly in three discourses on Rom. iii. 24 On the 23d December, 1776, Mr. Fuller married Miss Sarah Gardiner, a membo- of the church at Soham, and daughter jf Stephen and Sarah Gardiner, of Burw&l. This was esteemed one of those impor- tant events of his life on which, as he spid, he never entered without a reference to- the divine direction, " In all thy ways ac- knoAVledge him, and he shall direc thy paths ;" and in the retrospect of wh'ch he could say, "My ways have I dedared, and thou heardest me." An aflecting^ narrative is given in this memoir of the last hours of this truly pious woman^ whose valuable domestic qualities were- augmented by a more than ordinary dis- play of " the ornament of a meek and qui- et spirit." 30 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. SECTION II. Change in his Manner of Preaching — Alienation of some of his Hearers — Em- barrasfment in his temporal Circum- stances— Distressing Agitation of Mind in the Prospect of leaving Soham — Ex- tracts from his Diary — Letters to Mr. Wallis — Removal to Kettering — Mutual Testimonies to and from the Church at Soham — Statement at his Ordination. Mr. Fuller's strain of preaching, >vhich at first nearly corresponded with the views which he had early imbibed, soon underwent a change of the most im- portant and valuable character; for, al- though, as he himself tells us in relation to a kindred subject, "he made a point of not introducing the question in the pulpit till his judgment was fixed," he was not -the man to reserve a store of speculative sentiments at variance with the character of his public ministrations. Though he was not without cheering instances of success, it was no matter of surprise that many, especially those whose lethargy was disturbed by the searching and practical character which his ministry had now begun to assume, should express their dissatisfaction in a manner that served to depress a mind naturally sus- ceptible of the tenderest emotions, and the earliest religious sensibilities of which had grown up among them. The in- creased disposition among the inhabitants of the town to attend his ministry was not met by a corresponding concern on the part of the church to afford them the ac- (tommodation which their place of wor- ship would not supply ; though an increase it their rent, at that time, furnished an in- ducement to some effort for securing it in ;ariOther direction. To these causes of unhappiness was added the extreme depression of his tem- poral circumstances — his whole yearly in- com-e from the people having never ex- ceeded thirteen pounds and his attempts to derive support, first from a small shop, and then from a school, both proving un- successful ; so that, notwithstanding all his exertions, he could not prevent an an- nual inroad upon his little property, most distressing to himself and ruinous to the future prospects of a rising family. Un- der such complicated trials his health suffered a shock from which he with diffi- culty recovered. He was, hoAvever, des- tined by the providence of God yet to un- dergo an ordeal not less trying to his phys- ical powers than to his religious principles. With him the question of leaving a sta- ftJon which he thought the providence of God had assigned hira, in which he had experienced tokens of divine approbation, and which was especially endeared to him by early associations, was not very easily disposed of. It has been thought, and perhaps not without reason, that he car- ried his conscientious scruples on this point to an unjustifiable extent Be that as it may, this important era of his life is allowed on all hands to have elicited two features the most characteristic and the most godlike ; it is difficult to say whether his integrity or his love was the more conspicuous, whether his conscience or his feelings appeared the more exquisitely tender. "Men who fear not God," ob- serves the late excellent Dr. Ryland, " would risk the welfare of a nation with fewer searchings of heart than it cost him to determine whether he should leave a little dissenting church, scarcely contain- ing forty memliers besides himself and his wife." That distressing and protracted hesitation, which enslaved a miiid after- wards distinguished for a promptitude and decision equal to the most varied and complicated difficulties, marks an impor- tant peculiarity in the present case. Here he feared, " lest haply he should be found even to fight against God :" there, satis- fied that God was on his side, it was ut- terly beyond the compass of human power to baffle or daunt him. A selection from his diary, kept during the last two years of his residence at Soham, while it furnishes a history of the progress of events , will exhibit the exercises of his mind on this subject, as well as others relative to his experience and the dis- charge of his pastoral functions ; and, as it is not so much the object of this me- moir to hasten through the narrative of events as to convey a correct portraiture of the subject of it during their progress, no apology is deemed necessary for the miscellaneous character of these extracts. " 1780, Jan. 10. — A solemn vow or re- newal of covenant with God. "O! my God (let not the Lord be angry with his servant for thus speaking) I have, thou knowest, heretofore sought thy truth. I have earnestly entreated thee that thou wouldest lead me into it ; that I might be rooted, established, and built up in it, as it is in Jesus. I have seen the truth of that saying — ' It is a good thing to have the heart established Avith grace;' and now I would this day solemnly renew my prayer to thee, and also enter afresh into covenant with thee. " O Lord God ! I find myself in a world where thousands profess thy name ; some are preaching, some writing, some talking about religion. All profess to be search- MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLKR. 31 inji after truth ; to have Christ and the inspired writers on their side. I am afraid lest I should be turned aside from the simplicity of the gospel. I teel my understanding full of darkness, my rea- son exceedingly imperfect, my will ready to start aside, and my passions strangely volatile. O illumine mine understanding, 'teach my reason reason,' my will rec- titude, and let every facidty of which I am possessed be kept within the bounds of thy service. " O let not the sleight of wicked men, who lie in wait to deceive, nor even the pious character of good men (who yet may be under great mistakes) draw me aside. Nor do thou suffer my own fancy to mis- guide me. Lord, thou hast given me a determination to take up no principle at second-hand ; but to search for every thing at the pure fountain of thy word. Yet, Lord, I am afraid, seeing I am as liable to err as other men, lest I should be led aside from truth by mine own im- agination. Hast thou not promised, ' The meek thou wilt guide in judgment, and the meek thou wilt teach thy way 1 ' Lord, thou knowest, at this time, my heart is not haughty, nor are mine eyes lofty. O ' guide me by thy counsel, and after- wards receive me to glory.' " One thing in particular I would pray for; namely, that I may not only l)e kept from erroneous principles, but may so love the truth as never to keep it back. O Lord, never let me, under the specious pretence of preaching holiness, neglect to promulge the truths of thy word ; for this day I see, and have all along found, that holy practice has a necessai-y dependence on sacred principle. O Lord, if thou wilt open mine eyes to behold the wonders of thy word, and give me to feel their trans- forming tendency, then shall the Lord be my God; then let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I shun to declare, to the best of my knowledge, the whole counsel of God. "June 14. — Went out to visit some fallen brethren. Convinced that no art was necessary in religion, resolved to pro- ceed with all plainness and openness. Did so; and hope for good effects. Left each party with weeping eyes. But, oh, how liable to sin myself ! "11. — I think I have seen one thing to- day— that speaking ostentatiously of any thing laudable in ourselves is the way to mar all the peace or pleasure that we en- joy in it. I think I see that this is a sin which easily besets me, and which needs being guarded against. " 2L — What ! have the powers of grace and sin concluded a truce 1 I feel to-day as if both lay nearly still, as if I were strangely destitute of all thought ; devoid of pleasure, carnal or spiritual ; ol sorrow, whether godly or worldly. "21. — I see what a strait course it ii* to steer between legality and libertinism. I have been for some time trying to walk more closely with God ; and now I find tiie sparks of self-righteous pride liegin to kindle — yet I think I have tasted a sweetness in that plan of redemption which .stains the pride of all flesh. " 28. — Have found my heart tenderly affected several times, esj)ecial]y to night, in prayer respecting my critical situation. 0 providence, how intricate! If rough roads are marked out for me, may iny ' shoes be iron and brass.' I found a pe- culiar sympathy towards poor people un- der trying providences, thinking I may have to go that road. " 29. — It is good to visit the poor, that we may know their cases, exercise sym- pathy and charity towards them, and learn gratitude and many a lesson in the doc- trine of providence. O what a horrid depth of pride and hypocrisy do I find in my heart ! Surely I am unfit for any company. If I am with a superior, how will my heart court his praise, by speak- ing diminutively of myself, not forgetting to urge the disadvantages under which I have labored, to excuse my inferiority ; and here is a large vacancy left, in hope he will fill it up with something like this : Well, you must have made good improve- ment of what advantages you have en- joyed ! On the other hand, when in com- pany with an inferior, how full of self am 1 ! While I seem to be instructing him, by communicating my oliservations, how prone to lose sight of his edification, and every thing but my own self-importance — aiming more to discover my own know- ledge than to increase his ! While I make these observations I feel the truth of them. A thought has been suggested to write them, not as having been working in my heart to-day, but only as discovered to- day. Oh horridly deceitful and despe- rately wicked heart I Surely I have little else in my religious exercises but these workings. I am afraid of being deceived at last. If I am saved, what must the Son of God have endured ! " 30. — Much affected to day in thinking on my situation. I prayed to the Lord earnestly that if there were any thing in his word which might direct me, he would lead my mind to it. Here I must wait. The Lord may have designed to lead me in a way that I have not known. "July L — My soul has been dejected to-day in thinking on the plague of the human heart. Had a sweet time in prayer to-night. Through the glass of 32 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. my depravity I see, O I see the precious- ness of that blood which flowed onCalva- Ty! O that the ideas I have liad to-night, were indelibly written on my heart! But, alas ! one hour of sin will, I fear, efface them all. " 2. — Surely my views of myself, of di- vine love, and of the blood of Christ, never were clearer, nor yielded me greater sat- isfaction, than last night and to-day. I retained the savor throughout this fore- noon, though it seems abated this after- noon. Well, it lias been a time of refresh- ment to my soul ! But perhaps I may have somewhat at hand to balance it. O that I could retain the ideas I have had to- e of justification by grace alone with- out the works of the law," and maintain- ed that faith was a mere intellectual exercise, ascribing to it, nevertheless, all the fruits of a holy principle. To this view of things Mr. Fuller first replied in an appendix to the second edi- tion of his work, which, giving rise to farther observations on the part of his opponent, resulted in the production of " Strictures on Sandemanianism, in Twelve Letters to a Friend," a work worthy alike of the talents of its author and of the powerful antagonist against whose writings it was directed. The controversy on faith, which in all its branches extended, with some inter- vals, to a period of more then twenty years, was by far the most considerable in which Mr. Fuller was engaged ; and it being that which was the most identified with his name, and which gave rise to the grossest misrepresentations of his character and views, especially in his own denomination, no apology will be offered for the peculiar prominence given to it in this memoir. A continuation of the diary from which extracts have already been made, while it exhibits the feelings under which Mr. Fuller commenced and continued these engagements, will serve to fill up the portraiture of his character at this period of his life. " Aug. 10, 1784. — Occupied in writing for the press some persuasives to united prayer for the revival of real religion. "20. — Many misgivings of heart, about engaging in defense of what I esteem truth, MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 47 lest the cause of Christ should be injured through me. Surely, if I did not believe that in defense ol which I write to he i7?i- portant truth, I would hide iny head in obscurity all my days. "21. — Much pained at heart to-day, while reading in Dr. Owen. Feel almost a sacred reverence for his character. Surely I am more iirutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man! 0 that I might be led into divine truth! 'Christ and his cross be all my theme.' 1 love his name, and wish to make it the centre in which all the lines of jny minis- try should meet ! The Lord direct my Avay in respect of publishing. Assuredly he knows my end is to vindicate the ex- cellence of his character, and his w orthi- ness of being loved and credited. "23.— The weight of publishing still lies upon me. I expect a great share of unhappiness through it. I had certainly much rather go through the world in peace, did I not consider this step as my duty. I feel a jealousy of myself, lest I should not be endued with meekness and patience sufficient for controversy. The Lord keep me ! I w ish to suspect my own spirit, and go forth leaning on him for strength. I heard yesterday that Mr. William Clarke is likely to come to Carlton : the Lord grant he may ! O that I were of such a meek and lowly spirit as that good man ! "24. — Some tenderness in prayer of late, yet fear lest I should be blasted in my ministry on account of my barrenness. Conversation with Mr. Toller on various subjects affecting to me. The Lord keep me and lead me into all truth. "25. — Enjoyed delight for some days in reading over the Acts of the Apostles before family prayer. Sweet times in that duty. " 26. — I felt some tenderness to-day at the church-meeting ; but much depression of spirit generally now attends me. I feel a solid satisfaction that the cause in which I am aliout to engage is the cause of truth and righteousness ; but I am afraid lest it should suffer through me. " 29. — A very tender and affectionate time in prayer for the congregation, espe- cially the young people. — Finished ex- pounding Christ's Sermon on the Mount. Some cautions I had given me to-night I wish I may attend to. The Lord lead me into the spirit of the gospel, and keep me from extremes. " Sept. 3. — Very earnest and fervent this evening, preaciiing on love to Christ's salvation. O if God w ould but make use of it! " 6. — Feel myself vile before God. My vileness is as if it were restless, and could never be still, night nor day. " 19. — A letter from Soham much de- presses me to hear of their jarrings. Know not how to preach. " 21. — Occupied all day in writing let- ters into Cambridgeshire. O may God bless them to their good ! Very tender in writing them. " 22. — Chiefly employed in preparing a MS. for the press on the obligations of men in respect to the gospel of Christ. Felt some pleasure in the sentiments I have written. "26. — Deeply affected this morning in thinking and preaching on the poor and needy seeking water and findingnone, &c. Some tenderness too in the afternoon : this thought was moving, that our hard- ness of heart broke Christ's heart, and our stupidity made his soul exceedingly sorroivful, even unto death. "Oct. 4. — To-morrow, minister's meet- ing ; the Lord meet with us. The min- isters met to-night, it being the monthly exercise of prayer for the revival of re- ligion. " 7. — Spent the day chiefly in the com- pany of some of the ministers. Much depressed in spirit, and grieved at seeing such levity and wanton folly in a certain person. My heart is sick of all knowl- edge and accomplishments, unless made to subserve the cause of the blessed Re- deemer. How empty and frothy, unless sanctified by the grace of God ! Felt my heart go out in prayer for that person. " 18. — Much depressed in spirit on ac- count of my w ant of spirituality : prayed with tenderness of heart. Sensibly felt my entire dependence on the Spirit of God for the continuance of the work of grace as well as for the beginning of it. "21. — Feel some pain in the thought of being about to publish On the Obliga- tions of Men to believe in Christ, as sup- posing I shall thereby expose myself to much abuse, which is disagreeable to the flesh. Had I not a satisfaction that it is the cause of God and truth, I would drop all thoughts of printing. The Lord keep me meek and lowly in heart. " 22. — [In allusion to the termination of a domestic trial.] This day the Lord has been merciful. A saying of Mr. Hall, which I heard him use in prayer, has been much to me of late. ' Lord we are bound this night to love thee more than ever we did before.' " 24. — I have many fears concerning certain flesh-pleasing doctrines lately agi- tated, particularly that of the final salvation of all, men and devils. I have no doubt that this notion will have a great spread 48 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. in twenty years' time, however contrary to the word of God, seeing it is what just suits the flesh. "31. — Preached this afternoon on the dimensions of the love of Christ. Great delight at the Lord's supper. O, to know more of, and live upon Christ ! he must be our daily bread. Sweet pleasure to- night. Can hardly forbear singing as I go about, " O for diis love let rocks and hills Their lasting silence break," &c. " Nov. 12. — Feel my mind earnestly engaged in longing for the salvation of souls"; earnest in prayer for this. O what an awful thing it seems to me for sinners under a fatal disease not to desire a rem- edy ! "22. — Walked to Northampton. Some prayer that God would bless that about which I am going, namely, the printing of a manuscript on faith in Christ being the duty of unregenerate sinners. " Dec. 18. — Feel myself to-day a poor carnal wretch ! Casting my eye on ' Wo to the idol shepherd,' &c., thought that was my character. Reading in James, * with meekness receive the ingrafted loord,' methought there was something in that which I could not reach. Felt my heart go up to God that I might under- stand it. " 22. — Some tender feelings under my frequent indisposition of body. Thought how I should bear it, if God should lay me by from the work of the ministry. "31. — Deeply affected on Wednesday night, in singing with little R. in my arms : — " O raayst thou live to reach the place," &c. If I should die before him, let him re- member this, and S. the verses in the diary, &c. " 1785. Jan. 2. Lord's-day. Preach- ed this afternoon a new-year's sermon to young people, from ' Come ye children,' &c. Some sweet and solemn feelings, as I sat in the vestry, while a hymn for the new year was sung : felt my heart very tender, and a longing desire for the wel- fare of the young people : preached to them with some earnestness. Felt much also this day in reading Bunyan's Holy War, particularly that part where the four captains agi-ee to petition the Kiiig for more force : felt a great satisfaction in my principles concerning preaching to sin- ners, and a desire to pray, like them, for help from on high, to render the word ef- fectual. " 8.— Much affected to-day in hearing my little girl say, ' How soon sabbath-day comes again!' Felt grieved to see the native aversion of the carnal heart to God so early discovering itself. Was led to importune God at a throne of grace on her behalf. " 9. — This evening expounded Acts vi. One verse in particular carries in it con- viction to me : That we may give our- selves wholly to prayer and the ministry of the word. " 11. — Some out-goings of heart in prayer to-day for the revival of real re- ligion, first in my own soul, and then in the churches in general. My own men- tal departures from God have been long and great! Went several times to the Lord, with some satisfaction, but found not such nearness of access as I could wish. " 14. — Spoke to-night with some free- dom on Psa. cxvi. 9, — ' I will walk be- fore the Lord,' &c. Explained it as con- sisting in viewing ourselves always as in God's sight, and not merely in the sight of creatures, whether godly or ungodly ; in striving to please God ; and in attend- ing in a constant way to the most spirit- ual duties. Observed the goodness of the resolution ; because this course was safe, honorable and happy. " Feb. 8.— Visited Mr. Toller to-day who has been very ill : some serious con- versation with hina on the importance of real religion in a dying hour. " 11. — Read part of the life of J. Jane- way to-day, with much conviction and tenderness. O my life, how low to his ! " 13. — Some earnestness to-day in preaching on pressing forward, and on the desire accomplished being siveet to the soul; but little spirituality. Very ear- nest to-night in preaching from ' What will ye do in the end thereof?' " 16. — In the company of Christian friends. Some good conversation, but no free, tender talk on things spiritual and experimental. I find Mr. and the people at carry their resentments very high, on account of what they reckon my erroneous principles. I need grace, not so much at present to keep me from re- senting again, as to keep me from re- joicing in their iniquity. Undoubtedly they could not take measures that would more conduce to the reputation of what I have written and of what I preach, as well as to their own detriment. " 19. — Feel an earnest desire that my mind might be well furnished with gospel sentiments. Found encouragement in observing several in the congregation who are likely soon to join the church. " 22. — Tenderness in private prayer, attended with shame. An agreeable visit with Mr. B. W. at Mr. T.^'s. Conver- sation very serious and profitable, chiefly MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 49 on closet prayer and experimental sub- jects. " March 11. — Feel a general lowness of spirits ; partly occasioned by the bit- ter spirit of some neiuhboring ministers, respecting my late pul)lication and my preaching; and partly l)y sympathy with some of my iricnds under trials. " 16. — Visited Mr. Toller to-day, and had some good conversation. "21. — Have been somewhat stirred be- yond due bounds to-day, in talking with a member of the church who has sinned. It would have been better for me to have thought more of myself, and to have spok- en to him with more humility. " 25. — Returning from Woodford (where I preached last night, with earnestness and solenniily of spirit, on the ways of sin being movable, like those of the adul- teress), I was led into a profitable strain of meditation, on our good Shepherd's care of his flock, occasioned by seeing some lambs exposed to the cold, and a poor sheep perishing for want of care. "28. — Some heaviness of heart, be- cause some of my friends do not take that freedom with me which I wish they did ; at least it seems so to me. "April 19. — Preached at Wellingbo- rough, with some freedom, on Christ's commanding us to watch. Some convic- tion by conversing with Mr. Carver, whose carefulness not to circulate an evil report I admiie. "28. — I tind it is often observed that persons in ray condition, without greater advantages as to learning, are generally apt to be more censorious than others whose learning is far greater. I wish I may li« always on the watch here. "29. — Somewhat unhappy to see the disrelish, as I think, of one of my friends to the doctrines of sovereign grace. O that I may not only believe the truth but love it ! " 30. — Thought to-day I could wish to die if I had but done my generation work. Last Monday I heard a young man at N. speak of the advantage of mixing prayer with reading tlie word. This morning I have been trying to read in that way. Read the second chapter of Hosea thus ; longing to use that sweet and holy free- dom which the Lord designs to encour- age, when he directs the church to call him not Baali, but Ishi. O that I could dwell nearer to God ! I fear some trials in the church ; but, were I kept near to him, I should be able to bear any tiling. " May 1 . — Found earnestness in preach- ing on the loords of God doing good to the upright, and on Chrisfs being the same yesterday, to-day, aiid forever. Felt my heart drawn out in prayer this morning, VOL. I. 7 that God would make some use of me for good. Praying that I miglit not labor in vain and spend my strength for nought, I felt a clieck of this kind — What then is 7ny labor, and of what account is 7ny strcngtli 1 On tliis I found mucii out- going of heart, in pleading Christ's merits as the ground, and the welfare of souls as the e7id. " 2. — Returning from Brigstock, where I preached last night, some conversation with Mr. Porter, of Thrapston, makes me reflect on myself for imprudence. I feel how far off i'rom a right spirit I often am. This evening I felt tender all the time of the prayer-meeting for the revi- val of religion ; but, in hearing Mr. Beeby Wallis pray for me, I was overcome : his having a better opinion of me than I de- serve cuts me to the heart ! Went to prayer myself, and found my mind en- gaged more than ordinarily in praying for the revival of religion. I had felt many sceptical thoughts ; as though there were room to ask. What profit shall I have if I pray to God ] for which I was much grieved. Find a great satisfaction in these monthly meetings : even supposing our requests should not be granted, yet prayer to God is its own reward. Felt many bitter reflections for my stupid, car- nal way of living. "8. — Impressed this morning in think- ing of the wants of the people, how they would probably be coming from many places round, in quest of spiritual food, while I was barren, and scarcely knew what to say to them. Affected in think- ing of Micah vii. ' Feed thy people with thy rod,' &c." After alluding to a journey to Soham, and giving the details of a week's exer- cise in preaching and conversation in that neighborhoot-1, he adds — "June 2. — To-day I go for home, laden with the burdens of others as well as some of my own. " 4. — An uncommon load lies all day on my spirits. I am incapable of all pro- fitable meditation : feel pained for the peo- ple to-morrow. Some few exercises on subjection to the Father of spirits; but very heavy in heart. " 0. — Feel myself quite ill with sorrow of heart : had a very tender forenoon on the subject mentioned above ; but a poor wretched afternoon : very much depress- ed all day. " 6. — IBut little exercise till towards night, when the sorrows of yesterday re- turned, and for two hours preyed upon my heart stronger than ever, so as to make me very ill. Darkness and confu- sion of mind overwhelm me. 50 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. "7. — Engaged in writing out the circu- lar letter on Declensions in Religion, for the press : found some very tender feel- ings towards the latter part of it ; and en- joyed a good deal of pleasure on the whole in writing it. "14. — Taken up with the company of Mr. Robert Hall, jun. : feel much pain for him. The Lord, in mercy to him and his churches in this country, keep him in the path of truth and righteousness. " 25. — Some pain of mind through a letter from Mr. , of London, express- ing his fears lest my publication should occasion some uncomi'ortable disputes. Some out-goings of heart to God that this might not be. " But a poor day yesterday in medita- tion ; yet this day has been, I think, one of the best I have experienced for years. Most tenderly and earnestly atfected, both in prayer and in preaching. In the morning I could scarcely go on for weeping, while preaching from Acts iv. 33 : ' Great grace was upon them all ! ' Not quite so Avell in the afternoon, though I was upon the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Yet I felt a sweet serenity at the Lord's supper, and spoke of it under the idea of a feast. " 29. — Pleasant conversation with some persons newly awakened. Heard Dr. Addington to-night, on our light afflictions, with pleasure and profit ; but walked alone in the fields exceedingly disconso- late. "July 3. — Another exceedingly melt- ing Sabbath : very tender and earnest in prayer, and in preaching on casting our care on the Lord ; and, in the afternoon, on the caution given to glory, not in wis- dom, strength, or riches, but in the knoivl- edge of God. Preached in the evening from ' Turn away mine eyes from behold- ing vanity;' occasioned by my own past exercises, and applied to the warmna; of people against the vanities of the world, particularly against improper behavior at their feast, which is to-morrow ; found great tenderness, particularly in warning the youth from the example of the young woman who last week came to such an awful end. " 5. — Rode to Wal grave : somewhat discouraged to see disunion : attempted a reconciliation, which I hope may be ef- fected : felt tender and much concerned. "6. — This morning a reconciliation was brought about, and Mr. Payne was ordained their pastor. Mr. Ryland, jun., delivered the charge, and I had much profit in hearing him. " 16. — Some pleasure in thinking on God's power to do abundantly more than we ask or think. Surely he had need have more power in giving than I have in asking. " 25. — I was much impressed this morn- ing in reading Mason's Remains. Felt much affected and very solemn in praying and conversing with a poor woman at Barton, who seems not likely to be here long, and is much in the dark as to her state. "Aug. 1. — Some affectionate emotions of heart in prayer to-night at the monthly prayer-meeting. Surely unbelief damps our near addresses to God, and something of that ungrateful suspicion which asks, ' What profit shall we have if we pray unto him 1 ' lies at the bottom of our in- difference in this duty. " 3. — Chiefly employed to-day in visit- ing poor friends. I have been too defi- cient in this practice. " 4. — Visited several more poor friends ; some conversation profitable ; but I mix all with sin. " 6. — Some tenderness in thinking on Jonah iii. 4 : ' I said, I am cast out of thy sight ; yet will I look again,' &c. We have had some awful providences of late. Mr. , a clergyman of C , has hang- ed himself, and a poor woman of B. seems in the very jaws of desperation. These things have led me to think on something that may be an antidote to despair. " 8. — Some exercise of mind this week through an advertisement of Dr. Withers, wherein I think he, in a very vain manner, threatens to reduce to dust my late publica- tion. I wish I may be kept in a right spirit. I find myself, on seeing what I have hith- erto seen, much subject to a spirit of contempt ; but I wish not to indulge too much of that temper. Doubtless, I am wrong in some things. I wish I may be all along open to conviction : found some desires go up to heaven for such a spirit as this. "26.— A letter from Mr. Thomas,* of Leominster, on the piece I lately publish- ed, bus some effect upon my heart in a way of tender grief and fear. " Sept. 30. — We had a ministers' meet- ing at Northampton. I preached, and brother Sutcliff, and brother Skinner. But the best part of the day was, I think, in conversation. A question was discuss- ed, to the following purport: — To what causes in ministers may much of their want of success be imputed ? The an- swer turned chiefly upon the want of per- sonal religion ; particularly the neglect of close dealing with God in closet prayer. Jer. X. 21. was here referred to: 'Their pastors are become brutish, and have not * It appears that this venerable minister after- wards fully embraced Mr. Fuller's views. MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 51 sought the Lord ; therefore they shall not prosper, and tlicir Hocks shall he scatter- ed.' Another reason assigned was the want of reading and studying the Srciptures more as Christians, for the edification of our own souls. We are too apt to study them merely to find out something to say to others, without living upon tlie truth ourselves. If we eat not tlie hook, be- fore we deliver its contents to others, we may expect the Holy Spirit will not much accompany us. If we study the Scrip- tures as Christians, the more familiar we are with tiicm, the more we shall feel their im})ortance ; but, if otherwise, our familiarity with the word will be like that of soldiers and doctors with death — it will wear away all sense of its importance from our minds. To enforce this senti- ment, Prov. xxii. 17, 18, was referred to — ' Apply thine heart to knowledge — the words of the wise will be pleasant if thou keep them within thee : they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.' To this might be added, Psa. i. 2, 3. Another reason was, Our want of being emptied of self-suffi- ciency. In proportion as we lean upon our own gifts, or parts, or preparations, we slight the Holy Spirit ; and no won- der that, being grieved, he should leave us to do our work alone. Besides, when this is the case, it is, humanly speaking, unsafe for God to prosper us, especially those ministers who possess considerable abilities. Reference was also had to an ordination sermon lately preached by Mr. Booth of London, to Mr. Hopkins, Dr. Giflford's successor, from ' Take heed to thyself.' O that I may remember these hints for my good! " Oct. 3.— Preached at Corby with much tenderness : felt some encourage- ment on hearing of one person to whose conversion it is hoped my ministry has been made instrumental. "7. — Some tremor of mind in hearing that Dr. W.'s book is in the press. What I fear is, lest his manner of writing should be provoking ; and lest I should fall into an unchristian spirit. " 9. — A miserable afternoon. After service I was told of a young man, to whom I had been made useful about two years ago, having a desire to join the church. I have for some time felt a kind of despair in preaching to sinners ; think- ing that, on account of my being so car- nally minded, God would never bless any thing I said. This instance, and that of last Wednesday, seem to afford some en- couragement, and to make me think that it is possible, however, for God to work even by me ! and that when I think noth- ing can be done, then it is possible for God to work. I have long sown in tears : O that I might, in some degree at least, reap in joy ! Preached at night with an unusual affection of lieart, and sense of everlast- ing things, from Job xvi. 22 : ' When a few years are come,' &c. " 30. — After baptising several persons, preached on the fellowship of christians affording joy to ministers, from Phil. i. 3—5. " Nov. 21. — For above a fortnight past have been chiefly out on journeys. At Bedford, saw Mr. , of : glad to see his spirit softened, and his prejudices, I hope, giving way. Much grieved to find tlie spirits of people about the neighborliood of G hurt by con- troversy. I find there are several whose conversation almost entirely, and on all occasions, turns on these subjects. It seems to be one of Satan's devices, in order to destroy the good tendency of any truth, to get its advocates to hackney it out of its senses, dwelling upon it in every sermon or conversation, to the ex- clusion of other things. Thus the glori- ous doctrines of free and great grace have been served in the last age, and so have fallen sadly into disrepute. If we employ all our time in talking about what men ought to be and to do, it is likely we shall forget to put it into practice, and then all is over with us. " Dec. 7. — This week received a trea- tise written by Mr. Button in answer to mine. There seems to be an abundance of things in it very foreign from the point, and very little evidence. " 16. — Set off for home with my little girl, who has been ill at Northampton. My heart greatly misgives me. If God should take either of my children from me, I seem as if I could scarcely sustain it. On this account I have many fears. O, I could give up their bodies, but I want to see piety reigning in their souls, before they go hence and are no more seen. I tried, as I rode home, to con- verse with my child, and to instil reli- gious principles into her mind. O that God would bless my endeavors to that end ! " 18. — To-day I had a very tender forenoon, in preaching from Jer. i. 4, 5. O how my heart went forth in desire af- ter the salvation of souls, for some of the gi-eatest of sinners ; particularly for a poor wretched young w oman, the daugh- ter of one of our members. She had been, through her own wicked conduct, kept away from public worship for a year past. I lately heard that she was in a state of despair, and had resolved never to come to meeting again. But this morning she appeared in the meeting. The sight of her much affected me, and was the means of a very tender forenoon. In the afternoon, I preached on the great 62 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. things of God's law being counted as strange things ; but, alas I my heart seems as strange and as alien from the spirit of true religion, as any thing I can talk about ! O what a poor mutable creature am I ! Somewhat revived to-night in hearing more about a Mrs. D. I hope she is a godly woman. I find she had a daughter who died about twelve months ago, and who gave strong evidence of her piety, while her father and motlier were in ignorance. The mother now says, that she believes the means of her daughter's conversion Avas her attending on a child's burial, with some other children, and hearing me speak to the young people present on that occasion. It seems a strange thing that God should do any thing by me ! " 1786, Jan. 1. — Some painful i-eflec- tions in thinking on my vast deficiencies. Another year is gone, and what have I done for God 1 O that my life were more devoted to God ! I feel as if I could wish to set out afresh for heaven, but, alas ! my desires seem but too much like those of the sluggard. " 8. — Veiy earnest this morning in public prayer. O that God may work on the minds of our youth and children. I hope there is somewhat of a work of God going on amongst us. I have been visited by a young man who gives very promising evidence of being a subject of true reli- gion, so far as can be judged by a conver- sation. Also a young woman has been with me who appears to be very tender- hearted, meek, and lowly in mind. Ex- ceedingly distressed on Wednesday night. I fear God will take away iny cliild. I have reason to fear some awful chastise- ment is at hand, either spiritual or tetn- poral. Methought I was like the Israel- ites, who had little or no heart to call upon God, except in times of trouble. I tried, however, to pray to him now. I think I could willingly submit to God in all things, and bear whatever he should lay upon me, though it were the loss of one of the dear parts of myself, provided I could but see Christ formed in her. I know also that I have no demand on the Lord for this ; but surely I ought to bless his name that he does not require me to be willing to be lost myself, or that this should be the end of any whom he has put under my care. The chief exercise of my mind this week has been respecting my poor child. Methought I felt some resignation to Divine Providence. ' The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock.' " 19. — I hear that a piece is coming out, against what I have written, on the Arminian side. I have no fears as to the cause itself, but many as to my capacity to defend it. "20. — Had some very aflfecting con- versation with Miss M. W. I feel reluc- tant in being obliged to attend to contro- versy. My heart seems to delight in my work, and I hope the Lord, in some measure, is owning it. " This week I received Dr. Withers 's treatise against what I have written. What horrid sentiments does he advance ! " Feb. 5. — Our dear little girl has this week much alarmed our fears. On Thursdajr morning the measles came out : we hope the illness may be carried off here- by. As I sat by her that morning alone, she requested me to pray with her, saying, though she was greatly afflicted witli pain, yet she would try to lie still. I did so, and found some tenderness of heart on her behalf. My mind is generally much engaged now in perusing the treatises which are published against what I have written. This morning I received anoth- er, written by Mr. Dan Taylor. " 6. Monday. — I read the above piece. The author discovers an amiable spirit, and there is a good deal of plausibility in some things that he advances. My mind has been much employed all the week on this piece. The more I examine it, the more 1 perceive that it is open to a solid and effective reply. " 10. — Some edifying conversation this morning with Mr. Jones, a clergyman lately come to Creaton. " 12. — Great are the mercies of the Lord towards us, who has now given me another daughter. Mercy and judgment both visit us. Now my fears chiefly turn on the child that is afflicted. " 19. — My Sabbaths, I fear, are spent to little purpose, I have so little love to God and the souls of men ; but I felt much impressed to-night in catechising the chil- dren. I thought and spoke to them about my own dear little girl. " 26. — Except Thursday, all this week has been miserably spent. I sin against God repeatedly, and yet remain wretch- edly insensible. I tremble at myself, and have reason to do so much more. " April 16. — For this month past I have had great exercise of heart, on ac- count of my poor little daughter. Some- times pleading hard with God on her ac- count ; at other times ready to despair, fearing God would never hear me. " Lord's-day, March 19, was a distress- ing day to me. My concern for the loss of her body is but trifling, compared with that of her soul. I preached and prayed much, from Matt. xv. 25, — ' Lord, help me ! ' On Monday I carried her towards Northampton; was exceedingly distress- ed that night; Avent to prayer with a heart almost broken. Some encourage- ment from conversation with dear broth- MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 65 er Ryland. I observed, that ' God had not l)oiiiul himself to hear tlie prayers of {iny one ibr the salvation of the soul of another.' He replied, ' But if he has not, yet he frequently does so : and hence, perliaps, though grace does not run in tlie blood, yet we frequently see it runs in the line. Many more of the chil- dren of God's children are gracious than of others.' I know neither I nor mine have any claim upon the Almighty for mercy ; but, as long as there is life, it shall be my business to implore his mercy towards her. " Methought I saw, on Tuesday, (21), the vanity of all created good. I saw, if God were to cut otf my poor child, and not to afford rae some extraordinary sup- port under the stroke, that I should be next to dead to the whole creation, and "all creation dead to me I O that I were but thus dead, as Paul was, by the cross of Christ. "On the 27th, riding towards North- ampton, I think I felt greater earnestness and freedom with God than I ever had before in this matter. I seemed likewise more willing to leave her in the hands of God. Some tender opportunities in pray- er with her and for her. I now feel more of an habitual resignation to God. If I could take the reins into my own hand I .would not. I feel a satisfaction that my times, and the times of all that pertain to me, are in the Lord's hands. This also I have felt all along, never to desire the life of the child, unless it be for her pi'es- ent and eternal good. Unless she should live to the Lord, I had rather, if it please God, she might not live at all. " To-day I felt some encoui'agement in my work from hearing of a young man hopefully converted in hearing me preach. "My time and attention are now much taken up with my poor little girl, partic- ularly on tlie 28th. Exceedingly affect- ed and importunate with God in prayer for her. — I felt, indeed, the force of those words, 'To whom shall we gol thou liast the words of eternal life.' O, of what worth to an immortal creature, sul)ject to eternal death ! My heart seemed to be dissolved in earnest cries for mercy. "May 7. — I was tolerably supported under the approaching death of my poor child, which I saw drawing on apace. I saw I must shortly let her fall. With floods of tears, with all the bitterness of an afflicted father mourning for his first- born, I committed her to God, to his ev- erlasting arms, when she should fall from mine. "2L— Death! Death is all around me! My friends die. Three I have bu- ried within a fortnight, and another I shall have to bury soon! Death and judgment are all I can tliink about ! At times 1 feel reconciled to whatever may befall me. I am not without good hopes of the child's piety, and as to her life, desi- ral)Ie as it is, the will of the Lord l)e done. "30. — But at other times I am distres- sed beyond due bounds. On tlie 25th, in particular, my distress seemed beyond all measure. I Jay before the Lord, weeping like David, and refusing to be comforted. This l)rought on, I have rea- son to think, a bilious cholic; a painful affliction it was, and the more so as it prevented my ever seeing my child alive again ! Yes, she is gone ! On Tuesday morning. May 30, as I lay ill in bed, in anotlier room, I heard a whispering. I inquired, and all were silent all were silent ! but all is well ! I feel reconciled to God! I called my family round my bed. I sat up, and prayed as well as I could ; I bowed my head and worshipped, and blessed a taking as well as a giving God. " June L — I just made a shift to get up to-day, and attend the funeral of my poor child. My dear lirother Ryland preached on the occasion, from 2 Kings iv. 26, — 'It is Avell.' I feel, in general now, a degree of calm resignation. I think there is solid reason to hope that she has not lived in vain ; and, if she is l)ut reared for God, it matters not when she died. I feel a solid pleasure in re- flecting on our own conduct in her edu- cation : we endeavored to bring her up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and I trust our endeavors w ere not in vain. Her visit to Northampton, too, was blessed for her good : she has cer- tainly discovered ever since great tender- ness of conscience, and much of the fear of God ; great regard for the w orship of God, especially for the Lord's-day ; and great delight in reading, especially ac- counts of the conversion of some little children. But all is over now, and I am in a good degi'ee satisfied. "3. — To-day I felt a sort of triumph over death. I went and stood on her grave with a great deal of composure ! Returned, and Avrote some verses to her memory. " 4. — H^d a good day in preaching on these light afflictions. My mind seems very calm and serene, in respect of the child : but alas ! I feel the insufficiency of trouble, however heavy, to destroy or mortify sin. I have had sad experience of my own depravity, even while under the very rod of God ! * * A narrative of this interesting child w:is writ- ten by lier father, but, as it contains little more 54 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. ccg _Rode to Northampton, to our an- nual association. I am glad to find the state of the churches upon the whole en- couraging. The next day I and Mr. Hopper and Mr. Sutcliff preached; but I wanted more spirituality. « 8. — We had a very affecting time in communicating experiences. For my part, I fear something more awful than the death of the child awaits me. Though I have been in the fire, yet my dross is not removed ; nay, it seems to be increas- ed. My family is now afflicted nearly throughout ! ' For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretch- ed out still.' "11. Lord's-day. — Had a good day, on the Lord's giving us peace by all means. I know not how I go on. Oh the Lord's-days I am tender-hearted and seem disposed to lie low before God, and to be more watchful and spiritual ; but alas, how soon do I forget God! I have a fountain of poison in my very nature. Surely I am as a beast before thee ! I have been preaching at Moulton and Harding- stone this week, and seemed to feel at than a detail of the events which are recorded in a more irapre.ssive form in the above diary, it will only be necessary to give the following extract : " At the time of her birth I committed her to God, as I trust I have done many times since. Once in par- ticular, viewing lier as she lay smiling in the cradle, at the' age of eight months, my heart was much affected. "l took her up in my arms, retired, and in that position wrestled hard with God for a blessing; at the same time offering her up, as it were, and solemnly presenting her to the Lord for acceptance. in this exercise 1 was greatly encouraged by the conduct of Christ towards those who brought little childen in their arms to him for his blessing." Speaking of her residence a short time at North- ampton," he adds :—" During this fortnight I \vent two or three times to see her : and one evenmg, bein" with her alone, she asked me to pray for her. ' What do you wish me to pray for, my dear V said I. She answered, ' That God would bless me, and keep me, and save my soul.' ' Do you think, then, that you are a sinner 1 ' Yes, father.' Fearing lest she did nut understand what she said, I asked her, ' What is sin, my dear 1 ' She answered, ' Telling a story.' I comprehended this, and it went to my heart. 'What, then,' I said, 'you remember, do you, my having corrected you once for telling a story V 'Yes, father.' And are you grieved for having so offended God ?' ' Yes, father.' I asked her if she did not try to pray herself. She answer- ed, ' I sometimes try, but I do not know how to pray; I wish you would pray for me, till I can pray for myself As I continued to sit by her, she ap- peared much dejected. I asked her the reason. She said, ' I am afraid I should go to hell.' ' My dear,' said I, ' who told you so V ' Nobody,' said slie, ' but I know if I do not pray to the Lord, I must go to hell.' I then went to prayer with her, with many fears. "She was accustomed to pray over the hymn which Mr. Kyland composed for her.* I used to * The well-known hymn, " Lord, teach a little child o pray," &c. both places ; and yet I am far from a spiritual frame of mind. Had a pretty good day, in preaching from Jer. xxxi. 2, — 'The people that were left of the sword found grace in the Avilderness.' I heard last week that Mr. Hall, of Arnsby, had been preaching from Prov. xxx. 2, — ' Surely I am more brutish than any man,' &c. I am sure that passage is more applicable to me than it can be to him : I therefore preached from it to-day. At night I preached a very searching dis- course, from Lam. iii. 40, chiefly for the purpose of self-conviction." Several leaves are here wanting, which have been destroyed ; nor is any further entry made for upwards of three years. The following short extracts from let- ters written to Dr. Ryland, during the illness of the child, will be read with in- terest : — "I have, for a day or two past, been greatly afraid of her recovering just so much as to raise my expectations, so that I should have all the work to do over again. But perhaps that is best. If there is a need be for trials, then there is a need for such circumstances to attend the events which befall us as shall make carry her in my arms into the fields, and there talk with her upon the desirableness of dying and being with Christ, and with holy men and women, and with those holy children who cried, Hosanna to the Son of David. Thus I tried to reconcile her, and myself with her, to death, without directly telling her she would soon die. One day, as she lay in bed, I read to her the last eight verses of Rev. vii. ' They shall hunger no more, nor thirst,' &c, I said nothing upon it, but wished to observe what effect the passage might have upon her; I should not have wondered if she had been a little cheered by it. She said nothing, however, but looked very dejected. I said, ' My dear, you are unhappy.' She was silent. I urged her to tell me what was the matter. Still she was silent. 1 then asked her whether she was afraid she should not go to that blessed world of which I had been reading 7 She answered, ' Yes.' — ' But what makes you afraid, my jg^p'?' — 'Because (said she, with a tone of grief which pierced me to the heart,) I have sinned against the Lord.'— ' True, my dear, (said I,) you have sinned against the Lord ; but the Lord is more ready to forgive you if you are grieved for of- fending him, than I can be to forgive you when you are gneved for offending me; and you know how ready I am to do that.' I then told her of the great grace of God, and the love of Christ to sinners. I told her of his mercy in forgiving a poor wicked thief, who, when he was dying, prayed to him to save his soul. At tliis slie seemed cheered, but said nothing. ,. , , , , , " A few weeks before she died, she asked her aunt to read to her. ' What shall I read, my dearl ' said her aunt. ' Read (said she) some book about Christ.' Her aunt read part of tlie twenty-first chapter of Matthew, concerning the children who shouted Hosanna to the Son of David ." She died May 30, 1786, aged six years and a half. MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 55 them trials. And one of David's trials was, ' Thou hast lilted me up and cast me down.' I ieel, however, how much I am indebted to mercy for many things whicli attend this affliction. I sometimes think how if my two other children sliould be left, and grow up wicked, and then be cut oft" like Eli's sons! Ah, in many of my prayers / knoio not what I ask. May God in mercy do tliat for me, and those that pertain to me wiiicli is best ! I feel a sweet satisfaction in the reins being in his hand, the government upon his shoul- ders. I have just now been preaching from Matt. xx. 20—24. I fear I am not yet able to drink the cup, and, if not to drink the cup, perhaps I am less able to bear a deliverance from it. " Yesterday my wife had pretty much talk with her, and seemed much satisfied of her piety, and resigned to her death. For my part, I teel very different at dif- ferent times. But generally speaking, except when my feelings are attacked by the child's heavy afflictions, or any fresh symptom of death, I find a far greater degree of composure and resignation to God than ever I could have expected. I can easily see it may be best for us to part. I have been long praying, in I know not what manner, that 1 might be brought nearer to God ; find some par- ticular ei;i7s in my heart subdued; have my mind enlarged in experimental knowl- edge, and my heart more iiieaned from things below, and set on things above. Perhaps by 'terrible things in righteous- ness,' God may answer these petitions. O that it may be so indeed ! I feel, however, that it must be something more than affliction to effect that. I have long found, to my shame, that though drawing and living near to God are the happiest things in the world, yet such is the car- nality of my heart that I have long been in a habit of despairing of ever attaining them. I have olten, of late, said of holi- ness what Solomon said of wisdom — ' I thought to be holy, but it was far from me.' " Some time ago I spoke at a child's grave, and addressed the children. It ap- pears that a little girl was wrought upon, who is since dead. At that time her fa- ther and mother were very ignorant. She talked much to them before her death. I hope the Lord has lately wrought upon her mother. She seems very tender- hearted, and in real earnest after the sal- vation of her soul. Her husband has op- posed her coming to meeting, but in vain. He beat her, but to no purpose. He then despaired, and began to think her right, and himself wrong. ' If it had not been of God,' said he, ' I had overcome it be- fore now.' The man invited me to visit his wife. I went, expecting him to dis- pute with me, as he had threatened to stop me in the street for that purpose : accordingly I gave him an opjjortunity ; but, says the poor man, ' I have done with that now ; my chief concern is, What must /do to be saved 1' I cannot tell how it may issue as to him : he comes sometimes to meeting, and sometimes goes to hear Mr. Lydiat, at Warkton. Last Tuesday I was visited by a lad who has lately been observed to weep very much under the word. He appears to have every mark of true and deep contrition, and says a sermon I preached, two or three months ago, on sinners being under the curse of the Almighty, was first of use to him. The Lord carry on his work. " Last night I preached a funeral ser- mon for one person, and buried two oth- ers within nine days. Can I be supposed to be otherwise than dejected"? We at- tend all we can to our own health, but is it to be wondered at that we should be sensibly affected and very ill 1 To nurse a child with her afflictions is great work for the hands ; but to nurse altogether without hope is far greater work for the heart. ' But the hope of a better world.' — True — and I never felt the worth of that consideration so much as now. Ten thousand worlds seem nothing in con- sideration of the hope of the gospel. Surely I know something more than I did of the meaning of ' Tiianks be to God for his unspeakable gift ! ' and, ' Underneath are the everlasting arms ! ' with many oth- er passages. And yet, after all, O what shall I say 1 I am not without hope — hope, as I said, with which I would not part for ten thousand worlds ; but I have as well painful fears. My dear brother, the matter is of too great importance to be thought of lightly. However, the nearer I am to God, the better it is with me. I thought last night it was some re- lief that God had enjoined us to train up our children in the nurture and admoni- tion of the Lord. Methought there was never a command but what liad a promise connected with it ; for God does not say to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye my face in vain. I also felt some satisfaction in reflecting on my conduct towards the child, and thought of the Psalmist's words — ' Lord, I have hoped in thy salvation, and have done thy commandments.' " I enjoy great satisfaction and pleas- ure whenever I think of her being at North- ampton. If there is any change in her, I think your conversation, or the instruc- tions she received at Northampton, were the means. Those few verses you wrote for her she will still repeat, though 56 MEMOIRS OF ME. FULLER. obliged to rest, for want of breath, be- tween almost every word. She says,' Mr. Ryland told me, when I had got them, he would make me some more,' and re- quested I would write to you for them." Mr. Fuller thus resumes his diary : — " October 3, 1789. — For above a year and a half I have written nothing. It has seemed to me that my life was not worth writing. Two or three years ago my heart began wretchedly to degenerate from God. Soon after my child Sally died, I sunk into a sad state of lukewarmness ; and have felt the effects of it ever since. I feel at times a longing after the lost joys of God's salvation ; but cannot recover them. I have backslidden from God ; and yet I may rather be said to be habit- ually dejected on account of it than ear- nestly to repent of it. I lind much hardness of heart, and a spirit of inactivity has laid hold of me. I feel that to be carnally- minded is death. My spiritual enemies have been too much for me. Some time ago I set apart a day for fasting and prayer, and seemed to get some strength in pleading with God. The very next day, as I remember, I found my heart so wandering from God, and such a load of guilt contracted, that I was affrighted at my own prayer the preceding day, lest it should have provoked the Lord to punish me, by leaving me so suddenly ; and I have not set apart a day to fast and pray since. But surely this was one of Satan's de- vices, by which I have been imposed up- on. Perhaps, also, I trusted too much to my fasting and praying, and did not, on that account, follow it with suffi- cient watchfulness. '•In the month of May I preached with some feeling from Job xxix. 2, — ' O that it were with me as in months past,' &c. During this summer, I have sometimes thought what joy Christians might possess in this world, were they but to improve their opportunities and advantages. What grounds of joy does the gospel afford ! What joy was possessed by the primitive Christians ! I have preached two or three times upon these subjects. Once from John XV. 11, — 'These things have I spo- ken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full !' Another time from Neh. viii. 10, — 'The joy of the Lord is your strength.' And again, from Mark xi. 24, — 'Whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye shall receive them, and ye shall receive them :' in which the chief senti- ment on which I insisted was, that confi- dence in GoiVs goodness was necessary to our success in prayer. Another time I preached from ' Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.' "These subjects have tended sometimes to make me long after that joy and peace in believing which I have heretofore found. But joy of heart is a feeling I cannot yet recover." "January 20, 1790. — During the last quarter of a year I seem to have gained some ground in spiritual things. I have read some of Jonathan Edwards' sermons, which have left a deep impression on my heart. I have attended more constantly than heretofore to private prayer, and feel a little reneAved strength. Sometimes also I have been much affected in public prayer, particularly on Monday, January the 4th, at the monthly prayer-meeting. I felt much afraid lest some uncomfortable debates which we have had in the church, though now finished, should have grieved the Holy Spirit, and quenched our affec- tion lor each other, and so lest our spir- itual welfare as a church should be essen- tially injured. " Sometimes I have been discouraged, and afraid that God would never bless mc again. In my preaching, though I am id times affected with what I say, yet, as to doing good to others, I go on as if I had no hope of it. Repeated disappoint- ments, and long Avant of success, make me feel as if I were not to expect suc- cess. "Last Friday evening I was affected with the suliject of divine withdraioment, and especially with the thought of being contented in such a state. If we lose our daily bread we cannot live ; if we lose our health we are miserable ; if we lose a dear friend Ave are the same : and can we lose the bread of life, the health of our souls, and the best friend of all, and be unconcerned 1 Last Lord's-day I preached upon the desirableness of near- ness to God, from Psa. xxA'ii. 9, — 'Hide not thy face from me ; put not thy servant aAvay in anger ; thou hast been my help ; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.' " Feb. 16. — For these last three weeks I have too much again relapsed into a kind of thoughtlessness. I have felt a little in preaching, but not much. One day I Avas looking over Dr. Owen on the Mortification of Sin. Speaking of the evil of sin in the soul unmortified, he says, — ' It Avill take aAvay a man's use- fulness in his generation. His Avorks, his endeavors, his labors seldom receive a blessing from God. If he be a preacher, God commonly bloAvs upon his ministry, so that he shall labor in the fire, and not MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 57 be honored with success.' This, in a great degree, is realized in me. " March 27. — Some weeks ago I thought I felt myself to gain ground by closet prayer; but I have lately relapsed again too much into indiflerence. Yesterday I read Jonathan Edwards's two sermons On the Importance of a thorous;h Knowl- edge of Divine Truth, from Hel). v. 12. I felt this effect, — a desire to rise earlier, to read more, and to make the discovery of trutli more a business. This morning I have read another of his sermons, on God the Christian's Portion, from Psa. Ixxiii. 25. The latter part comes very close, and I feel myself at a loss what to judge as to God's being my chief good. He asks, whether we had rather live in this world ricii, and without God, or poor and with him 1 Perhaps I should not be so nmch at a loss to decide this question as another; namely, had I rather be rich in tills world, and enjoy but little of God ; or poor, and enjoy inuch of God 1 I am confident the practice of great numbers of professing Christians declares that they prefer tlie former ; and in some instances I feel guilty of the same thing. " In the course of this summer (1790) I have sometimes enjoyed a tenderness of heart in preaching. On June 27th, at the Lord's supper, I was atfected with this subject, ' Do this in remembrance of me,' I was also greatly affected on Sept. 5, in preaching from Gal. vi. 7, 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that sliall he also reap.' But yet in general I have but little of the joys of salvation. I do not feel tempted to evil as heretofore, but yet all is not right. ' O for a closer walk with God!' " At the close of this year the review of my life afforded me neither pleasure nor what may be called pain ; but rather a kind of discouragement too common of late with me. " From last April I have been expound- ing the book of Psalms, and sometimes have enjoyed pleasure therein." " 1791. — In the spring of this year there appeared a religious concern among some of our young people. I proposed to meet them once a Aveek at the vestry, to talk and pray with them. I hope this has iieen of use both to mc and them. I find tliere are some hopeful appearances at Northampton. The Lord revive his own work. " I feel some return of peace, but am not as I would be. Reading Owen on Spiritual-mindedness, I feel afraid lest all should not be right with me at last. What I have of spirituality, as I account it, seems rather occasional than habitual. "Towards the latter end of this sum- mer, I heard of some revival of religion VOL. I. 8 ai)out Walgrave and Guilsborough ; and tliat tlie means of it were their setting apart days for fasting and prayer. Hence I tiiought we had been long praying for the revival of God's cause, and the spread of the gospel among tlie heathen, &c., and perhaps God would begin with us at home first. I was particularly affected with tliis tiiought, by finding it in the six- ty-seventh Psalm, which I was expound- ing about the same time : O that God's being merciful to us, and blessing us, migiit be the means of his way being made known upon earth, and his saving health among all nations; at least among a part of them. " O to lie spiritually alive among our- selves ! One Monday evening, I tliink in October, I told our friends of some such things, and prayed with them with more than usual affection. I was particularly encouraged by the promise of giving the Holy Spirit to them that ask. Surely if ever I wrestled with God in my life I did so then, for more grace, for forgiveness, for the restoration of the joys of salva- tion; and that not only for myself, but for the generality of Christians among us, whom I plainly perceived to be in a poor lukewarm state, when compared with the primitive Christians. I have lately been reading several Socinian writers ; viz. Lindsey, Priestley, Belsham, &c., and have employed myself in penning down thoughts on the moral tendency of their system. I felt an increasing aversion to their views of things, and feel the ground on which my hopes are built more solid than heretofore. " The 27th of December I set apart for fasting and prayer. I felt tender in the course of the day. Thought with some encouragement of Ps. cxix. 176, — ' I have gone astray like a lost sheep ; seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments.' I employed a consid- erable part of the day in reading over Owen on the Mortification of Sin. A re- view of the past year, and of several past years, tended to humble me. " I felt tender on Friday evening, Dec. 30, in addressing my friends from Psa. xc. 14, on the mercy of God as the origin of all solid joy. " 1792.— This year was begun, or near- ly so, with a day of solemn fasting and prayer, kept by us as a church. It was a most affecting time with me and many more. Surely Ave never had such a spirit of prayer amongst us ! " On the 2d of April we lost our dear and worthy deacon, Mr. Beeby Wallis.* * Some interesting particulars of tills excellent man will Ije found in a funeral sermon, entitled " Tbo 58 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. The next church meeting was kept as a day of solemn fasting and prayer, and a very tender occasion^ it was. Dur- ing this and the last year Ave have had a good deal of religious concern among the young people of the congregation. I set up a private meeting in which I might read and pray and converse with them, and have found it good both to them and me. This spring several of them joined the church. "June 1. — I seem to have trials before me in the afflictions of my family. It has of late been a thought which has much affected me, that our conduct in this world under the various afflictions and tempations of life is the seed of eter- nity ! Have dwelt upon these thoughts in preaching from Matt. vi. 19, 20. " It was a thought, likewise, v/hich lately struck me, that lue have no more religion than what roe have in times of trial. On this subject I preached from Ex. xvi. 4. It seems as if these things were prepara- tive to a time of trial to me. "July 10. — My family afflictions have almost overwhelmed me, and what is yet before me I know not ! For about a month past the affliction of my dear com- panion has been extremely heavy. On reading the fourth chapter of Job this morning, the 3d, 4th, and 5th verses, af- fected me. — ' My woi'ds have upholden many. O that now I am touched I may not faint ! ' " 25. — O my God, my soul is cast down within me ! The afflictions in my family seem too heavy for me. O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me ! My thoughts are broken off, and all my pros- pects seem to be perished ! I feel, how- ever, some support from such Scriptures as these : ' All things work together for good,' &c. — ' God, even our own God shall bless us.' — ' It is of the Lord's mer- cies that we are not consumed.' One of my friends observed, yesterday, that it was difficult in many cases to know where- fore God contended with us. But I thought that there was no difficulty of Blessedness of the Dead mIio die in the Loid." — The following inscription, by Mr. Fuller, was placed on his tomb, which stands under a sycamore, planted by his own hand : — Kind Sycamore, (^reserve beneath thy shade, The precious dusf of him who cherish'd thee: Nor thee alone; a plant to him more dear He'cherish'd, and with fost'ring hand uprear'd. ^ Active and generous in virtue's cause. With solid wisdom, strict integrity. And unaffected piety, he liv'd Belov'd amongst us, and belov'd lie died. Beneath an Allon-Bacuth Jacob wept : Beneath thy shade we mourn a heavier loss. this kind with me. I have sinned against the Lord ; and it is not a little affliction that will lay hold of me. Those words have impressed me of late : ' It was in my heart to chastise them.' " A record of the death of his amiable and pious wife forms the last entry in the diary for nearly two years. The follow- ing affecting letter to her father, Mr. Gardiner, furnishes the melancholy details of the concluding scene : — Aug. 25, 1792. " Dear and Honored Father, " You have heard, I suppose, before now, that my dear companion is no more! For about three months back our afflic- tions have been extremely heavy. About the beginning of June she was seized with hysterical affections, which, for a time, deprived her of her senses. In about a week, however, she recovered them, and seemed better ; but soon re- lapsed again : and during the months of July and August, a very few intervals ex- cepted, her mind has been constantly de- ranged. In this unhappy state, Iier atten- tion has generally been turned upon some one object of distress ; sometimes that she had lost her children ; sometimes that she should lose me. For one whole day she hung about my neck, weeping ; for that I was going to die, and leave her ! The next morning she still retained the same persuasion ; but, instead of weeping for it, she rejoiced with exceeding joy. ' My husband,' said she, ' is going to heaven and all is well ! — I shall be provided for,' &c. Sometimes we were her worst enemies, and must not come near her^; at other times she would speak to me in the most endearing terms. Till very lately, she has been so desirous of my company, that it has been with much difficulty that I have stolen away from her about two hours in the twenty -four, that I might ride out in the air, my health having been considerably impaired. But lately her mind took another turn, which to me was very afflictive. It is true she never ceased to love her husband. ' I have had,' she would say, ' as tender a husband as ever woman had ; but you are not my husband ! ' She seemed for the last month really to have considered me as an impostor, who had entered the house, and taken possession of the keys of every place, and of all that belonged to her and her husband. Poor soul ! for the last month, as I said, this and other no- tions of the kind have rendered her more miserable than I am able to describe ! She has been fully persuaded that she was not at home, but had wandered some- where from it : had lost herself, and fallen MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 59 among strangers. She constantly wanted to make her escape, on which account we Avere obliged to keep the doors locked, and to take away the keys. ' No,' she would say to me, with a countenance full of inexpressible anguish, ' this is not my home .... you are not my husband .... these are not my children. Once I had a good home .... and a husliand who loved me .... and dear children .... and kind friends .... but where am I now 1 I am lost ! I am ruined ! What have I done 1 Oh ! wliat have I done 1 Lord have mercy upon me !' In this strain she would be frequently walking up and down, from room to room, bemoan- ing herself, without a tear to relieve her, wringing her hands, first looking upwards, then downwards, in all the attitudes of wild despair ! You may form some con- ception what must have been my feelings, to have been a spectator of all this an- guish, and at the same time incapable of affording her the smallest relief. " Though she seemed not to know the children about her, yet she had a keen and lively remembrance of those that were taken away. One day, when I was gone out for the air, she went out of the house. The servant, missing her, imme- diately followed, and found her in the grave-yard, looking at the graves of her children. She said nothing, but with a bitterness of soul, pointed the servant's eyes to the wall, where the name of one of them, who was buried in 1783, was cut in the stone. Then turning to the graves of the other children, in an agony, she with her foot struck off the long grass, which had grown over the flat stones, and read the inscriptions with silent anguish, alternately looking at the servant and at the stones. " About a fortnight before her death, she had one of the happiest intervals of any during the affliction. She had been lamenting on account of this impostor that was come into her house, and would not give her the keys. She tried for two hours to obtain them by force, in which time she exhausted all her own strength and almost mine. Not being able to ob- tain her point, as I was necessarily obliged to resist her in this matter, she sat down and wept — threatening me that God would surely judge me for treating a poor help- less creature in such a manner ! I also was overcome with grief: I wept with her. The sight of my tears seemed to awaken her recollection. With her eyes fixed upon me, she said . . . . ' Why are you indeed my husband 1 ' — ' Indeed my dear, I am ! ' — ' O ! if I thought you were, I could give you a thousand kisses ! ' ' Indeed, my dear, I am your own dear husband ! ' She then seated herself upon my knee, and kissed me several times. My heart dissolved with a mixture of grief and joy. Her senses were restored, and she talked as rationally as ever. I then j)ersuaded her to go to rest, and she slept well. " About twom the morning she awoke, and conversed with me as rationally as ever she did in her life : said her poor head had been disordered ; that she had given me a great deal of trouble, and fear- ed she had injured my health ; begged I would excuse all her hard thoughts and speeches ; and urged this as a consider- ation— ' Though i was set against you, yet I was not set against you as my hus- band.' She desired I would ride out every day for the air ; gave directions to the servant about her family ; told her where this and that article were to be found, which she wanted; inquired after various family concerns, and how they had been conducted since she had been ill : and thus we continued talking togeth- er till morning. " She continued much the same all the forenoon ; was delighted with the conver- sation of Robert, whose heart also was delighted, as he said, to see his mother so well. ' Robert,' said she, ' we shall not live together much longer.' — ' Yes, moth- er,' replied the child, ' I hope we shall live together forever!' Joy sparkled in her eyes at this answer : she stroked his head, and exclaimed, ' O bless you, my dear ! how came such a thought into your mind 1 ' " Towards noon she said to me, ' We will dine together to-day, my dear, up stairs.' We did so. But, while we were at dinner, in a few minutes her senses were gone : nor did she ever recover them again. From this happy interval, how- ever, I entertained hopes that her senses would return when she was delivered, and came to recover her strength. "On Thursday, the 23d instant, she was delivered of a daughter ; but was all the day very restless, full of pain and misery, no return of reason, except that from an aversion to me, which she had so long entertained, she called me ' my dear,' and twice kissed me ; said she ' must die,' and ' let me die, my dear,' said she, ' let me die ! ' Between nine and ten o'clock, as there seemed no immediate sign of a change, and being very weary, I went to rest ; but about eleven was called up again, just time enough to witness the convul- sive pangs of death, which in about ten minutes carried her off. " Poor soul ! What she often said is now true. She was not at home .... I am not her husband ■ . . . these are not 60 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. her children . . . but she has found her home .... a home, a husband, and a family, better than these ! It is the cup which my Father hath given me to drink, and shall I not drink it 1 Amidst all my afflictions I have much to be thankful for. I have reason to be thankful that, though her intellects were so deranged, yet she never uttered any ill language, nor was ever disposed to do mischief to herself or oth- ers : and wlien she was at tlie Avorst, if I fell on my knees to prayer, she would in- stantly be still and attentive. I have also to be thankful that, though she has been generally afraid of death all her life time, yet that fear has been remarkably remov- ed for the last half year. While she re- tained her reason, she would sometimes express a willingness to live or to die, as it might please God : and about five or six weeks ago would now and then pos- sess a short interval in which she would converse freely. One of our friends, Avho staid at home with her on Lord's-days, says, that her conversation at those times would often turn on the poor and im- perfect manner in which she had served the Lord, her desires to serve him bet- ter, her grief to think she had so much and so often sinned against him. On one of these occasions, she was wonderfully filled with joy on overhearing the congre- gation while they were singing over the chorus, ' Glory, honor, praise and power,' &c. Slie seemed to catch the sacred spirit of the song. " I mean to erect a stone to her memory, on which will jjrobably be engraved the following lines : — The tender parent w.iils no more her loss. Nor labors more beneath life's heavy load ; The anxious soul, released fiom fears and woes. Has found her home, her children, and lier God. "To all this I may add, that, perhaps, I have reason to be thankful for her re- moval : however the dissolution of such a union may affect my present feelings, it may be one of the greatest mercies both to her and me. Had she continued, and continued in the same state of mind, which was not at all improbable, this, to all appearance, would have been a thousand times worse than death. " The poor little infant is yet alive, and we call her name Bathoni ; the same name, except the difference of sex, which Rachel gave to her last-born child.* Mr. West preached a funeral sermon, last night, at the interment, from 2 Cor. v. 1." Several months afterwards, Mr. Fuller composed the following plaintive lines, * Gen. XXXV. 16—18. during a solitary ride through Corby woods : — " I, who erewhile was blessed with social joys. With joys that sweetened all the ills of liie. And shed a cheerful light on all things round. Now mourn my days in pensive solitude. There once did live a heart that c.ired for me; I loved, and was again beloved in turn; Her tender soul would soothe my rising griefs, And wipe my tears, and mix them with her own: But she is not; and I forlorn am left. To weep unheeded, and to serve alone. " I roam amidst the dreary woods. — Here once I walk'd with her who walks no more with me. The fragrant forest then with pleasure smiled. Why wears it now a melancholy hue 1 Ail me ! nor woods, nor fields, nor aught besides. Can grateful prove where grief corrodes the heart ! " Gcd of my life, and guide of all my years. May I again to thee my soul commend, And in thee find a friend to share my griefs. And give me counsel in each doubtful path. And lead me on through every maze of life. Till I arrive where sighs no more are heard 1" SECTION IV.— 1793 to 1814. Formation of Baptist Mission — Departure of Missionaries — Letters on Socinian- ism — Second Marriage — Preaching in Braybrook Church — Journey to Scot- land— Trouble relative to his eldest Son — Publications on Deism, Universal Salvation, Backsliding, Spiritual Pride — Second Journey to Scotland — Jour- ney to Ireland — Correspondence toith America — Diplomas — Third Journey to Scotland — Correspondence Publica- tion of Dialogues, &fc. — Attack on the Mission — FourthJourney to Scotland — Charge of Persecution — Joseph Fuller — Journey to TVales — Fire at Serampore — East India Charter — Death of Mr. Sutcliff, Sfc. The employments of life have been ranked among its greatest blessings ; and never does their value appear more strik- ing than when they are directed to the re- lief of a mind overwhelmed with distress. In conjunction with a few individuals, who had united with him in strenuous ef- forts to induce compassion on behalf of the heathen world, Mr. Fuller was, in the midst of his afflictions, occupied in matur- ing plans which issued in the formation of the "Particular Baptist Society for pro- pagating the Gospel among the Heathen." A meeting was convened for that purpose, at Kettering, on the 2d of October, 1792, on which occasion the contributions amounted to £13. 2s. 6d., which then MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 61 constituted the whole of its pecuniary re- sources Tiie mcetinjis for prayer and conference, established in 1784, contained the germ of tiiis institution ; Init tiic specific design of a missionary undertaking originated witii the veneral>le Dr. Carey, at tiiat time pastor of the church at Leicester. Tfiis distinguisiied individual, though of oliscure origin, displayed at an early period an as- tonishing facility in the accpiirement of languages,* which, united with eminent piety and enthusiastic ardor in the most sacred of causes, and aided liy tlie associ- ation and counsels of sucii men as Ryland, Sutcliff, Pearce, and the subject of these memoirs, led to results truly astonisiiing. The Baptist mission has extended its oper- ations over a large portion of tiie continent of India, having circulated in tiiat vast tract of country copies of the New-Testament in nineteen different languages, and of the whole Bible in six, established schools for the instruction of the heathen youth, and already resulted in the hopeful conver- sion of several hundreds of Hindoos and Mussulmans, besides upwards of 20,000 of the negro population of the West Indies. In this mighty enterprise, the commence- ment of which was distinguished by ex- traordinary modesty of pretension and si- lence of operation, Mr. Fuller found am- ple scope for the exercise of those pow- ers of mind with which he was endowed ; and to this, beyond a doubt, he sacrifi- ced his life. The characteristic qualities severally displayed by Mr. F.'s associates in this -work, illustrate an interesting peculiarity in the divine procedure. In the accomplish- ment of any great design, men'' of various and even opposite temperament are se- lected (as was strikingly exemplified in the Reformation,) to operate as a mutual check upon that tendency to extremes which too often neutralizes individual ef- forts.— Thus the singular wisdom of Sut- cliff, and the scrupulous integrity of Ry- land, served not only to strengthen and develop those qualities already so con- spicuous in Mr. Fuller, but happily to temper that constitutional ardor which might otherwise have betrayed him into indiscretions. That Providence which had for so many years guided the work- ings of these elements, and at length brought them into such happy contact, now marked out the scene of operations, and opened a way for the departure of Carey, who, from the first, appears se- cretly to have resolved on a consecration of himself to this work. — Mr. John Thom- as, a gentleman recently returned from Bengal, was introduced to the Society by the veneralile Al)raham Booth ; and it was ultimately agreed that he and Mr. Carey sliouid proceed forthwith to India. In a letter to Dr. Ryland, Mr. Fuller says, " You see things of great conse- quence are in train. My heart fears wiiile it is enlarged. I have this day been to Olney to converse with brother Sutcliff, and to request him to go with nie to Leicester this day se'nnight to conciliate the church there, and to sound Mrs. Carey's mind, whether she will go and take the family.* .... I am much concerned with the weight that lies upon us ; it is a great undertaking, yet surely it is right. We have all felt much in prayer. We must have one solemn day of fasting and prayer on parting with our Paul and Barnabas." This meeting took place at Leicester, and was truly affecting. In concluding his charge to the missionaries, Mr. Ful- ler thus addressed them : " Go, tiien, my dear brethren, stimulated by these pros- pects. We shall meet again. Crowns of glory await you and us. Each, I trust, will be addressed in the last day, ' Come, ye blessed of my Father, enter ye into the joy of your Lord.' " A difficulty now arose as to the propri- ety of making formal application for a passage in one of the company's ships ; but as this might be followed with a refu- sal, compelling them to go in a less direct form, it was judged most advisable to wave it, and to proceed unobserved. Matters being adjusted, the missionaries embarked amid tlie prayers and tears of their friends. They iiad waited three weeks at the Isle of Wight for a convoy, when the sec- retary received a letter from Mr. Carey, dated Ryde, May 21, 1793, in which he says, " I have just time to inform you that all our plans are entirely frustrated for the present. On account of the irreg- ular manner of our going out, an informa- tion is laid against the captain, for taking a person on board without an order from the company : the person not being spe- cified, Mr. T. and myself and another passenger are ordered to quit the ship. I leave the island to-day or to-morrow, and on Thursday the ship sails without us. Though Mr. Fuller had rather yielded to this method of going out than approved it, yet the disappointment deeply affected * Evidence of this is afforded in his early appoint- * 3Iis. Carey's circumstances did not admit of her ment to the professorsliip of Sanscrit in the College accompanying lier husband, but she contemplated fol- "*" '^"-* ■vv:n:.,™ lowing him at an early period. of Fort WiUiam. 62 MEMOIRS OP MR. FULLER. him. He lost no time in forwarding the above epistle to Dr. Ryland, accompa- nied with the following : — " Perhaps Carey has written to you. We are all undone ! I am grieved ; yet, perhaps, 't is best. I am afraid leave will never be obtained now for Carey or any other, and the adventure seems to be lost. He says nothing of the £250 for voy- age— 't is well if that be not lost." The delay thus occasioned was not, how- ever, without its advantages, as will be seen by Dr. Ryland 's description of an interview with Messrs. Thomas and Carey. " At seeing them I said, 'Well, I know not wliether to say I am glad or sorry to see you!' They replied, 'If you are sorry, your sorrow may be turned into joy; for it is all for the best. We have been at Hackleton, and have seen Mrs. Carey; she is well recovered from her confinement, and is now al>le to accompany her husband, and is willing to go.' I think they said that she had at first refused : they left the house, and had walked half a mile, when Mr. Thomas proposed to go back again, an additional argument having struck his mind to use with her. They went back : she said she would go, if her sister would go with her. They then pleaded with the sister that it depended on her whether the family should be separated or not. Since Mrs. Short's return from India, she has told me that she hastened up stairs to pray, and, when she came down, told them she was willing to go. Having related the above, they told me they had heard of a Danish ship which would be in tlie Downs in four days, and had room for them all. Having taken a second and final leave of the missionaries, Mr. Fuller ad- dressed himself with redoubled ardor to the promotion of the domestic interests of the mission. His intense application to these important objects occasioned a paralytic affection most alarming to his friends, during which his indefatigable pen was engaged in the defense of evangelical religion at home. In the course of this year he produced his " Calvinistic and Socinian Systems Compared," a Avork justly entitled to a principal place among his polemical writings. The ground ta- ken was new, and was suggested by the tedious iteration of the stale charge of licentiousness made by the " Unitari- ans " against the doctrines of Calvinism. The sentiments of the late Rev. R. Hall relative to this treatise are thus expressed in a letter to the author : — "You will please to accept my hearty thanks for your book ; which, without flattery, appears to me by far the most decisive confutation of the Socinian system that ever appear- ed. There are some particulars in which I differ from you ; but, in general, I ad- mire the spirit no less than the reasoning: it will be read not merely as a pamphlet of the day, but for years to come." Notwithstanding the acknowledgment of several leading persons among the Socinians, that these letters were " well worthy of their attention," it was not till after the lapse of three years that an answer appeared, in the publications of Dr. Toulmin and Mr. Kentish. The former of those gentlemen undertook to prove ' The Practical Efficacy of the Uni- tarian Doctrine,' from the successes of the apostles and primitive Christians ! Mr. Fuller replied to both. Some pas- sages in his dairy, written in 1794, exhib- iting the influence of these labors on his character and happiness, and furnishing a pious record of an important domestic occurrence, may here be transcribed. " July 18. — Within the last year or two, we have formed a Missionary Soci- ety ; and have been enabled to send out two of our brethren to the East Indies. My heart has been greatly interested in this work. Surely I never felt more gen- uine love to God and to his cause in my life. I bless God that this work has been a means of reviving my soul. If nothing else coroes of it, I and many more have obtained a spiritual advantage. My labors, however, in this harvest, I have reason to think, brought on a paralytic stroke, by which, in Januaiy, 1793, for a Aveek or two, I lost the use of one side of my face. That Avas recovered in a little time; but it left behind it ahead- ache, Avhich I have reason to think Avill never fully leave me. I have ever since been incapable of reading or Avriting Avith intense application. At this time, I am much better than I was last year, but, even noAv, reading or Avriting for a few hours Avill bring on the headache. Upon the Avhole, however, I feel satisfied. It Avas in the service of God. If a man lose his limbs, or his health, by intemper- ance, it is to his dishonor; but not so if he lose them in serving his country. Paul Avas desirous of dying to the Lord : so let me !" " The reflection I made on June 1, 1792, — that Ave have no more religion than we have in times of trial, has again occurred. God has tried me, Avithin the last Iavo or three years, by heaA'y and sore afflictions in my family, and by threatening com- plaints in my body. But, of late, trials have been of another kind : haAing print- ed "Letters on Socinianism," they have procured an unusual tide of respect and applause. Some years ago I endured a portion of reproach, on account of what MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 68 I had written against false Calvinism; now I am likely to be tiied with the con- trary : and, periiaps, good report, though more agreeal)le, may prove not less trying than evil report. I am apprehensive that God sees my heart to he too much elated already, and therefore withholds his bles- sing from my ordinary ministrations. I conceive tilings to be very low in the congregation. It has been a thought which has aftected me of late — The church at Leicester have lost their pastor, as have also the church at Northampton; but neither of them have lost their God : whereas, at Kettering, the man and the means are continued; we have the man- tle, but ' where is the Lord God of Elijah 1' God has, as it were, caused it to rain upon those places, but not upon us. Though without pastors, yet they have had great increase ; whereas we have had none of late, and many disor- ders among us. I am afraid I am defec- tive as to knowing the state of my own church, and looking well to their spiritual concerns. " Within the last two years, I have experienced, perhaps, as much peace and calmness of mind as at any former period. I have been enabled to walk somewhat nearer to God than heretofore ; and I find that there is nothing which affords such a preservative against sin. ' If we walk in the Spirit, we shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.' This passage has been of great use lo me ever since I preached from it, Avhich was on June 3, 1792. The idea on which I then principally insisted was, that sin is to be overcome, not so much by a direct or mere resistance of it, as by opposing other principles and considerations to it. This sentiment has been abundantly verified in my experi- ence : so far as I have walked in the Spirit, so far has my life been holy and happy ; and I have experienced a good degree of these blessings compared with former times, though but a very small degree compared with what I ought to aspire after. I have lately spoken some strong language against the sin of covetousness. 0 that I may never be left to that spirit myself! I have been concerned this morning lest I should. We know but little of what we are, till we are tried ! 1 dreamed last night that a person of a religious and generous character was making his observations upon dissenters — that there were but few eminently holy and benevolent characters among them. On waking, my thoughts ran upon this subject. I felt that there was too much truth in it (though, perhaps, no truth, if they were viewed in comparison with other denominations); and possessed an ardent desire that, let others do what they would, I and mine might live, not to ourselves, l)ut to Him who died for us ! It seems a lovely thing, which is said of Christ — 'He went about doing good!' 0 that whatever I may at any time pos- sess of this world's good, it mi;iht be consecrated to God! The Lord ever preserve me from the mean vice of cov- etousness ! " Of late my thoughts have turned upon another marriage— that passage which has been witii me in all my principal con- cerns tlnough life—' In all thy ways ac- knowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths '—has recurred again. I have found much of the hand of God in this con- cern. " Oct. 27.— Of late I have been greatly employed in journeying and preaching, and endeavoring to collect for the East India Mission. I find a frequent removal from place to place, though good for my health, not good for my soul. I feel wea- ry of journeys on account of their inter- fering so much with my work at home. 1 long to visit my congregation, that I may know more of their spiritual concerns, and be able to preach to their cases. " I devote this day to fasting and prayer on account of my expected marriage, to entreat the blessing of God upon me and upon her that may be connected with me, and upon all that pertains to us." On the 30th Dec, 1794, Mr. Fuller married Ann, only daughter of the late Rev. W. Coles, pastor of the Baptist Church at Maulden, near Ampthill, on which occasion he thus writes : — "This day I was married; and this day will probably stamp my future life with either increasing happiness or misery. My hopes rise high of the former ; but my times and those of my dear compan- ion are in the Lord's hand. I feel a satisfaction that in her I have a godly character as well as a wife I bless God for the prospect I have of an increase of happiness. It is no small satisfaction that every one of our relations was agree- able ; that there are no prejudices to afford ground for future jealousies. Two days after our marriage v\ e invited about a dozen of our serious friends to drink tea and spend the evening in prayer." About this period an incident occurred which introduced Mr. Fuller into one of the pulpits of the establishment, and which he thus describes in a letter to Ur. Ry- land : — " Oct. 26, 1796. " The report of my preaching in Bray- brook church is true; but that of the 64 MEMOIRS OP MR. FULLER. clergyman, or myself, having suffered any inconvenience, is not so ; nor have I any apprehensions on that score. The fact was thus : Mr. Broughtoa, of Braybrook Lodge, had a son, about twenty years of age, who died. The young man's desire was that I should preach a funeral sermon at his interment, from Jer. xxxi. 18 — 20. Mr. Ayre, the Baptist minister, came to me the day before his burial, to inform me. I said to him, ' And where are we to be 1 the meeting-house will not liold half the people.' He said, he did not know. 'I do not know,' said I, 'where we can be, unless they would lend us the church.' This I said merely in pleasan- try, and without the most distant idea of asking for it. Mr. A., however, went home, and told the young man's father what I had said. 'I will go,' said he, ' and ask the clergyman.' He went. 'I have no objection,' said the old man (who is a good-tempered man, but lies under no suspicion of either evangelical senti- ments or of being righteous overmuch), ' if it could be done with safety ; but I reckon it would be unsafe.' Mr. B. took this for an answer in the negative. But, the same day, the old clergyman rode over to Harborough, and inquired, I sup- pose, of some attorney. He was told no ill consequences would follow towards him : if any, they would fall upon 7ne. He then came back, and, just before the funeral, told Mr. B. what he had learned, adding, ' I do not wish Mr. F. to injure himself; but, if he choose to run the hazard, he is welcome to the church.' Mr. B. told me this. We then carried the corpse up to the church, and the old man went through the service out of doors. It was nearly dark, very cold and damp ; and about 500 or 600 were gathered together. The meeting-house would not hold above 100, and I should have taken a great cold to have been abroad. I did not believe the attoney's opinion, that they could hurt me, unless it were through the clergyman. I, therefore, went up to him, thanked him for his offer, and accepted it. He staid to hear me ; and I can truly say, I aimed and longed for his salvation. After sermon he shook hands with me before all the people ; saying, 'Thank you. Sir, for your serious pathetic discourse : I hope no ill conse- quences will befal either thee or me.' Next day I rode with him some miles on my way home. ' I like charity,' said he ; ' Christians should be charitable to one another.' I have heard nothing since, and expect to hear no more about it."* , * The venerable clergyman was however summon- Without any disparagement of the la- bors of his coadjutors in the mission, it may with truth be affirmed that the increasing weight of the Society's con- cerns mainly devolved on Mr. Fuller, whose gratuitous services, on its behalf, engrossed the greater part of his time for about twenty years. Much of this was spent in journeys to Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and various parts of England, where he used, as he says, to " tell the mission tale," and leave the results. These, in most cases, far exceeded his anticipations ; Avhich, though never san- guine, were equally removed from des- pondency. " Only let us have faith," said he, "and we shall not want money." In addressing a congregation he has sometimes expressed himself to this effect : — " If I only wished for your money, I might say, Give, whatever be your motive ! No ; I am not so concerned for the salvation of the heathen as to be regardless of that of my own countrymen ! I ask not a penny from such a motive ; and, moreover, I solemnly warn you that, if you give all your substance in this way, it will avail you nothing." He was not, however, always successful ; and some of the less frequented streets of the metrop- olis afforded him a temporary asylum, in which his tears bore witness to the la- mentable coldness of religious professors. There was at that time little or no pre- cedent for the management of the affairs of such institutions, nor had Mr. Fuller any predilection for that business-like apparatus which the more extended con- cerns of the society at length imperatively demanded, and for the want of which they suffered during the latter part of his life. Besides his utter repugnance to that pa- rade which has in too many instances been made an appendage to the business of re- ligious institutions, he entertained serious objections of another kind. " Friends," said he, " talk to me about coadjutors and assistants, but I know not Iioav it is, I find a difficulty. Our imdertaking to In- dia really appeared to me, on its com- mencement, to be somewhat like a few men, who were deliberating about the im- portance of penetrating into a deep mine, which had never before been explored. We had no one to guide us ; and, while we were thus deliberating, Carey, as it were, said, ' Well, I will go down if you will hold the rope.' But, before he went down, he, as it seemed to me, took an ed before his superior, and interrogated. " Did he pray for the king 1" — "Yes, very fervently." — "And what did he preach about 1 " — " The common sal- vation." Here the matter ended, with an admo- nition not to repeat the offense. Mli.MOIKS OF MR. Fl.'LLKR. G5 oath from eacli of us" at the mouth of the pit to this clFect, that while loe lived, we should never let go the rope. You un- derstand me. There was great responsi- bility attached to us who began the busi- ness." In addition to the numerous collections made in various j)ar(s of tlic em])ire, and the management of the accounts, the cor- respondence of the society increased rap- idly on his hands. To him was cliielly committed the drawing up of oflicial let- ters to the missionaries, all of whom re- ceived additional tokens of his affection in private communications. The interests of the institution demanded a still more extensive correspondence at home : its cause required a frequent advocacy witii cabinet ministers, members of parliament, and East India directors ; not for the pur- pose of procuring exclusive privileges, but for securing a legal passage for the mis- sionaries, and the protection justly due to every peaceable subject of the colonial governments. Nor were there wanting bitter and subtle enemies both at home and abroad, wiio left no means untried to accomplish the ruin of the mission, and whose machinations were successively exposed and defeated by the unwearied pen of the secretary. The labors connected with the immedi- ate object of his journeys, were probably exceeded by those to wliich they inciden- tally gave rise. This was especially the case in Scotland and Ireland, wdiere, not to mention the frequent appeals to his judgment in cases of ecclesiastical disci- pline, by those of his own connection, he was led into tedious controversies, chiefly originating in certain views of faith at va- riance with the sentiments maintained in his first polemical treatise, and to which their advocates attached an importance that led to constant discussion in the par- lor, in the pulpit, and from the press. The first of these journeys into the north was undertaken in 1799, at the pressing solicitation of some highly re- spectal)le individuals in Edinburgh and Glasgow who had taken a deep interest in the proceedings of the mission, and by whom Mr. Fuller was much esteemed on account of his publications, particularly that on Socinianism. In anticipation of this visit is the following entry in his diary : — " Oct. 2, 1799. — I am going out for a month altogether among faces which I have never seen. My spirits revolt at the idea, but duty calls. I go to make collections for the translation of the Scriptures into Bengalee. " I am subject to many faults in compa- ny, and often incur guilt. The Lord keep VOL. I. 9 me in the way I go, and enable me to keep my heart with all diligence. Oh that I may l)c spiritual, humble, and watchful in all companies. May the God and Fa- ther of our Lord Jesus Christ prosper my way ! May the God of Israel preserve my family, friends, and connections, du- ring my absence !" His reception was truly generous and gratilying, and conveyed to his mind a high idea of the intelligence and princi- ple of his northern friends. He particu- larly mentions in his journal, interviews with Dr. Stuart, Mr. M'Lean, Dr. Ers- kine, Messrs. Haldanc, Innes, Ewing, and the venerable David Dale. It was at Glasgow that he received the mournful tidings of the death of his " be- loved Pearce." " Oh Jonathan," he ex- claims, " very pleasant hast thou been to me. I am distressed for tliec, my brother Jonathan ! Oh Jonathan, thou wast slain upon thy high places!" He describes the congi-egations at Ed- inburgh and Glasgow as exceedingly large. " My heart was dismayed at the sight, es- pecially on a Lord's-day evening. Nearly 5000 people attended, and some thousands went away unable to get in." He returned after collecting upwards of £900, and preaching nearly every evening during his journey. To Mr. Fuller was assigned the mel- ancholy task of furnishing tiie public with memoirs of the excellent Pearce, of which invaluable piece of biography it was re- marked by the late Sir H. Blosset, Chief Justice of Bengal, that he scarcely knew which most to admire — the lovely charac- ter of Mr. Pearce, or the happy talent displayed by Mr. Fuller in sketching it. The overwhelming pressure of this and numerous other avocations, is thus de- scribed in his reply to the solicitations of the editor of a periodical work : — " My labors will increase without any consent on my part. As to magazines, there are several to which I contribute, for the sake of the mission and other public interests, and, through such a number of objects as press upon me daily, my own vineyard, my own soul, my family and congrega- tion, are neglected. Every journey I take only makes way for two or three more ; and every liook I write only occa- sions me to write others to explain or de- fend it. 'All is vanity and vexation of spirit !' ' I gave my heart to know wis- dom ; I perceived that this also is vexa- tion of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.' Some are pressing me to write more largely on the mediation of Christ, and others to review the second edition of Mr. Booth's Glad 66 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. Tidings. Controversies perplex me; and I am already engaged with a gross and subtle sophist.* My northern corres- pondents are ever raising objections against my views of faith, &c.; all of which I could answer, but cannot get time. I have sent your remarks to my friend at Edinburgh ; they will serve as a tub for the whale to play with, and perhaps for a time he will let me alone. *' Pearce's memoirs are now loudly call- ed for. — I sit down almost in despair, and say, ' That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is lacking cannot be numbered.' My wife looks at me, with a tear ready to drop, and says, ' My dear, you have hardly time to speak to me.' My friends at home are kind, but they also say, ' You have no time to see or know us, and you will soon be worn out.' Amidst all this, there is ' Come again to Scotland — come to Ports- mouth— come to Plymouth — come to Bristol.' " Excuse this effusion of melancholy. My heart is willing to do every thing you desire, that I can do, but my hands fail me. Dear brother Ryland complains of old age coming upon him, and I expect old age will come upon me before I am really old. Under this complicated load my heart has often of late groaned for rest, longing to finish my days in com- parative retirement." It has not unfrequently been the lot of men the most eminently pious, to be tried with misconduct in their families. In this respect the case of Mr. Fuller, though in some of its details much more afflic- tive than that of his excellent friend Legh Richmond, in others strongly resembled it. Each lamented over the supposed loss of his first-born under most distress- ing circumstances, yet to both of them God was gracious, enabling them to say, " This my son was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found," and giving them cheering hope in the end. On no point has the writer of these me- moirs felt such painful hesitation as in de- termining relative to the presentation of the following records. Desirous on the one hand of avoiding any exposui'e of the faults of so near a relative, and, on the other, of exhibiting every circumstance strikingly eliciting the virtues of his re- vered parent, he would have suffered the former feeling to predominate, had not the details of the unhappy event already been given to the public. It is due, however, to the character of the departed youth, to * Mr. Fulfer was at that time engaged in the uni- versaljst, as well as other controveraies. remove an impression, too generally con- ceived, that he possessed an inveterate propensity to vicious and abandoned cour- ses. This was not the case : his disposi- tion was in many respects amiable, and amid all his wanderings, • which arose from a restless instability of character, it does not appear that he abandoned him- self to any of those grosser vices incident to a naval and military life. In May, 1796, a respectable situation was procured for him in London, which circutnstance, with its result, is thus no- ticed in Mr. Fuller's diary : — "May 12. This day my eldest son is gone to London, upon trial at a ware- house belonging to Mr. B. My heart has been much exercised about him. The child is sober and tender in his spirit : I find, too, he prays in private; but wheth- er he be really godly I know not. Some- times he has expressed a desire after the ministry, but I always considered that as arising from the want of knowing himself. About a year and a half ago, I felt a very affecting time in pleading with God on his behall\ Nothing appeared to me so de- sirable for him as tliat he might be a ser- vant of God. I felt my heart much drawn out to devote him to the Lord, in whatever way he might employ him. Since that time, as he became of age for business, my thoughts have been much engaged on his behalf. As to giving him any idea of his ever being engaged in the ministry, it is what I carefully shun ; and whether he ever will be is altogether uncertain ; I know not whether he be a real Christian as yet, or, if he be, whether he will pos- sess those qualifications which are requi- site for that work ; but this I have done, I have mentioned the exercises of my mind to Mr. B., wlio is a godly man, and, if at any future time within the next five or six years he should appear a proper object of encouragement for that work, he will read- ily give him up. " I felt very tenderly last night and this morning in prayer. I cannot say, ' God, before Avhom my fathers Abra- ham and Isaac did walk;' but I can say, ' God, who hath fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lad.' " Jvdy. I perceive I have great unhap- piness before me in my son, whose in- stability is continually appearing; he must leave London, and what to do with him I know not. I was lately earnestly engag- ed in prayer for him that he might be renewed in his spirit, and be the Lord's ; and these words occurred to my mind — ' Hear my prayer, O Lord, that goeth not forth out of feigned lips ;' and I prayed them over many times." MEMOinS OF MR. FULLER. 67 Other situations were successively pro- cured, but in none of tlicni could he feci satislied to remain. In a letter to a friend about this time, his father thus ex- presses himself : — "My heart is almost broken. Let nothing that I said grieve you ; but make allowance for your alllicled and distressed friend. When I lie down, a load almost insupportable depresses me. Mine eyes are kept waking, or if I get a little sleep it is disturl)ed ; and as soon as I aw ake my load returns upon me. Oh Lord, I know not what to do ; but mine eyes are up unto thee. Keep me, oh my God, from sinful despondency. Thou hast promised that all things shall work to- gether for good to them that love thee ; fulfil tiiy promise, on which thou hast caused thy servant to hope. Oh, my God, this child which thou hast given me in charge is wicked before thee, and is diso- bedient to me, and is plunging himself into ruin. Have mercy upon him, oh Lord, and preserve him fi-om evil. Bring him home to me, and not to me only, but also to thyself. " If I see the children of other people it aggravates my sorrow. Those who have had no instruction, no pious example, no warnings or counsels, are often seen to be steady and trusty ; but my child, who has had all these advantages, is worthy of no trust to be placed in him. I am afraid he will go into tlie army, that sink of im- morality ; or, if not, that being reduced to extremity he will be tempted to steal. And Oh, if he should get such a habit, what may not these weeping eyes witness, or this broken heart be callecl to endure ! Oh, my God, whither will my fears lead mel Have mercy upon me, a poor un- happy parent : have mercy upon him, a poor ungodly child." The former of these fears was realized ; in 179S he entered into the army, on which occasion his father thus writes to Dr. Ryland : — "I have indeed had a sore trial in the affair you mention : but I do not recollect any trial of my life in which I had more of a spirit of prayer, and confidence in God. Many parts of Scripture were pre- cious, particularly the following : — ' O Lord, I know not what to do ; but mine eyes are up unto thee. — O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me. — Commit thy way unto the Lord, and he shall bring it to pass. — Cast thy burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. — All things work together for good,' &c. Even while I knew not where he was, I felt stayed on the Lord, and some degree of cheerful satisfaction that things would end well. I know not what is before me; but hith- erto the Lord hath helped me ; and still I feel resolved to hope in his mercy." His discharge from the army was ob- tained on the ground of his being an ap- prentice, but he subsequently enlisted in the marines, soon after which he appear- ed sensible of his folly. The influence of early religious education was felt. Shock- ed at the heathenism of his present situa- tion, and calling to remembrance the peaceful Sabbatlis and pious instructions of home, he addressed his fatlier, earnest- ly entreating him to use efforts for his lib- eration. This appeal to the piety and af- fection of a Christian j)arent was prompt- ly responded to. His father's heart went forth to meet him, and he was once more restored to the bosom of his family. Notwitstanding the influence of his mother-in-law, to whom as well as to every other branch of the family he was fondly attached, a dislike to business, in- creased by habits recently contracted, once more induced his departure. "The sorrows of my heart," says his father, " have been increased, at differ- ent times, to a degree almost insupport- able : yet I have hoped in God, and do still hope that I shall see mercy for him in the end. The Lord knows that I have not sought great things for him, and that I have been more concerned for the wick- ed course he was following than on ac- count of the meanness of his taste. O may the Lord bring me out of this hor- rible pit, and put a new song in my moutli ! " My heart is oppressed ; but yet I am supported. Yesterday I fasted and pray- ed the day through. Many Scriptures were sweet to me ; particularly Matt. xv. 25. — ' Lord, help me !' — a petition in which a parent was heard for a child, after repeated repulses. And Psa. xxxiii. 22. I believe I shall live to see good, in some way, come out of it. My soul is at rest in God." Finding that he was bent on a seafaring life, his father procured him a comfort- able situation on board a merchant ship, apparently much to his satisfaction. The hopes which this new arrangement raised in the minds of his friends were, however, suddenly destroyed, before he could join his ship, by the operation of the savage laws of impressment. Thus, against his inclination, he found himself once more on board a man-of-war, in the capacity of a common sailor. In a few months an account was receiv- ed by his friends of his having been tried for desertion, and sentenced to a most severe punishment, after the infliction of which he immediately expired ! " Oh !" says his agonized parent, "this 6S MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. is heart-trouble ! In former cases, my sor- rows found vent in tears : but now I can seldom weep. A kind of morbid heart- sickness preys upon me from day to day. Every object around me reminds me of him ! Ah ! .... he was wicked ; and mine eye was not over him to prevent it .... he was detected, and tried, and con- demned ; and I knew it not .... he cried under his agonies ; but I heard him not .... he expired, without an eye to pity or a hand to help him ! . . . . O Absalom ! my son ! my son ! would God I had died for thee, my son ! " Yet, O my soul ! let me rather think of Aaron than of David. He 'held his peace ' in a more trying case than mine. His sons were 6o//t slain, and slain hy the wrath of heaven; were probably intoxicated at the time : and all this sud- denly, without any thing to prepare the mind for such a trial ! Well did he say, ' Such things have befallen me.' " A few days brought the joyful intelli- gence that the report was an entire fabri- cation. "Blessed be God," says his father, " I tind the above report is vni- founded ! I have received a letter from my poor boy. Well, he is yet alive, and within the reach of mercy." Other and painful vicissitudes befel this unhappy young man, whose last station was among the marines, with whom he went on a voyage to Brazil. On his re- turn he addressed his father in the most pathetic terms, entreating one more writ- ten testimony of his forgiveness, urging that he was on the point of sailing for Lisbon, "whence," says he, "I may never return." This was answered by an affecting epistle, of which the following extracts are all that can be found : — " My dear Robert, " I received with pleasure your dutiful letter, and would fain consider it as a symptom of a returning mind. I cannot but consider you as having been long un- der a sort of mental derangement, piercing yourself through, as well as me, with many sorrows. My prayer for you continually is, that the God of all grace and mercy may have mercy upon you. You may be as- sured that I cherish no animosity against you. On the contrary, I do, from my heart, freely forgive you. But that which I long to see in you is repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, without which there is no forgive- ness from above. " My dear son ! you had advantages in early life ; but, being continually in prof- ligate company, you must be debased in mind, and, in a manner, reduced to a state of heathenism. In some of your letters, I have observed you dashing, as it were, against the rocks of fatalism ! suggesting as if you thought you were appointed to such a course of life. In others I find you flattei-jng yourself that you are a pen- itent ; when, perhaps, all the penitence you ever felt has been the occasional melancholy of remorse and fear. " My dear son ! I am now nearly fifty-five years old, and may soon expect to go the way of all the earth ! But, be- fore I die, let me teacli you the good and the right way. ' Hear the instructions of a father.' You have had a large portion of God's preserving goodness, or you had, ere now, perished in your sins. Think of this, and give thanks to the Father of mercies, who has hitherto preserved you. Think, too, how you have requited him, and be ashamed for all that you have done. Nevertheless, do not despair ! Far as you have gone, and low as you are sunk in sin, yet if hence you return to God, by Jesus Christ, you will find mercy. Jesus Christ came into the Avorld to save sin- ners, even the chief of sinners. If you had been ever so sober and steady in your behavior towards men, yet, without repentance towards God and faith in Christ, you could not have been saved ; and, if you return to God by him, though your sins be great and aggravated, yet will you find mercy " This affecting narrative cannot be bet- ter concluded than in the words of the late Dr. Ryland : — "As this poor young man foreboded, this teas his last voyage. He died off Lisbon, in March, 1809, after a lingering illness, in which he had every attention paid him of which his situation would admit. " From the testimony of his captain, and one of his messmates, we learn that his conduct was good, and such as to pro- cure him much respect ; and, from letters addressed to his father and his sister, a short time before his death, we hope still better things ; Ave hope he was led to see the error of his way, and to make the Lord his refuge from the tempest and the storm. " His death, under such circumstances, was less painful to his friends than it would otherwise have been ; and, in a ser- mon preached the Lord's-day after the intelligence was received, in allusion to this event, from Rom. x. 8, 9, his father seemed to take comfort from three ideas : that, '1. The doctrine of free justification by the death of Christ is suited to sinners of all degrees. It asks not how long, nor hoAV often, nor how greatly we have sin- ned : if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. 2. It is MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 69 suited to the helpless condition of sin- ners. We have only to look and live. 3. It is suited to sinners in the last extremity. It answers to the promised mercy in Deut. iv. 29 — If krom thexce thoii seek the Lord thy God, thou shall Jijid him. Some are far from home, and have no friend, in their dying moments, to speak a word of comfort .... but this is near ! When Jonah was compassed about by the floods, when the billows and waves passed over him, he prayed to tlie Lord, and the Lord lieard him.' .... " Here he was obliged to pause, and give vent to his feelings by weeping; and many of the congregation, who knew the cause, wept with him! His heart was full, and it was witii difficulty lie could conclude, •with solemnly charging the sin- ner to apply for mercy ere it was too late ; for, if it were rejected, its having been so near, and so easy of access, would be a swift witness against him." But to return. It was in the midst of these afflictions and overwhelming engage- ments that Mr. Fuller, in the year 1800, produced his celebrated treatise in de- fense of the Christian religion, under the title of " The Gospel its own Witness, or the Holy Nature and Divine Harmony of the Christian Religion, contrasted with the Immorality and Absurdity of Deism." He was at the same time engaged in writing a succession of letters on the sub- ject ol Universal Salvation, the first of which consisted of a private remonstrance, written in 1793, to an individual, once re- sident in his own family, who had em- braced the views above mentioned. After a lapse of four years, some reply to this letter was made in a periodical work, of which the person to whom it was address- ed was the editor, the letter having been in the mean time inserted in the Evan- gelical Magazine, under a private signa- ture. The series of letters which follow- ed were published in 1S02. In 1801 Mr. Fuller published his small but valuable work, entitled " The Back- slider," which was soon followed by an- other on "Spiritual Pride." In refer- ence to these, he thus writes to Dr. Ry- land : — " A respected friend has repeat- edly pressed me to write a treatise on ' Spiritual Pride,' on the same plan as the 'Backslider.' I have thought somewhat on the subject, and begun writing. This would tend to detect that subtle spirit which is, I am persuaded, fostered by San- demanianism — ' Stand V)y thyself, for I am holier than thou.' But 1 feel myself much more capable of depicting Antinomian pride than the other. For this purpose I have procured Huntington's works. But in reading them I am stopped for a time. I have eight or nine volumes ! I never read any thing more void of true religion. 1 do not intend to name him or his works, or those of any other person, but merely to draw pictures and let the reader judge who they are like." His allusion to Sandemanianism is thus illustrated in another letter to the doc- tor : — " Sept. 9, 1801. " I had a letter about a week ago from one of the Scotch Baptists about order, discipline, &c. Ill as I was, I scratched out the following parable. Dr. Stuart* saw it, and he w as so much amused with it that he must needs copy it. ' In one of the new Italian republics, two inde- pendent companies arc formed for the de- fense of tlie country. Call the one A. and the other B. In forming themselves, and learning their exercise, they each profess to follow the mode of discipline used by the ancient Romans. Their of- ficers, uniforms, and evolutions, however, are after all somewhat different from each other. Hence disputes arise, and B. re- fuses to march against the enemy with A. as being disorderly. A. gives his reasons w hy he thinks himself orderly : but they are far from satisfying 5., who not only treats him as deviating from rule, but as al- most knowing himself to do so, and wilfully persisting in it. A., tired of jarring, march- es against the enemy by himself. B. sits at home deeply engaged in studying order and discipline. ' If your form and rules,' says A., 'are so preferable to ours, why do you not make use of them 1 Disci- pline is a means, not an end. Be not al- ways boasting of your order, and re- proaching others for the want of it ; let us see the use of it. It is true, like the Quakers in 1745, you have bought waist- coats for our soldiers, and we thank you for them ; but we had rather you would fight yourselves.' " Notwithstanding the difference of views between Mr. Fuller and some of his nor- thern friends, who were tinctured with some of Mr. Sandeman's peculiarities, he accepted a pressing invitation to revisit Scotland in 1S02. A journal of this excursion is preserved in letters to Mrs. Fuller, from which the following are extracts : — " Barton on the Humber, Aug. 25. "At ten we arrived here. My sleep having been regular, I w as not weary, and *This gentleman, a physician of considerable practice in Edinburg, was induced by his friendship for ]Mr. Fuller to visit him during his atfiiction. 70 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. am now very well. With tenderness and earnest solicitude, I have importuned pre- serving mercy for my dear family, and that I may visit it in due time, and not sin. " I begin to feel awkward, having re- duced my four guineas to four shillings ; I am afraid I should be in the situation of a number of small sliips hereabouts, at low tide — run aground I I am thinking whether I must not take a walk before dinner, instead of having one ! If I could but get over the water, I should do. "26. — I was detained last night till half past six, and so strong a westerly wind blew that it was thought the hoy or daily passage-boat could not have come out, in which case I must have staid longer still. It did come, however, but a num- ber of the passengers were sick, through our being tossed about. There were nearly sixty of us on board, and we ar- rived safely at Hull about half past seven. It was a fine sight to see the waves, each as large as the roof of a small house, con- tinually beating against our vessel, while she rode triumphantly above them all. I felt no sickness, but stood above deck, having hold of a rope with my hand, and gazed all the time with a kind of sublime pleasure at the majestic scene. I had eleven-pence in my pocket when I came to the house last night. I am to spend my Sabbath in the two Baptist churches. I have hitherto been mercifully preserved in all respects. My mind is peaceful and happy ; and my approaches to a throne of grace, at which I do not forget you all, have been fi'ee and tender." " York, Aug. 31. " Arrived here last night at nine o'clock. Determined to stop a day here, and try what I could do among the serious church people. Dissenters there are none, ex- cept a few Socinian Baptists. Went im- mediately to the liouse of Hepworth and Crosby, who have for some time been sub- scribers to our mission. Met with a kind reception. Supped there with Mr. Over- ton, the author of 'The True Church- man,' who is a clergjnnan of tliis city. Much mutual pleasure. I am here well known by the evangelical clergy, of whom there are three, if not more : Richardson, Graham, and Overton. Among other things in our conversation, Avere the fol- lowing: O. 'In the course of my work I have said some things which some dissent- ers have thought severe.' — F. 'I suppose you mean in calling them schismatics.' — O. 'Yes, in part.' — F. 'I never felt it; for it did not appear to be aimed to hurt us, but merely to screen yourselves in the view of your bishops from the suspicion of favoring us.' He admitted this a fair construction. I added, ' it did not hurt me, because I perceived no justice in it. The term schism is relative, and has ref- erence to the society from which sep- aration is made. Before you can fix the guilt of schism upon us, you must prove — 1. That the church of England is a true church. Yea, more. 2. That it is the only true church in this kingdom.' He did not go about it, and we were very sociable till eleven o'clock, when I went to bed at Mr. Hepworth 's. " This morning, when I have breakfast- ed, I shall call on old Mr. Richardson, who is here a man of weight and renown. Mr. Overton asked me if I had seen the account of the York Baptists. — F. ' Yes ; I have it.' — O. ' And Mr. Graham's an- swer 1 ' — F. ' I have read that also.' — O. ' Wliat do you think of it 1 '—F. ' I think he has answered them in some things, but not in all.' I had once written a private letter to Mr. G., pointing out some things wherein I conceived he was wrong; but I destroyed it, lest it should involve me in more work and more correspondence than I knew how to discharge. I presently found that those things in which I had thought G. in the wrong were so consider- ed by O. "At Hull I visited two evangelical clergymen, who very readily contributed to our case, and several of their people followed their example. I had one if not both of them for hearers on Friday even- ing. Their names are Dykes and Scott: the latter is the son of Mr. Scott of the Lock. " I cannot help mentioning the singular kindness I received from a Mr. Kidd, an independent minister of Cottingham, four or five miles from Hull. He not only walked over on Friday to see and hear me, and stopped all night for an evening's conversation, but came again with some of his friends on the Lord's-day evening, and, luisolicited, brought with him £4. 15s. He is a modest intelligent man. " Tuesday night. I have collected about £12. 12s. in York. Have had a great deal of Mr. Overton's company ; al- so of Mr. Richardson's and Mr. Gra- ham's ; and, what is surprising, was in- formed by Mr. Overton in the afternoon, that a little Baptist church had lately been formed here. He told me this, as sup- posing I should like to call upon some of them. I thanked him, and soon after went in search of them. I found the prin- cipal persons, and they would have been very glad of a sermon this evening if they had known in time. I gave them all the good counsel I could, prayed with them, and then returned to the company of MEMOIRS OF MU. FULLER. 71 Messrs. Overton, Graliam, &c., witli whom I have enjoyed uuuli Irec anr i)eople, tiiat I leel it necessary to be absent from tiiem as short a time as possilile. We have a weekly meeting in the vestry for all who choose to come for conversation. . . . Our Monday and Friday night meet- ings are much thronged — the discourses in the latter have been mostly addressed to persons under some concern about their salvation." It was, nevertheless, during these pleas- ing domestic engagements, in which his soul delighted, that lie produced one of his most elaborate controversional pieces, en- titled " Strictures on Sandemanianism." This publication, which closes a twenty years' controversy on faith, was suggest- ed by the repeated attacks he had sustain- ed from the followers of Messrs. Glass and Sandeman in Scotland and Ireland, and contains, in addition to the main ques- tions in debate, some animadversions on the ecclesiastical polity of that body, which had in a greater or less degree in- fluenced the organization of most of the Baptist churches in those countries. In March, 1812, Mr. Fuller received intelligence of the death of his nephew, Joseph Fuller, of whose future eminence and usefulness in the cause of God he had cherished the fondest hopes. The follow- ing account of this extraordinary youth is communicated in a letter to his beloved preceptor, Dr. Ryland : — My dear Brother, " I have just received vours, and by the same post one from Little Bentley, dated the 23d, of which the following is an ex- tract : — ' This morning, about a quarter after seven o'clock, our dear Joseph left this world of sin and sorrow, and we trust is entered into rest. He could not talk much ; but said, That gospel which I have recommended to others is all my support in the prospect of death. He was sensible to the last.' Thus God has blasted our hopes concerning this lovely youth. He was eighteen years old last October. "Now it is fresh upon my mind, I will give you a few particulars of such things concerning him as fell under my no- tice : — "In July, 1806, I took Mrs. Fuller to Bentley, on a visit to my brother and his family. Joseph was then under thirteen years old. We observed in him a talent ibr learning : and his parents seemed to think him not much suited to their busi- ness. Mrs. Fr. therefore proposed that he should come and live with us, and im- prove his learning. The following Octo- ber he came, and we sent him to school, to our friend Mr. Mason, of Rowell. After being there three months, he spent the winter holidays at our house. One day he was looking over the Greek Al- phabet, and soon got it l>y heart. He ob- tained a few instructions before the holi- days were ended ; and, on his returning to school, I spoke to my worthy friend, the Rev. Mr. Brotherhood, of Desborough, near Rowell, resquesting the favor of his teaching him the Latin and Greek langua- ges. With this request Mr. B. not only readily complied, but generously declin- ed any recompense for his trouble. On an evening, after the school hours at Rowell, Joseph would walk over to Desborough, and spend an hour or two with Mr. B., who with Mrs. B. treated him as a young friend, rather than as a pupil. His dili- gence, sobriety, and good sense, raised him in their esteem ; and he had a great respect and esteem for them. In this course he continued through the years 1807 and 1808. He could talk of religion, and, I lielieve, from his childhood, had thoughts of the ministry; but, as I saw no signs of real personal Christianity, I never encouraged any thing of the kind. In the autumn, I think, of 1808, we per- ceived an evident change in his sjiirit and behavior. This was o1 served, not only at Kettering, but at Rowell. I found, too, that he wished to open his mind to me ; and I soon gave him an opportunity. The result was, we were satisfied of his being the subject of repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. On April 30, 1S09, I baptized him, and he be- came a member of the church at Kettering. . Under these circumstances, I could not but think of his being employed in the work of the ministry, provided his own heart was in it. On gently sounding him upon it, I found it was. He was too much of a child to be asked to speak before the church ; and yet we thought no time should be lost in improving his talents. A letter was therefore sent ^o the Bristol Educa- tion Society through your hands, recom- mending him as a pious youth of promis- ing talents for the ministry. In August, the same year, he went to Bristol. At the vacation, in the summer of 1810, he went home, and on his return, towards the end of July, came by Kettering. At the 84 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. church-meeting, he preached from 1 Cor. ii. 2, ' For I determined not to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.' He was then under sev- enteen years of age and a mere lad in ap- pearance; but his thoughts were just and mature. " From the first of his religious impres- sions, he expressed a desire to go to India as a missionary, if he were thought a suita- ble person. I did not discourage him, but told him he was too young, at present, to determine on a matter of such importance. On the above visit to us, in July, 1810, I inquired wliether his mind continued the same on that subject. He answered, it did. " His journey from Kettering to Bristol, which (being very fond of walking) he principally performed on foot, was, I fear, injurious lo him. He got wet, as I after- v/ards learned, several times on the road. Towards the following Chi-istmas, he told me, he began to feel the complaint on his lungs. It is now nearly a year, I suppose, since he left Bristol to go to his father's house. After he had been there the greater part of the summer of 1811, he paid a visit, for a month or two, to the new academy at Stepney, where he was treated with great kindness by Mr. and Mrs. Newman, as he had been in the spring of the same year, by Mr. and Mrs. Burls. Indeed, I may say, at every place he ' grew in favor with God and man.' " Being myself in London, early in No- vember, I took him with me down to Ket- tering. Here he stopped about six weeks ; dui'ing which we used means for the recovery of his health, but without effect. So far as his affliction would per- mit, he here enjoyed the company of his friends. He got over to Rowell, and to Desboi'ough, to see his dear friends, Mr. Mason and Mr. Brotlierhood. About Dec. 20, 1811, I took him to Cambridge, whence he was conducted home. On parting, we both wept, as not expecting to see each other again in the flesh. So it has proved. His father informs me, that, on the last Lord's-day in January, he was very desirous of going with him to Thorpe to join in the Lord's supper ; which, though with much difficulty, he accom- plished. His death is one of those mys- teries in providence, not of very unfre- quent occurrence, wherein God, after ap- parently forming and fitting an instrument for usefulness in this world, removes it to another.' But ' it is well.' I do not re- member to have known a lad of his years, who possessed more command of temper, or maturity of judgment, or whose mind seemed more habitually directed to the glory of God." Dr. Ryland, speaking of the first dis- course delivered by this youth, in the lec- ture-room of the college, says, "I was obliged to suppress my feelings and hurry out of the room, that I might not let a lad of sixteen see how much I was delighted with what he had been uttering." A pulmonary attack during the prece- ding summer, had seriously affected Mr. Fuller's health ; and, though he was so far restored as to undertake a journey of 600 miles, his exhausted powers and in- creasing labors suggested the necessity of stated assistance in his pastoral duties, a service which was supplied by the Rev. J. K. Hall, a nephew of the late Rev. R. Hall. Early in May, Mr. Fuller took a jour- ney into ^Wales. From Abergavenny he wrote to Mr. Sutcliff. After speaking of the low state of his health, and alluding to some malicious censures, against the Bap- tists and their missionary undertaking, he thus concludes : " Our wisdom is to be still and quiet, and to mind our own busi- ness. For my own part, my afflictions say to me, ' Study to shoio thyself approved unto God.' What empty things are the applauses of creatures, and how idle the pursuit of them ! I seem near the end of my course, and hope, through grace, and grace only, to finish it with joy. I have no transports, but a steady hope of eter- nal life, on the ground of my Saviour's death. I feel some freedom in my appli- cations to God in his name. If I should die, I shall be able to say to the rising generation, ' God ivill surely visit you.' A work is begun that will not end till the world be subdued to the Saviour. We have done a little for him, accompanied with much evil ; the Lord grant that this may not be laid to our charge in that day . ' ' The close of this year brought the af- flictive intelligence of the destruction of the printing establishment at Serampore by fire. The loss occasioned by this calamity was estimated at upwards of £12,000. Much as this news affected Mr. Fuller, he predicted the speedy re- paration of the injury. Being then on a tour in Norfolk, he hastened home to ar- range for a general appeal to the benevo- lence of the christian public. This was answered by prompt and liberal sub- scriptions in all parts of the United King- dom, and in the United States of America, which in a few weeks more than repaired the loss. On this occasion Mr. Fuller received the following testimony of chris- tian liberality from an eminent minister of the establishment, now deceased : — MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 85 " From the lime I heard of the fire at Serampore, I felt desirous to assist in re- pairiiiji the loss, and promoting; the im- portant work of translating; the Scriptures into the oriental laniruagcs. I view the subject as presenting; a common claim upon the christian world, and rejrard, with highest estimation, the lal)ors of your so- ciety in the East Indies. " I have the pleasure to state that, in- cUidina; a donation remitted to me hy my respected friend. Dr. Kihington, our col- lection at Bentinck Chapel, on Sunday last, has produced £1.30. " With my unfeigned prayer that the eternal God may prosper all these exer- tions to tlie promotion of his glory and the benefit of his church, I am, dear Sir, " Yours very faithfully, " Basil W'oodd." On communicating to the late Rev. Legh Richmond some pleasing intelli- gence from India, accompanied with spe- cimens of type recast from the materials found in the ruins at Serampore, Mr. Fuller received the following affectionate reply :— "Rev. and dear Brother, " I received your papers with thankful pleasure — they seem like specimens drop- ped from the midst of heaven by the angel in his flight with the everlasting gospel in his hand Happy are those that can cultivate true brotherly love and respect, although they cannot in every thing think and act together. There is still a wide field for mutual operation — there may be a few hedges and ditches to separate portions of the land ; but it is all one farm — Glory be to the chief Husbandman and great Shepherd ! — His grace and mercy be on such subordinate husbandmen and shepherds as you, and far more so " Your unworthy fellow-laborer, " Legh Richmond." It will he seen from the preceding pages that it was Mr. Fuller's happiness to be acquainted w ith many of the most em- inent and pious of the established clergy. Besides those to whom reference has al- ready been made, we may mention Drs. Erskine and Chalmers in Scotland ; and in this country the Rev. John Owen and the venerable Berridge : in a letter to his friend Ryland, he thus describes an inter- view with the latter : — " As to my Everton journey, I wrote something, as it was then fresh upon my mind, better than I can now. I greatly admired that divine savor which all along mingled itself with Mr. Berridge's facetiousness, and sufficiently chastised it. His conversation tended to produce a frequent, but guiltless smile, accompa- nied with a tear of j)leasure. His love to CJirvt appears to be intense. I re- quested him to give us a few outlines of his life and ministry. These were inter- esting, but too long to write. They will enrich an e\ening's conversation, i( 1 come to Northampton. When he had gone through, I asked him to pray for us. He said he was so faint he could not yet, and requested me to pray. I prayed, and con- cluded as usual fy asking all in Christ's name. He, without getting off his knees, took up the prayer where I had left it, in some such manner as this : — ' O Lord God ! this prayer has been offered up in the name of Jescs : accept it, I be- seech thee,' &c., for five or six min- utes, in a most solemn and savory man- ner. We then took leave, with solemn prayer for blessings on each other, as if we had been acquainted for forty years, and were never to see each other again in this world. The visit left a strong and lasting impression on my heart of the beauty of holiness — of holiness almost matured." In 1813, on the renewal of the East India charter, Mr. Fuller visited the me- tropolis with a view to obtain the inser- tion of a clause granting a passage to the missionaries in British ships, instead of compelling them to make a circuitous voyage by America, as well as affording that legal protection in India to which the peaceable conduct of the missionaries in that country, not less than their natural privileges as British subjects, entitled them. Accompanied l)y Messrs. Sutcliff, Iviraey, and Burls, he obtained an inter- view with the earl of Buckinghamshire, which ended in the request of his lord- ship to be furnished with a written state- ment of their wishes. Mr. Fuller lost no time in forwarding this to his lord- ship, and a similar communication was also made to the earl of Liverpool. Pe- titions to parliament were forwarded from the various communities of Dissenters, while vast numbers of pious Episcopali- ans, feeling it to beasubjtct of common interest, joined in the appeal, which proved successful. The following short epistle from the venerable philanthropist whose name it bears was written to Mr. Fuller in allu- sion to the aliove event, and to certain interesting intelligence received from India. ''London, Nov. 29, 1813. " My dear Sir, "I return you many thanks for your S6 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. friendly communication, and am sorry I did not receive it on Saturday till too late to write to you by return of tlie ])ost. How striking that, at the very time when we were prosecuting our endeavors. Dr. Carey should be experiencing the need of such a regulation as we solicited, and ex- press his wishes for such permission as, through God's blessing, we finally ob- tained ! In what manner we should pro- ceed in respect of these transactions I am by no means as yet clear. The question deserves the most mature consideration ; and I shall be happy to confer on it with like minded friends. But it might assist us in forming a right decision to read the original correspondence (if there are no parts of it which you had rather we should not peruse,) and, indeed, to receive all other information that you can give us : the more detailed and particular the bet- ter. But, my dear sir, joy! — joy ! — joy! I have scarcely restrained myself, from my first taking up the pen, from break- ing out into these notes of exultation on the glad tidings which Dr. Carey's let- ter conveys — tidiHgs so glad, and so im- portant, that the value of them can scarce- ly be overrated. Five natives of high caste become Christians, keeping the Lord's- day, and meeting for religious edification, without having had any intercourse with the missionaries — merely from reading the Scriptures, tracts, &c. — besides the hun- dred hopefuls ! When I consider who and what Dr. Carey is and has been, and what encouragement the translations of the Scriptures into the native languages have received, I seem to hear in this inci- dent the voice of the Almighty, saying, You are in the right path, press forward in it. I am much pressed far time to-day, and must break off, assuring you that I am ever, with cordial esteem and regard, " Yours very sincerely, " VV. WiLBERFORCE." In the summer of this year, Mr. Fuller paid his fifth and last visit to Scotland, where he was received with renewed proofs of affection perfectly overwhelming to his feelings. An incident occurred at Edinburgh which evinces, amidst his ar- duous labors, a deep interest in the wel- fare of his fellow townsmen. Learning that the Northamptonshire militia were in quarters at the castle, he went to see them, and, on finding four young men from Kettering, entered into conversation with them, invited them to attend divine worship, and, on his departure, presented one of them with a Bible. In 1814, Mr. Fuller received a warning of his own dissolution in that of his valued friend and counsellor Mr. Sutclilf. Un- der date of March 24 he Avrites to Dr. Ryland as follows : — " I have just receiv- ed an alarming letter from Olney, and must go, if possible, to see our dear broth- er to-morrow. Brother Sutcliff was kept ten days in London, took two days to get home, his legs swelled, blisters were ap- plied, which drew water. They fear he has water in his chest : he cannot lie down, for want of breath, but sits, night after night, in a large chair. Well; the government is on Hi^ shoulders ; ours will soon be from under the load ; but, while we are reducing in number, and increasing in labor, it may be the heavier for a time. God grant we may finish our course with joy." Of this venerable man, who entered into his rest on the 22d of June, the late Rev. R. Hall engaged, at the solicitation of Mr. F., to furnish some account to the public — an engagement from which he subse- quently excused himself. His letter to Mr. Fuller, on this occasion, affords a striking specimen of his characteristic dif- fidence. My dear Brother, " I am truly concerned to be obliged to tell you that I cannot succeed at all in my attempts to draw the character of our dear and venerable brother Sutcliff. I have made several efforts, and have sketched out, as well as I could, the outlines of what I conceive to be his character, but have failed in producing such a portrait as appears to me fit for the public eye. I am perfectly convinced that your intimacy with him, and your powers of discrimina- tion, will enable you to present to pos- terity a much juster and more impressive idea of him than I can. I am heartily sorry I promised it. But promises I hold sacred; and therefore, if you insist upon it, and are not willing to release me from my engagement, I will accomplish the task as well as I can. But, if you will let the matter pass without reproaching ijj^ sub silentlo, you will oblige me considera- bly. It appears to me that, if I ever pos- sessed a faculty of character-drawing, I have lost it, probably for want of use, as I am far from taking any delight in a mi- nute criticism on chai-acter, to which, in my younger days, I was excessively ad- dicted. Both our taste and talents change with the progress of years. The purport of these lines, however, is to request you to absolve me from my promise, in which light I shall interpret your silence ; hold- ing myself ready, however, to comply with your injunctions. I am, my dear Sir, "Your affectionate Brother, R. Hall. MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 87 An outline of Mr. SutclifT's character was subscciuently given in liis luncral dis- course, puliiishcd by JVIr. Fuller, and now inserted in the second volume ol'his works. SECTION v.— 1814, 1S15. Journeys into various parts of England — Ordination of Air. Yates at Leicester — Commencement of last illness — Attempt- ed excursion to the North of England — Last visit to London — Publication of Sermons — Preparation of MSS. on the Revelations and on Communion — A'e- tum of disorder — Ordination of Mr. Mack — Aggravated symptoms of disease — Last Sermon, and distribution of the Lord's Supper — Visit to Cheltenham contemplated and relinquished — Last Letter to Dr. Ryland — Dying expres- sions— Concluding scene — Funeral — Extract from Mr. Toller's Sermons — Testimonies of the Rev. R. Hall, Dr. Newman, and Bible Society — Marble Tablet— Letter of Mrs. Fuller to Dr. Ryland — Appendix, containing notices of his family, 4"c. Under the powerful impression of his favorite inspired maxim, " Whatsoever tliy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might," JNIr. Fuller continued his unwea- ried etTorts on hehalf of the mission. He thus writes to Ur. Ryland on the •26th May, 1814 : — " Between now and the first week in August I have no rest. I give you my routes, that you may write no let- ters to me at Kettering while I am out, and may write, if occasion should require, to other places. June 6, I set off for Es- sex, where I shall collect between the Sth and the "iOth ; thence I go to London, to the annual meeting, on the 22d ; come down to Kettering on the 24th or 25th ; set off for the north of England on the 27th, for five Lord's-days. I expect to spend the first at Liverpool, the second at Manchester, the tliird at Leeds, the fourth at Newcastle, and the fifth at Hull." The termination of his labors was, how- ever, rapidly a{)proaching; an event of which he had recently received repeated in- timations, and to which he looked forward with feelings equally removed from ecs- tasy and dismay. In the summer of 1814 he traveled through several of the mid- land counties, attended the annual meet- ing of the mission in London, and, after paying the last tribute to the remains of his beloved friend at Olney, set off for Lancashire and the north of England. From Durham he addressed a request to the East India directors for the passage of Mr. Yates, a missionary to Serampore, when a contumacious opposition to the provisions of the new enactment compel- led him, after repeated and res])cctiul so- licitations, to appeal to the Board of Con- trol. For this purpose he again visited London, where he obtained an inter\ievv with the earl of Buckinghamshire. This matter being satisfactorily adjusted, he returned home, and the following week attended the designation of Mr. Yates at Leicester. He preached with unusual solemnity anci affection, but could not do as at other times. His debilitated frame sank under (he fatigue of the engagements. During his stay at Leicester he appear- ed so absorbed in the concerns of the mission that his friends enjoyed but little of his society. On parting with them he intimated that he was very ill, that he should probably see them no more, that his work was nearly done, but that he could not spare time to nurse himself, and must lai or as long as he could. On Lord's-day, Sept. 4, after preach- ing in the morning, he was taken seriously ill. On the ISlh, addressing his friend Ryland, he says, " For the last fortnight I have been laid by and nearly confined to my bed. I know not when I have had so violent an attack of the I ile. I had an inflammation about the liver, the effects of which are still upon me, so that I can scarcely walk. I hope to get out to meeting once to day. I know not what to do with the missionary students (from Olney,) being utterly unfit to entertain care of any kind. I thought it best to let them come to you. Here I must leave it. The writing of this letter has over- come me." Having partially recovered, he proceed- ed with two friends on another journey to the north of England, to complete those engagements which had been abruptly broken off on his last excursion ; but on reaching Newark he was compelled to return, leaving them to prosecute the ob- ject. Writing to a friend soon after, he says, "I have preached only twice for the last five or six weeks, but am gradually, though slowly, recovering. Since I was laid by from preaching, I have written out my sermon, and drawn up a memoir for my dear brother Sutcliff. Your par- tiality for the memoir of dear Pearce will ensure me one reader at least for that of Sutcliff. I hope the great and good Mr. Charles of Bala will find some one who will do justice to his memory. Mrs. Sutcliff died on the 3d of Septem- ber, less than eleven weeks after her 88 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. husband. Death has swept away almost all my old friends, and I seem to stand expecting to be called for soon. It mat- ters not when, so that we be found in Christ." In another letter he says, "Brother Sutcliff's last end was enviable : may mine be like his ! Death has been mak- ing havoc of late among us. Yesterday I preached a funeral sennon, if so it might be called, for three of the members of our church, lately deceased. I feel as one who has the sentence of death, and whose great concern it is whether my religion will bear the test ! Almost all my old friends are dead, or dying. Well, I have a hope that bears me up ; and it is through grace. In reviewing my life, I see much evil — God be mercii'ul to me a sinner !" In December, having somewhat recruit- ed his strength, he paid another visit to London, on which occasion he delivered a powerful and animated discourse on behalf of the British and Foreign School Society. Though this was one of his happiest efforts, it was evident to his London friends that they could expect to see his face no more. He was strongly advised to try the air and waters of Chel- tenham, but deferred it to a milder season, using the "salts" as a substitute in the interim. It was during the numerous engage- ments and afflictions of this year that he published his " Sermons on Various Sub- jects." This work consisted of sixteen discourses, worthy of the talents and piety of the author, and will Vic found in the second volume of his works. In the commencement of 1815 he pre- pared for the press, his " Exposition of the Revelations," and " Letter on Com- munion." The latter treatise he con- signed to the care of his esteemed friend Dr. Newman, with a request to publish it, in case an anticipated production from the pen of Mr. Hall on the other side should seem to render it necessary. This publication, though not without marks of that shrewd and penetrating judgment which distinguished his controversial wri- tings, is not remarkalle for the most conclusive reasoning ; and though it were too much to admit the justice of Mr. Hall's insinuation, that his mind was not fully made up on the subject, there is perhaps reason to suppose that a more ample discussion would have effected a considerable alteration in his views. The charge of bigotry, however, made against him, and others cherishing the same sen- timents on this subject, says little for the understanding or charity of those who prefer it. True chanty will never require the surrender of a man's principles as an evidence of his candor ; and happy they who have learned that an honest refusal to unite in the partial use of some minor tokens of affection may consist with the exercise of the tenderest feelings of chris- tian love. Mr. Fuller describes a con- versation with a Paedobaptist minister on this subject, which is highly creditable to both : — " I never saw more godliness, candor, or humility in any one. He talked with me, among other things, about baptism and strict communion. ' I think,' said he, before a number of his friends, ' you have a catholic heart : I should like to know the grounds on which you act; and I am almost sure they are not temper nor bigotry.' When I had stated them, he answered, ' Well ; I think I can see the conscientiousness of your conduct, and am therefore glad I asked you.'" In 1815, within three or four months of his decease, while laboring under the most depressed state of body and mind, occa- sioned by a disordered liver, he sat at his desk upwards of twelve hours a day. On Feb. 1, he wrote to his brother at Isleham as follows, "... Well; ' the Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock!' I am conscious of no wicked way in me ; but I feel myself to be an unprofitable servant. We shall soon finish our course : may it be with joy ! If I am able next summer, it is my mind to take a tour eastward to Wislicach, Lynn, Fakenham, Norwich, Yarmouth, and some other places in Norfolk and Suff"olk, and return by Isleham and Soham ; but perhaps I may prove like Sampson, who went out to do as at other times, and wist not that his strength was departed from him." He was under the necessity of placing himself under medical direction, to enable him to fulfil an engagement at Clipstone, a few miles from home, where on the 29th of March he attended the ordination of the Rev. J. Mack. He addressed the church in a most impressive manner, from 1 John 8. On retiring from the pulpit he said, in reply to the inquiries of his friends, "I am very ill — a dying man." On taking his leave, he said, "All is over — my work is nearly finished. I shall see you no more : the blessing of the Lord attend you — farewell." There can be no doubt that this exercise contributed greatly to the aggravation of his disorder. The following Sabbath, April "2, he deliv- ered his last sermon, from Isa. Ixvi. 1, 2, " Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool," &c. His discourse on this occasion was marked by a peculiar earnestness; and his MEMOIRS OP MR. FULLER. 89 subsequent pathetic though short address at the Lord's table, interrupted hy solemn pauses, conveyed to the minds of the communicants a powerful impression that they were receivint; tlie memorials of a Savior's love from his hands for the last time. He seemed alisorhed in the con- templation of a crucified, risen, and ex- alted Redeemer, and quoted with pecu- liar emphasis those lines : — " Jesus is gone above tlie skies," &c. On the 9th, after sitting up in his bed, and speakinii in afTecting terms relative to some iamily atfair?, he said, "I feel satisfaction in the thought that my times are in the Lord's hands. I have been importuning the Lord that whether I live it may be to him, or whetlier I die it may be to him. F"lesh and heart fail; but God is the strength of my heai't, and my portion forever." April the 11th, he said, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit, my family, and my charge : I have done a little for God ; but all that I have done needs forgive- ness. I trust alone in sovereign grace and niercy. I could be glad to be favor- ed wiih some lively hopes before I depart hence. God, my supporter and my hope, I would say, ' Not my will, but thine be done !' ' God is my soul's eternal rock. The strength of every sainl.' I am a poor sinner ; but my hope is in the Savior of sinners." He now determined, by the advice of his physician, on going to Cheltenham ; and his beloved flock, anxious that every possible accommodation should be afford- ed him, contributed most liberally to the supply of his wants. Writing to a friend in the town, who was prevented V)y illness from visiting him, he says — "April 19. I am ordered to go next Monday for Chel- tenham. I should be happy to come and see you before I go ; but whether the weather and my afflictions will permit I know not. When I shall return is uncer- tain. The Lord's supper must be sus- pended : my times are in the Lord's hands : but to me all is uncertain." On the following sabbath his disorder assumed a new and alarming appearance, and the journey was relinquished as impracticable. On the •28th of April, he dictated the following letter to Dr. Ryland, and sub- scribed it with his own hand : — " My dearest friend, "We have enjoyed much together, which I hope will prove an earnest of greater enjoyment in another world. We have also wrought together in the Lord's vineyard, and he has given us to reap to- getlier in his vintage. I expect this is nearly over : but I trust we shall meet, and part no more. I have very little hope of recovery ; but I am satisfied to drink of the cup which my Heavenly Father giveth me to drink. Witliout experience, no one can conceive of the depression of my spirits ; yet I have no despondency. ' I know whom I have lielieved, and that he is able to keep that which I have com- mitted to him against that day.' I am a poor guilty creature; but Christ is an al- mighty Savior. I have preaciied and written much against the abuse of the doctrine of grace; but that doctrine is all my salvation and all my desire. I have no other hope than trom salvation by mere sovereign, efficacious grace, through the atonement of my Lord antl Savior. With this hope, I can go into eternity with composure. Come, Lord Jesus ! Come when thou wilt! Here I am; let him do with me as seemeth him good ! " We have some w ho have been giving out, of late, that ' If Sutcliff and some others had preached more of Christ, and less of Jonathan Edwards, they would have been more useful.' If those who talked thus preached Christ half as much as Jonathan Edwards did, and were half as useful as he was, their usefulness w^ould be double what it is. It is very singular that the mission to the east should have originated witii men of these principles ; and, without pretending to be a prophet, I may say. If ever it falls into the hands of men who talk in this strain, it will soon come to nothing. " If I should never see your face in the flesh, I could wish one last testimony of brotherly love, and of the truth of the gospel, to be expressed by your coming over and preaching my funeral sermon, if it can be, from Rom. viii. 10. I can dictate no more, but am " Ever yours, "A. F." On the same day one of his deacons, to w horn he expressed himself as in great depression of body, replied, " I do not know any person. Sir, who is in a more enviable situation than yourself — a good man on the verge of a l)lessed immortal- ity." He modestly assented, and lifting up his hands exclaimed, "If I am saved, it will be by great and sovereign grace — BY GREAT AND SOVEREIGN GRACE !" On attempting to raise himself in bed, he said, "All my feelings are sinking, dying feelings." Seeing his wife in tears, he VOL. 12 yo MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLLil. said, " We shall meet again! It will be well." While in a lialh, he observed to his medical attendant, " I never be- fore recollect to have had such depres- sion of animal spirits, accompanied with such calmness of mind." Though the disorder with which he was afflicted was such that many of the best regulated minds had been reduced almost to despair under its influence, he was frequently heard to say, " My mind is calm — no rap- tures, no despondency." And on one occasion he used the following emphatic expression, " Mij hope is such that I am not afraid to plunge into eternity ! " Addressing himself to one of his sons, he exclaimed, "All misery is concentra- ted in me !" — " Bodily misery only, fath- er 1" — " Yes, I can think of nothing else." More than once he said, "My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct." On Lord's-day, May the 7th, within an hour of his departure, overhearing the congregation singing in the chapel, which adjoined his house, he said to his daugh- ter Sarah, " I wish I had strensth enough." — " To do what, father 1" "He replied, " To worship, child ;" and added, "my eyes are dim." On his daughter Mary entering the room (the rest of the family surrounding the bed of their dying pa- rent) he said, "Come, Mary, come and help me." He was raised up in bed, and in that attitude continued for nearly half an hour, apparently joining in the devotions of his flock. Tlie only words that could be distinctly heard were " help me," when, with his hands clasped, and his eyes fixed upwards, he fell liack, ut- tered two or three sighs, and expired. Thus died this devoted servant of Christ, May 7th, 1815, in the sixty-second year of his age. A letter from his colleague, the Rev. J. K. Hall, gives a further detail of the circumstances attendant on his death and funeral, of which the following are ex- tracts : — "I intend to fill this letter with news ; though, as it will chiefly relate to Mr. Fuller's death, it will be news of a dole- fvd kind. You have heard, I suppose, that this great and good man departed this life about half-past eleven, last Lord's- day morning. I was, at the time, preach- ing from Psa. xxiii. 4 — 'Yea, though I »valk through the valley of the shadow of death, I Avill fear no evil,' &c. He ex- perienced what, at that moment, I was attempting to describe. Mr. Toller, the Independent minister, was, at the same time, preaching from Psa. Ixxiii. 26 — ' My flesh and my heart faileth ; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion Jorever.' As soon as we left our places of worship, every individual in the town probably heard the afflictive words, ' He is gone ! He is gone !' and the melancholy news was soon dispatched to different parts of the kingdom. As I had to preach in the afternoon, you may easily suppose that this circumstance would increase those feelings which I could not prevent on so solemn an occasion : I preached from Isa. ix. 6 — ' And the government shall be upon his shoulder.' This was the text from which Mr. Fuller preached, when he returned from my grandfather's funeral." After descril)ing the particulars of his illness and death, he adds, " The funeral is to l)e next Monday. I shall not send this off till it is over. You know that Dr. Ryland, by Mr. Fuller's request, is to preach ; and my uncle is to deliver the funeral oration." " Tuesday Afternoon, [May 16.] "Mr. Hall has resigned to me (says Mrs. Hall) the task of finishing this let- ter ; but, as the mail will leave Kettering very soon, I can do little more than just mention that the last sad tribute of respect was yesterday evening paid to the re- mains of the great and good Mr. Fuller. The crowd which attended was immense. All the ministers in the town were invited, both churchmen and dissenters — Mr. Tol- ler, Mr. Hogg, Mr. Bugg, with Mr. Brown and Mr. Towers, the methodist preach- ers. No formal invitation was sent to any minister in the country, it being diffi- cult to know where to draw the line ; but numbers were attracted to the spot by motives of respect and affection. Mr. Grimshaw, a clergyman of the establish- ment, came on purpose from Bedford. Mr. Hinton, of Oxford, and many others, with whom I was not acquainted, were there. I went to the meeting through Mr. Fuller's house (the doors not being open quite so soon) at three o'clock in the afternoon. About a quarter of an hour afterwards, the crowds assembled at the doors were admitted; the rush of people was astonishing ; but no one, that I have heard of, received any injury. It was supposed there might be 2000 persons. The galleries were propped in several places, to prevent any accident; and, I am happy to say, there was not the slightest alarm. A quarter before five the funeral procession entered. The coffin was placed in the table-pew ; the mourn- ers in the seats on the right hand of the pulpit. Mr. J. H. first gave out a hymn. Mr. Toller then engaged in prayer, with gi-eat fervor and devotion : another hpnn was sung. Dr. R. preached from Romans, viii. 10, and Mr. Robert Hall, MEMOIRS OF MK. FU1,LEK. 91 preceded l)y anolhcr hymn, delivered tlic I'uneral oration. Tlic corpse was then earned out and intened. A few words only were spoken by Dr. Ryland, after the body was put into the irravc." The followinir is an extract from a dis- course delivered by Mr. Toller, the Inde- pendent niinister, on the Sal)i)atli follow- inii the death of his friend, and sui)se- (piently to Mr. Fuller's consrctration at tiieir request. The text was chosen from 1 Kinjis xiii, 30 — "Alas, my brother!" " With rejrard to liie much-respected friend and Christian minister lately re- moved, it might appear unbecomini^ and indelicate in me to enter iar into his character and case ; particularly as this will be done to so miich srreater advan- tage on the api)roaching day : but thus much I could hardly satisfy myself with- out advancing on this occasion. "I trust, I am sincerely disposed to join in the general and just tribute which his friends and the public are disjjosed to pay to his abilities, his sound sense, and solid understanding, and to his unwearied diligence and uuconqueral)le ardor in supporting and pursuing the interests of the best of causes ; and that not only in the common duties of his profession, but more particularly in the propagation of Christianity in the foreign climes of India. Perhaps no individual, next to the un- eepialled Carey, no individual at least at home, has done so much to promote that cause ; and, considering the tew advan- tages of early education which he enjoy- ed, the eminence to which he has risen, the influence he acquired, and the means of usefulness which he has collected and secured, are so much the more extraor- dinary, and reflect the greater credit on his memory. The variety andH'ompass of his writings, though all bearing on one grand j)oint, yet serve to show what sheer abilities, sound principle, ardent zeal, and persevering application can do. I have read his works (some of them more than once) with much satisfaction, and, I trust, some improvement : that that improvement has not amounted to more, ought to be attributed to myself. I have not a doubt but that they have been of real and extensive use in the christian church, in support of the radical principles of evangelical religion, and will continue to be so after his dust shall mingle with the 'clods of the valley.' It is a satisfaction to me to reflect that, in the great leading views of vital Christianity, he expresses very nearly my own sentiments; though it is not to be expected that persons who think for themselves on sacred sulijects should, in every point, ' see eye to eye' You will not, therefore, expect that I should j)rofess myself able to subscribe to every article in his theological creed : still, however, it is a jileasure to me to reflect now, that, dilTering only on points of suliordinatc importance, wherever that was the case we always agreed to difler. " Though living in the same town, en- gaged in the same profession, and that under the banners of difl'erent denomina- tions, for about thirty years, I do not recollect that ever an angry word passed between us, or a single jar occurred, by our means, among our respective con- nections. At the same time, I would not mention this in the spirit of a vain comi)liment, either to him or to myself; but desire to be deeply sensible of a thousand deflciencies and errors in other respects ; nor woidd I be understood, in a servile spirit of fulsome flattery, as repre- senting him as a faultless character, or holding him up, in all respects, as a model of the christian temper and disposition; for, alas ! of w hom can you say, ' Be ye followers of him,' unless you insert the restrictive clause — so far as he was ' a fol- lower of Christ 1' " While, then, I think him an eminent loss to his family, a general loss to socie- ty and the church of Christ, and perhaps an irre|)arableloss to his own denomination, I trust I can, with truly christian cordial- ity, follow him up to the footstool of his Master's throne, and congratulate him on that ' Well-done, good and faithful ser- vant,' which, I have no doubt, he has re- ceived. "I conclude with remarking that, in no one point, cither from his writings, which I have read, or the sermons I have heard from him, or the interviews and conver- sations I have had with him, — in nothing can I so fully join issue with him as in the manner of his dying. Had he gone off full of rapture and transport, I might have said, ' O let me die the triumphant death of the righteous ! ' But it would have V)een far more than I could have realized or expected in my own case : but the state of his mind towards the last apj)ears to have been, if I may so express it, ' after my own heart.' He died as a penitent sinner at the foot of the cross. At my last parting w ith him, I shook hands with him twice, and observed, with some emotion, not expecting to see him more, ' We have lived harmoniously, many years, in the same place ; I trust we shall, one day, meet above.' I think the last religious sentence he dro])ped to me was, ' Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.' He said to a young minister, ' I have no religious joy; but I have a hope, in the strength of which I think I could plunge into eternity.' 92 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. "Being reminded of his missionary la- bors, he replied, 'Ah! the object was un- questionably good; ' but adverted to the mixture of motives, to the influence of which we are liable in supporting the best of causes. To another friend, who was congratulating him in a similar style, he replied, ' I have been a great sinner ; and, if I am saved at all, it must be by great and sovereign grace.' Here the dying minister — the dying friend, speaks all my heart : here, I come nearer to him at his death than I have ever done throug'h the whole course of his life. The testimony of a christian conscience is, at all times, invaluable ; but, in the dying moments of a fallen creature, it can afford no more than auxiliary support ; the grand promi- nent hold of the trembling soul must be ' the golden chain that comes down from heaven.' It is the immediate, personal, realizing application ; it is the broad pal- pable hope of salvation for penitent sin- ners, through the riches of divine grace in Christ Jesus our Lord, that throws every thing else into shades. It is not the voice of congratulation on the best-spent life, however just, that is most acceptable, in those awful moments, to pious minds : that is ol'ten heard with trembling diffi- dence and conscious apprehension of con- taminating motives and counteracting de- fects. The sweetest music, in ihe ears of expiring piety, must be struck from an- other string : ' This is the record, that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son — The wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.' " In all probability, my bones Avill be deposited not far from his; God grant that I may die in the same temper and the same hope ; and that our spirits may be united in the day of the Lord ! Amen." A tomb was erected over the remains of Mr. Fuller, in the burial ground ad- joining his place of worsliip, and a tablet to his memory is placed by the side of the pulpit, with this inscription : — IN MEMORY OF THEIR REVERED AND BELOVED PASTOR, THE REVEREND ANDREW FULLER, THE CHURCH AND CONGREGATION HAVE ERECTED THIS TABLET. HIS ARDENT PIETY, THE STRENGTH AND SOUNDNESS OF HIS JUDGMENT, HIS INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HUMAN HEART, AND HIS PROFOUND ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE SCRIPTURES, EMINENTLY QUALIFIED HIM FOR THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE, WHICH HE SUSTAINED AMONGST THEM THIRTY-TWO YEARS. THE FORCE AND ORIGINALITY OF HIS GENIUS, AIDED BY UNDAUNTED FIRMNESS, RAISED HIM FROM OBSCURITY TO HIGH DISTINCTION IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD. BY THE WISDOM OF HIS PLANS, AND BY HIS UNWEARIED DILIGENCE IN EXECUTING THEM, HE RENDERED THE MOST IMPORTANT SERVICES TO THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY; OF WHICH HE WAS THE SECRETARY FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT, AND TO THE PROSPERITY OF WHICH HE DEVOTED HIS LIFE. IN ADDITION TO HIS OTHER LABORS, HIS WRITINGS ARE NUMEROUS AND CELEBRATED. HE DIED MAY 7th, 1815, AGED 61. The following testimonies will show the " I cannot refrain from expressing, in a general estimation in which the character few words, the sentiments of affectionate of the deceased was held. The first is veneration with which I always regarded from tbe pen of the late Rev. Robert that excellent person while living, and rlall, A. M. cherish his memory now that he is no MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 93 more ; a man whose sagacity enal»lc(l liiiu to penetrate to tlie depths of every sub- ject he ex[>lorecl, \vl\ose conceptions were so powerful and luminous, that what was recondite and orij^inal ap|)eared familiar ; what was intricate, easy and perspicuous in his hands ; equally successful in en- forcing the practical, in stating tiie theo- retical, and discussing the polemical branches of theology: without the advan- tages of early education, he rose to high distinction among the religious writers of his day, and, in the midst of a most active and lai>orious life, left monuments of his piety and genius which will survive to dis- tant posterity. Were I making his eulo- giuin, I should necessarily dwell on the spotless integrity of his private life, his fidelity in friendship, his neglect of self- interest, his ardent attachment to truth, and especially the series of unceasing labors and exertions, in superintending the mission to India, to which he most probably fell a victim. He had nothing feeble or undecisive in his character ; but, to every undertaking in which he engaged, he brought all the powers of his under- standing, all the energies of his heart ; and, if he were less distinguished by the comprehension than the acumen and so- lidity of his thoughts — less eminent for the gentler graces than for stern integrity and native grandeur of mind, we have only to remember the necessary limita- tion of human excellence. AVliile he en- deared himself to his denomination by a long course of most useful labor, by his excellent works on the Socinian and De- istical controversies, as well as his devo- tion to the cause of missions, he laid the world under lasting obligations." The same eloquent writer, in his brief memoir of Mr. Toller, has sketched, with a masterly hand, a comparative delinea- tion of the peculiar excellences of both his friends. " It has rarely been the privilege of one town, and that not of considerable ex- tent, to possess at the same time, and for so long a period, two such eminent men as Mr. Toller and Mr. Fuller. Their merits as christian ministers were so equal, and yet so different, that the exer- cise of their religious functions in the same place was as little adapted to pro- duce jealousy as if they had moved in distant spheres. The predominant fea- ture in the intellectual character of Mr. Fuller was the power of discrimination, by which he detected the minutest shades of difference among objects which most minds would confound. Mr. Toller excel- led in exhibiting the common sense of man- kind in a new and impressive form. Mr. Fuller never appeared to so much advan- tage as when occupied in detecting sophis- try, repelling objections, and ascertaining, with a microscopic accuracy, the exact boundaries of truth and error : Mr. Toller attached his attention chiclly to those parts of Christianity which come most into con- tact with the imagination and the feelings, over w hich he exerted a sovereign ascend- ancy. Mr. Fuller convinced by his argu- ments, Mr. Toller subdued by his pathos: the former made his iiearers feel the grasp of his intellect, the latter the contagion of his sensibility. Mr. P"'uller's discourses identilicd themselves after they were heard with trains of thought ; Mr. Toller's with trains of emotion. The illustrations employed by Mr. Fuller (for lie also ex- celled in illustration) were generally made to subserve the clearer comprehension of his subject ; those of Mr. Toller consist- ed chiefly of ap])eals to the imagination and the heart. Mr. Fuller's ministry was peculiarly adapted to detect hypocrites, to expose fallacious pretensions to religion, and to separate the precious from the vile ; he sat as ' the refiner's fire, and the fuller's soap.' Mr. Toller was most im his element when exhii)iting the consola- tions of Christ, dispelling the fears of death, and i)ainting the prospects of eter- nity. Both were original ; but the origin- ality of Mr. Fuller appeared chiefly in his doctrinal statements, that of Mr. Toller in his practical remarks. The former was un- questionably most conversant with specu- lative truth, the latter possessed, jjerhaps, the deeper insight into the human heart. " Nor were the characters of these em- inent men, within the limits of that mora! excellence wliich was the attribute of both, less diversified than their mental endow- ments. Mr. Fuller was chiefly distin- guished by the qualities that command veneration ; Mr. Toller by those which excite love. Laborious, zealous, intrepid, Mr. Fuller passed through a thousand ob- stacles in the pursuit of objects of pul)lic interest and utility ; Mr. Toller loved to repose, delighting and delighted, in the shade of domestic privacy. The one lived for the world ; the other for the promo- tion of the good of his congregation, his family, and friends. An intense zeal for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ, sustained by industry that never tired, a resolution not to be shaken, and integrity incapable of being warped, conjoined to a certain austerity of manner, were the leading characteristics of Mr. Fuller; gen- tleness, humility, and modesty, those of Mr. Toller. The secretary of the Bap- tist Mission attached, in my opinion, too much importance to a speculative accura- cy of sentiment; while the subject of this memoir leaned to the contrary extreme. Mr. Fuller was too prone to infer the character of men from their creed ; Mr. 94 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER- Toller to lose sight of their creed in their character. " Between persons so dissimilar, it was next to impossible a very close and confi- dential intimacy should subsist : a sincere admiration of each other's talents, and es- teem for the virtues which equally adorn- ed them both, secured, without interrup- tion, for more than thirty years, those habits of kind and respectful intercourse which had the happiest effect in promot- ing the harmony of their connections, and the credit of religion. " Much as Mr" Fuller was lamented by the religious public in general, and espe- cially in his own denomination, I have reason to believe there was not a single individual, out of the circle of his imme- diate relatives, who was more deeply af- fected by his death than Mr. Toller. From that moment he felt himself nearer to eternity : he accepted the event as a most impressive warning of his own dis- solution ; and, while a thousand solemn and affecting recollections accompanied the retrospect of a connection which had so long and so happily subsisted, one of his favorite occupations was to revive a men- tal intercourse, V)y the frequent perusal of the sermons of his deceased friend. It is thus that the friendship of high and sanc- tified spirits loses nothing by death but its alloy ; failings disappear, and the virtues of those whose ' faces we shall behold no more ' appear greater and more sacred when leheld through the shades of the sepulchre." "It is pleasing to reflect," observes Dr. Newman, " that a spontaneous hom- age was paid to him by persons of all i-ank& and degrees. Men of education and learning, men of distinction in wealth and office, the poor and illiterate. Christians in the establishment and out of it, of all ■denominations, hung delighted on his Ips." The Committee of the British and For- 3ign Bible Society, in a minute dated May 22, 1815, testify their estimate of his worth in the following terms : — " This Committee learn, with deep regret, the decease of the late Rev. Andrew Fuller, secretary to the Baptist Missionary Soci- ety ; and, impressed with a sense of the valuable services rendered by that excel- lent individual, in promoting the transla- tion and publication of the Sacred Scrip- tures in the East, desire to unite their con- dolence on this afflictive event with that of their Baptist brethren, to whom he was more particularly allied, and of the christian world, by whom his memory will deserve to be held in affectionate and grateful veneration." To these public testimonies may be ad- ded one relative to his domestic virtues, from his bereaved widow, who thus writes to Dr. Ryland :— " I think, dear Sir, there was no one better acquainted with the dear deceased, in his public character, than yourself : we can, therefore, give you no information on that head ; but far be it from me to wish it to be held up in the style of panegyric. I am certain that would have ill accorded with his sentiments and feelings ; and I know that this may be safely left to your discretion. But I cannot forbear adding my testimony to my late dear husband's con- duct in his domestic character; which, so far as his mind was at liberty to indulge in such enjoyments, I must testify to have been, ever since I had the happiness of being united to him, of the most amiable and endearing kind. But to so great a degree was he absorbed in his work as scarcely to allow himself any leisure or relaxation from the severest application ; especially since, of late years, his work so accumulated on his hands. I was sometimes used to remark, how much we were occupied (for, indeed, I had no small share of care devolved upon me in conse- quence;) his reply usually was, ' Ah, my dear, the way for us to have any joy is to rejoice in all our labor, and then Ave shall have plenty of joy.' If I complained that he allowed himself no time for recreation, he would answer, ' O no : all my recrea- tion is a change of work.' If I expressed an apprehension that he would soon wear himself out, he would reply, ' I cannot be worn out in a better cause. We must work while it is day ;' or, ' Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might.' " There was a degree of bluntness in his manner ; which yet did not arise from an unsocial)le or churlisli disposition, but from an impatience of interruption in the grand object of his pursuit. In this sense he seemed not to know his relations or friends. Often, when a friend or an ac- quaintance on a journey has called, when they had exchanged a few words, he would ask, ' Have you any thing more to sayl' — or something to that effect — 'if not, I must beg to be excused;' at the same time, asking them to stay and take some refreshment, if they chose. Yet, you know, dear Sir, he had a heart formed for the warmest and sincerest friendship with those whose minds were congenial with his own, and who were engaged in similar pursuits ; and I never knew him to be weary of their company. I am fully persuaded that my dear husband fell a sacrifice to his unremitting application to the concerns of the mission ; but I dare not murmur. The Lord has done as it pleas- ed him ; and I know that whatever he does is right." MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 95 The following auccdotcs will illustrate some of the most distinguishinji features of Mr. Fuller's character. Among these none was more conspicuous than his originality, which is thus referred to by himselt, in a conversation with a friend on the philosophical character of Dr. Franklin: "Well," said Mr. Fuller, "what do you call a philosopher, or in what re- spect was he one 1 " " O! lie seems to have made rules for himself in childhood, which regulated him even in old age." Mr. Fuller rej)lied, " If this be any mark of a philosopher, you will make me one. — My father was a farmer, and in my young- er days it was one great boast among the ploughmen that they could plough a straight line acrofs the furrows or ridges of a field. I thought I could do this as Avell as any of them. One day, I saw such a line, which had just been drawn, and I thought, 'Now I have it.' Accoi'd- ingly I laid hold of the'plough, and, putting one of the horses into the furrow whicli had been made, I resolved to keep him walking in it, and thus secure a parallel line. By and l)ye, however, I observed that there were what might be called Avriggles in this furrow ; and, when I came to thetn, they turned out to be larger in mine than in the original. On per- ceiving this, I threw the plough aside, and determined never to be an Imitator. ^^ There were times when he could ap- preciate and enjoy the works of art, but these were evidently made to yield to matters of higher moment ; and what was observed of John Howard, by an eloquent living writer, was equally true of Mr. Fuller, that "as invisible spirits, who lulfil their commission of philan- thropy among mortals, do not care about pictures, statues, and sumptuous build- ings ; no more did he, when the time in which he must have inspected and ad- mired them would have been taken from the work to which he had consecrated his life." A friend, conducting Mr. F. through the university of Oxford, point- ed out an object of peculiar interest among the splendid edifices that surround- ed them : " Brother, rei)licd he, I think there is one question which, after all that has been written on it, has not been yet answered : — What is justification 1 " His friend proposed to return home and dis- cuss the subject ; to which Mr. F. readily- agreed, adding, " That incpiiry is far more to me than all these fine buildings." Though rarely accustomed to obtrude himself on the attention of strangers, no man could more admirably preserve the consistency of his character in all compa- nies. On one occasion, traveling in the Portsmouth mail, he was much annoyed i)y the profane conversation of two young men who sat opposite. After a time, one of them, observing his gravity, accosted him with an air of impertinence, inquiring, in rude and indelicate language, wheth(!r on his arrival at Portsmouth he sliould not indulge himself in a manner evidently corresponding with their own intentions : Mr. Fuller, lowering his ample brows, and looking the inquirer full in the face, replied in measured tones, " Sir, I am a man that fears God." Scarcely a word was uttered during the remainder of the journey. His aversion to display, and especially of attainments to which he could lay but a moderate claim, is remarkable in his disclaimer of any thing approaching to erudition; and though his remarks on the English Translation of the Scriptures evince a shrewd perception of its merits, and those on the proper and improper use of terms discover an equal acquaintance with the general j)rinciples of language, it is observalile that he more freely availed himself of the use of critical comment in one page of his "Letters of Agnostos," where he was concealed from public view, than in all the rest of his works united. Under the influence of those pensive feelings to which he was subject, especial- ly in later life, he would often sing, to a tune remarkable for its plaintive simplic- ity, a hymn commencing with the follow- ing stanzas : — " I sojoiirn in a vale of tears, Alas, iiow can I sing; My harp doth on the willows hang, Distun'd in every string : My music is a captive's chain; Harsh sounds my ears do fill : — How can I sing sweet Zion's song On this side Zion's hill T" One evening, having composed a tunc, not remarka1)le for its scientific structure, he carried it for the inspection of a mu- sical friend. "It's in a flat key. Sir," observed his friend. — " Very likely," re- plied Mr. F. in a plaintive tone, "very likely; I was born in a flat key." His ideas of Psalmody, which will be found among his miscellaneous pieces, are sin- gular and not unworthy of attention. His mode of living was characterized by simplicity, and he would frequently remark that the great difference r)etween the comfort of one man and another often depended on the fact that the one simpli- fied his Avants — the other multiplied them. Tliough his manners were occasionally harsh, and there were times in which he might be betrayed into needless severity, it 96 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. was less attributable to a morose dispo- sition than to an unpolished manner, of "V/hich his intercourse with society never entirely divested him. No man more sincerely estimated the importance of what he emphatically termed " Christian po- liteness," whifh he esteemed as equally removed from the heartless complaisance of a Chestertield and the affected moi'ose- ness of a Johnson. Mr. Fuller excelled principally as a writer, yet his preaching was exceedingly interesting and instructive. His phrase- ology, though occasionally quaint, was, for the most part, clear, dignihed, and em- phatic. His arrangement was compre- hensive, and he was remarkable for a fe- licitous discovery and a happy application of all the attributes of his subject and the terms of his text. Exposition was a fa- vorite exercise : and he was accustomed to regard a ministry in which this occupi- ed a subordinate place as equally wanting in scriptural authority and practical ad- vantage. He expounded a large portion of the books of the Old and New Testa- ment. Such of these as are not published were left in short-hand, in an unfinished state, and part of them perished by lire. Mr. Fuller was succeeded by his col- league, the Rev. John Keen Hall, M. A., who, after sustaining the pastoral office fourteen years, during which he was great- ly endeared to his people, was suddenly called to his reward, in the prime of life, a few weeks after his second marriage ; and was succeeded liy the Rev. J. Robin- son, the present pastor. APPENDIX. Mr. Fuller left an aged mother, a Avidow, three sons, and two daughters, to mourn his loss. His mother, who had been for several years confined to her bed by infirmity, died in the faith of the gos- pel, in May, 1816, her age being upwards of ninety. His daughter Sarah, who was in a debilitated state of health at the time of his death, regarded that event as con- veying a peculiarly solemn lesson to her- self. Viewing with complacency his pal- lid corpse, she observed, "I shall lie there very soon," — a presentiment which, alas, was realized. Her bereaved and disconsolate mother witnessed the only remaining companion of her widowhood falling under premature decay. Some of the distinguishing characteristics of this amiable and interesting young female were exhibited in a narrative composed by her mother, and inserted in the second edition of Dr. Ryland's Memoir of Mr. Fuller. A few extracts from this may not be unacceptable : — " Her disposition, from a child, was amiable. Integrity was a prominent fea- ture in her character. She appeared to possess an habitual tenderness of con- science, and was the suliject of early con- victions of sin, which, though transient in childhood, were more permanent as she advanced in years : but, owing to a natural reservedness, accompanied by a fear of deceiving herself and others, it was very difficult to ascertain the real state of her mind and feelings ; and, when she had un- bosomed herself, she seemed to repent, as though she had said something which, after all, might not be true : and this sus- picion of herself continued almost to the last. About the beginning of her last ill- ness, in reply to the affectionate inquiries of her sister, she said, ' I feel a great deal : but am afraid to speak of it, lest I should deceive myself and others. Hav- ing had a religious education, it is easy to talk about religion ; and I am afraid lest what I have felt should be merely the ef- fect of having enjoyed such a privilege, and so entirely wear off. I know religion in theory ; but am fearful lest it should be in theory only.' She wept much, and promised to communicate as much of her mind as she could ; begging, however, that her sister would not mention it to any one; 'for,' said she, 'possibly, what I now feel may be only on account of my affliction ; and then, if I recover, it may all wear off, and I may bring a disgrace upon religion.' " On being told of a young person who wished that, whenever she died, it might be of a consumption, that time might be aflforded her to repent, she said, it was ' so unreasonable to expect mercy, after hav- ing lived in sin as long as she could ! " " In public worship she was a very at- tentive hearer, and clearly understood and approved the doctrines of the gospel. Prayer-meetings were her peculiar de- light ; and her punctuality in attending them was truly exemplary : if any of her friends seemed indifferent to them, ob- serving, ' it is only a prayer-meeting,' she Avould express great disapprobation. " It was pleasing to observe the earnest desire she manifested for the spiritual wel- fare of others, especially of the young. Her diligence as a teacher in the Sunday- school was worthy of observation ; and she was extremely anxious for the adop- tion of a plan which had been proposed for the private religious instruction of some of the elder children of the school, nor would she rest till she saw it accom- plished, though her diffidence would not MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. 97 allow her to take any active part in it. She once said to iicr mother in reference to this sul'ject — 'Motlier, when will you speak al)out it I I leel as if we were doinij; no good ; and it is so wicked to live here only to eat and drink, and sleep! ' " Uuring her illness, siie spent most of her time, when alile, in reading the Psalms and the New Testament ; and, when too weary herself to read, she would hear tiie Bilile read with great pleasure. " Though, doul)tless, slie telt (he natural love of lite, yet she was never heard to ex])ress tlic smallest degree of impatience under her long and trying allliction ; and her mind Itecame more calm and compos- ed, as her prospects of being restored to her friends declined. The only concern she manifested in this particular was in the idea of leaving her mother, to whom, after her lather's death, she was especial- ly endeared hy her tender and dutiful at- tentions, and who she knew would dee|>ly feel the loss of her society. She one time said to her — ' I am quite happy, and have little wish to live but on your account.' * Seeing her mother greatly distressed, she in the tendercst manner endeavored to re- concile her to the loss of her, by saying, ' Dear mother, do not lay your account with pining after me when I am gone : you have other children who will need your care, and you don't know what troulde you might have on my account if I were to live.' Being asked if she did not feel happy in tiie thought of meeting her dear departed friends in glory, she replied — ' I do not think of that, so much as of seeing Cod and praising him.' A few days be- fore she died, she requested her sister to pray for her speedy release. The next day she said to her mother — ' I think I am going .... I feel so calm and comfort- able.' A short time before, she said she had no desire to live longer, unless it might be for the glory of God, and that she might serve him. To a friend who was speaking of his trials being so great that, were it not for his family, he could be glad to leave the world, she said — ' Take care of your motives, whether they are to glorify God, or merely to get rid of trouble.' — In short, the thoughts o/ serv- ing and glorifying God, whether in this world or another, seemed to take place of * She was peculiarly distressed at the thought of leavin;^ her mother, confined bv the charge of an aged and infirm parent to a house already the scene of melancholy recollections, which must be much in- creased by her own departure, and prayed earnestly and continually that God would spare her life beyond that of her grandmother, a request which was remar- kably answered, her grandmother, who had enjoyed a series of uninterrupted internal health till within a few weeks of her decease, being interred a few days before the deatli of Miss Fuller. all other considerations. She did not, however, attach any merit to the best of services; and her reliance for salvation was solely on the atonement of the Re- deemer. She said he was all her hope, and all her desire. " Wiien her younger brothers visited her a few weeks previous to her death, her earnestness with them was very affecting. On the morning of the day on which she died, she ex|)ressed an anxious desire of s()eaking to all the young people of her ac- quaintance, (mentioning several byname), in order, if possil)le, to convoy to them the strong imj)ression of the weight of eternal things which filled her own mind, in the near prospect of eternity ; and said, if she had a wish to live, it was that she iriight see them come forward, and declare themselves on the side of Christ. Being asked if she was happy, she replied, ' Quite so ; but I feel no raptures : and, if my Ag^v father did not, how can / ex- pect" if? ' " At her request, Mr. Hall was sent for, to whom she sjjoke witli much earnest- ness, lamenting to how little purpose she had lived, and desiring him, if he thought proper, to improve her death in a sermon to young people ; entreating him to be very particular in warning them not to put off the concerns of religion : and especial- ly the children of the Sabbath school ; ex- pressing her regret that she had so much neglected speaking to tiiem on that impor- tant subject, and her intention if she had been spared to have attended more to her duty in this respect. " This was her last effort, as she scarce- ly spoke a sentence afterwards, but lay with great composure and serenity of as- pect, waiting for her change, which took place between four and five o'clock in the afternoon of June 11, 1816. Her age was nineteen years. " She was interred on Sabbath evening, June 16; when an impressive discourse was addressed to a crowded audience, by Mr. Hall, from Psalm cii. 2.3, 24." To her bereaved mother Miss Fuller had been a wise and faithful counsellor in difficulty, and a sympathizing friend in af- fliction. Mrs. Fuller now removed to a small house near the residence of her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Levet; but subse- quently was induced, 1)y several consider- ations, to remove to Bristol, where, after a residence of two years, she died, Octol)er 29, 182-5, in the sixty-second year of her age- She was a woman of superior mind, and much reading and reflection. Though a constitutional reserve, confirmed by the retired scenes of her early life, rendered her less adapted to that social intercourse VOL. li 118 MEMOIRS OF MR. FULLER. which her station required, this defect was counterbalanced by a pre-eminent share of discretion, by which she not only avoid- ed many of those evils which an incautious deportment on the part of a minister's wife has been known to occasion ; but, with the aid of a sound judgment, render- ed the most essential service to her hus- band as a confidential adviser in difficulties. Mr. Fuller, in a passage of his diary, has recorded the following brief testimony : — " I have found my marriage contribute greatly to my peace and comfort, and the comfort of my family ; for which I render humble and hearty thanks to the God of my life." Though she was peculiarly at home in domestic engagements, her unwearied in- dustry afforded opportunity for the rec- ord of her private, views and feelings on a variety of subjects, as well as of numerous extracts from approved authors. After the lamented decease of her husband, and amidst various perplexing avocations, chiefly connected with the publication of the first edition of his works, and distress- ing anxiety relative to her daughter, she transcribed the exposition of the Psalms from Mr. Fuller's short-hand MS. Her sight suffered from the intense application ; nor was it till v/ithin a short time of her death that the laborious undertaking was completed. Few persons have maintained a more close and devout intercourse with God than Mrs. Fuller; her exercises of mind were pre-eminently devotional ; and the Psalms of David, and the poetical works of her favorite Watts, were a never-failing source of interest and profit. As she was not accustomed to keep a chronological diary, and frequently committed her wri- tings to the iiames, the following frag- ments are nearly all that can be found, and probably these owe their present ex- istence to an oversight : — " ' That I may be found in him.' — O what a word is that ! When any person de- parts this life, it is usual to say of their friends and relatives, they have lost such a friend. True it is, they are lost to this world. They have no more share in any thing that is done under the sun ; but, if they were believers in Christ, they will he found in Him, at the last day. Who can estimate the full extent of such an ex- pression as this ; or the state of blessed- ness it includes 1 To be found in Christ is to be interested in all he has done and suffered — his atonement, his righteous- ness, his intercession. O Lord, grant that I may thus be found in that day : not having on my own righteousness ; but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." " I have this evening heard of the death of a member of the church, who died full of peace and hope. I desire to feel thankful for the support afforded her, and would humbly pray that I may be so favor- ed in my latter end. O, to be a follower of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises !" " I have been thinking, this morning, of the privileges the people of God enjoy in the communio7i of spirits — if I may so call it. However distantly they may be situated from each other in person, there is one general place of rendezvous for kindred minds — this is a throne of grace. Oh ! how much we live below our mer- cies, and wrong each other and ourselves, when we do not to the full avail ourselves of this distinguishing privilege ! Surely this, improved as it ought, would in a great degree compensate for the absence of dear friends from each other. We might here be the means of rendering the most effectual assistance to each other. O my soul ! I would now charge thee, before the Father of mercies and the God of all grace, to be found more constantly and more earnestly engaged in this im- portant branch of christian duty. O Thou, from whom every good and perfect gift Cometh ! I look up to thee for grace and strength to enable me to discharge this and every other part of duty ; for all my sufficiency is of thee." '■' O Lord ! thy footsteps are in the deep waters. All things seem dark around me, as it respects thy dispensations, both in a way of providence and grace. Will light and deliverance ever arise'? 'To the upright there ariseth light in dark- ness.' O may I be found of that number! O Lord, I have no distrust of thy veraci- ty and faithfulness to thy promises, but I distrust myself. May it be my chief con- cern to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, both for myself and my children ; and then I may safely trust that every other needful goodwill be added." A continual dread of death was a bar to much of that enjoyment which the con- solations of the gospel are calculated to yield when "flesh and heart fail." This, however, near the close of her life was happily dissipated, and she met her "last enemy " with composure, in the full pos- session of " a good hope through grace." Her remains, agreeably to her own I'e- quest, were conveyed to Kettering, and deposited beneath the same tomb as those of her beloved husband and daughter ; on which occasion a discourse was delivered by Mr. Hall from the words above quoted, which had been frequently used by her as indicative of the foundation of her confi- dence in the prospect of death. THE GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS; THE HOLY NATURE AND DIVINE HARMONY CHRISTIAN RELIGION CONTRASTED WITH THE IMMORALITY AND ABSURDITY OF DEISM. Laying his liand on tlie Bible, lie would saj-, " There is true philosophy. This is the wisdom that speaks to tlie Iieart. A bad life is the only grand objection to this Book." Earl of Rochester. PREFACE. The struggle between religion and irreligion has existed in the world in all ages ; and if there be two opposite interests which divide its inhabitants, the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God, it is reasonable to expect that the contest will continue till one of them be exterminated. The peaceful nature of Christianity does not require that we should make peace with its adversaries, or cease to repel their attacks, or even that we should act merely on the defensive. On the contrary, we are required to make use of those weapons of the divine warfare with which we are furnished, for the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. The opposition of the present age has not been confined to the less important points of Christianity, nor even to its first principles: Christianity itself is treated as im- posture. The same things, it is true, have been advanced and as frequently repelled, in former ages ; but the adversaries of the gospel of late, encouraged it should seem by the temper of the times, have renewed the attack with redoubled vigor. One of their most popular writers, hoping to avail himself of this circumstance, is pleased to entitle his performance The Age of Reason. This writer is aware that flattery is one of the most powerful means of gaining admission to the human mind ; such a compliment, therefore, to the present age, was doubtless considered as a master- stroke of policy. Nor is Mr. Paine less obliging to himself than to his readers, but takes it for granted that tlie cause for which he pleads is that of reason and truth. The considerate reader, however, may remark, that those writers who are not ashamed to beg the question in the title-page are seldom the most liberal or impar- tial in the execution of the work. One thing which has contributed to the advantage of Infidelity is the height to which political disputes U^ve arisen, and the degree in which they have interested the pas- sions and prejudices of mankind. Those who favor the sentiments of a set of men in one thing Avill be in danger of thinking favorably of them in others ; at least they will not be apt to view them in so ill a light as if they had been advanced by persons of different sentiments in other things, as well as in religion. It is true there may be nothing more friendly to Infidelity in the nature of one political system than another ; 102 PREFACE. nothing that can justify professing Christians in accusing one another, merely on account of a difference of this kind, of favoring the interests of Atheism and irreligion : nevertheless, it becomes those who think favorably of the political principles of In- fidels to take heed, lest they be insensibly drawn away to think lightly of religion. All the nations of the earth, and all the disputes on the best or worst modes of gov- ernment, compared with this, are less than nothing and vanity. To this it may be added, that the eagerness with which men engage in political dis- putes, take which side they may, is unfavorable to a zealous adherence to the gospel. Any mere worldly object, if it become the principal thing which occupies our thoughts and affections, will weaken our attachment to religion ; and, if once we become cool and indifferent to this, we are in the high road to Infidelity. There are cases, no doubt, relating to civil government, in which it is our duty to act, and that with firmness ; but to make such things the chief object of our attention, or the principal topic of our conversation, is both sinful and injurious. Many a promising character in the religious world has, by these things, been utterly ruined. The writer of the following pages is not induced to offer them to the public eye from an apprehension that the Church of Christ is in danger. Neither the downfal of Popery, nor the triumph of Infidels, as though they had hereby overturned Chris- tianity, have ever been to him the cause of a moment's uneasiness. If Christianity be of God, as he verily believes it to be, they cannot overthrow it. He must be posses- sed of but little faith who can tremble, though in a storm, for the safety of the vessel which contains his Lord and Master. There would be one ai'guraent less for the di- vinity of the Scriptures, if the same powers which gave existence to the anti-chris- tian dominion had not been employed in taking it away.* But, though truth has nothing to fear, it does not follow that its friends should be inactive ; if we have no apprehensions for the safety of Christianity, we may, nevertheless, feel for the rising generation. The Lord confers an honor upon his servants in condescending to make use of their humble efforts in preserving and promoting his interest in the world. If the present attempt may be thus accepted and honored, by Him to whose name it is sincerely dedicated, the writer will receive a ricli reward. Kettering, Oct. 10, 1799. * The powers of Europe (signified by the ten horns, or kings) into which the Roman empire should be di- vided, were to give their kingdoms to the beast. They did so, and France particularly took the lead. The same powers, it is predicted, shall hate the whore, and burn her flesh with fire. They have begun to do so ; and in this business also France has taken the lead. Rev. xvii. 12, 13, 16 — 18. INTRODUCTION. The controversies between believers and unbelievers are confined to a narrower ground tlian those of professed believers with one another. Scripture testimony, any- farther than as it bears the character of truth, and approves itself to the conscience, or is produced for the purpose of explaining the nature of genuine Christianity, is here out of the question. Reason is the common ground on which they must meet to decide their contests. On this ground Christian writers have successfully closed with their antagonists : so much so that, of late ages, notwithstanding all their boast of reason, not one in ten of them can be kept to the fair and honorable use of this weapon. On the contrary, they are driven to substitute dark insinuation, low wit profane ridicule, and gross abuse. Such were the weapons of Shaftesbuiy, Tindal, Morgan, Bolingbroke, Voltaire, Hume, and Gibbon : and such are the weapons of the author of The Age of Reason. Among various well-written performances, in an- swer to their several productions, the reader may see a concise and able refuta- tion of the greater part of them in Leland's Review of the Deistical Writers. It is not my design to go over the various topics usually discussed in this contro- versy, but to select a single one, which, I conceive, has not been so fully attended to but that it may yet be considered with advantage. The internal evidence which Christianity possesses, particularly in respect of its holy nature and divine harmony, will be the subject of the present inquiry. Mr. Paine, after the example of many others, endeavors to discredit the Scrip- tures by representing the number of hands through which they have passed, and the uncertainty of the historical evidence by which they are supported. "It is a matter altogether of uncertainty to us," he says, "whether such of the writings as now ap- pear under the names of the Old and New Testament are in the same state in which those collectors say they found them ; or whether they added, altered, abridged, or dressed them up."* It is a good work which many writers have undertaken, to prove the validity of the Christian history, and to show tliat we have as good evidence for the truth of the great facts which it relates as we have for the truth of any an- cient events whatever.f But if, in addition to this, it can be proved that the Scrip- * Age of Reason, Pan I. pp, 10. 11. f Lardner, Simpson, and others. 104 INTRODUCTION, tures contain internal characteristics of divinity, or that they carry in them the evi- dence of their authenticity, this will at once answer all objections from the supposed uncertainty of historical evidence. Historians inform us of a certain valuable medicine called Mithridate, an antidote to poison. It is said that tliis medicine was invented by Mithridates, king of Pontus • that the receipt of it was found in a cabinet, written with his own hand, and was carried to Rome by Pompey ; that it was translated into verse by Damocrates, a fa- mous physician ; and that it was afterwards translated by Galen, from whom we have it.* Now, supposing this medicine to be efficacious for its professed purpose, of what account would it be to object to the authenticity of its history 1 If a modern caviller should take it into his head to allege that the preparation has passed through so many hands, and that there is so much hearsay and uncertainty attending it, that no dependence can be placed upon it, and that it had better be rejected from our Materia Medica, — he would be asked, Has it not been tried, and found to be effectual; and that in a great variety of distances'! Such are Mr. Paine's objections to the Bi- ble ; and such is the answer that may be given him. This language is not confined to infidel writers. Mr. Locke speaks of what he calls " traditional revelation," or revelation as we have it, in such a manner as to convey the idea that we have no evidence of the Scriptures being the word of God, but from a succession of witnesses having told us so.f But I conceive these sacred writings may contain such internal evidence of their being what they profess to be as that it might, with equal reason, be doubted whether the world was created by the power of God, as whether they were written by the inspiration of his Spirit : and, if so, our dependence is not upon mere tradition. It is true, the Scriptures having been conveyed to us through the medium of man, the work must necessarily, in some respects, have been humanized ; yet there may be sufficient marks of divinity upon it to render it evident, to every candid mind, that it is of God. We may call the Mosaic account of the creation a tradition, and may be said to know through this medium that the heavens and the earth are the productions of di- vine power. But it is not through this medium only that we know it : the heavens and the earth carry in them evident marks of their divine original. These works of the Almighty speak for themselves ; and in language which none but those who are wilfully deaf can misunderstand: "Their sound is gone forth throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." Were any man to pretend that its being a matter of revelation, and to us merely traditional revelation, that God made the heavens and the earth, and therefore that a degree of uncertainty must necessarily attend it, he would be reminded that the thing itself carried in it its own evidence. Let it be candidly considered whether the same may not be said of the holy scrip- tures. They will admit of historical defence ; but they do not require it. Their contents, come through whose hands they may, prove them to be of God. It was on this principle that the gospel was proclaimed in the form of a testimony. The primitive preachers were not required by him who sent them to prove their doctrine in the manner in which philosophers were wont to establish a proposition ; but to " declare the counsel of God," and leave it. In delivering their message, they " com- mended themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." * Chambers' Dictionary. Art. Mitlu-idates. f Human Understanding, Book IV. Chap. 18. I-NTRODUCTION. 105 It is no objection to tiiis statement ol" things that the Scriptures arc not embraced by every man, whatever be the disposition of his mind. This is a property that no di- vine production whatever possesses ; and to require it is equally unreasonable as to insist tiiat lor a book to lie perfectly legible it must be capable of being read liy those who shut their eves upon it. Mr. Paine holds up the advantages of the book of nature in order to disparage tiiat of Scripture, and says, " No Deist can doubt wheth- er the works ot nature be God's works." An admiral)le proof this that we have ar- rived at the age of reason ! Can no Atheist doubt it 1 I might as well say. No Chrisiian doubts the truth of the scriptures : the one proves just as much as the other. A prejudiced mind discerns nothing of divine beauty either in nature or Scripture; yet c;icli may include the most induliitable evidence of being wrouglit by the linger of God. If Ciuistianity can be proved to be a religion that insj)ires the love of God and man ; yea, and the only religion in the world that does so ; if it endues the mind of him that embraces it with a principle of justice, meekness, chastity, and goodness, and even gives a tone to the morals of society at large ; it will then appear to carry its evidence along with it. The effects which it produces will be its letters of recommendation, written, " not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart." Moreover, if Christianity can be proved to be in harmony with itself, correspondent with observation and experience, and consistent w ith the clearest dictates of sober reason, it will further appear to carry in it its own evidence : come through Avhose hands it may, it will evince itself to be what it pro- fesses to be — a religion from God. I will only add, in this place, that the Christianity here defended is not Christianity as it is corrupted by popish superstition, or as interwoven Avith national establish- ments, for the accomplishment of secular purposes ; but as it is taught in the New Testament, and practised by sincere Christians. There is no doubt but that, in many instances, Christianity has been adopted by worldly men, even by Infidels themselves, for the purpose of promoting their political designs. Finding the bulk of the people inclined to the Christian religion under some particular form, and attached to certain leading persons among them who sustained the character of teachers, they have considered it as a piece of good policy to give this religion an establishment, and these teachers a share in the government. It is thus that religion, to its great dishonor, has been converted into an engine of state. The politician may be pleased with his success, and the teacher will) his honors, and even the people be so far misled as to love to have it so ; but the mischief result- ing from it to religion is incalculable. Even where such establishments have arisen from piety, they have not failed to corrupt the minds of Christians from the simplici- ty which is in Christ. It was by these means that the church, at an early period, from being the bride of Christ, gradually degenerated to a harlot, and, in the end, became the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. The good that is done in such communities is not in consequence of their peculiar ecclesiastical constitution, but in spite of it: it arises from the virtue of individuals, which ope- rates notwithstanding {he disadvantages of their situation. These are the things that afford a handle to unbelievers. They seldom ciioose to attack Christianity as it is drawn in the sacred writings, and exemplified in the lives of real Christians, who stand at a distance from worldly parade, political struggles,^ or state intrigues ; but as it is corrupted and abused by worldly men. VOL. I. 14 106 INTRODUCTION. Mr. Paine racks his imagination to make out a resemblance between the heathen mythology and Christianity. While he is going over the ground of Christianity as in- stituted by Christ and his apostles, the resemblance is faint indeed. There are only two points in which he even pretends to find an agreement ; and these are form- ed by his misrepresenting the scriptures. "The heathen deities were said to be celestially begotten; and Christ is called the Son of God.* The heathens had a plurality of deities, even twenty or thirty thousand ; and Christianity has reduced them to three ! " It is easy to see that this is ground not suited to Mr. Paine's pur- pose : he therefore hastens to corrupted Christianity ; and here he finds plenty of materials. " The statue of Mary," he says, 'succeeded the statue of Diana of Ephesus. The deification of heroes changed into the canonization of saints. The mythologists had gods for every thing. The Christian mythologists had saints for every thing. The church became as crowded with the one as the pan- theon had been with the other ; and Rome was the place of both. "f Very true, Mr. Paine : but you are not so ignorant as to mistake this for Christianity. Had you been born and educated in Italy, or Spain, you might have been excused in calling this "The Christian theory ; " but to write in this manner with your advantages is disingenuous. Such conduct would have disgraced any cause but yours. It is capable, however, of some improvement. It teaches us to defend nothing but the truth as it is in Jesus. It also affords presumptive evidence in its favor ; foi', if Christianity itself were false, there is little doubt but that you, or some of your fel- low-laborers, would be able to prove it so ; and this would turn greatly to your account. Your neglecting this, and directing your artillery chiefly against its cor- ruptions and abuses, betray a consciousness that the thing itself, i^ not invulnerable, is yet not so easy of attack. If Christianity had really been a relic ^f heathenism, as you suggest, there is little reason to think that you would have so strenuously op- posed it. • To give a color to this statement, he is obliged to affirm a most palpable falsehood, that only Gentiles believed Jesus to be the Son of God. t Age of Reason, Part I. p. 5. THE GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS. PART I. THE HOLY NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION CONTRASTED WITH THE IMMORALITY OF DEISM. The greatest enemies of Christianity would still be thought friendly to moral- ity, and will plead for it as necessary to the well-being of mankind. However im- moral men may be in their practice, and to whatever lengths they may proceed in extenuating particular vices, yet they cannot plead for immorality in the gross. A sober, upright, humble, chaste, and generous character, is allowed, on all hands, to be preferable to one that is profligate, treacherous, proud, unchaste, or cruel. Such, indeed, is the sense which men possess of right and wrong, that, whenever they attempt to disparage the former, or vindicate the latter, they are reduced to the necessity of covering each with a false guise. They cannot traduce good as good, or justify evil as evil. The love of God must be called fanaticism, and benevolence to men methodism, or some such opprobrious name, before they can depreciate them. Theft, cruelty, and murder, on the other hand, must assume the names of wisdom and good policy ere a plea can be set up in their defence. Thus were the arguments for the abolition of the slave trade answered, and in this man- ner was that iniquitous traffic defended in the British Parliament. Doubtless there is a. woe hanging over the heads of those men who thus called evil good, and good evil ; nevertheless we see, even in their conduct, the amiableness of righteousness, and the impossibility of fairly opposing it. CHAPTER I. CHRISTIANITY REVEALS A GOD GLORIOUS IN HOLINESS : BUT DEISM, THOUGH IT ACKNOWLEDGES A GOD, YET DENIES OR OVERLOOKS HIS MORAL CHARAC- TER. There are certain perfections which all who acknowledge a God agree in at- tributing to him : such are those of wis- dom, power, immutability, &c. These, by Christian divines, are usually termed his natural perfections. There are oth- ers which no less evidently belong to deity, such as goodness, justice, veracity, &c., all which may be expressed in one word — holiness ; and these are usually termed his moral perfections. Both natural and moral attributes tend to display the glory of the divine character, but especially the latter. Wisdom and power, in the Su- preme Being, render him a proper object of admiration ; but justice, veracity, and goodness, attract our love. No being is beloved for his greatness, but for his good- ness. Moral excellence is the highest glory of any intelligent being, created or uncreated. Without this, wisdom would be subtilty, power tyranny, and immuta- bility the same thing as being unchange- ably wicked. We account it the glory of revelation that, while it displays the natural perfec- tions of God in a way superior to any thing that has been called religion, it ex- hibits his moral excellence in a manner peculiar to itself. It was with good rea- son that Moses affirmed, in behalf of Israel, " Their rock is not as our rock, our ene- mies themselves being judges." The God, or Rock, of Israel is constantly descril)ed as a being "glorious in holiness," and as requiring pure and holy worship : " The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gra- cious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and in truth." " The Lord our God is holy." " Holy and reverend is his name." " Glory ye in his holy name." " And one cried to another, and said, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." " He is of purer eyes tlian to behold evil ; and cannot look on iniquity." "A God of truth, and without iniquity ; just and right is he." Is any thing like this to be found in the writings of the ancient hea- thens 1 No. The generality of their dei- ties were the patrons of vice, and their worship was accompanied with the foulest abominations that could disgrace the na- 108 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD. ture of man. Justice, benevolence, and veracity, were not considered as necessa- ry in any part of tlieir religion ; and a large proportion of it consisted in drunk- enness, lewdness, and the offering up of human sacrifices. The object of Christian adoration is Jehovah, the God of Israel; whose char- acter for holiness, justice, and goodness, is displayed in the doctrines and precepts of the gospel, in a more affecting light than by any of the preceding dispensa- tions. But who or what is the God of Deists 1 It is true they have been shamed out of the polytheism of the heathens. They have reduced their thirty thousand deities into one : but what is his character! What attributes do they ascribe to him 1 For any thing that appears in their wri- tings, he is as far from the holy, the just, and the good, as those of their heathen predecessors. They enjoy a pleasure, it is allowed, in contemplating the produc- tions of wisdom and power; but, as to holiness, it is foreign from their inquiries : a holy God does not appear to be suited to their wishes. Lord Bolingbroke acknowledges a God, but is for reducing all his attributes to uiisdom and poiuer ; blaming divines for distinguishing between his physical and moral attributes; asserting that "we can- not ascribe goodness and justice to God, according to our ideas of them, nor argue with any certainty about them ; and that it is absurd to deduce moral obligations from the moral attributes of God, or to pretend to imitate him in those attri- butes."* Voltaire admits "a supreme, eternal, incomprehensible Intelligence ;" but pass- es over his moral character. f Mr. Paine says, " I believe in one God, and no more;"| and in the course of his Avork ascribes to him the natural perfec- tions of iLHsdom and power ; but is very sparing in what he says of his moral excellence, of his being the moral gov- ernor of tlie world, and of man's being an accountable creature. He affects, indeed, to be shocked at the impurity of the ideas and expressions of the Bible, and to feel for "the honor of his Creator in having such a book called after his name."§ This is the only passage, that I recollect, in which he expresses any concern for the moral character of God ; and whether this would have appeared, but for the sake of giving an edge to reproach, let the reader judge. * See Lel;in(r.s Reviow, Let. XXIII. t Ignorant Philosopher, Nos. XV. XVI. XVII. % Age of Reason, Part I. p. 1. § Ibici, p. 16. How are we to account for these wri- ters thus denying or overlooking the moral character of the Deity, but by supposing that a holy God is not suited to their inclinations'! If we bear a sincere regard to moral excellence, we shall regard every being in proportion as he appears to possess it ; and if we consider the Di\ine Being as possessing it supremely, and as the source of it to all other beings, it will be natural for us to love him su- premely, and all other beings in subser- viency to him. And if we love him su- premely on account of his moral charac- ter, it will be no less natural to take pleasure in contemplating him under that character. On tlie other hand, if we be enemies to moial excellence, it will render every be- ing who possesses it unlovely in our eyes. Virtuous or holy characters may indeed command our respect, and even admira- tion; but will not attract our affection. Whatever regard we may bear to them, it will not be on account of their virtue, but of other qualities of which they may be possessed. Virtuous characters may be also wise and mighty ; and we may admire their ingenuity, be delighted with their splendor, and take pleasure in visit- ing them, that we may inspect their curiosities ; but, in such cases, the more things of a moral nature are kept at a dis- tance, the more agreeable will be our visit. Much the same may be said of the Supreme Being. If we be enemies to moral excellence, God, as a holy being, will possess no loveliness in our eyes. We may admire him with that kind of admiration which is paid to a great genius, and may feel a pleasure in tracing the grandeur and ingenuity of his operations; but, the farther his moral character is kept out of sight, the more agreeable it will be to us. Lord Shaftesbury, not contented with overlooking, attempts to satirize the scripture representations of the divine character. " One would think," he says, " it were easy to understand that provoca- tion and offence, anger, revenge, jealousy in point of honor or power, love of fame, glory, and the like, belong only to limited beings, and are necessarily excluded a Being which is pei-fect and universal."* That many things are attributed to the Divine Being in a figurative style, speak- ing merely after the manner of men, and that they are so understood by Christians, Lord Shaftesbury must have well known. * Characteristics, Vol. I. § 5. THE UORSHIP OF GOD. 109 We do not Ihink it lawliil, however, so to explain away these expressions as to consider tite Great Supreme as incapal)le of beini;: offended with sin and sinners, as destitute ol pleasure or displeasure, or as unconcerned about his own glory, the exercise of which involves the general good of the universe. A being of this descri()tion would be neither loved nor feared, but would become the object of universal contempt. It is no part of the imperfection of our nature that we are susceptible of provo- cation and offence, of anger, of jealousy, and of a just regard to our own honor. Lord Sliaftesliury himself would have rid- iculed the man, and still more the magis- trate, that should have l)een incapable of these properties on certain occasions. They are planted in our nature by ihe Divine Being, and are adapted to answer valuable purposes. If they l>e perverted and abused to sordid ends, which is too frequently the case, this does not alter their nature, nor lessen their utility. What would Lord Shaftesbury have thought of a magistrate who should have witnessed a train of assassinations and mui'ders, without being in the least offend- ed at them, or angry with the perpetrators, or inclined to take rc?!,gea;ice on them, for the public good 1 What would he think of a British House of Commons which should exercise no jealousy over the en- croachments of a minister ; or of a King of Great Britain who should sutfer, with perfect indifference, his just authority to be contemned 1 "But we are limited beings, and are therefore in danger of having our just rights invaded." True; and though God be unlimited, and so in no danger of being deprived of his essential glory, yet he may lose his just authority in the es- teem of creatures ; and, were this to take place universally, the whole creation would be a scene of anarchy and misery. But we understand Lord Shaftesbury. He wishes to compliment his Maker out of all his moral excellences. He has no ob- jection to a god, provided he be one after his own heart, one who shall pay no such regard to human affairs as to call men to account for their ungodly deeds. If he thought the Creator of the world to bear such a character, it is no wonder that he should speak of him with what he calls " good humor, or pleasantry."* In speak- ing of such a being, he can, as Mr. Hume expresses it, " feel more at ease " than if he conceived of God as he is character- ized in the holy scriptures. But let men beware how they play with such subjects. * Characteristics, Vol. I. § 3. Their conceptions do not alter the nature of God ; and, however they suffer them- selves to triile now, they may find in the end that there is not only a God, but a God that judgetli in the earth. CHAPTER II. CHRISTIANITY TEACHES US TO ACKNOW- LEDGE GOD, AND TO DEVOTE OUR- SELVES TO HIS SERVICE : BUT DEISM, THOUGH IT CONFESSES ONE SUPREME BEING, YET REFUSES TO WORSHIP HIM. If there is a God, he ought to be wor- shipped. This is a principle which no man will be able to eradicate from his bosom, or even to suppress, but at great labor and expense. The Scriptures, it is well known, both inculcate and inspire the worship of God. Their language is " O come, let us sing unto the Lord ; let u.s make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before his pres- ence with thanksgiving, and make a joy- ful noise unto him with psalms." "O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." " Give unto the Lord glory and strength ; give unto the Lord the glory due unto his Name : bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness ; fear before him all the earth." " Give thanks unto the Lord ; call upon his name ; make known his deeds among the people." "Glory ye in his holy name : let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength ; seek his face evermore." The spirit also which the Scriptures inspire is favorable to divine worship. The grand lesson which they teach is love; and love to God delights to express itself in acts of obedience, adoration, sup- plication, and praise. The natural lan- guage of a heart well affected to God is, "I will call upon him as long as I live." — "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his lioly name." — "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." Is it thus with our adversaries 1 They speak, indeed, of "true and fabulous theology," and of "true and false relig- ion ; " and often talk of "adoring" the Supreme Being. But, if there be no true religion among Christians, where are we no THE WORSHIP OF GOD, to look for itl Surely not among Deists. Their "adorations" seem to be a kind of exercises much resembling the benev- olent acts of certain persons, who are so extremely averse from ostentation that nobody knows of their being charitable but themselves. Mr. Paine professes to believe in the equality of man, and that religious duty consists in " doing justice, loving mercy " — and whaf? I tiiought to be sure he was going to add " walking humbly with God." But I was mistaken. Mr. Paine supplies the place of walking humbly with God, by adding ''and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy."* Some people would have thought that this Avas included in doing justice and loving mercy: but Mr. Paine had raiher use words without meaning than write in iavor of godliness. "Walking humbly with God" is not comprehended in the list of his " religious duties." The very phrase offends liim. It is that to him, in. quoting Scripture, which a nonconductor is to the electrical fluid : it causes him to fly off in an oblique direction ; and, rather than say any tiling on so offensive a subject, to deal in un- meaning tautology. Mr. Paine not only avoids the mention of "walking humbly with God," but at- tempts to load the practice itself with the foulest abuse. t He does not consider himself as "an outcast, a beggar, or a worm ;" he does not approach his Maker through a Mediator; he considers "re- demption as a fable," and himself as standing in an honorable situation with regard to his relation to the Deity. Some of this may be true ; but not the whole. The latter part is only a piece of religious gasconade. If Mr. Paine really thinks so well of his situation as he pretends, the belief of an hereafter would not render him the slave of terror. t But, allowing the whole to be true, it proves nothing. A high conceit of one's self is no proof of excellence. If he choose to rest upon this foundation, he must abide the conse- quence : but he had better have forborne to calumniate others. What is it that has transported this child of reason into a paroxysm of fury against devout peo- ple 1 By what spirit is he inspired, in pouring forth such a torrent of slander! Why is it that he must accuse their humility of "ingratitude," their grief of "affectation," and their prayers of being " dictatorial " to the Almighty 1 " Cain hated his brother; and wherefore hated he himl because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." Pray- er and devotion are things that Mr. Paine should have let alone, as being out of his province. By attempting, however, to deprecate them, he has borne witness to the devotion of Christians, and fulfilled what is written in a book which he affects to despise, " Speaking evil of things which he iniderstands not." To admit a God, and yet refuse to worship him, is a modern and inconsistent practice. It is a dictate of reason, as well as of revelation, "If the Lord be God, worship him ; and, if Baal, worship him." It never was made a question, whether the God in whom we believe should re- ceive our adorations. All nations, in all ages, paid religious homage to the respec- tive deities, or supposed deities, in which they believe. Modern unbelievers are the only men who have deviated from this practice. How this is to be accounted for, is a subject worthy of inquiry. To me it appears as follows : — In former times, when men were weary of the worship of the true God, they ex- changed it for that of idols. I know of no account of the origin of idolatry so rational as that which is given by revela- tion. "Men did not like to retain God in their knowledge ; therefore they were given up to a mind void of judgment; to change the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things ;" and to defile them- selves by abominable wickedness. § It was thus with the people who came to inhabit the country of Samaria after the Israelites were carried captives into As- syria. At first, they seemed desirous to know and fear the God of Israel ; but when they came to be ini'ormed of his holy character, and what kind of worship he required, they presently discovered their dislike. They pretended to fear him, but it was mere pretence ; for every nation "made gods of their own."|| Now gods of their own making would doubtless be characterized according to their own mind : they would be patrons of such vices as their makers wished to indulge ; gods whom they could approach without fear, and in addressing Avhom they could "be more at ease," as Hume says, than in addressing the One living and true God ; gods, in fine, the worship of whom might be accompanied with banquetings, re veilings, drunkenness, and lewdness. These, I conceive, rather than the mere falling down to an idol, were the exer- " Age of Reason, Part I. p. 2. § Rom. t Ibid, Part I. p. 21. % Part II. near the end. II 2 Kings xvii. 29. THE WOnSHIP OK GOD. Ill cises tliat interested the passions of the worshippers. These were the exercises that seduced the unirodly part of tiie Israelitisli nation to an imitation of tiie heatiiens. Tliey found it extremely dis- aj^reeaMe to be constantly employed in the worsliip of a holy God. Such wor- ship would awe their spirits, damp their pleasures, and restrain their inclinations. It is not surprisiiiiT, thcreibre, that they should he continually departing from the worship oi Jehovah, aiul Icaninjr towards that wliicli was more congenial with their propensities. But the situation of mod- ern unl)elievers is sinjiular. Thini^s are so circumstanced, with them, that they cannot worship the gods which they pre- fer. They never fail to discover a strong partiality in favor of heathens ; but they have not the face to practise or defend tlieir absurd idolatries. The doctrine of One living and true God has appeared in the world, by means of the preaching of the gospel, with such a blaze of evidence, that it has forced itself into the minds of men, whatever has been the temper of their hearts. The stupid idolatry of past ages is exploded. Christianity has driven it out of Europe. The consequence is, great numbers are obliged to acknowledge a God whom they cannot find in their hearts to worship. If the light that is gone abroad in the earth would permit the rearing of temples to Venus, or Bacchus, or any of the rabble of heathen deities, there is little doubt but that modern unbelievers would, in great numliers, become their devotees : but, seeing they cannot have a god whose worship shall accord with their inclina- tions, they seem determined not to worship at all. And, to come off with as good a grace as the affair will admit, they com- pliment the Deity out of his sovereign prerogatives ; professing to " love him for his giving them existence, and all their properties, without interest, and without subjecting them to any thing but their own nature." * The introduction of so large a portion of heathen mythology into the songs and other entertainments of the stage suffi- ciently shows the bias of people's hearts. The house of God gives them no pleas- ure ; but the resurrection of the obsceni- ties, intrigues, and Bacchanalian revels of the old heathens affords them exquisite delight. In a country where Christian worship abounds, this is plainly saying, ' What a weariness is it ! O that it were no more ! Since, however, we cannot in- troduce the worship of the gods, we will neglect all worship, and celebrate the * Ignorant Philosopher, No. XXIV. praises of our favorite deities in another form.' ^ a country where Deism has gained ascendency, this principle is car- ried still further. Its language there is, ' Seeing we cannot, for shame, worship any other than the One living and true God, let us aliolish the day of worship, and substitute in its place one day in ten, which shall be devoted chiefly to theatri- cal entertainments, in which we can in- troduce as much heathenism as we please.' Mr. Hume acknowledges the justice of considering the Deity as infinitely superior to mankind ; but he represents it, at the same time, as very generally attended with unpleasant effects, mag- nifies the advantages of having gods which are only a little suj)erior to our- selves. He says, " While the Deity is represented as infinitely superior to man- kind, this belief, though altogether just, is apt, when joined with superstitious terrors, to sink the human mind into the lowest suiimission and abasement, and to represent the monkish Airtues of mortifi- cation, penance, humility, and passive suffering, as the only qualities which are acceptable to him. But where the gods are conceived to be only a little superior to mankind, and to have been many of them advanced from that inferior rank, we are more at our ease in our addresses to them, and may even, without ])rolane- ness, aspire sometimes to a rivalship and emulation of them. Hence activity, spirit, courage, magnanimity, love of lib- erty, and all the virtues whicii aggrnndize a people."! It is easy to perceive, from this passage, that though Mr. Hume ac- knowledges the justice of conceiving of a God infinitely superior to us, yet his in- clination is the other way. At least, in a nation the bulk of which will be supposed to be inclined to superstition, it is i)etter, according to his reasoning, and more friendly to virtue, to promote the worship of a number of imaginary deities, than of the One only living and true God. Thus " the fool saith in his heart. No God ! " The sum of the whole is this : Mod- ern unbelievers are Deists in theory, Pagans in inclination, and Atheists in practice. If Deists loved the One only living and true God, they would delight in wor- shipping him ; for love cannot be inoper- ative, and the only possible way for it to operate towards an infinitely glorious and all-perfect Being is by worshipping his name and obeying his will. If Mr. Paine really felt for " the honor of his t Di.'!seitalion on the Natural History of Religion, § 10. 112 STANDARD OF MORALITY. Creator," as he affects to do,* he would mourn in secret i'or all tiie grea^ wicked- ness which he has committed against him; he would lie in the dust before him, not merely as " an outcast, a beggar, and a worm," but as a sinner, deserving his eternal displeasure. He would be glad of a Mediator, through whom he might approach his offended Creator ; and would consider redemption by his l)lood, not as " a fable," but a divine reality, including all his salvation, and all his desire. Yea, he himself would " turn devout ;" and it would be said of him, as of Saul of Tarsus, " Behold he pray- eth ! " Nor would his prayers, though importunate, be " dictatorial," or his grief " affected." On the contrary, he would look on Him whom he had pierced, and mourn, as one mourneth for an only son; and be in bitterness, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. But these are things pertaining to godliness; things, alas for him ! the mention of which is sufficient to inflame his mind with malignity, and provoke him to the most outrageous and abusive language. CHAPTER HI. THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD OF MORAL- ITY IS ENLARGED, AND FREE FROM IMPURITY : RUT DEISM CONFINES OUR OBLIGATIONS TO THOSE DUTIES WHICH RESPECT OUR OW^N SPECIES, AND GREATLY PALLIATES VICE WITH REGARD TO A BREACH EVEN OF THEM. Persons who profess the strictest re- gard to the rule of duty, and carry the extent of it to the highest pitch, may, it is allowed, be insincere, and contradict by their practice what they advance in their professions. But those whose ideas of virtue are low and contracted, and who embrace every opportunity to rec- oncile the vices of the world with its sacred precepts, cannot possibly be ac- counted any other than its enemies. That which the Scriptures call holi- ness, spirituality, Sfc, as much surpasses every thing that goes under the names of morality and virtue among unbelievers as a living man surpasses a painting, or even a rude and imperfect daubing. If, in this controversy, I have used these terms to express the scriptural ideas, it is not because, in their ordinary accepta- tions, they are equal to the purpose, but * Age of Reason, Part I. p. 16. for the sake of meeting unbelievers upon their own ground. I have a right, how- ever, to understand by them tliose dispo- sitions of the mind, whatever they be, which are right, Jit, or amiable j and, so explained, I undertake to prove that the morality and virtue inculcated by the gospel is enlarged and free from impurity, Avhile that which is taught by its adversa- ries is the reverse. It is a distinguishing property of the Bible that all its precepts aim directly at the heart. It never goes about to form the mere exterior of man. To merely external duties it is a stranger. It forms the lives of men no otherwise than by forming their dispositions. It never ad- dresses itself to their vanity, selfishness, or any other corrupt propensity. You are not pressed to consider what men will think of you, or how it will affect your temporal interest ; but what is right, and what is necessary to your eternal well-being. If you comply with its pre- cepts, you must be, and not merely seem to be. It is the heart that is required; and all the different prescribed forms of worship and obedience are but so many modifications or varied expressions of it. Is any thing like this to be found in the writings of Deists 1 No. Their deity does not seem to take cognizance of the heart. According to them, "there is no merit or crime in intention. "f Their morality only goes to form the exterior of man. It allows the utmost scope for wicked desires, provided they be not carried into execution to the injury of society. The morality which the Scriptures inculcate is summed up in these few words : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, Avitli all thy mind, with all thy strength; and thy neighbor as thyself." This single principle is competent to the gov- ernment of all intelligent nature. It is a band that would hold together the whole rational creation, and difi\ise peace, or- der, and happiness, wherever it existed. If mankind loved God supremely, there would be no idolatry upon earth, nor any of its attendant abominations ; no profan- ing the name of God, nor making a gain of godliness; no opposing, corrupting, perverting, nor abusing the truth ; no per- juries, nor hypocrisies; no despising of those that are good ; no arrogance, in- gratitude, pride, nor self-complacency, under the snfiles of providence : and no murmuring, heart-rising, suUenness, nor suicide, under its frowns. Love would render it their meat and drink to fear, honor, and obey him, and induce them t Volney's Law of Nature, p. 18. THE STANDARD OF MORALITY. 113 to take every thing well at his hands. — And if they loved their fellow-creatures as themselves, tor his sake, there would be no wars, rivalships, antipathies, nor breach ol treaties, l)etween nations; no envyings, striles, wrongs, slanders, duels, litigations, nor intrigues, l)etween neigh- bors; no iiattering comj)laisance, nor persecuting bitterness, in religion; no de- ceit, fraud, nor over-reaching, in trade; no tyranny, venality, haughtiness, nor oppression, among tiie great; no envy, discontent, disatVection, cainils, nor evil- devisings, among the common people ; no murders, robberies, tliel'ts, burglaries, nor brothels, in city or country; no cruelty in parents or masters ; no ingratitude nor disobedience in children or servants ; no unkindness, treachery, nor implacable resentments between friends ; no illicit connections between the sexes; no infi- delities, jealousies, nor bitter contentions in families; in sliort, none of those streams of death, one or more of which flow through every vein of society, and poison its enjoyments. Such is tiie principle and rule of chris- tian morality; and what has deism to substitute in its place 1 Can it find a succedaneum tor love! No, but it propo- ses the love of ourselves instead of the love of God. Lord Bolingbroke resolves all morality into self-love, as its first principle. " We love ourselves," he says, " we love our families, we love the par- ticular societies to which we belong; and our benevolence extends at last to the whole race of mankind. Like so many different vortices, the centre of all is self-love."* Such also are the principles of Volney. Could this disposition be admitted as a proper source of moral action, the world would certainly not be wanting in moral- ity. All men possess at least the princi- ple of it, whether they carry it to the ex- tent which Lord Bolingbroke proposes or not; for though some may err in the choice of their end, and others in the means of obtaining it, yet no man was ever so wanting in regard to himself, as intentionally to pursue his own injury. But if it should prove that to render self- love the source of moral action is the same thing as for every individual to treat himself as the Supreme Being, and therefore that this principle, instead of being a source of virtue, is of the very es- sence of vice, and the source of all the mischief in the universe, consequences may follow of a very different complex- ion. To subordinate self-love I have no ob- * Posthumous works, V'ol. V. p. 82. VOL. I. 15 jection. It occupies a place in the chris- tian standard of morality, being the mea- sure of that love which we owe to our fellow -creatures. And, as the universal love which we owe to them does not hin- der but that some of them, by reason of their situation or peculiar relation to us, may require a larger portion of our regard than others, it is the same with respect to ourselves. Our own concerns are our own immediate charge ; and those which are of tiie greatest importance, such as the concerns of our souls, undoubtedly re- quire a proportionate degree of attention. But all tills does not affect the present subject of inquiry. It is our supremey and not our subordinate regard, that will ever be the source of action. I take it for granted that it is the inten- tion of every good government, human or divine, to unite its subjects, and not to set them at variance. But there can be no union without a common oliject of regard. Either a character w hom all love and ven- erate, or an end which all pursue, or both, is that to a community which a head -stone is to an arch ; nor can they kec]) together without it. It is thus that the love of God holds creation together. He is that lovely character to whom all holy intelli- gences bear supreme affection; and the display of his glory, in the universal tri- umph of truth and righteousness, is that end which they all pursue. Thus united in their grand object, they cannot but feel a union of heart w ith one another, arising from what is common to every otiicr vol- untary union — a congeniality of sentiments and pursuits. But if our supreme affection terminate on ourselves, and no being, created or un- created, be regarded but for our c.vn sakes, it is manifest there can be no union be- yond the sphere in which other licings be- come voluntarily subservient to our wish- es. The Supreme Being, if our plan do not comport with his, will be continually thwarting us ; and so we shall be always at variance with him. And as to created beings, those individuals whom we desire to be subservient to our wishes, having the same right, and the same inclination, to require tliat we should be subservient to theirs, will also be continually thwart- ing us ; and so we shall always be at va- riance with them. In short, nothing but an endless succession of discord and con- fusion can be the consequence. Every one setting up for pre-eminence, every one must, of course, contribute to the general state of anarchy and misery which will pervade the community. Sucli is, in fact, the state of this apostate world ; and but for divine providence, which for wise ends balances all human affairs, causing one set 114 THE STANDARD OF MORALITY. of evils to counteract the influence of another, and all to answer ends remote from the intention of the perpetrators, it must be overset by its OAvn disorders. To I'egard every other being, created or uncreated, only for our own sakes, is su- preme self-love ; and, instead of being a source of virtue, is itself abominable, and the source of all the mischief and misery in the universe. All the evils just enu- merated are to be traced to this principle as their common parent ; nor is there any ground of hope that it will ever produce effects of a different nature. Some per- sons have talked much " of self-love ri- pening into benevolence." Had it been said malevolence, it had been nearer the truth ; for it is contrary to all experience that any thing should change its nature by becoming more mature. No, a child in knowledge may discern that, if ever genu- ine benevolence exist in the breast of an individual, or extend its healing wings over a bleeding world, it must be by the subversion of this principle, and by the prevalence of that religion which teaches us to love God supremely, ourselves sub- ordinately, and our fellow-creatures as ourselves. To furnish a standard of morality, some of our adversaries have had recourse to the laws of the state; avowing them to be the rule or measure of virtue. Mr. Hobbes maintained that the civil law loas the sole foundation of right and ivrong, and that religion had no obligation but as en- joined by the magistrate. And Lord Bo- lingbroke often writes in a strain nearly similar, disowning any other sanction or penalty by which obedience to the law of nature is enforced than those which are provided by the laws of the land.* But this rule is defective, absurd, contradicto- ry, and subversive of all true morality. First, it is grossly defective. This is just- ly represented by a prophet of their own. "It is a narrow notion of innocence," says Seneca, " to measure a man's good- ness only by the law. Of how much larger extent is the rule of duty, or of good offices, than that of legal right ! How many things are there which piety, human- ity, liberality, justice, and fidelity require, which yet are not within the compass of the public statutes !"f Secondly, It is absurd] for, if the public statutes be the only standard of right and wrong, legisla- tors in framing them could be under no law ; nor is it possible that in any instance they should have enacted injustice. Thirdly, It is contradictory. Human * Works, Vol. V. p. 90. t In Leland's Advantage.^ and Necessity of Reve- lation, Vol. II. Pari II. Cliap. III. p. 42. laws, we all know, require different and opposite thing-s in different nations ; and in the same nation at different times. If this principle be right, it is right for de- ists to be persecuted for their opinions at one period, and to persecute others for theirs at another. Finally, It is subver- sive of all true morality. " The civil laws," as Dr. Leland has observed, " take no cognizance of secret crimes, and pro- vide no punishment for internal bad dispo- sitions, or corrupt affections. A man may be safely as wicked as he pleases, on this principle, provided he can manage so as to escape punishment from the laws of his country, which very bad men, and those that are guilty of great vices, easily may, and frequently do evade. Rousseau has recourse to feelings as his standard. " I have only to consult myself," he says, " concerning what I ought to do. All that Ifeel to be right is right. Whatever I feel to be wrong is wrong. All the morality of our actions lies in the judgment we ourselves form of them . " I By this rule his conduct through life appears to have been directed ; a rule which, if universally regarded, would deluge the world with every species of iniquity. But that on which our opponents insist the most, and with the greatest show of argument, is the laio and light of nature. This is their professed rule on almost all occasions ; and its praises they are con- tinually sounding. I have no desire to de- preciate the light of nature, or to dispar- age its value as a rule. On the contrary, I consider it as occupying an important place in the divine government. What- ever may be said of the light possessed by the heathen as being derived from revela- tion, I feel no difficulty in acknowledging that the grand law which they are under is that of nature. Revelation itself appears to me so to represent it ; holding it up as the rule by which they shall be judged, and declaring its dictates to be so clear as to leave tiiem without excuse.§ Nature and Scripture appear to me to be as much in harmony as Moses and Christ; both are celebrated in the same Psalm. || By the light of nature, however, I do not mean those ideas which heathens have actually entertained, many of which have been darkness, but those Avhich were pre- sented to them by the works of creation, and which they might have possessed had they been desirous of retaining God in their knowledge. And by the dictates of nature, with regard to right and wrong, I understand those things which appear, to t Emilius, Vol. I. pp. 166—168. § Rom. ii. 12—16. i, 20. 1| Psa. xix. THE STANDARD OF MORALITY. 115 the mind of a person sincerely disposed to understand and practise his tliity, to be natural, Jit, or reasonable. There is, doulit- less, an eternal dilTerence between right and wrong; and tliis diircrence, in a vast variety ot instances, is manifest to every man who sincerely and imj)artially consid- ers it. So manifest have the power and godhead of the Creator been rendered, in every age, that no person of an upright disposition could, tlirough mere mistake, fall into idolatry or impiety ; and every one who has continued in these ai)omina- tions is tcithout excuse. The desire also, wliich every human being feels, of having justice done to him from all other persons, must render it sulliciently manifest, to his judgment, that he ought to do tiie same to them; and, wherein he acts otherwise, his conscience, unless it be seared as with a hot iron, must accuse him. But does it follow from hence that reve- lation is unnecessary ! Certainly not. It is one thing for nature to aftord so much light, in matters of right and wrong, as to leave the sinner without excuse ; and another to afford him any well-grounded hope of forgiveness, or to answer his dif- ficulties concerning the account which something within him says he must here- after give of his present conduct. Farther : It is one thing to leave sinners without excuse in sin, and another thing to recover them from it. That the light of nature is insufficient for the latter is demonstrated by melancholy fact. In- stead of returning to God and virtue, those nations which have possessed the highest degrees of it have gone farther and farther into immorality. There is not a single example of a people, of their own accord, returning to the acknowledgment of the true God, or extricating themselves from the most irrational species of idolatry, or desisting from the most odious kinds of vice. Those nations where science dif- fused a more than ordinary lustre were as superstitious and as wicked as the most barbarous, and in many instances exceed- ed them. It was, I doubt not, from a close observation of the different efficacy of Nature and Scripture that the writer of the nineteenth Psalm, (a Psalm which Mr. Paine pretends to admire), after having given a just tribute of praise to the former, affirmed of the latter, " The law of Jeho- vah is perfect, converting the soul.'' Again : it is one thing for that which is natural, fit, or reasonable, in matters of duty, to approve itself to a mind sincerely disposed to understand and practise it, and another to approve itself to a mind of an opposite description. The judgments of men concerning the dictates of nature are greatly influenced by their prevailing in- clinations. If under certain circumstances they feel prompted to a particular course of conduct, they will be apt to consider that incitement as a dictate of nature, though it may be no other than corrupt propensity : and thus, while the law of na- ture is continually in their mouth, their principles, as well as their conduct, are a continual violation of it. How was it that, notwithstanding the light of nature shone around the old philosophers, their minds, in matters of morality, were dark as night, and their preccjits, in many instances, full of impurity T Did nature inspire Plato to teach the doctrine of a community of wives ; Lycurgus to tolerate dexterous thieving; Solon to allow of sodomy ; Sen- eca to encourage drunkenness, and suicide ; and almost all of them to declare in favor of lewdness 1 * No, verily ; it is a per- version of language to call the principles of such men the dictates of nature ; they are unnatural and abominal)le ; as contra- ry to reason as to religion. It is true, what is called nature, by modern infidels, is not quite so gross as the above ; but it falls very little short of it. So far as relates to the encourage- ment of theft, and perhaps of unnatural crimes, they would disavow ; and for this we are indebted to Christianity: but, as to fornication and adultery, they arc not a whit behind their predecessors. Lord Herbert, the father of the English deists, and whose writings are far more sober than the generality of those who have come after him, apologizes for lewdness, in certain cases, as resembling thirst in a dropsy and inactivity in a lethargy. f Lord Bolingbroke unblushingly insinuates that the only consideration that can re- concile a man to confine himself by mar- riage to one woman, and a woman to one man, is this, that nothing hinders but that they may indulge their desires with oth- ers.| This is the same as accusing the whole human race of incontinency, and de- nying that there is any such thing as con- jugal fidelity ; a plain proof that, whoever was clear of this indecent charge, lord Bolingbroke was not. Mr. Hume, who has written a volume on the principles of morality, scruples not to stigmatize self- denial as a "monkish virtue;" and adopts the opinion of a French writer, that " adultery must be practised if we would obtain all the advantages of life ; that fe- male infidelity, when known, is a small thing, and, when unknown, nothing." These writers will, on some occasions de- * See Lehnd's Advantages and Necpssity of Rev- elation, Vol. II. pp. 147. 50. 59. 210. 213. t Leland's Review, &c. Vol. I. Let. 1. t Worlis, Vol. V. p. 167. 116 THE STANDARD OF MORAMTf. scant in favor of chastity, as being condu- cive to health and reputation ; hut on oth- ers they seldom fail to apologize for the contrary, and that under the pretense of indulging the dictates of nature. Yet the same things might be alleged in behalf of oppression, re-^ enge, theft, duelling, ambi- tious war, and a thousand other vices which desolate the earth : they are prac- tices which men, placed in certain circum- stances, will feel themselves prompted to commit : nor is there a vice that can be named but what would admit of such an apology. Finally : It is one thing for the light of nature to be so clear as to render idola- try, impiety, and injustice, inexcusable; and another thing to render the ivhole will of our Creator evident, and that in the most advantageous manner. If a person, possessed of only the light of nature, were ever so sincerely desirous of knowing God ; or grieved for the sins of which his conscience accused him ; or attached to the holy, the just, and the good ; or dis- posed to obey his Creator's will if he did but understand it; though he should be in no danger of confounding the dictates of nature with those of corrupt propensity ; yet he must labor under great disadvan- tages, which, allowing they might not af- fect his eternal state, yet would greatly injure his pi'esent peace and usefulness. To illustrate this remark, let us suppose the inhabitants of a province to throw off the government of a just and lawful prince. Being once engaged, they may feel them- selves impelled to go forward. They may choose new rulers, and use all possi- ble means to efface every sign and memo- rial of the authority of their ancient sove- reign. They may even labor to forget, and teach their children to forget, if pos- sible, that there ever was such a character in being, to whom they owed allegiance. Yet, after all, there may be certain traces and memorials of his government which it is not in their power to efface. Yea, there may be continued instances of for- bearance and clemency, which, in spite of all their efforts, will bear witness of his goodness and just authority over them. Thus it was that God, while he " suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, nevertheless left not himself without a Avitness, in that he did good, and gave them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, fil- ing their hearts with food and gladness." But as the memorials of just authority, in the one case, though sufficient to leave the rebellious without excuse, would not contain a full expression of the prince's will, nor be conveyed in so advantageous a manner as that in which he treated his professed subjects ; so the light afforded by the works of nature and the continued goodness of God, in the other, though suf- ficient to leave the world without excuse, does not express his whole will, nor con- vey what it does express so advantageous- ly as by revelation. And as an individu- al, residing in the midst of the rebellious province, whose heart miaht relent and who might long to return to his allegiance, would be under inexpressible disadvan- tages, so it must necessarily be with a heathen whose desire should be towards the God against whom he had sinned. The amount is, that modern unbelievers have no standard of morals, except it be their own inclinations. Morality with them is any thing, or nothing, as conve- nience requires. On some occasions they will praise that of Jesus Christ; but ere we can have time to ask them, Why then do you not submit to it 1 they are employ- ed in opposing it. Attend to their general declamations in favor of virtue, and you will be ready to imagine they are its war- mest friends ; but follow them up, and ob- serve their exposition of particular pre- cepts, and j'ou will be convinced that they are its decided enemies, applauding in the gross that which they are ever vmdermin- ing in detail. By the foolish and discordant accounts which these writers give of morality, it should seem that they know not what it is. Every new speculator is dissatisfied with the definition of his predecessor, and endeavors to mend it. "Virtue," says Lord Shaftesbury, "is a sense of beauty, of harmony, of order, and proportion, an affection towards the whole of our kind, or species." " It is," says Lord Boling- broke, " only the love of ourselves." " It is every thing that tends to preserve and perfect man," says Volney ; and, as " good reputation " has this tendency, it is, in his account, " a moral good." * " It is whatever is useful in society," says Mr. Hume; and as "health, cleanliness, fa- cility of expression, broad shoulders, and taper legs," are of use, they are to be reckoned among the virtues. To this might be added, a large portion of effron- tery, as the last-named writer assures us (it may be from his own experience) that " nothing carries a man through the world like a true, genuine, natural impudence." f Mr. Paine brings up the rear, and informs us, " It is doing justice, loving mercy, and .... endeavoring to make our fellow-crea- tures happy." Oh Paine! had you but for once suffered yourself to be taught by * Law of Nature, p. 17. t Inquiry concerning the Principles of Moral.s, Sec. 6, 7, 8. Essays Moral and Political, E«say III. p. 1.5. MOTIVES TO A VIRTUOUS LIFE. 117 a propliet, and quoted his words as tliey stand, you would, undoiililcdiy, liavo borne away the palm ; liut you had rather write nonsense than say any thing in lavor of godliness. It is worthy of notiee that, amidst all the diseordanee of these writers, they agree in excluding the Divine Keing from their theory of morals. They think after their manner ; but " God is not in all their thoughts." In comparing the christian doctrine of morality, the sum of which is lovr, with their atheistical jargon, one seems to hear the voice of the Almighty saying, " Who is this that darkeneth coun- sel with words without knowledge ] Fear God, and keep his commandments ; for this is the whole of man." The words of scripture are spirit and life. They arc the language of love. Ev- ery exhortation of Christ and his apostles is impregnated with this spirit. Let the reader turn to the twelfth chapter to the Remans, for an example, and read it care- fully ; let him find, if he can, any thing, in the purest part of the writings of deists, that is worthy of being compared with it. No ; virtue itself is no longer virtue in their hands. It loses its charms when they affect to embrace it. Their touch is that of the cold hand of death. The most lovely object is deprived by it of life and beauty, and reduced to a shriveled mass of inactive formality. CHAPTER IV. CHRISTIANITY FURNISHES MOTIVES TO A VIRTUOUS LIFE, WHICH DEISM EITHER REJECTS OR ATTEMPTS TO UNDER- MINE. So long as our adversaries profess a re- gard to virtue, and, with Lord Bolinbroke,* acknowledge that " the gospel is in all cases one continued lesson of the strictest morality, of justice, of benevolence, and of universal charity," they must allow those to be the best principles which furnish the most effectual motives for reducing it to practice. Now, there is not a doctrine in the whole compass of Christianity but what is im- provable to this purpose. It is a grand peculiarity of the gospel that none of its principles are merely speculative : each is pregnant with a practical use. Nor does the discovery of it require any extra- ordinary degree of ingenuity : real Chris- * Work?, Vol. V. p. 183. tians, however weak as to their natural capacities, have always been taught iiy the gos|)el of Christ, that "denying ungodli- ness, and Worldly 1 ists, they sIduUI live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world." Ancient philosophers have taught many things in favor of morality, so far at least as resj)ects justice and goodness towards our fellow-creatures; but whore are the motives by which the minds of the people, or even their own minds, have been moved to a compliance with them ] They framed a curious machine; but who among them could discover a |)ower to work it ] What principles have appeared in the world, un- der the name either of philosophy or re- ligion, that can bear a comparison with the following 1 " God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perisii, but have everlasting life. "Here- in is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil- speaking, he put away from you, with all malice : and he ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath for- given you." " Be ye therefore followers (or imitators) of God, as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an of- fering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet- smelling savor!" " Ye are a chosen gen- eration: a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people ; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I w ill receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filtliiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." "If there be there- fore any consolation in Christ, if any com- fort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy : — be of one accord, of one mind." " Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory ; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than them- selves." " Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshy lusts, which war against the soul : having your conversation honest among the Gentiles : that, whereas they speak against you as evil doers, they may by 118 MOTIVES TO A VIRTUOUS LIFE. your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." " Ye are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit^ which are God's." " The love of Christ constraineth us ; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead : and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again." "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night : in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the ele- ments shall melt with fervent heat ; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what man- ner of persons ought ye to be, in all holy conversation and godliness ; looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of God!" "Hold that fast" which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." These are motives by which Christians in every age have been induced to prac- tise that morality which, while writing against Christianity, Paine, Bolingbroke, and many others, have been compelled to applaud. But the far greater part of them are rejected by deists ; and what will they substitute, of equal efficacy, in their place 1 The love of Christ constraineth us ; but what have they to constrain them ? Will self-love, or the beauty or utility of virtue, answer the purpose! Let history and observation determine. It may be alleged, however, that deists do not reject the whole of these important motives ; for that some, at least, admit the doctrine of a. future life, which, with the acknowledgment of one living and true God, may be thought sufficient for all the purposes of morality. That the doctrine of a future life is of great importance in the moral system is allowed ; but the greatest truth, if dis- severed from other truths of equal impor- tance, will be divested of its energy. As well might a hand dissevered from the body be represented as sufficient for the purposes of labor, as one or two uncon- nected principles for the purpose of mo- rality. This is actually the case in the present instance. The doctrine of a future life, as held by Christians, has stimulated them to labor and suffer with- out intermission. From a "respect to this recompense of reward," a kingdom has been refused, where the acceptance of it would have interfered with a good conscience. Yea, life itself has been sacrificed, and that not in a few, but in in- numerable instances, where it could not be retained but at the expense of truth and uprightness. But is it thus among deists 1 Does the doctrine of a future life, as held by them, produce any such effects 1 When was it known, or heard, that they sacrificed any thing for this or any other principle of a moral nature 1 Who among them ever thought of such a thing ; or who expected it at their hands 1 But this is not all : There is such a connection in truth, that, if one part of it be given up, it will render us less friendly towards other parts, and so de- stroy their efficacy. This also is actually the case in the present instance. Our advo^'saries do not cordialy embrace even this truth; but, on the contrary, are con- tinually undermining it, and rendering it of no effect. Lord Herbert, it is true, considered it as an essential article of natural religion ; and it was his opinion that he could scarcely be accounted a reasonable creature who denied it ; but this is far from being the case with later deistical writers, the greater part of whom either deny it or represent it as a matter of doubt. Some of them disown every principle by which it is supported, and others go so far as to hold it up to ridi- cule, laboring withal to prove the hope of it unfriendly to the disinterested love of virtue. Volney, in his Laio of Nature, or Catechism for French Citizens, says noth- ing about it. Paine just touches upon it, in his Age of Reason, by informing us that "he hopes for happiness beyond this life;" but as happiness has its counter- part, and stands upon the general doctrine o( retribution, he is afraid to say he be- lieves it. It must be reduced to a mere matter of " probability," lest the thought of it should damp him in his present pur- suits, and render him " the slave of ter- ror."* Bolingbroke, though he acknowl- edges its antiquity, and great utility in promoting virtue, yet represents it as a " mere invention of philosophers and legislators," and as being "originally an hypothesis, and which may, therefore, be a vulgar error." "Reason," he says, "will neither affirm nor deny a future state." By this the reader might be led to expect that this writer was neither for it nor against it ; yet the whole of his reasonings are directed to undermine it.f Hume, like the writer last mentioned, acknowledges the utility of the doctrine, but questions its truth. He would not have people disabused, or delivered from * Age of Reason, Part I. p. 1. Part II. pp. 100, 101. t Works, Vol. V. MOTIVES TO A VIRTUOUS LIFE. 119 such a prejudice, because it would free them from one restraint upon their pas- sions. Any person who shouhl undertake this work, he allows, would i>e a bad cit- izen ; yet he mij;;ht, for aujiht lie knows, he a good reasoner.'' Shaftesbury em- ploys all his wit and satire in endeavor- ing to raise a laugh at the very idea, rep- resenting the heathen world as very happy till Christianity arose, and teazed them about an hereafter. "A new sort of policy," he says, " which extends itself to another world, and considers the fu- ture lives and happiness of man rather than the present, has made us leap be- yond the bounds of natural humanity, and out of a suj)ernatural charity, has taught us the way of plaguing one another most devoutly."! Lord Shaftesbury's wit may very Avell be passed by, as being what it is : in connection with the foregoing quota- tions, it sulBces to show us what efficacy the doctrine of a future life, as held by deists, may be expected to possess. But this writer is not contented with raillery : he must also attempt to reason against the doctrine ; contending that it has a pernicious influence on the morals of men; that it is a mercenary principle, and opposed to the disinterested love of virtue, for its own sake. " The princi- ple of self-love," he observes, "which is naturally so prevailing in us, is improved and made stronger by the exercise of the passions on a subject of more extended interest : and there may be reason to ap- prehend that a temper of this kind will extend itself through all the parts of life. And this has a tendency to create a strict- er attention to self-good and private interest, and must insensibly diminish the afTection towards public good, or the interest of society, and introduce a certain narrownes of spirit, which is observable in the devout persons and zealots of almost every religious persuasion. "J This objection, the reader will recol- lect, is in direct contradiction to the principles of Bolingbroke, and, it may be added, of Volney, and other deistical writers, who maintain self-love to be the origin of virtuous affection. Some chris- tian writers, in answering it, have given up the doctrine of disinterested love, allowing that all religious affection is to be traced to the love which we bear to ourselves, as its first principle. To me, this appears no other than betraying the truth, and ranking Christianity with every species of apostasy and false religion * Pliiiosopliical Essay.'', p. 231. t Chararteri?tics, Vol. I. p. 18. t Ibid, Vol. II. p. 58. which have at any time prevailed in the world. A clear idea of the nature of self- love, if I mistake not, will enable us to determine this question, and to answer the deistical objection without rendering Christianity a mercenary system. Every man may be considered either singly, or connectedly; either as a being by himself, or as a link in a certain chain of beings. Under one or other of these views every man considers himself, while pursuing his own interest. If the former, this is to make himself the ultimate end of his actions, and to love all other beings, created or uncreated, only as they sub- serve his interest or his pleasure : this is private self-love : this is mean and mercenary, and what we commonly un- derstand ])y the term seljiskiiess. But, if the latter, there is nothing mean or selfish in it. He who seeks his own well-being in connection with the general good seeks it as he ought to do. No man is required directly to oppose his own welfare, though, in some instances, he may be required to sacrifice it for the general good. Neither is it necessary that he should be indifferent towards it. Reason, as well as Scripture, requires us to love ourselves as well as our neighbor. To this may be added, every man is not only a link in the chain of intelligent beings, and so deserving of some regard from himself, as well as from others, but every man's person, family, and connections, and still more the concerns of his soul, are, as it were, his own vineyard, over the interests of which it is his peculiar province to exercise a Avatchful care. Only let the care of himself and his im- mediate connections be in subserviency to the general good, and there is nothing mercenary in it. I need not multiply arguments to prove that the doctrine of rewards does not necessarily tend to encourage a mercenary spirit, or that it 'is consistent with the disinterested love of virtue. Lord Shaftes- bury himself has acknowledged this : " If by the hope of reward," he says, " be understood the love and desire of virtuous enjoyment, or of the very practice or exercise of virtue in another life, the ex- pectation or hope of this kind is so far from being derogatory to virtue, that it is an evidence of our loving it the more sincerely, and for its own sake."§ This single concession contains an answer to all that his lordship has advanced on the subject ; for the rewards promised in the gospel are all exactly of the description § Ciiaracleristics, Vol. II. pp. 65, 66. 120 MOTIVES TO A VIRTUOUS LIFE. which he mentions. It is true they are often represented under the images of earthly things ; hut this does not prove that, in themselves, they are not pure and spiritual. That there is nothing in them adapted to gratify a mercenary spirit, the following observations will render plain to the meanest capacity : — First : The nature of heavenly enjoy- ments is such as to admit of no monopoly, and consequently to leave no room for the exercise of private self-love. Like the beams of the sun, they are equally'adapt- ed to give joy to a world as to an individ- ual : nay, so far is an increase in the number of the participants from dimin- ishing the quantum of happiness possessed by each individual, that it has a tendency to increase it. The interest of one is the interest of all ; and the interest of all extends to every one. Secondly : The sum of heavenly enjoy- ments consist in a holy likeness to God, and in the eternal enjoyment of his favor.* But holy likeness to God is the same thing as " the very practice or exercise of virtue," the hope of which, Lord Shaftes- bury acknowledges, " is so far from being derogatory to it, that it is an evidence of our loving it the more sincerely, and for its own sake." And, as to the enjoy- ment of the divine favor, a proper pursuit of this object, instead of being at variance with disinterested affection, clearly implies it; for no man can truly desire the favor of God as his chief good, without a pro- portionate esteem of his character, and that for its own excellency. It is impos- sible that the favor of any being whose character we disapprove should be sought as our chief good, in preference to every other object in the universe. But a cor- dial approbation of the divine character is the same thing as a disinterested affec- tion to virtue. Thirdly : The only method by which the rewards of the gosp'el are attainable, faith in Christ, secures the exercise of dis- interested and enlarged virtue. No man has any warrant, from the scriptures, to expect an interest in the promises of the gospel, unless he cordially acquiesce in his mediation. But to acquiesce in this is to acquiesce in the holy government of God, which it was designed to glorify — to feel and acknowledge that we deserved to have been made sacrifices to divine displeasure — to forego all claim or hope of mercy from every selfish consideration; and be willing to receive forgiveness as an act of mere grace, and along with the chief of sinners. In fine, to acquiesce in this is to be of one heart with the Savior of sinners, which, our adversaries themselves being judges, is the same thing as to be filled with devotedness to God and benevolence to men ; and this, if any thing deserves that name, is true, disinterested, and en- larged virtue. It is very possible that the objections which are made by this writer, as well as by Mr. Paine and others, against the doc- trine o[ rewards, as being servile and mer- cenary, may, after all, in reality be against their counterpart. It does not appear to be " the hope of happiness beyond this life" that excites their disgust, though the nature of the Christian's happiness might be disagreeable to them ; but the fear of being " called to account for the manner in which they have lived in this world." This it is which even the daring author of The Age of Reason cannot endure to con- sider as a certainty, as the thought of it would render him "the slave of ter- ror." Yet, as though he would not have it thought that the dread of futurity ren- dered him afraid of believing it, he alleges another reason : " Our belief, on this prin- ciple," he says, " would have no merit, and our best actions no virtue." f In or- der then to our actions being virtuous, it is necessary, it seems, that we be under no law but that of our own inclination; and this will be loving virtue for its own sake. This is at once shaking off the di- vine authority ; which, if ii could be ac- complished, might be very agreeable to some men; and, if with this they could get fairly rid of a judgment to come, it might be still more agreeable; but alas, if they should be mistaken ! It is a fact that the passions of hope and fear are planted in our nature by Him who made us ; and it may be presumed they are not planted there in vain. The pro- per exercise of the former has, I conceive, been proved to be consistent with the pur- est and most disinterested love : and the same thing is provable of the latter. The hope and fear against which these writers declaim are those of a slave ; and, where love is absent, these, it is granted, are the only effects which the doctrine of rewards and punishments will produce. But even here they have their use. Terror is the grand principle by which vicious minds are kept in awe. Without this their licen- tiousness would be intolerable to society.. It is not, however, for the mere purpose of restraint, that threatenings are exhibit- ed, but to express the displeasure of God against all unrighteousness and ungodli- ness of men, and his resolution to punish them. Some are hereby taught the evil of their ways to a good purpose, and all * 1 John iii. 2. Rev. xxi. 3, 4. t Age of Reason, Part II. pp. 100, 101. MOTIVES TO A VIRTUOUS LIFE. 121 are fairly warned, and Ihcir perseverance in sin is rendered ine\cusal)le. Before our adversaries object to this, they should show the impropriety of hu- man laws being accompanied with penal- ties. Let them furnish us witli a system of government in which men may be guilty of crimes without tear of being called to account (or them, and in which those who are enemies to virtue are to be governed by merely the love of it. If it be improp- er to threaten sinners, it is improper to punish them ; and, if it be imjjroper to punish them, it is improper for moral gov- ernment to be exercised. But, if it be thus in the government of God, there is no good reason to be given why it should not be the same in human governments ; that is, there is no good reason why servants, unless they choose to do otherwise, should not disobey their masters, children their parents, and private individuals in a state be continually rising up to destroy all just authority. The above may suffice to ascertain the weight of Lord Shaftesbury's objections to the doctrine of rew ards ; and now I shall take the liberty to retort the charge, and attempt to prove that the epithets " narrow and selfish," which he applies to the Christian system, properly belong to his own. In his "Inquiry concerning Virtue," contained in the second volume of his " Characteristics," though he allows it to consist in our being proportionably affect- ed towards the whole system to which we bear a relation (p. 17,) and acknowledges that this world may be only a part of «. more extended system (p. 20,) yet he stu- diously leaves out God as the head of it. Among all the relations which he enu- merates, there is no mention of that be- tween the creature and the Creator. His enlarged and disinterested scheme of mo- rality is at last nothing more than for a creature to regard those " of its own kind, or species." Not only is all gentleness, kindness, and compassion to inferior crea- tures left out, but the love of God is not in it. On the contrary, it is the professed object of his " Inquiry " to prove that vir- tue, goodness, or moral excellence, may exist without religion, and even "in an Atheist." (p. 6.) In short, it is manifest that it is the love of God, and not self- love, to which his love of virtue, for its own sake, stands opposed. That for which he pleads is the impious spirit of a child who, disregarding his father's favor, pays no attention to his commands as his commands; but comj»lies with them only on account of their approving themselves to his own mind. But this is no other than self-will, which, instead of being op- posed to self-love, is one of its genuine exercises. " Our holy religion," says (his sneer- ing writer, "takes but little notice of the most heroic virtues, such as zeal for the public, and our country."* That Chris- tianity takes but little notice of what is commonly called patriotism is admitted ; and, if Lord Shaltesbury had been free from that " narrowness of mind " which it is his intention here to censure ; yea, if he had only kept to his own definition of vir- tue— " a regard to those of our own kind, or species," he would have taken as little. By the public good, he evidently means no more than the temporal prosperity of a particular country, w hich is to be sought at the expense of all other countries w ith whom it happens, justly or unjustly, to be at variance. Christianity, we acknowl- edge, knows nothing of this spirit. It is superior to it. It is not natural for a Christian to enter into the antipathies, or embroil himself in the contentions of a nation, however he may be occasionally drawn into them. His soul is much more in its element when breathing after the present and future happiness of a world. In undertakings, both public and private, which tend to alleviate the miseries and enlarge the comforts of human life. Chris- tians have ever been foremost ; and, when they have conceived themselves lawfully called even into the field of battle, they have not been wanting in valor. But the heroism to which they principally aspire is of another kind : it is that of subduing their own spirit, doing good against evil, seeking the present and eternal well-being of those w ho hate them, and laying down their lives, if required, for the name of the Lord Jesus. Such is the " narrow spirit " of Chris- tians ; and such have been their "selfish pursuits." But these are things which do not emblazon their names in the account of unbelievers. The murderers of man- kind will be applauded before them. But they have enough : their blood is precious in the sight of the Lord, and their names are embalmed in the memory of the up- right. * Clwracleiistic?, Vol. I. pp. 98, 99- VOL. I. 16 122 CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. CHAPTER V. THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO REJECT THE GOSPEL WILL NOT BEAR A COMPARI- SON WITH THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO EMBRACE IT. No books are so plain as the lives of men ; no characters so legible as their moral conduct. If the principles of a body of men will not bear this criterion, we may expect to hear them exclaim against it as unfair and uncertain; but, when they have said all, thej^ will endeavor to avail themselves of it, if possible. It is tlms that the virtues of idolaters are the con- stant theme of deistical panegyric ; and all the corruptions, intrigues, persecu- tions, wars, and mischiefs, which of late ages have afflicted the earth, are charged to the account of Christians. It is thus that christian ministers, under the name of priests, are described as mercenary, de- signing, and hypocritical ; and the lives of hectoring profligates praised in compar- ison of them.* In short, it is thus that Christians are accused of fanaticism, af- fectation, ingratitude, presumption, and almost every thing else that is mean and base ; and men are persuaded to become deists, with an assurance that, by so do- ing, they will live more consistently, and morally, than by any other system. f But let us examine whether these rep- resentations accord with fact. Is it fact that the ancient philosophers of Greece and Rome were virtuous characters 1 It is true that, like the deists, they talked and wrote much about virtue ; and, if the latter may be believed, they were very virtuous. " They opposed each other," says Voltaire, " in their dogmas ; but in morality they were all agreed. After loading each of them with encomiums, he sums up by affirming, " There has been no philosopher in all antiquity who has not been desirous of making men better. ":f This is a very favorable report ; and, if well founded, the writer of the first chap- ter of the Epistle to the Romans must not ■bnly have dealt largely in calumny, but must have possessed the most consummate eflfrontry, to address such an epistle to the citizens of Rome, who from their own knowledge must have been able to con- * Hume's Essays Moral and Political, Essay XXIV. t Age of Reason, Part I. p. 21. t Ignorant Philosopher, p. 60. tradict him. There are other reports, however, of a very different complexion. It is no part of my design to enter mi- nutely into this subject ; nor is it necessa- ry. Many able writers have proved, from the most authentic sources of information, that the account given of the heathens by the Apostle is not exaggerated. An ex- tract or two from their writings will be sufficient for my purpose. " Epictetus bids you 'temporise, and worship tlie gods after the fashion of your country. '§ Pythagoras forbids you to ' pray to God, because you know not what is convenient. 'II Plutarch commends Ca- to Uticensis for killing himself amidst philosophic thoughts, with resolution and deliberation, after reading Plato on the immortality of the soul.H Cicero pleads for self-murder. Herein he was second- ed by Brutus, Cassius, and others who practised it. Many of their learned men applauded their opinion and practice. Seneca thus pleads for it : ' If thy mind be melancholy and in misery, thou mayest put a period to this wretched condition : wherever thou lookest, there is an end to it. See that precipice ! there thou may- est have liberty. Seest thou that sea, that river, that Avell ? liberty is at the bot- tom of it : that little tree 1 freedom hangs upon it. Thy own neck, thy own throat, may be a refuge to thee from such servi- tude ; yea, every vein of thy body.' ** " We may find in the heathen philoso- phers customary swearing commended, if not by their precepts, yet by the examples of their best moralists, Plato, Socrates, Seneca, and Julian the emperor ; in whose works numerous oaths by Jupiter, Her- cules, the Sun, Serapis, and the like, do occur. In the same manner we see the unnatural love of boys recommended. ff Aristippus maintained that it was ' lawful for a wise man to steal, commit adultery, and sacrilege, when opportunity offered ; for that none of these actions were nat- urally evil, setting aside the vulgar opin- ion, which was introduced into the world by silly and illiterate people, — that a wise man might publicly, without shame or scandal, keep company with common har- lots, if his inclinations led him to it.' ' May not a beautiful woman be made use of,' he asks, 'because she is fair; or a § Enchiridion, Cap. 38. p. m. 56. II Diog. Laertiiis. IF Plutarch's Life of Cato, near the end. **Deira, Lib. iii. Cap. 15. p. m. 319- tt Juvenal Satyr II. ver. 10. CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. 138 youth because he is lovely 1 Certainly tliey may." * li", as Voltaire asserts, it was the desire of these philosophers to make men better, assuredly tliey employed very extraordi- nary means to accomplish their desire. What are the lives recorded by Plu- tarch 1 Many of them, no doubt, enter- tained a high sense of honor, and possess- ed a large portion of patriotism. But was either of these morality ! If l)y this term be meant such dispositions of tiie mind as are right, fit, and amiable, it was not. Their sense of lionor was not of that kind which made then) scorn to do evil ; but, like the false honor of modern duellists, consisted merely in a dread of disgrace. It induced many of them to carry about thein the fatal means of sclf-destruclion ; and, rather than fall into the hands of an adversary, to make use of them. And as to their patriotism, generally speaking, it operated not merely in the preservation of their country, but in endeavors to extend and aggrandize it at the expense of other nations. It was a patriotism inconsistent with justice and good will to men. Add to this, that fornication, adultery, and un- natural crimes, were common among them. As to the moral state of society among heathens, both ancient and modern, we may have occasion to consider this a little more particularly hereafter. At present I would inquire. Is it fact that the perse- cutions, intrigues, wars, and mischiefs of late ages, are to be charged to the account of Christianity 1 With regard to perseciction, nothing is more common with our adversaries than to lay it wholly at our door. They are continually alleging that the heathens all agreed to tolerate each other till Christi- anity arose. Thus writes Shaftesbury, f Hume,t Voltaire, § Gibbon, || and Paine. H That the heathen tolerated each other be- fore the introduction of Christianity is al- lowed ; and they did the same after it. It was not against each other that their en- mity was directed. In the diversity of their idols, and modes of worship, there were indeed different administrations, but it was the same lord : whereas, in the re- ligion of Jesus Christ, there was nothing that could associate with heathenism, but every thing that threatened its utter sub- version. * Diog. Laerlius, Vol. I. p. m. 163, 166. See in Millar's History of the Propagation of Christianity, Vol. I. p. 63— "65. t Cliaracterislics, Vol. I. p. IS. f Essay on Parlies. § Ignorant Philosopher, p. 83. II History of Dec. Chap. II. p. 29. IT Age of Reason, PartH. Preface. It is allowed also that individual perse- cution, except in a few instances, com- menced with Christianity : but who be- gan the practice] Was it Jesus that per- secuted Herod and Pontius Pilate; or they him 1 Did Peter and James and Joiin and Paul set up for inquisitors, and persecute the Jews and Romans ; or the Jews and Romans them 1 Did the primi- tive Christians discover any disposition to persecute 1 By whom was Europe del- uged with blood in ten successive persecu- tions during the first three centuries 1 Were Ciiristians the authors of this] When the church had so far degenerated as to imbibe many of tlie principles and super- stitions of tiie heathen, then indeed it be- gan to imitate their j)ersecuting spirit; but not before. When Christ's kingdom was transformed into a kingdom of this world, the weapons of its warfare might be expected to become carnal, and to be no longer, as formerly, mighty through God. The religious persecutions among Chris- tians have been compared to the massa- cres attending the French Revolution in the times of Robespierre. The horrid barbarities of the latter, it has been said, by way of apology, " have not even been equal to those of the former." If Deists may be allowed to confound Christianity and Popery, I shall not dispute the just- ness of the comparison. There is, no doubt, a greater resemblance between the papal and the infidel spirit ; or rather they are one. Both are the spirit of this world, which is averse from true religion. The diflference between them is but as that be- tween the wolf and the tiger.** But those who reason thus should prove that the re- formers in religion have been guilty of ex- cesses equal to those of the deistical re- formers in politics. Were there any such assassinations among the Prosestants to- wards one another, or towards the Papists, as have been wantonly committed by In- fidels ] It is true there were examples of persecution among Protestants, and such as will ever remain a dishonor to the par- ties concerned ; but those which affected the lives of men were few in number com- pared with those of the other, and these few, censurable as they arc, were not per- formed by assassination. Mr. Paine affirms that "all sects of Christians, except the Quakers, have per- ** The resemblance between Popen^ and Infidelity is pointed out with great beauty and energy in a piece which has appeared in some of the periodical publications, entitled " The Progress of the Moderns in Knowledge, Refinement, and Virtue." See The- ological Magazine, Vol. I. No. V^. p. S44. Evan- gelical Magazine, V^ol. IV, p. 405. 124 CONDUCT OF BELIKVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. secuted in their turn." That much of this spirit has prevailed is too true : but this assertion is unfounded. I could name more denominations than one whose hands, I believe, were never stained with blood, and whose avowed principles have always been in favor of universal liberty of con- science. But let us inquire into the principles and spirit of our adversaries on this sub- ject. It is true that almost all their wri- ters have defended the cause of liberty, and levelled their censures against perse- cution. But where is the man that is not an enemy to this practice, when it is di- rected against himself? Have they dis- covered a proper regard to the rights of conscience among Christians "? This is the question. There may be individuals among them who have ; but the generality of their writers discover a shameful par- tiality in favor of their own side, and a contemptuous disregard of all who have suffered for the name of Christ. While they exhibit persecution in its deservedly infamous colors, they as constantly hold up the persecuted, if found among Chris- tians, in a disadvantageous point of view. Mr. Hume allows that " the persecutions of Christians in the early ages were cruel ;" but lays the blame chiefly on themselves :* and all through his History of England he palliates the conduct of the persecutors, and represents the persecuted in an unfa- vorable light. The same may be said of Gibbon, in his History of the Decline of the Roman Empire ; of Shaftesbury, in his Characteristics ; and indeed of the gene- rality ofdeistical writers. Voltaire, boast- ing of the wisdom and moderation of the ancient Romans, says, "They never per- secuted a single philosopher for his opin- ions, from the time of Romulus, till the popes got possession of their power, "f But did they not persecute Christians "? The millions of lives that fell a sacrifice in the first three centuries after the Chris- tian era are considered as nothing by Vol- taire. The benevolence of this apostle of Deism feels not for men if they happen to be believers in Christ. If an Aristotle, a Pythagoras, or a Galileo suffer for his opinions, he is a " martyr ;" but if a mil- lion of French Protestants, " from a de- sire to bring back things to the primitive institutes of the church," endure the most cruel treatment, or quit their country to escape it, they, according to this writer, are " weak and obstinate men." Say, reader, are these men friends to religious liberty \ To what does all their declama- * Essay on Parties in general. t Ignorant Philosopher, pp. 82, 83. tion against persecution amount but this — that such of them as reside in Christian- ized countries wish to enjoy their opinions without being exposed to it 1 Till of late, deists have been in the minority in all the nations of Europe, and have therefore felt the necessity of a free enjoyment of opinion. It is not what they have pleaded under those circumstances, but their conduct when in power, that must prove them friends to religious liber- ty. Few men are known to be what they are till they are tried. They and Prot- estant Dissenters have, in some respects, been in a similar situation. Of late, each, in a different country, ha e become the majority, and the civil power has been in- trusted in their hands. The descendants of the Puritans, in the western world, by dispensing the blessings of liberty even to Episcopalians, by whose persecutions their ancestors were driven from their native shores, have shown themselves worthy of the trust. But have the Deists acted thus in France, and other countries which have fallen into their hands'? It is true we believe them to have been the in- struments, in the hand of God, of destroy- ing the papal Antichrist ; and in this view we rejoice : howbeit they meant not so. If we judge of their proceedings towards the Catholics in the ordinary way of judg- ing of human actions, which undoubtedly we ought, I fear it will be found not only persecuting, but perfidious and bloody in the extreme. I am not without hope that liberty of conscience will be preserved in France ; and, if it should, it will be seen wheth- er the subversion of the natijonal estab- lishment will prove, what the advisers of that measure without doubt expected and what others who abhorred it apprehended — the extinction of Christianity. It may prove the reverse, and issue in things which will more than balance all the ills attending the revolution. These hopes, however, are not founded on an idea of the just or tolerant spirit of infidelity; but ; so far as human motives are concern- ed, on that regard to consistency which is known to influence all mankind. If the leading men in France, after having so liberally declaimed against persecution, should ever enact laws in favor of it, or in violation of the laws encourage it, they must appear in a most disgraceful light in the opinion of the whole civilized world. Not only persecution, but unjust loars, intrigues, and other mischiefs, are placed to the account of Christianity. That such things have existed, and that men who are called Christians have been CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. 125 deeply concerned in them, is true. Wick- ed men will act wickedly, by whatever name they are called. Whether these things lie i'airly attrihutahle to the Chris- tian religion, may be determined by a few plain inciuiries. First : Did these evils commence, with Christianity, or have they increased under its inlluence ? Has not the world, in every age with which history acquaints us, been a scene of corruption, intrigue, tumult, and slaughter 1 All that can plausilily be objected to Christianity is, that these tilings have continued in the Avorld tiotwilfistanding its influence ; and that they have been practised in as great a degree by men calling themselves Christians as by any other persons. Secondly : Are those who ordinarily engage in these practices real Christians ; and do our adversaries themselves ac- count them so 1 They can distinguish, when they please, between sincere and merely nominal Christians. They need not be told that great numbers, in every nation, are of that religion which happens to prevail at the time ; or, rather, that they are of no religion. Thirdly : Have not the courts of prin- ces, notwithstanding Christianity may nave been the professed religion of the land, been generally attended by a far greater proportion of Deists than of seri- ous Christians ; and have not public meas- ures been directed by the counsels of the former much more than by those of the latter ■? It is well known that great numbers among the nobility and gentry of every nation consider religion as suited only to vulgar minds ; and therefore either wholly absent themselves from worship, or attend but seldom, and then only to save appearances towards a national estaVtlishment by which provision is made for the younger branches of their families. In other words, they are unbe- lievers. This is the description of men by whom public affairs are commonly managed, and to whom the good or the evil pertaining to them, so far as human agency is concerned, is to be attributed. Finally : Great as have been the evils abounding in nations professing Christi- anity (and great they have been, and ought greatly to be deplored,) can unbe- lievers pretend to have given us any hope, at present, of the state of things being meliorated! It is true they have talked and written much in this way; and many well-wishers to the human race have been disposed to give them credit. But it is not words that will prove any thing. Have they done any thing that justifies a hope of reformation ! No ; they themselves must first be re- formed ; or rather, to use an appropriate term of their own, regenerated. Far be it fror. i.ii that, in such a cause as this, I sluiuii write under the influence of na- tional : :ejudice, or side with the enemies of civil and religious freedom; but I must say there never was a representation more necessary than that which was given in an address from the Executive Directory of France to the Council of Five Hundred, about the beginning of the year 179G. In this address they "re- quest the most earnest attention of the Council towards adopting some measure for 'the regeneration of the public mor- als." This is the regeneration wanted, and which, having rejected Christianity, they may be ever seeking, but will never be able to obtain. They may continue to revolutionize as long as a party shall be found that wishes for an increase of power, and perceives an opportunity of gaining it ; and every party in its turn may talk of "saving liberty:" but never will they be free indeed until they are emancipated in some good degree from the dominion of vice ; and never will this be effected but by a knowledge of evan- gelical truth. The friends of legitimate liberty have deeply to regret that, under that revered name, has been perpetrated almost every species of atrocity ; and that not only to- wards individuals, but nations, and nations the most peaceable and inoffensive, whose only crime was that of being un- able to resist. Liberty has suffered more from the hands of Infidels, amidst all their successes and declamations, than from its professed enemies ; and still it bleeds beneath their wounds. Without entering into political disputes, I may safely affirm that, if ever the nations of the earth be blessed with equal liberty, it will be by the prevalence, not of the pretended illuminations of infidel philos- ophy, but that doctrine which teaches us " to do unto others as we would that others should do unto us." Finally : Mr. Paine affirms that men, by l)ecoming Deists, would "live more consistently and morally than by any other system." As to living more con- sistently, it is possible there may be some truth in it ; for the best Christians, it must be allowed, have many imperfections, which are but so many inconsistencies ; whereas, by complying with this advice, they would be uniformly wicked. And, as to their living more morally, if Mr. Paine could coin a new system of morals, from which the love of God should be excluded, and intemperance, incontinen- cy, pride, profane swearing, cursing, ly- ing, and hypocrisy, exalted to the rank 126 CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. of virtues, he might very probably make good his assertion. Mr. Paine professes to " detest the Bi- ble on account of its obscene stories, vo- luptuous debauclieries, cruel executions, and unrelenting vindictiveness."* That the Bible relates such things is true ; and every impartial history of mankind must do the same. The question is, whether they be so related as to leave a favoralile impression of them upon the mind of a serious reader. If so, and if the Bible be that immoral book which Mr. Paine represents it to be, how is it that the reading of it should have reclaimed mil- lions from immorality '? Whether he will acknowedge this, or not, it is a fact too notorious to be denied by impartial ob- servers. Every man residing in a Chris- tian country will acknowledge, unless he have an end to answer in saying other- wise, that those people who read the Bible, believe its doctrines, and endeav- or to form their lives by its precepts, are the most sober, upright, and useful mem- bers of the community : and, on the other hand, that those who discredit the Bible, ajid renounce it as the rule of their lives, are, generally speaking, addicted to the grossest vices ; such as profane swear- ing, lying, drunkenness, and lewdness. It is very singular, I repeat it, that men, by regarding an immoral book, should learn to practise morality ; and that others, by disregarding it, should learn the con- trary. How is it that, in countries where Christianity has made progress, men have almost universally agreed in reck- oning a true Christian, and an amiable, open, modest, chaste, conscientious, and benevolent character, as the same thing 1 How is it, also, that to say of a man, He rejects the Bible, is nearly the same thing, in the account of people in general, as to say. He is a man of a dissolute life 1 If there were not a general connection be- tween these things, public opinion would not so generally associate them. Individ- uals, and even parties, may be governed by prejudice ; but public opinion of char- acter is seldom far from truth. Besides, the prejudices of merely nominal Chris- tians, so far as my observation extends, are as strong against those Christians who are distinguished by their devout and serious regard to the Scriptures as against professed Infidels, if not stronger. How is it then to be accounted for, that, al- though they will call them fanatics, en- thusiasts, and other unpleasant names, yet it is very rare that they reckon them immoraH If, as is sometimes the case, they accuse them of unworthy motives, *Age of Reason, Part I. p. 12. and insinuate that in secret they are as wicked as others, either such insinuations are not seriously believed, or, if they be, the party is considered as insincere in his profession. No man thinks that genuine Christianity consists with a wicked life, open or secret. But the ideas of infidel- ity and immorality are associated in the public mind ; and the association is clear and strong ; so much so, as to become a ground of action. Whom do men ordi- narily choose for umpires, trustees, guar- dians, and the like 1 Doubtless they endeavor to select persons of intelligence : but, if to this l)e added Christian -princi- ple, is it not of weight in these cases 1 It is seldom known, I believe, but that a serious intelligent Christian, whose sit- uation in the world renders him conversant with its concerns, will have his hands full of employment. Ask bankers, merchants, tradesmen, and others who are frequent- ly looking out for persons of probity to occupy situations of trust, in whose hands they would choose to confide their prop- erty 1 They might object, and with good reason, to persons whose religion render- ed them pert, conceited, and idle ; but would they not prefer one who really makes the Bible the rule of his life to one who professedly rejects itl The common practice in these cases aifords a sufficient answer. How is it that the principles and reasonings of Infidels, though frequently accompanied with great natural and ac- quired abilities, are seldom known to make any impression on sober people 1 Is it not because the men and their communications are known If How is it that so much is made of the falls of Noah, Lot, David, Jonah, Peter, and others'? The same things in heathen philosophers, or modern unbelievers, would be passed over without notice. All the declamations of our adversaries on these subjects plain- ly prove that such instances with us are t It is said of a gentleman lately deceased, who was eminent in the literary world, that in early life he drank deeply into the fiee-tliinking scheme. He and one of his companions, of the same turn of mind, often carried on their conversations in the hearing of a religious but illiterate countryman. This gentle- man, afterwards becoming a serious Christian, was concerned for the countryman, lest his faith in the Christian religion should have been shaken. One day he took the liberty to ask him, Whether what had so frequently been advanced in his hearing had not produced this eflect upon him 1 " By no means," answered the countryman, " it never made the least impression upon me." " No impression upon you !" said the gentleman," why, you must know that we have read and thought on these things much more than you had any opportunity of doing." " O yes," said the other, " but I knew also your manner of living : I knew that, to maintain such a course of conduct, you found it necessary to renounce Chris- tianity." CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. 127 more singular than with them. With us they are occasional, and afl'ord matter lor deep repentance ; witli tlioni they are hal)itual, and furnish employment in tlie work of palliation. The spots on the garments of a cliild attract attention ; hut tiie filthy condition of the animal that wallows in the mire is disregarded, as being a thing of course. The morality, such as it is, which is found among Deists, a?nounts to nothing more tlian a little exterior decorum. The criminality of intention is expressly dis- owned.* The great body of these writers pretendto no higiier motives than a regard to their safety, interest, or reputation. Ac- tions proceeding from these principles must not only be destitute of virtue, but wretch- edly defective as to their influence on the well-being of society. If the heart be to- wards God, a sober, righteous, and godly life, becomes a matter of choice ; but that which is performed, not for its own sake, but from fear, interest, or ambition, will extend no farther than the eye of man can follow it. In domestic life it will be but little regarded, and in retirement not at all. Such, in fact, is the character of In- fidels. "Will you dare to assert," says Linguet, a French writer, in an address to Voltaire, " that it is in philosophic fa- milies we are to look for models of filial respect, conjugal love, sincerity in friend- ship, or fidelity among domestics 1 Were you disposed to do so, would not your own conscience, your own experience, suppress the falsehood, even before your lips could utter it."f " Wherever society is established, there it is necessary to have religion ; for re- ligion, which watches over the crimes that are secret, is, in fact, the only law which a man carries about with him ; the only one which places the punishment at the side of the guilt, and which operates as forcibly in solitude and darkness as in the broad and open face of day." Would the reader have thought if! These are the words of Voltaire. J Nothing is more common than for dcis- tical writers to level their artillery against the Christian ministry. Under the appel- lation oi' priests, they seem to think them- selves at liberty to load them with every species of abuse. That there are great numbers of worldly men who have en- gaged in the Christian ministry, as other worldly men engage in other employments, for the sake of profit, is true ; and, where this is the case, it may be expected that * Volney's Law of Nature, p. 18. t Linguet was an admirer of Voltaire; but dis- approved of his opposition to Christianity. See his Review of that autlior's Works, p. 264. hunting, gaming, and such kinds of amuse- ments, will be their favorite pursuits, while religious exercises will be perform- ed as a piece of necessary drudgery. Where this is the case, "their devotion must be feigned, and their seriousness mere hypocrisy and grimace." But, that this should l)e represented as a general case, and that the ministry itself should be reproached on account of the hypocrisy of worldly men, who intrude themselves into it, can only be owing to malignity. Let the fullest sul>traction lie made of charac- ters oi the above description, and I appeal to impartial oliservation whether there will not still remain in only this particular or- der of Christians, and at almost any pe- riod, a greater number of serious, upright, disinterested, and benevolent persons, than could be found among the whole bo- dy of Deists in a successi ;n of centuries. It is worthy of notice that Mr. Hume, in attempting to plunge Christian minis- ters into the mire of reproach, is obliged to descend himself, and to drag all man- kind with him, into the same situation. He represents ministers as " drawn from the common mass of mankind, as people are to other employments, by the views of profit;" and suggests that "therefore they are obliged, on many occasions, to feign more devotion than they possess," which is friendly to hypocrisy. § The lead- ing- motive of all pulilic otBcers, it seems, is to aggrandize themselves. If Mr. Hume had accepted of a station under government, we can be at no loss, there- fore, in judging what would have been his predominant principle. How weak, as well as wicked, must that man have been, who, in order to wound the reputation of one description of men, could point his arrows against the integrity of all ! But the world must forgive him. He had no ill design against them, any more than against himself. It was for the purpose of destroying these Philistines, that he aimed to demolish the temple of human virtue. Nor is his antipathy, or that of his brethren, at all to be wondered at. These are the men who, in every age, have ex- posed the sophistry of Deists, and vindi- cated Christianity from their malicious as- persions. It is reasonable to suppose, therefore, that they will always be con- sidered as their natural enemies. It is no more a matter of surprise that they should be the objects of their invective, than that the weapons of nightly depredators should :j: In Sullivan's Survey of Nature. § Essay on National Chjiracters, Note. 123 CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. be pointed against the watchmen, whose business it is to detect them, and expose their nefarious practices. After all, Mr. Hume pretends to respect " clergymen, who are set apart by the laws to the care of sacred matters; " and wishes to be understood as directing his censures only against jories^s, or those who pretend to power and dominion, and to a superior sanctity of character, distinct from virtue and good morals.* It should seem, then, that they are dissenti7ig min- isters only that incur Mr. Hume's displea- sure : but if, as he represents them, they be " drawn to their employment by the views of profit," they certainly cannot possess the common understanding of men, since they could scarcely pursue an occu- pation less likely to accomplish their de- sign. The truth is, Mr. Hume did not mean to censure dissenting ministers only ; nor did he feel any respect for clergymen set apart by the laws. Those whom he meant to spare were such clergymen as where men after his own heart ; and the objects of his dislike were truly evangelic- al ministers, whether churchmen or dis- senters, who were not satisfied with his kind of morality, but were men of holy lives, and consequently were respected by the people. These are the men against whom the enmity of Deists has ever been directed. As to other priests, they have no other difference with them than that of rivalship, wishing to possess their wealth and influence, which the others are not always the most willing to relinquish. In professing, however, to " respect" such clergymen, Mr. Hume only means to flat- ter them, and draAV them on to a little nearer alliance with his views. Respect is excited only by consistency of character, and is frequently involuntary. A clergy- men of loose morals may be preferred, and his company courted, but respected he cannot be. As to those ministers against whom Mr. Hume levels his artillery, and against whom the real enmity of his party has always been directed, there is not a body of men in the world, of equal talents and industry, who receive less, if so little, for their labors. If those who have so liber- ally accused them of interested motives gained no more by their exertions than the accused, they would not be so wealthy as many of them are. Compare the conduct of the leading men among Deists with that of the body of serious Christian divines. Amidst their declamations against priestly hypocrisy. are they honest men 1 Where is their in- genuousness in continually confounding Christianity and Popery 1 Have these workers of iniquity no knowledge 1 "No," say some, "they do not understand the difference between genuine and coiTupted Christianity. They have never had op- portunity of viewing the religion of Jesus in its native dress. It is popish super- stition against which their efforts are di- rected. If they understood Christianity they would embrace it." Indeed ! And was this the case with Shaftesbury, Bo- lingbroke, Hume, or Gibbon 1 or is this the case with Paine 1 No ; they have both seen and hated the light ; nor will they come to it, lest their deeds should be made manifest. It may be thought, however, that some excuse may be made for Infidels residing in a popish country ; and this I shall not dispute as it respects the ignorant popu- lace, who may be carried away by their leaders ; but, as it respects the leaders themselves, it is otherwise. The National Assembly of France, when they wished to counteract the priests, and to reject the adoption of the Roman Catholic faith as the established religion, could clearly distinguish between genuine and corrupted Christianity. f Deists can distinguish be- tween Christianity and its abuses, when an end is to be answered by it ; and, when an end is to he answered by it, they can, with equal facility, confound them. Herbert, Hobbes, Shaftesbury, Wools- ton, Tindal, Chubb, and Bolingbroke, are all guilty of the vile hypocrisy of professing to love and reverence Christianity, while they are employed in no other design than to destroy it. Such faithless professions, such gross violations of truth, in Chris- tians, would have been proclaimed to the universe, by these very writers, as infa- mous desertions of principle and decency. Is it less infamous in themselves 1 All hypocrisy is detestable ; but I know of none so detestable as that which is coolly written, with full premeditation, by a man of talents, assuming the character of a moral and religious instructer. Truth is a virtue perfectly defined, mathematic- ally clear, and completely understood by all men of common sense. There can be no baitings between uttering truth and falsehood ; no doubt, no mistakes, as be- tween piety and enthusiasm, frugality and parsimony, generosity and profusion. Transgression, therefore, is always a known, definite, deliberate villainy. In the sudden moment of strong temptation, * Essays Moral and Political, Essay XII. pp. 107, 108, Note. t Mirabeau's Speeches, Vol. II. pp. 269—274. CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. 129 in the hour of unguarded attack, in the flutter and trepidation of unexpected alarm, the best man may, perhaps, be surprised into any sin ; i)ut he who can coolly, of steady design, and with no un- usual impulse, utter (alsehood, and vend hypocrisy, is not iar from finished de- pravity. The morals of Rochester and Wharton need no comment. Woolston was a gross blasphemer. Blount solicited his sister- in-law to marry him, and, being refused, shot himself. Tindal was originally a Protestant, then turned Papist, then Pro- testant again, merely to suit the times ; and was at the same time infamous for vice in general, and tiic total w ant of prin- ciple. He is said to have died with this prayer in his mouth, " If there be a God, I desire that he may have mercy on me." Hobbes wrote his Leviathan to serve the cause of Charles I., but, finding him fiiil of success, he turned it to the defense of Cromwell, and made a merit of this fact to the usurper, as Hobl)es himself un- blushingiy declared to Lord Clarendon. Morgan had no regard to truth, as is evi- dent from his numerous falsifications of Scrij)ture, as well as from the vile hypoc- risy of professing himself a Christian in those very writings in which he labors to destroy Christianity. Voltaire, in a Letter now remaining, requested his friend D' Alembert to tell for him a direct and pal- pable lie, by denying that he was the au- thor of the Philosophical Dictionary. D 'Alembert, in his answer, informed him that he had told the lie. Voltaire has, indeed, expressed his own moral charac- ter perfectly in the following words, " Monsieur Abbe, I must be read ; no matter whether I am believed or not." He also solemnly professed to believe the Catholic religion, although at the same time he doubted the existence of a God. Hume died as a fool dieth. The day before his death he spent in a pitiful and affected unconcern about this tremendous subject, playing at whist, reading Lucian's Dia- logues, and making silly attempts at wit, concerning his interview with Charon, the heathen ferry-man of Hades.* Collins, though he had no belief in Chris- tianity, yet qualified himself for civil of- fice by partaking of the Lord's supper. Shaftesbury did the same ; and the same is done by hundreds of Infidels to this day. Yet these are tlie men who are continual- ly declaiming against the hypocrisy of priests ! Godwin is not only a lewd char- acter, by his own confession; but the * Tlie last two paragiaphs are taken from Dr. Dwighi's excellent Discourses on "The iXature and Danger of Infidel Philosopby," pp. 45 — 17. VOL .1. 1'^ unblushing advocate of lewdness. And, as to Paine, he is well known to have been a profane swearer, and a drunkard. We have evidence upon oath that "religion was his favorite toj)ic when intoxicated ; "f and, from the scurrility of the perform- ance, it is not imiiroliaiilc that he was fre- quently in tills situation while writing his " Age of Reason." I shall conclude this catalogue of wor- thies with a lirief abstract of the "Con- fessions of J. J. Rousseau." Alter a good education in the Protestant religion, he was put ap|)rentice. Finding his situation disagreeable to him, he felt a strong pro- pensity to vice — inclining him to covet, dissemble, lie, and at length, to steal— a propensity of which he was never able af- terwards to divesl himself. " I have been a rogue," says he, "and am so still some- times, for trifles which I had rather take than ask for. "J: He abjured the Protestant religion, and entered the hospital of the Catechumens at Turin, to be instructed in that of the Catholics ; " For which in return," says he, "I was to receive sul)sistence. From this interested conversion," he adds, " nothing remained but the remembrance of my having been both a dupe and an apostate. "§ After this he resided with a Madame de Warrens, with whom he "lived in the greatest possible familiarity." This lady often suggested that there would be no justice in the Supreme Being, should he be strictly just to us : because, not having bestowed what was necessary to make us essentially good, it would be requiring more than he had given. She was, nev- ertheless, a very good Catholic, or pre- tended at least to be one, and certainly desired to be such. If there had been no christian morality established, Rousseau supposes she would have lived as though regulated by its principles. All her mo- rality, however, was subordinate to the principles of M. Tavel, (who first seduced her from conjugal fidelity by urging, in effect, that exposure was the only crime ;) or, rather, she saw nothing in religion that contradicted them. Rousseau was far enough from being of this opinion : yet he confessed he dared not combat the argu- ments of tlie lady ; nor is it supposable he could, as he appears to have been act- ing on the same principles at the time. "Finding in her," he adds, "all those ideas I had occasion for, to secure me from the fears of death and its future con- t See Trial of T. Paine at Guildhall, for a Li- IjcI, &c. ]). 43. :j: Confessions, London edition, 1796. Vol. I. pp. 52. 55. 68. § Vol. I. pp. 125,126. 130 EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETY. sequences, I drew confidence and security from this source."* The writings of Port Royal, and those of the Oratory, made him half a Jansenist ; and, notwithstanding ail his confidence, their harsh theory sometimes alarmed him. A dread of hell, which, till then, he had never much apprehended, by little and lit- tle disturbed his security, and, had not Madame de Warrens tranquilized his soul, would at length have been too much for him. His confessor also, a Jesuit, contributed all in his power to keep up his hopes. f After this, he became familiar with an- other female, Theresa. He began by declaring to her that he would never either abandon or marry her. Finding her pregnant with her first child, and hearing it observed, in an eating house, that he who had best filled the Foundling Hospital was always the most applauded, " I said to my- self," he tells us, " since it is the custom of the country, they who live here may adopt it. I cheerfully determined upon it without the least scruple : and the only one I had to overcome, was that of Theresa; whom with the greatest imaginable diffi- culty, I persuaded to comply." The year following a similar inconvenience was remedied by the same expedient : no more reflection on his part, nor approbation on that of the mother. "She obliged with trembling. My fault," says he, *' was great; but it was an error. "| He resolved on settling at Geneva : and, on going thither, and being mortified at his exclusion from the rights of a citizen by the profession of a religion different from his forefathers, he determined openly to return to the latter. " I thought," says he, " the gospel being the same for every Christian, and the only difference in relig- ious opinions the result of the explanations given by men to that which they did not understand, it was the exclusive right of the sovereign power in every country to fix the mode of worship, and these unin- telligible opinions ; and that, consequent- ly, it was the duty of a citizen to admit the one, and conform to the other, in the manner prescribed by the law." Accord- ingly, at Geneva he renounced Popery. § After passing twenty years with There- sa, he made her his wife. He appears to have intrigued with a Madame de H . Of his desires after that lady, he says, " Guilty without remorse, I soon became so without measure. "II Such, according to his own account, was * Vol. II. pp. 88, 89, 103—106. t Vol. II. p. 127. X Part II. Vol. I. pp. 12.3. 1.54. 155. 183. 187. 815- § Part II. Vol. I. pp. 263,264. II Vol. I. pp. 311. 378. the life of uprightness and honor which was to expiate for a theft which he had com- mitted when a young man, and laid to a fe- male servant, by which she lost her place and character.il Such was Rousseau, the man whom the rulers of the French na- tion have delighted to honor ; and who, for writing this account, had the vanity and presumption to expect the applause of his Creator. " Whenever the last trumpet shall sound," says he, "I will present myself before the sovereign Judge, with this book in my hand, and loudly proclaim, Thus have I acted ; these were my thoughts ; such was I, Power eternal ! Assemble round thy throne the innumer- able throng of my fellow-mortals. Let them listen to my confessions ; let them blush at my depravity ; let them tremble at my sufferings ; let each in his turn ex- pose, with equal sincerity, the failings, the wanderings of his heart; and, if he dare, aver — I was better than that man."** CHAPTER VI. CHRISTIANITY HAS NOT ONLY PRODUCED GOOD EFFECTS IN THOSE WHO COR- DIALLY BELIEVE IT, BUT HAS GIVEN TO THE MORALS OF SOCIETY AT LARGE A TONE, WHICH DEISM, SO FAR AS IT OP- ERATES, GOES TO COUNTERACT. No man walks through life without a rule of some kind, by which his conduct is directed, and his inclinations restrained. They who fear not God are influenced by aregardto the opinions of men. To avoid the censure, and gain the applause of the public, is the summit of their ambition. Public opinion has an influence, not on- ly on the conduct of individuals in a com- munity, but on the formation of its laws. Legislators will not only conform their systems to what the humors of the people will bear, but will themselves incline to omit those virtues which are the most un- grateful, and to spare those vices which are most agreeable. Nor is this all : so great is the influ- ence of public opinion that it will direct the conduct of a community against its own laws. There are obsolete statutes, as we all know, the breach of which can- not be punished : and even statutes which are not obsolete, where they operate against this principle, have but little ef- fect ; witness the connivance at the atro- cious practice of duelling. IT Vol. I. pp. 155. 160. ** Vol. 1. p. 1. EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETY. 131 Now, if jiul)lic opinion I)e so potent a principle, whatever lias a prevailing inllu- ence in forming it, must give a decided tone to what are considered as the morals ot a nation. 1 say, to what arc considered as the morals ol' a nation ; for, strictly speaking, so much of the love of God and man as prevails in a nation, so much mo- rality is there in it, and no more. But, as we can judge of love only by its ex- pressions, we call those actions moral, though it is possible their morality may only be counterfeit, by wliich the love of God and man is ordinarily expressed. If we perform from some otiier motive, those actions which are the ordinary expressions of love, our good deeds are thereby ren- dered evil in the sight of Him who views things as they are; nevertheless, what we do may be equally beneficial to society as though we acted from the purest motive. In this indirect way Christianity has ope- rated more than any thing that has been called by the name of religion, or by any other name, towards meliorating the state of mankind. It has been observed, and with great propriety, that, in order to know what re- ligion has done for an individual, we must consider what he would have been without it. The same may lie said of a nation, or of the world. What would the nations of Europe have been at this time if it had not been for the introduction of Christ- ianity "? It cannot reasonably be pretended that they would have been in any better situation, as to morality, than that in w hich they were previously to this event ; for there is no instance of any people having by their own efforts, emerged from idola- try and the immoralities which attend it. Now, as to what that state was, some no- tice has been taken already, so far as re- lates to the principles and lives of the old philosophers. To this I shall add a brief review of the state of society among them. Great praises are bestowed by Plutarch on the customs and manners of the Lace- demonians. Yet the same writer acknowl- edges that theft was encouraged in their children Viy a law, and that in order to " sharpen their wits, to render them craf- ty and subtle, and to train them up in all sorts of wiles and cunning, watchfulness and circumspection, whereby they were more apt to serve them in their wars, which was upon the matter the whole profession of this commonwealth. And, if at any time they were taken in the act of stealing, they were most certainly pun- ished with rods and the penance of fasting ; not because they esteemed the stealth cri- minal, but because they wanted skill and cuaning in the management and conduct of it."* Hence, as might be expected, and as Herodotus observes, their actions were generally contrary to their words ; and there was no dependence upon them in any matter. As to their chastity, there were common baths in which the men and women l)ath- ed together : and it was ordered that the young maidens should ai)})ear naked in the public exercises, as well as the young men, and that they should dance naked with them at the solemn festivals and sacrifices. Husl)ands also were allowed to impart the use of their wives to hand- some and deserving men, in order to the producing of healthy and vigorous children for the commonwealth. Children which were deformed, or of a bad constitution, were murdered. This inhuman custom was common all over Greece ; so much so that it was reckoned a singular thing, among the Thebans, that the law forbad any Theban to expose his infant, under pain of death. This prac- tice, with that of procuring abortion, was encouraged by Plato and Aristotle. The unnatural love of boys was so common in Greece that in many places it was sanctioned by the public laws, of which Aristotle gives the reason : namely, to prevent their having too many children. Maximus Tyrius celebrates it as a sin- gularly heroic act of Agesilaus, that, being in love with a beautiful barbarian boy, he suffered it to go no farther than looking at him and admiring him. Epic- tetus also praises Socrates in this manner : " Go to Socrates, and see him lying by Alcibiades, yet slighting his youth and beauty. Consider what a victory he was conscious of obtaining ! What an Olym- pic prize ! So that, by heaven, one might justly salute him. Hail, incredibly great, universal victor !" What an implication does such language contain of the manners of those times ! The Romans were allowed by Romulus to destroy all their female children, ex- cept the eldest: and even with regard to their male children, if they were deform- ed, or monstrous, he permitted the parents to expose them, after having shown them to five of their nearest neigiibors. Such things were in common use among them, and were celebrated upon their theatres. Such was their cruelty to their slaves that it was not unusual for the masters to put such of them as were old, sick, and infirm, into an island in the Tiber, where they left them to perish. So far did some of them carry their luxury and wanton- ness as to drown them in the fish-ponds, * Plutarch's Morals, Vol. 1. p. 96. 132 EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETY. that they might be devoured by the fish, to make the flesh more delicate I Gladiatory shows, in which a number of slaves were engaged to fight for the diversion of the multitude till each one slew or was slain by his antagonist, were common among them. Of these brutish exercises the people were ex- tremely fond ; even the women ran eagerly after them, taking pleasure in seeing the combatants kill one another, desirous only that they should fall genteelly, or in an agreeable attitude ! They were exhib- ited at the funerals of great and rich men, and on many other occasions. So fre- quent did they become that no war, it is said, caused such slaughter of mankind as did these sports of pleasure, throughout the several provinces of the Roman empire. That odious and unnatural vice, which prevailed among the Greeks, was also common among the Romans. Cicero introduces, without any mark of disap- probation, Cotta, a man of the first rank and genius, freely and familiarly owning, to other Romans of the same quality, that worse than beastly vice as practised by himself, and quoting the authorities of ancient philosophers in vindication of it. It appears also, from Seneca, that in his time it was practised at Rome, openly and without shame. He speaks of flocks and troops of boys, distinguished by their colors and nations, and affirms that great care was taken to train them up for that detestable employment. The reHgious rites performed in honor of Venus, in Cyprus, and at Aphac, on Mount Libanus, consisted in lewdness of the grossest kinds. The young people, of both sexen, crowded from all parts to those sinks of pollution ; and, filling the groves and temples v/ith their shameless practices, committed whoredom by thou- sands, out of pure devotion. All the Babylonian women were obliged to prostitute themselves once in their lives, at the temple o^ Venus or Mylitta, to the first man that asked them : and the money earned by this means was always esteem- ed sacreo. Human sacrifices were offered up in almost all heathen countries. Children were Irarnt alive by their parents, to Baal, Moloch, and other deities. The Cartha- ginians, in times of public calamity, not only burnt alive the children of the best families to Saturn, and that by hundreds, but sometimes sacrificed themselves in the same manner, in great numbers. Here in Britain, and in Gaul, it was a common practice to surround a man with a kind of wicker-work, and burn him to death, in honor of their gods.* In addition to the above, Mr. Hume has written as follows : — " What cruel tyrants w^ere the Romans over the world, during the time of their commonwealth ! It is true they had laws to prevent op- pression in their provincial magistrates ; but Cicero informs us that the Romans could not better consult the interest of the provinces than by repealing these very laws. For in that case, says he, <^ our magistrates, having entire impunity, would plunder no more than would satis- fy their own rapaciousness : whereas, at present, they must also satisfy that of their judges, and of all the great men of Rome, of whose protection they stand in need." The same writer, who certainly was not prejudiced against them, speaking of their commonwealth in its more early times, farther observes, " The most illus- trious period of the Roman history, con- sidered in a political view, is that between the beginning of the first and end of the last Punic war; yet, at this very time, the horrid practice of poisoning was so common that, during part of a season, a praetor punished capitally, for this crime, above tliree thousand persons in a part of Italy, and found informations of this nature still multiplying upon him ! So depraved in private life," adds Mr. Hume, " were the people, whom, in their histo- ry, we so much admix'e."f From the foregoing facts we may form some judgment of the justness of Mr. Paine's remarks. "We know nothing," says he, "of what the ancient gentile world was before the time of the Jews, whose practice has been to calumniate and blacken the character of all other nations. As far as we know to the contrary, they were a just and moral people, and not addicted, like the Jews, to cruelty and revenge, but of whose profession of faith we are unacquainted. It appears to have been their custom to personify both virtue and vice by statues and images, as is done now-a-days by statuary and paint- ing : but it does not follow from this that they worshipped them any more than we do."| Unless heathens, before the time of the * The authorities on vvhicli this brief statement of facts is founded may be seen in Dr. Leland's Ad- vantages and Necessity of the Christiau Hevelation, Vol. II. Part II. Chap. III. IV., where the subject is more paiticularly liandled. See also Deism Re- vealed, Vol. I. i)p. 77, 78. t Essay on Politics a Science. i Age of Reason, Part II. pp. 39, 40. EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETT. 123 Jews, were totally difTeront from what tliey were in all after aL'^os, tiiere can l)c no reasonable doubt ol tlicir worslii[)i)ini:; a plurality of deities, of which images were supposed to be the representations. Mr. Paine liimself allows, and that in the same performance, that prior to the Christian era they were " Idolaters, and had twenty or thirty thousand gods."* Yet, by his manner of speaking in tliis place, he manilestly wishes to insinuate, in behalf of all the hcatlien nations, tliat they injght worship idols no more tlian we do. It might be worth wliile for this wri- ter, metliinks, to bestow a little more at- tention to the improvement of his memorj'. With resjject to their being "just and moral |)eople," unless they were ex- tremely dilTcrent before the time of the Jews Irom what they were in all after ages, there can be no reasonable doubt of their being what the sacred writers have represented them. If those writers have said nothing worse of them than has been said by the most early and authentic historians from among themselves, it will be easy for an impartial reader to decide whether heathens have been "calumniated and blackened " by the Jewish writers, or the Jewish writers by Mr. Paine. But it is not by the state of the ancient heathens only that we discover the im- portance of Christianity. A large part of the world is still in the same condition ; and the same immoralities abound among them which are reported to have abounded among the Greeks and Ro- mans. I am aware that deistical writers have laboured to hold up the modern as well as the ancient heathens in a very favora- ble light. In various anonymous publi- cations, much is said of their simplicity and virtue. One of them suggests that the Chinese are so "superior to Chris- tians, in relation to moral virtues, that it may seem neccssarj' that they should send missionaries to teach us the use and practice of Natural Theology, a§ we send missionaries to them to teach them Revealed Religion. "f Yea, and some who wish to rank as Christians, have, on this ground, objected to all missionary undertakings among tlie heathen. Let us examine this matter a little closely. Almost all the accounts which are favorable to heathen virtue are either written by the adversaries of Christianity, and with a design to disparage it, or by navigators and travelers, who have touch- ed at particular places, and made their reports according to the treatment they •Age of Reason, Part II. p. 5. t Christianity as old as the Creation, pp. 366, 367. have met with, rather than from a regard to universal righteousness. An authentic report of the morals of a people requires to be given, not from a transient visit, but from a continued residence among them; not from their occasional treat- ment of a stranger, but from their general character; and not tor having an end to answer, but with a rigid regard to truth. It is worthy of notice that the far great- er part of these representations respect peoi)le with whom we have little or no acquaintance, and therefore, whatever the trutli may be, are less liable to con- tradiction. As to China, Hindostan, and some other parts of tlie world, with whose moral state we have had the means of acquiring some considerable degree of knowledge, the praises bestowed on them by our adversaries have proved to be un- founded. From the accounts of those who have resided in China, there does not seem to be much reason to boast of their virtue. On the contrary, their morals appear to be full as bad as those of the ancient heathens. It is allowed that they take great care of their outward behavior, more perhaps than is taken in any other part of the world besides — that Avhatever they do or say is so contrived that it may have a good appearance, please all, and offend none — and that they excel in outward modesty, gravity, good words, courtesy, and civility. But, not- withstanding this, it is said that the sin against nature is extremely common — that drunkenness is considered as no crime — that every one takes as many concu- bines as he can keep — that many of the common people pawn their wives in time of need, and some lend them for a month, or more, or less, according as tiiey agree — that marriage is dissolved on the most trifling occasions — that sons and daughters are sold whenever tlieir j)arents please, and that is frequently — that many of the rich, as well as the poor, w])cn they are deliver- ed of daughters, stifle and kill them — that those who are more tender-hearted will leave them under a vessel, where they ex- pire in great misery — and, finally, that notwithstanding this they all, except the learned, plead humanity and compassion against killing other living creatures, thinking it a cruel thing to take that life which they cannot give. Montesquieu says, " The Chinese, whose whole life is governed by the established rites, are the most void of common honesty of any people upon earth ; and the laws, though they do not allow them to rob or to spoil by violence, jet permit them to cheat and defraud." With this agrees the account given of them in Lord Anson's Voyages, and by other navigators — that 134 EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETY. lying, cheating, stealing, and all the little arts of chicanery abound among them ; and that, if you detect them in a fraud, they calmly plead the custom of the country* Such are the people by whom we are to be taught the use and practice of natural theology ! If credit could be given to what some writers have advanced, we might suppose the moral philosophy and virtuous con- duct of the Hindoos to be worthy of being a pattern to the world. The rules by which they govern their conduct are, as we have been told, "Not to tell false tales, nor to utter any tiling that is un- true ; not to steal any thing from others, be it ever so little ; not to defraud any by their cunning, in bargains, or con- tracts ; not to oppress any Avhen they have power to do it."f Very opposite accounts, however, are given by numerous and respectable wit- nesses, who do not appear to have written under the influence of prejudice. I shall select but two or three. Francis Bernier, an intelligent French traveller, speaking of the Hindoos, says, " I know not whether there be in the world a more covetous and sordid nation. — The Brahmins keep these people in their errors and superstitions, and scruple not to commit tricks and villanics so in- famous that I could never have believed them, if I had not made an ample inquiry into them. "I Governor Holwell thus characterizes them: "A race of people who, from their infancy, are utter strangers to the idea of common faith and honesty." — " This is the situation of the bulk of the people of Indostan, as well as of the mod- ern Brahmins : amongst the latter, if we except one in a thousand, we give them over measui-e. The Gentoos in general are as degenerate, superstitious, litigious, and wicked a people, as any race of peo- ple in the known world, if not emi- nently more so ; especially the common run of Brahmins ; and we can truly aver that, during almost five years that we presided in the Judicial Cutchery Court of Calcutta, never any murder, or other atrocious crime, came before us, but it was proved, in the end, a Brahmin was at the bottom of it.§ Mr., afterwards Sir John, Shore, and Governor General of Bengal, speaking of * See Leland's Advantages and Necessity of Rev- elation, Vol. II. Part II. Chap. IV. t Harris's Voyages and Travels, Vol. I. Chap. II. § 11, 12. t Vovages de Francois Bernier, Tome I. pp. 150. 162, et Tome II. p. 105. § Holwell's Historical Events, Vol. I. p. 228. Vol. II. p. 151. the same people, says, "A man must be long acquainted with them before we can believe them capable of that bare-faced falsehood, servile adulation, and deliber- ate deception, which they daily practise. — It is the business of all, from the Ryott to the Dewan, to conceal and deceive ; the simplest matters of fact are designedly covered with a veil, through which no hu- man understanding can penetrate. "|| In perfect agreement with these ac- counts are others which are constantly received from persons of observation and probity, now residing in India. Of these the following are extracts : " Lying, theft, whoredom, and deceit, are sins for which the Hindoos are notorious. There is not one man in a thousand who does not make lying his constant practice. Their thoughts of God are so very light that they only consider him as a sort of plaything. Avarice and servility are so united in almost every individual that cheating, juggling, and lying, are esteem- ed no sins with them ; and the best among them, though they speak ever so great a falsehood, yet consider it no evil, unless you first charge them to speak the truth. When they defraud you ever so much, and you charge them with it, they coolly answer, It is the custom of the country . — In England, the poor receive the benefit of the gospel, in being fed and clothed by those who know not by what principles they are moved. For, when the gospel is generally acknowledged in a land, it puts some to fear and others to shame ; so that to relieve their own smart they provide for the poor : but here (O miserable state !) I have found the path- way stopped up by sick and wounded people, perishing with himger, and that in a populous neighborhood, where numbers pass by, some singing, others talking, but none showing mercy; as though they were dying weeds, and not dying men. "IF Comparing these accounts, a reader might be apt to suppose that the people must have greatly degenerated since their laws were framed ; but the truth is, the laws are nearly as corrupt as the people. Those who examine the Hindoo Code** will find them so ; and will perceive that there is scarcely a species of wickedness which they do not tolerate, especially in favor of the Brahmins, of which order of II Parliametary Proceedings against Mr. Hastings, Appendix to Vol. II. p. 65. TT Periodical Accounts of die Baptist Mission, No. II. p. 129. No. HI. pp. 191. 230. No. IV. p. 291. ** Tianslated from the Shanscr it, and publislied in 1773. EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETY 135 men, it may be presumed, were the first frarners ot the constitution. Let tiie reader judge, from this exam- ple of the Hindoos, what degree of credit is due to antichristian liistorians, when they undertake to describe the virtues of heathens. From this brief statement of facts it is not very difhcult to perceive somewhat of that which Christianity has accomplish- ed with regard to the general state of society. It is liy no means denied that the natural dispositions of heathens, as well as other men, are various. The Scriptures themselves record instances of their amiable deportment towards their fellow-creatures.* Neither is it denied that there are characters in christianized nations, and those in great numbers, whose wickedness cannot be exceeded, nor equalled, by any who were destitute of their advantages. There is no doubt but that the general moral character of heathens is far less atrocious than that of deists who reject the light of revela- tion, and of multitudes of nominal Chris- tians who abuse it. The state of both these descriptions of men, with respect to unenlightened pagans, is as that ot Chorazin and Bethsaida with respect to Sodom and Gomorrah. But tliat for which I contend is the effect of Christi- anity upon the general state of society. It is an indisputable fact that it has l>an- ished gross idolatry from every nation in Europe. It is granted that, where whole nations were concerned, this effect might be accomplished, not by persuasion, but by force of arms. In this manner many legislators of former times thought they did God service. But whatever were the means by which the worship of the one living and true God was at first intro- duced, it is a fact that the principle is now so fully estal)lished, in the minds and consciences of men, that there needs no force to prevent a return to the old system of polytheism. There needs no greater proof of this than has been af- forded by unbelievers of a neighboring nation. Such evidently has been their predilection for pagan manners that, had the light that is gone abroad among man- kind permitted it, they would at once have plunged into gross idolatry, as into their native element. But this is ren- dered morally impossible. They must be Theists or Atheists ; Polytheists they cannot be. By accounts, which from time to time have been received, it appears that the prevailing party in France has not only labored to eradicate every principle of ♦ Gen. xxiii. Christianity, but, in one instance, actual- ly made tiie experiment for restoring something like the old idolatry. A res- pectable magistrate of tlie United .States,* in his Addresses to the Grand Jury in Luzerne County, has stated a few of these facts to the public. "Infidelity," says he, " having got possession of the power of the state, every nerve was exerted to efface from tlie mind all ideas of religion and morality. Tlie doctrine of the immortality of the soul, or a future state of rewards and punishments, so essential to the preservation of order in society, and to the prevention of crimes, was publicly ridiculed, and the people taught to believe that death was an ever- lasting sleep." "They ordered the words 'Temple of Reason ' to be inscribed on the churches, in contempt of the doctrine of revelation. Atheistical and licentious homilies have been published in the churches, instead of the old service ; and a ludicrous imita- tion of the Greek mythology exhibited, under the title of ' The Religion of Rea- son.' Nay, they have gone so far as to dress up in the most fantastic decora- tions a common strumpet, whom they blasphemously styled ' The Goddess of Reason,' and who was carried to church on the shoulders of some Jacobins select- ed for the purpose, escorted by the National Guards and the constituted authorities. When they got to the church, the strumpet was placed on the altar erected lor the purpose, and harangued the people, who, in return, ])rofessed the deepest adoration to her, and sung the Carmagnole and other songs, by way of worshipping her. This horrid scene — almost too horrid to relate — was conclud- ed by burning the prayer-book, confes- sional, and every thing appropriated to the use of public worship ; numbers, in the mean tiaie, danced round the flames with every appearance of frantic and infernal mirth." These things sufficiently express the inclinations of the parties concerned, and what kind of blessings the world is to ex- pect from atheistical philosophy. But all attempts of this kind are vain : the minds of men throughout Europe, if I may for once use a cant term of their own, are too enlightened to stoop to the practice of such fooleries. We have a gentleman in our own country, who appears to be a sincere devotee to the pagan worship, and who, it seems, would wish to introduce it ; but, as far as I can learn, all the suc- cess which he has met with is to have ob- "t^ Judge Rush. 136 EFFECTS OP CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETY. tained from the public the honorable ap- pellation of the gentile, priest. Whatever we are, and whatever we may be, gross idolatry, I presume, may be con- sidered as banished from Europe ; and, thanks be to God, a number of its attend- ant abominations, with various other im- moral customs of the heathen, are, in a good measure, banished with it. We have no human sacrifices; no gladiatory combats ; no public indecencies between the sexes ; no law that requires prostitu- tion ; no plurality or community of wives ; no dissolving of marriages on trifling oc- casions ; nor any legal murdering of chil- dren, or of the aged and infirm. If unnat- ural crimes be committed among us, they are not common ; much less are they tol- erated by the laws, or countenanced by public opinion. On the contrary, the odium which follows such practices is sufficient to stamp with perpetual infamy the first character in the land. Rapes, incests, and adulteries, are not only pun- ishable by law, but odious in the estima- tion of the public. It is with us, at least in a considerable degree, as it was in Ju- dea, where he that was guilty of such vices was considered as a fool in Israel. The same, in less degrees, may be said of fornication, drunkenness, lying, theft, fraud, and cruelty : no one can live in the known practice of these vices, and retain his character. It cannot be pleaded in excuse with us, as it is in China, Hindos- tan, and Otaheite, that " such things are the custom of the country." We freely acknowledge that if we turn our eyes upon the great evils which still exist, even in those nations where Chris- tianity has had the greatest influence, we find abundant reason for lamentation ; but, while we lament the evil, there is no rea- son that we should overlook the good. Comparing our state with that of former times, we cannot but with thankfulness acknowledge. What hath God xorought ! I can conceive of but one question that can have any tendency to weaken the ar- gument arising from the foregoing facts ; viz. Are they the effects of Christianity 1 If they be not, and can be fairly accounted for on other principles, the argument falls to the ground : butif they be, though Shaftes- bury satirize, Hume doubt, Voltaire laugh. Gibbon insinuate, and Paine pour forth scurrility like a torrent, yet honest men will say, "An evil tree bringeth not forth good fruit : If this religion were not of God, it could do nothing." If there be any adequate cause, distinct from Christianity, to which these effects may be ascribed, it becomes our adversa- ries to state it. Meanwhile, I may ob- serve, they are not ascribable to any thing besides Christianity that has borne the name of religion. As to that of the an- cient heathens, it had no manner of rela- tion to morality. The priests, as Dr. Leland has proved, "made it not their business to teach men virtue."* It is the same with modern heathens : their relig- ion has nothing of morality pertaining to it. They perform a round of superstitious observances, which produce no good effect whatever upon their lives. What they were yesterday, they are to day; "No man repenteth himself of his wickedness, saying, What have I done!" Nor is it materially different with Mahometans. Their religion, though it includes the ac- knowledgment of one living and true God, yet, rejecting the Messiah as the Son of God, and attaching them to a bloody and lascivious impostor, produces no good effect upon their morals, but leaves them under the dominion of barbarity and vo- luptuousness. In short, there is no relig- ion but that of Jesus Christ that so much as professes to "bless men by turning them from their iniquities." Neither can these effects be attributed to philosophy . A few great minds des- pised the idolatries of their countrymen ; but they did not reform them : and no wonder; for they practised what they themselves despised. Nor did all their harangues in favor of virtue produce any substantial effect, either on themselves or others. The heathen nations were never more enlightened as to philosophy than at the time of our Saviour's appearance ; yet, as to morality, they were never more depraved. It is Christianity, then, and nothing else, which has destroyed the odious idolatry of many nations, and greatly contracted its attendant immoralities. It was in this way that the gospel operated in the primi- tive ages, wherever it was received ; and it is in the same way that it continues to operate to the present time. Real Chris- tians must needs be adverse to these things ; and they are the only men living who cordially set themselves against them. This truth will receive additional evi- dence from an observation of the differ- ent degrees of morality produced in differ- ent places, according to the degree of pu- rity with which the Christan religion has been taught, and liberty given it to ope- rate. In several nations of Europe popery has long been established, and supported by sanguinary laws. By these means the Bible has been kept from the common peo- ple, christian doctrine and worship cor- * Advantages and Necessity of Revelation, Vol. II. p. 38. EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETY. 137 rvipted, and the consciences of men sub- dued to a usurper ot Cluisl's authority. Christianity is there in prison ; and anfi- christianisin exalted in its place ! — In other nations this yoke is lirokcn. Every true Cliristian has a Bil>le in his family, and measures his relijrion \)y it. The ridits of conscience also l)eing respected, men are allowed, in rcliirious matters, to judirc and act for themselves ; and christian churches are formed according to the primitive model. Christianity is here at liberty : here, therefore, it may lie ex- pected to )»roduce its greatest effects. Whether this does not correspond with fact, let those who are accustomed to ob- serve men and things with an impartial eye determine. In Italy, France, and various other countries, where the Christian religion has been so far corrupted as to lose near- ly all its influence, illicit connections may be formed, adulterous intrigues pursued, and even crimes against nature committed, with but little dishonor. Rousseau could here send his illegitimate offsj)ring to the Foundling Hospital, and lay his accounts with lieing applauded for it, as being the custom of the country. It is not so in Britain, and various other nations, where the gospel has had a freer course ; for, though the same dispositions are discover- ed in great numbers of persons, yet the fear of the public frown holds them in awe. If we except a few abandoned char- acters wiio have nearly lost all sense of shame, and who by means either of their titles or fortunes on the one hand, or their well-known baseness on the other, have almost bid defiance to the opinion of man- kind, this observation will hold good, I believe, as to the bulk of the inhabitants of Protestant countries. And it is worthy of notice that, in those circles or connections where Christianity has had the greatest influence, a sobriety of character is carried to a much higher degree than in any other. Where there is one divorce from among Protestant dis- senters, and other serious professors of Christianity, there are, I believe, a hun- dred from among those whose practice it is to neglect the worship of God, and to frequent the amusements of the theatre; and, in proportion to the singularity of cases, such is the surprise, indignation, and disgrace, which accompany them. Similar observations might be made on public executions for robbery, forgery, tumults, assassinations, murders, &c. It is not among the circles professing a seri- ous regard to Christianity, but among its adversaries, that these practices ordinari- ly prevail. Some have been inclined to attribute VOL. I. 18 various differences in these things to a difference in national character; but na- tional character, as it respects morality, is formed very much i'roin the state of soci- ety in different nations. A numlier of painful observations would arise from a view of tiie conduct and ciuiracter of Eng- lishmen on foreign shores. To say noth- ing of the rapacities committed in the East, whither is our l)oa.stcd humanity fled when we land upon the coasts of Guinea] The brutality with which mill- ions of our fellow -creatures have been torn from their connections, bound in irons, thrown into a floating dungeon, sold in the public markets, licaten, maimed, and many of them murdered for trivial offences, and all this without any effectual restraint from the laws, must load our national character Avith everlasting infamy. The same persons, however, who can be guilty of these crimes at a distance, are as ap- parently humane as other peo|)le when they re-enter their native country. And wherefore 1 Because in their native coun- try the state of society is such as will not admit of a contrary behavior. A man who should violate the principles of justice and humanity here would not only be exposed to the censure of the laws, but, supposing he could evade this, his character would be lost. The state of society in Guinea imposes no such restraints : in that situa- tion, therefore, wicked men will indulge in wickedness. Nor is it much otherwise in our West India islands. So little is there of Christianity, in those quarters, that it has hitherto had scarcely any influ- ence in the framing of their laws, or the forming of the public opinion. There are, doubtless, just and humane individuals in those islands ; but the far greater part of them, it is to be feared, are devotees to avarice, to which, as to a Moloch, one or other of them is continually offering up human victims. Vicious practices are commonly more prevalent in large and populous cities than in other places. Hither the worst char- acters commonly resort, as noxious ani- mals to a covert from their pursuers. In places but thinly inhabited, the conduct of individuals is conspicuous to the commu- nity ; but here they can assemble with others of their own description, and strengthen each other's hands in evil, without much fear of being detected. Christianity, therefore, may be supposed to have less effect in the way of restrain- ing immoral characters in the city, than in the country. Yet even here it is sensibly felt. Though the metropolis of our owu nation abounds with almost every species of vice, yet what reflecting citizen will de- ny that it would be much worse but for 138 EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE STATE OF SOCIETF. the influence of the gospel? As it is, there are numbers, of different religious denominations, who constantly attend to public and family worship ; who are as honorable in their dealings as they are amiable in domestic life ; and as liberal in their benefactions as they are assiduous to find out deserving cases. The influ- ence which this body of men have upon the citizens at large, in restraining vice, promoting schemes of benevolence, and preserving peace and good order in socie- ty, is beyond calculation. But for their examples, and unremitted exertions, Lon- don would be a Sodom in its guilt, and might expect to resemble it in its pun- ishment. In country towns and villages it is easy to perceive the influence which a number of serious Christians will have upon the manners of the people at large. A few families in which the Bible is daily read, the worship of God performed, and a Chris- tian conversation exemplified, will have a powerful effect. Whether characters of an opposite description regard their con- duct, or not, their consciences favor it. Hence it is that one upright man, in a question of right and wrong, will often put to silence a company of the advocates of unrighteousness ; and that three or four Christian families have been known to give a turn to the manners of a whole neighborhood. In fine, let it be closely considered whether a great part of that sobriety which is to be found among deists them- selves (as there are, doubtless, sober char- acters among deists, and even among Athe- ists) be not owing to Christianity. It has often been remarked, and justly too, that much of the knowledge which our adver- saries possess is derived from this source. To say nothing of the best ideas of the old philosophers on moral subjects being derived from revelation, of which there is considerable evidence, it is manifest that, so far as the moderns exceed them, it is principally if not entirely, owing to this medium of instruction. The Scriptures having diffused the light, they have in- sensibly imbibed it; and, finding it to ac- cord with reason, they flatter themselves that or lor that which satislietii not 1 Hearken dili- gently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fat- ness. Incline your ear, and come unto me ; hear, and your soul shall live." " In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." " He that cometh to me shall never luin- cer ; and he that i)elievelh on me shall never thirst." How this language has been verified, all who have made the tri- al can testify. To them, as to the only competent witnesses, I appeal. It is not merely the nature of the soul however, but its depravity, whence our ne- cessities arise. We are sinners. Every man who believes there is a God, and a future state, or even only admits the pos- sibility of them, feels the want of mercy. The first inquiries of a mind awakened to reflection will be how he may escape the wrath to come — how he shall get over his everlasting ruin. A heathen, previ- ously to any Christian instruction, ex- claimed, in the moment of alarm, " W'hat must I do to be saved 1""* And several Mahometans, being lately warned by a Christian minister of their sinful state, came the next morning to him with this very serious question — Keman par hoibo ? " How shall we get over 1 " f To answer these inquiries is beyond the power of any principles but those of the gospel. Phi- losophy may conjecture, superstition may deceive, and even a false system of Chris- tianity may be aiding and abetting; each may labor to lull the conscience to sleep, but none of them can yield it satisfaction. It is only by believing in Jesus Christ, the great sacrifice that taketh away the sin of the world, that the sinner obtains a relief which will bear reflection — a relief which, at the same time, gives peace to the mind and purity to the heart. For the truth of this also I appeal to all who have made the trial. Wliere, but in the gospel, will you find relief under the innumerable ills of the present state 1 This is the well-known refuge of Christians. Are they poor, af- flicted, persecuted, or reproached ] They are led to consider Him who endured the contradiction of sinners, who lived a life of poverty and ignominy, who endured persecution and reproach, and death itself, * Acts xvi. 30. t Periodical Accounts of the Baptist Missionarj- Society, No. IV. p. 326. for them ; and to realize a blessed immor- tality in prospect. By a view of such things their hearts are cheered, and their afflictions become tolerable. Looking to Jesus, who for the joy set before him en- dured the cross, despising the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God, they run with patience the race which is set before them. — But what is the comfort of unbelievers 1 Life being short, and having no ground to hope for any thing beyond it, if they be crossed here they become inconsolable. Hence it is not uncommon for persons of this de- scription, after the example of the philoso- phers and statesmen of Greece and Rome, when they find themselves depressed by adversity, and have no prospect of recov- ering their fortunes, to put a period to their lives! Unhappy men! Is this the felicity to which ye would introduce us 1 Is it in guilt, shame, remorse, and desperation that ye descry such charms'! Admitting that our hope of immortalitj' is visionary, where is the injury 1 If it be a dream, is it not a pleasant one 1 To say the least, it beguiles uiany a melancholy hour, and can do no mischief: but, if it be a reality, what will become of you 1 I may be told that, if many put a period to their lives through unbelief, there is an equal number who fall sacrifices to relig- ious melancholy. But, to render this ob- jection of force, it should be proved that the religion of Jesus Christ is the cause of this melancholy. Reason may convince us of the being of a God, and conscience bear witness that we are exposed to his dis])Ieasure. Now, if in this st?cte of mind the heart refuse to acquiesce in the gospel way of salvation, we shall of course either rest in some delusive hope or sink into de- spair. But here it is not religion, but the want of it, that produces the evil; it is unbelief, and not faith, that sinks the sin- ner into despondency. Christianity dis- owns such characters. It records some few examples, such as Saul, Ahithophel, and Judas ; but they are all l)randcd as apostates Irom God and true religion. On the contrary, the writings of unbelievers, botli ancient and modern, are known to plead for suicide, as an expedient in ex- tremity. Rousseau, Hume, and others, have written in defence of it. The princi- ples of such men both produce and require it. It is the natural off'spring of unbelief, and the last resort of disappointed pride. Whether Christianity or the want of it be best adapted to relieve the heart, under its various pressures, let those testify who have been in the hal)it of visiting the af- flicted poor. On this subject the writer of these sheets can speak from his own knowledge. In this situation characters 143 CHRISTIANITY A SOURCE OP HAPPINESS. of very opposite descriptions are found. Some are serious and sincere Christians ; others, even among those who have at- tended the preaching of the gospel, appear neither to understand nor to feel it. The tale of woe is told perhaps by both ; but the one is unaccompanied with that dis- content, that wretchedness of mind, and that inclination to despair, which is mani- fest in the other. Often have I seen the cheerful smile of contentment under cir- cumstances the most abject and afflictive. Amidst tears of sorrow, which a full heart has rendered it impossible lo suppress, a mixture of hope and joy has glistened. " The cup which my Father hath given me to drink, shall I not drink it ]" Such have been their feelings, and such their expres- sions ; and, where this has been the case, death has generally been embraced as the messenger of peace. Here, I have said, participating of their sensations, — "here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Here are they that keep the command- ments of God and the faith of Jesus. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. — Who is he that overcom- eth the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of Godl" From individual happiness, let us pro- ceed to examine that of society. Let us inquire whether there be any well-ground- ed hope of the future melioration of the state of mankind, besides that which is afforded by the gospel. Great expecta- tions have been raised of an end being put to wars, and of universal good-will perva- ding the earth, in consequence of philoso- phical illumination, and the prevalence of certain modes of civil government. But these speculations proceed upon false da- ta. They suppose that the cause of these evils is to be looked for in the ignorance, rather than in the depravity of men: or, if depravity be allowed to have any influ- ence, it is confined to the precincts of a court. Without taking upon me to decide which is the best mode of civil govern- ment, or what mode is most adapted to promote the peace and happiness of man- kind, it is sufficient, in this case, to show that wars generally originate, as the apos- tle James says, in the lusts, or corrupt passions, of mankind. If this be proved, it will follow that, however some forms of government may be more friendly to peace and happiness than others, yet no radical cure can be effected till the dispositions of men are changed. Let power be placed where it may, with one or with many, still it must be in the hands of men. If all governments were so framed as that every national act should be expressive of the real will of the people, still, if the prepon- derating part of them be governed by pride and self-love rather than equity, we are not much the nearer. Governors taken from the common mass of society must needs resemble it. If there be any differ- ence at the time of their first elevation to office, owing, as may be supposed, to the preference which all men give to an up- right character for the management of their concerns, yet this advantage will be bal- anced, if not over-balanced, by the subse- quent temptations to injustice which are afforded by situations of wealth and power. What is the source of contentions in common life 1 Observe the discords in neighborhoods and families, which, not- withstanding all the restraints of relation- ship, interest, honor, law, and reason, are a fire that never ceases to burn, and which, were they no more controlled by the laws than independent nations are by each other, would in thousands of instan- ces break forth into assassinations and murders. Whence spring these wars Are they the i-esult of ignorance ? If so, they would chiefly be confined to the rude, uninformed part of the community. But is it so"? There may, it is true, be more pretences to peace and good will, and fewer bursts of open resentment in the higher, than in the lower orders of people ; but their dispositions are much the same. The laws of politeness can only polish the surface ; and there are some parts of the human character which still appear very rough. Even politeness has its regulations for strife and murder, and establishes iniquity by a law. The evil disposition is a kind of subterraneous fire ; and in some form it will have vent. Are they the result of court influence? No. The truth is, if civil government in some form did not influence the fears of the unjust and contentious part of the community, there would be no security to those who are peaceably inclined, and especially to those who are withal reli- gious, and whose pious conduct, like that of Noah, condemns the world. Now the same disposition which, in persons whose power extends only to a cottage, will operate in a way of domestic discord, in others, whose influence extends to the affairs of nations, will operate on a more enlarged scale, producing war and all the dire calamities which attend it. The sum of the whole is this : When the pre- ponderating part of the world shall cease to be proud, ambitious, envious, covetous, lovers of their own-selves, false, malig- nant, and intriguing — when they shall love God and one another out of a pure heart — then, and not till then, may we expect wars to cease, and the state of mankind to be essentially meliorated. While these dispositions remain, they CHRISTIANITY A SOURCE OF HAPPINESS. 143 will be certain to show themselves. If the Viest laws or constitution in the world stand in their way, they will, on certain occasions, bear down all l)etbre them. An anonymous writer in the Monthly Magazine* (a work which, without avow- insr it, is pretty evidently devoted to the cause of infidelity) has instituted an inqui- ry into " the j)rol)ability ol the future me- lioration of mankind." A dismal pros- pect indeed it is which he holds up to his fellow-creatures ; yet were I an Infidel, like him, I should acquiesce in many thiuirs which he advances. The anchor of his hopes is 0)1 increase of kiioicledge, and the effects of this are circumscribed within a very narrow boundary. With respect to what we call civilization, he reckons it to have undergone all the vicissitudes of which it is capable. Scientific refinement may contril)ute to the happiness of a few individuals ; but, he fears, cannot be made a ground of much advantage to the mass of mankind. Great scope, indeed, re- mains for the operation of increased know- ledge in improvement in government ; but even here it can only cure those evils which arise from ignorance, and not those which proceed from intention, which, " while the propensity to prefer our own interests above that ot the community is," as he acknowledges, " interwoven into our very nature," will always form the mass of existing ills. If, indeed, the majority of <\ community, he says, became so en- lightened concerning iheir interests, and so wise, steady, and unanimous in the pur- suit of them, as to overcome all that re- sistance which the possessors of undue ad- vantages will always make to a change unfavorable to themselves, something might be hoped for. But this, while they are under their old masters, he reckons as next to impossible. As to political rev- olutions, he did form high expectations from them; but his hopes are at an end. "I have only the wisli lelt," says he; " the confidence is gone." As to improv- ed systems of morality, which he considers as the art of living happy, though it might seem promising, yet history, he very just- ly remarks, does not allow us to expect that men, in proportion as they advance in this species of knowledge, will become more just, more temperate, or more be- nevolent. Of the extinction of icars he has no hope. The new order of things which seemed opening in Europe, and to bid fair for it, has rather increased the evil ; and, as to Christianity, it has been tried, it seems, and found to be insufficient for the purpose. Commerce, instead of binding the nations in a golden chain of * For February, 1799, p. 9. mutual peace and friendship, seems only to have given additional motives for war. The amount is. There is little or no hope of the state of mankind being meli- orated on public principles. All the im- provement he can discern in this way con- sists in there being a little more lenity in the government of some countries than formerly ; and, as to this, it is balanced by the prodigious increase of standing armies, and other national burdens. The only way in which an increase in knowledge is to operate to the melioration of the state of mankind is in private life. It is to soften and humanize men's man- ners, and emancipate their minds Irom the shackles of superstition and bigotry — names which writers of this class com- monly bestow upon Christianity. This is the boundary beyond which, whatever be his wishes, the hopes of this writer will not suffer him to pass ; and even this re- spects only Europe and her immediate connections, and not the whole of them. The great mass of mankind are in an ab- solutely hopeless condition ; for there are no means of carrying our improvements among them but by conquest, and conquest is a Pandora's box, at the mention of which he shudders. Such are the prospects of unbelievers ; such is the horrid despondency under which they sink when Providence counter- acts their favorite schemes; and such the spirit which they labor to infuse into the minds of men in order to make them hap- py ! Christian reader. Have you no bet- ter hopes than these 1 Are you not ac- quainted with a principle which, like the machine of Archimedes, will remove this mighty mass of evils ] Be they as great and as numerous as they may, if all can be reduced to a single cause, and that cause removed, the work is done. All the evils of which this writer complains are reduci- ble to that one principle, which, he says, (and it is well he says it,) " is interwoven into our very nature ; namely, the propen- sity to prefer our own interest above that of the community." It is this propensi- ty that operates in the great, and indu- ces them to " oppose every thing that would be unfavorable to their power and advantage; and the same thing" operates among common people, great numbers of whom, it is well known, would sell their country for apiece of bread. If this prin- ciple cannot be removed, I shall, with this writer, forever despair of any essential changes for the better in the state of man- kind, and will content myself with culti- vating private and domestic happiness, and hoping for the blessedness of a future life : but, if it can, I must leave him to despair alone. 144 CHRISTIANITY A SOURCE OF HAPPINESS- My hopes are not founded on forms of government, nor even on an increase of knowledge, though each may have its val- ue ; but on the spirit by which both the ru- lers and the people loill be governed. All forms of government have hitherto rested on the basis of self-love. The wisest and best statesmen have been obliged to take it for granted that the mass of every peo- ple will be governed by this principle; and, consequently, all their schemes have been directed to the balancing of things in such a manner as that people, in pursuing their own interest, should promote that of the public. If in any case they have pre- sumed on the contrary, experience has soon taught them that all their schemes are visionary, and inapplicable to real life. But if the mass of the people, composed of all the different orders of society, were governed by a spirit of justice and disin- terested benevolence, systems of govern- ment might safely be formed on this basis. It would then be sufficient for statesmen to ascertain what was right, and best adapted to promote the good of the community, and the people would cheerfully pursue it ; and, pursuing this, would find their own good more effectually promoted than by all the little discordant arts of a selfish mind. The excellence of the most admired constitutions which have hitherto appear- ed in the world has chiefly consisted in the balance of power being so distributed, among the different orders of society, as that no one should materially oppress or injure the other. They have endeavored to set boundaries to each other's encroach- ments, and contrived, in some degree, to counteract venality, corruption, and tu- mult. But all this supposes a corrupt state of society, and amounts to no more than making the best of things, taking them as they are. As things are, locks and keys and bolts and bars are necessary in our houses ; but it were better if there were no occasion for them. I do not take upon me to say that things will ever be in such a state as that there shall be no need of these political precautions ; but I be- lieve they will be far less necessary than at present. If the Bible be true, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea ; the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; idolatry, and every species of false religion, shall be no more ; the arts and instruments of war shall be laid aside, and exchanged for those of husban- dry ; the different tribes of man shall be united in one common band of brotherly love ; slavery and oppression will cease ; righteousness will be established in the earth; and "the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the etfect oi righteous- ness quietness and assurance forever." But "Christianity has been tried," it seems, " and found insufficient." That it has not been, as yet, sufficient to banish unjust wars from the earth is true ; and it were more than wonderful if it had, seeing it has never yet been cordially embraced by the majority, nor perliaps by the pre- ponderating part of any nation. Never- theless it has had its influence. This gloomy writer himself acknowledges that the state of society in Europe and Ameri- ca, that is to say, in Christendom, is far preferable to what it is in other parts of the earth. Of the rest of the world he has no hope. Has Christianity done nothing in this case 1 That thousands in different nations are, by a cordial belief of it, ren- dered sober, just, disinterested, and peace- able, and that the state of society at large is greatly meliorated, have, I hope, been already proved.* To believe then in the future accomplishment of the foregoing prophecies is only to believe that what is already effected in individuals will be ex- tended to the general body of mankind, or, at least, to such a proportion of them as shall be sufficient to give a preponder- ance in human affairs. Moreover, the same book which de- clares that the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ has foretold, in great vari- ety of language, the downfal of the Papal Antichrist, and that by means of the same powers from which its dominion was first derived. We have, in part, seen the ful- filment of the one, and live in expectation of the other. We are not ignorant of the evil designs of Infidels ; but we believe that God is above them, and that they are only instruments in his hand in the ful- filment of his word. While, therefore, we feel for the miseries of mankind, occa- sioned by the dreadful devastations of war, we sorrow not as those who have no hope ; but are persuaded that all things, even now, are working together for good ; and, while we pity individual sufferers, we cannot join the whining lamentations of interested men — " Alas, alas, that great city ! " On the contrary, we feel dis- posed to join the song of the heavenly host, "Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God ; for true and righteous are his judgments.— Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him ; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his bride hath made herself ready." If, acording to the doctrine of Boling- * Chap. V. VI. CHRISTIAISITV A SOURCE OF HAPPINESS. 145 broke, Volney, and other Deists, we knew no other source of virtue and hap- piness than self-love, we should often l)e less happy then we are. Our blessedness is bound up with that of Christ and his followers throujrhout the world. His friends are our friends, and his enemies our enemies ; they that seek his life seek ours ; the prosperity of his kinsrdom is our prosperity, and we prefer it above our cliief joy. From tiie pulijic stock of blessedness beinji thus considered as tlie common property of every individual, arises a great and constant influx of en- joyment. Hence it is that, in times when temporal comforts fail, or family troubles depress, or a cloud hangs over our partic- ular connections, or death threatens to arrest us in a course of pleasing labor, we have still our resources of consolation. ' Aflairs with me are sinking ; but he viust increase.' — ' My house is not so with God; but the kingdom of my Lord shall be estalilished forever.' — ' His in- terest sinks in this congregation; but it rises elsewhere.' — 'I die; but God will surely visit you ." Such is the heritage of the servants of the Lord ; and such the blessedness of those whose cliief desire it is " that he may see the good of his cho- sen, that they may rejoice in the gladness of his nation, and that they may glory with his inheritance." VOL. I. 19 THE GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS PART II. THE HARMONY OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION CONSIDERED AS AN EVIDENCE OF ITS DIVINITY. If Christianity be an imposture, it may, like all other impostures, be detect- ed. Falsehood may always be proved to clash with fact, with reason, or with itself; and often with them all. If, on the contrary, its origin be divine, it may be expected to bear the character of consistency, which distinguishes every other divine production. If the Scrip- tures can be proved to harmonize Avith historic fact, with truth, with themselves, and with sober reason, they must, consid- ering what they profess, be divinely in- spired, and Christianity must be of God. CHAPTER I. THE HARMONY OF SCRIPTURE WITH HISTORIC FACT EVINCED BY THE FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY. If the pretence which the Scriptures make to divine inspiration be unfounded, it can be no very difficult undertaking to prove it so. The sacred writers, besides abounding in history, doctrine, and mo- rality, have dealt largely in prophecy — and this not in the manner of the heathen priests, who made use of dark and dubi- ous language. Their meaning, in general is capable of being understood, even at this distance of time, and, in many in- stances, cannot be mistaken. The dis- pute, therefore, between believers and unbelievers, is reducible to a short issue. If Scripture prophecy be divinely in- spired, it will be accomplished : if it be imposture, it will not. Let us suppose that by digging in the earth, a chest were discovered containing a number of ancient curiosities, and, among other things, a tablet inscribed with calculations of the most remarkable eclipses that should take place for a great while to come. These calculations are examined and found to correspond with fact for more than two thousand years past. The inspectors cannot agree, per- haps, in deciding who was the author, whether it had not gone through several hands when it was deposited in the chest, and various other questions ; but does this invalidate the truth of the calcula- tions, or diminish the value of the tablet 1 It cannot be objected that events have been predicted from mere political fore- sight which have actually come to pass ; for, though this may have been the case in a few instances, wherein causes have al- ready existed which atford ground for the conclusion, yet it is impossible that the successive changes and revolutions of empires, some of which were more than a thousand years distant, and depended on ten thousand unknown incidents, should be the objects of human speculation. Mr. Paine seems to feel the difficulty attending his cause on this subject. His method of meeting it is not by soberly examining the agreement or disagreement of prophecy and history : that would not have suited his purpose. But, as though he had made a wonderful discovery, he in the first |)lace goes about to prove that the prophets wrote poetry; and hence would p.ersuade us that a prophet was no other than an ancient Jewish bard. That the prophecies are what is now called po- etic, Mr. Paine need not have given him- self the trouble to prove, as no person of common understanding can doubt it : but the question is. Did not these writings, in whatever kind of language they were writ- ten, contain predictions of future events? yea, and of the most notorious and remark- able events, such as should form the grand outlines of history in the following ages 1 Mr. Paine will not deny this ; nor will he soberly undertake to disprove that many of those events have already come to pass. He will, however, take a shorter method — a method more suited to his FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY. 147 turn of mind. He will call the prophets *' impostors and liars ; he will roundly assert, without a sliadow of proof, and in defiance of historic e\idence, tliat the prediction concerning Cyrus was written after the event took place ; he will labor to pervert and explain away some few of the j)rophecies, and get rid of the rest hy calling the writer " a false prophet," and his j)roduction " a book of falsehoods."* These are weapons worthy of Mr. Paine's warfare. But why all tliis rage against an ancient bard 1 Just now a propiiet was only a poet, and the idea of a predictor of future events was not in- cluded in the moaning of the term. It seems, iiowever, by this time, that Mr. Paine has found a number of predictions in the prophetic writings, to dismiss which he is obliged, as is usual with him in cases of emergency, to summon all his talents of misrepresentation and abuse. I take no particular notice of this wri- ter's attempts to explain away a few of the predictions of Isaiah and other prophets. Those who have undertaken to answer him have performed this part of the busi- ness. I sliall only notice that he has not dared to meet the great body of Scripture prophecy, or fairly to look it in the face. To say nothing of the predictions of the destruction of mankind by a flood ; of that of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire; of the descendants of Abraham being put in pos- session of Canaan within a limited period ; and of various other events, the history as well as the prophecy of which is confined to the Scriptures ; let us review those pre- dictions the fulfilment of which has been recorded by historians who knew nothing of them, and, consequently, could have no design in their favor. It is worthy of notice that sacred history ends where profane history, that part of it at least which is commonly reckoned au- thentic, begins. Prior to the Babylonish captivity, the scriptural writers were in the habit of narrating the leading events of their country, and of incidentally intro- ducing those of the surrounding nations ; but shortly after this time the great chan- ges in the world began to be recorded by other hands, as Herodotus, Xenophon, and others. From this period they dealt chief- ly in prophecy, leaving it to common his- torians to record its fulfilment. Mr. Paine says, the Scripture prophe- cies are " a book of falsehoods." Let us examine this charge. Isaiah, above a hun- dred years before the captivity, predicted the destruction of the Babylonish empire by the Medes and Persians, and Judah's consequent deliverance. " The plunderer * Age of Reason, Part II. pp. 53. 44. 47. is plundered, and the destroyer is destroy- ed ; Go up, O Elam ; form the siege, O Media! I have put an end to all her vexa- tions."! Ask Herodotus and Xenophon, Was this a falsehood 1 Daniel, fourteen years before the estab- lishment of the Medo-Persian dominion by tlie taking of Babylon, described that dominion with its conquests, and the su- periority of the Persian influence to that of the Median, under the syml)ol of a ram with two horns. " I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward ; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand ; but he did according to his will, and became great." This is expounded as follows : " The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia." | Ask the afore-mentioned historians. Was this a falsehood] The same Daniel, at the same time, two hundred and twenty-three years before the event, predicted the overthrow of this Medo-Persian dominion, by the arms of Greece, under the command of Alexan- der; and described the latter government under the symbol of a he-goat, with a no- table horn between his eyes. " As I was considering, behold a he-goat came from the west, on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground : and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns ; and there Avas no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him ; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand." The exposition of this vision follows : " The rough goat is the king of Grecia ; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king."§ Ask Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, and other historians of those times, Was this a falsehood ^ The same Daniel, at the same time, two hundred and thirty years before the event, predicted the death of Alexander, and the division of his empire among four of his t Lowth's translation of Isaiali xxi. 2. Olher pro- pliecies of the same event may be seen in Isa. xiii. ; xiv; xxi; xliii 14—17; xliv. 28; xlv. 1 — 4; xivii. Jer. XXV. 12—26; 1; li. Hab. ii. X Dan. viii. 3, 4. 20. See also Chap. vii. 5. § Dan. viii. 5—7. 21. See also Chap. xi. 2—4. 148 FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY. principal commanders, each of whom had an extensive dominion. " The he-goat waxed very great ; and, when he was strong, the great horn was broken ; and for it came up four notable ones, towards the four winds of heaven." The inter- pretation of this was as follows: "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power."* Ask the afore-mentioned historians of those times. Was this a falsehood? The same Daniel, at the sametime, three hundred and eighty years before the event, foretold the outrageous reign and sudden death of Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria : particularly, thai by flattery and treachery he should accomplish his end ; and, on account of the degeneracy of the Jews, should be permitted for a time to i"avage their country, interrupt their ordi- nary course of worship, profane their tem- ple, and persecute, even to death, those who refused to comply with his heathen abominations ; but that, in the midst of his career, he should be cut off by a sud- den visitation from heaven. " And out of one of them (the four branches of the Gre- ^'ian empire) came forth a little horn, Avhich waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven ; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sac- rifice, by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground ; and it practised, and prospered." Of this the following is the exposition : "In the lat- ter time of their kingdom, when the trans- gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power ; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand ; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many ; he shall also stand up against the prince of princes ; but he shall be broken without hand. "f Daniel also foretels, in the eleventh chapter ofhis prophecies, the wars between this king of Syria and Ptolemy Philometor Jiing of Egypt, with the interposition of *-Dan. viii. S. 22. See also Chap. vii. 6. t Dan. viii. 9—112. 23—25. the Romans, whose ambassadors should come over in ships from Chittim, and compel him to desist : also that, being thus disappointed of his object in Egypt, he should return full of wrath and indigna- tion to his own land, and wreak his ven- geance upon the Jews, whose country lay in his way, though they had done nothing to offend him. I will not say, ask Jose- phus, Diodorus Siculus, and Polybius, if these were falsehoods ; ask Porphyry, a professed enemy to the holy scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, and who wrote against them about the middle of the third century. He has proved, from the testimony of six or seven histo- rians of those times, that these predictions were all exactly fulfilled ; and, like Mr. Paine by the prophecies concerning Cy- rus, is driven, merely on account of their being true, to fly in the face of historic evidence, and maintain that they could not be the production of Daniel, but must have been written by some Jew after the events took place. J As, in the eighth and eleventh chapters ofhis prophecies, Daniel has foretold the Persian and Grecian governments, with the subdivisions of the latter, and how they should affect the Jewish people ; so, in the seventh chapter, he has, in connex- ion with them, foretold the government of Rome. This singular empire he repre- sents as exceeding all that had gone be- fore in power and terror ; and as that of Greece, soon after the death of Alexan- der, should be divided into four kingdoms signified by the four heads of tlie third beast, so this, it is foretold, should be, at the time of its dissolution, divided into ten kingdoms, which are signified by the ten horns of the fourth beast. Ask uni- versal history. Is this a falsehood 1 Those who adopt the cause of Porphyry, must, in this instance, desert his hypothesis : ihey cannot say that this part of the prophecy was written by some Jew after the event took place, seeing Porphyry himself has acknowledged its existence some hundreds of years before it was ac- complished. The predictions of this prophet did not end here : he at the same time foretold that there should arise among the ten kingdoms, into which tlie Roman empire should be broken, a power diverse from all the rest, " a little horn " which should " speak great words against the Most High, and wear out the saints of the Most High ;" and that this power should con- t See Prideaiix's Connexion, Part I. Book II. VIII. Part II. Book III., where the accomplish- ment ofall the foregoing events is clearly narrated, and the authorities cited. FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY. 149 tinue until " a time, and times, and tlic dividing of time." At tlie end of this pe- riod, lie adds, " the judj^nncnt shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy unto the end." Are these falsehoods 1 Let the history of the last twelve hundred years, and the present state of the Papal hierarchy, de- termine. Passing over the predictions of the Messiah, whose birth, place of nativity, time of appearance, manner of life, doc- trine, miracles, death, and resurrection, Avere each particularly pointed out ; * let us examine a few examples from the New Testament. Our Lord Jesus Christ fore- told the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and limited the time of its ac- complishment to the then " present gene- ration."! Ask Josephus, the Jewish his- torian. Is this a falsehood ! It was intimated, at the same time, that the Jewish people should not only fall by the edge of the sword, but that great num- bers of them should be " led away captive into all nations;" and that "Jerusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled. J Ask the present descendants of that unhappy people, Ls this a false- hood "? The apostle of the Gentiles foretold that there should be " a falling away," or a grand apostasy, in theChristian Church ; wherein " the man of sin should be re- vealed, even the son of perdition ; who would oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped : and who tis God would sit in the temple of God, showing himself to be God."§ Also in his Epistle to Timothy: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the lat- ter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doc- trines of devils ; speaking lies in hypocri- sy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron ; forbidding to marry, and com- manding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanks- giving of them which believe and know the truth." II A large proportion of the Apocalypse of John respects this grand apostacy, and the corrupt community in which it was ac- complished. He describes it with great variety of expression. On some accounts it is represented under the form of a "city," on others of a "beast," and on others of a " woman sitting upon a beast." * Isa. ix. 6. Micali v. 2. Dnn. ix. 20 — 27. Isa. xiii. 2; xxxv. .5, 6; liii. Ps.i. xvi. 10, 11. t Matt. xxiv. 1 — 35. Luke xxi. t Luke xxi. 24. § 2 Thes. ii. 3, 4. II 2 Tim. iv. 1—3. That we might be at no loss to distinguish it on its appearance, it is intimated that it should not he so much a civil as an apos- tate ecclesiastical power : it is a " harlot," opposed to the bride, the Lamb's wife; — that it should greatly abound in wealth and worldly grandeur : " The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls ; — that its dominion should not be confined to its own immediate territories : " Power was given it over all kingdoms and tongues and nations ;" — that its authority should not be derived from its own con- quest, but from the voluntary consent of a numlicr of independent kingdoms to come under its yoke : " The kings of the earth have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast ;"— that it should be distinguished by its l)lasphemies, idolatries, and persecuting spirit : " Upon her were the names of blasphemy. They should make an image of the beast, and as many as would not worship the image of the beast were to be killed. And the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints;" — that its persecutions should extend to such a length as for no man to be allowed the common rights of men, unless be became subject to it : " No man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name;" — that its power should continue for " a time, times, and half a time, forty and two months, or one thousand two himdred and sixty days ;" during which long period God's witnesses should prophesy in sackcloth, be driven as into a wilderness, and, as it were, slain, and their bodies lie unburied : — finally, that they who gave it an existence should be the instruments in taking it away : "The kings," or powers, "of the earth shall hate the whore, and burn her flesh with fire."!I Whether all, or any part of this, be falsehood, let history and obser- vation determine. It has often been observed that the prophecies of the Messiah were so numer- ous and explicit that, at the time of his ap- pearance, there was a general expectation of it, not only in Judea, but in all the neighboring nations ; and is not the same thing observable at this time, of the fall of Antichrist, the conversion of the Jews, and the general spread of the gospel 1 Once more : The sacred writers have predicted the opposition which Christiani- ty should encounter, and described the characters from whom it should proceed : "In the last days," say they, "peril- ous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boast- ir Rev. xi. ; xiii. : xvii. 150 CORRESPONDENCE OP SCRIPTURE WITH TRUTH. ers, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without nat- ural affection, truce-breakers, false accu- sers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high- minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." Again: "There shall be mockers in the last time, who shall walk after their own ungodly lusts : filthy dreamers, who defile the flesh, des- pise dominion, and speak evil of dignities ; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame ; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for- ever."* Let Mr. Paine, and other Infi- dels, consider well the above picture, and ask their own conscience, Is this a false- hood 1 Bishop Newton, in his Dissertations, has clearly evinced the fulfilment of seve- ral of these and other scripture-prophe- cies ; and has shown that some of them are fulfilling at this day. To those Dis- sertations I refer the reader. Enough has been said to enable us to determine which production it is that deserves to be called " a book of falsehoods," — the prophecies of Scripture, or the Age of Reason. CHAPTER II. THE HARMONY OF SCRIPTURE WITH TRUTH EVINCED FROM ITS AGREEMENT WITH THE DICTATES OF AN ENLIGHT- ENED CONSCIENCE, AND THE RESULT OF THE CLOSEST OBSERVATION. If a brazen mirror were found in some remote, uninhabited island, it might be a doubtful matter how it came thither ; but, if it properly reflected objects, there could be no doubt of its being a real mirror. The Bible was written with the profess- ed design of being "profitable for re- proof;" nor was there ever a book so adapted to the purpose, or so effectual in its operation in disclosing the inward workings of the human mind. Thousands can bear witness, from experience, that it is " quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the di- viding asunder of soul and spirit, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Its entrance into the mind gives light ; and light which discovers the works of darkness. Far from flattering the vices of mankind, it charges without ceremony, • 2 Tim. iii. 1—4. Jude. every son of Adam with possessing the heart of an apostate. This charge it brings home to the conscience, not only by its pure precepts, and awful threaten- ings, but oftentimes by the very invita- tions and promises of mercy, which, while they cheer the heart with lively hope, carry conviction by their import to the very soul. In reading other books you may admire the ingenuity of the writer; but here your attention is turned inward. Read it but seriously, and your heart will answer to its descriptions. It will touch the secret springs of sensibility ; and, if you have any ingenuousness of mind to- wards God, the tears of grief, mingled with those of hope and gratitude, will, ere you are aware, trickle from your eyes. To whatever particular vices you may have been addicted, here you will discov- er your likeness ; and that, not as by a comic representation on the theatre, which, where it reclaims one person by shaming him out of his follies, corrupts a thousand ; but in a way that will bring conviction to your bosom. " Come see a man which told me all things that ever I did : Is not this the Christ!" Such was the reasoning of the woman of Samaria; and who could have reasoned better 1 That which makes manifest must be light. But this reason- ing is applicable to other things, as well as to the Messiahship of Jesus. No man can forbear saying of that book, that doctrine, or that preaching which tells him all that ever he did. Is not this the truth '? The satisfaction afforded by such evidence ap- proaches near to intuitive certainty; it is having the witness in ourselves. Should it be objected that though this may satisfy our own minds, yet it can af- ford no evidence to others ; I answer, It is true that they who shun the light cannot be supposed to possess the same evidence of its being what it is, as those who have come to it that their deeds may be made manifest ; yet even they, if at all acquaint- ed with the Bible, must be aware that the likenesses which it draws are, in a con- siderable degree, their own. It is not to serious Christians only that the gospel is a mirror. Many who never look into that perfect law of liberty from choice and de- light, so as to be blessed in their work, but only glance at it in a transient and oc- casional way, yet perceive so much of their own character in it as to be convinc- ed that it is right, and that they are wrong. The secret conviction of thousands who hear the word, and do it not, resemble that of Pharaoh, " The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." The im- pressions of such people, it is true, are frequently short in their duration : like a COHRESPONDKNCE OF SCRIPTURE WITH TRUTH. 151 man who seeth his natural face in a glass, they jro away, and straightway forget what manner of persons they arc : l)Ut the aver- sion which they discover seriously to re- sume the suliject places it l)eyond all rea- sonable douht that, let their hearts he as they may, the Scriptures have commend- ed themselves to their consciences. They have felt the point of this two-edged sword, and arc not disposed to renew the encounter. That this is tlie case not only with nominal Christians, hut with great numbers of professed Deists, is manifest from the acknowledgments of such men as the Earl of Rochester, and many others who have relented on the near approach of death. This is often a time in which con- science must and will Vie heard ; and, too often for the happiness of surviving ac- quaintances, it proclaims to the world that the grand source of their hatred to the Bible has been that for which Ahab hated Micaiah — its prophesying no good con- cerning them. The Scriptures are a mirror in which we see not only individual characters, our own and others, but the state of things as they move on in the great world. They show us the spring head whence all the malignant streams of idolatry, atheism, corruption, persecution, war, and every other evil originate ; and, liy showing us the origin of these destructive maladies, clearly instruct us wherein must consist their cure. It has already been observed* that Christian morality is summed up in the love of God and our neighbor, and that these principles, carried to their full ex- tent, would render the world a paradise. But the Scriptures teach us that man is a rebel against his Maker ; that his carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be ; that, instead of loving God, or even man in the order which is required, men are become " lovers of their own selves," and neither God nor man is re- garded but as they are found necessary to subserve their wishes. This single principle of human depravi- ty, supposing it to be true, will fully ac- count tor all the moral disorders in the world ; and the actual existence of those disorders, unless they can be better ac- counted for, must go to prove the truth of this principle, and, by consequence, of the christian system which rests upon it. We are affected in considering the idol- atry of so great a part of the human race ; but we are not surprised at it. If men be destitute of the love of God, it is natural to suppose they will endeavor to banish * Part I. OiRp. III. him from their thoutshts, and, provided the state of society will admit of it, from their worship ; sui)stituting gods more congenial with their inclinations, and in the worship of which they can indulge themselves without fear or control. Neither are we surprised at the practi- cal atheism which abounds among unbe- lievers, and even among nominal Chris- tians, in European nations. If the state of things be such as to render gross idola- try inadmissil)le, still, if aversion to God predominate, it will show itself in a neg- lect of all worship, and of all serious con- versation, or devout exercises; in a wish to think there is no God, and no hereafter ; and in endeavors to banish every thing of a religious nature from society. Or, if this cannot be, and any thing relating to such sul)jects become matter of discussion, they will be so explained away as that no- thing shall be left which can approve itself to an upright heart. The holiness of the Divine character will be kept out of sight, his precepts disregarded, and morality it- self made to consist in something destitute of all true virtue. We are not surprised at the corruption which Christianity has undergone. Chris- tianity itself, as we have already seen, fore- told it; and the doctrine of human deprav- ity fully accounts for it. When the Chris- tian religion was adopted by the state, it is natural to suppose there were great num- bers of unprincipled men who professed it ; and, where its leading characters in any age are of this description, it will certainly V)e corrupted. The pure doctrine of Christ is given up in favor of some flesh-pleasing system, the holy precepts of Christian mo- rality are lowered to the standard of ordi- nary practice, and the worship and ordi- nances of Christ are mingled with super- stition and modelled to a worldly temper. It was thus that Judaism was corrupted by the old Pharisees, and Christianity by the Papal hierarchy. The success with which evil men and se- ducers meet, in propagating false doctrine, is no more than, from the present state of things, may be expected. So long as a large proportion of the professors of Christianity receive not the love of the truth, error will be certain to meet with a welcome reception. The grossest impos- tor has only to advance a system suited to corrupt nature, to assert it with effront- ery, and to flatter his adherents with being the favorites of heaven, and he will be fol- lowed.f t Men are much more easily deceived in these matters than in the ordinary concerns of hfe. If a Ijondon merchant were to open warehouses in differ- ent parts of the city, and make it his business to 152 CORRESPONDENCE OF SCRIPTURE WITH TRUTH. The persecutions which have been car- ried on against religion are grievous to hu- manity, and equally repugnant to justice and to good policy ; but they are not in the least surprising. There was not a truth more prominent in our Savior's ad- dresses to his followers than this, that, having received his word, the world would hate them ; because they were not of the world, as he was not of the world. When he sent them forth to preach the gospel, it was " as sheep among wolves ; " and they were treated accordingly. When he took leave of them, previously to his death, he left them his peace, as knowing that in the world they should have tribulation. All this was no more than might be expect- ed ; for, if it be the character of true re- ligion that it sets itself against every vi- cious propensity of the human heart, it is natural to suppose that every one who is under the dominion of such propensity will feel averse from true religion, and from those who adhere to it. The manner in which mankind have stood affected to- wards godly men has been nearly uniform from the beginning. Cain slew his broth- er. And wherefore slew he him 1 because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian mocking : as he that was born after the flesh then persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Why was Jerusalem a burden- some stone to the nations 1 Why were they continually forming leagues to root out its remembrance from the earth "? The same spirit that was discovered by Edom, Moab, and the children of Ammon towards Israel, was apparent in Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and their companions, towards Judah ; and the part acted by the Horonite, the Ammonite, and the Arabian, was afterwards re-acted, with addition- al zeal, by Herod and Pontius Pilate, and the governors and people of Israel. Those who could agree in nothing else could agree in this. The persecutions of pagan and papal Rome, and of all who have symbolized with her, have been only a continuation of the same system : and the descriptions which deistical historians traduce the characters and commodities of all other merchants ; if his opposition were directed especial- ly against men of probity and eminence, whose situa- tions were contiguous to his own ; in fine, if tiie only traders in the kingdom who could obtain his good word were certain agents whom he had stationed in different parts of the country for the purpose of re- tailing his wares, would not his designs be evidentl He might puff, and pretend to have the good of the public much at heart; but the public would despise him, as a man whose object was a fortune, and whose practices evinced that he would hesitate at no means to accomplish his end. Yet, in religion, such de- ceptions may be practised with success. give of these works of darkness, notwith-' standing their pretended regard to religious liberty, bear witness that they allow the deeds of their fathers, and inherit their dispositions. The same malignant spirit which was discovered by the heathens to- wards the ancient Israelites is discoverablei in all the writings of unbelievers towards that people to this day. It is true they are more reconciled to the modern Jews ; and for a very plain reason : they feel them to be near akin to themselves. He- rod and Pilate were made friends by the crucifixion of Christ. Since that time, the old enmity has been transferred to be- lieving Gentiles, who, being grafted into the Jewish olive, and partaking of its ad- vantages, partake also of its persecutions; and by how much the Christian church, at any period, has exceeded the Jewish in purity and spirituality, by so much more force has the wrath of a wicked world burned against it. After all the pains that unbelievers take to shift the charge of persecution, and to lay it at the door of Christianity, it is manifest, to an observant eye, that there is a deep-rooted enmity in all wicked men, whether they be Pagans, Papists, Protestants, or Deists, towards all godly men, of every nation, name, and denom- ination. This enmity, it is true, is not suffered to operate according to its na- tive tendency. He who holdeth the winds in his hand restrains it. Men are with- held by laws, by policy, by interests, by education, by respect, by regard founded on qualities distinct from religious, and by various other things. There are cer- tain conjunctions of interests, especially, which occasionally require a temporary cessation of hostilities ; and it may seem on such occasions as if wicked men were ashamed of their animosities, and were all on a sudden become friendly to the folloAvers of Christ. Thus at the Revo- lution, in 166S, those who for more than twenty years had treated the nonconform- ists with unrelenting severity, when they found themselves in danger of being deprived of their places by a popish prince, courted their friendship, and promised not to persecute them any more. And | thus, at the commencement of the French " Revolution, Deists, Catholics, and Pro- testants, who were engaged in one politi- cal cause, seemed to have forgotten their resentments, all amicably uniting together in the opening of a place for protestant worship. But let not the servants of Christ imagine that any temporary con- junction of interests will extinguish the ancient enmity. It may seem to be so for a time ; and, all things being under the control of Providence, such a time may - CORRESPONDENCE OF SCRIPTLKE WITH TlUTIl. 153 be designed as a season of respite for the faithful ; l)ut wlien soli interest has gained its end, il other worldly considerations do not interpose, things will return to their former channel. The enmity is not dead, hut sleepeth. Finally : the tears which, from the earliest period of history, have desolated the earth, grievous as they are to a feel- ing mind, contain in them nothing surpri- sing. The scrijitiires, \\ith singular jno- priety, descrihe the world as a great sea, which is ever casting up its mire and dirt ; and great conquerors as so many ivild beasts, which, in succession, rise from its troubled waters, and devour the inhabit- ants of the earth.* Nor is this all : they describe not only the fact, but the cause of it. Wars among men, as has been already stated,! have their immediate causes in " the lusts which war in their members :" but, besides this, the Scrip- ture leads us to a cause more remote, and of still greater importance. They denominate the sword of war " the sword of the Lord," and constantly intimate that it is one of those means by which he " pleadeth with all flesh." A part of the curse entailed on men for their departure from the living God consists in this, that, till they I'elurn to him, they shall not be able, for any length of time, to maintain amity among themselves. It appears to be one of those laws by which God gov- erns the world, that pkople engaged IN AN EVIL CAUSE, HOWEVER HARMO- NIOUS THEY MAY BE IN THE OUTSET, SHALL PRESENTLY BE AT VARIANCE. Thus it was between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, as Jotham had fore- warned them in his parable. Though at first they appeared to rejoice in each Other; yet, in a little time, "fire came out from Abimelech and devoured the men of Shechem, and fire came out from the men of Shechem and devoured Abi- melech.| Such is commonly the issue of all unprincipled confederacies, traitorous conspiracies, illegal combinations, and illicit amours. Union, in order to be last- ing, requires to be cemented with honor. Where this is wanting, however appear- ances may for a while be flattering, all will prove transitory : mutual jealousies will produce mutual enmities, which are certain to issue in confusion and every evil work. These remarks are no less applicable to the whole human race than to particular parts of it. Men have re- volted from God ; and yet think to live in harmony among themselves. God, in just judgment, appears to have deter- * Dan. vii. f Part I. Chap. VII. % Judges ix. mined the contrary; and that, till they return to him, they shall be given up to an evil spirit towards each other, and to the ravages of a succession of ambitious leaders, who shall destroy them in great numbers from the face of the earth. It is morally impossible, indeed, that it should be otherwise ; for the same i)rin- ciple which induces them to renounce the divine government, dissolves the bands of human society. Supreme self-love is the origin of both, and is sufTicient to account for all the disorder in the universe. Candid reader, review the subject of this chapter. In the last, we traced the agreement of the holy Scriptures with historic fact ; in this, we have seen their correspondence with living truth, or with things as they actually exist, in the mind and in the loorld. Similar arguments might also have been drawn from the characters of believers and unbelievers. Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble were called in the early ages of Christianity ; and it has been the same in every age. To the Jews the gospel was from the first a stumbling-block, and to philosophers foolishness ; and such it continues to this day. The existence of the Jews as a distinct people, their dispersion, their attachment to the Old Testament and rejection of the New, their expectation of a Messiah, their ac- knowledgment of the truth of the histor- ical facts concerning our Lord, the ma- lignity of their spirit; in a word, their exact resemblance, even at this remote period, to the picture drawn of them in the New Testament, are facts which cannot be controverted. Judge impar- tially : Is there any thing in all this that bears the marks of imposture 1 A con- noisseur will distinguish between paintings taken from life and such as are the work of mere imagination. An accurate judge of moral painting will do the same. If the Scriptures gave false descriptions of men and things, if they flattered the vices of mankind, or exhibited the moral state of the world contrary to well-known fact, you would conclude them to be a work of falsehood. On the other hand, if they speak of things as they are, if conscience echo to their charges and fact comport with their rej)resentations, they must have been taken from life : and you must conclude thern to be what they profess to be — a icork of truth. And, since the ob- jects described are many of them beyond the ken of human observation, you must conclude that they are not only a work of truth, but what tliey also profess to be — The true sayings of God. VOL. I. 20 154 THE SPIRIT AND STYLE OF SCRIPTURE. CHAPTER III. THE HARMONY OF SCRIPTURE WITH ITS OWN PROFESSIONS ARGUED FROM THE SPIRIT AND STYLE IN WHICH IT IS WRITTEN. If tlie scriptures be what they profess to be — the word of God, it may be pre- sumed that the spirit which they breathe, and even the style in which they are composed, will be different from what can be found in any other productions. It is true that, having been communicated through human mediums, we may expect them, in a measure, to be humanized ; the peculiar turn and talents of each wri- ter will be visible, and this will give them the character of variety ; but, amidst all this variety, a mind capable of discerning the divine excellence will plainly perceive in them the finger of God. With respect to style, though it is not on the natural, but the moral, or rather the holy beauties of Scripture that I would lay the principal stress ; yet something may be observed of the other. So far as the beauty of language consists in its free- dom from affectation, and in its conform- ity to the nature of the subject, it may be expected that a book written by holy men, inspired of God, will be possessed of this excellence. A divinely-inspired produc- tion will not only be free from such blem- ishes as arise from vanity, and other evil dispositions of the mind, but will abound in those beauties which never fail to at- tend the genuine exercises of modesty, sensibility, and godly simplicity. It will reject the meretricious ornaments of art ; but it will possess the more substantial beauties of nature. That this is true of the Scriptures has been proved by several able Avriters.* Mr. Paine, however, can see nothing great, majestic, or worthy of God, in any part of the Bible. Among the numer- ous terms of reproach with which he honors it, he is pleased to censure the writings of Isaiah as " bombast, beneath the genius of a schoolboy;" and to com- pare the command of the great Creator, in the first chapter of Genesis, " Let there be light," to the " imperative manner of speaking used by a conjuror. "f This writer has given us no example of the bombast from Isaiah. Bombast is that ' * See Blackvvall's Sacred Classics. Also Mel- moth's Sublime and Beautiful of Scripture ; to which is added, Dvvight's Dissertation on the Poe- try, History, and Eloquence of the Bible, t Age of Reason, Part II. p. 105. Note. species of writing in which gi'eat swelling words are used to convey little ideas. But is it thus in the Avritings of Isaiah 1 "And one cried unto another, and said. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory. — Who hath measured the waters in the hol- low of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weigh- ed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance 1 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or, being his counsel- lor, hath taught him 1 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding! Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not suf- ficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof suf- ficient for a burnt-offering. All nations before him are as nothing ; and they are counted to him less than nothing and van- ity, "j: Are the ideas too little, in these instances, for the words \ The prophets wrote in a poetic style ; and how could they write otherwise \ Poetry is the language of passion ; and such as theirs, of passion raised and inflamed by great and affecting objects. Their language is not that of common poetry, but, as an ele- gant writer expresses it, "It is the burst of inspiration." As to the objection against the sublim- ity of the passage in the first chapter of Genesis, it is sufficient to observe that there is nothing, be it ever so majestic and worthy of God, but a profane and lu- dicrous imagination may distort it. A rainbow may be compared to a fiddle- stick ; but it does not follow that it is an object of equal insignificance. Thunder and lightning may be imitated by a char- acter not less contemptible than a conju- ror ; but should any one infer that there is nothing more grand, more awful, or more worthy of God, in these displays of nature, than in the exhibitions of^ a coun- try show, he would prove himself to be possessed of but a small portion of either wit or good sense. I do not pretend to any great judgment in the beauties of composition ; but there are persons of far superior judgment to this writer who have expressed themselves in a very different language. The late Sir William Jones, who for learning and taste, as well as character, has left but few equals, thus expresses himself: "I have regularly and attentively read these X Isa. vi. 3; xl. 12—17. THE SPIRIT AND STYLE OF SCRIPTURE. 155 Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion that tliis volume, independent of its divine origin, contains more sul)limity and beauty, more pure morality, more important iiis- tory, and fmer strains of poetry and elo- quence, than can be collected from all otiier books, in whatever age or language they may have been composed." The acknowledgments of Rosseau, like- wise, whose taste for fine writing, and whose treedom from prejudice in favor of Christianity, none will call in question, will serve to confront tiie assertions of Mr. Paine. After declaring that, as tiiere were some proofs in favor of revelation which he could not invalidate, so there Avere many objections against it which he could not resolve — that he neither admit- ted nor rejected it — and that he rejected only the o6//^«/iMn of submitting to it — he goes on to acknowledge as follows : " I will confess to you, farther, that the ma- jesty of the Scripture strikes me with ad- miration, as the purity of the gospel hath its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our philosophers ; with all their pomp of diction, how mean — how con- temptible— ai'e they, compared with the Scripture ! Is it possible that a book at once so simple and sublime should be merely the work of man 1 Is it possible that the sacred personage whose history it contains should be himself a mere man 1 Do we find that he assumed the air of an enthusiast or ambitious sectary 1 Wliat sweetness, what purity in his manners ! What an affecting gracefulness in his de- livery ! What sublimity in his maxims ! What profound wisdom in his discourses ! What presence of mind ! What subtilty ! W^hat truth in his replies ! How great the command over his passions ! VVhere is the man, where the philosopher, who could so live and die, without weakness, and without ostentation 1 — Shall we sup- pose the Evangelic History a mere fiction 1 Indeed, my friend, it bears not the marks of fiction 1 On the contrary, the history of Socrates, which nobody presumes to doubt, is not so well attested as that of Jesus Christ. The Jewish authors were incapable of the diction, and strangers to the morality contained in the^Gospels ; the marks of whose truth are so striking and invincible that the inventor would be a more astonishing character than the hero."* Rousseau's praises of the Scripture re- mind us of the high encomiums bestowed by Balaam on the tabernacles of Israel. It is no unusual thing for men to admire that which they do not love. Let us examine a little more minutely * Works, Vol. V. p . 215—218. the spirit in which the Scriptures are writ- ten. It is this which constitutes their holy beauty, distinguishes them from all otlier writings, and affords the strongest evidence of their being written by inspi- ration of God. In recording historical events, the sa- cred writers invariably eye the hand of God; in some instances they entirely overlook second causes ; and in others, where they are mentioned, it is only as instruments fulfilling the divine will. Events that come to pass according to the usual course of things, and in which an ordinary historian would have seen nothing divine, are recorded by them among the works of the Lord : " The Lord was very angry with Israel, and re- moved them out of his sight. — And the Lord sent against Jehoiakim bands of the Chaldees,'and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the command- ment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; and also for the innocent blood that he shed (for he filled Jerusalem with inno- cent blood,) which the Lord would not pardon. "t In their prophecies, while they foretold the heaviest calamities upon nations, their own and others, and, viewing the hand of God in all, acquiesced in them, as men they felt tenderly for their fellow -creatures even for their enemies : " My bowels, my bowels ! I am pained at my very heart ; my heart maketh a noise in me : I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. — O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet 1 Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. "t When Israel was exposed to calamities, all the neighboring nations, who hated them on account of their relig- ion, exulted over them; but, when the cup went round to them, the propliets who foretold it were tenderly affected by it : " I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah : I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh ; for the shouting for thy summer-fruits and for thy harvest is fallen : and gladness is taken away, and joy out of tlie plentiful field ; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shout- ing : the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses ; I have made shouting to t 2 Kings xvii. IS; xxiv. 2 — 4. X Jer. iv. 19. xlvii. 6. 156 THE SPIRIT AND STYLE OF SCRIPTURE. cease. Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh."* The miracles which they record are distinguished from the signs and lying wonders of following ages, in that there is always to be seen in them an end worthy of God. The far greater part of them were works of pure compassion to the parties, and the whole of them of benevo- lence to society. There is nothing in the Scriptures adapt- ed to gratify presumptuous speculations or idle curiosity. Such a spirit, on the con- trary, is frequently checked, and every thing is directed to the renovation or im- provement of the heart. The account given of the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, is not intended, as Mr. Henry ob- serves, to describe things "as they are in themselves, and in their own nature, to satisfy the curious ; but as they are in relation to this earth, to which they serve as lights ; and this is enough to furnish us with matter for praise and thanksgiving." The miracles of Jesus were never per- formed to gratify curiosity. If the afflict- ed, or any on their behalf, present their petition, it is invariably heard and answer- ed; but if the pharisees come and say, *' Master, we would see a sign from thee," or if Herod " hope to see a miracle done by him," it is refused. f When one said to him, " Lord are there few that be saved 1" he answered, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. "I There is nothing in the Scriptures tending, in its own nature, to excite levity or folly. They sometimes deal in the most cutting irony ; but it is never for the sake of displaying wit, or raising a laugh, but invariably for the accomplishment of a serious and important end. A serious mind finds every thing to gratify it, and nothing to offend it : and even the most profligate character, unless he read them in search of something which he may con- vert into ridicule, is impressed with awe by the pointed and solemn manner in which they address him. It may he said of the Scriptures, and of them only, that they are free from affec- tation and vanity. You may sometimes find things of this sort described by the sacred writers ; but you will never discern any such spirit in the descriptions them- selves. Yet, as men, they were subject to human imperfections : if, therefore, they had not been influenced by divine in- * Isa. xvi. 9—11. t Matt. xii. 3S. Luke xxiii.8, 9. :j: Luke xiii. 24. See al.«!0 xxi. 5 — 19. spiration, blemishes of this kind must have appeared in their writings, as well as in those of other men. But in what instance have tliey assumed a character which does not belong to them, or discovered a wish to be thought more religious, more learned, or more accomplished in any way than they were T Nor were they less free from vanity than from affectation. They were as far from making the most of what they were as from aiming to ap- pear what they were not. Instead of trumpeting their own praise, or aiming to transmit their fame to posterity, several of them have not so much as put their names to their writings ; and those who have are generally out of sight. As you read their history, they seldom occur to your thoughts. Who thinks of the Evan- gelists when'reading the /oztr Gospels? or of Luke while reading the Acts of the Apostles ? Mr. Paine weaves the laurel on his own brows, vainly boasting that he has "written a liook under the greatest disadvantages, which no Bible believer can answer ;" and that, with his axe upon his shoulder, like another Sennacherib, he has passed through, and cut down the tall cedars of our Lebanon. § But thus did not the sacred writers, even with regard to heathenism, because of the fear of God. Paul in one instance, for the sake of an- swering an important end, was compelled to speak the truth of himself, and to ap- pear to boast ; yet it is easy to perceive how much it was against his inclination. A boaster and a. fool were, in his account, synonymous terms.!! The sacred writers, while they respect magistracy, and frown upon faction, tu- mult, and sedition, are never known to flatter the great. Compare the fustian eloquence of Tertullus with the manly- speeches of Paul. Did he flatter Felix 1 No; he "reasoned of righteousness, tem- perance, and judgment to come ; and Fe- lix trembled." Did he flatter Festus or evenAgrippal No; the highest compli- ment which proceeded from him was, that " he knew" the latter " to be expert in all customs and questions among the Jews, and to maintain tlie divine inspiration of the prophets ; which declaration, with the whole of this admirable apology, contain- ed only the words of truth and soberness. They discover no anxiety to guard against seeming inconsistencies, either with themselves or one another. In works of imposture, especially where a number of persons are concerned, there is need of great care and caution, lest one part should contradict another ; and such cau- § Ago of Reason, Part II. Pref. p. vi., and p. 64. II 2 Cor. xii. TIIK SPIRIT AND STYLE OF SCRIPTl'RK. 157 tion is easily perceived. But the sacred It is a savor nf life, a savor of God, an writers appear to have had no such con- unction from the Holy One. cern about ihein. Conscious that all they Mr. Paine can sec no beauty in the New- Avrote was true, thev left it to prove its testament narratives: to him there ap- own consistency. Their productions pos- pears nothing l>ut imposture, folly, contra- sess consistency ; hut it is not a studied diction, falsehood, and every thing that one, nor ahvavs apparent at lirst sight : it marks an evil cause. And I suppose he is that consistency which is certain to ac- could say the same of the things narrated ; comi)any truth.* of tlic laliors, tears, temptations, and suf- There is an inimitable simplicity in all ferings of tiie Lord Jesus, and of every eir ivritim^s, and a feelins; sense of what tiling else in the New Testament. Mr. Paine, however, is not the only instance wherein men have lacked understanding. The Jews saw no iieauty in the Savior that they should desire him: and there are persons who can see no beauty in any of the they write. Tiicy come to tiie })oint witli- out ceremony or preamlile ; and, liaving told the truth, leave it without mingling their own reflections. This remark is par- ticularly exemplified by the four Evange lists, in narrating tiie "treatment of their the works of God. Creation is to them a Lord. Writers wlio had felt less would blank. But though " tlie eyes of a fool have said more. are at the ends of the earth," for want of There is something in all they say which objects to attract them, yet "wisdom is leaves behind it a sensation produ'ced by before him that understandeth." If Mr. no other writings ; something peculiarly Paine can see no beauty in the sacred suited to the mind when in its most serious frames, oppressed by affliction, or thought- ful about a future life ; something which gives melancholy itself a charm, and pro- duces tears more delicious to the mind than the most high-flavored earthly enjoy- ments. By what name shall I express if? pages, it does not follow that there is no beauty to be seen. Let any person of can- dor and discernment read over the four Evangelists, and judge whether they bear the marks of imposture. If he have any difficulty, it will be in preserving the char- acter of a critic. Unless he be perpetual- ly on his guard, he will insensibly lose * " There isone argument," says Mr. Wilberforce, sight of the writers, and l)e all enamored in his laie excelleni 'I'leaiise, " which impresses my of the great object concerning which they mind with particular force. Tiiis is, the great va- .^v^ite. In reading the last nine chapters rietv of tile kinds (if evidence which have heen ad- /■ t u i „ -ii ,,„..„„:. -/^ *!.« ,>r..:«»^ (^ K^ V •' 1 . c e r'l ■ .■ ■. 1 .1 r .• ol John, ic Will oerceivc the writer to be duced in proof of Clinstianitv, and the confirmation , , '^ , , '™, , , ,. , , deeply affected. Though a long time had elapsed since the events had taken place, and he was far advanced in years, yet his heart was manifeslly overwhelmed with his subject. There is reason to think that the things which Mr. Paine attempts to ridicule drew tears from his eyes while he narrated them ; as an ingenuous mind will find it difficult to review the narrative without similar sensations. Mr. Paine is pleased to say, " Any per- son that could read and write might have proot thereby aflbrded of its trutli : — tlie proof from prophe cy — from miracles — from the character of Christ — from that of his apostles — Irom the nature of the doc- trines of Chri?tianily — from the nature and excellence of her practical precepts — from the accordance we have lately pointed ont hctv^ecn the doctrinal and practical system of Christianity, whether considered each in itself, or in their mutual relatifm to each oth- er— from other species of internal evidence, afforded in the moie abundance in proportion as the sacred records have been scrutinized with greater care — from the accounts of contemporary or nearly contemporary writers — from the impossibility of accounting, on any other supposition than that of the truth of Christian ty, for its promulgation and early prevalence : these written SUch a book as the Bible;" but nothing can be farther from the truth. It were saying but little to affirm that he could not produce a single page or sen- tence that would have a similar effect. Stranger as he has proved himself to be to the love of God and righteousness, he could not communicate wiial he does not feel. The croaking raven might as well endeavor to imitate the voice of the dove, or the song of the nightingale, as he at- tempt to emulate the Holy Scriptures. Mr. Paine's spirit is sufficiently apparent in his page, and that of the sacred writers in theirs. So far from writing as they wrote, he cannot understand their writings. and other lines of argument have all been brought fur ward, and ably urged by ditVerent writers, in propor- tion as they have struck the minds of different obser- vers more or less forcibly. Now, granting that some obscure and illiterate men, residing in a distant pro- vince of the Roman empire, had plotted to impose a forgery upon the worlil ; though some foundation for the im|x>slure might, and indeed nuist, have been at- tempted to be laid ; it seems, at least to my under- standing, nKn-ally impo.ssible that so many different species of proofs, and all so strong, >hould have lent their concurrent aid, and have united their joint force, in the establishment of the falsehood. It may assist the reader in estimating the value of this ar- gument, to consider upon how different a footing, in this respect, has rested every other religious system, without exception, which was ever proposed to the world ; and indeed every other historical fact of which the truth has been at all contested."— Practi- That which the Scriptures teach on this cal View, &c. pp. 361—363. Third Edition. subject is sufficiently verified in him, and 158 THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH REASON. all others of his spirit : " The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know thein, for they are spiritually discerned." * As easily might the loveliness of chastity be per- ceived, or the pleasures of a good con- science appreciated by a debauchee, as the things of God be received by a mind like that of Mr. Paine. Finally : If the Bible be the word of God, it may be expected that " such an authority, and divine sanction, should ac- company it," that, while a candid mind shall presently perceive its evidence, those who read it either with negligence or prejudice shall only be confirmed in their unbelief. It is fit that God's word should not be trifled with. When the Pharisees captiously demanded a sign, or miracle, they were sent away without one. They might go, if they pleased, and report the inability of Jesus to work a miracle. The evidence attending the res- urrection of Christ is of this description. He had exhibited proofs of his divine mis- sion publicly and before the- eyes of all men ; but, seeing they were obstinately rejected, he told his enemies that they should see him no more till he should come on a different occasion : f and they saw him no more. They might insist, if they pleased, that the testimony of liis disci- ples, who witnessed his resurection, was insufficient. It is thus that heresies, of- fences, and scandals are permitted in the Christian church ; that they who are ap- proved may be made manifest ; and that occasion may be furnished for them who seek occasion to reproach religion and persist in their unbelief. If men choose delusion, God also will choose to give them up to it. " The scorner shall seek wisdom, and shall not find it ;" and the word of life shall be a " savor of death unto death to them that perish." Mr. Paine, when he wrote the First Part of his Age of Reason, was without a Bible. Af- terwards, he tells us, he procured one ; or, to use his own schoolboy language, " a Bible and a Testament ; and I have found them," he adds, " to be much worse books than I had conceived. "J In all this there is nothing surprising. On the contrary, if such a scorner had found wis- dom, the Scriptures themselves had not been fulfilled. § If an insolent coxcomb had been of opinion that Sir Isaac Newton was a mere ignoramus in philosophy, and had gone into his company that he might catechise, and afterwards, as occasion should offer, * 1 Cor. ii. 14. + MaU. xxiii. 39. i Age of Reason, Part II. Preface, p. xii. § Prov. xiv. 6. expose him ; it is not unlikely that this great writer, perceiving his arrogance, would have suffered him to depart without answering his questions, even though he might know at the time that his unfavor- able opinion, of him would thereby be the more confirmed. Let us but come to the Scriptures in a proper spirit, and we shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God ; but, if we approach them in a cav- illing humor, we may expect not only to remain in ignorance, but to be hardened more and more in unbelief. CHAPTER IV. THE CONSISTENCY OF THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, PARTICULARLY THAT OF SALVATION THROUGH A MEDIATOR, WITH SOBER REASON. If there is a God who created us, if we have all sinned against him, and if there is reason to believe that he will call us to account for our conduct, all which prin- ciples are admitted by Mr. Paine, || a gloomy prospect must needs present itself, sufficient indeed to render man " the slave of terror." It is not in the power of this writer, nor of any man living who rejects the Bible, to assure us that pardon will have any place in the divine government ; and, however light he may make of the Scripture doctrine of hell, he that calls men to account for their deeds will be at no loss how or where to punish them. But, allowing that God is disposed to show mercy to the guilty, the question is. Whether his doing so by or without a me- diator be most consistent with what we know of fitness or propriety. § That pardon is bestowed through a me- diator in avast variety of instances among men cannot be denied ; and that it is proper it should be so must be evident to every thinking mind. All who are ac- quainted with the common affairs of life must be aware of the necessity of such proceedings, and the good effects of them upon society. H It is far less humbling for an offender to be pardoned at his own request than through the interposition of a third person ; for, in the one case, he may be led to think that it was his virtue and penitence which influenced the decision : whereas, in the II Age of Reason, Part I. p. 1 ; Part II. 100. IF See President Edwards' Remarks on impor- tant Theological Controversies, Chap. VI. THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH REASON. 130 other, he is compelled to feel his own uii- woithiness : and this may he one reason why the mediation of Christ is so offensive. It is no wonder, indeed, that those who deny humility to be a virtue* should be disgusted with a doctrine the professed ob- ject of which is to aiiase the pride of man. As forgiveness without a mediator is less humbling to the oflcnder, so it pro- vides less for the honor of the otTended than a contrary proceeding. Many a com- passionate heart has longed to go fortli, like l)a\id towards AI>salom ; liut, from a iust sense of wounded authority, could not lell how to effect it ; and has greatly de- sired that some common friend would in- terpose, to save his honor. He has wisli- ed to remit the sentence ; but has felt the want of a mediator, at the instance of whom he might give effect to his desires, and exercise mercy without seeming to be regardless of justice. An offender who should object to a mediator would be just- ly considered as hardened in impenitence, and regardless of the honor of the offend- ed : and it is difficult to say what other construction can be put upon the ob- jections of sinners to the mediation of Christ. Again : To exercise pardon without a mediator would be fixing no such stigma upon the evil of the offense as is done by a contrary mode of proceeding. Every man feels that those faults which may be overlooked on a mere acknowledgment are not of a very heinous nature ; they are such as arise from inadvertence, rath- er than from ill design ; and include little more than an error of the judgment. On the other hand, every man feels that the calling in of a third person is making much of the offense, treating it as a seri- ous affair, a breach that is not to be light- ly passed over. This may ]>e another reason why the mediation of Christ is so offensive to the adversaries of the gospel. It is no wonder that men who are contin- ually speaking of moral evil under the palliating names of error, frnilty, imper- fection, and the like, should spurn at a doctrine the implication of which con- demns it to everlasting infamy. f Finally : To bestow pardon without a mediator would be treating the offense as private, or passing over it as a matter un- known, an affair which does not affect the well-being of society, and which there- fore requires no public manifestation of displeasure against it. Many a notorious offender would, doubtless, wish matters to be thus conducted, and, from an aver- sion to public exposure, would feel strong objections to the formal interposition of a * Volney'a Law of Nature, p. 49. f Rom. viii. 3. third person. Whether this may not be another reason of dislike to the mediation of Christ I shall not decide ; but of this I am fully satisfied, that the want of a proper sense of the great e\il of sin, as it affects the moral government of the uni- verse, is a reason why its adversaries see no necessity for it, nor fitness in it. They prove, by all their writings, that they have no delight in the moral excellency of the divine nature, no just sense of the glory of moral government, and no proper views of the pernicious and widely extended influence of sin upon the moral system ; is it any wonder, tlierefbre, that they should be unconcerned al)out the plague l)eing stayed l)y a sacrifice 1 Such views are too enlarged for their selfish and contracted minds. The only object of their care, even in iheir most serious moments, is to escape punishment : for the honor of God, and the real good of creation, they discover no concern. The amount is this : If it be indeed improper for a guilty creature to lie before his Creator, if it be unfit that any regard should be paid to the honor of his character, if the offense committed against him be of so small account that it is un- necessary for him to express any dis- pleasure against it, and if it have been so private and insulated in its operations as in no way to affect the well-being of the moral system, the doctrine of forgiveness through a mediator is unreasonable. But if the contrary be true — if it be proper for a guilty creature to lie in the dust be- fore his offended Creator, if the honor of the divine character deserve the first and highest regard, if moral evil be the greatest of all evils, and require, even where it is forgiven, a strong expression of divine disjilcasure against it, and if its pernicious influence be such that, if suf- fered to operate according to its native tendency, it would dethrone the Almigh- ty, and desolate the universe, the doctrine in question must accord witli the j)lainest dictates of reason. The sense of mankind, with regard to the necessity of a mediator, may be illus- trated by the following similitude : — Let us suppose a division of the army of one of the w isest and best of kings, through the evil counsel of a foreign enemy, to have been disaffected to his government; and that, without any provocation on his part, they traitorously conspired against his crown and life. The attempt failed; and the offenders were seized, disarmed, tried by the laws of their country, and condemned to die. A respite however was granted them during his Majesty's pleas- ure. At this solemn perioii, while every pai't of the army and of the empire was 160 THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH REASON. expecting the fatal order for execution, the king was employed in meditating mer- cy. But how could mercy be shown 1 "To make light of a conspiracy," said he to his friends, " would loosen the bands of good government : other divisions of the army might be tempted to follow their example ; and the nation at large be in danger of imputing it to tameness, fear, or some unworthy motive." Every one felt, in this case, the neces- sity of a mediator, and agreed as to the general line of conduct proper for him to pursue. " He must not attempt," say they, "to compromise the difference by dividing the blame : that would make things worse. He must justify the king, and condemn the outrage committed a- gainst him; he must offer, if possible, some honorable expedient, by means of which the bestowment of pardon shall not relax, but strengthen just authority; he must convince the conspirators of their crime, and introduce them in the charac- ter of supplicants ; and mercy must be shown them out of respect to him, or for his sake." But who could be found to mediate in such a cause 1 This was an important question. A work of this kind, it was allowed on all hands, required singular qualifications. He must he perfectly clear of any participation in the offense," said one, "or inclination to favor it; for to pardon conspirators at the intercession of one who is friendly to their cause would be, not only making light of the crime, but giving a sanction to it." "He must," said another, "be one who on account of his character and ser- vices stands high in the esteem of the king and of the public ; for to mediate in such a cause, is to become, in a sort, respon- sible for the issue. A mediator, in effect, pledges his honor that no evil will result to the state from the granting of his re- quest. But, if a mean opinion be enter- tained of him, no trust can be placed in him, and, consequently, no good impres- sion would be made by his mediation on the public mind." " I conceive it is necessary," said a third, "that the weight of the mediation should bear a proportion to the magnitude of the crime, and to the value of the favor requested ; and that for this end it is proper he should be a person of great dignity. For his Majesty to pardon a company of conspirators at the interces- sion of one of their former comrades, or of any other obscure character, even though he might be a worthy man, would convey a very diminutive idea of the evil of the offense." A fourth remarked that " he must pos- sess a tender compassion towards the un- happy offenders, or he wovdd not cordial- ly interest himself on their behalf." Finally : It was suggested by a fifth " that, for the greater titness of the pro- ceeding, it would be proper that some relation or connection should subsist be- tween the parties." "We feel the pro- priety," said he, " of forgiving an offense at the intercession of a father, or a brother; or, if it be committed by a soldier, of his commanding officer. Without some kind of previous relation or connection, a mediation would have the appearance of an arbitrary and formal process, and prove but little interesting to the hearts of the community." Such were the reasonings of the king's friends ; but where to find the character in whom these qualifications were united, and what particular expedient could be devised, by means of which, instead of relaxing, pardon should strengthen just authority, were subjects too difficult for them to resolve. Meanwhile, the king and his son, whom he greatly loved, and whom he had ap- pointed generalissimo of all his forces, had retired from the company, and were conversing about the matter which at- tracted the general attention. "My son!" said the benevolent sove- reign, " what can be done in behalf of these unhappy menl To order them for execution violates every feeling of my heart : yet to pardon them is dangerous. The army, and even the empire, would be under a strong temptation to think lightly of rebellion. If mercy be exer- cised, it must be through a mediator ; and who is qualified to mediate in such a cause 1 And what expedient can be de- vised by means of which pardon shall not relax, but strengthen just authority 1 Speak, my son, and say what measures can be pursued 1" "My father!" said the prince, "I feel the insult offered to your person and government, and the injury thereby aimed at the empire at large. They have trans- gressed without cause, and deserve to die without mercy. Yet I also feel for them. I have the heart of a soldier. I cannot endure to Avitness their execution. What shall I say 1 On me be this wrong ! Let me suffer in their stead. Inflict on me as much as is necessary to impress the army and the nation with a just sense of the evil, and of the importance of good order and faithful allegiance. Let it be in their presence, and in the presence of all as- sembled. When this is done, let them be permitted to implore and receive your THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH REASON. 161 majesty's pardon in my name. If any man refuse so to implore, and so to re- ceive it, let him die the death !" "My son!" replied the king, "you liave expressed my heart ! The same things have occupied my mind ; but it was my desire that you should he volun- tary in the undertaking. It shall be as you have said. I shall be satisfied; jus- tice itself will be satisfied ; and I pledge my lionor that you also shall be satisfied in seeing the happy cfTects of your disin- terested conduct. Propriety requires that I stand aloof in the day of your affliction ; liut I will not leave you utterly, nor sutler the beloved of my soul to remain in that condition. A temporary affliction on your part will be more than equivalent to death on theirs. The dignity of your person and character will render the sufferings of an hour of greater account, as to the impression of the public mind, than if all the rebellious had l..:en executed : and by how much I am known to have loved you, by so much will my compassion to them, and my displeasure against their wicked conduct, be made manifest. Go, my son, assume the likeness of a criminal, and suffer in their place !" The gracious design being communica- ted at court, all were struck Avith it. Those who had reasoned on the qualifi- cations of a mediator, saw that in the prince all were united, and were filled with admiration : but that he should be willing to suffer in the place of rebels, was beyond all that could have been asked or thought. Yet, seeing he himself had generously proposed it, would survive his suflfcrings, and reap the reward of them, they cordially acquiesced. The only dif- ficulty that was started, was among the judges of the realm. They, at first, questioned whether the proceeding were admissible. " The law," said they, " makes provision for the transfer of debts, but not of crimes. Its language is, ' The soul that sinneth shall die.' " But when they came to view things on a more enlarged scale, considering it as an expedient on an extraordinary occasion, and perceived that the spirit of the law would be preserved, and all the ends of good government answered, they were satisfied. " It is not a measure," said they, " for which the law provides : yet it is not contrary to the law, but above it." The day appointed arrived. The prince appeared, and suffered as a criminal. The hearts of the king's friends bled at every stroke, and burned with indignation against the conduct which rendered it necessary. His enemies, however, even some of those for whom he suffered, continuing to be dis- VOL. I. 21 affected, added to the affliction, by derid- ing and insulting him all the time. At a proper period, he was rescued from ther outrage. Returning to the |)alace, amidst the tears and shouts of the loyal specta- tors, the sufTering hero was embraced by his royal father ; who, in addition to the natural affection which he bore to him as a son, loved him for his singular interpo- sition at such a crisis; "Sit thou," said he, "at my right hand! Though the threatenings of the law be not literally accomplished, yet the spirit of them is preserved. The honor of good govern- ment is secured, and the end of pu/iish- ment more effectually answered than if all the rebels had been sacrificed. Ask of me what I shall give thee ! No favor can be too great to be bestowed, even upon the unwortiiiest, nor any crime too aggravated to be forgiven, in thy name. I will grant thee according to thine own heart ! Ask of me, my son, what I shall give thee ! " He asked for the offenders to be intro- duced as supplicants at the feet of his fa- ther, for the forgiveness of their crimes, and for the direction of affairs till order and happiness should be perfectly re- stored. A proclamation addressed to the con- spirators was now issued, stating what-had been their conduct, what the conduct of the king, and what of the prince. Mes- sengers also were api)ointed to carry it, witii orders to read it publicly, and to ex- postulate with them individually, beseech- ing them to be reconciled to their offended sovereign, and to assure them that, if they rejected this, there remained no more hope of mercy. A spectator would suppose that in mer- cy so freely offered, and so honorably communicated, every one would have ac- quiesced ; and, if reason had governed the offenders, it had been so : but many among tliem continued under the influence of disaffection, and disaffection gives a false coloring to everything. The time of the respite having proved longer than was at first expected, some had begun to amuse themselves with idle spec- ulations, flattering themselves that their fault was a mere trifle, and that it certain- ly would be passed over. Indeed, the greater part of them had turned their at- tention to other things, concluding that the king was not in good earnest. When the proclamation was read, many paid no manner of attention to it ; some insinuated that the messengers were inter- ested men, and that there might be no truth in what they said ; and some even abused them as impostors. So, having delivered their message, they withdrew; and the reliefs, finding themselves alone. 162 THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH REASON. such of them as paid any attention to the subject expressed their mind as fol- lows : — " My heart," says one, "rises against every part of this proceeding. Why all this ado about a few words spoken one to another'? Can such a message as this have proceeded from the kingl What have we done so much against him, that so much should be made of it! No pe- tition of ours, it seems, would avail any- thing ; and nothing that we could say or do could be regarded, unless presented in the name of a third person. Surely if we present a petition in our own names, in which we beg pardon, and promise not to repeat the offense, this might suiiice. Even this is more than I can find in my heart to comply with : but everything be- yond it is unreasonable ; and who can be- lieve that the king can desire it 1 " "If a third pei'son," says another, " must be concerned in the affair, what oc- casion is there for one so high in rank and dignity 1 To stand in need of such a me- diator must stamp our characters with ev- erlasting infamy. It is very unreason- able : who can believe if! If the king be just and good, as they say he is, how can he wish thus publicly to expose us 1 " "I observe," says a third, "that the mediator is toholly on the king's side ; and one whom, though he affects to pity us, we have, from the outset, considered as no less our enemy than the king himself. If, indeed, he could compromise matters, and would allow that we had our provoca- tions, and would promise us redress, and an easier yoke in future, I should feel in- clined to hearken : but, if he have no con- cessions to offer, I can never be recon- ciled." " I believe," says a fourth, "that the king knows very well that we have not had justice done us, and therefore this media- tion business is introduced to make us amends for the injury. It is an affair set- tled somehow betwixt him and his son. They call it grace, and I am not much concerned what they call it, so that my life is spared ; but this I say, if he had not made this or some kind of provision, I should have thought him a tyrant." " You are all wrong," says a fifth : " I comprehend the design, and am well pleas- ed with it. I hate tlie government as much as any of you : but I love the me- diator ; for I understand it is his intention to deliver me from its tyranny. He has paid the debt, the king is satisfied, and I am free. I will sue out for my right, and demand my liberty ! " In addition to this, one of the company observed, he did not see what the greater part of them had to do with the proclama- tion, unless it were to give it a hearing, which they had done already. " For," said he, "pardon is promised only to them who are loilling to submit, and it is well known that many of us are unwilling ; nor can we alter our minds on this subject." After a while, however, some of them were brought to relent. They thought upon the subject matter of the proclama- tion, were convinced of the justness of its statements, reflected upon their evil con- duct, and were sincerely sorry on account of it. And now the mediation of the prince appeared in a very different light. They cordially said Amen to every part of the proceeding. The very things which gave such offense, while their hearts were disaffected, now appeared to them fit, and right, and glorious. " It is fit," say they, " that the king should be honored, and that we should be humbled; for we have trans- gressed loithout cause. It is right that no regard should be paid to any petition of ours, for its own sake ; for we have done deeds worthy of death. It is glorious that we should be saved at the intercession of so honorable a personage. The dignity of his character, together with his surprising condescension and goodness, impresses us more than anything else, and fills our hearts with penitence, confidence, and love. That which in the proclamation is called grace, is grace ; for we are utterly unworthy of it ; and, if we had all suffered according to our sentence, the king and his throne had been guiltless. We em- brace the mediation of the prince, not as a reparation for an injury, but as a singu- lar instance of mercy. And far be it from us that we should consider it as designed to deliver us from our original and just al- legiance to his majesty's government ! No, rather it is intended to restore us to it. We love our intercessor, and will implore forgiveness in his name : but we also love our sovereign, and long to prostrate our- selves at his feet. We rejoice in the sat- isfaction which the prince has made, and all our hopes of mercy are founded upon it : but we have no notion of being freed by it previously to our acquiescence in it.. Nor do Ave desire any other kind of free- dom than that which, while it remits the just sentence of the laAV, restores us to his majesty's government. O that we were once clear of this hateful and horrid con- spiracy, and might be permitted to serve him with affection and fidelity all the days of our life ! We cannot suspect the sin- cerity of the invitation, or acquit our com- panions on the score of unioillingness. Why should we 1 We do not on this ac- count acquit ourselves. On the contrary, it is the remembrance of our unwilling- ness that now cuts us to the heart. We THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH REASON. 163 well remember to what it was owing that we could not be salislicd witli the just government of the king, and afterwards could not comply with tlie invitations of mercy : it was because we were under the dominion of a disaffected spirit — a spirit whicii, wicked as it is in itself, it would be more wicked to justify. Our counsel is, therefore, the same as that of his majes- ty's messengers, with whom we now take our stand. Let us lay aside this cavilling humor, repent, and sue lor mercy in the way prescribed, ere mercy be hid from our eyes ! " The reader, in applying this supposed case to the mediation of Christ, will do me tlie justice to remember that I do not pre- tend to have perfectly represented it. Prob- ably there is no similitude fully adequate to the purpose. The distinction between the Father and the Son is not the same as tliat which subsists between a father and a son among men : the latter are two sep- arate beings ; but to assert this of the for- mer would be inconsistent with the divine unity. Nor can any thing be found anal- ogous to the doctrine of divine influence, by which the redemption of Christ is car- ried into effect. And, with respect to the innocent voluntarily sulTering for the guil- ty, in a few extraordinary instances this principle may be adopted ; but the man- agement and application of it generally re- quire more wisdom and more power than mortals possess. We may, by the help of a machine, collect a few sparks of the elec- trical fluid, and produce an elTect some- what resembling that of lightning : but we cannot cause it to blaze like the Almighty, nor " thunder with a voice like Him." Imperfect, however, as the foregoing similitude may appear in some respects, it is sufficient to show the fallacy of Mr. Paine's reasoning. " The doctrine of Re- demption," says this writer, " has for its basis an idea of pecuniary justice, and not that of moral justice. If I owe a person money, and cannot pay him, and he threat- ens to put me in prison, another person can take the debt upon himself, and pay it for me : but, if I have committed a crime, every circumstance of tlie case is changed. Moral justice cannot take the innocent for the guilty, even if the innocent would oiTer itself. To suppose justice to do this, is to destroy the principle of its existence, which is the thing itself. It is then no longer justice, but indiscriminate re- venge."* This objection, which is the same for substance as has been frequently urged by Socinians as well as Deists, is founded in misrepresentation. It is not true that redemption has for its basis the * Age of Reason, Part I. p. 20. idea of pecuniary justice, and not that of moral justice. That sin is called a debt, and the death of Christ aprice, a ransom, &c., is true ; but it is no unusual thing for moral obligations and deliverances to be expressed in language borrowed from pe- cuniary transactions. The obligations of a son to a father are commonly expressed by such terms as owing and paying : he owes a debt of obedience, and in yielding it hepai/s adebt of gratitude. The same may be said of an obligation to punisliment. A murderer owes his life to the justice of his country ; and, when he suffers, he is said to pai/ the awful dei)t. So also if a great character, by sudering death, could deliver his country, such deliverance would be spoken of as obtained by the price of blood. No one mistakes these things by understanding them of pecuniary transac- tions. In such connections, every one perceives that the terms are used not lit- erally, but metaphorically ; and it is thus that they are to be understood with refer- ence to the death of Christ. As sin is not a pecuniary, but a moral debt, so the atonement for it is not a pecuniary, but a moral ransom. There is, doubtless, a sufficient analogy between pecuniary and moral proceedings to justify the use of such language, both in Scripture and in common life ; and it is easy to perceive the advantages which arise from it ; as, besides conveying much important truth, it renders it peculiarly impressive to the mind. But it is not always safe to reason from the former to the latter ; much less is it just to affirm that the latter has for its basis every principle which pertains to the former. The deliverance effected by the prince, in the case before stated, might, Avith propriety, be called a redemption ; and the recollection of it, under this idea, would be very impressive to the minds of those who were delivered. They would scarcely be able to see or think of their Commander in Chief, even though it might be years after the event, without being reminded of the price at which their pardon was obtained, and dropping a tear of ingenuous grief over their unworthy conduct on this account. Yet it would not be just to say that this redemption had for its basis an idea of pecuniary justice, and not that of moral justice. It was moral justice which in this case was satisfied : not, however, in its or- dinary form, but as exercised on an ex- traordinary occasion ; not the letter, but the spirit of it. The Scripture doctrine of atonement, being conveyed in language borrowed from pecuniary transactions, is not only im- proved by unbelieyers into an argument 164 THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH REASON. against the truth of the gospel, but has been the occasion of many errors among the professors of Christianity. Socinus, on this ground, attempts to explain away the necessity of satisfaction. " God," says he, "is our Creditor. Our sins are debts which we have contracted with him ; but every one may yield up his right, and more especially God, who is the supi'eme Lord of all, and extolled in the Scriptures for his liberality and goodness. Hence, then, it is evident that God can pardon sins without any satisfaction re- ceived."* Others, who profess to em- brace the doctrine of satisfaction, have, on the same ground, perverted and abused it; objecting to the propriety of humble and continued applications for mercy, and presuming to claim the forgiveness of their sins past, present, and to come, as their legal right, and what it would be unjust in the Supreme Being, having re- ceived complete satisfaction, to Avith- hold. To the reasoning of Socinus, Dr. Owen judiciously replies, by distinguishing be- tween right as it respects debt, and as it respects government. The former, he allows, may be given up without a satis- faction, but not the latter. "Our sins," he adds, "are called debts, not properly, but metaphorically."! This answ^er equal- ly applies to those who pervert the doc- trine as to those who deny it; for though in matters of debt and credit a full satis- faction from a surety excludes the idea of free pardon on the part of the creditor, and admits of a claim on the part of the debtor, yet it is otherwise in relation to crimes. In the interposition of the prince, as stated above, an honorable expedient was adopted, by means of which the sove- reign was satisfied, and the exercise of mercy rendered consistent with just au- thority : but there was no less grace in the act of forgiveness than if it had been without a satisfaction. However well pleased the king might be with the con- duct of his son, the fi-eeness of pardon was not at all diminished by it ; nor must the criminals come before him as claim- ants, but as supplicants, imploring mercy in the mediator's name. Such are the leading ideas which the Scriptures give us of redemption by Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul especially teaches this doctrine with great preci- sion : "Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus : whom God has set fortli * Treatise of Jesus Christ the Savior, Part HI. Chap. I. t Dissertation on Divine Justice, Chap, ix. Section VII. VIII to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God ; to declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness : that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." From this passage we may remark, first, That the grace of God, as taught in the Scriptures, is not that kind of liberality which Socini- ans and Deists ascribe to him, which sets aside the necessity of a satisfaction. Free grace, according to Paul, requires & pro- pitiation, even the shedding of the Sa- vior's blood, as a medium through which it may be honorably communicated. Sec- ondly : Redemption by Jesus Christ was accomplished, not by a satisfaction that should preclude the exercise of grace in forgiveness, but in which, the displeasure of God against sin being manifested, mercy to the sinner might be exercised without any suspicion of his having relin- quished his regards for righteousness. In "setting forth Jesus Christ to be a propitiation," he "declared his righte- ousness for the remission of sins." Tliird- ly : The righteousness of God was not only declared Avhen Christ was made a propitiatory sacrifice, but continues to be manifested in the acceptance of believers through his name. He appears as just while acting the part of a justifier towards every one that believeth in Jesus. Fourth- ly : That which is here applied to the blessings of forgiveness and acceptance with God is applicable to all other spirit- ual blessings : all, according to the Scrip- tures, are freely communicated through the same distinguished medium. See Ephes. i.* * The christian reader, it is presumed, may hence obtain a clear view of the ends answered by the death of Christ, a subject wbicli lias occupied much atten- tion among divines. Some have asserted that Clirist by his satisfaction accomphshed this only, " Tiiat God now, consistently with the honor of his justice, may pardon (returning) sinners if he willeth so to do." This is, doubtless, true, as far as it goes; but it makes no provision for the return of the sinner. This scheme, therefore, leaves the sinner to perish in impenitence and unbelief, and the Savior without any security of seeing of the travail of his soul. For how can a sinner return without the power of the Holy Spirit 1 And the Holy Spirit, equally with every other spiritual blessing, is given in considera- tion of the death of Christ. Others, to remedy this defect, have considered the death of Christ as purchasing repentance and faith, as well as all other spiritual blessings, on behalf of the elect. The writer of these pages acknowledges he never could perceive that any clear or determinate idea was conveyed by the \evm purchase, in this connection; nor does it appear to him to be applicable to the subject, unless it be in an iuipro|5er or figurative sense. He has no doubt of the atonement of Christ being a perfect satisfaction to divine justice; nor of his being worthy of all that was conferred upon him. THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH REASON. 165 These remarks may suffice to show, not only that Mr. Painc's assertion has no truth in it, but tliat all those professors of Christianity wiio have adopted his princi- ple have so far deviated from the doctrine of redemption as it is taught in the Scrip- tures. As to wliat Mr. Paine alleges, that the innocent sullering for tiie guilty, even though it be with his own consent, is con- trary to every principle of moral justice, he affirms the same of God's " visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the chil- and upon us for his sake; nor of tliat which to us is sovereign mercy being to hiin an exercise of remun- ei'ative justice: but lie wishes it to be considered, Whether tlie moral Governor of the world was laid under such a kind of obligation to show mercy to sinners as a creditor is under to discharge a debtor, on having received full satisfaction at llie hands of a surety l If he be, the writer is unable to perceive how there can be any room for free forgiveness on the part of God; or how it can be said that justice and grace hannonize in a sinner's salvation. iXothing is tardier from his intention than to depreciate tlie merit of his Lord and Savior : but he considers merit as of two kinds; either on account of a benefit confer- red, which on the footing of justice requires an equal return, or of somethijig done or suffered, which is worthy of being rewarded by a Being distinguish- ed by his love of righteousness. In the first sense it cannot, as he supposes, be exercised towards an infinite and perfect Being. The goodness of Christ himself, in tliis way, extendeth not to him. It is in the last sense that the Scriptures appear to him to represent the merit of tlie Redeemer. That he " who was in the form of God should take upon him the form of a servant, and be made in the likeness of men, and humble himself, and lx;come obedient unto deatli, even the death of the cross," was so glorious an undertaking, and so acceptable to the Father, that on this account he " set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all princijiality and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come : and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the Head over all things to the church." Nor was this all : bo well pleated was he wilii all that he did and suflered, as to reward it not only with honors conferred upon himself, but with blessings on sinners for his sake. Whatever is asked in his name, it is given us. It is true, as die writer apprehends, that a way was opened, by the mediation of Christ, for the free and consistent exercise of mercy in all the methods which Sovereign Wisdom saw fit to adopt. There are three kinds of blessings, in particular, which God, out of regard to the death of his Son, bestows u|X)n men : First, He sends forth the gospel of salvation, accompanied with a free and indefinite i^nvitation to embrace it, and an assurance that who- soever complies with the invitation (for which there IS no ability wanting in any man who possesses an honest heart) shall have everlasting life. This favor is bestowed on sinners as sinners. God " giveUi the true bread from heaven " in this way to many who never receive it. He inviteth those to the gospel supper who refuse and make light of it. John vi. 32 — .3G; Matt. Kxii. 4, 5. Secondly, He bestows his Holy Spirit to renew and sanctify tlie sou! : gives a new heart and a right spirit, and takes 3way the heart of .stone. " Christ is exalted to give dren."* But this is a truth evident by tmi- versal experience. It is seen every day, in every part of tlie world. If Mr. Paine in- dulge in intemperance, and leave children })eliin(lliim,they may feel the consequences of his misconduct when he is in the grave,' The sins of the father may tluis he visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation. It would, however, be their affliction only, and not their punishment. Yet such visitations are wisely ordered as a motive to soiiriety. Nor is it between parents and children only that such a con- nection exists as that the hajipiness of one depends upon tiie conduct of others ; a slight survey of society, in its various re- lations, must convince us that tlie same principle pervades creation. To call this injustice is to fly in the face of the Creator. With such an objector I have nothing to do : " He that reproveth God, let him answer it." If the idea of the innocent suffering in the room of the guilty were in all cases in- admissible, and utterly repugnant to the human understanding, how came ihe use of expiatory sacrifices to prevail, as it has, in every age an(l nation'? Wliether the idea first proceeded from a divine com- mand, as Christians generally believe, or Avhatever was its origin, it has approved itself to tlic minds of men ; and not of the most uncultivated part of mankind only, but of the most learned and polite. The sacrifices of the Gentiles, it is true, were full of superstition, and widely difTerent, as might be expected, from those which were regulated by the Scriptures ; but the general principle is the same : all agree in the idea of the displeasure of the Deity being appeasable by an innocent victim being sacrificed in the place of the guilty. The idea of expiatory sacrifices, and of a mediation founded upon them, is beautifully expressed in the book of Job; a book not only of great antiquity, liut which seems to have obtained the appro- repentance." Acts V. 31. " Unto us it is given, in behalf of Christ, to believe in him." Phil. i. 29. " We have obtained like precious faith through the righteousness of God, and our Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. i. 1. This favor is conferred on elect sin- ners. See Acts xiii. 48. Rom. viii. 28—30. Thirdly, through the same medium is given the free pardon of all our sins, acceptance with God, power to become the sons of God, and the promise of ever- lasting life. " Your sins arc forgiven you for his name's sake." 1 John ii. 12. " God 'for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephes. iv. 32. " We are accepted in the teloved." Ephes. i. 6. By means of his death we " receive the promise of eter- nal inheritance." Heb. ix. 15. This kind of bles- sings is conferred on believing sinners. * Age of Reason, Part I. p. 4. Note. 166 REDEMPTION CONSISTENT WITH bation of Mr. Paine, having, as he sup- poses, been written by a Gentile. "And it was so that, after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kind- led against thee, and against thy two friends ! for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as ray servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to ray servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering ; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept ; lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did according as the Lord commanded tliem : the Lord also accepted Job." The ob- jections which are now made to the sac- rifice of Christ equally apply to all expia- tory sacrifices, the offeringup of which, had not the former superseded them, would have continued to this day. If an innocent character offer to die in the room of a guilty fellow-creature, it is not ordinarily accepted, nor would it be pro- per that it should. For he may have no just right to dispose of his life ; or, if he have, he has no power to resume it : there may likewise be no such relation between the parties as that the suffering of the one should express displeasure against the conduct of the other. Besides this, there may be no great and good end accomplish- ed to society by such a substitution : the ioss sustained by the death of the one might be equal, if not superior, to the gain from the life of the other. If the evil to be endured might be survived — if the re- lation between the parties were such that, in the sufferings of the one mankind would be impressed with the evil of the other — and if by such a proceeding great advan- tage would accrue to society, instead of being accounted inadmissible, it Avould be reckoned right, and wise, and good. If a dignified individual, by enduring some temporary severity from an offended na- tion, could appease their displeasure, and thereby save his country from the de- stroying sword, who would not admire his disinterested conduct 1 And if the of- fended, from motives of humanity, were contented with expressing their displeas- ure, by transferring the effect of it from a whole nation to an individual who thus stepped forward on their behalf, would their conduct be censured as "indiscrimi- nate revenge 1" The truth is, the atone- ment of Christ affords a display of justice on too large a scale, and on too hurabling a principle, to approve itself to a contract- ed, selfish, and haughty mind. CHAPTER V. THE CONSISTENCY OF THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF REDEMPTION WITH THE MODERN OPINION OF THE MAGNITUDE OF CREATION. It is common for Deists to impute the progress of their principles to the preva- lence of true philosophy. The world, they say, is raore enlightened ; and a great num- ber of discoveries are progressively making which render the credibility of the Scrip- tures more and more suspicious. It is now a commonly received opinion, f^r in- stance, among men of science, that this world is but a point in creation ; that every planet is a world, and all the fixed stars so many suns in the centres of so many systems of worlds ; and that, as every part of creation within our knowl- edge teems with life, and as God has made nothing in vain, it is highly probable that all these worlds are inhabited by intelli- gent beings, who are capable of knowing and adoring their Creator. But, if this be true, how incredible is it that so great a portion of regard should be exercised by the Supreme Being towards man as the Scriptures represent ! how incredible, es- pecially, it must appear, to a thinking mind, that Deity should become incarnate, should take human natvu-e into the most intimate union with himself, and thereby raise it to such singular erainency in the scale of being ; though, compared with the whole of the creation, if we comprehend even the whole species, it be less than a nest of insects compared Avith the unnum- bered millions of animated beings which inhabit the earth ! This objection, there is reason to think, has had a very considerable influence on the speculating part of mankind. Mr. Paine, in the first part of his Age of Rea- son (pp. 40 — 47,) has labored, after his manner, to make the most of it, and there- by to disparage Christianity. " Though it is not a direct article of the christian system," he says, "that this world which Ave inhabit is the Avhole of the habitable creation ; yet it is so Avorked up therewith from Avhat is called the Mosaic account of the creation, the story of Eve and the ap- ple, and the counterpart of that story — the death of the Son of God, that to believe othei-Avise, that is, to believe that God cre- ated a plurality of Avorlds, at least, as nu- merous as what Ave call stars, renders the Christian system of faith at once little and ridiculous, and scatters it in the mind like feathers in the air. The two beliefs Tiir. mac;nitudk of cukation. 167 cannot ln' licld top;(;lhor in the same mind ; and lie wlio tliinks he Itelieves bolli has thouiiht but little of either." p. 40. Again : Having discoursed on tiie vast extent of creation, he asks, "But, in the nddst of these relleciions, what are we to tiiink of the Christian system of faith, that tornis itself upon the idea of only one world, and that of no greater extent than twentv-tive thousand miles .' " — " Whence could arise the solitary and strange con- ceit, that the Almighty, who had millions of worlds ecpially de|)endent on his pro- tection, should cpiit the care of all the rest, and come to die in our world, because they say one nnin and one woman had eaten an apple 1 And, on the other hand, are we to suppose that every world in the bound- less creation had an Eve, an apple, a ser- pent, and a Redeemer'? In this case, the person who is irreverently called the Son of God, and sometimes God himself, would have nothing else to do than to tra- vel from world to world, in an endless suc- cession of death, with scarcely a momen- tary interval of life." p. 46. To animadvert upon all the extravagant and offensive things, even in so small a part of Mr. Paine's performance as the above cpiotation, would be an irksome task. A few remarks, however, may not be im- proper. First : Though Mr. Paine is pleased to say, in his usual style of naked assertion, that "the two beliefs cannot be held to- gether, and that he who thinks he believes both has thought but little of either ; " yet he cannot be ignorant that many who have admitted the one have at the same time held fast the other. Mr. Paine is certain- ly not overloaded with modesty, when comparing his own abilities and acquisi- tions with those of other men ; but I am inclined to think that, with all his assur- rance, he will not pretend that Bacon, or Boyle, or Newton, to mention no more, luui thought but little of philosophy or Christianity. I imagine it would be with- in the compass of truth, were I to say that thoy bestowed twenty times more thought upon these subjects than ever Mr. Paine did. His extreme ignorance of Christian- ity, at least, is manifest by the numerous gross blunders of which he has been de- tected. Secondly : Supposing the scripture ac- count of the creation to be inconsistent with the ideas which modern philosophers entertain of its extent ; yet it is not what Mr. Paine represents it. It certainly does not teach " that this world which we in- habit is the whole of the habitable crea- tion." Mr. Paine will not deny that it exhibits a world of ha])piness, and a world of misery; though this, in the career of his extravagance, he seems to have over- looked. Thirdly: If the two lieliefs, as Mr. Paine calls them, cannot be consistently held together, we need not be at a loss to determine which to relinquish. All the reasonings in favor of a multiplicity of worlds, inhabited by intelligent beings, amounts to no more than a strong proba- bility. No man can |)roperly be said to believe it : it is not a matter of faith, but of oi)inion. It is an opiiuon too that has taken })lace of (jthcr opinions, which, in their day, were admired by the philosophi- cal part oi mankind, as much as this is in ours. Mr. Paine seems to wish to have it thought that the doctrine of a midliplici- ty of inhabited worlds is a matter ol' dcvi- onstration : but the existence of a num- ber of heavenly bodies, whose revolutions are under the direction of certain laws, and whose returns, therefore, are the ob- jects of human calculation, does not prove that they are all inhabited by intelligent beings. I do not deny that, from other considerations, the thing may be highly proliable ; but it is no more than a proba- bility. Now, before we give up a doc- trine which, if it were even to prove falla- cious, has no dangerous consequences at- tending it, and which, if it should be found a truth, involves our eternal salvation, we should endeavor to have a more solid gTound than mere opinion on which to take our stand. But I do not wish to avail myself of these observations, as I am under no ap- prehensions that the cause in which I en- gage requires them. Admitting that THE INTELLIGEXT CUEATION IS AS EX- TENSIVE AS MODERN PHILOSOPHY SUP- POSES, THE CREDIBILITY OF REDEMP- TION IS NOT THEREBY WEAKENED; BUT, ON THE CONTRARY, IN MANY RE- SPECTS, IS STRENGTHENED AND AG- GRANDIZED. I shall offer a few observa- tions on each of the branches of the above position. The scripture doctrine of redemption, it is acknowledged, supposes that man, mean and little as he is in the scale of be- ing, has occupied a peculiar portion of the divine regard. It requires to be noticed, however, that the enemies of revelation, in order it should seem to give the greater force to their objection, diminish the im- portance of man, as a creature of God, beyond what its friends can admit. Though Mr. Paine expresses his " hope of happi- ness beyond this life," and though some other deistical writers have admitted the immortality of the soul ; yet this is more than others of them will allow. The hope of a future state, as we have seen, is ob- jected to by many of them, as a selfish 168 REDEMPTION CONSISTENT WITH principle ; and others of them have at- tempted to hold it up to ridicule. But the immortality of man is a doctrine which redemption supposes ; and, if this be al- lowed, man is not so insignificant a being as they might wish to consider him. A being that possesses an immortal mind, a mind capable of increasing knowledge, and, consequently, of increasing happiness or misery, in an endless duration, cannot be insignificant. It is no exaggeration to say thai the salvation of one soul, according to the scriptural account of things, is of inconceivably greater moment than the temporal salvation of a nation, or of all the nations in the world for ten thousand ages. The eternal salvation, therefore, of a number of lost sinners, which no man can number, however it may be a matter of infinite condescension in the great Su- preme to accomplish, is not an object for creatures, even the most exalted, to con- sider as of small account. Having premised thus much, I shall proceed, in the first place, to offer a few observations in proof that THERE is noth- ing IN THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OP RE- DEMPTION WHICH IS INCONSISTENT WITH THE MODERN OPINION OF THE MAGNI- TUDE OF CREATION. 1. Let creation he as extensive as it may, and the number of toorlds be viulti- plied to the utmost boundary to ivhich im- agination can reach, there is no proof that any of them, except men and angels, have apostatized from God. If our world be only a small province, so to speak, of God's vast empire, there is reason to hope that it is the only part of it where sin has en- tered, except among the fallen angels, and that the endless myriads of intelligent be- ings, in other worlds, are all the hearty friends of virtue, of order and of God. If this be true, (and there is nothing in philosophy or divinity, I believe, to dis- credit it,) then Mr. Paine need not have supposed, if he could have suppressed the pleasure of the witticism, that the Son of God would have to travel from Avorld to world in the character of a Redeemer. 2. Let creation be ever so extensive, there is nothing inconsistent with reason in supposing that some one particular part of it should be chosen out from the rest, as a theatre on which the great Author of all things tvould perform his most glorious works. Every empire that has been found- ed in this world has had some one partic- ular spot where those actions were per- formed from which its glory has arisen. The glory of the Caesars was founded on the event of a battle fought near a very in- considerable city : and why might not this world, though less than "twenty-five thousand miles in circumferencCj" be chosen as the theatre on which God would bring about events that should fill his whole empire with glory and joyi It would be as reasonable to plead the insig- nificance of Actium or Agincourt, in ob- jection to the competency of the victories there obtained (supposing them to have been on the side of righteousness) to fill the respective empires of Rome and Brit- ain with glory, as that of our world to fill the whole empire of God Avith matter of joy and everlasting praise. The truth is, the comparative dimension of our world is of no account. If it be large enough for the accomplishment of events which are sufficient to occupy the minds of all intelligences, that is all that is required. 3. If any one part of God's creation, rather than another, possessed a superior fitness to become a theatre on ivhich he might display his glory, it should seem to be that part tvhere the greatest efforts have been made to dishonor him. A rebellious province in an empire would be the fittest place in it to display the justice, goodness and benignity of a government. Here would naturally be erected a banner of righteousness ; here the war would be carried on ; here pardons and punish- ments to different characters would be awarded ; and here the honors of the gov- ernment would be established on such a basis that the remotest parts of the empire might hear and fear, and learn obedience. The part that is diseased, whether in the body natural or the body politic, is the part to which the remedy is directed. Let there be what number of worlds there may, full of intelligent creatures ; yet, if there be but one world which is" guilty and miserable, thither will be directed the op- erations of mercy. The good shepherd of the sheep will leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and seek and save that which is lost. 4. The events brought to pass in this ivorld, little and insignificant as it may be, are competent to fill all and every part of God's dominions with everlasting and in- creasing joy. Mental enjoyment differs widely from corporeal : the bestowment of the one upon a great number of objects is necessarily attended with a division of it into parts ; and those who receive a share of it diminish the quantity remain- ing for others that come after them ; but not so the other. An intellectual object requires only to be known, and it is equally capable of affording enjoyment to a million as to an individual, to a world as to those, and to the whole universe, be it ever so extensive, as to a world. If, as the Scriptures inform us, "God Avas man- ifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, THE MAGNITUDE OF CREATION. 169 l)olieved on in tlic world, and iccei\cd up into glory ; if tlicre I'c enough in this mys- terious transaction to (ill with joy the hearts of all who believe it ; if it be so in- teresting that the most exalted intelligen- ces become comparatively indifTerent to every other object, " desiring to look into it;" then is it sufficient to " fill all things," and to exhibit the divine glory " in all places of his dominion."* Mr. Paine allows thai it is not a direct article of the christian system that there is not a plurality of inhabited worlds ; vet, he affirms, it is so xcorked up witli tlie scripture account that, to i)clieve the latter, we must relinquish the former as little and ridiculous. The Scriptures, it is true, do not teach the doctrine of a multitude of inhabited w orlds : but neither do they teach the contrary. Neither tlie one nor the other forms any part of their design. The ob- ject they keep in view, though Mr. Paine may term it " little and ridiculous," is infinitely superior to this, l)oth as to utility and magnitude. They were not giv- en to teach us astronomy or geography, or civil government, or any science which relates to the present life only ; therefore they do not determine upon any system of any of these sciences. These are things upon which reason is competent to judge, sufficiently at least for all the pur- poses of human life, without a revelation from heaven. The great object of reve- lation is to instruct us in things which pertain to our everlasting peace; and as to other things, even the rise and fall of the mightiest empires, they are only touched in an incidental manner, as the mention of them might be necessary to higher purposes. The great empires of Baliylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, are predicted and described in the Scriptures, by the rising and ravaging of so many beasts of prey. Speaking of the European part of the eartli, whicli was inhabited by the posterity of Japhelh, they do not go about to give an exact geographical description of it ; but, by a synecdoche, call it the "isles of the Gentiles ;"t and this, as I suppose, because its eastern boundary, the Archipelago, or Grecian Islands, were situated contiguous to the Holy Land. And thus, when speaking of the whole creation, they call it "the heavens and the earth," as being the whole that comes within the reach of our senses. It is no dishonor to the Scriptures that they keep to their |)rofesscd end. Though they give us no system of astronomy, yet they urge us to study the works of God, * I Pet. i. 12. Eplies. iv. 10, Psal. ciii. 22. t Gen. X. 5. Isa. xlix. 1. VOL. I. 22 and teach us to adore him upon every discovery. Though they give us no sys- tem of geography, yet they encourage us to avail ourselves of observation and ex- perience to obtain one ; seeing the whole earth is in prophecy given to the Messiah, and is marked out as the field in which his servants are to labor. Though they determine not upon any mode or system of civil government, yet they teach obedi- ence in civil matters to all. And though their attention l)e mainly directed to things wiiicii pertain to the life to come, yet, by attending to their instructions, we are also fitted for the labors and sufferings of the present life. Tiie Scriptures arc written in a popular style, as best adapted to their great end. If the salvation of philosophers only had been tlieir ol)ject, the language might possil)ly have been somewhat different; though even this may be a matter of doubt, since the style is suited to the subject, and to the great end which they had in view ; but, being addressed to men of every degree, it was highly proper that the language should be fitted to every capacity, and suited to their common modes of conception. They speak of the foundations of the earth, the ends of the earth, the greater and less lights in the heavens, the sun rising, standing still, and going down, and many other things in the same way. If deists object to these modes of speaking, as conveying ideas which are inconsistent with the true theo- ry of the heavens and the earth, let them, it they can, substitute others wliich are consistent : let them, in their common conversation, when describing the revolu- tions of evening and morning, speak of the earth as rising and going down, instead of the sun ; and the same with regard to the revolution of the planets ; and see if men, in common, will better understand them, or whether they would be able even to understand one another. The popular ideas on these subjects are as < much " w orked up " in tlie common con- versation of philosophers as they are in the Scriptures : and the constant use of such language, even by philosophers them- selves, in common conversation, sufficient- ly proves the futility and unfairness of their objecting to revelation on this ac- count. By the drift of Mr. Paine's writing, he seems to wish to convey the idea that, so contracted were the view s of the scrip- tural writers, that even the globularity of the earth was unknown to them. If, however, such a sentence as that of Job, "He hangefh the earth upon nothing,"]: ^ Ciinp. xxvi . 7. 170 REDEMPTION CONSISTENT WITH had been found in any of the old heathen writers, he would readily have concluded that "this idea was familiar to the an- cients." Or if a heathen poet had uttered such language as that of Isaiah — " Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the bal- ance ; behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing : All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing and vanity;" — he might have been applauded as possessing a mind as large, and nearly as well in- formed, as the geniuses of modern times. But the truth is, the scriptural writers were not intent on displaying the great- ness of their own conceptions, nor even of creation itself; but rather of the glory of Him " who tilleth all in all." The foregoing observations may suffice to remove Mr. Paine's objection ; but if, in addition to them, it can be proved that, upon the supposition of a great number of inhabited worlds, Christianity instead of appealing " little and ridiculous" is the more enlarged, and that some of its dif- ficulties are the more easily accounted for, this will be still more satisfactory. Let us therefore proceed, secondly, to offer evidence that the christian doc- trine OP REDEMPTION IS STRENGTH- ENED AND AGGRANDIZED BY THE SUP- POSED MAGNITUDE OF CREATION. 1. The Scriptures teach that God's re- gard to man is an astonishing instance of condescension, and that, on account of the disparity between him and the celestial creation. — " When I consider thy heav- ens," saith David, "the work of thy fin- gers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained ; what is man, that thou art mindful of him; and the son of man, that thou visitest him 1" "Will God in very deed," saith Solomon, " dwell with men upon the earth 1" * The divine condescension towards man is a truth upon any system; but, upon the supposition of the heavenly bodies being so many inhabited worlds, it is a truth full of amazement, and the forego- ing language of David and Solomon is forcible beyond all conception. The idea of him Avho upholds a universe of such extent "by the word of his power" be- coming incarnate, residing with men, and setting up his kingdom among them, that he might raise them to eternal glory, as * Psalm viii. 3, 4. 2 Chron. vi. 18. In this part of the subject considerable use is made of the Scriptures ; but it is only for the purpose of ascer- taining what the christian doctrine of redemp- tion is : and this is undoubtedly consistent with every rule of just reasoning, as, whether they be true or false, they are the standard by which this doctrine is to be measured. much surpasses all that philosophy calls gTeat and noble, as the Creator surpasses the work of his hands. 2. The Scriptures inform us that, before creation ivas begun, our ivorld ivas mark- ed out by eternal wisdom as the theatre of its joyful operations. This idea is for- cibly expressed in the eighth chapter of Proverbs: "Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth : Avhile as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he pre- pared the heavens, I was there; when he set a compass upon the face of the depth ; when he established the clouds above ; when he strengthened the fountains of the deep ; when he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his com- mandment ; when he appointed the foun- dations of the earth: then I was by him, as one brought up with him : and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men." On this interesting passage I shall ofTer a few remarks. First: Among the vari- ety of objects which are here specified as the works of God, the earth is men- tioned as being, in a sort, his peculiar property. Doubtless the whole creation is the Lord's ; but none of his other works is here claimed as his own, in the manner that the earth is. It is called his earth. And this seems to intimate a design of rendering it the grand theatre on which his gi-eatest work should be performed ; a work that should fill all creation with joy and wonder. Secondly: The wisdom of God is described as rejoicing in the contemplation of this part of the creation. Whether wisdom in this passage be under- stood of the promised Messiah, or of a divine attribute personified, it makes no difference as to the argument. Allow it to mean the latter; and that the rejoicing of wisdom is a figurative mode of speak- ing, like that of " mercy rejoicing against judgment;"! still, redemption by Jesus Christ is the object concerning which it was exercised : nothing less can be inti- mated than this, that the earth was the place marked out by Eternal Wisdom as the theatre of its joyful operations. Third- ly : The habitable part of the earth was more especially the object of Wisdom's joyful contemplation. The abodes of men, which through sin had become scenes of abomination, were, by the interposition of the Mediator, to become the abodes of righteousness. Here the serpent's head was to be bruised, his schemes confound- t James ii. 13. THE MAGNITIIDL OF CREATFOX. 171 ed, and his works destroyed : and tluit by tlie " woman's seed," the human nature, whidi he had despised and degraded. Here a tropliy was to be raised to tlie glory ol sovereign grace ; and millions of souls, delivered Irom everlasting destruc- tion, were to present an olTering oi' praise to HIM "that loved ihem, and washed them Irom their sins in iiis own blood." Here, in a word, the peculiar glory of the Godhead was to be displayed in such a manner as to afford a lesson of joy- lul amazement to the whole creation, "throughout all ages" of time, yea, " worlii without end!"* Lastly: Not only were the abodes of men contem- plated with rejoicing, but the so?is of men themselves regarded with delight. The operations of Eternal Wisdom were di- rected to their salvation ; and their sal- vation was appointed to become, in return, a mirror in wliich tiie whole crea'tion should behold the operations of Eternal Wisdom. This expressive passage con- tains a fulness of meaning, let the extent of the intelligent creation be wliat it may : but, if it be of that extent which modern philosophy supposes, it contains a greater fulness still. It perfectly accords with all those ideas suggested of this earth be- ing the chosen theatre upon which events should be brought to pass that shall till creation with everlasting joy; and well they may, if the prospect of them rejoiced even the heart of God. 3. The mediation of Christ is represent- ed in Scripture as bringing the whole crea- tion into union ivith the church or people of God. In the dispensation of the fulness of times, it is said, that God would " gath- er together in one all things in Christ, both wliich are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him."t Again: "It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell ; and (having made peace through the V)lood of his cross) liy him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him, I say, whether things in earth, or things in heaven." { The language here used supposes that the introduction of sin has eflected a dis- union between men and the other parts of God's creation. It is natural to suppose it should be so. If a province of a great empire rise up in rebellion against the law- ful government, all communication be- tween the inhabitants of such a province, and the faithful adherents to order and obedience, must be at an end. A line of separation would be immediately drawn by the sovereign, and all intercourse be- tween the one and the other prohibited. * Ephes. iii. 21. f Ephes. i. 10. t Col. i. 19, 20. Nor would it less accord with the inclina- tion than with the duly of all the friends of righteousness to withdraw their con- nection from those who were in rcl)ellion against the su|)remc authority and the gen- eral good. It must have been thus with regard to the holy angels, on man's apos- tasy. Those who at the creation of our world had sung together, and even shout- ed for joy, would now retire in disgust and holy indignation. But, through the mediation of Christ, a re-union is clVccted. By the blood of the cross we have peace with God ; and, be- ing reconciled to him, are united to all who love him throughout the whole extent of creation. If Paul could address the Co- rinthians, concerning one of their exclud- ed members, who had been brought to re- pentance, " to whom ye forgive any thing, I also; " much more would the friends of righteousness soy, in their addresses to the great Supreme, concerning an exclud- ed member from the moral system, " To whom thou forgivest any thing, ive also ! " Hence angels acknowledge Christians as brethren, and l)ecome ministering spirits to them while inliabitants of the present world. § There is another consideration which must tend to cement the holy part of God's creation to the church ; which is, their being all united under one head. A cen- tral point of union has a great effect in cementing mankind. We see this every day in people who sit under the same min- istry, or serve under the same command- er, or are subjects of the same prince ; whether minister, general, or prince, if they love him, they will be, more or less, united together under him. Now it is a part of the reward of our Redeemer, for his great humiliation, that he should be exalted as head over the whole creation of God. " Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even tiie death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly beings, of earthly, and of those under the earth. — He is the head of all principality and power. — God raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come : and put all things under his feet : and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, §Rev. xix. 10. Ileb. i. 14. 112 REDEMPTION CONSISTENT WITH which is his body, the fulness ol" him that filleth all in all."* These passages, it is true, represent the dominion of Christ as extending over the whole creation, enemies as well as friends, and things as well as persons. But, if the very enemies of God are caused to sub- serve the purposes of redemption, much more his friends ; what the others do by constraint, these do willingly ; and the consideration of their having one head must make them feel, as it were, nearer akin. And, as Christ is " head over all things to the church, which is his body,*' it is hereby intimated that the happiness of the church is by these means abundant- ly enlarged. To what extent creation reaches I do not pretend to know : be that however what it may, the foregoing passages teach us to consider the influence of redemption as commensurate with it ; and in propor- tion to the magnitude of the one, such must be the influence of the other, as to the accomplishment of re-union and the restoration of happiness. 4. Through the mediation of Christ, not only is the whole creation represented as augmenting the blessedness of tlie church, but the cfiurch as augmenting the blessed- ness of the ivhole creation. As one mem- ber, be it ever so small, cannot suffer with- out the whole body, in some degree, suf- fering with it ; so, if we consider our world as a member of the great body or system of being, it might naturally be supposed that the ill or well-being of the former would, in some measure, affect the happi- ness of the latter. The fall of a planet from its orbit in the solar system, would probably have a less effect upon the other planets, than that of man from the moral system upon the other parts of God's in- telligent creation. And, when it is con- sidered that man is a member of the body, distinguished by sovereign favor, as pos- sessing a nature which the Son of God de- lighted to honor, by taking it upon him- self, the interest which the universe at large may have in his fall and recovery may be greatly augmented. The leprosy of Miriam was an event that affected the whole camp of Israel : nor did they pro- ceed on their journeys till she was restor- ed to her situation : and it is not unnatu- ral to suppose that something analogous to this would be the effect of the tall and re- covery of man on the whole creation. The happiness of the redeemed is not the vdtimate end of redemption ; nor the only happiness which will be produced by it. God is represented in the Scrip- tures as conferring his favors in such a * Pliil. ii. 8-.10, Col. ii. 10. Eph. i. 20—22. way as that no creature shall be blessed merely for his own sake, but that he might communicate his blessedness to others. With whatever powers, talents, or advantages we are endued, it is not merely for our gratification, but that we may contribute to the general good. God gives discernment to the eye, speech to the tongue, strength to the arm, and agility to the feet ; not for the gratifica- tion of these members, but for the ac- commodation of the body. It is the same in other things. God blessed Abraham; and wherefore 1 That he might be a bless- ing. He blessed his posterity after him ; and for what purpose 1 That "in them all the nations of the earth might be blessed. "t Though Israel was a nation chosen and beloved of God ; yet it was not for their righteousness, nor merely with a view of their happiness, that they were thus distinguished : but that he " might perform the oath which he sware unto their fathers :"| the 'substance of which was that the true religion should prosper among them, and be communicated by them to all other nations. The ungodly part of the Jewish nation viewed things, it is true, in a different light : they valued themselves as the favorites of heaven, and looked down upon other nations Avith contemptuous dislike. But it was other- wise with the godly : they entered into the spirit of the promise made to their fathers. Hence they prayed that God would "be merciful to them, and bless them, and cause his face to shine upon them;" to the end that his " way might be known upon earth, and his saving health among all nations. "§ The same spirit was manifested by the apostles and primitive Christians. They perceived that all that rich measure of gifts, and graces by which they were dis- tinguished was given them with the design of their communicating it to others ; and this was their constant aim. Paul felt himself a debtor both to Jews and Greeks, and spent his life in diffusing the bless- ings of the gospel, though in retvu'n he was continually treated as an evil doer ; and the same might be said of the other apostles. Nor is this social principle confined to the present life. According to scripture representations, the happiness of saints in glory will be conferred on them, not that it might stop there, but be communicated to the whole moral system. The redemp- tion of the church has already added to the blessedness of other holy intelligen- ces. It has furnished a new medium by f Gen. xii. 2j xxii |Deut. ix. 5; vii. 7, 8. 18 § Psa, Ixvii. THE MAGNITUDE OF CREATION. 173 which the glory of the divine perfections is belielcl and admired. To explore the wisdom of God in his works, is the con- stant employment of holy angels, and that in which consists a large proportion of tiieir felicity. Prior to the accomplish- ment of the work of redemption, they contemplated the divine ciiaracter tlnough the medium of creation and providence ; but "710117 unto principalities and powers, in heavenly places, is known, by the church, the manifold wisdom of God."* And so much does this last display of di- vine glory exceed all that has gone before it, that those who have once obtained a view of it, through this medium, will cer- tainly prefer it to every other : " which things the angels desire to look into."f They do not, however, become indifferent to any of the divine operations ; creation and providence continue to attract their attention, and are abundantly more inter- esting; they now study them according to the order in which they exist in the di- vine mind, that is, in subserviency to re- demption.J But that which is already accomplished is but small in comparison of what is in reserve. At the final judgment, when all the faithful will be collected together, they will become a medium through which the Lord Jesus will be glorified and ad- mired hy the whole creation: "he shall come to be gloriried in his saints, and to be admired in all them tliat believe — in that day. "§ It is a truth that the saints of God will themselves glorify and ad- mire their gi'eat deliverer, but not the truth of this passage ; the design of which is to represent them as a medium through which he shall be glorified by all the friends of God in the universe. The great physician will 'appear with his re- covered millions ; every one of whom will afford evidence of his disinterested love, and efficacious blood, to the whole admir- ing creation. Much the same ideas arc conveyed to us by those representations in which the whole creation are either called upon to rejoice on account of our redemption, or described as actually rejoicing and prais- ing the Redeemer. Thus David, having spoken of God's mercy which was from everlasting to everlasting towards the children of men, addresses all his WORKS, IN ALL PLACES OF HIS DOMIN- ION, "to bless his name."|| John also informs us, saying, " I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders : and *Eplies. iiJ. 10. 1 1 Pet. i. 12. X Col. i. 16, by him, and /or liim. § 2 T hess. i. 10. || Psa. ciii. 17—22. the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and Idessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. "If The phraseology of these passages is such that no one can reasonably doul)t whether the writers intended to express the whole upright intelligent creation, be it of what extent it may : and, if it be of that extent wjiich philosophy supposes, the greater must be the infiuence and importance of the work of redemption. 5. The Scriptures give us to expect that the earth itself, as well as its redeem- ed inhabitants, shall at a future period be purified, and reunited to the whole empire of God. — We are taught to pray, and con- sequently to hope, that, when " the king- dom of God" shall universally prevail, " his will shall be done on earth as it is now in heaven :"** but, if so, earth itself must become, as it were, a part of heaven. That we may form a clear and compre- hensive view of our Lord's words, and of this part of the subject, be it observed that the Scriptures sometimes distinguish be- tween the kingdom of God and that of Christ. Though the object of both be the triumph of truth and righteousness, yet the mode of administration is different. The one is natural, the other delegated : the latter is in subserviency to the former, and shall be finally succeeded by it. Christ is rep- resented as acting in our world by delega- tion : as if a king had commissioned his son to go and reduce a certain rebellious province, and restore it to his dominion. The period allotted for this work extends from tlie time of the revelation of tlie promised seed to the day of judgment. The operations are progressive. If it had seemed good in his sight, he could have overturned the power of Satan in a short period ; but his wisdom saw fit to accom- plish it by degrees. Like the commander of an invading army, he first takes posses- sion of one post, then of another, then of a third, and so on, till by and by the whole country falls into his hands. And as the progress of a conqueror would be more rapid after a few of the strongest for- tresses had surrendered, (inasmuch as things would then approach fast to a crisis, IT Rev. V. 11—13. ** Matt. vi. 10. 174 REDEMPTION CONSISTENT WITH to a breaking up, as it were, of the pow- ers of the enemy,) so it has been with the kingdom of Christ, and such will be its progress before tlie end of time. In the early ages of the world but little was done. At one time true religion appears to have existed only in a few families. After- wards it assumed a national appearance. After this it was addressed to all nations. And before the close of time all nations shall be subjected to the obedience of Christ. This shall be the " breaking up" of Satan's empire. Now as, on the con- quest of a rebellious province, the dele- gated authority of the conqueror would cease, and the natural government of the empire resume its original form, so Christ is represented as " delivering up the king- dom to his Father, that God may be all in all."* This is the ultimatum of the Mes- siah's kingdom; and this appears to be the ultimate object for which he taught his disciples to pray : but as the tinal end in- volves the preceding gradations which lead on to its accomplishment, in directing them to pray for the coming of God's kingdom, he directed them to pray for the present prevalence of his own. As on the conquest of a rebellious province some would be pardoned, and others punished ; as every vestige of re- bellion would be effaced, and law, peace, and order, flow in tlieir ancient channels ; such a period might with propriety be termed "a restitution of all things. "f Such will be the event of the last judg- ment, which is described as the conclud- ing exercise of the delegated authority of Christ. And as on the conquest of a rebellious province, and the restitution of peace and order, that province, instead of being any longer separate from the rest of the em- pire, would become a component part of it, and the king's will would be done in it as it had been done without inter- ruption in the loyal part of his territories ; such is the representation given with res- pect to our world, and the holy parts of God's dominions. A period will arrive when the will of God shall be done on earth as it is now done in heaven. This, however, will never be the case while any vestige of moral evil remains. It must be after the general conflagration ; which, though it will destroy every kind of evil, root and branch, that now prevails upon the face of the earth, and will terminate the generations of Adam, who have pos- sessed it, yet will not so destroy the earth itself but that it shall survive its fiery trial, and, as I apprehend, become the everlast- ing abode of righteousness — a part of the * 1 Cor. XV. 24. 28. t Acts iii. 21. holy empire of God. This was to be the mark on which the disciples were to keep their eye in all their prayers : but as, in desiring a perfect conformity to Christ in their own souls, they would necessarily desire the present progress of purity in the use of all the appointed means, so in pray- ing that God's will might be perfectly done on earth, even as it is done in heaven, they would pray for the progressive prevalence of righteousness in the world, as that by which it should be accomplished. It is not improbable that the earth, thus purified, may ever continue the resort, if not the frequent abode of those who are redeemed from it. Places where some of the most interesting events have been trans- acted, when visited at some distance of time, often become, in the present state of things, a considerable source of delight. Such was Bethel to Jacob, and Tabor, no doubt, to the three disciples; and, if any remains of our present sensation should attend us in a state of immortality, a re- view of the scenes of our Lord's birth, life, agony and crucifixion, as well as many other events, may furnish a source of everlasting enjoyment. However this may be, the Scriptures give us to understand that though " the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up ;" yet, " accord- ing to promise," we are to " look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwel- leth righteousness."! By the " ncAv heav- ens " here is plainly to be understood so much of the elements as shall have been affected by ilie general conflagration ; and, by " the new earth," the earth after it is purified by it. Much to the same purpose is the account given towards the close of the Revelation of John. After a description of the gen- eral judgment, it follows, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth ; for the tirst heaven and the first earth were pass- ed away. — And I John saw the holy city. New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." When the earth shall have become a part of God's holy empire, heaven itself may then be said to be come down upon it : seeing all that is now ascribed to the one will be true of the other. " Behold, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, and he will dwell with them ; and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and shall be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more ij: 2 Pet. ill. 12,13. THE MAGNITUDE OF CRKATION. 175 pain ; for llie former tliinirs shall be passed away. And he (hat sat upon the tiironc said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faitliful."* If the great end of redemption be the reunion of this world to the holy empire of God, and if such reunion be accom- panied with a mutual augmentation of blessedness, then the imiiortance of the one must bear some [)r()()ortion to the magnitude of the other. Upon any sys- tem of pliilosopiiy, redemption is great ; but, upon that which so amazingly magni- fies intelligent creation, it must be great beyond expression. 6. The Scriptures represent the punish- ment of the Jinaliy impenitent as appointed for an example to the rest of the crea- tion.— " Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, in giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an exam- ple, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." — "And her smoke (the smoke of Babylon) rose up forever and ever." "And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and wor- shiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. "f The miseries of the damned are never represented as inflicted upon them from such a kind of wrath or vengeance as bears no relation to the general good. " God is love ; " and in none of his pro- ceedings does he violate this principle, or lose sight of the well-being of creation in general. The manifestation of his glory is not only inseparably connected with this'object, but consists in accomplishing it. It is necessary for the general good that God's abhorrence of moral evil should be marked by some strong and durable expression of it; so that no one subject of his empire can overlook it. Such an expression was thedcatii of Christ, his only begotten Son ; and this availcth on behalf of all who acquiesce in his salvation : but all who do not, or who possess not such a temper of heart as would acquiesce in it if it were presented to them, must them- selves be made sacrifices to his justice ; and so, like enemies and traitors to a hu- man government, must be made to answer such an end by their death as shall coun- teract the ill example afforded by their life. ^Vllat is said of the barren vine is applicable to the finally impenitent : " It is not fit for any work — it is good for no- thing but to be burned ["I The only way in which they promote the general good is by their overthrow : like the censers of Korah and his company which were ♦Rev. xxi. 1—5. f Ji'fie 7. Rev. xix. 3, 4. t Lzek. XV. I. 2 — 5. made into " broad jdalcs for a covering to the altar; that tliey might be a sign to the children of Israel in future genera- tions ;"§ or like Lot's wife, who was converted into a "pillar of sail," or a lasting monument 6f divine displeasure ! If the grand end of future punishment be example, tliis must sup|)ose the existence of an intelligent creation, who shall profit by it ; and it siiould seem of a creation of magnitude; as it accords with the con- duct of neither God nor man to punish a great numlier for an example to a few. Tiiis truth alfords a satisfactory idea of the divine government, whether "there be a multiplicity of inhabited worlds or not: but, if there be, it is still more sat- isfactory; as on this supposition the number of those wlio shall be finally lost may bear far less proportion to the whole of the intelligent creation than a single execution fo the inhabitants of a great empire. It is true the loss to those who are lost will be nothing abated by this consideration; perhaps, on the contrary, it may be augmented ; and to them the divine government will ever appear gloomy : but to those who judge of things impartially, and upon an extensive scale, it will appear to contain no more of a disparagement to the government of the universe than the execution of a mur- derer, once in a hundred years, would be to the government of a nation. And now I appeal to the intelligent, the serious, and the candid reader, whether there be any truth in what Mr. Paine asserts, that to admit " that God created a plurality of worlds, at least as numerous as what wc call stars, renders the christian system of faith at once little and ridiculous, and scatters it in the mind like feathers in the air." On the con- trary, it might be proved that every sys- tem of philosophy is little in comparison of Christianity. Philosophy may expand our ideas of creation ; but it ne'ither in- inspires a love to the 7noral character of the Creator, nor a well-grounded hope of eternal life. Philosophy, at most, can only place us at the top of Pisgah : there, like Moses, we must die : it gives us no possession of the good land. It is the province of Christianity to add, " All is yours !" When you have ascended to the height of human discovery, there are things, and things of infinite moment too, that are utterly beyond its reach. Rev- elation is (he medium, and the only me- dium, by which, standing, as it were, " on nature's Alps," wc discover things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, and of which it never hath entered into the heart of man to conceive. § Nimib. xvi. 38. 176 ADDRESS TO DEISTS. CONCLUDING ADDRESSES DEISTS, JEWS, AND CHRISTIANS. Wliether the writer of these sheets can justly liope that what he advances will attract the attention of un- believers j he does not pretend to say. If, however, it should fall into the hands of individuals among them, he earnestly entreats, that for their own sakes, they would attend to what follows with seriousness. TO DEISTS. Fellow men, It is hoped that nothing in the preceding pages can be fairly construed into a want of good-will towards any of you. If I know my heart, it is not you, but your mischievous principles that are the objects of my dislike. In the former part of this performance, I have endeavored to prove that the system which you embrace overlooks the moral character of God, refuses to worship him, affords no standard of right and wrong, undermines the most efficacious motives to virtuous action, actually produces a tor- rent of vice, and leaves mankind, under all their miseries, to perish Avithout hope ; in fine, that it is an immoral system, pregnant with destruction to the human race. Un- less you be able to overlook what is there advanced, or at least be conscious that it is not true with regard to yourselves, you have reason to be seriously alarmed. To embrace a system of immorality is the same thing as to be enemies to all right- eousness, neither to fear God nor regard man ; and what good fruit you can expect to reap from it, in this world or another, it is difficult to conceive. But, alas ! in- stead of being alarmed at the immorality of your principles, is there no reason to suspect that it is on this very account you cherish themi You can occasionally praise the morality of Jesus Christ ; but are you sincere 1 Why then do you not walk by iti However you may magnify other difficulties, which you have industri- ously labored to discover in the Bible, your actions declare that it is the holiness of its doctrines and precepts that more than any thing else offends you. The manifest object at which you aim, both for yourselves and the world, is an exemption from its restraints. Your general con- duct, if put into words, amounts to this : "Come, let us break his bands, and cast away his cords from us." Circumstances of late years have much favored your design. Your party has gained the ascendency in a great nation, and has been consequently increasing in other nations. Hence it is, perhaps, that your spirits are raised, and that a higher tone is assumed in your speeches and wri- tings than has been usual on former occa- sions. You are great, you are enlighten- ed ; yes, you have found out the secret, and have only to rid the world of Chris- tianity in order to render it happy. But be not too confident. You are not the first who have set themselves against the Lord, and against his Anointed. You have over- thrown superstition ; but vaunt not against Christianity. Of a truth you have de- stroyed the gods of Rome, for they Avere no gods ; but let this suffice you. It is hard to kick against the pricks. Whatever success may attend your cause, if it be an immoral one, and es- poused on that very account, it cannot possibly stand. It must fall, and you may expect to be buried in its ruins. It may be thought sufficient for me to reason on the system itself, without descending to the motives of those who imbibe it ; but, Avhere motives are manifested by actions, they become objects of human cognizance. Nor is there any hope of your unbelief being removed, but by something that shall reach the cause of it. My desire is nei- ther to insult nor flatter, but seriously to expostulate with you ; if God peradven- ture may give you repentance to the ac- knowledgment of the truth. Three things, in particular, I Avould earnestly recommend to your serious consideration. How it Avas that you first imbibed your present principles — How it is that al- most all your writers, at one time or other, bear testimony in favor of Christianity — and. How it comes to pass that your prin- ciples fail you, as they are frequently knoAvn to do, in a dying hour. First: How avas it that you first RENOUNCED CHRISTIANITY AND IBIBIB- ED YOUR PRESENT PRINCIPLES 1 Rc- ADDRESS TO DEISTS. 177 trace the process of y'^'"" miiuls, and ask your consciences, as you proceed, wliether all was fair and upriiiiit. Nothing is more common than for persons of relaxed mor- als to attrilnite their change of conduct to a chanjic of sentiments or views relative to tiiose sutijects. It is galling to one's own feelings, and mean in the account of others, to rtc^ aij-flius^ principle: but if a person can once persuade himself to think favoral>lv of those things which he has formerly accounted sinful, and can fur- nish a plea for them, which, at least, may serve to parry tiic censures of mankind, he will feel much more at ease, and be able to put on a better face when he min- gles in society. Whatever inward stings may annoy his jieace under certain occa- sional qualms, yet he has not to reproacli himself, nor can others rei)roach him, with that inconsistency of character as in for- mer instances. Rousseau confesses he found, in the reasonings of a certain lady, with whom he lived in the gi-eatest pos- sible familiarity, all those ideas which he had occasion for. — Have you not found the same in the conversation and writings of deists 1 Did you not, previously to your rejection of Christianity, indulge in vicious courses ; and, while indulging in these courses, did not its holy precepts and awful threatenings gall your spirits 1 Were you not like persons gathering for- bidden fruit amidst showers of arrows : and had you not recourse to your present prin- ciples for a shield against them 1 If you cannot honestly answer these questions in the negative, you are in an evil case. You may flatter yourselves, for a while, that perhaps there may be no hereafter, or at least no judgment to come ; but you know the time is not far distant wiien you must go and see ; and then, if you should be mistaken, what will you do! Many of you have descended from godly parents, and have had a religious edu- cation. Has not your infidelity arisen from the dislike which you conceived in early life to religious exercises 1 Family worship was a weariness to you ; and the cautions, warnings, and counsels, which were given you, instead of having any proper effect, only irritated your corrup- tions. You longed to be from under the yoke. Since that time your parents, it may be, have been removed by death j or, if they live, they may have lost their con- trol over you. So now you are free. But still something is wanting to erase the prejudices of education, which, in spite of all your efforts, will accompany you, and embitter your present pursuits. For this purpose, a friend puts into your hands The Age of Reason, or some pro- duction of the kind. You read it with Vol. I. 23 avidity. Tliis is the very thing you wanted. You have long suspected the truth of Ciiristianity ; but had not cour- age to oppose it. Now then you are a j)hilosopher ; yes, a philosopher! "Our fathers," say you, "might be well-mean- ing people, but they were imposed upon by priests. The world gets more enlight- ened now-a-days. There is no need of such rigidncss. The Supreme Being (if tliere be one) can never have created the pleasures of life, but for tlie purpose of enjoyment. Avaunt, ye self-denying cas- uists ! Nature is the law of man !" Was not this, or something nearly resembling it, the process of your minds'? And are you now satisfied 1 I do not ask whether you have been able to defend your cause against assailants, nor wheth- er you have gained converts to your way of thinking : you may have done both ; but are you satisfied with yourselves 1 Do you really believe yourselves to be in the right wayl Have you no misgivings of heart 1 Is there not something within you which occasionally wliispers, "My parents were righteous, and I am wicked : O that my soul were in their souls' stead V Ah, young men ! If such be the occa- sional revoltings of your mind, what are you doing in laboring to gain others over to your way of thinking! Can you from experience honestly promise them peace of mind 1 Can you go about to persuade them that there is no hell, when, if you would speak tlie truth, you must acknowl- edge that you have already an earnest of it kindled in your bosoms'? If counsels were not lost upon you, I would entreat you to be contented with destroying your own souls. Have pity on your fellow- creatures, if you have none upon your- selves 1 Nay, spare yourselves so much, at least, as not to incur the everlasting execrations of your most intimate ac- quaintance. If Christianity should prove what your consciences in your most seri- ous moments tell you it is, you are doing this every day of your lives. Secondly : Consider how it is that ALMOST ALL YOUR WUITERS, AT ONE TIME OR OTHER, BEAR TESTIMONY IN FAVOR OF Christianity. It were easy to collect, from those very writings which are designed to undermine the christian religion, hundreds of testimonies in its favor. Voltaire and Rousseau, as we have seen already, have in their fits gone far towards contradicting all which they have written against it. Bolingbroke has done the same. Such sentences as the following may be found in his publica- tions : " Supposing Christianity to have been a human invention, it has been the 178 ADDRESS TO DEISTS, most amiable invention that was ever im- posed on mankind for their good. — 'Chi-is- tianlty as it came out of the hand of God, if I may use the expression, was a most simple and intelligible rule of belief, wor- ship, and manners, which is the true no- tion of a religion. — The gospel is in all cases one continued lesson of the strictest morality, of justice, of benevolence, and of universal charity."* Paine, perhaps, has said as little in this way as any of your writei-s, yet he has professed a respect for the character of Jesus Christ. "He was," says he, "a virtuous and an amiable man. The morality he preached and practised was of the most benevolent kind."t In what manner will you go about to account for these concessions '? Christian wiiters, those at least who are sincerely attached to the cause, are not seized with these fits of inconsistency. How is it that yours, like the worshipers of Baal, should thus be continually cutting them- selves with knives 1 You must either give up your leaders as a set of men who, while they are laboring to persuade the world of the hypocrisy of priests, were themselves the most infamous of all hypo- crites ; or, which will be equally fatal to your cause, you must attribute it to occa- sional convictions, which they felt and ex- pressed, though contrary to the general strain of their writings. Is it not an unfa- voral)le character of your cause, that in this particular it exactly resembles that of vice itself? Vicious men will often bear tes- timony in favor of virtue, especially on the near approach of death ; but virtuous men never return the compliment by bearing testimony in favor of vice. We are not afraid of Christians thus betraying their cause ; but neither your writers nor your consciences are to be trusted in a serious hour. Thirdly : Consider how it comes to PASS THAT YOUR PRINCIPLES FAIL YOU, AS THEY ARE FREQUENTLY KNOWN TO DO, IN A DYING HOUR. It is a rulc with wise men, "so to live as they shall wish they had when they come to die." How do you suppose you shall wish you had lived in that day 1 Look at the deaths of your greatest men, and see what their principles have done for them at last. Mark the end of that apostle and high- priest of your profession, Voltaire ; and try if you can find in it either integrity, or hope, or anything that should render it an object of envy. t Why is it that so many of you * Works, Vol. IV. pp. 394, 395. Vol. V. pp. 188, 189. + Age of Reason, Part I. p. 5. ^ The following particulars, among many others, are recorded of this writer by his biographer, Con- faint in the day of trial 1 If your cause were good, you would defend it with up- rightness, and die with inward satis- faction. But is it sol Mr. Paine flat- ters himself that his principles will bear him up in the prospect of death ;§ and it is possible that he may brave it out in some such manner as David Hume did. Such instances, however, are rare. For one unbeliever that maintains his courage, many might be produced whose hearts have failed them, and who have trembled for the consequences of their infidelity. On the other hand, you cannot produce a single instance of a Christian, who at the approach of death was troubled or terrifi- ed in conscience for having been a Chris- tian. Many have been afraid in that day lest their faith in Christ should not prove genuine ; but who that has put their trust in him was ever known to be apprehensive lest he should at last deceive him 1 Can you account for this differenced If you have discovered the true religion, and ours be all fable and imposture, how comes it to pass that the issue of things is what it is 1 Do gold and silver and precious stones perish in the fire 1 and do wood and hay and stubble endure it "? I have admitted that Mr. Paine may possibly brave it out to the last ; but, if he does, his courage may be merely assu- med. Pride will induce men to disguise the genuine feelings of their hearts on more occasions than one. We hear much of courage among duelists ; but little credit is due to what they say, if, while the words proceed from their lips, we see them ap- proach each other with paleness and tremb- ling. Yea more, if Mr. Paine's courage in death be not different from what it al- ready is in the prospect of it, it certainly ivill be merely assumed. He has given full proof of what his courage amounts to dorcet, a man after his own' heart. First: That he conceived the design of overturn-ing the christian religion, and that by liis own hand. " I am weari- ed," said he, " of hearing it repeated that twelve men were sufficient to establish Christianity; and I wish to prove there needs but one to destroy it." Sec- ondly: That in pursuit of this object he was threat- ened with a persecution, to avoid which he received the sacrament, and publicly declared his respect for the church, and his disdain of his detractors, namely, those who had called in question his Christianity ! Thirdly: That in his last illness, in Paris, being de- sirous of obtaining what is called christian burial, he sent for a priest, to whom he declared that he " died in the Catholic faith, in which he was born. " Fourthly: That another priest (Curate of the parish) troubled him with questions. Among oiher things he asked, " Do you believe the divinity of Jesus Christ !" " In die name of God, Sir," replied Voltaire, "speak to me no more of that man, but let me die in peace." § Age of Reason, Part II. Preface. ADDRESS TO DEISTS. 179 in what he has advancotl on the certuinty of a future state. He atkiiowledges the possibility of a future judiriuent ; yea, he admits it to be rational to l>elieve that there will be one. " The power," he says, "that called us into being, can, if he please, and wlien he pleases, call us to ac- count for the maimer in which we have lived here ; and therefore, without seek- inir any further motive for the belief, it is rational to believe that he will, for we know beforehand that he can."' I shall not stop to incpiire into tlie justness of Mr. Paine's reasonings from what God can do to wliat he will (lo ; it is sulTicient for me that he admits it to be " rational to believe that God will call men to account for the manner in wliich they have lived here." And can he admit this trutli, and not tremble'? Mark his firmness. After ac- knowledging tliat a future judgment is the object of rational belief, he retracts what he has said by reducing it to only i\ prob- ability, which is to have the influence of liclief ; yea, and as if that were loo terri- ble an idea, he brings it down to a mere possibility. The reason which he gives for these reductions is, that "If we knew it as a fact Ave should be tiie mere slaves of terror." Indeed! But wherefore 1 Christians believe in a judgment to come, and they are not the slaves of terror. They. have an Advocate as well as a Judge, by believing in whom the terror of judgment is removed. And though Mr. Paine re- jects this ground of consolation, yet, if things be as he has represented them, I do not perceive why he should be terrified. He writes as though he stood on a very respectable footing with his Creator; he is not " an out-cast, a beggar, or a worni : " he needs no mediator-, no indeed! He " stands in the same relative condition with his Maker he ever did stand since man ex- isted."! Very well : of what then is he afraid 1 "God is good, and will exceed the very best of us in goodness." On this ground. Lord Shaftesbury assures us, "Deists can have no dread or suspicion to render them uneasy ; for it is malice on- ly, and not goodness, which can make them afraid. "t Very well, I say again, of what then is Mr. Paine afraid 1 If a Being full of goodness will not hurt him, he will not be hurt. Why should he be terrified at a certain hereafter. Why not meet his * Age of Reason, Part II. p. 100. ■f Age of Reason, Part I. p. 21. j Characteristics, Vol. I. § 5. Creator witli cheerfulness and confidence 1 Instead of this, he knows of no method by which he may be exempted from terror l)ut that of reducing future judgment to a mere possibility ; leaving room for some faint hope, at least, that what he professes to believe as true may, in the end, prove false. Such is the courage of your l)lus- tering hero. Unhappy man; unhappy people ! Your principles will not sui)port you in deatii, nor so much as in the cou- templation of an hereafter. Let Mr. Paine's hypotiiesis be admitted, and that in its lowest form, that tliere is only n possibility of a judgment to come, this is sufhcient to evince your folly, and, if you thought on the subject, to destroy your peace. This alone has induced many of you in your last moments to wish that you had lived like Christians. If it be possible that there maybe a judgment to come, why should it not be equally possi- ble that Christianity itself may be truel And, if it should, on what ground do you stand ] If it be otherwise, Christians have nothing to fear. While they are taught to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in tlie present world, whatever may prove true with respect to another, it is presumed they are safe ; but if tliat Savior whom you have despised should be indeed the Son of God — if that name which you have blas- phemed should be the only one given un- der heaven and among men by w hich you can be saved — what a situation must you be in! You may wish at present not to be told of him ; yea, even in death it may be a vexation, as it was to Voltaire, to hear of him; but hear of him you must, and, what is more, you must appear before him. I cannot conclude this address without expressing my earnest desire for your sal- vation; and, whether you will hear or whether you will forliear, reminding you that our Redeemer is merciful. He can have compassion on the ignorant, and them who are out of the way. The door of mercy is not yet shut. At present you are invited and even entreated to enter in. But, if you still continue hardened against him, you may find to your cost that the abuse of mercy gives an edge to justice ; and that to be crushed to atoms by falling rocks, or buried in oblivion at the bottom of mountains, were rather to be chosen than an exposure to the wrath of the Lamb. 180 ADDRESS TO THE JEWS. TO THE JEWS. Beloved for the Fathers' sakes ! He whom you have long rejected look- ed upon Jerusalem and wept over it. With tears he pronounced upon that fa- mous city a doom, which according to your own writer, Josephus, was soon af- terwards accomplished. In imitation of our Lord and Savior we also could weep over your present situation. There are thousands in Britain, as well as in other nations, whose daily prayer is, that you may be saved. Hear me patiently, and candidly. Your present and everlasting good is the object of my desire. It is not my design, in this brief ad- dress, to go over the various topics in dis- pute between us. Many have engaged in this work, and I hope to some good pur- pose. The late addresses to you, both from the pulpit and the press, as they were dictated by pure benevolence, cer- tainly deserve, and I trust have gained, in some degree, your candid attention. All I shall say will be comprised in a few sug- gestions, which I suppose to arise from the subject of the preceding pages. You have long sojourned among men who have been called Christians. You have seen much evil in them, and they have seen much in you. The history of your own nation, and that of every other, confirms one of the leading doctrines of both your and our Scriptures — the depravi- ty of human nature. But, in your com- merce with mankind, you must have had opportunity of distinguishing between nominal and serious Christians. Great numbers in your nation, even in its best days, were wicked men; and great num- bers in every nation, at present, are the same. But cannot you perceive a people scattered through various denominations of Christians, who fear God and regard man ; who instead of treating you with a haughty contempt, as being strangers scattered among the nations, discover a tender regard towards you on that very account ; who, while they are grieved for the hardness of your hearts, and hurt at your scornful rejection of Him v/hom their soul loveth, are nevertheless ardently de- sirous of your salvation 1 Are you not acquainted with CIn-istians whose utmost revenge, could they have their will of you, for all your hard speeches, would be to be instrumental in turning you from what they believe to be the power of Satan, un- to God 1 Let me farther appeal to you. Whether Christians of this description be not the true children of Abraham, the true suc- cessors of your patriarchs and prophets, rather than those of an opposite spirit, though literally descended from their loins. You must be aware that, even in the times of David, a genuine Israelite was a man of a pure heart ; and, in the times of the prophets, apostate Israelites were ac- counted as "Ethiopians."* Your ances- tors were men of whom the world was not Avorthy : but where will you now look for such characters among you as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; as Samuel, David, Hez- ekiah, and Josiah ; as Daniel, Ezra, Ne- hemiah, and many others 1 While you garnish their sepulchres, have you not manifestly lost their spirit 1 This is a fact that ought to alarm you, and lead you seriously to examine whether you have not forsaken their faith. One thing, which has particularly struck my mind, I would earnestly recommend to your considera- tion ; namely, the temper of modern Infi- dels toioards your fathers, towards you, and toioards us. You need not be told that deistical wri- ters invariably treat your fathers with scorn and dislike. Just as Appion and other Greek writers poured contempt up- on your nation ; just as the more ancient " Moabites " reproached, and "proudly magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of Hosts ; "f so do all our modern Infidels. But from the time that your fathers rejected Him in whom we believe as the Lord Messiah, though you have been exposed to the chastisements of heaven,^ and to much injurious treatment from pretended Christians ; yet deists, the common enemies of revelation, have been, comparatively speaking, reconciled to you. So, however, it appears to me. I do not recollect to have met with a sin- gle reflection upon you in any of their writings. On the contrary, they seem to feel themselves near akin to you. Your enmity to Jesus seems to be the price of their forgiveness : like Herod and Pontius Pilate, you became friends in the day of his crucifixion. Mr. Paine, though his writings abound in sneers against your na- tion prior to its rejection of Christ, yet appears to be well reconciled to you, and willing to admit your lame account of the body of Jesus being stolen away.t Ought you not to be alarmed at these things 1 Se- riously examine whether you have not for- saken the God of your fathers, and be- come the friends and allies of men who hate both him and them. The hatred of Infidels has long been transferred from you to us. Whether, in the language of the New Testament, we * Amos ix. 7. t Zeph. ii. 10. t Age of Reason, Part I. pp. 6, 7. ADDRESS TO CHRISTIANS. ISl be the true "children of Abraham," or not, we inlierit lluit reproacli and dislike from unhclievers uhith was iicrctofbre (he portion of the godly Israelites. On what account were jour lathers hated l>y the practical atheists of tiieir day ] Was it not because of their devotedness to God 1 It was this in David that |)rovoked the re- sentment of tlii^ ciiildren ol Belial, and rendered them his determined enemies. They were continually jeerinjj at his pray- ers, his tears and his trust in Jehovah ; turninsi tliat wiiicii in reality \vas his ^lo- ry into shame ; and afflictinij him in his af- fliction, by scornfully incjuiring, "Where is thy God 1 "* Such is the treatment which the godly part of your nation re- ceived in all aues, both from heathens abroad and impious characters at home;t and such is the treatment which serious Christians continue to receive from unj^od- ly men to tiiis day : but are you hated ami reproached on tliis account ? Of late years it has been frequently pleaded that the principal objections to your embracinff the christian religion are found in the doctrines of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and atonement by his death ; doctrines which the greater part of Christians hold to be taught in tiie New Testament. But those who impute your conduct to these causes must have nearly as mean an opinion of your rationality as they have of ours, with whom, they say, "there is no reasoning; and that we are to be pitied, and considered as under a debility of mind in one respect, however sensible and rational in others. "| What have the principles, which in our judgment are taught in the New Testament, to do with your acknowledging Jesus to be the Messiah, and the christian religion to be of God ] Let these positions be admit- ted, and examine the New Testament for yourselves. If you were not consider- ed as possessing a sufficient degree of good sense to distinguish between Christi- anity and the creed of any particular party of Christians, it is surprising that "Ra- tional Christians " should think of writing addresses to you. For our parts, we could almost be satisfied that you should decide the controversy, whether the doc- trines before mentioned be taught in the New Testament, or not. As to removing these stumbling-blocks, as some call them, out of your way, we have no inclination to attempt it. Only imbibe the spirit of your ancestors, and they will presently cease to be stumbling-blocks. Believe Moses, and you will believe Jesus ; and * Psa. xxii. 8; iv. 2 ; xlii. 3; xl. 15. fPsa. Ixix. 10 ; cxv. 2. Joelii. J7. Micahvii. 8—10. Jsa. Ixvi. 5. t Lindsev's Cateclii-sts, Inquify 6. believing Jesus, neither his claiming to be the " Son of God," and consequently " equal with God," nor his insisting upon his " flesh being the life of the world," will offend you. On the contrary, when- ever the spirit of grace and of supplica- tions is poured out upon you, and you come to look on him whom you have pierced, and mourn, you will join in the worsiiip of him ; and the doctrine of atone- ment will be to you a fountain set open for sin and uncleanncss.§ You live in expectation of being restored to your own land. We expect the same thing, and rejoice in the belief of it. The Old and the New Testament agree in pre- dicting it. || But the same prophets that have foretold your return to Canaan have also foretold that you must be brought to " repent of your sins, and to seek Jehovah your God, and David your king."1I Your holy land will avail you but little, unless you be a holy people. Finally : You admit, I suppose, that though we should err in believing Jesus to lie the Messiah, yet while we deny un- godliness and worldly lusts, and live so- berly, righteously and godly, in this pres- ent world, it is an error that may not affect our eternal salvation : but, if the er- ror be on your side, on what ground do you standi Your fathers, in this case, were murderers of the Prince of Life ; and, by adopting their principles, you make the deed your own. His Idoodlies upon you, and upon your children. The terrible destruction of your city by the Romans, and the hardness of heart to which you have been given up, are symptoms of that wrath which is to come upon you to the uttermost. Repent and l)elieve the Gos- pel, that you may escape the wrath to come ! TO CHRISTIANS. Beloved Brethren ! It is witnessed of David, (hat he " served the will of God in his genera- tion." Every generation has i(s peculiar work. The present age is distinguished, you know, by the progress of infidelity. We have long been exempted from perse- cution ; and he whose fan is in his hand, perceiving his floor to stand in need of purging, seems determined by new trials to purge it. The present is a winnowing time. If we wish to serve the will of God § Ezek. xxxvii. Luke xxi. 2f. II Zech. xii. 10—14; xlii. 1. IT IIos. iii. 5. 182 ADDRESS TO CHRISTIANS. in it, we must carefully attend to those du- ties which such a state of things imposes upon us. In the first place, Let us look well to the sincerity of our hearts; and see to it that our Chrisiianity is vital, practical, and decided. An army called to engage after a long peace requires to be examined, and every one should examine himself. Many become soldiers when danger is at a dis- tance. The mighty host of Midianites were overcome by a selected band. A proclamation Avas issued through the army of Israel, " Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return;" and, after a great diminution from cowardice, the rest must be brought down to the water to be tried. Such, or nearly such, may be the trials of the church : those who overcome may be reduced to a small company in comparison of those who have borne the christian name. So indeed the Scriptures inform us. They that obtain the victory with Christ are " called, and chosen, and faithful."* The manner in which things of late ages have moved on, in the religious world, has been such as to admit of a larger outer- court, if I may so speak, for a sort of half- worshipers. A general religious reputa- tion has been hitherto obtained at a small expense. But should infidelity prevail throughout Christendom, as it has in France, the nominal extent of the chris- tian church will be greatly reduced. In taking its dimensions, the outer-court, will, as it were, be left out and given to the Gentiles. In this case, you must come in or keep out ; be one thing or another ; a decided friend of Christ or an avowed infidel. It is possible the time may come when all parties will be re- duced, in effect, to two — believers and un- believers. "Never," says a late masterly and moving writer, " were times more event- ful and critical, than at present ; never were appearances more singular and inter- esting, in the political or in the religious world. You behold, on the one hand, in- fidelity with dreadful irruption extending its ravages far and wide ; and, on the eth- er, an amazing accession of zeal and ac- tivity to the cause of Christianity. Error in all its forms is assiduously and success- fully propagated ; but the progress of evangelical ti'uth is also great. The num- ber of the apparently neutral party daily diminishes ; and men are now either be- coming worshipers of the God and Fa- ther of our Lord Jesus Clmst, or receding fast through the mists of scepticism into the dreary regions of speculative and prac- tical atheism. It seems as if Christianity and Infidelity were mustering each the host of the battle, and preparing for some great day of God. The enemy is come in like a flood : but the Spirit of the Lord hath lifted up a standard against him. ' Who, then, is on the Lord's side 1 who 1 — Let him come forth to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty ! ' " f Secondly : Let a good understanding be cultivated among sincere Christians of dif- ferent denominations. Let the friends of Christ know one another ; and let not slighter shades of difference keep them at variance. The enemies of Christianity know how to avail themselves of our dis- cords. The union which is here recom- mended, however, is not a merely nominal one, much less one that requires a sacri- fice of principle. Let us unite, so far as we can act in concert, in promoting the in- terest of Christ; and hold ourselves open to conviction with regard to other things. Let not the free discussion of our differ- ences be laid aside, or any such connection formed as shall require it : only let them be conducted with modesty, frankness, and candor, and the godly will find their account in them. Let it be the great con- cern of all, not so much to maintain their own peculiarities, as to know and practise the truth ; not so much to yield, and come nearer to other denominations, as to ap- proximate towards the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ, as expressed in his doctrines and precepts, must be the cen- tral point in which we meet : as we ap- proach this, we shall come nearer to each otlier. So much agreement as there is among us, so much is there of union, and so much agreement as there is in the mind of Christ, so much of christian union. Finally : Let not the heart of any man fail him, on account oj the high tone and scornful airs assumed by Infidels. The I'eign of infidelity may be extensive, but it must be short. It carries in it the seeds of its own dissolution. Its immoralities are such that the world cannot long sus- tain them. Scripture prophecy has clear- ly foretold all the great governments of the world, from the time of the Jewish Captivity to this day — the Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman ; to- gether with the ten kingdoms into which the last of these empires has been divided, and the Papal government which sprung up among them ; but it makes no explicit mention of this. It has no individual sub- sistence given it in the system of prophecy. It is not a " beast," but a mere pu- trid excrescence of the papal beast — an excrescence which, though it may diffuse * Rev. xvii. 14. t Fenier's Two Discourses at Paisley, in June, 1798. ADDRESS TO CHRISTIANS. 183 death through every vein of the body on which it grew, yet shall die along with it. "The beast," and all wluch pertains to him, " goeth into perdition."* There is no space of time allowed lor this govern- ment: no sooner is it said, " Baliylon is fallen," than voices arc heard in heaven declaring that " the marriage of the Lamb is come." No sooner does "the judg- ment sit, to take away the dominion of the little horn, to consume and to destroy it unto the end," than it follows, "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High."t * Rev. xvii. 8. 11. f Dan. vii. 26, 27. The writer has since read a very able discourse by Mr. Nathan Strong, of Connecticut, entitled "Political Instructions from the Prophecies of God's Word; " in which the above sentiments are stated with great force of evidence. Popery is not yet destroyed, though it has received a deadly blow ; and from wliat is said of the little horn, that they shall take away his dominion, "to consume and to destroy it unto the end," it should seem that its overthrow will be gradual. While this is accomplishing, the reign of inlideli- ty may continue, with various success; but no longer. Only let us "watch and keep our garments clean" (a caution giv- en, it is probable, with immediate refer- ence to the present times,) and we have notliing to fear. It is a source of great con- solation that the last of the four beasts, which for more thaii two thousand years have persecuted the church, and oppressed mankind, is drawing near to its end. The government that shall next prevail will be that of Christ, " whose kingdom is an ev- erlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Even so. Amen. Blessed be his glorious name forever ; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen! " THE CALVINISTIC AND SOCINIAN SYSTEMS EXAMINED AND COMPARED, AS TO THEIR MORAL TENDENCY : IN A SERIES OF LETTERS, ADDRESSED TO THE FRIENDS OF VITAL AND PRACTICAL RELIGION. TO WHICH IS ADDED A POSTSCRIPT, ESTABLISHING THE PRINCIPLE OF THE WORK, AGAINST THE EXCEPTIONS OP DR. TOULMIN, MR. BELSHAM, &C. VOL. I. 24 PREFACE. The following Letters are addressed to the friends of vital and practical religion, because the author is persuaded that the very essence of true piety is concerned in this controversy ; and that godly men are the only proper judges of divine truth, being the only humble, upright, and earnest inquirers after it. So far from thinking, with Dr. Priestley, that " an unbiassed temper of mind is attained in consequence of becoming more indifferent to religion in general, and to all the modes and doctrines of it," he is satistied that persons of that description have a most powerful bias against the truth. Though it were admitted that false principles, accompanied with a bigoted attachment to them, are worse than none ; yet he cannot admit that irreli- gious men are destitute of principles. He has no notion of human minds being unoc- cupied or indifferent : he that is not a friend to religion in ajiy mode is an enemy to it in all modes; he is a libertine ; he " doeth evil," and, therefore, "hateth the light." And shall we compliment such a character, by acknowledging him to be in " a favorable situation for distinguishing between truth and falsehood!"* God forbid! It is "he that doeth his will that shall know of his doctrine." The humble, the can- did, the upright inquirers after truth, are the persons w ho are likely to find it ; and to them the author takes the liberty to appeal. The principal occasion of these Letters was the last union among Protestant Dis- senters, in reference to civil affairs, having been the source of various misconceptions, and, as the writer apprehends, improved as a means of disseminating Socinian prin- ciples. In the late application to Parliament, for the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, the Dissenters have united, without any respect to their doctrinal principles. They considered that they were applying merely for a civil right ; and that, in such an application, difference in theological sentiments had no more concern than it has in the union of a nation under one civil head, or form of government. This union, however, has become an occasion of many reflections. Serious men of the Established Church have expressed their surprise that some Dissenters could unite with others, so opposite in their religious principles ; and, had the union been of a religious nature, it must, indeed, have been surprising. Others have supposed that the main body of Dissenters had either imbibed the Socinian system, or were hastily approaching toward? it. Whether the suggestion of Dr. Horsley, that " the genuine * Discovirses on Various Subjects, p. 95. 188 PREFACE. Calvinists, among our modern Dissenters, are very few," has contributed to this opinion, or whatever be its origin, it is far from being just. Every one who knows the Dissenters, knows that the body of them are what is commonly called orthodox. Dr. Priestley, who is well known to be sufficiently sanguine in estimating the num- bers of his party — so sanguine that, when speaking of the common people of this coun- try, he reckons " nine out of ten of them would prefer a Unitarian to a Trinitarian liturgy ;"* yet acknowledges, in regard to the Dissenters, that Unitarians are by far the minority. In Birmingham, where the proportion of their number to the rest of the Dissenters is greater than in any other town in the kingdom, it appears, from Dr. Priestley's account of the matter, that those called orthodox are nearly three to one : and, throughout England and Wales, they have been supposed to be " as two, if not as three to one, to the Socinians and Arians inclusive. "f If Dr. Horsley found it necessary, in support of his cause, to overturn Dr. Priest- ley's assertion, that " great bodies of men do not change their opinions in a small space of time," some think he might have found an example, more to his purpose than that of the body of Dissenters having deserted their former principles, in the well-known change of the major part of the Church of England, who, about the time of the Arch- bishop Laud, went off from Calvinism to Arminianism. Had this example been ad- duced, his antagonist might have found some difficulty in maintaining his ground against him ; as it is an undoubted fact, and a fact which he himself acknowledges, with several others of the kind.]; The supposition, however, of the Dissenters being generally gone, or going off, to Socinianism, though far from just, has not been without its apparent grounds. The consequence which Socinians have assumed, in papers and pamphlets which have been circulated about the country, has afforded room for such a supposition. It has not been very uncommon for them to speak of themselves as the Dissenters, the Modern Dissenters, &c. It was said, in a paper that was published more than once, "The ancient, like the Modern Dissenters, ivorshiped one God; they knew nothing of the Nicene or Athanasian creeds." The celebrated authoress of The Ad- dress to the Opposers of the Repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts is not clear in this matter. That otherwise admirable performance is tinged with the pride of party consequence. " We thank you, gentlemen," she says, " for the compliment paid the Dissenters, when you suppose that, the moment they are eligible to places of power and profit, all such places will at once be filled with them. We had not the presump- tion (o imagine that, inconsiderable as we are in numbers, compared to the Establish- ed Church ; inferior, too, in fortune and influence ; laboring, as we do, under the frowns of the court and the anathema of the orthodox; we should make our way so readily into the recesses of royal favor." Even the Monthly Reviewers, though they have borne testimony against mingling doctrinal disputes with those of the repeal of the Test laws ;§ yet have sometimes spoken of Dissenters and Socinians as if they were terms of the same meaning and extent. "It appears to us as absurd," they say, "to charge the I'eligious principles of the Dissenters with republicanism, as it would be to advance the same accusation against the Newtonian philosophy. The * Defense of Unitaiianlsin, for 1786, p. 61. t See Dr. Priestley's Familiar Letters to the Inhabitants of Birmingham, Letters IIL XL Also Mr. Parry's Remarks on the Resohitions of the Warwick Meeting. t See Letter IIL § Monthly Review Enlarged, Vol. I. p. 233. PREFACE. 189 doctrine of gravitation may as well be deemed dangerous to tlie state as Socini- ANISM."* Is it unnatural, from such representations as these, for those who know but little of us to consider the Socinians as constituting the main body of the Dissenters, and the Calvinists as only a few stragglers, who follow these leading men at a distance in all their measures ; but whose numbers and consequence are so small that even the mention of their names, among Protestant Dissenters, may very well be omitted 1 This, however, as it only affects our reputation, or, at most, can only impede the repeal of the Test laws, by strengthening a prejudice too strong already, against the whole body of Dissenters, might be overlooked. But this is not all : it is pretty evident that the union among us, in civil matters, has been improved for the purpose of disseminating religious principles. At one of the most public meetings for the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, as the author was credibly informed, Socin- ian peculiarities were advanced, which passed unnoticed, because those of contrary principles did not choose to interrupt the harmony of the meeting, by turning the attention of gentlemen from the immediate object for which they were assembled. What end could Dr. Priestley have in introducing so much about the Test Acts in his controversy with Mr. Burn, on the person of Christ, except it were to gild the pill, and make it go down the easier with Calvinistic Dissenters 1 The writer of these Letters does not blame the Dissenters of his own persuasion for uniting with the Socinians. In civil matters, he thinks it lawful to unite with men, be their religious principles what they may; but he, and many others, would be very sorry if a union of this kind should prove an occasion of abating our zeal for those religious principles which we consider as being of the very essence of the gospel. The term Socinians is preferred in the following Letters to that of Unitarians, not for theme an purpose of reproach, but because the latter name is not a fair one. The term, as constantly explained by themselves, signifies those professors of Christianity who loorship but one God : but this is not that wherein they can be allowed to be distinguished from others. For what professors of Christianity are there, who pro- fess to worship a plurality of Godsl Trinitarians profess also to be Unitarians. They, as well as their opponents, believe there is but one God. To give Socinians this name, therefore, exclusively, would be granting them the very point which they seem so desirous to take for granted ; that is to say, the point in debate. Names, it may be said, signify little; and this signifies no more on one side, than the term orthodox does on the other. The writer owns tliat, when he first conceived the idea of publishing these Letters, he thought so ; and intended, all along, to use the term Unitarians. What made him alter his mind was, his observing that the principal writers in that scheme have frequently availed themselves of the above name, and appear to wish to have it tliought, by their readers, that the point in dispute be- tween them and the Trinitarians is. Whether there be three Gods or only one. If he had thought the use of the term Unitarians consistent with justice to his own argument, he would have preferred it to that of Socinians ; and would also have been glad of a term to express the system which he has defended, instead of calling it after the name of Calvin; as he is aware that calling ourselves after the names of men, (though it be merely to avoid circumlocution,) is liable to be understood as giving *MontliIy Review Enlarged, 1790, p. 247. 190 PREFACE. them an authority which is inconsistent with a conformity to our Lord's command, " Call no man master upon earth ; for one is your master, even Christ." He may add that the substance of the following Letters was written before the riots at Birmingham. His regard to justice and humanity made him feel much, on that occasion, for Dr. Priestley, and others who suffered with him ; but his regard to what he esteems important truth made him feel more. The injury which a doctrine receives from those who would support it by the unhallowed hands of plunder and persecution is far greater, in the esteem of many, than it can receive from the efforts of its avowed adversaries. For his own part, he has generally supposed that both the contrivers and executers of that iniquitous business, call themselves what they will, were men of no principle. If, however, those of the high-church party, who, instead of disavowing the spirit and conduct of the misguided populace, have mani- festly exulted in it, must be reckoned among the Trinitarians, he has only to say they are such Trinitarians as he utterly disapproves, and concerning whom he cannot so well express his sentiments and feelings as in the words of the patriarch : "Instru- ments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united : for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce ; and their wrath, for it was cruel." Detestable, however, as were the riots at Birmingham, no one can plead that they render the religious principles of Dr. Priestley less erroneous, or less pernicious ; or an opposition to them, upon the fair ground of argument, less necessary. On the contrary, the mere circumstance of his being a persecuted man will have its influence on some people, and incline them not only to feel for the man, the gentleman, and the philosopher, (all which is right) : but to think favorably of his religious opinions. On this consideration, if the following Letters would, previous to that event, have been in any degree proper and seasonable, they are not, by anything that has since occurred, become improper, or unseasonable. Since the first edition, the author has attempted, in some places, to strengthen his argument, and to remove such objections as have hitheito occurred. The principal additions will be found in Letters IV. and XV. The Note, towards the latter end of the former, was occasioned by a report that Dr. Priestley complained of being misrepresented by the quotation in the first page of the Preface. This Note contains a vindication, not only of the fairness of the quotation from Dr. Priestley, but of another, to the same purpose, from Mr. Belsham ; and an answer to what is advanced on its behalf in the Monthly Review. 1802. THE CALVINISTIC AND SOCINIAN SYSTEMS COMPARED. LETTER I. introduction and general remarks. Christian Brethren, Much has been written of late years on the Socinian controversy ; so much that the attention of the christian world has, to a considerable degree, been drawn to- wards it. There is no reason, however, for considering this circumstance as a mat- ter of wonder, or of regret. Not of v^on- der ; for, supposing the deity and atone- ment of Christ to be divine truths, they are of such importance in the Christian scheme as to induce the adversaries of the gospel to bend their main force against them, as against the rock on xohich Christ hath built his church. Not of regret ; for, whatever partial evils may arise ft-om a full discussion of a subject, the interests of truth will, doubtless, in the end prevail ; and the prevalence of truth is a good that will outweigh all the ills that may have at- tended its discovery. Controversy en- gages a number of persons of different tal- ents and turns of mind ; and by this means the subject is likely to be considered in every view in which it is capable of being exhibited to advantage. The point of light in which the subject will be considered in these Letters, name- ly, as influencing the heart and life, has been frequently glanced at on both sides. I do not recollect, however, to have seen this view of it professedly and separately handled. In the great controversy, in the time of Elijah, recourse was had to an expedient by which the question was decided. Each party built an altar, cut in pieces a bul- lock, and laid the victim upon the wood, but put no fire under ; and the God that should answer by fire was to be acknowl- edged as the true God. We cannot bring our controversies to such a criterion as this : we may bring them to one, however, which, though not so suddenly, is not much less sensibly evident. The tempers and lives of men are books for common people to read ; and they will read them, even though they should read nothing else. They are, indeed, warranted by the Scrip- tures themselves to judge of the natu]Uiii[|~ doctrines, by their holy or unholy tenden- cy. The true gospel is to be known by its being a " doctrine according to godli- ness ; " teaching those who embrace it "to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world." Those, on the other hand, "who believe not the truth," are said to " have pleasure in unrighteous- ness." " Profane and vain babblings," as the ministrations of false teachers are call- ed, "will increase unto more ungodli- ness," and their word " will eat as doth a canker." To this may be added, that the parties themselves, engaged in this contro- versy, have virtually acknowledged the justice and importance of the above cri- terion, in that both sides have incidentally endeavored to avail themselves of it. A criterion, then, by which the common peo- ple will judge, by which the Scripture au- thorizes them to judge, and by which both sides, in effect, agree to bejudged, cannot but be worthy of particular attention. I feel, for my own part, satisfied, not on- ly of the truth and importance of the doc- trines in question, but also of their holy tendency. I am aware, however, that oth- ers think differently, and that a consider- able part of what I have to advance must be on the defensive. " Admitting the truth," says Dr. Priest- ley, "of a trinity of persons in the God- head, original sin, arbitrary predestination, atonement by the death of Christ, and the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures ; their value, estimated by their influence on the morals of men, cannot be supposed, even by the admirers of them, to be of any moment, compared to the doctrine of the resurrection of the human race to a life of retribution : and, in the opinion of 192 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. tliose who reject them, they have a very uni'avoiable tendency ; giving wrong im- pressions concerning the character and moral government of God, and such as might tend, if they have any effect, to re- lax the obligations of virtue."* In many instances Dr. Priestley deserves applau'='e for his frankness and fairness as a disputant : in this 'passage, however, as well as in some others, the admirers of the doctrines lie mentions are unfairly repre- sented. They who embrace the other doctrines are supposed to hold that of ar- bitrary predestination ; but this supposi- tion is not true. The term arbitrary con- veys the idea of caprice ; and, in this con- nection, denotes that in predestination, according to the Calvinistic notion of it, God resolves upon the fates of men, and appoints them to this or that, without any reason for so doing. But there is no jus- tice in this representation. There is no decree in the divine mind that we consider as void of reason. Predestination to death is on account of sin ; and as to predestina- tion to life, though it be not on account of any works of righteousness which we have done, yet it does not follow that God has no reason whatever for what he does. The sovereignty of God is a ivise, and not a capricious sovereignty. If he hide the glory of the gospel from the wise and pru- dent, and reveal it unto babes, it is because it seemeth good in his sight. But, if it seem good in the sight of God, it must, all things considered, be good ; for " the judgment of God is according to truth." It is asserted also, that the admirers of the forementioned doctrines cannot, and do not, consider them as of equal impor- tance with that of the resurrection of the human race to a life of retribution. But this, I am satisfied, is not the case ; for, whatever Dr. Priestley may think, they consider them, or at least some of them, as essential to true holiness ; and of such consequence, even to the doctrine of the resurrection of the human race to a life of retribution, that, without them, such a res- urrection would be a curse to mankind, rather than a blessing. There is one thing, however, in the above passage wherein we all unite ; and this is — that the valxje or importance of religious principles is to be estimated by their influence on the morals of men. By this rule, let the forementioned doctrines, with their opposites, be tried. If either those or these will not abide the trial, they ought to be rejected. Before we enter upon a particular ex- amination of the subject, however, I would * Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever, Part II. pp. 33, 35 make three or four general observa- tions. First : Whatever Dr. Priestley or any others have said of the immoral tendency of our principles, I am persuaded that I may take it for granted they do not mean to suggest that we are not good members of civil society, or worthy of the most per- fect toleration in the state ; nor have I any such meaning in what may be suggested concerning theirs. I do not know any re- ligious denomination of men who are un- worthy of civil protection. So long as their practices do not disturb the peace of society, and there be nothing in their avowed principles inconsistent with their giving security for their good behavior, they, doubtless, ought to be protected in the enjoyment of every civil right to which their fellow -citizens at large are entitled. Secondly : It is not the bad conduct of a few individuals, in any denomination of Christians, that proves any thing on either side ; even though they may be zealous advocates for the peculiar tenets of the party which they espouse. It is the con- duct of the general body from which we ought to form our estimate. That there are men of bad character who attend on our preaching is not denied; perhaps some of the worst : but, if it be so, it proves nothing to the dishonor of our principles. Those who, in the first ages of Christianity, were not humbled by the gospel, were generally hardened by it. Nay, were it allowed that we have a greater number of hypocrites than the Socinians, (as it has been insinuated that the hypocrisy and preciseness of some people afford matter of just disgust to speculative Unitarians,) I do not think this supposition, any more than the other, dishonorable to our princi- ples. The defect of hypocrites lies not so much in the thing professed, as in the sincerity of their profession. The thing professed may be excellent, and, per- haps, is the more likely to be so from its being counterfeited ; for it is not usual to counterfeit things of no value. Those persons who entertain low and diminutive ideas of the evil of sin and the dignity of Christ must, in order to be thought reli- gious by us, counterfeit the contrary ; but, among Socinians, the same persons may avow those ideas, and be caressed for it. That temper of mind which we suppose common to men, as being that which they possess by nature, needs not to be dis- guised among them, in order to be well thought of : they have, therefore, no great temptations to hypocrisy. The question in hand, however, is not — What influence either our principles or theirs have upon persons who do not in reality adopt them ; IltTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 193 but what influence they have upon those who do.* Tliinlly : It is not the good conduct of a lew individuals, on either side, that will prove any thing;. Some iiave adopted a false creed, and retain it in words, who yet never enter into the spirit of it, and consequently do not act upon it. But merely dormant opinions can hardly l)e called principles ; those rather seem to he a man's principles which lie at the founda- tion of his spirit and conduct. Farther, good men are found in denominations whose principles are very bad ; and good men, by whatever names they are called, arc more nearly of a sentiment than they are frequently aware of. Take two of them,_who diifcr the most in words, and bring them upon their knees in prayer, and they will be nearly agreed. Besides, a great deal of that which passes for virtue amongst men is not so in the sight of God, who sees things as they arc. It is no more than may be accounted for without bringing religion or virtue into the (jucstion. There are motives and considerations which will commonly influence men, liv- ing in society, to behave with decorum. Various occupations and pursuits, espe- cially those of a mental and religious kind, are inconsistent with profligacy of man- ners. " False apostles,'^ the very " min- isters of Satan," are said to "transform themselves into the apostles of Christ," and to appear as the "ministers of right- eousness ; " even as "Satan himself is transformed intoan angel of light." There are certain vices, which, being inconsistent with others, may be the means of restrain- ing them. Covetousness may be the cause of sobriety; and pride restrains thousands from base and ignoble gratifications, in which, nevertheless their hearts take se- cret and supreme delight. A decent con- duct has been found in Pharisees, in Infi- dels, nay, even in Atheists. Dr. Priestley acknowledges that " An Atheist may be temperate, good-natured, honest, and, in the less-extended sense of the word, a * Tliough the Socinians l>e allowed, in wliat is eaid above, to have but few hypocrites among them ; yet this is to he understood a.s relating merely to one gpccies of hypocrisj. Dr. Priestley, s|)cakin!i of Unitarians who still continue in the Church of Eng- land, says : " From a just aversion to everything that looks like hypocrisy and precisencss, they rather lean to the extreme of fashionable dissipa- tion." Yet he represents the same persons, and that in tlie same page, as " continuing to counte- nance a mode of worship which, if they were ques- tioned about it, they could not deny to lie, according to their own principles, idolatrous and blasphemous." Discourses on Various Subjects, p. 96. The hy- pocrisy, then, to which these gentlemen have so just an aversion, seems to be only of one kind. I'irtuous man."f Yet Dr. Priestley would not hence infer anything in favor of the moral tendency of Atheism. Lastly : Neither zeal in defense of principles, nor every kind of devotion sj)ringing from them, will prove those princii)les to be true, or worthy of God. Several gentlemen, who have gone over from the Calvinistic to the Socinian sys- tem, are said to possess greater zeal for the pro|)agation of the latter, than they had used to discover for that of the former. As tliis, however, makes nothing to the disadvantage of their system, neither does it make anything to its advantage. This may be owing, for anything that can be proved to the contrary, to their having found a system more consonant to the bias of their hearts, than tliat was which they formerly professed. And, as to devotion, a species of this may exist in persons, and that to a high degree, consistently enough with the worst of principles. We know that the gospel had no worse enemies than the " devout and honorable" amongst the Jews, Acts xiii. 50. Saul, while an ene- my to Jesus Christ, was as sincere, as zealous, and as devout, in his way, as any of those persons whose sincerity, zeal, and devotion, are frequently held up by their admirers in favor of their cause. These observations may be thought by some, instead of clearing the subject, to involve it in greater difficulties, and to render it almost impossible to judge of the tendency of principles by anything that is seen in the lives of men. The suliject, it is allowed, has its difficulties, and the foregoing observations are & proof of it ; but I hope to make it appear, what- ever dithcullies may, on these accounts, attend the subject, that there is still enough, in the general spirit and conduct of men, by which to judge of the tendency of their principles. VOL. I. 25 LETTER II. THE SYSTEMS COMPARED AS TO THEIR TENDENCY TO CONVERT PROFLIGATES TO A LIFE OF HOLINESS. You need not be told that being born again — created in Christ Jesus — convert- ed— becoming as a little child, &fc., are phrases expressive of a change of heart, which the Scriptures make necessary to a life of holiness here, and to eternal life hereafter. It is on this account that I be- t Let. Unb. Part I. p.. 6 Pref. 194 CONVERSION OF PROFLIGATES. gin with conversion, considering it as the commencement of a holy life. A change of this sort was as really necessary for Nicodcmus, whose outward character, for aught that appears, was re- spectable, as for Zaccheus, whose life had been devoted to the sordid pursuits of avarice. Few, I suppose, will deny this to be the doctrine taught in the New Testament. But, should this be ques- tioned, should the necessity of a change of heart in some characters be denied, still it will be allowed necessary in others. Now, as a change is more conspicuous, and consequently more convincing, in such persons as have Avalked in an aban- doned course, than in those of a more so- ber life, I have fixed upon the conversion of profligates as a suitable topic for the present discussion. There are two methods of reasoning which may be used in ascertaining the moral tendency of principles. The first is, comparing the nature of the principles themselves, with the nature of true holi- ness, and the agreement or disagreement of the one with the other. The second is, referring to plain and acknowledged facts, and judging of the nature of causes by their effects. Both these methods of reasoning, which are usually expi-essed by the terms a priori, and a posteriori, will be used in this and the following Letters, as the nature of the subject may admit. True conversion is comprehended in those two grand topics on which the apos- tles insisted in the course of their ministry — " Repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Chi'ist." Let us, then, fix upon these great outlines of the apostolic testimony, and examine which of the systems in question has the greatest tendency to produce them. Repentance is a change of mind. It arises from a conviction that we have been in the wrong ; and consists in holy shame, grief, and self-loathing, accompanied with a de- termination to forsake every evil way. Each of these ideas is included in the ac- count we have of the repentance of Job. "Behold, I am vile ; what shall I answer thee 1 I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not an- swer ; yea, twice, but I will proceed no farther." — "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." It is essential to such a change as this, that flie sinner should re- alize the evil nature of sin. No man yet repented of a fault without a conviction of its evil nature. Sin must appear exceed- ingly sinful before we can, in the nature of things, abhor it and ourselves on ac- count of it. Those sentiments which wrought upon the heart of David, and brought him to repentance, were of this sort. Tkroughotit the fifty-first Psalm, we find him deeply impressed with the evil of sin, and that considered as an of- fense against God. He had injured Uriah and Bathsheba, and, strictly speaking, had not injured God ; the essential honor and happiness of the divine nature being infi- nitely beyond his reach : yet, as all sin strikes at the divine glory, and actually degrades it in the esteem of creatures, all sin is to be considered, in one view, as committed against God : and this view of the subject lay so near his heart as to swallow up every other — "Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight!" It follows, then, that the system which affords the most enlarged views of the evil of sin must needs have the greatest tendency to promote repent- ance for it. Those who embrace the Calvinistic sys- tem believe that man was originally crea- ted holy and happy ; that of his own ac- cord he departed Irom God, and became vile ; that God, being in himself infinitely amiable, deserves to be, and is, the moral centre of the intelligent system ; that re- bellion against him is opposition to the general good; that, if suft'ered to operate according to its tendency, it would destroy the well-being of the universe, by exclud- ing God, and righteousness, and peace, from the wdiole system ; that seeing it aims destruction at universal good, and tends to universal anarchy and mischief, it is, in tliose respects, an infinite evil and deserving of endless punishment ; and that, in what- ever instance God exercises forgiveness, it is not without respect to that public ex- pression of his displeasure against it which Avas uttered in the death of his Son. These, brethren, are the sentiments which furnish us with motives for self-abhor- rence : under their influence millions have repented in dust and ashes. But those, on the other hand, who em- brace (he Socinian system, entertain di- minutive notions of the evil of sin. They consider all evil propensities in men, (except those which are accidentally con- tracted by education or example,) as being, in every sense, natural to them : supposing that they were originally created with them : they cannot therefore, be of- fensive to God, unless he could be offend- ed with the work of his own hands for be- ing what he made it. Hence, it may be, Socinian writers, when speaking of the sins of men, describe them in the language of palliation, — language tending to convey an idea of pity, but not of blame. Mr. Belsham, speaking of sin, calls it "hu- man frailty ;" and the subjects of it " the frail and erring children of men."* The following positions are for substance main- * " Sermon on the Importance of Truth," pp. 33—35. CONVEUSION OF PROFLIGATES. 195 tained by Dr. Priestley, in his Ircalisc on Necrssity : " That, Cor anythinj: we know, it niijiiit have been as inip()ssil)le for God to make all men sinlo>Js and iiappy, as to have made them infinite;" tluit ail the evil there is in sin arises from its tendency to injure the creature; that, if God punish sin, it is not because he is so displeased witli it as in any case to " take venireance" on the sinner, sacrituinu; iiis happiness to the good of the whole : but, knowing; that it tends to do the sinner harm, lie puts him to temporary pain, not only for the warning o( otliers, but for his own good, with a view to correct the bad disposition in him : that vvliat is threatened against sin is of such a tritling account thai it needs not be an ol)ject of dread. " No Necessarian," says he, " supposes that any of the human race will sutfcr eternally ; but that future punishments will answer the same purpose as temporal ones are found to do, all of which tend to good, and are evidently admitted for that purpose ; so that God, the author of all, is as much to be adored and loved for w hat we suffer, as for what we enjoy, his intention being equally kind in both. And, since God has created us for happiness, what misery can we fearl If we be really intended for ul- timate, unlimited happiness, it is no mat- ter, to a truly resigned person, when, or where, or hoio."* Sin Is so trifling an af- fair, it seems, and the punishment threat- ened against it of so little consequence, that we may l)e quite resigned, and indif- ferent whether we go immediately to hea- ven or whetlier we first pass through the depths of hell ! The question at present is not, Which of these representations is true, or conso- nant to Scripture] but, Which has the greatest tendency to promote repentance \ If repentance be promoted by a view of the evil of sin, this question, it is presum- ed, may be considered as decided. Another sentiment intimately connect- ed with that of the evil of sin, and equally necessary to promote repentance, is, The equity and goodness of the divine law. No man ever truly repented for the breach of a law, the precepts of which he considered as too strict, or the penalties too severe. In proportion as such an opinion prevails, it is impossible but that repentance must be precluded. Now, the precept of the divine law requires us to love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. It allows not of any deviation or relaxation, during the whole of our existence. Tlie penalty by which this holy law is enforced is nothing less than the curse of Almighty * Pages 118, 122, 65, 149, 150, 128. God. But, according to Mr. Belsham, if God " mark and punish every instance of transgression," he must le a " mercilcKs tyrant ;" and we must 1 e " tempted to wish that the reins of universal goxornnuiit were in better hands. "f Mr. Belsham, perhajjs, wouhl not deny that perfect f)l e- dience is rccjuired by the law, according to the plain meaning of the words liy which it is expressed, or that the curse of God is threatened against every one that contin- ueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them ; but then tiiis rule is so strict, that to " mark and punish every instance" of deviation from it would be severe and cruel. It seems, then, that God has given us a law, by the terms of which he cannot abide; that justice itself requires him, ifnot to abate the j)recept, yet to remit the ])cnalty, and connive at smaller instances of trangression. I need not inquire how much this reflects upon the moral character and government of God. Suffice it at present to say, that such views must of necessity preclude re- pentance. If the law wiiieh forbids " every instance" of human folly, l)e unreasonably strict, and the penalty which threatens the curse of the Almighty on every one that continueth not in all things therein written be indeed cruel, then it must so far be unreasonable for any sinner to be required to repent for the breach of it. On the contrary, God himself should rath- er repent for making such a law, than the sinner for breaking it ! Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ is another essential part of true conversion. Faith is credence, or belief. Faith to- wards our Lord Jesus Christ is belief of the Gospel of Salvation through his name. A real belief of the Gospel is necessarily accompanied with a trust or confidence in him for the salvation of our souls. The term believe itself sometimes expresses this idea; particularly in 2 Tim. i. 12, " I knoAv whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." This belief, or trust, can never be fairly understood of a mere confidence in his veracity, as to the truth of his doc- trine ; for, if that were all, the ability oi Christ would stand for nothing ; and we might as well be said to trust in Peter, or John, or Paul, as in Christ, seeing we be- lieve their testimony to be valid as well as his. Believing, it is granted, docs not necessarily, and in all cases, involve the idea of trust, for which I here contend ; this matter being determined by the nature of the testimony. Neither Peter, nor any of the apostles, ever pretended that their t Sermon, p. 34. 198 CONVEllSION OF PROFLIGATES. blood, though it might be shed in martyr- dom, would be the price of the salvation of sinners. We may, therefore, credit their testimony, without trusting in them, or committing any thing, as Paul expresses it, into their hands. But Christ's blood is testified of as the way, and the only v/ay, of salvation. He is said to be " the pro- pitiation for our sins :" and "by himself to have purged our sins" — " Through his blood we have forgiveness" — " Neitlier is there salvation in any other ; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved" — " Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, Avhich is Jesus Christ." Hence it follows that, to believe his testi- mony, must of necessity involve in it a trusting in him for the salvation of our souls. If this be a just representation of faith in Jesus Christ, we cannot be at a loss to decide which of the systems in question has the greatest tendency to promote it ; and, as faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ is essential to true conversion, we cannot hesitate in concluding which has the great- est tendency to turn a sinner from the evil of his ways. Not to mention, at present, how Socinian writei-s disown an " implicit belief" in the testimony of the sacred writers,* and how they lean to their own understanding, as the criterion by Avhich Scripture is to be tried ; that which I would hei-e insist upon is. Thai, upon their principles, all trust, or confidence, in Christ for salvation, is utterly excluded. Not only are those principles unadapted to in- duce us to trust in Christ, but they direct- ly tend to turn off our attention and aflfec- tion from him. Dr. Priestley does not appear to consider him as " the way of a sinner's salvation," in any sense whatever, but goes about to explain the words of Peter, (Acts iv. 12.) " Neither is there sal- vation in any other," &c.; not of salva- tion to eternal life, but " of salvation, or deliverance, from bodily diseases."} And another writer of the same cast, (Dr. Harwood,) in a volume of Sermons lately published, treats the sacred writers with still less ceremony. Paul had said, " Other foundation can no man lay tlian that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;" but this writer, as if he designed to affront the apostle, makes use of his own words in order to contradict him. " Other founda- tion than this can no man lay," says he : "other expectations are visionary and groundless, and all hopes founded upon anything else than a good moral life, are * Dr. Priestley's Defense of Unitarianism, 1787, p. 66. t Fam. Let. XVL merely imaginary, and contrary to the whole tenor of the Gospel." p. 193. Whether these things be not aimed to raze the foundation on which the church is built ; and whether this be any other than "stumbling at the stumbling-stone," and a " setting him at nought," in the great affair for wliich he came into the Avorld, let every Christian judge. It particularly de- serves the serious consideration, not only of the above writers, but of those who are any way inclined to their mode of think- ing ; for, if it should be so that the death of Christ, as a propitiatory sacrifice, is the only medium through which sinners can be accepted of God ; and if they should be found fighting against God, and rejecting the only way of escape, the consequence may be such as to cause the ears of every one that heareth it to tingle. Meanwhile, it requires but little penetration to dis- cover that whatever takes away the only foundation of a sinner's confidence, cannot be adapted to promote it. Brethren, examine these matters to the bottom, a.nd judge for yourselves, whether you might not as well expect grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles, as tfo see re- pentance towards God, or faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, proceeding from Socinian principles. The foregoing observations serve to show ivhat may be expected from the So- cinian doctrine, according to the nature of things : let us next make some inquiry into matters of fact. We may judge, from the nature of the seed sown, what will be the harvest ; but a view of what the har- vest actually is may afford still greater satisfaction. First, then, let it be considered whether Socinian congregations have ever abound- ed in conversions of the profane to a life of holiness and devotedness to God. Dr. Priestley acknowledges that " the gospel, when it was first preached by the apostles, produced a wonderful change in the lives and manners of persons ofall ages." Let. Unb. Pref. ix. Now, if the doctrine which he and others preach be the same, for substance, as that which they preach- ed, one might expect to see some consid- erable degree of similarity in the effects. But is anything like this to be seen in So- cinian congTegations 1 Has that kind of preaching, which leaves out the doctrines of man's lost condition by nature, and sal- vation by grace only through the atone- ment of Christ, and substitutes, in their place, the doctrine of mercy without an atonement, the simple humanity of Christ, the efficacy of repentance and obedience, &c Has this kind of preaching, I say, ever been known to lay much hold on CONVERSION OF PROFLIGATES. 197 the hearts and consciences of men? Tlic way in which that " woiuleii'ul change" was effected, in the lives and manners of people who attended the fust preaching of the gospel, was l)y tlie word preached lay- ing hold on their hiuirls. It was a distin- guishing mark of primitive preaching, that it " commended itseif to every man's con- science." Peojjle could not in general sit unconcerned under it. We are told ol some who were "cut to the heart," and took counsel to slay the preachers ; and of others who were " pricked in the heart," and said, " men and l)retlnen, what shall wedol" But, in both cases, the heart was the mark at which the preacher aim- ed, and which his doctrine actually reach- ed. Has the preaching of tlie Socinians any such effect as this 1 Do they so much as expect it should 1 Were any of their hearers, by any means, to feel pricked in their hearts, and come to them, with the question, What shall we do 1 would they not pity them as enthusiasts, and be ready to suspect that they had been among the Calvinists ] If any counsel were given, would it not be such as must tend to impede their repentance, rather than promote it ; and, instead of directing them to Jesus Christ, as was the practice of the primitive preachers, would they not en- deavor to lead them into another course 1 Socinian writers cannot so much asyjre- iend that their doctrine has been used to ' convert profligate sinners to the love of God and holiness. Dr. Priestley's scheme will not enable him to account for such changes, where Christianity has ceased to be a novelty. The absolute novelty of the gospel, when first preached, he repre- sents as the cause of its wonderful effica- cy : but in the present age, among persons who have long heard it, and have con- tracted vicious habits notwithstanding, he looks for no such effects. He confesses himself " less solicitous about the con- version of unbelievers laho are much ad- vanced in life, than of younger persons ; and that because he despairs of the prin- ciples of Christianity having much effect upon the lives of those whose dispositions and habits are already formed."* Some- times he reckons that the great body of primitive Christians must have l)een " well disposed with respect to moral virtue, * Let. Uiil). II. Pref. — It is true Dr. Priestley is not here speaking of the profligates among nominal Christians, but of those among avowed Infidels. This, however, makes nothing to tlie argtunent. The dispositions and liabiis of profane nominal Christians are as much formed as those of avowed Infidels; and their conversion to a holy life is as much an object of despair as the other. Yea, Dr. Priestley in the same place acknowledges tiiat " to be mere nominal Christiana is worse than to be no Christians at all." even before their conversion to Christian- ity ; else," he thinks, "they could not have been so ready to have al)andoned their vices, and to embrace a doctrine which required the strictest purity and rectitude of conduct, and even to sacrifice their lives in the cause of truth." (II. 1G7, 168.) In his treatise on Philosophi- cal Necessity (p. 15G,) he declares that, " uj)on the principles of the Necessarian, all late repentance, and especially after long and confirmed habits of vice, is alto- gether and necessarily ineffectual ; there not being sufficient time left to produce a change of dis})osition and character, which can only be done by a change of conduct, and of proportionably long continuance." I confess I do not perceive the consis- tency of these passages with each other. By the power of novelty, a wonderful change was produced in the lives and man- ners of men ; and yet the body of them must have been well-disposed with respect to moral virtue — that is, they must have been in such a state as not to need any wonderful change — else they coidd not have been so ready to abandon their vice. - A wonderful change was produced in the lives and manners o{ men of all ages ; and yet there is a certain age in which repent- ance is " altogether and necessarily in- effectual." Inconsistent, however, as these i)Ositions may be, one thing is suffi- ciently evident ; namely, that the author considers the conversion of profligates, of the present age, as an object of despair. Whatever the gospel according to Mat- thew, Mark, Luke, or John, may affirm, that according to Dr. Priestley affords but very little, if any, hope to those who in Scripture arc distinguished by the name of "sinners," "chief of sinners," and "lost." He does "not expect such conversion of profligates and habitually wicked men, as shall make any remark- able change in their lives and characters. Their dispositions and habits are already formed, so that it can hardly be sujjposed to be in the power of new and better princi- ples to change them." It cannot be un- natural, or uncandid, to suppose that these observations were made from experience ; or that Dr. Priestley writes in this man- ner on account of his not being used to see any such effects arise from his ministry, or the ministry of those of his sentiments. There is a sort of preaching, however, even since the days of inspiration, and where Christianity has ceased to be a novelty, which has been attended in a good degree with similar effects to that of the apostles. Whatever was the cause, or however it is to be accounted for, there have been those whose labors have turned many, yea, many profligates, to 198 CONTERSION OF PROFLIGATES. righteousness ; and that by preaching the us, written not with ink, but with the very doctrines which Dr. Priestley charges Spirit of the living God ; not in tables of with being the "corruptions of Christi- stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart." anity," and which a once-humble ad- There are, likewise, hundreds of congre- mirer of his attempted to ridicule.* It is gations, which might with propriety be well known wliat sort of preaching it was addressed in the language of the same that produced such great effects in many Apostle to the same people, "And such nations of Europe, about the time of there- were some of you, (viz. fornicators, adul- formation. Whatever ditTerent senmtients terers, thieves, covetous, drunkards, re- were professed by the reformers, I sup- vilers, extortioners ;) but ye are washed, pose they were so far agreed that the but ye are sanctified, but ye are justi- doctrines of human depravity, the deity tied." And those ministers by whose in- and atonement of Christ, justification by slrumentality these effects were produced, faith, and sanctification by the influence of like their predecessors before mentioned, the Holy Spirit, were the great topics of have dwelt principally on the Protestant their ministry. doctrines of man's lost condition by na- Since the Reformation there have been ture, and salvation by grace only, through special seasons in the churches in which the atoning blood of Christ ; together with a religious concern has greatly prevailed, the necessity of the regenerating influence and multitudes were turned from their of the Holy Spirit. When, therefore, they evil ways : some from an open course of see such effects attend their labors, they profaneness, and others fi'om the mere think themselves warranted to ascribe form of godliness to the power of it. them, as the Apostle did, to " the name Much of this sort of success attended the of the Lord Jesus, and to the Spirit of labors of Perkins, Bolton, Taylor, Her- our God." 1 Cor. vi. 11. bert, Hildersham, Blackerby, Gouge, The solid and valuable effects produced Whitaker, Bunyan, great numbers of the iiy this kind of preaching, are attested liy ejected ministers, and many since their the late Mr.Robinson of Cambridge, as time, in England ; of Livingstone, Bruce, Rutherford^ M'Cullock, M'Laurin, Robe, Balfour, Sutherland, and others, in Scot- well as by Dr. Watts and Dr. Guyse. " Presumption and despair," said that ingenious writer, " are the tAVO dangerous land; of Franck and his fellow -laborers in extremes to which mankind are prone in Germany ; and of Stoddard, Edwards, Tennant, Buel, and many others, in America. f And what Dr. Watts and Dr. Guyse, in their Preface to Mr. Ed- wards's Narrative, said of his success and that of some others, in America, religious concerns. Charging home sin precludes the first, proclaiming redemption prevents the last. This has been the method which the Holy Spirit has thought fit to seal and succeed in the hands of his ministers. Wickliffe, Luther, Knox, might with equal truth have been said of Latimer, Gilpin, Bunyan, Livingstone, the rest : " That it was the common, plain, Protestant doctrine of the Refor- mation, without stretching towards the Antinomians on the one side, or the Ar- Franck, Blair, Elliot, Edwards, White- field, Tennant, and all who have been eminently blessed to the revival oi practi- cal godliness, have constantly availed minians on the other, that the Spirit of themselves of this method ; and, preju- God had been pleased to lienor with such dice apart, it is impossible to deny that illustrious success." Nor are such effects peculiar to past ages. A considerable degree of the same kind of success has attended the Calvin- great and excellent moral effects have fol- lowed." I Should it be alleged that Mr. Robinson, before he died, changed his opinions in istic churches in North America, within these matters, and reckoned all such things the last ten years ; especially in the state as these enthusiasm, it mightjie answered. of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. Nor is it peculiar to the Western world, though they have been greatly favored. I believe there are hundreds of ministers now in this kingdom, some in theEstablish- A change of opinion in Mr. Robinson can make no change in the " facts," as he just- ly calls them, which he did himself the honor to record. Besides, the effects of this kind of preaching are not only record- ed Church, and others out of it, who could ed by Mr. Robinson, but by those who truly say to a considerable number of their triumph in his conversion to their princi- auditors, as Paul said to the Corinthians, pies. Dr. Priestley professes to think " Ye are our epistles, known and read of highly of the Methodists, and acknowl- all men" — "ye are manifestly declared edges that they have "civilized and chris- to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by tianized a great part of the uncivilized and * See Fam. Lett. XXII. P. S. t See Gillies' Hisjt. Coll. X Translation of Claude. Vol. II. p. 364. Note. CONVERSION OF PUOFLIUATES. 199 unchristianized part of this counliy."* Also, in his Discourses on I'arious Sub- jects, p. 375, he aUows their i)reiKhiiin to produce " more striking circcts" than tlial of Socinians, and goes about to account for it. A matter of fact, so notorious as this, and of so much consequence in the contro- versy, requires to lie well accounleil for. Dr. Priestley seems to have lell tiie lorce of the olijtction thai niigiit lie made to his principles on this ground; and therelbre attempts to ol>viate it. But hy what me- dium is this attempted ] The same prin- ciple hy which he tries to account for the wonderful success of the gospel in tlie primitive ages is to account for the effects produced l»y such j)rca( hing as that of the Methodists; The ignorance of their audi- tors giving ivhat they say to them the force of NovKLTY. The Doctor is pleased to add, "Our people having in general been brought up in haliits of virtue, such great changes in character and conduct are less necessary in their case." A few remarks in reply to the above shall close this Letter. First: If novelty be indeed that efficacious princijile wiiich Dr. Priestley makes it to be, one should think it were desirable, every centur} or two, at least, to ha\c a new dispensation of religion. Secondly : If the great success of the primitive teachers was owing to this cu- rious cause, is it not extraordinary that they themselves should never be acquaint- ed \\ith it, nor communicate a secret of such imjiortance to their successors 1 They are not only silent ai)out it, but, in some cases, apjiear to act upon a contrary prin- ciple. Paul, when avowing the subject- matter of his ministry before Aggrippa, seemed to disclaim every thing novel, de- claring that he had said " none other things than those which the proj)hets and Moses did say should come." And, as to the cause of their success, they seem never to have thought of any thing but " the hand of the Lord that was with them" — " The working of his mighty power" — " Who caused them to triumph in Christ, making manifest the savor of his knowledge by them in every jdace." Thirdly : If novelty be w hat Dr. Priest- ley makes it to be, the plea of Dives had much more truth in it than the answer of Abraham. He pleaded that, " if one rose from the dead, men would repent :" the novelty of the thing, he supposed, must strike them. But Abraham answered as if he had no notion of the power of mere novelty, " If they hear not Moses and the * Fam. Let. VII. prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Fourthly; If the success of the apostles was owing to the novelty of tiieir luission, it might have lieen exjiected, that at Ath- ens, where a taste lor hearing and telling of new things occupied the whole atten- tion of the people, their success would have been the greatest. Every body knows that a congeniality of mind in an audience to the things proposed, wonder- fully facilitates the reception of them. Now, as the gospel was as much of a nov- elty to them as to the most barlnirous na- tions, and as they were possessed of a pe- culiar turn of mind which delighted in ev- ei-y thing of that nature, it might have been expected, on the above hypothesis, that a harvest of souls would there have been gathered in. But, instead of this, the gospel is well known to ha\ebeen less successful in this famous city than in ma- ny other places. Fifthly : Some of the most striking ef- fects, both in early and later ages, were not accompanied with the circumstance of novelty. The sermon of Peter to the in- hal;ilantsof Jerusalem, contained no new doctrine ; it only pressed upon them the same things, for substance, which they had heard and rejected from the lips of Christ himself; and, on a pre-judgment of the issue by the usual course of things, they would probably have been considered as more likely to reject Peter's doctrine than that of Christ ; because, when once peo- ple have set their hands to a business, they are generally more loth to relintjuish it, and own themselves in the wrong, than at first to forbear to engage in it. And, as to later times, the effects produced by the preaching of Whitefield, Edwards, and others, were many of them upon })eo])le not remarkably ignorant, but who had at- tended preaching of a similar kind all their lives without any such effect. The^or- mer, it is well known, preached the same doctrines in Scotland and America as the people were used to hear every Lord's- day ; and that with great effect among persons of a lukewarm and careless de- scription. The latter, in his Narrative of the Work of God in and about Northamp- ton, represents the inhabitants as having been " a rational and understanding peo- ple." Indeed, they must have been such, or they could not have understood the compass of argument contained in Mr. Edwards' Sermons on- Justification, which were delivered about that time, and are said to have been the means of great re- ligious concern among the hearers. Nor were these effects produced b)' airs and gestures, or any of those extraordinary 200 CONVERSION OF PROFLIGATES. things in the manner of the preacher which give a kind of novelty to a sermon, and sometimes tend to move the affections of the hearers. Mr. Prince, who, it seems, had often heard Mr. Edwards preach, and observed the remarkable con- viction which attended his ministry, de- scribes, in his Christian Hisiory , his man- ner of preaching. " He was a preacher," says he, " of a low and moderate voice, a natural delivery, and without any agitation of body, or anything else in tiie manner to excite attention, except his habitual and great solemnity, looking and speaking as in the presence of God, and with a weighty sense of the matter delivered."* Sixthly : Suppose the circumstance of novelty to have great efficacy, the ques- tion is with respect to such preaching as that of the Methodists, Wliether it has efficacy enough to render the truth of the doctrine of no account. It is well known that the main doctrines which the Meth- odists have taught are Man's lost condi- tion by nature, and salvation by the atone- ment of Christ; but these, according to Dr. Priestley, are false doctrines : no part of Christianity, but the "corrup- tions" of it; and "such as must tend, if they have an effect, to relax the obligations to virtue." But if so, how came it to pass that the preaching of them should *' civilize and Christianize mankind'?" Novelty may do wonders, it is granted ; but still the nature of these wonders will correspond with the nature of the princi- ples taught. All that it can he supposed to do is to give additional energy to the principles which it accompanies. The heating of a furnace seven times hotter than usual, would not endue it with the properties of water ; and water, put into the most powerful motion, would not be capable of producing the effects of fire. One would think it were equally evident that falsehood, though accompanied with novelty, could never have the effect of truth. Once more : It may be questioned whether the generality of people who make up Socinian congregations stand in less need of a change of character and conduct than others. Mr. Belsham says that " Rational Christians are often rep- resented as indifferent to practical reli- gion;" and admits, though with apparent reluctance, that " there has been some plausible ground for the accusation. "f Dr. Priestley admits the same thing, and they both go about to account for it in the same way. if Now, whether their method of accounting for it be just or not. they admit the fact ; and hence we may conclude that the generality of " Rational Christians " are not so righteous as to need no repentance ; and that the reason why their preaching does not turn sinners to righteousness is not owing to their want of an equal proportion of sinners to be turned. But, supposing the Socinian congrega- tions were generally so virtuous as to need no great change of character ; or, if they did need it, so well informed that nothing could strike them as a novelty ; that is not the case with the bulk of man- kind amongst whom they live. Now, if a great change of character may be pro- duced by the mere power of novelty, why do not Dr. Priestley and those of his sentiments go forth, like some others, to the highways and hedges 1 Why does not he surprise the benighted populace into the love of God and holiness, with his new doctrines 1 (New he must acknowl- edge they are to them.) If false doctrine, such as that which the Methodists have taught, ma)^, through the power of novel- ty, do such wonders, what might not be expected from the true 1 I have been told that Dr. Priestley has expressed a wish to go into the streets, and preach to the common people. Let him, or those of his sentiments, make the trial. Though the people of Birmingham have treated him so uncivilly, I hope both he and they would meet with better treatment in other parts of tlie country ; and if, by the pow- er of novelty, they can turn but a few sinners from the error of their ways, and save their souls from death, it will be an object worthy of their attention. But should Dr. Priestley, or any others of his sentiments, go forth on such an er- rand, and still retain their principles, they must reverse the declaration of our Lord, and say. We come not to call sinners, but the righteous to repentance. All their hope must be in the uncontaminated youth, or the better sort of people, whose hab- its in the path of vice are not so strong but that they may be overcome. Should they, in the course of their labors, be- hold a malefactor approaching the hour of his execution, what must they dol Alas ! like the priest, and the Levite, they must pass by on the other side. They could not so much as admonish him to repentance with any degree of hope ; because they consider " all late repent- ance and especially after long and con- firmed habits of vice, as absolutely and necessarily ineffectual. "§ Happy for many a poor wretch of that description, *Gniies'Hist. Col). II. 196. § Dis. Var. Sub. p. 238. Also Phil. Nee. p. t Sermon, p. 32. tDisc. Var. Sub. p. 95. 651. CONVERSION OF PROFESSED UNBELIEVERS. 201 happy cs])ecially for llie poor Ihicf upon the cross, tliat Jesus Christ acted on a difl'ercnt principle ! Tlieso, lirctliron, are matters that come witliin the knowledijc of every man of observation ; and it lieliooves you, in such cases, to know " not the speech of tlieni that are pulfed up, but the power." LETTER III. CONVERSION OF PROFESSED UNBE- LIEVERS. SociNiAN writers are very sanguine on the tendency of their views of things to convert Infidels; namely, Jews, heathens, and Mahometans. They reckon that our notions of the Trinity form the grand ob- stacle to their conversion. Dr. Priest- ley often suggests that, so long as we maintain the Deity of Jesus Christ, there is no hope of converting the Jews, be- cause this doctrine contradicts the first principle of their religion, the Unity of God. Things, not altogether, but nearly similar, are said concerning the conver- sion of the heatliens and Mahometans, especially the latter. On this subject, the following observations are submitted to your consideration. With respect to the Jews, they know very well that those who believe in the Deity of Christ, profess to believe in the unity of God ; and, if they w ill not ad- mit this to be consistent, they must depart from what is plainly implied in the lan- guage of their ancestors. If the Jews in the time of Christ had thought it impos- sible, or, which is the same thing, incon- sistent with the unity of God, that God the Father should have a Son equal to himself, how came they to attach the idea oi' equality to {hat of sonshipl Jesus as- serted that God was his "own Father ;" which they understood as making himself "equal with God;" and therefore they sought to kill him as a l)lasj)hemer. Had the Jews affixed those ideas to sonship which are entertained by our opponents ; namely, as implying nothing more than simple humanity, why did they accuse Jesus of blasphemy for assuming it^ They did not deny that to be God's own Son was to be equal with the Father; nor did they allege that such an equality would destroy the divine unity : a thought of this kind seems never to have occurred to their minds. The idea lo which they objected was, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God; and hence, it is proba- voL. I. 26 lile, the |)rofossion of this great article was considered in the apostolic age as the criterion ol Ciuistianity. Acts viii. 37. Were this article admitted by the modern Jews, they must reason difl'erently from their ancestors, if they scruple to admit that Christ is equal with the Father. The Jews were greatly offended at our Lord's words ; and his not explaining them so as to remove the stuml)ling-block out of the way may serve to teach us how we ought to proceed in removing stum- liling-blocks f,ut of the way of their pos- terity. For this cause they sought to kill ki77i — "because he had said that God was his Father, making himself equal ivith God.'' — "Jesus said, I and my Father are one. Then they took up stones to stone him." When he told them of "many good works that he had shown them," and asked, " For which of (hose works do ye stone mel" They replied, "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy ; and liecause thou, being a man, makest thyself God." Hence it is evident that, whether Jesus Christ be truly God, or not, they understood him as asserting that he was so ; that is, they understood his claiming the relation of God's own Son, and declaring that He and his Father were one, as implying so much. This was their stumbling-block. Nor does it appear that Jesus did any- thing towards removing it out of their way. It is certain he did not so remove it as to afford them tlie least satisfaction ; for they continued to think him guilty of the same blasphemy to the last, and for that adjudged him worthy of death. Matt. xxvi. 63, 66. If Jesus never thought of being equal with God, it is a pity there should have been such a misunderstand- ing between them, — a misunderstanding that proved the occasion of putting him to death ! Such an hypothesis, to be sure, may answer one end ; it may give us a more favorable idea of tiie conduct of the Jews than we have been wont to entertain. If it does not entirely justify their procedure, it greatly extenuates it. They erred, it seems, in imagining that Jesus, by de- claring himself the Son of God, made himself equal with God; and thus, through mistaking his meaning, put him to death as a blasphemer. But then it might be pleaded, on their behalf, that Jesus never suggested that they were in an error in this matter; that, instead of informing them that the name. Son of God, implied nothing more than simi)le hunianity, he went on to say, among other things, " That all men should honor (he Son, even as they honor (he Father; " and, in- stead of disowning with abhorrence the 202 CONVERSION OF PROFESSED UNBELIEVERS. idea of making himself God, he seems to justify it, by arguing from the less to the greater — from the image of the thing to the tiling itself. John x. 34—36. Now, these things considered, should an impar- tial jury sit in judgment upon their con- duct, one would think they could not, with Stephen, bring it in murder; to make the most of it, it could be nothing worse than manslaughter. All this may tend to conciliate the Jews ; as it tends to roll away the reproach which, in the esteem of Christians, lies upon their an- cestors for crucifying the Lord of glo- ry : but whether it will have any influ- ence towards their conversion is another question. It is possible that, in propor- tion as it confirms their good opinion of their forefathers, it may confirm their ill opinion of Jesus, for iiaving, by his ob- scure and ambiguous language, given oc- casion for such a misunderstanding be- tween them. Could the Jews but once be brought to feel that temper of mind, which it is predicted in their own prophets they shall feel — could they but "look on him whom they have pierced, and mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-boi-n " — I should be under no apprehensions res- pecting their acknowledging his proper divinity, or embracing him as the great atonement, to the "fountain" of whose blood they would joyfully repair, that they might be cleansed from their sin and their uncleanness. Zech. xii. 10; xiii. 1. Nearly the same things migiit be ob- served respecting heathens and Mahome- tans. We may so model the gospel as almost to accommodate it to their taste ; and by this means we may come nearer together : but whether, in so doing, we shall not be rather converted to them, than they to us, deserves to be consider- ed. Christianity may be so heathenized that a man may believe in it, and yet be no Christian. Were it true, therefore, that Socinianism had a tendency to induce professed infidels, by meeting them, as it were, half way, to take upon them the christian name ; still it would not follow that it was of any real use. The Popish Missionaries, of the last century, in China, acted upon the principle of accommoda- tion : they gave up the main things in which Christians and heathens had been used to differ, and allowed the Chinese every favorite species of idolatry. The consequence was, they had a great many converts, such as they were ; but think- ing people looked upon the Missionaries as more converted to heathenism, than the Chinese heathens to Chfistianity.* ♦Millar's Propagation of Christianity, Vol. II. pp. ^8. 438. But even this effect is more than may be expected from Socinian doctrines among the heathen. The Popish Mis- sionaries had engines to work with which Socinians have not. They were sent by an autliority which, at that time, had weight in the Avorld ; and their religion was accompanied with pomp and supersti- tion. These were matters which, though far from recommending their mission to the approbation of serious Christians, yet would be sure to recommend it to the Chinese. They stripped the gospel of all its real glory, and, in its place, substi- tuted a false glory. But Socinianism, while it divests the gospel of all that is interesting and affecting to the souls of men, substitutes nothing in its place. If it be Christianity at all, it is, as the in- genious Mrs. Barbauld is said in time past to have expressed it, " Christianity in the frigid zone." It may be expected, there- fore, that no considerable number of pro- fessed infidels will ever think it worthy of their attention. Like the Jew, they will pronounce every attempt to convert them, by ihese accommodating principles, nuga- tory ; and be ready to ask, with him. What they shall do more, by embracing Christianity, than they already do. f Dr. Priestley, however, is for coming to action. " Let a free intercourse be opened," says he, "between Mahom- etans and Rational, that is. Unitarian Christians,! and I shall have no doubt with respect to the consequence." And, again, "Let the Hindoos, as well as the Mahometans, become acquainted with our literature, and have free intercourse with Unitarian Christians, and I ha^'e no doubt but the result will be in favor of Christianity. "§ So, then, when heathens and Mahometans are to be converted, Trinitarians, like those of Gideon's army that bowed down their knees to drink, must sit at home ; and the whole of the expedition, it seems, must be conducted t Mr. Levi's Letters to Dr. Priestley, pp. 76, 77. 4" Rational, that is. Unitarian Christians." — Wiiy need Dr. Priestley te so particular in inform- ing his reader that a Rational Christian signifies a Unitarian Christian 1 To be sure, all the world knew, long enough ago, that rationality was confined to the Unitarians ! Doubtless, they are the people, and wisdom will die with them ! When Dr. Priestley speaks of persons of his own sentiments, he calls them "Rational Christians;" when, in the same page, he speaks of such as differ from him, he calls them " those who assume to themselves the distin- guishing title of Orthodox." Considerations on Difference of Opinion, § 3. Query. Is the latter of these names assumed any more than the former; and is Dr. Priestley a fit person to reprove a body of people for assuming a name which implies what their adversaries do not admit 1 § Let. Unb. II. 116, 117. CONVERSION OF PROFESSED UNBELIEVERS. 203 by Unitarians, as by tlic (hrcc hunilroil men that lapped. Poor Trinitarians! deemed unworthy of an intercourse with heathens ! Well ; if you must be denied, as by a kind of Test Act, the jjrivilege of bearini: arms in this divine war, sure- ly you have a ri_ii;ht to expect that tliose who shall be i)osscssrd of it should act valiantly, and do exploits. But what ground have you on which to rest your expectations'? — None, except Dr. Priest- ley's good conceit of his opinions. When was it known that any considerable num- ber of heathens or Mahometans were converted by the Socinian doctrine T San- guine as the doctor is on this suiyect, where are the facts on which his expec- tations are founded 1 Trinitarians, however, whether Dr. Priestley thinks them worthy, or not, have gone among the heathens, and that not many years ago, and preached what they thought the Gosj)el of Christ ; and I may add, from facts that cannot be dis- puted, with considerable success. The Dutch, the Danes, and the English, have each made some attempts in the east, and, I hope, not without some good ef- fects. If we were to call that conversion which many professors of Christianity would call so without any scruple, we might boast of the conversion of a great many thousands in those parts. But it is acknowledged that many of the conver- sions in the east were little, if anything, more than a change of denomination. The greatest and best work, and tlie most worthy of the name of conversion, of which I have read, is that which has taken place by the labors of the Anglo-Ameri- cans among the natives. Tiiey have, indeed, wrought wonders. Mr. Elliot, the first minister who engaged in this work, went over to New-England in 1632; and, being warmed with a holy zeal for converting the natives, learned their language, and preached to them in it. He also, with great labor, translated the Bible, and some English treatises, into the same language. God made him eminently useful for the turning of these poor heathens to himself. He settled a number of christian churches, and ordain- ed elders over tliem, from among them- selves. After a life of unremitted labor in this important undertaking, he died in a good old age, and has ever since been known, both among the English and the natives, by the name of The Apostle of the American Indians. Nor were these converts like many of those in the cast, who professed they knew not what, and, in a little time, went off again as fast as they came : the gene- rality of them understood and felt what they professed, and persevered to the end of their lives. Mr. Elliot's example stimulated many others : some in his life- time, and others after his death, lalmred much, and were blessed to the conversion of thousands among the Indians. The names and lahors of Bourn, Fitcii, Ma- hew, Piorson, Gookin, Thatcher, llawson. Treat, Tupper, Cotton, Walter, Sargeant, Davenport, Park, Horton, Jbainerd, and Edwards, are remembered with joy and gratitude in those lienighted regions of the earth. Query. Were ever any such effects as these wrought l)y preaching Socinian doctrines 1 Great things have lieen done among the heathens, of late years, l)y tiie Mora- vians. About the year 1733, they sent missionaries to Greenland — a most inhos- pitable country indeed, but containing about ten thousand inhabitants, all envel- oped in pagan darkness. After the labor of several years, apparently in vain, suc- cess attended their efforts; and, in the course of twenty or tliirty years, about seven hundred licathens are said to have been baptized, and to have lived the life of Christians.* They have done gTcat good also in the most northern parts of North America, among tlic Esquimaux ; and still more among the Negroes in the West India islands, where, at the close of 1788, upwards of thirteen thousand of those poor, injured, and degraded ])eople, were formed into christian societies. The views of Moravians, it is true, are differ- ent from ours in several particulars, es- pecially in matters relating to church gov- ernment and discipline : hut they appear to possess a great deal of godly simplicity ; and, as to the doctrines which they incul- cate, they are, mostly, what we esteem evangelical. The doctrine of atonement by the death of Christ, in particular, forms the great subject of their ministry. The first person in Greenland who appeared willing to receive the gospel was an old man who came to the missionaries for in- struction. "We told him," say they, " as well as we could, of the creation of man, and the intent thereof — of the fall and corruption of nature — of the redemption effected l)y Clirist — of the resurrection of all men, and eternal happiness or damna- tion." They inform us, afterwards, that the doctrine of the cross, or " the Crea- tor's taking upon him human nature, and dying for our sins," was the most jtower- ful means of impressing the minds of the heathen, and of turning their hearts to God. " On this account," tliey add, " we determined (like Paul) to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified." * See Crantz's History of Greenland. 204 CONVERSION OF PROFESSED UNBELIEVERS. Now consider, brethren, were there ever any such effects as the above wrought by the Socinian doctrine'? If there were, let them be brought to light. Nay, let a single instance be produced of a Socinian teacher having so much virtue or benevolence in him as to make the at- tempt,— so much virtue or benevolence as to venture among a race of barbarians, merely with a view to their conversion. But we have unbelievers at home : and Dr. Priestley, persuaded of the tendency of his principles to convert, has lately made some experiments upon them, as being within his reach. He has done well. There is nothing like experiment, in reli- gion as well as in philosophy. As to what tendency his sentiments tvould have upon heathens and Mahometans, provided a free intercourse could be obtained, it is all conjecture. The best way to know their efficacy is by trial; and trial has been made. Dr. Priestley has addressed Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever, and Letters to the Jews. Whether this seed will spring up, it is true, we must not yet decide. Some little time after he had published, however, he himself acknowledged, in his Letters to Mr. Hammon, " I do not know that my book has converted a single unbe- liever." Perhaps he might say the same still : and that, not only of his Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever, but of those to the Jeivs. If the opinion of the Jews may in any degree be collected from the answer of their champion, Mr. David Levi, so far are they from being convinced of the truth of Christianity by Dr. Priestley's writings, that they suspect whether he himself be a Christian. " Your doctrine," says Mr. Levi, " is so opposite to what I always un- derstood to be the principles of Christian- ity, that I must ingenuously confess I am greatly puzzled to reconcile your princi- ples to the attempt. What ! a writer that asserts that the miraculous conception of Jesus does not appear to him to be suffi- ciently authenticated, and that the original Gospel of St. Matthew did not contain it, set up for a defender of Christianity against the Jews, is such an inconsistency as I did not expect to meet with in a philosopher, whose sole pursuit hath been in search of truth. You are pleased to declare, in plain terms, that you do not believe in the miraculous conception of Jesus, and that you are of opinion that he ivas the legiti- mate son of Joseph. After such assertions as these, how you can be entitled to the appellation of ' a Christian,' in the strict sense of the word, is to me really incom- pi'ehensible. If I am not greatly mistak- en, I verily believe that the honor of Je- suSj and the propagation of Christianity, are things of little moment in your serious thoughts, notwithstanding all your boast- ed sincerity." To say nothing of the opinion of the Jews concerning xvhat is Christianity having all the weight that is usually attributed to the judgment of im- partial bystanders, the above quotations afford but little reason to hope for their conversion to Christianity by Socinian doctrines. But still, it may be said. We know not what is to come. True : but this we know, that, if any considerable fruit arise from the Addresses above referred to, it is yet to come ; and not from these Address- es only, but, I am inclined to think, from any thing that has been attempted by So- cinians for the conversion of unbelievers. Is it not a fact that Socinian principles render men indifferent to this great object, and even induce them to treat it with con- tempt 1 The Monthly Reviewers, (Dec. 1792,) in reviewing Mr. Carey's late pub- lication on this subject, infer from his ac- knowledgments of the baneful influence of wicked Europeans in their intercourse with heathens, and the great corruptions among the various denominations of pro- fessing Christians, that, if so, "far better is the light of nature, as communicated by their Creator, than any light that our offi- ciousness disposes us to carry to them." By Europeans who have communicated their vices to heathens, Mr. Carey un- doubtedly meant, not those ministers of the gospel, or those serious Christians, who have gone among them for their good ; but navigators, merchants, and adventur- ers, whose sole object was to enrich them- selves: and, though he acknowledges a great deal of degeneracy and corruption to have infected the Christian world, yet the quali- fications which he requires in a mission- ary might have secured his proposal from censure, and doubtless would have done so, had not the Reviewers been disposed to throw cold water upon every such un- dertaking. If, indeed, there be none to be found among professing Christians, ex- cept such as, by their intercourse with heathens, would only render their state woi'se than it was before, let the design be given up : but, if otherwise, the objection is of no force. The Reviewers will acknowledge that great corruptions have attended the civil government of Europe, not excepting that of our own country, and that we are con- stantly engaged in dissensions on the sub- ject; yet I have no doubt but they could find certain individuals who, if they were placed in the midst of an uncivilized people, would be capable of affording them substantial assistance — would teach them to establish good laws, good order, THE NUMBER OF SOCINIAN CONVERTS. 205 and equal liberty. Nor would (lu'V think of concludint:, because European eon(iuer- ors and courtiers, knowinjj; no hiirlier mo- tive tiian self-interest, instead of nieliora- linji the condition of uncivilized nations, iiave injured il, that therefore it was vain for any European to think of doin>i oth- erwise. Neither would tliey reu;ard the sneers of the enemies of civil liiierty and equity, who mifrhl deride Ihem as a little flock of conceited piditicians, or, at liest, of inexperienced philanthropists, whose plans mitrht amuse in the closet, but would not bear in real life. Why is it that we are to be sceptical and inactive in nothing but religion 1 Had Mr. Carey, after the example of Dr. Priestley, proposed that his own de- nomination only should open an intercourse with heathens, the Reviewers would have accused him of iUiberality : and now, when he proposes that " other denomina- tions should engage separately in promo- ting missions," this, it is said, would be " spreading our religious dissensions over the globe." How, then, are these gen- tlemen to be pleased'? By sitting still, it should seem, and persuading ourselves that it is impossible to find out what is true re- ligion ; or, if not, that it is but of little im- portance to disseminate it. But why is it, I again ask, that we are to be sceptical and inactive innotiiing but religion 1 The re- sult is this : Socinianism, so far from l)eing friendly to the conversion of imbelievers, is neither adapted to the end nor favoral)le to the means — to those means, at least, by which it has pleased God to save them that believe. LETTER IV. THE ARGUMENT FROM THE NUMBER OF CONVERTS TO SOCINIANISM EX- AMINED. Iv facts be admitted as evidence, per- haps it will appear that Socinianism is not so much adapted to make converts of Jews, heathens, Mahometans, or philo- sophical unbelievers, as of a speculating sort of people among professing Chris- tians. These in our own countr)' are found, some in the Established Church, and others among the Dissenters. Among people of this description, I sup- pose, Socinianism has gained considera- ble ground. Of this Dr. Priestley, and others of his party, are frequently mak- ing their boast. Disc. pp. 9.3, 94. But whether they have any cause for boasting, even in this case, may be justly doubt- ed. In the first place, let il i)e considered that though Socinianism may gain ground among speculating individuals, yet the congregations where that system, or what bears a near resend)lance to it, is taught, are greatly upon the decline. There are, at this time, a great many ])laces of worship in this kingdom, especially among the Presbyterians and the Gen- eral Baptists, where the Socinian and Arian doctrines have been taugiit till the congregations have gradually dwin- dled away, and there are scarcely enow left to keep up the form of worship. There is nothing in either of these sys- tems, comparatively speaking, that alarms the conscience, or interests the heart; and, therefore, the congregations where they arc taught, indess kept up by the ac- cidental popularity of a preacher, or some other circumstances distinct from the doc- trine delivered, generally fall into decay. But, farther, let us examine a little more particularly, what sort of people they, in general, are, who are converted to Socinianism. It is an oiiject worthy of inquiry, whether tiiey appear to be modest, humble, serious Christians, such as have known tiic ])lague of their own hearts ; in whom triliulation hath wrought patience, and patience experience; such as know whom they have believed, and have learned to count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord ; such as, in their investigation of sentiments, have been used to mingle earnest and humble prayer with patient and impartial incjuiry ; such, in fine, as have become little children in their own eyes. If they be, it is a cir- cumstance of consequence, not sufTicient, indeed, to justify their change of senti- ments, but to render that change an ob- ject of attention. When persons of this description embrace a set of new princi- ples, it becomes a matter of serious con- sideration, what could induce them to do so. But, if they be not, their case de- serves but little regard. When the body of converts to a system are mere specu- latists in religion, men of little or no se- riousness, and wlio pay no manner of at- tention to vital and practical religion, it reflects neither honor on the cause they have espoused, nor dishonor on that w hich they have rejected. When we see per- sons of this stamp go over to the Socinian standard, it does not at all surprise us : on the contrary, we are ready to say, as the Apostle said of the defection of some of the professors of Christianity in his day, " They went out from us, but they were not of us." That many of the Socinian converts were previously men of no serious reli- 206 THE NUMBER OF SOCINIAN CONVERTS. gion, needs no other proof than the ac- knowledgement of Dr. Priestley, and of Mr. Belsham. "It cannot be denied," says the former, " that many of those who judge so truly, concerning particu- lar tenets in religion, have attained to that cool and unbiassed temper of mind in consequence of becoming more indif- ferent to religion in general, and to all the modes and doctrines of it." And this indifference to all religion is consid- ered by Dr. Priestley as "favorable to a distinguishing between truth and false- hood." Disc. p. 65. Much to the same purpose is what Mr. Belsham, alleges (p. 32) as quoted before, that " men who are most indifferent to the practice of re- ligion, and whose minds, therefore, are least attached to any set of principles, will ever be the first to see the absurdity of a popular superstition, and to embrace a rational system of faith." It is easy to see, one should think, from hence, what sort of characters those are, which com- pose the body of Socinian converts. Dr. Priestley, however, considers this circumstance as reflecting no dishonor upon his principles. He thinks he has fully accounted for it. So thinks Mr. Belsham; and so thinks the Monthly Re- viewers, in their Review of Mr. Bel- sham's Sermon.* Surely Socinians must be wretchedly driven, or they would not have recourse to such a refuge as that of acknowledging that they hold a gospel, the best prepara- tive for which is, a being destitute of all religion! " What a reflection," says Dr. Williams, in his answer to this sermon, * I have not scrupled to class the Monthly Re- viewers among Socinians. Although in a work of that kind there is frequently, no doubt, a change of hands ; yet it is easy to see that, of late years, (a very short interval excepted,) it has been principally, if not entirely, under Socinian direction; and, so far as religion is concerned, has been used as an in- strument for the propagation of that system. Im- partiality towards Calvinistic writers is not, therefore, to be expected from that quarter. It is true tiiey sometimes affect to stand aloof fiom all parties ; but it is mere affectation. Nothing can be more absurd than to expect them to judge impartially in a cause vvherein they themselves are parties ; absurd, how- ever, as it is, some persons are weak enough to be imposed upon by their pretences. Perhaps of late years the Monthly Review has more contributed to the spreading of Sociniauism than all other writings put together. The plan of that work does not admit of argumentation : a sudden flash of wit is generally reckoned sufficient to discredit a Calvinistic per- fomance; and this just suits the turn of those who are destitute of all religion. A laborious investiga- tion of matters would not suit their temper of mind : they had rather subscribe to the well-known maxim, that " ridicule is the test of truth ; " and then, when- ever the Reviewers hold up a doctrine as ridiculous, they have nothing to do but to csin the laugh, and conclude it to be a "vulgar error, or a popular superstition." " is here implied" on the most eminent Reformers of every age, who were the first to see the absurdities of a popular su- perstition, and the falsity of reigning prin- ciples ! What a poor compliment to the religious character of Unitarian reformers ! According to this account, one might be tempted to ask. Was it by being indiffer- ent to the practice of religion that Mr. Belsham was qualified to see and pro- nounce Calvinism to be gloomy and erro- neous, an unamiable and melancholy sys- tem 1 Charity forbids us to think he was thus qualified; and, if so, by his own rule he is no very competent judge ; except he is pleased to adopt the alternative that he is only the humble follower of more saga- cioxis but irreligious guides." We read of different kinds of preparatives in the Scriptures ; but I do not recollect that they contain any thing like the above. Zeal and attention, a disposition to search and pray, according to Solomon (Prov. ii. 1 — 9,) is a preparative for the discovery of truth. The piety of Cornelius, which he exercised according to the opportunities he possessed of obtaining light, was a pre- parative for his reception of the gospel as soon as he heard it. And this accords with our Lord's declaration. "He that will do his will shall know of his doctrine." On the other hand, the cold indifference of some in the apostolic age, " who received not the love of the truth," but, as it should seem, held it with a loose hand, even while they professed it, was equally a pre- parative for apostacy. We also read of some, in Isaiah's time, who " leaned very much to a life of dissipation :" they " erred through wine." "All tables are full of vomit and filthiness " (saith the prophet, describing one of their assemblies,) " so that there is no place." He adds, " Whom shall he teach knowledge, and whom shall he make to understand doctrine 1" And what is the answer 1 Were the men who " leaned to a life of dissipation," who loved to suck at the breasts of sensual in- dulgence, the proper subjects 1 No : " those that were weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts." But now, it seems, the case is altered, and, in order to find out the truth, the most likely way is to be divested of all religion ! It is true these things are spoken of what are called" speculative Unitarians," whom Dr. Priestley calls " men of the world," and distinguishes from " serious Chris- tians." He endeavors also to guard his cause by observing that the bulk of pro- fessing Christians, or of those who should have ranked as Christians, in every age, had been of this description. It must be acknowledged that there have been luke- warm, dissipated, and merely nominal THE NUMDER OF SOCIMAN CONVERTS. 207 Clirisliiins, in all edicnce to him. But, when he himself becomes the accuser, the case is altered, and instead of reckoning the supposed errors of the Trinitarians to be merely speculative points, and harmless opinions, they are said to be " idolatrous and blasj)hemous."f But idolatry and blasj)hemy will not only be brought into account at the day of judgment, but be very offensive in the eyes of God. 1 Cor. vi. 9. For my part, I am not offended with Dr. Priestley, or any other Socinian, for calling the wor- ship that I jiay to Christ idolatry and blasphemy ; because, if he be only a man, what they say is just. If they can acquit themselves of sin in thinking meanly of Christ, they certainly can do the same in speaking meanly of him ; and words ought to correspond with thoughts. I only think they should not trifle in such a manner as they do with error, when it is supposed to have place in themselves, any more than when they charge it upon their opponents. If Dr. Priestley had formed his estimate of human virtue by that great standard which requires love to God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to our neighbor as ourselves ; instead of rep- resenting men by nature as having " more virtue than vice,"^ he must have acknowl- edged, with the Scriptures, that, " the whole world lieth in wickedness" — that " every thought and imagination of their heart is only evil continually" — and that " tiiere is none of them that doeth good, no not one." If Mr. Belsham, in the midst of that "marvelous light" which he professes lately to have received, liad only seen the extent and goodness of that law wliich re- quires us to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbor as ourselves, in the light in whicli revelation places it, he could not have trifled, in the manner he has, with tlie nature of sin, calling "human frailty," and the subjects of it " the frail and er- ring children of men :" nor could he have represented God, in " marking and pun- ishing every instance of it, as acting the part of a merciless tyrant. "|| Mr. Bel- sham talks of " Unitarians being led to form just sentiments of the reasonableness of the divine law, and the equity of the divine government ;" but of what divine law does he speak 1 Not of that, sure- ly, which requires love to God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves ; nor of that + Disc. p. 96. § Let. Phil. Unb. Part. I p. 80. II Serm. p. 33—35. 212 THE STANDARD OF MORALITY. government which threatens the curse of God on every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the kxw to do them; for this allows not of a. single transgression, and punishes every instance of human folly, which Mr. Belshara considers as "merciless tyranny." He means to insinuate, I suppose, that for the law to take cognizance of the very thoughts and intents of the heart, at least of every instance that occurs, is unreason- able ; and that to inflict punishment ac- cordingly is inequitable. He conceives, therefore, of a law, it seems, that is more accommodated to the propensities, or, as he would call ihem, frailties of the erring children of men : a law that may not cut off all hopes of a sinner's acceptance with God by the deeds of it, so as to render an atoning mediator absolutely necessary, and this he calls reasonable ; and of a government that will not bring every se- cret thing into judgment, nor make men accountal)Ie ibr every idle word, and this he calls equitable. And this is tlie "mar- velous light " of Socinianism : this is the doctrine that is to promote a holy life ; this is the scheme of those who are con- tinually branding the Calvinistic system with Antinomianism ! If the moral law require love to God with all tlie heart and soul, and mind, and strength, and to our neighlior as ourselves, it cannot allow the least degree of aliena- tion of the heart from God, or the small- est instance of malevolence to man. And if it be what the Scripture says it is, holy, just, and good; then, though it require all the heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, it cannot be too strict; and, if it be not too strict, it cannot be unworthy of God, nor can it be " merciless tyranny" to abide by it. On the contrary, it must be worthy of God to say of a just law, "Not a jot or tittle of it shall fail." Dr. M'Gill, in his Practical Essay on the Death of Jesus Christ, (p. 252,) main- tains that "the Supreme Lawgiver deter- mined from the beginning to mitigate the rigor of the law, to make allowances for human error and imperfection, and to ac- cept of repentance and sincere obedience, instead of sinless perfection." But, if this were the determination of the Lawgiv- er, it was either considered as a matter of right or of undeserved favor. If the for- mer, why was not the law so framed as to correspond with the determination of the Lawgiver 1 How was it, especially, that a new edition of it should be published from Mount Sinai, and that without any such allowances 1 Or, if this could be account- ed for, how was it that Jesus Christ should declare that " not a jot or tittle of it should fail," and make it his business to condemn the conduct of the Scribes and Pharisees, who had lowered its demands and softened its penalties, with a view to " make allow- ance for human error and imperfection 1" It could answer no good end, one should think, to load the divine precepts with threatenings of cruelty. A law so loaded would not bear to be put in execution : and we have been taught by Dr. Priestley, in what he has written on the Test Act, to consider " the continuance of a law which will not bear to be put in execution, as needless and oppressive, and as what ought to be abrogated."* If repentance and sincere obedience be all that ought to be required of men in their present state, then the law ought to be so framed, and allowance to be made by it for error and imperfection. But then it would follow that where men do repent, and are sincere, there are no errors and imperfections to be allowed for. Errors and imperiections imply a law from which they are devia- tions ; but if we be under no law except one that allows for deviations, then we are as holy as we ought to be, and need no forgiveness. If, on the other hand, it be allowed that the relaxation of the law of innocence is not what we have any right to expect, but that God has granted us this indulgence out of pure grace : I would then ask the reason why these gentlemen are continu- ally exclaiming against our principles as making the Almighty a tyrant, and his law unreasonable and cruel 1 Is it tyran- nical, unreasonable, or cruel, for God to withhold what we have no right to ex- pect 1 1 Dr. Priestley defines justice as being "such a degree of severity, or pains and penalties so inflicted, as will produce the best efi"ect with respect both to those who are exposed to them, and to others who are under the same government : or, in other words, that degree of evil which is calculated to produce the greatest degree of good : and, if the punishment exceed this measure — if, in any instance, it be an unnecessary or useless suffering, it is always censured as cruelty, and is not even called justice, but real injustice." * Fam. Let. VI. f The intelligent reader who is acquainted with the difteront sentiments that are embraced in the religious world, will easily perceive the agreement between the Socinian and Arminian systems on this subject. By their exclamations on the injustice of God as represented by the Calvinistic system, they both render that a debt which God in the whole tenor of his word declares to be of grace. Neither of them will admit the equity of the divine law, and that man is thereby righteously condemned to eternal punishment, antecedently to the grace of the gospel; or, if they admit it in words, they will be ever contradicting it by the tenor of their reasoning. OP MORALITY IN GENERAL. 213 To tliis he adds, "If, in any parlicuhir case, tlie strict execution of the Uiw wouhl do more liarni than good, it is universally agreed tiial tiie iiuiiislinienl ought to he remitted.""' With an oliservation or two on tlie above passage, I shall close this letter. First : That all punishments are design- ed for the good of tlie whole, and less (or corrective) punishments, lor the good of the otVeiuler, is admitted. Every instance ol divine punishment will he not only pro- portioned to the laws of equity, but adapt- ed to promote the good of the universe at large. God never inflicts punishment for the sake of punishing. He has no such pleasure in the death of a sinner as to put him to pain, whatever may be his de- sert, without some great and good end to be answered liy it : but that, in the case of the finally-impenilent, this end should necessarily include the good of the offend- er, is as contrary to reason as it is to Scripture. It does not appear, from any- thing we know of governments, either hu- man or divine, that tiie good of the offend- er is necessarily, and in all cases, the end of punishment. When a murderer is exe- cuted, it is necessary for the good of the community : but it would sound very strange to say it was necessary for his own good ; and that unless his good were promoted by it, as well as that of the com- munity, it must be an act of cruelty ! Secondly : That there are cases in hu- man governments in which it is right and necessary to relax in the execution of the sentence of the law is also admitted. But this arises from the imperfection of human laws. Laws are general rules for the conduct of a community, with suit- able punishments annexed to the breach of them. But no general rules can be made by men that will apply to every particular case. If legislators were wise and good men, and could foresee every particular case that would arise in the different stages of society, they would so frame their laws as that they need not be relaxed when those cases should occur. But God is wise and good ; and, pre- viously to his giving us ilie law which re- quires us to love him w ith all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves, knew every change that could possiljly arise, and every case that could occur. The question, therefore, is not, "whether, if in any particular case the strict execu- tion of the law would do more harm than good, it ought not to be remitted; but whether an omniscient, wise, and good lawgiver, can lie sujiposed to have made a law the penalty of which, if put in * Let. Unb. P. I. pp. 100, 101. execution, would do more harm than good. Would a being of such a character make a law, the penalty of which, accord- ing to strict e(|uity, retjuires to be remit- ted; a law by which he could not in justice abide; and that not only in a few singular cases, but in the case of every individual, in every age, to whom it is given 1 It is possible these considerations may suffice to show that the divine law is 710/ relaxed; but, be that as it may, the question at issue is — What is the moral tendency of supposing that it is"? To relax a bad law would indeed have a good ef- fect, and to abrogate it would have a better; but not so resj)ecting a good one. If the divine law lie what the Scrip- ture says it is, holy, just, and good; to relax it in the j)rcccpt, or even to miti- gate the penalty, without some expedient to secure its honors, must be subversive of good order ; and the scheme w hich pleads for such relaxation must be unfavorable to holiness, justice, and goodness. LETTER VI. ON THE PROMOTION OF MORALITY IN GENERAL. What has been advanced in the last letter on the standard of morality may serve to fix the meaning of the term in this. The term morality, you know, is sometimes used to express those duties which subsist between man and man, and in this acceptation stands distinguished from religion J but I mean to include under it the whole of what is contained in the moral law. Nothing is more common than for the adversaries of the Calvinistic system to charge it with immorality ; nay, as if this were self-evident, they seem to think themselves excused from advancing any- thing like sober evidence to support the charge. Virulence, rant, and extrava- gance, are the weapons with which we are not unfrequently combated in this warfare. " I challenge the whole body and being of moral evil itself," says a writer of the present day,* " to invent, or inspire, or whisper, anything blacker or more wicked : yea, if sin itself had all the wit, the tongues, and pens of all men and angels, to all eternity, I defy the whole to say anything of God worse than this. O sin, thou hast spent and emptied thy- * Llewellyn's Tracts, p. 292. 214 OP MORALITY IN GENERAL- self in the doctrine of John Calvin ! And here I rejoice that I have heard the utmost that malevolence itself shall ever be able to say against infinite benignity ! I was myself brought up and tutored in it, and being delivered, and brought to see the evil and danger, am bound by my obligations to God, angels, and men, to warn my fellow-sinners ; I therefore, here, before God, and the whole universe, I'ecall and condemn every word I have spoken in favor of it. I thus renounce the doctrine as the rancor of devils; a doctrine the preaching of which is babl>ling and mocking, its prayers blasphemy, and whose praises are the horrible yelling of sin and hell. And this I do, because I know and believe that God is love ; and therefore his decrees, works, and ways, are also love", and cannot be otherwise." It were ill-spent time to attempt an an- swer to such unfounded calumny as this, which certainly partakes much more of the ravings of insanity than of the words of truth and soberness : yet this, accord- ing to the Monthly Review, (July, 1792,) is " the true coloring of the doctiune of Calvinism." Had anything like this been written by a Calvinist against Socin- ianism, the Reviewers would have been the first to have exclaimed against Cal- vinistic illiberality. This gentleman professes to have been a Calvinist, and so does Dr. Priestley. The Calvinism of the latter, however, seems to have left an impression upon his mind very different from the above. " Whether it be owing to my Calvinistic education," says he, " or my considering the principles of Calvinism as generally favorable to that leading virtue, devotion, or to their being something akin to the doctrine of Necessity, I cannot but ac- knowledge that, notwithstanding what I have occasionally written against that system, and which I am far from wishing to retract, I feel myself disposed to look upon Calvinists with a kind of respect, and could never join in the contempt and insult with which I have often heard them treated in conversation." * But Dr. Priestley, I may be told, what- ever good opinion he may have of the piety and virtue of Calvinists, has a very ill opinion of Calvinism : and this, in a cer- tain degree, is true. Dr. Priestley, how- ever, would not say that " the preaching of that system was babbling and mocking, its prayers blasphemy, or its praises the horrible yellings of sin and hell ;" on the contrary he acknowledges " its principles to be generally favorable to that leading virtue, devotion." * Phil. Nee. 163. I confess Dr. Priestley has advanced some heavy accusations on the immoral tendency of Calvinism, — accusations which seem scarcely consistent with the candid concessions just now quoted ; and these I shall now proceed to examine. " I do not see," says he, (p. 154,) "what motive a Calvinist can have to give any attention to his moral conduct. So long as he is vuiregenerate, all his thoughts, words, and actions, are necessarily sinful, and in the act o{ regeneration he is altogether passive. On this account, the most consistent Cal- vinists never address any exhortations to sinners ; considering them as dead in tres- passes and sins, and, therefore, that there would be as much sense and propriety in speaking to the dead, as to them. On the other hand, if a man be in the happy num- ber of the elect, he is sure that God will, some time or other, and at the most pro- per time, (for which the last moment of his life is not too late,) work upon him his miraculous work of saving and sanctify- ing grace. Though he should be never so wicked immediately before this divine and effectual calling, it makes nothing against him. Nay, some think that, this being a more signal display of the wonders of di- vine grace, it is rather the more probable that God will take this opportunity to dis- play it. If any system of speculative principles can operate as an axe at the root of all virtue and goodness, it is this." On this unfavorable account of Calvinism I will offer the following observations : — First : If Calvinism be an axe at the root of virtue and goodness, it is only so with respect to those of the "unregene- rate ;" which certainly do not include all the virtue and goodness in the world. As to others, Dr. Priestley acknowledges, as w^e have seen already, that our principles are " generally favorable to devotion : " and devotion, if it be what he denomi- nates it, " a leading virtue," will doubt- less be followed with other virtues cor- respondent with it. He acknowledges also (p. 163, 164,) " there are many (among the Calvinists) whose hearts and lives are, in all respects, truly christian, and whose christian tempers are really promoted hy their oivn vieivs of their system." How is it, then, that Dr. Priestley " cannot see what motive a Calvinist can have to give any attention to his moral conduct ;" and why does he represent Calvinism as " an axe at the root of all virtue and good- ness 1" By all virtue and goodness he can only mean the virtue and goodness of wicked men. Indeed, this appears plainly to have been his meaning ; for, after ac- knowledging that Calvinism has something in it favorable to " an habitual and ani- mated devotion," he adds, p. 162, " but. OF MORALITy IN GENERAL. 215 where a disposition to vice has jnc-occupi- ed tlic inind, I am very well satisfied, and but too many tacts ini;jriit be alleged in prooiof it, that the doctrines of Calvinism have been actually latal to the remains uf virtue, and have driven men into the most des})cratc and al>andoned course of wick- edness ; whereas the doctrine of necessity, properly understood, caiuiot possil)ly have any such etVect, i>ut the contrary." Now, suppose all this were true, it can never justify Dr. Priestley in the use of such uidimited terms as those before mention- ed. Nor is it any disgrace to the Calvin- istic system that men whose minds are pre-occupied with vice should misunder- stand and abuse it. The purest liquor, if put into a musty cask, will become un- palatable. It is no more than is said of some who professed to embrace Chris- tianity in the times of the apbstles, that they turned the grace of God into lasciv- iousncss. Is it any wonder that the wick- ed will do wickedly ; or that they will ex- tract poison irom that which, rightly un- derstood, is the food of tiie righteous 1 It is enougli if our sentiments, like God's words, do good to the upright. Wisdom does not expect to he justified, but of her children. The Scriptures themselves make no pretense of having been useful to those who have still lived in sin ; but al- low the gospel to be " a savor of death unto death in them that perish." The doctrine of necessity is as liable to pro- duce this elTect as any of the doctrines of Calvinism. It is true, as Dr. Priestley ob- serves, "it cannot do so, if it be properly understood :" but this is allowing that it may do so if it be misunderstood ; and we have as good reason for ascribing the want of a proper understanding of the subject to those who aliuse predestination, and other Calvinistic doctrines, as he has for ascribing it to those who abuse the doc- trine of necessity. Dr. Priestley speaks of the remains of virtue, where a disposi- tion to vice has pre-occupied the mind ; and of the Calvinistic system being as an axe laid at the root of these remains : but some people will (juestion whether virtue of such a descrij)tion have any root be- longing to it, so as to require an axe to cut it up ; and whether it be not owing to this circumstance that such characters, like the stony-ground hearers, in time of temptation fall away. Secondly: The Calvinistic system is misrepresented by Dr. Priestley, even as to its influence on the unregenerate. In the passage before quoted, he represents those persons " who are of the happy num- l>er of the elect as being sure that God will, some time or other, work upon them this work of sanctifying grace." But how are they to come at this assurance 1 Not by anything contained in the Calvinistic system. All the writers in tiiat scheme have constantly insisted that no man has any warrant to conclude himself of tho happy number of the elect, till the work of sanctifying grace is actually wrought. With what color of truth or ingenuous- ness, then, could Dr. Priestley represent our system as allbrding a ground of assur- ance, previously to that e\entl This is not a matter of small account in the pre- sent controversy ; it is the i)oint on which the immoral tendency of the doctrine wholly depends. As to the certainty of any man's being sanctified and saved at some future time, this can have no ill in- fluence upon him, while it exists merely in the divine mind. If it have any such influence, it must be owing to his know- ledge of it at a time when, his heart being set on evil, he would lie disposed to abuse it : but this, as we have seen, upon the Calvinistic system, is utterly impossible; because nothing short of a sanctified tem- per of mind afVords any just grounds to draw the favorable conclusion. Dr. Priestley has also represented it as a part of the Calvinistic system, or, at least, "as the opinion of some," that ihe more wick- ed a man is, previously to God's work of sanctifying grace upon him, the more probable it is that he will, some time, be sanctified and saved." But, though it be allowed that God frequently takes occa- sion from the degree of human wickedness to magnify his grace in delivering from it, yet it is no part of the Calvinistic system that the former affords any grounds of probability to expect the latter : and who- ever they be to whom Dr. Priestley al- ludes, as entertaining such an opinion, I am inclined to think they are not among the re- spectable writers of the party, and proba- bly not among those who have written at all. Thirdly : Let it be considered, whether Dr. Priestley's own views of Philosophi- cal Necessity do not amount to the same thing as those which he alleges to the dis- credit of Calvinism ; or, if he will insist upon the contrary, whether he must not contradict himself, and maintain a system which, by his own confession, is less friendly to piety and humility than that which he opposes. A state of unregcne- racy is considered by Calvinists as being the same thing which Dr. Priestley de- scribes as " the state of a person wlio sins with a full consent of will, and who, dis- posed as he is, is under an impossibility of acting otherwise ; but who," as he justly maintains, " is nevertheless accountable, even though that consent lie produced by the efficacy and unconquerable influence of motive. It is only," continues he, (pp. 216 OF MORALITY IN GENERAL. 63—65), "where the necessity of sinning arises from some other cause than a man's own disposition of mind that we ever say, there is an impropriety in punishing a man for his conduct. If the impossibility of acting well has arisen from a bad disposi- tion or habit, its having been impossible, loith that disposition or habit, to act virtu- ously, is never any reason for our forbear- ing punishment ; because we know that punishment is proper to correct that dis- position and that habit." Now, if it be consistent to punish a man for necessary evil, as Dr. Priestley abundantly main- tains, why should it be inconsistent to ex- hort, persuade, reason, or expostulate with him; and why does he call those Calvinists " the most consistent" who avoid such addresses to their auditors 1 If "the thoughts, words, and actions of unregenerate men, being necessarily sin- ful," be a just reason why they should not have exhortations addressed to them, the whole doctrine of Necessity must be incon- sistent with the use of means, than which nothing can be more contrary to truth, and to Dr. Priestley's own views of things. As to our hein^ passive in regeneration, if Dr. Priestley would only admit that any one character could be found that Is so de- praved as to be destitute of all true virtue, the same thing would follow from his own Necessarian principles. According to those principles, every man who is under the dominion of a vicious habit of mind will continue to choose vice, till such time as that habit be changed, and that by some influence without himself. "If," says he (p. 7,) " I make any particular choice to- day, I should have done the same yester- day, and should do the same to-morrow, provided there be no change in the state of my mind respecting the object of the choice." Now, can any person in such a state of mind be supposed to be active in the changing of it ; for such activity must imply an inclination to have it changed ; which is a contradiction, as it supposes him at the same time under the dominion of evil and inclined to goodness 1 But, possibly, Dr. Priestley will not ad- mit that any one character can be found who is uttei'ly destitute of true virtue. Be it so ; he must admit that, in some characters, vice has an habitual ascenden- cy : but the habitual ascendency of vice as certainly determines the choice as even a total depravity. A decided majority in parliament carries every measure with as much certainty as if there was no minori- ty. Wherever vice is predominant, (and in no other case is regeneration needed,) the party must necessarily be passive in the first change of his mind in favor of virtue. But there are seasons, in the life of th? most vicious men, in which their evil pro*- pensities are at a lower ebb than usual ; in which conscience is alive, and thoughts of a serious nature arrest their attention. At these favorable moments, it may be thought that virtue has the advantage of its opposite, and that this is the time for a person to liecome active in effecting a change upon his own mind. Without in- quiring whether there be any real vir- tue in all this, it is sufficient to observe that, if Ave allow the whole of what is pleaded for, the objection destroys itself". For it supposes that, in order to a volun- tary activity in favor of virtue, the mind must first be virtuously disposed, and that by something in which it was passive ; which is giving up the point in dispute. Dr. Priestley often represents " a change of disposition and character as being effected only by a change of con- duct, and that of long continuance." (p. 156.) But, whatever influence a course of virtuous actions may have upon the disposition, and however it may tend to establish us in the habit of doing good, all goodness of disposition cannot arise from this quarter. There must have been a disposition to good, and one too that was sufficiently strong to outweigh its oppo- site, ere a course of virtuous actions could be commenced ; for virtuous action is nothing but the effect, or expression, of virtuous disposition. To say that this previous disposition was also produced by other previous actions is only carrying the matter a little farther out of sight; for, unless it can be proved that virtuous action may exist prior to, and without all virtuous disposition, let the one be car- ried back as far as it may, it must still have been preceded by the other, and, in obtaining the preceding disposition, tlie soul must necessarily have heen passive.* Dr. Priestley labors hard to overthrow the doctrine of immediate divine agency, and contends that all divine influence upon the human mind is through the medium of second causes, or according to the estab- lished laws of nature. " If moral impres- sions were made upon men's minds by an immediate divine agency, to what end," he asks, "has been the whole apparatus * Since die publication of the second edition of these Letteis, it has been suggested by a friend that there is no necessity for confining these observations to tile case of a man totally depraved, or one under the habitual ascendency of vice; for that, according to Dr. Priestley's Necessarian principles, all voli- tions are the eft'ects of motives; therefore every man, in every volition, as he is the subject of the influence of motive operating as a cause, is passive^ equally so as he is supposed to be, according to the Calvin- istic system, in regeneration. OP MORALITY IN GENERAL. 217 of revealed relii^ion?'^* This, in offoct, is saying that, it tlicie In; laws lor such an operation on tlie human mind, every kind oi influence upon it must l)e through the medium ot those laws ; and that, if it l)c otherwise, there is no need of the use of means. But might he not as well allege that, if there lu; laws hy which the planets move, every kind of inllucnce upon them must have heen through the medium of tliose laws ; and deny that the Divine Being immediately, and prior to the operation of the laws of nature, put them all in motion 1 i\Iight he not as well ask. If an immediate intluence could be exercised in setting the material system in motion, of what use are all the law s of nature, by whicli it is kept in motion ] Whatever laws attend the move- ments of tiie material system, the first creation of it is allowed to have been by an immediate exertion of divine power. God said, " Let there be light, and there was light ; " and why should not the sec- ond creation be the same 1 I say the sec- ond creation; for the change upon the sinner's heart is represented as nothing less in the divine word : and the very manner of its being effected is expressed in language which evidently alludes to the first creation — "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Not only Scrip- ture, but reason itself, teaches the neces- sity for such an immediate divine interpo- sition in the changing of a sinner's heart. If a piece of machinery, (suppose the whole material system,) were once in a slate of disorder, the mere exercise of those laws by which it was ordained to move would never bring it into order again; but, on the contrary, would drive it -on farther and farther to everlasting confusion. As to election. Dr. Priestley cannot consistently maintain his scheme of Ne- cessity without admitting it. If, as he abundantly maintains, God is the author of every good disposition in the human heart ;f and if, as he also in the same sec- tion maintains, God, in all that he does, pursues one plan, or system, previously concerted ; it must follow that wherever good dispositions are produced, and men are finally saved, it is altogether in conse- quence of the appointment of God ; which, as to the present argument, is the same thing as the Calvinistic dotrine of election. So plain a consequence is this from Dr. Priestley's Necessarian principles, that he himself, when writing his Treat- ise on that subject, could not forbear to draw it. " Our Savior," he says, (p. 140,) * Disc. p. 221. VOL. I. tPhil. Nee. §. XL 28 " seems to have considered tlie rejection of the gospel by those who boasted of their wisdom, J and the reception of it by the more despised part of mankind, as being the consequence of the express ap- pointment of God: "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Fa- ther, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto bai)es ; even so. Father, lor so it seemelh good in thy sight." To the same pur- pose, in the next page but one, he ob- serves that God is considered as " the sovereign Disposer both of gosj)cl privi- leges here, and future happiness here- after, as appears in such passages as 2 Thcss. ii. 13. " God hath from the be- ginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctilication of the Spirit and belief of the truth." If there be any difference between that election which is involved in Dr. Priest- ley's own scheme, and that of the Calvin- ists, it must consist, not in the original ap- pointment, or in the certainty of the event, but in the intermediate causes or reasons which induced the Deity to fix things in the manner that he has done : and it is doulitful whether even this can be admit- ted. It is true Dr. Priestley, by his ex- clamations against unconditional election,^ would seem to maintain that, where God hath appointed a sinner to obtain salvation, it is on account of his foreseen virtue: and he may plead that such an election is fa- vorable to virtue, as making it the ground or procuring cause of eternal felicity ; while an election that is altogether uncon- ditional must be directly the reverse. But let it be considered, in the first place, whether such a view of election as this does not clash with the whole tenor of Scripture, which teaches us that we are "saved and called with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to the divine purpose and grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" — "Not of works, lest any man should boast." — "At this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And, if by grace, then it is no more of works : otherwise grace is no more grace. But, if it be of works, then it is no more grace : otherwise work is no more work. "II Secondly: Let it be con- sidered whether such an election will con- i Query, Were not tlie.se tl;e rational religionists of tlial age \ § Considerations on Difference in Religious Opin- ions, § III. II See also those Scriptures which represent elec- tion as tile cause of faith and lioliness; particularly Ephes. i. 3, 4. John vi. 37, Rom. viii. 22. 30. Acts xiii. 48. 1 Pet. i. 1. Rom. ix. 15, 16. But, if it be the cause, it cannot be tlie effect of them. 218 OF MORALITY IN GENERAL. sist with Dr. Priestley's own scheme of Necessity. This scheme supposes that all virtue, as well as every thing else, is ne- cessary. Now, whence arose the necessi- ty of it 1 It was not self-originated, nor accidental : it must have been established by the Deity. And then it will follow that, if God elect any man on account of his foreseen virtue, he must have elected him on account of that whicli he had de- termined to give him ; but this, as to the origin of things, amounts to the same thing as unconditional election. As to men's taking liberty to sin from the consideration of their being among the number of the elect, that, as we have seen already, is what no man can do with safe- ty or consistency, seeing he can have no evidence on that subject but what must arise from a contrary spirit and conduct. But, suppose it were otherwise, an objec- tion of this sort would come with an ill grace from Dr. Priestley, who encourages all mankind not to fear, since God has made them all for unlimited ultimate hap- piness, and (whatever be tlieir conduct in the present life) to ultimate unlimited hap- piness they will all doubtless come.* Upon the whole, let those who are in- ured to close thinking judge whether Dr. Priestley's own views of Philosophical Necessity do not include the leading prin- ciples of Calvinism 1 But, should he in- sist upon the contrary, then let it be con- sidered whether he must not contradict himself, and maintain a system which, by his own confession, is less friendly to piety and humility than that Avhich he op- poses. " The essential difference," he says, "between the two schemes is this : the Necessarian believes his own disposi- tions and actions are the necessary and sole means of his present and future hap- piness ; so that, in the most proper sense of the words, it depends entirely on him- self whether he be virtuous or vicious, hap- py or miserable. The Calvinist maintains, on the other hand, that so long as a man is unregenerate, all his thoughts, words, and actions, are necessarily sinful, and in the act of regeneration he is altogether pas- sive."f We have seen already that on the scheme of Dr. Priestley, as well as that of the Calvinists, men, in the first turning of the bias of their hearts, must be passive. But allow it to be otherwise ; allow what the Doctor elsewhere teaches (p. 156,) that " a change of disposition is the effect, and not the cause of a change of conduct ; " and that it depends entirely on ourselves whether we will thus change our conduct, and by these means our dispositions, and so be happy forever : all this, if others of * Phil. Nee. pp. 128, 129. t Ibid. pp. 152—154. his observations be just, instead of pro- moting piety and virtue, will have a con- trary tendency. In the same performance (p. 107) Dr. Priestley acknowledges that " those who, from a principle of religion, ascribe more to God and less to man than other persons, are men of the greatest elevation of piety." But, if so, it will follow that the essential difference between the necessarianism of Socinians and that of Calvinists (seeing that it consists in this, that the one makes it depend entirely upon a man's self whether he be virtuous or vicious, happy or miserable ; and the oth- er upon God,) is in favor of; the latter. Those who consider men as depending en- tirely upon God for virtue and happiness ascribe more to God and less to man than the other, and so, according to Dr. Priest- ley, are "men of the greatest elevation of piety." They, on the other hand, who suppose men to be dependent entirely up- on themselves for these things, must, con- sequently, have less of piety, and more of "heathen stoicism; " which, as the same writer in the same treatise (p. 67) ob- serves, "allows men to pray for external things, but admonishes them that, as for virtue, it is our own, and must ai"ise from within ourselves, if we have it at all." But let us come to facts. If, as Dr. Priestley says, there be " something in our system which, if carried to its just consequences, would lead us to the most abandoned wickedness," it might be ex- pected, one should think, that a loose, dissipated, and al)andoned life would be a more general thing among the Calvinists than among their opponents. This seems to be a consequence of which he feels the force, and therefore discovers an inclina- tion to make it good. In answer to the question, " Why those persons who hold these opinions are not abandoned to all Avickedness, when they evidently lay them under so little restraint '? " he answers, " This is often the case of those who pur- sue these principles to their just and fatal consequences ;" adding, " for it is easy to prove that the Antinomian is the only con- sistent absolute predestinarian.'^* That there are persons who profess the doc- trine of absolute predestination, and who, from that consideration, may indulge themselves in the greatest enormities, is admitted. Dr. Priestley, however, al- lows that these are " only such persons whose minds are previously depraved;" that is, wicked men, ivho turn the grace of God into lasciviousncss. Nor are such examples " often" to be seen among us ; and, where they are, it is commonly in such people as make no serious pretence to personal religion, but who have just so * Con. DifT. Opin. § III. OF MORALITY IN GENERAL. 219 much of predestination in their heads as to suppose that all tliinirs will he as they are appointed to he, and therefore that it is in vain to strive, — just so much as to look at the end, and overlook the means ; which is as wide of Calvinism, as it is of Socinianism. This may he the absolute predestination which Dr. Priestley means ; namely, a predestination to eternal life, let our^conduct l)e ever so impure; and a predestination to eternal death, let it be ever so holy : and, if so, it is granted that (he Antinomian is the only consistent hc- liever,in it ; hut then it might, with equal truth, he added, that he is the oidy per- son who believes in it at all. The Cal- vinistic doctrine of predestination sup- poses that holiness of heart and life are as much the oi)ject of divine a])pointment as future happiness, and that this connec- tion can never be broken. To prove that the Antinomian is the only consistent be- liever in such a predestination as this may not be so easy a task as barely to assert it. I cannot imagine it would be very easy, especially for Dr. Priestley ; seeing he acknowledges that " the idea of every thing being predestinated from all eterni- ty is no objection to prayer, because all means are appointed as well as ends ; and therefore, if prayer be in itself a proper means, the end to be obtained by it, we may be assured, will not be had without this, any more than without any other means, or necessary previous circumstan- ces."* Dr. Priestley may allege that this is not absolute predestination : but it is as absolute as ours, which makes equal pro- vision for faith and holiness, and for every means of salvation, as this does for prayer. Will Dr. Priestley undertake to prove that a loose, dissipated, and abandoned life is a more general thing among the Cal- vinists than among their opponents 1 I am persuaded he will not. He knows that the Calvinists, in general, are far from being a dissipated or an aliandoned people, and goes about to account for it ; and that in a way that shall reflect no honor upon their principles. "Our moral conduct," he observes, "is not left at the mercy of our opinions : and the regard to virtue that is kept up, liy those who maintain the doctrines above mentioned, is owing to the influence of other principles implant- ed in our nature. "f Admitting this to be true, yet one would think the worst prin- ciples will, upon the xcholc, he productive of the worst practices. They whose in- nate principles of virtue are all employed in counteracting the influence of a perni- cious system cannot be expected to form such amiable characters as where those t Consid. Diflr. Opin. § Lp III. in. principles are not only left at liberty to operate, but arc aided by a good system. It might, therefore, be expected, I say, again, if our principles be what our oppo- nents say they are, that a loose, dissipated, and ai>andoned life would be a more gene- ral thing among us than among them. I may be told that the same thing, if put to us would be found equally dilhcult ; or that, notwithstanding we contend for the supe- rior influence of the Calvinistic system to that of Socinus, yet we should find it difficult to jtrove that a loose, dissipated, and al)an(ioncd life is a more general thing among Socinians than it is among Calvin- ists. And I allow that I am not suffi- ciently acquainted with the bulk of the people of that denomination to hazard an assertion of this nature. But, if what is allowed by their own writers (who ought to know them) may be admitted as evi- dence, such an assertion might, neverthe- less, be supported. " Rational Christians are often represented," says Mr. Bel- sham," as indifferent to practical religion." Nor does he deny the justice of this rep- resentation, but admits, though with ap- parent reluctance, that " there has been some plausil)le ground for the accusa- tion ;" and goes about to account for it, as we have seen in Letter IV., in such a way, however, as may reflect no dishonor upon their principles.\ The same thing is acknowledged l)y Dr. Priestley, who allows that " a great number of the Uni- tarians of the present age are only men of good sense, and without much practical religion ;" and that " there is a greater apparent conformity to the world in them than is oliservable in others. "§ Yet he also goes about to account for these things as Mr. Belsham does, in such a way as may reflect no dishonor on their principles. It is rather extraordinary that, when facts are introduced in favor of tlic virtue of'the general body of the Calvinists, they are not denied, but accounted for in such a way that their principles must share none of the honor; and, when facts of an op- posite kind are introduced in proof of the want of virtue in Unitarians, they also are not denied, but accounted for in such a Avay that their principles shall have none of the dishonor. Calvinism, it seems, must be immoral, though Calvinists be virtuous ; and Socinianism must be amia- ble, though Socinians be vicious ! I shall not inquire whether these very opposite methods of accounting for facts l)e lair or candid. On this the reader will form his own judgment; it is enough for me that the facts themselves are allowed. If we look back to past ages, (to say nothing of those who lived in the earliest X Sermon, p. 32. § Dis. Var. Sub., p. 100, 220 OF MORALITY IN GENERAL. periods of Christianity, because I Avould which the Waldenses and the Wickliffites refer to none but such as are allowed to have believed the doctrine in question,) I think it cannot be fairly denied that the gi-eat body of holy men, who have main- tained the true worship of God (if there were sacrificing every thing for the pre- servation of a good conscience) they were " driven into corners and silence," (c. 1. p. 34,) that is, thei'e is no testimony upon record which they bore, or any account of was any true worship of God maintained) tlieir having so much virtue in them as to during the Romish apostasy, and who, oppose, at the expense either of life, lib- many of them, sacrificed their earthly all erty, or property, the prevailing religion for his name, have lived and died in the of the times. belief of the Deity and atonement of Mr. Lindsey speaks of the piety of "the Christ. Our opponents often speak of famous Abelard ." but surely he must these doctrines being embraced by the have been wretchedly driven for want of apostate church of Rome ; but they say that important article, or he would not little of those who, during the long period have ascribed it to a man who, as a late of her usurpation, bore testimony for writer observes, " could with equal facil- God. The Waldenses, who inhabited the ity explain Ezekiel's prophecies and com- valleys of Piedmont, and the Albigenses, pose amorous sonnets for Heloise ; and who were afterwards scattered almost all was equally free to unfold the doctrine of over Europe, are allowed, I believe, on the Trinity, and ruin the peace of a fam- all hands, to have preserved the true re- ily by debauching his patron's niece."* ligion in those darkest of times : and it is Mr. Lindsey also, in the Appendix to his thought by some expositors, that these farewell Sermon to the Congregation in are the people who are spoken of in the Essex-street, lately published, holds up twelfth chapter of the Revelation, under the ]iieiy of Servetus, by giving us one of the representation of a woman, to whom his prayers addressed to Jesus Christ ; in were given two xoings of a great eagle, that which he expresses his full persuasion that she might fly into the wilderness, and there he was luider a divine impulse to write be nourished for a time, from the face of against his proper divinity. Surely, if the serpent. It was here that true religion Socinian piety had not been very scarce, was maintained and sealed by the blood of Mr. Lindsey would not have bpen under thousands from age to age, when all the the necessity of exhibiting the effusions rest of the christian world were wonder- of idolatry and enthusiasm as examples ing after the beast. And, as to the doc- trines which they held, they were much the same as ours. Among the adversa- ries to the church of Rome, it is true. of it. Religion will be allowed to have some influence in the forming of a national character, especially that of the common there might be men of different opinions, people, among whom if anywhere, it gen- Arius and others may be supposed to have erally prevails. Now, if we look at had their followers in those ages ; but the those nations where Calvinism has been body of the people called Waldenses are most prevalent, it will be found, I believe. not to be reckoned as such : on the con trary, the principles which they profess- ed were, for substance, the same with those embraced afterwards by the Reform- ed Churches ; as is abundantly manifest by several of their catechisms and confes- sions of faith, which have been transmit- ted to our times. Mr. Lindsey, in his Apology, has given a kind of history of those who have op- posed the doctrine of the Trinity ; but they make a poor figure during the above long and dark period, in which, if ever, a testimony for God was needed. He speaks of " churches and sects, as well as individuals, of that description, in the twelfth century :" and there might be such. But can he produce any evidence that they have not been distinguished by their immorality, but the reverse. Ge- neva, the Seven United Provinces, Scot- land, and North America, (with the last two of which we may be rather better acquainted than with the rest,) might be alleged as instances of this assertion. With respect to Scotland, though other sentiments are said to have lately gained ground with many of the clergy, yet Cal- vinism is known to be generally prevalent among the serious part of the people. And as to their national character, you seldom know an intelligent Englishman to have visited that country without be- ing struck with the peculiar sobriety and religious behavior of the inhabitants. As to America, though, strictly speaking. of their having so much virtue as to make they may be said to have no national re- any considerable sacrifices for God 1 ligion, (a happy circumstance in their fa- Whatever were their number, according vor,) yet, perhaps, there is no one nation to Mr. Lindsey's own account, from that time till the Reformation, (a period of * Mr. Robinson's " Plea for the Divinity of three or four hundred years, and during Christ." OF MORALITY IN GENERAL. 221 in the world where Calvinism has more generally prevailed. The great body of the first settlers were Calviuists ; and the far greater part of religious people among them, though of diflVrent denoniinatioiis as to other matters, conlinuc such to this day. And, as to tlie moral eflects which their religious printiplos have ])roduced, they are granted, on ail hai\ds, to be considerable. They are a people, as the Monthly Reviewers have acknowledged, "whose love of lil'erty is attempered with that of order and decency, and accom- panied with the virtues of integrity, mod- eration, and sobriety. Tiiey know the necessity of regard to religion and virtue, both in principle and practice."* In each of these countries, it is true, as in all others, there arc great numbers of irreligious individuals ; perhaps, a ma- jority : but they have a gi-eater proportion of religious characters than most other nations can boast ; and the influence which these characters have upon the rest, is as that of a portion of leaven, which leaveneth the whole lump. The memV>ers of the Church of Eng- land, it may be taken for granted, were generally Calvinists, as to their doctrinal sentiments, at, and for some time alter, the Reformation. Since that time, those sentiments have been growing out of re- pute ; and Socinianism is supposed, among other principles, to have prevailed con- siderably among the inemliers of that community. Dr. Priestley, however, is often very sanguine in estimating the gieat numbers of Unitarians among them. Now, let it be considered whether this change of principle has, in any degree, been ser- viceable to the interests of piety or vir- tue. On the contrary, did not a serious walking with God, and a rigid attention to morals, begin to die away, from the time that the doctrines contained in the Thirty-nine Articles began to be disre- garded ] f And now, when Socinianism is supposed to have made a greater pro- gress than ever it did before, is there not a greater degree of perjury , and more dis- sipation of manners, than at almost any period since the Reformation. I am not insensible that it is the opin- ion of Dr. Priestley, and of some others, that men grow better — that the world ad- vances considerably in moral improve- ment : nay, Mr. Belsham seems to favor an idea that, " in process of time, the earth may revert to its original paradisaical * Review from i\Iay to August, 179.3, p. 502. t The same sort of people who lield Calvinistic doctrines were at the same time .so severe in their moi-als, that Laud found it necessary, it seems, to publish " The Book of Sports," in order to C0UQ> teract tlieir influence on the uatioa at large. state — and death itself be annihilated." This, however, will hardly l)e thought to prove any thing, rxcc])t that eiitliusiasm is not confined to Calvinists. And, as to men growing better, whatever may be the moral improvement of the world in gen- eral, Dr. Priestley somewiicrc acknowl- edges that this is far from being the case with the Church of England, especially since the times of Bishop Burnet. With respect to the Dissenters, were there ever men of iiolicr lives than the generality oi the /wn'/ffjis and nonrujifonn- /s/.s of tlie hist two centuries'? Can any thing equal to tlieir piety and dcvotcdness to God l)e found among the generality of tlie Soeinians, of their lime or of any time 1 In sufl'erings, in fastings, in prayers, in a firm adherence to their i)rinciples, in a close walk with God in their families, and in a series of unremitted labor for the good of mankind, they spent their lives. Hut fastings and prayers, perhaps, may not be admitted as excellencies in their character: it is possible they may be treated with ridicule. Nothing less than this is attempted by Dr. Priestley, in his Fifth Letter to Mr. Burn. "I could wish," says he, " to quiet your fears, on your account. For the many sleepless nights which your apprehensions must necessarily have caused you, accomj)a- nied, of course, with much earnest /^rttf/er and fasting must, in time, affect your health." Candor out of the question. Is this piety? It is said to be no uncom- mon thing for persons who have been used to pray extempore, when they have turn- ed Soeinians, to leave off tiiat ))ractice, and betake themselves to a w ritten form of their own composition. Tliis is formal enough, and will be tiiought by many to afford but slender evidence of their devo- tional spirit ; but yet one would have sup- posed they would not have dared to ridi- cule it in others, however destitute of it they might be themselves. Dr. Priestley allows that Unitarians are peculiarly wanting in zeal for relig- ion.| That this concession is just ap- pears not only from the indifference of great numbers of them in private life, but from the conduct of many of their preachers. It has been observed that, when young ministers have become So- einians, they have frequently given up the ministry, and become school-masters, or any thing they could. Some, who have been possessed of fortunes, have become mere private gentlemen. Several such instances have occurred, both among Dissenters and Churchmen. If they had true zeal for God and religion, why is it t Disc. Var. Sub. pp. 94, 95. 222 LOVE TO GOD. that they are so indifferent about preach- ing what they account the truth 1 Dr. Priestley farther allows that Cal- vinists have "less apparent conformity to the world; and that they seem to have more of a real principle of religion than Socinians." But then he thinks the other have the most candor and benevolence ; so as, upon the whole, to approach near- est to the proper temper of Christianity." He " hopes, also, they have more of a real principle of religion than they seem to have." pp. 100, 101. As to candor and benevolence, these will be considered in another Letter. At present it is suffi- cient to observe that Dr. Priestley, like Mr. Belsham, on a change of character in his converts, is obliged to have recourse to hope, and to judge of things contrary to what they appear in the lives of men, in order to support the religious character of his party. That a large proportion of serious peo- ple are to be found among Calvinists, Dr. Priestley will not deny; but Mrs. Barbauld goes farther. She acknowl- edges, in effect, that the seriousness which is to be found among Socinians themselves is accompanied by a kind of secret attachment to our principles, — an attachment which their preachers and writers, it seems, have hitherto labored in vain to eradicate. " These doctrines," she says, it is true, among thinking peo- ple, are losing ground ; but there is still apparent, in that class called serious Christians, a tenderness in exposing them; a sort of leaning towards them, as, in walking over a precipice, one should lean to the safest side : an idea that they are, if not true, at least good to be be- lieved ; and that a salutary error is better than a dangerous truth."* By the "class called serious Christians," Mrs. Barbauld cannot mean professed Calvinists ; for they have no notion of leaning towards any system as a system of salutary error, but consider that to which they are attached as being the truth. She must, therefore, intend to describe the serious part of the people of her own profession. We are much obliged to Mrs. Barbauld for this important piece of information. We might not so readily have known, without it, that the hearts and consciences of the serious part of Socinians revolt at their own principles ; and that, though they have rejected what we esteem the great doctrines of the gospel in theory, yet they have an inward leaning towards them, as the only safe ground on which to rest their hopes. According to this account, it should seem that serious Christians are known by their predilec- tion for Calvinistic doctrines ; and that those " thinking people among whom these doctrines are losing ground" are not of that class, or description, being distin- guished from them. Well, it does not surprise us to hear that "those men who are the most indifferent to practical reli- gion are the first, and serious Christians the last, to embrace the Rational sys- tem ;" because it is no more than might be expected. If there be any thing sur- prising in the affair, it is that those who make these acknowledgments should yet boast of their principles on account of their moral tendency. LETTER Vn. THE SYSTEMS COMPARED AS TO THEIR TENDENCY TO PROMOTE LOVE TO GOD. Our opponents, as you have doubtless observed, are as bold in their assertions as they are liberal in their accusations. Dr. Priestley not only asserts that the Calvinistic system is " unfavorable to genuine piety, but to every branch of vi- tal practical religion."* We have con- sidered in the foregoing Letter, what re- lates to morality and piety in general : in the following Letters, we shall descend to particulars ; and inquire, under the several specific virtues of Chris-tianity, which of the systems in question is the most unfavorable to them. I begin with Love. The love of God and our neighbor not only contains the sum of the moral law, but the spirit of true religion : a strong presumption there- fore must exist for or against a system, as it is found to promote or diminish these cardinal virtues of the christian character. On both these topics, we are principally engaged on the defensive, as our views of things stand charged with being unfavorable to the love of both God and man. "There is something in your system of Christianity," says Dr. Priest- ley, in his Letters to Mr. Burn, " that debases the pure spirit of it, and does not consist with either the perfect veneration of the divine character (which is the foun- dation of true devotion to God) or perfect candor and benevolence to man." A very serious charge ; and which, could it be substantiated, would doubtless, afford a strong presumption, if not more than a * Remarka on Wakefield's Inquiry. * Consid. Diff. Opin. § III. LOVE TO GOD. 223 presumption, against us. But let the subject be examined. Tliis Letter will be devoted to the first pint of this heavy charge ; and the following one, to the last. As to the question, Whether we feel a veneration for the divine character, — I should think, we ourselves must be the best judges. All that Dr. Priestley can know of tlie matter is, that he could not feel a perfect veneration lor a being of such a character as we suppose the Almighty to sustain. That, however, may be true, and yet nothing result irom it unfavorable to our princijjles. It is not impossii>le that Dr. Priestley should be of such a temper of mind as incapacitates him for admiring, venerating, or loving God, in his true char- acter : and, hence, he may be led to think that all wlu) entertain such and sucli ideas of God must he void of that perfect veneration for him which lie supposes himself to feel. The true character of God, as revealed in the Scriptures, must be taken into the ac- count, in determining whether our love to God be genuine or not. We may clothe the Divine Being with such attributes, and such only, as will suit our depraved taste; and tiien it will be no difficult thing to fall down and worship him : but this is not the love of God, but of an idol of our own creating. The principal objections to the Calvin- istic system, under this head, are taken from the four following topics : the atone- ment ; the vindictive character of God ; the glory of God, rather than the happi- ness of creatures, being his last end in creation ; and the worship paid to Jesus Christ. First : The doctrine of atonement, as held by the Calvinists, is often represented by Dr. Priestley as detracting from the good- ness of God, and as inconsistent with his natural placability. He seems always to consider this doctrine as originating in the want of love, or at least, of a sufficient degree of love ; as though God could not find in his heart to show mercy without a price being paid for it. " Even tlie elect," says he, " according to their system, can- not be saved, till the utmost etfects of the divine wrath have been suffered for them by an innocent person."* Mr. Jardine also, l>y the title which he has given to his late publication, calling it " The unpur- chased Love of God, in the Redemption of the World by Jesus Christ,^'' suggests the same idea. When our opponents wish to make good the charge of our ascribing a natural implacability to the Divine Being, it is common for them either to describe pur sentiments in their own language, or, if they deign to quote authorities, it is not * Diff. Opin. § III. from the sober discussions of prosaic wri- ters, but from the figurative language of poetry. Mr. Belsham describes " the for- midable chimera of our imagination, to which," he says, " we have annexed the name of God the Father, as a merciless tyrant. "t They conceive of "God the Father," says Mr. Lindsey, " always with dread, as a being of severe, unrelenting justice, revengeful, and inexorable, with- out full satisfaction made to him for the breach of his laws. God the Son, on tlic other hand, is looked upon as made up of all compassion aiul goodness, interposing to save men from the Father's wratii, and subjecting himself to the extremest suffer- ings on that account." For proof" of this we are referred to the poetry of Dr. Watts ! — in which he speaks of the rich drops of Jesus' blood, that calm'd his frowning face J that sprinkled o'er the burning throne, and turn'd tlie wrath to grace : — of the infant Deity, the bleeding God, and of heaven appeased ivith flowing blood.X On this subject, a Calvinist might, with- out presumption, adopt the language of our Lord to the Jews : " I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me." Nothing can w ell be a greater misrepresentation of our sentiments than this which is constantly given. These writers cannot be ignorant that Calvinists disavow considering the death of Christ as a cause of divine love, or goodness. On the contrary, they al- ways maintain that divine love is the cause, the first cause of our salvation, and of the death of Christ, to that end. They would not scruple to allow that God had love enough in his heart to save sinners without the death of his Son, had it been consistent w ith righteousness ; but that, as receiving them to favor without some public expression of displeasure against their sin would have been a dishonor to his government, and have aflbrdcd an en- couragement for others to follow their ex- ample, the love of God tvrought in a way of righteousness : first giving his only be- gotten Son to become a sacrifice, and then pouring forth all the fulness of his heart through that appointed medium. The in- capacity of God to show mercy without an atonement is no other than that of a right- eous governor, who whatever good-will he may bear to an offender, cannot admit the thought of passing by the offence, without some public expression of his displeasure against it ; that, while mercy triumphs, it may not be at the expense of law and equity, and of the general good. t Serm. pp. 33 — 35. t Apology, 4th Ed. p. 97. — and Appendix to his Farewell Sermon at Essex Street, p. 52. 224 LOVE TO GOD. So far as I understand it, this is the light justice of God is a glorious attribute."* in which Calvinists consider the subject. This, however, may be very true, and vin- Now judge, brethren, whether this view of dictive justice be a glorious attribute not- things represent the Divine Being as nat- withstanding. urally implacable, — whether the gift of I believe it is very common for people, Christ to die for us be not the strongest when they speak of vindictive punishment, expression of the contrary, — and Avhether to mean that kind of punishment which is this, or the system which it opposes, " give inflicted from a wrathful disposition, or a wrong impressions concerning the charac- disposition to punish for the pleasure of ter and moral government of God." punishing. Now, if this be the meaning Nay, I appeal to your own hearts, whether of our opponents, we have no dispute with that way of saving sinners through an them. We do not suppose the Almighty atonement, in which mercy and truth meet to punish sinners for the sake of putting together, righteousness and peace em- them to pain. Neither Scripture nor Cal- brace each other, — in which God is "just, vinism conveys any such idea. Vindictive and the justifier of him that believeth in punishment, as it is here defended, stands Jesus," — do not endear his name to you opposed to that punishment, which is more than any other representation of him merely corrective : the one is exercised that was ever presented to your minds, for the good of the party: the other not Were it possible for your souls to be saved so, but for the good of the community, in any other way — for the divine law to be Those who deny this last to be amiable in relaxed, or its penalty remitted, without God, must found their denial either on respect to an atonement — would there not Scripture testimony or on the nature and be a virtual reflection cast upon the divine fitness of things. As to the former, the character! Would it not appear as if Scriptures will hardly be supposed to God had enacted a law that was so rigor- represent God as an unamiable being; if, ous as to require a repeal, and issued therefore, they teach that vindictive justice threatenings which he was obliged to re- is an unamiable attribute, it must he main- tract ] or, at least, that he had formed a tained that they never ascribe that attri- system of government without considering bute to God. But with what color of evi- the circumstances in which his subjects dence can this be alleged 1 Surely not would be involved — a system " the "Strict from such language as the following: execution of which would do more harm "The Lord thy God is a consuming fire, than good;" nay, as if the Almighty, on even a jealous God." "Our God is a this account, were ashamed to maintain it, consuming fire." God is jealous, and the and yet had not virtue enough to acknow- Lord revengeth ; the Lord revcngeth, and ledge the remission to be an act oi justice, is furious ; the Lord will take vengeance but must, all along, call it by the npme of on his adversaries ; and he reserveth grace? Would not the thought of such a wrath for his enemies." "Who can reflection destroy the bliss of heaven, and stand before his indignation 1 and who can stamp such an impression o{ meanness up- abide in the fierceness of his anger 1 — His on that character whom you are taught to fury is poured out like fire." "O Lord adore, as would almost incapacitate you God, to whom vengeance belongeth : O for revering or loving him 1 God to whom vengeance belongeth, show It is farther objected that, according to thyself!" " He that showeth no mercy the Calvinistic system, God is a vindictive shall have judgment without mercy." He being, and that, as such, we cannot love that made them will not have mercy on him. It is said that we "represent God them, and he that formed them will show in such a light that no earthly parent could them no favor." "For we know him imitate him, witliout sustaining a charac- that hath said. Vengeance belongeth unto ter shocking to mankind." That there is me, I will recompense, saith the Lord." a mixture of the vindictive in the Calvin- " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands istic system is allowed : but let it"; be of the living God." "I lift up my hand closely considered whether this be any to heaven, and say, I live forever. If I disparagement to it. Nay, rather, whether whet my glittering sword, and mine hand it be not necessary to its perfection. The t^^e hold of judgment, I will render ven- issue, in this case, entirely depends upon geance to mine enemies, and will reward the question whether vindictive justice be them that hate me." " The angels which in itself amiable. If it be, it cannot ren- kept not their first estate — he hath re- der any system unamiable. " We are served in everlasting chains, under dark- neither amused nor edified," says a writer ness, unto the judgment of the great day." in the Monthly Review, " by the corusca- "Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities tions of damnation. Nor can we by any means bring ourselves to think, with the * Review of Edwards's Thirty-three Sermons, late Mr. Edwards, that the vindictive March, 1791. LOVE TO GOD. 225 aboul them, arc set forth for an cxainplc, sufTeriiitj the vengeance of eternal fire." " The Lord Jesus sliall he revealed Irom heaven, witli his niiglity an;j;els, in ilaniini:: fire, takin'f vengeance on them that know not God, and that ol)ey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." * As to ike. nature and fitness of things, we cannot draw any conclusion thence atrainst the loveliness of vindictive justice, as a divine attribute, unless the thiny; it- self can be proved to lie unlovely. But this is contrary to the common sense and practice of mankind. There is no nation or people under heaven but what consider it, in various cases, as both necessary and lovely. It is true they would despise and abhor a magistrate who should punish be- yond desert, or who should avail himself of the laws of his country to gratify his own caprice, or his private revenge. This, however, is not vindictive justice, but manifest injustice. No considerate citizen, who values the public weal, could blame a magistrate for putting the penal laws of his country so far in execution as should be necessary for the true honor of good government, the support of good or- der, and the terror of wicked men. When the inhabitants of Gibeah requested that the Levite might be lirought out to them, that they might know him, and, on their request not being granted, abused and murdered his companion ; all Israel, as one man, not only condemned the action, but called upon the Benjamites to deliver up the criminals to justice. Had the Ben- jamites complied with their request, and had those sons of Belial been put to death, not for their own good, but for the good of the community, where had been the un- loveliness of the procedure 1 On the con- trary, such a conduct must have recom- mended itself to the heart of every friend of righteousness in the universe, as well as have prevented the shocking effusion of blood which followed their refusal. Now, if vindictive justice may be glorious in a human government, there is no reason to be drawn from the nature and fitness of things why it would not be the same in the divine administration. But the idea on which our opponents love principally to dwell is that of a father. Hence the charge that we " represent God in such a light that no earthly parent could imitate him, without sustaining a character shocking to mankind." This objection comes with an ill erace from Dr. Priestley, who teaches that " God is the author of sinj and may do evil, provided it be with a view that good may * Dent. iv. Heb. xii. Nah. i. Ps. xciv. Ja. ii. Is. xxvii. Ileb. x. Deut. xxxii. Jude. 2 Thes. i. come."t Is not this representing God in such a light that no one could imitate him, without sustaining a cliaractcr shock- ing to mankind \ Whether Dr. Priestley's notions on this sul)jcct be true, or not, it is true that God's ways are so much above ours that it is unjust, in many cases, to measure his conduct to a reljel- lious world by that of a father to his chil- dren. In this matter, however, God is imita- ble. We have seen already that a good magistrate, who may justly be called the father of his people, ought not to i)e un- der the inlluence of blind affection, so as, in any case, to show mercy at the ex- pense of the public good. Nor is this all : there are cases in which a jjarcnt has been obliged, in benevolence to his fam- ily, and from a concern for the general good, to give up a stubimrn and rebel- lious son, to bring him forth with his own hands to the elders of his city, and there with his own lips bear witness against him; such witness, too, as would sulgect him not to a mere salutary correction, but to be stoned to death by the men of his city. We know such a law was made in Israel ;t and, as a late writer observed upon it, such a law "was Avise and good :"§ it was calculated to enforce in parents an early and careful education of their children ; "and if, in any instance, it was executed, it w as that all Israel might hear, and fear ! And how do we know but thai it may be consistent with the good of the whole system, yea, necessary to it, that some of the rebellious sons of men should, in company with apostate angels, be made examples of divine ven- geance ; that they should stand, like Lot's wife, as pillars of salt, or as everlasting monuments of God's displeasure against sin ; and that, while their smoke riseth up forever and ever, all the intelligent universe should hear, and fear, and do no viore so wickedhj '. Indeed, we must not only know that this may be the case, but, if we pay any regard to the authority of Scripture, that it is so. If words have any meaning, this is the idea given us of the " angels wliich kept not their first estate," and of the inhabitants of Sodom and Go- morrah ; who are said to be "set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." It belongs to the character of an all- perfect being, who is the moral governor of the universe, to promote the good of the whole ; but there may be cases, as in t Phil. Nee. pp. 117—121. tDeut. xxi. 18—21. §Mr. Robin.son, in liis Sermon to the Young Peo- ple at Willinghain. VOL. 1. 29 226 LOVE TO GOD. human governments, wherein the general good may be inconsistent with the happi- ness of particular parts. Tlie case of robbers, of murderers, or of traitors, Avhose lives are sacrificed for the good of society, that the example of terror af- forded by their deatli may counteract the example of immorality exhibited by their life, is no detraction from the benevo- lence of a government ; but rather essen- tial to it. But how, after all, can we love such a tremendous being 1 I answer, A capa- city to resent an injury is not always considered as a blemish, even in a private character : if it be governed by justice, and aimed at the correction of evil, it is generally allowed to be commendable. We do not esteem the favor of a man, if we consider him as incapable, on all oc- casions, of resentment. We should call him an easy soul, who is kind, merely because he has not sense enough to feel an insult. But, shall we allow it right and fit for a puny mortal thus far to know his own worth, and assert it; and, at the same time, deny it to the great Supreme, and plead for his being insulted with impunity 1 God, however, in the punishment of sin, is not to be considered as acting in a merely private capacity, but as the univer- sal moral governor ; not as separate from the great system of being, but as connect- ed with it, or as the head and guardian of it. Now, in this relation, vindictive justice is not only consistent with tlie loveliness of his character, but essential to it. Capacity and inclination to pun- ish disorder in a state are never thought to render an earthly prince less lovely in the eyes of his loyal and faithful subjects, but more so. That temper of mind, on the contrary, wliich should induce him to connive at rel^ellion, however it might go by the name of benevolence and mercy, would be accounted, by all the friends of good government, injustice to the public; and lliose who, in such cases, side with the disaffected, and plead their cause, are generally supposed to be tainted with dis- affection themselves. A third objection is taken fi'omthe con- sideration of" the glory of God, rather than the happiness of creatures, being his last end in creation. " Those who assume to themselves the distinguishing title of or- thodox," says Dr. Priestley, "consider the Supreme Being as having created all ih'mgs for his glory, and by no means for the general happiness of all his crea- tures."* If, by the general liappiness of all his creatures, Dr. Priestley means the * Diff. Opin. § III. general good of the universe, nothing can be more unfair than this representation. Those Avho are called orthodox never con- sider the glory of God as being at variance with the happiness of creation in general, nor with that of any part of it, except those who have revolted from the divine government : nor, if we regard tlie inter- vention of a Mediator, with theirs, unless they prove finally impenitent, or, as Dr. Priestley calls them, " wilful and obsti- nate transgressors." The glory of God consists, with reference to the present case, in doing that which is best upon the whole. But if, by the general happiness of flZZhis creatures, he means to include the happiness of those angels who kept not their first estate, and of tliose men who die impenitent, it is acknowledged that what is called the orthodox system does by no means consider this an end in cre- ation, either supreme or subordinate. To suppose that the happiness of all crea- tures, whatever might be their future con- duct, was God's ultimate end in creation, (unless Ave could imagine him to be disap- pointed with respect to the grand end he had in view,) is to suppose what is con- trary to fact. All creatures, we are cer- tain, are not happy in this Avorld ; and, if any regard is to be paid to revelation, all will not be happy in the next. If it be alleged that a portion of misery is necessary in order to relish happiness ; that, therefore, the miseries of the present life, upon the whole, are blessings ; and that the miseries threatened in the life to come may be of the same nature, de- signed as a purgation, by means of wliich sinners will at length escape the second death ; — it is replied. All the miseries of this world are not represented as blessings to the parties, nor even all the good things of it. The drowning of Pharaoh, for in- stance, is never described as a blessing to him ; and God declared that he had " cursed the blessings " of the wicked priests, in the days of the prophet Mal- achi. "All things," we are assured, "work together for good;" but this is confined " to those who love God, and are called according to his purpose." As to the life to come, if the miseries belonging to tiiat state be merely temporary ancl purgative, there must be all along a mix- ture of love and mercy in them ; whereas the language of Scripture is, " He that hath showed no mercy shall have judg- ment without mercy " — " Tlie wine of the wrath of God will be poured out without mixture." Nay, such misei'ies must not only contain a mixture of love and mercy, but they themselves must be the effects and expressions of love; and then it will follow that the foreeroina; lanstuage of lim- LOVE TO GOD. 227 itation and distinclion (wliicli is fouiul in- ileod throUL'-hDiit (lio liil)lo) is of no ac- count ; and that blossin-js and curses are tlie same tilings. Ur. Priestley himself speaks of ''the laws of God as licing guarded witli awful sanctions ;" and says "that God will inllexiMy punish all wil- fvd and obstinate transgressors."^ But how can that he called an awful sanction which oidy subjects a man to such misery as is necessary lor his good 1 How, at least, can that be accounted injhwihle pun- ishment in which the Divine Being all along aims at the sinner's hapj)incss 1 We miglit as well call the operation of a sur- geon in amputating a mortilied limb, in order to save the patient's life, by the name of inflexible punishment, as those miseries which are intended for the good of the sinner. If that be their end, they arc, strictly speaking, blessings, though lilcssings in disguise : and, in that case, as Ur." Edwards in his ansAvev to Dr. Chauncy has fully jtrovcd, blessings and curses arc in effect the same things. As to our considering the Supreme Be- ing as having created all things for his own glorv, I hope it will be allowed that the Scriptures seem, at least, to counte- nance sucii an idea. They teach us that "the Lord made all tliings/or himself" — that " all things are created by him, and for him." He is expressly said to have created Israel (and if Israel, why not others^) /or his glory. Not only "of him, and through him," but " to him are all things." Glory, and honor, and power, are ascribed to him, by the elders and the living creatures; for, say they, "Thou hast created all things ; and for thy plea- sure they are and were created. "f But farther, and what is more imme- diately to the point, I hope this sentiment Avill not be alleged as a proof of our want of love to God ; for it is only assigning him the supreme place in the system of being; and Dr. Priestley himself else- where speaks of " the love of God, and a regard to his glory," as the same thing. | One should think those, on the other hand, who assign the happiness of creatures as God's ultimate end, thereby giving him only a subordinate place in the system, could not allege this as an evidence of their love to him. That place which God holds in the great system of being he ought to hold in our afteclions ; for we are not re- quired to love him in a greater proportion than the place w hich he occupies requires. If it were otherwise, our affections must move in a preposterous direction. We * Di(T. Opin. § III. t Prov. xvi. Col. i. lleb. ii. Isa. xliii. Rom. xi. Rev. iv. t Difl". Opin. § 1. ought, therefore, on this Rujiposition, to love ourselves, our own happiness, and the hai)piness of our fellow-creatures, more than God ; for God himself is sup- posed to do the same. But, if so, the great rule of human actions should have been dilferent. Instead of recpiiring love to God in the first place, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then love to ourselves and our neighbors, it should have been reversed. The song of the angels, too, instead of beginning with " Glory to God in the highest," and end- ing with " peace on earth, and good-will to men," should have placed the last first, and the first last. How such a view of things can tend to promote the love of God, unless a subordinate place in our afl'ections be higher than the supreme, it is difficult to conceive. The great God, who fills heaven and earth, must be allowed to form the far greatest proportion, if I may so speak, of the whole system of being ; for, compared with him, '' all nations," yea, all worlds, " are but as a drop of a bucket, or as the small dust of the balance." He- is the source, and continual support, of existence in all its varied forms. As tlie great guardian of being in general, therefore, it is fit and right that he should, in the first place, guard the glory of his own charac- ter and government. Nor can this be to the disadvantage of the universe, but the contrary ; as it will appear, if it be con- sidered that it is the glory of God to do that which shall be best upon the whole. The glory of God, therefore, connects with it the general good of the created system, and of all its pans, except those whose welfare clashes with the welfare of the whole. If it were otherwise, if the happiness of all creatures were the great end that God from the beginning had in view, then, doubtless, in order that this end might be accomplished, every thing else must, as occasion required, give way to it. The glory of his own character, occupying on- ly a subordinate place in the system, if ever it should stand in the way of that which is supreme, must give place, among other things. And, if God have consented to all this, it must be because the happi^ ness, not only of creation in general, ])ut of every individual, is an object of the gi-eatest magnitude, and most fit to be cho- sen : that is, it is better, and more worthy of God, as the Governor of the universe, to give up his character for jjurity, equity, wisdom, and veracity, and to become vile and contemptible in the eyes of his crea- tures— it is l)ctter that the bands which bind all holy intelligences tohimshoulil be broken, and the cords whicli hold together 228 LOVE TO GOD- the whole moral sy«5tem be cast away — than that the happiness of a creature should, in any instance, be given up ! Judge, ye friends of God, does this con- sist with " the most perfect veneration for the divine character 1" Once more : It seems to be generally supposed, by our opponents, that the wor- ship we pay to Christ tends to divide our hearts ; and that, in proportion as we adore him, we detract from the essential glory of the Father. In this view, there- fore, they reckon themselves to exercise a greater veneration for God than we. But it is worthy of notice, and particularly the serious notice of our opponents, that it is no new thing for an opposition to Christ to be carried on under the plea of love to God. This was the very plea of the Jews, when they took up stones to stone him. " For a good work," said they, " we stone thee not ; but for that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." They very much prided themselves in their God j and, un- der the influence of that spirit, constantly rejected the Lord Jesus. " Thou art call- ed a Jew, and makest thy boast of God.'" —"We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." — " Give God the praise : we know that this man is a sinner." It was under the pretext of zeal and friendship for God that they at last put him to deatli as a blasphemer. But what kind of zeal was this ; and in what manner did Jesus treat it 1 " If God were your Father," said he, "ye would love me." — " He that is of God, heareth God's words."— "It is my Father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God; yet ye have not known him." — " I know you, that you have not the love of God in you." Again : The primitive Christians will be allowed to have loved God aright ; yet they worshiped Jesus Christ. Not only did the martyr Stephen close his life by committing his departing spirit into the hands of Jesus, but it was the common practice, in primitive times, to invoke his name. " He hath authority," said Anani- as concerning Saul, to bind " all that call ' on thy name." One part of the christian mission was to declare that " whosoever should call on the name of the Lord should be saved;" even of that Lord of whom the Gentiles had not heard. Paul address- ed himself " to all that in every place call- ed upon the name of Jesus Christ." These modes of expression (which, if I be not gi-eatly mistaken, always signify divine worship) plainly inform us that it was not merely the practice of a few individuals, but of the great body of the primitive Christians, to invoke the name of Christ ; nay, and that this was a mark by which they were distinguished as Christians.* Farther : It ought to be considered that, in worshiping the Son of God, we worship him not on account of that wherein he differs from the Father, but on account of those perfections which we believe him to possess in common with him. This, with the consideration tliat we worship him not to the exclusion of the Father, any more than the Father to the exclusion of him, but as one with him, removes all apprehensions from our minds that, in ascribing glory to the one, we detract from that of the other. Nor can we tliink but that these ideas are confirmed, and the weight of the objec- tion removed, by those declarations of Scripture where the Father and the Son are represented as being in such union that "he who hath seen the one hath seen the other;" and " he who honoreth the one honoreth the other;" yea, that "he who honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father who sent him."f It might fairly be argued, in favor of the tendency of Calvinistic doctrines to promote the love of God, that, upon those principles, we have more to love him for than upon the other. On this system, we have much to be forgiven ; and, there- fore, love much. The expense at Avhich our salvation has been obtained, as we believe, furnislies us with a motive of love to which nothing can be compared. But this I shall refer to another place ;]: and conclude with reminding you that, notwithstanding Dr. Priestley loads Cal- vinistic principles with such heavy charges as those mentioned at the beginning of this Letter, yet he elsewhere acknowl- edges them to be "generally favorable to that leading virtue, devotion;" which, in effect, is acknowledging them to be favor- able to the love of God. * Acts ix. 14, compared with ver. 17. Rom. x. 11—14. 1 Cor. i. 2. t Jolin xiv. 7 — 9 ; ver. 23. The reader may see this subject ably urged by Mr. Scott, in his " Essays on the most Important Subjects of Rehgion," 1st Edit. No. VII. pp. 96, 97. Tiiese Essays are of a piece with the other productions of that judicious writer; and, though small, and, for the convenience of the poor, sold for one penny each, contain a fund of solid, rational, and scriptural divinity. i Letter XIV. ON CANDOR AND RENEVOLENCE. 229 LETTER VIII. ON CANDOR AND BENEVOLENCE TO MEN. You recollect that the Calvinistic sys- tem stands charircd by Dr. Priestley with beius; inconsistent, not only with a ])er- fcct veneration oi" the divine character, but with "perfect candor and benevo- lence to man." This, it must be owned, has often been objected to the Calvinists. Their views of things have been supposed to render them sour and ill-natured towards those who dilTer from them. Cliarity, candor, benevolence, liberality, and the like, are virtues to which the Socinians, on the other hand, lay almost an exclusive claim. And such a weight do they give these virtues, in the scale of morality, that they conceive themselves, "upon the whole, even allowing that they have more of an apparent conformity to the world than the Trinitarians, to api)roach nearer to the proper temper of Christianity than they."* I shall not go about to vindicate Cal- vinists, any farther than I conceive their spirit and conduct to admit of a fair vin- dication; liut I am satisfied that, if things be closely examined, it will i)e found that a great deal of what our opponents attri- bute to themselves is not benevolence, or candor; and that a great deal of what they attribute to us is not owing to the want of either. Respecting benevolence, or good xoill to men, in order to be genuine, it must con- sist with love to God. There is such a thing as partiality to men, with respect to the points in which they and their Maker ere at Variance : but this is not benevo- lence. Partiality to a criminal at the bar might induce us to pity him, so far as to plead in extenuation of his guilt, and to endeavor to bring him off from the just punishment of the laws : but this would not be benevolence. There must be a rectitude in our actions and affections, to render them truly virtuous. Regard to the public good must keep pace with compassion to the miseral)le ; else the latter will degenerate into vice, and lead us to be "partakers of other men's sins." Whatever pretences may be made to devotion, or love to God, we never admit them to be real, unless accompanied with love to men ; neither should any pretence of love to men be admitted as genuine, * Disc. Var. Stib, p. 100, unless it be accompanied with love to God. Each of these virtues is consid- ered in the Scri})tures as an evidence of the other. " If a man say, I love God, and hatcth his brother, he is a liar." — "By this we know that we love the chil- dren of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments." There is such a thing as partiality to men, as observed before, with respect to the points in which they and their Maker are at variance ; leaning to those notions that rci)resent their sin as comjjaralively little, and their repentance and obedience as a balance against it; speaking smooth things, and affording intimations that, without an atonement, nay, even without repentance in this life, all will be well at last. But if it should prove that God is wholly in the right, and man wholly in the wrong — that sin is exceedingly sinful — that we all deserve to lie punished with everlasting destruction from the jjresence of the Lord — and that, if we be not inter- ested in the atonement of Christ, this punishment must actually take place : if these things, I say, should at last prove true, then all such notions as have llat- tered the pride of men, and cherished their presumption, instead of being hon- ored with tlie epithets of liberal and benevolent, will be called by very dif- ferent names. The jirinces and people of Judali would, doubtless, be apt to think the sentiments taught by Hananiah, wlio prophesied smooth things concerning them, much more benevolent and liberal than those of Jeremiah, who generally came with heavy tidings ; yet true benev- olence existed only in the latier. Wheth- er the complexion of the whole system of our opponents do not resemble that of the false prophets, who prophesied smooth things, and healed the hurt of the daughter oj Israel slightly, crying, Peace, peace; ivhen there icas no peace ; and whether their objections to our views of things be not the same for substance as might have been made to the true prophets ; let all who wish to know the truth, however ungi-ateful it may be to flesh and blood, decide. A great deal of what is called candor and benevolence among Socinians is noth- ing else but indifference to all religious principle. " If we could be so happy," says Dr. Priestley, " as to believe that there are no errors but what men may be so circumstanced as to be innocently betrayed into, that any mistake of the head is very consistent with rectitude of heart, and that all differences in modes of worship may be only the different methods by which different men (who are equally the offspring of God) are endea- 2^0 ON CANDOR AND BENEVOLENCE. voring to honor and obey their common parent, our differences of" opinion woukl have no tendency to lessen our mutual love and esteem."* This is, manifestly, no other than indifference to all religious principle. Such an indifference, it is allowed, would jiroduce a temper of mind which Dr. Priestley calls candor and benevolence; Init which, in fact, is nei- ther the one nor the other. Benevolence is good will to men: but good Avill to men is very distinct from a good opinion of their princij)les or their practices — so dis- tinct tiiat the former may exist in all its force, without the least degree of the latter. Our Lord thought very ill of the principles and practices of the people of Jerusalem; yet he "beheld the city and wept over it." This was genuine benev- olence. Benevolence is a very distinct thing from complacency , or esteem. These are founded on an approbation of character : the other is not. I am bound by the law of love to bear good will to men, as crea- tures of God, and as fellow-creatures, so as, by every means in my power, to pro- mote their welfare, both as to this life and that which is to come ; and all this, let their character be what it may. I am bound to esteem every person for that in him which is truly amiable, be he a friend or an enemy, and to put the best con- struction upon his actions that truth will admit ; but no law obliges me to esteem a person repecting those things which I have reason to consider as erroneous or vicious. I may pity him, and ought to do so ; but to esteem him, in those re- spects, would be contrary to the love of both God and man. Indifference to reli- gious principle, it is acknowledged, will promote such esteem. Under the influ- ence of that indifference, we may form a good ojiinion of various characters, which, otherwise, we should not do ; but the question is. Would that esteem be right, or amiable 1 On the contrary, if religious principle of any kind should be found necessary to salvation, and if benevolence consist in that good will to men which leads us to promote their real welfare, it must contradict it ; for the welfare of men is promoted by speaking the truth concerning them. I might say. If we could be so happy as to think virtue and vice indifferent things, we should then possess a far greater degree of esteem for some men than we now do ; but would such a kind of esteem be right, or of any use either to ourselves or them 1 Candor, as it relates to the treatment of an adversary, is that temper of mind * Diff. Opiu. § XL which will induce us to treat him openly, fairly, and ingenuously ; granting him every thing that can be granted consis- tently with truth, and entertaining the most favorable opinion of his character and conduct that justice will admit. But what has all this to do with indifference to religious principle, as to matters of salvation 1 Is there no such thing as treating a person with fairness, openness, and generosity, while we entertain a very ill opinion of his principles, and have the most painful apprehensions as to the danger of his state 1 Let our opponents name a more candid writer of controversy than President Edwards ; yet he considered many of the sentiments against which he wrote as destructive to the souls of men, and those who held them as being in a dangerous situation. As a great deal of what is called candor and benevolence among Socinians is mere- ly the effect of indifi'erence to religious principle, so a great deal of that in Cal- vinists, for which they are accused of tlie want of these virtues, is no other than a serious attachment to what they account divine truth, and a serious disapprobation of sentiments which they deem subversive of it. Now, surely, neither of these things is inconsistent with either candor or benevolence : if it be, however, Jesus Christ and his apostles are involved in the guilt, equally with the Calvinists. They cultivated such an attachment to religious principle as to be in real earnest in the promotion of it, and constantly repre- sented the knowledge and belief of it as necessary to eternal ' life. "Ye shall know the truth," said Christ, " and the truth shall make you free." — " This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." — "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that believ- eth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." They also constantly discovered a marked dis- approbation of those sentiments which tended to introduce " another gospel," so far as to declare that man accvused Avho should propagate them. They considered false principles as pernicious and destruc- tive to the souls of men. " If ye believe not that I am he," said Christ to the Jews, " ye shall die in your sins" — " and whith- er I go ye cannot come." To the Gala- tians, who did not fully reject Christian- ity, but in the matter of justification were for uniting the works of the law with the grace of the gospel, Paul testified, say- ing, " If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." Had the apostle Paul considered "all the ditfereut modes of worship as what ON CANDOR AND BENEVOLENCE. 231 rniirht I'o only llic (lifToiont methods of dili'ercnt men, endeavoring to honor and obey llieir common parent," he wouhl not liave ielt " his spirit stirred in him" wlien he saw the city of Athens wholly given to idolatry : at least he would not have addressed idolaters in such strong language as he did, " preaching to litem that they should turn fnun these vanities unto the living God." Paul considered them as having l)ecn all their life employed, not in worshiping the living God, only in a mode ditrerent from otliers, i)ut mere vanities. Nor did he consider it as a " mere mistake of tlic liead, into which they might have l)een innocently betray- ed ;" but as a sin, for which tliey were icitlinnt excuse, (Rom. i. 20,) a sin, for which he called upon them, in the name of the living God, to repent. Now, if candor and benevolence be christian virtues, which they doubtless are, one should think they must consist with tlic practice of Christ and his ajjos- tles. But, if this be allowed, the main ground on which Calvinists are censured w ill be removed ; and the candor for which their opponents plead must appear to Ix; spurious, and foreign to the genuine spirit of Christianity. Candor and benevolence, as christian virtues, must also consist with each other ; but the candor of Socinians is destruc- tive of benevolence, as exemplified in the Scriptures. Benevolence in Ciuist and his apostles extended not merely, nor mainly, to the bodies of men, but to their souls ; nor did they think so favorably of mankind as to desist from warning and alarming them, but the reverse. They viewed the whole world as "lying in wickedness," — in a perishing condition ; and hazarded the loss of every earthly enjoyment to rescue them from it, as from the jaws of destruction. But it is easy to perceive that, in jtroportion to the influ- ence of Socinian candor upon us, we shall consider mankind, even the heatlicns, as a race of virtuous beings, all worshiping the great Father of creation, only in dif- ferent modes. Our concern for their sal- vation will consequently abate, and we shall become so inditferent respecting it as never to take any consideral)le pains for their conversion. This, indeed, is the very truth with regard to Socinians. They discover, in general, no manner of concern for the salvation of either heath- ens abroad or profligates at liorne. Their candor supplies the place of this species of Ijenevolence, and not unfrequently ex- cites a scornful smile at the conduct of those who exercise it. The difference between our circum- stances and those of Christ and his apos- tles, who were divinely inspired, however much it ought to deter us from passing judgment upon the hearts of indisiduals, ought not to make us think tliat every motle of worship is equally safe, or tiiat religious principle is indiflerent as to the affairs of salvation ; for this would be to consider as false what, by divine inspira- tion, they taught as true. Let us come to matters of fact. Mr. Belshain does not deny that Calvinists may be "pious, candid, and lienevolcnt ;" but he tiiinks they would have been more so if they had been Socinians. "They, and there are many such," says he, " who arc sincerely pious, and dilTuse- ly benevolent with these jtrinciples, could not have failed to have been much l)elter, and much ha[)j)ier, had they adopted a milder, a more rational, a more truly evangelical creed." Ser. p. 30. Now, if this be indeed the case, one might ex- pect that the most perfect examples of these virtues are not to be looked for among us, but among our opponents : and yet it may be questioned whether they will pretend to more perfect examples of piety, candor, or benevolence, than arc to be found in the characters of a Hale, a FuANCK, a Braixekd, an Edwards, a Whitefield, a Thorxtox, and a Howard, (to say nothing of the living,) .whose lives were spent in doing good to the souls and bodies of men ; and who lived and died depending on the atoning blood and justifying righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The last of these great men, in whom his country glories, and who is justly considered as the mar- tyr of humanity, is said thus to have ex- pressed himself, at the close of his last will and testament: "My immortal spirit I cast on the sovereign mercy of God, through Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of my strength, and, I trust, is become my salvation." He is said also to have given orders for a plain neat stone to lie placed upon his grave, with this inscription, ".Syjcs mea Christus ;" Christ is my Hope ! We are often reminded of thc~persecu- ting spirit of Trinitarians, and particular- ly of Calvin toward Servetus. This ex- ample has been long held up by our oppo- nents, not only as a proof of his cruel dis- position, and odious character, but as if it' were sufficient to determine w hat must be the turn and spirit of Calvinists in general. But, supposing the case to which tliey ap- peal were allowed to prove the cruelty of Calvin's disposition — nay, that he was, on the whole, a wicked man, destitute both of religion and humanity — what would all this prove as to the tendency of the sys- tem that happened to be called after his 232 ON CANDOR AND BENEVOLENCE. name, but which is allowed to have ex- isted long before he was born 1 We re- gard what no man did or taught as oracu- lar, unless he could prove himself divine- ly inspired,; to wliich Calvin never pre- tended. Far be it from us to vindicate him, or any other man, in the business of persecution. We abhor every thing of the kind, as much as ova- opponents. Though the principles for which he contended ap- pear to us, in the main, to be just; yet the weapons of his warfare, in this in- stance, were carnal. It ought, however, to be acknowledged, on the other side, (and, if our opponents possessed all the candor to which they pretend, they would in tliis, as well as in other cases, acknowledge,) that persecu- tion for religious principles was not at that time peculiar to any party of Chris- tians , but common to all, whenever they were invested with civil power. It was an error, and a detestable one ; but it was the error of the age. They looked upon heresy in the same light as we look upon those crimes which are inimical to the peace of civil society ; and, accordingly proceeded to punish heretics by the sword of the civil magistrate. If Socinians did not persecute their adversaries so much as Trinitarians, it was because tliey were not equally invested with the power of do- ing so. Mr. Lindsey acknowledges that Faustus .S'ocinns himself was not free from persecution, in the case of Francis Da- vides, superintendent of the Unitarian churches in Transylvania. Davides had disputed with Socinus on the invocation of Christ, and " died in prison in conse- quence of his opinion, and 'some offence taken at his supposed indiscreet propaga- tion of it from the pulpit. I wish I could say," adds Mr. Lindsey, "that Socinus, or his friend Blandrata, had done all in their power to prevent his commitment, or procure his release afterwards." The difference between Socinus and Davides was very slight. They both held Christ to be a mere man. The former, however, was for praying to him; which the latter, with much greater consistency, disap- proved. Considering this, the persecu- tion to which Socinus was accessary was as great as that of Calvin ; and there is no reason to think but that, if Davides had differed as much from Socinus as Servetus did from Calvin, and if the civil magis- trates had been for burning him, Socinus would have concurred with them. To this might be added that the conduct of Socinus was marked with disingenuitij, in that he considered the opinion of Davi- des in no very heinous point of light, but was afraid of increasing the odium under which he and his party already lay among other christian churches.* Mr. Robinson in his Ecclesiastical Re- searches, has given an account of both these persecutions : but it is easy to per- ceive the prejudice under which he wrote. He evidently inclines to extenuate the conduct of Socinus, while he includes every possible circumstance that can in any manner blacken the memory of Cal- vin. Whatever regard we may bear to the latter, I am persuaded we should not wish to extenuate his conduct in the per- secution of Servetus, or to represent it in softer terms, nor yet so soft, as Mr. Rob- inson has represented that of the former in the pei'secution of Davides. We do not accuse Socinianism of being a persecuting system, on account of this instance of misconduct in Socinus ; nor is it any proof of the superior candor of our opponents that they are continually acting the very reverse towards us. As a. Bap- tist, I might indulge resentment against Cranmer, who caused some of that de- nomination to lie burned alive : yet I am inclined to think, from all that I have read of Cranmer, that, notwithstanding his con- duct in those instances, he was, upon the whole, of an amiable disposition. Though he held with Paedobaptism, and in this manner defended it, yet I should never think of imputing a spirit of persecution to Paedobaptists in general, or of charging their sentiment, in that particular, with being of a persecuting tendency. It Avas the opinion that erroneous religious prin- ciples are punishable by the civil magis- trate that did the mischief, whether at Geneva, in Transylvania, or in Britain ; and to this, rather than to Trinitarianism, or to Unitarianism, it ought to be im- puted. We need not hold, with Mr. Lindsey, " the innocence of error," in order to shun a spirit of persecution. Though we con- ceive of error, in many cases, as criminal in the sight of God, and as requiring ad- monition, yea, exclusion from a religious society ; yet while we reject all ideas of its exposing a person to civil punishment, or inconvenience, we ought to be acquit- ted of the charge of persecution. Where the majority of a religious society consid- er the avowed principles of an individual of that society as being fundamentally er- roneous, and inconsistent with the united worsliip and well-being of the whole, it cannot be persecution to endeavor, by spiritual arguments, to convince him ; and, if that cannot be accomplished, to exclude him from their communion. It has been suggested that to think the * Mr. Lindsey's Apology, pp. 153 — 156. ON CANDOR AND ELNEVOI.ENC E. 233 worse of a person on account of his senti- ments is a species of persecution, and in- dicates a spirit of l)itterness at the bottom, which is inconsistent witli tiiat benevo- lence which is due to all mankind. But, if it be persecution to tliink the worse of a person on account ol his sentiments, (un- less no man be better or worse, whatever sentiments lie imbibes, which very lew will care to assert,) then it must be persecu- tion for us to think of one another accord- ing to truth. It is also a species of per- secution of which our opponents are guilty, as well as we, wlienever they maintain the superior moral tendency of their own system. That which is adapt- ed and intended to do good to the party cannot be persecution, but general benev- olence. Let us suppose a number of trav- elers, all proposing to journey to one j)lace. A number of ditferent ways pre- sent themselves to view, and each appears to be the right way. Some are inclined to one ; some to another ; and some con- lend that, whatever smaller difference tiiere may be between them, they all lead to the same end. Others, however, are persuaded that they all do not terminate in the same end, and appeal to a correct map of the country, which points out a number of by-paths, resembling those in question, each leading to a fatal issue. Query : Would it be the part of benevo- lence, in this case, for the latter to keep silence, and hope the best ; or to state the evidence on wliich their apprehensions were founded, and to warn their f'jUow- travelers of their danger 1 There are, it is acknowledged, many in- stances of a want of candor and benevolence among us, over whicli it l)ecomes us to la- ment. This is the case, especially, with those whom Dr. Priestley is ])leasedto call "the only consistent absolute predestina- rians." I may add, there has been, in my opinion, a great deal too much haugliti- nfess and uncandidness discovered l)y some of the Trinitarians of the Established Church, in their controversies with Soci- nian Dissenters. These dispositions, how- ever, do not belong to them as Trinitari- ans, but as Churchmen. A slight obser- vation of human nature will convince us tliat the adherents to a religion established by law, let their sentiments be what they may, will always be under a powerful temptation to take it for granted that they are right, and that all who dissent from them are contemptible sectaries, unwor- thy of a candid and respectful treatment. This temptation, it is true, will not have equal effect upon all in the same commu- nity. Serious and humble characters will watch against it ; and, being w ise enough to know that real worth is not derived VOL. I. 30 Irom any thing merely external, they may t>e superior to it. But those of anothei description will be very difl'crently afVected. There is, indeed, a mixture of evil pas- sions in all our religious affections, against which it becomes us to watch and pray. I see many things, in those of my own sentiments, which I cannot approve ; and, possibly, others may see the same in me. And, should the Socinians j)retend to the contrary, with respect to themselves, or aspire at a superiority to their neighl)ors, it may be. more than they are able to main- tain. It cannot escape the observation of thinking and imj)artial men that the candor of which they so frequently boast is pretty much confined to their own party, or those that are near akin to them. Socin- ians can be candid to Arians, and Arians to Socinians, and each of them to deists ; but, if Calvinists expect a share of their tenderness, let them not greatly wonder if they be disappointed. There need not be a greater, or a more standingproof of this, than the manner in which the writings of the latter are treated in the Monthly Re- view. It has been frequently observed that, though Socinian writers plead so much for candor and esteem among professing Chris- tians, yet, generally speaking, there is such a mixture of scornful contempt discover- ed towards their opponents, as renders their professions far from consistent. Mr. Lindsey very charitably accounts for our errors, by asserting that "the doctrine of Christ being possessed of two natures is the fiction of ingenious men, determined, at all events, to believe Christ to be a dif- ferent being from what he really xvas, and uniformly declared himself to be ; by which fiction of theirs, they elude the plainest declarations of Scripture concerning him, and will prove him to be the Most High God, in spite of his own most express and constant language to the contrary. And, as there is no reasoning with such persons, they are to be pitied, and considered as being under a debility of mind in this re- spect, however sensible and rational in others." * Would Mr. Lindsey wish to have this considered as a specimen of So- cinian candor 1 If Mrs. Barbauld had been possessed of candor equal to her in- genuity, instead of supposing that Calvin- ists derive their ideas of election, the atonement, future punishment, &c., from the tyranny and caprice of an eastern des- pot, she might have admitted, whether they were right or not, that those principles ap- peared to them to be taught in the Bible. f * Catcch. Inq. 6. t A friend of mine, on looking over Mrs. Bar- baxdd's Pamphlet, in answer to Mr. Wakefield, re- 234 ON CANDOR AND BENEVOLENCE. If we may estimate the candor of So- cinians from the spirit discovered by Mr. Robinson, in the latter part of his life, the conclusion will not be very favorable to their system. At the time when this wri- ter professed himself a Calvinist, he could acknowledge those who differed from him, with respect to the divinity of Christ, as " mistaken brethren ; " at which time his opponents could not well complain of his being uncandid. But, when he comes to change his sentiments on that article, he treats those from whom he differs in a very different manner, loading them with every species of abuse. Witness his treatment oi Augustine, whose conduct, previously to his conversion to Christianity, though lamented with all the tokens of penitential sorrow, and entirely forsaken in the re- maining period of his life, he industrious- ly represents to his disadvantage ; calling him " a pretended saint, but an illiterate hypocrite, of wicked dispositions ; " load- ing his memory, and even the very country where he lived, with every opprobrious epithet that could be devised.* Similar instances might be added from his Ecclesi- astical Researches, in which the characters of Calvin and Beza are treated in an equally uncandid manner. f Dr. Priestley himself, who is said to be the most candid man of his party, is sel- dom overloaded with this virtue when he is dealing with Calvinists. It does not discover a very great degree of perfection in this, or even in common civility, to call those who consider his principles as per- nicious by the name of "bigots," "the bigots," &c., which he very frequently does. Nor is it to the credit of his im- marks as follows : " Mrs. B. used to call Socinian- ism. The frigid zone of Christianity; but she is now got Car north herself. She is amazingly clev- er ; her language enchanting ; but her caricatura of Calvinism is abominable." * Hist.Bapt. p. 652. t Mr. Robinson, in his " Notes on Claude," ob- serves, from Mr. Burgh, that " whatever occurs in modern writers of History, of a nairative nature, we find to be an inference from a system previously as- sumed, without any view to the seeming truth of the facts recorded; but to the establishment of which the historian appears, througii every species of misrepre- sentation, to have zealously directed his force. The subversion of freedom was the evident purpose of Mr. Hume, in wiiting \\\e History of England. I fear we may, with too much justi(-e, affirm the subversion of Christianity to be the object of Mr. Gibbon, in writing his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Vol. H. pp. 147. 141. Perhaps it might, with equal propriety, be added that the subversion of what is commonly called orthodoxy, and the vindication, or palliation, of every thing which, in everj' age, has been called by the name of heresy, were the objects of Mr. Robinson in writing his History of Baptism, and what has since been published under the title of Ecclesiastical Rt- star (his. partiality, any more than of his candor, when weighing the moral excellence of Trinitarians and Unitarians against each other, as in a balance, to suppose " the former to have less, and the latter some- thing more, of a real principle of religion, than they seem to have."| This looks like taking a portion out of one scale, and casting it into the other, for the purpose of making weight where it was wanting. Dr. Priestley, in answer to Mr. Burn, On the Person of Christ, acquits him of "any thing base, disingenuous, immoral, or wicked;" and, seeing Mr. Burn had not acquitted him of all such things in return, the Doctor takes occasion to boast that his "principles whatever they are, are more candid than those of Mr. Burn."§ But if this acknoAvledgment, candid as it may seem, be compared with another pas- sage in the same performance, it Avill ap- pear to less advantage. In Letter V. the Doctor goes about to account for the mo- tives of his opponents ; and if tlie follow- ing language do not insinuate any thing "base, immoral, or wicked," to have in- fluenced Mr. Burn, it may be difficult to decide what baseness, immorality, or wick- edness is. " As to Mr. Burn's being will- ing to have a gird at me, as Falstaff says, it may easily be accounted for. He has a view to rise in his profession ; and, being a man of good natural understanding and good elocution, but having had no advan- tage of education, or family connections, he may think it necessary to do something, in order to make himself conspicuous ; and he might suppose he could not do bet- ter than follow the sure steps of those who had succeeded in the same chase be- fore him." What can any person make of these two passages put together 1 It must appear, either that Dr. Priestley accused Mr. Burn of motives of which in his conscience he did not believe him to be guilty, or that he acquitted him of every thing base and wicked, not because he thought him innocent, but merely with a view to glory over him, by affecting to be under the influence of superior candor and generosity. The manner in which Dr. Priestley treated Mr. Badcock, in his Familiar Let- ters to the Inhabitants of Birmingham, holding him up as an immoral character, at a time when, unless some valuable end could have been answered by it, his mem- ory should have been at rest, is thought to be very far from either candor or benevo- lence. The Doctor and Mr. Badcock seem to have been, heretofore, upon friend- ly terms, and not very widely asunder as % Disc. Var. Sub. p. 100. § Fam. Let. XVHI. ON nUMILITV. 235 to sentiment. Private letters pass be- tween (horn ; and Mr. Bailcorii always ac- knowicduos Dr. Priesllcv his sui)erior. But, alK)ut 17y3, Mr. Badcock oi)|)oscs his friend, in tiie Monthly Revieiv, and is tlioiiiriit, by many, to have the advantage ol'liim. After this, he is said to act scan- dalously and dishonestly. He dies : and, soon after liis death. Dr. Priestley avails himself of his former correspondence, to expose his dislionesty ; and, as if this were not enough, supplies, from his own conjectures, what was wanliny; of fact, to render him completely odious to mankind. Dr. Priestley may plead that he has held up "the example of this unhappy man as a warning to others." So, indeed, he speaks ; but thinking people will suppose that, if this Zimri had not "slain his master, his bones might have rested in peace." Dr. Priestley had just cause for exposing the author of a piece signed Theodosiiis, in the manner he has done in those Letters. Justice to himself required this ; but what necessity was there for exposing Mr. Badcock 1 Allowing that there was sufficient evidence to support the heavy charge, wherein does this affect the merits of the cause 1 Does proving a man a villain answer hi§ arguments ! Is it worthy of a generous antagonist to avail himself of such methods to preju- dice the public mind ] Does it belong to a controvertist to write his opponent's history after he is dead, and to hold up his character in a disadvantageous light, 80 as to depreciate his writings 1 Whatever good opinion Socinian wri- ters may entertain of the ability and in- tegrity of some few individuals who differ from them, it is pretty evident that they have the candor to consider the body of their opponents as either ignorant or insincere. By the Poem which Mr. Bad- cock wrote in praise of Dr. Priestley, when he was, as the Dr. informs us, his *' humV)le admirer," we may see in what light we are considered by our adver- saries. Trinitarians, among the Clergy, are there represented as "sticking fast to the Church for the sake of a living;" and those whom the writer calls "ortho- dox, popular preachers" (which I suppose may principally refer to Dissenters and Methodiots,) are described as fools and enthusiasts; as either "staring, stamp- ing, and damning in nonsense," or else " whining out the tidings of salvation, telling their auditors that grace is cheap, and works are all an empty bubble." Ail this is published by Dr. Priestley in his Twenty-second Letter to the Inhabitants of Birmingham; and that without any marks of disapprobation. Dr. Priestley himself, though he does not descend to so low and scurrilous a manner of writing as the above, yet suggests the same thing, in the Dedication of his Doctrine of Plii- lofiopliical Necessity. He there praises Dr. Jebb for his " attachment to the una- dulterated principles of Ciiristianity, how unpopular soever they may have become, through tiic jirejudices of the weak or the interested part of mankind." After all, it is allowed that Dr. Priest- ley is in general, and es))ecialiy when he is not dealing witii a Calvinist, a fair and candid op]>onent : mucii more so llian the Monthly Reviewers, who, with tiie late Mr. Badcock, seem to rank among his "huml)le admirers."* Candid, and open, however, as Dr. Priestley in general is, the above are certainly no very trifling exceptions : and, considering him as ex- celling most of his party in this virtue, they are sufficient to prove the point for whi'ch they are alleged ; namely, that when Socinians profess to V)e more can- did than their opponents their profession includes more than their conduct will justify. LETTER IX. THE SYSTEMS COMPARED AS TO THEIR TENDENCY TO PROMOTE HUMILITY. You recollect the prophecy of Isaiah, in which, speaking of gospel times, he predicts "that the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day;" as if it were one peculiar characteristic of the true gospel to lay low the pride of man. Tlie whole tenor" of the New Testament enforces the same idea. " Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath ciiosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty ; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, * About eight or nine years ago, the Monthly Review was at open war with Dr. Priestley; and the Dor-tor, like an incensed monarch, summoned all his miijlity resources to expose its weakness, and to desrade it in the eye of the public. The conductors of the Review, at length, finding, it seems, that titeir countrt/ was nourished by the /iing's country, desired peace- They have ever since very punctu- allv paid liiin tribute; and the conqueror seem.s very we'll contented, on this conditioB, to grant tiiem hii favor aad protection. 236 ON HUMILITY. and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are : that no flesh should glory in his presence." — "Jesus said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." — "Where is boasting] It is excluded. By what law 1 Of works 1 Nay, but by the law of faith." It may be concluded, Avith certainty, from these passages, and vari- ous others of the same import, that the system which has the greatest tendency to promote this virtue approaches nearest to the true gospel of Christ. Pride, the opposite of humility, may be distinguished, by its objects, into natural and spiritual. Both consist in a too high esteem of ourselves : the one on account of those accomplishments which are merely natural, or which pertain to us as men ; the other on account of those which are spiritual, or v.hich pertain to us as good men. With respect to the first, it is not very difficult to know who they are that ascribe most to their own understanding ; that profess to l)elieve in nothing but what they can comprehend ; that arrogate to themselves the name of Rational Christians; that affect to "pity all those who maintain the doctrine of two natures in Christ, as being under a debility of mind in this respect, however sensible and rational in others ;" that pour compliments extravagantly upon one another;* that speak of their own party as the wise and learned, and of their opponents as the ignorant and illiterate, who are carried away by vulgar preju- dices ;f that tax the sacred writers with "reasoning inconclusively," and writing "lame accounts;" and that represent themselves as men of far greater compass of mind than they, or than even Jesus Christ himself! The last of these particulars may excite surprise. Charity, that hopeth all things, will be ready to suggest, surely, no man that calls himself a Christian will dare to speak so arrogantly. I acknowledge, I should have thought so, if I had not read in Dr. Priestley's Doctrine of Philosoph- ical Necessity, p. 133, as follows : " Not that I think that the sacred writers were Necessarians, for they were not philoso- phers ; not even our Saviour himself, as far as appears : — But their habitual de- votion naturally led them to refer all things to God, without reflecting on the rigorous meaning of their language : and, very probably, had they been interroga- * Mr. Toulmin's Sermon on the Death of Mr. Robinson pp. 47, 56. t Mr. Belsham's Sermon, pp. 4, 32. ted on the subject, they would have ap- peared not to be apprised of the Neces- sarian scheme, and would have answered in a manner unfavorable to it." The sa- cred writers, it seems, were well-meaning ])ersons ; but, at the same time, so igno- rant as not to know the meaning of their own language ; nay, so ignorant that, had it been explained to them, they would have been incapable of taking it in ! Nor is this suggested of the sacred writers only ; but, as it should seem, of Jesus Christ himself. A very fit person Jesus Christ must be, indeed, to be addressed as " knoiving all things ;" as a " revealer " of the mind of God to men ; as " the lois- dom of God;" as he in whom " it pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell; " by whom the judges of the earth are ex- horted to be "instructed;" and who shall "judge the toorld " at the last day ; when, in fact, he was so ignorant as not to con- sider the meaning of his own language ; or, if he had been interrogated upon it, would not have been apprised of the ex- tent of the scheme to which his words naturally led, but would probably have answered in a manner unfavorable to it ! Is this the language of one that is little in his 01V71 eyes ? But there is such a thing as spiritual pride, or a too high esteem of ourselves on account of spiritual accomplishments ; and this, together with a spirit of bigotry. Dr. Priestley imputes to Trinitarians. "Upon the whole," says he, "consid- ering tlie great mixture of spiritual pride and bigotry in some of the most zealous Trinitarians, I think the moral character of Unitarians in general, allowing that there is in them a greater apparent con- formity to the world than is observable in others, approaches more nearly to the proper temper of Christianity. It is more cheerful, more benevolent, and more can- did. The former have probably less, and the latter, I hope, somewhat more, of a real principle of religion than they seem to have."t To this it is replied. First : If Trinitarians be proud at all, it seems it must be of their spirituality ; for, as to rationality, they have none, their opponents having, by a kind of exclusive charter, monopolized that ar- ticle. It is their misfortune, it seems, when investigating the doctrine of the person of Christ, to be under a "debility of mind," or a kind of periodical insanity. Secondly : Admitting that a greater degree of spiritual pride exists among Trinitarians than among their opponents ; if we were, for once, to follow Dr. Priest- ley's example, it might be accounted for t Disc. Var. Sub. p. 100. ON HUMILITY. 237 without any reflection upon their princi- ples. Pride is a sin that easily besets human nature, though nothing is more opposite to the spirit that becomes us ; and, whatever it is in which a body ot men excel they are under a peculiar temptation to be proud of that, ratiier than of other thinirs. Tlie Enjrlish peo- ple have been otten charued, by their neighbors, with pride on account of their ci\il constitution; and I suppose it has not been without reason. They have conceived themselves to excel other na- tions in that particular ; have been apt to value themselves upon it ; and to under- value their neighbors more than they ought. This has been their fault : but it does not prove that their civil constitution has not, after all, its excellences. Nay, perhaps, the reason why some of their neighbors have not been so proud, in this particular, as they, is that they have not had that to be proud of. Christians, in general, are more likely to be the sub- jects of pride than avowed Infidels ; for the pride of the latter, though it may rise to the highest pitch imaginable, will not be in their spirituality. The same may be said of Socinians. For while "a great number of them are only men of good sense, and without much practical religion," as Dr. Priestley in the same page acknowledges they are, their pride will not lie in their spirituality, but in their supposed rationality. Thirdly : Let it be considered whether our doctrinal sentiments do not bear a nearer affinity to those principles which, in Scripture, are constantly urged as motives to humility, than those of our opponents. The doctrines inculcated by Christ and his apostles, in order to lay men low in the dust before God, were those of human de- pravity, a«d salvation by free and sove- reign grace, through Jesus Christ. The language held out by our Lord was, that he " came to seek and to save that which was lost." The general strain of his preaching tended to inform mankind, not only that he came to save lost sinners, but that no man, under any other character, could partake of the blessings of salvation. "I came," saith he, "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." " The whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." To the same pur- pose, the apostle of the Gentiles declared to the Ephesians, " You hath he quick- ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins : wherein, in time past, ye walked ac- cording to the course of this world, ac- cording to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Nor did he speak this of Gentiles or of profligates on- ly ; but, though himself a Jew, and edu- cated a Pharisee, he added, " Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, ful- fdliiig the desires of the llesli and of the miiul ; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as otiiers :" To the doctrine of the universal depravity of human nature he very |>roperly and joyfully proceeds to oppose that of God's rich mercy: "But God who is rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ." The humbling doctrine of salvation liy undeserved favor was so natural an inference, from these premises, that the Ai)ostle could not for- bear throwing in such a reflection, though it were in a parenthesis: '' By grace ye are saved." Nor did he leave it there, but presently after drew the same conclu- sion more fully: "For by grace ye are saved, through faith ; and tiiat not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephes. ii. To the same purport he taught in his other Epistles : " Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, Avhich was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." — " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us." — " Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifi- cation, and redemption : tliat, according as it is written. He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 2 Tim. i. Tit. iii. i Cor. i. These, we see, were the sentiments by which Christ and his apostles taught men humility, and cut off boasting. But, as though it were designed in perfect opposi- tion to the apostolic doctrine, Socinian writers are constantly exclaiming against the Calvinistic system, because it main- tains the insufficiency of a good moral life to recommend us to the favor of God. " Repentance, and a good life," says Dr. Priestley, "are of themselves sufficient to recommend us to the divine favor."* "When," says Mrs. Barbauld, "will Christians permit themselves to believe that the same conduct which gains them the approbation of good men here will secure the favor of heaven hereafter 1 When a man like Dr. Price is about to resign his soul into the hands of his Ma- ker, he ought to do it, not only with a reli- ance on his mercy, but his justice. It does not become him to pay the blasphemous * History of the Corruption of Christianity, Vol. I. p. 155. 238 ON HUMILITY. homage of deprecating the wrath of God, when he ought to throw himself into the arms of his love." * "Other foundation than this can no man lay," says Dr. Har- wood : " All hopes founded upon anything else than a good moral life are merely im- aginary."! So they lorap it up. If a set of writers united together, and studied to form an hypothesis in perfect contradic- tion to the holy Scriptures, and the de- clared humbling tendency of the gospel, they could not have hit upon a point more directly to their purpose. The whole ten- or of the gospel says, " It is not oftoorks, lest any man should boast." But Socinian writers maintain that it is of works and of them only ; that in this, and in no other way, is the divine favor to be obtained. We might ask. Where is boasting then 1 Is it excluded ? Nay ; Is it not admitted and cherished 1 Christ and his apostles inculcated hu- mility, by teaching the primitive Christians that virtue itself was not of themselves, but the gift of God. They not only ex- pressly declared this with respect to faith, but the same, in effect, of every particular included in the general notion of true god- liness. "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself," said Christ, " except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me :" for " without me ye can do noth- ing." " We are his workmanship, crea- ted in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." " He worketh in us both to will and to do, of his good plea- sure." The manifest design of these im- portant sayings was to humble the primi- tive Christians, and to make tliem feel their entire dependence upon God for vir- tue, even for every good thought. "Who maketh thee to differ]" said the Apostle, " and what hast thou that thou didst not receive 1" "Now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received if?" The Calvinistic sys- tem, it is well known, includes the same things : but where is the place for them, or where do they appear, in the system of our opponents 1 Dr. Priestley, in pro- fessed opposition to Calvinism, maintains " that it depends entirely upon a man's self whether he be virtuous or vicious, happy or miserable : "| that is to say, it is a man's self that maketh him to differ from another; and he has that (name- ly, virtue) which he did not receive, and in which, therefore, he may glory. § * Answer to Mr. Wakefield. t Sermon.s, p. 193. t Phil. Nee. p. 1.53. § It is true Dr. Priestley himself sometimes allows that virtue is not our own, and does not arise from within ourselves; calling that mere heathen Dr. Priestley replies to this kind of reasoning, "When we consider ourselves as the uiorkmanship of God ; that all our powers of body and of mind are de- rived from him ; that he is the giver of every good and of every perfect gift ; and that without him we can do and enjoy nothing ; how can we conceive ourselves to be in a state of greater dependence, or obligation ; that is, what greater reason or foundation can there possibly be for the exercise of humility 1 If I believe that I have a power to do the duty that God re- quires of me ; yet, as I also believe that that power is his gift, I must still say. What have I that I have not received? and hoiv then can I glory as if I had not re- ceived it? " ll It is true Dr. Priestley, and, for aught I know, all other writers, except Athe- ists, acknowledge themselves indebted to God ibr the powers by which virtue is attained, and, perhaps, for the means of attaining it; but this is not acknowledg- ing that we are indebted to him ibr virtue itself. Powers and opportunities are mere natural blessings : they have no virtue in them, but are a kind of talent, capable of being improved or not im- proved. Virtue consists not in the pos- session of natural powers, any more than in health, or learning, or riches ; but in the use that is made of them. God does not, therefore, upon this principle, give us virtue. Dr. Priestley contends that as we are " God's workmanship, and derive all our powers of body and mind from him, we cannot conceive of ourselves as being in a state of greater dependence upon him." The Apostle Paul, however, teaches the necessity of being " created in Christ Jesus unto good works." Ac- cording to Paul, we must become his loorkmanship by a new creation, in order to the performance of good works ; but, according to Dr. Priestley, the first crea- Stoicism which maintains the contrary: and tells us that " those persons who, from a principle of religion, ascribe more to (iod, and less to man, are persons of tlie greatest elevation in piety." Phil. Nee. pp. 107, 108. Yet, in the same performance, he repre- sents it as a part of the Necessarian scheme, by which it is opposed to Calvinism, " that it depends entirely upon a man's sc//" whether he be virtuous ot vicious." p. 153. If Dr. Priestley mean no more, by these ex- pressions, than that our conduct in life, whether vir- tuous or vicious, depends upon our choice, the Cal- vinistic scheme, as well as his own, allows of it. But if he mean that a virtuous choice originates in ourselves, and that we are the proper cause of it, this can agree to nothing but the Arminian notion of a self-determining power in the will; and that, in fact, as he himself elsewhere observes, is mere heathen Stoicism which allows men to pray for external things, but admonishes them that, as for virtue, it is our own, and must arise /rom within ourselves, if we have it at all." p. 69. Ii Diff. Opin. § III. ON CIIAIUTV. 239 tion is sufficient. Now, if so, the differ- ence between one man and another is not to be asciil)ed to God ; lor it is su|)poscd that God has given all men ihe power of attaining virtue, and that the difTerence between the virtuous man and his neigh- bor is to be ascrilieil to hinisell, in making a good use of the powers and opportu- nities with which he was invested. Upon this system, therefore, we may justly answer the question. What hast thou ichich thou hast not received? — "I have virttie, and the promise of eternal life as its reward; and, consequently, have whereof to glory." In short, the whole of Dr. Priestley's concessions amount to nothing more than the heathen Stoicism which he elsewhere condemns. Those ancient philosophers could not deny that all their powers were originally derived from al)ove ; yet tlicy miuntained "that as for virtue it is our own, and must arise from within ourselves, if we have it at all." I do not deny that all men have natural powers, together with means and oppor- tunities of doing good ; which, if they were but completely well-disposed, are equal to the performance of their whole duty. God requires no more of us than to love and serve him with all our strength. These powers and opportuni- ties render them accountable beings, and will leave them without excuse at the last day. But, if they are not rightly dis- posed, all their natural powers will be abused ; and the question is, To whom are we indebted for a change of disposi- tion? If to God, we have reason to lie in the dust and acknowledge it was he that " quickened us, when we were dead in sins." if to ourselves, the doctrine of the Stoics will be established, and we shall have " whereof to glory." LETTER X. ON CHARITY : IN WHICH IS CONSID- ERED THE CHARGE OF BIGOTRY. The main reason why we are accused of spiritual pride, bigotry, uncharitable- ness, and the like, is the importance which we ascribe to some of our senti- ments. Viewing them as essential to Christianity, we cannot, properly speak- ing, acknowledge as Christians those who reject them. It is this which provokes the resentment of our opponents, and induces them to load us with opprobrious epithets. We have already touched upon this topic, in the Letter on Candor, but will i\ow consider it more particularly. It is allowed that we ought not to judge of whole bodies of men liy the de- nomination under which they pass, be- cause mimes do not always describe the real principles they embrace. It is pos- sible that a person wlio attends upon a very unsound ministry may not under- stand or adopt so much of the system wliich he hears inculcated as- that his dis- position shall be formed, or his conduct regulated by it. I have heard, from per- sons who have been much conversant with Socini^ns, that though in general they are o« a loose dissipated turn of mind, assembling in the gay circles of pleasure, and following the customs and manners of tlie world ; yet tiiat there are some among them who are more serious ; and that these, if not in their conversa- tion, yet in their solemn addresses to the Almighty, incline to the doctrines of Cal- vinism. This perfectly accords with Mrs. Barbauld's representation of the matter, as noticed towards the close of the Sixth Letter. These people are not, properly speaking, Socinians ; and there- fore ought to be left quite out of the question. For the question is. Whether as believing in the Deity and atonement of Christ, with other correspondent doc- trines, we be required, by the charity in- culcated in the gospel, to acknowledge, as fellow-christians, those who thor- oughly and avowedly reject them. It is no part of the business of this Let- ter to prove tiiat these doctrines are true ; this at present I have a right to take for granted. Tiic fair state of olijection, if delivered by a Socinian, would be to this effect : " Though your sentiments should be right, yet by refusing to acknowledge, as fellow-christians, others who differ from you, you over-rate their importance, and so violate the charity recommended by the gospel." To the objection, as thus stated, I shall endeavor to reply. Charity, it is allowed, will induce us to put the most favorable construction upon things, and to entertain the most favoral)le opinion of persons, that truth will admit. It is far from the spirit of Christianity to indulge a censorious tem- per, or to take pleasure in drawing un- favorable conclusions against any person whatever; but the tenderest disposition towards mankind cannot convert truth into falsehood, or falsehood into truth. Unless, therefore, we reject the Bible, and the belief of any thing as necessary to salvation, though we should stretch our good opinion of men to the greatest lengths, yet we must stop somewhere. Charity itself does not so believe all 240 ON CHARITY. things as to disregard truth and evidence. , We are sometimes reminded of our Lord's command, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." This language is, doubtless, designed to reprove a censorious disposition, which leads people to pass unjust judgment, or to discern a mote in a brother's eye, while they are blind to a beam in their own : but it cannot be intended to forbid all judgment whatever, even upon char- acters ; for this would be contr«,ry to what our Lord teaches in the same dis- course, warning his disciples to beiuare of false prophets, ivho ivould come to them in sheep's clothing : adding, " Ye shall know them by their fruits." Few pretend that we ought to 'Jiink favorably of profligate characters, or that it is any breach of charity to think unfavorably concerning them. But, if the words of our Lord be understood as forbidding all judgment ivhatever upon characters, it must be wrong to pass any judgment upon them. Nay, it must be wrong for a minister to declare to a drunkard, a thief, or an adul- terer, that, if he die in his present con- dition, he must perish ; because this is judging the party not to be in a state of salvation. All the use that is commonly made of our Lord's words is in favor of^ sentiments, not of actions : but the Scriptures make no such distinction. Men are there rep- resented as being under the wrath of God who have not believed on the name of the only-l)egotten Son of God ; nor is there any thing intimated in our Lord's expres- sions, as if the judgment which he for- bade his disciples to pass were to be con- fined to matters of sentiment. The judg- ment which is there reproved is partial or lorong judgment, whether it be on ac- count of sentiment or of practice. Even those who plead against judging persons on account of sentiment, (many of them at least,) allow themselves to think unfavor- ably of avowed infidels, who have heard the gospel, but continue to reject it. They themselves, therefore, do judge un- favorably of men on account of their sen- timents ; and must do so, unless they will reject the Bible, which declares unbe- lievers to be under condemnation. Dr. Priestley, however, seems to ex- tend his favorable opinion to idolaters and infidels, without distinction. "All dif- ferences in modes of worship," he says, "may be only the different methods by which different men (who are equally the offspring of God) are endeavoring to hon- or and obey their common parent." He also inveighs against a supposition that the mere holding of any opinions (so it seems the great articles of our faith must be called) should exclude men from the favor of God. It is true what he says is guarded so much as to give the argument lie engages to support a very plausible appearance ; but withal so ill directed as not in the least to affect that of his oppo- nents. His words are these : " Let those who maintain that the mere holding of any opinions (without regard to the mo- tives and state of mind through which men may have been led to form them,) will necessarily exclude them from the favor of God, be particularly careful with respect to the premises from which they draw so alarming a conclusion." The counsel contained in these words is un- doubtedly very good. Those premises ought to be well founded from which such a conclusion is drawn. I do not indeed suppose that any ground for such a con- clusion exists ; and who they are that draw it I cannot tell. The mere holding of an opinion, considered abstractedly from the motive, or state of mind of him that holds it, must be simply an exercise of intellect ; and, I am inclined to think, has in it neither good nor evil. But the question is, whether there be not truths which from the nature of them cannot be rejected, without an evil bias of heart; and, therefore, where we see those truths rejected, whether we have not authority to conclude that such rejections must have arisen from an evil bias. If a man say. There is no God, the Scrip- ture teaches us to consider it rather as the language of his heart than simply of his judgment, and makes no scruple of calling him a fool: which, according to the scrip- tural idea of the term, is equal to calling him a loicked man. And let it be serious- ly considered, upon what other principle our Lord could send forth his disciples to " preach the gospel to every creature," and add, as he did, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; and he that believeth not shall be damned." Is it not here plainly supposed that the gos- pel was accompanied with such evidence, that no intelligent creature could reject it, but from an evil bias of heart, such as would justly expose him to damnation 1 If it had been possible for an intelligent creature, after hearing the gospel, to think Jesus an impostor, and his doctrine a lie, without any evil motive, or corrupt state of mind ; I desire to know how the Lord of glory is to be acquitted of something worse than bigotry in making such a dec- laration 1 Because the mere holding of an opinion, irrespective of the motive or state of mind in him that holds it, is neither good nor evil, it does not follow that " all differences in modes of worship may be only the differ- ent methods by which different men are ON CHARITY. 241 endcavorinji to honor and obey their com- mon parent." The latter includes more than the former. The performance of worship contains more than the mere hold- ing of an o|)inion ; tor it includes an exer- cise of the heart. Our Lord and his a|)os- tleS" did not proceed on any such princi- ple, when they went forth preachinu; the gospel, as I hope has l)een sulliciently proved in the Letter on Candor. The principles on wiiich they i)roceedcd were. An assurance that they tcere of God, and that the whole world were lying in icicked- ncss — Thai he who teas of God would hear their words ; and he that ivas not of God would not hear them. — That he tvho be- lieved their testimony set to his seal that God tvas true ; and he that believed it not made God a liar. If we consider a belief of the gospel, in those who hear it, as essential to salvation, we shall be called bigots : but, if this be bigotry, Jesus Christ and his apostles were bigots ; and the same outcry might have l)een raised against them, by both Jews and Greeks, as is now raised against us. Jesus Christ himself said to the Jews, " If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins :" and his apostles went forth with the same language. They wrote and preached that men " might be- lieve that Jesus was the Christ ; and that, believing, they might have life through his name." Those who embraced their tes- timony they treated as in a state of salva- tion; and those who rejected it were told that they had "judged themselves unwor- thy of everlasting life." In short, they acted as men fully convinced of the truih of what their Lord had declared in their commission: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that be- lieveth not shall be damned." To all this an unbelieving Jew miglit have objected in that day, with quite as good a grace as Socinians object in this, " These men think that our salvation de- pends upon receiving their opinions ! Have we not been the people of God, and in a state of salvation, time out of mind, without believing that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God 1 Our fathers be- lieved only in general that there Avas a Messiah to come; and were, no doubt, saved in that faith. We also believe the same, and worship the same God : and yet, according lo these bigots, if we reject their opinion concerning Jesus being the Messiah, we must be judged unworthy of everlasting life." A heathen also, suppose one of Paul's hearers at Athens, who had just heard him deliver the discourse at Mars-hill (record- ed in Acts xvii.,) might have addressed his countrymen in some such language as VOL. 1. 31 the following: "This Jewish stranger, Athenians, pretends to make known to us 'tiie unknown God.' Had he been able to make good his j)retensions, and had this been all, we might have been obliged to him. But this unknown God, it seems, is to take place of all others that are known, and be set up at their expense. You have hitherto, Athenians, acted wor- thy of yourselves ; you have lil)erally ad- mitted all the gods to a participation of your worship ; but now, it seems, the whole of your sacred services is to be en- grossed by one. You have never been used to put any restraint uj»on thought or opinion ; but, Avith the utmost freedom, have ever been in search of new things. But this man tells us, we ' ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto silver or gold;' as though we were bound to adopt his manner of thinking, and no other. You have been famed for your adoration of the gods; and to this even your accuser himself has borne witness ; yet he has the temerity to call us to re- pentance for it. It seems, then, we are considered in the light of criminals — crim- inals on account of our devotions — crimin- als for being too religious, and for adher- ing to the religion of our ancestors ! Will Athenians endure this 1 Had he possess- ed the liberality becoming one Avho should address an Athenian audience, he would have supposed that, however we might have been hitherto mistaken in our devo- tions, yet our intentions were good ; and that 'all tlie differences in modes of wor- ship, as practised by Jews and Athenians (who are equally, by his own confession, the offspring of God,) may have been only different methods by which we have been endeavoring to honor and obey our com- mon parent.' JVor is this all; for we are called to repentance, because this unknown God hathlappointeda day in v:hich he will judge the'icorld, &c". So, then, we are to renounce our principles and worship, and embrace his, on pain of being called to give an account of it before a divine tri- bunal. Future happiness is to be con- fined to his sect ; and our eternal welfare depends upon our embracing his opinions ! Could your ears have been insulted, Athe- nians, with an harangue more replete with 'pride, arrogance, and bigotry V "But, to say no more of this insulting language, the importance he gives to his opinions, if there w ere no other objection, must ever be a bar to their being received at Athens. You, Athenians, are friends to free inquiry. But, should our philoso- phers turn Christians, instead of being fa- mous, as heretofore, for the search of new truth, they must sink into a state of men- tal stagnation. ' Those persons who think. 242 ON CHARITY. that their salvation depends upon holding their present opinions must necessarily entertain the greatest dread of free inquiry. They must think it to be hazarding of their eternal weliai'e to listen to any ar- guments, or to read any books, that savor of idolatry. It must appear to them in the same light as listening to any other temptation, whereby they would be in dan- ger oi' being seduced to their everlasting (iestruction. This temper of mind cannot but be a foundation for the most deplora- ble bigotry, obstinacy, and ignorance.' "The Athenians, I doubt not, will, gen- erally, abide by the religion of their fore- fathers : but, should any individuals think of turning Christians, I trust they will never adopt that illiberal principle of ma- king their opinion necessaiy to future hap- piness, while this man and his followers hold such a notion ' of the importance of their present sentiments, they must needs live in the dread of all free inquiry ; whereas we, who have not that idea of the importance of our present sentiments, pre- serve a state of mind proper for the dis- cussion of them. If we be wrong, as our minds are under no strong bias, we are within the reach of conviction; and thus are in the way to grow wiser and better as long as we live.' " By the above it will appear that the Apostle Paul was just as lial)le as we are, to the charge of bigotry. Those parts which are marked with single reversed commas are, with only an alteration of the word heresy, to that of idolatry, the words of Dr. Priestley in the Second Section of his Considerations on Differences of Opin- ions. Judge, brethren, whether these words best fit the lips of a Christian min- ister or of a heathen caviller. Tlie con- sequences alleged by the supposed Athe- nian, against Paul, are far from just, and might be easily refuted : but they are the same, for substance, as those alleged by Dr. Priestley against us ; and the premi- ses from which they are drawnare exactly the same. From the whole, I think, it may safely be concluded, if there be any sentiments taught us in the New Testament in a clear and decided manner, this is one : That the Apostles and primitive preachers consid- ered the belief of the gospel which they preached as necessary to the salvation of those who heard it. But, though it should be allowed that a belief of the gospel is necessary to salva- tion, it will still be objected that Socinians believe the gospel, as well as others; their Christianity, therefore, ought not to be called in question on this account. To this it is replied, If what Socinians believe be indeed the gospel — in other words, if it be not deficient in what is essential to the gospel — they undoubtedly ought to be ac- knowledged as Christians ; but, if other- wise, they ought not. It has been plead- ed, by some who are not Socinians, that we ought to think favorably of all who profess to embrace Christianity, in gene- ral, unless their conduct be manifestly im- moral. But we have no such criterion af- forded us in the New Testament ; nor does it accord with what is there revealed. The New Testament informs us of various, "wolves in sheep's clothing," who ap- peared among the primitive Christians ; men who professed the christian name, but yet were, in reality, enemies to Christian- ity ; who "perverted the gospel of Christ," and introduced "another gos- pel" in its place. But these men, it is said, not only taught false doctrine, but led immoral lives. If by immoral be meant grossly wicked, they certainly did not all of them answer to that character. The contrary is plainly supposed in the account of the false apos- tles among the Corinthians ; who are call- ed " deceitful workers, transforming them- selves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is trans- formed into an angel of light ; therefore it is no great thing if his ministers al- so be transformed as the ministers of righteousness." 2 Cor. xi. I would not here be understood as drawing a compari- son between the false apostles and the So- cinians. My design, in this place, is not to insinuate any specific charge against them, but merely to prove that, if we judge favorably of the state of every person who bears the christian name, and whose ex- terior moral character is fair, we must judge contrary to the Scriptures. To talk of forming afavoracle judgment from a profession of Christianty in general is as contrary to reason and common sense as it is to the New Testament. Suppose a candidate for a seat in the House of Com- mons, on being asked his political princi- ples, should profess himself a friend to liber- ty in general. A freeholder inquires, " Do you disapprove. Sir, of taxation Avithout representation 1" "No." "Would you vote for areformin Parliament 1" "No." " Do you approve of the liberty of the press 1" "No." Would this afford satis- faction 1 Is it not common for men to ad- mit that in the gross which they deny in detail 1 The only question that can fairly be urged is, Are the doctrines which So- cinians disown (supposing them to be true) of such importance that a rejection of them w ould endanger their salvation'? It must be allowed that these doctrines may be what we consider them, not only true, but essential to Christianity. Christi- ON CHARITy. 243 anity like every other system of truth, must have some principles Avhicli are essential to it : and, illiiose in (jiiostion i)c such, it can- not justly be imputed to pride or l)iirotry, it cannot be uncliarital)le, or uncandid, or indicate any want ol' benevolence to think so. Neither can it be wrono; to draw a natural um! necessary conclusion, that those persons who reject these j)rinciplcs are not Christians. To think justly of persons is. in no respect, inconsistent with a universal <;ood will towards them. It is not, in the least, contrary to cliarity to consider unbelievers in the litcht in which the Scriptures represent them ; nor those who reject what is essential to the gospel as rejecting the gospel itself. Dr. Priestley will not deny that Ciiris- tianity has its great Iriiths, though he will not allow the doctrines in tpiestion to make any part of them. " The being of a God — his constant over-ruling providence and righteous moral government — the divine origin of the Jewish and Christian revela- tions— that Christ was a teacher sent from God — that he is our master, law-giver, and judge — that God raised him from the dead — that he is now exalted at the right hand of God — that he will come again, to raise all the dead, and sit in judgment upon them — and that he will then give to every one of us according to our works ; — these," he says, " are properly speaking the only great truths of religion : and to these not only the Church of England, and the Church of Scotland, but even the Church of Rome gives its assent."* We see here that Dr. Priestley not only al- lows that there are certain gieat truths of religion, but determines what, and what "only," they are. I do not recollect, however, that the false teachers in the churches of Galatia denied any one of these articles ; and yet, without rejecting some of the great and essential truths of Christianity, they could not ha.\e perverted the gospel of Christ, or have introduced another gospel. But Dr. Priestley, it seems, though he allows the above to be great truths, yet considers nothing as essential to Chris- tianity, but a belief of the divine mission of Christ. " While a man believes," he says, " in the divine mission of Christ, he might with as much propriety be called a Mahometan, as be denied to be a Chris- tian."! To call Socinians Mahometans might, inmost cases, be improper; they would still, however, according to this criterion of Christianity, be within the pale of the church ; for Mahomet himself, I suppose, never denied the divine mission of Christ, and very few of those doctrines * Fam. Let. XXII. t DifT. Opiii. § V. which Dr. Priestley calls " the only great truths of religion." The Doctor informs us that some people consider him, al- ready, as " half a Mahometan. "J Wheth- er this be just or unjust, according to his notion of Christianity a Mahometan is to be considered as more than half a Chris- tian. He ought, if the above criterion be just, to be acknowledged as a fellow- christian ; and the whole party, instead of being ranked with heathenish and Jewish uniielievers, as they are by this same wri- ter,§ ougiit to be considered as a sect or denomination of Christians. The Doctor, therefore, need not have stoi)ped at the Church of Rome, but might have added the Church of Constantinople, as agreeing in his " only great truths of religion." I scarcely need to draw the conclusion which follows from what has been ob- served : If not only those who perverted the gospel among the Galatians did, Viut even \he Mahometans may acknowledge those truths which Dr. Priestley men- tions, they cannotjbe the only great, much less the distinguishing truths of the Chris- tian religion. The difference between Socinians and Calvinists is not about the mere circum- stantials of religion. It respects nothing less than the rule of faith, the ground of hope, and the object of worship. If the Socinians be right, we are not only super- stitious devotees, and deluded dependants upon an arm of flesh (Jer. xvii. .5,) but habitual idolaters. On the other hand, if we be right, they are guilty of refusing to subject their faith to the decisions of hea- ven, of rejecting the only way of salvation, and of sacrilegiously depriving the Son of God of his essential glory. It is true they do not deny our Christianity on account of our supposed idolatry ; but for this no reason can be assigned, except their indif- ference to religious truth, and the Deisti- cal turn of their sentiments. If the proper deity of Christ be a divine truth, it is a great and a fundamental truth in Christianity. Socinians, who reject it, very consistently reject the worship of Christ with it. But worship enters into the essence of religion ; and the worship of Christ, according to the New' Testa- ment, into the essenceof the Christian re- ligion. The primitive Christians are char- acterised by their " calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus." The Apostle, when writing to the Corinthians, addressed him- self " to the Church of God at Corinth, to them that were sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place called upon the name of Jesus Christ t loiters to Mr. Rum (Pref.) § Fam. Let. XVII. C'onclasion. 244 ON CHARITY. our Lord."* That this is designed as a description of true Christians will not be denied ; but this description does not in- clude Socinians, seeing they call not upon the name of Christ. The conclusion is, Socinians would not have been acknowl- edged, by the Apostle Paul, as true Chris- tians. If the deity of Christ be a divine truth, it must be the Father's will that all men should honor the Son in the same sense, and to the same degree, as they honor the Father; and those who honor him not as God will not only be found opposing the divine will, but are included in the num- ber of those who, by refusing to honor the Son, honor not the Father who hath sent him ; which amounts to nothing less than that the worship which they pay to the Father is unacceptable in his sight. If the deity of Christ be a divine truth, he is the object of trust; and that not merely in the character of a witness, but as Jehovah, in lohom is everlasting strength. This appears to be another characteristic of true Christians in the New Testament. "In his name shall the Gentiles trust." "I know whom I have trusted; and that he is able to keep that Avhich I have com- mitted unto him." "In whom ye also trusted, after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." But, if it be a characteristic of true Christianity so to trust in Christ as to commit the salva- tion of our souls into his hands, how can we conceive of those as true Christians who consider him only as a fellow-crea- ture, and, consequently, place no such con- fidence in him 1 If men by nature be in a lost and per- ishing condition, and if Christ came to seek and save them under those charac- ters, as he himself constantly testified, then all those that were whole in their own eyes, and seemed to need no physician, as the Scribes and Pharisees of old, must ne- cessarily be excluded from an interest in his salvation. And in what other light can those persons be considered who deny the depravity of their nature, and approach the Deity without respect to an atoning Saviour 1 — Further : If the death of Christ, as an atoning sac- rifice, be the only way of a sinner's sal- vation—if there be "no other name given under heaven, or among men, by which we * Mr. Lindsey's observation, that " called upon the name of Christ," should be rendered, Called by the name of Christ, if applied to Rom. x. 13, would make the Scriptures promise salvation to every one that is called a Christian. Salvation is promised to all who believe, love, fear, and call upon the name of the Lord; but never are the possessors of it de- scribed by a mere accidental circumstance, in which they are not voluntary, and in which, if they were, there is no virtue. must be saved "—if this be the " founda- tion which God hath laid in Zion" — and if no other will stand in the day of trial — how can we conceive that those who de- liberately disown it, and renounce all de- pendence upon it for acceptance with God, should be yet interested in it 1 Is it sup- posable that they will partake of that /or- giveness of sins which believers are said to receive /or his sake, and tlirough his name, who refuse to make use of that name in any of their petitions 1 If the doctrine of atonement by the cross of Christ be a divine truth, it constitutes the very substance of the gospel ; and, consequently, is essential to it. The doc- trine of the cross is represented in the New Testament as the grand peculiarity, and the principal glory of Christianity, It occupies a large proportion among the doctrines of Scripture, and is express- ed in a vast variety of language. Christ " was delivered for our offences, wounded for our transgi-essions, bruised for our ini- quities." " He died for our sins." " By his death purged our sins" — is said to " take (or bear) away the sins of the world" — to have " made peace through the blood of his cross " — " reconciled us to God by his death " — " redeemed us by his blood" — "washed us from our sins in his own blood" — "by his own blood obtained eter- nal redemption for us " — "purchased his church by his own blood," &c. &c. This kind of language is so interwoven with the doctrine of the New Testament, that, to explain away the one, is to subvert the other. The doctrine of the cross is de- scribed as being, not merely an important branch of the gospel, but the gospel itself. " We preach Christ crucified ; to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks fool- ishness ; but to them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." "I de- termined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified." " An enemy to the cross of Christ " is only another mode of describing an enemy to the gospel. f It was reckoned a sufficient refutation of any principle, if it could be proved to involve in it the consequence of Christ's having " died in vain." J Christ's dying for our sins is not only declared to be a divine truth, " according to the Scrip- tures," but a truth of such importance that the then present standing and the final sal- vation of the Corinthians were suspended upon their adherence to it.§ In fine, the doctrine of the cross is the central point in which all the lines of evangelical truth meet and are united. What the sun is to the system of nature, that the doctrine of t 1 Cor. i. ii. i Gal. ii. § 1 Cor. xv. ON CHARITY. 245 the cross is to tlic system of the {rospol ; it is the life of it. Tiic revolving planets mijrht as well exist and kee|) their course, without tiie attractinu: inlluenec of the one, as a. jrospel l)e exhiliiled worthy of the name tliat siioulil leave out the other. I am aware that Soeinian writers do not allow tlic doctrine of the dtonemcnt to be sijjnifiod liy tliat of the cross. Tiiey would tell you that tiiey I'elieve in tlie doctrine of tlie cross ; and allow it to have a rcla- iii-e or sithordinate importance, rendering the truth of Christ's resurrection more evi- dent, liy cutting otf all pretence that he was not really dead.* Wiiether this mea- gre sense of the phrase will agree w ith the design of the Apostle, in this and various other passages in the New Testament — whether it contain a sufficient giound for that singular gloryiitg of which he speaks, or any principle l)y which the tvorld teas crucijied to him and he unto the tvorld — let the impartial judge. But, be this as it may, the question here is not, whether the doctrine of atonement be signified by that of the cross; but, supposing it to be so, whether it be of such importance as to ren- der a denial of it a virtual denial of Chris- tianity.— Once more : If we believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration, or that a sinner must be renewed in the spirit of his mind, or never enter the kingdom of God, in what light must we consider those who plead for a reformation only, and deny the doctrine of a supernatural divine infiuence, by which a new heart is given us and a neiv spirit is put tvithin us ? Ought we, or can we, consider them as the subject of a divine change v^ho are continually ridiculing the very idea of it 1 It is common for our opponents to stig- matize lis with tlie name of bigots. Big- otry, if I understand it, is a blind and in- ordinate attachment to one's opinions. If we be attached to principles on account of their being owrs, orliecause ive have adopt- ed them, rather than because they aj)pear to us to be taught in the holy Scriptures ; if we be attached to some peculiar princi- ples to the neglect of others, or so as to give them a greater proportion in the .system than they require ; if we consider things as being of greater importance than the Scriptures represent them ; if we obsti- nately adhere to our opinions, so as to be averse to free inquiry, and not open to conviction ; if we make so much ol' prin- ciples as to be inattentive to holy practice ; or if a diiVerence in religious sentiment destroy or damp our benevolence to the persons of those from whom we differ ; in * Dr. Priestley's Sermon on " Glorying in tlie Cross." any of these cases we arc subject to the charge of bigotry. But we may consider a i)elief of certain doctrines as necessary to salvation, without coming under any part of (lie above description. We may be attached to these doctrines not because we have already embraced them, but on account of tiieir appearing to us to be re- vealed in the Scriptures; we may give them only that degree of importance in our views of things which they occupy there; we may be so far friends to free incjuiry as impartially to search the Scriptures, to see whether tJiese things be true, and so open to conviction as to relinquish our senti- ments when they are proved to be un- scriptural ; we may be equally attached to practical godliness, and to the principles on which it is founded; and notwithstand- ing our ill opinion of the religious senti- ments of men, and our apprehensions of the danger of their condition, we may yet bear good will to their persons, and wish for nothing more than an opportunity of promoting their welfare, both for this life and that which is to come. I do not pretend that Calvinists are free from bigotry ; neither are their opponents. What I here contend for is, that their con- sidering a belief of certain doctrines as necessary to salvation, unless it can be proved that they make more of these doc- trines than the Scriptures make of them, ought not to subject them to such a charge. What is there of bigotry in our not reck- oning the Sociniansto be Christians, more than in their reckoning us idolaters ? Mr, Madan complained of the Socinians " in- sulting those of his princii)les with the charge of idolatry." Dr. Priestley justi- fied them by observing, "All who believe Christ to be a man, and not God, must necessarily think it idolatrous to pay him divine honors ; and to call it so is no other than the necessary consequence of avow- ing our belief." JVay, he represents it as ridiculous that they "should "be allowed to think the Trinitarians idolaters without being permitted to call them so."t If Socinians have a right to think Trinita- rians idolaters, they have doubtless a right to call them so; and, if they be able,''to make it ajjpear so : nor ought we to con- sider ourselves as insulted by it. I have no idea of being offended with any man, in affairs of this kind, for speakins what he believes to be the truth. Instead of court- ing coinpliments from each other in mat- ters of such moment, we ought to en- courage an unreservedness of expression, provided it be accompanied with sobrie- ty and benevolence. But neither ought f Fam. Let. VI. 246 ON CHARITY. Socinians to complain of our refusing to acknowledge them as Christians, or to im- pute it to a spirit of bigotry ; for it amounts to nothing more than avowing a necessary consequence of our belief. If we believe the deity and atonement of Christ to be essential to Christianity, we must necessarily IJiink those who reject these doctrines to be no Christians ; nor is it inconsistent with charity to speak ac- cordingly. Again : what is there of bigotiy in our not allowing the Socinians to be Chris- tians, more than in their not allo\ying us to be Unitarians ? We profess to believe in the divine unity as much as they do in Christianity. But they consider a oneness of person, as well as of essence, to be es- sential to the unity of God ; and, there- fore, cannot acknowledge us as Unita- rians : and we consider the deity and atonement of Christ as essential to Chris- tianity, and therefore cannot acknowledge them as Christians. ' We do not choose to call Socinians Unitarians, because that would be a virtual acknowledgment that we ourselves do not believe in the divine unity ; but we are not offended at what they think of us ; nor do we impute it to bigotry, or to any thing of the kind. We know that while they think as they do on the doctrine of the Trinity our sentiments must appear to them as Tritheism. We comfort ourselves in these matters with this, that the thoughts of creatures unin- spired of God are liable to mistake. Such are theirs concerning us, and such are ours concerning them; and, if Socinians do in- deed love our Lord Jesus Christ in sin- cerity, it is happy for them. The judg- ment of their fellow-creatures cannot af- fect their state ; and thousands who have scrupled to admit them among the true followers of Christ in this world would re- joice to find themselves mistaken in that matter at the last day. It has been pleaded, by some who are not Socinians, that a belief in the doctrine of the atonement is not necessary to salva- tion : they observe that the disciples of our Lord, previously to his death, do not ap- pear to have embraced the idea of a vica- rious sacrilice ; and, therefore, conclude that a vicarious sacrifice is not of the es- sence of faith. They add. It was owing to prejudice, and consequently wrong, for the disciples to disbelieve this doctrine ; and they admit the same thing with respect to Socinians : yet, as the error in the one case did not endanger their salvation, they suppose it may not do so in the other. To this objection the following observations are offered in reply : First : Those who object in this man- ner do not suppose the disciples of Christ to have agreed with Socinians in any of their peculiar sentiments, except the re- jection of a vicarious sacrifice. They al- low them to have believed in the doctrines of human depravity, divine influence, the miraculous conception, the pre-existence and proper deity of Christ, the inspiration" of the Scriptures, &c. The case of the disciples, tlierefore, is far from being par- allel with that of the Socinians. Secondly : W^hatever were the ignorance and error which occupied the minds of the disciples, relative to the death of their Lord, their case will not apply to that of Socinians, on account of the difference in the state of revelation, as it stood before and after that event. Were it even allow- ed that the disciples did reject the doc- trine of Christ being a vicarious sacrifice ; yet the circumstances which they were under render their case very different from ours. We can perceive a very considera- ble difference between rejecting a princi- ple before, and after, a full discussion of it. It would be a far greater evil, in the present day, to persecute men for adhering to the dictates of their consciences, than it was before the rights of conscience were so fully understood. It may include a thousand degrees more guilt for this coun- try, at the present time, to persist in the slave-trade, than to have done the same thing previously to the late inquiry on that business. But the disparity between pe- riods, with regard to the light thrown upon these subjects, is much less than between the periods before and after the death of Christ, with regard to the light thrown upon that subject. The difference be- tween the periods before and after the death of Christ w'as as great as between a period in which a prophecy is unaccom- plished, and that in which it is accomplish- ed. There are many things that seem plain in prophecy, when the event is pass- ed, which cannot then be honestly denied : and it may seem wonderful that they should ever have been overlooked, or mistaken; yet overlooked or mistaken they have been, and that by men of solid understand- ing and real piety. It was after the death of Christ, when the means of knowledge began to diffuse light around them, that the disciples were, for the first time, reproved for their slow- ness of heart to believe, in reference to this subject. It was after the death and resur- rection of Christ, when the way of sal- vation was fully and clearly pointed out, that those who stumbled at the doctrine of the cross were reckoned disobedient in such a degree as to denominate them un- believers, and that the most awful warn- ings and threatenings were pointed against them, as treading under foot the blood of ON CHARITY. 247 the Son of God. It is (rut' our Lord liad repeatedly predicted liis death, and it was I'aullv in tiie disciples not to understand and believe it; yet what he tauiriit on tliat sul^jeet was l)ut little, when compared with what followed. The " frrcat salva- tion," as the Ajiostle to the Hclirews ex- presses it, " Cirst liegan to he spoken hy the Lord, and was eonlirnied" to the ]>riin- itive Christians " i>y (hose who heard liiin :". Init then it is added, " God also liearinir them witness, I'odi with siuns and wonders, and with divers miracles and •ritts of the Holy Spirit, accordiufr to his own will." Now, it is upon this accumu- lation of evidence that he asks, " How shall rcc escape ifive neglect so great sal- vation? "* A lielief in the resurrection of Christ is allowed, on all iiands, to be essential to salvation; as it is an event upon which the truth of Christianity rests. f But the disciples of Christ, previously to (he event were as much in (he dark on (his article as on that of the atonement. Even to the last, when he was actually risen from the dead, they visited his tomb, in hope of findino; him, and could scarcely believe their senses, with resjject to his having left it : " for as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead." Now, if the resurrection of Christ, though i)ut little understood, be- fore,the event, may, after it, be considered as essential to Chris(iani(y, there is no reason to conclude Init that the same may be said of his atonement. Thirdly : It is not clear that the dis- ciples did reject the idea of a vicarious sacrifice. They had all their lives been accustomed to vicarious sacrifices : it is therefore very improbable that they should be prejudiced against the idea itself. Their objection (o Christ's laying down his life seems to have been directed sim- ply against his dying, rather than his dying as a vicarious sacrifice. Could they have been reconciled to the former for any thing that appears, they would have readily acquiesced in the latter. Their objection to the death of Christ seems to have been more the effect of ig- norance and misguided afTection than of a rooted opposition of principle ; and there- fore, when they came to see clearly into the design of his death, it is expressed not as if they had essentially altered their sen- timents, but remembered the words which he had spoken to them ; of which, while their minds were beclouded with the no- tions of a temporal kingdom, they could form no clear or consistent ideas, and t Heb. ii. 1—1. * 1 Cor. >v. 14, 15. Roin. x. 9. therefore had forgotten them. Luke xxiv. I— S. And notwithstanding the ignorance and error which a((ended (he disciples, (here are (hings said of (hem which apply much more (han the objection would seem to allow : — " Whither I go," said Christ, " ye know ; and (he way ye know." As if he should say, I am no( going (o as(range place, bul (o (he house of iny Father and of your Father; with the way to which you are accpiainted, and (herefore will soon be wi(h me. " Thomas said unto him. Lord we know not whither (hou go- cst, and how can we know (he way 1 Je- sus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. — If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also : and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." From this passage it appears that the disciple had a general idea of sal- vation through Christ ; though (hey did not unders(and particularlij how it was to be accomplished. Fardier : Christ taught his hearers, saying, "except ye eat my flesh and drink my blood, ye have no life in you :" — " and the bread that I will give is my flesh, thai I willgie for the life of the world." On (his occasion, many of his nominal disciples were offend- ed, and " walked no more wi(h him ;" but the true disciples were not offended. On the contrary, being asked, "Will ye also go away 1 Peter answered, Lord, (o whom shall we go ] Thou hast (he words of e(ernal life." From (his passage i( plain- ly appears that (he (rue disciples of Christ were, even at that time, considered as be- lieving so much on the subject of Christ's giving himself for the life of the world as to " eat his flesh and drink his blood;" for our Lord certainly did not mean to condemn them, as having " no life in them." So far wei-e they from rejecting this doctrine, (hat (he same words at which the false disciples were ofTended were to them "(he words of eternal life." Prob- aV)ly, (his great truth was sometimes more and sometimes less apparent to their view. At those j)eriods in which their minds were occupied with the notion of a temporal kingdom, or in which events turned up contrary to their expectations, they would be all in darkness concerning it : yet, with all tlicir darkness, and with all their doubts, it does not appear to be a doctrine which they can be said to have rejected. No person, I think, who is open to convic- tion canbe abigot, whatever behisreligious sentiments. Our opponents, it is true, are very ready to suppose that this is our gen- eral character, and that we are averse 248 ON CHARITY. from free inquiry : but this may be more than they are able to prove. We acknow- ledge that we do not choose to circulate books indiscriminately among our friends which are considered by us as containing false and pernicious doctrines ; neither do other people. I never knew a zealous Dissenter eager to circulate a book con- taining high-church principles among his children and connections ; nor a church- man those which contain the true princi- ples of dissent. In like manner, an Anti- trinitarian will not propagate the best productions of Trinitarians. If they hap- pen to meet with a weak performance, in which the subject is treated to disadvan- tage, they may feel no great objection to make it public ; but it is otherwise with respect to those in which it is treated to advantage. I have known some gentle- men affecting to possess what has been called a liberal mind who have discovered no kind of concern at the indiscriminate cir- culation of Socinian productions ; but I have also perceived that those gentlemen have not been far from their kingdom of heaven. If any person choose to read the writings of a Socinian, or of an atheist, he is at liberty to do so; but, as the Monthly Reviewers themselves observe, " Though we are always ready to engage in inquiries after truth, and wish to see them at all times promoted; yet we choose to avoid disseminating notions which we cannot approve."* As to being open to conviction our- selves, it has been frequently observed that Socinians discover as great an aver- sion to the reading of our writings as we can discover to the reading of theirs. Some will read tliem ; but not many. Out of a hundred persons, whose minds lean towards the Socinian system, should you put into their hands a well-written Calvinistic performance, and desire them carefully and seriously to read it over, I question whether five Avould comply with your request. So far, however, as my observation extends, I can perceive in such persons an eagerness for reading those writings which suit their taste, and a contempt of others, equal, if not supe- rior, to what is perceivable in people of other denominations. Dr. Priestley suggests that the impor- tance which we give to our sentiments tends to prevent an e^arnest and impartial search after truth. " While they imbibe such a notion of their present sentiments they must needs," he says, "live in the dread of all free inquiry; whereas we, who have not that idea of the importance of our present sentiments, preserve a * Monthly Review Enlarged, Vol. VI. p. 555. state of mind proper for the discussion of them. If we be wrong, as our minds are under no strong bias, we are within the reach of conviction ; and thus are in the way to grow wiser and better as long as we live."f Mr. Belsham, however, appears to think the very reverse. He pleads, and I think very justly, that an idea of the non-im- portance of sentiment tends to destroy a spirit of inquiry, by becalming the mind into a state of indifference and careless- ness. He complains of those of his own party (the Socinians) wOio maintain that "sincerity is every thing, that nothing is of much value but an honest heart, and that speculative opinions — the cant name for those interesting doctrines which the wise and good in every age have thought worthy of the most serious discussion, — that these speculative opinions, as they are opprobriously called, are of little use. What is this," adds he, "but to pass a severe censure upon those illustrious names whose acute and learned labors have been successfully employed in clear- ing up the difficulties in which these im- portant subjects were involved; to con- demn their own conduct, in wasting so much of their time and pains upon such useless speculations ; and to check the progress of religious inquiry and chris- tian knowledge 1 Were I a friend to the popular maxim — that speculative opinions are of no importance, I would endeavor to act consistently with my principles : I would content myself with believing as my fathers believed ; I would take no pains to acquire or diffuse knowledge ; I would laugh at every attempt to instruct and to meliorate the world; I would treat as a visionary and a fool every one who should aim to extend the limits of sci- ence ; I would recommend to my fellow- creatures that they should neither lie nor defraud, that they should neither swear falsely nor steal, should say their prayers as they have been taught : but, as to any thing else, that they need not give them- selves any concern ; for that honesty was every thing, and that every expectation of improving their circumstances, by cultiva- ting their understandings and extending their views, would prove delusive and chimerical. "J None will imagine that I have quoted Mr. Belsham on account of my agreement with him in the great principles of the gospel. What he would reckon impor- tant truth I should consider as pernicious error : and, probably, his views of the importance of what he accounts truth are not equal to what I have attempted to tDiff. Opin. § II. t Serm. pp. 5, 6. LOVE TO CHRIST. 249 raaintain. But in this general i)iiiKij)le we are airrecd. — That our conceiving of truth as being of but littte importance has a tendency to check free inquiry rather than to promote it : wliich is the reverse of what we arc tauj^lit hy Dr. Priestley. To illustrate tiie suiycct more fully : Suppose the possession oJ a precious stone, of a certain description, to entitle us to the possession ot some very desira- ble ol)ject ; and su()pose that none of any other description would answer the same end ; would that consideration tend to prejudice our minds in favor of any stone we might happen to possess, or prevent an impartial and strict inquiry into its properties ] Would it not rather induce us to he more inquisitive and careful, lest we should be mistaken, and so lose the prize 1 If, on the other hand, we could imagine that any stone would answer the same end, or that an error in that matter Avere of trilling importance as to the issue, would it not have a tendency to promote a spirit of carelessness in our examina- tions ; and, as all men are apt, in such cases, to be prejudiced in favor of what tliey already have, to make us rest con- tented with what we had in possession, be it what it migiit 1 It is allowed, however, that, as every good has its counterfeit, and as there is a mixtui'e of human prejudices and pas- sions in all we think or do, there is danger of this principle degenerating into an un- christian severity ; and of its being exer- cised at the expense of that benevolence which is due to all men. There is nothing, however, in this view of things, which, in its own nature, tends to pro- mote these evils ; for the most unfavorable opinion of a man's j)rinciples and state may consist with the most perfect benev- olence and compassion towards his per- son. Jesus Christ thought as ill of the jjrinciples and state of the Piiarisees and Sadducees, and the generality of the Jewish nation, as any of us think of one another ; yet he wept over Jerusalem, and to his last hour sought her welfare. The apostle Paul had the same concep- tion of the principles and state of the generality of his countrymen as Christ himself had, and much the same as we have of the Socinians. He considered them, though they "followed after the law of righteousness," or were very de- vout in their way, yet as "not having attained to the law of righteousness';" in other words, as not being righteous persons ; which the Gentiles, who submit- ted to the gospel, were. And "where- fore "? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling- VOL. I. 32 stone." Yet Paul, in the same chapter, and in the most solemn manner, declared that he had " great heaviness, and con- tinual sorrow in his heart." — Nay, that he "could wish himself accursed from Christ, (or his bretliren's sake, his kins- men according to the flesh!" Romans ix. 30. But why need I say any morel Dr. Priestley himself allows all I plead for: "The man," says he, " whose sole spring of action is a concern for lost souls, and a care to preserve the purity of that gospel which alone teaches the most eflectual method of their recovery from the power of sin and Satan unto God, will feel an ardor of mind that will prompt him stren- uously to oppose all those whom he considers as obstructing his benevolent designs." He adds, "I could overlook every thing in a man who I thought meant nothing but my everlasting welfare."* This, and nothing else, is the temj)er of mind which I have been endeavoring to defend ; and, as Dr. Priestley has here generously acknowledged its propriety, it becomes us to acknowledge, on the other hand, that every species of zeal for senti- ments in which a concern for the ever- lastyig welfare of men is wanting is an unhallowed kind of fire ; for which who- ever indulges it will receive no thanks from him whose cause he may imagine himself to have espoused. LETTER XI. THE SYSTEMS COMPARED AS TO THEIR INFLUENCE IN PROMOTING THE LOVE OF CHRIST. If the holy Scriptures be a proper me- dium by which to judge of the nature of virtue, it must be allowed to include the love of Christ : nay, that love to Christ is one of the cardinal virtues of the Christian scheme, seeing it occupies a most important place in the doctrines and precepts of inspiration. "He that loveth me," said Christ, " shall be loved of my Father." — "If God were your Father, ye would love me."— "Whom, having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet, believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." — " Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity."—" If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maran-atha." *Diff. Opin. § 1. 250 LOVE TO CHRIST. From these passages, with many others that might be produced, we may conclude that lo\'e to Christ is not only a christian virtue, but essential to the very existence of Christianity ; nay, to morality itself, if by that term be meant a conformity to the moral law. The following lines, though expressed by a poet, contain more than a poetic flight, even the words of truth and soberness : " Talk tliey of Morals 1 Oh thou bleeding Love, The grand morality is love of Thee I" In judging which of the systems in question is most adapted to promote love to Christ, it should seem sufficient to determine which of them tends most to exalt his character, which places his me- diation in the most important light, and which represents us as most indebted to his undertaking. With respect to the first : Every being commands our affection in proportion to the degree of intellect which he possesses, provided that his goodness be equal to his intelligence. We feel a respect to- wards an animal, and a concern at its death, which we do not feel towards a veg- etable ; towards those animals which are very sagacious, more than to those which are otherwise ; towards man, more than to mere animals ; and towards men of en- larged powers, if they be but good as well as great, more than to men in com- mon. According to the degree of in- tellect which they possess, so much they have of being, and of estimation in the scale of being. A man is of " more value than many sparrows ;" and tlie life of David was reckoned to be worth ten thousand of those of the common people. It has been thought to be on this principle that God, possessing infinitely more ex- istence than all the creatures taken to- gether, and being as good as he is great, is to be loved and revered without bounds, except those which arise from the limita- tion of our powers ; that is, " with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength." Now, if these observations he just, it cannot be doul)ted which of the systems in question tends most to promote the love of Christ : that which supposes him to be equal, or one with God; or that which reduces him to the rank of a mere fellow-creature. In the same proportion as God himself is to be loved above man, so is Christ to be loved, supposing him to be truly God, above what he is, or ought to be, supposing him to be merely a fellow-man. The prophets, apostles, and primitive Christians seem to have felt this motive in all its force. Hence, in their various expressiens of love to Christ, they fre- quently mingle acknowledgments of his divine dignity and excellence. They, in- deed, never seem afraid of going too far, or of honoring him too much ; but dwell upon the dignity and glory of his person as their darling theme. When David me- ditated upon this subject, he was raised above himself. "My heart," saith he, "is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king : my tongue is as the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men."—" Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever : the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre." — " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty." The expected Messiah was frequently the subject of Isaiah's prophecies. He loved him ; and his love appears to have been founded on his dignity and divine excel- lency. " Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder : and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor. THE MIGHTY Gou, the everlasting Fa- ther, the Prince of Peace." He thus describes the preaching of John the Bap- tist: — "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." — "Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his work be- fore him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, so loved the Messiah as to rejoice in his own child, chiefly because he was appointed to be his prophet and forerunner. "And thou, child," said the enraptured parent, "shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways." Luke i. John tlie Baptist himself, when the Jews artfully endeav- ored to excite his jealousy on account of the superior ministerial success of Christ, replied, " Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom : but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly be- cause of the bridegroom's voice : this my joy therefore is fulfilled." — " i^e that Cometh from above is above all : he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth : He that cometh from heaven is above all."* *John iii. 28 — 31. Query: In what sense could LOVE TO CHRIST. 251 The apostles, wlio saw the Lord, and Viho saw tlic accotnplisliiMOnt of wliat the prophets lorctohl, wore not disa|)poiiited in iiiiii. Tlieir h)vc to him was jireat, and tlieir representations of liis person and character ran in the same exalted strain. " In the hcirinninsi was the Word," said the l>elovcd disciple, "and tlie Word was with God, and tlie Word iraa God. The same was in tlie l)ev- cnants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and i\\c provLises ; whose were ihc fathers, and of whom, as concern- ing the flesh, Christ came. Here, it seems, he might have stopped : but, having men- tioned the name of Christ, he could not content himself without adding, Who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. Rom.'ix. Having occasion also to speak, of him in his Epistle to the Colossians (chap, i.) as " God's dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins," he could not forliear adding, " Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every crea- ture. For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all things were created by him, and /or him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." And now, brethren, I might appeal to you on the justness of Dr. Priestley's as- sertion, that " in no sense whatever, not even in the lowest of all, is Christ so much as called God in all the New Testa- ment."* I might appeal to you whether such language as the above would ever have proceeded from the sacred writers, had they embraced the scheme of our op- ponents. But, waving these particulars, as irrelative to the immediate point in hand, I appeal to you whether such love as the pro|)hets and apostles expressed to- wards Christ could consist with his l)eing merely a fellow-creature, and their consid- ering him as such ; whether the manner in which they expressed that love, upon the principles of our opponents, instead of be- ing acceptable to God, could have been any other than the height of extravagance, and the essence of idolatry. Judge also for yourselves, brethren, which of the sys- tems in question has the gieatest tenden- cy to promote such a spirit of love to Christ as is liere exemplified : that which leads us to admire these representations, and, on various occasions, to adoj)t the same expressions ; or that which employs us in coldly criticising away their mean- ing: that which leads us, without fear, to give them their full scope ; or that which, while we are honoring the Son, would ex- cite apprehensions, lest wc should, in so doing, tlishonor the father. The next question to be discussed is, * Letters to Mr. Burn, Letter L 252 LOVK TO CHRIST. Which of the two systems places the medi- ation of Christ in the most important point of light? That system, doubtless, which finds the greatest use for Christ, or in which he occupies the most important place, must have the greatest tendency to promote love to him. Suppose a system of politics were drawn up, in which civil liberty occupied but a very small portion, and was generally kept out of view; or if, when iirought forward, it was either for the purpose of abating the high notions which some people entertain of it, or, at least, of treating it as a matter not abso- lutely necessary to good civil government ; who would venture to assert that such a system was friendly, or its abettors friends to civil liberty 1 This is manifestly a case in point. The Socinian system has but little use for Christ ; and none at all as an atoning sacrifice. It scarcely ever mentions him, unless it be to depreciate those views of his dignity which others entertain, or in such a way as to set aside the absolute necessity of his mediation. It is not so in our views of things. We find so much use for Christ, if I may so speak, that he appears as the soul which animates the whole body of our divinity ; as the centre of the system, diffusing light and life to every part of it. Take away Christ ; nay, take away the deity and atonement of Christ ; and the whole cer- emonial of the Old Testament appears to us little more than a dead mass of unin- teresting matter : prophecy loses all that is interesting and endearing : the gospel is annihilated, or ceases to be that good news to lost sinners which it professes to be ; practical religion is divested of its most powerful motives ; the evangelical dispen- sation of its peculiar glory ; and heaven itself of its most transporting joys. The sacred penmen appear to have written all along upon the same princi- ples. They considered Christ as the All in all of their religion ; and, as such, they loved him with their whole hearts. Do they speak of the "first tabernacle 1" They call it a " figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience." — "But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building ; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Do they speak of prophecy 1 They call the testimony of Jesus the "spirit" of it. Rev. xix. 10. Of the gospeU It is the doctrine of "Christ crucified." Of the medium by which the world was cru-' cified to them, and they to the world 1 It is the same. The very " reproach of Christ" had a value stamped upoxi it, so as, in their esteem, to surpass all the treasures of the present world. One of the most affecting ideas which they afford us of heaven consists in ascribing ever- lasting glory and dominion " to him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, were heard with a loud voice, saying. Worthy is the Lamb that teas slain to re- ceive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and bless- ing." Let us select a particular instance in the character of Paul. This apostle seemed to be swallowed up in love to Christ. His mercy to him, as one of the " chief of sinners," had bound his heart to him with bonds of everlasting gratitude. Nor was this all ; he saw that glory in his person, office, and work, which eclipsed the excel- lence of all created objects, Avhich crucifi- ed the world to him, and him unto the world. " What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things." Nor did he now repent ; for he immediately adds, " And do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him; not hav- ing mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."— " That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." When his friends wept because he would not l)e dissuaded Irom going to Jerusalem, he answered, "What mean ye to weep, and to break mine heart 1 For I am ready, not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Je- sus." Feeling in himself an ardent love to Christ, he vehemently desired that oth- ers might love him too. For this cause he bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in behalf of the Ephe- sians ; praying that Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith. He represented him to them as the medium of all spiritual blessings ; of election, adoption, accept- ance with God, redemption, and the for- giveness of sins ; of a future inheritance, and of a present eai'nest of it ; as head over all things to the church, and as him that fillcth all in all. He described him as the only way of access to God, and as the sole foundation of a sinner's hope ; whose rich- LOVE TO CHRIST. 253 cs were unsearchable, and the dimensions of his love passina; knowlodirc. It any drew hack, or deviated from the siniphcity of tlic jjospol, lie telt a most ar- dent tliirst for tiieir rceovery : witness his Epistles to tiie Corintliiaiis, the Gahitians, and (it', as is generally supposed, he was the writer of it) to the Uelirews. It any one drew back, and was not to l)e reehiim- ed, he denounced atraiiist him tlie divine dechiration, " My soul shall have no plea- sure in him." And, whatever might be the mind of others, like Josluni, he was at a point himself: " Henceforth," he ex- claims, " let no man troul)le me ; for I bear in my body the marks of tiie Lord Je- sus." If he wished to " live," it was for Christ; or, if to " die," it was to be with him. He invoked the l)cst of hicssings on those who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity; and denounced an "anathema maran-atha" on those who loved him not. The reason wliy I have c|uoted all these passages is to show thattlie primitive gos- pel was full of Christ ; or tiiat Christ was, as it were, the centre and the life of the evangelical system; and that this, its lead- ing and principal characteristic, tended wonderfully to promote the love of Christ. Now, brethren, let me appeal to you again : Which of the systems in question is it which resembles that of the apostles in this particular, and consecpiently has tlie greatest tendency to jiromote love to Christ 1 That of wliich Christ is the All in all ; or that in which he is scarcely ever introduced, except for the purpose of representing him as a " mere fellow-crea- ture, a fallil)le and peccable manl " The third and last cpiestion to be dis- cussed (if indeed it need any discussion) is, Which of the two systems represents us as most indebted to Christ's under- taking'? Our Lord himself has laid it down as an incontrovertible rule that those who have much forgiven will love him mucii, and that those who have little for- given will love him but little. That sys- tem, therefore, which supposes us the greatest debtors to forgiving love, must needs have the greatest tendency to pro- mote a return of love. Our views with respect to the depravi- ty of human nature are such that, upon our system, we have much more to be for- given than our oi)poncnts have upon theirs. W^e suppose ourselves to have been utter- ly depraved; our very nature totally cor- rupted ; and, consecpiently, that all our supposed virtues, while our hearts were at enmity with God, were not virtue in reali- ty, but destitute of its very essence. We do not, tlierefore, conceive of ourselves, during our unregeneracy, as having l)een merely stained by a few imperfections ; but as altogether polluted, by a course of apostasy from God, and black rebellion against him. That wiiich is called sin l»y our o|)ponents must consist chielly, it not entirely, in tlie irregularity of a man's out- ward conduct; else they could not sup- pose, as Dr. Priestley does, that " Virtue bears the same proportion to vice that hap- piness does to misery, or health to sick- ness, in the world:"* that is, that there is much more of the former than of the latter. But the merely outward irregu- larities of men bear no more proportion to the whole of their depravity, according to our views of it, than the particles of water which are occasionally emitted from the surface of tlie ocean to the tide that rolls bencatii. The religion of tliose who make sin to consist in little besides exterior ir- regularities, or who conceive of the vir- tues of men as greatly exceeding their vices, appears to us to resemlde the reli- gion of Paul, previously to his conversion to Christianity. While he thought of nothing but the irregularities of his exte- rior conduct, his virtues doul)tless appear- ed to him to outweigh his vices, and there- fore he concluded all was well ; that he was in a fair way to everlasting happiness ; or, as he himself expresses it, " alive with- out the law." But when, through the glass of that divine "Jcommandment " which prohibits the very inclination to evil, he saw the corruption that reigned within, transgression assumed a very dif- ferent appearance ; it was then a mighty ocean, that swelled and swept off all his legal hopes. " Sin revived," and he died. In short, our views of human depravity induce us to consider ourselves, by nature, as unworthy, as lost, and ready to jierisii ; so that, if we are saved at all, it must be by rich grace, and by a great Saviour. I scarcely need to draw the conclusion, that, having according to our system most to be forgiven, we shall, if we truly enter into it, love most. Further : our system supposes a much greater malignity in sin than that of our opponents. When we speak of sin, we do not love to deal, as Mr. Belsham docs, in extenuating names. We find no au- thority for calling it "human frailty," or for aiTixing any idea to it that shall repre- sent us rather as objects worthy of the compassion of God than as sulyects of that wiiich his soul al)horretIi. We do not see how Mr. Belsham, or those of his sentiments, while they speak of moral evil in so diminutive a style, can possibly con- ceive of it, after the manner of the inspired writers, as an "evil and bitter thing;" or, as it is expressed in that- remarkable * Let. Pliil. Unb. Vol. I. Let. V. 254 VENERATION FOR THE SCRIPTURES. phrase of the apostle Paul, "exceeding sinful." * Our opponents deny sin to be, in any sense, an infinite evil ; or, which is the same thing, deserving of endless punish- ment, or that such punishment will follow upon it. Nobody, indeed, supposes that sin is, in all respects, infinite. As com- mitted by a finite creature, and admitting of different degrees, it must be finite, and will doubtless be punished hereaftei- with different degrees of punishment ; but, as committed against a God of infinite excel- lence, and as tending to infinite anarchy and mischief, it must be infinite. All that is meant, I suppose, by calling sin an infi- nite evil, is that it is deserving of endless punishment; and this can never be fairly objected to as an absurdity. If there be no absurdity in the immortality of a sin- ner's existence, there is none in supposing him to deserve a punishment, he it in what degree it may, that shall run commensu- rate with it. There is no absurdity in supposing a sinner to have been guilty of such crimes as to deserve misery for as long a duration as he is capable of sustain- ing it. But, whatever may be said as to the truth or falsehood of this sentiment, thus much is clear, that, in proportion as our opponents conceive diminutively of the evil of sin, they diminish the grace of forgiveness ; and if that forgiveness come to us through Christ, as is plainly implied in their loving him most who have most forgiven, it must needs follow that, in the same proportion, the love of Christ is sap- ped at the foundation. ■ Once more : The expense at which we suppose our forgiveness to have been ob- tained is a consideration which endears to us both the gift and the giver. We do not conceive of Christ, in his bestowment of this blessing upon us, as presenting us with that which cost him nothing. If the por- tion given by Jacob to his son Joseph was heightened and endeared by its being ob- tained " by the sword and the bow," much more is a title to eternal life, by its being obtained through the death of our Lord * The expression, "exceeding sinful," is very forcible. It resembles the phrase, " far more ex- ceeding-" or rather, excessively exceeding, in 2 Cor. iv. 7. It seems that the Holy Spirit himself could not find a worse name for sin than its own. If we speak of a treacherous person, we call him a " Ju- das:" if of Judas, we call him a " devil ;" but if of Satan, we want a comparison, because we can find none that is worse than himself : we must therefore say, as Christ did, " When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own." It was thus with tite apostle, when speaking of the evil of his own heart, " That sin by the commandment might become" — whatl He wanted a name worse than its own — he could not find one — he therefore unites a strong epithet to the thing itself, calling it " exceeding sinful." Jesus Christ. It is this that attracts the hearts of those who are described as sing- ing a new song to their Redeemei-, " Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." It does not appear, from any thjng I have seen, that the system of our oppo- nents can, with any plausibility, be pre- tended to equal ours, respecting love to Christ. All that can be alleged, with any color of reason ; all, at least, that I have noticed, is this, That, in proportion as we, in this way, furnish motives of love to Christ, we detract from those of love to the Father, by diminishing the freeness of his grace, and exhibiting him as one that was incapable of bestowing forgive- ness, unless a price was paid for it. To this it is replied : li' the incapacity of the Father to show mercy without an atone- ment consisted in the want of love, or a^iy thing of natural implacability, or even a reluctance to the bestowment of mercy, there would be force in the objection; but, if it be no other than the incapacity of a righteous governor, who, whatever good-will he may have to an offender, cannot bear the thought of passing by the offence without some public expression of displeasure against it — that, while mercy triumphs, it may not be at the expence of law, of equity, and of the gen- eral good — such an incapacity rather in- fers a perfection than an imperfection in his nature; and, instead of diminishing our regard for his character, must have a powerful tendency to increase it. LETTER XII. ON VENERATION FOR THE SCRIPTURES. If we may judge of the nature of true piety by the examples of the prophets and holy men of old, we may conclude with certainty that an affectionate attach- ment to the holy Scriptures, as the rule of faith and practice, enters deeply into the spirit of it. The holy Scriptures were described by David, under the names of the loord, statutes, latvs, precepts, judg- ments, and testimonies, of God; and to these, all through the Psalms, especially in the 119th, he professes a most ardent attachment. Such language as the fol- lowing was very common with him, as well as others of the Old Testament wri- ters: "O how I love thy law ! "— " Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." — " Open thou mine eyes, VENERATION FOR THE SCRIPTURES. 255 tliat I may behold wondrous thinjrs out of thy law." — "My soul i>reakcth lor tiic loiij;in,U; to tliis particular passaire. And how does Dr. Priestley rejily to tliis ] Why, by allciiinjr that he had nut applied the al)ove principle to the passa;;e in (jues- tion, but had triven it a sense which allow- ed the propriety of its beins; applied to Christ : that is, lie had not made that use of a principle which niinht be made of it, and which no one asserted he had made of it. Dr. Priestley is, doul)tless, possessed of great abilities, and has had large experi- ence in controversial writing : to w hat a situation, then, must '■he have been re- duced, to have recourse to such an answer as the above ! This question between Mr. Burn and Dr. Priestley, if I understand it, is not whether the latter appealed to the Scrip- tures for the truth of his opinions ; but whether his supposing the sacred writers, in some cases, to apply Scrijjture imi)roperly, does not render that appeal inconsistent — not whether he had allowed the ])ropriety of the apostle's quoting the sixtli verse of the forty-fifth Psalm, and ajiplying it, in the first chapter of the Hebrews, to Christ; but whether, upon the ))rinciplc of the sa- cred writers l)eing liable to make, and having actually made, some improper quo- tations, he miglit no/ have disallowed it — not whether the apostles did actually fail in this or that particular subject ; but whether, if they failed in .some instances, they were not liable to fail in others, and whether any dej)endence could be placed on their decisions — not whether the ai)os- tles testified things nihich they had seen and heard from the beginning ; but wheth- er their infaUihilily can be supported merely upon that ground, without sup- posing that the Holy Spirit assisted their memories, guided their judgments, and superintended their productions. If the reader of that controversy keep the aVjove points in view, he will easily perceive the futility of a great many of Dr. Priestley's answers, notwithstanding all his positivity and triumph, and his proceeding to ad- monish Mr. Burn to re])entance. Dr. Priestley, in his Sixth Letter to Mr. Burn, denied that he makes the reason of the individual the sole umpire in matters of faith. But if the sacred writers, "in some things which they advanced, were fallible, and misled liy prejudice," what dependence can be placed on them 1 Whether the reason of the individual be a proper umpire in matters ol faith, or not, the writings of the a|)ostles, on the fore- going hypothesis, can make no such pre- tence. Dr. Priestley may allege that we must distinguish between those things to which the apostles had not given much at- tention, and other things to which they had ; those in which they were prejudiced, and others in which they were unpreju- diced ; those concerning which they had not the means of exact intbrmation, and others of a dillerent description : but can he himself, at this distance of time, or even if he had l)een contemj)orary with them, always tell what those cases are 1 How, in many instances at least, can he judge, with any certainty, of the degree of attention which they gave to things ; of the prejudiced or unprejudiced state of their minds ; or of the means of informa- tion which they possessed 1 Or if he could decide with satisfaction to himself on these matters, how are the bulk of man- kind to judge, who arc not possessed of his powers and opportunities, but who are equally interested in the allair with him. self? Are they imi)licilly to rely on his opinion ; or to supplicate heaven for a new revelation, to point out the defects and er- rors of the old onel In short, let Dr. Priestley profess what regard he may for the Scriptures, if what he advances be true, they can be no proper test of truth; and, if tlie reason of the individual be not the sole umpire in these matters, there can be no umpire at all ; but all must be left in gloomy doubt, and dreadful uncer- tainty.* The generality of the Socinian writers, as well as Dr. Priestley, write degTading- ly of our only rule of faith. The Scrip- tures profess to be " profitable for doc- trine;" and to be "able to make men wise unto salvation." "The testimony of the Lord is " said to be "sure, making wise the simple :" and those who made it their study professed to have obtained "more understanding than all their teachers." But Mr. Lindsey considers the Scriptures as unadapted to promote any high per- fection in knowledge ; and supposes that they are left in obscurity, with design to promote an occasion of charity, candor, and forltearance. Speaking of the doc- trine of the person of Christ, " Surely it must be owned," he says, "to have been left in some obscurity in the Scriptures themselves, which might mislead readers full of heathen prejudices (otherwise so * Tlie reader will observe that tlie foregoing re- marks on tlie controversy between Mv. Burn and Dr. Priestley have nothing to do willi that part of it which relates to tlie riots at Birmingham, but mere) with that on the person of Christ. 2G0 VENERATION FOR THE SCRIPTURES. many men, wise and good, would not have differed, and still continue to differ, con- cerning it :) and so left, it should seem, on purpose to whet human industry, and the spirit of inquiry into the things of God, to give scope for the exercise of men's char- ity and mutual forbearance of one another, and to be one great means of cultivating the moral dispositions, Avliich is plainly the design of the Holy Spirit of God in the Christian revelation, and not any high perfection in knowledge, which so few can attain."* On this extraordinary passage one might inquire, first, if the Scriptures have left the subject in obscurity, why might not the mistake of those who hold the divinity of Christ (supposing them to be mistaken) have been accounted for, without alleging, as Mr. Lindsey elsewhere does, that " they are determined, at all events, to believe Christ to be a different being iVom what he really was ; that there is no rea- soning with them;" and that "they are to 1)6 pitied, and considered as being under a debility of mind, in this respect, howev- er sensible and rational in others l"t If wise and good nien have differed upon the subject in all ages, and that owing to the obscurity Avith which it is enveloped in the Scriptures themselves, why this abu- sive and insulting language 1 Is it any disgrace to a person not to see that clear- ly in the Scriptures which is not clearly there to be seenl Secondly : If the Scriptures have indeed left the subject in obscurity, how came Mr. Lindsey to be so decided upon it 1 The "high perfection of knowledge" Avhich he possesses must, undoubtedly, have been acquii-ed from some other quar- ter, seeing it made no part of the design of the Holy Spirit in the christian revelation. But, if so, Ave have no further dispute with him ; as, in what respects religion, we do not aspire to be ivise above lohat is ivritfen. Thirdly : Let it be considered Avhether the principle on which Mr. Lindsey en- courages the exercise of charity, and mu- tual forbearance, does not cast a heavy re- flection upon the character of God. The Scriptures, in what relates to the person of Christ (a subject on Avhich Dr. Priestley allows the writers to have been infaUihle,) are left obscure, — so obscure as to mislead readers full of heathen prejudices; nay, and with the very design of misleading them ! God himself, it seems, designed that they should stumble on in ignorance, error, and disagreement, till, at last, wearied with their fate, and finding them- selves united in one common calamity, * Apology , Chap. ii. t Catecljist, Iiic|iiiry VI. they might become friends ! But what is this friendship 1 Is it not at the expence of him who is supposed to have spread their way with snares, or (which is the same thing) with misleading obscurity 1 Is it any other than the " friendship of the world," which "is enmity with Godl " In perfect harmony with Mr. Lindsey ig the language of a writer in the Monthly Review. " The nature and design of the Scripture," he says, " is not to settle dis- puted theories, nor to decide upon specu- lative, controverted questions even inreli- gion and morality. The Scriptures, if we understand any thing of them, are intended not so much to make us Aviser as to make us better; not to solve the doubts, but, rather, to make us obey the dictates of our consciences." I The holy Scriptures Avcre never designed, then, to be a rule of faith or practice ; but merely a stimula- tive ! In matters of speculation, (as all disputed subjects Avill be termed, Avhether doctrinal or practical,) they have no au- thority, it seems, to decide any question. What saith the Scripture 1 therefore, would noAV be an impertinent question. You are to find out Avhat is truth, and what is righteousness, by your reason and your conscience; and, Avhen you have obtained a system of religion and morality to your mind. Scripture is to furnish you Avith mo- tives to reduce it to practice. If this be true, to Avhat purpose are all appeals to the Scriptures on controverted subjects 1 and Avhy do Socinians pretend to appeal to them 1 Why do they not honestly ac- knoAvledge that they did not learn their re- ligion thence, and therefore refuse to have it tried at that bar 1 This Avould save much labor. To Avhat purpose do they object to particular passages as interpola- tions, or mistranslations, or the like, Avhen the Avhole, be it ever so pure, has nothing at all to do in the decision of our contro- versies 1 We have been used to speak of conscience having but one master, even Christ; but now, it seems, conscience is its OAvn master, and Jesus Christ does not pretend to dictate to it, l)ut merely to as- sist in the execution of its decisions ! Mr. Belsham carries the matter still further. This gentleman, not satisfied, it seems, Avith disclaiming an implicit confi- dence in holy Scripture, pretends to find authority, in the Scriptures themselves, for so doing. "The Bereans," he says, " are commended for not taking the Avord even of an apostle, but examining the Scrip- tures for themselves, Avhether the doc- trines Avhich they heard Avere true, and Avhether St. Paul's reasoning Avas just." § X Review of Horsley's Sermon, Marcli, 1793. § Sermon on the Importance of Truth, p. 39. VENERATION FOR THE SCRIPTURES. 261 I do not recollect that the Bereans were " comnieiuled (or nut takin.ij the word ol an apostle;" l)ut tor not rejecting!: it with- out examination, as tlie Jews did at Thes- salonica. But, jrrantin^: it were otherwise, their situation was dilVerent troni ours. They had not then had an opportunity of obtaininij evidence tluit the apostles were divinely ins|)ireil, or that the sjospel which they preached was a niessatcc (roni God. This, surely, is a circumstance of im- portance. There is a sireat ditlcrence be- tween their entertainin;:; some doubt of the truth of the jjospel, till they liad fully ex- amined its evidences, and our still continu- ing to doubt of its particular doctrines and reasonings, even tiiough we allow it to be a message from God. To this may be ad- ded that, in order to obtain evidence, the Bereans searched the Scriptures. By comparing the facts which E*aul testified with the prophecies which went before, and the doctrines which he preached with those of the Old Testament, they would judge whether his message was from God or not. There is a great ditlcrence be- tween the criterion of the Bereans and that of the Socinians. The Scriptures of the Old Testament were the allowed standard of the former, and they employ- ed their reason to find out their meaning and their agreement with New Testament facts ; but the authority and agreement of the Old and New Testaments will not satisfy the latter, unless what they con- tain agree also with their pre-conceived notions of what is fit and reasonable. The one tried what, for aught they at that time knew, were mere private reasonings, by the Scriptures ; but the other try the Scriptures by their own private reasonings. Finally : If proposing a doctrine for ex- amination prove the proposer liable to false or unjust reasoning, it will follow that the reasoning of Christ might be false or un- just, seeing he appealed to the Scriptures, as well as his apostles, and commanded his hearers to search them. It will also follow that all the great /ac^s of Christian- ity, as well as the reasonings of Christ and his apostles, were lial)le to be detected of falsehood ; for these were as constantly submitted to examination as the other. "These things," said they, "were not done in a corner." Nay, it must follow that God himself is liable to be in a wrong cause, seeing he frequently appeals to men's judgments and consciences. "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard." The inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah were exhort- ed, and even entreated, it may be said, not to take matters upon trust ; but to ex- amine for themselves whether the conduct of Jehovah was just, or whether any thing ought to ha\e been (Ioml' fur liis vineyard tlTat was not done ! But, lar as our English Socinians have gone in these things, they do not seem to have exceeded, nor hardly to have etiual- ed, those of the same denomination in other countries. These appear to have made great advances indeed towards infi- delity. Mr. Blackwall makes mention of two, whose language conveys an idea of uncommon disrespect towards the sa- cred writings. George Engcdin, speak- ing of the writings of the apostle John, says, "If a concise, abrupt oi)scurity, in- consistent with itselt, and made up of allegories, is to be called sublimity of speech, I own John to be sublime ; for there is scarcely one discourse of Christ, which is not altogether allegorical and very hard to be understood." Gagneius, another writer of the same spirit, says, "I shall not a little glory, if I shall be found to give some light to Paul's dark- ness,— a darkness, as some think, indus- triously affected." — " Let any of the fol- lowers of these worthy interpreters of the gospel, and champions of Christianity," adds Mr. Blackwall, by way of reflection, " speak worse, if they can, of the ambig- uous oracles of the father of lies. These fair-dealing gentlemen first disguise the sacred writings, and turn them into a harsh allegory ; and then charge them with that obscurity and inconsistency which is plainly consequent upon that sense which their interpretations force upon them. They outrage the divine writers in a double capacity : first, they debase their sense as theologues and com- mentators, and then carp at and vil- ify their language as grammarians and critics."* Stcinbart, Semler, and other foreign Socinians, of later times, write in a sim- ilar strain. The former, si)eaking of the narrations of facts contained in the New Testament, says, " Tiiese narrations, true or false, are only suited for ignorant, un- cultivated minds, who cannot enter into the evidence of natural religion." The same writer adds ; " Moses, according to the childish conceptions of the Jews in his days, paints God as agitated by vio- lent affections, partial to one people, and hatins all other nations." The latter in a Note on 2 Pet. i. 21—" The prophecy came not in old time by the w ill of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved "by the Holy Spirit " — says, " Pe- ter speaks there according to the concep- tion of the Jews;" and, "the prophets * Sacred Classics, part II. Chap. V. 262 VENERATION FOR THE SCRIPTURES. may have delivered the ofFspring of their own brains as divine revelations."* Socinian writers sometimes profess great respect to the holy Scriptures : and most, if not all of them, would have it thought that they consider their testimony as being in their favor. But, if so, why all these pains to depreciate them 1 We know who they are that not only under- mine their general credit, but are oliliged, on almost every occasion, to have re- course to interpolation, or mis-translation; who are driven to disown the apostolic reasonings as a proper test of religious sentiment, and to hold them as the mere private opinions of men, no way decisive as to what is truth. But is it usual, in any cause, for persons to endeavor to set aside those witnesses, and to invalidate that testimony, which they consider at the same time, as being in their favor 1 This is a question which it does not re- quire much critical skill to decide. When Socinian writers have mangled and altered the translation to their own minds, informing us that such a term may be rendered so, and such a passage should be pointed so, and so on, they seem to expect that their opponents should quote the Scriptures accordingly ; and, if they do not, are very liberal in insinuating that their design is to impose upon the vulgar. But though it be admitted that every translation must needs have its imperfec- tions, and that those imperfections ought to be corrected by fair and impartial crit- icism, yet, where alterations are made by those who have an end to answer by them, they ought always to be suspected, and will be so by thinking and impartial people. If we must quote particular passages of Scripture after the manner in which our adversaries translate them, we must also avoid quoting all those which they object to as interpolations. Nor shall we stop here : we must, on certain occasions, leave out whole chapters, if not whole books. We must never refer to the reasonings of the apostles, but consider that they were subject to be misled by Jewish prejudices ; nor even to historical facts, unless we can satisfy ourselves that the historians, inde- pendently of their being divinely inspired, were possessed of sufficient means of in- formation. In short, if we must never quote Scripture except according to the rules imposed upon us by Socinian wri- ters, we must not quote it at all : not, at least, till they shall have indulged us with a bible of their own, that shall leave out every thing on which we are to place no * Dr. Erskine's Sketches and Hints of Churcli History, No. HI. pp. 95. 71. dependence. A publication of this sort would, doubtless, be an acceptable pres- ent to the christian world, Avould be com- prised in a very small co7npass, and be of infinite service in cutting short a great deal of unnecessary controversy, into which, for want of such a criterion, we shall always be in danger of wandering. Dr. Priestley, in his Animadversions on Mr. Gibbon's History, takes notice of what is implied in that gentleman's en- deavoring to lessen the number and va- lidity of the early martyrdoms ; namely, a consciousness that they afforded an argument against him. " Mr. Gibbon," says the Doctor, " appears to have been sufficiently sensible of the value of such a testimony to the truth of the gospel history as is furnished by the early mar- tyrdoms, and therefore he takes gi'eat pains to diminish their number; and, when the facts cannot he denied, he en- deavors to exhibit them in the most unfavorable light, "f Judge, brethren, Avhether this picture does not bear too near a resemblance to the conduct of Dr. Priestley, and other Socinian writers, re- specting the holy Scriptures. I have heard of persons who, when engaged in a law-suit, and fearing lest certain individuals should appear in evi- dence against them, have so contrived matters as to sue the loitnesses ; and so, hj making them parties in the contest, have disqualified them for bearing testi- mony. And what else is the conduct of Dr. Priestley, with respect to those pas- sages in the New Testament which speak of Christ as God? We read there that " the Word who was made flesh, and dwelt among us," was God. Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" — "Of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever." — " Unto the Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever." — " Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." — "Here- by perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. "J But Dr. Priestley asserts that " in no sense what- ever, not even in the lowest of all, is Christ so much as called God in all the New Testament. "§ The method taken by this writer to enable him to hazard such an assertion, without being subject to the charge of downright falsehood, could be no other than that of laying a kind of arrest upon the foregoing pas- t Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever, Part II, p. 217. t John'i. I. 14. XX. 28. Rom. ix. 5. Heb. 1. 8. Acts XX. 28. 1 John iii. 16. § Letters to Mr. Burn, Letter I. ON HAPPINESS. 263 sages, with others, as being either inter- polations or mis Iranshitions, or something tiiat shall answer tlie sairie «'.nd, antl l)y these means imposing silence upon them as to tlie subject in dispute. To be sure we may go on, killing one Scripture testimony and stoning another, till, at length, it would become an easy thing to assert tiiat there is not an instance, in all the New Testament, in which our opin- ions are conlronted. But to what does it all amount T When we are told that " Christ is never so much as called God in all the New Testament," the (juestion is whether we are to understand it of the New Testament as it was left by the sacred writers, or as corrected, amended, curtailed, and interpreted, by a set of controvertists, with a view to make it accord with a favorite system. LETTER XIII. ON THE TENDENCY OF THE DIFFER- ENT SYSTEMS TO PROMOTE HAPPI- NESS, OR CHEERFULNESS OF MIND. Nothing is more common with our opponents than to represent the Calvin- istic system as gloomy, as leading to mel- ancholy and misery. Our ideas of God, of sin, and of future punishment, they say, must necessarily depress our minds. Dr. Priestley, as we have seen already, reckons Unitarians "more cheerful" than Trinitarians. Nor is this all. It has even been asserted that the tendency of our principles is to promote "moral tur- pitude, melancholy, and despair ; and that the suicide practised among the middling and lower ranks is frequently to be traced to this doctrine."* This is certainly car- rying matters to a great height. It might be worth while, however, for those who advance such things as these, to make good what they affirm, if they l)e able. Till that be done, candor itself must con- sider these bold assertions as the mere effusions of malignity and slander. It is some consolation, however, that what is objected to us, by Socinians, is objected to religion itself hy unbelievers. Lord Shaftesbury observes — " There is a melancholy which accompanies all enthu- siasm," which, from his pen, is only another name for Christianity. To the same purpose, Mr. Hume asserts " There is a gloom and melancholy re- * See Critical Review for Sept. 1787, on Memoirs of Gabriel D'Anville. markable in all devout people." If these writers had formed a comparison between deists and atheists, on the one side, and devout Ciiristians on the other, thiy would have said of the former, as Dr. Priestley says of Unitarians, " tiiey arc more cheer- ful, and more lia|)py." It is granted tiiat the system we adopt has nothing in it adapted to j)romote the happiness of tiiose who persist in enmity against God, and in a rejection of our Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of sal- vation. While men are at war with God, we do not know of any evangelical |)romise that is calculated to make them happy. This, peiliaps, witii some, may I)e a con- siderable ground of oltjection to our views of things ; but then, such olijection must stand equally against the Scriptures tliem- selves, since theirlanguage to ungodly men is, "Be alllictcd, and mourn, and weep." All the proi)liets and ministers of the word were, in effect, commanded to "say to the wicked. It shall be ill with him." This, with us, is one considerai)le objec- tion against the doctrine of the final salva- tion of all men, a doctrine much circulated of late, and generally embraced by Socin- ian writers. Supposing it were a truth, it must be of such a kind as is adapted to comfort mankind in sin. It is good news ; but it is to the impenitent and unbelieving, even to those who live and die such ; which is a characteristic so singular that I question whether any thing can be found in the Bible to resemble it. If our views of things be but adapted to encourage sin- ners to return to God by Jesus Christ,— if they afford strong consolation to those wlio have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before them, — and if sobriety, rigliteousness, and godliness, here meet with tlie most powerful motives, — this is all that the Scriptures themselves propose. Our system, it is granted, is not adapted to promote that kind of cheerfulness and hapj)incss to which men in general are greatly addicted ; namely, that which con- sists in self-deceit and levity of spirit. There is a kind of cheerfulness which re- sembles that of a tradesman who avoids looking into his accounts, lest ihey should disturb jiis peace and render him unhappy. This, indeed, is the cheerfulness of a great part of mankind, who shun the light, lest it should disturb their repose, and interrupt their present pursuits. Tliey try to per- suade themselves that they shall have peace, tiiough they add drunkenness to thirst ; and there are not wanting preach- ers who afford them assistance in the dan- gerous delusion. The doctrines of human, depravity, of sinners being under the curse of the law, and of their exposedness to everlasting punishment, are those which 264 ON HAPPINESS. are supposed to lead us to melancholy : and we may fairly conclude that the oppo- sites to these doctrines are at the bottom of the cheerfulness of wliich our opponents boast. Instead of considering mankind as lost sinners, exposed to everlasting destruction, they love to represent them simply as creatures, as the children of God, and to suppose that, having, in gen- eral, more virtue than vice, they have nothing to fear ; or if, in a few instances, it be otherwise, still they have no reason to be afraid of endless punishment. These things, to be sure, make people cheerful : but it is with the cheerfuhiess of a wicked man. It is just as wicked men would have it. It is no w'onder that persons of "no religion," and who "lean to a life of dis- sipation," should be " the first to embrace these principles." They are such as must needs suit them ; especial!}' if we add what Dr. Priestley inculcates in his Sermon on the death of Mr. Robinson, that it is not necessary to dwell in our thoughts upon death and futurity, lest it should interrupt the business of life, and cause us to live in perpetual bondage.* We liope it is no dis- paragement of the Calvinistic doctrine that it disclaims the promoting of all such cheerfulness as this. That cheerfulness which is damped by thoughts of death and futurity is, at best, merely natural joy. It has no virtue in it : nay, in many cases, it is positively vicious, and founded in self- deception. It is nothing better than " the laughter of a fool." It may blaze awhile in the bosoms of the dissipated and the se- cure ; but, if the sinner be once awakened to just reflection, it will expire like "the crackling of thorns under a pot." There is, also, a kind of happiness, which some persons enjoy, in treating the most serious and important subjects with levity, making them the subjects of jests, and trying their skill in disputing upon them, which is frequently called pleasant- ry, good nature, and the like. A cheer- fulness of this kind, in Oliver Cromwell, is praised by Mr. Lindsey, and represent- ed as an excellency " of wliich the gloomy bigot is utterly incapable." f Pleasantry, on some occasions, and to a certain de- gree, is natural and allowable : but, if sporting with sacred things must go by that name, let me be called " a gloomy bigot" rather than indulge it. Once more : It is allowed that the sys- tem we embrace has a tendency, on vari- ous occasions, to promote sorrow of heart. Our notions of the evil of sin exceed those of our opponents. While they re- ject the doctrine of atonement by the cross of Christ, they have not that glass, in which to discern its malignity, which others have. There are times in which we remember Calvar}% and weep on ac- count of that for which our Redeemer died. But, so far are we from considering this as our infelicity, that, for Aveeping in this manner once, we could wish to do so a thousand times. There is a pleasure in the very pains of godly sorrow, of which the light-minded speculatist is utterly in- capal)le. The tears of her that wept, and washed her Saviour's feet, afforded abun- dantly greater satisfaction than the unfeel- ing calm of the Pharisee, avIio stood by, making his ill-natured reflections upon her conduct. If our views of things have no tendency to promote solid, holy, heavenly joy — joy that fits true Christians for the proper bu- siness of this world and the blessedness of tliat which is to come — we will acknow- ledge it a strong presumption against them. If, on the other hand, they can be proved to possess such a tendency, and that in a much greater degree than the op- posite scheme, it will be a considerable argument in their favor. Let us examine this matter a little closer. The utmost happiness which the pecu- liar principles of Socinians are adapted to promote consists in calmness of mind, like tliat of a philosopher contemplating the works of creation. The friends of that scheme conceive of man as a good kind of being, and suppose that there is a greater proportion of virtue in the world than vice, and that things, upon the whole, are get- ting better still, and so tending to happi- ness. They suppose that there is little or no breach between God and men, — noth- ing but what may be made up by repent- ance, a repentance without much pain of mind,t and without any atoning Saviour; that God, being the benevolent Father of his rational offspring, will not be strict to mark iniquity; and that, as his benevo- lence is infinite, all will be well at last, — "as with the good, so with the sinner; with him that sweareth, as with him that feareth an oath." This makes them se- rene, and enables them to pursue the stu- dies of philosophy, or the avocations of life, with composure. This appears to be the summit of their happiness, and must be so of all others if they wish to escape their censure. For, if any one pretends to happiness of a superior kind, they will instantly reproach him as an enthusiast. A writer in the Monthly Review observes, concerning the late President Edwards, "From the account given of him, he ap- * This is the substance, of what lie advances, pp. X Such a repentance is pleaded for by My. Jar- 7 — 12. t Apology. Chap. II, dine, in his Letters to Mr. I3ogue. ON HAPPINESS. 2G5 peavs to have been a very reputaMe, good, and pious man, accordinjr to his views and feelins^sm reli<,Mous matters, whicli those of ditTorent sentiments and cooler sensations will not tail to consider as all wild ecsta- sy, rapture, and cntliusiasm."* The tendency otany system to promote calmness is notliinj;; at ail in its favor, any further tlian such calmness can l)e proved to he virtuous. But tliis must he deter- mined t)y the !«itualion in which we stand. We ouu^lit to lie alTected according to our situation. If, indeed, tlierc he no breach between God and men, — if all be right on our part as well as his, and just as it should be, — then it becomes us to becalm and thankful ; but, if it be otherwise, it be- comes us to feel accordingly. If we have ofTcndcd God, we ought to bewail our trans- gressions, and be sorry for our sin ; and, if the offence be great, we ought to be deeply affected with it. It would be thought very improper for a convict, a lit- tle before the time appointed for his exe- cution, instead of cherishing proper reflec- tions on the magnitude of his offence, and suing for the mercy of his offended sove- reign, to be employed in speculating upon his benevolence, till he has really worked himself into a persuasion that no serious apprehensions were to be entertained, con- cerning either himself or any of his fellow convicts. Such a person might enjoy a much greater degree of calmness than his companions ; but considerate people would neither admire his mode of thinking nor envy his imaginary felicity. Calmness and serenity of mind may arise from ignorance of ourselves, and from the want of a principle of true reli- gion. While Paul was ignorant of his true character he was calm and easy, or, as he expresses it, " alive without the law;" "but when the commandment came," in its spirituality and autliority, "sin revived, and he died." The Phari- see, who was whole in his own esteem, and needed no physician, was abundantly more calm than tlie publican, who smote ujjon his breast, and cried, "God be merciful to me a sinner !" While any man is des- titute of a })rinciple of true religion, the strong man armed keepeth the house, and the goods are in peoce; and, while things are thus, he will be a stranger to all those holy mournings which abound in the Psalrns of David, and to those inward con- flicts between y7<'.s/( and spirit described in the writings of Paul. And, knowing noth- ing of such things himself, he will be apt to think meanly of those who do ; to deride them as enthusiasts, to reproach * Review of Edwards'* History of Redemption, Vol. LXXX. Art. 68. VOL. I. 34 them with gloominess, and to boast of his own insensibility, under the names o', calmness and cheerfulness. Supposing the calmness and cheerful- ness of mind of which our opponents boast to lie on the side of virtue, still it is a cold and insipid kind of happiness, comj)ared witli that which is jiroduced by the doc- trine of salvation through the atoning blood of Christ. One great source of happiness is contrast. Dr. Priestley has proved, what indeed is evident from universal ex- perience, " that the recollection of past troul)les, after a certain interval, becomes highly pleasurable, and is a pleasure of a very durable kind."t On this principle he undertakes to prove the infinite l)cnev- olence of the Deity, even in his so ordering things tliat a mixture of pain and sorrow shall fall to the lot of man. On the same principle may be proved, if I mistake not, the superiority of the Calvinistic system to that of the Socinians, in point of promo- ting happiness. The doctrines of the for- mer, supposing them to be true, are af- fecting. It is affecting to think that man, originally pure, should have fallen from the licight of righteousness and honor to the depths of apostasy and infamy — that he is now an enemy to God, and actually lies under his awful and just displeasure, exposed to everlasting misery — that not- withstanding all this, a ransom is found to deliver him from going down to the pit — that God so loved the w-orld as to give his only begotten Son to become a sacrifice for sin, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life — that the issue of Christ's death is not left at an uncertainty, nor the invitations of his gos- pel subject to universal rejection, but an effectual provision is made, in the great plan of redemption, that he shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied — that the Holy Spirit is given to renew and sanctify a people for himself — that they who were under condemnation and wrath, being justified by faith in the righteous- ness of Jesus, have peace with God — that aliens and outcasts are become the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty — that everlasting arms are now beneath them, and everlasting glory is before them. These sentiments, I say, supposing them to be true, are undoubtedly affecting. The Socinian system, supposing it were true, compared with this, is cold, uninter- esting, and insipid. We read of "joy and peace in believ- ing;" of "joy unspeakable and full of glory." Those who adopt the Calvinistic doctrine of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, t Lett. Phil. Unb. Pari I. Letter VL 266 ON HAPPINESS. and of their own lost condition as sinners, are prepared to inibil)e the joy of the gos- pel, supposing it to exhil)it a great salva- tion, through the atonement of a great Sa- viour, to which others of opposite senti- ments must of necessity be strangers. The Pharisees who thought well of their character and condition, like the elder son in the parable, instead of rejoicing at the good news of salvation to the chief of sin- ners, were disgusted at it; and this will ever be the case with all who, like the Pharisees, are lohole in their own eyes, so wliole as to think they need no physician. The votaries of the Socinian scheme do not, in general, appear to feel their hearts much interested by it. Voltaire could say in his time — "At least, hitherto, only a very small number of those called Unita- rians have held any religious meetings."* And thougli Dr. Priestley, by his great zeal, has endeavored to invigorate and reform the party; yet he admits the justice of a common complaint amongthem, that "their societies do not flourish, their members have but a slight attachment to them, and easily desert them ; though it is never im- agined," he adds, " that they desert their principles."! All this the Doctor ac- counts for by allowing that their principles are not of that importance which we sup- pose ours to be, and that " many of those who judge so truly concerning the partic- ular tenets of religion have attained to that cool, unbiassed temper of mind, in conse- quence of becoming more indiflferent to religion in general, and to all the modes and doctrines of it." Through indi^'crence, it seems, they come in ; through indiffer- ence they go out ; and they are very in- different while thei-e. Yet, it is said, they still retain their principles ; and, I sup- pose, are very cheerful, and very happy. Happiness, theirs, consequently, which does not interest the heart, any more than reform the life. Although the aforementioned writer in the Monthly Review insinuates that Presi- dent Edwards' religious feelings were " all wild ecstasy, rapture, and enthusiasm," yet he adds — " We cannot question the sincerity of Mr. Edwards, who, however he may possibly have imposed on himself by the warmth of his imagination, was per- haps, rather to be envied than derided for his ardors and ecstacies, which, in them- selves, were at least innocent; in which he, no doubt, found much delight, and from which no creature could receive the least hurt." I thank you, Sir, for this concession. It will, at least, serve to show that the sentiments and feelings which you * Additions to General History, Aft. England, un- der Charles II. t Dis- Var. Sub. p. 94 deem wild and enthusiastical may, by your own acknowledgment, be the most adapted to promote human happiness ; and that is all lor which I at present contend. President Edwards, however, was far from being a person of that warm imagi- nation which this writer would insinuate. No man could be a greater enemy to real enthusiasm. Under the most virulent op- positions, and the heaviest trials, he pos- sessed a great share of coolness of judg- ment as well as of calmness and serenity of mind; as great as any to whom this gentleman can refer us among those whom he calls men of cool sensations, and per- haps greater. But he felt deeply in reli- gion ; and in such feelings, our adversaries themselves being judges, he was to be " envied and not derided." Why should religion be the only subject in which we must not be allowed to feel? Men are praised for the exercise of ardor, and even of ecstacy, in poetry, in politics, and in the endearing connections of social life ; but, in religion, we must either go on with cool indifference or be branded as enthusiasts. Is it because religion is of less importance than other things 1 Is eternal salvation of less consequence than the po- litical or domestic accommodations of time 1 It is treated by multitudes as if it were ; and the spirit of Socinianism, so far as it operates, tends to keep them in coun- tenance. Is it not a pity but those who call themselves Rational Christians would act more rationally 1 Nothing can be more irrational, as well as injurious, than to en- courage an ardor of mind after the trifles of a moment, and to discourage it when pursuing objects of infinite magnitude. " Passion is reason, transport temper fiere !" The Socinian system proposes to ex- clude mystery from religion, or "things in their own nature incomprehensible. "j: But such a scheme not only renders reli- gion the only thing in nature void of mystery, but divests it of a property es- sential to the continued communication of happiness to an immortal creature. Our passions are more affected by objects which surpass our comprehension than by those which we fully know. It is thus with respect to unhappiness. An un- known misery is much more dreadful than one that is fully known. Suspense adds to distress. If, with regard to transient suf- ferings, we know the worst, the worst is commonly over; and hence our troubles are frequently gi'eater when feared than when actually felt. It is the same with respect to happiness. That happiness :fiDef. Unit, for 1786, p. 67. ON HAPPINESS. 267 which is felt in the pursuit of science abates in the full possession of the ob- ject. Wiicn once a matter is fully known, we cease to take that pleasure in it as at first, and long i'or something new. It is the same in all other kinds of hapj)incss. The mind loves to swim in deep waters : if it touch the bottom it feels disgust. If the best were once fully known, the best would thence be over. Some of the no- blest passions in Paul were excited by ol>- jects incomprehcnsililc : "Othc depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowl- edge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past iinding out ! — " Great is the mystery of godliness : God was manifest in the flesli, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, believed on in the world, received up into glory!" Now, if things be so, it is easy to see that to divest religion of every thing incom- prehensible is to divest it of what is es- sential to human happiness. And no wonder ; for it is nothing less than to divest it of God ! The Socinian scheme, by rejecting the deity and atonement of Christ, rejects the very essence of that which both sup- ports and transports a Christian's heart. It was acknowledged by Mr. Hume that '•' the good, the great, the sublime, and the ravishing, were to be found evidently in the principles of theism." To this Dr. Priestley very justly replies — "If so, I need not say that there must be something mean, abject, and debasing, in the princi- ples of atheism."* But let it be consid- ered whether this observation be not equally applicable to the sulject in hand. Our opponents, it is true, may hold sen- timents wliich are great and transporting. Such are their views of the works of God in creation : but so are those of deists. Neither are these the sentiments in which they differ from us. Is the Socinian system, as distinguished from ours, adaj)t- ed to raise and transport the heart 1 This is the question. Let us select only one topic, for an exami)le. Has any thing, or can any thing be written, on the scheme of our adversaries, upon the death of Christ, equal lo the following lines ? — " Religion ! thou llie sou! of happiness; And groaning Calvary of tlice ! tliere sliine The noblest trutlis ; there strongest motives sting ! There sacred violence assaults lliesoul. My theme! my inspiration ! and my crown ! My strength in age ! my rise in low estate ! My soul's ambition, pleasure, wealth !. — my world ! My ligiit in darkness ! and my life in death ! My Ixiast tlirougli time ! bliss through eternity ! Eternity too short to speak thy praise, Or fathom thy profound of love lo man ! To man of men the meanest, ev'n to nie; My sacrifice ! my God ! what things are tliese !" * Leu. Phil. Unb. Part I. Pref. p. x. Again : " Pardon for infinite offence ! and pardon Through means thai sjn-ak its value infinite ! A pardon bought with blood ! with I loud divine! With blood divine of him I made my foe I Persisted to provoke, though wooed, and awed, Ble^■s'd, anil clia!osom burn ! Oil what a scale of miracles is here ! Praise! flow forever (if astoni.shnient Will give thee leave;) my praise! forever flow; Praise ardent, cordial, constant, to high Heaven More fragrant than .\rabia sacrificed; And all her spicy mountains in a flame !" Niglit Thoughts.— Sight IV. There is a rich, great, and ravishing quality in the Ibregoing sentiments, which no other theme can inspire. Had the writer been a Socinian, and attempted to write upon the death of Christ, he might, by the strength of his mind and the fire of his genius, have contributed a little to raise his subject; but here his subject raises him above himself. The dignity of Christ, together with his glorious undertaking, was, as we have seen in Letter XI., a source of joy and love to the primitive Christians. It was their darling theme, and that which raised them above themselves. Now, according to our system, Christians may still rejoice in the same manner, and give vent to their souls, and to all that is within them ; and that without fear of going lieyond the words of truth and soberness, or of bor- dering, or seeming to border, upon idola- try. But, upon the principles of our opponents, the sacred writers must have dealt largely in hyperbole ; and it must be our business, instead of entering into their spirit, to sit down with " cool sen- sations," criticise tlicir words, and ex- ])lain away their apparent meaning. Brethren, I appeal to your own hearts, as men who have been brought to consid- er yourselves as the Scriptures represent you — Is there any thing in that preaching which leaves out the doctrine of salvation by an atoning sacrifice that can afford you any relief^ Is it not like the priest and Levite, wlio passed by on the other side 1 Is not the doctrine of atonement by the blood of Christ like the oil and wine of the good Samaritan 1 Under all the pres- sures of life, whether from inward con- flicts or outward troubles, is not this your grand support 1 What but " an advocate with the Father," one who "is the pro- pitiation for our sins," could prevent you, when you have sinned against God, from sinking into despondency, and encourage you to sue afresh for mercy 1 What else 268 ON HAPPINESS, could SO divest affliction of its bittei-ness, death of its sting, or the grave of its gloomy aspect 1 In fine : what else could enable you to contemplate a future judgment with composure 1 What hope could you entertain of being justified, at that day, upon any other footing than this, " It is Christ that died 1" I am aware I shall be told that this is appealing to the passions, and to the pas- sions of enthusiasts. To wliich it may be replied. In a question which relates to happiness, the heart is the best criterion ; and if it be enthusiasm to think and feel concerning ourselves as the Scriptures represent us, and concerning Christ as he is there exhibited, let me live and die an enthusiast. So far from being ashamed to appeal to such characters, in my opin- ion they are the only competent judges. Men of mere speculation play with doc- trines : it is the plain and serious Chris- tian that knows most of their real ten- dency. In a question, therefore, which concerns their happy or unhappy influ- ence, his judgment is of the greatest im- portance. Dr. Priestley allows that " the doctrine of a general and a most particular provi- dence is so leading a feature in every scheme of predestination, it brings God so much into every thing, that an habit- ual and animated devotion is the result."* This witness is true : nor is this all. The same principle, taken in its connec- tion with various others, equally provides for a serene and joyful satisfaction in all the events of time. All the vicissitudes of nations, all the furious oppositions to the church of Christ, all the efforts to overturn the doctrine of the cross or blot out the spirit of Christianity from the earth, we consider as permitted for wise and holy ends ; and, being satisfied that they make a part of God's eternal plan, we are not inordinately anxious about them. We can assure our opponents that, when we hear them boast of their increasing numbers, as also professed un- believers of theirs, it gives us no other pain than that which arises from good will to men. We have no doubt that these things are wisely permitted — that they are a fan in the hand of Christ, by which he will thoroughly purge his floor — and that the true gospel of Christ, like the sun in the heavens, will finally disperse all these interposing clouds. We are persuaded, as well as they, that things, upon the whole, whether we, in our con- * Phil. Nee. p. 162. iracted spheres of observation, perceive it or not, are tending to the general good — that the empire of truth and righteous- ness, notwithstanding all the infidelity and iniquity that are in the world, is upon the increase — that it must increase more and more — that glorious things are yet to be accomplished in the church of God — and that all which we have hitherto seen, or heard, of the gospel-dispensation, is but as the first fruits of an abundant harvest. The tendency of a system to promote present happiness may be estimated by the degree of security which accompanies it. The obedience and sufferings of Christ, according to the Calvinistic sys- tem, constitute the ground of our accept- ance with God. A good moral life, on the other hand, is the only foundation on which our opponents profess to build their hopes. f Now, supposing our principles should prove erroneous, while they do not lead us to neglect good works, but to abound in them, from love to God, and with a regard to his glory, it may be pre- sumed that the Divine Being will not cast us off" to eternity for having ascribed too much to him, and too little to ourselves. But if the principles of our opponents should be found erroneous, and the foun- dation on which they build their hopes should, at last, give way, the issue must be fatal. I never knew a person, in his dying moments, alarmed for the conse- quences of having assumed too little to himself, or for having ascribed too much to Christ : but many, at that hour of se- rious reflection, have been more than a little apprehensive of danger from the contrary. After all, it is allowed that there is a consideral)le number of persons amongst VIS who are under too great a degree of mental dejection; but though the number of such persons, taken in the aggregate, be considerable, it is not sufficient to ren- der it any thing like a general case. And as to those who are so, they are, almost all of them, such, either from con- stitution, from the want of mature judg- ment to distinguish just causes of sorrow, or from a sinful neglect of their duties and their advantages. Those who enter most deeply into our views of things, provided their conduct be consistent, and tliere be no particular propensity to gloom- iness in their constitution, are among the happiest people in the world. tSee the quotation from Dr. Priestley, Dr. Har- wood, and Mrs. Barbauld, Letter IX. ON GRATITUDE AND OBEDIENCE. 2G9 LETTER XIV. A COMPARISON OF MOTIVES TO GRATI- TUDE, ODEDIENCE, AND HEAVENLY- MINDEDNESS. The subject of this Letter lias been occasionally noticed already : but there are a few thinirs in reserve that require your attention. As men are allowed on both sides to be influenced by 7uotives, whichever of the systems it is that excels in this particular, that of course must be the system which has the greatest ten- dency to promote a holy life. One very important motive, with which the Scriptures acquaint us, is the love OF GOD MANIFESTED IN THE GIFT OF HIS SON. " God SO loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- soever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." — "Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be a propi- tiation for our sins." — " God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." — " He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." — "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." The benevolence of God to men is represented in the New Testa- ment as consisting not in his overlooking their frailties, not so much even in his forgiving their sins, as in giving his only begotten Son to die for them. Herein was love ; and herein was found the grand motive to grateful obedience. There is no necessity indeed for establishing this point, since Dr. Priestley has fully ac- knowledged it. He allows " that the love of God in giving his Son to die for us is the consideration on which the Scriptures always lay the greatest stress, as a motive to gratitude and obedience."* As this is a matter of fact, then, allowed on both sides, it may be worth while to make someinquiry into the reason of it ; or xchy it is that so great a stress should be laid, in the Scriptures, upon this motive. To say nothing of the strong presumption which this acknowledgment aflfords in fa- vor of the doctrine of atonement, suffice it at present to observe that, in all other cases, an obligation to gratitude is sup- posed to bear some proportion to the magnitude or value of the gift. But, if it be allowed in this instance, it will follow that the system which gives us the most exalted views of the dignity of Christ must include the strongest motives to obe- dience and gratitude. If there be any meaning in the words, the phraseology of John iii. 16, " God so loved the world that he gave his only be- gotten Son," conveys an idea of the high- est worth in the object bestowed. So great was this gift that the love of God in the bestowmont of it is considered as in- e.Tprcssil}le and inestiinahle. We are not told liow jniuk he loved the world, but that he so loved it that he gave /n's only begotten Son. If Jesus Christ be of more worth than the ivorld for which he was given, then was the language of the sa- cred w ritcr fit and proper ; and then was the gift of him truly great, and worthy of being made "the consideration upon which the Scriptures should lay the greatest stress, as a motive to gratitude and oiiedi- ence." But if he be merely a man like ourselves, and was given only to instruct us by his doctrine and example, there is nothing so great in the gift of him, nothing that will justify the language of the sacred writers from the charge of bombast, noth- ing that should render it a motive to grati- tude and obedience, upon which the great- est stress should be laid. Dr. Priestley, in his Letters to Dr. Price, oliscrves that, "In passing from Trinilarianisin to High Arianism, from this to your Low Arianisn., and from this to Socinianism, even of the lowest kind, in which Christ is considered as a mere man, the Son of Joseph and Mary, and naturally as fallible and peccable as Mo- ses or any other prophet, there are suffi- cient sources of gratitude and devotion. I myself," continues Dr. Priestley, "have gone through all those changes ; and I think I may assure you that you have nothing to apprehend from any part of the progress. In every stage of it, you have that consideration on w hich the Scriptures always lay the greatest stress, as a motive to gratitude and obedience ; namely, the love of God, the Almighty parent, in giv- ing his Son to die for us. And whether this Son be man, angel, or of a super-an- gelic nature, every thing that he has done is to be referred to the love of God, the original Author of all, and to him all our gratitude and obedience is ultimately due."t Dr. Priestley, it seems, wishes to have it thought that, seeing Trinitarians, Ari- ans, and Socinians agree in considerin": the gift of Christ as an expression of the love of God, therefore their different sys- tems are upon a level, as to the grand mo- tive to gratitude and obedience : as if it made no difference at all whether that gift * Def. Unit. 1786, p. 102. t Def. Unit. 1786, pp. 101, 102. 270 ON GRATITUDE AND OBEDIENCE. was small or great ; whether it was a man or an angel, or one whom men and angels are bound to adore ; whether it was to die, as other martyrs did, to set us an exam- ple of perseverance, or, by laying down his life as an atoning sacrifice, to deliver us from the wrath to come. He might as well suppose the gift of one talent to be equal to that of ten thousand, and that it would induce an equal return of gratitude ; or that the gift of Moses, or any other prophet, afforded an equal motive to love and obedience, as the gift of Christ. If, in every stage of religious principle, whether Trinitarian, Arian, or Socinian, by admitting that one general principle, the love of God in giving his Son to die for us, we have the same motive to grati- tude and obedience, and that in the same degree, it must be because the greatness or smalluess of the gift is a matter of no consideration, and has no tendency to i-en- der a motive stronger or weaker. But this is not only repugnant to the plainest dictates of reason, as hath been already observed, but also to the doctrine of Christ. According to this, he that hath much for- given, loveth much ; and he that tt,ath little forgiven, loveth little. Hence it appears that the system which affords the most extensive views of the evil of sin, the depth of human apostasy, and the magni- tude of redemption, will induce us to love the most, or produce in us the greatest degi'ee of gratitude and obedience. It is to no purpose to say, as Dr. Priestley does, "Every thing that Christ hath done is to be referred to the love of God.'''' For, be it so, the question is, if his system be true, ivhat hath he done ; and what is there to be referred to the love of God 1 To say the most, it can be but little. If Dr. Priestley be right, the breach lietween God and man is not so great but that our repentance and obe- dience are of themselves, without any atonement whatever, sufficient to heal it. Christ, therefore, could have but I'lttle to do. But the less he had to do, the less we are indeiited to him, and to God for the gift of him : and, in proportion as this is believed, we must of course feel less gratitude and devotedness of soul to God. Another important motive with which the Scriptures acquaint us is the love of Christ in coming into the world, and laying down his life for us. " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no rep- utation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." — "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be made rich." — " Forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he also him- self took part of the same ; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil." "Verily, he took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham." — "The love of Christ constraineth us: because we thus judge, that, if one died for all, then were all dead ; and that he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again." — " Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an of- fering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor." — " To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." Such is the uniform lan- guage of the New Testament, concerning the love of Christ; and such are the moral purposes to which it is applied. It is a presumption in favor of our system that here the above motives have all their force ; whereas, in the system of our op- ponents, they have scarcely any force at all. The following observations may ren- der this sufficiently evident. We consider the coming of Christ into the w^orld as a voluntary undertaking. His taking upon him, or taking hold, not of the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham ; his taking upon him the form of a servant, and being made in the likeness of men, and that from a state of mind which is held up for our example ; and his becoming poor, though previously i-ich, for our sakes, and that as an act of grace ; all concur to establish this idea. For this we feel our hearts bound, by every consideration that love unparallel- ed can inspire, to gratitude and obedience. But our opponents, by supposing Christ to have been a mere man, and to have had no existence till he was born of Mary, are necessarily driven to deny that his coming into the world was a voluntary act of his own ; and, consequently, that there was any love or grace in it. Dr. Priestley, in answer to Dr. Price, con- tends only that he " came into the world in obedience to the command of the Fa- ther, and not in consequence of his own proposal." But the idea of his coming in obedience to the command of the Fa- ther is as inconsistent with the SociniaiS scheme as his coming in consequence ol his own proposal. For, if he had no ex- istence previously to his being born of Mary, he could do neither the one nor the other. It would be perfect absurdity to ox GRATITUDE AND OEEDIENCE. 271 speak of our coming into the world as an act of obedience : and, on the liypothcsis of Dr. Priestley, to speak of tlie coinini; of Clirist under such an idea must l)e equally al>surd.* We consider Christ's coming into the world as an act of condescending love; such, indeed, as admits of no parallel. The riches of Deity, and the poverty of humanity, the form of God, and the form of a servant, afford a contrast that (ills our souls with grateful astonishment. Dr. Priestley, in the last-mentioned j)cr- formance,t acknowledges that "the Trin- itarian doctrine of the incarnation is cal- culated forcil)ly to impress the mind with divine condescension." He allows the doctrine of the incarnation as held by the Arians to have sucli a tendency in a de- gi-ee : but he tells Dr. Price, who plead- ed this argument against Socinianism, that " the Trinitarian hypothesis of the Supreme God liecoming man, and then suffering and dying for us, would, no doubt, impress the mind more forcibly still." This is one allowed source of gratitude and obedience, then, to which the scheme of our adversaries makes no pretence, and for which it can supply nothing adequate. But Dr. Priestley thinks to cut up at one stroke, it seems, all the advantages which his opponents might hope to gain from these concessions, by adding " With what unspeakable reverence and devotion do the Catholics eat their Maker ! " That a kind of su- perstitious devotion may be promoted by falsehood is admitted : such was the " vol- untary humility" of those who worshiped angels. But as those characters, with all their pretended humility, were " vainly puffed up by their fleshly mind," so all that appearance of reverence and devo- tion which is the offspring of superstition will be be found to be something at a great remove from piety or devotedness to God. The superstitions of Popery, instead of promoting reverence and devo- tion, have been thought, by blinding the mind, and encumbering it with other things, to destroy them.t There are times in Avhich Dr. Priestley himself "cannot conceive of any practical use being made of transubstantiation :"§ but now it is put on a level with a doctrine which, it is allowed, " tends forcibly to im- press the mind with divine condescension." Once more : We believe that Christ, in laying down his life for us, actually died as our substitute ; endured the curse of the * Def. Unit. 1786, p. 102. t Page 103. % See Mr. Rol>inson's Seniion on 2 Cor. iv. 4, entitled " The Christian Doctrine of Ceremonies." § Def. Unit. 1786, p. 33. divine law, that we might escape it ; was delivered for our offences, that we might l)e delivered from the wrath to come ; and all this while we were yet enemies. This is a consiileration of the greatest weight : and, if we have any justice or ingenuous- ness about us, love like this must con- strain us to live, not to ourselves, but to him that died for us, and rose again. But, according to our adversaries, Ciirist died for us in no higher sense than a common martyr, who might have sacrificed his lile to mainlain his doctrine ; and, by so doing have set an example for the good of oth- ers. If this be all, why should not we be as much indebted, in j)oint of gratitude, to Stephen, or Paul, or Peter, who also in that manner died for us, as to Jesus Christ 1 And why is there not tlie same reason for their death being proposed as a motive for us to live to them, as for his, that we might live to him 1 But there is another motive, which Dr. Priestley represents as being "that in Christianity which is most favoralile to virtue; namely, a future state of retribu- tion, grounded on the firm belief of the historical facts recorded in the Scriptures ; especially in the miracles, the death, anti the resurrection of Christ. The man," he adds, " who lielieves these things only, and who, togetherwith this, acknowledges a universal providence, ordering all events ; who is persuaded ihat our very hearts are constantly open to the divine inspection, so that no iniquity, or purpose of it, can es- cape his oliservation, will not be a bad man, or a dangerous member of society. "|| Dr. Priestley, elsewhere, as we have seen, acknowledges that " the love of God, in giving his Son to die for us, is the consid- eration on ivhich the Scriptures always lay the greatest stress, as a motive to gi-atitude and obedience ;" and yet he speaks here of " a future state of re(ril)u- tion, as being that in Christianity wliich is viost favorable to virtue." One should think that what the Scriptures always lay the greatest stress upon should be that in Christianity which is most favoralJe to virtue, be it what it may. But, wavino- this, let it be considered whether the Cal^ vinistic system has not the advantage even upon this ground. The doctrine of a future state of retribution is a ground possessed by Calvinists, as well as by So- cinians ; and, perhaps, it maj^ be found that their views of that subject, and others connected with it, are more favorable to virtue, and a holy life, than those of their adversaries. A motive of no small importance by which we profess to be influenced is the II Letter V. to Mr. Bum. 272 HEAVENLY-MINDEDNESS. thought of our own approaching dissolu- tion. Brethren, if you embrace what is called the Calvinistic view of things, you consider it as your duty and interest to be frequently conversing with mortality. You find such thoughts have a tendency to moderate your attachments to the pres- ent world ; to preserve you from being inordinately elated by its smiles, or de- jected by its frowns. The consideration of the ti7Tie being short, teaches you to hold all things with a loose hand ; to weep, as though you wept not, and to rejoice as though you rejoiced not. You reckon it a mark of Irue wisdom, to keep the end of your lives habitually in view ; and to fol- low the advice of the holy Scriptures, where you are directed rather to " go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting," where the godly are described as praying, " So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom," and God himself as saying, " O that they were wise, that they understood thie, that they would consider their latter end !" But these things, instead of being recommended and urged as motives of piety, are discouraged by Dr. Priestley, who teaches that it is not necessary to dwell in our thoughts upon death and fu- turity, lest it should interrupt the business of life, and cause us to live in perpetual bondage.* The Scriptures greatly recommend the virtue of heavenly-mindedness. They teach Christians to consider themselves as strangers and pilgrims on the earth ; to be dead to the world, and to consider their life, or portion, as hid with Christ in God. The spiritual, holy, and happy state, which, according to the Calvinistic sys- tem, commences at death, and is augment- ed at the resuri'ection, tends more than a little to promote this virtue. If, brethren, you adopt these views of things, you con- sider the body as a tabernacle, a tempora- ry habitation ; and, when this tabernacle is dissolved by death, you expect a house not made with hands, eternal in the heav- ens. Hence it is that you desire to be ab- sent from the body, and present with the Lord. There are seasons in which your views are expanded, and your hearts en- larged. At those seasons, especially, the world loses its charms, and you see noth- ing worth living for, except to serve and glorify God. You have, in a degree, the same feelings which the apostle Paul ap- pears to have possessed when he said, "I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better." " For me to live is Christ, * Sermon on the death of Mr. Robinson, pp. 7 —22. and to die is gain." But Dr. Priestley teaches that the heavenly state shall not commence till the resurrection. He does not suppose that there is any state of ex- istence, strictly speaking, wherein we shall be absent from the body, and pres- ent with the Lord ; for he considers the soul as having no existence at all separate from the body. He must, therefore, of necessity be a stranger to any such " strait" as that mentioned by the apostle. If the question were put to him, or to any of his sentiments, whether they would choose to abide longer in the flesh, (which might be profitable to their connections,) or immediately depart this life, they would be at no loss what to answer. " They could not, in any rational sense, consider death as " gain." It would be impossible for them upon their principles to desire to depart. Conceiving that they come to the possession of heavenly felicity as soon if they die fifty years hence as if they were to die at the present time, they must rath- er desire to live as long as the course of nature will admit; so long, at least, as life can be considered preferable to non-ex- istence. It would indicate even a mean and unworthy temper of .mind, upon their principles, to be in such a strait as Paul describes. It would imply that they were weary of their work, and at a loss wheth- er they should choose a cessation of being, or to l^e employed in serving God, and in doing good to their fellow -creatures. The nature and employments of the heav- enly state deserve also to be considered. If you adopt the Calvinistic view of things, you consider the enjoyments and employ- ments of that state in a very different light from that in which Socinian writers rep- resent them. You read in your Bibles that " the Lord will be our everlasting light, and our God our glory ; " that " our life is hid with Christ in God ; " that " when he shall appear, we shall appear with him in glory ; " and that we shall then " be like him ; for we shall see him as he is." Hence you conclude that a full en- joyment of God, and conformity to him, are the sum of heaven. You read, further, that the bliss in re- serve for Christians is " a far more exceed- ing and eternal weight of glory ; " that " now we are the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; " and hence you naturally conclude that the heav- enly state will abundantly surpass all our present conceptions of it. Again, you read that those who shall be found worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, " neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God." Hence you conclude that the employments and enjoyments of that state MKAVENLT-MINDEDNESS. 273 ore altogether spiritual and holy. You read ol our knowledge lieie being " iti part;" but that tlicrc we shall "know »cven as we are known;" and that the Lamb, " which is iu the midst of the throne, shall teed us, antl lead us to living fountains of water." Hence you conclude that we shall not only enjoy greater means of knowledge, which, like a foiiutain, will flow forever, and assuage our liiirsty souls, but that our minds will be ahundantly irra- diated, and our hearts enlarged, hij the presence of Christ ; whose delightful work it will be to open the book, and to loose the seals ; to unfold the mysteries of God ; and to conduct our minds amidst their bound- less researches. Once more : you read concerning those who siiall ol)tain that world, and the resurrection, that tiiey shall experience " no more death;" that they shall " go no more out;" that the "in- heritance " to which they are reserved is "incorruptible, — and fadeth not away ; " and that the weight of glory which we look for is "eternal." Hence you conclude that the immortality promised to Christians is certain and absolute. These are very important matters, and must have a great influence in attracting your hearts toward heaven. These were the things which caused the patriarchs to live like strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They looked for a habitation, a better country, even a heavenly one. These were the things that made the apos- tles and primitive Christians consider their afflictions as light and momentary. " For this cause," say they, " we faint not ; but, though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a mo- ment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal ; but the things which are not seen are eternal." But, if you adopt the Socinian view of things, your ideas of the heavenly state, compared with the above, will be misera- bly flat and cold ; and consequently your affections will be more set on things be- low and less on things above. Dr. Priest- ley, in his Sermon on the death of Mr. Robinson, is not only employed in dis- suading people from too much thought and fear about death, but from too much hope respecting the state beyond it. He seems to fear lest we should fbrrn too high ex- pectations of heavenly felicity, and so meet with a disappointment. The heaven ■which he there describes does not neces- sarily include any one of the foregoing ideas, i»ut miglit exist if they were all excluded! Take his own words : " Ti\e change of of our condition by death may not i)C so great as we are aj)t to imagine. A.s our natures will not be changed, but only im- proved, we have no reason to think that {he future irorUl (which will i)e adapted to our merely inijtrovcd nature) will be ma- terially different from tliis. And, indeed, why should we ask or expect any thing more? If we should still be oiiliged to provide for our subsistence by exercise, or labor, is that a thing to lie complained of by those who are su|)p()scd to have acquired fixed habits of industrj', becoming rational beings, and who have never been able to bear the languor of absolute rest or indo- lence ■? Our future happiness has with much reason been supposed to arise from an increase of knowledge. But if we should have nothing more than the means of know- ledge furnished us, as we have here, but be left to our own labor to find it out, is that to be complained of by those who will have acquired a love of truth and a iiabit of inquiring after it "? To make discove- ries ourselves, though tlie search may re- quire time and labor, is unspeakai)iy more pleasing than to learn every thing by the information of others.* If the immortality that is promised to us in the gospel should not be necessary and absolute, and we should only have the certain means of ma- king ourselves immortal, we should have much to be thankful for. What the Scrip- tures inform us concerning a future life is expressed in general terms, and often in figurative language. A more particular knowledge of it is wisely concealed from us."— p. 18. You see, brethren, here is not one word of God, or of Christ, as being the sum and substance of our bliss ; and, except that mention is made of our being freed from " imperfections bodily and mental," the whole consists of mere natural enjoy- ments ; differing from the paradise of Ma- hometans chiefly in this, that their enjoy- ments are principally sensual, whereas these are mostly intellectual : those are adapted to gratify the voluptuary, and these tho philosopher. Whether such a heaven will suit a holy mind, or be adapt- ed to draw forth our best affections, judge ye. * Is not this the rock on whicli Dr. Priestley and his brethren splitl Have they not, on this very prin- ciple, coined a gospel of their own, instead of receiv- ing the instructions of the sacred writers ? VOL. I. 35 274 TENDENCY TO INFIDELITY. LETTER XV. ON THE RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN SO- CINIANISM AND INFIDELITY, AND THE TENDENCY OF THE ONE TO THE OTHER. I SUPPOSE we may take it for granted, at present, that Christianity is favorable to true virtue, and that Infidelity is the re- verse. If it can be proved, therefore, that Socinianism resembles infidelity in several of its leading features, and has a direct tendency towards it, that will be the same as proving it unfavorable to true virtue. It has been observed, and I think justly, that " there is no consistent medium be- tween genuine Christianity and Infidelity." The smallest departure from the one is a step towards the other. There are differ- ent degrees of approach, but all move on in the same direction. Socinians, how- ever, are not willing to own that their scheme has any such tendency. Dr. Priestley appears to be more than a little hurt at being represented by the bigots (as he politely calls those who think ill of his principles) as undermining Christiani- ty : and intimates that, by their rigid at- tachment to certain doctrines, some are forced into infidelity, while others are saved from it by his conciliating princi- ples.* Many things to the same purpose are advanced by Mr. Lindsey, in his "Dis- course addressed to the Congi-egation at the Chapel in Essex Street, Strand, on re- signing the Pastoral Office among them." We are to accommodate our religion, it seems, to the notions and inclinations of infidels ; and then they would condescend to receive it. This principle of accommo- dation has been already noticed in Letter III. And it has been shown, from the ex- ample of the Popish Missionaries in China, to have no good tendency. To remove every stumbling-block out of the way of infidels would be to annihilate the gospel. * Here tlie late Mr. Robinson, of Cambridge, is brought in as an example; who, as some think, in an excess of complaisance, told the Doctor, in a pri- vate letler, that, " but for his friendly aid, he feared he should have gone from enthusiasm to deism." Letters to Mr. Burn, Pref. To say nothing, ■whether the use Dr. Priestley made of this private letter was warrantable, and whether it would not have been full as modest to have forborne to publish to the world so high a compliment on himself; sup- posmg not only the thing itself to have been strictly true, Ixit that the conduct of Dr. Priestley was as strictly proper, what does it prove"? Nothing, except that the region of Socinianism is so near to that of deism, that, now and then, an indvidual, who was on the high road to the one, has stopped short, and taken up with the other. Such attempts, also, suppose what is not true — that their not believing in Christiani- ty is owing to some fault in the system, as generally received, and not to the temper of their own minds. Faults there are, no doubt ; but, if their hearts were right, they would search the Scriptures for them- selves, and form their own sentiments ac- cording to the best of their capacity. The near relation of the system of Soci- nians to that of infidels may be proved from the agreement of their principles, their prejudices, their spirit, and their suc- cess. First : There is an agreement in their LEADING PRINCIPLES. One of tlic most important principles in the scheme of in- fidelity, it is well known, is the sufficiency of human reason. This is the great bulwark of the cause, and the main ground on which its advocates proceed in rejecting revelation. If the one, say they, be suf- ficient, the other is unnecessary. Wheth- er the Socinians do not adopt the same principle, and follow hard after the deists in its application too, we will now inquire. When Mr. Burn charged Dr. Priestley with "making the reason of the individual the sole umpire in matters of faith," the Doctor denied the charge, and supposed that Mr. Burn must have been "reading the writings of Bolingbroke, Hume, or Voltaire, and have imagined them to be his ;" as if none but professed infidels maintained that principle. This, hoAvev- er, is allowing it to be a principle pertain- ing to infidelity ; and of such importance, it should seem, as to distinguish it from Christianity. If it should prove, there- fore, that the same principle occupies a place, yea, and an equally important place, in the Socinian scheme, it will follow that Socinianism and deism must be near- ly allied. But Dr. Priestley, as was said, denies the charge ; and tells us that he "has written a great deal to prove the insufficiency of human reason:^' he also accuses Mr. Burn of the "grossest and most unfounded calumny," in charging such a principle upon him. — Letter IV. If what Mr. Burn alleges be " a gross and unfounded calumny," it is rather ex- traordinary that such a number of respect- able writers should have suggested the same thing. I suppose there has been scarcely a writer of any note among us, but who, if this be calumny, has calum- niated the Socinians. If there be any credit due to Trinitarian authors, they cer- tainly have hitherto understood matters in a different light from that in which they are here represented. They have sup- posed, whether rightly or not, that their opponents, in general, do hold the very TENDENCY TO INFIDELITY. principle which Dr. Priestley so strontrly disavows. But this is not all. If what Mr. Burn alleges be a gross and unlbundod calumny, it is still more extraordinary tiiat Socinian writers should cahininiatc themselves. Mr. Roliinson, whom Dr. Priestley glo- ries in as his convert, allirms much the same tiling ; and that in his " History of Baptisi adopted tlie Socinian system. In swering an objection i)rought against the Baptists, as being enthusiasts, he asks, " Were Castelio, and Servetus, and Soci- nus, and Crellius, enthusiasts 1 On the con- trary, they are taxed with attributing too ■much to reason, and the sufficiency OF REASON IS THE SOUL OF THEIR SYS- TEM."— p. 47. If the last member of this sentence be true, and Dr. Priestley have maintained the same principle as much as any of his predecessors, then is w hat Mr. Burn alleges true also, and no calumny. Further : If Mr. Robinson's words be true the system of a Socinus, and of a Boling- broke, however they may dit!er in some particulars, cannot lie very wide asunder. They may be two bodies ; but the ditTer- ence cannot be very material, so long as those bodies are inhabited by one soul. But w as not Mr. Robinson mistaken \ Has he not inadvertently granted that tells us that he has " written much to prove the insxtfficieiicy of human reason, and tlic necessity of divine revelation." He is then prolessedly against reason in the same sense as his oj)ponents are ; and the deists might remind him of his "old saying " with as much propriety as he re- minds other people of it. Once more : If Mr. Robinson was inis- i work published alter lie had taken, and if his concession be beyond the bounds of justice and propriety, it will fol- low that, notwithstancling what Dr. Priest- ley has said of saving him frominfulelity, he w as not saved from it after all. VVheth- er Mr. Robinson's words convey a just idea of Socinianism or not, they must be allowed to exjiress what were his oion ideas of it. Whatever, therefore. Dr. Priestley believes, he appears to have be- lieved in the sufficiency of reason. But, if none liesides intidels maintain that prin- ciple, it must follow that Dr. Priestley's glorying in Mr. Robinson is vain ; and that the latter, so tar from justifying the Doctor's boast of having saved him from infidelity, was not saved from it at all, but was the disciple of a Bolingl)roke, of a Hume, or of a Voltaire, rather tlian of a Priestley. But, after all, was Mr. Robinson indeed mistaken ] Is not " the sufficiency of reason the soul of the Socinian system 1" which ought not in justice to have been It is true, Socinians do not openly plead, granted ] Suppose this to be a fact, why might not the same construction have been put upon what is alleged by Mr. Burn and other Trinitarian writers, instead of call- ing it by the hard name of "gross and un- founded calumny 1" If we say no worse of our opponents than they say of them- as do the deists, that reason is so suffi- cient as that revelation is unnecessary ; nor is it supposed that Mr. Robinson meant to acknowledge that they did. But do they not constantly advance what amounts to the same thing 1 I do not know what publications Dr. Priestley re- selves, they can have no just grounds of fers to when he speaks of having writ- complaint ; at least they should complain ten a great deal to prove the " insufficien- with less severity. cy of human reason, and the necessity of Further: If Mr. Robinsonwasmistaken, divine revelation :" but, if it be upon the and if Dr. Priestley do really maintain the same principles as those which he avows insufficiency of human reasonin matters of in his other productions, I do not see how religion, it will follow, after all that he he can have proved his point. According has pleaded in behalf of reason, that he is no better friend to it than other people. The Doctor often reminds his Calvinistic opponents of an old saying, that "No man is against reason, till reason is against him." Old sayings, to be sure, prove much in argument. This old saying, howev- er, is very just, provided ihe term reason be understood of the realfitness of things. Dr. Priestley's opponents are not against reason in this sense of the word; but against setting up the reason of the indi- vidual as umpire in matters of faith : and this we see is no more than the Doctor himself disavows, in that he supposes a to these principles, the sacred writers Avere as liable to err as other men, and in some instances actually did err, producing "lame accounts, improper quotations, and inconclusive reasonings ;" and it is the province of reason, not only to judge of their credentials, but of the particular doctrines which they advance. — Let. XII. Now, this is not only " making the reason of the individual the sole umpire in mat- ters of faith," but virtually rendering rev- elation unnecessary. If the reason of the individual is to sit supreme judge, and in- sist that every doctrine which revelation proposes shall approve itself to its dictates principle of this kind is no where to be or be rejected, the necessity of the latter found, except in such writings as those of might as well be totally denied. If it be Bolingbroke,ofHume,or of Voltaire. He necessary, however, it is no otherwise 276 TENDENCY TO INFIDELITY. than as a French Parliament used to be necessary to a French king : not in order to dictate to his Majesty, but to afford a sanction to his resolutions ; or, at most, to tender him a little advice, in order to assist him in forming his judgment ; which advice, notwithstanding, he might receive or reject, as best suited his inclination. Dr. Priestley often suggests that he makes no other use of human reason than all Protestants make against the Papists, when pleading against the doctrine of transubstantiation ; that is, where the lit- eral sense of a text involves an absurdity, he so far allows the dictates of reason as to understand it figuratively. But this is not the case ; for the question here does not at all respect the meaning of Scripture, whether it should be understood literally or figuratively ; but whether its allowed meaning ought to be accepted as truth, any further than it corresponds with our preconceived notions of what is reason. According to the principles and charges above cited, it ought not ; and this is not only summoning revelation to the bar of our own understandings, but actually pass- ing sentence against it. The near affinity of Socinianism to de- ism is so manifest that it is in vain to dis- own it. Nobody supposes them to be en- tirely the same. One acknowledges Christ to be a true prophet ; the other considers him as an impostor: but the denial of the proper inspiration of the Scriptures, with the receiving of some part of them as true, and the rejecting of other parts even of the same books " as lame accounts, improper quotations, and inconclusive reasonings," naturally lead to deism. Deists themselves do not so reject the Bible as to disbe- lieve every historical event which is there recorded. They would not deny, I sup- pose, that there were such characters in the world as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus ; and that some things which are written concerning each are true. In short, they take what they like best, as they would from any other ancient his- tory, and reject the rest : and what does Dr. Priestley even pretend to more '? He does not reject so much as a deist; he admits various articles which the other de- nies : but the difference is only in degree. The relation between the first and leading principles of their respective systems is so near that one spirit may be said to pervade them both ; or, to use the imagery of Mr. Robinson, one soul inliabits these different bodies. The opposition between faith and unbelief is so great, in the Scriptures, that no less than salvation is promised to the one, and damnation threatened to the oth- er : but, if they were no further asunder than Socinianism and deism, it is passing strange that their consequences should be so widely different. Another leading principle, common to Socinians and deists, is the non-importance of prinT^iple itself, in order to the enjoy- ment of the divine favor. Nothing is more common than for professed infidels to ex- claim against Christianity, on account of its rendering the belief of the gospel ne- cessary to salvation. Lord Shaftesbury insinuates that the heathen magistrates, in the first ages ol Christianity, might have been justly offended " with a notion which treated them, and all men, as profane, im- pious, and damned, who entered not into particular modes of worship, of which there had been formerly so many thousand kinds instituted, all of them compatible, and sociable, till that time."* To the same purpose is what Mr. Paine advances, who, I imagine, would make no pretence of friendship towards Christianity. " If we suppose a large family of childi-en," says he, " who on any particular day, or partic- ular circumstance, made it a custom to present to their parents some token of their affection and gratitude, each of them would make a different offering, and, most probably, in a different manner. Some would pay their congratulations in themes, of verse or prose, by some little devices as their genius dictated, or according to what they thought would please ; and per- haps the least of all, not able to do any of those things, would ramble into the garden or the field, and gather what it thought the prettiest flower it could find, though, perhaps, it might be but a simple weed. The parent would be more grati- fied by such a variety than if the whole of them had acted on a concerted plan, and each had made exactly the same offer- ing." f And this he applies, not merely to the diversified modes of worshiping God which come within the limits of the divine command, but to the various ways in Avhich mankind have in all ages and na- tions worshiped, or pretended to worship a deity. The sentiment which this writer, and all others of his stamp, wish to pro- pagate is, that, in all modes of religion, men may be very sincere ; and that, in being so, all are alike acceptable to God. This is infidelity undisguised. Yet this is no more than Dr. Priestley has advanc- ed in his Dijfcrences in Religious Opinions. " If we can be so happy," he says, " as to believe that all differences in modes of worship may be only the different methods by which different men (who are equally the offspring of God) are endeavoring to honor and obey their common Parent, our * Characteristics, Vol. I. § 3. t RiglUs of Man, Part II. near the conclusion. TENDENCY TO INFIDF.LITV 277 differences of opinion would have no ten- dency to lessen our mutual love and es- teem."— Sect. II. Nor is Dr. Priestley the only writer of the party who unites with the author of The Age of Rcitf^on, in niaintainihi; tiiat it matters not what religion we are ot, it we lie hut sinrero in it. Dr. Toulmin has labored to delend this notion, and to prove from Acts x. 34, 35, and Rom. ii. 6, 10, 12, that it was maintained iiy Peter and Paul.* But, before he had pretended to palm it upon tliem, he should have made it evident tiiat Cornelius, when he " fear- ed God and worked riirhteousncss," and those Gentiles, when they are sujiposed to have "worked good," and to be heirs of " glory, honor, and peace," were each of them actually living in idolatry ; and, being sincere, that God was well pleased with it. It is no part of the question whether hea- thens may be saved ; but whether they may be saved in their heathenisvi ; and whether heathenism and Christianity be only different modes of worshiping our common Father, and alike acceptable to him. Several other princij)les might be men- tioned, in which Socinians and deists are agreed, and in which the same objections that are made by the one against Calvin- ism are made by the other against the holy Scriptures. Do Socinians reject the Cal- vinistic system because it represents God as a vindictive being 1 For the same rea- son, the Scriptures themselves are reject- ed by the deists. Are the former offend- ed with Calvinism on account of the doc- trines of atonement and divine sovereign- ty \ The latter are equally offended with the Bible for tlie same reasons. They know very well that these doctrines are contained in the Scriptures ; but they dis- like them, and reject the Scriptures partly on account of them. The sufficiency of repentance to secure the divine favor, the evil of sin consisting merely in its tenden- cy to injure the creature, all punishment being for the good of the offender as well as for the puVilic good, with various other principles which are opposed in these Let- ters in defence of Calvinism, are tlie same things for substance which those who have written against the Deists have had to en- counter, when defending revelation.} It is a consolation to us to trace these like- nesses ; as it affords a presumption that our sentiments accord witi» the Scriptures, being liable to the same ol)jcctions. Socinian writers not only make the same objections to Calvinism which de- ists make to revelation, but, in some in- stances, have so far tbrgotten themselves as to unite with the latter in pointing their objections against revelation itsell. Stein- bart and Sender (as quoted in Letter XII.) have fallen foul upon the writers of the Old and New Testament. " Moses," says the tbrmer, " according to the child- ish conceptions of the Jews in his days, paints God as agitated by violent affec- tions ; partial to one people, and hating all other nations." " Peter," says tlie lat- ter, 2 Epistle i. 21, "speaks according to the conception of the Jews ; ami the prophets may have delivered the offspring of their own brains as divine revelations. "| The infidelity of Socinians is frequently covered with a very thin disguise ; but here the veil is entirely thrown off. One thing, however, is sufficiently evident : while they vent their antipathy against the holy Scriptures, in such indecent language, they betray a consciousness that the con- tents of that sacred volume are against them. The likeness of Socinianism to deism will further appear if we consider, second- ly. The similarity of their prejudicks. The peculiar prejudices of deists are drawn, I think, with great justness, by Dr. Priestley himself". " There is no class or description of men," he observes, "but what are subject to peculiar prejudices : and every prejudice must operate as an obstacle to the reception of some truth. It is in vain for unbelievers to pretend to be free from prejudices. They may, in- deed, be free from those of the vulgar; but they have others, peculiar to them- selves : and the very affectation of being free from vulgar prejudices, and of being wiser than the rest of mankind, must in- dispose them to the admission even of truth, if it should happen to be with the common people. The suspicion that the faith of the vulgar is superstitious and false is, no doubt, often well founded; because they, of course, maintain the old- est opinions, while the speculative part of mankind are making new discoveries in science. Yet we often find that they who pride themselves on their being the farthest removed from superstition in some things are the greatest dupes to it in others ; and it is not universally true that all old opin- ions are false and all new ones well found- ed. An aversion to the creed of the vul- gar may, therefore, mislead a man ; and, from a fondness for singularity, he may be singularly in the wrong." § Let those who are best acquainted with * Practical Efficacy, pp. 164, 165, 2 Ed. J Dr. Erskine's Sketches ami Hints of Cliurcli t SeeLeiand's Def. Christ, against Tindall, Vol. Historv', No. III. pp. 6.5 — 71. 1. Chap. IV. VI. VIII. § Let. Phil. Uiib. P. II. Let. V. 278 TENDENCY TO INFIDELITY. Socinians judge whether this addi-ess, with a very few alterations, be not equally adapted to them and to professed unbe- lievers. We know who they are, besides avowed infidels, Avho affect to be " eman- cipated from vulgar prejudices und popu- lar superstitions, and to embrace a ration- al system of faith." * It is very common with Socinian writers, as much as it is with deists, to value themselves on being wiser than the rest of mankind, and to des- pise the judgment of plain Christians, as being the judgment of the vulgar and the populace. It is true Dr. Priestley has ad- dressed Letters to the common people at Birmingham, and has complimented them with being " capable of judging in matters of religion and government." However, it is no great compliment to Christians in general, of that description, to suppose, as he frequently does, not only that the Trin- itarian system, but that every other, was the invention of learned men in different ages, and that the vulgar have always been led by their influence. " The creed of the vulgar of the present day," he observes, "is to be considered not so much as their creed, for they were not the inventors of it, as that of the thinking and inquisitive in some former period. For those whom we distinguish by the appellation of the vulgar are not those who introduce any new opinions, but those who receive them from others, of whose judgment they have been led to think highly." f On this prin- ciple, Dr. Priestley somewhere expresses his persuasion of the future prevalence of Unitarianism. He grants that, at present, the body of common Christians are against it ; but, as the learned and the speculative are verging towards it, he supposes the other will, in time, follow them. What is this but supposing them incapable of form- ing religious sentiments for themselves ; as if the Bible were to them a sealed book, and they had only to believe the system that happened to be in fashion, or, rather, to have been in fashion some years before they were born, and to dance after the pipe of learned men 1 It is acknowledged that, in matters of human science, common people, having no standard to judge by, are generally led by the learned ; but surely it is somewhat different in religion, where we have a standard ; and one, too, that is adapted to the understanding of the simple. How- ever many people may be led implicitly by others, yet there will always be a num- ber of plain, intelligent, serious Christians, who will read the Bible, and judge for themselves; and Christians of this de- scription will always have a much greater * Mr. Belsham's Sermon, pp. 4, 32. •t Let. Phil. Uub. Pr. II. Let. V, influence, even upon those who do not judge for themselves, than mere specula- tive men, whom the most ignorant cannot but perceive to be wanting in serious reli- gion, and respect to mankind; and, while this is the case, there is no great danger of the body of common Christians becom- ing Socinians. Thirdly: There is a bold, profane, AND DARING SPIRIT, discovd'cd in the writings of infidels ; a spirit that fears not to speak of sacred things with the most indecent freedom. They love to speak ot Christ with a sneer, calling him the car- penter's son, the Galilean, or some such name, which, in their manner of express- ing it, conveys an idea of contempt. Though Socinians do not go such lengths as these, yet they follow hard after them in their profane and daring manner of speaking. Were it pi'oper to refer to the speeches of private individuals, language might be produced very little inferior in contempt to any of the foregoing modes of expression : and even some of those who have appeared as authors have discovered a similar temper. Besides the examples of Engedin, Gagneius, Steinbart, and Semler^ (as quoted in Letter XII.) the magnanimity which has been ascribed to Dr. Priestley, for censuring the Mosaic narrative of the fall of man, calling it " a LAME account," is an instance of the same irreverent spirit. Fourthly : The alliance of Socinianism to deism may be inferred from this : That the SUCCESS of the one bears a proportion to that of the other, and resembles it in the most essential points. Socinians are continually boasting of their success, and of the great increase of their numbers ; so also are the deists, and I suppose with equal reason. The number of the latter has certainly increased in the present cen- tury, in as great a proportion as the former, if not greater. The truth is, a spirit of infidelity is the main temptation of the present age, as a persecuting superstition was of ages past. This spirit has long gone forth into the world. In different denominations of men it exists in different degrees, and appears to be permitted to try them that dwell upon the earth. Great multitudes are carried away with it ; and no wonder, for it disguises itself under a variety of specious names ; such as liberality, candor, and charity; by which it imposes upon the unwary. It flatters human pride; calls evil propensi- ty nature ; and gives loose to its dictates : and, in proportion as it prevails in the judgments as well as in the hearts of men, it serves to abate the fear of death and judgment, and so makes them more cheer- ful than they otherwise would be, TENDENCY TO INFinKLFTY. 279 It is also worthy of notiri- that the sue- infancy, as having, in general, believed it cess of Sooinianisni and Deism has been for some time, and as nnt coming to dis- among the same sort of people ; namely, believe it till they had long disregarded men of a speculative turn of mind. Dr. i7."t A disregard of Chrislianity, then, Priestley somewhere ol>scrves that " learn- jjreceded their openly rejecting it, and em- ed men l)egin more and more to suspect i)ra(ing liie scheme ol infidelity. Now the doctrine of the Trinity ;" and possibly this is the very process of a great ninnher it may lie so. But then it might, with of Socinian converts, as both the Doctor equal truth, be allirmed that learned men and Mr. Belsham elsewhere acknowledge, begin more and more to suspect Christi- It is by a disregard of all religion that men anity. Dr. Priestley himself acknowl- become infidels ; and it is l)y the same edges that, "among those who are called means that others become Socinians. philosophers, the unl)elievers are the The foregoing ol)servations may suffice crowd."* It is true he flatters himself to show the re.sc7?i6/anfe of Socinianism to that their numliers irill diminish, and that deism. It remains for me to consider the " the evidences of Christianity will meet tendency of ihe one to tiie other, with a more impartial examination in the Dr. Priestley seems to admit that his present day than they have done in the scheme approaches nearer to tliat of un- last fifty years." But this is mere con- believers than ours ; but then he disowns jecture, such as has no foundation in fact. We may as well flatter ourselves that So- cinians will diminish : there is equal rea- son for the one as for the other. It is not its having any tendency, on that account, to lead men to infidelity. On the con- trary, he retorts the charge upon his oppo- nents, and asserts his own sclieme to have impossible that the number of both may an opposite effect. "An enemy as I am he diminished in some future time ; but considered to Christianity, by some," says when that time shall come it is not for us to he, " I have saved many from that infidel- say, ity into which the bigots are forcingthem." It may be suggested that it is a circum- The case of the late Mr. Robinson is here stance not much in favor either of the doc- introduced as an example to confirm this trine of tlie Trinity, or of Christianity, that assertion. The reasoning of Dr. Priest- such a numl)er of philosophers and learn- ley, on this subject, resembles that of ed men suspect them. But, unfavorable Archbishop Laud on another. When ac- as this circumstance may appear to some, cused of leaning to Poj)ery, he denied the there are others who view it in a very charge, and gave in a list of twenty-one different light. The late Mr. Roinnson, persons, whom he had not merely saved of Caml)ridge, always contended that com- from going over to that religion, l)ut actu- mon Christians were in a more favorable ally converted from it to t!ie Protestant state for the discovery of religious truth faith. J Yet few thinking people imagine than either the rich or the learned. And the principles of Laud to have been very Dr. Priestley not only admits, but ac- unfriendly to Popery ; much less that they counts for it. " Learned men," he says, were adapted to save men from from it. " have prejudices peculiar to themselves ; That Socinianism has a direct tendency and the very affectation of being free from to deism will appear from the following- vulgar prejudices, and of being wiser than considerations : — First : By giving up the the rest of mankind, must indispose them plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, and to the admission even of truth, if it should allowing them to be the production of fal- happen to be with the common people." lible men (of men who, though too honest If " not many wise men after the flesh " knowingly to impose upon others, were, are found among the friends of Christian- notwithstanding, so far under the influ- ity, or of what we account its peculiar ence of inattention, of prejudice, and of doctrines, is it any other than what might misinformation, as to be capable of being have been alleged against the primitive imposed upon themselves,) Socinians fur- church V The things of God, in their nish Infidels with a handle for rejecting times, were "hid from the wise and pru- them. To give up the plenary inspiration dent, and revealed unto babes," and that of the Scriptures is to give them up as the "because it seemed good in his sight." word of God, and as binding upon the con- It is further worthy of notice that the sciences of men ; to which our opponents same disregard of religion in general, apparently have no objection. They are which is allowed by our opponents to be seldom, if ever, known to warn mankind favorable to Socinianism, is equally favor- that the rejection of the holy Scriptures able to deism. Dr. Priestley describes will endanger their eternal welfare. Nor unbelievers of a certain age amongst us, as " having heard Christianity from their t I-et. Phil. Unb. Vol. II. Pref. p. ix. t Neale's History of the Puritans, Vol. Ill, In- * Lpt. Piiil. Unb. Vol. II. p. 32- " ^ex, Art. Laud. 280 TENDENCY TO INFIDELITY. can tliey do so consistently with what they elsewhere plead for, that " all differences in modes of worship may be only diflferent modes of endeavoring to honor and obey our common Parent." Under the pre- text of appealing to the reason of unbe- lievers, they neglect to address themselves to their hearts and consciences. If the cause of infidelity lie in the want of evi- dence, or if those who leaned towards it were ingenuous and disinterested inquir- ers after truth, solemn warnings might be the less necessary. But if it lie in the temper of their hearts, which blinds their minds to the most convincing proofs, their hearts and consciences must be addressed, as well as their understandings. The sa- cred writers and preachers always pro- ceeded upon this principle. This only will account for such language as the fol- lowing : " The blindness of their heart.''' — " Lest they should understand with their heart, ^ndi be converted." — '^Repent and believe the gospel." — " If God, peradven- ture, will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth." This was the method of John the Baptist, of Christ and his apostles, in their addresses to unbelievers : and whatever addresses are made to infidels, whether Jews or deists, in which tlie sin of unbelief and the dan- ger of persisting in it, are not insisted on, they will tend to harden them in infidelity rather than to recover them out of it. Dr. Priestley, in effect, acknowledges that the cause of infidelity lies in the temper of the heart ; and yet, when he addresses him- self to infidels, he seems to consider them as merely in want of evidence, and fosters in them an idea of their security, not- withstanding their rejection of the gospel. This is manifestly the tendency of his Let- ters to the Philosophers and Politicians of France. Dr. Priestley acknowledges that men seldom reject Christianity in theory till they have long disregarded it in practice.* That is, they seldom believe it to be false without their hearts being fully inclined to have it so. Let us then consider a character of this description, in his exam- ination of Christianity. He has long disregarded the practice of it, and begins now to hesitate about its truth. If he reads a defence of it upon our principles, he finds the authority of Heaven vindi- cated, his own sceptical spirit condemned, and is warned that he fall not upon a rock that will prove his eternal ruin. He throws it aside in resentment, calls the writer a bigot, and considers the roaming given him as an insult to his dignity. Still, however, there is a sting left behind, which he knows not how to extract ; a something which says within him, How, if it should be true ? He takes up a de- fence of Christianity upon Socinian prin- ciples ; suppose Dr. Priestley's Letters to the Philosophers and Politicians of France. He is now brought to a better humor. Here is no threatening ; no im- minent danger. The sting is extracted. The reasoning in many parts is plausible ; but, having long wished to disbelieve Christianity, it makes little or no impres- sion upon him, especially as it seems to be of no great consequence if he do so. It is only rejecting that entirely which professed Christians reject in part. It is only tin-owing oif the testimony and opin- ions of fallible men. What will be his next step is not very difficult to con- jecture. By allowing part of the Gospels to be spurious, Socinian writers enable the Jeics to ask, with an air of triumph, " How are we sure that the remainder is authentic 1"! We are often told that the Jews can never emlirace what is called orthodox Chi'istianity, because of its in- consistency with one of the first princi- ples of their religion, the unity of God. We do not ask them, however, to give up the unity of God. On the contrary, we are fully persuaded that our principles are entirely consistent with it. But this is more than our opponents can say with regard to the inspiration of the Scrip- tures : a principle as sacred and as im- portant with the Jews as the unity of God itself. Were they to embrace Dr. Priestley's notions of Christianity, they must give up this principle, and consider their own sacred writings in a much mean- er light than they at present do. They have no conception of the Old Testa- ment being a mere " authentic history of past transactions ;" but profess to receive it as the very word of God, the infallible rule of faith and practice. Whenever they shall receive the Ncav Testament, there is reason to conclude it will be under the same character, and for the same pur- poses. While they consider their own Scriptures as divinely inspired, and hear professed Christians acknowledge that " part of their Gospels is spurious," they will be tempted to look down upon Chris- tianity with scorn, and so be hardened in their infidelity. Secondly : If the sacred writings be not received for the purposes for which they were professedly given, and for which they were actually appealed to by Christ and his apostles, they are in effect reject- ed : and those who pretend to embrace Let. Phil. Uiib. Vd. IL I'rcface, p. i.s. t Mr. D. Levi's Letters to Dr. Piiestlex , p. S2. TENDENCY TO INFIDELITV. 281 them for other purposes, will thcruselvcs 1)0 round to liiive passed the l)oundaries of Christianity, and to lie walking in the paths of intididity. We have seen, in Letter XII., that tlie Scni)liires profess to he the word of God, and the ride of faith and practice. Now, if any man be- lieve in i-evelation, he must receive it as bein^ what it professes to be, and for all the purposes (or whicii it professes to have been written. Tlie Montldy Review sug- gests that " tlie Scriptures were never de- signed to settle disputed theories, and to decide speculative, controverted questions, even in religion and morality."' But, if so, what must we think of their assuming to i)e the rule of faitli and practice 1 what must we think of Christ and his apostles, who appealed to them for the truth of their doctrines and the goodness of their precepts 1 On the principles of our op- ponents, they must have been either weak or wicked. If they considered them as the standard of faith and practice, they must have been weak : if they did not, and yet appealed to them as a deci- sive test, they were certainly wicked. In either case their testimony is unworthy of regard, to suppose which is downright infidelity. Thirdly : By the degrading notions which Socinians entertain of the person of Christ, they do what in theni lies to lessen the sin of rejecting him, and af- ford the adversaries of the gospel a ground for accusing him of presumption, which must necessarily harden them in un- belief. The Jews consider their nation, according to the sentiments of orthodox Christians, as lying under the charge "of crucifying the Lord and Saviour of the world;" but, according to those of Dr. Priestley, as only having crucified a pro/^/i- ct, that was sent to them in the first in- stance." f Such a consideration diminish- es the degree of their guilt, tends to ren- der them more indifferent , and consequent- ly must harden them in infidelity. By considering our Lord as merely a prophet, Socinians also furnis'i the Jews with the charge of presumption: a weighty objec- tion indeed against his Messiahship ! " He preached himself" says Mr. Levi, " as the lis;ht of the world, which is an instance not to be paralleled in Scripture ; for the duty of a prophet consisted in his delivery of God's word or message to the people ; not in presumptuously preaching himself. Again, we meet with the same example in John xiv. 6, where Jesus preaches him- self, as the loay, the truth, and the life." From all which he concludes, "it is mani- * Monthly Review Enlarged, Vol. X. p. 357 + Levi's Lettei-s to Priestley, p. 14. . VOL. I. 36 fest that lie was not sent by God to us as a prophet, seeing he was so deficient in the essential character of a prophet." | How Dr. Priestley, upon his princi})les, will be able to answer this reasoning, I cannot tell. Though he has written a rei)ly to Mr. Levi, I observe he has passed over this part of the sul)ject very lightly, otfering nothing that sulliciently accounts for our Lord's i)reaching himself as "the light of the world, — the way, the truth, and the life," upon the supposition of his being merely a prophet. Fourthly : The progress which Socinian- ism has made has generally l)een towards inlidelity. Tiie ancient Socinians, though tliey went great lengths, are, nevertheless, far outdone i>y the moderns. If we look over the Racovian Catechism, printed at Amsterdam in l(3-5"2, we shall find such sentiments as the following: — "No sus- picion can })ossil)ly creep into the mind concerning tliose authors (the sacred wri- ters) as if they had not had exact cogni- zance of the things which they described, in that some of them were eye and ear- witnesses of the things which they set down, and the others were fully and accu- rately informed by them concerning the same. It is altogether incredible that God, whose goodness and jjrovidcnce are im- mense, hath suflercd those writings where- in he hath proposed his will, and the way to eternal life, and which, through the suc- cession of so many ages, have, by all the godly, been received and approved as such, to be any v.ays corrupted." p. 3. — I need not go about to prove that these sentiments are betrayed into the hands of infidels by modern Socinians. Dr. Priestley (as we have seen in Letter XII.) supposes the sa- cred writers to have written upon subjects "to which they had not given much atten- tion, and concerning which they had not the means of exact information : " and in such cases considers himself at liberty to disregard their j)roductions. Instead of maintaining that the sacred writings can- not have been corrujjted, modern Socin- ians are continually laboring to prove that they are so. Some, who are better acquainted w ith Socinians and deists than I profess to be, have observed that it is very common for those who go over to infidelity to pass through Socinianism in their way. If this be the case, it is no more than may be ex- pected, according to the natural course of things. It is not common, I believe, for persons who go over to Socinianism to go directly from Calvinism, but through one or other of the different stages of Armin- ianism, or Arianism, or both. Dr. Priest- i Ibid. p. 24. 282 TENDENCY TO INFIDELITY. ley was once, as he himself informs us, "a Calvinist, and that of the straitest sect. Afterwards," he adds, " he became a high Arian, next a low Arian, and then a So- cinian, and then, in a little time, a Socini- an of the lowest kind, in which Cluist is considered as a mere man, the son of Jo- seph and Mary, and naturally as fallible and peccable as Moses, or any other prophet : " to which he might have added — and in which the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures is given up.* The Doctor also informs us that he "does not know when his creed will be fixed." f And yet he tells us, in his volume of Sermdns (page 95,) that " Unitarians are not apt to enter- tain any doubt of the truth of their princi- ples." But this, I suppose, is to be un- derstood of their principles only in one point of view : namely, as they are op- posed to what is commonly called ortho- doxy ; for, as they are opposed to infideli- ty, they are apt to entertain doubts con- cerning them, as much and perhaps more than any other men ; and, in that line of improvement, to hold themselves open to the reception of greater and greater illu- minations. It is in this direction that Dr. Priestley has generally moved hitherto ; and should he, before he fixes his creed, go one degree further, is there any doubt where that degree will land him 1 Should it be upon the shores of downright infi- delity, it can afford no greater matter of surprise to the christian world than that of an Arian becoming a Socinian, or a deist an atheist. By the following extract from a letter which I received from a gentleman of candor and veracity, and extensive ac- quaintance in the literary world, it ap- pears that several of the most eminent characters amongst professed unbelievers in the present age were but a few years ago in the scheme of Socinus : "I think I may say, without exaggeration, that, of my acquaintance, the greater part of lit- erary men who have become Unitarians are either sceptics, or strongly tending that way. I could instance in , , , , , , and many others. About four months ago I had a pretty long conversation with one of the above gentlemen (as intelligent a man as any I know) on this subject. He reminded me of a conversation that had past betwixt us about a year and a half before, in which I had observed there was a near affinity between Unitarianism and deism, and told me he was then rather surprised I should suppose so, but that now he was completely of that opinion, and that, from * Let. Pliil. Unl). Part II. pp. 33—35. :^ t B«f. Uait. 1787, p. HI. very extensive observations, there was nothing he was more certain of than that the one led to the other. He remarked how much Dr. Priestley was mistaken in supposing he could, by cashiering ortho- doxy, form what he called Rational Christians ; for that, after following him thus far, they would be almost sure to carry their speculations to a still greater extent. All the pi-ofessed unbelievers I have met with rejoice in the spread of Unitarianism as favorable to their views." Christian brethren, permit me to re- quest that the subject may be seriously considered. Whether the foregoing posi- tions be sufficiently proved, it becomes not me to decide. A reflection or two, however, may be offered, upon the sup- position that they are so; and with these I shall conclude. First : If that system which embraces the deity and atonement of Christ, with other correspondent doctrines, be friendly to a life of sobriety, righteousness, and godliness, it must be of God, and it be- comes us to abide by it ; not because it is the doctrine of Calvin, or of any other man that was uninspired, but as being "the gospel which we have received" from Christ and his apostles ; "wherein we stand, and by which we are saved." Secondly : If that system of religion which rejects the deity and atonement of Christ, with other correspondent doc- trines, be uniriendly to the conversion of sinners to a life of holiness, and of professed unbelievers to faith in Christ; if it be a system which irreligious men are the first and serious Christians the last to embrace ; if it be Ibund to relax the obligations to virtuous affection and behavior, by relaxing the great standard of virtue itself; if it promote neither love to God under his true character, nor be- nevolence to men as it is exemplified in the spirit of Christ and his apostles ; if it lead those who embrace it to be wise in their own eyes, and, instead of humbly deprecating God's righteous displeasure, even in their dying moments, arrogantly to challenge his justice ; if the charity which it inculcates be founded in an indif- ference to divine truth ; if it be inconsist- ent with ardent love to Christ, and venera- tion for the holy Scriptures; if the happi- ness which it promotes be at variance with the joj's of the gospel ; and, finally, if it di- minish the motives to gratitude, obedi- ence, and heavenly-mindedness, and have a natural tendency to infidelity; it must be an immoral system, and consequently not of God. It is not the gospel of Christ, but "another gospel." Those who preach it, preach another Jesus, whom the apostles did not preach ; and those POSTSCRIPT. 283 who receive it, receive another spirit, wliith tlicy never iinl>il)ccl. It is not the light which coujcth from above, but a cloud of darkness tliat hath arisen from beneath, tending to eclipse it. It is not the high-way ot trutli, which is a way ot holiness ; but a iiye-palh of error, which misleads the unwary traveler, and of which, as we value our immortal inter- ests, it becomes us to beware. We need not be afraid of evidence, or of free in- quiry ; for i( irreligious men be tiie first, and serious Cliristians be the last, who embrace the Socinian system, it is easy to perceive that tlie avenues which lead to it are not, as its abettors would per- suade you to think, an openness to con- viction, or a free and impartial inquiry after truth, but a heart secretly disaffected to the true character and government of God, and dissatisfied with the gospel-way of salvation. I am, Christian Brethren, Respectfully and aflfectionately yours, Andrew Fulleii. POSTSCRIPT. On the first appearance of the foregoing Letters, in 1793, some of the most re- spectable characters amongst the Socini- ans, and who have since affected to treat them with contempt, acknowledged ihat they were "well worthy of their atten- tion." No answer, however, appeared to them till 1796, when Dr. Toulmin pub- lished his Practical Efficacy of the Unita- rian Doctrine, and Mr. Kentish his ser- mon on The Moral Tendency of the Genu- ine Christian Doctrine. To these publica- tions a reply was written in 1797, entitled Socinianism Indefensible on the Ground of its Moral Tendency. Mr. Kentish wrote again, and Dr. Toulmin has lately published a second edition of his piece, with large additions. I had no inclination to add any thing in reply to Mr. Kentish, being well satisfied that the public should judge from the evidence that was before them. And, as to Dr. Toulmin, his sec- ond edition is, like his first, full of irrela- tive matter. Having been charged with shifting the ground of the argument, and begging the question, this writer labors to persuade his readers that he has done neither. " He did not intend," he says, " nor pro- fess, to give a/i/// and minute answer to Mr. Fuller's tract. He meant not much more than to take an occasion from that puV)lication to y)ring the general question, namely, the practical efficacy of the Uni- tarian doctrine, to the test of scriptural facts." — p. 133. This is acknowledging that, if he had professed to give a proper answer to the work, he would have been obliged by the laws of just reasoning to keep to the ground of his opponent. But, intending only to write a [)iece that should bear some allusion to it, he considered himself at lii)crty to choose his own ground. But, if this were his intention, why did he profess, at his outset, to "enter the lists" with me; and to com- prehend in his performance " the main point to whicii a reply to my Letters need be directedl" If tiiis be not professing to answer a work, nothing is. The design of Dr. Toulmin seems to have been very complex, and his account of it has much the appearance of evasion. He did not intend to give a. full and mi- nute answer : Did he mean to give any answer ; or only to w rite a piece w hie h might pass for an ansicer? He meant not much more than thus and thus : Did he mean any morel If he did, he ought to have kept to the j)roj)er ground of reason- ing; or, if he thought it unfair, to have proved it so. But he had a right, he says, to choose the giound of his argument as well as I. Doubtless, if he had chosen to write upon any subject without professing to ansicer another, or wishing his performance to pass for an answer, he had : but if, at the outset, he propose to " enter the lists " with an opponent, and to comprehend " all that to which a reply to his perform- ance need be directed," it is otherwise. If a christian divine wish to write in favor of Christianity, he is at liberty to choose his ground. He may fix, as Bishop New- ton has, on the argument from prophecy. But if a deist come after him, professing to "enter the lists" with him, and to compreiiend in his performance "all that to which a reply to the work of his oppo- nent need be directed," he is obliged, by the rules of just reasoning, either to ex- amine tiie arguments ol' his adversary, or attempt to overturn the principle on which they rest. If, instead of trying the truth of the christian religion Viy the ful- filment of prophecy, he were to fill up his pages by arguing on the improbability of miracles, or the sufficiency of the light of nature, what would Dr. Toulmin say to h\m1 And if, in order to excuse himself, he should allege that he did not intend nor profess to give a full and minute an- swer to his antagonist — that he meant not much more than to take an occasion from his publicatitin to bring forward the gen- eral question between Christians and deists on the necessity of a divine reve- lation—might he not better have held his 284 POSTSCRIPT. peace 1 Must not judicious persons, even amongst his friends, clearly perceive that he has betrayed the cause ; and, whether they choose to acknowledge it or not, be fully convinced that, if he did not wish to answer the work, he should have let it alone; or, if the ground of argument were unfair, he should have proved it so, and not have set up another which had no relation to itl Thus it is that Dr. Toulmin has shifted the ground of the argument : and what is that ground to which he gives the prefer- ence 1 He wished, it seems, to try " the practical efficacy of the Unitarian doctrine by the test of scriptural facts." Are those facts, then, a proper medium for such a trial 1 I have been used to think that every tree was to be tried by its own fruits, and not by those of another. Scrip- tural facts, such as those which Dr. Toulmin alleges, afford a proper test of the practical efficacy of scripture doc- trines; and, if brought against the cause of infidelity, would be in point. But there is no question in this case whether scripture truth be of a practical nature, but wherein it consists 1 The facts to which Dr. Toulmin wishes to draw the reader's attention prove nothing in favor of Uni- tarianisra or Trinitarianism ; for, before they can le brouglit to bear, the work of proof must be accomplished by other means. An attempt to establish the practical efficacy of modern Unitarianism by scriptural facts is like producing the fi-uits of Palestine, in order to ascertain the soil of Taunton. Dr. Toulmin complained of my animad- verting on particular passages in the wri- tings of Unitarians, and suggested that I ought rather to have applied my arguments to the general, the fundamental, princi- ples of their system : " That there is one God, the Father, and one Mediator be- tween God and man, the man Christ Je- sus." To this it was answered, " The unity of God, and the humanity of Christ, then, it seems, are the principles which I ought to have attacked; that is, I ought to have attacked principles which I pro- fess to believe, and not those which I pro- fess to disbelieve." — " But," says Dr. T. in reply, "does he receive these princi- ples in the pure and simple form in which Unitarians embrace them V — p. 81, note. The Doctor ought to have expressed his fundamental principles in his own loords, and not in those of Scripture. Every con- troversial writer, who does not wish to beg the question, will do so. He ought to have said, Mr. Fuller, instead of animad- verting on particular passages in the writings of Unitarians, should have attacked their first principles : That God is one person, and that Christ is merely a man. This had been fair and open ; and, had the ob- jection been in this form, I might have replied to this effect : — My object was not to attack particular principles so much as the general tendency of their religion taken in the gross, and the passages on which I animadverted chiefly related to this view of the subject. Yet, in the course of the Avork, I have certainly at- tempted to prove the divinity of Christ; and whatever goes to establish this doc- trine goes to demolish those leading prin- ciples which it is said, I ought to have attacked ; for if Christ be God he cannot be merely a man, and there must be more than one person in the Godhead. But, not contented Avith expressing his leading pi'inciples in his own words. Dr. Toulmin chooses Scripture language for the pur- pose. This, I contended, was begging the question ; or taking it for granted that the terms one God, in Scripture, mean one person, and that Christ's being called a man denotes that he was merely a jnan. To show the impropriety of this proceed- ing, I alleged that I believed both the unity of God and the humanity of Christ ; and, therefore, ought not to be expected to oppose either of them. " But does he receive these principles," says Dr. T., " in the pure and simple form in which Unitarians embrace them 1" What is this but saying that I do not admit the Socini- an g-/oss upon the apostle's words 1 Dr. Toulmin may contend that the Scriptures express his sentiments so plainly as to need no gloss ; but a gloss it manifestly is. He may call it apure and simple form, or what he pleases ; but nothing is meant by it beyond a gloss, nor proved, except the prevalence of his easy-besetting sin, that of begging the question. To show, in a still stronger light, the unfairness of a controversial writer's at- tempting to shroud his opinions under the phraseology of Scripture, I supposed it to be done by a Calvinist, and asked what Dr. Toulmin would say to it in that case. I could say, for example. There is a Fa- ther, a Son, and a Holy Spirit, in whose name we are baptized. — The Word ivas God — Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures ; and could require So- cinians not to animadvert on particular passages in Calvinistic writers, but on these our leading principles. Would they admit, or ought they to be expected to admit, of these as our leading principles! No : Dr. Toulmin has given proof that he does not, and has thereby justified me in refusing to admit the same thing on his side of the question. He will not allow that our leading principles are expressed by these passages of Scripture, because POSTSCRIPT. they say nothing of the Father, Son, and Spirit being one God, nor of a sameiiess of essence, &c. &c. pp. 5, 6, note. Very well : ncitiicr do I allow lliat his leading principles are expressed liy the passages he has produced ; for they .say nothing of God's i)eing one person, or of Christ's being merely a man. If the Scriplurcs Avhich I alleged express my seniimeiils as fully as the passages he has produced ex- press his, that is sullicienl. My ol)ject was not to join issue in endeavoring to prove that my sentiments were expressly and fully contained in scrijjture-language ; hut to show the futility of such pretences on either side. So I'ar from " attecting to show that the first principles of tlic Cal- vinists are to lie expressed in the words of Scripture," it was manifestly my design to show tliat tlie practice of so expressing them, in controversy, was objectionahle, in that it takes for granted that which re- quires to he proved. It is true, as Dr. Toulmin says, that, if he, or any other person, were to offer to subscribe the passages which I have pro- duced, as exhil)itinga creed tantamount to ours, we should demur to admit it in this view. But this, instead of overturning my reasoning, confirms it, and cuts the throat of his own argument : for it is no less true that, if I, or any other person, were to offer to subscribe the passages produced by him, as exhil)iting a creed tantamount to his, he would demur to ad- mit it in this view. Nay, more : in his case it is beyond supposition. I have actually offered to sul)scribe the apostle's words, and he has actually refused to admit my subscription ; alleging that I do not receive them in tliat pure and simple form in which Unitarians embrace them. According to his own reasoning, therefore, the words of the apostle, by which he would express his leading principles, do not contain the whole of them, and he must have failed in his attempt to express them in scripture language ; and, consequently, the " boast- ed superiority" of his scheme, even in this respect, is without foundation. If we can believe Dr. Toulmin, how- ever, the Scriptures not only expressly declare God to be one, but one person. " This simple idea of God, that he is one single person," says he, from Mr. Lind- sey, " literally pervades every passage of the sacred volumes." To this I have an- swered, among other things, " It might have served a better purpose, if, instead of this general assertion, these gentle- men had pointed us to a single instance in which the unity of God is literally declar- ed to be personal." And what has Dr. Toulmin said in reply 1 "The appeal, one would think, might be made to Mr. Fuller's own good sense. What can be more decisive instances of this than tiie many passages in which the singular per- sonal pronouns, and tiicir correlates, are used concerning the Supreme Being ; as, /, vie, viy, mine, &c." — \). 85, note. — Whatever may be thought of my good sense, or of that of my opponent, I appeal to good sense itself, whether he has made good his assertion. To say nothing of his reducing it from every passage to many passages, which proltably strikes out nine- ty-nine {)assages out of a hundred in the sacred volumes, if the singular personal pronouns be a literal declaration that God is one person, the plural personal pronouns, Z^itious disposition, though sound in doctrine, and in time past apparently humble and pious, to set them down as hypocrites. And this is more candid, it seems, and savors less of spleen and ill-nature, than drawing an unfavor- able conclusion of their doctrinal princi- ples. But, waving this : The saying of our Saviour is given as a lesi of false prophets, or teachers ; an epithet never bestowed, I believe, on men whose doctrine was true. That false prophets and teachers were men of bad character I admit, though that character was not always apparent (2 Cor. xi. 14; Matt. vii. lo;) but that they are ever so denominated on account of their character, as distinct from their doctrine, does not appear. When any thing is said of their doctrine, it is invariably described as false. " If any man shall say unto you, lo here is Christ, or lo there, believe him not; for false Christs, and false prophets'' bearing witness in their favor, "shall arise." — "There were false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swiil destruction." — "Be- loved, believe not every spirit, hut try the s|)irils whether they be of God : because many/(//.sc prophets arc gone out into the world." — " Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come iti the flesh is not of God." — " Wliosoever transgress- eth, and abidcth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God." — " If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed; for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." If the " false prophets" described by our Saviour were such as might teach " a true doctrine," the descrijitions given by the New Testament writers, uniformly representing them as teaching falsehood, are at variance with those ot their Master. That there were hypocrites who taught a true doctrine may be allowed : iiut they are never denominated false prophets, or false teachers. Balaam was a wicked char- acter, and is called a prophet ; liut, as the subject matter of his prophecies was true, he is not called a false prophet. Judas, also, was a hypocrite and a thief, at the same time that he was a preacher and an apostle ; but, as what he taught was true, he is not described as a false teacher or a false apostle. These things considered, let the impar- tial reader determine whether ourSa\iour did not mean to direct his followers to judge by their fruits loho ivere the patrons of false doctrine. With resj)cct to the use which has been made of this direction, I appeal, in the first place, to the apostles, and New Testament writers. I presume they will not be ac- cused of self-commendation, nor of spleen and ill-nature ; yet they scrupled not t© represent those who believed their doc- trine as " washed" and " sanctified " from their former immoralities, (1 Cor. vi. 11,) and those who believed it not as "having pleasure in unrighteousness," — 2 Thes. ii. 12. All those facts which Dr. Toulmin has endeavored to press into the service of modern Unitarinism are evidences of the truth of tlie primitive doctrine, and were considered as such by the New Testament writers. They appealed to the effects produced in the lives of believers, as "their epistles, known and read of all men," in proof that they " had not cor- rupted the word of God," but were the true ministers of Christ, 2 Cor. ii. 17, &c. With the fullest confidence they asked, " Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believelh that Jesus is the Son of God 1 " Plainly intimating that truth was well known by its effects. Nor was error less so : those who introduced false doctrines are invariably described as un- holy characters. — 2 Pet. ii. 13; Jude ; 1 Cor. XV. 33, 34. To quote the reasonings of the Fathers on this principle w ere to copy a large pro- portion of their apologies. I question whether there be one of them which does not contain arguments for the truth of Christianity on the ground of the holy lives of Christians ; and which does not infer, or in some form intimate, the false- hood of heathenism from the known im- morality of heathens. Their opponents, having no better answer at hand, might possibly charge this reasoning with vain boasting, spleen, and ill-nature; but I do not recollect that it was ever imputed to these causes by Christians. As to the Reformers, the most success- 288 POSTSCRIPT. fill attacks which they made upon the Churcli of Rome were founded on the dis- solute lives of her clergy, and the holi- ness and constancy of those whom she persecuted unto death. The general strain of their writings may be seen in Fox's Marty rology, which is, in effect, an exhibition of the moral character of the persecutors and the persecuted, from which the world is left to judge which was the true religion ; and, I may add, a con- sideral)le part of the world did judge, and acted accordingly. Dr. Toulmin suggests, from Moshcim, that the Reformers, and particularly Cal- vin and his associates, neglected the sci- ence of morals. — p. 153. But Mosheim's prejudice against Calvin and his associates renders his testimony of but little weight, especially as the reader may satisfy him- self of the contrary by the Avritings of the parties which are yet extant. The eighth chapter of the second book of Calvin's In- stitutes is sufficient to wipe away this slan- der. The morality there inculcated is such as neither Antinomians, nor "great numbers " amongst modern Unitarians, can endure. That there were some among the gospellers, as they were called, who were loose characters, is admitted: such there are in every age: but take the re- formed as a body, and they were not only better Christians than their persecutors, but than those their successors, who,- while pretending to teach the "science" of morality, have deserted the great prin- ciples by which it requires to be animated, and debased it, by allowing the amuse- ments of the theatre, and other species of dissipation, to be consistent with it. The historian of the puritans has re- corded of that persecuted people that, " while others were at plays and interludes, at revels, or walking in the fields, or at the diversions of bowling, fencing, &c., on the evening of the Sabbath, they, with their families, were employed in reading the Scriptures, singing psalms, catechising their children, repeating sermons, and prayer ; that neither was this confined to the Lord's-day, but they had their hours of family-devotion on the week-days, es- teeming it their duty to sake care of the souls as well as of the V)odies of their ser- vants ; and that they were circumspect as to all the excesses of eating and drinking, apparel, and lawful diversions ; being fru- gal in house-keeping, industrious in their particular callings, honest and exact in their dealings, and solicitous to give every one his own." * These things might not be alleged in * Neale's History of the Puritans, Vol. I. Chap. VIII. proof of the truth of every particular opin- ion which they held (neither have I infer- ed from such premises the truth of every opinion maintained by Calvinists); but they were alleged in proof that their re- ligion, in the main, ivas that of Jesus Christ, and the religion of their adversa- ries a very near approach to that of anti- christ. Nor do I recollect that the writer has been charged, unless it be by those who felt the condemnation which his story implied, with vain-boasting, spleen, or ill- nature. Finally : Will our opponents accuse themselves of these evils, for having rea- soned upon this principle as far as they are able 1 Tliat tliey have done this is mani- fest, though Dr. Toulmin affects to dis- own it, alleging that they have not reason- ed on the lives of men but merely on the tendency of principles. — p. 154. That they have reasoned on the tendency of principles is true ; and so have I : such is the reasoning of the far greater part of the foregoing Letters. But that they avoided all reference to the lives of Calvinists, is not true. Was it on the tendency of prin- ciples, or on the lives of men, that Dr. Priestley reasoned, when he compared the virtue of Trinitarians with that of Unita- rians, allowing that though the latter had more of an apparent conformity to the world than the former, yet, upon the whole, they approached nearer to the proper temper of Christianity than theyl* Has he confined himself to the tendency of principles in what he has related of Mr. Badcock 1 f Does he not refer to the practices of Antinomians, in proof of the immoral tendency of Calvinism, repre- senting thein as the legitimate offspring of our principles 1 See quotation, p. 218. And though Mr. Belsham now affects to be disgusted with this mode of reason- ing, yet there was a time when he seemed to think it would be of service to him, and when he figured away in the use of it. Did he not affirm that " they who are sin- cerely pious, and diffusively benevolent, with our principles, could not have failed to have been much better and much hap- pier, had they adopted a milder, a more rational, a more truly evangelical creed '? " And what is this but affirming that those of his sentiments are better and happier in general than others 1 Yet this gentleman affects to despise the foregoing Letters ; for that the sum of them is, " We Calvinists being much better Christians than you Socinians, our doc- trines must of course be true. "J Strange that a writer should so far forget himself * Disc. Var. Sub. p. 100. t Fam. Let. XXII. t Review, p. 274. POSTSCRIPT. 289 as to reproach the performance of another for that which is the characteristic of his own ! Nor is this all : in the small compass of the same discourse, he exi)resses a hojtc that Sociiiian converts would " at length feel the li«iiigii influence of their princi- ples, and demonstrate the excellence of their faith by the superior dignity and tcorth of their character." If the excel- lence of principles (and of course their truth, for nothing can be excellent which is not true,) be not demonstrable by the character of those who embrace therm, how is superior dignity and worth of character to demonstrate it 1 Such was once the "self-commending" language of Mr. Belsham ; but, whether his converts have disappointed his hope, or whether the ground be too "holy" for him, so it is, that he is now entirely of a different mind : and, what is worse, would fain persuade his readers that it is gi'ound on which he and his brethren have never " trespassed." This is the man who, after throwing down the gauntlet, declines the contest ; and, after his partisans have labored to the ut- most to maintain their cause, talks of what they could say and do, were they not with- held by motives of generosity ! One would imagine, from Mr. Belham's manner of writing, that I had dealt largely in tales of private characters. The truth is, what tales have l)een told are of their own telling. 1 freely acknowledged* that "I was not suthcicnliy acquainted with the bulk of Socinians to judge of their moral character." Every thing was rest- ed on their own concessions : and this it is wiiicli is the galling circumstance to Mr. Belsham and his party. They may now insinuate what great things they could bring forward to our disadvantage, were they not restrained by motives of modesty and generosity : but they can do nothing. They might, indeed, collect tales of indi- viduals, and point out many faults which attach to the general body ; but they can- not prove it to be equally immoral with the general body of .Socinians. Before this can be consistently attempted, they must retract their concessions : and this will not avail them; for it must be mani- fest to all men that it was only to an- swer an end. The reader is now left to judge for him- self, whether the principle of reasoning adopted in the foregoing Letters be justly liable to the objections which have been raised against it, whether our opponents did not first apply it against us, and wheth- er any other reason can be given for their present aversion to it than that they feel it to be unfavorable to their cause. * See p. 206. VOL. 37 SOCINIANISM INDEFENSIBLE ON THE GROUND OF ITS MORAL TENDENCY: CONTAINING A REPLY TO TWO LATE PUBLICATIONS, THE ONE BY DR. TOULMIN, ENTITLED THE PRACTICAL EFFICACY OF THE UNITARIAN DOCTRINE CONSIDERED ; THE OTHER BY MR. KENTISH, ENTITLED THE MORAL TENDENCY OF THE GENUINE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. I N T R 0 D U C.T ION. It is now more than three years since the first publication of The Calvinistic and Socinian Systems examined and compared as to their Moral Tendency. Dr. Toulmin expresses some regret that, at the time he wrote, nothing had appeared in answer to it ; and seems disposed to account for this circumstance in a way that may acquit his cause of seeming to be indefensible. Addressing himself to me, he says, "No one can doubt that the gentlemen, on passages in whose writings many of your reflections are grounded, are every way equal to the contest, if they saw fit to enter the lists with you. As they have not done it, I presume they think it sufficient to leave the candid reader to judge between you and them." — p. 2. That these gentlemen, so far as abilities are concerned, are equal to this contest, there can, indeed, be no doubt : but, whether they be every way equal to it, is another question. It is beyond the power of any man to convert truth into falsehood, or falsehood into truth ; and their silence may, for any thing Dr. Toulmin can prove, be owing to the difficulty of the undertaking. One thing is rather remarkable : though Dr. Toulmin has undertaken a defence of Socinianism, yet he has cautiously avoided a vindication of the writings of those gentlemen on which I had animadverted. Such a conduct could not have been pursued by them : if they had written, they must have entered on a defence of their writings, or have given them up as indefensible. Dr. Toulmin informs us that, for his own part, "it Avas but lately that the piece fell in his way, so as to find him at leisure to read it." — p. 1. This, undoubtedly, is a sufficient apolog)', so far as it respects himself; and if he or his colleague, Mr. Kentish, have but overturned the substance of the piece against which they have written, time and other circumstances are of small account. If the opinion of Re- viewers, on these performances, be of any weight, it must be concluded that they have done this, at least. The Analytical and Monthly Reviews, with The Protestant Dissenters' Magazine, have each bestowed, on one or other of them, their strong and unqualified approbation. Whether their critiques have been of any advantage to the cause, I may hereafter inquire : at present, I shall proceed to examine what is ad- vanced by each of my opponents, in their order. 1797. REPLY TO DR. TOULMIN. SECTION I. ON THE GROUND OF ARGUMENT USED IN THIS CONTROVERSY, AND THE AT- TEMPTS OF OUR OPPONENTS TO SHIFT IT. When I first formed a design of writing against Socinianism, I perceived that, al- though the holy Scriptures were treated by Socinian writers with great disrespect in various instances, yet they were gener- ally the ultimate tribunal to which the appeal was made. The object of the controversy, on both sides, seemed to be to ascertain their true meaning. For this purpose, two general methods had been adopted : first, arranging the vari- ous passages of Scripture which relate to the subject, and reasoning upon them. Secondly, examining in what sense Chris- tians in the early ages of Christianity understood them. The first is the common way of de- ciding controversies in divinity ; and a very good way it is, if fairly conducted. I had several objections, however, against pursuing it in this instance. First : it was ground which was already fully oc- cupied. Al)le writers, on both sides, had gone over all the passages of Scripture relating to the subject; and many of them had nearly exhausted their genius, in reasoning upon the scope of the sacred writers, and in criticising upon the orig- inal language. Secondly : I perceived that Socinian writers had got into such an unwarrantable habit of criticising upon the sacred writings, tliat the plainest passages could not stand before them ; whole chap- ters and whole books were cashiered as spurious ; and even the whole Bible was declared to be "obscure," and "never designed to decide upon controverted questions in religion and morality."* It appeared to me of but little account to rca>;on upon texts of Scripture, when the Scripture itself, wliatever might be its meaning, was virtually disallowed. As to the last of these methods, it was * AlonUily Review Enlarged. Vol. X. p. 357. not within my province. Besides, it ap- peared to me that whatever pleasure we may feel in tracing the history of early opinions, and whatever good purposes may be answered by a work of this nature if impartially conducted, yet it can aflbrd no proper criterion of what is the apos- tolic doctrine. Christians in early ages were as liable to err as we are, and in many instances they did err, so as to con- tradict the Scriptures and one another. Thinking on these things, it occurred to me that there was another method of reas- oning distinct from those which have been already mentioned; namely, by inquiring — What is that doctrine in the present day which is productive oj the best moral ef- fects 1 Several considerations induced me to prefer this ground of reasoning, in the present case, to either of the other two. First : it would serve to ascertain what was the apostolic doctrine as well as the former of them, and much better than the latter. If, for example, in discoursing on the vines and fig trees which formerly grew in the land of Canaan, a dispute should arise whether they resembled this or that species now growing in other coun- tries, one way of deciding it would be to compare the fruits. If the fruit of one species could be proved to possess a much nearer likeness than the fruit of another, that would tend to decide the controversy in its favor. Secondly : an inquiry into the moral tendency of tiie different doc- trines would not only serve as a medium of ascertaining which of them was the apostolic doctrine, but would also prove the truth of that doctrine, and its divine original; for it is a priiicii)le so deeply en- graven on the human mind — that whatever doctrine is j)roductivc of good fruits must in itself be good, and have its origin in God, that very few writers, if any, would dare to maintain the contrary. I perceiv- ed, therefore, if I could not only prove that what is commonly called Calvinism is most productive of effects similar to those which sprang from the doctrine of the Apostles, but also exhibit them in such a light, as I went along, as that they should approve themselves to every man's con- 296 ON THE GROUND OF THE ARGUMENT. science, I should thereby cut off the re- treat of those Socinian writers who, when their doctrine is proved to be anti-scriptu- ral, forsake christian ground, and take shelter upon the territories of deism : de- grading the Bible as an "obscure book," taxing its writers with "reasoning incon- clusively," and declaring that its " nature and design was not to settle disputed theo- ries, or decide upon controverted ques- tions, in religion and morality." I knew well that though they dared to write de- gradingly of the Scriptures, and of the sa- cred writers, yet they dare not professedly set themselves against morality. Third- ly : the judging of doctrines by their ef- fects is a practice warranted by Scripture : "by their fruits ye shall know them." A very able writer, in a discourse on this passage, has shown that " the rule here given by our Saviour is the best that could have been given ; that it is sufficient to distinguish truth from error ; and that it is in fact the rule by which all good men, and indeed mankind in general, do judge of re- ligious principles and pretensions." * Fourthly : I supposed that such a method of reasoning would be more interesting to the public mind, having never before, to my recollection, been adopted as the ground of any particular treatise on the subject. Fifthly : It was ground upon which there was room for common Chris- tians to stand and be witnesses of the is- sue of the contest, which, while the con- troversy turned upon the opinion of the Fathers, or the construction of a text of Scripture, was not the case. Sixthly : it was a ground of reasoning to which our opponents could not fairly object, seeing they had commenced an attack upon it, charging the Calvinistic system with "gloominess," "bigotry," and "licen- tiousness;" with being' "averse to the love of both God and man," and " an axe at the root of all virtue." These Avere the principal reasons which induced me to prefer the ground of argu- ment on which I have proceeded. I would not be vuiderstood, however, as expressing the least disrespect towards the works of those who have proceeded on other grounds. Let the subject be examined in every point of view. Every author has a right to choose his gi-ound of reasoning, provided it be a fair one ; and that which may be unsuitable to the turn and talents of one person may be suitable to those of another. If the reader wish to see the present controversy pursued on the ground of scripture-testimony and the opinions of early ages, he may consult to great advan- * Dr. Witheispoon's Trial of Relig^ious Truth by its Moral Influence. tage a late very valuable and elaborate work of Dr. Jamieson, entitled A Vindi- cation of the Doctrine of Scripture, and of the Primitive Faith, concerning the Deity of Christ, in Reply to Dr. Priestley's His- tory of Early Opinions, 2 vols. 8vo. Knowing somewhat of the abilities of the writers on the other side, and their readiness on all occasions to defend their cause, I did not expect to escape their censure. I laid my accounts that what I advanced would either be treated as un- worthy of notice, or, if any answer was written, that the strength of the argu- ments would be tried to the uttermost. In both these particulars, however, I have been mistaken. They have not treated it as unworthy of notice. They have ac- knowledged the contrary. And, as to try- ing tlie strength of the arguments, I must say that Dr. Toulmin has not so much as looked them in the face. On the contra- ry, thougli the Practical Efficacy of the Unitarian Doctrine is the title of his per- formance, yet he acknowledges (p. 5) his design is to "supersede the examination of that comparison into which I had fully entered;" that is, to relinquish the de- fence of the practical efficacy of his prin- ciples, and to i-eason entirely upon other ground ! Mr. Kentish is the only writer who has pretended to encounter the argu- ment. Whether he has succeeded will be hereafter examined. At present I shall attend to Dr. Toulmin. This writer observes, at the outset, that " the title prefixed to his Letters will lead the reader to expect from them, chiefly, the discussion of one point ; but that a point of great importance in itself, and the main one to which a reply to Mr. Fuller's work need to be directed." Now, reader, what would you have ex- pected that one point to be 1 The title pre- fixed to his Letters, i-ecollect, is this : The Practical Efficacy of the Unitarian Doctrine considered. Would you not have supposed that the Doctor was going to offer evidence in favor of the practical ef- ficacy of modern Unitarianism 1 From the title of his book, could you have ex- pected any other than an exhibition of the most forcible arguments in favor of the holy tendency of his principles, together with a number of undoubted facts, in which their efficacy has appeared sufficient at least, to confront the evidence alleged on the other side ■? How great then must be your disappointment, to find him em- ployed in "producing evidence in support of his opinion {rom. passages of Scripture," and in proving, what nobody calls in ques- tion, that the preaching of the apostles was productive of great moral effects ! Dr. Toulmin, it should seem, can find ON THE GROUND OP THE ARGUMENT. 297 no such fruits of Soriniaii doctrines as will support an appeal, and, tiierefore, is under tlie nercssity of goinjr seventeen hundred years back, in search of examples. But are those examples in j)oint ] Were the principles of Christians, in the apos- tolic ajre, tiie same as those of Socinians ] With wiuit face can Dr. Toulmin take it for granted that tiiey were, or even go about to prove it, as a medium of estab- lishing the practical elhcacy of modern Unilarianism I When the grand end of a controversy is to determine a principle, a writer who as- sumes that principle as a medium of proof is guilty of begging the question ; and if, in order to escape the public censure, he endeavor to give evidence of this principle, from some other source of argument than that wiiich lie professes to answer, he is guilty of shifting the ground of the con- troversy ; and, by so doing, virtually gives up his cause as indefensible. This is exactly the case with Dr. Toul- min. The doetrine of the apostles is al- lowed, on both sides, to have produced great moral effects. The object of the con- troversy was to ascertain inlutt that doc- trine luas. The medium of proof which I had adopted, and to which Dr. Toulmin, if he pretended to write an answer to me, ought to have confined himself, was the effects which it produced. I attempted to prove that the apostolic and Calvinistic doctrines arc nearly similar, from the similarity of their effects ; and that the apostolic and Socinian doctrines arc dis- similar, from the dissimilarity of their ef- fects. To have answered this reasoning, Dr. Toulmin should have proved, either that the effects of the Calvinistic doctrine are not similar to those which attended the doctrine of the apostles, and that the effects of the Socinian doctrine are so ; or else that a similarity of effects is not a proper ground from which to infer a simi- larity in the nature of the doctrines. His attempting to prove the practical efficacy of the Unitarian doctrine by assuming that the apostles were Unitarians, in iiis sense of the term, is nothing better than beg- ging the fjuesti^n ; and his endeavoring to screen himself from this reproach, by la- boring to prove the point in dispute from a review of the Acts of the Apostles, let his reasonings be ever so just, is foreign from the purpose: it is shifting the ground of the argument : it is declining to meet the inqui ryon the ground of moral tend- ency, and substituting, in its place, ob- servations on the meaning of Scripture tes- timony, which, to all intents and purposes, is relinquishing the practical efficacy of modern Unitarianism as indefensible. The plain languaee of his performance is VOL. I. ^ 38 this : There arc no examples to be found of any consideral)le moral iiiiluence wliich tlie Unitarian doctrine has liad upon the hearts and lives of men of late ages ; and, tiiercfore, I have had recourse to the preaching of the apostles, and have en- deavored to prove that they were Unita- rian'^. If Dr. Toulmin thought the moral ten- dency of a doctrine an improper medium of proof, why did he not professedly de- cline it ] Why did he not acknowledge that Dr. Priestley was wrong in challeng- ing an inquiry on such a ground ] And why did he entitle his performance, 7Vtc Practical Efficacy of the Unitarian Doc- trine 1 This piece does not answer to its title : itougiit, rather, to have been called, An Inquiry into the Doctrines which the Primitive Preachers delivered, by a Re- view of the Acts of the Apostles. The practical efficacy of either doctrine makes no part of his argument, and occupies scarcely any place in his performance, except the title-page ; and there is reason to tiiiiik it would not have been there, but for the sake of its wearing the appearance of an answer to the piece against which it is written. I am not obliged, by the laws of con- troversy, to follow Dr. Toulmin in his re- view of the history of the Acts of the Apos- tles ; nor is it my intention to be diverted from the subject by the manoeuvres of any opponent. The only notice I shall take of tiiis part of his performance will be in a few pages in the form of an Appendix, as being a subject besides the question ; and that, merely to show, as a thing by the bye, that, even upon his own ground, his cause is indefensible. An anonymous writer, in the Analyt- ical Review,* discovers a similar incli- nation with that of Dr. Toulmin, to shift the ground of the controversy; but with this difference : the Reviewer openly avows his dislike of the medium of proof which I have adopted, calling it " a falla- cious test," and recommending to all parties, "instead of asking by tvhom any system is professed, to confine themselves to the single inquiry, by tvhat evidence it is supported : " whereas Dr. Toulmin, though he discovers the same dislike to the ground of argument on which I have proceeded, yet has not the ingenuousness to acknowledge it, but pretends to reason upon the practical efficacy of his princi- ples, while, in fact, he has utterly relin- quished it, and endeavored to establish his system upon another ground. The writer above mentioned, having quoted the concluding paragraph of my * Vol. XVII. pp. 183, 184. 298 ON DR. TOULMIN S ANIMADVERSIONS. Letters, calls it "an unfounded and pre- sumptuous sentence, pronounced upon the hearts of those who adopt Socinian princi- ples," and insinuates that I must have written in a bad spirit. Before I have finished these pages, I shall have oc- casion to defend the passage referred to, more particularly. At present, I only observe that, taken in its connection, it amounts to no more than this. That, if Socinianism be an immoral system, im- moral dispositions are the avenues which lead to it : and it is possible that this writer, notwithstanding what he has said under cover, might be ashamed to come forward, and, in a publication to which he should prefix his name, avow his denial of this proposition. This Reviewer wishes to have it thought that the moral effects produced by a doc- trine form no part of the evidence by which it is supported ; that is to say, he wishes to shift this ground of argument, as unsuitable to his purpose. If the ef- fects of a doctrine upon the hearts and lives of men be no proper ground of argu- ment, why are we directed by our Lord to judge of false teachers by their fruits 1 and why were not the same observations made while Socinians were throwing out their accusations of immorality against the Calvinists 1 Writers may rave like furies against them, and be applauded by Socinian Reviewers.* But a single at- tempt to repel these shafts of calumny, and to prove, from facts which no one has yet undertaken to dispute, that immoral- ity attaches to the other side, quite alters the nature of things : lo, then, the ground of argument is unfair, and the writer must be a man of a bad spirit ! About forty years ago the Socinians, and those who veered towards their sen- timents in the Church of Scotland, are said to have attacked the Calvinistic system with various kinds of weapons. Amongst others, they abounded in the use of ridicule ; so much, indeed, that they seemed disposed to adopt Lord Shaftesbury's maxim, that " Ridicule is the test of truth." At this juncture, Dr. Witherspoon, as it is supposed, published his Ecclesiastical Characteristics, in which he successfully turned their weapon upon themselves. The effect of that perform- ance was very considerable : a dead si- lence succeeded its publication ; none moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped; but they comforted one another, by suggesting that the author of the Char- acteristics must be a man of a bad heart! *See Monthly Review for July, 1792, on Llew- ellyn's Tracts, p. 226. SECTION II. -^ FURTHER REMARKS ON DR. TOULMIN, WITH REPLIES TO VARIOUS OF HIS ANIMADVERSIONS. Dr. Toulmin gives us, at the outset of his performance, a short account of the "fundamental principles " of his scheme. These, he tells us, are, " That there is but ONE God, the sole former, supporter, and governor of the universe, the only proper object of religious worship ; and that there is but one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who was commissioned by God to instruct men in their duty, and to reveal the doc- trine of a future life." — p. 4. He after- wards complains that, " instead of apply- ing my arguments against these principles, I have brought forAvard particular posi- tions, scattered through the works or discourses of several eminent persons, known and able advocates of the Unita- rian faith, which have no immediate and direct connection with the first principles of it." These positions, he observes, " might or might not be true ; and the truth of the great doctrines of the unity of God and the humanity of Christ re- main, in either case, unaffected by it." — p. 41. The unity of God, and the humanity of Christ, then, it seems, are the principles which I ought to have at- tacked : that is to say, I ought to have attacked principles which I profess to believe, and not those which I profess to disbelieve ! Dr. Toulmin seems disposed to be on the safe side. By avoiding a defence of those positions which are quo- ted from the principal writers of the par- ty, and adopting the words of Scripture as the medium by which to express his senti- ments, (taking it for granted, as he goes along, that these Scripture expressions are to be understood in his sense of them,) his work becomes very easy, and very pleasant. But thinking people will re- mark that, by so doing, he has retired from the field of controversy, and taken refuge upon neutral ground. Dr. Toul- min knows that I shall not dispute with him the apostolic position, that there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus : and his taking it for granted that these and other Scriptures convey his peculiar sentiments — namely, that the unity of God is per- sonal, and that Christ is merely a man — is begging the question, a practice to which he is more than a little addicted. ON DR. TOULMIN's ANIMADVERSIONS. 299 What would Dr. Touliuin liave said, if I had alleged that Sociniaiis, instead ol at- tacking the positions of the leading wri- ters amongst tlie leading Calvinists, ought to have attacked ourl'irst j)rinci|)les ; such as the following : ihere is uFalher, a Son, and a Holy Spirit, in whose name loe are baptized: The Word was God: Christ died for our sins, according to the Scrip- tures. And, if to this I had added, "We tliink it a just ground of hoast tiiat we can express our fundamental opinions in the words of Scripture" (p. 5,) would he not have replied to this effect — We do not de- ny any one of your positions. These are not your distinguishing principles, but are such as are allowed on both sides. It is the sense ichich you put upon these passa- ges of Scripture which constitutes your first principles, and the points of difference between us. You ought not to expect that we should attack tlie words of Scrip- ture ; for it is not Scripture, but your glosses upon it, that we oppose ; and it is mean in you to beg the question, by taking it for granted that your sense of these passages is the true one : it is no other than shrouding your obnoxious glosses under the sacred phraseology of Scripture, and it betrays an inclination in you to im- pose upon us the one under the form of the other. " No man who striveth for the mastery is crowned, except he strive lawfully." If a Grecian combatant had cjuitted the ground marked out for the contest, like Dr. Toulmin, he would not only have lost the prize, but w^ould have been struck out of the list of honorable competitors. Dr. Toulmin lal)ors to j)rove that there are certain principles that are productive of piety, which are not peculiar to Calvin- ists or Socinians, but are common to both ; and mentions several devotional treatises of Calvinistic writers, in which these are the only principles insisted on. — p. 33, 34. And what if this be granted 1 I never said that the distinguisliing principles of Calvinism were the only sources of holy practice. On the contrary, the being of a God, which we hold in common with the Deists, is the foundation-stone to the great fabric of piety and virtue. This, however, I must observe, tliat the most important truths, when accompanied with great er- rors, are retained to but very little pur- pose, in comparison of what they are when accompanied with other truths. Divine truths, in this respect, resemble divine precepts : they are so connected together that he who offends in one point is, as it were, guilty of all. It is thus that one great truth, the being of a God, is of but very litlle use to Deists who reject his word : and, I may add, it is thus that the doctrine of a future life loses almost all its effect in the hands of lioth Deists and So- cinians. Dr. Toulmin will admit the pro- priety of tliis remark, as it respects the former :* and, ii Dr. Priestley's " Sermon on the Death of Mr. Robinson " may be considered as a specimen of the Socinian doctrine of a future life, there can be but little doulit of the latter. f In introducing tlie above remarks, Dr. Toulmin tells us his design is to prove " that ihe Calvinistic system it not essen- tial to devotion." — p. 35. Truly, our op- j)onents are, of late, become moderate in their demands. Heretofore, Calvinism was "unfriendly to the love both of God and man, and an axe at the root of all vir- tue:" but now, it seems, it is allowed to have a tendency in favor of devotion, and all that is argued for is, that it is " not es- sential " to it. After holding up the character of seve- ral Socinians, as eminent for piety and virtue. Dr. Toulmin observes that, " if the number of excellent characters should not be so great as amongst other denomina- tions, a cause of this is easily to be as- signed : the number of Socinians hath al- ways, in the latter ages of the church, borne a small proportion to the number of Trinitarians and Calvinists ; and the number of sincere, conscientious persons, attentive to the cultivation of pious affec- tions, hath borne a small proportion to those who have been nominal Socinians or Calvinists." — p. 36. It was no part of my plan to examine the good or bad con- duct of individuals, whether they were Socinians or Calvinists : it was the gene- ral body from which I proposed to form an estimate. As to Dr. Toulmin's attempt to reduce the state of Socinians and Calvinists to a level, it comes too late. His brethren have acknowledged that "rational Chris- tians are often represented as indifferent to practical religion :" nor have they de- nied the charge ; or alleged that they are no more so than is common w ith other de- nominations of Christians ; but, on the contrary, have tacitly admitted it, by en- deavoring to account i'or it. Nay, why need I go back to the acknowledgments of Mr. Belsham or Dr. Priestley^ Dr. Toulmin himself has, in effect, acknow- ledged the same thing : he also goes about to account for the defect in devotion among Socinians compared with Calvinists, in such a way as shall not be disparaging to the principles of the former, with respect * See his" Dissertation nn tlie Internal Evidences, &c., of Christianity," p. 246, Note. t See Remarks in " Systems Compared," pp.. 273, 274. 300 ON DR. TOULMIN's ANIMADVERSIONS. to their influence on the piety of their feel- ings. "They," he says, "deeply en- gaged in the investigation of truth, ab- sorbed in gainingjust ideas, may have been necessarily betrayed into a neglect of the culture of the heart and affections." — p. 36. These methods of accounting for things, whether just or not, are plain in- dications of the existence of the fact ac- counted for : all attempts, therefore, to disown or palliate it are nugatory and vain. But let us examine Dr. Toulmin's method of accounting for the defect of de- votion amongst Socinians. They are so absorbed in the acquisition of truth, it seems, as to neglect the culture of the heart ; yea, necessarily to neglect it. This is somewhat strange. Truth and righteousness used to be reckoned friendly to each other : but of late, it seems, the case is altered. Dr. Priestley and Mr. Belsham have taught us that indifference to religion is friendly to the acquisition of truth; and Dr. Toulmin completes the scheme, by teaching us that the acqui- sition of truth is friendly to indifference to religion ; or, which is the same thing, that it leads to the neglect of cultivating holy affections. Say, reader, can that be truth, evangelical truth, which is thus ac- quired, and which thus operates 1 The knowledge of Christ's doctrine was for- merly promoted by doing hisivill; and, be- ing known, it invariably wrought in a way of righteousness. I know, indeed, that persons deeply en- gaged in polemics, whatever cause they es- pouse, are in danger of neglecting the cul- ture of the heart : but, whatever allow- ances require to be made on one side of the controversy, ought equally to be made on the other. Unless Dr. Toulmin means to acknowledge that, on account of the pe- culiar difficulty of defending their cause, they have had greater labor and more " absorbing " application than their oppo- nents, he cannot, therefore, account for their defects from the'iv polemical engage- ments. The "investigation" to which he refers must he private, like that of the no- ble Bereans : but serious investigation of divine truth has not been used to produce the effect which Dr. Toulmin ascribes to it, but the reverse. The deeper the primitive Christians drank into it, the more power- fully it operated, " changing them into the same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of God." — " Grace and peace were multiplied in them by the knowledge of God, and of Jesus their Lord." What strange fatality is it that hangs about So- cinianism ! It seems doomed to die by its own hands ! That Dr. Toulmin's sentiments have produced glorious effects in turning sinners to righteousness is manifest if he may but take for granted, or be allowed to have proved, that these were the sentiments of the apostles : but if this be not allowed him, and he be asked for proof of any such effects arising from Socinianism, or, as he would call it, modern Unitarianism, here he scarcely pretends to any thing of the kind. He endeavors, however, to account for the contrary, from " circumstances not included in the nature of the doctrine, or its inefficiency." " There are limes," he observes, "in which men hear not Mo- ses and the prophets. — The flock of Christ, while he was upon earth, was a little flock. — He lamented the unsuccessfulness of his own preaching ; and the preaching of the apostles was not always successful." — pp. 8, 9, 39. All this is true, and proves that the success of any doctrine depends upon something else tiian merely its being adapted to the end. But can it be said of the apostles' doctrine that there never ivas a time in which it urns remark- ably blessed to the conversion of sinners 1 Dr. Toulmin admits the contrary ; but to Avhat period will he refer us, when Socin- ianism was pi-oductive of such effects 1 If the doctrine of our opponents be the same for substance as that of the Scriptures, is it not surprising that, ever since the timgg of the apostles, "circumstances" should have existed to counteract its efficacy T or, if this were admissible, is it not still more surprising that those very effects should since that time have been transfer- red to a false doctrine, a mere corruption of Christianity 1 But " the unsuccessfulness," it is plead- ed, " may in some degree be imputed to the conduct of those who, instead of re- futing their doctrine by plain, scriptural, and sound argument, give representations of it that are invidious, raise prejudices against it, and prevent its having a fair hearing." A part of this charge is exhib- ited against me for representing their "congregations as gradually dwindling away ; their principles as having nothing in them, comparatively speaking, to alarm the conscience, or interest the heart; and their sincerity, zeal and devotion, as on a footing with those of Saul the perse- cutor."— p. 40. As to the last of these representations, the whole of what I have suggested goes to prove that a species of devotion may exist which is anti-evangeli- cal; and, therefore, that the mere exist- ence of devotion, irrespective of its nature and effects, is no evidence in favor of the principles from which it arises. And, as to the whole of them, the only question is whether they be true. If I have given false and invidious representations, they ON DR. TOULMIN's ANIMADVERSIONS. 301 are capable of beina; pvoveil such; and if the ariTunients which 1 have used be not phiiii, sound, and scriptural, they are the more easily overturned. It is rather sin- gular, however, tliat those facts which I al- leged to liave existed at tkc lime I wrote should be attributed in any degree to ine ! And wliy have not tiie same etTects been produced upon Calvinistic congregations! Dr. Toulinin well knows it has not been for want of the strongest representations, both from the pulpit and the press, of the immoral tendency of their principles. There is no system of religion thai has sufiFered a larger portion of obloquy in the present century. Preachers, writers, and reviewers, of almost every description, have thought themselves at liberty to in- veigh against " the gloomy, licentious, and blasphemous doctrines of Calvin." And yet we have experienced very little, if any, injury from these representations. Com- mon people do not pay much regard to what is alleged by writers : tliey judge of the tree by its fruits. It. is thus, as we reckon, tliat the accusations of our oppo- nents have had but very little effect upon us ; and, if ours against them were not founded in trutli, they would in like man- ner fall to the ground. Dr. Toulmin complains of my using the term Socinians, as being a term of re- proach.— p. 41. For my own part I would much rather call them by another name if they would but adopt a fair one. Let them take a name that does not assume the question in dispute, and I would no long- er use the term Socinians. But Dr. Toul- min seems to think that there is no neces- sity for this : " The name," he says, "by which we choose to be called is, you are sensible, that of Unitarians." — p. 42. True ; I am sensible that this is the name by which they choose to be called ; but it is rather surprising to me that Dr. Toul- min should be insensii)le that, in so doing, they choose also to beg the question in dis- pute. It seems, according to him, that we ought at the very outset of our contro- versies to acknowledge that we worship a plurality of gods; that is, that our con- duct is irrational and unscriptural ! He thinks that for Trinitarians to profess also to be Unitarians, or to worship but one God, " is strange and contradictory ;" that " it is saying that they who admit a three- fold division, or distinction, in the divine nature, hold the same tenet with those who contend for its simple unity." — p. 43. I know not who they are that admit of a di- vision in the divine nature : and those who plead for a personal distinction in it, nev- ertheless maintain its simple unity, though they do not consider that unity as person- al ; and consequently do not hold the same tenet with their opponents. Wliat is it tliat Dr. Toulmin desires, unless it be tluit we shouhl grant him the (piestion in dis|)ule 1 Where a gentleman can l>e so very condescending, as in this manner to solicit for a name, it grates with my feelings to give him a denial. He must be remiiuied, however, that lie has no right to expect it at our hands, mucli less to cliarge us with strange and contradictory assertions in case of our refusal. The tone of positivity which our op|)0- nents assume, when deiending their notion of the divine unity, is rather extraordina- ry ; and, if we could l)ut be persuadcfl to admit of contidence, in the place of evi- dence, their exclusive right to the name of Unitarians would l)e fully established. " This simple idea of God," says Dr. Toubnin, from Mr. Lindsey, "that he is one single person, literally pervades every passage of the sacred volumes." — p. 45. A common reader of the Bible would not have thought of finding any thing relating to this subject in every jxissage ; and, in those passages where the suliject is intro- duced, who, exce|)t Mr. Lindsey and Dr. Toulmin, would have asserted that the personal unity of the Deity literally per- vaded them all 1 It might have answered a better purpose if, instead of this general assertion, cither of these gentlemen would have pointed us to one single instance, in which the unity of God is literally declared to be personal. Instead of this Ave are asked, in the words of Mr. Lindsey, " How we can form any notion of the unity of the Supreme Being, but from that unity of which we ourselves are conscious 1" — p. 45, note. It is not impossible, or un- common, for us to form ideas of three be- ing one, and one three, in different re- spects : but what if, in this instance, we have no distinct idea! We do not profess to understand the mode of the divine sub- sistence. What notion can either we or our opponents form of the spirituality of the Supreme Being, or of any being who is purely spiritval 1 I can form no idea of any being who is not, like myself, cor- poreal : but it does not follow, from thence, either that God must needs be a material being, or that there are no immaterial be- ings in the universe. Dr. Toulmin at length comes to the title of my last letter. The resemblance of So- cinianism to Deism, and the tendency of the one to the other. He calls this " a sole- cism," and charges it with "inconsistency and absurdity." " It implies," he says, " that to receive the divine mission of Je- sus has a resemblance to considering him as a deceiver ; that to take him as my master, the resurrection and the life, has a tendency to the rejection of him ; that to learn of him is to deny him ; that to profess to obey him resembles disobedi- 302 ON DR. TOULMIN S ANIMADVERSIONS. ence ; that to hope for the mercy of God in him will lead me to cast off this hope." — p. 45. Surely Dr. Toulmin must feel himself touched on a tender point, or he would not have so far lost the possession of himself as to have suffered this para- graph to escape his pen. Can he serious- ly think that it is on account of their re- ceiving the divine mission of Jesus, their acknowledging him as their master, the i-esurrection and the life, their learning of him, professing to obey him, or hoping for the mercy of God in him, that we reckon their system to resemble Deism, or to have a tendency towards it 1 No : he knows the contrary. But " it is a singular circumstance," he adds, " that a resemblance and affinity to Deism should be ascribed to the creed of those amongst whom have arisen the most able critics on the Scriptures, and the most eminent advocates for divine revela- tion."— p. 45. Most eminent, no doubt, they are, in the opinion of Dr. Toulmin ; but, let the eminency of their opinions be what it may, if, in criticising and defend- ing the sacred oracles, they give up their inspiration ; plead that they are interpo- lated; cashier whole chapters, where they are found to clash with a favorite hypoth- esis ; tax the writers with reasoning in- conclusively ; declare the whole an ob- scure book, not adapted to settle disputed theories, or to decide upon speculative, controverted questions, even in religion and morality ; those sacred oracles will not admit them to be friends, but consider them as adversaries in disguise. I have not attempted, as Mr. Toulmin suggests, to prove the relation of Socinian- ism to deism barely from an argreement in some instances ; but from instances in which Socinians, by uniting with the deists, have given up some of the fundamental princi- ples by which Christians have been used to maintain their ground against them. Neither is the success of our opponents in gaining numbers to their party, and its re- semblance in this respect to infidelity, in itself considered, alleged as an argument against them ; but rather its being amongst the same description of people, mere speculatists in religion, and its being allowed to arise from a similar cause, namely, a disregard to religion in general. I have also attempted to prove, by several arguments, the direct tendency of Socini- anism to deism : but of these Dr. Toul- min has taken no notice. I have appealed to facts : but neither is any notice taken of them. If further proof was needed, I might now appeal to more recent facts. The new German reformers, if I am rightly informed, are making swift pro- gress in this direction. Bahrdt, a little before his death, is said to have published a proposal that the worship and instruc- tion in churches should be confined to nat- ural religion, in which all agree. Last year, my informant adds, an anonymous writer carried the idea farther; he is for banishing from churches all the theory of natural religion, as there are disputes about a future state, and the providence, perfections, and even existence of God; and that only the duties of self-govern- ment, justice, and beneficence, should be taught. Of those who have lately joined the standard of infidelity, in our own coun- try, is there not a large proportion of Socinians 1 Have not several of them who were candidates for the ministry, and even ministers themselves, given up their work, and avowed their rejection of Chris- tianity 1 It is not in the power of the leading characters amongst them to pre- vent these things. Socinianism is slippery ground : few will be able to stand upon it. Some few may, and doubtless will ; but the greater part, I am persuaded, will ei- ther return to the principles which they have discarded, or go further. Mrs. Bar- bauld might well represent their situation by that of people "walking over a preci- pice ;" and describe " that class called se- rious Christians," amongst them, as " lean- ing to the safest side." A precipice in- deed it is, or rather the declivity of a rock, bulging into the sea, and covered with ice : a few wary individuals may frame to them- selves a kind of artificial footing, and so retain their situation ; but the greater part must either climb the summit or fall into the deep. " The general tenor of your book," says Dr. Toulmin, " and your mode of arguing, remind me, Sir, of a piece pub- lished in the last century, entitled, ' Pu- ritanisme, the Mother, and Sinne the Daughter ; or a Treatise wherein is dem- onstrated, from twenty several Doctrines and Positions of Puritanisme, that the Faith and Religion of the Puritans doth forcibly induce its Professors to the Per- petrating of Sinne, and doth warrant the committing of the same.' I could wish the piece in your hands, and to see what remarks you would offer on the candor of the imputation, or the conclusiveness of the argument. The same remarks, I am inclined to think, would supply an "answer to the general tenor of your own trea- tise."— p. 48. I have not seen the piece to which Dr. Toulmin refers, but I am inclined to think I should not be greatly at a loss to vindi- cate the Puritans from the charge, and that without being necessitated to travel back seventeen hundred years for exam- ples, and to beg the question in dispute, by ON DR. TOULMIN S ANIMADVERSIONS. 303 taking it for granted, or even undertaking to prove, that tlie apostles and primitive Christians were Puritans. I have no doubt but the conduct of tlie accused would bear a comparison with that oftheir accu- sers. I could allege from Mr. Neale's History of tliat persecuted people (a work whi'^h Dr. Toulmiii is now publishing) that " wiiile others were at plays and in- terludes, at revels, or walking in the fields, or at the diversions of liowling, fencing, &c., on the evening of tlic Sab- batii, the Puritans, with their (amilies, were eni])lovcd in reading tiie Scriptures, singing psalms, catechising their children, repeating sermons, and prayer; nor was this only the work of the Lord's-day , but they had their hours of family-devotion on the week-days, esteeming it their duty to take care of the souls as well as the bodies of their servants. They were cir- cumspect as to all the excesses of eating and drinking, apparel, and lawful diver- sions ; being frugal in housekeeping, in- dustrious in their particular callings, hon- est and exact in their dealings, and so- licitous to give to every one his own." — Vol I. c. 8. If Dr. Toulmin could fairly allege the same things in behalf of the body of modern Unitarians, he need not " call upon the churches of Christ in Ju- dea and Samaria " (p. 39) to bear wit- ness to the holy efficacy of his doctrine. And why does Dr. Toulmin complain of "my mode of arguing!" He might have found examples of it without going back to the days of Puritanism. It is the same mode which has been adopted by his brethren against the Calvinists. They commenced the attack. I have only met them upon their own ground. A large pro- portion of my Letters, it is well known, are written on the defensive ; and if, in the course of the controversy, I have oc- casionally acted on the offensive, I had a right to do so. Dr. Toulmin's complain- ing of my "mode of arguing" is as if the Philistines had complained of the unfair- ness of the weapon by which Goliath lost his head. I had observed that " it was very com- mon for those who go over to infidelity to pass through Socinianism in their way." To this Dr. Toulmin answers, "A simi- lar remark, if I mistake not, I have seen made on the side of Popery against the Reformation, that Protestantism was the pass to infidelity." — p. 48. But what does this prove 1 The question is. Is such a charge capable of being supported ] A few solitary individuals might doubtless be produced : but in return, I could prove that a great nation has been led into infi- delity by Popery ; and that the former is the natural offspring of the latter. If Dr. Toulmin could retort the charge against Socinianism with equal success, what he writes might with propriety be called an answer. But his reasoning amounts to no more than that of a person who, being charged with a crime at the bar of his country, should argue that a similar charge had been brought against other people, and tliat innocent characters had in some instances been wrongfully ac- cused. As a kind of answer to my Xlth Let- ter, Dr. Toulmin has reprinted, in the form ot an Appendix, a piece which he had pul'lished some years ago in the The- ological Repository, on 77ie Nature and Grounds of Love to Ctirist. But I con- ceive I might as well reprint my Xlth Letter in reply to this, as he this in an- swer to mine. His piece is not written against the Trinitarian but the Arian hy- pothesis ; and is jjointed chiefly against the pre-existent glory of Christ being rep- resented in Scripture as the ground of love to him. But this position has little if any connection with our ideas of the subject; for though we contend that Christ did exist prior to his conung into the world, yet we have no idea of making his bare existence, but his glorious char- acter and conduct, a ground of love. It is not how long Christ has existed, but what he is, and what he has done, that endears him to us. If he be a mere crea- ture, it is of very little account with us whether he be seventeen hundred or seven- teen thousand years old.* It is true the pre-existence of Christ was necessary in order that his coming into the world should be a voluntary act, as I have at- tempted to prove in my XlVth Letter; and his being possessed of a pre-existent glory was necessary that his coming into the world might be an act of humiliation and condescension, as I have also in the same place attempted to prove it was : and this his voluntary liumiliation, not- withstanding what Dr. Toulmin has writ- ten, affords a ground of love to him. No Christian, whose mind is not warped by system, can read such passages as the fol- lowing without feeling a glow of sacred gratitude : — " Verily he took not on him the nature of angels ; but he took on him the seed of Al>raham." — " For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."— " Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God : but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of * See Joseph Pike of Warminster's Impartial View of the Trinitarian and Arian scheme, c, x. 304 ON DR. TOULMIN S ANIMADVERSIONS. a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; and, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." How foreign is this from Dr. Toulmin's assertion " that the cir- cumstance of Christ's degradation from a glorious pre-existent state is never hinted at when his death is spoken oi", though so proper to cast a glory around it, as illus- trating his grace and philanthropy." — p. 61. If Dr. Toulmin wished to answer my Xlth Letter, why did he not prove that the original dignity of Christ's character is never represented in Scripture as the ground of love to him ; that his mediation is exhibited in an equally important point of light by the Socinian as by the Calvin- istic scheme, and that the former repre- sents us as equally indebted to his under- taking with the latter 1 The "extravagant compliment" to which I referred, and concerning Avhich Dr. Toulmin complains of my not having done him justice (pp. 50, 51,) respected not Mr. Robinson, but his biographer, whom Dr. Toulmin characterized as "a learned and sensible writer ;" and his performance on the Nature of Subscrip- tion as a work " full of learning, of oZi ju- dicious remarks and liberal sentiment." I may remark, however, from Dr. Toul- min's account of his regard for Mr. Rob- inson, that he pays but little respect to the apostolic manner of regarding per- sons, namely, for thc^truth's sake, that dioelleth in them. Truth had no share in Dr. Toulmin's regard ; but the love of liberty was substituted in its place as a companion for piety. "My regard for Mr. Robinson," he says, " did not ebb and flow with his opinions,'^ (a name by which our opponents choose to call religious principles,) "but was governed by the permanent qualities of the man, the friend of liberty and piety, and who had sacri- ficed much for conscience." — p. 51. Dr. Toulmin's performance concludes with a quotation from Dr. Lardner. There are several sentiments in it which I cor- dially approve. I cannot, however, acqui- esce in the whole. " We should be cau- tious," he says, "of judging others— God alone knows the hearts of men, and all their circumstances, and is, therefore, the only judge what errors are criminal, and how far men fall short of improving the advantages afforded them, or act up to the light that has been given them." — p. 52. We should, I grant, "be cautious of judg- ing others ;" and, I may add, should never attempt it, but from their words or actions. But, if it be presumptuous in this way to judge others, then is the tree not to be known by its fruits. In this case, though it might be lawful for Peter to declare to Simon thai, by his thinking that the gift oj God might be purchased loith money, he perceived that his heart ivas not rigid in the sight of God, and for Paul to address Elymas on account of his opposition to the gospel as a child of the devil, an enemy of all righteousness, seeing they were inspired of God, yet it was utterly wrong for the Bishop of Llandaff to apply this language to Mr. Paine, and his Apology for the Bi- ble (which is generally allowed to be writ- ten in a very gentle style) must, neverthe- less, be censured as presumptuous. Upon this supposition. Dr. Toulmin has written presumptuously, in affirming that "the number of sincere, conscientious persons, attentive to the cultivation of pious affec- tions, hath borne a small proportion to those who have been nominal Socinians and Calvinists." — p. 36. It is presumptu- ous also in him to complain of the want of candor and justice in his opponent. — p. 39. Yea, upon this supposition, it was presumption in the Analytical Reviewer to call what I had written "a presumptuous sentence, pronounced upon the hearts of those who adopt Socinian principles." If it be presumption to judge the hearts of men by their words and actions, what right had he to judge of mine 1 A presumptu- ous sentence is a sentence which proceeds from a presumptuous spirit. His censure, therefore, includes the very fault, if it be a fault, against which it is pointed. It re- sembles the conduct of a man who should sivear that he disapproves of oaths ; or who should /«/seZi/ accuse his neighbor of being a liar. If it be presumptuous to judge of the hearts of men by their words and actions, it must be presumptious to judge of the good or evil of any action. For no action, considered separately from its motive, is either good or evil. It is no otherwise good or evil than as it is the expression of the heart. To judge an action, therefore, to be either this or that, is to judge the heart to be so. I may be told that Dr. Lardner is not speaking of immorality, but of errors in judgment. True ; but his reasoning would apply to actions as well as errors. The former may be as innocent as the latter. The killing of a man for instance, may have risen from mere accident. It is the motive which governed the action that de- termines its guilt or innocence ; " but God alone knows the hearts of men and all their circumstances, and is therefore the only judge what actions are criminal." In this manner we might censure the proceedings of a jury which should sit in judgment upon a person, to determine whether the O.N DR. TOLL.Ml.N S AM M AD VKUSI ONS. 505 act l)v wliiili lie has taken away tlic life of aiellow-cTcature arose Iroin accident or desitin. Wlio can sav, witli intallil)le precision, concerninsr any action, liow far the author of it " has fallen short of irnprosinu; tiie advantages afl'orded him, or how far he has failed of actinsr up to the light that has been given hin» ? " If this reasoning, therefore, prove any thing, it will pro\e that men arc utterly incompetent lor ai.y kind of judgment in things which relate to good and evil. A man may err in his notions of morali- ty, as well as concerning evangelical truth : he may think, with some modern unbelievers, that the confining of a man to one woman is unnatural ; that fornica- tion is allowable ; and that even adultery is but a small crime, and, where it is un- detected, no crime at all. Now, if God alone is to judge of these errors, God alone must also judge of the actions re- sulting from them ; for there can be no more of moral evil in tlie one, than in the other. If the former may be innocent, so may the latter ; and all being to us uncer- tainty, owing to our ignorance of the mo- tive, or state of mind, from which such notions were formed, together with the advantages which the party may have pos- sessed, we must, in all such cases, entire- ly cease from passing censure. If it be alleged that there are such light and evidence in favor of chastity that no man can err on that subject, unless his error arise from some evil bias, I answer, this is what, in other cases, is called judg- ing men's hearts ; and why may I not as well say there are such light and evidence in favor of the gospel that no man can re- ject it, but from an evil bias 1 This ap- pears to me to be the truth ; and the ground on which unbelief is threatened with damnation, and a denial of the Lord who bought us followed loiih swift destruc- tion. Far be it from me to indulge a censori- ous spirit, or to take pleasure in thinking ill of any n)an. Nay ; far be it from me to pass any kind of judgment on any man, fur her than I am called to do so ; and, when this is the case, I desire it may al- ways be in meekness and fear ; knowing, not only that I also am judged of others, but that all of us, and all our decisions, must be tried another day at a higher tri- bunal. It may be asked, what call have we to pass any kind of judgment upon those who disown the deity and atonement of Christ "! I answer, we are called either to admit them as fellow-christians into communion with us, or to refuse to do so. We are necessitated, therefore, to pass VOL. I 39 some judgment ; and this is all that we do pass. We do not jtretend to say, concern- ing any individual, that we arc certain he is not 171 a state of salvation : but we say, ice cannot perceive sufficient ground to warrajit our acknowledging him as ajel- low-christian. We must cither admit every pretender to Christianity into communion with us, and so acknowledge him as a fellow-chris- tian, or we shall be accused of judging the hearts of men. The rule by which we ad- mit to fellowship is a credible profession of Christianity. There are two things which render a profession credil le : First : That the thing professed be Christianity : Secondly : That the profession be accom- panied with a practice correspondent with it. If a man say he loves God, and li\es in malevolence against his brother,, all will admit that he ought to be rejected ; and, though such rejection may include a kind of judgment upon his heart, none will o! ject to our proceedings on this account. But, if this be judging the heart, we sup- pose we have a right and are obliged to judge it from words, as well as from actions. If the profession which a person makes of Christianity do not include what, in our judgment, is essential to it, we can- not consistently admit him to communion w ilh us, nor acknowledge him as a fellow- cluistian. Our judgment must Vie the rule ol' our conduct. If we err, so it is : but we ought not to act in opposition 1^ our convictions. To acknowledge a person as a fellow-christian, while we consider him defective in the essentials of Christianity, would be to act hypocritically, and tend to deceive the souls of men. Some persons have spoken and written as though we invaded the right of private judgment by refusing to commune with those who avow Socinian principles. But if a community have not a right to refuse, and even to exclude, an individual whose sentiments they consider as subversive of the gospel, neither has an individual any right to separate himself from a communi- ty whose sentiments he considers in a sim- ilar light. Provided they would forbear with him, he ought to do the same with them. This principle condemns not only the Reformation from Popery, but all other reformations in which individuals have withdrawn from a corrupt communi- ty and formed one of a purer nature. Un- der a jdea for liberty, it w ould chain down the whole Christian world in slavery ; obliging every community to hold tellow- ship with persons between wliom and them there is an entire want of Christian con- cord. It aims to establish the liberty of the individual at the e.Npeuse of that of so- ciety. Our opponents, however^ will be 306 ON DR. TOULMIN S ANIMADVERSIONS. silent in this case. They, with proper consistency, persuade their people to come out from Trinitarian communities.* Were I to imbibe their sentiments, I should fol- low their counsel, and separate myself from those whom / accounted idolaters : or, if the community should be beforehand with me, and separate me from them, as one whom they accounted a subverter of the gospel, however painful such a sepa- ration might prove to my feelings, I should have no just reason to complain. In our view, our opponents have re- nounced the principal ideas included in * See Mr. Keutisli, p. -14, note. those primitive forms of confession, Jesus is the Christ — Jesus Christ is the Son of God : and, as cliarity itself does not re- quire us to acknowledge and treat that as Cliristianity which, in our judgment, is not so; we think it our duty, in love, and with a view to their conviction, both by our words and actions, to declare our de- cided disapprobation of their principles. We lay no claim to infallibility, any more than our opponents. We act according to our judgment, and leave them to act ac- cording to theirs ; looking forward to that period when we shall all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. APPENDIX: CONTAINING A FEW REMARKS ON DR. TOULMIN'S REVIEW OF THE ACTS OF THE Al'OSTLES. First : Let it be observed that Dr. Toulmin, by appealing to the history of tiie Acts of the Apostles, would seem to bo an adherent to Scripture, and to disregard every thing else in comparison with it. But, if the system whicli he espouses be so friendly to the Scriptures, how is it that they are treated with so little respect by almost all tlie writers wlio embrace itl and why did not Dr. Toulmin answer my Letter on " Veneration for the Scrip- tures " (No. Xn.) in which this charge is substantiated'? Secondly : Dr. Toulmin proceeds on the supposition that the history of the Acts of the Apostles is, in itself, inde- pendent of the other parts of the sacred writings, a complete account of the sub- stance, at least, of what the apostles preached, and tliat it ascertains those principles the publication of which pre- ceded the conversions in the primitive age. But why should he suppose this 1 The book professes to be a history of the Acts of the Apostles. As to the principles which operated in producing the great effects of those times, they are occasion- ally touched; but, that not being the professed object of the sacred writer, it is but occasionally. He does not always relate even the substance of what the apostles preached. For instance, he tells us that Paul preached at Troas until mid- night, but makes no mention of any thing that he taught. He informs us of that apostle's conversion to Christianity, and makes no mention, it is true, of those principles which I have supposed neces- sary to repentance and faith, as having had any influence in producing that effect : such as a conviction of the evil nature of sin, our own depravity, &c. ; and this silence of the sacred writer Dr. Toulmin improves into an argument against me. Let. HL But, if we hence infer that these principles had no influence in con- version, in that of Saul, for example, we must contradict the apostle's own partic- ular account of this matter, which he has stated in the seventh chapter to the Ro- mans ; where he intimates that, by a view of the spirituality of the divine law, he was convinced of his own depravity, and of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and died, as to all lutpcs of acceptance with God l>y the deeds of the law. When any thing is said, in the Acts of the Apostles, concerning principles, the account is very general. — " They ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.^' In Samaria, Philij) " ]>reached Christ.'' Unto the eunuch "he preached Jesus," and declared that " Christ was the Son of God." The discourses of the apostles are frequently called "the word of the Lord," and " the word of God." To suppose that tlie principles which are particularly specified in the history of the Acts were the only ones which were influential, in tiie conversions of those times, would be to exclude, not only those doctrines which are commonly call- ed Calvinistic, but various others, which are allowed, on nil hands, to be the first principles of religion ; such as the being of a God, the excellency and purity of his moral government, the divine origin of the Old Testament, &c. The apostles, in preaching to the Jews, did not assert these principles, but they supposed them. It were unreasonable to expect they should have done otherwise, seeing these were principles which their hearers pro- fessedly admitted : yet it does not follow that they had no influence in their con- version. On the contrary, we are assured that "ho that cometh to God must believe that he is," and that " by the law is the knowledge of sin." Nor is it less evident, that to embrace the Messiah includes an approbation of those Scriptures which foretold his character and conduct. Thirdly : Though the writer of the Acts of the Apostles does not profess to give us even the substance of the ministry of the apostles, yet he says sufficient to convince an unprejudiced reader that their doctrine was very different from that of Socinus, or of modern Unitarians. It is true they spoke of Christ as "a man," "a man approved of God by miracles, and loonders, and signs, tchich God did by him;" and taught that " God raised him from the dead:" and, if we had denied 308 APPENDIX. either of these truths, it would have been in point for Dr. Toulmin to have labored, all through his Second and Third Letters, to establish them. But they taught the proper deity as well as the humanity of Christ, and atonement by his death as well as the fact of his resurrection. They exhibited him as the Lord, on whose name sinners were to call for salvation;* and declared that by the shedding of his blood his church tons purchased, and believing sinners "justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses."— x:k. 28; xui. 39. Peter, in his first sermon, addressed the Jews upon principles of ihe truth of which they, in their consciences, Avere convin- ced : " Ye men of Israel," said he, " hear these words ; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God — by miracles, and won- ders, and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know — ye — by wicked hands have cruci- fied and slain. "f Upon these principles he grounded others, of which they were not convinced; namely, his resurrection from the dead (24 — 32,) his exaltation at the right hand of God (33,) his being made both Lord and Christ (3l3,) and of remis- sion of sins through his name. — 38. In his next sermon, he asserted him to be the Son of God, (c. iii. 13.) the Holy One and the Just, the Prince {or author) of life, whom they had killed, preferring a murderer before him. — 14, 15. If Jesus was the author of life in the same sense in which Barabbas was the destroyer of it, then was the antithesis proper, and the charge adapted to excite the greatest alarm. It was nothing less than declaring to them that, in crucifying Jesus of Naz- areth, they had crucified the Lord of glory : or that the person whom they had slain was no other than the Creator of the woild, in human nature ! In the first in- stance the apostles appealed to what the Jews themselves knew of Christ; in the last, to what he knew concerning him, who, with his fellow-apostles, had beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father. Did Peter speak as would a " modern Unitarian, "t when he said to his coun- trymen, "Neither is there salvation in any other ; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved 1" Such language, I fear, is seldom, if ever used in their pul- pits : it is such, at least, as I have never met with in their writings. On the con- trary, one of their principal writers en- * Chap. ii. 21. Compare Chap. ix. 14, xxii. 16, Rora. X. 12, and 1 Cor. i. 22. t Ch. ii. 22. t Dr. Toulmin, p. 14. deavors to explain it away, or to prove that it is not meant of " salvation to eter- nal life but of deliverance from bodily dis- eases."§ Dr. Toulmin finds Stephen before the council, but makes no mention of his death, in which he is described as praying to Christ, saying " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" — " Lord, lay not this sin to their cliarge." Having made a few remarks up- on the eighth chapter, he observes " I next meet with this apostle (Peter) receiving an extraordinary commission to preach unto Cornelius and his house." — p. 17. But why does he skip over the ninth chapter, which give an account of the conversion of Saull Was it because we there find the primitive Christians described as " calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus 1" — 14, 21 . And why does he make mention of " the fine speech of the apostle Paul to the elders of the church at Ephesus," and yet overlook that solemn charge, " Feed the church of God, which he hath pur- cliased with his own blood." — c. xx. 28. Is it because he thinks, with Dr. Priest- ley, that " we ought to be exceedingly cautious how we admit such an expres- sion VH That seems to be the i-eason. But then we ought to be as cautious how we admit the book which contains it. In preaching to the Jews, the apostles insisted that Jesus loas the Christ, the promised Messiah, the Son of God; rest- ing the proof of the assertions upon the i'act that God had raised him from the dead; and Dr. Toulmin reckons this to be, " what, in modern style, is called Unita- rianism." — p. 28. But this is proceeding too fast. Before such a conclusion can be fairly drawn, it must be proved, that these pi-opositions have the same meaning in the Socinian creed as in that of the apostles. Let us examine whether that be the case. When they asserted that Jesus was the Christ, the meaning of the terms must be supposed to have been sufficiently under- stood. When Paul preached at Athens, though he ultimately brought Christ into his discourse, yet he did not use this kind of language. It would have been improper to have done so. The Athenians would not have understood what he meant by Jesus being the Christ : but the Jews did ; and the ideas which they would attach to this name must be collected from the means of information which they possessed. If, as Socinians affirm, the Christ preached by the apostles was only an instructer of mankind ; if he suffered martyrdom only in confirmation of his doctrine ; and if his being called the Son of God denoted him § Dr. Priestley's Fam. Let. XIV. II Fam. Illus. p. 36. APPENDIX. 309 to be nothing more tlian human ; it must be supposed tluit tliese were tlie ideas wliicli the [)r()phels liad >ri\cn of the Mes- siah, \vhich our Lord liimsell had |)ro- fessed, and whicii the Jews luid understood him to profess. And, if all this be true, it must be granted that the apostles used these terms in the sense of our opponents ; and Dr. Toulmin's eonclusion, that "their preaihini!; was the same, ibr suiistanee, as that of modern Unitarians," is just. But if the Messiah prefigured by Jewish sac- ritices, and predieted by the propliets, was to take away the sins of tlie world, by be- ing made an atoning sacrifice; if Christ, in professing to be tlie Son of God, pro- fessed to be equal tvith God; and if his countrymen generally so understood him, and, tlierefore, accused liim of blasphemy , and put him to death ; tlien it is not true that the apostles could use these terms in tlie sense of our opponents, and Dr. Toulmin's conclusion is totally unfounded. The reader may now judge of the pro- priety ol' the following language used by Dr. Toulmin. " If you suppose, Sir, that these sentiments were inculcated and blended with the great truth, the Messiah- ship of Jesus, it is supposition only, which is not supported 1>y the testimony of the historian, nor by the practice of the apos- tolic preachers on any other occasion. You may build on suppositions ; but I must be allowed to adhere to what is writ- ten."—p. 24. Now, I appeal to the intelligent reader whether Dr. Toulmin has any thing more than supposition as the ground of his con- clusion that the apostles, in teaching that Jesus ivas the Christ the Son of God, " taught nothing more than what, in mod- ern style, is called the Unitarian doctrine." The only ground for such a conclusion is the supposition that the Messiali, predict- ed by the Jewish prophets, was not to be- come an atoning sacrifice, but a mere in- structer of mankind ; that he was to be merely a man ; that his being called the Son of God denoted him to be nothing more than human ; that this was the substance of what he himself professed, and of what the Jews understood him to profess. All this is mere suppositio7i, for which not the shadow of a proof is offered ; and yet, without it. Dr. Toulmin's conclusion must fall to the ground. Contrary to all this supposition, I take leave to observe. First : That the Mes- siah prefigured by the Jewish sacrifices, and predicted by the prophets, loas to become a sacrifice of atonement or propi- tiation for the sins of the world. — His soul was to be " made an offering for sin." The Lord was to " lay on him the iniqui- ty of us all." He was the "Lamb of God," wlio was to " take away the sin of the world." But, if the Old-testament representations were in favor of the Mes- siah's being an atoninir sacrifice, the apos- tles, in declaring Jesus to i)e the Messiah, virtually declared him to i)e an atoning sacrifice. Secondly : That the Messiah, predicted by the pro|)hcts, was to be God manilest in the llesh, or God in our nature. Unto the .S'wn it was saiil, " Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever." The child born w as to be called the mighty God. He who was to " feed his (lock like a shep- herd, to gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom," was no oth- er than "the Lord God, who would come with strong hand, and whose arm should rule for him." "The goings forth" of him who was to be born in Bethlehem "were of old," from everlasting.* But, if the prophetic representations of the Messiah were in favor of his being God in our nature, the apostles, in declaring Je- sus to be the Messiah, virtually declared him to be God in our nature. Thirdly : That our Lord, in saying / am the Son of God, was understood iiy the Jews as claim- ing an equality icith God; that he was, on this account, accused of blasphemy, and finally put to death ; and all this without having said any thing that should contra- dict the idea which they entertained. Je- sus said, " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Saiibath, but said, also, that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." — "The Jews said. We have a law , and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." But for the apostles under these circumstances, and without explaining away the sui)posed blasphemy, to assert that Jesus roas the Son of God, was the same thing as asserting him to be equal with God : and their calling on his mur- derers to " repent and be baptized in his name, for the remission of sins," was call- ing them to retract their charge of blas- phemy, to embrace him in that very char- acter, for claiming which they had put him to death, and to place all their hopes of forgiveness in his name, by which alone they could be saved." — ii. 38 ; iv. 12. From these premises, and not from mere supposition, 1 conclude that the deity and atonement of Christ were comprehended in the great doctrines of his Sonship and Messiahship. If Dr. Toulmin's remarks on the Acts of the Apostles are foreign to the argu- ment, much more so are those which re- * Comp. Heb. i. 8; Isa. ix. 6; xi. 10, 11; Mi- cah V. 2. 310 APPENDIX. spect the concessions of ancient Fathers, sue this subject any further. If Dr. Toul- and modern churches and churchmen. To min chooses to resume the controversy, let these I shall make no reply. And though him keep to the subject; namely. The I have so far followed him, as, in these moral tendency oj our respective systems. few pages, to reply to some of his obser- Any thing besides this will be entitled to vations ; yet I desire it may be noticed no reply, that I shall not hold myself obliged to pur- A REPLY. MR. KENTISH'S S K U M O N. Mr. Kentish entitles liis Discourse, " The Moral Tendency of the Genuine Christian Doctrine." This title is either irrelative to tlie professed object of his undertaking, or it is a begging the ques- tion. If he only mean to aflirin that the genuine Christian doctrine, be it what it may, is productive of moral effects in those who embrace it, tliis is what none but a professed Infidel would deny. It is a principle which every denomination of Christians admits. It is the datum on which I have proceeded, in endeavoring to ascertain what the genuine Christian doctrine is. If, therefore, Mr. Kentish intends only to prove what his title an- nounces, his performance must be totally irrelative to its professed object, and con- tains no answer to the piece against which it is written. But it is possible that, by the genuine Christian doctrine, Mr. Ken- tish means what "he sincerely believes to be such," or what he calls the Unitarian doctrine. But this is begging the question at the outset. Our opponents must sure- ly be reduced to very necessitous circum- stances, or they would not condescend to such humble methods of establishing their principles. Mr. Kentish, speaking of my Letters on Socinianism, observes that "it was by no means his intention, or his wish, to canvass every observation which is there advanced." To canvass every observation might be unnecessary ; but an answer to any work ought to enter upon a full and thorough discussion of the principal sub- jects included in it. A performance that does not require this, requires no answer at all. I cannot think, therefore, that Dr. Toulmin and Mr. Kentish are justifiable in evading the body of the arguments con- tained in the publication which they at- temi)t to answer. The number of veterans, in literary war, wiiicii are to be found on the side of our opponents, renders it diffi- cult to account for their refusing to hazard a decisive engagement, without imputing it to a conviction that they stand upon disadvantageous ground. Dr. Toul- min has proved his dislike to it l)y a bare- faced attempt to siiift it. Mr. Kentish has noi done so : his jjcrfbrmance has less evasion, and less assuming of the question in del)ate, and, consequently, is more respectafile tlian that of his colleague. He keeps upon the proper ground ; but, as though he thought it enchanted, he hurries over it, touching upon only a few of the topics of discussion, and taking but very little notice of the arguments of his opponent, as he passes along. It is a retreat, instead of a regular engagement ; a running figlit, rather than a pitched bat- tle. In favor of such a mode of conduct- ing the controversy, it is possible he might choose to print in the form of a sermon. But Mr. Kentish has reasons for not being more particular in his answer: " Of Mr. Fuller's remarks, many," says he, " are personal, and many refer solely to a vindication of the religious principles that he has seen proper to embrace." — p. 3. Pref. If many of my remarks be per- sonal, Mr. Kentish had a right to point them out ; and ought to have done so, rather than content himself with a general accusation, unsubstantiated by a single proof. That I have vindicated those re- ligious principles which I have thought proper to embrace is true : the misrepre- sentation and contempt with which they have been treated by the Reviewers, and other Socinian writers, rendered a vindica- tion of them necessary; and, if our op- ponents have now retreated within the limits of their own territory, and are contented to act in future merely on the defensive, it may be presumed, without arrogance, that it has not been altogether without effect. Mr. Kentish seems not only contented to act on the defensive, \\ith respect to the moral tendency of iiis principles, but also with respect to the actual moral effects produced by them. He thinks, "in point of fact, it can scarcely be proved that, in love to God, they are surpassed by their 312 A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH S SERMON. fellow-christians ; though God forbid," he adds, " that we should rashly arrogate to ourselves superiority of virtue!'' — p. 3. Rash, arrogate, and shocking, however, as this pretence appears to Mr. Kentish, it is no more than has been made by his brethren. All that Dr. Priestley has written upon the gloomy and immoral tendency of Calvinism implies a pretence to a superiority of virtue. What else is meant by his charging our views with being " unfavoralde to the love of both God and man ; and an axe at the root of all virtue 1" He accuses us of "living in the dread of all free inquiry!" whereas they " are in the way of growing wiser and better, as long as they live." He also goes about to weigh the virtue of Unitari- ans and Trinitarians ; and though he allows the former to have most of an apparent conformity to the world, yet, " upon the whole," he supposes them to " ai)proach nearest to the proper temper of Christi- anity." Mr. Belsham also does not scru- ple to assert that "they who are sincere- ly pious and diffusively V)enevo!ent with these principles could not have failed to have been much better, and much hap- pier, had they adopted a milder, a more rational, a more truly evangelical creed." These are passages which 1 have quo- ted and answered, in iny Letters on So- cinianism; and what else can be made of them but a pretence to superioritij of virtue 7 I do not accuse these writers of rashness or arrogance, in making such pretences, unless it be on account of their asserting what they are unable to main- tain. It would be consistent with Chris- tian humility to prove that true believers are men of superior virtue to unbelievers ; and if any denomination of professing Christians have an advantage over others, in this respect, they have a right, es- pecially when accused by them of immo- rality, fairly and modestly to state it. But who can forliear to pity the situation of men who, after all these challenges, on the first close inquiry that is made into the justice of their claims, are reduced to the dire necessity of giving them up, of standing merely upon the defensive, and of exclaiming against the rashness of arrogating to themselves a superiority of virtue ! It will be time enough for Mr. Kentish to " admit a claim to infallibility " Avhen such a claim is made, or to a "knowledge to the motives or designs of men," any farther than as they are made manifest by their words and actions, when his oppo- nent makes any pretence to it. In this way, 1 suppose, he himself will not scru- ple to judge the heart; since he proposes in the same V>3g6j to "illustrate the spirit in which my examination is written." — p. 4, Pref. I assure Mr. Kentish, it was neither in an "unguarded" nor a "guard- ed " moment that I presumed to charge Unitarians with having a heart secretly disaffected to the true character and gov- ernment of God, and dissatisfied with the gospel way of salvation. Rather was it not in an unguarded moment that he, as well as several of his brethren in the re- viewing department, accused me of so do- ing 1 If any of these writers thought prop- er to quote my words, why did they not quote the whole sentence as it stands'] By their method of quotation, one might prove from the Scriptures, that there is no God. The proposition as it stands in my Let- ters is conditional. It is true the thing affirmed is that "the avenues which lead to Socinianism are not an openness to conviction, or a free and impartial inquiry after truth, but a heart secretly disaffected to the true character and government of God, and dissatisfied with the gospel way of salvation :" but the condition on which the truth of this proposition is suspended is that Socinianism is a system the char- acter of which is that "irreligious men are the first, and serious Christians the last, to embrace it." Now, do our oppo- nents mean to admit, without hesitation or explanation, that this is the character of Socinianism 1 I know, indeed, they have conceded thus much ; but I was ready to suppose that, upon its being rep- resented to them in its own colors, they would have recalled or at least have endeavored to put a more favorable con- struction upon their concessions. But it should seem, by their applying the latter branch of the proposition to themselves, they admit the former, as properly char- acteristic of their system : and if they admit the one, I see no cause to recede from the other. I have contended that it is not presump- tion to judge of men^s motives hy their loords and actions ; and that it is what our opponents, as well as all other men, do in innumerable instances. In this instance, however I have not judged the motives of any individual. The thing affirmed bare- ly respects the general course of things. The avenues which lead to any place are the ordinary passages through which per- sons enter ; but it does not follow that they are the only ones. Were I to as- sert that the avenues which lead to offen- sive war are not, as its abettors would per- suade us to think, a desire to maintain the honor of their country, but a heart secret- ly disaffected to the true interests of mankind, and dissatisfied with the mo- rality of the gospel ; such an assertion, 1 fear, would contain too much truth : it A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH S SERMON. 313 would not denote, liowever, tliat there never was an individual wlio engaged in such wars but from such nuilives. Per- sons may be drawn into iheni unawares and contrary to their inclinations; and, being once engaged, may lind it dilFicult to recede. Thus, witli respect to our re- ligious sentiments, education, connexions, and various other things, may ha\e great influence in determining tiiem. How far such things may consist with sincere love to Clirist, I have not undertaken to decide. But as, in the one case, a person would generally tind his heart averse from actual engagements, and leaning towards a peace; so, I apprehend, it will be in the otlier : like the serious Christiaiis mentioned by Mrs. Barbauld, though they may rank with Socinians, yet their hearts will lean towards the doctrine that exalts tlie Sa- viour and exhibits him as the atoning sac- rifice. Before Mr. Kentish enters on the de- fence of his principles, on the ground of their moral tendency, he offers six re- marks. These are as follows : — 1. " An obvious eflect of the impres- sions to which mankind are exposed, from surrounding objects, is, that no principles can so fully influence the conduct as might be expected in theory." — p. 6. True ; but the same remark equally requires to be made in favor of Calvinism as of Socini- anism. There is nothing in it, therefore, appropriate, or which goes to account for that want of practical religion which is acknowledged peculiarly to attend the j)ro- fessors of the latter. 2. " While some men are, confessedly, much better than their principles, it will not, it cannot, lie disputed, that to the most valuable principles others fail of doing justice." — p. 6. That some men's hearts are better than their systems is true ; and for this reason, notwithstanding all that is said by my opponents to the contrary, I have not presumed to decide upon the state of individuals. It is also allowed that " to the most valuable principles others fail of doingjus- tice." This is the same thing, for sub- stance, as that which I have acknowledged in my introductory observations ; and I have therefore never reasoned either from the bad or good conduct of individuals, but from that of the general body. It is true I have mentioned the names of some eminent persons among the Calvinists ; but it was merely to coniront an assertion of Mr. Belsham, that those who were singularly pious and diffusively benevo- lent, ivith Calvinistic principles, could not have failed to have been much better, and much happier, if they had imbibed a different creed." The piety and benevo- VOL. I. 40 lence of Hale, Franck, Brainerd, Ed- wards, Whitefield, Tliornton, and How- ard, were introduced as a proof that such degrees of virtue have l)cen found amongst Calvinists as have never Ijcen exceeded liy men of wiiat arc called rational princi- ples, or, indeed, of any principles what- ever. 3. " It deserves to be considered, fur- ther, whether doctrines whicli have most ellicacy upon the dispositions, the con- duct, and the feelings of Christians, be not such as they profess in common." — p. 7. I have no objection to this or any otlier subject being considered, tliough I am persuaded the result of an impartial consideration, in this case, would be dif- ferent from that which is suggested by Mr. Kentish : but, granting his supposi- tion to 1)6 true, the difficulty on liis side is just where it was. If the principles which Calvinists and Socinians hold in common be the grand sources of \irtue, why do they not influence i)oth alike"? Why is it that " Rational Christians are spoken of as indifferent to practical reli- gion;" and that those who acknowledge this charge, as Dr. Priestley and Mr. Bel- sham have done, are not able to vindicate them from it? If Calvinists and Socini- ans hold principles in common which are of a holy tendency, and yet the latter are the most indifferent to practical religion, there must be something unfavorable to virtue, one should think, in their pecu- liar sentiments. 4. "From a natural partiality more- over to opinions which themselves em- brace, men will sup|)ose those opinions to have a tendency peculiarly favoral)le to virtue and happiness. There is danger, therefore, lest the conclusion to which I have adverted be drawn rather by the feelings than by tiie understanding, rath- er by prejudice tiian by calm and unbi- assed reason." — p. 8. To this I answer. If the conclusions which I have drawn be unreasonable, they are capable of being proved so. 5. " In their ideas too of moral excel- lence difTerent sects of Christians may not exactly agree. — Many of them severe- ly censure certain instances of conformity to the world, which others of them may think not merely lawful but deserving of praise." — p. 8. True. Some for exam- ple may live in the disuse of prayer, and may plead in excuse that this |)ractice does not accord with their ideas of devo- tion. They may also frequent the gam- ing tal'le, and the assembly room, and occasionally if not constantly resort to the theatre , and may contend that each is an innocent if not a praise-worthy amuse- ment. But, if people are not to be crimi- 314 A REPLV TO MR. KENTISH S SERMON. nated beyond the line marked out by their own opinions of morality, our " modera- tion" must extend further than Mr. Kent- ish himself might be willing to allow. There are people in the world who think favorably of polygamy, and others who would plead for fornication, yea for adul- tery itself, provided it were kept a secret ; yet, it is to be hoped, he would not think the better of such practices on this ac- count. On the contrary, he must think himself warranted to conclude, in ordina- ry cases at least, that the opinions of such persons were formed under the in- fluence of an immoral bias, and, therefore, that they themselves partake of the na- tui'e of immorality. 6. " The very nature of the argument proposed renders it extremely difficult to deduce from it a satisfactory inference. If to judge respecting the conduct of men, even in single cases, demand much care and knowledge, far more requisite are these qualifications when sentence is to be passed upon their general character. Who indeed is so intimately acquainted with the various denominations of Chris- tians as to form a decision, upon this point, that shall not be liable to the imputation of partiality or rashness 1" — pp. 8, 9. That care and knowledge are necessary in such a comparison I shall not dispute : and if I have betrayed my want of either, I pre- sume it is capable of being exposed ; but that the thing itself is impracticable I can- not admit. It is not impossible to discover who in general are serious, conscientious, and pious men, and who they are that in- dulge in dissipation and folly. The ob- servation of Mr. Kentish, if it prove any- thing, proves that the moral tendency of a doctrine is no proper criterion of its truth. Yet he acknowledges that "in religion the maxim, " ye shall know them by their fruits," is a maxim unquestiona- bly of high authority, evident reason, and familiar application." — p. 5. How can these things consist together 1 If it be of " familiar application," it cannot be " ex- tremely difficult," nor require any extra- ordinary degree of understanding to apply it. Let there be what difficulty there maj% however, in this case, my work, so far as related to facts, was done ready to my hand. Dr. Priestley, Mr. Belsham, and Mrs. Barbauld, were my authorities for the want of regard to practical reli- gion amongst Rational Christians : wri- ters whom Mr. Kentish will not accuse of the want of either " care or knowl- edge;" and to whom he will not in this cause impute either " partiality or rash- ness." It has been suggested by some who are friendly to the cause of Socinianism, though not professed Socinians, that I have made an unfair use of a few con- cessions ; and that a similar use might be made of the concessions of many of the Puritans, who in their day lamented the imperfections and degeneracy of their own people. If Dr. Priestley and his brethren had barely acknowledged that there were great defects amongst their people when compared with the primitive Christians, or with Avhat they ought to be, this, I con- fess, had been no more than what Puritan writers have done, and the writers of every other denomination of Christians might have done ; and such acknowledgments ought not to have been improved against them. But who beside themselves have ever professed to hold a set of principles, to the discernment of which an indiffer- ence to religion in general was favorable — a system which those who were most in- different to the practice of religion were the first, and serious Christians the last, to embrace 1 Who beside themselves have been reduced, by facts which they could not deny, to such dire necessity 1 From the foregoing introductory obser- vations, Mr. Kentish proceeds to the body of his discourse, which he divides into four heads of inquiry. "I. What is the tend- ency of the Unitarian doctrine with re- spect to the cultivation and exercise of the divine, the social, and the personal virtues? II. What assistance, support, and consola- tion does it afford, in the season of temp- tation, affliction, and death 1 III. What is its efficacy in the conversion of profli- gates and unbelievers 1 And IV. Finally, how far is it adapted to promote a venera- tion for the Scriptures, and to fortify our faith in Christianity 1 " I. On the divine, the social, and THE PERSONAL VIRTUES. Under the first of these particulars, Mr. Kentish very properly considers "love to God; " and, so far as he attempts an an- swer to what I have written, I suppose this is to be considered as an answer to my Vllth Letter. The substance of what he advances upon this subject is as fol- lows : — " We believe, accoi'ding to the sublime language of the favorite apostle, that " God is love ; " we consider all his moral excellences, as justice, truth, and holiness, as modifications of this principle. Happiness we regard as the grand object of his works and dispensations, and con- ceive of his glory as resulting from the diffusion of this happiness." " These being our ideas of the Deity, love to him cannot fail to be shed abroad in our hearts. Did we think of him, in- deed, as one altogether like unto ourselves — did we imagine that he is vindictive, in- exorable, arbitrary, and partial — and did A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH S SERMON. 315 we suppose his glory to be somethina; dis- tinct from the exercise of his gooilness, we niiirlit experience ditliculty in obedience to this iirst and irrcatest of the cninniand- ments. But, in the contonijilation of in- finite power, employed to execute dcsitMis wliicli proceed from iiitiiiite benevolence, and are plaimed ity consummate wisdom, filial atlection towards God is naturally enkindled and pi'cserved in our breasts." —pp. 11, 12. On this statement I would observe, in the first place, that it passes over one very important topic of discussion between us ; namely, the doctrine of the atonement. Why is it that i\Ir. Kentish has passed over tliis doctrine ] He knows tliat So- cinian writers have charged it witii imply- ing the natural implacabUity of God, a charge against which I have attempted to defend it. Have I not a riglit to conclude, from Mr. Kentish's silence on tliis head, that he feels the ground to be untenal)Ic'! Mr. Kentish has not only declined the discussion of one of the most important subjects, but those topics which have fallen under his notice are stated w itii great un- fairness. His account of my sentiments respecting the vindictive character of God is marked by the grossest misrepresenta- tion. I had carefully explained the term vindictive, wlien aj)p!ied to the divine con- duct in the punishment of sin, by observ- ing that " it is very common for people when they speak of vindictive punishment to mean that kind of punisiimcnt wliich is inflicted from a wrathful disposition, or a disposition to punish for the pleasure of punishing. Now, if this be the meaning of our opponents, we have no dispute with them. We do not suppose the Al- mighty to punish sinners for the sake of putting them to pain. Vindictive punish- ment, as it is here defended, stands op- posed to that punishment which is merely corrective. The one is exercised for the good of the party ; tlie other not so, but for the good of the community." — Letter VII. Now, though Mr. Kentish must have observed this statement, yet he has sufTer- ed himself to write as follows : — "Did we imagine that God is vindictive, inexorable, arbitrary, and partial — or did we suppose his glory to be something distinct from the exercise of his goodness — we might expe- rience difficulty in obedience to this first and greatest of the commandments." — pp. 11, 12. As a proof, it should seem, that these were my sentiments, Mr. Kent- ish refers to page 21.5 of my Letters, where I have acknowledged that there is a mixture of the vindictive in the Calvin- istic system. But have I not also in the same page so explained my meaning as to reject those offensive ideas which Mr. Kentish has introduced in connection with iti Why did he hold up my acknowledg- ment concerning the vindictixc character of God, without at the same lime holding up tiiat sense of it in which 1 professed to tlefcnd it ] Or, if he might tiiink himself excused from this, why did he connect such terms with it as must exhibit it in a ditl'erent and contrary sense, even in that very sense in which I had oy^posed iti I cannot but consider this as disingenuous; and as greatly rescndjling the conduct of certain Deists, who, in their attacks upon Christianity, choose first to dress it up in the habits of Popery. As to the glory of God consisting in the exercise of his goodness, if it be meant of the manifestation of the divine glory, and goodness be put for moral excellence, it is the sanle thing as that which I have ac- knowledged; namely, that "the glory of God consists in doing that which shall be best upon the whole :" but, by goodness, Mr. Kentish means merely beneficence, undistinguishing beneficence, or the pur- suit of ultimate liappiness in behalf of ev- ery intelligent being in the creation, obe- dient or rebellious, penitent or impenitent, men or devils. In this sense I allow that the glory of God may be at variance with the happiness of creatures, and I contend that, where it is so, the latter, anc^not the former, ought to be given up. Mr. Kentish pleads from " the decla- ration of the favorite aposfle, God is love,'' and supposes that "all his moral excel- lences, as justice, truth, and holiness, are but modifications of this i)rinci|)le." To all this I have no objection, provided the ob- ject aimed at be the general good of the moral system. But Mr. Kentish suppo- ses, if God be love, that in all he does he must have the good of every indi- vidual in his dominions in view. On this principle he must have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain and Balaam, and Saul and Judas, and all those who, in every age, have lived "foaming out their own shame," and to whom, according to the Scriptures, " is reserved the blackness oj darkness forever," together with Satan and all his rebellious legions, not only as examjjles to the intelligent creation, l)ut for their own s;ood ! Surely this is not a necessary inference from the ajjostolic declaration. There are other cases, as well as this, in which justice may lie a modification of love ; but in no case does it require that an incorrigible ofTcnder should not be punished but for his own advantage. The execution of a murderer may be an exercise of ])ure benevolence to the community, Ihougli of just displeasure to the criminal. The removal of a restless, ambitious, intriguing, and bloody-minde4 316 A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH's SERMON. prince or princess from the earth, may be a mercy to mankind, and, as such, may be considered as an act worthy of the God of love ; but it may not follow that this is accomplished in love to the systematic murderer of the human race. If all the West India islands were to be overwhelm- ed in some dire destruction, I am not sure that it would not be a mercy to the human species ; it would terminate the miseries of thousands, and prevent the annual sac- rifice of thousands more : and yet such an event might proceed, not from love, but from just displeasure to guilty individuals. It does not ibllow, therefore, from any principles with which we are acquainted, that because God is love he must have the happiness of his incorrigible enemies in view, in all the displeasure which he pours upon them. In order, it should seem, to obviate this reasoning, Mr. Kentish objects to our " thinking and speaking respecting the measures of the divine administration, as though they were precisely similar to the measures which are pursued by earthly rulers." — p. 20. It is curious to observe in what manner our opponents shift their positions, and veer about, as occasion re- quires. Dr. Priestley accused the Cal- vjnistic system of representing God in such a light " that no earthly parent could imi- tate him without sustaining a character shocking to mankind." To this I answer- ed, by proving that it is the practice of every good government to make exam- ples of incorrigible offenders ; and that benevolence itself requires it: yea, that there have been cases in which even a pa- rent has been obliged, in benevolence to his family and from a concern for the gen- eral good, to give up a stubborn and re- bellious son to be stoned to death by the elders of his city, and that, not for his own good, but that all Israel might hear and fear. To this Mr. Kentish replies, that God's government is not to be meas- ured by human governments. First, then, we are accused of exhibiting the divine character in such a light that it cannot be imitated ; and, when we prove that it can and ought in those respects to be imitated, then we are charged with thinking and speaking of God " as one altogether like ourselves !" But passing this, the point at issue is, which of the above representations of the divine character tends most to excite our love to him. Mr. Kentish conceives that, as love to God arises from a contempla- tion of his goodness, his scheme must, in this instance, have the advantage. That depraved creatures, who care not for the honor of the divine government, but whose supreme regard is directed towards them- selves, should love that being best who, whatever be their character and conduct, is most devoted to their happiness, is readily admitted. But this is not the love of God. That goodness is the immediate oljectof love I also admit : but goodness in the Di- vine Being is the same thing as moral ex- cellence, and this renders him an object of love only to such created beings as, in some degree, bear his image. The good- ness for which Mr. Kentish pleads is mere undistinguishing benelicence, of which we can form no idea, without feeling, at the same time, a diminution of respect. If a supreme magistrate should possess such an attachment to his subjects as that, whatever were their crimes, he could in no case be induced to give any one of them up to condign punishment, or to any other punishment than what should be adapted to promote his good, he would presently become an object of general contempt. Or if a father should possess such a fondness for his children that, let any one of them be guilty of what he might, suppose it were a murder, a hundred times repeat- ed, yet he could never consent that any punishment should be inflicted upon him, excepting such as might be productive of his good, such a father would be detested by the community, and despised by his own family. But, perhaps, I may be told that the di- vine government is not to be measured by human governments ; no, not by those which are parental. Be it so ; indeed I am willing to grant Mr. Kentish that it is not. If he can prove from Scripture that the divine government is possessed of this peculiarity, that, in every^instance of jus- tice, the good of the party, as well as the good of the community, is the object pur- sued, I will readily admit it, and will never mention its inconsistency with our ideas of government any more. But while no manner of appeal is made to the Scrip- tures— while the numerous passages which I have alleged in favor of the doctrine of vindictive punishment remain unnoticed — while nothing of any accovmt, except the nature and fitness of things, is alleged — I have a right to show that, /rom the nature and fitness of things, no conclusion like that of Mr. Kentish can be drawn, but the very reverse. Love to a government, even a parental one, must be accompanied with respect. A being whose kindness degenerates into fondness, however his con- duct may please our selfish humors, can never be the object of our esteem. On this principle, when Jehovah proclaimed his name or character to Moses, he not only declared himself to be " the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness A REPLY TO MR. KKNTISIIS SERMON. 317 and in truth, kecpinir inorcv for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin ;" but added, " and that will by no means clear the guilty.^' " Love to God," IVIr. Kentish oltservcs, " is no enthusiastic- rapture, no olTspring of a licentious imagination. It consists in the highest esteem lor the divine charac- ter, and the liveliest gratitude lor the di- vine mercies." — p. 10. Very true ; it is the character ol God that is tiie prime ob- ject ol genuine love ; and I may add, what I liave observed before, that " the true character of God, as revealed in the Scrip- tures, must be taken into the account, in determining vvhetiier our love to God lie genuine or not. We may clothe the Di- vine Being with such attributes, and such only, as will suit our depraved taste ; and then it will be no diflicult tiling to fall down and w orship him : l>ut tiiis is not the love of God, but of an idol of our own cre- ating." It appears to me that the God in whom Mr. Kentisii professes to believe is not the true God, or the God revealed in the Bible ; and that the love he pleads for is no other than self-love, or an attachment to a being whose glory consists in his be- ing invariably attached to us. The character of God is principally manifested to us through those two grand mediums, the law and the gospel ; but nei- ther of them conveys any such idea of him as that which Mr. Kentish endeavors to exhibit. By the precepts and penalties of the former, Jehovah declared his love to men, as creatures, by guarding them against every approach to evil ; but he al- so, by the same means, solemnly declared his love of righteousness, and his determi- nation to maintain a righteous government in the universe. By the propitiation ex- hibited in the latter, the same important ideas are repeated, and others, of still greater importance to us, revealed. Here Jehovah declares his compassion to men, as guilty and miseraltle ; l)ul it is without any relaxation of the rigid uprightness of his moral government, or the least impli- cation that his rebellious creatures had been hardly dealt witli, that he pours forth a rich exul)erance of mercy upon the un- worthy. He is still the "just God, and the Saviour ; just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." While salvation is promised to every believing sinner, dam- nation is threatened to every one that be- lieveth not. There is a rectitude that runs through all the dispensations of God, which deter- mines his true character, and, by conse- quence, the nature of genuine love to him, seeing the one must necessarily correspond with the other. The scri[)ture character of God is such that wicked men are natu- rally averse from it. " The carnal mind is enmity against God." Our Lord told the Jews, notwithstanding all their boast- ed attachment to God, that they " had not the love of God in them." Hence we are taught the necessity of the "heart being circumcised to love the Lord our God." — Deut. xxx. G. But the character of God, as drawn by Mr. Kentisii, is such that the most depraved being must approve it, and that without any change in the unholy bias ol his heart. Sinners can love those that love them. A being, the perfections of whose nature re- ject, we can say with peculiar justice, ' we love him, because he first loved us.' " — pp. 12, 13. To the "persuasion" of Mr. Kentish is added the opinion of Dr. Kippis, that when " writers express them- selves as if the Christian revelation would be of little value, unless their particular systems are adopted, it is a kind of lan- guage which is extremely injudicious, and which ought to be avoided and discourag- ed ; and that no man can think meanly of the evangelical dispensation, or detract from its excellence and dignity, who be- lieves that God is the author of it — that it was communicated by Jesus Christ — and that he conveys to us knowledge, pardon, holiness and eternal life." — pp. 12, 13, note. Our opponents, then, in all their numerous charges of idolatry, corrupting Christianity, &c., exhibited against us, wish to be understood it seems, after all, as including nothing under these offensive terms which implies " a mean opinion of the evangelical dispensation, or which de- tracts from its excellence and dignity ! " I wish it were in my power honestly to return the compliment. In this case, how- ever, I should think consistency would re- quire me to retract my former charges. But, were Calvinists and Socinians to co- alesce upon Dr. Kij)pis's principles, I should fear it would deserve the name of a confederacy against the holy Scriptures. The apostle Paul must necessarily fall under their united censure ; for, if it be "extremely injudicious to represent the christian revelation as of little value unless a particular system be adopted," he must have been verily guilty in suggesting that the Galatian teachers, who only erred on the doctrine of justification, had introdu- ced " another gospel," and aimed at " per- verting the gospel of Christ." But, if the scheme of Mr. Kentish be defective in one point of view, he seems to think it has the advantage in another. The Unity of God, he observes, stands connected with the command to love him ; and he hence labors to prove the superior efficacy of his sentiments in promoimg- this temper of mind, inasraucii as they who im- bibe them are not subject to be distracted and bewildered in their worship, as those are Avho worship a plurality of deities. — pp. 14, 15. But with this reasoning I, who do not worship a plurality of deities, have no concern. Under the article of Love to God, Mr. Kentish proceeds to discourse on love to Christ.— p. 15—19. With what "pro- priety" this is done, unless he be possess- ed of deity, I shall not inquire. It is in this place, I suppose, that we are to con- sider him as answering my Xlth letter, which was written on this subject. The questions discussed in that letter were, " Which of the two systems tend most to exalt the character of Christ 1 Which places his mediation in the most important view1 and which represents us as most in- debted to his undertaking'?" The sub- stance of Mr. Kentish's remarks, on the first of these questions, consists in this : that it is not greatness, but goodness, that is the object of lo\e : that " love to Christ has its just foundation, not in a persuasion of his superior dignity, but in a conviction that his character was distinguished by the ' beauty of holiness,' or the charms of virtue." — p. 16. I allow that goodness, and not greatness, is the immediate object of love : but Mr. Kentish will also allow that the latter renders a being capable of the former. The more any person pos- sesses of enlargedness of mind, the more capable he is of goodness ; and, if his mor- al qualities keep pace with his natural ac- complishments, he is a more estimable character than if his mind were not en- larged. The greater any character is, therefore, if his goodness be but equal to his great- ness, the more he becomes the proper ob- ject of love. Will Mr. Kentish pretend that the "charms of virtue," in a good man (in Jesus Christ for example, suppos- ing him to tie only a good man,) ought to render him as much the object of our af- fection as the infinitely glorious moral ex- cellence of the Divine Being ought to ren- der him 1 But, by how much the charac- ter of the Divine Being is more estimable than that of the best of men, by so much is the character of Christ more estimable, upon the supposition of his proper Deity, than that of his being merely human. Mr, A RGPLY TO MK. KK.NTISH S SERMON. 319 Kentish, as lliougli he felt tliis diHiiiilty, and wished to remove it, sujiirests that it is upon the prin(ii)U' ol gratitude that we " give to God, tiie supreme Author of our enjoyments, our higliest, purest love." — p. 17. But is it gratitude only that liinds us to love God i>etter than a creature 1 Is it merely because we receive more from him .' Is it not also on account of the infinite amial'leness of his moral character, as dis- jdaved particularly in the gospel, or (as the Scrii)turcs express it) of " tiie glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ? " Yea, is it not, primarily, on this account that God is entitled to our " highest and purest love ! " Mr. Kentisli has not thought it proper to enter on the inquiries, " Which of the two systems places the mediation of Christ in tiie most important light ; and which rep- resents us as most indebted to his under- taking!" He has made some observa- tions, however, upon gratitude. Having stated that God is to be loved, on this principle, with our highest, purest love, he adds, "Hence, too, we cannot avoid indulging and showing atTcction tor those of our fellow-creatures whom he disposes and enables to do us good ; and who, in truth, are but the instruments of his boun- ty. It is upon the same principle that we perceive the justice of manifesting no com- mon love to Christ, the author, under God, of our most valuable privileges and our richest blessings." — p. 17. Whether the love of our opponents towards Christ, in a way of gratitude, be common or uncom- mon, while they maintain that he existed not till lie was born of Mary, they cannot consider themselves as under any obliga- tion to hini for coming into the icorld to save them; seeing that was a matter in which he must have been totally involun- tary : and, while they reject the doctrine oi WxG atonement, I do not see how they can feel obliged to him for the forgiveness of their sins, or to any thing which he has done, or sutTered, for their hopes of eter- nal life. They may feel indeltted to him for having published these doctrines : l)ut, if this be all, it is a small affair for so much to be made of it. Many a prophet, who was a bearer of heavy tidings, would have been glad, in this respect, to ex- change messages with him. Dr. Toulmin, in a former publication, has tried to mag- nify this suhject a little, by alleging that " Christ came not only to preach the doc- trine of a future state, but to prove it, and to furnish a pledge of the resurrection to eternal life, by his own resurrection." * Dr. Toulmin has not informed us in what * Dissertation on the IntcrnHJ Evidences and Ex- cellency of Christianity, App. I. p. 215. manner tiie mission of Christ proved the doctrine of a luture state, any otherwise than as his resurrection afTorded a pledge of it : and this can add nothing as a foun- dation of gratitude to him ; inasmuch as, upon his principles, it was a matter in which he iiad no voluntary concern. For our parts, we consider ourselves deeply indebted to Christ, for his volunta- ry assumption of our nature ; for the pref- erence given to us before the fallen an- gels ; for his condescending to l)ecome suiiject to temptations and atTlictions for our sake, " that in all things he might be made like unto his l>rethrcn ; " and tor his ofTering himself without spot to God as our atoning sacrifice, thereby obtairiing the remission of our sins, and becoming the foundation of our hopes of eternal life : but none of these things have any place in the system of our opponents. And, though they would persuade us that they hold the sentiments embraced by primitive Christ- ians, yet they cannot follow them in these important particulars. Their views of things will not suffer them to speak of his "taking upon him flesh and blood;" of his " taking upon him not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham ; " of his " being in the form of God, and yet taking upon him the form of a servant, and being made in the likeness of men ; " of our being forgiven for his sake ; or of " the promise of an eternal inheritance " being received " by means of his death."} Ac- cording to their principles, his coming into the world was no act of his own ; he had no existence prior to his existing in flesh and blood ; it was not a matter of choice with him whether he would be made an angel or a man ; he never existed in any other form nor sustained any other char- acter than tiiat of a servant ; his death had no influence on the forgiveness of our sins, or in procuring eternal life : none of these things, therefore, afford to them any foundation for gratitude. The substance of this argument was stated in my XlVth Letter; but neither of my opponents has thought proper to take any notice of it. It might be their wisdom to decline this part of the subject which is so strongly supi)orted by the ex- press declarations of Scrijiture. Mr. Kentish seems to feel that love to Christ makes but a diminutive figure in the Socinian scheme ; and therefore apologizes for it. To suppose Christ to have been possessed of " a super-human nature, and so to regard him," he says, "would be infringing upon our pious gratitude to the adorable Being whom we are commanded t Heb. ii. 14. 16. Heb. ix. 15. Phil. ii. 6, 7. Ephes. iv. 32. 320 A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH's SERMON. to love with an entire affection." To this I reply : Our belief of a doctrine which our opponents will not allow us to believe, namely, the Divine Unity, enables us to repel this objection : we believe (and that, on the first of all authority,) that Christ and the Father arc so one, that "he who hath seen him hath seen the Father ;" and that " he who honoreth him," in so doing, " honoreth the Father." The idea thrown out by Mr. Kentish, and which enters into the essence of his system, is what the Scriptures are utterly unacquainted with. They require us to love creatures in dif- ferent degrees. But, inasmuch as this love, if carried to excess, would dishonor the Divine Being, these requirements are accompanied and limited by various cau- tions. Thus we are required to love all mankind as our fellow-creatures, but we must take heed of improper attachment, lest we " worship the creature more than the Creator." We are commanded to love and honor our parents ; but, if they stand in competition with Christ, we are required comparatively to hate them. Christians are enjoined to love their ministers who are over them in the Lord ; hut, if even the servants of Christ be idolized, it shall be demanded on their behalf, " Who then is Paul, or who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed'! Was Paul cruci- fied for you 1 or were ye baptized in the name of Paul!" We are doubtless obliged to love angels, because they are our "brethren," and are employed as "ministering spirits to the heirs of salva- tion;" but, if any attempt to worship them, they will profess themselves to be what they are, and direct to the worship - ingof God. Rev. xxii. 9. Now, if Christ he only a creature, it might have been expected that the numerous commands to love and honor him should also have been accompanied with some such cau- tions, lest in complying with them, we should " infringe " upon the honor due to the Father. The great honor to which Christ was exalted, above all other crea- tures, rendered such cautions peculiarly necessary ; since love to himwould be in the greatest danger of being carried to ex- cess : and it is a fact thai the great body of those whom our opponents will allow to have been serious Christians, in almost all ages, have actually worsiiiped him as God. Yet there is not a single caution ao-ainst this sort of excess in all the New Testament ; nor the least intimation that, in giving glory to the Son, we may possi- bly " infringe " upon the glory of the Fa- ther. On the contrary, when the topic of love to Christ occurs, every thing is said to inflame it, and nothing to damp it. There is a becoming jealousy in the Di- vine Being expressed, in other cases, but never in this : if any thing of this kind be expressed, it is on the other side. " If a man love me, my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." — " if any man serve me, him will my Father honor." — "The Fa- ther judgeth no man ; but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him." Mr. Kentish, as if he felt no pleasure in discoursing upon the character and work of Christ as the grounds of love to him, proceeds to remark, with some appa- rent satisfaction, upon certain expressions of it. " From the lips of our divine in- structer himself," he says, "let us learn the lesson of love to him ; let us hence be informed in what this principle consists. 'If a man love me,' says Jesus, 'he will keep my words.' — ' He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings.' — 'Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.' — ' These things I command you, that ye love one another.' Who can here refrain from observing how truly rational is this language, how remote from mystery and enthusiasm 1 But, whilst Christ de- clares that such as obey his laws, as im- bibe his spirit, manifest love to him, let none of his followers be so ignorant and presumptuous as to insist u|)on other tes- timonies of affection to their master. Of better they cannot possibly conceive : up- on stronger they cannot possibly rely." — pp. IS, 19. I have no dispute with Mr. Kentish con- cerning what are the proper expressions of love to Christ ; but his insinuating that to plead for his deity and atonement, as grounds of love to him, is to " insist upon other testimonies of affection towards him," testimonies which are " mysterious and enthusiastic," is calculated to perplex the subject. To say nothing of the " decency" of his pronouncing upon our conduct, in this instance, as "ignorant and presump- tuous," it is but too manifest that he wishes to confound the reasons of love with the expressions of it, and, under a show of regard for the one, to draw off the read- er's attention from the other. Mr. Ken- tish may recollect that the same language is used of love to God as of love to Christ : " This is the love of God that we keep his commandments : and his com- mandments are not grievous." — p. 12. Now, an enemy to the infinitely amiable moral character of the Deity, as the pri- mary ground of love to him, might here exclaim with Mr. Kentish, " Let us hence be informed in what the principle of love A REPLY TO MR. KENTISU !> SERMON. 321 to God consists ; it is to ' keep his coiii- niaiulinoiits.' Wlio can here refrain from ol)serviii!:; iiow truly rational is this lan- guaj:;c, how remote Ironi mystery and en- thusiasm ] But, uhile (iod declares that such as keep his commandments manilest love to him, let none he so ignorant and prcsumj)tuoiis as to insist on other testi- monies ol alVection to him. — Let them not talk ol" conlcmplatiiii:: inlinite |)o\ver em- ployed to execute desij;;ns which proceed from infinite l)enevolence, and of tilial af- fection towards God as enkindled l>y such contemplations." — j). \'2. Mr. Kentish would prol)al)ly reply to this effect : The grounds, or reasons, of love to God are one thintr, and the appointed expressions of it another ; and your depreciating the former, under a pretence of exalting the latter, is as if you were to kill the root in order to preserve the fruit. Such is my reply to Mr. Kentish. From the love of God and Christ, Mr. Kentish proceeds to discourse on the fear of God. — p. 19. I do not recollect having advanced any thing, in my Letters, on this subject. I may observe, however, that the definition given of this virtue does not appear to me to answer to the scriptural account of it. It is said to be " the vene- ration of infinite grandeur." But this approaches nearer to a definition of ad- miration than fear. The moral excellence of the Deity, as the oliject of fear, enters not into it ; neither is there any thing of a moral nature included in it. Without taking upon me to define this heaveidy vir- tue, I may observe that a holy dread of offending God, or of incurring his displea- sure, enters into its essence. The main objection that I feel to the scheme of my opponent, on this head, is that the divine goodness, according to his notion of it, ne- cessarily pursues the ultimate happiness of all creatures, pure or impure, j)enitent or impenitent, men or devils. This, as I have already stated, undermines that re- spect to the divine character which is the foundation of both love and fear. That God is the Father of all his crea- tures is true (p. 20 ;) but it is also true that he is a Father to those that believe in his Son in such a sense as he is not to the rest of the world. The Jews boasted that God was their Father : but Jesus answered, " If God were your Father, ye would love me." — To as many as received Ciirist, and no more, was jtowcr given "to be- come the sons of God, even to them who believed on his name." This adoption by Jesus Christ is not the common heritage of men : it is a sul)ject of special promise, "Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, VOL. I. 41 and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." And it ought to lie observed lliat it is this evangelical relation, and not that of creatures to their Creator, that converts our " alllictions into fatherly cor- rections." There have i)cen characters in the world, of whom it has been said, " He that made them will not have mercy on them : and he thai formed them will show tiiem no favor." These things ougiit not to be confounded. After considering the fear of God, our author proceeds to discourse on confidence in him. — p. 21. In this, as in most other of his discussions, Mr. Kentish appears to me to forget that he is a sinner; repre- senting the Divine Being, and his creature, man, as upon terms of the most |)erfect amity. His persuasion of the power, wi.s- dom, and gootlness of the Deity, begets confidence. But nothing is said of his go- ing to God, under a sense of his helpless and perishing condition as a sinner, and under the warrant of the gospel invita- tions ; or of his confiding in him for eter- nal salvation. The confidence which Mr. Kentish describes is more suitable to the condition of holy angels than of guilty crea- tures, who have incurred the just displea- sure of their Maker. There is one subject included in the scripture exercises oi devotion which Mr. Kentish has passed over ; namely trtisting in Christ. Under the article of love to God, he considered love to Christ ; and trusting in Christ is no less an exercise of Christian devotion than love to him ; an exercise, too, with which our eternal sal- vation stands connected. " In his name shall tl\e Gentiles trust."—" Tliat ye should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ." " In whom ye al- so trusted, alter that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." — " I know whom I have trusted, and I am per- suaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day." In my second Letter, I observed that, up- on the principles of our opponents, " all trust, or confidence, in Christ for salva- tion is utterly excluded." And how has Mr. Kentish answered to this charge"? By passing it over in silence. Tiiis is a serious matter. O that, for their own sakes, they could be convinced of the in- suflicicncy of the ground on which they rest their hoj)es, and l)uild upon the foun- dation that God hath laid in Zion I L^n- charitable and uncandid as they consider me, I could water these pages with tears for them. My heart's desire and prayer to God is that they may be saved. But " other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 322 A RF.PLY TO MR. KENTISIl's SERMON. From reasoning, Mr. Kentisli proceeds to facts. He calls upon us " to show that, as a liody, they are less actuated than oth- ers by the spirit of genuine devotion." — p. 22. Mr. Kentish must be sensible that private devotion is a matter that cannot come under public cognizance. In my Vllth Letter, therefore, which v as writ- ten upon this part of tiie subject, I did not refer to facts, but contented myself with reasoning on the tendency of principles. It is a CM 'umstance not the most favora- b,le, however, to the devotion of Socinians, that persons when they emin-acc their system, though they have previously been in the habit of praying to God, yet are fre- quently known, at that time, entirely to give it up ; or, if they practise it, it is by drawing up a written composition, and reading it to the Abnighty. Such, I sup- pose, was Mrs. Barltauld's Address to the Deity, to which Mr. Kentish referred. — p. 25, note. Though I have not seen it, I doubt not that it was an elegant composi- tion ; but whether (here was any devotion in it is another question. Sure I am that such things are at a great remove from those prayers and supplications which abounded amongst the primitive Chris- tians, and which have aliounded amongst serious Christians of every age. Mr. Ken- tish should consider, too, that the princi- pal part of what I have alleged, to the disadvantage of Socinian piety, is taken from tiie acknowledgments of their own writers. He calls upon his " fcllow-chris- tians to show that, as a body, they are less actuated than others by the spirit of genu- ine devotion ;" and from his fellow-chris- tians, even in the strictest sense of the term, let him receive an answer. Dr. Priestley confesses that so it seems to be ; and Mrs. Barbauld, by manifest conse- quence, informs us tliat so it is. " Cal- vinists," says the former, "seem to have more of a real principle of religion than Unitarians." " There is still a[>parent, in that class called serious Christians,'' says the latter, " a tenderness in exposing these doctrines, a sort of leaning towards them, as in walking over a precipice one would lean to the safest side." What is this but ac- knowledging that complete Socinians are not distinguished by tlieir serious7iess ? Mr. Kentish next lei'ers to a number of characters oi' his own denomination w!io have been eminent for their l)iety. — pp. 23, 25. Whether this account be liable to animadversion, I have no inclination to inquire. To animadvert on the charac- ters of individuals, especially on those of the dead, is invidious ; and it forms no part of my plan : on the contrary, as I have said before, I have professedly de- clined it. Let our opponents make the most of their piety; let them muster up all their force ; let them claim those as Unitarians when dead whom they refused to acknowledge as such while they were living;* I have no apprehensions as to the issue of the contest. Our opponents, however, must -not al- ways be indulged in their pretensions. We cannot allow them, for example, to substitute words in the place of actions. It one on their side the question make a sj)eech, or print a sermon, or a set of ser- mons, in favor of morality, they seem to wish to consider it amongst the evidences of the moral tendency of their principles. It is not Dr. Priestley's writing on the duty of not living to ourselves, nor Mr. Tui-ner's publishing a volume of sermons on moral subjects, though applauded by Reviewers, principally, if not entirely, of his own persuasion, that Avill aflford a " practical answer to my Letters on So- cinianism."t From the divine, Mr. Kentish pi'o- ceeds to discourse on the social and per- sonal virtues. — p. 25. I perceive many things, in this part of his performance, which would admit of a reply ; but no- thing that requires any, except what he alleges on the innocence of error. "Lib- erality," Mr. Kentish observes, "inclines us to believe that involuntary religious errors expose not men to the displeas- ure of their Maker." — And again, "We assert the innocence of involuntary error. It is the unhappiness of many professors of our religion to consider it as partaking of the nature of sin. Such is the lan- guage they use in their writings." — pp. 20, 30. Surely Mr. Kentish has not read what he has written against, or he must have noticed that I also have ac- knowledged (he innocence of involuntary error. Have I not said, " The mere hold- ing of an opinion, considered abstractedly from the motive, or slate of mind, of him that holds it, must be simply an exercise of intellect ; and, I am inclined to think, has in it neither good nor evil 1" — p. 245. Does not Mr. Kentish know that the ground on which I have supposed error relating to the gospel to be sinful is, that it is not involuntary 1 Not that I accuse those who err of knowing that they do so, or of avowing principles which in their conscience they do not believe : this would not be error, but gross dishonest}'. Vol- untary error is that which arises from an ceil bias of heart, or a dislike to the truth. * Dv. Piiestli»y rffu.?ed to acknowledge Dr. Price as a Unilaiiiiii wlieii tliey were engaged in contro- versy, tliongh l)otli my opponents now place him in their list. fSee " WoodsV .Sermon," for Turner, of Wake- field, pp. 50, .51, Note. A KKl'LV TO .MR. KF.NTUH 3 SEK.MO.N. 323 SiK'h is llie ai'C'ouiil given ol certain cliar- actcrs liy a sacred writer: "Because they received not llic love of the truth — God sent tlieni stron;: delusions, that tliey should believe a lie." Tiicsc men were not apprised ol tiieir lieinu; in an error; they iielieved tiieir lie : hut this lielief arose from a dislike of truth ; and it was this that denoudnated it voluntary and sinful. What is it that Mr. Kentish would per- suade his readers that 1 helieve ? " The mere conclusions of the undcrstandinj:," he says, "where the will is unconcerned, cannot surely participate of guilt :" and who thinks they can 1 " Guilt," lie adds, " then only attaches itself to error wiien men wilfully and indolent refuses to em- ploy the means of better information which are put into their hands." — p. 31. Very well ; and who imagines the con- trary 1 From these princii)les, which Mr. Ken- tish seems willing to have considered as the exclusive property of himself and his liretlircn, he proceeds to draw certain useful improvements : "By these consid- erations, my fellow-cliristians," he says, "we are restrained iVom placing our- selves in the chair of infallil>ility, from rashly judging upon the present state, and the future doom, of our virtuous, tliough, it may be, mistaken brethren." Part of this is, no douiit, very good ; it is higidy proper tliat fallible creatures should make no pretence to infallil)ility : but how can Mr. Kentish say that they do not judge upon the present state of others, when, in the same sentence, he pro- nounces some men "virtuous," and calls them "brethren V Will he give the name of "virtuous" to every man in the world ] If not, he occupies the seat of judgment as really as I do : his censure, therefore, does not affect my judging upon "the present state of men" (for he does the same, and that in the same breath;) but my not acknowledging those as " virtu- ous Christian brethren" whom he ac- counts so. But, say our opponents, it is illiberal and presumptuous in you to attriliute men's errors on di\ine subjects to an evil bias of heart. If they ivcre not attributed to this cause in the Scriptures, J f^rant it would be so : but it is neither illil)eral nor presumptuous to view things as they are there represented. I have no more incli- nation tiian Mr. Kentish to occupy tiic "chair of infallibility:" but I consider it is a part of my proper work, and that of every other Christian, to judge of the meaning of his decisions v)ho does occupy it. Produce me an example from the New Testament of a single character who imbibed and taught false doctrine, and who was treated by the ajjostlcs as inno- cent. How different from this is the conduct of Paul, and Peter, and John, and Judc.** Nay, produce me a single example of error in matters of religion amongst good men, tiiat is treated as in- nocent in the holy Scriptures. Are not the tenets of some amongst the Corinthi- ans, who denied the resurrection, called " evil communications," which would "corrupt good manners'!" Were not the errors of the Galalians called " disobedi- ence " to the truth ; and w ere they not reproached on this account as " foolish," and in a sort "bewitched," and as need- ing to have Christ "again formed in them]" Did not our Lord accuse his own disciples, whose minds were blinded by their notions of an earthly kingdom, w'ith folly and slowness of heart ] — Luke xxiv. 25. In things purely natural, men may think justly, or make mistakes, without any degree of goodness on the one side, or'evil on the other; and even in things of a moral nature, if our errors arose either from natural incapacity or the want of sufficient means of information, they would be excusable ; but never, that I recollect, do the Scrijjtures represent er- rors of the latter description, especially, those which relate to tlie gospel way of salvation, as arising from these causes. They teach us that "way-faring men, though fools, shall not err therein," inti- mating that the errors which men make concerning the way of sahation do not arise from the want of natural capacity, but of a icatj -faring spirit, or a true desslre to walk in it. I am not conscious of retaining any error, yet there is little doubt but that I do; from having discovered many in my past life, I have reason to suspect that there are many more about me undiscov- ered. But, whatever they be, I suiipose they are owing to some sinful prejudice of w hich I am not aware : and I know not that I am obliged to think diflercntly of the errors of other people. I perceive Mr. Kentish himself can ad- mit the morality of opinion where himself or a fellow-creature is the object of it. He jdeads for lilierality of sentiment (by which he seems to intend an equally good opinion of men, notwithstanding their er- rors,) as a virtue, a Nirtue in which he thinks his brethren to excel. He must therefore consider its opposite as a vice, a vice wliich operates to our disadvan- tage. Now, I would ask Mr. Kentish, as *Gal. i. 7, 8. 2Tlies. ii. 10, 11. 2 Pet. ii. 1. 1 John iv. 6. Jude 4. 324 A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH'S SERMON. before I asked Mr. Lindsey, " supposing that I am in an error, in thinking amiss of my fellow-creatures, why should it not be as innocent as tlynking amiss of Christl Why ought I to be rej)roached as an illib- eral, uncharitable bigot, for the one, while no one ought to think the worse of me for the other i" I wish some one of our op- ponents would answer this question. If " the language of liberality is," what Mr. Kentisii says it is, " that, in every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted," we can as- sure him that we are not such strangers to it as he may be apt to imagine. Such language not only approves itself to our judgments, but rejoices our hearts. And, if bigotry is, as he defines it, " such an inordinate attachment to our own modes of faith and worship as prompts us to have no dealings with those who prefer others, to think of them with unkindness, and to act towards them with violence," provi- ded he do not extend his dealings to chris- tian fellowship, which, according to his note in page 44, he docs not, we can cor- dially unite with him in reprobating it. Liberality and candor of this description may exist, as Mr. Kentish observes, in harmony with zeal for religious principle. But if liberality must incline us to treat errors of a moral and religious nature, especially those which relate to the gospel way of salvation, as mere mistakes of the understanding, " in which the will is un- concerned," it is a kind of virtue to which we make no pretence : and, if bigotry consists in the reverse of this, we have no objection to be thought bigots, believ- ing as we do that such bigotry is abun- dantly recommended in the holy Scrip- tures. But, " it is impossible, surely," says my opponent, " that, maintaining this opinion, they should regard the man whose religious sentiments differ from theirs with perfect complacency, satisfaction, and be- nevolence."— p. 30. Where, then, did Mr. Kentish learn to confound " perfect complacency and satisfaction" with " be- nevolence 1" To exercise the former to- wards characters who renounce what we consider as the fundamental principles of the gospel, or even towards any man but " for the truth's sake that dwelleth in him," is, in our esteem, sinful : but the latter ought to be exercised towards all mankind, whatever be their principles or characters. I cannot be conscious of another's feelings ; but, for my own part, I find no difficulty in this matter arising from my religious principles : and it is a satisfaction to my mind to see not only the apostle of the Gentiles ardently desir- ing the galvation of his countrymen, the Jews, but my Lord and Saviour himself weeping over them, while each abhorred both their principles and their practice. If this be a " persecuting" principle, Paul, and even our_ Saviour, must both have been persecutors. Mr. Kentish, having thus reviewed the social and personal vii'tues, calls upon " fair and unbiassed observation to de- termine what is the character which they bear in their commerce with mankind." " If," says he, "it be not more exemplary than that of other Christians, it is not, per- haps, in any degree, inferior." — p. 3L Mr. Kentish knows very well that the au- thorities from which I drew a contrary conclusion were no other than those of Dr. Priestley and Mr. BePsham. "It cannot be denied," says the former, "that many oftliose Avho judge so truly concerning particular tenets in religion have attained to that cool, unbiassed, temper of mind, in consequence of becoming more indiffer- ent to religion in general, and to all the modes and doctrines of it." "Men who are the most indifferent to the practice of religion," says the latter, " and whose minds, therefore, are least attached to any set of principles, will ever be the first to see the absurdities of a popular supersti- tion, and to embrace a rational system of faith." Such was the method in which these writers attempted to account for the alleged fact " that Rational Christians were indifferent to practical religion :" This fact they could not deny ; and, by attempting to account for it, they tacitly admitted it, yea, Mr. Belsham expressly grants that " there has been some plausi- ble ground for the accusation." To the authority of Dr. Priestley and Mr. Belsham I may now add that of Dr. Toulmin and Mr. Kentish. The former, after the example of his predecessors, en- deavors to account for their " neglecting the culture of the heart and affections " (p. 36 ;) and the latter acknowledges, with- out scruple, that, " with less restraint than is practised by some of their brethren, they enter into the world and indulge in its amusements." — p. 32. But Mr. Kentish, though he grants the above, denies that there is any thing in it that can be fairly improved to their dis- advantage. "Unless it can be shown," he says, " that we so use the world as to use it to excess (referring to 1 Cor. vii. 31) we shall take no shame to ourselves on this account." It is worth while to re- mark the progress which our opponents make in matters of morality. Dr. Priest- ley acknowledged much the same as Mr. Kentish, that " there is a greater apparent conformity to the world in Unitarians than is observable in others : but he does i\ot A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH S SERMON. 325 undertake to justify it : all he attempts is to accuunt for it in a way lliat iniirht re- flect no dishonor upon Unitarianisin. He represents those anionust tlieni who thus " lean to a life of dissipation" as being only " speculati\e Unitarians," " men of the world," and distinguisiies ti)em from "serious Christians." And, A\hcn he comes to weiiih the virtue of Trinitarians and Unitarians in a balance, he allows that conformity to the world, which is to be found in the latter, to l)e a detraction from tiu'ir excellence ; and only pleads that they have other virtues which counter- l)alance it, or which, " upon the whole," cause their character to " api)roach nearer to tlie proper temper of Christianity than the other. ""^ Mr. Belsham also, though he speaks of Rational Christians as hav- ing "often been represented as indifferent to practical religion," and admits that "there has been some plausible ground for the accusation," yet does not justify it, but expresses a hope that it will be "only for a time;" and that, at length, those who give occasion for such accusations will " have their eyes opened, and feel the benign influence of their principles, and demonstrate the excellency of their faith by the superior dignity and worth of their character."! But iiow different from all this is the conduct of Mr. Kentish. Dr. Priestley fl/io/og-ises ; Mr. Belsham hopes; but Mr. Kentish despairing, it should seem, of things growing better, and refusing to " take shame on the account," boldly justifies it ; yea, more, suggests that such conformity to the world is "not only law- ful, but deserving of praise." — pp. 32, 38. This is carrying matters with a high hand. From Dr. Priestley's account of things, one might have supposed that thougli there were " great numbers" of these conform- ists to the world amongst the Unitarians, yet they were a kind of excrescences of the body, and distinguishal)le from it, as " men of the world " are distinguishable from " serious Christians ;" l)ut, accord- ing to Mr. Kentish, it is their general character, and they are not ashamed of it ; nay, they consider it as " not only lawful, but deserving of praise ! " That ".ve are allowed, in the passage to which Mr. Kentish refers, to use this tvorld, is true : men are allowed to form conjugal connections, to buy and sell, and to rejoice in all their labor. It is necessa- ry, however, that even these enjoyments should be chastised by an habitual sense of their brevity and uncertainty. That ^his, or any other passage of Scripture, should be pleaded in favor of an indul- * Disc. Var. Sub. p. 100. t Sermon, &c. gcnce in the amusements of the world, is be- yond any thing that I have bitoly witness- ed Irom tlic pen of a diristian minister. My op|)oncnt proceeds to his second head of in(juiry, viz. " II. What assistance, suppout, and CO.NSOLATION, DOES THE UNITARIAN DOCTKINE AFFORD IN THE SEASON OF TE-MPT-VTION, AFFMCTIO.N, AND DEAThV Mr. Kentish here quotes a number of Scriptures, which, allowing him his own exposition of them, can scarcely be said to express a single sentiment jjcculiar to what he calls Unitarianisin. His whole aim, in this part o( ids sul>ject, seems to be to prove tiiat Unitarians may, l)y the principles which they hold in common with others, be possessed o( something su- perior to calmness of mind." I must say, I never saw any thing, in any of their wri- tings, that appeared to me to bear any tol- erable resemblance to the joys of the gos- pel. I admit, however, that what I have advanced on this subject might have been better expressed. If, instead of affirming that " the utmost happiness to which the Socinian scheme pretends is calmness of mind," I had said. The utmost happiness which the peculiar principles of Socinians are adapted to promote is calmness of mind, it would have been more accurate. My opponent's being obliged to have re- course to common i)rinciples, as the springs of joy and consolation, is a sufficient proof that those which are peculiar to his scheme, as a Socinian, were altogether unadapted to his purpose. He may wish to have it thought, indeed, that Christ's being " in all things made like unto his brethren," and his resurrection being that of a man, are terms expressive of his pe- culiar sentiments. So he insinuates. — pp. 34, 35. But let any person consult the first of these passages, Heb. ii. 16, 17, and he will find that he who ivas in all things made like unto his brethren " took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham ; " that is to say, he existed prior to his being a man, and was voluntary in choosing to assume the hu- man, rather than the angelic nature. By culling single sentences, without taking their connection, we may prove any thing we please : but, in so doing, we abuse the Scriptures, rather than interpret them. That the resurrection of Christ was the resurrection of a man no one questions : but to infer hence that he was a mere man is drawing conclusions which are not con- tained in the premises. The scheme of our opponents is so far from being adapted to )iromotc evangelical joy, that it leads them, in general, to des- pise it as enthusiastic. As an example of this, I cited the critique of the Monthly 326 A REPLY TO MR. KExNTISIl's SERMON Reviewers upon President Edwards's His- tory of Redemption ; and such examples might he multiplied almost without end. But, if men were not strangers to the sa- cred joys of religion themselves, how is it possible to conceive that they could de- spise them in others 1 The following head of inquiry is next introduced, viz. " III. What is the degree of effi- cacy WHICH THE Unitarian doctrine POSSESSES IN respect TO THE CONVER- SION OF PROFIGATES AND UNBELIEV- ERS I "—p. 35. On another occasion, Mr. Kentish tells his auditors that "concerning the natural influence of religious opinions, the world will judge, not from abstract reasoning and fancied tendencies, but from our dis- positions and our lives ;" (p. 46.) that is to say, from facts. But on this subject he has produced neither the one nor the other. " We claim to embrace," he says, "and allow no other doctrine than what Jesus and his apostles taught." — p. 36. True; but the question is, If tlieir claim be ad- missible, how comes it to pass that their doctrine has no better effect 1 Mr. Ken- tish answers, " The fact is to be explain- ed by the prevalence of human corrup- tions." Is it a fact, then, that men are more corrupt amongst Socinians than in those congregations where the doctrine of atonement through the blood oi' Christ is tauglit and believed 1 But, perhaps, what we call conversion will not be admitted by our opponents as genuine. " We reject," says Mr. Ken- tish, " and reason and the Scriptures, we think, authorize us to reject, every pre- tence to sudden conversion. True con- version i'rom sin to holiness we regard as the work of lime and labor." If it were necessary to examine this subject, the con- version pleaded for Vty Mr. Kentish might appear as mean in our esteem as ours does in his. But I desire no other criterion of true conversion in this case than that by which the end is accomplished. Where I see a man turned from sin to holiness, I call him a converted man. That such a change is sometimes gradual is admitted ; i)ut this is not always the case : neither was it in the primitive ages. I know very well that Dr. Priestley, as well as Mr. Kentish, considers all sudden changes as nugatory, and supposes that conversion is a work of time and labor. Upon this principle he affirms that " all late repent- ance, especially after long and confirmed habits of vice, is absolutely and necessari- ly ineffectual." That our opponents should imbibe such an opinion has nothing surprising in it; liut that they should pre- tend that the " Scriptures authorize it " is somewhat extraordinary. Was not the repentance of Zaccheus, and that of the thief upon the cross, a late repentance, and yet effectuall Was the repentance of either of them the effect of long time and labor 1 Were the Jews under Peter's sermon, the jailor and his household, or any others of whom there is an account in the Acts of the Apostles, converted in the manner Mr. Kentish describes 1 If, however, the whole that was to be attribu- ted to God, in this change, were no more than Mr. Kentish supposes ; if it consist- ed merely in his furnishing us witii "the powers of willing and acting;" it might well be considered as a work of time and labor ; or, rather, as a work that time, in its utmost extent, would never be able to accomplish. But what end has Mr. Kentish to an- swer by his objecting to sudden conversion, and representing it as a work of time and labor 1 Does he mean to suggest that their doctrine has not yet had time to operate 1 If not, what difference does it make to the argument 1 We call nothing conversion, amongst us, but that in which a change of disposition and life appears ; and if tiiis end were accomplished amongst them in any considerable degree, whether it were suddenly or gradually, he need not be at a loss for facts to support the effica- cy of his doctrine. Instead of these, Mr. Kentish is obliged to content himself with asserting that " repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, rightly understood, have as intimate a con- nection with their views of the Christian dispensation as with those of their breth- ren:"— and with hoping that " there are those in their number who have found the plain, the simple, yet the despised gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salva- tion." I shall not controvert the remarks of my opponent respecting the Jews, and respect- ing unbelievers who reside in a christian country. It is true, as he observes, " lit- tle can be said on either side, inasmuch as the experiment has never, perhaps, been fairly and entirely made by both the par- ties." Meanwhile, I perfectly acquiesce in the observation that " eventually, with- out doubt, that representation of Chris- tianity which has Scripture, and," it may be, " antiquity lor its basis ; which is sim- ple in its nature, and conformable to our l)est ideas of tlie divine character and gov- ernment; will every where prevail." On the subject of Missions to the Hea- then, I have only to observe that, if other Socinian Avriters had said nothing worse than Mr. Kentish, my remarks, on that subject, would not have appeared. A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH's SERMO.V. 327 Lastly, Mr. Kentish proceeds to con- sider, " IV. How FAR THE ADMISSION OF Unitarian doctrine is adapted to promote a veneration for the scrip- riTRES, AND TO FORTIFY Ol'R FAITH IN Chris ri.\NiTY." p. 38. The j)rin(iple \vliicli I assumed, at the outset of my iiKpiiry on this suliject, was tliis, " If" any man venerate the authority of Scripture, he must receive it as being jcliiit it professes Id be, and for all the pur- poses for which it professes to be written. If tlie Scriptures profess to be divinely in- spired an(i assume to be the infallible standard of 'faith and practice, we must either receive tiiem as such, or, if we would be consistent, disown the writers as im- postors." After stating; this princij)!e as the ground, or datum, of the argument, I proceeded to examine into the professions of the sacred writers. Now, I would ask Mr. Kentish whether the above position be not unolijectionable as a ground of ar- gument. Has it not the property which every ground of argument ought to possess, that of being admitted, or admissible, by both parties. And, if so, why has he not joined issue upon it ] I have no inclina- tion to " view my opponent with tlie eye of jealousy and suspicion ; " (p. 45) but what motive can i»e assigi\ed for his pass- ing over this ground, and sulistituting in the place of it such a delinition of venera- tion for the Scriptures as leaves out the ideas of inspiration and infallibility ? It is true he has used the former of these terms, but it is manifest that he considers the apostles in no other light than honest, well-informed, historians. "To venerate the Scriptures," says he, "is to receive and value them as containing a revelation of the will of God to man ; it is to inves- tigate them with diligence and impartiali- ty ; to interpret tliem fairly and consistent- ly ; to be guided by the natural, ])lain, and uniform sense of them, in aniclcs of faith and on points of conduct. — Then, it should seem, do we entertain a just and correct view of their inspiration, when wc regard them as the writings of men who derived from the very best sources of information their acquaintance with the history and doctrine of Christ ; of men whose integri- ty is beyond all question ; of men who credibly relate facts and discourses which either themselves witnessed, or which they deliver on the authority of the spectators and the hearers ; and who faithfully teach that word of God with a knowledge of which they were furnished liy their mas- ter, and by miraculous communications subsequent to his ascension." — pp. 38, 39. Whether this representation sufficiently express a proper veneration for the Scrip- tures is itself a matter of dispute. It is, therefore, very improper for a ground of argument, and especially for being sul)sti- tuled in the place of a jjosition that was lialile to no objection from any quarter. Why did not Mr. Kentisii admit my gene- ral position, tiiat, "If any man venerate the authority of Scripture, he 77iust receive it (IS being tchat it professes to be, and for all the purposes for which it professes to be H'r(7/('n .' " and why did he not, on this ground, join issue in an examination of the professions of" the sacred writers f Such a conduct would have l)ccn fair and man- ly ; but llial wiiich Mr. Kentish has sub- stituted in the place of it is evasive, and unwortliy of" a candid rcasoner. Mr. Kentish having given us his opinion of the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the veneration that is due to them, thus concludes: "If this be to venerate the Scriptures, our principles, I must be al- lowed to think, are far indeed from being unfriendly to such veneration." p. 39. What does this conclusion amount to more than this, That if his notions of divine in- spiration may be admitted as a standard, why then their veneration for the Scrip- tures will be found, at least in his opin- ion, to come up to it? Assuredly, the question was not whether the veneration which our opponents exercise towards the Scriptures be such as corresponds with their own notions of their inspira- tion; but whether it agrees with the ven- eration which the Scriptures themselves require. Mr. Kentish must excuse me, if I remind him of the reseml)lance of his conduct to that of persons who, " meas- uring themselves by themselves, and com- paring themselves amongst themselves, are not wise." But, further, I am not sure that Mr. Kentish's conclusion will follow, even from his own premises. Tiiere is so much disrespect discoAcred in tlie wri- tings of our opponents towards the holy Scriptures (of which I have attempted to give evidence in my Xllth Letter,) that, even upon Mr. Kentish's own professed views, they come miserably short of ven- eration. Mr. Kentish acknowledges that veneration "consists in being guided by the natural, ])lain, and uniform sense of them, in articles of faith, and on points of conduct;" but the Monthly Reviewers assert that "the nature and design of the Scriptures is not to settle disputed theo- ries, nor to decide on controverted ques- tions, even in religion and morality — that they are intended, not so much to make us wiser, as to make us better ; not to solve the doubts, but rather to make us 328 A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH's SERMON. obey the dictates of our consciences."* And how are all the sulitractions of Dr. Priestley to be reconciled with Mr. Ken- tish's criterion of veneration 1 He sup- poses the sacred penmen to have written upon subjects " to which they had not given much attention, and concerning which they were not possessed of suffi- cient means of information." Mr. Ken- tish, it is true, may not be accountable for the assertions of the Monthly Reviewers or of Dr. Priestley ; but then his conclusions should have been more confined : instead of affirming that, " if this be to venerate the Scriptures, their principles are far from being unfriendly to such venera- tion,"— he should only have asserted it with respect to his own. My opponent proceeds : " But, if rev- erence of these sacred records of our faith is to be manifested by a dread of examin- ing them, lest their doctrines be found in contradiction to our present opinions ; or by a blind acquiescence in the una- voidable inaccuracies of transcribers, and in the no less unavoidable, but more in- jurious, errors of translators ; or by a bigoted opposition to every attempt to- wards an improved knowledge and ver- sion of them ; or by judging of the truths which they teach rather from the sound of detached passages, than from the sig- nification and tenor of tlie context ; such reverence we disclaim. Sincerely at- tached to the sacred volume, against such reverence we steadfastly protest." — pp. 39, 40. But how, if revei-ence to these sacred records should not consist in a dread of examining them ; or in a blind acquies- cence in the inaccuracies of transcribers, and the errors of translators ; or in a big- oted opposition to any attempt towards an improved knowledge or version of them ; or in judging of the truths which they teach rather from the sound of de- tached passages than from the significa- tion and tenor of the context 1 How, if this should prove to be a kind of rever- ence for which Mr. Kentish's opponent does not plead any more than himself 1 And how, if our objections should not be against examination, but against the con- clusions which some persons draw ; not against correcting, but corrupting the translation ; not against attending to the scope of the writers, but against torturing them to speak contrary to their real in- tention 1 Will it not follow, in this case, that this "steadfast protest" is against a nonentity, and that this mighty triumph is over a man of straw 1 It is a usual way of writing, first to lay down a proposition, and then to establish it by evidence. In this manner I have generally proceeded. Mr. Kentish, in quoting my language, has more than once taken simply the proposition, taking no notice of the evidence l)y which it was supported, and then accused me of deal- ing in peremptory assertions. — pp. 29, 35. Such is his conduct in reference to what I have written on the tendency of Socini- anism to Infidelity. — pp. 40, note. Mr. Kentish is welcome to call the positions which I have advanced " calumny," or by what other name he pleases : let but the evidence with which they are supported be considered in connection with them, and, if they will not stand the test of ex- amination, let them share the fate they deserve. As to what my opponent alleges con- cerning what it is that denominates any one a professing Christian, and his appeal to the Acts of the Apostles (p. 41,) I have already said what I judge necessary on that subject in my reply to Dr. Toulmin ; where also I have adduced some addition- al evidences of the tendency of Socinian- ism to Deism. I have only one more remark to make on Mr. Kentish : it respects the meaning of our Lord's words in John xiv. 28, "My Father is greater than I." The sense which has commonly been put upon this passage, both by Trinitarians and Anti-trinitarians, appears to me to be be- side the scope of the writer : nor is that of Mr. Kentish in my judgment more plau- sible. I agree with him " that it is not the mere abstract doctrine of his Father's su- periority which he designed to assei't," or rather I think that it expresses no com- parison whatever between the person of the Father and that of the Son. The comparison appears evidently to me to respect the state of exaltation loith the Fa- ther and the state of humiliation which he then sustained. " If ye loved me," saith he, " ye would rejoice because I said I go to the Father ; for my Father is greater than I." — The glory and happiness which my Father possesses, and which I go to pos- sess with him, is greater than any thing I can here enjoy : your love to me therefore, if it were properly regulated, instead of prompting you to wish to detain me here, would rather incline you to rejoice in ray departure.! But though I disagree with Mr. Ken- tish in his sense of this passage of Scripture, I perfectly agree with him in the general sentiment with which he con- cludes his performances, that " the season may not be far distant when systems which * Monthly Review Enlarged, Vol. X. p. 357. t See Calvin and Heni^ upon the place. A UEl'LV TO MR. KENTISH'S SERMON. 329 assuiae the Christian luiine, shall, like fahrics erected upon tiie sand, be over- thrown l>y a uiifiiily (all " — imt " that real Christianity has nothing to Tear." And I may add, that it is witii sacred satisfaction I anticipate the time when all that exalt- cth itself against Christ, let it aflect w iiose systems it may, shall utterly fall, and nothing shall be left standing but the sim- ple, unadulterated doctrine of the cross. I shall conclude my reply to both Dr. Toulmin and Mr. Kentish with a Inief Review of the Reviewers. What has fall- en under my observation is contained in the Monthly and Analytical Reviews, and the Protestant Dissenters' Magazine. In the Monthly Review Enlarged my opponents iiad reason to expect, not mere- ly a friend and patron, Imt a respectable and powerful ally. The managers of that work were parties in the controversy, as much so as Dr. Priestley or Mr. Belsham, or Mr. Lindsey, or Mrs. Barbauld. They were called upon to defend their allega- tions or to relinquish thcni. But, like the late Empress of the North by the allies, they have l)een a long time in raising their quota, and at last have mustered up about half a dozen lines'! In these lines, which are given in a Review of Mr. Kentish's Sermon, they have, with a design suffi- ciently apparent, preserved a sullen si- lence respecting the piece which gave oc- casion for it. " From an impartial peru- sal of this sensil)le and well-written dis- course," they tell us, " the candid reader may perhaps apprehend that the impor- tant objects of piety and virtue may be ad- vanced on the tJnitarian plan, although he should not himself embrace it." — ^Jan. 1797, Art. 74. Brief, cautious, and sullen as this re- view may appear, it is the best that my opponents can either of them boast. It is true it contains merely opinion ; and that is expressed in very general terms : but herein, for aught I know, rnay consist its excellency. The other Reviewers, as the reader will presently perceive, by de- scending to particulars and attempting to back their opinion with reasoning, have ruined the cause, and injured those whom it was their intention to serve. The Analytical Review (Oct. 1796, p. 394) of Dr. Toulmin's performance is too long for insertion here. The substance of it amounts to no more than this : that the ground on which I have conducted the con- troversy is not a fair one. But this im- plies a reflection on the wisdom of Dr. Toulmin for pretending to meet me upon this ground ; and a still greater reflection upon Mr. Kentish for engaging upon it, and acknowledging that "in religion the maxim ''ye shall know them by their fruits, VOL. I. 42 is a maxim unquestionably of high author- ity, evident reason, and familiar applica- tion," yea, more, that it is a criterion "by w hich the world will judge concerning the natural influence of our religious opin- ions." It also implies a conviction on the part of the Reviewer that his cause is lost. Like a second in a duel, he informs the w orld that it is no wonder his friend has fallen; for he fought upon unfair ground I If this review has been of any use to Dr. Toulmin, it is by an attempt to cover his retreat. By raising an outcry against the professed ground of the controversy, a kind of apology is formed for its being shifted; and the reader's attention is in- sensibly turned ofT from the Doctor's false reasoning, and reconciled to what he has advanced foreign to the subject from the Acts of the Apostles. But, whatever ser- vice might be afforded by this, it is all un- done by what follows ; for, after having raised an outcry against reasoning on the ground of moral tendency, he discovers an inclination to make the utmost use of it that he is able. As Dr. Toulmin, notwith- standing his shifting the ground of the ar- gument, has no objection to exhil)it all the morality on his side that he can muster up ; so neither has the Analytical Reviewer any objection to repeat il after him. The one can tell of their virtuous individuals, and the other can echo the account, though both ought to have known that it is not from the character of individuals, but of the general body, that I proposed to rea- son. If the critique of the Analytical Review be weak, that in the Protestant Dissen- ters' Magazine is still weaker. This Re- viewer observes, that " the method Dr. Toulmin has taken to show the moral ten- dency of Unitarian principles is plain and solid ; it is one recommended by his antag- ordst, an appeal to facts. He examines every specimen of apostolical preaching recorded in the Acts of the Apostles ; each of which, he endeavors to show, is in uni- son with Unitarian sentiments. From this the inference is very clear that the world was converted, and the sinners of mankind were brought to faith and repentance, by the preaching of the simple Unitarian doc- trine, directly contrary to what Mr. Fuller has advanced, that ' Socinian writers can- not pretend that their doctrine has been used to convert profligate sinners to the love of God and holiness.' " — Oct. 1796, p. 394. Dr. Toulmin has appealed to facts ; and it seems the writer of this article does not know but that they were facts in point. That they are not so must be evident on the slightest reflection ; for they can be of 330 A REPLY TO MR. KENTISH's SERMON. no use to Dr. Toulmin unless he first prove that the apostles were of his senti- ments ; and, if this be proved, they can be of no use afterwards, because the point in question is supposed to be decided with- out them. Whether Dr. Toulmin was aware of this I shall not pretend to deter- mine : it is evident, however, that his af- fecting to join issue in an appeal to facts (p. 6) has every property of a feint, or of an attempt to keep up the appearance of a regular pitched battle, while in reality he was effecting a retreat. But, whatever may be thought of Dr. Toulmin 's acquain- tedness or unacquaintedness with what he was doing, this writer appears to know nothing of the matter. He does not know that the Doctor's repairing to the primitive Christians for examples of the conversion of profligates to the love of God and holi- ness, instead of proving " the direct con- trary" to what I had eiffirmed, afifords the strongest confirmation of it. It did not occur to him, it seems, that if Dr. Toul- min could have found, or pretended to find, examples near home, he would not have gone to so great a distance in search of them. REFLECTIONS ON MR. BELSHAM'S REVIEW OF MR. WILBERFORCE'S TREATISE ON CHRISTIANITY. (Written in 1798.) Soon after Mr. Belsham had removed to Hackney, he printed his sermon on *' The Importance of Truth," in which he strongly maintained the superior moral efficacy of his principles. Amongst other things, he affirmed that " those who were singularly pious with [Calvinistic] princi- ples, could not have failed to have been much better, if they had imbibed a differ- ent creed." — p. 30. Several things of the same kind were thrown out by other writers of the party. These pretensions were soon after exam- ined by the author of " The Calvinistic and Socinian Systems Compared." On the appearance of that publication, though Dr. Priestley could not be persuaded to read it, yet as Mr. Belsham, it is said, as- sured him it was " well worthy of his peru- sal," it may be presumed that he himself has perused it. And as he is equally con- cerned to defend his assertion, and has been called upon to do so, it might have been expected that he would have come forward and answered that publication. But, whatever be the reason, he has al- ways shown himself averse to such an un- dertaking. Two of his brethren, however, have stood forward, namely. Dr. Toulrain and Mr. Kentish; but neither of them has ventured to vindicate him or Dr. Priestley. A Reply also to these publications has appeared, by the author of " The Systems Compared;" and lately Mr. Kentish has published Strictures upon that Reply. There is a certain point in controversy at which it is proper to discontinue it. "When," as Dr. Watts observes, "little words and occasional expressions are dwelt upon, which have no necessary con- nection with the grand point in view,"* and when a serious investigation becomes likely to degenerate into vain wrangling, it is best to cease. When it comes to this, the public mind says — Desist; and with this decision it becomes a writer, in- stead of tenaciously contending for the last word, respectfully to acquiesce. To this may be added, Avhen the mis- statements of an opponent are numerous, his sentiments sufficiently explicit, and his expositions of Scripture, with all his crit- ical accoutrements, too absurd to be re- garded by serious and thinking minds, the continuation of a controversy is not more tedious to a reader than it must be irk- some to a writer. The subject is before the public : let them decide. A few remarks, however, may be offer- ed on a passage or two in Mr Belsham's Review of Mr. Wilberforce's Treatise. Having given a brief account of his own opinions, he adds, " This short abstract of Unitarian principles will enable us to judge of the value of an argument proposed in a work entitled ' Calvinism and Socini- anism Compared,' upon which Mr. W^il- berforce passes a very high encomium ; f the amount of which is, ' We Calvinists being much better Christians than you Socinians, our doctrines must of course be true.' To this masterly defence of the doctrines of Christianity, and acute refu- tation of the opposite errors, Mr. Wilber- force and his friends are welcome. The Unitarians will not trespass upon the holy ground. We have learned that ' not he who commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth ;' and, sat- isfied with this, we wait with cheerful con- fidence the decision of that day which shall try every man's work. In the mean time we rest our cause upon the Scriptures critically examined and judiciously ex- plained. This way of reasoning is branded in the same masterly performance as ' mangling and altering the translation to luipravement, Part II. chap. viii. t Practical View, &c., p. 476, Third Edit. 332 REFLECTIONS ON MR. BELSHAM's REVIEW, our own minds,' which brings to my re- collection the Quaker's exclamation, Oh argument, oh argument, the Lord rebuke thee!"— p. 274. Mr. Wilberforce having observed it " as an unquestionable fact, a fact which Uni- tarians almost admit, that they are not distinguished by superior purity of life, and still less by that frame of mind which, by the injunction to be spiritually, not carnally minded, the word of God pre- scribes to us as one of the surest tests of our experiencing the vital power of Chris- tianity,"— " Such," Mr. Belsham replies, "is the candid judgment which Mr. Wil- berforce forms of the moral and religious character of the Unitarians. How nearly resembling the character of the pharisee in the parable : ' God, I thank thee that I am not as other men, nor even as this pub- lican !' How closely bordering upon that supercilious spirit which our Lord re- proves in the Jews, who concluded be- cause the Son of man came eating and drinking, and affecting no habits of aus- terity, or unnecessary singularity, that he must therefore be the friend and associate of publicans and sinners. But be it known to Mr. Wilberforce, and to all who like him are disposed to condemn their breth- ren unheard, that, if the Unitarians were inclined to boast in the characters of those who have professed their principles, they have whereof to glory ; and, if they took pleasure in exposing the faults of their more orthodox brethren, they likewise have tales to unfold which would reflect little credit, either on the parties or on their principles. But of such reproaches there would be no end." — pp. 267, 268. On these passages I take the liberty of offering a few remarks : — 1. The amount of the work to which Mr. Belsham alludes is not what he makes it to be : that " we Calvinists being much better Christians than you Socinians, our doctrines must of course be true." A large proportion of that work is designed to point out the native tendency of prin- ciples, or what, other things being equal, they may be expected to produce in those who imbibe them. 2. If that part of the work which re- lates to facts fall under a censure of self commendation, the same may be said of the writings of some of the best of men who have ever written. Mr. Neale, in his History of the Puritans, thought it no breach of modesty to prove that they were far better men than their persecutors. — Vol. L c. S. The reformers, in establish- ing their cause, availed themselves of the immoralities of the papists, and the supe- rior moral efficacy of the doctrine of the reformed churches upon the hearts and lives of men. The ancient fathei'S, in their apologies for Christianity, constantly ap- pealed to the holy lives of Christians as a proof of the purity of their doctrine. And the apostles, though they praised not themselves, yet made no scruple of affirm- ing that those who believed their doctrines were " purified in obeying them ; " that they " were of God," and that " the whole world was then lying in wickedness." These things were truths, and they had a right to insist upon them, not for the pur- pose of commending themselves, but for the sake of doing justice to the gospel. 3. In reflecting upon the ground of ar- gument used by the author of " The Sys- tems Compared," contemptuously calling it "holy ground," does not Mr. Belsham cast a reflection upon the great Founder of the christian religion, who taught his disciples to judge of the tree by its fruits'! * 4. By rejecting this ground of argument, and professing to rest his cause upon an- other, Mr. Belsham, after the example of Dr. Toulmin, has given up the controver- sy as it respects the moral efficacy of principles. 5. If reasoning from the moral efficacy of doctrines be improper, and imply the Pharisaical spirit of self-commendation, Mr. Belsham must have acted improperly and pharisaically in commencing an attack on the Calvinists upon this principle. Did the author of " The Systems Compared" begin this war 1 No : it was Mr. Belsham himself that began it. This "holy ground," from which he now pretends to retire in disgust, was of his own marking out. It was Mr. Belsham who, in the plenitude of his confidence that his cause was the cause of truth, first pleaded for its comparative importance, by affirming that those who were pious and benevolent \ characters with our principles would have been much more so with his. And yet this same Mr. Belsham, after thus throw- ing down the gauntlet, can decline the contest; after two of his brethren have tried all their strength, and summoned all their resources, in defence of Socinian * If Mr. Belsiiam should distinguish, as Mr. Ken- tish does, between the truth of doctrine and their value, and maintain tliat the effects whicli they pro- duce are a proper criterion of the latte*', but not of the former ; it might be asked whether the value of a doctrine does not imply its truth ? Surely falsehood will not be reckoned valuable ! and, if so, whatever proves the value of a doctrine, proves it at the same time to be true. Should he farther allege, with the above writer, that " this celebrated saying is proposed as a test of character, and not as a criterion of opinion ; " it might be answered, it is proposed as a test oi false prophets or teachers ; a cluiracter never ascribed to those whose doctrines accord with truth. See Matt, vii. 15. REFLECTIONS ON MR. BELSHAM S REVIEW. 333 piety, he can talk of Unitarians " not tres- passing upon tiiis holy Lnound," and ol tlie characters wiiicli they could produce, were they inclined lo hoast. Yes : this is the writer, who, after acknowledging that " Unitarians liad often been represented as inditTerent to practical religion ; " allow- ing, too, " tliat there had been some plau- sible ground lor the accusation," and not justifying sudi tilings, but merely express- ing a hope that they would continue " but for a time," — this, I say, is the writer wlio can now accuse Mr. Wili)erforce of Pharisaism lor repeating his own conces- sions ; and, what is worse, can justify that life of dissipation which he had before condemned, by comparing it with the con- duct of him who "came eating and drink- ing, and affecting no habits of austerity or unnecessary singularity." 6. It is not true that the author of " The Systems Compared " has objected either to the "critical examination or judicious explanation of the Scriptures." It is true he has not adopted this as his ground of argument ; yet instead of denying it in others, as Mr. Belsham would have it thought, he has expressed his approbation of it. It is not of criticising, and much less of judiciously explaining the Scrip- tures, that he complains, but of perverting them. In the same page in which he com- plained of the Socinians " mangling and altering the translation to their own minds," he also said, "Though it be ad- mitted that every translation must needs have its imperfections, and that those im- perfections ought to be corrected by fair and impartial criticism, yet, where al- terations are made by those who have an end to answer by them, they ought al- ways to be suspected, and will be so by- thinking and impartial people." If Mr. Belsliam had quoted this part of the pas- sage, as well as the other, it might have prevented the pleasure which doubtless he felt in repeating the Quaker's exclama- tion. To say nothing of his pedantic sup- position, that all argument is confined to criticising texts of Scripture, let others .judge who it is that is under the necessity of exclaiming, " Oh argument, oh argu- ment, the Lord rebuke thee ! " After all, the stress which our opponents lay upon criticism affords a strong presumption against them. It was a shrewd saying of Rol>inson's, " Sober criticism is a good thing : but woe be to the system that hangs upon it ! " 7. The threat which Mr. Belsham holds out of " the tales which they could tell of their ortliodox brethren" contains an un- founded implication. Any reader would suppose, from this passage, that Mr. Bel- sham's opj)oncnts had dealt largely in such tales: but this is not true. If the author on whom he reflects had been disposed to deal in articles of this kind, he might possibly have swelled his j)ublication he- yond its present size. But, contrary to this, he professedly disclaimed introducing individual characters or private tales on either side, as being equally invidious and unnecessary to the argument. The truth is, he rested his cause upon the concessions of his adversaries ; and this is the galling circumstance to Mr. Belsham and his party. What tales have been told are of their telling. They may now insinuate what great things they could bring forward in their own favor, and to our disadvantage, were they not restrain- ed by considerations of modesty and gen- erosity. But they can do nothing, and this they well knoAV, without first retract- ing what they have conceded ; nor even then, forasmuch as all such retractions would manifestly appear to the world to be only to answer an end. In fine, I appeal not merely to Mr. Belsham's special jury of " men of en- lightened minds and sound learning," but to every man of common understanding, whether his apology for declining a de- fence of his own assertion be either ingenuous or just; whether a larger por- tion of misrepresentation and self-contra- diction could well have been crowded into so small a compass ; and whether what he has advanced can be considered in any other light than as the miserable groan of a dying cause. / LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER, ON THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION. ADVERTISEMENT. A Review of the controversy between Mr. Vidler and Mr. Fuller on the Doctrine of Universal Salvation, in Twelve Letters to a Universalist, being prepared for the press, it was judged a fit opportunity for gratifying the wishes of many of Mr. Fuller's friends to reprint his Letters to Mr. Vidler on that subject. He was accordingly applied to for his permission, and returned the following answer: — "Mr. Vidler, in a letter to me, signifies his intention to reprint the whole controversy. As he has now, I should think, had sufficient time to fulfil his proposal, and has not done it, you are at liberty to publish that part of it which belongs to me." The reader is requested to notice that the first of these Letters appeared in the Evangelical Magazine for September, 1795, and the seven following ones in the Universalist's Miscellany, between July, 1779, and July, 1800 ; and that, owing to this circumstance, the first Letter in the present series was not numbered in that of the Universalist's Miscellany: but what is there called the ^rs^s here the second; and so on throughout. August 2, 1802. LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. LETTER I. EXPOSTULATIONS WITH MR. VIDLER, ON HIS HAVING EMBRACED THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION. My DEAR Friend, It has afforded me some painful concern to hear of your having embraced the scheme of universal salvation. When you were at K , you appeared to mc to be of a speculative disposition. I have long thought such a turn of mind to be very ad- vantageous, or very dangerous : persons of this description either make great ad- vances in truth, or fall into great errors. I cannot, in this letter, enter deeply into the controversy-; nor is there any necessi- ty for it, as I am told that Dr. Edwards's Answer to Dr. Chauncey is in your hands. I earnestly wish you may read that piece with care, impartiality, and openness to conviction. I think' you ought to have read it before you advanced your change of sentiment ; and I greatly wish you had : for, though I do not question your open- ness to conviction, any more than that of any other person in your situation, yet I know something of what is in man : I know it is a very rare thing, tchen ive have once openly disavowed a sentiment, to re- turn to it, and openly avoiv it again. There are many instances of people chang- ing their principles, and there may have been instances of the other; but I do not recollect any. False shame, supported by mistaken pride, forms here a very pow- erful temptation. The dread of being ac- cused of versatility and indecision insensi- bly obtains such a dominion over the mind as to blind it to one side of the argument, and to give efficacy to every thing that looks like an argument, or the shadow of an argument, on tlie other. It is certainly a very serious matter that we do not err in our ministrations. Er- ror in a minister may affect the eternal welfare of many. I hope I may presume upon the friendliness of your temper, while I expostulate with you upon the subject. I will not be tedious to you ; but let me entreat you to consider the following things : — VOL .1. 43 First : w liether your change of senti- ment has not arisen from an idea of end- less punislimcnt lieing, in itself, unjust. If it has, consi(h'r wlietlicr this does not arise from diminutive notions of the evil of sin : whetlier you be not too much in- fected by sin yourself to be a j)roper judge of its demerit — (a company of criminals would be very imj)roi)er judges of the equi- ty and goodness of a law which condemns them :) whether you do not hold a princi- ple from which it will follow that millions will be finally happy who will not be in- debted to either the grace of God or the death of Christ for their happiness; and, consequently, must have a iieavcn to them- selves, not being al)le to join with those who ascribe theirs to God and the Lamb. For, if endless misery heunjust, exemption from it must be the sinner's right, and can never be attributed to mercy ; neither could a mediator be needed to induce a righteous God to liberate the sinner, when he had suffered jiis full desert. In fine, consider wliether you do not contradict your own experience. I think you have told me of your great distress of soul, arising from a consciousness of your de- serving to be cast out of God's fiivor, and banished forever from his presence. Can you noiv say that you did not deserve this \ Do you not deserve it still 1 If you do, why not otiiers 1 Secondly : Consider whether the genius of the sentiment in question be not oppo- site to that of every other sentiment in the Bible. The whole tenor of Scripture saith " to the righteous, it shall be well with him ; and, to the wicked, it shall be ill with him :" but universal salvation saith, not only to the righteous, but to the wicked, it shall be well at last with him. Do consider whether you can find any one scripture trutiv that resembles it in this respect. What doctrine, besides this, can you find in the Bible that affords en- couragement to a sinner going on still in his trespasses ; and which furnishes ground for hope and joy, even supposing him to persevere in sin till death 1 Instead of siding with God against a wicked world, as a servant of God ought to do ; is not this siding with a wicked world against God, and encouraging them to believe, what tliey are apt enough to believe with- out encouragement, that they " shall have 338 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. peace, Uiough they add drunkenness to thirst "! " " Wo is me," said an apostle, " If I preacli not the gospel! " " If an angel from heaven preach any other gos- pel," he is declared to be "accursed!" Do seriously consider whether the doc- trine of Universal Salvation will not ren- der your preaching " another gospel." The gospel of Christ is good tidings to the meek, healing to the broken-hearted, and comfort to them that mourn : but must not yours be good tidings to the proud and impenitent, and comfort to those whom the Scripture declares under con- demnation and the curse 1 The gospel of Christ is a system of holiness ; a system en- tirely opposite to every vicious bias of the human heart ; a system, therefore, which no unrenewed heart embraces : "he that be- lieveth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." But the good news which you must publish requires no change of heart that it may be embraced, being just suit- ed to the wishes of an abandoned mind. Thirdly : Consider whether your min- istrations, on this principle, will not savor of his who taught our first parents, "Ye shall not surely die." If you should raise the hopes of the ungodly part of your audience, that^ though they should live and die in their jilthincss, yet they shall not be filthy still; though they go down to the pit, yet it shall not prove bottomless; though the worm may prey upon them, yet, at some period or other, it shall die ; and, though they may have to encounter devouring fire, yet they shall not dwell in everlasting burnings : if, I say, you should raise such hopes, and if all at last should prove a deception, think how you will be able to look them in the face another day ; and, what is still more, how you will be able to look Hmi in the face who hath charged you to be "free from the blood of all men;" and to "say unto the wick- ed, it shall be ill witli him ; for the reward of his hands shall be given him !" My dear friend ! do not take it un- kindly. My soul is grieved for you, and for the souls of many around you. How are you as to peace of mind, and com- munion with God 1 Beware of the whirl- pool of Socinianism. From what I un- derstand of the nature and tendency of your principles, it appears to me you are already within the influence of its destruc- tive stream. All who hold this senti- ment, I know, are not Socinians ; but there are few, if any, Socinians who do not hold this sentiment ; which is cer- tainly of a piece with their whole system. It would greatly rejoice my heart to be able to acknowledge you, as heretofore, my brother and fellow-laborer in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do let me hear from you, and lielieve me to be Yours, &c. A. F. LETTER II. REASONS FOR NOT CONTINUING THE CON- TROVERSY, AND REPLIES TO MR. VID- LEr's objections to THE FOREGO- ING. Sir, In the year 1793, when I understood that you had imbibed the doctrine of Uni- versal Salvation, I wrote you a private expostulatory letter, to which you return- ed no answer. You speak of this letter as being no secret in the circle of my acquaintance. I do not think it was shown to more than two or three individ- uals. Some time after, as a request was made, in the Evangelical Magazine, for some thoughts on that subject, and as there was nothing private in the contents of that letter, I took the liberty to send it up for insertion. Accordingly it appeared in the Magazine for September, 1795, under the signature of Gains. To this letter you have since written an answer, in the two first numbers of your Miscel- lany : I received, from you, a copy of those numbers at the time ; and, since then, another of tlie second edition ; for both of which I thank you. To this I made no reply. In your second edition, you inform your readers of the case, and seem to wish much to know the reasons of my silence. Some of your friends in the country, possessing a little of the san- guine temper perhaps of your Birming- ham correspondent, appear to have enter- tained a hope that it was owing to the im- pression which your letters had made up- on my mind. If such be also your hope, I can only say it has no foundation. Whether the reasons of my silence be "cogent" or not, the reader will judge, when I have stated them. If I do not con- sider them as requiring a continued si- lence, it is because you have compelled me to pursue a diiferent conduct. To the best of my recollection, I had three rea- sons for not writing at that time : — First : I did not know that it would be agreeable to you to insert in your Mis- cellany what I might write upon the sub- ject; and, though I considered the Evan- gelical Magazine as a suitable work for the introduction of a single piece, yet it did not appear to be a proper vehicle for LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. 339 a continued discussion, unless what was said on hotli sides were introduced. Secondly : Tlioiiirli I was not very deeply impressed with tiic (brce of your aririinients ; yet, being lully persuaded, notwithstandinji what you say of the lioly nature ot your doctrine, that it needed only to le read l)y a certain description of peo- ple in order to he inibilied; and not sup- posinj^ your work to have a very extensive circulation at present, I tiiouglit it niijrlit be as well to let it alone. You may con- sider this, if you jdease, as an acknowl- edgment of the weakness of my cause. Thirdly : Your two letters appeared to me to contain so many misapprehensions, and such a (juantity of perversions of the plain meaning of Scripture, that I felt it a kind of hopeless undertaking to go about to correct them. I do not entertain a mean opinion of your talents ; but I think they are per- verted by a system. You write as though you did not understand the plain meaning of words. I should not have thouglit that, by saying, " I observed you to be of a speculative disposition," I should either have puzzled or offended you. I cer- tainly did not mean, by that form of speech, either that you discovered a dispo- sition "not to take the assertions of men as the rule of your faith," on the one hand; or any particular "want of respect to- wards the sacred writings," on the other. I should not have thought of using such modes of expression to convey either of these ideas. If you choose to pay your- self such a compliment, or load yourself with such a censure, you are at liberty to do so ; but do not attribute either of them to me. You might have supposed that I meant to exhibit no very heavy charge, nor indeed any charge at all, under this form of expression ; seeing I added that " such a turn of mind might be very ad- vantageous, as well as very dangerous." In suggesting that " it is a serious mat- ter that we err not in our ministrations," I do not mean, either to take it for grant- ed that you were in an error, or to prove that you were so ; but merely to bespeak your serious attention to the subject. Your stumbling at the threshold, in this manner. Sir, afforded but little hope that, if I wrote, it would produce any other effect than a wrangle of words, for which I had neither time nor inclination. The three questions which I put to you, and " entreated you to consider," were, it seems, totally irrelative to the subject, equally so as to " the doctrine of election :" yet you thought proper to offer answers to some parts of them, as well as to pass over others. Waving, for the present, the consideration of those parts which you have noticed, I shall remind the reader of a lew things which you have not noticed, and leave him to judge whether even they were totally irrelative to the subject. You have not told us, that I recollect, whether you claim an exemption from endless punishment as a right ; but seem to wish us to think that this is not your ground, especially as you ascribe it to the death of Christ (j). 10 :) yet, in other parts of your Miscellany, I jjerceive the gift of Christ itself is considered as airepar- ationfor an injury (p. G9 ;) which alVords but too plain a proof that, notwithstanding all you say of grace and love, it is not on the footing of grace, but debt, that you hold with universal salvation. Under the second question, you were asked, " What doctrine, besidi-s that of Universal Salvation, you would find in the Bible, which affords encouragement to a sinner, going on still in his trespasses ; and which furnishes ground for hope and joy, even supposing him to persevere in sin till death 1" To this you have given no an- swer. Was this question equally irrel- ative to the subject as to the doctrine of election 1 Under the third question, you were ad- dressed as follows : — " If you should raise the hopes of the ungodly part of your au- dience, that though they should live and die in the'iv filthin ess, yet they shall not be filthy still; though they go down to the pit, yet it shall not prove bottomless; though the worm prey upon them, yet at some period or other it shall die ; and though they may have to encounter de- vouring fire, yet they shall not dwell with everlasting burnings : if, I say you should raise such hopes, and if all at last should prove a deception, think how you will be able to look them in the /ace another day ; and, what is still more, how you will be able to look Him in the face who hath charged you to be pure from the blood oj all men ! " Was this equally irrelative to the subject as to the doctrine of election'? Yet to no part of this have you given any answer, except your attempting to explain away the term everlasting may be so call- ed. You represent the whole of this third question as proceeding on the supposition of your denying all future punishment. But is not this a gross misrepresentation'! Does not the whole foregoing passage al- low that you admit of future punishment of a limited duration ; and hold up, though not in the form of arguments, several scri|)tural objections to that notion 1 I consider this. Sir, as a farther proof of your talents for fair and plain reasoning being perverted by a system. You appeal to the Scriptures, and con- tend that they nowhere teach the doctrine 340 LETTERS TO MR. VlDLER. of endless punishment : yet you are aware that they appear to do so, and are obliged to have recourse to a method of weaken- ing the force of terms, in order to get rid of them. It has been long the practice of writers on your side of the question to ring changes on the words aion and aionios, — pretty words, no doubt; and, could they be proved to be less expres- sive of endless duration than the English words everlasting and eternal, they might be something to the purpose : but, if not, the continual recurrence to them is a mere affectation of learning, serving to mislead the ignorant. Be this as it may, this is an exercise which hardly becomes you or me. I shall only observe upon it that, by this method of proceeding, you may disprove almost any thing you please. There are scarcely any terms, in any lan- guage, but what, through the poverty of language itself, or the inequality of the number of words to the number of ideas, are sometimes used in an improper or fig- urative sense. Thus, if one attempt to prove the divinity of the Son of God, or even of the Father, from his being called Jehovah, God, &c., you may reply that the name Jehovah is sometimes given to things ; as to an altar, a city, and, once, to the church ; therelbre nothing can be concluded, from hence, in favor of the ar- gument. Thus, also, if one go about to prove the ominiscience of God, from its being declared that his understanding is infinite ; you might answer, the term "infinite" is sometimes used to express only a very great degree ; as when the strength of Ethiopia and Egypt is said to have heeninfinite. — Nahum iii. 9. Again, If one endeavor to prove the endless ex- istence of God from his being called the eternal God, the everlasting God, &c., or the endless duration of the heavenly inhe- ritance, from its being called eternal life, an inheritance incorruptible and that fadeth not away ; you miglit answer, these terras are sometimes used to signify only limited duration ; and that a thing, in common language, is said to be incorruptible when it will continue a long time without any signs of decay. The question is, Could stronger terms have been used, concerning the duration of future punishment, than are used ? To object against the words everlasting, eter- nal, &c., as being too weak or indeter- minate in their application for the pur- pose, is idle, unless others could be named which are stronger, or more deter- minate. What expressions could have been used that would have placed the subject beyond dispute 1 You ordinarily make use of the term endless to express our doctrine : it should seem, then, tliat if we read of endless punishment, or puU' ishment without end, you would believe it. Yet tlie same objections might be made to this as to the words evei'lasting, eternal, &c- It is common to say of a loquacious person, He is an endless talk- er : it might, therefore, be pretended that the term endless is very indeterminate ; that it often means no more than a long time ; and, in some instances, not more than three or four hours, at longest. Thus you see, or may see, that it is not in the power of language to stand before such methods of criticising and reasoning as those on which you build your system. Admitting all tliat you allege in favor of the limited sense of the above terms, still the nature of the subject, the con- nection and scope of the passages, to- gether with the use of various other forms of expression, which convey the same thing, are sufficient to prove that, when applied to the doctrine of future pun- ishment, they are to be understood with- out any limitation. If Ave read of a disease cleaving to a man forever, the plain meaning is, to the end of his life ; if of an everlasting priest- hood, the meaning is, one that should continue to the end of the dispensation of which it was an institute : if of everlast- ing hills, or mountains, the meaning is, that they will continue till the end of the world : but, if after this world is ended, and successive duration consequently ter- minated, we read that the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, and that in the same passage in which it is added, but the righteous into everlasting life, (Matt. xxv. 46,) woe be to the man who dares to plunge into that abyss, on the presumption of finding a bottom ! The evidence which you offer of a suc- cessive duration after this period is a proof of the scarcity of tliat article in the paths which you are in the habit of tracing. A plain, unbiassed reader of Scripture would have supposed that the terms day and night, in Rev. xiv. 11, had been a figurative mode of expression, to denote perpetuity ; and especially as the same language is used by the inhabit- ants of heaven, chap. vii. 15. For my part, I confess, I should as soon have dreamed of proving, from what is said in Chap. xxi. 24 — " The nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of the New Jerusalem," — that mankind will maintain their present political distinc- tions in a future state, as of founding, upon such language, the idea of suc- cessive duration. Your expositions on other parts of the Revelations are of the same description, as frigid as they are puerile. It is a wonder the New Jerusa- LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. 341 lem corning down from heaven had not been supposed to liave fallen into the sea, and to liave tilled it up ; and an artju- ment been drawn I'roni its ^reat dimen- sions ot its being large enough to eontain the whole human race. You must not be surprised, Sir, if I do not perceive the force of these passages, in proving that all beyond the last judgment is not proper eternity. LETTER III. difficulties attending mr. vidleu's scheme, and its inconsistenc v with scripture. Sir, You complain, more than once, of my not understanding the subject against which I write ; and here, for aught I see, I must fall under. I confess I do not, nor can I understand what it is that you be- lieve. Having heard and seen so much of your professing to hold the doctrine of Universal Salvation, Universal Restitu- tion, and that "all men will be tinally benefited by the death of Christ," I really thought you had meant so ; and could not have imagined that, with these pretensions, you would have avowed the notion of annihilation. Hence it was that in my third question, though I did not, as you allege, proceed upon the supposition of your denying all future punishment, yet, I acknowledge, I did proceed upon the supposition that you hold with no other future punishment than w^hat should terminate in everlasting life. And who could have thought other- wise! After all the information you have since given me, I am still so igno- rant as not to understand how all men are to be tinally saved, and yet a part of them annihilated ! Neither can I comprehend how there can come a time with sinners when he thaf made them will not have mercy upon them, on the supposition that all punishment, of all degrees and dura- tion, is itself an exercise of mercy, (p. 10.) Neither can I comprehend how you re- concile many things in your scheme with the holy Scriptures. I have been used to understand the terms death and perish, he- ing opposed to everlasting life (Jolm iii. 16, X. 28,) as expressive, not of the loss of being, but of well-being. But with you they signify annihilation (p. 42.) The de- sign of God, it seems, in giving his Son to suffer for us, was not to save us from suf- fering, but merely from becoming extinct, and to perpetuate our existence. And the death which those who keep his sayings slndl never taste, John viii. 52, means the same thing: they shall exist forever; a blessing which your scheme makes equal- ly applicalile to many who do not keep his savings as to those who do. And w here do you find the al'ove terms used to con- vey the idea of annihilation on any other subject; and whence was this notion learned 1 * When we are told " that God will not contend forever, neither will he be always w roth ; for the spirit should fail before him, and the souls which he hath made," Isa. Ivii. 16, I sujjposed it had i)een meant only of them who, in the context, are said to put their trust in the Lord ; and that in the present life, seeing it was promised them that they should possess the land, and in- herit his holy mountain ; of them who were of a contrite and humble spirit, and not of the ivicked, who are likened to the trou- bled sea, for whom there is no peace ; but you consider all these promises as belong- ing to the same people as the threatening in chap, xxvii. 11, " He that made them will not have mercy upon them, and he that formed them will show them no fa- vor!" I observe, when such terms as forever seem to favor your cause, they are to be taken in their utmost latitude of meaning. If it had been said of the Divine Being, he will contend forever, you would have in- troduced your sing-song of aionas and aionon,\ as sometimes meaning only a lim- ited duration ; but, seeing it is said he will 710^ contend forever, here the word must be understood of duration without end. You must excuse me, however, if I for once avail myself of your critical labors, and remind you that forever, in this pass- age, refers merely to the present life, as the context plainlj' shows. I never imagined, till I saw it in the writings of Universalists, that finishing transgressio7i and making an end of sin, Dan. ix. 24, had any reference to what was to be done after the resurrection and the last judgment ; and especially since what is there predicted was to be accom- plished within seventy weeks, or four hun- dred and ninety years, from the time of the prophecy. I have been used to think that the me- diation of Christ was not on liehalf of fal- len angels, whose nature he took not on him, of whose salvation the Scriptures are * The reader will perceive, Iiereafter, tliat Mr. Fuller was mistaken in supposing ."Vlr. Vidler to hold the doctrine of Annihilation; tiiis he acknowledges in Letter VIL — Ed. t Alluding to Mr. Vidler's quotation in the Uni- versalist's Miscellany, No. L p. 8. 34^ LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. silent, and whose own ideas are that they have nothing to do with him. — Matt. viii. 29. But, according to your reasonings, they also must be either saved or annihila- ted ; yea, they must have at least the of- fer of salvation, otherwise their present and future sufferings would not be in mer- cy, which you consider as belonging to all punishment whatever. It had been usual with me to think that the triumph of mercy in the day of retri- bution, as described in James ii. 13, Psalm Ixii. 12, respected another description of people than those who were to receive judgment without mercy j namely, tliose that should " so speak, and so do, as they that should be judged by the perfect law of liberty :" but you have found out a scheme, it seems, in which these opposites are united in the same persons ; and in which the ungodly, while receiving judg- ment without mercy, have no judgment but what is in mercy. — p. 10. Is it surprising, Sir, that a man of plain and ordinary ca- pacity should be at a loss to understand such things as these 1 It would not have occurred to me that an argument could have been drawn from the threatenings of God to Israel in the present life, Lev. xxv., to what shall be done to the ungodly world in the life to come ; yet so it is, p. 43 : and the ground on which the analogy is justified is the im- mutability of the divine character. But what the immutable character of God re- quires to be done must be done alike in all ages, and to all people : whereas what was there threatened of Israel was not done at the same time to other nations, nor has it been done since to any nation beside them. — Amos iii. 2. Acts xvii. 30. There is nothing in it analogous to his dealings with mankind, unless it be the general idea of his " making use of natural evil to correct moral evil." This being known to lie the case on earth, you "cannot but think it must be the design of future punishment." Such is the whole of your argument, which you recommend to my " serious consid- eration ! " But how if, on the other hand, I should say, though natural evil be used on earth to correct moral evil in society at large, yet it is not always sent for the pur- pose of correcting the parties themselves 1 We have no proof that the men of Sodom were destroyed by fire, or Pharaoh drown- ed in the sea, for their good ; therefore, I cannot but think there is a similar design in future punishment. I always supposed that the sense in which God is said to be "the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe," (p. 44,) was that in which the apostle there puts his trust in him ; namely, as the God of providence, whose care is extended to all his creatures, but especially to lie- lie vers. I have read of the "dispensation of the fulness of times ;" but the idea never oc- curred to me that these times were to be understood of ages beyond the last judg- ment. I have no doubt but the " gather- ing together in one all things in Christ which are in heaven, and which are on earth," will be accomplished, and that within the limits of time. If it be done, as you allow it will (p. 10,) by the time " that he shall have put down all rule, and all au- thority, and power, and shall have subdued all things unto himself," it will be done by the time he shall have raised the dead and judged the world ; for then is this work described as being accomplished. — 1 Cor. XV. 24. In reading the account of the " new heaven and new earth," in the 21st chap- ter of the Revelation, I find, amongst oth- er things, it is said, " there shall be no more death ; " and afterwards, " no more curse ;" but I should not have thought of these things being applied to the universe at large, but merely to the inhaliitants of that blessed state ; and the rather, seeing it is said in the same chapter, that " the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abom- inable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Neither could I have supposed it possible, from such a repre- sentation of the second death, to conclude that it consisted in annihilation. By the "times of the restitution of all things," Acts iii. 21, I have been used to understand the times of the resurrection and the last judgment ; for that till then, and no longer, will Christ be detained in the heavens. Whenever Christ descends from heaven, then, according to Peter, will be the times of the restitution of all things : but this will be previously and in order to his raising the dead, and judging the world. — 1 Thes. iv. 16. Consequent- ly, these are the times of which the apos- tle speaks. The utter ove;-throw which will then be given to the kingdom of Satan by the general conflagration, 2 Pet. iii. 12 ; the destruction of the last enemy, death, by the resurrection, 1 Cor. xv. 23, 26 ; and the final adjustment of human af- fairs by the last judgment. Matt. xxv. 31 — 46 ; will be a restitution of all things ; the empire of sin will be crushed, and the government of God completely restored, But the times in which your scheme is to be accomplished must be after the final judgment; for from that period there is an everlasting punishvient for the wicked to endure, a lake of fire into which they LLTTLKS TO MR. VIDLER. 343 are to be cast, Matt. xxv. 4G ; Rev. xx. 15; and from which your restitution of all things is to recover thcin. Your res- titution, therefore, and tiiat of tlie Scrip- tures, are not the same. You cannot conceive of a restitution of all things, and of sin being made an end of, unless all the individuals, in the creation l>e eitlier reconciled to God or annihilated ; l)ut what authority have you lor sucii a construction of these terms T Did tiie reslorinu; of all things on tiie Mes- siah's tirst appearance. Matt. xvii. 11, include all individuals, as far as it went 1 When God said to Zcdekiah, " And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end," did it mean tiiat he should he either converted or annihilated ] — Ezek. xxi. 25. And wlien the same language is used of the sins of the people, chap. xxxv. 5, does it mean that they should lie either convert- ed or annihilated 1 Rather, is it not man- ifest that, by ini<]itity having an end, is meant that the perpetrators of it were brought to condign punishment, shut up in Babylon, as in a prison, and rendered incapable of doing farther mischief 1 Such will be the case with all the ungodly at the second coming of Christ ; and this will be the restoration of peace, order, and happiness to the rest of the universe. The doctrine of endless misery appears to you to " confound all degrees of punish- ment, in giving infinite punishment to all." — p. 42. You, it seems, can conceive of no diversity of suffering, unless it be in duration. Will the reflection of lost souls on their past life, then, be in all exactly the same 1 — the same in the ob- jects reflected on ; and, consequently, the same in the intenseness of their mis- ery 1 How grossly absurd. Sir, must be your notions of future punishment, to ad- mit of such an idea ! Besides, there is equal reason to believe that there will be different degrees of glory as of misery. If heavenly bliss bear any relation to the la- bors and sufferings of the present life on behalf of Christ, which the Scriptures as- sure us it does (Matt. V. 12 ; 2 Cor. iv. 17,) these being diverse, that must also be the same. But, according to your reasoning, there can be no diversity, unless it be m duration : either, therefore, all degrees of happiness must be confounded, in giving happiness to all ; or the inhabitants of heaven, as well as those of hell, must, after a certain period, be continually di- minishing by annihilation. Such, Sir, are your expositions of Scripture. Except in the productions of a certain maniac in our ow n country, I never recollect to have seen so much violence done to the word of God in so small a compass. According to your scheme, al] tilings work together for good to them that love not God, as w ell as to them that love him. Thus you confound what the Scriptures discriminate. Our Lord told the Jews that, if they be- lieved not that he was the Messiah, they should die in their sins, and whither he went they could not come (John viii. 21 ;) but, according to your scheme, they might die in their sins, and yet be able to go whither he went, and inherit eternal life. The Scriptures describe a sort of char- acters who shall be exposed to "a certain fearful looking for of judgment" (Heb. x. 27;) but this, according to your scheme, can be nothing more than annihilation. For, as the case of the characters describ- ed is suggested to be irrevocal)le and hope- less, they cannot be punished, during ages of ages, in a loay of mercy, or with a view to their recovery : and as to their being punished during this long period, and in the end annihilated, this would be contra- ry to all your ideas of punishment, which must always have its foundation in mercy. Hence it follows that all this fearful look- ing for of judgment amounts to no more than what Atheists and Infidels generally prefer ; death being to them an everlasting sleep. Nor is your hypothesis less at variance with itself than with the holy Scriptures. Your notion of temporary punishment clashes with all your arguments drawn from the benevolent feelings of a good man. You ask, "Doth not every good man love his enemies, and forgive even the worst of themi Is there a man living, whose heart is fdled with the love of God, that would not promote the best interest of his most inveterate foe, if it lay in his power 1 And has not God more love than the best of menl And are not his wis- dom and his power equal to his lovel " — p. 74. In return, I ask, Is there a man living, whose heart is filled with the love of God, who would be w illing that his worst enemy should be cast into hell for ages of ages, or for a single age, or even a single day, when it was in his power to deliver him from if? But God hath more love than the best of men ; and his wisdom and power are equal to his love : consequently there will be no future punishment ! Your notion of annihilation will also contradict the greater part of your preten- sions. You talk of universal salvation; but you do not believe it : for a part of the human race are to be given up, as incura- ble, to annihilation. You plead the fifth chapter to the Romans in favor of your doctrine ; contending that justification of life will be as extensi%e as condemnation : but you believe no such thing ; for a part 344 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. of those who are condemned, instead of being justified and saved, will be given up, as incurables, to annihilation. You think you see times beyond the last judgment in which all things, or rather, as you under- stand it, all persons, are to be gathered to- gether in Christ, and reconciled by the blood of his cross : howbeit, you mean not so, neither doth your heart think so ; for a part of them will be struck out of existence, who can, therefore, be neither gathered nor reconciled. You pretend to unite the opinions of Calvinists and Ar- minians : the Ibrmer, you say, render the death of Christ effectual, but limit its de- sign to a part of mankind ; the latter ten- der it to all, but consider it as ineffectu- al ; while you maintain that it is designed for all, and effectual to all, — pp. 70, 71. But this is mere pretence ; you believe no such thing ; for a part of mankind are to be, at last, annihilated. By an anecdote which you have inserted in p. 65 of your Miscellany, you flatter yourself that you have fastened a difficulty on a Mr. R , from which he cannot extricate himself, but by embracing your doctrine. But nei- ther could he, if he did embrace it ; for you no more believe that God will save all mankind than Mr. R . You pretend to urge it as a difficulty on me that " either God cannot or loill not make an end of sin; that there is not effi- cacy enough in the blood of Christ to de- stroy the works of the devil ; or else that the full efficacy of the atonement is with- held by the divine determination : " — p. 44. But it is all pretence. If it be a diffi- culty, it equally bears upon your own hy- pothesis as upon mine. If Christ died with an intention to save all, why are not all saved 1 Why must a number of them be annihilated 1 Is it because God cannot bring them to repentance and salvation ; or because he will not? Is there not effi- cacy enough in the blood of the cross to destroy the works of the devil, without his having recourse to a mere act of pow- er ; an act which might have been exerted without that blood being shed 1 Or is the full efficacy of the atonement withheld by the divine determination 1 LETTER IV. replies, and defences of former reasonings. Sir, I MUST be very weak, if, while writing in a publication of which my opponent is the Editor, I should expect to have the last word. When I have said what ap- pears to me necessary on any point, and on the whole matter of dispute, I shall leave it to the judgment of the candid reader. From any thing I had advanced, you had no ground to conclude that I formed an improper estimate of my own reputa- tion. Any man who has been in the habit of writing, and whose writings have been at all regarded by the public, must be pos- sessed of some reputation ; and, whether it be small or great, it is his duty not to make use of it for the propagation of what he believes to be pernicious error. "Truth," you say, " courts the public observation of men:" and so may error. If it be true that wisdom " crieth in the top of high places;" it is equally true that folly is loud and stubborn. The ad- vocates of infidelity. Sir, are not less bold than yourself, nor less loud in their chal- lenges of examination. Such challenges afford no criterion ot truth : nor is it any proof of the goodness of a cause that its abettors court the public attention. They may be well aware that public prejudice is in their favor; or may entertain a much greater dread of sinking into insig- nificance, by neglect, than of being over- come in the field of contest. You have repeatedly reminded me of the favor which you confer upon me, by permitting my papers to appear in your Miscellany. Now, Sir, I consider it as no favor at all ; nor as affording any proof of your impartiality. If you think other- wise, you are at perfect liberty, after in- troducing this series of letters, to discon- tinue them. If I wish to write anything farther on the subject, I shall not be at a loss for a proper medium. " The prejudices of both professor and profane," you tell me, " are in my favor." Had you used the term consciences, in- stead of prejudices, you would have been nearer the truth. So far as my observa- tions extend, the prejudices of the bulk of mankind are on the other side. Deists and libertines lead the way, by an open or affected rejection of all future punish- ment. Socinians, who generally include Universal Salvation in their scheme, fol- low hard after them. Mrs. Barbauld, if I remember right, in her Remarks on Mr. Wakefield's Inquiry, goes so far as to represent the ideas of access to God through a mediator, and of punishment in a bottomless pit, as originating in the ig- norance and servility of eastern customs. Unbelievers, it is well known, rejoice in the spread of Socinianism, as being favorable to their views ; and Socinians rejoice no less in the spread of Universal - ism, as favorable to theirs. This is suf- ficiently manifest by the applauses which LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. 345 writers on your side commonly meet with in tlie Monthly Review. There are great numbers of nominal Christians, of loose characters, who would be glad to believe your doctrine of temporary punishment, and to j)rocced, by an easy transition, to that of no punishment at all : nor is there any bar which prevents their falling in with these views, but the remonstrance of their consciences. They fear it is too favorable to their vices to be true : and therefore are deterred from embracing it. Such, Sir, is the "de- scription of people" after whom you in- quire ; such is the company with whom you associate, and to whom you adminis- ter consolation ; and such is the justness of your remark that "the prejudices of both professor and profane are in my fa- vor." If you yourself had not been per- suaded of the contrary, I question wheth- er you would have given that title to my first two Letters which appears on the blue covers of your work.* The word torment, it is true, can give no just of- fence, as it is a scriptural expression ; yet, to persons who judge on these subjects merely by their feelings, the ideas con- veyed by it are sufficient to prejudice tliem against every thing wliich a writer may advance. Your Magazines, Sir, I presume, would be less accental)le to many of your readers than they are, if, instead of employing so large a portion of them in attempting to prove tliat all will be finally happy, you were frequently to insist that some men would be tormented in hell, without any mixture of mercy, for a number of ages ; and, if you insisted on this doctrine also in your pulpit exercises, you yourself might possii)lyl)e considered as a "brawl- er of damnation." You carefully avoid claiming universal salvation as a right, and are pleased to represent my inquiry on that subject as "a quibble." I am not surprised. Sir, that you should ferl reluctant on this head ; that you should decline the defence of your friend, and that you should alter- nately compliment and reproach your op- ponent, as if to keep him at a distance from the subject. — No. I., p. 5; No. XXXIV., p. 309. If I mistake not, this is a fundamental principle in your system, and that which proves it to be fundamen- tally wrong. There is no need of having recourse to the pieces of oth"r writers; your own productions atTord sufficient evidence that the salvation for which you plead is not that which arises from the *"LeUer I. from .Mr. A. Fuller, in defence of eternal torments." free grace of God through Jesus Christ ; and, consequently, that it is no [)art of the salvation revealed in the gospel. V'ou reject the idea of invalidating the divine threat- enings towards sinners (No. XXXIV'. p. 310,) admitting "them in their lull lati- tude, and the execution of them too ;" maintaining that " God will deal with his creatures according to their character," and that " siimers will be punished according to their works." — No. II. p. 42. Now, Sir, if there be any meaning in all this lan- guage, it is. That justice will have its course on the ungodly ; and that, what- ever punishment they endure, whether it be vindictive or corrective, endless or tem- porary, it is all that their sins deserve. If the threatenings of God mean more than a punishment which is temporary, and tor the good of sinners, their conduct caji de- serve no more ; for we cannot have a more certain rule of estimating the just demerit of sin than the wrath of God which is revealed from heaven against it. But, if sinners endure the full desert of their sins, there is no room for grace, or undeserved favor ; nor is any place left for the work of mediation. A criminal who has sutlcred the lull penalty of the law has no right to be told that his liber- ation is an act of grace, or that it was owing to the mediation of another. Your Universal Salvation, therefore, is no part of that which arises from the grace of God, or the death of Christ; nor is it, prop- erly speaking, salvation at all, but a legal discharge, in consequence of a full satis- faction to divine justice being made, by the sufferings of the sinner. If you contend that the liberation of the sinner is owing to the grace of God, through the mediation of his Son, which mitigates and shortens his punishment, then you at once give up all you have before maintained : That sinners w ill be punished according to their ivorks, and that the threatenings of God will be fully executed upon them. You may have read of "instances of both punishment and pardon to the same persons, and for the same sins ;" (No. XXXV. p. 337;) but this must be where the punishment has not been according to the desert of the sin, otherwise there had been no need of pardon. You talk much of my dealing in "sup- positions, instead of arguments," and of my "resting my conclusions on unfounded assumptions." I have carefully examined these charg- es, and am unable to perceive the justice of them in a single instance. Though the Letter which appeared in the Evan- VOL. I. 44 346 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. gelical Magazine was chiefly in the form of supposition, yet that supposition was not destitute of argument to support it. It is possible, Sir, though it does not ap- pear to have occurred to your mind, that arguments themselves may be conveyed under the form of suppositions. To con- vince you that this was the case, in the above Letter, I will put the very passage to which you object into the form of ar- gument. The Scriptures teach us that those who, at a certain period, are found filthy, shall be filthy still j that they shall be cast into that bottomless pit which was pre- pared for the devil and his angels ; and that they shall dwell with everlasting burnings. But your doctrine teaches that though they be filthy at death, or judgment, or any other period, yet they shall not be al- loays so ; that, though they be cast into the pit of destruction, yet it shall not prove bottomless ; and that, though they have to encounter devouring fire, yet they shall not dwell with everlasting burnings. Therefore your doctrine is anti-scriptu- ral. But, if your doctrine b-e anti-scriptu- ral, it is of that nature which tends to deceive the souls of meii ; and you will not be able to look them in the face an- other day, a;.d still less Him who hath charged you to be pure from the blood of all men. The first three positions contain the argument, and the last the inference. I should think "the world," or rather the reader, did not need to be informed what argument there was in this string of suppositions ; if he did, however, I have attempted, at your request, to give him that information. With respect to building on " unfound- ed assumptions," for which I am accused of " betraying my ignorance of the sub- ject I have written against," (No. II. ]). 45,) you have given us two instances, which I shall briefly examine. First: I had asked, "What doctrine, besides that of Universal Salvation, will you find in the Bible, which affords en- couragement to a sinner going on still in his trespasses ; and which furnishes ground for hope and joy, even supposing him to persevere in sin till death 1" What principle is it that is here assumed 1 Why, you answer, that the doctrine of Univer- sal Salvation does afford encouragement to a sinner going on still in his trespasses, and does furnish ground for hope and joy, even supposing him to persevere in sin till death. . And is this indeed a question 1 I t(^k it for a self-evident truth, and sup- posed you must and would have acknowl- edged it. Whether you will, or not, however, I appeal to the common sense of the reader, whether any position can be more self-evident than the following : If the Scriptures teach that all men shall be finally saved, every sinner, whatever be his vicious courses, is encouraged to expect eternal life; and, though he should persist in sin till death, is warranted to hope and rejoice in the prospect of all being well with him at last. — For any man to deny this position is to deny what is self-evident, and there can be no far- ther reasoning with him. To allege, in answer, that it will be always ill with the wicked while he con- tinues so is trifling; for if the sinner be taught to believe that, at some future period beyond this life, he shall be deli- vered both from sin and punishment ; whether the former branch of this deliv- erance afford him joy or not, the latter must. The same question, you say, might be asked concerning the doctrine of election. It might ; but I should readily answer. No sinner, while going on in his trespass- es, is warranted to consider himself as elected to salvation : therefore, that doc- trine affords no ground of hope and joy to persons of this description. Can you say the same of the doctrine of Universal Salvation^ If there were the same ground for an ungodly sinner to conclude himself elected as your doctrine affords for his con- cluding that he shall be eternally saved, the cases would be parallel, and both these doctrines would be alike subject to the charge of comforting those whom God would not have comforted : but, as this is not true of election, your notion is still solitary, and ) our difficulty remains where it was. All the encomiums which you pass upon the Universal scheme (No. II. pp. 41 — 44) furnish not a single example of any other divine truth which gives en- couragement to a sinner, while in his sins, to believe that in the end it shall be well with him. The question, therefore, still returns upon you, What doctrine, besides that of Universal Salvation, will you find in the Bible, ivhich affords encouragement to a sinner going on still in his trespasses, and which furnishes ground for hope and joy, even supposing him to persevere in them till death ? I do not say, "let the world judge" whether this question proceeded on any unfounded assumption, and whether it be equally applicable to election as to uni- versal salvation, because I imagine it will be but a very small part of the world that will examine our productions : but I am willing to make my appeal to the intelli- LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. 347 gent and impartial reader. And with re- spect to y u, Sir, the task whicliyou liave set yourself is before you : eitiier to " con- fess it to be true" tluil your doctrine gives encouragement, hope, and joy to wicked men; or to "expose the falsehood of this supposition more tully." In the second place, you charge me with " taking it for granted that your views in- validate the divine threatenings towards sinners;" and intimate that there is no " reason" in what I say, but upon the sup- position of your denying " all future pun- ishment."— No. II. p. 45. That I nev- er sujiposed you to deny all future pun- ishment, I have already prov6*tanding all your challenges, and calling out for more to be written, you have not yet answered the first Letter. LETTER V. evidences of endless punishment. Sir, You seem to wish to persuade your readers that tlic grounds on which I rest my i>elief of the doctrine of endless pun- ishment are very slender. The truth is, I have not, at present, attempted to state those grounds. Considering myself as not engaged in a formal controversy, I only introduced a few passages ; and to several of tiiem you have iiilhcrto made no reply. The principal grounds on which I rest my belief of the doctrine you oppose are as follow : — I Al,I, THOSE PASSAGES OF ScRIP- TURE WHICH DESCRIBE THE FUTURE STATES OF MEN IN CONTRAST. " Men of the world, who have their portion in this life : I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness. — The hope of the righteous shall be gladness ; but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. — The wicked is driven away in his wick- edness : but the righteous hath hope in his death. — And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall aw ake ; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. — He will gather his wheat into the garner, and will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. — Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat ; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. — Not every one that saith. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. — Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven ; but the children of the kingdom sliall lie cast out into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. — Gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles, to burn them : but gather the w heat into my barn. — The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire : there shall be wailing, and gnashing of teeth : then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. — The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that gathered fish of every kind; which, when it was full, they drew to the shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, and 348 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world ; the angels shall come forth, and sever the Avicked from among • the just, and shall cast them into the fur- nace of fire: there shall be wailing, and gnashing of teeth.— Blessed is that ser- vant, whom, when his lord cometh, he shall find so doing : but and if that evil servant should say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he look- eth not for him, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hy- pocrites : tliere shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. — Well done, good and faithful servant ; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. But cast ye out the unprofit- able servant into outer darkness : there shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth. — Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Fa- ther, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : then shall he also say unto them on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. — And these shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but the righteous into everlasting life. — He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned. — Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy ; for, behold, your reward is great in heaven. But woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have re- ceived your consolation. — He that heareth my sayings, and doeth them, is like unto a man who built his house upon a rock ; and, when the flood arose, the storm beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it ; for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like unto a man who built his house upon the earth, against which the storm did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. — God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. — Ail that are in their graves shall come forth : they that have done good unto the resurrection of life ; and tiiey that have done evil unto the res- urrection of damnation. — Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor 1 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long- suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the ves- sels of mercy, which he had afore prepar- ed unto glory 1 — The Lord knoweth them that are his. — But in a great house there are vessels to honor, and vessels to dis- honor.— Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever a, man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that sow- eth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap cor- ruption ; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. — That which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing ; Avhose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things which accompany salvation." I consider these passages as designed to express the final states of men; which, if they be, is the same thing, in ef- fect, as their being designed to expi-ess the doctrine of endless punishment : for, if the descriptions here given of the portion of the wicked denote their filial state, there is no possibility of another state succeeding it. That the above passages do express the final states o( men may appear from the following considerations : — 1. The state of the righteous (which is all along opposed to that of the wicked) is allowed to be final : and, if the other were not the same, it would not have been, in such a variety of forms, contrasted with it ; for it, would not be a contrast. 2. All these passages are totally silent as to any other state following that of de- struction, damnation, &c. If the punish- ment threatened to ungodly men had been only a purgation, or temporary correction, we might have expected that something like this would have been intimated. It is supposed that some, who are upon the right foundation, may yet build upon it wood, hay, and stubble ; and that the party shall suffer loss ; but he himself shall be saved, though it be as by fire. Now, if the doctrine of Universal Salvation were true, we might expect some such account of all lapsed intelligences when their future state is described ; but nothing like it occurs in any of the foregoing passages, nor in any other. 3. The phraseology of the greater part of them is inconsistent with any other state following that which they describe. On the supposition of salvation being appoint- ed as the ultimate portion of those Avho die in their sins, they have not their por- tion in this life; but will, equally with those who die in the Lord, behold his right- eousness, and be satisfied in his likeness. Their expectation shall not perish ; but shall issue, as well as that of the righteous, in gladness : and, though driven aivay in their loickcdness, yet they have hope in their death, and that hope shall be realized. The broad way doth not lead to destruction. LETTERS TO Mil. VIDLER. 849 but merely (o a toinporary correction, the end of whicii is e\crlaslinjir life. The chaff will not be burned, hut turned into wheat, and jrathered into the irarner. The tares will be ti\e same, and gathered into the barn; and tlie Inxl fish will be turned good, and gathered into vessels. The cursed, as well as the i)lessed, shall inher- it the kingdom ol God; which also was prepared lor them (rom the (bundation of the world. There may be a woe against the wicked, that they shall be kept from their consolation for a long time, but not that they have received it. Those who, in the present life, believed 7iot in Christ, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. This life, also, is improperly represented as the seed time, and the lile to come as the harvest, inasmuch as the seeds of heavenly bliss may be sown in hell : and though the sinner may reap corruption, as the fruit of all his present doings, yet that corruption will not be the ojtposite of ev- erlasting life, seeing it will issue in it. Finally : Though they bear briers aiid thorns, yet their end is not to be burned, but to obtain salvation. To the foregoing Scripture testimonies may be added, II. All those passages which SPEAK OF THE DURATION OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT BY THE TERMS "EVER- LASTING, ETERNAL, FOREVER, AND FOR- EVER AND EVER : " ' " Some shall awake to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting con- tempt.— It is better for thee to enter into life halt, or maimed, than having two hands, or two feet, to be cast into everlast- ing fire. — Depart, ye cursed, into everlast- ing fire. — And these shall go into everlast- ing punishment. — They shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. — He that shall l)laspheme against the Holy Spirit is in danger of (or subject to) eternal damnation. — The in- habitants of Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth for an example, sufTering the ven- geance of eternal fire. — These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest, to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever. — Wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of dark- ness forever. — If any man worship the beast, or his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out, without mix- ture, into the cup of his indignation : and he shall be tormented with fire ahd brim- stone, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb : and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for- ever and ever : and they have no rest day nor night. — And they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever. — And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false j)rophct are; and shall be tormented day and night forever and pi'■ and that its literal meaning is always being; * also, that the meaning of its derivative aiionog is endless, everlasting, or eternal. This term, "iwnoc, which is very sparingly applied in the New Testament to limited duration, I al- ways take in its proper sense, except there be something in the connection or subject which requires it to be taken otherwise : and, as I do not find this to be the case in any of those places where it is applied to punishment, I see no reason, in these ca- ses, to depart from its proper acceptation. * Aristotle, the philosopher, who liveil upwards of three hundred years before the IVew Te.^t.imeiit was written, plaitily tells us the meaning which tiie Greek wi iters of his time, and those who in his time were accounted ancients, affixed to this term. Sjjeaking of the gods, whom he considered as inmiortal, and as having their residence above the heavens, he says, " The l)eings which exist there, neither exist in place, nor does lime make tliem grow old ; nor un- dergo they any changes, being |)lared beyond die mo- lion even of those who arc the farthest removed (from the centre ;) but possessing an unchangeable life, free from all outward impressions, perfectly happy, and self-sufficient, they continue through all ato>ra, eter- nity. And this the ancients admirably signified by the word itself : for they call the time of each per- son's life his ai'vjy, inasmuch as according to the Jaws of nature nothing (respecting him) exists out of the limits of it ; and, for the .smie reason, that which comprehends the duration of the whole heaven, the whole of infmite time, and infinity itself, is called ai'oiru, eternity; taking its name from always tniing (ail tnai,) iiumortal and divine." 350 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. Everlasting punishment is, in some of them, opposed to everlasting life ; which, so far as an antithesis can go to fix the meaning of a term, determines it to be of the same force and extent. To allege that the subject requires a dif- ferent meaning, in this case, to be given to the term, is to assume what will not be granted. The ;jroo/ that has been offered on this point will be considered hereafter. With respect to the phrases, t(? r'ov almva^ forever, and «''? tot; alonac too/ altaiMV^ for ever and ever, I believe you will not find a single example in all the New Testament of their being used to convey any other than the idea of endless duration. You tell us i\\?ii iii aii7i\ Hi ulonoii-^ forever and ever, in Rev. xiv. 11, should be rendered, "to the age of ages." Are you certain of this 1 Admitting the principle of your translation, some would have rendered it to ages of ages : but, render it how you will, the meaning of the phrase is the same. You might render it thus in other instances, wherein it is applied to the hap- piness of the righteous, or the glory to be ascribed to God ; but this would not prove that such happiness and such glory Avere of limited duration, or that the phrase in question is expressive of it. To the above may be added, III. All those passages which ex- press THE DURATION OP FUTURE PUN- ISHMENT BY IMPLICATION, OR BY FORMS OF SPEECH WHICH IMPLY THE DOCTRINE IN QUESTION. " I pray for them : I pray not for the world. — The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men, nei- ther in this world, neither in the world to come. — He hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. — There is a sin unto death : I do not say that ye sliall pray for it. — It is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. — If we sin wilfully, after we have received the know- ledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, Vmt a fearful look- ing for of judgment which shall devour the adversaries. — What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away 1 — Woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betray- ed : it had been good for that man if he had not been born. — Their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.* — Be- tween us andyouthere isagreat gulf fixed; so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us who would come from thence. — He that believeth not the Son shall not sec life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him. I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall * Several times repeated in a few verses. die in your sins ; whither I go ye cannot come. — Whose end is destruction. — He that showeth no mercy, shall have judg- ment without mercy." If there be some for whom Jesus did not pray, there are some who will have no share in the benefits of his mediation, without which they cannot be saved. — If there be some that never will be forgiven, there are some that never will be saved ; for forgiveness is an essential branch of salvation. Let there be what uncertain- ty there may in the word eternal, in this instance, still the meaning of it is fixed by the other branch of the sentence, — they shall never be forgiven. It is equal to John X. 28. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. If there were any uncertainty as to the meaning of the word eternal in this latter passage, yet the other liranch of the sentence would settle it : for that must be endless life, which is opposed to their ever perishing; and, by the same rule, that must be end- less damnation which is opposed to their ever being forgiven. If there be a sin for the pardon of which Christians are forbid- den to pray, it must be on account of its being the revealed will of God that it nev- er should be pardoned. If repentance be absolutely necessary to forgiveness, and there be some who it is impossible should be renewed again unto repentance, there are some whose salvation is impossible. If there be no more sacrifice for sins, but a fearful looking for of judgment, this is the same thing as the sacrifice already of- fered being of no saving effect ; for, if it were otherwise, the language would not contain any peculiar threatening against the wilful sinner, as it would be no more than might be said to any sinner : nor would a fearful looking for of judgment he his certain doom. If the souls of some men will be lost, or castaway, they cannot all be saved; seeing these things are op- posites. A man may be lost in a desert, and yet saved in fact ; or he may suffer loss, and yet himself be saved : but he cannot be lost so as to be cast away, and yet finally saved ; for these are perfect contraries. Whatever may be the pre- cise idea of the^re and the worm, there can be no doubt of their expressing the punishment of the wicked ; and its being declared of the one that it dieth not, and of the other that if is not quenched, is the same thing as their being declared to be endless. It can be said of no man, on the principle of Universal Salvation, that it were good for him not to have been born; since whatever he may endure for a season, an eternal weight of glory will in- finitely outweigh it. An impassable gulf, between the blessed and the accursed, LETTERS TO MH. VIDLEU. 351 equally militates against the recovery of the one and the relapse of the other. If Some shall not see life, hut the wrath of God abidcth on them — if those wlio die in their sins shall not come where Jesus is — if their end be destruction, and their por- tion be judgment without mercy — tliere must be some who will not be finally saved. To these may be added, IV. All those passages which in- timate THAT A CHANGE OF HEART, AND A PREPAREDNESS FOR HEAVEN, ARE CONFINED TO THE PRESENT LIFE. " Seek ye the Lord ivhile he may be found ; call ye upon him tohile he is near : let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thouf:;lits ; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. — Because I have called, and ye refused ; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded — I al- so will laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh. When your fear Cometh as desolation, and your destruction Cometh as a w iiirlwind ; when distress and anguish cometh upon you ; then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, but shall not find me. — Then said one unto him. Lord, are there few that shall be saved 1 And he said un- to them. Strive to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying. Lord, Lord, open unto us ; he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence you are — Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity — there shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth. — While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. — While they (the foolish virgins) went to buy, the bridegroom came ; and they that were rea- dy went in with him to the marriage, and the door ivas shut. — We beseech you, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain — Behold, noto is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. — To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. — Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God — lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected : for he found no place of repent- ance, though he sought it carefully with tears. — He that is unjust, let him be un- just still ; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still ; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still ; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." According to these Scriptures, there will be no successful calling upon the Lord af- ter a certain period, and, consequently, no salvation. Whether there be few that shall uilirnatoly be saved, our Lord does not inform us ; but he assures us that there are inany icho luill not be saved; or which is the same thing, who will not be able to enter in at the strait gate. None, it is plainly intimated, will l)e able to enter there who have not agonized here. There will be no l)elieving unto salvation, but ivhilc ^ce have the light ; nor any admission into the kingdom, unless we be ready at the coming of the Lord. The [)resenl is the accepted time, the day of salvation, or the season lor sinners to be saved. If we con- tinue to harden our hearts through life, he will swear in his wrath that we shall not enter into his rest. If we turn away from him ivho spcaketh from heaven, it will be equally impossible for us to obtain the bless- ing, as it was tor Esau after he had despi- sed his birthright. Finally: beyond a cer- tain period, there shall be no more change of character, but every one will have re- ceived that impression which shall re- main forever, whether he be just or un- just, fdthy or holy. In this letter I have endeavored to state the grounds of my own persuasion : in the next I may examine the reasonings and objections which you have advanced against it. The greater part of this evi- dence being taken from our Lord's dis- courses, who knew the truth, and was him- self to be the Judge of the world, renders it peculiarly interesting. If a preacher in these times delivered half so much on the subject, you would denominate him a " brawler of damnation." LETTER VI. replies to objections. Sir, In a former Letter I suggested that, whether the Scriptures teach the doctrine of endless punishment or not, they certain- ly appear to do so. Whether this sugges- tion was unfounded, the evidence in my last Letter must determine. You attempt, however, to discredit it by alleging the few instances in which the terms ever, ever- lasting, &c., as connected with future punishment, are used in the Scriptures. "Everlasting, as connected with the 352 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. future punishment of men," you say, " is used only Jive times in the Old and New Testament; and yet this same word is used in the Scriptures at least ninety times (very generally indeed) in relation to things that either have ended or must end." You proceed, "As to the word eternal, which is of the same meaning, it is used in the text and margin upward of forty times in the whole Bible; out of , which there are only two which can be supposed to relate to future punish- ment."* You should have proceeded a little farther. Sir, and have told us how often the terms ever, forever, and forever and ever, are applied to this subject; for the distinction between them and the words everlasting and eternal is chiefly English, and you have allowed that it is from the use of the one as well as the other that I suppose the Scriptures must "appear" to teach the doctrine of end- less punishment. As a candid reasoner, you should also have forborne to mention Jude 6, with a view to diminish the num- ber of testimonies ; as it is not to the endless punishment of 7nen only that you object. By these means, your number would, at least, have extended to eleven instead of seven. But, passing this, I shall offer a few observations on your reasoning. First : If the term everlasting be applied to fu- ture punishment five or six. times out of ninety, in which it is used in the Scrip- tures, this may be as large a proportion as the subject requires. It is applied, in the Scriptures, to more than twenty dif- ferent subjects ; so that to be applied five or six times to one is full as frequent a use of it as ought to be expected. Secondly : If the application of the term everlasting to future punishment only five or six times discredit the very appearance of its being endless, the same, or nearly the same, may be said of the existence of God, to which it is applied not much more fre- quently. You might go over a great part of the sacred writings on this subject, as you do on the other ; telling us that not only many of the Old Testament writers make no use of it, but a large proportion of the New : that Matthew never applies the word to this subject, nor Mark, nor Luke, nor John ; that it is not so applied in the Acts of the Apostles ; and though Paul once uses it, in his Epistle to the Romans, yet he closes that, and all his other Epistles without so using it again ; that James did not use it, nor Peter, nor John either in his three Epistles or in the Apocalypse. And, when you had thus es- tablished your point, you might ask, with * Universaliat's Miscellany, No. XXXV. p. 328. an air of triumph, " Is this a proof that the Scriptures appear to teach " the eternal existence of God 1 Truly, Sir, I am ashamed to refute such trifling: yet, if I did not, your readers might be told that, doubt- less I had "cogent reasons" for my silence. Thii'dly : If any conclusion can be drawn from the number of times in which a term is used in the Scriptures, that number should be ascertained from the languages in which they were written, and not from a, translation, which, on such a subject, proves nothing; but, if this had been done, as it certainly ought by a wri- ter of your pretensions, we should have heard nothing of number two, nor of num- ber ^ue. Fourthly : You tell us not only that "the word everlasting is used very gener- ally indeed in relation to things that ei- ther have ended or must end;" but that the word which is so rendered was, by the Old Testament writers, most gener- ally so applied.— pp. 328, 329. By "the word which we render everlasting'' I sup- pose you mean CD^iy, though there are other words as well as this which are rendered everlasting, and this word is not always so rendered. I have carefully ex- amined it by a Hebrew concordance, and, according to the best of my judgment, noticed, as I went along, when it is appli- ed to limited and when to unlimited dura- tion ; and I find that, though it is fre- quently used to express the former, yet it is more frequently applied, even in the Old Testament, to the latter. I do not allege this fact as being of any conse- quence to the argument ; for, if it had been on the other side, it would have proved nothing. It would not have been at all surprising if, in a book wherein so little is revealed concerning a future state, the word should have been used much more frequently in a figurative than in a proper sense : but, as far as I am able to judge, the fact is otherwise. In looking over tlie various passages in which the word occur,s, I perceive that, in many of those instances which I noted as examples of the limited use of it, the limitation is such as arises necessarily from the kind of duration, or state of be- ing, which is spoken of. When Hannah devoted her child Samuel to the Lord forever, there was no limitation in her mind ; she did not intend that he should euer return to a private life. Thus also, when it is said of a servant whose ear was bored in his master's house, he shall serve him forever; the meaning is, that he should never go out free. And when Jonah lamehted that the earth with her bars Avas about him forever, the term is not expressive of what it actually proved, LETTER? TO MR. VIDLER. S63 namely, a three days' imprisonment, ns you unaccountably construe it, (p. G;) but of what it was in his aj)jirchcnsions, which were, tliat he was cut ofT liom the land of the living and should never more see the light. So far as my observations extend, the word, whenever applied to a future state, is to be taken in tlio endless sense ; and this you yourself will allow, except in those passai^es which relate to future pun- ishment. You, therefore, plead for a meaiiinjr to the term, in relation to this subject, which has nothing })arallel in the Scriptures to support it. In the New Testament the future state is a frequent topic w ith the sacred writers ; and there, as might be expected, the terms rendered everlasting, eternal, forever, &c., are generally applied in the endless sense. Of this you seem to be aware ; and, therefore, after asserting that, by Old Testament writers, the term rendered ev- erlasting was " most generally " applied otherwise, you only add, concerning New Testament writers, that they " use it but a few times in relation to iuture punish- ment ; a remark, as we have already seen, of but very little account. If a particular term should be applied to one subject on- ly five or six times, it does not follow that the evidence is scanty. There may be other terms equally expressive of the same thing; and the foregoing Letter, it is pre- sumed, has given proof that this is the case in the present instance. And, if there were no other terms to convey the senti- ment, five or six solemn asservations on any one subject ouglit to be reckoned suf- ficient, and more tiian sufficient, to com- mand our assent ; and, if so, surely they may l)e allowed to justify tlie assertion that the Scriptures appear, at least, to teach the doctrine of everlasting punish- ment. In answering wliat I considered as a misconstruction of a passage of Scripture, (Rev. xiv. 11,) I suggested that the phrase day and night was not expressive of a suc- cessive or terminable duration, but a fig- urative mode of speech, dcnoimg perpetui- ty. " It follows then," say you, " that your best ground for believing that there is no successive duration after the end of this world is only a figurative expression or two." — p. 329. Did ever a writer draw such an inference ! What I alleged, was not for tiie j)urpose of proving end- less punishment, but merely to correct what I considered as a misinterpretation of a passage of Scripture. If this V^e your method of drawing consequences, we need not be surprised at your inferring the doc- trine of universal salvation from the holy Scriptures. VOL. I. 45 I thought that you, as well as myself, had better not have attempted to criticise on Hebrew and Greek terms. You think otherwise. Very well : we have a right, then, to expect the more at your hands. Yet, methinks, you should have been con- tented to meet an ojiponcnt who never pro- fessed to have a competent acquaintance with either of those languages on his own ground : or, if not, you siiould either have assumed a little less consequence, or have supported your jjretcnsions with a little better evidence. To be sure, it was very kind in you to inform me tliat tiiough ui^v and (.(hUvioQ agree, in some respects, with the English words eternity and eternal, yet they will not always bear to be rendered by these terms. I ought equally to thank you, no doubt, for teaching me, and that repeatedly, that "as for the word eternal it is the same in the original which is translated everlasting." — ])p. 7, 2.38. Se- riously, may not a person, without pre- tending to l)e qualified for Greek criticisms, understand so much of tlie meaning of words as to stand in no need of tlie fore- going information 1 Nay more : is it not possible for him to know that tiie Greek words "(wi and u/t.jiio? will not always bear to be rendered by the English words eter- nity, everlasting, or eternal ; and yet per- ceive no evidence of the one being less ex- pressive of endless duration than the other? This, if it must be so called, was my "hypothesis." To overturn it, you al- lege that the Greek terms will " admit of a plural," and of the pronouns this and that before them ; which the English will not. — pp. 332, 333. So far as this is the case, it may prove that there is some dif- ference between them ; but not that this dif- ference consists in the one being less ex- pressive of endless duration than the other. Words in English that are properly ex- pressive of endless duration may not or- dinarily admit of a plural ; and, if this were universally the Ccasc, it would not follow that it is the same in Greek. Nor is it so : for the idea of endless duration is frequently conveyed by these very plural forms of expression. Thus, in Ephes. iii. W, xixi u riniiiita IV r^iv uiw\ wv -^ according to his eternal purpose. So also, in 1 Tim. i. 17, T(o ie liuni/Si tmi' ae' Qiu), T/i(>, y.a'i ('ucu iic Tot'g aiojia; Twv ai'witui . Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only vAsc God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Ren- der these passages how you will, you can- not do them justice, unless you express the idea of unlimited duration. And, though the English terms may not admit of what is termed a plural form, yet they admit of what is etpuil to it : for though we do not say everlastings, nor eternities, 354 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. yet we say forever and ever; and you might as well contend that forever cannot properly mean unlimited duration, seeing another ever may be added to it, as that aicor must needs mean a limited duration, on account of its admitting a plural form of expression. You might also, with equal propriety, plead for a plurality of evers in futurity, I'rom the English phrase- ology, as for a plurality of ages from the Greek. With respect to the admission of the pronouns this and that, we use the ex- pressions, this eternity of bliss, or that eternity of bliss : nor does such lan- guage, being applied to a state of ex- istence, express the idea of limitation. The very passage that you have quoted (Luke XX. 35,) where at'ov is rendered world, and admits of the pronoun that be- fore it, refers to a state which you your- self, I should suppose, would allow to be endless. For any thing you have hitherto alleged the Greek words «uoi and aloonoQ are no less expressive of endless duration than the English words everlasting and eternal : the latter when applied to temporary con- cerns, are used in a figurative or improper sense, as frequently as the former. And, if this be a truth, it must follow that the con- tinual recurrence to them by your loriters is no better than a sing-song ; a mere af- fectation of learning, serving to mislead the ignorant. You make much of your rule of interpre- tation, that " where a word is used in rela- tion to different things, the subject itself must determine the meaning of the word." — p. 333. You are so confident that this rule is imobjectionableas to intimate your belief that I " shall not, a second time, have the temerity to reprove you for the use of it." If you examine, you Avill per- ceive that I have not objected to it a first time yet, but rather to your manner of ap- plying it. I shall take the liberty, howev- er, to object to it now, whatever " temer- ity" it may imply. I know not who those " best critics " are, from whom you pro- fess to have taken it; but, to me, it ap- pears disrespectful to the Scriptures, and inadmissible. It supposes that all those words which are used in relation to differ- ent things (which, by the way, almost all words are) have no proper meaning of their own, and that they are to stand for nothing in the decision of any question ; but are to mean any thing that the subject to which they relate can be proved to mean without them. Had you said that the subject, including the scope of the wri- ter, must commonly determine whether a word should be taken in a literal or a fig- urative sense, that had been allowing it to have a proper meaning of its own ; and to this I should have no objection : but to allow no meaning to a term, except what shall be imparted to it by the subject, is to reduce it to a cypher. But, exceptionable as your rule of in- terpretation is in itself, it is rendered much more so by your manner of apply- ing it. If, under the term " subject," you had included the scope and design of the writer, it had been so far good ; but, by this term, you appear all along to mean the doctrine of future punishment, considered abstractedly from ivhatthe Scriptures teach concerning it ; at least, from what they teach by the terms which professedly de- note its duration. You require that "there be something in the nature of fu- ture punishment which necessarily leads us to receive the woi'd atwriog in an end- less sense ; in which case (as you very properly add) it is not the word, but the subject which gives the idea of endless duration."— p. 329. What is this but saying. We are to make up our minds on the duration of future punishment, from the nature and fitness of things ; and, hav- ing done this, we are to understand the scripture terms, Avhich are designed to ex- press that duration, accordingly 1 But, if we can settle this business without the aid of those scripture terms, why do we trouble them ; and what is the meaning of all your criticisms upon them 1 If they are so " weak, from their vague and inde- terminate application in Scripture," that nothing certain can be gathered from them, why not let them alone 1 It should seem as though all your critical labor upon these terms was for the sake of imposing silence upon them. I do not know that endless punishment can be proved from the nature of things : but neither can it be disproved. Our ideas of moral government, and of the influence of sin upon it, are too contracted to form a judgment, a ;)ri'ori, upon the subject. It becomes us to listen, with humility and holy awe, to what is revealed in the ora- cles of truth, and to form our judgment by it. When I suggested that "the nature of the subject determined that the term everlasting, when applied to future pun- ishment, was to be taken in the endless sense," I intended no more than that such is the sense in which it is used when ap- plied to a future state. By your rule of interpretation, I have the " temerity" to say again, you might disprove almost any thing you please. I observed before, that if one should at- tempt to prove the divinity of the Son of God, or even of the Father, from his being called Jehovah, your mode of reasoning would render all such evidence of no ac- LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. 355 count ; because the samo appellation is sometimes i of ungodly men, be not meant the destruction of their lives, and not their souls? It is spoken of in connexion with the deluge, and intimated that, as the un- godly were then destroyed from the face of the earth by water, in like manner they should now be destroyed by fire. You i)lead the promise that, "every knee shall bow to Christ," and consider this as inconsistent with " a stubborn knee, even in hell." But the question is, Whether the bowing of the knee to Christ be necessarily expressive of a voluntary and holy sul)mission to him. The same inspired writer applies the language to that universal conviction which shall be pro- duced at the last judgment, when every mouth will be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. " We shall all stand," saith he, "before the judgment- seat of Christ : for it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."— Rom. xiv. 10—1-2. But you will not pretend that every knee will, in that day, bow to Christ in a way of voluntary submission. "All things," you allege, "are to be reconciled to the Father by the blood of the cross : but, while any continue in en- mity against God, this can never be per- formed."— p. 364. You refer, I supi)ose, to Col. i. 20. But if the reconciliation of things in earth, and things in heaven, de- note the salvation of all the inhabitants of heaven and earth, it would follow: (1) That the holy angels are saved as well as the unholy; though, in fact, they never VOL. I. 46 sinned. (2) That when the apostle adds, " And you that were sometime alienated, and enemies in your minds by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled," he deals in unmeaning tautology. Things in heaven, and things in earth, were at vari- ance through sin. Men becoming the en- emies of God, all his faithful subjects and all the works of his hands were at war with them ; yea they were at variance wiih each other. But, through the blood of Christ, all things are reconciled ; and, under his headship, all made to sub- serve the present and everlasting good of them who believe in him. Such appears to me to be the meaning of the passage, and it involves neither of the foregoing ab- surdities. "Christ," you add, "is to rule till his enemies are subdued ; till there be no au- thority, power, or dominion, but what shall be subservient to him ; till death, the last enemy shall be destroyed ; and, as the wages of sin is death, the second death must be here included." — p. 365. This language, which is taken from 1 Cor. xv. is manifestly used in reference to the res- urrection of the bodies of those that sleep in Jesus, which is an event that precedes the last judgment ; for " when this corrup- tible shall have put on incorruption — then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written. Death is swallowed up in victo- ry," which is the same thing as the last ene- my beinp;destroued. And " then cometh the end," the last judgment, and the last wind- ing-up of all things, " ivhen he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father ; w hen he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power." — ver. 24, 25. For you to interpret this lan- guage of things that are to follow the last judgment, and to say that it must include the second death, proves nothing but the dire necessity to which your system re- duces you. " Finally : the character of God is LOVE ; which is expressly against the hor- rible idea of the endless misery of any of his rational creatures." — p. 395. So, Sir, you are pleased to assert. Another might from the same premises infer that the punislimcnt of any of his rational creatures in hell, for ages of ages, where there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth (and this notwithstanding the death of his Son, and the omnipotence of his grace, which surely was able to have saved them from it,) is horrible and incredible! Is it inconsistent with the i)enevolence of a supreme magistrate that he dooms cer- tain characters" to death T Rather, is it not an exercise of his benevolence 1 Should a malefactor persuade himself and his com- panions in guilt that Hii Majesty cannot 362 LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. possibly consent to their execution, with- of the devil ; or else that the full efficacy out ceasing to be that lovely and good cha- of the atonement is withheld by the divine racter for which he has been famed, would determination." It has been already ob- not his reasoning be as false in itself as it served, and I hope proved, that the scrip- was injurious to the king 1 Nay ; would ture phrases, making an end of sin, &c., it not be inimical to his own interest and convey no such idea as you attach to them, that of his fellow criminals ; as, by raising — p. 264. And as to your dilemma, to a delusive hope, they are prevented from which you ascribe great " weight," I an- making a proper and timely application to swer again, you need be under no appre- the throne for mercy 1 hension of my limiting the power of God, Such are your reasons for successive or the efficacy of the Saviour's blood ; and, duration and final salvation after the last if I say that both the one and the other judgment ; but, whether they ought to are applied under the limitations of his satisfy any other person, let the reader own infinite wisdom, I say not only what judge. I shall close with replies to a few the Scriptures abundantly teach, but what of your animadversions. you yourself must admit. Can you pre- Your misrepresentation of what I had tend that your scheme represents God as advanced concerning the Jews as a distinct doing all he can do, and as bestowing all nation, I should hope, needs no correction. Ihe mercy which the efficacy of the Sa- If any of your readers can mistake what viour's blood has rendered consistent 1 If you have said for a just statement of the so, you must believe that God cannot con- views, or an answer to the argument, of vert more than he actually does in the your opponent, they are beyond the reach present life, and that the efficacy of the of reasoning. blood of Christ is not equal to the saving You inferred, from what was God's end of more than a part of mankind from the in punishing Isi-ael in the present life, that second death. (seeing lie was an immutable being) it must You think that " the Scripture is not si- be the same in his punishing others in the lent concerning the future emendation of life to come. — pp. 43, 44. I answ'ered, the ancient Sodomites ;" and refer me to " That I might as well infer from what Ezek. xvi. 44 — 63, arguing that " Sodom appears to be his end in punishing Pharaoh and her daughters must be taken literally and Sodom i?i the present life, which was for the city of Sodom, and the neighbor- not their good, but the good of others, ing cities of the plain ; that the prophecy that such will be the end of future punish- must refer to the very persons who were ment." — p. 261. You reply by sttjsjjosmg- destroyed, seeing they left no descendants ; that these characters were destroyed for and that there is the same reason to ex- their good. — p. 367. What, in the pre- pect the restoration of Sodom as the fulfil- sent life 1 No ; but in the life to come ! ment of God's gracious promises towards And do you call this reasoning 1 Jerusalem." — p. 368. But, if your inter- You say, " If any be finally incorrigible, pretation prove any thing, it will prove — ■ it must be in consequence of the divine I will not say too much, but too little. It purpose, or else the purpose of God has will prove, not that the ancient Sodomites been frustrated." I have in my last letter will be saved from " the vengeance of eter- replied to the substance of this dilemma, nal fire," and introduced into the heaven- I may add, you need be under no appre- ly world, but, barely, that they are to re- hension that I shall be tempted to give up turn to their former estate. — ver. 55. And the infrustrableness of the divine purpose ; do you seriously think that after the last and if I admit tliat God, in just judgment, judgment the cities of Sodom and Gomor- has purposed to give some men up to rah, of Samaria and Jerusalem, will be re- stumble, and fall, and perish, it is no more built, and repossessed by their ancient in- than the Scriptures al)undantly teach, habitants 1 If so, it is time for me to lay You talk of the " last state of a creature down my pen. according with the divine purpose :" but The former part of the above passage I know of no evidence for this which does not equally apply to every state. If you be tempted to ask, " Why doth he yet find fault ; for who hath resisted his will 1" you may possibly recollect that these questions have been asked before, and an- (ver. 46 — 59) I apprehend to be no promise, but the language of keen reproof; and in- stead of intimating a return to either So- dom or Jerusalem, the latter is reasoned with on the footing of her own deserts, and told in effect not to expect it any more swered too ; and it may be of use to you than the former.* The latter part (ver. to study the answer. 60 — 63) contains the language of free mer- Akin to this is your dilemma,." That cy ; not, however, towards the same indi- God cannot or will not make an end of siu; that there is not efficacy enough in * See ;i similar kiml of phraseology in Jer. thy blwud ©f Christ to destroy ti>o wwrks ''x'^"'- 19—26. LETTERS TO MR. VIDLER. 3G3 Ti(iual6 against whom the threatenings are directed, but to their distant posterity, who, under the gospel dispensation, siiouUl be brought home to God; and, by a new and better covenajit, liave the Gentiles given to them. The conversion of the heathen is expressed by tliis kind of lan- guage more than once; as by " bringing again the captivity of Moab, of Elam, and of the diildrcn of Amnion in the latter days." — Jer. xlviii. 47; xlix. 6. 39. You "have not discernment enough," it seems, " to j)crccive the gross absurdi- ty " of maintaining that there can be no diversity in luture punishment unless it be in duration ; that is, that the reflections of sinners on their past life must all be ex- actly the same. It may be so ; but I can- not help it . Your answer amounts to this : Diversity of degrees in future punishment may be accounted for by varying the dura- tion of it; "for every one knows there needs not so much time to inflict a hun- dred stripes as to inflict ten times that number." Therefore, that must be the way, and the only way ; and, if you do not admit it, you " confound all degrees of punishment, in giving infinite punishment to all."— pp. 42. 264. 369. You believe, you say, that " those who die in their sins cannot go where Christ is." You must mean to say merely that they cannot follow him now, but shall fol- low him AFTERWARDS. Such things, in- deed, are said of Christ's friends, but not of his enemies. You have represented me as maintain- ing that all punishment clashes with the benevolence " both of God and his people." I have said no such thing concerning God : and if we were equally wise and righteous, and equally concerned to guard the in- terests of the universe, as he is, we should be, in all respects, of the same mind with hira. The misery which I suppose true benevolence to clash with is misery inflict- ed lor its own sake ; and to this, whether it be temporary or endless, it is alike ab- horrent. God has also made it owr duty, while sinners arc not his confirmed ene- mies, to do ail in our power to preserve their lives, and save their souls : but He is not obliged to do all that he can to these ends, nor docs he. Temporary punish- ment, you contend, may consist with be- nevolence, "because it is directed to a good and glorious end :" and do I contend for endless punislimcnt on any other prin- ciple 1 If you can form no idea of an end that is good and glorious, save that which respects " the amendment of the sufferer," it does not follow that no sucii end exists. A murderer, contemplating his approach- ing exit, might be so much absorbed in the love of himself as to be of your opinion ; but the community would not. Whether I have entered into the "merits of the cause," or conducted the contro- versy in a becoming " spirit," I consider it as no part of my province to determine. The impartial reader will judge whether I have dealt in "soft words, or hard argu- ments ;" and if, in this particular, I have been so happy as to follow your counsel, whether I liave not been obliged to deviate from your example. On this account, I shall be excused from taking any notice of your animadversions on these subjects, together with those of your new ally, the " Hoxton Student," unless it be to thank you for affording additional proof of the justness of my remark, That Socinians rejoice in the spread of Universalism. Whether tlie kingdom of heaven be pre- pared for all men, or not, that you and I may so agonize, in the present life, as, at last to enter in, is the desire and prayer of your sincere well-Avisher, A. F. GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION, ' OB THE DUTY OF SINNERS TO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST. WITH CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. TO WHICH IS ADDED AN APPENDIX, ON THE NECESSITY OP A HOLY DISPOSITION IN ORDER TO BELIEVING IN CHRIST. "Go, ... . preach the gospel to every creature : he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believelh not ehall be damned ! " Jesus Christ. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION. The author had no thoughts of reprinting the present publication till he was repeatedly requested to do so from very respectable quarters. The corrections and additions, which form a considerable part of this edition, are such as, after a lapse of fifteen years, the writer thought it proper to make. It would be inexcusable for him to have lived all this time without gaining any additional light by what he has seen and heard upon the subject : and still more so to publish a Sec- ond Edition without doing all in his power towards improving it. The omissions, however, which also are considerable, are not always owing to a disapprobation of the sentiment, but to other things presenting themselves which appeared to be more immediately in point. PREFACE. When tlie following pages were written, (1781.) tiie autiior had no intention of pub- lishing them. He had formerly entertained dilTerent senlinicnts. For some few years, however, he had begun to doubt whether all his principles on these sulijects were scriptural. These doubts arose chiefly from thinking on some passages of Scrip- ture, particularly the latter part of the second Psalm, where kings, who " set them- selves against the Lord, and against his Anointed," are positively commanded to "kiss the Son;" also the preaching of John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, who, he found, did not hesitate to address unconverted sinners, and that in the most point- ed manner — saying, " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at band." — "Repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." And it appeared to him there must be a most unwarrantable force put upon these passages to make them mean any other repentance and faith than such as are connected with salvation. Reading the lives and labors of such men as Elliot, Brainerd, and several others^ who preached Christ with so much success to the American Indians, had an effect upon him. Their work, like that of the apostles, seemed to be plain before them. They appeared to him, in iheir addresses to those poor, benighted heathens, to have none of those difficulties with which he felt himself encumbered. These tilings led him to the throne of grace, to implore instruction and resolution. He saw that he wanted both; the one to know the mind of Christ, and the other to avow it. He was, for some time, however, deterred from disclosing his doubts. During nearly four years they occupied his mind, and not without increasing. Being once in company with a minister whom he greatly respected, it was thrown out, as a matter of inquiry, Whether we had generally entertained just notions concerning unbelief. It was common to speak of unbelief as a calling in question tlie truth of our own per- sonal religion; whereas, he remarked, " it was the calling in question the truth of what God had said." This remark appeared to carry in it its own evidence. From this time, his thoughts upon the subject began to enlarge. He preached upon it more than once. From hence, he was led to think on its opposite, faith, and to consider it as a persuasion of the truth ofichat God has said ; and, of course, to sus- pect his former views concerning its not being the duty of unconverted sinners. He was aware that the generality of Christians with whom he was acquainted viewed the belief of the gospel as something presupposed in faith, rather than as being of the essence of it : and considered the contrary as the opinion of Mr. Sande- man, which they were agreed in rejecting, as favorable to a dead or inoperative kind of faith. He thought, however, that what they meant by a belief of the gospel was nothing more than a general assent to the doctrines of revelation, unaccompanied with love to them, or a dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. He had no doubt but that such a notion of the subject ought to be rejected : and, if this be the notion of Mr. Sandcman, (which, by the way, he docs not know, having never read 363 PREFACE. any of his works,) he has no scruple in saying, it is far from any thing which he in- tends to advance.* It appeared to him that we had taken unconverted sinners too much upon their word, when they told us that they believed the gospel. He did not doubt but that they might believe many things concerning Jesus Christ and his salvation ; but being blind *o the glor]] of God, as it is displayed in the face of Jesus Christ, their belief of the gos- pel must be very superficial, extending only to a few facts, without any sense of their real intrinsic excellency; which, strictly speaking, is not faith. Those who see no form nor comeliness in the Messiah, nor beauty, that they should desire him, are de- scribed as not believing the report concerning him. Isa. liii. 1, 2. He had also read and considered, as well as he was able. President Edwards's In- quiry into the freedom of the Will, with some other performances on the difference between natural and moral inability. He found much satisfaction in this distinction, as it appeared to him to carry with it its own evidence — to be clearly and fully con- tained in the Scriptures — and calculated to disburden the Calvinistic system of a number of calumnies with which its enemies have loaded it, as well as to afford clear and honorable conceptions of the divine government. If it were not the duty of unconverted sinners to believe in Christ, and that because of their inability, he sup- posed this inability must be natural, or something which did not arise from an evil disposition ; but the more he examined the Scriptures the more he was convinced that all tlie inability ascribed to man, with respect to believing, arises from the aver- sion of his heart. They ivill not come to Christ that they may have life ; will not hearken to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely ; luill not seek after God ; and desire not the knowledge of his ways. He wishes to avoid the error into which we are apt to be betrayed, when engaged in controversy — that of magnifying the importance of the subject beyond its proper bounds : yet he seriously thinks the subject treated of in the following pages is of no small importance. To him, it appears to be the same controversy, for substance, as that which in all ages has subsisted between God and an apostate world. God has ever maintained these two principles : All that is evil is of the creature ; and to him belongs the blame of it : and all that is good is of himself ; and to him belongs ths praise of it. To acquiesce in both these positions is too much for the carnal heart. The advocates for free-will would seem to yield the former, acknowledging themselves blameworthy for the evil ; but they cannot admit the latter. Whatever honor they may allow to the general grace of God, they are for ascribing the prepon- derance in favor of virtue and eternal life to their own good improvement of it. Oth- ers, who profess to be advocates for free grace, appear to be willing that God should have all the honor of their salvation, in case they should be saved ; but they discover the strongest aversion to take to themselves the blame of their destruction in case they should be lost. To yield both these points to God is to fall under in the grand controversy with him, and to acquiesce m his revealed will; which acquiescence in- * Since the first edition of this piece made its appearance, the author has seen Mr. Sandeman's writings and those of Mr. A. M'Lean, who, on this subject, seems to agree with Mr. Sandeman. Justice requires him to say tliat these writers do not appear to plead for a kind of faith which is not followed with love, or by a dependnace on Christ alone for salvation ; but their idea of faith itself goes to exclude every thing cor- dial from it. Though he accords with them in considering the belief of the gospel as saving faith; yet there is an important difference in the ideas which they attach to believing. This difference witli some other things is examined, in an appendix, at the end of this edition. PllF.FACE. 369 t'ludos ^' rrpentanre toirardu (ioil, and fa'itlt tntrartls our Lord Jeftvs C/u'is/." Indeed it were not very dilluiilt to prove that each, in rejecting one of these truths, does not, in reality, einlirace the other. The Arniinian, lliough he j)rofesses to take the blame of the evil upon hinisell, yet feels no guilt lor being a sinner, any farther than he im- agines he could, by the help of divine grace, given to him and all mankind, have avoided it. If he admit the native depravity of his heart, it is his misfortune, not his fault : his fault lies, not in being in a state of alienation and aversion from God, but in not making the best use of the grace of God to get out of it. And tlie Antinomian> though he ascribes salvation to free grace, yet feels no obligation for the pardon of his impenitence, his unbelief, or his constant aversion to God, during his supposed unresreneracy. Thus, as in many other cases, opposite extremes arc known to meet. Where no grace is given, they are united in supposing that no duty can be required ; which, if true, "grace is no more grace." The following particulars are premised, for the sake of a clear understanding of the subject : — First : There is no dispute about the doctrine of election, or any of tlie discrimina- tin"- doctrines of grace. They are allowed on both sides ; and it is granted that none ever did or ever will believe in Christ, but those who are chosen of God from eter- nity. The question does not turn upon what are the causes of salvation, but rather upon what are tiie causes of damnation. "No man," as Mr. Charnock hapjtily ex- presses it, "is an unbeliever, but because he will be so; and every man is not an unbeliever, because the grace of God conquers some, changeth their wills, and bends them to Cl)rist."* Secondly : Neither is there any dispute concerning who ought to V)e encoui-aged to consider themselves as entitled to the blessings of the gospel. Though sinners be freely invited to the participation of spiritual blessings ; yet they have no interest in them, according to God's revealed will, while they continue in un])elicf : nor is it any part of the design of these pages to persuade them to believe that they have. On the contrary, the writer is fully convinced that, whatever be the secret i)urpose of God concerning them, they are at present under the curse. Thirdly : The question is not whether men are bound to do any thing more than the law requires, but whether the law, as the invariable standard of right and wrong, does not require every man cordially to embrace whatever God reveals : in other words, whetlier love to God, with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, does not include a cordial reception of whatever plan he shall at any period of time disclose. Fourthly : The question is not whether men arc required to believe any n.ore than is reported in the gospel, or anything that is not true; but whether that which is reported ought not to be believed with all the heart; and whether this be not sav.ng faith 1 Fifthly • It is no part of the controversy whether unconverted sinners be able to turn to God, and to embrace the gospel; but what kind of inability they he under with respect to these exercises: whether it consists in the want of natural powers and advantages, or merely in the want of a heart to make a right use of them. If the former, obligation, it is granted, would be set aside; hut, if the latter, it ren.ams in lull force. Thev that are in the flesh cannot please God; but it does not follow that they arc not obliged to do so; and this their obligation requires to be clearly VOL. I. * Discourses, Vol. II p. 473. 47 370 PREFACE. insisted on, that they may be ronvinced of their sin, and so induced to embrace the gospel remedy. Sixthly : the question is not whether faith be required of sinners as a virtue, whichs if complied with, shall be the ground of their acceptance with God, or that on account of which they may be justified in his sight ; but whether it be not required as the appointed means of salvation. The righteousness of Jesus believed in is the only ground of justification; but faith in him is necessary to our being interested in it. We remember the fatal example of the Jews, which the apostle Paul holds up to our view. "The Gentiles," saith he, "who followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness ; even the righteousness which is of faith : but Israel, who followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness : wherefore 1 because they sought it not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law ; for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone." Though we had not been elsewhere told (1 Pet. ii. 8) that in doing this they were disobedient, yet our judgments must be strangely warped by system if we did not conclude it to be their sin, and that by which they fell and perished. And we dare not but charge our hearers, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, to beware of stumbling upon the same stone, and of falling after the same example of unbelief. Finally : the question is not whether unconverted sinners be the subjects of exhor- tation; but whether they ought to be exhorted to perform spiritual duties. It is be- yond all dispute that the Scriptures do exhort them to many things. If, therefore, there be any professors of Christianity who question the propriety of this, and who would have nothing said to them, except that, "if they be elected they will be called," they are not to be reasoned with, but rebuked, as setting themselves in direct oppo- sition to the word of God. The greater part of those who may differ from the author on these subjects, it is presumed, will admit the propriety of sinners being exhorted to duty; only this duty must, as they suppose, be confined to merely natural exer- cises, or such as may be complied with by a carnal heart, destitute of the love of God. It is one design of the following pages to show that God requires the heart, the whole heart, and nothing but the heart ; that all the precepts of the Bible are only the dififerent modes in which we are required to express our love to him ; that, instead of its being true that sinners are obliged to perform duties which have no spirituality in them, there are no such duties to be performed ; and that, so far from their being exhorted to every thing excepting what is spiritually good, they are exhorted to noth- ing else. The Scriptures undoubtedly require them to read, to hear, to repent, and to pray, that their sins may be forgiven them. It is not, however, in the exercise of .a carnal, but of a spiritual state of mind, that these duties are performed. T H i: G O S P K 1. OF CHRIST WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. PART I. THE SUBJECT SHOWN TO BE IMPOR- TANT, STATED, AND EXPLAINED. God, having blessed mankind with the glorious gospel of his Son, hath spoken much in his word, as it might he supposed he would, of the treatment which it should receive from those to whom it was addressed. A cordial re- ception of it is called, in Scripture, re- ceiving Christ, allowing '■ him, believing in him, 8{c., and the contrary, refusing, disallowing, and rejecting him; and those who thus reject him are, in so doing, said to judge iheinselves umvorthy of everlast- ing life.'* These are things on which the New Testament largely insists : great stress is there laid on the reception which the truth shall meet with. The same lips which commissioned the apostles to go and "preach the gospel to every crea- ture," added, " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that be- lieveth not shall be damned.''^ " To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God;" but to them " who receive him not," but re- fused him, and rejected his way of salva- tion, he became a stumbling-stone, and a rock of offence, that they might stumble, and fall, and perish. Thus the gospel, according to the different reception it meets with, becomes a "savor of life un- to life, or of death unto death." The controversies which have arisen concerning faith in Jesus Christ are not so much an object of surprise as the con- duct of those who, professing to be Chris- tians, affect to decry the subject as a matter of little or no importance. There is not any principle or exercise of the human mind of which the New Testa- ment speaks so frequently, and on which so great a stress is laid. And, with re- gard to the inquiry whether faith be re- quired of all men who hear, or have op- portunity to hear, the word, it cannot be ♦John i. 12; ill. 16. Ps . cxviii. 22. 1 Pet. ii. 7. Matt. xxi. 42. Acts xiii. 46. uninteresting. If it be not, to inculcate it would l)e unwarrantal)le and cruel to our fellow-sinners, as it sul>jects them to an additional charge of abundance of guilt : liut, if it be, to explain it away is to undermine the divine prerogative, and, as far as it goes, to subvert the very in- lent of the promulgation of the gospel, which is that men "should believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and, believing, have life through his name." — John XX. 31. This is doubtless a very serious thing, and ouglit to be seriously considered. Though some good men may be implicated in this matter, it be- comes them to remember that " whoso- ever breakcth one of the least of Christ's commandments, and teacheth men so, shall 1)6 called the least in the kingdom of heaven." If believing be a command- ment, it cannot be one of the least: the important relations which it sustains, as well as the dignity of its object, must prevent this : the knowledge of sin, re- pentance for it, and gratitude for pardon- ing mercy, all depend upon our admit- ting it. And, if it be a great command- ment, the breach of it must be a great sin ; and whosoever teaches men other- wise is a partaker of their guilt ; and, if they perish, will be found to have been accessary to their eternal ruin. Let it be considered whether the apostle to the Hel)rcws did not proceed upon such princii)les, when he exclaimed, " How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation 1" And the Lord Jesus him- self when he declared, " He that believeth not shall be damned!" Ill order fo determine whether faith in Christ be the duty of all men who have opportunity to hear the gospel, it will be necessary to determine what it is, or wherein it consists. Some have main- tained that it consists in a persuasion of our interest in Christ and in all the bene- fits and blessings of his mediation. The author of The Further Inquiry, Mr. L. Wayman, of Kimbolton, who w rote about sixty years ago unon the subject, ques- tions " whether there be any act of special faith which hath not the nature of appro- 372 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. prlation in it" (p. 13;) and by appropria- tion he appears to mean a persuasion of our interest in spiritual blessings. This is the ground upon which he rests the main body of his argument : to overturn it, therefore, will be in effect to answer his book. Some, who would not be thought to maintain that a persuasion of interest in Christ is essential to faith, for the sake of many Christians whom they cannot but observe, upon this principle, to be, generally speaking, unbelievers, yet maintain what fully implies it. Though they will allow, lor the comfort of such Christians, that assurance is not of the essence of faith (understanding by assur- ance an assured persuasion of our salva- tion) but that a reliance on Christ is suf- ficient; yet, in almost all other things, they speak as if they did not believe what at those times they say. It is common for such persons to call those fears which occupy the minds of Christians, lest they should miss of salvation at last, by the name of unbelief; and to reprove them for being guilty of this God-dishonoring sin, exhorting them to be strong in faith, like Abraham, giving glory to God ; when all that is meant is, that they should, without doubting, believe the goodness of their state. If this be saving faith, it must inevitably follow that it is not the duty of unconverted sinners ; for they are not interested in Christ, and it cannot possibly be their duty to believe a lie. But, if it can be proved that the proper object of saving faith is not our being interested in Christ, but the glorious gospel of the ever-blessed God (which is true, whether we believe it or not,) a contrary inference must be drawn ; for it is admitted, on all hands, that it is the duty of every man to believe what God reveals. I have no objection to allowing that true faith "hath in it the nature of ap- propriation," if by this term be meant an application of the truths believed to our own particular cases. " When the Scrip- tures teach," says a pungent writer, "?oe are to receive instruction, for the enlight- ening of our oivn minds ; when they ad- monish, toe are to take warning; when they reprove, ioe are to be checked ; when they comfort we are to be cheered and encouraged ; and, when they recom- mend any grace, ive are to desire and embrace it ; when they command any duty, ice are to hold ourselves enjoined to do it ; when they pi'omise, vje are to hope ; Avhen they threaten, ive are to be terri- fied, as if the judgment were denounced against us; and, when they forbid any sin, we are to think they forbid it unto us. By which application we shall make all the rich treasures contained in the Scriptures wholly our own, and in such a powerful and peculiar manner enjoy the fruit and benefit of them, as if they had l)een wholly written /or us, and none oth- er else liesides us."* By saving faith, we undoubtedly em- brace Christ for ourselves, in the same sense as Jacob embraced Jehovah as his God, (Gen. xxviii. 21 ;) that is, to a re- jecting of every idol that stands in com- petition with him. Christ is all-suffi- cient, and suited to save us, as well as others ; and it is for the forgiveness of our sins that we put our trust in him. But this is very different from a persua- sion of our being in a state of salvation- My objections to this notion of faith are as follow : — First: Nothing can be an object of faith, except what God has revealed in his word : but the interest that any indi- vidual has in Christ and the blessings of the gospel, more than another, is not revealed. God has nowhere declared, concerning any one of us, as individuals, that we shall be saved : all that he has revealed on this subject respects us as characters. He has abundantly promis- ed that all who believe in him, love him, and obey him, shall be saved ; and a per- suasion that, if loe sustain these charac- ters, we shall be saved, is doubtless an exercise of faith : but, whether we do or not, is an object not of faith, but of con- sciousness. "Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his command- ments. Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected : here- by know we that we are in him." — " My little children, let us not love in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth : hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before hijn."f If any one imagine that God has revealed to him his interest in his love ; and this in a special, immediate, and extraordina- ry manner, and not by exciting in him the holy exercises of grace, and thereby begetting a consciousness of his being a subject of grace, let him beware lest he deceive his soul. The Jews were not wanting in what some would call the faith of assurance : " We have one Father," said they, "even God:" but Jesus an- swered, "If God were your Father, ye would love me." Secondly : The Scriptures always rep- resent faith as terminating on something without us ; namely, on Christ, and the truths concerning him : but, if it consists in a persuasion of our being in a state of * Downame's Guide to Godliness, p. 647. tl John ii. 3. 5; iii. 18, 19. TllK GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACC F.J'TATl ON. S7S salvation, it must tciiniiiatc principally on son)ethin}i within us : namely, the work ol' grace in our hearts ; lor to be- lieve mysell" interested in Christ is the same thing as to helieve myselt a subject of special grace. And hence, as was said, it is common for many who enter- tain this notion of faith to consider its op- l>osite, unlielicf, as a doubting whether loe have been really converted. But, as it is the truth and excellence of the things to he interested in, and not his interest in them, that the sinner is apt to disi)elievc ; so it is these, and not that, on wiiich the laith of the believer primarily terminates. Perhaps what relates to personal interest may in general, more properly be called hope than faith ; and its oi)posite fear, than uni)elicf. Thirdly : To believe ourselves in a state of salvation (however desirable, when grounded on evidence) is far infe- rior in its object to saving faith. The grand object on which faith fixes is the glory of Christ, and not the happy condi- tion we are in, as interested in him. The latter doubtless affords great consolation ; and the more we discover of his excel- lence the more ardently shall we desire an interest in him, and be the more dis- consolate while it continues a matter of doubt. But, if we be concerned only lor our own security, our faith is vain, and we are yet in our sins. As that re- pentance which fixes merely on the con- sequences of sin as subjecting us to misery is selfish and spurious, so that faith w hich fixes merely on the consequences of Christ's mediation as raising us to happi- ness is equally selfish and spurious, it is the peculiar property of true faith to en- dear Christ : "Unto you that believe, Ac is precious." And where this is the case, if there be no impediments arising from constitutional dejection or other accidental causes, we shall not be in doubt about an interest in him. Conso- lation will accompany the faith of the gos- pel : "Being justified by faith, we have I>eace with God, throuirh our Lord Jesus Christ." Fourthly : All those exercises of faith which our Lord so highly commends in the New Testament, as that of the centu- rion, the woman of Canaan, and others, are represented as terminating on his all- sufficiency to heal them, and not as con- sisting in a persuasion that they were in- terested in the divine favor, and therefore should succeed. " Speak the word only, says the one, "and my servant shall be healed ; for I am a man in authority, hav- ing soldiers under me ; and I say to this man. Go, and he goeth : and to another, Come, and he cometh : and to my ser- vant. Do this, and he docth it." Such was the persuasion which the other en- tertained of his all-sulliciency to help her that she judged it enough if she might but partake of the crumbs of his table — the scatterings as it were of mercy. Similar to this is the following language : — "If I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made whole." — " Believe ye that I am able to do this ^ They said unto him. Yea, Lord." — " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make mc clean." — "If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us : Jesus said. If thou canst believe, all things arc possii)le to him that belicveth." 1 allow that the case of these people, and that of a sinner applying for forgiveness, are not exactly the same. Christ had nowhere promised to heal all who came for healing; but he has gra- ciously bound himself^ not to cast out any who come to him for mercy. On this account, there is a greater ground for faith in the willingness of Christ to save than there was in his willingness to heal : and there was less unbelief in the saying of the leper, "■ If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," than there would be in simi- lar language from one who, convinced of his own utter insufficiency, applied to him for salvation. But a persuasion of Christ being both able and willing to save all them that come unto God by him, and consequently to save us if we so apply, is very different from a persuasion that we are the children of God, and inter- ested in the blessings of the gospel. Mr. Anderson, an American writer, has lately published a pamphlet on the Scripture doctrine of the Appropriation lohich is in the Nature of saving Faith. The scheme which he attempts to defend is that of Hervey, Marshall, &c., or that which in Scotland is known by the name of the Marrow doctrine.* These divines write much about the gospel containing a gift or grunt of Christ and spiritual blessings to sinners of mankind ; and that it is the office of faith so to receive the gift as to claim it as our own ; and thus they seem to have supposed that it becomes our own. But the gospel contains no gift or grant to mankind in general beyond that of an offer or free invitation ; and thus, indeed, Mr. Boston, in his notes on the Marroio of Modern Divinity, seems to explain it. It warrants every sinner to believe in Christ for salvation ; but no one to conclude himself interested in sal- vation till he has believed : consequently, such a conclusion, even where it is well * Alluding to a work piiblisliet) some years since,, under the title of "The Marrow of Modern Divini- 374 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OT ALL ACCEPTATION. founded, cannot be faith, but that whicli follows it. Mr. Anderson is careful to distinguish the appropriation for which he contends from " the knowledge of our being be- lievers, or already in a state of grace." p. 61. He also acknowledges that the ground of saving faith "is something that may be known before, and in order to the act of faith;" that it is "among the things that are revealed, and which be- long to us and to our children." — p. 60. Yet he makes it of the essence of faith, to believe " that Christ is ours.''' — p. 56. It must be true, then, that Christ is ours, antecedently to our believing it, and whether we believe it or not. This, it seems, Mr. Anderson will admit; for he holds that " God hath made a gift or grant of Christ and spiritual IMessings to sinners of mankind," and which denominates him ours "before we believe it." Yet he does not admit the tinal salvation of all to whom Christ is thus supposed to be given. To what, therefore, does the gift amount, more than to a free invitation, concerning which his opponents have no dispute with himl A free invitation, though it affords a warrant to apply for mercy, and that with an assurance of success ; yet gives no interest in its bless- ings, but on the supposition of its being accepted. Neither does the gift for which Mr. A. contends : nothing is con- veyed by it that insures any man's salva- tion. AH the author says, therefore, against what he calls conditions of salva- tion, is no less applicable to his own scheme than to that of his opponents. His scheme is as really conditional as theirs. The condition which it prescribes for our becoming interested in the bles- sings of eternal life, so interested, at least, as to possess them, is, to believe them to be our own ; and without tliis he supposes, we shall never enjoy them. He contends, indeed, that the belief of the promises cannot be called a condition of our right to claim an interest in them ; because, if such belief be claiming an interest in them, it would be making a thing the condition of itself. — pp. 50, 51. But to this it is replied : First, Although Mr. A. considers saving faith as including appropriation, yet this is only one idea which he ascribes to it. He explains it as consisting of tliree things : a persuasion of divine trutli, wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit ; a sure persuasion ; and an appropriating persuasion of Christ's being ours. — 'Pp. 54 — 50. Now, though it were allowed that the last branch of this defini- tion is the same thing as claiming an inter- est in the promises, and therefore cannot be reckoned the condition of it, yet this is more than can be said of the former two, which are no less essential to saving faith than the other. Secondly, The sense in which the promise is taken, by what is called appropriating faith, is not the same as that in which it is given in the promise itself. As given in the word, the promise is general, applying equally to one sinner as to another; but, as taken, it is consid- edas particular, and as insuring salvation. Thirdly, If an interest in the righteousness of Christ were the immediate object of sa- ving faith, how could it be said that "unto us it shall be imputed, if avc believe on him that raised up Jesus from the dead1" If Christ's righteousness be ours, it must be so as imputed to us : but this would be making the apostle saj'. If we believe Christ's righteousness to be imputed to us, it shall be imputed to us. I have no partiality for calling faith, or any thing done by us, the condition of sal- vation ; and, if by the term were meant a deed to be performed of which the prom- ised good is the reward, it would be inad- missible. If I had used the term, it would have been merely to express the necessa- ry connection of things, or that faith is that without which there is no salvation ; and, in this sense, it is no less a condition in Mr. A's scheme than in that which he opposes. He thinks, however, that the promises of God are, by his statement of things, disencumbered <^f conditions ; yet how he can prove that God has absolutely given Christ and spiritual blessings to multitudes who will never possess them, I am at a loss to conceive. I should have supposed that whatever God has absolute- ly promised would take effect. He says, indeed, that " the Lord may give an ab- solute promise to those who, in the event, never come to the actual enjoyment of the promised blessing, as in the case of the Is- raelites being brought to the good land (Exod. iii. 17,) though the bulk of them that left Egypt perished in the wilderness through unbelief." — p. 43. It is true God absolutely promised to plant them, ''■as a nation," in the good land, and this he per- formed ; but he did not absolutely promise that every individual who left Egypt should be amongst them. So far as it respected individuals (unless it were in reference to Caleb and Joshua) the pro- mise was not absolute. Upon the mere ground of Christ being exhibited in the gospel, "I am persuad- ed," says Mr. A., " that he is 7uy Saviour ; nor can I, without casting reproach upon the wisdom, faithfulness, and mercy of God, in setting him forth, entertain any doubts about my justification and salvation through his name." — p. 65. Has God ;jro?/itscd justification and salvation, then. THE GOSPEL WORTHV OF ALL ACCEPTATION. 375 to cvciy one lo whom Christ is exhil'ited ] Uhe hu5, it doubtless belongs to faith to i^ivo liiin credit : hut, in this case, wc ought also to laaintairi that tl»e promise will i)e performed, wliatcver be the state of our minds ; for, thouffh we believe not, he abideth faitiiful. On the otlier hand, if the blessintr ol justification, tiiough freely of- fered to all, be only promised for believers, it is not faith, but presumi)tion, to be per- suaiied of my justification, any otiierwisc than as being conscious of my Itelicving in Jesus for it. Mr. A. illustrates his doctrine by a similitude. '' Suppose that a great and generous prince had made a grant to a certain class of persons, therein described, of large estates, including all things suit- alile to their condition ; and had j)ublicly declared that, whosoever of the persons so described would believe such an estate, in virtue of tlie gi'ant now mentioned, to be Iiis own, should not Vie disappointed, but should immediately enter upon the granted estate, according to the order specified in the grant. Suppose, too, that the royal donor had given the grant in writing, and had added his seal, and his oath, and his gracious invitation, and his most earnest entreaty, and his authorita- tive command, to induce the persons de- scribed in the grant to accept it. It is evident that any one of these persons, having had access to read or hear the grant, must either be verily persuaded that the granted estate is his own, or be chargeable with an attempt to bring dis- honor upon the goodness, the veracity, the power, and authority of the donor ; on account of which attempt he is liable not only to be debarred forever from the granted estate, but to suffer a most ex- emplary and tremendous punishment." — p. 6G. I suppose the object of this similitude is expressed in the sentence, " It is evi- dent that any one of these persons, having had access to read or hear the grant, must either be verily persuaded that the grant- ed estate is his oicn, or be chargeable with dishonoring the donor." In what sense, then, is i7 his own? He is freely invited to partake of it ; that is all. It is not so his own but that he may ultimately be debarred from possessing it : but, in whatever sense it is his own, that is the only sense in which he is warranted to believe itio be so. If the condition of his actually possessing it be his believing that he shall actually possess it, he must be- lieve what was not revealed at the ti-me, except conditionally, and what would not have been true but for his believing it. The above similitude may serve to il- lustrate Mr. A.'s scheme ; but I know of nothing like i(, either in the concerns of men or the oracles of God. I will ven- ture to say there never was a gilt or grant made u|)on any such terms ; and the man that should make it would expose himself to ridicule. The Scriptures furnish us witii an illustration of another kind. The gospel is i\ feast freely provided ; and sin- ners of mankind arc freely invited to par- take of it. There is no mention of any ffi//, or grant, distinct from this, but this itself is a ground suflicient. It afl'ords a complete warrant for any sinner, not in- deed to believe the provisions to be his own, whether he accepts the invitation or not, but that, relinquishing every thing that stands in competition with them, and receiving them as a free gift, they shall be his own. " If we confess our sins he is laithful and just to forgive us our sins." — "To us it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead." Those who were persuaded to embrace the invitation are not described as coming to make a claim of it as their property, but as grate- fully accepting it : and those who refused are not represented as doubting whether the feast was provided for them, but as making light of it, and preferring their farms and merchandize before it. In short, if this writer can prove it to be true that justification and eternal life are absolutely given, granted, and prom- ised, to all who hear the gospel, there can be no dispute whether saving faith includes the belief of it with respect to ourselves, nor whether it be a duty ; but, if the thing be false, it can be no part of the faith of the gospel, nor of the duty of a sinner to give credit to it. But to return. That the belief of the truth which God hath revealed in the Scrip- tures concerning Christ is saving faith is evident from the follow ing passages : — "Go preach the gospel to every crea- ture : he that believcth and is baptized shall be saved." Believing, here, mani- festly refers to the gospel to be preach- ed, and the rejection of which would sub- ject the unbeliever to certain damnation. — " These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, ye might have life through his name." Be- lieving unto life is here described as a persuasion of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of God ; and that on the ground of what was written in the Scriptures. — "Those by the way-side are they that hear : then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." This language plainly denotes that a real be- lief of the word is connected with salva- 376 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. tion. Peter confessed, " Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus an- swered, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- jona; for flesh and blood hath not reveal- ed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." Here it is plainly intimated that a belief of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the living God, is saving faith; and that no man can be strictly said to do this, unless he be the subject of a spir- itual illumination from above. To the same purpose are those express declara- tions of Paul and John : "If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." — "Whoso believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."—" Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of Godl" — " Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God." — "He that hath receiv- ed his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true." — "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit." — Again, " While ye have the light, be- lieve in the light, that ye may be the children of light." The light they then had was that of the gospel ; and had they believed it they would have been the chil- dren of light, or true Christians. "Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth." — " These things I say that ye might be saved." Our Lord could not mean less by this language than that, if they believed those things which John testified, and which he himself confirmed, they would be saved ; which is the same thing as declaring it to be the saving faith. Christ "shall come to be glori- fied in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." The words in a parenthesis are evidently intended to give the reason of the phrase, " them that believe," and intimate that it was the belief of the gospel testimony that denominated them believers. " God hath chosen us to salvation through sanc- tification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." It cannot be doubted that, by the " belief of the truth," is here meant faith in Christ ; and its being connected with sanctification of the Spirit and eter- nal salvation proves it to be saving. If the foregoing passages be admitted to prove the point (and if they do not we may despair of learning any thing from the Scriptures,) the duty of unconverted sinners to believe in Christ cannot fairly be called in question ; for, as before said, it is admitted on all hands that it is the duty of every man to believe what God reveals. But, to this statement, it is objected that Christianity having at that time great op- position made to it, and its professors be- ing consequently exposed to great perse- cution and reproach, the belief and ac- knowledgment of the gospel was more a test of sincerity than it now is : men are now taught the principles of the Christian religion from their youth, and believe them, and are not ashamed to acknowledge them ; while yet they give no evidence of their being born of God, but on the contrary. There is some force in this objection, so far as it respects a confession of Christ's name ; but I do not perceive that it affects the belief of the gospel. It was no more difficult to believe the truth at that time than at this, though it might be much more so to avow it. With respect to that tra- ditional assent which is given to Christian- ity in some nations, it is of the same na- ture as that which is given to Mahometan- ism and Paganism in others. It is no more than that of the Jewish nation in the time of our Lord towards the Mosaic Scriptures. They declared themselves to be Moses' disciples, and had no doubt but they be- lieved him ; yet our Lord did not allow that they believed his writings. " Had ye believed Moses," said he, " ye would have believed me ; for he wrote of me." The same is doubtless true of all others who assent to his gospel, merely from having been educated in it. Did they believe it, they would be consistent and embrace those things which are connected with it. It is worthy of remark that those professors of Cliristianity who received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, are rep- resented as not believing the truth, and as having pleasure in unrighteousness. — 2 Thess. ii. 10. 12. To admit the existence of a few facts, without possessing any sense of their humiliating implication, their holy nature, their vast importance, or the prac- tical consequences that attach to them, is to admit the body without the spirit. Paul, notwithstanding his knowledge of the law, and great zeal on its behalf, while blind to its spirituality, reckoned himself to be "without the law." — Rom. vii. 9. And such are those professing Christians, with respect to the gospel, "who i-eceive not the love of the truth, that they may be saved." It is farther objected that men are said to have believed the gospel, who, notwith- standing, were destitute of true religion. Thus some among the chief rulers are said to have " believed in Jesus ; but did not confess him : for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." It is said of Simon that he " believed also ;" yet he was " in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." Agrippais ac- THE GOSPEL WORTIIV OF ALL ACt EI'TATIOiN. 377 knowlcdgod by Paul to have believed the are, properly speaking, the objects of our prophets; anil (aitli is attrilnilcd even to faith; for without sucli a revelation it the devils. The term liclief, like almost were iiiipossil)le to believe in them, every other term, is sometimes used in an Mr. Booth, and various other writers, inij)roi)cr sense. Judas is said to have re- have considered faith in Christ as a depcn- pented and hanired himself, though nothing dence on him, a receiving him, a coming more is meant by it than his l)eing smitten to him and trusting in him for salvation, with remorse, wishing he had not done as There is no doul)t but these terms are he did, on account of the consequences, frequently used, in the New Testament, Through the poverty of language there is to e\i)ress believing. " As many as re- not a name for every thing that diflcrs, and ceived hiui, to them gave he power to therefore where two tilings have the same become the sons of God, even to them visible appearance, and diller only in some that believe on his name." — " He that circumstances which are invisible, it is comcth to me shall never hunger, and he common to call them by the same name, that bclicveth in me shall never thirst." — Thus men are termed /(o;iPs/ who are j)unc- " That we should i)e to llie |)raise of his tual in their dealings, though such conduct glory who first trusted in Christ." — "I in many instances may arise merely from know whom I have trusted, and am per- a regard to their own credit, interest, or suaded that he is alilc to keep that which safety. Thus the remorse of Judas is call- I have committed to him against that day." ed repentance ; and thus the convictions Whether these terms, however, strictly of the Jewish rulers, of Simon, and Agrip- speaking, convey the same idea as believ- pa, and the fearful apprehension of apos- ing, may admit of a question. They seem tate angels, from what they had already rather to be the immediate cfiects of faith felt, is called /«i7A. But as we do not in- than faith itself. The author of the Epis- fer, from the application of the term re- tie to tiie Hebrews describes tlie order of pentance totlie feelings of Judas, that there these things, in what he says^f the faith is nothing spiritual in real repentance, so of Enoch r " He that comcth to God must neither ought we to conclude, from the believe thatlic is, and that he is a rewarder foregoingapplicationsofthetermtc/tcrin^-, of them that diligently seek him." Here that there is nothing spiritual in a real be- are three diflerent exercises of mind : lief of the gosi)el. First, believing that God is; Secondly, " The objects of faith," it has been said, believing that he is a rewarder of them that "are not bare axioms or propositions : the diligentiij seek him; Thirdl}^ coming to act of the believer does not terminate at an him: and tiie last is represented as the axiom, but at the thing; for axioms are effect of the foiiner two. The same may not formed but that by them knowledge be applied to Christ. He that cometh to may be had of things.'" To believe a Christ must l)elieve the gospel-testimony, bare axiom or proposition, in distinction that he is the Son of God, and the Saviour from the thing, must l)e barely to believe of sinners; the only name given under that such and such letters make certain heaven, and among men, by which wo words, and that such words j)ut together must be saved : he must also believe the have a certain meaning; but who would gospel promise, that he will bestow eter- call this l)elieving the proposition 1 To nal salvation on all them that obey him ; believe the proposition is to believe the and, under the influence of this persuasion, thing. Letters, syllal)les, words, and he comes to him, commits himself to him, propositions, are only means of convey- or trusts the salvation of his soul in his ance ; and these, as such, are not the ob- hands. This process may be so quick as Jects of faith, but the thing conveyed, not to admit of the mind being conscious Nevertheless, those things must have a of it ; and especially as, at such a time, it conveyance, ere they can be believed in. is otherwise employed than in speculating The person, blood, and righteousness of upon its own operations. So far as it is Christ, for instance, are often said to be able to recollect, the whole may appear to objects of faith; and this they doubtless be one complex exercise of the" soul. In are, as they are objects held forth to us this large sense also, as comprehending by the language of Scripture: l>ut they not only tiie credit of the gospel testimony, could not meet our faith, unless something but the soul's dependence on Christ alone were affirmed concerning them in letters for acceptance with God, it is allowed that and syllables, or vocal sounds, or by some believing is necessary, not only to salva- means or other of conveyance. To say tion, but to justification. We must come therefore that these are objects of faith is to Jesus that we may have life. Those to say the truth, but not the whole truth ; who attain the blessing of justification, the person, blood, and righteousness of must seek it by faith, and not by the works Christ revealed in the Scriptures as the of the law; submitting themselves to the xoay of a sinner'' s acceptance with God, righteousness of God. This blessing is VOL. I. 48 378 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. constantly represented as following our -union with Christ : and " he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit."* Let it but be granted that a real belief of the gospel is not merely a matter pre- supposed in saving faith, but that it enters into the essence of it, and the writer of these pages will be far from contending for the exclusion of trust, or dependence. He certainly has no such objection to it as is alleged by Mr. M'Lean, that "to in- clude, in the nature of faith, any holy ex- ercise of the heart, affects the doctrine of justification by grace alone, without the works of the law."t If he supposed, with that author, however, that, in order to justification being wholly of grace, no ho- liness must precede it ; or that the party must, at the time, be in a state of enmity to God, he must, to be consistent unite with him also in excluding trust (which, undoubtedly, is a holy exercise) from hav- ing anyplace in justifying faith ; but, per- suaded as he is that the freeness of justi- fication rests upon no such ground, he is not under this necessity. The term trust appears to be most ap- propi'iate, or best adapted of any, to ex- press the confidence Avhich the soul reposes in Christ for the fulfilment of his promises. We may credit a report of evil tidings as well as one of good ; but we cannot be said to trust it. We may also credit a report, the truth or falsehood of which does not at all concern us ; but that in which we place trust must be something in which our well-being is involved. The relinquishment of false confidences, which the gospel requires, and the risk which is made in embracing it, are likewise better expressed by this term than by any other. A true belief of the record which God has given of his Son is accompanied with all this ; but the term belief does not, of it- self, necessarily convey it. When Jacob's sons brought the coat of many colors to him, he credited their story ; he believed Joseph to be torn to pieces ; but he could not be said to trust that he was. When the same persons, on their return from Egypt, declared that Joseph was yet alive, Jacob, at first, believed them not ; but, on seeing the waggons, he was satisfied of the truth of their declaration, and trusted in it too, leaving all behind him on the ground of it. But, whatever difference there may be between credit and trust, they agree in those particulars which affect the point at issue : the one, no less than the other, has relation to revealed truth as its foundation. * John V. 40. Rom. ix. 31, 32 j x. 3. 1 Cor vi. 17. t On the Commission, p. 83. In some cases it directly refers to the di- vine veracity ; as in Psalm cxix. 42, / trust in thy word. And where the immediate ref- erence is to the power, the wisdom, or the mercy of God, or to the righteousness of Christ, there is a remote relation to vera- city ; for neither the one nor the other would be objects of trust, were they not revealed in a way of promise. And, from hence, it will follow that trusting in Christ, no less than crediting his testimony, is the duty of every sinner to whom the revela- tion is made. If it be asked. What ground could a sin- ner, who shall at last prove to have no in- terest in the salvation of Christ, ever pos- sess for trusting in him 1 let it be consid- ered what it was for which he was Avar- ranted, or obliged, to trust. Was it that Christ would save him, whether he be- lieved in him, or not 1 No : there is no such promise ; but an explicit declaration of the contrary. To trust in this, there- fore, would be to trust in a falsehood. That for which he ought to have trusted in him was the obtaining of mercy, in case he applied for it. For this there was a complete warrant in the gospel-declara- tions, as Mr. Booth, in his Glad Tidings to Perishing Sinners, has fully evinced. There are principles, in that performance, which the writer of these pages, highly as he respects the author, cannot approve. The principal subjects of his disapproba- tion have been pointed out, and he thinks scripturally refuted, by Mr. Scott ;| but, with respect to the warrant which every sinner has to trust in Christ for salvation, Mr. B. has clearly and fully established it. I may add, if any man distrust either the power or willingness of Christ to save those that come to him, and so continue to stand at a distance, relying upon his own righteousness, or some false gi'ound of confidence, to the rejection of him, it is criminal and inexcusable unbelief. Mr. Booth has (to all appearance, de- signedly) avoided the question. Whether faith in Christ be the duty of the ungodly. The leading principle of the former part of his work, however, cannot stand upon any other ground. He contends that the gospel affords a complete warrant for the ungodly to believe in Jesus ; and surely he will not affirm that sinners are at lib- erty either to embrace the warrant afford- ed them or to reject it 1 He defines be- lieving in Jesus Christ "receiving him as he is exhibited in the doctrine of grace, or depending upon him only." But, if the ungodly be not obliged, as well as war- ranted, to do this, they are at liberty to t See his Warrant and Nature of Faith. THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. 379 do as the Jewish nation did, to receive him not, and to ^o on depcndinj; upon the works of the law for acceplanoc with God. In the course of his work, ho de- scribes the gospel-inessaije as full of kind invitations, winninjj; persuasions, and im- portunate entreaties ; and the messenjrers as commissioned to persuade and entreat sinners to he reconciled to God, and to rej:;ard the vicarious work of Jesus as the only pro'Jnd of their justification." — pp. 36, 37, 2d ed. But how, if tliey should remain unreconciled, and continue to dis- regard the work of Christ ? How, if they should, after all, make light of this " royal banquet," and prefer their farms and their merchandizes to these " plentiful provi- sions of divine grace 1" Are tliey guilt- less in so doing, and free from all breach of duty 1 I am persuaded, whatever was Mr. Booth's reason for being silent on this subject, he will not say they are. PART II. ARGUMENTS TO PROVE THAT FAITH IN CHRIST IS THE DUTY OF ALL MEN WHO HEAR, OR HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR, THE GOSPEL. What has been already advanced, on the nature of faith in Christ, may con- tribute to the deciding of the question whether faith be the duty of the ungodly : but, in addition to this, the Scriptures furnish abundance of positive evidence. The principal part of that which has oc- curred to me may be comprehended under the following propositions : — I. Unconverted sinners are com- manded, EXHORTED, AND INVITED, TO BELIEVE IN Christ for salvation. It is here taken for granted that what- ever God commands, exhorts, or invites us to comply with, is the duty of those to whom such language is addressed. If, therefore, saving faith be not the duty of the unconverted, we may expect ne\er to find any addresses of this nature directed to them in the holy Scriptures. We may expect that God will as soon require them to become angels as Christians, if the one be no more their duty than the other. There is a phraseology suited to differ- ent periods of time. Previously to the coming of Christ, and the preaching of the gospel, we read but little of believing : but other terms, fully expressive of the thing, are found in abundance. I shall select a few examples, and accompany them with such remarks as may show them to be ap- j)licablc to the subject. Psalm ii. 11, 12. " Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling : kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from tiie way, when his wrath is kindled but a little : i>lessed are all tliey that put their trust in him." The Psalm is evidently a prophecy of the resurrection and exalta- tion of the Messiah. Whatever reference may be had to Solomon, there are several things which are not true of either him or his government ; and the whole is applica- ble to Christ, and is plentifully applied to him in the New Testament. The " kings and judges of the earth," who are iiere admonished to " serve the Lord (Messiah) with fear," and to "kiss the Son lest he be angry," are the same persons mentioned in verse 2, which words we find, in the New Testament, applied to " Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel" (Acts iv. 27 :) that is, they were the enemies of Christ, unregenerate sinners ; and such, for any thing that appears, they lived and died. The command of God addressed to these rulers is of a spiritual nature, inclu- ding unfeigned faith in the Messiah, and sincere obedience to his authority. To " kiss the Son" is to be reconciled to him, to embrace his word and ordinances, and bow to his sceptre. To "serve him with fear, and rejoice with trembling," denote that they should not think meanly of him, on the one hanel is prcailioil. Johnxii. 8G. "While ye have the li;;ht, believe in the liiiht, that ye may lie the children of light." The persons to whom this passage was addressed were unhe- lievcrs, such as " though Jesus had done so many miracles among ihem, yet believed not on him" (ver. 37;) and it appears that they continued unbelievers, lor they are represented as given over to judicial blind- ness and hardness of heart, ver. 40. The liglil which they were exhorted to believe in appears to be himself as revealed in the gospel ; for thus he s|)eaks in the context, " I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not abide in darkness." And that the believing which Clirist re(iuire(l of them was such as, had it been complied with, would have issued in their salvation, is manifest from its being added, " that ye may be the chil- dren of light;" an appellation never be- stowed on any but true believers. John vi. 29. " This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." These words contain an answer to a ques- tion. The persons who asked it were men who " followed Christ for loaves," who '* believed not," and who after this " walk- ed no more with him," ver. 20. 36. 66. Christ had been rebuking them for their mercenary principles in thus following him about, and charging them, saying, " La- V)or not for the meat that perisheth, but for that w Inch endureth unto everlasting life," ver. 27. They replied by asking, " What shall we do, that we might w^ork the works of God 1 " which was saying in effect, We have been very zealous for thee in fol- lowing thee hither and thither ; yet thou dost not allow that we please God : thou directest us "to labor for that which en- dureth unto everlasting life." What wouldst thou have us to do'! what can we do'? what must we do, in order to please God 1 To this question our Lord answers, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent : which, if it be a proi)er answer, is the same as saying, This is the first and greatest of all duties ; and without it no other duty can be acceptable. It has been said, in answer to the argu- ment from this passage, " The words con- tain a declaration that believing in Christ for salvation is necessary to the enjoyment of eternal life, and that faith in him is an act acceptable and pleasing to God ; but afford no proof that it is required of men in a state of unregeneracy. To declare to unregenerate persons the necessity of faith in order to salvation, which is what our blessed Lord here does, falls very far short of asserting it to be their present duty." • We see by this answer that Mr. Brine, who will be allowed to have been one of the most judicious writers on that side the (lueslion, was fully convinced of three things. First : That the persons here ad- dressed were unregenerate sinners. Sec- ondly : That the faith recommended is saving. Thirdly : That when faith is here called the rr:)rlc of God it does not mean the work which God performs, but an act of theirs, which would be acceptable and ]>leasing to him. Yet we are told that our Lord merely expresses the necessity of it, without asserting it to be their present du- ty. Was it not the oi)ject of tlicir incjuiry then, What was their present duty, or what they ought to do in order to please God ^ What else can be made of it 1 Further : How can our Lord be supposed in answer to their question to tell them of an act which was necessary, acceptable, and pleasing to God, but which was not their present duty '? Is such an answer worthy of him "? Nay, how could their believing be an act acceptable and pleasing to God, if it were not their present duty'! God is pleased with tliat only in us which he requires at our hands. John V. 23. "The Father hath com- mitted all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor tiie Son, even as they honor tlie Father. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him." That men are obliged to honor the Father by a holy hearty love to him, and adoration of him under every character by which he has manifested him- self, will be allowed by all except the grossest Antinomians : and, if it be the will of the Father that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Fa- ther, nothing less can be required of them than a holy hearty love to him, and adora- tion of him under every character by which he has manifested himself. But such a re- gard to Christ necessarily supposes faith in him; for it is impossible to honor him, while we reject him in all or any of his of- fices, and neglect his great salvation. To honor an infallii)le teacher is to place an implicit and unl)ounded confidence in all he says : to honor an advocate is to com- mit our cause to him : to honor a physi- cian is to trust our lives in his hands : and to honor a king is to bow to his sceptre, and cheerfully obey his laws. These are characters under which Christ has mani- fested himself". To treat him in this man- ner is to honor him ; and to treat him otherwise is to dishonor him. * Mr. Brine's Motives to Love and Unity, &c., p. 42. 382 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OP ALL ACCEPTATION. The Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament abound with exhortations to hear the word of God, to hearken to his counsel, to loait on him, to seek his favor, &c., all which imply saving faith. " Hearken unto me, O ye children ; for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death !" — " How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity "? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge 1 Turn you at my reproof : behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you." — " Hear, ye deaf, and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Hearken diligent- ly unto me. Incline your ear, and come unto me : hear, and your soul shall live." — " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near." — " This is my beloved Son: hear him." — " And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the peo- ple."— "Labor not for the meat that per- isheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life." It is a grievous misapplication of such language to consider it as expressive of a mere attendance upon the means of grace, without any spiritual desire after God; and to allow that unregenerate sinners comply with it. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The Scriptures abound in promises of spiritual and eternal bless- ings to those who thus hearken, hear, and seek after God : such exercises, therefore, must of necessity be spiritual, and require to be understood as including faith in Christ. The Scriptures exhort to no such exercises as may be complied with by a mind at enmity with God : the duties which they inculcate are all spiritual, and no sinner while unregenerate is supposed to comply with them. So far from allow- ing that ungodly men seek after God, or do any good thing, they expressly declare the contrary. " God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back ; they are altogether become filthy : there is none that doeth good, no, not one." To reduce the exhortations of Scripture to the level of a carnal mind is to betray the authority of God over the human heart ; and to allow that unconverted sinners com- ply with them is to be aiding and abetting in their self-deception. The unconverted who attend the means of grace generally persuade themselves, and wish to persuade others, that they would gladly be convert- ed and be real Christians, if it were but in their power. They imagine themselves to be waiting at the pool for the moving of the water, and therefore feel no guilt on account of their present state of mind. Doubtless, they are willing and desirous to escape the wrath to come ; and, under certain convictions, Avould submit to re- linquish many things, and to comply with other things, as the condition of it ; but they have no direct desire after spiritual blessings. If they had, they would seek them in the name of Jesus, and, thus seek- ing, would find them. That preaching, therefore, which exhorts them to mere outward duties, and tells them that their only concern is, in this manner, to wait at the pool, helps forward their delusion, and should they perish will prove accessory to their destruction. Simon the sorcerer was admonished to " repent, and pray to the Lord, if perhaps the thought of his heart might be forgiven him." From this express example many, who are averse from the doctrine here de- fended, have been so far convinced as to acknowledge that it is the duty of the un- converted to pray, at least for temporal blessings ; but Simon was not admonished to pray for temporal blessings, but for the forgiveness of sin. Neither was he to pray in a carnal and heartless manner ; but to repent, and pray. And, being di- rected to repent, and pray for the forgive- ness of sin, he was, in effect, directed to believe in Jesus ; for in what other name could forgiveness be expected 1 Peter, after having declared to the Jewish rulers that there was none other name under hea- ven given among men whereby we must be saved, cannot be supposed to have direct- ed Simon to hope for forgiveness in any other way. To admonish any person to pray, or to seek the divine favor, in any other way than hy faith in Jesus Christ, is the same thing as to admonish him to follow the ex- ample of Cain, and of the self-righteous Jews. Cain was not averse from worship. He brought his offering ; but, having no sense of the evil of sin, and of the need of a Saviour, he had taken no notice of what had been revealed concerning the promis- ed seed, and paid no regard to the present- ing of an expiatory sacrifice. He thanked God for temporal blessings, and might pray for their continuance ; but this was not doing well. It was practically saying to his Maker, I have done nothing to de- serve being made a sacrifice to thy dis- pleasure ; and I see no necessity for any sacrifice being offered up, either now or THE GOSPEL WORTHV OF ALL ACCEPTATION. 383 at the end ol the world. In sliort, it was claiming to approach God merely as -a creature, and as though nothing had taken place which required an atonement. The self-righteous Jews did not live without religion : they followed after the law of righteousness ; yet they did not attain it : and wherefore 1 " Because they soitghl it not bij faith, but, as it were, by the icorks of the law ; for they stumbled at that stumhlinE;-stone." And shall we direct our hearers to follow this example, hy ex- horting them to pray, and seek the divine favor in any other way than hy faith in Jesus Christ 1 If so, liow can we deserve the name of Christian ministers 1 The Scriptures exhort sinners to put their trust in the Lord, and censure them for placing it in an arm of flesh. Whether trusting in Ciirist, for the salvation of our souls, be dislinguishaV)le from believing in him, or not, it certainly includes it. To trust in Christ is to believe in him : if, therefore, the one be required, the other must l>e. Those who " loved vanity, and sought after lying," are admonished " to ofTer the sacrifices of righteousness, and to j)ut their trust in the Lord : and a trust connected with the sacrifices of right- eousness must be spiritual. To rely on any other object is to " trust in vanity/' against which sinners are repeatedly w arn- ed : "Trust not in oppression; become not vain in rob])ery." " He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool." " Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and rnaketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." It is allowed that, if God had never sent his Son into the world to save sinners, or if the invitations of the gospel were not ad- dressed to sinners indefinitely, there would be no warrant for trust in the divine mer- cy : and, as it is, there is no warrant for trust beyond what God has promised in his word. He has not promised to save sinners indiscriminately, and therefore it would be presumption in sinners indis- criminately to trust that they shall be saved. But he has promised, and that in great variety of language, that whosoever, relinquishing every false ground of hope, shall come to Jesu^ as a perishing sinner, and rely on hirri alone for salvation, shall not be disappointed. For such a reliance, therefore, there is a complete warrant. These promises are true, and will be ful- filled, whether we trust in them or not : and whosoever still continues to trust in his own righteousness, or in the general mercy of his Creator, without respect to the atonement, refusing to build upon the foundation which God has laid in Zion, is guilty of the greatest of all sins ; and, if God give him not repentance to the ac- knowledgment of the truth, the stone which ho has refused will fall upon him, and grind him to powder. But, "until a man through the law is dead to the law," says Mr. Brine, " he hatli no warrant to receive Christ as a Sa- viour, or to hope for salvation through him." * If, by receiving Christ, were meant the claiiniiig an interest in the bless- ings of his salvation, this objection would be well founded. No man, while adher- ing to his own righteousness as the ground of acceptance with God, has any warrant to conclude himself interested in the right- eousness of Jesus. The Scriptures every where assure him of the contrary. But the question is. Does he need any warrant to be dead to the law ; or, which is the same thing, to relinquish his vain hopes of acceptance by the works of it, and to choose that Rock for his foundation w hich is cho- sen of God and precious 1 To " receive" Christ, in the sense of Scripture, stands opposed to rejecting him, or to such a non-reception of him as was practised by the body of the Jewish nation. — John i. 11, 12. An interest in spiritual bless- ings, and, of course, a persuasion of it, is represented as following the reception of Christ, and, consequently, is to be distin- guished from it : " To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." The idea that is generally attached to the term, in various cases to which the reception of Christ liears an al- lusion, corresponds with the above state- ment. To receive a gift is not to believe it to be my own, though, after I have re- ceived it, it is so ; but to have my pride so far abased as not to be above it, and my heart so much attracted as to be willing io relinquish every thing that stands in com- petition with it. To receive a guest is not to believe him to be my particular friend,, though such he may be ; but to open my doors to him, and make him heartily wel- come. To receive an instructor is not to believe him to be my instructor any more than another's ; but to embrace his instruc- tion, and follow his counsel. For a town, or city, after a long siege, to receive a king, is not to believe him to be their spe- cial friend, though such he may be, and, in the end, they may see it; l)ut to lay down their arms, throw open their gates, and come under his government. These re- marks are easily applied ; and it is no less easy to perceive that every sinner has not only a warrant thus to receive Christ, but- that it is his great sin, if he receive him not. II. Every man is bound cordially * Motives to Love and Unity, pp. 38, 39. 384 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. to receive and approve whatever God reveals. It may be presumed that, if God reveal any thing to men, it will be accompanied with such evidence of its being what it is, that no upright mind can continue to doubt of it. " He that is of God, heareth God's words." It will be allowed, by those with whom I am now reasoning, that no man is justi- fiable in disbelieving the truth of the gos- pel, or in positively rejecting it : but then it is supposed that a belief of the gospel is not saving faith ; and that, though a positive rejection of divine truth is sinful, yet a spiritual reception of it is not a duty. I hope it has been made to appear, in the foi-mer part of this piece, that a real belief of the doctrine of Christ is saving faith, and includes such a cordial acquiescence in the way of salvation as has the promise of eternal life. But, be this as it may, whether the belief of the gospel be allowed to include a cordial ac- quiescence in God's way of salvation or not, such an acquiescence will be allowed to include saving faith. "Acting faith," says Mr. Brine, "is no other than suitable thoughts of Christ, and a hearty choice of him as God's appointed way of salva- tion."* If, therefore, it can be proved that a cordial approbation of God's way of saving sinners is tlie duty of every one, it will amount to proving the same thing of saving faith. I allow there is a difficulty in this part of the work ; but it is that which attends the proof of a truth which is nearly self- evident. Who could suppose that Mr. Brine, after such an acknowledgment concerning faith, could doubt of its being the duty of all mankind 1 Ought we not, if we think of Christ at all, to think suit- ably of him 1 and are we justifiable in en- tertaining low and unsuitable thoughts of him 1 Is it not a matter of complaint that the ungodly Jews saw "no form nor comeliness in him, nor beauty, that they should desire himV And with respect to a hearty choice of him, as God's ap- pointed way of salvation, if it be not the duty of sinners to choose him, it is their duty to refuse him, or to desire to be ac- cepted of God by the works of their hands, in preference to himl Mr. Brine would censure men for this. So does Mr. Wayman. Speaking of self-right- eous unbelievers, he says, "They plainly declare that Christ is not all and in all to them, but that he comes in but at second- hand ; and their regard is more unto them- selves, and their dependence more upon their own doings, than upon the Mighty One upon whom God hath laid our help."f But why thus complain of sinners for their not choosing Christ, if they be under no obligation to do so 1 Is there no sin in the invention of the various false schemes of religion, with which the Christian world abounds, to the exclusion of Christ 1 Why, then, are heresies reckoned among the works of the flesh?— Gal. v. 20. If we are not obliged to think suitably of Christ, and to choose him wliom the Lord and all good men have chosen, there can be no evil in these things ; for, where no law is, there is no transgression. "A hearty choice of God's appointed way of salvation" is the same thing as falling in with its grand designs. Now, the grand designs of the salvation of Christ are the glory of God, the abasement of the sinner, and the destruction of his sins. It is God's manifest purpose, in saving sinners, to save them in this way : and can any sinner be excused from cor- dially acquiescing in if? If any man prop- erly regard the character of God, he must be willing that he should be glorified : if he knew his own unworthiness, as he ought to know it, he must also be willing to occupy that place which the gospel- way of salvation assigns him : and, if he be not wickedly wedded to his lusts, he must be willing to sacrifice them at the foot of the cross. He may be averse from each of these, and, while an unbe- liever, is so : but he will not lie able to acquit himself of guilt; and it is to be lamented that any who sustain the char- acter of Christian ministers should be employed in laboring to acquit him. If a way of salvation were provided which did not provide for the glory of God, which did not abase, but flatter the sinner, and which did 7iot require him to sacrifice his lusts, he would feel no want of power to embrace it. Nominal Chris- tians, and mere professors, in all ages, have shown themselves able to believe any thing but tlie truth. Thus it was with the carnal Jews ; and thus our Lord plainly told them : — " I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not : if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." — "Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convincetli me of sin 1 And, if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me 1 He that is of God, heareth God's words : ye, therefore, hear them not, be- cause ye are not of God." This is the true source of the innumerable false schemes of religion in the world, and the true rea- son why the gospel is not universally em- braced. * Johnson's Mistakes Noted and Rectified, p. 34. t Further loquii^, p. 160. THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. 386 Unbelievers are descrilied tis "disal- lowinsr" of him wlio is " clioson of God, and precious." Now, either to allow or disallow, sii])poses a claim. Christ claims to he the wiiole I'oimdation of a dinner's hope ; and God claims, on his hehaif, that he l>e treated as "the head of the corner." But the heart of unbelievers cannot allow ot the claim. Tiie Jewish builders set him at nouirlit ; and every sell-riirhteous heart lollows their exam- ple. God, to express l»is displeasure at tliis conduct, assures tliem that their un- l)elici shall afl'ect none l)ut themselves : it shall not deprive the Saviour of his lionors ; "for the stone wiiich they re- fuse," notwithstandinu; their opi)Osition, "shall become llie head of the corner." What can lie made of all this, but that (hey on^ht to have allowed him tlie place whicli he so justly claimed, and to have citosen him whom the Lord liad chosen 1 On no other ground could the Scripture censure them as it does ; and on no other principle could tliey be characterized as disobedient : for all disobedience consists in a breach of duty- Believers, on the other hand, are de- scribed as tliinkina: higlily of Christ ; reckoning tiiemselves unworthy to " un- loose tiie latchet of his shoes," or that he should "come under their roof;" treat- ing Ids gospel as " worthy of all accepta- tion," and " counting all tilings but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of him." They are of the same mind with the blessed aliove, who sing his praise, "saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and iilessing." In fine, they are of the same mind with God him- self: him whom God has chosen they choose ; and he that is precious in his sight is precious in theirs. — 1 Pet. ii. 4 — 7. And do they over-estimate his char- acter! Is he not worthy of all the honor they ascribe to him, of all the affection they exercise towards him ; and that whether he actually receive it or noti If all the angels had l)cen of the mind of Satan, and all the saints of the spirit of the unbelieving Israelites, wlio were not gathered; yet would he have been " glo- rious in the eyes of the Lord." The belief or unbelief of creatures makes no difference as to his worthiness, or their obligation to ascribe it to him. It is allowed Iiy all, except the grossest Antinomians, that every man is obliged to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength ; and this notwithstanding the depravitv of his nature. But to love God with ail the heart is to love him in every character in which he has made him- voL. I. 49 selfknoivn; and, more especially in those n'herein his moral excellences appear with the brightest lustre. The same law that obliged Adam in innocence to love God in all his perfections, as displayed in the works of creation, obliged Moses and Israel to love him in all the glorious dis- plays of himself in his wonderful works of providence, of whicii they were Avit- nesses. And the same law that obliged them to love him in those discoveries of himself obliges us to love him in other discoveries, by whicli he has since more gloriously api)eared, as saving sinners through the death of his Son. To sup- pose that we arc obliged to love God as manifesting himself in the works of cre- ation and jirovidence, Imt not in the work of redemption, is to suppose tiiat in the highest and most glorious display of him- self lie deserves no regard. The same perfections which appear in all his other works, and render him lovely, ajipear in this with a tenfold lustre ; to be obliged to love him on account of the one, and not of the other, is not a little extra- ordinary. As these things cannot be separated in point of ol)ligalion, so neither can they in fact. He that loves God for any ex- cellency, as manifested in one form, must of necessity love him for that excellency, let it be manifested in what form it may; and the brighter the dis])lay the stronger will he his love. This remark is verified in the holy angels. At first they loved their Maker for what (hey saw in his works of creation. They saw him lay the foundation of the earth, and they "shouted for joy." In process of time they witnessed the glorious displays of his moral character in the government of the world which he had made ; and now their love increases. On every new occasion, they cry " holy, holy, holy IS THE Lord of Hosts : the whole EARTH is full OF HIS GLORY." At length, they beheld an event to the ac- complishment of which all former events were subservient : they saw the Messiah born in Bcddchcm. And now their love rises still higher. As though heaven could not contain them on such an occasion, they resort to the place, and contemplate the good that should arise to the moral system, bursting fortli into a song : "glo- ry TO God in the hk;hest, and on EARTH peace, GOOD WILL TOWARDS MEN." All this was but the natural op- eration of love to God; and, from the same principle, they took delight in at- tending the Redeemer through his life, strengthening him in his sufferings, watch- ing at his tornb, conducting him to glory, and looking into the mysteries of redemp- 386 THK GOSPEL WORTHIi; OP ALL ACCEPTATION. tion. With a heart like theirs, is it pos- sible to conceive that we should continue impenitent or unl)elieving^ If, in our circumstances, we possessed that love to God by which they were influenced, it would melt us into holy lamentation for having sinned against him. If the gospel- invilation to partake of the water of life once sounded in our ears, we should in- stantly imbibe it. Instead of making "light of it," and preferring our " farms " and our "merchandize" before it, we should embrace it with our whole heart. Let any creature be affected towards God as the holy angels are, and if he had a thousand souls to be saved, and the invi- tation extended to every one that is wil- ling, he would not hesitate a moment whether he should rely on his salvation. It is owing to a want of love to God that any man continues impenitent or unbe- lieving. This was plainly intimated by our Lord to the Jews: "I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not." It is impossible to love God, and not to embrace the greatest friend of God that ever existed ; or to love his law, and not approve of a system Avhich above all things tends to magnify and make it honorable. " The affections included in divine love," says an able writer, " are founded on those truths for which there is the great- est evidence in the world. Every thing in the world that proves the being of God proves that his creatures should love him Avith all their hearts. The evidence for these things is in itself very strong, and level to every capacity. Where it does not beget conviction, it is not owing to the weakness of men's capacities ; but the strength of their prejudices and preposses- sions. Whatever proves that reasonable creatures are obliged to love God and his law proves that sinners are obliged to ex- ercise a suitable hatred of sin, and abase- ment for it. A sinner cannot have due prevalent love to God, and hatred of sin, without prevalent desire of obtaining de- liverance from sin, and the enjoyment of God. A suitable desire of ends so impor- tant cannot be without proportionable de- sire of the necessary means. If a sinner, therefore, who hears the gospel have these suitable affections of love to God, and hatred of sin, to which he is obliged by the laws of natural religion, these things cannot be separated from a real complacen- cy in that redemption and grace which are proposed in revealed religion. This does not suppose that natural religion can dis- cover, or prove, the peculiar things of tlie gospel to be true : but, when they are dis- covered, it proves them to be infinitely desirable. A book of laws that are enfor- ced with awful sanctions cannot prove that the sovereign has })assed an act of grace or indemnity in favor of trangressors : but it proves that such favor is to them the most desirable and the most necessary thing in the world. It proves that the way of sa- ving us from sin which the Gospel reveals is infinitely suital)le to the honor of God, to the dignity of his law, and to the exi- gences of the consciences of sinners." * " If any man has a taste for' moral ex- cellency," says another, " a heart to ac- count God glorious for being what he is, he cannot but see the moral excellency of the law, and love it and conform to it, be- cause it is the image of God ; and so he cannot but see the moral excellency of the gospel, and believe it, and love it, and com- ply with it ; for it is also the image of God : he that can see the moral beauty in the original cannot but see the moral beauty of the image drawn to life. He, therefore, that despises the gospel, and is an enemy to the law, even he is at enmity against God himself. — Rom. viii. 7. Ig- norance of the glory of God, and enmity against him, make men ignorant of the glory of the law and of the gospel, and en- emies to both. Did men know and ' love him that begat, they wotild love that which is begottenjof him.' — 1 |John v. 1. 'He that is of God heareth God's words : ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.'— John viii. 47." f III. Though the gospel, strictly SPEAKING, IS NOT A LAW, BUT A MES- SAGE OP PURE grace; YET IT VIRTU- ALLY REQUIRES OBEDIENCE.. AND SUCH AN OBEDIENCE AS INCLUDES SAVING FAITH. It is no uncommon thing to distinguish betAveen a formal requisition and that which affords the ground, or reason, of that requisition. The goodness of God, for in- stance, though it is not a law or formal precept, yet virtually requires a return of gratitude. It deserves it; and the law of God formally requires it on his behalf. Thus it is with respect to the gospel, which is the greatest overflow of divine goodness that was ever witnessed. A re- turn suitable to its nature is required vir- tually by the gospel itself; and formally by the divine precept on its behalf. I suppose it might be taken for granted that the gospel possesses some degree of virtual authority ; as it is generally ac- knowledged that, by reason of the dignity of its author and the importance of itssubject- matter, it deserves the audience and atten- tion of all mankind ; yea, more, that all * M 'Laurin's Essay on Grace, 332. t Bellamy's True Religion Delineated, p. 332. THE G08PEL AVORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. 387 iir.inkitul who have opportunity ol hcnrinresented, in so doing, as exer- cising onEDiKNCE ; as "obeying the gos- pel," " obeying the truth," and " obeying Christ."— Rom. x. Iti ; vi. 17. The very end of the gospel being preached is said to be for "obedience to the faith among all nations." — Rom. i. 5. Hut obedience sup- poses previous obligation. If repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ were not duties required of us, even prior to all consideration of their being blessings bestowed upon us, it were incongruous to speak of tliem as exercises of obedience. Nor woidd it be less so to speak of that impeniterwce and unlielief which expose men to " eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power," as consisting in their not obeying the gospel. — 2 Thess. i. 8, 9. The j)assage on which the former part of this argument is founded, (viz. 2 Cor. v. 19, 20,) has been thought inappli- cable to the suliject, because it is sup- posed to be an address to the members of the Church at Corinth, who were consid- ered by the apostle as believers. On this principle Dr. Gill expounds the reconcil- iation exhorted to, submission to provi- dence, and obedience to the discipline and ordinances of God. But let it be consid- ered whether the apostle be here imme- diately addressing the members of the church at Corinth, beseeching them, at that time, to lie reconciled to God; or whether he be not rather rehearsing to them tvhat had been his conduct, and that of his brethren in the ministry, in vindica- tion of himself and them from the base in- sinuations of false teachers ; to whom the great evils that had crept into that church had been principally owing. The methods they appear to have taken to supplant the apostles were those of underhand insinua- tion. By Paul's answers, they appear to have suggested that he and his friends were either sulitle men, who, by their soft and beseeching style, ingratiated them- selves into the esteem of the simple, catching them, as it were, icith guile, (2 Cor. i. 12; xii. 16 ;) or weak-headed en- thusiasts, " beside themselves," (chap. v. 13,) going up and down " beseeching" peo- ple to this and that, (chap. xi. 21;) and that, as to Paul himself, however great he might appear in his "letters," he was nothing in company : " His bodily pres- ence, say they, is" weak, and his speech contemptible." In the First Epistle to this church, Paul 388 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. generously waved a defence of himself and bis brethren ; being more concerned for the recovery of those to Christ who were in danger of being drawn off from the truth as it is in Jesus, than respecting their opinion of him : yet, when the one was accomplished, he undertook the oth- er; not only as a justification of himself and his bretJiren, but as knowing that just sentiments of faithful ministers bore an in- timate connexion with the spiritual wel- fare of their hearers. It is thus that the apostle alludes to their various insinua- tions, acknowledging that they did indeed beseech, entreat, a.i\d persuade men; but af- firming that such conduct arose not from the motives of which they were accused, but from the " love of Christ." — " If we are beside ourselves, it is for your sakes." If the words in chap. v. 19, 20, be an immediate address to tlie members of the church at Corinth, those which follow, in chap. vi. 1, must be an address to its min- isters ; and thus Dr. Gill expounds it. But, if so, the apostle in the continuation of that address would not have said, as he does, " In all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God : his language would have been, " In all things approving yourselves," &c. Hence it is manifest that the whole is a vindication of their preach- ing and manner of life against the insinua- tions of the Corinthian teachers. There are two things which may have contributed to the misunderstanding of this passage of Scripture, one is the sup- plement you, which is unnecessarily in- troduced three times over in chap. v. 20, and vi. 1. If any supplement had been necessary, the word men, as it is in the text of chap. v. 11, might have better con- veyed the apostle's meaning. The other is the division of the fifth and sixth chap- ters in the midst of the argument.* IV. The want of faith in Christ IS ASCRIBED I*N THE ScRIPTURES TO men's DEPRAVITY, AND IS ITSELF REP- RESENTED AS A HEINOUS SIN. It is taken for granted that whatever is not a sinner's duty, the omission of it can- not be charged on him as a sin, nor impu- ted to any depravity in him. If faith were no more a duty than election or redemption, which are acts peculiar to God, the want of the one would be no more ascribed to the evil dispositions of the heart than that of the other. Or, if the inability of sin- ners to believe in Christ were of the same nature as that of a dead body in a grave to rise up and walk, it were absurd to sup- pose that they would on this account fall under the divine censure. No man is re- proved for not doing that which is natu- * Sep. Dr. Guyse on the place. rally impossible ; but sinners are reproved for not believing, and given to understand that it is solely owing to their criminal ig- norance, pride, dishonesty of heart, and aversion from God. Voluntary ignorance is represented as a reason why sinners 'believe not. "Being ignorant of God's righteousness, and go- ing about to establish their own righteous- ness, they have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." — " If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost : in whom the god of this world hath blind- ed the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine un- to them." To the same purpose we are taught by our Lord in the parable of the sower, " when any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not„ then cometh the wicked one, and catchetli away that which was sown in his heart ;" and this, as Luke expresses it, "lest they should believe and be saved." If men, even though they were possess- ed of the same principles as our first fa- ther in paradise, would nevertheless be blind to the glory of the gospel, with what propriety is their blindness attributed to the god of this world 1 Is he ever repre- sented as employing himself in hindering that which is naturally impossible, or in promoting that Avhich is innocent 1 Pride is another cause to which the want of saving faith is ascribed, " The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek." " God is not in all his thoughts." We have seen already that seeking God is a spiritual exercise, which implies faith in the Mediator : and the reason why ungodly men are strangers to it is the haughtiness of their spirits, which makes them scorn to take the place of sup- plicants before their offended Creator, and labor to put far from tlieir minds every thought of him. " How can ye believe,'^ said our Lord to the Jews, " who receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only 1 " If believing were here to be taken for any other faith than that which is spiritual or saving, the suggestion would not hold good ; for we are told of some who could and did lielieve in Christ, in some sense, but who did not confess him ; for they "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." — John xii. 43. It was pride that blinded the minds of the " wise and prudent of this world " to the doctrines of Christ ; and what is it but this same proud spirit, working" in a way of self-con- ceit and self-righteousness, that still forms the grand objection to the doctrine of sal- vation by mere grace 1 Dishonesty of heart is that on account THE (iOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. 389 of wliich men receive not the word of God, so as to brinj;- forth fruit. This is fully iinjilied in the panilde of the sower, re- corded in theeiirhth ciiapter of Luke. The reason why those hearers represented hy the {rood jrround received the word, and brouglit forth fruit rather than the others, •was that they had " irood and lioncst hearts ;" |)lainly intinialinLT that the rea- son why the others did not so receive it was that their hearts were not upright be- fore God. Indeed, such is the nature of divine truth that every heart which is lion- est towards God must receive it. An hon- est heart must needs approve of God's holy law, wliich requires us to love him with all our powers ; and this because it is no more tlian givins; him the glory due to liis name. °An honest heart will ap- prove of Ijeing justified wholly for Christ's sake, and not on account of any of its own works, whether legal or evangelical ; for it is no more than relinquishing a claim which is justly forleited, and accepting as a free gilt that which God was under no obligation to l)estow. Farther : An hon- est heart must rejoice in the way of salva- tion as soon as he understands it ; because it provides a w ay in which mercy can be exercised consistently loith righteousness. A right spirit would revolt at the idea of receiving mercy itseli in a way that should leave a blot upon the di\ine character. It is the glory of Christ that he has not an honest man for an enemy. The upright love him. We are not ignorant who it is that must now give men honest hearts, and what is the source of every thing in a fallen crea- ture that is truly good ; but this does not affect the argument. How ever lar sinners are from it, and whatever divine agency it may require to produce it, no man who is not disposed to deny tlie accountal)leness of creatures to the God that made them ■will deny that it is their duty ; for, if we are not obliged to be upright towards God, we are obliged to nothing; and, if obliged to nothing, we must be guiltless, and so stand in no need of salvation. Finally : Aversion of heart is assigned as a reason why sinners do not believe. This truth is strongly expressed in that complaint of our Lord in John v. 40, "Ye will not, or ye arc not ivilling, to come un- to me, that ye might have liie." Proudly attached to their own righteousness, when Jesus exhibited himself as " the way, the truth, and the lite," they were stumbled at it ; and thousands in tlie religious world are the same to this day. They are wil- ling to escape God's wrath, and to gain his favor; yea, and to relinquish many an outward vice in order to it : but to come to Jesus among the chief of sinners, and lie indebted wholly to his sacrifice for life, they are not icilling. Yet, can any man plead that this their unwillingness is inno- cent ! Mr. Hussey understands the foregoing passage of barely owning Christ to l)e the Messiah, which, he says, would have saved them as a nation from temporal ruin and death ; or, as he in another place express- es it, " from having their brains dashed out by the i)aUering rams of Titus," the Roman general. "^^ But it ought to be ol)- served that the life for which they were "not willing" to come to him was the same as that which they thought they had in the Scriptures ; and this was " eternal " life. — " Search tiie Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me :" and " ye w ill not come unto me, that ye might have life." This was the same as saying. These very Scriptures, in which ye think ye have eternal life, testify of me, as the only way to it ; but such is the pride and aversion of your hearts that ye will not come to me for it. Ur. Gill, in general, op|)osed these principles ; yet frequently, when his sys- tem was out of sight, he established them. His exposition of this passage is a proof of this remark. He tells us that the " perverseness of their wills was blame- worthy, being owing to the corruption and vitiosity of their nature ; w hidi being blameworthy in them, that which follows upon it must be so too." There is no inconsistency t)etween this account of things and that which is given elsewhere, that " no man can come to (Christ,) excc})t the Father draw him." No man can choose that from which his heart is averse. It is common, both in Scripture and in conversation, to speak of a person w ho is under the influence of an evil bias of heart, as unalile to do that which is inconsistent with it. — " Tliey have eyes lull of adultery, and tv/mio/ cease from sin." — " The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." On account of this dilTcrent phraseology, some writers have affirmed that men are under both a moral and a natural inability of coming to Christ ; or that they neither loill nor can come to him : but, if there be no other inability than what arises from aversion, this language is not accurate; for it conveys the idea that, if all aversion of heart were removed, there would still be a natural and insurmountable bar in the way. But no such idea as this is convey- * Glory of Cfirisf Revealed, pp. 627. 61.5, 390 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OP ALL ACCEPTATION. ed by our Lord's words : the only bar to which he refers lies in that reluctance or aversion which tiie drawing of the Father implies and removes. Nor will such an idea comport with what he elsewhere teaches. " And, because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin 1 And, if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me 1 He that is of God heareth God's words : ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. Why do ye not understand my speech "? Because ye cannot hear my loord." These cutting interrogations pro- ceed on the supposition that they could have received the doctrine of Christ, if it had been agreeable to their corrupt hearts ; and its being otherwise was the only rea- son tchy they could not understand and be- lieve it. If sinners were naturally and ab- solutely unable to believe in Christ, they would be equally unable to disbelieve ; for it requires the same powers to reject as to embrace. And, in this case, there would be no room for an inal)ility of anoth- er kind : a dead body is equally unable to do evil as to do good ; and a man nat- urally and absolutely blind could not be guilty of shutting his eyes against the light. It is indwelling sin," as Dr. Owen says, " that both disenableth men unto, and hinders them from believing, and that alone. Blindness of mind, stubbornness of the will, sensuality of the affections, all concur to keep poor perishing souls at a distance from Christ. Men are made blind by sin, and cannot see his excellen- cy ; obstinate, and will not lay hold of his righteousness ; senseless, and take no no- tice of their eternal concernments."* A voluntary and judicial blindness, obsti- nacy, and hardness of heart, are represent- ed as the bar to conversion. — Acts xxviii. 27. But if that spirit which is exercised in conversion were essentially different from any thing which the subjects of it in any state possessed, or ought to have possess- ed, it were absurd to ascribe the want of it to such causes. Those who embraced the gospel and submitted to the government of the Mes- siah were baptized with the baptism of John, and are said, in so doing, to have "justified" God : their conduct was an ac- knowledgment of the justice of the law, and of the wisdom and love of the gospel. On the other hand, those who did not thus submit are said to have " rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized."— Luke vii. 29, 30. But no Christian, I suppose, (certainly no Bap- tist,) thinks it was their sin not to be bap- tized while they continued enemies to * On Indwelling Sin. Chap. XIV, Christ ; and probably very few, if any, serious Pajdobaptists would contend for its being the duty of adults to be baptized in Christ's name, without first embracing his word. How then can this passage be un- derstood, but by supposing that they ought to have repented of their sins, embraced the Messiah, and submitted to his ordi- nances 1 Nor can the force of the argu- ment be evaded by distinguishing between different kinds of repentance and faith ; for a profession of true repentance, and of faith unfeigned, was required in order to baptism. Finally : Unbelief is expressly declared to be a sin ofivhich the Spirit of truth has to convince the world. — John xvi. 8, 9. But unbelief cannot he a sin if faith were not a duty. I know of no answer to this argument, but what must be drawn from a distinction between believing the report of the gospel and saving faith ; allowing the want of the one to be sinful, but not of tlie other. But it is not of gross unbe- lief only, or of an open rejection of Jesus as the Messiah that the Holy Spirit has to convince the world ; nor is it to a bare conviction of this truth, like what prevails in all christian countries, that men are brought by his teaching. When he, the Spirit of truth, cometh, his operations are deeper than this amounts to : it is of an opposition of heart to the way of salvation that he convinces the sinner, and to a cor- dial acquiescence with it that he brings him. Those who are born in a christian land, and who never were the subjects of gross infidelity stand in no less need of be- ing thus convinced than others. Nay, in some respects they need it more. Their unbelieving opposition to Christ is more subtile, refined, and out of sight, than that of open infidels : they are no less apt, therefore, to suspect themselves of it; and consequently stand in greater need of the Holy Spirit to search them out, and show them to themselves. Amongst those who constantly sit under the gospel, and who remain in an unconverted state, there are few who think themselves the enemies of Christ. On the contrary, they flatter themselves that they are willing at any time to be converted, if God would but convert them ; considering themselves as lying at the pool for the moving of the waters. But " when he, the Spirit of truth, cometh," these coverings will be stripped from off the face, and these re- fuges of lies will fail.f V. God has threatened and in- flicted THE MOST AWFUL PUNISH- t See Charnock's excellent discourse, on Unbe- lief the Greatest Sin, from the above passage. Vol. II. of his Works. THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCKPTATION. 391 MEXTS ON SINNERS, FOR THEIR XOT BELIEVING ON THE LoRI) JeSLS ChRIST. It is here taken lor granted tliat notliing l)ut sin can ho the cause of Goil's intlict- injj punisliincnt : and nothing can l)c sin which is not a breach of duty. " Go yp into all the world, and preach the gosi)el to every creature. He that he- lie\etli ami is l>apti/.ee from hence inferred that the wickedness of the latter is the j)rocuring cause of his being cast down. Again, Psalm cxiv. 20: "The Lord preserveth all Ihcm that love him : but all the wicked will lie destroy." But it might be sa^, as the love of the one is not the procuring cause of ids preservation, so it cannot be proved from hence that tiie wickedness of the other is the procuring cause of his de- struction ; and that these declarations contain only the "descriptive characters" of those who are saved, and of those who perish. In this manner almost all the threaten- ings in the i)ook of God might be made to say nothing as threatenings ; for the mode in which they are delivered is the same as that in the passage in question. For example, " What shall be given unto thee 1 or what, shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue ? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper." — "He that showeth no mercy shall have judg- ment without mercy." — " Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." — "Be not deceived : neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor eflfeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall in- herit the kingdom of God." — "Behold the day cometh that shall burn like an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stul)l)le." — "Bring hither those mine enemies, which would not that I sliould reign over them, and slay them before me." — " The fearful and unbelieving, and aliominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sor- cerers and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their portion in the lake which burn- efh with fire and brimstone : which is the second death." But none of these awful threatenings declare that the re- spective crimes which are mentioned are the procuring cause of the evils denounc- ed. Though it is said, concerning the "false tongue," that "sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper," shall be given him; yet it does not say that these shall be given him because of his falsehood : and so on of the rest. And thus they may })e only "descriptive charac- ters " of those who shall be damned ; and all these things may, for aught these de- nunciations prove, be blameless. If this reasoning be just, it cannot be inferred, from the laws of England declaring that a murderer shall be put to deatii, that it is on account of his being a murderer. Neither could our first parents justly in,- THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. fer, from its being told them " The day ye eat thereof ye sliall surely die," that it should be on that account. The truth is, though eternal life be the gift of God, yet eternal death is the proper wages of sin; and though faith is not represented, in the above passage, as the procuring cause of salvation, yet un- belief is of damnation. It is common for the Scriptures to describe those that shall be saved by sometliing which is pleasing to God, and by which they are made meet for glory; and those that shall be lost l)y something which is displeasing to God, and by which they are fitted for destruction. John iii. 18. " He that bclieveth on him is not condemned : but he that be- lieveth not is condemned already, be- cause he halh not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God." Two things are here observable. First : Be- lieving is expressive of saving faith, see- ing it exempts from condemnation. Sec- ondly : The want of this i'aith is a sin on account of which the unl)eliever stands condemned. It is true that unbelief is an evidence of our being under the condem- nation of God's righteous law for all our other sins ; but this is not all : unbelief is ior lieforc him ail the earth." — " Let all that he round aliout him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared." — " Who would noi fear thee, O King of nations '? " — " Fear thou God." — " Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." — " Gather the peoj)le togetl«?r, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is witliin thy gates, that they may hear, and that tiiey may learn, and fear the Lord your God:" — " and that their cliildren, which have not known any thing, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God." — " Serve tlie Lord with fear, and i"ejoice with tremb- ling."— " And I saw another angel lly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto lliem that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying, — Fear God and give glory to him ; for the hour of his judgment is come ; and worshij) him that made heaven and earth !" — " Wiio shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name ] for thou only art holy." To say of men " they have no fear of God be- fore their eyes," is to represent them as under the dominion of depravity. Ii may be oi)jectcd tliat the Scriptures distinguish betweon that holy fear of of- fending God wliicli is peculiar to his chil- dren, and a mere dread of the misery threatened against sin, which is found in the wicked. True ; there is a fear of God which is not spiritual ; such was that of the slothful servant ; and the same is found in hypocrites and devils, (Luke xix. 21 ; James ii. 19:) this, however, is no part of duty, but ratlier of punishment. God does not require this, either of saints or sinners. That w hich he requires is of a holy nature, such as is expressed in the passages l)el'ore quoted, which is spiritual, and has the promise of s]>iritvial blessings. It resem- bles tliat of a dutiful child to his tatiier, and is therefore properly CdWt'dfiUal ; and, though none are possessed of it but the children of God, yet that is because none else are possessed of a right spirit. Repentance, or a godly sorrow for sin, is a spiritual exercise ; for it abounds with promises of spiritual blessings. But re- pentance is a duty required of every sin- ner. " Repent ye, ibr the kingdom of heaven is at hand." — " Repent ye, there- fore, ami l)e converted, that your sins may be blotted out." — " Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, . and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be alUictcd, and mourn, and weep ; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Huml)le yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lilt you up." The " hardness of heart" which our Lord found in the Jews, and which is the opposite of repentance, "grieved" him; which it woud not, had it not been their sin. — Mark iii. 5. Finally : A hard and impenitent heart treasures up ivrath against the day of icratli : J)ut impenitence could be no sin if penitence were not a duty. — Rom. ii. 5. Repentance, it is allowed, like all other spiritual exercises, has its counterfeit, and which is not spiritual ; but neither is it that which God recpures at the hands of either saints or sinners. What is called natural, and sometimes legal re])entance, is merely a sorrow on account of conse- quences. Such was the repentance of Saul and Judas. In order to evade the argument arising from the addresses of John the Baptist, of Christ and his apostles, who called upon the Jewish people " to repent and believe the gospel," it has been alleged that it was only an outward repentance and acknowl- edgment of the truth to which they were exhorted, and not that which is spiritual or which has the promise of spiritual blessings. But it would be difficult, if not impossible, to prove that such repentance and faith are any where required of sinners, or tliat it is consistent with the divine perfections to require them. An outward repentance and reformation of manners, as distinguished from that w hich consists in godly sorrow, is only repent- ance in appearance. Whatever sorrow there is in it, it is not on account of sin, but its consequences ; and to suppose that Christ or his servants required this would be doing them infinite dishonor. It is no other than supposing them to have betray- ed the authority of God over the human heart, to have sactioned hypocrisy, and to have given counsels to sinners which, if taken, would leave them still exposed to everlasting destruction. The case of the Ninevites has been al- leged as furnishing an example of that re- pentance which is the duty of men in gen- eral, and which Christ and his apostles re- quired of he Jews. I do not know that the repentance of the Ninevites was gen- uine, or connected with spiritual bless- ings : neither do my opjionents know that it was not. Probably the repentance of 396 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. some of them was genuine, while that of the greater part might be only put on in conformity to the orders of government ; •or, at most, merely as the effect of terror. But, whatever it was, even though none of it were genuine, the object professed was godly sorroio for sin; and if God .treated them upon the supposition of their being sincere, and it repented him of the evil which he had threatened, it is no more than he did to Pharaoh, Abijah, Ahab, and others.* It is a very unjust conclusion to draw from his conduct that their repent- ance was such as he approved, and the whole which he required at their hands. So far from it, there might be nothing in any of them which could approve itself to him as the searcher of hearts : and though for wise reasons he might think it proper, in those instances, to overlook their hy- pocrisy, and to treat them on the supposi- tion of their repentance being what they professed it to be; yet he might still re- serve to himself the power of judging them at the last day according to their works. The object of John the Baptist was not to effect a mere outward reformation of manners : but to " turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedi- ent to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Such was the effect actually produced by his ministry, and by that of Christ and the apostles. The repentance which they called upon sinners to exercise was such as entitled those who possessed it to Chris- tian "baptism," and which had the prom- ise of "the remission of sins." — Marki. 4 ; Acts ii. 38. It is plainly intimated, by the apostle Paul, that all repentance except that which worketh in a way of godly soitow, and which he calls repentance to salvation, NEEDS TO BE REPENTED OF. It is the mere sorroio of the world, tvhich loorketh death. — 2 Cor. vii. 10. But that which requires to be repented of cannot be com- manded of God, or constitute any part of ,a sinner's duty. The duty of every trans- gressor is to be sorry at heart for having sinned. Humility, or lowliness of mind, is a spir- itual disposition, and has the promise of spiritual blessings. "Though the Lord is high, yet hath he respect unto the low- ly."— " He giveth grace unto the hum- ble."— "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven :" yet this disposition is required as the duty of all. "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep : let * Exod. viii. 8,9; 2 Chroii. xiii., vvitli 1 Kings XX ; 1 Kings xxi. 27,29. your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." Humility does not consist in thinking less, or more meanly, of our- selves tlian is true. The difference be- tween one that is lowly and one that is proud lies in this : the one thinks justly of himself, and the other unjustly. The most humble Christian only thinks of himself " soberly, as he ought to think." All the instances of humility recorded of the godly in the Scriptures are 'but so many examples of a rigid spirit, a spirit brought down to their situation. " Carry back the ark of God into the city," says David : " If I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation : but if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I ; let him do to me as seemeth good unto him." This was very different from the spirit of his predecessor, when he was given to expect the loss of the kingdom ; yet it was no more than was the duty of Saul, as well as of David ; and all his proud and reViellious opposi- tion served only to increase his guilt and misery. The spirit of the publican was no more than was becoming a sinner, and would have been becoming the Pharisee himself. Finally : If whatever has the promise of spiritual blessings be a spiritual exer- cise, every thing that is right, or which accords with the divine precept, must be so ; for the Scriptures unilbrmly promise eternal life to every such exercise. They that " do good " shall come forth to the resurrection of life. He that " doeth righteousness is righteous." The giving of " a cup of cold water " to a disciple of Christ because he belongs to him will be followed with a disciple's reward. Nay, a "blessing" is pronounced upon those who are "not offended" in him. But, though these things are spiritual and are characteristic of the godly, yet who will say they are not binding on the ungodly 1 Are they excused from " good," from " doing right," from bestowing " a cup of water " on a disciple of Jesus, because he belongs to him 1 At least, are they al- lowed to be " offended " in him 1 If God's law be spiritual, and remain in full force as a standard of obligation — - if men, while unconverted, have no real conformity to it — if regeneration be the writing of it upon the heart, or the renew- al of the mind to a right spirit — all these things are clear and consistent. This is for the same thing, in different respects, to be "man's duty and God's gift:" * position which Dr. Owen has fully estab- THE GOSPEL WORTIIV OF ALL ACCEPTATION. 897 lishod ;* ami soinowhorc remarks tliat he who is iirnorant of it lias yet (o learn one of the first principles of reliel was designed to teach mankind, from the very outset of the worUi, God's determination to have no fellowship witli sinners, hut throuility of simicrs is not such as to induce the Judge of all the earth (who cannot do oilier than right) to abate in his demands. It is a fad lliat he does require Ihcm, and that without Jiaying any regard to their inability, /o love him, and to fear him, and to do all his commandments al- ways. The blind are admonished to look, the deaf to hear, and the dead to arise. — Isa. xlii. 18 ; Ephes. v. 14. If there were no other proof than what is aflbrded by this single fact, it ought to satisfy us that the blindness, deafness, and death of sinners, to that which is spiritually good, is of a different nature from that which furnishes an excuse. This, however, is not the on- ly ground of proof. The thing speaks for itself. There is an essential difference between an inability which is indejiendent of the inclination and one that is owing to nothing else. It is just as impossiiile, no doul)t, lor any person to do that which he has no mind to do as to perform tliat which surpasses his natural powers ; and hence it is that the same terms are used in the one case as in the other. Those who w ere under the dominion of envy and malignity "could not speak peaceably;" and those who have " eyes full of adultery cannot cease from sin." Hence, also, the follow- ing language : " How can ye, being evil, speak good things 1 " — " The natural man receivelh not the things of the S})irit of God, neither can he know them." — " The carnal mind is enmity against God ; and is not subject to the law of God, nei- ther indeed can be." — " They that are in the flesh cannot please God." — "No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him." It is also true that many have affected to treat the dis- tinction between natural and moral inal)il- ity as more curious than solid. " If we be unable," say they, " we are unable. As to the nature of the inability, it is a matter of no account. Such distinctions are perplexing to plain Christians, and be- yond their capacity." But surely the plainest and weakest Christian, in reading his Bible, if he pay any regard to what he reads, must jierceive a manifest difference between the blindness of Bartimeus, who was ardently desirous that " he might re- ceive his sight," and that of the unbeliev- ing Jews, who "closed their eyes, lest they should sec, and be converted, and be healed ;" and between the want of the nat- ural sense of hearing, and the slate of those who " have ears, but hear not." So far as my observation extends, those persons who affect to treat this distinction as a matter of mere curious speculation are as ready lo make use of it as other people where their own interest is con- cerned. If they be accused of injuring their fellow-creatures, and can allege that what they did was not knonnnglij, or of dcsisrn, I believe they never fail to do so ; or, when charged with neglecting their du- ty to a parent or a master, if they can say in truth that they were unable to do it at the time, let their will have been ever so good, Ihey are never known to omit the plea: and should such a master or j)arent reply, by suggesting that their want of ability arose from want o( inclination, they would very easily understand it to be the language of reproach, and be very earnest to maintain the contrary. You never hear a person in such circumstances reason as he does in religion. He does not say, " If I be unable I am unable; it is of no ac- count whether my inability be of this kind or that :" but he labors with all his might to establish the difference. Now, if the sul jcct be so clearly understood and act- ed upon where interest is concerned, and never appears difficult but in religion, it is but too manifest ichcrc the difficulty lies. If, by fixing the guilt of our conduct upon our father Adam, we can sit comfortably in our nest, we shall he very averse from a sentiment that tends to disturb our re- pose by planting a thorn in it. It is sometimes objected that the ina- bility of sinners to believe in Christ is not the effect of their depravity ; for that Adam himself, in his purest state, was only a natural vian, and had no |)ower to perform sjtiritual duties. But this objec- tion belongs to another topic, and has, I hope, been already answered. To this, however, it may lie added, "the natural man, who receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God," (1 Cor. ii. 14,) is not a man possessed of the holy image of God, as was Adam, l)ut of mere natural accom- plishments, as were the " wise men of the world," the philosophers of Greece and Rome, to whom the things of God were "foolishness." Moreover, if the inabil- ity of sinners to perform spiritual duties were of the kind alleged in the objection. 406 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OP ALL ACCEPTATION. they must be equally unable to commit the opposite sins. He that, from the con- stitution of his nature, is absolutely una- ble to understand, or believe, or love, a certain kind of truth, must, of necessity, be alike unable to shut his eyes against it, to disbelieve, to reject, or to hate it. But it is manifest that all men are capable of the latter; it must therefore folio iv that nothing but the depravity of their heart renders them incapable of the former. Some writers, as has been already ob- served, have allowed that sinners are the subjects of an inability which arises from their depravity ; but they still contend that this is not all, Init that they are both naturally and morally unable to believe in Christ : and this they think agreeable to the Scriptures, which represent them as l>oth unable and unwilling to come to him for life. But these two kinds of inability cannot consist with each other, so as both to exist in the same subject and towards the same thing. A moral inability sup- poses a natural ability. He who never, in any state, was possessed of the power of seeing, cannot be said to shiit his eyes against the light. If the Jews had not been possessed of natural powers equal to the knowledge of Christ's doctrine, there had lieen no justice in that cutting ques- tion and answer, " Why do ye not under- stand my speech 1 Because ye cannot hear my word." A total jihysical inabili- ty must, of necessity, supersede a moral one. To suppose, therefore, that the phrase, " No man can come to me," is meant to describe the former; and, "Ye loill not come to me that ye may have life," the latter ; is to suppose that our Saviour taught what is self-contradictory. Some have supposed that, in attribut- ing physical or natural power to men, we deny their natural depravity. Through the poverty of language, words are obliged to be used in diiferent senses. When we speak of men as by nature depraved, we do not mean to convey the idea of sin being an essential part of human nature, or of the constitution of man as man : our meaning is, that it is not a mere effect of education and example ; but is, from his very birth, so interwoven through all his powers, so ingrained, as it were, in his very soul, as to grow up with him and be- come natural to him. On the other hand, when the term nat- ural is used as opposed to moral, and ap- plied to the powers of the soul, it is de- signed to express those faculties which are strictly a part of our nature as men, and which are necessary to our being ac- countable creatures. By confounding these ideas we may be always disputing and bring nothing to an issue. Finally : It is sometimes suggested that to attribute to sinners a natural ability of performing things spiritually good is to nourish their self-sufficiency ; and that to represent it as only moral is to suppose that it is not insuperable, but may, after all, be overcome by etforts of their own. But surely it is not necessary, in order to destroy a spirit of self-sufficiency, to deny that we are men and accountable crea- tures ; which is all that natural ability supposes. Ifanypei'son imagine it pos- sible, of his own accord, to choose that from which he is utterly averse, let him make the trial. Some have alleged that " natural j)ower is only sufficient to perform natural things, and that spiritual power is required to the performance of spiritual things." But this statement is far from accurate. Nat- ural power is as necessary to the perform- ance of spiritual as of natural things ; we must possess the powers of men in order to perform the duties of good men. And as to spiritual power, or, which is the same thing, a right state of mind, it is not properly a faculty of the soul but a quality which it possesses ; and which, though it be essential to the actual per- formance of spiritual obedience, yet is not necessary to our being under obligation to perform it. If a traveller, from a disinclination to the western continent, should direct his course perpetually towards the east, he would, in time, arrive at the place which he designed to shun. In like manner, it has been remarked, by some who have observed the progress of this controversy, that there are certain imj)ortant points in which false Calvinism, in its ardent desire to steer clear of Arminianism, is brought to agree with it. We have seen already tliat they agree in their notions of the original holiness in Adam, and in the inconsistency of the duty of believing with the doctrines of election and particular redemption. To this may be added, they are agreed in making the grace of God necessary to the accountableness of sinners with regard to spiritual obedience. The one pleads for graceless sinners being free from obligation, the other admits of obliga- tion, but founds it on the notion of univer- sal grace. Both are agreed that where there is no grace there is no duty. But if grace be the ground of obligation it is no more grace but debt. It is that which, if any thing good be required of the sinner, cannot justly be withheld. This is, in effect, acknowledged by both parties. The one contends that, where no grace is given, there can be no obligation to spirit- ual obedience ; and therefore acquits the unbeliever of guilt in not coming to Christ THE UOSPEI. ^VORTIIV OF ALL ACC F. PTATION. '107 that he might have life, and in the neglect of all spiritual religion. Tiic other argues tliat, it man l>e totally depraved, and no grace lie given him to counteract his de- pravity, he is hlaii\cless ; that is, his de- pravity is no longer depravity ; he is in- nocent in tlie account of his Judge ; con- sequently, he can need no Saviour; and, if justice lie done him, will he exempt from punishment, (if not entitled to hea- ven,) in virtue of his i)ersonal innocence. Thus the whole system of grace is render- ed void ; and fallen angels, who have not been partakers of it, must he in a far ])refcralile state to tliat of fallen men, who, hy Jesus taking hold of their nature, are liable to become blameworthy and eternally lost. But, if the essential pow- ers of the mind be the same wliethcr we be pure or depraved, and be sufficient to render anv creature an accountalile being, whatever be his disposition, grace is what its proper meaning imports — free favor, or favor towards the unicorthy ; and the redemption of Christ, with all its holy and happy cflects, is what the Scriptures rep- resent it — necessary to deliver us from the state into loliich ive arc fallen antecedently to its being bestoived.* Of the wouk of the Hoi.y Spirit. The Scriptures clearly ascril)e both re- pentance and faith wherever they exist to divine influence. f Whence many have concluded that they cannot be duties re- quired of sinners. If sinners have been required from the pulpit to repent or be- lieve, they have thought it sufficient to show the absurdity of such exhortations by saying, A heart of flesh is of God's giving : faith is " not of ourselves ; it is the gift of God :" as though these things were inconsistent, and it were improper to exhort to any thing but what can be done of ourselves, and without the influ- ence of the Holy Spirit. The whole weight of this objection rests upon the supposition that ive do not stand in need of the Holy Spirit to enable us to comply with our duty. If this prin- ciple were admitted, we must conclude either, with the Arminians and Socinians, that "faith and conversion, seeing they are acts of obedience, cannot be wrought of God ; " I or with the objector that, seeing they are wrought of God, they cannot be acts of obedience. But, if we need the influence of the Holy Spirit to enable us to do our duty, iioth these meth- ods of reasoning fall to the ground. And is it not manifest that the godly in all ages have considered themselves in- * Rom. V. 5. L>— 2L Heh. ix. 27, 28. 1 Thess. i. 10. t Ezek. xi. 19. 2 Tim. ii. 25. Eplies. i. 19 ; ii. 8. t See Owen's Display of Anniiiianisin, Chap. X. sufficient to perform those things to which nevertheless they ;uknowled'.e themselves to lie obliged 1 The rule of duty is what God recpiires of us : but he reijuires those tilings whicii good men ha\e always con- fessed themselves, on account of liic sin- fulness of their nature, insufficient to per- form. He "desireth truth in the inward part :" yet an apostle acknowledges, " We are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves : but our sufTiciency is of God."— " The Spirit," saith he, " heliieth our infirmities ; for we know not what we should pray for as tee ought: but the Spirit itself maketh inter- cession for us witii groanings which can- not be uttered." The same things arc required in one place which are })roinised in another: ''Only fear the Lord, and serve him in trutii with all your iieart." — " I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me." When the sacred writers speak of the divine precepts, they neither disown them nor infer from them a self-sufiiciency to con- form to them, but turn them into prayer : " Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes ! " In fine, the Scriptures uniformly teach us that all our sufTiciency to do good or to al.stain from evil is from above ; repent- ance and faith, tiierefore, may be duties, notwithstanding their beintr the gifts of God. If our insufficiency for this and every other good thing arose from a natural im- potency, it would indeed excuse us from obligation; but if it arise from the sinful dispositions of our hearts it is otherwise. Those whose eyes are " full of adultery, and (therefore) cannot cease from sin," are under the same obligations to live a chaste and sober life as other men are : yet, if ever their dispositions be changed, it must be by an influence from witliout them; for it is not in them to relinquish their courses of their own accord. I do not mean to suggest that this species of evil prevails in all sinners : but sin in some form prevails and has its dominion over them, anil to such a degree that noth- ing l)ut the grace of God can effectually cure it. It is depravity only that renders the regenerating influence of the Holy- Spirit necessary. " The bare and out- ward declaration of the word of God," says a great Avriter,§ " ought to have large- ly sufficed to make it be believed, if our own l)lindness and stubbornness did not withstand it. But our mind hath such an inclination to vanity that it can never cleave fast to the truth of God ; and such § Calvin : See Institutes, Book III. Chap. II. 408 THE GOSPEL WORTHY OP ALL ACCEPTATION. a dulness that it is always blind and can- not see the light thereof. Therefore there is nothing available done by the word without the enlightening of the Holy Spirit." On the necessity of a divine principle in order to believing. About fifty years ago much was written in favor of this position by Mr. Brine. Of late years much has been advanced against it by Mr. Booth, Mr. M'Lean, and others. I cannot pretend to determine what ideas Mr. Brine attached to tKe term principle. He probalily meant something different from what God requires of every intelligent creature : and, if this were ad- milled to be necessary to believing, such believing could not be the duty of any ex- cept those who were possessed of it. I have no interest in this question farther than to maintain that the moral state or disposition of the sotil has a necessary in- fluence on believing in Christ. This I feel no difficulty in admitting on the one side, nor in defending on the other. If faith were an involuntary reception of the truth, and were produced merely by the power of evidence ; if the prejudiced or unprejudiced state of the mind had no in- fluence in retarding or promoting it; in fine, if it were wholly an intellectual and not a moral exercise ; nothing more than rationality, or a capacity of understanding the nature of evidence, would be necessa- ry to it. In this case it would not be a duty ; nor would unbelief be a sin, but a mere mistake of the judgment. Nor could there be any need of divine influence ; for the special influences of the Holy Spirit are not required for the production of that which has no holiness in it. But if on the other hand faith in Christ be that on which the will has an influence ; if it be the same thing as receiving- the love of the truth that we may he saved; if aversion of heart be the only obstruction to it, and the removal of that aversion be the kind of in- fluence necessary to produce it (and wheth- er these things be so or not, let the evi- dence adduced in the Second Part of this Treatise determine,)* a contrary conclu- sion must be drawn. The mere force of evidence, however clear, will not change the disposition of the heart. In this case therefore, and this only, it requires the ex- ceeding greatness of divine power to enable a sinner to believe. But, as I design to notice this svdiject more fully in an Appendix, I shall here pass it over, and attend to the objection to faith being a duty which is derived from it. If a sinner cannot believe in Christ without being renewed in the spirit of his * Pailicularly Propositions, IV, V. mind, believing, it is suggested, cannot be his immediate duty. It is remarkable in how many points the system here opposed agrees with Arminianism. The latter ad- mits believing to be the duty of the unre- generate ; but on this account denies the necessity of a divine change in order to it. The former admits the necessity of a di- vine change in order to believing ; but on this account denies that believing can be the duty of the unregenerate. In this they are agreed, that the necessity of a divine change and the obligation of the sinner cannot comport with each other. But, if this argument have any force, it will prove more than its abettors wish it to prove. It will prove that divine in- fluence is not necessary to believing; or, if it be, that faith is not the immediate duty of the sinner. Whether divine in- fluence change the bias of the heart in or- der to believing, or cause us to believe without such change, or only assist us in it, makes no difference as to this argu- ment : if it be antecedent and necessary to believing, believing cannot be a duty, according to the reasoning in tiie objec- tion, till it is communicated. On this principle, Socinians, who allow faith to be the sinner's immediate duty, deny it to be the gift of God.f To me it appears that the necessity of divine influence, and even of a change of heart, prior to believing, is perfectly con- sistent with its being the immediate duty of the unregenerate. If that disposition of heart whch is produced by the Holy Spirit be no rnore than every intelligent creature ought at all times to possess, the want of it can afford no excuse for the omission of any duty to which it is neces- sary. Let the contrary supposition be applied to the common affairs of life, and we shall see what a result will be pro- duced : — I am not possessed of a principle of common honesty : But no man is obliged to exercise a principle which he does not possess : Therefore I am not obliged to live in the exercise of common honesty. While reasoning upon the absence of moral principles, we are exceedingly apt to forget ourselves, and to consider them as a kind of natural accomplishment, which we are not obliged to possess, but merely to improve in case of being possessed of them ; and that till then the whole of our duty consists either in praying to God to bestow them upon us, or in waiting till he shall graciously be pleased to do so. But what should we say, if a man were to rea- son thus with respect to the common du- t Narrative of the York Baptists, Letter III. THE GOSPEL WORTHy OF ALL ACCEPTATION. 409 ties of life'? Does the wliole duty of ii lige tliemselves to under- stand words before they used them, must perceive that there is no meaning in this language. For if it be the duty of a sin- ner to pray to God for an upright heart, and to icait for its bcstowincnt, I would inquire whether these exercises ought to be attended to sincerely or insincerely, with a true desire after the oliject souglit or without it. It will not be pretended that he ought to use these means insincerely : but to say he ought to use them sincerely, or with a desire after that for which he jirays and waits, is equivalent to saying he ought to be sincere; which is the same ihing as j)ossessing an upright heart. If a sinner be destitute of all desire after God and spiritual things, and set on evil, all the forms into which his duty may be thrown will make no difference. The carnal heart will meet it in every approach and repel it. Exhort him to repentance : he tells you he cannot repent; his heart is too hard to melt, or be anywise affected with his situation. Say, with a certain writer, he ought to endeavor to repent : he answers he has no heart to go about it. Tell him he must pray to God to give him a heart : he replies. Prayer is the expression of desire, and I have none to express. What shall we say then 1 See- ing he cannot repent, cannot find in his heart to endeavor to repent, cannot pray sincerely for a heart to make such an en- deavor, shall we deny his assertions, and tell him he is not so wicked as lie makes himselfl This might be more than we should be al)le to maintain. Or shall we allow them and accjuil him of obligation! Rather ought we not to return to the place whence we set out, admonishing him, as the Scriptures direct, to "repent and believe the gospel :" declaring to him that what he calls his inability is his sin and shame ; and warning him against the idea of its availing him another day ; VOL. I. 52 not in expectation that of his own accord he may change his mind, but in hope " tliat God, peradventure, may give him repentance to the acknowledging of the truth." This doctrine, it will be said, must drive sinners to despair. Be it so : it is such despair as I wish to see prevail. Until a sinner despair of any help from himself, he will never fall into the arms of sovereign mercy : but if once we are convinced that there is no help in «s, and that this, so iar from excusing us, is a jiroof of the greatest wickedness, we shall then begin to pray as lost sinners; and such i>rayer, oflered iu the name of Jesus, will be heard. Other objections may have been ad- vanced ; l)ut I hope it will be allowed that the most important ones have been fairly stated ; whether they have been answered the reader will judge. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. First : Though faith be a duty, the requirement of it is not to be considered as a mere exercise (j/* authority, but o/ in- finite goodness ; binding us to pursue our best interests. If a message of peace were sent to a company of rebels who had been conquered, and lay at the mercy of their injured sovereign, they must of course be required to repent and embrace it, ere they could be interested in it ; yet such a requirement would not be consid- ered, by impartial men, as a mere exer- cise of authority. It is true the author- ity of the sovereign would accompany it, and the proceeding would be so conducted as that the honor of his government should be preserved : but tlie grand character of the message would be mercy. Neither would the goodness of it be diminished by the authority which attended it, nor by the malignant disposition of the par- ties. Should some of them even prove incorrisiible, and be executed as hardened traitors, the mercy of the sovereign in sending the message would be just the same. They might possii)ly oliject that the government which they had resisted was hard and rigid ; that their parents before them had always disliked it, and had taught them from their childhood to despise it ; that to re(iuirc them to em- brace with all their hearts a message the very import of which was that they had transgressed without cause, and deserved to die, was too humiliating for flesh and blood to bear; and that if he would not par- don them without their cordially subscrib- 410 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. by it. It is true God does reward the ser- vices of his people, as the Scriptures abundantly teach : but this follows upon justification. We must stand accepted iu the Beloved, before our services can be Ing such an instrument, he had better have ject the way of salvation, but it could not left thfetn to die as they were : for, instead be unlawful. of its being good news to them, it would Secondly : Though believing in Christ prove the means of aggravating their mis- is a compliance with a duty, yet it is not ery. Every loyal subject, however, would as a duty, or by way oi reward for a vir- easily perceive that it was good news, tuous act, that we are said to he justified and a great instance of mercy, however they might treat it, and of whatever evil, through their perverseness, it might be the occasion. If faith in Christ be the duty of the un- godly, it must of course follow that every acceptable or rewardable. Moreover, if sinner, whatever be his character, is com- we were justified by faith as a duty, justi- pletely warranted to trust in the Lord Je- fication hy faith could not be, as it is, op- sus Christ for the salvation of his soul. In posed to justification by works : " To him other words, he has every possible encou- that worketh is the reward not reckoned ragement to relinquish his i'ormer attach- of grace, but of debt. But to hini that ment and confidences, and to commit his worketh not, but believeth on him that soul into the hands of Jesus to be saved, justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted If believing in Christ be a privilege be- for righteousness." The Scripture doc- longing only to the regenerate, and no sin- trine of justification by faith, in opposition ner while unregenerate be warranted to to the works of the law, appears to me as exercise it, as Mr. Brine maintains,* it follows: By believing in Jesus Christ, the will follow either that a sinner may know sinner becomes vitally united to him, or, himself to be regenerate before he be- as the Scriptures express it, "joined to lieves, or that the first exercise of faith is the Lord," and is of "one spirit with an act of presumption. That the bias of him;" and this union, according to the the heai't requires to be turned to God divine constitution, as revealed in the gos- antecedently to believing has been admit- pel, is the ground of an interest in his ted ; because the nature of believing is righteousness. Agreeable to this is the such that it cannot be exercised while the following language : — " There is now, soul is under the dominion of wilful blind- therefore, no condemnation to them that ness, hardness, and aversion. These dis- are in Christ Jesus." — " Of him are ye in positions are represented in the Scriptures Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us as a bar in the way of faith, as being in- righteousness,^' &c. — "That I may be consistent with it ; f and which conse- found in him, not having mine own right- quently require to be taken out of the eousness which is of the law, but that way. But, whatever necessity there may which is through the faith of Christ." As be for a change of heart in order to be- the union which, in the order of nature, lieving, it is neither necessary nor possi- precedes a revealed interest in Christ's ble that the party should be conscious of righteousness, is spoken of in allusion to it till he has believed. It is necessary that of marriage, the one may serve to il- that the eyes of a blind man should be lustrate the other. A rich and generous opened before he can see ; but it is neither character, walking in the field.'?, espies a necessary nor possible for him to know forlorn female infant, deserted by some that his eyes are open till he does see. It unfeeling parent in the day that it was born, is only by surrounding objects appearing and left to perish. He sees its helpless to his view that he knows the obstructing condition, and resolves to save it. Under film to be removed. But, if regeneration be his kind patronage the child grows up to necessary to loarrant believing, and yet it maturity. He now resolves to make her be impossible to obtain a consciousness of it till we have believed, it follows that the first exercise of faith is without founda- tion; that is, it is not faith, but presump- tion. his wife : casts his skirt over her, and she becomes his. She is now, according to the public statutes of the realm, interested in all his possessions. Great is the transi- tion ! Ask her, in the height of her jilory. If believing be the (Zztiy of every sinner how she became possessed of all this to whom the gospel is preached, there can wealth ; and, if she retain a proper spirit, be no doubt as to a loarrant for it, what- she will answer in some such manner as ever be his character; and to maintain this: It was not mine, but my deliverer's ; the latter, without admitting the former, his who rescued me from death. It is no would be reducing it to a mere matter of reward of any good deeds on my part : it discretion. It might be inexpedient to re- js hy marriage ; ... it is " of grace." It is easy to perceive, in this case, that « Motives, &c. pp. 38, 39. t See Prop. IV. it was necessary she should be voluntarily married to her husband, before she couldj. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 411 according to the puMic statutes of tlic realm, l)e interested in Ins possessions ; and tlial she now enjoys tliose possessions fiy marriai^e. : yet who wonhl think of as- serting: that her consentinj^ to l)c his wife was a meritorious act and that all his j)os- sessions w ere i;iven her as the reward of it ] Tliirdly : From tlie foregoinji view of things, we may perceive the iilannijig sit- udt'ton of unbelievers. By unlielievers, I mean not only avowed inlidels, l>ut all persons wlio hear or have o|)p(>r(unit\' to hear the g(»s|)el, or to come at thi» knowl- edge of what is taught in the holy Scrip- tures, and do not cordially embrace it. It is an alarmiii;^ thought to he a sinner against the greatest and best of beings : but to be an unbelieving sitmer is much more so. There is deliverance from " the curse of the law," through liim who was "made a curse for us." But if, like the barren fig-tree, we stand from year to year, un- der gospel-culture, and bear no fruit, we may expect to fall under the curse of the Saviour; and who is to deliver us from this ] " If tiie word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgi-ession and disobedience received a just recompence of reward ; how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation 1 " We are in the habit of pitying heathens, who are enthralled l)y abominable super- stition, and immersed in the immoralities which accompany it : but to live in the midst of gospel-light, and reject it, or even disregard it, is abundantly more criminal, and will be followed w ith a heavier pun- ishment. We feel for the condition of profligate characters; for swearers, and drunkards, and fornicators, and liars, and thieves, and murdei-cvs : but these crimes become tenfold more heinous in being committed under tiie light of revelation, and in contempt of all the warnings and gracious invitations of the gospel. The most profligate character, who never pos- sessed these advantages, may l)e far less criminal, in the sight of God, than tiie most solier and decent who possesses and disregards them. It was on this principle that such a heavy woe was denounced against Chorazin and Bethsaida, and that their sin was represented as exceeding that of Sodom. The gospel wears an aspect of mercy towards sinners ; but towards unbelieving sinners the Scriptures deal wholly in the language of threatening. " I am come," saith our Saviour, " a light into the world, that whosoever iielieveth on me should not abide in darkness. If any man hear my tcords and believe not, I judge liim not — (that is, not at present ;) for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that Judgeth him : the word that 1 iiave spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." It will be of but small account, in that day, that we have escaped a few of " the lusts of the flesh," if we have been led captive by those of the "mind." If the greatest gift of hea- ven be set at nought by us, through the pride of science, or a vain conceit of our own righteousness, how shall we stand w hen he appeareth 1 It will then be found that a price was in our hands to get wisdom, but tliat we had " no heart to it : " and tiiat herein consists our sin, and hence proceeds our ruin. God called, and we would not hearken; he stretched out his hand, and no man re- garded : tlierefore, he will laugh at our calamity, and mock when our fear cometh. It is intimated, both in the Old and New Testament, that the recollection of the means of salvation having l)een within our reach will be a liitter aggravation to our punisliment. " They come unto thee," saith the Lord to Ezekiel, " as the people come, and they sit before thee as my peo- ple, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them." — "And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come!) then shall they knoio that a prophet hath been among them." To the same purpose our Saviour speaks of them who should reject the doctrine of his apostles : " Into what- soever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out of the streets of the same, and say, Even tlie very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you : notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." Great as is the sin of unbelief, however, it is not unpardonable : it becomes such only l)y persisting in it till death. Saul of Tarsus was an unbeliever, yet he " obtain- ed mercy : " and Ids being an unbeliever, rather than a presumptuous ojiposer of Christ against conviction, placed him with- in the pale of forgiveness, and is, therefore, assigned as a reason of it. — 1 Tim. i. 13. This consideration afTords a hope even to unlielievers. O ye self-righteous de- spisers of a free salvation through a Me- diator, be it know n to you that there is no other name given under heaven, or among men, by which you can be saved. To him whom you have disregarded and despised you must either voluntarily or involunta- rily submit. "To him every knee shall bow." You cannot go back into a state of non-existence, however desirable it might be to many of you ; for God hath stamped immortality upon your natures. You can- not turn to the right hand, or to the left, with any advantage: whether you give a loose to your inclination, or put a force 412 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. upon it by an assumed devotion, each will lead to the same issue. Neither can you standstill. Like a vessel in a tempestu- ous ocean, you must go this way, or that ; and, go which way you will, if it be not to Jesus, as utterly unworthy, you are only heaping up wrath against the day of wrath. Whether you sing, or pray, or hear, or preach, or feed the poor, or till the soil; if self he your object, and Christ be disre- garded, all is sin,* and all Avill issue in disappointment : " the root is rottenness, and the blossom shall go up as the dust." Whither will you go 1 Jesus invites you to come to him. His servants beseech you, in his name, to be reconciled to God. The Spirit saith. Come ; and the bride saith. Come; and "whosoever will, let him come, and take of the water of life freely." An eternal heaven is before you, in one direction ; and an eternal hell in the other. Your answer is required. Be one thing, or another. Choose you, this day, whom ye will serve. For our parts, we will abide by our Lord and Saviour. If you continue to reject him, so it must be : " nevertheless, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come nigh unto you !" Finally : From lohat has been advanced, we may form a judgment of our duty, as ministers of the loord, in dealing ivith the unconverted. The work of the Christian ministry, it has been said, is to preach the gospel, or to liold up the free grace of God through Jesus Christ, as the only way of a sinner's salvation. This is, doubtless, true ; and, if this be not the leading theme of our ministrations, we had better be any thing than preachers. "Wo unto us, if we preach not the gos- pel!" The minister who, under a pre- tence of pressing the practice of religion, neglects its all-important principles, la- bors in the fire. He may enforce duty till duty freezes upon his lips ; neither his auditors nor himself will greatly re- gard it. But, on the contrary, if by preaching the gospel be meant the insist- ing solely upon the blessings and privi- leges of religion, to the neglect of exhort- ations, calls, and warnings, it is sufficient to say that such was not the practice of Christ and his apostles. It will not be denied that they preached the gospel ; yet they warned, admonished, and en- treated sinners to "repent and believe;" to "believe while they had the light;" to " labor not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto ever- lasting life;" to "repent, and be con- verted, that their sins might be blotted out ;" to " come to the marriage supper, * Prov. XV. 8,9; xxviii. 9; xxi. 4. for that all things were ready;" in fine, to "be reconciled unto God." If the inability of sinners to perform things spiritually good were natural, or such as existed independently of their present choice, it would be absurd and ci'uel to address them in such language. No one in his senses would think of call- ing the blind to look, the deaf to hear, or the dead to rise up and walk ; and of threatening them with punishment in case of their refusal. But, if the blindness arise from tlie love of darkness rather than light ; if the deafness resemble that of the adder, which stoppeth her ear, and will not hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely ; and, if the death consist in alienation of heart from God, and the absence of all desire after him, there is no absurdity or cruelty in such addresses. But enforcing the duties of religion, either on sinners or saints, is by some called preaching the law. If it were so, it is enough for us that such was the preaching of Christ and his apostles. It is folly and presumption to affect to be more evangelical than they were. All practical preaching, however, is not preaching the law. That only, I appre- hend, ought to be censured as preaching the law, in which our acceptance with God is, in some way or other, placed to the account of our obedience to its pre- cepts. When eternal life is represented as the reward of repentance, faith, and sincere obedience, (as it too frequently is, and that under the complaisant form of being " through the merits of Christ,") this is preaching the laAV, and not the gos- pel. But the precepts of the law may be illustrated and enforced for evangelical purposes ; as tending to vindicate the di- vine character and government; lo con- vince of sin; to show the necessity of a Saviour, with the freeness of salvation ; to ascertain the nature of true religion ; and to point out the rule of Clmstian conduct. Such a way of introducing the divine law, in subservience to the gospel, is, properly speaking, preaching the gos- pel ; for the end denominates the action. If the foregoing principles be just, it is the duty of ministers not only to exhort their carnal auditors to believe in Jesus Christ for the salvation of their souls ; but IT IS AT OUR PERIL TO EXHORT THEM TO ANY THING SHORT OF IT, OR WHICH POES NOT INVOLVE OR IMPLY IT. I am aware that such an idea may startle many of my readers, and some who are engaged in the Christian minis- try. We have sunk into such a com- promising way of dealing with the uncon- verted as to have well nigh lost the spirit CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 413 of the pritnitive preachers; and henoe it is that sinners, of every (lescrij)ti()n, can sit so (piictly as tliey do, year alter year, in our phices of worsliip. It was not so Avith tlie hearers of Peter and Paul. They were eitiier " |>ricked in the heart " in one way, or "cut to the heart" in another. Their preacliinjr conjnicnded itself to " every man's conscience in tlie sijiht of God." How shall we account for tiiis diflcrcnce ! Is there not some im- portant error or defect in our ministra- tions ] I liave no reference to the prcacli- ing of those who disown the divinity or atonement of Christ, on the one hand, whose sermons arc little more than ha- rangues on morality, nor to that of gross Antinomians on the qlher, whose chief business it is to feed the vanity and ma- lignity of one part of tlieir audience, and the sin-extenuating principles of the oth- er. Tliese are errors the folly of which is " manii'est to all men " who pay any se- rious regard to the religion of the New Testament. I refer to those who are commonly reputed evangelical, and who approve of addresses to the unconverted. I hope no apology is necessary for an at- tempt to exliilut the scriptural manner of preaching. If it aflects the laliors of some of my brethren, I cannot deny but that it may also affect my own. I conceive there is scarcely a minister amongst us wliose preaching has not been more or less influ- enced by the lethargic systems of the age. Christ and his apostles, without any hesitation, called on sinners to "repent, and believe the gospel;" but we, consid- ering them as poor, impotent, and de- praved creatures, have been disposed to drop this part of the Christian ministry. Some may have felt afraid of being ac- counted legal ; others have really thought it inconsistent. Considering such things as beyond the poioer of their hearers, they seem to have contented themselves with pressing on them tldngs whicli they coxild perform, still continuing tlie ene- mies of Christ; such as behaving decently in society, reading the Scriptures, and attending the means of grace. Thus it is that hearers of this description sit at ease in our congregations. Having done their duty, the minister has nothing more to say to them : unless, indeed, it be to tell them, occasionally, that something more is necessary to salvation. But, as this implies no guilt on their part, they sit unconcerned, conceiving that all that is required of them is "to lie in the way, and to wait the Lord's time." But is this the religion of the Scriptures 1 Where does it appear that the propliets or a])os- tles ever treated that kind of inability which is merely the effect of reigning aversion as affording any excuse 1 And where liave they descended, in tlieir ex- hortations, to things wliidi miglit l)e done and tite ))arties still continue liic ene- mies of God 1 Instead of leaving out every thing of a spiritual nature, because their hearers could not fmd in their hearts to comply witii it, it may safely be af- firmed they exhorted to nothing else; treating such inability not only as of no account, witii regard to tlie lessening of oliligntion, but as rendering the suiijects of it wortiiy of tlie severest rel)uke. " To wliom sliall I sjicak, and give warning, that they mayiicar] Behold, their 'ear is uncircumcised, and'tliey cannot heark- en : beiiold, tiie word of the Lord is unto them a reproach, and they have no de- ligiit in it." What then] Did the proi)het desist from his work, and exhort them to something to which, in tlieir present state of mind, they could hearken ] Far from it. He delivers his message, whether they would hear, or whether tliey would forl)ear. "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said. We will not walk therein." And did this induce him to desist 1 No : he proceeds to read their doom, and calls the world to witness its justice : "Hear, O earth ! Behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened luito my words, nor to my law, but rejected it."— Jer. vi. 10—19. Many of those who attend the ministry of Christ were of the same sjiirit. Tiicir eyes iccrc blinded, and their hearts hardened, so that they COULD not bklieve; yet, paying no manner of regard to this kind of ina- bility, he exhorted them " to believe in the light while they had the light." And, when they had heard and believed not, he proceeded, without hesitation, to declare, " He that rejecteth me, and recciveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." Such also were many of Paul's hearers at Rome. They believed not; but did Paid, seeing they could not receive the gospel, recommend to them something which they could receive 1 No : he gave them "one word" at parting: "Well spake the Holy Spirit by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say. Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and see- ing ye shall see, and not perceive. For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed ; lest they should see w ith their eyes, and hear with 414 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. their ears, and understand with their hcai-t, and sliould be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and that they will hear it." When did Jesus or his apostles go about merely to form the manners of men ] Where do they exhort to duties which a man may comply with and yet miss of the kingdom of heaven 1 If a man "kept their sayings " he was assured that he "should never see death." In address- ing the unconverted, they began by ad- monishing them to "repent and believe the gospel;" and in the course of their labors, exhorted to all manner of duties : but all were to be done spirlluaUy ; or they would not have acknowledged them to have been done at all. Carnal duties, or duties to be performed otherwise than "to the glory of God," had no place in their system. The answer of our Lord to those carnal Jews who inquired of \\m\ what ihey "must do to work the works of God " is worthy of special notice. Did Jesus give them to understand that as to believing in him, however willing they might be, it was a matter entirely lieyond their pow- er 1 that all the directions he had to give were that they should attend the means and wait for the moving of the waters 1 No: Jesus answered, "This is the work of God, that ye lielieve on him whom he hath sent. This was the gate at the head of the way, as the author of The Pilgrim'' s Progress has admirably represented i,t, to which sinners must be directed. A world- ly-ivise instructor may inculcate other duties ; but the true eiwngelisf, after the example of his Lord, will point to this as the first concern, and as that upon whicl) every thing else depends. There is another species of preaching which proceeds upon much the same prin- ciple. Repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, are allowed to be duties ; but not immediate duties. The sinner is considered as un- able to comply with them, and therefore they are not urged upon him ; but instead of them he is directed to " pray for the Holy Spirit, to enable him to repent and believe;" and this it seems he can do, notwithstanding the aversion of his heart from every thing of the kind. But, if any man be recjuired to pray for the Holy Spirit, it must be either sincerely, and in the name of Jesus ; or insincerely, and in some other way. The latter I suppose will be allowed to be an abomination in the sight of God ; he cannot therefore be required to do this ; and, as to the former, it is just as difficult and as opposite to the carnal heart as repentance and faith them- selves. Indeed, it amounts to the same thing ; for a sincere desire after a spiritual l)lessing presented in the name of Jesus is no other than " the pi'ayer of faith." Peter exhorted Simon to pray, not with an impenitent heart that he might obtain repentance, Imt with a penitent one that he .might obtain forgiveness ; and this no doubt in the only way in which it was to be obtained, " through Jesus Christ." " Repent," saith he, " and pray to God, if perhaps the thouglit of thine heart may be forgiven thee." Our Saviour directed his disciples to pray for the " Holy Spirit : but surely the prayer which they were encouraged to offer was to be sincere, and with an eye to the Sa- viour ; that is, it Avas "the prayer of faith," and therefore could not be a duty directed to be performed antecedently and in order to the obtaining of it. Tiie mischief arising from this way of preaching is considerable. First: It gives up a very important question to the sinner, even that question which is at issue be- tween God and conscience on the one hand, and a self-righteous heart on the other : namely, whether he be obliged immediately to repent and believe the gospel. " I could find nothing in the Scriptures," says he, " that would give me any comfort in my present condition ; nothing short of ' repent and believe,' which are things I cannot comply with : but I have gained it from my good minis- ter. Now my heart is at ease. I am not obliged immediatehj to repent and sue for mercy in the name of Jesus. It is not therefore my sin that I do not. All I am obliged to is to pray God to help me to do so ; and that I do." Thus, after a bitter conflict with Scripture and conscience, which have pursued him through all his windings and pressed upon him the call of the gospel, he finds a shelter in the house of God ! Such counsel, instead of aiding the sinner's convictions, (which, as " la- borers with God," is our proper busi- ness,) has many a time been equal to a victory over them, or at least to the pur- chase of an armistice. Secondly : It de- ceives the soul. He understands it as a compromise, and so acts upon it. For though he be in fact as far from sincerely praying for repentance as from repenting, and just as unable to desire faith in Christ as to exercise it, yet he does not think so. He reckons himself very desirous of these things. The reason is, he takes that in- direct desire after them, which consists in wishing to be converted (or any thing, however disagreeable in itself) that he may escape the wrath to come, to be the desire of grace ; and, being conscious of possessing this, he considers himself in a CONCLUDING UEFLKCriONS. •n5 fair way at least ()ri)eiii;j:(()HvcrlL'(I. Tims he dereiscs his sovil ; and thus he is hel|)e(i forward in his delusion! Nor is this all : he feels himself set at liherty from the hard re«iuiremeiit ol' rcfurniiiu; innnrdialc- ly to God hij Jesus Clirist, as ufterlij tin- tcortlnj ; and, l)eini,^ told to pray that he may he cnal)led to do so, he supposes tiiat such prayer will avail him, or that God will give him the power of repentin>r and believiiii; in answer to liis |)rayers : l)ray- ers, he it ol)served, whieh must necessa- rily he ofTered up with an impenitent un- believing heart. This just suits his self- righteous spirit : hut alas, all is delusion ! " You have no relief then," say some, " for the sinner." I answer, if the gos- pel or any of its blessings will relieve him there is no want of relief. But if there be nothing in Christ, or grace, or heaven, that will suit his inclination, it is not for me to furnish him with any thing else, or to encourage him to hope that things will come to a good issue. The only jiossible way of relieving a sinner, while his heart is averse from God, is by lowering the requirements of heaven to meet his incli- nation ; or in some way to model tiie gos- pel to his mind. But to relieve him in this manner is at my peril. If I were commissioned to address a company of men who had engaged in an unprovoked rebellion against their king and country, w hat ought I to say to them '? I might make use of authority or entreaty, as oc- casion might require ; I might caution, warn, threaten, or persuade them ; but there would lie a point from which I must not depart : Be ye reconciled to your ris^ht- ful sovereign ; lay down arms and submit to mercy ! To this I must inviolably ad- here. They might allege that they could not comply with such hard terms. Should I admit their plea, and direct them oidy to such conduct as might consist with a re- bellious spirit, instead of recovering them from rebellion, I should go far towards denominating myself a rel>el. And, as Christ and his apostles never appear to have exhorted the unconverted to any thing which did not include or im- ply repentance and faith, so in all their explications of the divine law, and preach- ing against particular sins, their object was to bring the sinner to this issue. Though they directed them to no means, in order to get a penitent and believing heart, but to repentance and faith them- selves ; yet they used means v:ith them for that purpose. Thus our Lord expounded the law in his sermon on the mount, and concluded by enforcing such a " hearing of his sayings and doing them," as should be equal to "digging deep, and l)uilding one's house upon a rock." And thus the apostle Peter, having charged his coun- trvmen with the murder o( the Lord of glory, presently brings it to this issue : " Repent ye, therefore, and lie converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Some years ago I met with a passage in Dr. Owen on this sul)ject, which, at that time, sunk deej* into my heart; and the more observation I have since made the more just his remarks ap|)ear. " It is the duly of ministers," says he, " to plead with men aliout their sins ; but always re- meml)er that it l>e done witii that which is the proper end of law and gospel ; that is, that they make use of the sin they speak against to the discovery of the state and condition wherein the sinner is, otherwise, haply, they may work men to formality and hypocrisy, but little of the true end of preaciiing the gos])el will l>e brought al)()ut. It will not avail to beat a man off from his drunkenness into a sober formality. A skilful master of the asscml)lies lays his axe at the root, drives still at the heart. To inveigh against particular sins of igno- rant unregenerate persons, such as the land is full of, is a good work ; but yet, though it may be done with great clficacy, vigor, and success, if this be all the effect of it, that they are set upon the most sedu- lous endeavors of mortifying their sins preached down, all that is done is i)ut like the beating of an enemy in an open licld, and driving him into an impregnable castle not to be prevailed against. Get you, at any time, a sinner at the advantage on the account of any one sin whatever ; have you any thing to take hold of him by, bring it to his state and condition, drive it up to the head and there deal with him. To break men olT from particular sins, and not to break their hearts, is to deprive ourselves of advantages of dealing witK them."* When a sinner is first seized with con- viction, it is natural to suppose that he v.ill alistain from many of his outward vi- ces, though it be only for the quiet of his own mind : but it is not for us to adminis- ter comfort to him on this ground ; as though liecause he had "broken off" a few of " his sins," he must needs have broken them off " by righteousness," and either be in the road to life, or at least in a fair way of getting into it. It is one of the devices of Satan to alarm the sinner, and till him witli anxiety for the healing of outward eruptions of sin, while the inward partis overlooked, though it l)e nothing but sin. But we must not be aiding and abetting in these deceptions, nor administer any other relief than that which is held out in the gospel to sinners as sinners. And * On the Mortification of Siu. Chap. VII. 416 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. when we see such characters violating their promises and falling anew into their old sins (which is frequently the case,) in- stead of joining with tliem in lamenting the event and assisting them in healing the wound by renewed efforts of watchfulness, it becomes us rather to probe the wound ; to make use of that which has appeared for the detecting of that which has not ap- peared; and so to point them to the blood that cleanses from all sin. " Poor soul I " says the eminent writer just quoted, "it is not thy sore finger, but thy hectic fever, from which thy lile is in danger ! " If the cause be removed, the effects will cease. If the spring be purified, the waters will be healed and the barren ground become productive. I conclude with a few remarks on the order of addressing exhortations to the unconverted. There being an established order in the workings of the human mind, it has been made a question whether the same ought not to be preserved in ad- dressing it. As, for instance, we cannot be^convinced of sin without previous ideas of God and moral government, nor of the need of a Saviour without being convinced of sin, nor of the importance of salvation without suitable conceptions of its evil nature. Hence, it may be supposed, we ought not to teach any one of these truths till the preceding one is well understood ; or, at least, that we ought not to preach the gospel without prefacing it by repre- senting the just requirements of the law, our state as sinners, and the impossibility of being justified by the works of our hands. Doubtless, such representations are proper and necessary, but not so ne- cessary as to render it improper, on any occasion, to introduce the doctrine of the gospel without them, and much less to I'e- frain from teachinij- it till they are under- stood and felt. In this case a minister must be reduced to the greatest perplex- ity; never knowing when it was safe to introduce the salvation of Christ, lest some of his hearers should not be suffi- ciently prepared to receive it. Tlie truth is, it is never unsafe to introduce this doc- trine. There is such a connection in di- vine truth that, if any one part of it reach the mind and find a place in the heart, all othei's, which may precede it in the order of things, will come in along with it. In receiving a doctrine, we receive not only what is expressed but what is implied by it ; and thus the doctrine of the cross may itself be the means of convincing us of the evil of sin. An example of this lately occurred in the experience of a child eleven years of age. Her minister, visit- ing her under a tlircatening affliction, and perceiving her to be unaffected with her sinful condition, suggested that " It was no small matter that brought down the Lord of glory into this world, to suffer and die ; there must be something very offen- sive in the nature of sin against a holy God." This remark appears to have sunk into her heart and to have issued in a sav- ing change.* Divine truths are like chain- shot ; they go together, and we need not perplex ourselves which should enter first ; if any one enter, it will draw the rest af- ter it. Remarks nearly similar may be made concerning duties. Though the Scriptures know uothing of duties to be performed without faith, or which do not include or imply it ; yet they do not wait for the sin- ner's being possessed of faith before they exhort him to other spiritual exercises ; such as "seeking" the Lord, " loving" him, "serving" him, &c.; nor need we lay any such restraints upon ourselves. Such is the connection of the duties as well as the truths of religion, that, if one be truly complied with, we need not fear that the others will be wanting. If God be sought, loved, or sei-ved, we may be sure that Jesus is embraced; and if Jesus be embraced that sin is abhorred. Or should things first occur to the mind in another order, should sin be the immedi- ate object of our thoughts, if this be ab- horred, the God against whom it is com- mitted must, at the same instant, be loved, and the Saviour who was made a sacrifice to deliver us from it embraced. Let any part of truth or holiness but find place in the heart and the rest will be with it. Those parts which, in the order of things, are required to precede it, will come in by way of implication ; and those which follow it Avill be produced by it. Thus the primitive preachers seem to have had none of that scrupulosity which appears in the discourses and writings of some modern preachers. Sometimes they ex- horted sinners to "believe" in Jesus; but it was such belief as implied repent- ance for sin: sometimes to " repent and be converted ;" but it was such repent- ance and conversion as included believ- ing; and sometimes to "labor for the meat that endureth unto everlasting life;" but it was such laboring as comprehended both repentance and faith. Some have inferred, from the doctrine of justification by faith in opposition to the works of the law, that sinners ought not to be exhorted to any thing which comprises obedience to the \a\w, either in heart or life, except we should preach the law to them for the purpose of convic- * Dying Exercises of Susannah Wright, of Weekly, near Kettering. AIM'KXDIX. •117 tioti ; and this lost \vc should be found directing tlicin to the works of their own hands as the ground of aece|)tance witli God. From the same principle, it has Ween concluded tiiat faith itself cannot include any holy disposition of Ihc heart, because all holy disposition contains ohedience to the law. If this reasoning lie just, all exhorting of sinners to things expressive of a iiojy exercise of heart is either im- proper, or requires to he understood as merely preaching the law for the ]uir|)ose of con\ iction ; as our Saviour directed the young ruler to " kceji the commandments if he wouhl enter into life." Yet tlie Scriptures ai)ound with sucii exhortations. Sinners are exhorted to "seek" God, to "serve " Iiim with fear and joy, to " for- sake " their wicked way and "return" to him, to "repent" and "he converted." Tliese are manifestly exercises of the heart, and addressed to the unconverted. Neither are they to he understood as the requirements of a covenant of works. That covenant neither requires repentance nor promises forgiveness. But sinners are directed to these things under a prom- ise of " mercy " and " abundant [lardon." There is a wide ditTcrence between these addresses and the address of our Lord to the young ruler; tliat to which he was directed was tlie pro(hicing of a righteous- ness adequate to the dcmantls of the law, which was naturally inqiossiiile ; and our Lord's design was to show its impossi- bilitv, and thereby to convince him of the need of gospel-mercy; but that to which the above directions point is not to any natural impossii)ility, but to the very way of mercy. The manner in which the primitive preachers guarded against self- righteousness was very dilTcrent from this. They were not afraid of exhorting either saints or sinners to holy exercises of heart, nor of connecting with them the prom- ises of mercy. But though they exhibited the promises of eternal life to any and every spiritual exercise, yet they never taught that it was on account of it, but of mere grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. The ground on which they took their stand was, "Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things written in the liook of the law to do them." Hence they inferred the impossiliility of a sinner being justified in any other way than for the sake of him who was "made a curse for us : " and hence it clearly follows that whatever holiness any sinner may possess before, in, or atter believing, it is of no account whatever as a ground of acceptance with God. If we inculcate this doctrine, we need not fear exhorting sinners to holy exercises of heart, nor holding up the promises of mercy to all who thus return to God by Jesus Christ. APPENDIX. ON THE QUESTION WHETHER THE EX- ISTENCE OF A HOLY DISPOSITION OF HEART BE NECESSARY TO BELIEV- ING. It is not from a fondness for controver- sy that I am induced to ofTer my senti- ments on this suliject. I feel myself called upon to do so on two accounts. First: The leading principle in the foregoing treatise is implicated in the decision of it. If no holy disposition of heart be presup- posed or Included in belie\ ing, it has noth- ing holy in it; and, if it have nothing holy in it, it is absurd to plead for its being a duty. God requires nothing as a duty which is merely natural or intellectual, or in which the will has no concern. Second- ly : Mr. M'Lean, of Edinburgh, in a sec- ond edition of his treatise on TIic Commis- sion of Christ, has published several |)ages of animadversions on w hat I have advan- ced on this subject, and has charged me with very serious consecpiences : conse- quences which, if substantiated, will go to prove that I have subverted the great doc- trine of justification by grace alone, with- out the works of the law. — pp. 74 — 86. It is true he has made no mention of my name ; owing, as I suppose, to what I had written being contained in two private let- ters, one of which was addressed to him. I certainly had no expectation, when I wrote those letters, that what I advanced would have been piihlichi answered. I do not pretend to understand so much of the et- iquette of writing as to decide whether thi.s conduct was proper: but, if it were, some people may be tempted to think that it is ra- ther dangerous to correspond with authors. I have no desire, however, to complain on this account, nor indeed on any other, ex- cept that my sentiments are very partially stated, and things introduced so much out of their connection that it is impossible for the reader to form any judgment concern- ing them. I have the pleasure to agree with Mr. M'L. in considering the belief of the gos- pel as saving faith. Our disagreement on this subject is confined to the question, What the belief of the gospel includes. Mr. M'L. so explains it as carefully to exclude every exercise of the heart or will as either included in it or having anjt, VOL. I. 63 41H APPENDIX. Influence upon it Whatever of this ex- that could it be separated from its effects, ists in a believer he considers as belong- (as he supposes it is in justification,) it ino- to the effects of faith, rather than to would leave the person who possessed iaflli itself If I understand him, he it among the enemies of God. lilcads fbr such a belief of the gospel as Notwithstanding the above, however, has nothiu"- in it of a holy nature, nothing Mr. M'L. allows faith to be a duty. He olconfonnitv to the moral law "in heart has largely (and, I believe, successfully,) or life-" a Prtssiue reception of the truth, endeavored to prove that "faith is the in winch the will has no concern; and command of God;" that it is "part of this because it is opposed to the ivorks of obedience to God;" that " to believe all //je /fliw in the article of justification. — pp. that God says is right;" and that unbe- g;3 8(3 On this ground he accounts for lief, which is its opposite, is " a great and the apostle's language in Romans iv. 5, heinous sin."* But how can these things " To him that worketh not, but believeth agree 1 If there be nothing of the exer- on him that justifieth the ungodly;'' un- cise of a holy disposition in what is com- derstanding, by the terms "he that work- manded of God, in what is right, and in eth not," one that has done nothing yet what is an exercise of obedience, by what which is pleasing to God; and, by the rule are we to judge of what is holy and term "ungodly," one that is actually an what is notl I scarcely can conceive of a enemy to God. He docs not suppose truth more self-evident than this : that that God justifies unbelievers : if, there- God's commands extend only to that fore he justifies sinners while in a state which comes under the influence of the of enmity against him, there can be noth- ivill. Knowledge can be no further a du- ing in the nature of faith but what may ty, nor ignorance a sin, than as each is consist with it. And true it is, if faith have nothing in it of a holy nature, noth- ing of conformity to the divine law influenced by the moral state of the heart ; and the same is true of faith and unbelief. We miaht as well make the passive ad- heart or life," nothing of the exercise of mission of light into the eye, or of sound any holy disposition of heart, it cannot into the ear, duties, as a passive admis- denominate the subjects of it godly, sion of truth into the mind. To receive Godliness must, in this case, consist it into the heart, indeed, is duty ; for this merely in the fruits of faith ; and, these is a voluntary acquiescence in it : but that fruits being subsequent to justification, in which the will has no concern cannot the sinner must of course be justified an- possibly be so. tecedently to his being the subject of god- Mr. M'L. sometimes writes as if he liness, or while he is actually the enemy would acknowledge faith to be not only a of God. duty, but to " contain virtue," or true If Mr. M'L. had only affirmed that holiness; seeing, as he observes, "it is faith is opposed to works, even to every the root of all Christian virtues, and that good disposition of the heart, as the which gives glory to God, and without ground of acceptance ivith God; that we which it is impossible to please him." are not justified by it as a work; or Nay, the reader would imagine, by his that, whatever moral goodness it may manner of writing, that he was pleading possess, it is not as such that it is im- for the holy nature of faith, and that I puted unto us for righteousness ; there had been no dispute between us. But this distinction he rejects, and endeavors to improve the caution of those who use it into a tacit acknowledgment that their views of faith were very liable to miscon- struction: in other words, that they bor- had denied it ; seeing I am represented as having made the " too bold " and " unfoun- ded assertion," that mere belief contains no virtue. The truth is I affirmed no such thing, but was pleading for the contrary ; as is manifest from what Mr. M'L. says the same note : " But why so solicit- der upon the doctrine of justification by ous to find virtue or moral excellence in works in so great a degree as to be in faith 1 " It is true I contended that if danger of being mistaken for its advo- the belief of the gospel were a mere ex- cates — p. 76. He is not contented with ercise of tlie und'erstanding, uninfluenced faith being opposed to works in point of by the moral state of the heart, it could justification; it must also be opposed to contain no virtue, nor be the object of a them in its own nature. "Paul," he af- firms, "did not look upon faith as a work." In short, if there be any possi- bility of drawing a certain conclusion , from what a writer, in almost every form opposite " is not of speecJi, has advanced, it must be con- judgment, but a n eluded that he means to deny that there is any thing holy in the nature of faith, and * Belief of the Gospel Saving Faith, pp. 34-44. divine command : but I supposed it to be a persuasion of divine truth arising from the state of the heart, in the same sense as un- belief, which Mr. M'L. justly calls " its a mere mistake of the ersuasion arising from APPF.NDIX. '119 aversion to tho Inith. From the above, however, it would seem that we are agreed in rnakinu; (aitli in Christ sonietIiin<:; wiiicli •comprehends " true virtue," or, whidi is the same tliin;ij, true holiness. Yet Mr. M'L. will not al)ide l>v all or any of this : if he would, indeed, there would be an «nd of the dispute. But he proceeds to reason in favor of that very " unfounded assertion " for makin>r wbicli I am unwar- rantal)lv accused of havint; lieen " too bold." Tims he reasons in support of it : — " If mere lielief contain no viiiue, it ■would not follow that unl)ellef could con- tain no sin ; for such an argument pro- ceeds upon this principle, that, if there be no virtue in a thing, there can be no sin in its opposite ; but this does noi hold true in innumerable instances. There is no posi- tive virtue in abstaining from many crimes that might be mentioned ; yet the commis- sion of them, or even the neglect of the opposite duties, would lie very sinful. There is no moral virtue in taking food •when hungry ; but wilfully to starve one's self to death would be suicide : and, to •come nearer the point, there is no moral virtue in believing the testimony oi a friend when I have every reason to do so ; yet, in these circumstances, were I to discredit his word, he would feel the injury very sensibly. Now, supposing there was no more virtue contained in believing the wit- ness of God than in believing the witness of men, to which it is compared, it does not follow that there would l)e no sin in unbelief, which is to make God a liar. To deny that faith is tiie exercise of a virtuous temper of heart is to refuse some praise to the creature ; but to deny that unbelief is a sin is to impeach the moral character of God. — And why so solicit- ous to find virtue or moral excellence in faith ? " Now, whether this reasoning be just or not, it must be allowed to prove that Mr. M'L., notwithstanding what he has said to the contrary, does no/ consider faith as containing any virtue. It is true what he says is under a hypothetical form, and it may appear as if he were only allowing me my argument, for the sake of overturning it : but it is manifestly his own ))rinciple which he labors to establish, and not mine ; the very principle on which, as he con- ceives depends the freeness of justification. I cannot but express my surjjrise that so acute a writer should deal so largely in inconsistency. Mr. M'L. cannot conceive of any end to be answered in finding moral excellence in faith, unless it be to give some " praise to the creature." He doubtless means, by this insinuation, to lurnisli an argument agains tit. As for any thing which is spirit- ually good in us, and which is wrought by him who " worketh all our works in us," is praiseworthy, so far the same may be granted of faith : and, as wc shovihl not think of denying the one to contain moral excellence for the sake of humbling the creature, neither is tliere any ground for doing so with respect to the other. But there are other ends to be answered by maintaining the holy nature of faith; and such as Mr. M'L. himself will not deny to be of importance. First : It is of importance that faith be considered as a duty ; for, if this be de- nied, Christ is denied the honor due to his name. But it is impossible to maintain that faith is a duty, if it contain no holy exercise oi' the heart. This, I presume, has already been made to appear. God requires nothing of intelligent creatures but what is holy. Secondly ; It is of importance that the faith which we inculcate be genuine, or such as ^cill carry us to heaven. But, if it have no holiness in its nature, it is dead, and must be unproductive. Mr. M'L. considers true faith as the root of holi- ness : but, if it be so, it must be holy itself for the nature of the fruit corresponds with that of the root. If the difference between a living and dead faith do not consist in this, that the one is of a holy nature and the other not so, I should be glad to be informed w herein it does consist ; and whetlierthe nature of the one be the same as the other, the difference between them arising merely from circumstances. Thirdly: It is of importance that unbe- lief be allowed to be a sin ; as it is that which, by Mr. M'L.'s acknowledgment, "impeaches the moral character of God." But if there be no holiness in faith, there can be no sin in its opposite. It is true Mr. M'L. denies the principle of this argu- ment, and speaks of "innumerable instan- ces" of things which have no virtue, and yet the opposite of them is sin. This, I am persuaded, is not true. Whatever is the proper opposite of sin is holiness. The instances which are given do not prove the contrary ; as abstinence from various crimes, eating when we are hungry, and believing a human testimony. There may, indeed, be no holiness in these things, as they are performed by ajiostate creatures : but if they were performed as God re- quires them to be, (which they should be, in order to their l)eing the proper oppnsites to the sins referred to,) they would be ho- ly exercises. God requires us to al)stain irom all sin, from a regard to his name ; to "eat and drink, and do whatever we do," even the giving credit to the testimo- ny of a friend, "wiien we have reason io do so," ''to his glory." These things, 430 APPENDIX. thus performed, would be exercises of ho- liness. I am aware that those who have oppo- sed the doctrine of total depravity have argued that, as being " without natural affection" is sin, so the being possessed of it must be virtue. To this it has been justly answered that, though a being with- out natural affection argues the highest degree of depravity (as notliing else could overcome the common principles of hu- man nature) yet it does not follow that mere natural affection is virtuous ; for, if so, virtue would be found in mere animals. This answer is just, and sufficient to repel the objection on the subject of human de- pravity : but it will not apply to the case in hand. The question there relates to a matter of fact, or what men actually are ; but here to a matter of right, or what they ought to be. Whatever is capable of being done by a moral agent, with an eye to the glory of God, ought to be so done : and, if it be, it is lioly ; if not, whatever may be thought of it by men, it is sinful. Natural affection itself, if subordinate to him, would be sanctified, or rendered holy ; and the same may be said of every natural inclination or action of life. It is thus that God should be served, even in our civil concerns; and "holiness to the Lord" written, as it were, upon the "bells of the horses." I have known several persons in Eng- land who have agreed with Mr. M'L. as to faith belonging merely to the intellec- tual faculty, and the moral state of the heart having no influence upon it ; but then they either denied, or have been very reluctant to admit, that it is duty. " The mind," say they, " is passive in the be- lief of a proposition : we cannot believe as we will, but according to evidence. It may be our duty to examine that evi- dence ; but, as to faith, it, being altogeth- er involuntary, cannot be a duty." And, if it be a mere passive reception of the truth, on wliich the state of the will has no influence, I do not perceive how this consequence can be denied. But then the same might be said of unbelief: If evi- dence do not appear to us, how can we believe 1 It may be our sin not to ex- amine : but, as to our not believing, it, being altogether involuntary, cannot be a sin. — By this mode of .reasoning, the sin of unbelief is explained away ; and unbe- lievers commonly avail themselves of it for that purpose. As both these conse- quences (I mean the denying of faith be- ing a duty, and unbelief a sin) are allowed by Mr. M'L. to be utterly repugnant to the Scriptures, it becomes him, if he will defend the premises, to show that they have no necessary connection with them. The above reasoning -might hold good, for aught I know, in things which do not interest the heart : but to maintain it in things which do, especially in things of a moral and practical nature, is either to deny the existence of prejudice or that it has any influence in hindering belief. The author of Glad Tidings to Perish- ing Sinners, though he pleads for faith as including our receiving- Christ, and coming to him, yet is decidedly averse from all holy disposition of the heart preceding it, not only as affording a warrant, but as any Avay necessary to the thing itself. And, as he unites with Mr. M'L. in con- sidering the sinner as an enemy to God at the time of his being justified, he must, to be consistent, consider faith as having no holiness in its nature. His method of reasoning on tlie priority of repentance to believing would seem to denote the same thing. He allows speculative repentance, or a change oj mind which has " no holi- ness " in it, to be necessary to l)elieving; giving this as the reason : " While a sin- ner is eitlier stupidly inattentive to his im- mortal interests, or expecting justification by his own obedience, he Avill not come to Christ." It should seem, then, that aver- sion oj heart from the gospel plan, or a desire to be justified by one's own obedi- ence, is no objection to coming to Christ ; and that a sinner ivill come to him, not- withstanding this, provided he be right in speculation, and his conscience sufficient- ly alarmed. If so, there certainly can be nothing spiritual or holy in the act of coming. The respect which I feel both towards Mr. Booth and Mr. M'Lean is not a little ; but there needs no apology for opposing these sentiments. Truth ought to be dearer to us that the greatest or best of men. Mr. M'L. writes as if he were at a loss to know my meaning. " By a cor- responding temper of heart,''' he says, " cannot lie meant some good disposition previous to faith ; for, as the question re- lates to faith itself, that would be foreign to the point." I have no scruple in say- ing, however, that I consider it as previous to faith ; and, as to what is suggested of its irrelevancy, the same might be said of unbelief. Were I to say that unbelief includes the exercise of an evil temper of heart, and that herein consists the sin of it, I should say no more than is plainly inti- mated by the sacred writers, who de- scribe unbelievers as "stumbling at the word, being disobedient." — 1 Pet. ii. 8. Yet Mr. M'L. might answer, by an evil temper of heart you cannot mean any thing previous to unbelief; for, as the question relates to unbelief itself, that would be foreign to the point. Neither APPENDIX. 421 can you mean that it is the inunediatc ami insL'|)aral>lo elf'ect of uiilieliel ; ibr tliat is (iilly "rraiitcd : ami it is not thecflcct, Iml the nature, or essence, of unl)elier tiiat is the point in ijuestion. Yonr nieaiiinLT, tlieicfoie, niusl lie this : that uiilieliel, in its very nutttre, [is a temper or tlisposi- tion oT heart (lisairreein,? with tlie truth. — To tliis I should answer, I do not consider unlielief as an evil temper of heart, liut as a persuasion arising out of it and jnirtuk- ins; of it : and the same answer is ai)pli- caiile to the subject in hand. I shall lirst oiler evidence that faith in Christ is a persuasion influenced l>y the moral state of the heart, and partaking of it ; and tiicn consider the principal objec- tions advanced au;ainst it. If what has been said already, on duty being confmed to things in which the will has an influence, be just, the whole of the second part of the foregoing treatise may be considered as evidence in favor of the point now at issue ; as whatever proves faith to be a duty proves it to be a holy exercise of the soul towards Christ, aris- ing from the heart being turned towards him. In addition to this, the following par- ticulars are submitted to the reader: — First : Faith is a grace of the Holy Spirit. It is ranked with hope and char- ity, which are spiritual or holy exercises. Indeed, whatever the Holy Spirit as a sanctijier produces, must resemble his own nature. " That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." As "the wisdom which is from above is pure," and of a practi- cal nature, so faith which is from above resembles its divine origin. Secondly : it is that in the exercise of which we " sive trlorv^ to God." — Rom. iv. 20. If faith be, w'hat Mr. M'L. ac- knowledges it to lie, a duty, and an exer- cise of obedience, its possessing such a tendency is easily conceived ; but if it be a passive reception of the truth, on which the moral state of the heart has no influ- ence, how can such a property l)e ascril)ed to it! There is a way in which inanimate nature glorifies God, and he may get him- self glory l)y the works of the most un- godly : hut no ungodly man truly gives glory to nim ; neither does a godly man, but in the exercise of holiness. Thirdly ; Faith is represented as de- pending upon choice, or the state of the heart towarls God. "Said I not un- to thee, if thou ivouldst believe, thou shouldst see Uie glory of God ! — " How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from (rod only?'' "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." If faith be a mere passive reception of tiio truth into the un- derstanding, on which the state of the will has no influence, what fair inter|)ret- ation can be given to these passages ? If a ilisjiosition to seek the divine honor be not necessary to believing, how is it that the want of it should render it imjmssi- ble I And if i)elieving had no depend- ence upon choice, or the state of the heart, how is it that our Saviour should suspend his healing of the chihl upon the parent's being able to exercise it! Did he suspend his mercy on the i)crformance of a natural imjiossiljility ; or upon some- thing on which the state'of the heart had no influence 1 Fourthly: Faith is frequently rep- resented as implying repentance for sin, which is acknowledged on all hands to l)e a holy exercise. It does not come up to the scripture-re|)rcsentation to say, re- pentance is a fruit of faith. There is no doubt but that faith, where it exists, will operate to ])romote repentance, anrl every other holy exercise. It is true, also, that a conviction of the being and attriiiutes of God must, in the order of nature, precede repentance; l)ecause we cannot repent for offending a being of whose existence we doul)t, or of whose character we have no just conception : but the faith of the gospel, or a believing in Jesus for the sal- vation of our souls, is represented in the New Testament as implying repentance for sjn. " Repent ye, and l)elieve the gospel." — " And ye, when ye had seen it, repented not that ye might believe.'" — " If, peradventure, God will give them repent- ance to the acknowledging of the truth." Whenever the Scriptures speak of re- pentance as followed by the remission of sins, it will be allowed that faith is sup- posed ; for repentance without faith could not please God, nor have any connection Avitii the promise of forgiveness : and it is equally evident that, when they sj)cak of faith as followed by justification, re- pentance is supposed; for faith without repentance would not be genuine. It is impossible to discern the glory of Christ's mediation, or to believe in the necessity, the importance, the loveliness, or the suitableness of his undertaking, while we feel not for the dishonor done to God by the sin of creatures, and particularly by our own sin. Ignorance, tiierefore, is as- cribed to obduracy or insensibility of heart.* Indeed it is easy to perceive that, where there is no sense of the evil and demerit of sin, there can be no " form nor comeliness " discerned in the Saviour, " nor beauty that we should desire him ;" and, while this is the case, the servants of * Eph. iv. 18. 422 APPENDIX. Christ will have to lament, "who hath believed our report 1" Fifthly: Faith is often expressed by terms which indicate the exercise of affec- tion. It is called receiving Christ, which stands opposed to rejecting him, or receiv- ing him not ; and which is descriptive of the treatment he met with from the body of the Jewish nation. It is called " re- ceiving the love of the truth, that we may be saved;" and, by salvation being thus connected wilh it, it is implied that no other reception of the truth is saving. Christ's word is said to have ''no place " in unbelievers ; which implies that in true believers it has place, and which is ex- pressive of more than a mere assent of the understanding. The good ground in the parable is said to represent those " who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." It is here intimated that no one receives the word to purpose, but in the es.ercise of an honest and good heart * Sixthly: Belief is expressly said to be m^ith the heart. " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and be- lieve in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For ivith the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confes- sion is made unto salvation." — " If thou believest with all thine heart, thou may- est." It is allowed that the heart, in these passages does not denote the affections to the exclusion of the understanding; nor .-does the argument require that it should : but neither does it denote the understand- ing to the exclusion of the affections, (which is required by the argument on the other side,) but the inmost soul, in opposition to the mouth with which confession is made unto salvation. Doing any thing with the heart or ivith all the heart, are modes of speaking never used in Scripture, I believe, for the mere purpose of expressing what is internal, or mental, and which may per- tain only to the understanding : they rath- er denote the quality of unfeignedness, a quality repeatedly ascribed to faith, and which marks an honesty of heart which is essential to it.— 1 Tim. i. 5 ; 2 Tim. i. 5. Seventhly : The want of faith is ascribed to moral causes, or to the want of a right disposition of heart. "Ye have not his word abiding in you ; for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life : and they are they which tes- tify of me. And ye will not come to me that ye might have life. I receive not * John i. 12. 2Tli. ii. 10. Luke viii. 15. John viii. 37. honor from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not ; if another shall come in his own name, him will ye receive. How can ye believe, which receive honor one of anoth- er, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only 1 " — " Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." — " If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me 1 He that is of God heareth God's words : ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not of God." If a holy disposition were unnecessary to believing in Christ, neither the want of it, nor the existence of the contrary, could form any obstruction to it. Lastly : Unbelief is not a mere error oj the understanding, but a positive and prac- tical rejection of the gospel. It is actually treating God as a liar, and all the bless- ings of the gospel with contempt : but faith is the opposite of unbelief; there- fore it is not a mere assent of the under- standing, but a practical reception of the gospel, actually treating God as the God of truth, and the blessings of the gospel as worthy of all acceptation. This state- ment of things is clearly taught to us by the pointed address of our Lord to the Jews, quoted under the foregoing argu- ment. " Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." — " If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me 1 " If faith were a mere exercise of the understand- ing, why do not men as readily believe the truth as they believe a liel Surely truth is not less evident to the mind, nor less consistent, than falsehood. It is evident that their not believing the truth was owing to the aversion of their hearts, and nothing else, and, by what follows, it is equally evident that the belief of the truth is owing to the removal of this aversion, or to the heart's being brought to be on the side of God : " He that is of God, heareth God's words : ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not of God." I proceed to the consideration of ob- jections. The first and principal objec- tion that Mr. M'L. alleges against this statement of things is, that it afftcts the doctrine of justification by grace alone, without the ivorks of the laio. " The Scriptures pointedly declare," •'le says, " that God justifies sinners ' freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ,' and that this justification is received 'through/«i^/t in (Christ's) blood.' Faith in this case is always distinguished from and opposed to the works of the law ; not merely of the ceremonial law, which was peculiar to the Jews, but of that law by which is the knowledge of sin, which says, ' Thou shalt not covet,' and which requires not only outward good actions. AI'PF.NDIX. 423 but love, and every good disposition ol'llic heart, botli towards God and our neinh- hor ; so tliat the works ofCliis law respect the lieart as well as life. The dislinclion therefore, between /'«(//« and works on this subject is not that wliich is iietween in- ward and outward conl'orniity to the h\w ; for if tailh be not in tliis case distinoth outwardly and inwardly, it cannot be said that we are ' justil'ietl by faith, without the deeds of the law,' or (hat God ' justifietli tlie uniiodly.' Faith, intieed, as a principle of action, ' workcth liylove;' but it is not as thus working that it is imputed for rifrhteousness ; lor it is expressly declared that righteousness is imputed to him tliat 'workcth not, l)ut be- lievethon him tiiat justifieth the ungodly.' ' It is of faith, that it mijrht be by grace; ' and L^race and works arc represented as incompatible with each other ; for to him that 'workcth is the reward not reckoned of grace but ol debt.' Now, when men in- clude in the very nature of justifying faith such good dispositions, holy affections, and pious exercises of heart, as the moral law- requires, and so make them necessary (no matter under what consideration) to a sin- ner's acceptance with God, it perverts the apostle's doctrine upon this important subject, and makes justification to be at least 'as it were by the works of the law.' " * There is no dispute whether justifica- tion be of grace thrnugli tfie redemption which is in Jesus Christ ; nor whether jus- tification by faith he opposed to justifi- cation by the works of the law, even those works which are internal, as we!! as tliose which are external. But it is ap- prehended that, in order to maintain these doctrines, there is no necessity to explain away the holy nature of faith, or to main- tain that it consists in mere speculation, wliicli it must if it liave notliing of the dis- position of tlie liearl in it. If considering faith as arising from tlie disposition of the heart l)e unfriendly to justification by grace without tlic works of the law, it must be on one or other of these suppositions : First, either thai, sliould there be any holiness in us antece- dently to justification, it must be imputed unto us for righteousness. Or, secondly. If it be not so in fact, yet it will be so in the view of awakened sinners. The first of these suppositions, so far from being friendly to the doctrine of jus- tification by grace, utterly subverts the grand principle on which the necessity of it is founded. Tlie grand principle on which the apostle rests the doctrine is this : * On the Comiuission. pp. 83, 84- " It is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in tl»e book of the law to do tliem." This declaration goes to an utter denial of the possil)ility of a sinner's being justified by ilic works of liis hands. But, if the fore- going supposition be true, the declaration must be false ; for, according to this, the holiness of one that lias 710/ continued in all things written in the book of tlie law to do them, proNidcd he have any, is admis- sible to his justification. On the other hand, if the declaration be true, the sup- position is false ; for according to the apostle's doctrine it must follow that what- ever holiness any creature may possess before, in, or after his believing, unless he could produce a righteousness conforming in all things to God's righteous law, it will avail him nothing in respect of justi- fication. I have no idea of any holiness antecedently to justification, any farther than what is necessarily imi)lied in the nature of justifying faith; but if it were otherwise, and a sinner could produce a series of holy actions performed in a course of years, all must be reckoned as loss and dung in respect of his being accepted of God. He that would win Christ must be " found in him." If antecedent holiness destroy the free- ness of grace, I know of no solid reason why consequent holiness should not ope- rate in the same way : and then, in order to be justified by grace, it will be necessa- ry to continue the enemies of God throusrh life. It is not the priority of tiyne that makes any difference, but that of causa- tion. Holiness may precede justification as to time, and it may be necessary on some account that it should jirecede it, and yet have no causal influence on it. The self-abasement of the pulilic an pre- ceded his going down to his house "justi- fied ; " yet it was not on this ground that his justification rested. Holiness, on the other hand, may follow justification as to time, and yet, for any thing that this will prove, may be that which is account- ed for righteousness. The righteousness of Christ was imputed to Old-testament believers, long before it was actual- ly wrought : and good was promised to Abraham, on the ground that God "knew him that he would command his children and his household after him." It was the denial of personal holiness being necessary to justification as a pro- curing cause, and not any thing which re- garded the tii/ie of it, that excited those objections against the doctrine as leading to licentiousness which are repelled in the Epistle to the Romans, and which have been pleaded in this controversy. The doctrine here defended is liable to the 424 APPENDIX. same ; not justly, indeed : neither was that of tlie apostle : but so long as we maintain thataccej)tance with God is whol- ly out of regard to the righteousness of another, and not for any thing done by us before, in, or after believing, a self-right- eous spirit will be offended, and reproach the doctrine as immoral. The argument for the necessity of a sin- ner's being an enemy to God at the time of his justification, in order to its being wholly of grace, resembles that of some divines who for the same purpose have pleaded for our being justified from eter- nity. They seem to have supposed that if God justified us l)efore we had any exist- ence, or could have performed any good works, it must be on the footing of grace. Yet these divines maintained that some men were ordained to condemnation from eternity ; and that as a punishment for their sin which God foresaw. But if an eternal decree of condemnation might rest upon foreseen evil, who does not perceive that an eternal decree of justification miglit equally rest upon foreseen good 1 The truth is, the freeness of justification does not depend upon the date of it. Mr. M'Lean charges the sentiment he op- poses, as a perversion of the apostle's doc- trine, and with making justification to be, at least, " as it luere by the works of the law." Yet he is fully aware that what- ever is pleaded in behalf of the holy na- ture of faith, it is not supposed to justify us as a work or holy exercise, or as being any part of that which is accounted unto us for righteousness ; but merely as that which unites to Christ, for the sake of whose righteousness alone we are accept- ed. I have no idea of merit, either of condignity or congruity, or of justification being bestowed as a reward to believing, any more than he has. But I shall be told this is "a caution which intimates an apprehension that my idea of faith is very lial)le to such a misconstruction."* And was the apostle's doctrine liable to no misconstruction 1 and did he use no caution to guard against itl Is Mr. M'L.'s doctrine liable to none 1 and does he never use caution for the same pur- pose 1 What else does he mean when, discoursing on God's justifying the un- godly, he adds, " Faith, indeed, as a prin- ciple of action, worketh by love j but it is not as thus working that it is imputed for righteousness 1 " t I confess I am not able to discern the difference between this distinction and that which he discards ; for, if there be any meaning in words, either in the apostle's or his, faith does work l)y love ; and that from its first ex- * On the Commission, p. 76 t Ibid. p. 84. istence : and its thus working belongs to it as genuine justifying faith : but though it always possessed this property, and without it coidd not have been genuine ; yet it is not on this account, or in a way of reward, that we are said to be justified by it. If he alleges that the property o{ work- ing by love does not belong to the nature of faith, as justifying; and that, in the order of time, we are justified by it pre- viously to its thus working, he must con- tradict the apostle, who speaks of "re- ceiving the love of the truth, that toe may be saved,^' and pronounces those persons unbelievers who do not thus receive it. — 2 Thess. ii. 10 — 1"2. His own words also will, in this case, be ill adapted to express his ideas. Instead of saying, "Faith in- deed worketh by love ; but it is not as thus loorking that it justifies; " he ought to have said to this effect : Faith indeed worketh by love; l>ut it is not till it has first performed its office in respect of jus- tification, which it does previously to its working at all. The Scriptures constantly represent union loitli Christ as the foundation of our interest in the blessing of justification : " Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, Avho of God is made unto us — righteousness." — " That I may be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ." — "We are accepted in the Beloved." — "There is — no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." Now, faith in him being that by which this union is effected, hence arises the neces- sity of it in order to justification. It is that liy vv'hich, as in a marriage, we are joined to the Lord, and so by his gracious constitution of things are interested in all he is, and all he possesses. And thus it is supposed that living faith, or faith that " worketh by love," is necessary to justi- fication ; not as being the ground of our acceptance with God — not as a virtue of which justification is the reward; but as that without which we could not be uni- ted to a living Redeemer. But we are told, "If any thing holy in us be rendered necessary to our being ac- cepted of God, (no matter under what consideration,) we pervert the apostle's doctrine, and make justification to be at least, as it were, by the works of the law." Is Mr. M'L. sure that he does not per- vert, or at least sadly misapply, the apos- tle's words 1 Whatever be the meaning of the phrase "as it were," it does not describe the principles of those who re- nounce all dependence upon their own holiness, and plead for the holy nature of faith only as being necessary to render it APPENDIX. 425 gonuiiio, ami consoiiufntly to unite \is to a lioly Saviour. Tiic cliaractt'rs tlicic referred to were uuii^odly men, wiio relied upon tiieir own works lor juslilicalion, " stumlilin'j; at that stuml)lin.;i-stonc." That we may judu;e whether tliis as- sertion be well t'oinided, it is neeessary to examine the cvidenec on which it rests; and this, it" I mistake not, is con- fined to the pliraseology of a siniric pas- sajre of Scripture. If this jjassau^e (Rom. iv. 4, 5) do not prove the point for which it is allejred, I know of no otlicr that does ; and, what is more, the whole tenor of Scripture teaches a doctrine directly opposite; that is to say, that repext- AXCE PRECEDES FORGIVENESS. But, waving tliis, we will attend to the passage itself. If hy "him that workcth not," and the " ungodly " whom God justilieth, be meant j)ersous wlio, at the time, had never clone any good thing in llic sight of God, and who were actually under the dominion of enmity against him, Mr. M'L.'s assertion will lie granted him : but, if tliese terms be meant to describe persons who work not with respect tojus- tijicatinn, and who, in their dealings with God for acceptance, come not as righte- ous, but as ungodly, no such consequence will follow. On the contrary, it will follow that, if the apostk's doctrine be perverted, it is Mr. M'L. that has per- verted it. That the apostle is speaking of believers we arc expressly told in the passage it- self. He that " worketh not" is said, at the same time, to "believe:" but, when- ever this can be said of a man, it cannot with truth be atlirmed of him that he has done nothing good in the sight of God, or that he is under the dominion of enmity against him. By Mr. M'L.'s own ac- count he has, by the influence of divine grace, done "what is right, in giving credit to what God says ; " he has " obey- ed the gospel ; " he has complied with *' the command of God," that we should believe in him whom he hath sent. It may, however, be truly affirmed of him that he worketh not icith respect to justi- fication ; for it is of the nature of faith to overlook and reliiiquish every thing of the kind. Whate\cr necessity there Tnay be for a writer, in vindication of" the truth, to enumerate these things, they are such as the sul>ject of them thinks nothing of at the time ; especially as the ground of his acceptance with God. All his hopes of mercy are those of a sinner, an ungodly sinner. "Him that worketh not " stands op- posed, by the apostle, to " him that work- eth ; to whom," he says, "the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt." — Rom. VOL. I- 54 iv. 4. And is this a description of acln ally working for God 1 The character referred to is either real or supposed: either that of a self-riglitcous siimer, who would at last be dealt with on the footing of that covenant to which he adhcreti ; or of a perfect conformist to the divine law. If it be the former, " he that worketh " undoubtedly means not one that actually labors for God, init one that worketh irith a view to justification ; and, consequently, "he that worketh not" must mean, not one that has actually wrought nothing for God, l)ut one thai workcth not with a view ofbcingjustijiedbyit. Or if, on the other hand, the character i)c allowed to lie only a supposed one ; namely, a perfect con- formist to the divine law; yet, as what is done by him that so worketh is done ^LHth a view to justification, it is on this account properly opposed to the life of a believer, who, whatever he may do, does nothing with such an end, but derives all his hopes of acceptance with God from the right- eousness of another. To this may be added the examples which the apostle refers to for the illus- tration of his doctrine. These are Abra- ham and David ; and let the reader judge whether they be not decisive of tiie ques- tion. It is of Abraliam's justification that he is speaking. ' He it is that is held up as a pattern of justification by faith, in opposition to the works of the law. Of him it was supposed " that he worked not, but believed on him that justifieth the un- godly." If Abraham, tlierefore, at the time when he is said to have "believed God, and it was counted to him for right- eousness, had never done any good thing, and was actually the enemy of God, " Mr. M'L.'s position is established; but, if the contrary be true, it is overturned. To determine this, the reader has only to con- sult Gen. XV. G ; xii. 1, and Heb. xi. 8. He will there perceive that it was several years after his departure from Haran (at which time the apostle bears witness to his being a believer,) that he is said to have " believed God, and it was counted to him (or righteousness." Hence it is manifest that the character described by the apos- tle is not that of an enemy, but a friend of God ; and that it is not merely applicable to a Christian at the first moment of his believing, but through the whole of life. We have to deal with Christ for pardon and justification more than once ; and nuist always go to him as " working not, but believing on him that justifieth the un- godlv." Nor is the example of David less de- cisive than that of Abraham. When the " blessedness " of w hich the apostle speaks "came upon him," he was not in APPENDIX. a state of enmity to God ; but had been bis friend and servant for a series of yeai's. The thirty-second appears, evidently, to be one of his penitential Psalms, compos- ed after his fall in the case of Uriah. Yet he also is supposed to have " worked not, but believed on him that justifieth the ungodly." And it is worthy of notice that the very principle inculcated through this whole Psalm is, the necessity of re- pentance in order to forgiveness, a princi- ple which requires to be disowned, before the position maintained by Mr. M'L. can be admitted. It has been said that the term ungodly is never used but to describe the party as being under actual enmity to God at the lime, I apprehend this is a mistake. Christ is said to have died for the " un- godly." Did he then lay down his life only for those who, at the time, were ac- tually his enemies 1 If so, he did not die for any of the Old-Testament saints, nor for any of the godly who were then alive, not even for his own apostles. All that can in truth be said is, that, whatever were their characters at the time, he died for them as ungodly ; and thus it is that he ^'justifieth the ungodly." Gospel- justification stands opposed to that which is in ordinary use : the one acquits the righteous, the worthy, the deserving : the other the unrighteous, the unworthy, the ungodly. But let us examine the other branch of Mr. M'L. 's objection; namely, the efcct which such a doctrine must have on" the mind of an awakened sinner. "This," he says, "is obvious. He who conceives that, in order to his pardon and accept- ance with God, he must be first possessed of such good dispositions and holy affec- tions as are commonly included in the na- ture of faith, will find no immediate relief from the gospel, nor any thing in it which fully reaches his case, while he views himself merely as a guilty sinner. In- stead of believing on him that justifieth the ungodly, he believes, on the contrary, that he cannot be justified till he sustains' an opposite character. Though Christ died for sinners — for the ungodly, yet he does not believe that Christ's death will be of any benefit to him as a mere sinner, but as possessed of holy dispositions ; nor does he expect relief to his conscience purely and directly from the atonement but through the medium of a better opin- ion of his own heart or character. This sentiment, if he is really concerned about his soul, must set him upon attempts to reform his heart and to do sometliing un- der the notion of acting faith tliat he" may be justified; and all his endeavors, pray- ers, and religious exercises, will be di- rected to that end." By the manner in which Mr. M'L. speaks of "pardon and acceptance with God," uniting them together, and denying all holy affection to be necessary to either, it is manifest that he denies the necessity of repentance in order to forgiveness ; a doctrine taught not only in the thirty- second Psalm, from which the apostle ar- gued the doctrine oi free justification, but also in the whole tenor of Scripture.* Secondly : By rejecting this doctrine he finds in the gospel " relief foi- the mere sinner." This " mere sinner " is describ- ed as " awakened," and as " vieiving him- self merely as a guilty sinner." At the same time, however, he is supposed to be destitute of all "holy affection." It may be questioned whether this account of things be consistent with itself, or whether any " mere sinner " ever " views himself merely as a guilty sinner;" for such views include a just sense of the evil of sin and of his own utter unworthiness of the divine favor, which no " mere sinner " ever possessed. But, passing this, what- ever be his " awakenings," and whatever the load of" guilt " that lies upon his con- science, seeing he is allowed to be desti- tute of all " holy affection," he must be, in fact, no other than a hard-hearted ene- my to true religion. He has not a grain of regard to God's name, nor concern for having offended him ; nor the least degree of attachment to the atonement of Christ on account of its secui'ing his honor ; in a word, his whole affection centres in him- self. This character wants "relief." And what is it that will relieve him 1 Pardon and acceptance with God, through the atonement of Jesus 1 If so, he needs neither to climb to heaven nor to descend into the deep ; the word is nigh him. But this is not what he wants ; for he sees " no form nor comeliness in him, nor beauty that he should desire him.''' Is it to be saved from his sins? No : It is to be saved in them. It is to obtain ease to his troubled conscience, and exemption from the dread of divine wrath, without relinquishing his self-righteous lusts, and submitting to the righteousness of God. And is it true that such a character stands in need of " relief 1 " He may think he does, and may labor hard to obtain it : but surely he needs to be wounded, instead of healed, and killed rather than made alive. Nay, in such a state of mind, is it possible that he should be "relieved " by the gos- pel " as it is in Jesus '? " Rather, is it not self-evident that, to relieve him, we must assimilate our doctrine to his incli- nations'? It were as absurd to suppose *1 Kings viii. 29—50; Prov. xxviii. 13; Isa. Iv. 6—8 ; Matt. iii. 2 ; Mark i. 4 ; Luke iii. 3. xxiv. 47 J Acts ii.38. iii. 19; v. 31. xxvi. 18. \PPEND1X. 427 that a hard-hearted sinner should be rc- lioved liy tlic (rue irospel, as that the whole 8ho\ihl liiui rolieliii a physician. Thirdly : The hard-hearted sinner is not only to be " relieved " by the assu- rance o( " pardon and acceptance with God ; " liut this is supposed to lie derived *' directly from the atonement." If l)y this were meant merely for the sake of the atonement, it were unoi)jectionable ; but the ii\eanin,!j; is (hat (he mere sinner is par- doned without repentance, or any " holy affection to Christ." There must be no consciousness of any (hiiii^ol (he kind pre- viously (o forD^iveness ; (or then it would not l)e " direct, l)ut through the medium of a good opinion of his own heart or character. " And does Mr. M'L. really believe in all this ] What then w ill he make of the concurrent language of the Old and New Testament T " Let the wick- cd forsake his tray and the unrighteous man liis thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." — " Preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." — *' Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may he blotted out." — "To turn them from (he power of Satan unto God, that they may receive /or^/i'cness of sins." What can be made of this lan- guage 1 Shall we say, it is the voice of the laio directing a sinner what he must do in order to be accepted by his own obe- dience? * An ingenious mind will seldom be at a loss for something to say ; but let us take heed lest we be found perverting the Scriptures in support of an hypothesis. If there be any meaning in language, it is manifest that these exhortations are ad- dressed to sinners as the means, not of legal, but of evangelical justification, — justification of which the forgiveness of sins is an essential branch. From the foregoing, and many such passages, it is evident that, when we are said to be justified by faith, it is such a faith as involves re[)entance ; equally so as, when we are said to be forgiven on re- pentance, it is such repentance as involves believing. Nay, more : If Mr. M'L. believes as above, what can be made of his own writ- ings 1 How are we to understand his note in page 92, containing a brief but ju- dicious answer to Mr. John Barclay 1 He there proves that no man is pardoned or accepted of God till he sustain a differ- ent charac(er from (hat which lielongs to him merely as a sinner ; that is, till he is Q. believer; and thai " the assurance of a man's own justification is not founded * See Mr. M'L.'s Simple Truth, pp. 21—26. merely upon the direct testimony of God, but also upon the testimony of his own conscience i)earing him witness in the Holy Spirit that he believes the gospel testimony." Mr. Barclay might rei)ly to him as he does to others. He might say, concerning the awakened sinner, that, on Mr. M'L/s princii)lcs, "Though Christ died for sinners, for the ungodly, yet he does not believe that Christ's death will be of any benefit to him as a viere sinner, but as possessed of faith ; nor does he expect any sa(isfac(ion as to the salvadon ot his soul purely and directly from the atone- ment ; but through (lie medium of a bet- ter opinion of himself, a consciousness that he is a believer. This sentiment, if he is really concerned about the salvation of his soul, must set him upon attempts that he may obtain this laith in order to be justified ; and all his endeavors, prayers, and religious exercises, will be directed to that end." — If Mr. M'L. can answer this objection he will answer his own. After all, there is a w ay of deriving re- lief, as " mere sinners, directly from the atonement : " but this is what a mere sin- ner, in Mr. M'L.'s sense of the terms, never does. They are believing sinners only, sinners possessed of " holy alTec- tion " to Christ, who are thus rendered dead to every thing in themselves, and alive to him. By Mr. M'L.'s reasoning, it should seem as though impenitent and unhumbled sinners not only derived their comfort in this way, but as if they were the only persons that did so ! To derive relief, as mere sinners, directly from the atonement, it is not necessary that we should possess no holy affection towards Christ ; but that, whatever we possess, we make nothing of it as a ground of ac- ceptance, " counting all things but loss and dung that we may tvin and be found in him." And this manner of deriving relief is not peculiar to the time of our first believing, but belongs to a " life of faith on the Son of God." Again : It is supposed that the includ- ing of holy airection in the nature of faith, and rendering it necessary to acceptance with God, (no matter under what consid- eration,) must, of necessity, lead the sin- ner from Christ, to rely on something good in himself. It is true that, if any holiness in us were required as a ground of acceptance with God, it would be so ; and the same would be true of the re- quirement of a faith without holiness, provided it were required to this end. That faith, whatever be its nature, is re- quired, and is necessary to i)rccede justi- fication, Mr. M'L. w'ill not deny. He denies its being necessary as that on ac- count of which we arc justified; and so 428 APPENDIX. do I : but, whatever be the place which it occupies, it is allowed to be necessary. Now, if the necessity of a holy faith be more favorable to self-righteousness than of one which has nothing holy in it, it must be either because it is of the nature of holiness rather than of unholiness, so to operate ; or because the depravity of the heart can find an occasion for glorying in the one case, which it cannot in the other. To suppose the former is the same as supposing that it is of the nature of holy affection to Christ to reject his salvation, of godly sorrow for sin to ren- der us more attached to it, and of humil- ity of heart to lift us up with pride. With respect to the latter, I cannot an- swer for it that the proud spirit of a mere- ly " awakened sinner " sliall not make a righteousness of a supposed holy faith ; nor can Mr. M'L. answer for it that he shall not do the same of his "simple be- lief." Whether faith have any holiness in it, or not, seeing he is taught to con- sider it as necessary to justiiication, and told that God makes so great account of it that without it the atonement itself will avail him nothing, there is no wonder if his unhumbled heart should take up its rest in his supposed believing, instead of looking to the doctrine of the cross. An unrenewed sinner will make a righteous- ness of any thing rather than submit to the righteousness of God. But this I can answer for, if he really have repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, his mind will not be em- ployed in self-admiration. And this, I am persuaded, is more than Mr. M'L. can say respecting a faith in the nature of which there is nothing holy ; for, if faith have no holiness in its nature, the einner must and will, in the very exercise of it, admire himself. It is only in the exercise of a holy disposition of heart that the attention is turned another way; if this, therefore, be absent, there is noth- ing to counteract a self-righteous spirit; and if, at the same time, the sinner be flattered with having gained more clear and evangelical views of faith than the generality of professing Christians, there is every thing to feed it. To make the requirement of a speculative assent of the judgment, in which there is no holiness, necessary to the destruction of self-right- eousness, is supposing that this spirit can- not exist unless it have true holiness to feed upon; but every one knows that, in "mere sinners," it reigns uncontrolled; and that, according to the degree in which true holiness exists, it is so far counter- acted. It is natural that it should be so ; for it is essential to this principle to sink us into our native nothingness, and to em- brace the Saviour as all in all. From these considerations I conclude that, instead of its being necessary for a sinner to be in an ungodly state of mind, in order to his believing in Christ, and he\x\g justified as ungodly, i\\e direct con- trary is true. To believe in Christ, as "justifying the ungodly," is to forego all claim and expectation of favor on the ground of our own deservings ; to feel that unto us belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face ; and that the only hope which remains for us is in the free mercy of God through Jesus Christ : but this no man ever did whose heart was still under the dominion of enmity ; for the thing itself is a contradiction. Enmi- ty necessarily blinds the mind, both to its own deformity, and to the glory of the Saviour. An enemy of God, therefore, and a self-righteous unbeliever, are one and the same character. I cannot but express my surprise that it should ever have entered into the heart oi wise and good men to imagine that a faith which implies contrition and self-annihi- lation in its very nature (the spirit of the publican,) should be supposed to be fa- vorable to self-righteousness ; while that which may consist with a hard heart, a proud spirit, and perfect enmity to God (the very temper of the Pharisee,) is pleaded for, as necessary to root it up ! Why, then, did not the Pharisee go down to his house '^justified,'' rather tiran the publican! The one had humbled himself: for God to justify him, therefore, would, it seems, be inconsistent with the freeness of his grace. As to the other, assuredly he was not wanting in ungodliriess, nor had he ever wrought a single loork for God, notwithstanding all his boasting. He was " a mere sinner; " and, if Christ's death will prove a benefit to such, why was it not so to himi At least, he came very near to the character which, accord- ing to Mr, M'L.'s doctrine, God should justify. "No : " it Avill be said, " he did not believe.'' It seems, then, that some- thing more is necessary, after all, than being "a mere sinner." Yet, why should it1 Did not Christ "die for sinners, for the ungodly? " Why should he not, as "a mere sinner," become a partaker of his benefits 1 Or, if not, why does Mr. M'L. write as if he should 1 "He did not believe." .... True : nor, while he was under the dominion of such a spirit, could he believe. Ere he could come to Jesus, or believe in him, he must have heard and learned another lesson. * * John V. 44; xii. 39, 40; vi. 45. APPENDIX. 429 It is raitlier oUjcctod tliat, lo suppose faith to include in it iiny iioly disposition of heart, is confounding it willi its e[fccls, and niakinir those to lie one which the Scriptures declare to lie three; namely, faith, hoi)c, and charity. I do not know that l\\c Scrijitures any where teach us that all lioly disposition is the clVcct of faith. It is not more so, I aiiprchcnd, than all unholy disposition is the elfect of unlielief : but unbelief itself is the effect of xmholy disposition, as I suppose will he allowed : all unholy disposition, therefore, cannot he the elfect oi vmi)elief. Mr. M'L. has proved that faith also is not only a principle of evangelical oliedience, but is itself an exercise of obedience : all obedience, therefore, by his own account, is not the efl'cct of faith ; for nothing can iie an effect of itself. And, unless it be possiltle to obey God without any holy disposition of heart to do so, it will equal- ly follow that all holy disposition cannot be the effect of faith. With respect to the confounding of what the Scriptures distiniruish, whatever distinction there is between faith, hope, and charity, it makes nothing to Mr. M'L.'s argument, unless tiiey can be proved to be so distinct as that nothing of the one is to be found in the other. Faith must not only have no love in it, but no hope ; hope must in- clude neither faith nor love ; and love must possess neither faith nor hope. But are they thus distinct 1 On the contrary, it may be found, upon strict inquiry, that there is not a grace of the Holy Spirit which does not possess a portion of every other grace. Yet faith is not love, nor hope, nor joy, nor long-suffering, nor gen- tleness, nor goodness, nor meekness, nor patience : each has a distinctive charac- ter; and yet each is so blended with the other that, in dissecting one, you must cut tlirough the veins of all. "Some affirm," says Mr. M'L., "that faith, hope, and love are three, considered only in respect of their objects." * I had, indeed, suggested that they arc three con- sidered with respect to their objects, but never thought of affirming that they are three in that view only. They may be three in many other respects, lor aught I know. My argument only required me to point out a sense in which they were dis- tinct, provided they were not so in respect of their holy nature. I see no solidity in Mr. M'L.'s olijection to an olijeclive dis- tinction; and it is ratlier extraordinary that Avhat he substitutes in its place, from Mr. Sandeman, is a distinction merely ob- jective. Mr. M'L. thinks that faith, hope and ^ On the Commission, p. 82. Note. love arc distinct as to their 7i«/ure ; and that the excellence ascrilicd to love con- sists in its being iioly ; whereas faith is not so. But what becomes of hope f Love is not said to excel faith only : hope, therefore, is retiuired to have no holiness in it, any more than faith. And has it none? Mr. M'L., when asked whether hope did not imply desire, and desire love, answered, "Yes: hope is a modification of love." It was replied, " Tiicn you have given up your argument? " It has been farther objected that the re- ception of God's testimony is compared to the reception of human testimony ; and that as a disposition of heart, whether holy or unholy, is not necessary to the one, so neither is it to the other. It is allowed that the testimony of man may, in many cases, he believed merely by the un- derstanding, and without lieing at all influ- enced i)y the state of the heart : but it is only in cases with wiiich the heart has no concern. If the admission of a human testimony respected things of which there was no sensible evidence — things the be- lief of which would require a total relin- quishment of a favorite system, and the pursuit of an opposite course of action — things which the greater part of those about us disregarded, and which, if true, might be at a considerable distance — ob- jections would arise against the admission of it, which, if it were otherwise, would have no existence. Nor could tiicy be re- moved while the heart remained averse. The fact, it is true, might become so noto- rious as to silence opposition, and, in the end, extort conviction ; but conviction, thus extorted, would not be faith. Faith implies that we think well of the testifier, or possess a confidence in his veracity : but conviction may consist with lioth ill opinion and ill will. It is the ])ersuasion of sense, rather than of faith. Such was that of some of the chief rulers, that Christ was the Messiah.— John xii. 42,43. The miracles which he wrought silenced their opposition, and ])lante(l in their con- sciences a conviction that it must be so. It is true this conviction is called believing; but it is only in an improper sense ; it was not that faith which is connected with jus- tification or salvation. Whatever convic- tion any man may have of the truth, while it is against the grain of his heart, he is not a believer in the proper seirse of the term ; nor do the Scriptures acknowledge him as such. It is only the receiving the love of the truth that will prove saving: and he that docs not thus receive it is described as an unbeliever. — 2 Thess. ii. 10 — 12. If Micaiah's testimony of what God had re- vealed to him had lieen in favor of the ex- pedition against Ramoth Gilead, Ahab 430 APPENDIX. could have believed it ; for, a little before tliis, he had believed a prophet who spake good concernina; him. — 1 Kings xx. 13, 14. Or if it had been delivered by a per- son against whom he had no prejudice, and on a subject that neither I'avored nor thwarted his inclinations, he might have believed it merely with his understanding, uninfluenced by any disposition of his heart : but as it was, while four hundred prophets were for him to one against him, and while sensible that appearances were in his favor, he believed it not, and even bade defiance to it. It is possible he might have some 7nisgivings, even while he was ordering Micaiah to prison ; and, when the arrow pierced him, his fears would rise high. As death approached, he would feel the truth of what he had been told, and be possessed, it is likely, of tremen- dous/ore6w(Zmgs of an hereafter; but all this was not faith, but involuntary convic- tion ; a species of conviction this, which neither possesses nor produces any good, and which has not a promise made to it in the oracles of truth. It is acknowledged, by the author of A Dialogue between David and Jonathan, that, " after all we can say of the specula- tive knowledge of practical truth, we must still remember that it implies some very essential imperfection and error." But, if practical truth require something more than speculative knowledge to enter into it, why is not the same acknowledged of believing it 1 Can spiritual things require to be spiritually discerned, and yet be be- lieved while the heart is wholy carnal 1 Lastly : it is objected that the word of God is represented as the means of regen- eration : "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." — " Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of in- corruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." And, as it is supposed that the word must be under- stood and believed, before it can have any saving influence upon us ; so it is conclu- ded that regeneration must rather he pre- ceded by faith, than faith by regeneration ; or, at least, that they are coeval. This objection has been advanced from several quarters and for several purposes. In an- swiM- to it, I would, in the first place, offer two or three general remarks. First : Whether regeneration influence faith, or faith I'egeneration ; if either of them influence the other, they cannot be coeval. One must be prior to the other, at least in the order of nature ; as the effect is ever preceded by the cause. Secondly : Whatever weight this olijec- tion may possess, it ought not to be made by any one who denies the belief of the gospel to be saving faith. For, allowing the woi*d, understood and believed, to be that by which we are regenerated, still, if this belief be not faith, but something merely presupposed l)y it, faith may, not- withstanding, he j)receded by regenera- tion. If faith be the same thing as com- ing to Christ, receiving him, and relying upon him for acceptance with God, all this, in the order of things, follows upon believing the trutli concerning him ; no less so than coming to God follows a be- lieving that he is, and that he is a reward- er of them that diligently seek him. We may, therefore, be regenerated by a per- ception and belief of the truth, and, as the immediate effect of it, come to Jesus and rely upon liim for salvation. Thirdly : It may be questioned whether this objection ought to lie made by tliose who admit the necessity of a spiritual dis- cernment of the glory of divine things in order to believing. That this is a prin- ciple clearly established in the Scriptui'es cannot be denied. Seeing the Son is ne- cessary to believing in him. Unbelief is attributed to spiritual blindness, (2 Cor. iv. 4;) and those who believed not the "report" of the gospel are described as "seeing no form nor comeliness " in the Saviour, nor "beauty that they should desire him." Mr. M'L., speaking of the saving truth of the gospel, says, " It is no sooner per- ceived and believed than it takes posses- sion of tlie will and affections." — p. 82. This, I sliould think, is allowing that^^er- ception is distinct from lielieving, and ne- cessarily precedes it. But if a spiritual perception of the glory of divine truth pre- cedes believing, this may be the same, in effect, as regeneneration preceding it. Al- lowing that the word requires to be per- ceived, ere the will and affections can be changed, it does not follow that it must also be believed, for this purpose ; for the perception itself may change us into the same image ; and, in virtue of it, we may instantly, with our whole heart, set to our seal that God is true. Now, I apprehend that all my opponents are included under one or other of these descriptions : and, if so, I might very well be excused from any farther answer. The word of God may be allowed to be the means of regeneration ; and yet regenera- tion may precede believing. I do not wish, however, to dismiss the subject without stating my views of it, and the grounds on whicli they rest. To me it appears that the Scriptures trace a change of heart to an origin beyond either belief or perception, even to that divine influence which is the cattse of both ; an influence which is with great propriety compared to the power that at first " com- APPENDIX. 431 inandt'd tlie litrlit to shine out of dark- ness." Tliat there is a divine intluenee upon tlie soul, wliieii is necessary to spiritual perception and l>elief, as beins:; tlie cause of tlieni, tliose with wlioin 1 am now rea- soninir will admit. The only cpiestion is, in wliat ore made to love him, and l)e "subject to his law;" for this is in itself impossible. But the impossil)ility of the natural man receiving the things of the Spirit of God, while they appear " foolishness " to him, is manifest- ly of the same nature as this, and is de- scribed in the same language." God does not cause the mind while carnal to be sub- * Compare I Cor. ii. 14 with Roa. viii. 7. ject to liis law, but imparts that which re- moves the obstruction, " taking away the stony heart out of our flesh, and giv- ing us a heart of flesh." And thus it is supposed to be in respect of spiritual dis- cernment : God docs not cause the natu- ral man to receive spiritual things, and thereby render him spiritual ; but removes the obstructing film liy imparting a spirit- ual relish for those things. Thus it is that "spiritual things are spiritually dis- cerned." Secondly: Though holiness is fre(|uent- ly ascriiied in the Scriptures to a spiritual perception of the truth, yet that spiritual perception itself, in the first instance, is ascrii)ed to the influence of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. "The Lord open- ed the licurt of Lydia, and slie attended to the things which were spoken of Paul." — " God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, Jiath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." — "The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you; and ye need not that any man teach you : but as the same anointing teaclieth you of all things." — Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." Finally : Every thing which proves that spiritual lilindiiess and unbelief have their origin in the depravity of the heart proves that, whatever may lie said of particular volitions being caused by ideas received into the mind, original biasscs are not so : f and every thing which proves spir- t President Edwards (tlian whom no man will he allowed to liave possessed a clearer insight into these dirticult snlyoct.s) .speaks willi great c.iiitioii on the will beioL; delerinincd hy the uiiderstandiiig. He denies lliat it is so, if h_v the iinder.siandii)g be meant wiiat is ealleil reason ov judgment ; and (jnly al- lows it " in a largo sense, as including the whole faculties of perception or apprehension." And, even when taken in this large sense, he rather chooses to say, that " the will always is as the greatest ap- parent good, or as what appears most agreeable, J.s," than to say that the will is determined by the greatest apparent good, or by what seems most agreeable; Ijecause an ap[)eariiig most agreeable, or pleasing to the mind, and the mind's preferring and choosing, seem hardly to be properly and [jerfectly distinct — On the IVill, pp. 11. 17. London Ed. Thus also lie writes in his Treatise on the Affec- tions:— " .Spiritual understanding consists, prima- rily, in c sense of heart of spiritual beauty. I say in a sense of heart; for it is not s|x,'culation merely that is concerned in this kind of understanding; nor can there be a clear distinction made l)et ween the two faculties of underslanding and will, as acting distinctly and separately, in this matter. When the mind is sensible of the sweet l)eauty and aniiableness of a thing, that implies a sensihieness of sweetness and delight in the jirestnce of the idea of it : and this sensibleness of the aniiableness or delightfulness of beauty carries in the nature of it the sense of the heart ; or an effect and impression llie soul is llie 432 APPENDIX. itual perceptions and faith to be holy ex- ercises proves that a change of heart must of necessity precede them; as no holy exercise can have })lace while the heart is under the dominion of carnality. And whether these principles have not been sufficiently proved in the foregoing pages the reader must determine. It is thus, I apprehend, that God reveals the truth to us by liis Spirit, in order to our discerning and lielieving it. " Blessed art thou, Simon-Barjona : ilesh and blood hath not revealed these things unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." — "Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes." — " Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man (that is, into the heart of the worldly man,) the things which God hath prepared for them that love him : but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit ; for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, bul the spirit which, is of God, that we might knoiv the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we (as ministers) speak, not in the words that man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teachetli, compar- ing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.'' This revelation from above communicates no new truths, but imparts a holy suscepti- bility of spirit, SiSpirit irhich is of God, (and which stands opposed to the spirit of the world,) by which those trutiis that were already revealed in the Scriptures, but which were hid from us by our pride and hardness of heart, become manifest. Thus faith is the gift of God. Believing itself, I should think, cannot with any propriety be termed a gift; but he gives us that from suljject of, as a substance possessed of taste, inclina- tion, and will." " There is a distinction to be made between a mere notional understanding, wherein the mind only beholds things in the exercise of a speculative faculty, and tlie sense of the heart, wherein tiie mind does not only speculate and behold, but rel- ishes and feels. That sort of knowledge, by which a man has a sensible perception of amiableness and loathsomeness, or of sweetness and nauseousness, is not just the same sort ol knowledge with that by which he knows what a triangle is and what a square is. The one is mere speculative knowledge ; the other sensible knowledge, in which more than the mere intellect is concerned, the heart is the prop- er subject of it, or the soul, as a being that not only beholds, but has inclination, and is pleased or dis- pleased. And yet there is the nature of instruction in it : as he that hath perceived the sweet taste of honey knows much more about it than he who has only looked upon and felt it." pp. 227, 228, 4tli Ed. which it immediately follows ; namely, " a heart to know him, a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear." — Jer. xxiv. 7. Deut. xxix. 4. I see nothing inconsistent between this statement of things and that of James and Peter. We are as properly said to be "born again by the word by God," as we are said to be born into the world by means of our parents ; yet as, in this case, the instru.mcntality of man was consistent with tlie inspiration of him " who quicken- all things," and who, by an immediate though mysterious operation of his hand, gave us life ; so I conceive it is in the other. The tenn " regeneration," in the sacred writings, is not always used in that strict sense in which we use it in theological dis- cussion. Like almost every other term, it is sometimes used in a more strict and sometimes in a more general sense. Thus repentance is sometimes distinguished from faith : at other times, it comprehends the whole of that whic4i is necessary to for- giveness, and must therefore comprehend believing. And thus regeneration is some- times expressive of that operation in which the soul is passive ; and in tiiis sense stands distinguished from conversion or actual turning to God by Jesus Christ. At other times, it includes not only the first impart- ation of spiritual life, but the whole of that change which denominates us Chris- tians, or by which we are brought as into a new moral world. When the tertn is introduced as a cause of faith, or as that ol which believing in Jesus is a proof, (as it is in John i. 12, 13, and 1 John v. 1,) we may be certain it stands distinguished from it : but, when the same things are ascribed to it which peculiarly pertain to faith, we may be equally certain that it in- cludes it. Thus we read of " the wash- ing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abun- dantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour : that, being justified by his grace, we should he made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." If regeneration did not here include faith in Jesus Christ, it would not I conceive stand connected as it does with justification, which is peculiarly ascribed to faith. Regeneration, taken in this large sense of the term, is undoubtedly " by the word of God." It is by means of this that a sinner is first convinced of sin, and by this, as exhil)iting mercy through Jesus Christ, he is kept from despair. It is liy this only that he can become acquainted with the character of the Being he has offended, the nature and demerit of sin, and the way in which he must be saved from it. These important truths, viewed with the eye of an enlightened conscience, frequently pro- APPENDIX. 433 ilucc irrcat effects upon the soul even j>re- viously to its yieldinir itxelC up to Christ. And the inii)aitatioM ot spiritual lite, or a suseeptiliility oi iiearl to receive the truth, may generally it not always «rco7H^flni/ the representation ot truth to tiie mind. It was while Pa»d was speakin;r tliat the Lord opened the heart of Lydia. It is also al- lowed that wlien the word is received into the sovd, and tinds i)Iace there, it " work- eth cllVctually," and l)ecomes a principle ot holy action, " a well of water spriniiiny this "unction from the Holy One" that wc perceive the glory of the divine character, the evil of sin, and the lovely fitness of the Saviour ; neither of w hich can be j)rop- erly known by mere intellect, any more than the sweetness of honey or the bitter- ness of wormwood can be ascertained by the sight of the eye. Nor can one he per- ceived, but in connection with the other. Without a sense of the glory of the object offended, it is impossil)le to have any just perco[)tion of the evil nature of the offence, and, without a sense of the evil nature of the olTence, it is equally impossil>le to dis- cern either the necessity or the fitness of a Saviour; but, witii such a sense of things, each naturally, and perhaps instantane- ously, follows the other. Hence arise the exercises of "repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ ; " and in the order in which the Scriptures represent them. Much has been said of this statement of things, as involving the absurdity of a god- hj unbeliever. Scri|>ture declarations and promises, expressive of the safety of the regenerate, have been urged, and a con- clusion drav>n, that, if regeneration pre- cede believing, men may be in a safe state without coming to Christ.* It will be al- lowed, I suppose, that spiritual perception necessarily precedes believing; or that * Ml. Booth's Glad Tidiugi-, &.c. p|). 17G, ISO. VOL. I. 35 seeing the Son goes before believing in him; also that a belief of the doctrine of Christ precedes our coming to him for life, as much so as believing that God is, and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, precedes coming to him. But, it were as easy to produce a number of dec- larations and promises which express the safety of those who know Christ and i)e- lieve his doctrine, as of those who are re- generate : and, it might with ecpial jiro- priety be said. There is but little, if any, occasion for those who know Christ to believe in him ; or for those who believe his doctrine to come to him for eternal life, seeing they are already in a state of salvation. — The truth appears to be, these things are inseparable; and, when promises are made to one, it is as connected with the other. The priority contended for is rather in order of nature than of time ; or, if it be the latter, it may be owing to the disadvantages under which the party may be placed as to the means of understanding the gospel. No sooner is the heart turn- ed tow ards Christ than Christ is embraced. It is necessary that the evil humors of a jaundiced eye should be removed, before we can see things as they are ; but no sooner are they removed than we see. And if there be a priority in order of time, owing to the want of op])ortunity of know- ing the truth ; yet, where a person embra- ces Christ so far as he has the means of knowing him, he is in effect a lieliever. The Bereans "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scrip- tures daily w hether these things w ere so : therefore," it is said, "many of them be- lieved." And, had they died while en- gaged in this noiile pursuit, they would not have been treated as unbelievers. This principle, therefore, does not involve the absurdity of a godly unbeliever. But, if its opposite be true, the absurdity of an ungodly believer must undoubtedlj' be ad- mitted. Indeed, those who plead for it avow this consequence ; for, though they allow that none but believers are justified, yet they contend that at the time of justi- fication the party is absolutely and in ev- ery sense ungodly ; that is, he is at the same instant both a believer and an enemy of God ! I shall conclude with a reflection or two on the consc(iuences of the principle I op- pose, w ith res])ect to addressing the un- converted. First: If the necessity of repentance in order to forgiveness be given up, we shall not be in the practice of urging it on the unconverted. Wc shall imagine it will be leading souls astray to press it before and in order to believing : and afterwards it will be thought umiecessary ; as all that 434 APPENDIX. is wanted will come of itself. Thus it will in effect be left out of our ministry : but whether in this case we can acquit our- selves of having: deserted the examples, and of course the doctrine, of John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, deserves our serious consideration. Secondly : For the same reason that we give up the necessity of re]»entance in or- der to forgiveness, we may give up all exhortations to things spiritually good as means of salvation. Instead of uniting with the sacred ^vrilers in calling upon the wicked to forsake his Avay, and the un- righteous man his thouglits, and to return to the Lord, that he may have mercy, upon him ; Ave shall consider it as tending to make them Pharisees. Indeed, Mr. M'L. seems prepared for this consequence. If I understand him, he does not approve of unconA erted sinners being exhorted to any thing spiritually good, any otlierwise than as holding up to tliem the language of the law for convincing them of sin. It is thus he answers the question, " Are unbeliev- ers to be exhorted to obedience to God's commandments 1 " referring us to the an- swer of our Lord to the young ruler, which directed him to keep tlie commandments if he would enter into life.* It is easy to perceive that his scheme requires this con- struction of the exhortations of the Bi- ble ; for if he allow that sinners are called to the exercise of any thing spiritually good, in order to their partaking of spirit- ual blessings, he must give up his favorite notion of God's justifying men while in a state of enmity against him. True it is that all duty in some sort belongs to the law : considering it as the eternal standard of right and wrong, it requires the heart in every modification. Rei)entance, faith, and all holy exercises df the mind are in this sense required by it. But as a cove- nant of life it does not admit of repentance, and much less hold up the promise of for- giveness. When God says " Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgres- sions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin," this is not the language of the law as a covenant of life. Mr. M'L. tells us, in the same page, " there is no promise of life to the doing of any good thing, except all the commandments lie ke])t." How then can the law as a covenant of life so much as admit of repentance, and much less hold up a hope that in case of it iniquity shall not be our ruin 1 The Scriptures exhort on this wise : " Incline your ear, and come unto me : hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant Avith }ou, even (lie sure mercies of David." — " Seek ye the Lord while he * Simple Truth, p. 21. Second Edition. may be found : call ye upon him while he is near : let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." — "Labor not for the meat that perisheth ; but for that which endureth unto everlasting life." — "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Is this the mere language of the law, and designed to suggest what they must do if they would be justified by the works of it^ It should seem that, if Mr. M'L. was called to visit a dying sinner, he would be careful not to use any such language as this ; or, if he did, it must be ironically, teaching him what he must do, on his own self-justifying principles, to gain eternal life. If he be serious, he has only to state to him what Christ has done upon the cross, and assure him that, if he be- lieves it, he is happy. Far lie it from me tliat I sliould disapprove of an exhibition of the Saviour as the only foundation of hope to a dying sinner, or plead for such directions as fall short of believing in him. In both these particulars I am per- suaded INIr. M'L. is in the right, and that all those counsels to sinners which are adapted only to turn their attention to the workings of their own hearts, to their prayers, or their tears, and not to the blood of the cross, are delusive and dan- gerous. But does it i'ollow that they are to be exhorted to nothing spiritually good unless it be for their conviction! Mr. M'L., to be consistent, must not serious- ly exhort a sinner to come off from those refuges of lies, to renounce all dependence on his prayers and tears, and to rely upon Christ alone as necessary to justification, lest he make him a Pharisee ; for this would be the same thing as exhorting him to humble himself and submit himself to the righteousness of God ; exercises in v.hich the mind is active, and which are spiritually good. Why should we 1)6 wise above wliat is v.'ritten ? wliy scruple to address such a character in the language of inspiration ! — "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts : and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." The sacred writers warn and exhort, as well as teach. While they exhibit the Saviour, they ex- jjostulate, entreat, and persuade men to embrace him with all their hearts; and this without any apparent apprehensions I APPENDIX. 435 of undermininp; the flortrino of free jus- tification. II" it he said, The exercises includeil in the torcgoiiiii exhortations imply Jh it li ; 1 grant it. Without faith in Christ, neither repentance, nor any otlier spiritual exer- cise, wouki be IbUowed with forgiveness. Those who seek the Lord must he ex- horted to seek him in tlie way in whicli he is to he fountl ; those that call upon him must do so in the name of Jesus ; tlie way and thoughts to l)e forsaken respect not merely a course ol outward crimes, hut the self-righteous schemes of the heart ; and returnini^ to the Lord is notliing less than returning'home to God hy Jesus Christ. But this does not prove that the exhortation, unless it he to teach them what tiiey must do to he justified hy a covenant of works, is improperly address- ed to the unconverted. It is manifestly intended for no such purpose, but as a di- rection to ol)tain salvation. The Scriptures sometimes give direc- tions as to the way of our olitaining the remission of sins, and acceptance with God ; and sometimes of being saved in general, or of obtaining everlasting life ; and we ought to give the same. If they direct us to seek tor pardon, it is l)y re- Itentance;' if for justification, it is hy be- lieving;! and if for eternal salvation, it is l)y a life of evangelical ol)e(lience.| When they speak of pardon, justification is sup- posed ;§ and, when they exhort to repent- ance in order to it, lielicving in the name of Jesus is supposed. II On the other hand, when they speak of justification, tiicy include forgiveness ;ir and vvlicn they exhort to l)elieving, in order to it, it is to such a l)ciieving as comprehends repent- ance."* JMany of these directions, on the i>rin- cii)!e I oi)pose, must be omitted ; hut, if they l)e, some of the most essential l)ranch- es of the Christian ministry will be neg- lected. *Isa. Iv. 6, 7. Acts viii. 22. f Acts xiii. 39. Rom. iv. 4, 5. ix. 32. J Jloiii. ii. 7. Heb. xi. 14. § I*s:i. xxxii. 1, 2, compared with Rom. iv. 6, 7. II Luke XV. 4, 7. Acts xiii. 38. Eplie.s. i. 7. Col. i. 14. IT Rom. iv. 6, 7. ** Mark i. 15. Matt. xxi. 32. Acts xvi. 31, compared with xx. 21. Luke, xiii. 3. -1 DEFENCE OF A TREATISE ENTITLED THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION: CONTAINING A REPLY TO MR. BUTTON'S REMARKS OBSERVATIONS OF PHILANTHROPOS. Wliile ye have light, Ixjlieve in the light, that ye may be the children of light. Jesus Christ. By grace are ye saved, tlirough faith ; and that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God. Paul. PREFACE. The prevalence of truth and righteousness is, doubtless, an object of great importance ; nor is the former any less necessary to the latter than both are to tlie interest of man- kind. If controversy is of any use, it is because it tends to l>ring truth to light. It too often unhappily falls out, however, that the parties themselves are not the first who are convinced by each other's reasonings ; but, on tlie contrary, are as dxr, and perhaps farther, asunder when they leave off than when they began : this is not very difficult to be accounted for, though it is much to be lamented. Perhaps there are very few controversies wherein there is not room for mutual concessions. The back- wardness so generally discovered to this by writers, and the determination that too commonly appears on both sides to maintain, at all events, their own principles, have given much disgust to many readers, and made them almost ready to despair of edi- fication by reading controversy. But, though it must be granted that such conduct affords a just ground of disgust towards a writer, yet there is not the same reason for being disgusted with contro- versial writing. Whatever be the prejudices of the parties, and their rigid adherence to their own opinions, if a controversy is carried on with any good degree of judgment, truth is likely to come out between them ; and what avails it on whose side it is found, if it is but found 1 The obstinacy of the writers is a sin; but it is a sin tliat belongs to themselves : the reader may get good, notwithstanding this, sufficient to repay him for all his trouble. For my own part, I never imagined myself infallible. I all along thought that, though at the time I could see no mistakes in the piece I had written, (if I had I should certainly have corrected them,) yet no doubt other people, who would look at it with different eyes from mine, would discern some ; and I trust it has been my desire to lie open to instruction from every quarter. It would be the shame and folly of any man, especially of one of my years, to act otherwise. I will not pretend to be free from that spirit which easily besets a person engaged in controversy : but thus much I can say, I have endeavored to read each of my oppo- nents with a view to conviction ; and it becomes me to acknowledge tliat I have not been altogether disappointed. There are some passages which, if I had tiie piece to write over again, I should expunge, and others which I should alter : I should en- deavor, in some places, to be more explicit, and in otiiers more upon my guard against every aj)pearunce of unkind reflection.* There are also some lesser matters, which I shall acknowledge in their place. Justice requires me to say thus much : but, as to the main sentiment endeavored to be established, notwithstanding what has been written, I must say, it appears to me unshaken. If, in my judgment, that had been overthrown, the attention of the reader should not have been called upon by the pres- ent reply. *In a second edition of (he publication to which Mr. F. refers these aUerations were made ; aiul the piece, as it appears in the present volume, is printed from the corrected edition. 440 PREFACE. In the publications of both my opponents * I see different degrees of merit ; and for each of their persons and characters I feel a most sincere regard. I doubtless think them both beside the truth ; and, I suppose, they may think the same of me. I de- *"Both your opponents — but why not reply to Dr. Withers 1 " Because his Letter appears to me to contain nothing like an answer to that against which it is written. The utmost I can gather, that looks any thing like evidence, may be summed up in a very small compass. " There can be no duty," it is said, " without a voluntary compact. If a compact with God cannot be found on holy record — if it he evi- dent that man is destitute of the powers essential to the existence of such a compact, it cannot be his duly to believe." — ])p. 21, 26. It might have been added with equal propriety — nor to do any thing else which is enjoined him. But I would ask to whom arc we unjirofitable servants, as doing no more than our DITTY 1 To men, with whom we make compacts, or to God 1 If Dr. W.'s reasoning be just, it is not the duty of children to be subject to their parents. Again : Men are not all bound to have an equal " number of ideas, to believe without evidence, examina- tion, or beyond their natural capacities." — pp. 40, 59, 73 — 76. This is very true ; neither is there any thing in the treatise which Dr. W. has opposed that asserts the contrary. I had said, if men are not obliged to approve of what God reveals, they may be right in disapproving it. Much is said to expose tliis to ridicule. It is said to be " either an identical proposition or such an ar- bitrary combination of words as it seems will prove any thing." — pp. 85, 86. It is not the former, unless a negative and a positive idea are necessarily the same. Christ declared, saying, " He that is not with me is against me." This is as much an identical proposition as that in question, and might be treated in the same manner. If there is any mistake in the argument, it must lie in my taking it for granted, upon Christ's testimony just quoted, that, though there is an evident difi'erence between a negative and a positive idea, yet, in this case, the difference is not such as to admit a possibility of a medium. Every one knows there are ca.ses in which a medium between ideas of that description may have place; as between my " not watching my neighbor's house, and breaking it ojien." In that case, it is not my duty to do eitlier : but unless such a medium could be affirmed between not approving and disapproving of what God reveals, the argument still retains its force, and the syllogistical parade must appear to be only a play of words. Dr. VV. had given us reason to expect something very considerable against the distinction o{ natural and moral inability ; but what does it all amount to "? Why, ability or inability is not, strictly speaking, predicable of the will, but of the man. — pp. 89, 90. I have looked over what I have written on that sub- ject, and cannot find that I have any where predicated inability of the toill. but of the man, through the perversion of his will. Be that, however, as it may. Dr. W.'s reasoning is of no force. An idle ser- vant is enjoined a piece of labor : he replies, I cannot do it: he is told his inability lies in his will; he turns metaphysician, and gravely assures his master that inability is not predicable of the will, but of the man; and, therefore, insists upon it that he is blameless ! If Dr. W. means no more than this, that when the terms ability and inability are applied to the volitions of the mind they are not used in a literal but a figurative sense, I do not know any person that will dis- pute what he says. At the same time it ought to be observed that these terms are applied to what depends upon the volitions of the mind, though it be in a figurative sense, and tliat both in Scripture and in common life. It is as common to say, of a person of a very covetous temper, that he is incapable of a generous ac- tion as it is to say, of a person who has lost the use of his faculties, he is incapable of acting at all. And thus the Scriptures apply the terms. It is as expressly said of Joseph's brethren that they could not speak peaceably to him; as it is said of Zacharias that he was dumb, and could not speak to the people, when lie came out of the temple. The ideas in these cases are really and essentially distinct ; and so long as they continue to be expressed both in Scripture and in common conversation by the same word, if we would understand what we speak or write, a distinction concerning the nature of inability, amounting to what is usually meant by natural and moral, becomes absolutely necessary. Dr. W., instead of overthrowing this sentiment, has undesignedly confirmed it ; for though he can ex- cuse a want of love to God, yet, if any thing is , directed against himself, the case is altered. Our Lord speaking of the Pharisees, and their blasphemous reproaches against him, says, " How can ye being evil speak good things V Now, according to the theory of this writer, such an inability must sufficiently ex- r'RrFAcn. 441 sire to feel every (Icirrce of candor, towards all that difler from iiic, which a person ought to foel towards those whom he believes to be mistaken: and this, I think, should go to such a length as to entertain the most sincere good will towards their persons, and to put the most favorable construction that can in justice be put upon their supposed mistakes. But, after all, I believe truth to be important ; and so long as I consider the belief of it to be every person's duty, according to his natural ca- pacities and opportunities to understand it, I cannot subscribe to the innocence of error. God is the governor of the mind, as well as of the actions. He governs the former by rule, as well as the latter ; and all deviations from that rule must arise either from its not being sufficiently level to ourcapacitieSj or from inattention, preju- dice, or some other criminal cause. cuse tliem. But, if a Pharisee speak evil of liim, he is grievously provoked. Who these Pharisees are, and what tliey have said of Dr. W., I know not. I onlj' ask, is it not a pity but his pliiiautliropy could excuse those who reproach him, as well as those who dishonor God "i Phiianlln'opy* is, doubtless, an amiable temper of mind, when regulated by rules of righteousness; but tliere is a sort of love which the language of inspiration deems hatred. If I were, merely as a member of civil society, to visit a number of convicts under a righteous sentence of death; and if, instead of persuadin" them of the goodness of the laws which they had violated, of the great evil of their conduct, and of the equity of ihcir punishment, and conjuring them to justify their country, and sue for mercy; — if, I say, in- stead of this, I should go about to palliate their crimes, and assure them that the governor by whose laws they were condemned was the author of all their misfortunes — that though I believed some of tiiem at least must certainly suffer, yet, I must acknowledge, I could see no justice in the aflair, there being no propor- tion between the punishment and the crime — I might call my.self the friend of mankind, and give what flat- tering titles I pleased to what I had l)een doing: but impartial spectators would deem uie an enemy to truth and righteousness, an enemy to my country, yea, an enemy to tlie veiy persons whose cause I espoused. But with the principles or Dr. W. I have no concern. There is reason to hope they are too undisguised to gain credit witli serious minds. lam under no obligation to refute them; none, at least, at present. Before the sentiments of any writer are entitled to a refutation, it is reqiii.-.ite that lie pay some regard, at least, to sobriety and truth. Whether Dr. W. can acquit himself of io/Z/'m/ and known falsehood, I cannot tell; but this I know, lie has, in very many instances, imputed sentiments to me of which I never thought, and sentences which nev- er proceeded from my pen. The former might be im])uted to mistake; and, if there had been only an in- stance or two of the latter, charity miglit have overlooked them; but the number of gross misrepresentations ia such iis admits of no such construction. Not to mention his exclamations of " punishment without guilt" — of" unmerited damnation," pp. 6, 7, (which seem to Ije his own sentiments rather than mine ; as he believes, if I understand him, that men and devils will be eternally punished for that of which God is the author,) pp. 17.5, witii 50, 55: not to mention these, I say, what could he think of himself, in taking such freedoms as the following ? " You draw I know not what conclusions concern ing/atlessinjr, then lie not only asserts that which is irrecoiu ileuMe with the prayers of the jrodly in all at'cs (who have ever prayed lor v;r(icc to |)crforni w hat they acknowledsrc to he their duly,) hut also contradicts his own sentiments. He allows that the principle of urace in believ- ers is a conformity to the law, though not to the law only. — p. 68. Be it so : so far, then, as it is a coni'ormity to the law, so far it was always incumbent upon us ; and yet I hojic Mr. B. will not deny that our con- formity to the law is derived from Christ, is a new-covenant blessinjf, and is wrought in the believer's heart by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Whether I have been so unhappy as, at times, to express myself in a manner not sullicienfly explicit, or whether Mr. B. has lieen wanting in calm and close atten- tion; so it is, that he sometimes proceeds upon a total misunderstanding of the argu- ment. Tliis will appear to an attentive reader, if he please to compare pages 10, 11, of mine, with 12, 13, of his remarks ; and 59, 60, with 54; also 131, with 89, concerning Adam. The places are too numerous to recite wherein principles appear to me to be assumed instead of being proved, and con- clusions to be drawn from premises which are themselves the very subject in debate. Thus we are told, "Pharaoh had an ex- press command to let the people go;" therefore it was his duty to have com- plied.*— p. 88. Very well; what then! Mr. B.'s meaning must be to add, "But tliere is no express command to believe in Christ ; therefore," &c. I answer that this is begging the question. I suppose there is such a command ; but, whether there is or not, the contrary ought not to be taken for granted. Mr. B. does not fail to make his own reasonings and observations in one place the data of his conclusions in another. Thus we are told, "There is no com- mand for special faith, as we have en- deavored TO prove; therefore no one * In no one case do the Scriptures speak so strongly of God's abandoning a man to the hardness of bis own iicart as in that of Pharaoh ; yet the Lord God of ilie Hebrews said " How long wilt thou refuse to luimbic tliyself liefore me 1 " (E.\od. x. 3.) plain- ly showing that the want of a better mind was no .excuse for his refu.sal to obey. shall be condemned for the want of it." — p. 89. Again, in the same page, "Adaro had not faith or any other spiritual dispo- sition, AS I HAVE already OBSERVED, therefore," &c. — But, passing general re- marks, let us follow Mr. B. in what he has advanced under each of the particular topics in debate. SECTION n. ON THE N.\TURE AND DEFINITION OF FAITH. I HAVE the happiness to find Mr. B. agreeing with me that faith in Christ is not a persuasion of our interest in him. But though he agrees with me in this point, yet he is far from being satisfied with the definition I have given. He ob- jects that it makes no mention of "super- natural illumination and assistance; " (p. 12,) and proposes one that shall include those ideas. If, by this, he only means to maintain that the Holy Spirit is the sole author, or cause, of faith, no one, I should think, who has read my former treatise, can entertain a doubt of my maintaining the same doctrine. But though this is a truth which I verily believe, yet I must still be excused from thinking it necessary to a definition. Def- initions are designed, I apprehend, to ex- press the nature and not the causes of things. Thus, if man were to be defined a rational creature, created of God, the last part of the definition would be super- fluous. What Mr. B.'s ideas of faith are, it is difficult to learn. Mr. Brine says, "Act- ing faith is no other than suitable thoughts of Christ, and a hearty choice of him as God's appointed way of salvation ;" f and Mr. Button says, " I do think that every man is bound cordially to receive and heartily to approve of the gospel." — p. 49. But it seems special faith is some- thing distinct from all this; so distinct that this has "iwthing to do " with it, (p. 54;) yea, so distinct that a person may do all this and yet perish everlastingly. And yet it is not a believing of our inter- est in Christ ; what then is it 1 Mr. B. tells us what is its cause and what are its effects ; but what the thing itself is we have yet to learn. f The reader may sen a larger drflnition of faith in a letter from iMr. Brine to Mr. Ryland, of War- wick, in tlie Second Part of Serious Remarks on the Different Representations of Evangelical Doc- trine, inc., by J. Ryland of Bristol, pp. 13, 14. R. 446 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. Sometimes I think I can understand him, but I am soon again at a loss. " It is such a reception of the truth," says he, "as transforms the soul into the image of Christ."— p. 49. Very well: then it seems it is a reception of the truth, after all ; such a reception as is productive of real and transforming effects. This is the very thing for which I plead. Yes ; but " a person may cordially receive the truth and yet not be transformed into the image of Christ." — p. 18. Indeed! Then how are we to distinguish true faith frona that which is counterfeit or partial 1 Ac- cording to this, there is no difference as to the thing itself, only a difference in its cause and effects. But did not "Christ's hearers at Naz- areth, and the stony-ground hearers, cor- dially receive the truth 1 " — p. 18. I an- swer no ; tlie latter did not understand it, (Matt. xiii. 23; 1 Cor. ii. 14,) and there- fore could not cordially receive it; and, as to the former, they gazed upon the Lord Jesus, and bare him witness "that he was right," as Dr. Gill says, "in ap- plying Isaiah's prophecy to the Messiah, but not that he himself was the Mes- siah;" much less did they cordially re- ceive the gospel. The Scripture declares, concerning the gospel, that, if we confess it with the mouth and believe it in the heart, we shall be saved ; but, it seems to me, the tendency of Mr. B.'s reasoning is to prove the contraiy. But true faith "is such a belief as brings Christ into the soul : that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." — p. 19. Answer : If by bringing Christ into the soul is meant his having the supreme place in our best affections, (which, I ap- prehend, is what the apostle intended in the passage referred to,) then what Mr. B. affirms is freely granted ; nor is it in any way inconsistent with what he op- poses. "Ought sinners to realize truth," Mr. B. asks, " so as to affect tlicir own hearts?" — p. 21. This, I suppose, he 'thinks iis self-evident absurdity. He Jiimself, how- ever, allows it to be every man's duty to love God with all fas heart ; and wlien he shall inform me how tlfis is to be done without the heart's being affected, I will answer the foregoing question. But is it *' our duty to do that which God claims as his prerogative!" I answer, It is God's prerogative to write his law in the human heart ; and yet every one ought to have that law within his heart, or, in oth- er words, lo love it with his whole soul. How strange it is that the same thing, in different respects, should be denied to be God's gift and our obedience .' I sincerely wish Mr. B. had attentively considered the arguments which I quoted (pp. SG — 88) from Dr. Owen. Those arguments, doubtless, ought to have been solidly an- swered before any exclamations v/ere made of the alisurdity of making that the duty of men which it is God's own work effectually to produce. " Devils and wicked men, it is said, believe the goodness of gospel blessings for others though not for themselves." — p. 17. By their believing them to be good for others, Mr. B. appears evidently to mean advantageous or profitable ; and, in that sense, there is no doubt but what he says is true ; that is no proof, however, that they lielieve in their real intrinsic ex- cellence and glory. Cain believed the ad- vantage which his brother Abel had in bringing a lamb for an offering, and hated him accordingly; but he did not believe his own condition as a sinner to be such as that his offering, being presented with- out respect to the Mediator, deserved to be rejected. Properly speaking, he did not believe in the necessity of a mediator, much less in i\\Q fitness and glory of such a way of approaching the Deity. The Scriptures speak of those who believe not, as blind to the glory of the gospel. — 2 Cor. iv. 4. Whatever goodness wick- ed men believe to be in the blessings of the gospel, they do not believe the life and portion of the godly to be so good as, all things considered, to be preferred be- fore their own. Mr. B., it seems, thinks that "a man may pursue evil as evil." — p. 23. In this I do not differ from him. Nay, I believe that unregenerate persons, without any exception, pursue evil as evil. If any ask me to explain my assertion, quoted by Mr. B., that "human nature cannot pur- sue evil as evil," I refer them to the note in the very same page whence the quota- tion is taken. Unregenerate men pursue evil as that which is agreeal)le to their own sinful inclinations. In so doing they pursue it as a moral evil and as a natural good. He who pursues evil, considered as moral, acts against his conscience. This was the case with Felix in dismiss- ing Paul. But no one pursues moral evil itself under the notion of its being tm- lovely. The instances Mr. B. has pro- duced do not prove this. People do not take poison, or pursue death itself, under any other notion than tliat of its being a good. The Gentoo women, who volunta- rily cast themselves into the fire at their husbands' death, are no more in love witlx death, for its own sake, than we are, liut are struck eitlier with the honor of so dy- ing or with the hope of being the happier hereafter. People are npt guilty of sui- cide, but under the notion of its contain- Klil'LY TO MR. UL'TTON. 447 inir n sort ol good. Tlicv consider it as adapted to release them Irom a hurden wiiirli they coneeise tluMiiscl\(!s imalilc to sustain, not considering what Ibllows ilealh in tiie worhl to come. But does not every man " i»clicve tliat he shall die ^ and vet docs he act accord- ?iy?"-p To tills I rejily, Death IS more an olyecl of intuition than of (aith. If people did not set; the death of their fellow-creatures, and had no otiier evidence tiiat they nmst die luit the tes- limonv of God, they would he as apt to disbelieve that as they arc other things. And even as it is, if they realized death, and wliaf follows, it would have an clVect upon their spirit and life very diflerent from what it has. Mr. 13. produces a numhev of qiioiafioiis fur the j)ur[)Ose of giving us a better defi- nition of iaith than that which lie opposes. — p. '26. But some of these were never designed liy their authors as defniitions, hut rather as descriptions of faith. Those of them which represent it as " such a be- lieving of the testimony of God in the sa- cred Scriptures as, in a w ay of trust and dei)endence, to resign ourselves up to Je- sus Clirist," do not in any wise contradict what I have advanced. On the contrary, I shoidd i)c very willing to let the aliove stand as a dciinilion of faith. Nor have I any objection to have it prefaced with its being "a grace of the Holy Spirit," &c., excepting this, that it does not ai)pear to inc at all necessary to introduce the au- thor, or cause, of any thing in a definition of that thing. At tlie same time, I would not wish to contend about words. 1 therefore ac- knowledge that it may be of use, when discoursing about faith in certain connec- tions, to speak of it in a more large or extensive meaning. That might be the case, for aught I know, with resjicct to some of Mr. B.'s autliorities. But what if they had a mind to bring into their defi- nitions the cause and the effects of faith 1 And if another, witli a view to simplify the subject, define it merely by what it is in itself considered, without any design, however, of denying either cause or ef- fect; docs it follow that his definition must he defective ] Wherein does the definition of Cover- dale, Ferrar, Hooper, Taylor, Philpot, Bradford, Crome, Sanders, Rogers, and Lawrence, differ from mine, except in this, that they mean to define not only the thing itself, but its cause and effects 1 " It is," say they, "not only an opinion, Imt a ccrlmn persuasion, wrought by the Ho- ly Ghost, which doth illuminate the mind, and supple the heart to subniit itself un- feignedly to God."— p. 27. The thing it- self Ihey make to be neither more nor less than PKKSUASioN. It never was my design to exclude the idea of trust, or confidence, in Christ. Whether that be of the essence of faith ilselt, or an effect which instantaneously Ibllows, I always sup|)osed them insepa- rable. It was iiefore allowed, (p. 28.) that it is in this large sense, including not only the Itelief of the truth, but the actual out- going ol the soul towards Jesus Christ in a way of dependence upon him, that faith in him is generally to be taken in the New- Testament : " and it was in this sense that 1 undertook to prove it incumbent on men in general. Those with whom I contend will allow it to be the duty of every one, where the gospel comes, to believe it. I knew this would i)e allowed when I penned the for- mer publication. My whole design, in the first part, was to reason, ujton their own principles, wiih those who differ from me. They allow it to be every one's duty to believe the gospel. I therein en- deavored to prove that, in allowing this, they allow that to be the duty of men which is of the essence of special faith. The arguments used in proof of this, have not, I think, been overthrown. I there- fore earnestly entreat Mr. B., and those of his sentiments, to consider attentively the following questions : Can any person tru- ly believe the gospel, and yet perish ever- lastingly 1 and can those scriptures which were produced before, in proof of the con- trary,* be fairly explained upon such a supposition 1 Mr. B. thinks I have mistaken the mean- ing of John iii. 30, and 1 John v. 20, where I suppose a believing on Clirist, and a not believing Christ are spoken of as oppositcs, in such a way as implies that there is no medium between them. Mr. B. thinks, it seems, that they are not opposites. — p. 24. According to what he has said, the criterion of true faith lies in the terms in or on; for he observes that "it is not said, He that believeth not on the Son, &c. No : it is not for the want oi' special faith he is condemned, but because he be- lieves not what he says." — p. 2.5. To this I answer — Fi'rst : The term on is used to express such a faith as is not connected with salvation. John xii. 42. Secondly : Suppose it were otherwise, and the phrase believing on Christ were to be the criteri- on of special faith, this would make against Mr. B. rather than for him. For it is said of the unbelieving Jews that " though he had done so many miracles before them, * 1 John V. 1. Mark xvi. 16. Rom. x. 9- Acts viii. 37. See the Scriptures urged in my former treatise, pp. 29, 30. 44S REPLT TO MR. BUTTON. yet they believed not on him," (John xii. 37 ;) plainly intimating that tliey had such evidence as ought to have induced them to believe on him. On the other hand, Christ says, the Spirit shall reprove the world of sin, because they believe not on me. And, contrary to what Mr. B. as- serts, men are expressly said to be " con- demned, because they believe not on the name of the only-begotten Son of God." — John iii. 18. Mr. B., before he concludes his Fourth Letter, throws in one argument against faith being a duty : "If," says he, "this faith be the duty of man, and is I'equired by the law, it is then undoubtedly aivork; and when the apostle says, ' By grace ye are saved through faith,' we must consid- er him as joining grace and works togeth- er."— p. 29. To this it is replied, Every thing required by the law, I should think, is not a toork. That sacred standard of right and wrong requires a holy state of mind, as well as the exercises of it. But, supposing it is a work, does not Mr. B. maintain the same 1 Only a few pages back, he quoted several definitions of faith from certain eminent divines ; most of Avhom speak of it as a coming to Christ, a trusting in him for salvation. Now, is is not this a loork or exercise, of the mindl And yet we are saved by grace notwith- standing ; for God does not save us out of regard to faith as our act, but on account of him in whom it terminates. A poor invalid, who derives his subsist- ence wholly from the public, may be said, Avith tiie greatest propriety to live, not by his own works, but upon the generosity of others. This, however, does not imply that he is not active in his applications for relief; or that every such application may not, in some sense, be called a work. Yet it plainly appears he does not live upon his applications, considered as acts, or exer- cises, but upon what, through those means, he freely receives : and it would be con- trary to the common use of language to say that he lived partly by grace and partly by works. Before I conclude this section, it may not be amiss to drop a few additional thoughts concerning the defining of faith : these, however, have no immediate reference to Mr. B., but are merely added with a view, if it might be, to throw some farther light upon the subject. I. Faith, in its most general sense, sig- nifies a credit of some testimony, whether that testimony be true or false. II. When we speak of the faith of the gospel as a belief of the truth, it is not to be understood of all kinds of truth, nor even of allj kinds of scripture -truth. A true believer, so far as he understands it, does believe all Scripture-truth ; and to discredit any one truth of the Bible, know- ing it to be such, is a damning sin ; but yet it is not the credit of a chronological or historical fact, for instance, that de- nominates any one a true believer. The peculiar truth, by embracing of which we become believers in Christ, is the gospel or the good news of salvation through his name. The belief of this implies the be- lief of other truths ; such as the goodness of God's government, as the lawgiver of the world ; the evil of sin ; our lost and ruined condition by it ; our utter insuffi- ciency to help ourselves, &c. ; but it is the soul's embracing, or falling in with, the way of salvation by Jesus Christ, that pe- culiarly denominates us true believers. III. True faith includes a spiritual understanding of the glory of the gospel, but it includes something more. It does not appear to me- to have its seat barely in the understanding, but in the whole soul. It is the whole soul's yielding up its own false notions and dependences, and falling in with God's way of salva- tion by Jesus Christ. By a spiritual dis- cernment of the glory of the gospel, we see the Son : and, by the whole soul's concurring with it, Ave believe in him. It is Avith the heart man believeth unto right- eousness. If it is said. The heart here is not opposed to the understanding, but to the mouth, with Avhich confession is made unto salvation, I ansAver, This is true : but then neither is it used, I apprehend, for the understanding, to the exclusion of the affections, but for the whole soul, in distinction from the mouth, by which our faith is openly professed. IV. Though, as I attempted to prove in my former treatise, true faith does not include an assurance of our interest in Christ, yet it is ever attended Avith an ap- plication of the truths of the gospel to our OAvn particular cases. "When the Scrip- tures teach," says the excellent Mr. Doav- name, " Ave are to receive instruction, for the enlightening of our own mind ; Avhen they admonish, we are to take Avarning ; Avhen they reprove, Ave are to be checked; Avhen they comfort, Ave are to be cheered and encouraged; Avhen they command any grace, Ave are to desire and embrace it ; Avhen they command any duty, Ave are to hold ourselves enjoined to do it; Avhen they promise, Ave are to hope ; Avhen they threaten, Ave are to be terrified, as if the judgment Avere denounced against us; and, Avhen they forbid any sin, we are to think that they forbid it unto us. By Avhich application Ave shall make all the rich treasures contained in the Scriptures wholly our OAvn, and in such a poAverful and peculiar manner enjoy the fruit and REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. 449 benefit of them, as if they had been wholly written for us, and (or none other else besides us." — Giiiilr to Godliness, j). G 17. These oliservations may be eonsidercd as an addition to what was written before; and I i)elieve they will be found to be peifectly consistent witli it. SECTION III. REPLY TO Mil. B.'S FIFTH AND SIXTH LETTERS, WHEREIN HE REMARKS ON THOSE PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE WHERE FAITH IS SUPPOSED TO BE COMMANDED OF GOD. To PROVE that faitii in Ciirist is the duty of unconverted sinners, divers pas- sages of Sciii)turc were produced, which represent it as the command of God. In answer to tiiese, Mr. B. observes, in gen- eral, that conjiuands are sometimes used whicii do not imply duty, but denote some extraordinary exertion ol divine power; as when God said to the Israelitisli nation, ''Live" &,c. — p. 31. But are the com- mands in question to be so understood \ Mr. B. does not pretend to say any such thing. He adds, "Commands sometimes denote encour- agement; as in Isa. li. 17; "Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem," &c. ; Acts xvi. " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" and John xiv. 1: "Ye believe in God, believe also in me." — p, 32. Very true : but do they denote merely encouragement \ Can the idea of duty be excluded \ Was it not the duty of the Jews, for instance, when Babylon fell into the hands of Cy- rus, and a proclamation was issued in their favor, to l)estir tliemselvcs 1 Would it not have been their sin to have neglect- ed the opportunity, and continued care- less in Babylon 1 Was it not the duty of the jailor to follow liie apostle's counsel, and would it not have been sinful to have done otherwise 1 Was it not the duty of the disciples to place an equal confidence in the testimony of Christ as in that of the Father; and would it not have been ■sinful to have distrusted him'! "These passages," says Mr. B., "do not appear so much to carry in them the nature of injunctions as of directions and encour- agements." But do they carry in them the nature of injunctions id all ? or can that idea be excbuh'd from them 1 It seems, he himself tiiinks it cannot, or Ire would not have so exj)ressed himself. Mr. B. now proceeds to consider the particular passages produced. He re- marks, on the second P.salm, that "kiss- ing sometimes denotes no more than civil homage and subjection; as in 1 Sam. x. 1 : w here we are told that Samuel anoint- ed Saul, and A:isscc/him; which was not, I i)resume," says he, " a spiritual act, l)ut nothing more than a token of allegiance, loyalty, &c." — p. 34. I think wilii him the case of Samuel's kissing Saul serves for a tine illustration of the passage;* and if Christ had been a civil ,s;overnor, and nothinj:!; else, then it is allowed that civil homage, subjection, and loyally, would have been tiic whob; o( his due; but not otiierwise. According to the na- ture of his governmenl must be the kind of suiijection required. If Christ's kingdom had been of this world, or somewhat like what tiie Jews expected it to be, such an exposition as the above miglrt, be admit- ted ; but, if his government be spiritual, then subjection and loyalty to him must be the same. The comment on Jer. vi. IG (p. 35) 1 think needs but little ro])Iy. It may deserve to be considered whether, if the people there addressed had been of ]Mr. B.'s sentiments, they might not have found some more plausible and less mortifying answer than that which thej' are obliged to give. Sure- ly they migiit have replied, " Stand in the ways and see .' " we have not a capacity for spiritual discernment. " Ask for the good old way, and ivalk therein !" it was never discovered to us. All that we are obliged to is diligently to attend j)ul)lic ordinances, and this we have done from our youth up ; what more w ould the prophet have 1 — But these were sentiments, it seems of which they had never heard. They were oblig- ed, therefore, to speak out the honest, though awful truth, " We will not WALK THEREIN." John xii. 3G. "While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light." " These," it is said, " are evidently words of direction to in- quiring people." — p. 37. That they were inquiring people is true ; but not such as inquired from any thing of a right spirit, which is what Mr. B. must mean to sug- gest. They are called the people (ver. 34) in distinction from the Greeks w ho wanted to see Jesus ;| and it immediately follows what sort of people they were : " But though he had done so many miracles be- fore them, yet they believed not on him : that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake. Lord, who *Sce Dr. Jcnning's Antif|uities. Vol. I. p. 184, t Stee Dr. Gill on verse 34. VOL. I. 57 450 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON- hath believed' our report 1 and to whom of special faith. Tlie doctor, however, hath the arm of the Lord been revealed'! does not suppose that the tvork of God Therefore they could not believe, because means a work that was to be wrought in that Isaiah said again, He hath blinded them, but a work that was required of their eyes, and hardened their heart," &t. them. He there explains it, not of an Lest the foregoing remark should not operation of God, but of what was enjoin- suffice, it is supposed that the passage may ed by his " will and commandment ." speak only of such a believing as falls short But Mr. Button tiiinks it " strange, if of special faith. — p. 38. But, unless it can faith in Christ were i\\e first great duty be proved that the phrase children of light incumbent upon them, that they should is ever used of any but true believers, this first be directed to labor lor that which supposition is inadmissible. should endure to everlasting life, as they Mr. B. speaks frequently of Christ's were in verse 27." — p. 40. It is replied. addresses being by way of " ministerial direction.'^' Be it so : I do not see how this alters the case, unless we could sup- Laboring for that which should endure to everlasting life includes faith in Christ ; that being the only way in which eternal pose that Christ, as a preacher, directed life can be obtained : and it is no unusual people to a way in which it was not their duty to walk. In short, if there were not another passage in the Bible besides the above, that were, in my opinion, sufficient to prove the point contested. John vi. 29. " This is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." From the connection of this passage it was observed that the phrase work of God could not be understood of a work which thing first to lay down a g-cneraZ direction, and then proceed to that which is more jjarticular. John V. 23. It is the Father's will "that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." As Mr. B. has not thought proper to answer what was advanced from this passage, it need only be replied that, according to his sense of it, Christ ought to be honored in God should ivork in them, but of a woi'k one character but not in another." — p. 42. Avhich he required of them.* Mr. B., As to what is said of Isa. Iv. 6, (the however, takes it in the first sense, and seventh verse, I observe, is passed over,) thinks it " very clear and plain, from the that " Arminians have quoted it," (p. 42 ;) whole context, that this special faith is what is that to the purpose T It has some no duty." — p. 41. To which I only say, meaning; and one should suppose that that which appears so plain to Mr. Button their quoting it has not destroyed that did not appear so to Mr. Brine. Mr. Brine, meaning. Mr. B. must excuse me in not it seems, felt difficulties where Mr. Button being satisfied with a part of an exposition feels none. Though he agrees with Mr. upon it from Dr. Gill. The whole of the Button that special faitli is not a duty, yet doctor's words, I observe, are not quoted. he undoubtedly felt a difficulty in the pas- Abundant pardon was never promised to sage in question. He felt the force of that such an attendance as this quotation makes remark, that the meaning of the answer to be their duty. must be determined by that of the ques- Simon Magus was exhorted to pray for tion ; and he did not suppose, when they the pardon of sin. Mr. B. asks, "Who asked. What shall we do that we may work denies it 1 ''■ — p. 43. I answer, Many, who> the works of God 1 that they were inquir- deny that faith is the duty of the unregen- ing what they must do that they might erate, deny that it is their duty to pray at work such works as were peculiar to an all ; and especially to i)ray for spiritual arm of omnipotence. blessings, such as the forgiveness of sin. Mr. Brine, therefore, never pretended to understand it of a work which should be wrought in them, but of " an act accept- able AND PLEASING TO Goi>." MotlvCS, &c. p. 42. Dr. Gill, in his Cause of God and Truth, (Part I. p. 154,) understands the passage I rejoice, however, that Mr. B. is not of that sentiment. But it was asked. In whose name ought Simon to have prayed for that blessing "? To this we have received no answer. It was likewise asked whether spiritual, blessings ought to be sought in the only as speaking of such a faith as is not con- way in which they can be found, or in any "" other. In answer to this, we are told, " they may be sought after in the use of means without special faith ; and that is all which is here exhorted to." Is Mr. B. sure of that 1 If so, Simon was barely exhorted to do as Cain did, — to bring an offering without respect had to the great atonement for acceptance, — to do that by nected with salvation. Mr. Brine never pretended to this, but allows it to speak *Tlie reader is desired to observe,! never denied, but constantly maintained that faith, wherever it exists, is the effect of divine influence; as is every thing else in ns which is truly good: but las well mainiain that it is man's duty, and that this passage i»eans the latter and not the former. REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. 451 which it was impossiMc to please God. After all, are we to uiulerstaiul IVIr. B. tliat sinners ouirht not to seek spiritual lilessinjis in the name of Christ, l)ut in some other tray? Surely he will not alTirin this ; and yet I do not see how he can avoid it. But we arc told that Simon was not ex- liorlod to " lind or iret pardon of sin, l)ut to pray for it." Tliis is true, l>ut not to the purpose. Faith in Cluist is not tlie fiiidini: or sicttinsi of pardon, l)ut the vienuj^ of ohtainina; it. We cnmc to Christ that we may have life. The one is the way in which we find or enjoy the other. This as farther confirmed liy the passage which we shall next consider. Rom. ix. 31, 32, " Because they sought it not l>y faith," &c. " By faith is here meant," says Mr. B., "not the grace but tlie doctrine of faith, the gospel, a-s ap- pears clearly l>y its lieing opposed to the law.^' — p. 43. Suppose it were so, seek- ing righteousness l)y the gospel, in oppo- sition to the law, would amount to the same thing as the other. But this is not the case : faith is not here opposed to the law, but to the works of the law ; and is, therefore, here to be understood of the right way of seeking righteousness, which is in the name of Christ. Concerning tliose passages which ex- hort men to put their trust in the Lord, Mr. B. remarks that " trust is a natural duty; but what," he asks, "has this to do with evangelical trust 1 " — p. 44. Why did he not answer what was said on that .su1)ject in p. 46 1 Wliy did he pass over that dilemma 1 As to what he says on the Iburth Psalm, that the persons there ad- dressed were "good men" (p. 45;) it is replied, They certainly were wicked who arc addressed in the second verse ; and there is no notice given, in any part of the Psalm, of a change of person. To under- stand sacrifices of rii^hteousness, of sacri- Jfices righteously obtained, appears to me to be putting a low sense upon the phrase, and what I think is not at all countenanced liy similar jjhraseology in Scripture. The same mode of speaking occurs in Deut. xxxiii. 19, and in Psalm li. 19, neither of -which passages can well be thought to mean barely that the sacrifices should not be obtained by robbery. Mr. B. thinks, it seems, that the declar- ation, " Whosoever will let him come, " is not indefinite, but limited, and so is not a warrant for any sinner to come to Jesus Christ. "All," says he, "have not a will; therefore it is not a warrant for every man." — p. 46. That multitudes of men are unwilling to forego self-will, self- conceit and self-righteousness, and to ven- ture their souls wholly upon the Lord Je- sus is a melancholy fact ; l)ut to conclude thence that they have no warrant so to do is a very extraordinary species of reason- ing. If "whosoever will let him come " be not an indefinite mode of expression, Mr. B. should have jtointcd out what sort of language should have been used for such a puri>ose. A generous Wnefactor, in the hard sea- son of the year, procures a quantity of provision to be distributed amongst the poor of a country village. He orders public notice to be given that every poor MAN WHO IS WILLING TO RECEIVE IT SHALL IN NO WISE MEET WITH A REFU- SAL. A number of the inhabitants, how- ever, are not only poor i)ul proud, and cannot find in their hearts to unite with the miserable throng in receiving an alms. Query ; Would it l)e just for sucii inhabit- ants to allege that they had no warrant to apply 1 or that the declaration was limited ; seeing it extended only to such as were willing ; and, for their parts, they were unwilling 1 If it were expedient to give such objectors a serious answer, they might be asked. In what language could the donor have expressed himself to have rendered his declaration more indefinite. If it is insisted that, to make an invita- tion indefinite, it should be addressed to men simply as sinners, it is replied. If that would put the matter out of doubt the Scripture is not wanting in that mode of speaking any more than in the other : " Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted and far from righteousness. I bring near my righteousness ; it shall not l)e far off; and my salvation shall not tarry." " Let the ivicked forsake his way and the unrighte- ous man his thoughts, and let him re- turn unto the Lord, and he will have mer- cy upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." For other passages to the same purpose, I ask leave to refer to pages 84 and So of the former treatise. SECTION IV. REPLY TO MR. B.'s SEVENTH JLETTER, ON THE OBLIG.\TIONS OF MEN TO EM- BRACE WHATEVER GOD REVEALS. HIS CHARGE OF ILLIBERALITY, &C. &C- It was observed, in my former publica- tion, that every man was bound cordially to receive and heartily to approve whatev- er God reveals. A definition of faith was also quoted from Mr. Brine, wherein he says, "Acting faith is no other than suit- 452 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. able thoughts of Christ, and a hearty choice of him as God's appointed way of salva- tion." And thence it was argued that, if faith was not incumbent on men in gene- ral, then they were riglit in not thinking suitably of Ciirist, &c. Mr. B. here expresses his " astonish- ment ; " and without hesitation charges me with " illiberality." — p. 48. To this I answer, I apprehended this to be a co7i- se(7Jte;icc naturally arising from the senti- ments I opposed; but never imagined that they who imbibed these sentiments held or asserted this consequence : yet, as Paul urged the consequences of denying the resurrection, in order to show the errone- ousness of the premises from which those consequences followed, I apprehended I might do the same. Such a mode of rea- soning is universally practised by both in- spired and uninspired writers. The Co- rinthians might have charged the apostle with illiberality, and have had, for aught I see, as good reason for so doing as Mr. B. had for charging it upon me. He iiad said, " If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised ; and, if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are j'et in your sins." They might have exclaimed against these consequences, and said of him who urged them. He knows these are senti- ments Avhich we never asserted or even imagined. Mr. B., instead of exclaiming in this sort, should have invalidated those con- sequences, but this he has not attempted; and, unless he will maintain it to be men's duty to stand neuter, (which ourLord de- clared to be impossible,) and neither think nor choose at all in the affair, I do not see how they can be fairly removed. The difficulty stands thus : " If true faith is no other than suitable thoughts of Christ and a hearty choice of him as God's appointed way of salvation," as Mr. Brine affirms, then, it is either men's duty to think suit- ably of Christ, or it is not ; to choose him as God's appointed way of salvation or not. If it is, the point is given up ; if it is not, then it must be right in them either not to think suitably of Christ, or not to think at all ; either to choose some other way of salvation, or not to" choose at all. It is not sufficient for Mr. B. to allege that he disclaims these sentiments ; that he allows an opposition to God's way of salvation to be sinful : I know he does ; and it is with pleasure I acknowledge it : but the question is. Is he herein consistent with himself 1 The Corinthians could have said the same in respect of Christ not being raised ; none of them thought of as- serting that, though they asserted what must necessarily -infer it. If it is men's sin to oppose and reject the Lord Jesus Christ ; it must be their duty to choose and accc])t him, or else to stand neuter, and so lie neither for him nor against him. Mucli the same might be said in reply to what Mr. B. frequently speaks of as due to the gospel, viz. " a veneration for it." This veneration either amounts to a hearty choice of Christ as God's appointed way of salvation — to a being on his side — or it does not. If it does, this implies special faith ; wr to choose that way is the same thing as to be icilling to be saved in that way, (which Mr. B. allows is the case with no unregenerate man :) and to be on Christ's side, is the same thing as to be a real Christian. If it does not, then I should be glad to know what sort of a veneration for the gospel that must be whicli can consist with an unwillingness to fall in with its and designs, and a reigning aversion from its great Author?and Objecti What Mr. B. says (p. 49) of " peace be- ing made," and" the work being done," is a gTcat and glorious truth, on which de- pends all my salvation and all my desire. I rejoice with him in the doctrines of ev- erlasting love and the eternal settlements of grace. But, as the covenant between the FathcT'and the Son before time does not supersede a believer's actually cove- nanting with God in time,* so neither, as I apprehend, does peace being made by the blood of Christ's cross supersede a peace taking place between God and us on our believing. God, as the lawgiver of the world, is represented as " angry with the wicked every day." Every un- believer is said to be under " condemna- tion ; " he is " under the law," as a cov- enant of works ; and, being of the works of the law, he is under the curse. On the contrary, those who believe in Christ are " not under the law, but under grace : " their sins are " forgiven " for Jesus' sake ; there is no "condemnation" to them; God is represented as being pacified to- wards them for all that they have done against him.f This pacification, however, is not founded upon their faith, or return- ing to God ; but upon the atonement of Christ, in which their faith terminates : hence, though they are said, being justi- fied by faith, to have peace with God ; yet it is " through our Lord Jesus Christ." When I spake of the gospel's "publish- ing a way Avherein God can and will make peace with sinners on terms infinitely hon- orable to himself," &c., I had no respect * See Jer. 1. 5. Isa. xliv. 5. t Psa. vii. 11. John iii. 18. Ga). iii. 10. Rom. vi. 14. 1 John ii. 12. Rom. viii. 1. Ezek. xvi. ()5. Rom. V. 1. RKI'LV TO MR. BUTTON, 453 to termf; and conditions, to be performed by us, that should entitle us to lilessings annexed to sudi ixTlorniance. My mean- ing was ratlier this : that Clirist havinji olicycd tlie hiw and endured the curse, and so lullilled the /crm.s of his eternal enjrajie- inent, Goil can in a way honoralile to all his pcrleetions pardon and receive the most guilty sinner that shall return to him in Christ's name. In respect oftennfi and cnndilions, as ap- plied to faitii in Clirist, thoujrh I believe such lailh to 1 e cumbent on men in gen- eral, yet, properly speakinsr, I do not sup- pose cither that or any thing else in us to be the condition of salvation; unless by condition is barely meant titat to tchich the promise of salvation is made, and irithoiit ii'hich we cannot l)e saved. In this sense I should have no objection to its being so call- ed ; and I should think Mr. B. could have none, any more tlian myself. But, as it is a term lialile to ainise, and apt to con- vey very ditlerent sentiments, I had rath- er express my ideas in other language than go about to qualify it by an explana- tion. Dr. Owen does not reject the word con- dition, but puts an explanation upon it suited to his sentiments. "It is the ap- pointment of the Lord," says he, "that there should be such a connection and co- herence between the things purchased for us by Jesus Christ tliat the one should be a means and way of attaining tiie other; the one the condition, and tlie other the thing promised upon that condition; but both e(]ually and alike procured for us by Jesus Christ; for, if either be omitted in his purchase, the other would be vain and fruitless." — Death oj Death, Book II. Chap I.* Whatever words may be used, I know of no difference in this matter be- tween Dr. Owen's sentiments and my own. That the gospel is an einbassij of peace, addressed to sinners indefinitely, and that any sinner whatever has a warrant to ap- ply to the Saviour, and a promise of ac- * See also Dr. Owen on fleb. viii. 10. Vol. III. p. 269. " Unt(ia full and complete interest in all the promises of the covenant, faith on our part, from which evangelical rejientancc is inseparahle, is re- quired, lint, whereas these al.-o are wrought in us hy virtue of that promise and grace which are abso- lute, it is a mere strif.' about words to contend whether they may Ix; called conditions, or no. Let it be granted, on the ohp hand, that we cannot have an actual participatitm of ihe relative grace of this covenant, in adoption aiidjuslification, without faith or believing : and, on the ot/ier, that this f;iith is wrougbt in us, given unto us, bestowed upon us, by that grace of the covenant which depends on no con- dition in us, as untcj its discriniin:iting administra- ion ; and 1 shall not concern myself what men will call it." ceptance on his application, is evident from the whole current of Scripture. To op- j)osc Arminianism by the denial of this well-known trutii must be an unsuccessful attempt. Instead of destroying, it is the most efl'ectual method to establish it. IS'o Arminian, so long as he has a Bilile in his hand, can ever be persuaded that the language of scripture exhortations to re- pentance and faith in Christ is not indefi- nite. If, then, his system is acknowledged to stand or fall with the universality of such exhortations, he will not desire a greater concession. He is well satisfied of this, that, if general invitations speak the language of Arminianism, the Bil)lc must be written upon Arminian j)rinci- ples. Such a concession, therefore, tends to confirm him in his sentiments ; and, I believe, such a way of speaking and writ- ing amongst the Calvinists has been more than a little advantageous to the Armin- ian cause. God gathers his elect out of mankind by a gospel equally addressed to one man as to another. No one, on his first applica- tion to Christ, comes to him considering himself as an elect person, or as having any peculiar i)rivilege belonging ^to him above the rest of mankind ; but every such person applies to Christ merely as a poor, guilty, self-ruined sinner; and, if the gospel did not speak an indefinite lan- guage to sinners, considered as such, he could have no hope. If it is said. Yes; he feels himself a sensible sinner, and so considers himself as hereliy warranted to apply for mercy : I answer, This is sup- posing that a person may have solid evi- dence to conclude himself elected before he has believed in Christ; that is, while he is an unbeliever : than which nothing surely can be more unscriptural and dan- gerous. The heart of every man who has heard the gospel either does, or does not, fall in with God's way of salvation by Je- sus Christ. If it does, he is a believer; if it does not, he is an unbeliever, and has no revealed warrant to conclude himself an object of divine favor. A being sensi- ble of' our guilty and lost condition is ab- solutely necessary to an application to the Saviour ; not, however, as afTording us a loarrant to come to Christ, but as being necessary to the act itself of coming. A right spirit does not give us a warrant to do a right action ; but it is essential to our compliance with the warrant which we already have. Mr. B." thinks I have given a wrong sense to 2 Cor. v. (p. 50.) Su}>pose it should be so, I apprehend the weight of the proposition docs not rest upon that passage. I am not convinced, however, 464 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. by what has been said concerning it; but enough has been said upon that part. If the reader choose carefully to look over the 4th, 5th, and 6th chapters of that Epistle, and to compare what each of us has said upon it, he may be better enabled thereby to judge of the meaning than l)y any thing that can be farther advanced upon the subject. Mr. B. thinks that " faith itself is not called obedience, but that obedience is the fruit of faith."— p. 53. That taith is productive of obedience is readily allow- ed ; but I also apprehend that faith itself is so called. Unbelief, in our first pa- rent, was the root of all the evil Avhich followed after it; yet unbelief was itself an evil : so it is supposed that faith is not only the root of evangelical obedience, but is an instance of obedience itself. These thoughts are founded upon such phrases as " obeying the truth," " obey- ing the gospel," &c.,* which, I suppose, mean a real believing it, and falling in with its grand designs. These passages were quoted before, to which Mr. B. makes no other reply than by barely asserting that " they none of them prove faith to be an act of obe- dience, but only show that obedience is the fruit of faith." — p. 53. Obeying the gospel, in Rom. x. 16, is supposed by t!ie inspired penman to be of similar import with believing its report ; but it will hard- ly be said that believing the gospel-report is not faith itself, but a- fruit of it. " The passage," Mr. B. adds, "in Rom. i. 5, * By whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith,' must I think, to every common under- standing, clearly appear to point out the grand design of the gospel-ministry, which is, through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, to bring men to obedience to Christ the object of faith, and to the doctrine ol faith." Very true : and we apprehend that faith in the doctrine is that obedience which is required to the doctrine of faith ; and that a rejecting of every rival and false confidence, and a being Avilling to receive Christ, that he may teaeh, save, and rule us in his own way, is that obe- dience which is due to him. Obedience to the gospel, and disobe- dience to it, are doubtless to be considei-ed as opposites. The former is true special faith, having the promise of eternal sal- vation, Heb. v. 9 : the latter, therefore, cannot mean as Mr. B. explains it, (p. 54,) the want of merely such a reveren- tial regard to the gospel as a man may have and yet perish everlastingly. * Rom. X, 16; vi. 17, SECTION V. REPLY TO MR. B.'s EIGHTH LETTER, ON THE CAUSES TO WHICH THE WANT OP FAITH IS ASCRIBED. Mr. B. here commences a new mode of opposition. Instead of an answer to those Scriptures which were produced to prove that ignorance, pride, dishonesty of heart, and aversion from God, are assigned as the causes of men's not believing, he has presented us with some other parts of Scripture, which he flunks ascribe it to other causes. Such a method of reason- ing, I should think, can have but little tendency to convince a serious inquirer after truth. It will be natural for such an inquirer to say. Supposing Mr. B. to'Jiave proved what he has undertaken, namely, that the want of faith is to be ascribed to the sovereign will of God, aud that alone, what are we to do with those Scriptures which ascribe it to other causes 1 One passage of Scripture under this head is entirely passed over, (Luke vii. 29, 30:) a passage too that was partic- ularly recommended to tlie attention of the Baptists ; and a number of others are but very slightly touched. All the an- swer that I can find to what was advanced between pages 66 — 74 of my treatise is included in the following passage : " That human depravity, that ignorance, pride, dishonesty of heart, aversion to God, and the like, often prevent a sinner's attend- ing to the gospel, (which the Holy Spirit useth as a means to convey faith into tiie hearts of his people, for faith cometh by hearing, Rom. x. 17,) and that these things are of a criminal nature is certain ; but what then 1 Does this prove faith a duty 1 and the want of it a sin for which man shall be damned 1 By no means : so far as human depravity prevails man is criminal; and the things aforementioned prevailing are certain evidences of the per- son's being destitute of special faith : but to say that these things are an absolute bar to faith, as Mr. F^does, (p. 67,) is a great mistake ; neither tliese things, nor a thousand worse things, if worse can be named, shall be an absolute bar to any elect soul's believing." — pp. 59, 60. To this it is replied, If the reader please to review page 67 of my treatise, he will instantly perceive that I was speaking of what was a bar to men's be- lieving, not to God's causing them to be- lieve. Christ did not say, how can God cause you to believe, who receive honor one of another 1 but "how can ye believe 1 " It is granted that with God all thinjs are possible : but, if the pride and aversion RF.I'LY TO .-NIK. BUTTOIV. 455 of men's liearts lie that wliirli renders lielie\iiiy the grace of God in the elect j Imt that heinij; removed in the elect does not disprove, l>ut imply, tiiat it is a remaining obstruction to the rest." I suppose Mr. B. must have read this passage just before tiiat on wliich his remark is made ; how, therefore, he could so strangely mistake my meaning, I am at a loss to conceive. Surely Mr. B. could not think the above a sutricient answer to that against which it is written. " Human depravity," he admits, " prevents a sinner's attending to the gospel ;'^ but he will not allow that it hinders him from believing. By "at- tending to the gospel," I suppose, he may mean something more than merely at- tending upon it; but yet he cannot mean any thing spiritually good : if he did, and allowed that human depravity prevented it, that would be giving up a main i)oint in the debate. I suppose, therefore, he means no more than such an attention to the gospel as may be exercised without any real love to it, or desire after an in- terest in its blessings. But will Mr. B. pretend to say that this is all that is meant in the passage to which I had re- ferred 1 Did Christ barely tell the Jews (John V. 44) that they could not attend to the gospel who received honor one of another, and sought not the honor which Cometh from God onlyl Would this have been true upon Mr. B.'s principles'! At- tending to the gospel, in his sense of it, is what men in an unregenerate state can do ; and tliat in the exercise of a jjroud spirit. Did the want of " an honest and good heart" keep the three sorts of hear- ers, in the parable of the sower, from at- tending to the gospel 1 So far from this, Mr. B. elsewhere informs us that the stonv-ground hearers "cordially received the truth."— p. 19. Though I think, in this matter, he goes too far; yet thus much is certain — ^that a mere attention to the gospel was not the thing wherein they were wanting. When Christ blamed the Jews, saying, "Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life," did he barely mean, Ye will not give attention to the gospell Surely not! Mr. B. admits that " pride, aversion to God, and the like, where they prevail, are certain evidences of a person's being des- titute of special faith," but denies, it seems, that they have any causal influence to prevent his believing. And yet, if there be any meaning in words, surely the fore-cited passages must convey the latter idea, as well as the former. When Christ told the Jews, " Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life," did he mean that their unwillingness was merely an ev- idence of their not coming to him, and not that which had any causal iiillucnce upon them toj'|>revent their coming 1 Surelynot ! As the above passage, which I have transcribed from Mr. B., is the only an- swer he has made to my f^ourth Proposi- tion, I cannot but consider it as unan- swered. He has advanced something, however, of an opposite tendency, which I shall now consider. It was aflirmed that the want of faith in Christ is ascribed, in the Scriptures, to men's depravity. Mr. B. thinks this po- sition contrary to John x. 20, " Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep;" which passage, he thinks, ascril)es the want of faith to "non-election." — p. 55. To this T reply, On some occasions Mr. B. would make nothing of such a term as because, (\). 63;) and, were I to follow his example, I might say. It means no more than this : Your unbelief, if you persist in it, will be a certain evidence that you are not of my sheep. — No com- plaint could justly be made if the matter were left here, especially as the above are the very words of Mr. Henry, which Mr. B. has quoted for a difTerent purpose. But, waving, this, be it oljserved the truth which thev did not believe was, that Jesus ivas the Christ.. "If thou be the Christ," said they, "tell us plainly. Jesus an- swered, I have told you, and ye believed not : the works that I do, in my Father's name, they bear witness of me ; but ye believe not, because ye are not oj my sheep." This text, therefore, if it prove any thing for Mr. B., will prove too much ; it will prove that non-election is the cause of that which he acknowledges to be sinful ; namely, a discrediting of Jesus being the Christ. Farther : Though Christ's people are sometimes called sheep simply on account of their being given to him in eternal elec- tion, as in verse 16 of this chapter; yet this is not always the case. They sometimes bear that name as being not only elected, ])ut called; as the followers of Christ ; and thus they are represented in the context: "I know my sheep, and am known of mine ; " they " follow " the Shepherd, for they "know his voice;" they "go in and out, and find ])asture." And, in the next verse to that in (piestion, " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." All those who looked for redemption in Israel read 456 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. ily embraced Christ as the Messiah as soon as they heard of him ; they knew his voice, as soon as they heard it, and fol- lowed him : but others, though they were of the house of Israel, yet, not being the real people of God, rejected him as the Messiah, the great Shepherd of the sheep. "He that is of God heareth God's words; ye therefoie hear them not, because ye are not of God." — John viii. 47. There appears to me a great probability of this bei'vr tho meaning of the passage. But, suppose a being not of Christ's sheep, here, to meantlie same as not being of the number of the elect ; this can be no otherwise assigned as the cause of their not believing than as we assign the ab- sence of the sun as the cause of darkness. Because of God's fobearing to execute vengeance, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil : but no one, it is hoped, will think evil excusable on that account. See Dr. Gill's Cause of God and Truth, Part II., pp. 100, 222; Part III., p. 77, First Edition. Mr. B. assigns^man's natural incapacity as another reason of his not believing, and says, " Sacred Scripture every tvherc abounds with passages to this purpose." — p. 55. Well, if this 'assertion can be made good, something will be effected to purpose. In proof of it, however, no more than tivo passages are produced ; viz. John vi. 44, "No man can come unto me," &c. ; and 1 Cor. ii. 14, " The natu- ral man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them," &c. It is true, if these two will prove the point, they are equal to two hundred : but it were as well not to speak of such great numbers, unless more were produced. To what Mr. B. says, on both these pas- sages, it is replied. If the term cannot will prove this their inability to be natural and innocent, it will prove the same of the inability of those who are in the flesh, and cannot please God, and of those whose eyes are full of adultery, and who cannot cease from sin. Mr. B. takes no notice of what was said before on these modes of speaking ; but, instead of that, puts us off with barely inlbrming us that " this is suf- ficient/or /im; and with asking his reader, " Does not this seem to strike you at once that our Lord is here representing man's natural inability]" — pp. 56, 57. Mr. B. thinks I am strangelyiinconsist- ent, in maintaining that man's inability consists wholly in the evil states of his heart, or will, and yet allowing it to be to- tal (p. 56 ;) and elsewhere seems to wonder greatly at the same thing. — p. 93. I also might wonder that one who professes to believe in the total depravity of human Must not that inability be total which pro- nature should object in such a manner, ceeds from, or rather consists in, total de- pravity 1 If by total Mr. B. means unable in every respect, I grant I do not think man is, in that sense, totally unable to believe in Christ. But an in ability in one respect may be so great Ln degree as to become total.* It is thus in things which relate merely to a natural inability. A man may have books, and learning, and leisure, and so may not, in every respect, be unable to read and yet, being utterly blind, he is totally unable notwithstanding. In respect of the inability in question, those that are in the flesh are totally unable to please God ; and yet their inability lies Avholly in the evil state of their hearts towards God, and not in his being so difficult to be pleased that, if his creatures were to do all they ought to do, it would be to no purpose. Men, by nature, are totally unable to love God with their heart, soul, mind, and strength ; and yet, as Mr. B. allows this to be their duty, he cannot say their incapacity for so doing is natural and innocent. We con- sider men as spiritually tZeafZ ; and we con- sider spiritual death as a total privation of all real good ; and this we may do with- out considering them as destitute of such faculties as, if the state of their hearts were but what it ought to be would in- fallibly discern and embrace things of a spiritual nature. SECTION VI. REPLY TO MR. B.'s NINTH LETTER, ON PUNISHMENTS BEING THREATENED AND INFLICTED FOR THE WANT OF FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. In proof of this point, reference was had to Mark xvi. 16, " He that believeth not shall be damned." This passage had *• When we say the depravity of man is total, we do not mean that it is incapable of augmentation ; but that]it amounts to a total privation of all real good. The depravity of the fallen angels is total; and yet they are capable of adding iniquity to iniquity. 1 would wish Mr. B. to remember tliat a moral ability, whether virtuous or vicious, may be as to- tal as a natural inability. And I would also beg him to examine whether he can form a clear idea of a person being under a moral inability to perform any action which he is, and always was naturally una- ble to perf(jrm ? For instance, can he conceive of a man born blind, as having a violent and invincible aver- sion from light '? I own it appears to me inconceiv- able ; and it seems|ec|ually absurd to suppose that sinners should be capable of aversion from a plan of salvation which was utterly unsuited to their natural \>o\\'Ccs. KEPLV TO MR. BUTTON. 457 • icon cxjilaiiicd hy Mr. Brine as only {liv- injr the descriptive characters of tlie siived and tlic lost. To prove the contrary, I produced a nuinl)er of threateninj^s in the word of God, delivered ajjainst sin, in the same mode of speaking as llie above passaire is directed against unbelief. Mr. Button tldnks tliat these also are mere descriptive characters ; and that, if tiie Scri|)turcs used no other modes of speak- ing, we could not justly infer that the pun- ishments therein threatened were on ac- count oi the crimes therein specified. — p. G2. This is very extraordinary indeed. As though, from such a threatening as, "God shall destroy thee, O thou false tongue," we were not warranted to con- clude that falsehood is a crime, and the procuring cause of the punislimcnt threat- ened! If this reasoning be just, it cannot be inferred, from the laws of England de- claring tiiat a murderer sliall be put to death, that it is on account of his being a murderer. Xeitiier could our first pa- rents justly infer from its being told them, Tiie day ye eat of tlie fruit ye shall surely die, that it should be on account of their so eating ! John iii. IS. " He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only-begot- ten Son of God! " In urging this pas- sage I had grounded pretty much on the term because. But Mr. B. produces an- other text of Scripture where that term is used, and cannot, he thinks, denote a procuring cause. — pp. 63, 64. The pass- age to which he refers is John xvi. 17, " The Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me." To this it is replied, Suppose a word, in one instance, be un- derstood in a peculiar sense, is this sense to be urged as a rule of interpreting that word in other places 1 If it is, Mr. B, would be puzzled, notwithstanding what he said in p. 62, to prove that sin is the procuring cause of damnation. This is the method taken by the adversaries to the proper deity and satisfaction of Christ. But, farther : I apjirehend tlie term he- cause, even in this jiassage, is to be taken in its proper sense, as denoting the ground or reason of a thing. The love of God has (with great propriety, I think) been distinguished into 7ia/urai and sovereign : the former is God's necessary approbation of every intelligent creature in proportion as it bears his holy likeness ; the latter is his free favor, fixed upon his elect with- out the consideration of any thing in them or done by them. The one is exercised towards an object while that object con- tinues pure, and ceases when it becomes impure : thus God loved those angels, wlien holy, who arc now fallen under his VOL. I. 53 most awful displeasure. The other, not being founded on any thing in the creature, removes not from its object, but abideth forever. The ])ropricty of the above dis- tinction may be argued from the doctrine of reconciliation by the death of Christ. To be reconciled is to be restored to fa- vor. Now the sovereign favor of God was not forfeitable ; we could not, there- fore, be restored to that : but his neces- sary approbation, as the Lawgiver of the world, was forfeitable ; and to that we are restored by the death of Christ.* The godly arc the objects of God's natural love as bearing his holy likeness. "If any man love me," says Christ, "he will keep my words, and jny Father tcill love him, and we will come and make our abode with him. If ye keep my comrnand- ments, ye shall abide in my love ; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and ai)ide in his love." And thus, in the passage referred to, " The Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me." All this may be affirmed without making inherent qualities any part of our justify- ing righteousness, or in tlic least injuring the doctrine of God's sovereign, eternal, and immutable love to his elect. f Mr. B.'s expositions of divers passages of Scripture are founded uiion the suppo- sition that nothing more than an external acknowledgment of the Messiah was re- quired of tiie Jews. Thus he interprets Luke xix. 27, " Those mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me," (p. 6.5;) and John v. 1.3, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not."— p. 8.5. In reply to these inter- pretations, I might refer the reader to what was said before on the second Psalm; namely, that if Christ had been a mere civil governor, or such a Messiah as the Jews expected, then an external submis- sion might have been sufficient; but not otherwise. I seriously wish Mr. B. to consider the import of his own words in page 8.5. " Su- preme love to God, " he says, " would have led the Jews to have embraced Christ as the Son of God, and the Messiah ; but not to embrace him in a way of special faith." What is special faith, unless it is to embrace Christ in his true character, AS REVEALED IN THE ScRIPTUREsl Surely it is not a receiving of him under some representation in which he is not THERE exhibited. To receive him as the Messiah is to fall in with the ends and de- * The reader u- ill reincniber I an reasoning with those who allow of tlie love of God to elect sinners ein,' .soviMei;,'n and unforfeitable. t'See .Mr. R. Hall's Help to Zion's Travellers, pp. 25—41. 458 REPLy TO ]MR. BUTTON. signs of his mission; and these were the men in general, I thought it best, at enter- glory of God and the salvation of sinners ing upon that subject, to express my own in a wa}" that should abase their pride and ideas of the term spiritual. It appeared destroy their idols. Nothing short of this to me that, when applied to the disposi- can, witli any j)ropriety, be called a re- tions of the mind, it always signified tru- ceiving him as the Messiah. I believe ly holy, in opposition to carnai. At the the Scripture knows nothing, and makes same time, I supposed my views on this nothinw, of any thing else. " He came to subject might not be universally granted. I his own, and his own received him not ; never meant, therefore, to lay them down as but, as many as received him, to them the data of the argisment ; but proposed gave he power to become the sons of rather to proceed upon undisputed princi- God." No intimation is here given that pies. On that account I passed over this there is a third class of people who nei- part of the sul)ject without dwelling upon ther receive Christ spiritually nor reject it; which Mr. H. calls " giving it up." — p- him. According to tlie New Testament, 70. The criterion, as he acknowledges, they who received him were true Chris- by which it was proposed to judge ofspir- tians ; and they who heard the gospel, and itual dispositions, was their having the were not true believers, received him not. promise of spiritual blessings. This was Mr. B.'s remarks upon 2 Thess. ii. 10 the ground on which I all along proceeded; — 12, conclude his Ninth Letter. — p. 65. trying the matter wholly by Scripture ev- Notwiths landing what he has there said, I idence, endeavoring to prove that those continue to think that sinners are culpable things arc required of men in general to {or not receiving the love of the truth. Mr. which spiritual and eternal blessings are B. supposes that their not receiving the abundantly promised. But Mr. B. has love of the truth is only mentioned as an passed all this over, and has only carried evidence of their being the non-elect ; on what I should think an unnecessary though he, at the same time, explains dispute about what he calls " natural and God's sending them strong delusions, as a spiritual holiness." Surely he could have giving them u^io judicial blindness. But but very little concern with that on which it ought to be remembered that God does I grounded no argument ; his business was not give men up to judicial blindness he- to attend to that upon which the whole cause they are not elected, nor merely was rested. But, instead of fairly discuss- from the " sovereignty of his will ; " but ing the subject upon that gi'ound, he has as a punishment of former sins. I would taken up the whole of his letter in finding therefore ask. What is the sin for which fault with my definition of spiritual dispo- the persons in the text are thus punished 1 sitions ; though no other end is answered The apostle himself answers, " Because by it, that I can perceive, than to show they received not the love of the truth." that he is of one opinion and I of another. Farther : I cannot grant that a not re- In one part of his letter, Mr. B. gave us ceiving the love of the truth is an evidence some reason to hope that he would have of non-election ; since it is true oi the left this mannerof writing, and have come elect while unbelievers as well as of the to the argument : " I shall add no more," non-elect. says he, "on this head; especially, as In the punishing of sinners in this life, Mr. F. soon gives it up by saying, ' If this God frequently adapts the nature of the (that is, the defining of spiritual disposi- punishment to that of the crime. Oi this tions to be such as are truly holy,)-' how- the text in question is an awful illustra- tion. Because men believe not the truth, God sends them a strong delusion, that they may believe a lie ; and, because they ever plain it may appear to me, should not be universally allowed, I may go upon a more undisputed ground.' " Mr. B. asks, " And what ground is this'?" — He then have pleasure in unrighteousness, he suf- answers himself, *' Why, says Mr. F., 'the fers them to be deceived with all deceiv- ableness of unrighteousness SECTION VII. criterion by which I shall all along judge of what are spiritual dispositions will be their having the promise of spiritual bless- ings.' Whether these dispositions be in- cumbent on carnal men, ^ let us now in- quire."—p. 70. Thus far Mr. B. in his quotation from mine. Would not the REPLY TO MR. B.S TENTH LETTER, SPIRITUAL DISPOSITIONS. * I suppose it must be entirely by niLstake that Mr. B. lias representetl me (in p. 70) as maintain- ing the distinction of " natural and spiritual holi- ness; " and as informing my readers that this dis- tinction " appears plain to me." I have ventured. Being about, in my former essay, to therefore, to alter what he had inclosed in a paren- prove spiritual dispositions incumbent on thesis to what I suppased lie intended to write. REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. 459 reader now expect that he was about to common for us to call a carnal unconvcrt- entcrupoii a lair discussion of tlic subject, ed state a state of nature ; and tlic Scrip- upoii the ibre-inoiitioned criterion, to ture speaks ol our l)ciat]f by nature the whicli he could have no reasonal)]e ob- children of wrath. A state of nature, jection ? And yet, strange as it is, he in this use of the term, is evidently put never touches the subject upon that not for the state of man as crea/*'*/, but as grounf] ; but, though he had said he fallen. And, respecting the text in ques- " should inid no more " upon liie other, tion, it does not appear probal)b- that tlie yet immediately returns, saying nothing Holy Spirit would have here used a term but the same things o\er and over again. to have expressed tlie nature of man in Wlien we come to Mr. B.'s remarks on its purest stale wliich he every where else, the capacity of man in innocence lor spir- when ajjplying it to the dispositions of the itual oi)edience, we shall take notice of mind, uses to express a state of abomina- wiiat is here offered in support of a dis- ble iniquity.* tinction of holiness into natural and spirit- Dr. Gill says of the law that "it re- ^al. At present, I may reply to some quireth spiritual service and obedience." other tilings included in this letter. This I quoted before, sup})osiugit expres- Spiritual dispositions were said to be sive of my own sentiments ; but Mr. B. such as were truly holy. Mr. B. finds assures me I am mistaken, and that Dr. great fault with this, as it might be sup- Gill meant no such thing. By " spiritual posed he would. service and obedience, " it is said, he And yet I sec not wherein it differs meant "a serving it with our minds; a from tiie apostle's account of the >ic!fj j/ian, worshipping God in spirit and in truth; a that it is created after God in righteous- loving it with all our hearts and souls, as ness and true holiness, (Kph. iv. 24,) well as a performance of all tlie outward to which the same objections might be acts of religion and duty." — p. 71. What tiiade as to the above. That God is im- was Dr. Gill's meaning I cannot tell, nor mutable in his nature Mr. B. will allow ; is it worth while to dispute al)out it, as and that his image must be the same is the opinion of the greatest uninsi)ired wri- «qually evident. That which is created ter is not decisive ; otherwise I should nfter him must ever be the same in one think he had no such distinctions in his period as in another. If the image of God mind as Mr. B. imputes to him. But, be is not now what it was formerly, it must his meaning what it might, there certainly be owing to an alteration in the nature of is no difference between worshipping God his moral perfections. There cannot be in spirit and in truth and the exercise of two essentially different images of tlie "spiritual principles and dispositions, same divine original. such as flow from Christ Jesus." Sup- Farther : It was said, " Whenever ap- pose we follow Mr. B. in his distinction plied to the dispositions of the mind, spir- of holiness into natural and spiritual, and j7uflZ stands opposed to carnal; and that of spirituality into legal and evangelical; in the criminal sense of the word. " Mr. a worshipping of God in spirit and in truth B. remarks, this is a mistake ; " for, " must belong to the latter and not to the says he, "spiritual, in 1 Cor. ii. 14, is former. It must be not only spiritual Imt opposed to natural. "The natural iwAn "evangelically spiritual;" for Ciirist is receiveth not the things of the Spirit of speaking of true worshippers nnder the God," &c. — p. 67. But I apprehend that gos/)e/-dispensation ; and they are said to the word "natural " [iiv/ixo:) in the text be such as the Father seeketh to ivorship is of the same import with carnal. To him. See John iv. 23, 24. The above dis- say that the natural man receiveth not the tinctions appear to me to be more curious things of the Spirit of God is equal to say- than just ; but, be they ever so just, they ing that the carnal man receiveth them will not furnish us with an answer to the not ; or he who, whatever Vie his acquisi- argument ujion the fore-cited passage, tions in science, is under the influence of If I understand what Mr. B. means by a that corrupt nature which we all derive spirituality which is different in nature from Adam. Havintr nothing in him from that which is evangelical, it is what which is truly good, nothing correspond- is so called, not on account of its nature, ent with divine truths, all his vain labor but of the subject over which it extends ; and toil about those truths is to as little viz. tlie spirit or mind of man. But he purpose as that of the men of Sodom about should have considered that, when the law Lot's door. This, I take it, is the pur- is called spiritual f (which it is only in one port of Mr. B.'s quotation from Calvin. — p. .58. *See James ill. 1.5, " E;utlilv, sknscal, devil- Depravity, though it is, strictly speak- ish ;" and Jude 19, " Sensua'l, having not U»e inor no part of our na/wre, yet is become spirit. ^/ , ' ., . 11 i ■„ i ITyenicerr/.og liora. mi. -14. •natural, as it were, to us ; and lience it is ' ■ 460 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. passage) it is not in opposition to corporeal but to carnal; just as tlie principle of ho- liness in tlie hearts of believers, or the spirit:, is opposed to the flesh. This was noticed before, to which Mr. B. has made no reply. "Accordinf-- to Mr. F.," it is said, " there is no alteration made in religion by the interposition of Christ to be incar- nate, and his mediation ; no change in the abolishing of the old covenant and the establishment of the new ; no alteration in the nature of our obedience." — p. 73. I hope the inclosing of this passage in re- versed commas and ascribing it to me was without design. The passage was taken by Mr. B. from Dr. Owen on the Spirit, p. 461. He has given us it at large in p. 68 of his remarks. Dr. Owen delivered it as containing the sentiments of those against whom he was writing, who held the gospel to be only a sort of new edition of the law of nature. I must do myself the justice, however, to deny their being my sentiments any more than my words. I have acknowledged the contrary in p. 119. Nor are they so much as consequences deducible from any thing I have advanced. Mr. B. might, with equal propriety, go about to prove a difference between the principles of the Old and New Testament saints ; since the religion under the law is different from that under the gospel, though they agree (as Dr. Owen, in the same passage, observes) in their " author, object, and end." "No:" Mr. B. will reply, "these are doubtless the same." Then we might retort, in his own mode of reasoning. If so, " there is no change made by abolishing the Mosaic dispensation ; no difference between that and the gospel dispensation, and no alteration thereby made in religion." But Mr. B.'s arguments and objections upon this subject will be considered more particularly in the two following sections. SECTION VIII. REPLY TO MR. B.'s ELEVENTH LETTER, ON THE STATE OF MAN IN INNO- CENCE; WHETHER HE WAS INCAPA- BLE OF DOING THINGS SPIRITUALLY GOOD. Upon this single point, of Adam's in- capacity to do things spiritually good, Mr. B. rests almost all his arguments. He seems very desirous of taking this matter for granted, and actually does take it for granted in various places ; arguing and exclaiming upon the supposition of this? sentiment being true, though he knows that will not be granted him. Hence his answer to my reply to the objection on the necessity of a divine principle in order to believing.— p. 94. If I held Mr. B.'s s*cntimcnt in tliis matter, then I should not be able upon that ground to establish my own ! This is the amount of what he has there advanced. Hence, also, his exclamation of my imputing cruelty to the Holy One, (pp. 56, 88, 96;) that is, that it would be " cruel and shocking for God to require that which is beyond the powers of man in his present or primitive state." I grant it; but that is what I never affirmed. If our principles are charged with absurdity, they should be proved to be inconsistent with themselves, or with some allowed principle, and not barely with those of our opponents. I can see no force in the quotation from Mr. Brine (p. 57,) wherein a cannot and a will not, in respect of coming to Christ, are said to be distinct things, unless this sentiment is first taken for granted. " We cannot come to Christ," he says, " as we are destitute of a principle of life ; and we will not, as we ace the subjects of vicious habits." Now, I would ask, what is the want of a principle of life, but the want of a holy bias of mind to glorify Godl And this is no otherwise a differ- ent thing from aversion of heart from him than as a negative evil differs from one that is positive. The want of a principle of honesty in an intelligent being is no excusable thing, any more than positive villany. I know of no answer that can be made to this way of reasoning, but by maintaining that a principle of life is something different from a principle of uprightness towards God ; something dif- erent, in its nature, from what man, in his most upright condition, could possess. If this were asserted, I should no other- wise reply than by asking for proof. In the above argument, this sentiment is as- sumed as if it were a truth allowed on both sides; whereas that is not the case. Supposing the notion of Adam's incapaci- ty to do things spiritually good were a truth ; to take it for granted in such a manner as this is contrary to all fair rea- soning. It is no other than begging the question. But I am not yet convinced that the thing itself is true ; and, if the foundation is bad, the superstructure must fall. Two questions here require a discus- sion; viz. What evidence has Mr. B. produced in support of this his favorite hypothesis'? and what has he done to- wards overturning the arguments for the contrary 1 REPLV TO MR. BUTTON. 461 I. What evidence has Mr. B. pno- nUCEP IN SUPPORT OF THIS HIS FAVOR- ITE HYPOTHESIS ] Tlie subject we arc now (lisrussiiitj is of n fundamental nature, in respect ol llie main tiuestioii lietweeii us. It is the corner stone upon wliich tiie whole lahric of Mr. B.'s scheme is iouiul- ed : we have reason to expect, iherelbre, tlrat tliis should be well laid in solid scrip- tural evidence. However some truths may be more fully revealed than others, I should think I ouu^ht to suspect that system whose first and lundamcntal prin- ciples arc not well supported. Let us examine what Mr. B. has offer- ed. He apj)rehends the piirases neiv man — new heart — new spirit — neto creature, &c., imply this sentiment, and are incon- sistent with that which he opposes. — p. S3. To this it is replied, The whole force of this ar;:ument rests upon tiie sup- position that the term new, in these pas- sages, stands opposed jto a state of prim- itive i)urity : whereas every one knows that the neio heart stands opposed to the stony heart ; and the neio man to the old man, which is '■'corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.'' * Farther : Mr. B. thinks this sentiment supported by a passage in Rom. vii. 6, "IBut now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wlierein we were held; that we sliould serve in neicness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." — p. 73. But his sense of the passage, if it l)roye any thing for him, will prove too much. He maintains that spiritual dis- positions are a conformity to the laic, though not to the law only, (p. 68;) but the apostle says, they were delivered from the law of which he speaks. Yet Mr. B. will not say that we are, by grace, deliv- ered troin all obligation to the require- ments of the moral law. To suit his sentiments, therefore, it should ratlier have l)een said, we serve partly in new- ness of the spirit, B.nd partly in the oldness of the letter. Whether "the oldness of the letter," be here to be understood of the manner in which the unconverted Jews used former- ly to worship God, tenaciously adhering to the letter of their ceremonial law, in- stead of entering into its spirit, or design, and of worshipping God in spirit and in truth; or whether it mean the moral law, in its particular form of a covenant of >vorks, (which seems to agree with the scope of the place,) it certainly does not mean that for which Mr. B. produces it. The " oldness of the letter," in which they once served, is not here put for that *Ezek. xxxvi. 26. Ephes. iv. 22—24. 2 Cor. V. 17. way of serving God which was exercised in a state of innocence, but in a state of unrei^eneracy. It was tchen they icere in the flesh (v. 5,) that this sort of service was carried on, to which the other is op- posed. It must be such a sort of service, tiierefore, as could have in it no real con- formity to the law; seeing they that are in the flesh cannot please God : the car- nal mind is enmity against God, is not suhject to the law of God, neither indeed can lie. It is very common for Mr. B. to apply that which is spoken of man as now horn into the world to man in a state ol inno- cence. Thus he has a))plied a j)assage in Dr. Owen, p. 81. The Pelagian figment, that " what we have by nature we have by grace, because God is the author of nature," means what we have "by nat- ural propagation ;" as the Doctor himself explains it, as we are now born into the world. — On the Spirit, p. 4.52. I do not recollect any other passages of Scripture on which Mr. B. has pretended to ground his fundamental principle ; fun- damental I call it, because, as was said before, it lies at the foundation of all his other principles wherein we differ. I wish Mr. B, and the reader seriously to consider Avhether the above passages con- vey such a sentiment; whether they can fairly be applied to the support of it; and, if not, whether that which lies at the foundation of his hypothesis has any foundation in the word of God. But Mr. B., though he has not, that I recollect, produced any other scriptural evidence for the sentiment in question than what has been noticed, yet has at- tempted to argue the matter out by rea- son. I had said,." It ai)pears to me that the Scripture knows nothing of natural holiness, as distinguished from spiritual holiness ; that it knows but of one kind of real holiness, and that is a conformity to the holy law of God." In answer to this, Mr. B. does not pretend to inform us where the Scripture does make this distinction, or from what parts of it such a distinction may be inferred ; but only asserts that " there is a difference," and goes about to inform us wherein that dif- ference consists. — pp. 67, 68. Let us now attend to what is there advanced. The sum of the supposed difference is made to consist in three things. 1. "The one was possessed by Adam in innocence, and would have been con- veyed, by natural generation, to his pos- terity ; the other we derive from Christ, by the influence of the Holy Spirit." Answer : This does not jirove them to be of a different nature, but merely to spring from tliiferent causes, and to flow through 462 REPLV TO MR. BUTTON. different channels. Man, in innocence, enjoyed the approbation of his Maker; so do believers, as justilied in Christ's righteousness, and sanctitied by his Spirit. Divine approhatum, in itself consider- ed, is the same thing in the one case as in the other; but the means by which it is enjoyed are very different. 2. " Natural holiness consists in con- formity to the holy law of God : spiritual holiness to the law and gospel too." An- swer : that all holiness is a conformity to some law, or rule of action, given by God to his creatures, is certain ; and, if spirit- ual holiness is a conforndty to the gospel in something wherein it is not a conform- ity to the moral law, then the gospel must, after all, be a new law, or a new rule of action. But what necessity for this 1 " If the pure and holy law of God requires every man cordially to receive and heart- ily to approve of the gospel, " (as Mr. B. in p. 49. says it does,) then what room is there for the above distinction 1 A cor- dial reception and hearty approbation of the gospel are the very essence of con- formity to it. 3. "Natural holiness was liable to be lost; but spiritual holiness never was li- able to, never was, never can be, lost." Answer: This proves nothing to the point, unless the reason why spiritual holiness cannot be lost is owing to its nature, or ■kind, and not to the promise and perpetual preservation of the Holy Spirit. A prin- ciple the same in nature niay be produced in one subject, and lelt to the conduct of that subject to preserve it in being ; while, in another subject in different circumstan- ces, its existence may be infallibly secur- »ed by the promise and power of God. It is generally supposed that the elect angels were confirmed in their state of original purity. Supposing this to have been the case, that confirmation, though it rendered their holiness like that in believers, ina- missible, yet it did not, in the least, alter \\s nature. It had not been a confirma- tion, if it had. Nor is there any reason, that I know of, to conclude that the holi- ness in the elect angels was of a different nature from that which originally existed in those who fell. I have no notion of any principle in my soul that is, in its own nature, necessarily immortal. My ex- perience teaches me that I should as soon cease to love Christ, and the gospel, and every thing of a spiritual nature, as Adam ceased to love God, were it not for the perpetual influence of his Holy Spirit. That none of the above differences make any thing in proving the point is ecpially •evident from Mr. B.'s own principles, as from what has been now alleged. He supposes spiritual holiness, or the holiness which is in believers, to be a conformity to the law, though not to the law only. Very well ; so far, then, as spiritual holi- ness is a conformity to the law, it is and must he the same in nature as what he calls natural holiness ; and yet they differ in all the circumstances above mentioned. That conformity to the law of which be- lievers are now the subjects, and which must have been incumbent upon them while unbelievers, is "derived from Christ as their head, and comes by the influence of the Holy Spirit, and not by natural gene- ration ; neither " can it ever be lost," so as to become totally extinct. These are things, therefore, which do not affect the nature of holiness ; and so are insufficient to support a distinction of it into two kinds, the one essentially different from the other. Upon the whole, I think Mr. B., in treat- ing upon this subject, has proceeded in much the same manner as when discuss- ing the definition of faith. In order to prove thai holiness in the hearts of believ- ers is something essentially different, or different in its nature, from what was possessed by man in innocence, he proves, or rather asserts, from Dr. Owen, that it "is an effect of another cause, and differs in the objects of its vital acts ; there being neio revelations now, which were not before." — pp. 76, 77. All this is allowed : and it proves what Dr. Owen meant it to prove ; viz. that we are not, after the manner of the Socinians, to make Christianity a mere revival of the law of nature. It proves that there are " some differences," as he expresses it, l)etween the life of Adam and that of a believer : but it does not prove an essen- tial difference in their principles; nor did the Doctor mean it, I should suppose, to jjrovc any such thing. — On the Spirit, p- 241. SECTION IX. the capacity op man in innocence to believe, and to do things spir- itually good, farther consid- ERED. We noAV proceed to the second ques- tion; viz. What has Mr. B. done to OVERTURN THE ARGUMENTS ON THIS SUBJECT WHICH HE HAS UNDERTAKEN TO ANSWER 1 Some things he has pass- ed over : he has said nothing, for instance, to what was advanced on the case of Cain and Abel; or on the difference between REI'LV TO MR. BUTTON. 463 an essential inula circutnstantial incapiici- ty in our lirsl [uirents to hclieve in Christ. I had atteiiiptecl to prove thai tlie spirit and conduct of Adam in innocence were uotliiniT more nor less than a perfect conlbr- niity to the holy law of God ; that the same might l)e said ol Jesus Cluist, so fur us fie loas our example; and, consecpienlly, the same of Ciiristians, so fur as they arc funned after tliat example. In proof of the lust ttro positions, several passajres of Scripture were produced. On tiiese Mr. B. lias made some remarks. Psalm \1. 8. " I dcli.-;ht to do thy will, 0 mv God ; yea, thy law is within my heart." What Mr. B. says (p. 19) of the (/•/// of the Father extending: to Christ's layinj: down his life as a sacrifice lor sin- ners, 1 think is true, but notiiing to the purpose. I was speaking of Jesus Christ, so fur as lie was our example; l)ut what have his suirerings, "as a sacrifice for sin- ners," to do in this matter 1 Was he de- signed herein to be our example 1 Surely not. If the moral law lie allowed to l»e " iicrein included," that is sulTicient. And, if this were not allowed, since Mr. B. acknowledges "that the Lord Jesus Christ throughout his life yielded obedience to the moral law," and lias pointed out no other ol>cdience, wherein he urns our exam- ple, than this,* the point is given up, and all the questions in pages 78 and SI arc to no purpose. Jer. xxxi. 33. " I will ])ut my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts," &c. Mr. B. thinks the term law here in- cludes the law of faith, or the gospel, and also wiiat the apostle in Rom. vii. 23 calls " the law of the mind," and especially as " the ajtostle, when he quotes the passage in Hel). viii. 10, uses the plural word laws."— pp. 80, 81. The plural word laws, in Scripture, and in common speech, signifies no more than the different parts or branches of the same law, and is ol the same import with the word comandnierits. 1 think witii Mr. B. that each of the al)ovc ideas is included ; not, however, as so many distinct laws put into the heart. For; God to write his law in the heart is only another mode of speaking for giving us a^hearl to love that law; and, if the law "requires a cordial reception and hearty approbation of the gospel," (as IVIr. B. in page 19 owns it does,) then, in a fallen creature to whom the gos- pel is preached, a heart to love that law must include a heart to embrace the gos- * It is true Christ was oiir example in hi.<< con- fortning to positive institutions; but this is inclu- (ieri in obedience to the moral hiw, which rccpiireH a compliance wilh whatever find .~lnll at any time think proper to enjoin ; and will hardly be supposed to require a distinct principle for the iierformance of it. pel ; and a heart to love tiie law and em- brace the gospel is tiie principle of holi- ness, called the law of the mind, f An argument was drawn from the term renewed, as applied to our regeneration. On this Mr. B. remarks as follows : " I think at the resurrection the same body that dies will i)e raised ; but I think the state in which it will rise will be more than circumstantially, it will be essentially dif- ferent from that in which it was laid in the grave ; except corruption and incorrui)- tion, dishonor and glory, weakness and power, natural and spiritual, are essential- ly the same." — p. 83. So far from this making for Mr. B., one need not desire a better argument against him. He thinks, he says, that the same body that dies will be raised ; I think so too, or it would not have been called a. resurrection : let him only acknowledge that the some principle that was lost is restored, or it would not have been represented as a renovation ; and we arc satisfied. Let him but allow this, and he is welcome to dwell ujxtn as many differences, as to causes nni.\ objects, as he can find. If this be l)ut granted, all that he can say besides cannot prove an essential dilTerence. It is very extraordi- nary for Mr. B. to suppose that it can. That which is essential to any thing is that without which it would not be that thing. If corruption, dishonor, or weakness, be- longed to tire essence of the body, then it could not be the same body without them. These cause a difference as to the circum- stances and condition of the body ; they do not, however, so alter its essence but that it is the sa)nc body through all its changes. t After Mr. B. has acknowledged that ''the law of God re(|uires a cordial reception of the gospel," it is somewhat surprising that he should rea.-'on as follows : — " If the law connnanded faith, in relation to Christ crucified, it must then actjuaint us with Christ crucified. It would be an unreasonable law to enjoin an act ;ibout such an object, and never dis- cover one svll.ihle e unreascjnable to leijuire faith without a revelation of the object ; and, where ihat is not revealed, we do not sup|X)se it inciunl)ent. But, if the gospel reveal the object of faith, the moral law may ree a lx;liever without this con-sciousness. What is it, then, which constitutes him a believer in that sense which is connected with a title to eternal life ? He will hardly assert that every one who as- .«ents to the divine inspiration of the Bible is in a state of salvation. And as to an as.«urance of being interested in the blessings of the gospel (sup|X}singthis were a just idea of faith,) he could not be ignorant tluit I never made it incuml)ent upon all who hear thegos|iel: but one should think a man must be a believer l)efore he can lje conscious of it, or of any thing in him that is truly good, or possess any well- grounded persuasion of an interest in Christ ; and, if 80, such a consciousness, or persuasion, cannot be that which denominates him a believer. * In a Testimony in favor of the principles main- tained by the Norfolk and Sufiolk .Association, we are told " he was, while he stood, an upright garden- er." Can this be the image of God meDtioned Gen. i. 27 ] R. VOL. I. 59 mined of God to be at tlie time, place, and manner in which it actually came to pass; and yet who will say that he ought not to have taken the counsel of Moses, and let the peo|»le go 1" To this Mr. B. replies, " But Pharaoh had an express command to let the peoi)le go ; therefore he was un- doubtedly criminal for not doing it: so it may be said of the rest of the instances produced ; and therefore these are nothing to the purpose."— p. 88. I might ask, then. What woidd have been to the pur- pose 1 The very circumstance of an ex- press command, so far from destroying the propriety o( the al)ove instances, is one thing that renders them in point. The question here was not. Is faith a com- manded duty? — that was discussed else- vvhere,t — but Can it be such, consistently ivith the divine decrees ? I undertook to prove thai it could ; inasmuch as the compliance of Pharaoh and Sihon witli the messages which were sent them, was a commanded duty, notwithstanding the divine decrees concerning them. Mr. B., on the contrary, undertakes to prove that it cannot, — that to suppose faith in Christ a commanded duty must clash with the decrees of God. Now, how does he prove his point 1 Why, by acknowledging tiiat, if the command be express, it may be consistent with those decrees; that is, in other words, by giv- ing up the very point in question. If I understand Mr. B.'s mode of reasoning, it amounts to what is usually called rea- soning in a circle. In the contents, it is intimated that faith cannot be a command- ed duty, because it is inconsistent with the divine decrees ; in the page to w hich those contents refer, it is suggested to be incon- sistent with the divine decrees, because it is not commanded ! After all, if the thing itself were inconsistent, no command, how- ever express, could make it otherwise. Mr. B. here, and in several other pla- ces, allows that men ought to use the means, and lie diligently concerned about their eternal salvation ; to strive to enter in at the strait gate, &c.— pp. 36—43. He has said nothing, however, to inform us how this is more consistent with the doctrine of decrees than an oltligation to believe is. But, passing this, it is observable that what one evangelist calls striving to enter, another calls entering, (Luke xiii. 24 ; Matt. vii. 13:) and, indeed, it must ap- pear very extraordinary, if men ought to strive to do that which they are not obliged to do. Farther: using the means of sal- vation, waiting and praying for a blessing upon them, ought to be attended to either t In proof that faith in Christ is expressly com- manded, the reader is referred to Prop. I . Part II. of tlie former Treatise, and to Section II, of this. 466 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. with the heart or without it. If without it, it will be but poor striving to enter in at the strait gate — far enough irom the sense of the passage just cited, which de- notes such a striving as that of a person in an agony : if icith ii, this amounts to some- thing spiritually good, and shall certainly terminate in salvation. What our brethren can mean, in consist- ency with their own sentiments, by mak- ing it the duty of men to use the means of salvation, is difficult to say. Mr. B. will not allow it to be a bare attendance, but " a diligent waiting, and seeking of spir- itual blessings." — pp. 36 — 43. And, in the exposition upon Isa. xlii. IS, " Look, ye blind," &c., the purport of the exhor- tation is said to be, " that they (uncon- verted sinners) would make use of their external hearing and sight which they had, that they niigiit attain to a spiritual hear- ing and understanding of divine things." — p. 102. But a real, diligent, use of means always implies a true desire after the end. It is an abuse of language to call any thing short of this by that name. Men, continuing wicked, may attend what are properly called the means of grace ; but they never attend them as the means of grace. It is impossible a man should use means to obtain that after which he has no real desire ; but a wicked man has no real desire to be saved from that from which the gospel saves us. Using the means of grace, therefore, and waiting upon God, are spiritual exercises, and have salvation plentifully connected with them in the Bible. " Every one that asketh receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."* Many of our brethren, who scruple to exhort sinners to things of a spiritual nature, will yet counsel them to watch at wisdom's gates, and wait at the posts of her doors ; but these are as much spiritual exercises as believing in Christ. Those who ivatch daily at wisdom's gates, waitiiig at the posts of her doors, are bless- ed. They shall find him whom they seek ; and, finding him, they " find life, and shall ohi'eiin favor of the Lord."\ The language of wisdom is, " I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me."t It is true, in some instances, persons are spoken of, not according to what they do, but according to what they profess to do ; and, after this manner of speaking, hypocrites are said to seek the Lord, and to " delight to know his ways, as a nation that did righteousness. "§ That is, they did those things which are the usual ex- * Luke xi. 10. t Ibid. viii. 17. t Prov. viii. 34,35. § Isa. Iviii. 2. pressions of a delight in God and a desire to seek his face, as if they had been a righteous people ; but, as to the things themselves, they are, strictly speaking, spiritual exercises, and are constantly so to be understood throughout the Bible. That manner of seeking God which is practised by hypocrites will hardly be pre- tended to be the duty of men in general ; and, except in those cases, neither seek- ing God's face nor waiting upon him, J be- lieve, are ever used in the Scripture for such an attendance on God's worship as a man may practise and perish notwith- standing : it is certain, however, this can- not be said of a " diligently waiting, and seeking of spiritual blessings." To use our external hearing and sight, that loe may attaint to a spiritual hearing and un- derstanding oj divine things, is not " with- in THE COMPASS OP A NATURAL MAN." The end of every action determines its nature : to read and hear, therefore, with a true desire that we may attain to a spir- itual hearing and understanding, are them- selves spiritual exercises. In this matter I entirely coincide with Mr. Brine, that " no unsanctified heart will ever pray to God for grace and holiness ; but that this is men's dreadful sin, and justly exposes them to direful vengeance." — Motives to Love and Unity, pp. 36, 37. If to this should be objected the words of our Lord, that " many will seek to en- ter in and shall not be able," I answer. What is there spoken respects not the present state, but the period " when the master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door." — Luke xiii. 24, 25. The case of the man waiting at the pool of Bethesda has often been applied to that of an unconverted sinner attending the preaching of the gospel : but let it be closely considered whether such an ap- plication of the passage be warrantable from the tenor of Scripture, and whether the characters to whom it is thus applied are not hereby cherished in a thought with which they are too apt to flatter themselves ; viz. that, for their parts, their hearts are so good that they would fain repent and be converted, but cannot, because God is not pleased to bestow these blessings upon them. No one can imagine that I wish to discourage people from reading or hearing the word of God. God's ordinances are the means by which he ordinarily works ; and, whatever be their motives, I rejoice to see people give them attendance. At the same time, I think, we should be careful lest we cher- ish in them an opinion that, when they have done this, they are under no farther obligations. By so doing we shall furnish them with an unwarrantable consolation. REPLY TO MR. DUTTOlt. 467 and contiii)utc to sliicld tliciu against the arrows of coiiviclion. Particular Rkdk.mption. I had said, "II it were essciilial to true saving fait!) to claim a personal interest in Christ's death, tlic ohjcction would l>c unanswerahle." Mr. B. replies, "But lie who lias laith haft a jjcrsonal interest, \vhether lie ean elaiiii it or not ; therefore the olijcction is cciually unaiis\\eralile on this trround ; for it is making it the duty of all to hase that which is an undoiihted evidence of a personal interest, wiieliier they have that interest or not, which ap- pears to me very al)surd and ridiculous." — p. 90. Perhaps so : hut, if the same spiritual dispositions which are bestowed hy the gospel arc required by the law (which Mr. B. lias scarcely attempted to disiprofp, though he has said so much about it,) there can be notiiing absurd or ridiculous in it. The matter entirely rests upon the so- lution of this question, Doks the Scrip- ture REPRESENT ANY THING AS THE DUTY OF MANKIND IN GENERAL WITH WHICH ETERNAL H.\PPINESS IS CON- NECTED"? I only wish Mr. B. had fairly tried the matter liy this criterion, and had been willing to be decided by the issue. There is scarcely a truth in the sacred Scriptures capable of a clearer demon- stration. This was the ground which Mr. B. declined in his Tenth Letter — p. 70. In addition to what was said from pp. 84 to 96 of my former treatise, I shall now only add as follows : — I hope Mr. B. will allow that every man ought to love GoiTu law ; do his com- mandments ; do righteousness; be of a meek, lowly, pure, and merciful spirit ; and bear so much good will, surely, to Christ, as to give a disciple a cup of cold ii'uter for his sake; at least, he must al- low, he does allow, that men ought not to be offended in him; for he himself con- fesses, " they ought not to despise, if they cannot embrace him." — p. 9(3. And yet these are all evidences of an interest in Christ and eternal blessedness.* Mr. B. farther objects that I "make foith warranlaiile and incumbent where there is an impossibility." — p. 90. Well: whenever Mr. B. can find a man, or a body of men, whose salvation he can be assured is impossible, he is welcome from me to assure them they have no warrant, and are under no obligation, to believe in Christ. In some sense, the salvation of every sinner is possible ; as no one knows what will be his end, every man while in the land of the living is in the field of •Ps. cxix. 165; Rev. xxii. 14; 1 John ii. 29; Matt. V. 3—9. xi. 6; Mark ix. 41. hope. And that was all 1 meant by pos- sibility in pp. 13.3, 1.34. Mr. B. -allows that, " inasmuch as we know not who are and who are not elect, it is the duty of every one, where the gosjiel of salvation comes, to be concerned, seek, iiu|uire," &c. — p. 88. But what solid reason can be given for the consistency of this, which will not equally api>ly to the other ] If it be said. These are things expressly commanded ; I answer. This is allowing that, IF faith in Christ is expressly voin- mandcd, it may be consistent with the sub- jects in question; which is giving up the point. But farther : Though I admit that the salvation of some men is impossible, that it is certain they will perish ; yet I con- ceive it is not such a kind of impossibil- ity as to render exhortations to believe in Christ inconsistent. It is no otherwise impossible for them to be saved than it was for Sihon, king of the Amorites, to have enjoyed the blessings of a peace with Israel. If there is an infinite worth and fulness in the sufTerings of Christ, in themselves considered — if the particular- ity of redemjition does not consist in any want of sufficiency in the death of Christ, but in God's sovereign purpose to render it effectual to the salvation of some men and not of others ; and in Christ's being the covenant-head and representative of some men and not of others — then the matter must be supposed to rest upon the same footing with all the rest of the di- vine purposes. And as it was the duty of Sihon to have accepted the message of peace, and to have trusted in the goodness of him by whose order it was sent him, notwithstanding the purpose of God con- cerning him, so it may be the duty of every sinner to accept of the message of peace which is sent by the preaching of the gospel, and trust in Christ for the sal- vation of his soul. Objections equally jilausilde might be made to that case as to this. One might say. What end could be answered by a message of peace being senf? Peace was not ordained for him, but destruction; and his country was previously assigned to Israel for a possession : for him, there- fore, to have received the message of peace, and trusted in the goodness of the God of Israel, would have been trusting in an impossibility. If told, the purposes of God are a great deep which we cannot fathom ; that, if we kucw the whole sys- tem we should see it otherw ise ; that there was no natural impossibility in the affair, no such impossibility as to cause any in- consistency in it; and that, in the i)resent state, we must take the revealed and not the secret will of God for the rule of our 468 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. duty ; he might have replied, like Mr. B., True ; but God's secret will is the rule of his conduct to us ; and surely he has not decreed, by giving Sihon up to hard- ness of heart, to leave him destitute of a right spirit, and then punish hira for the want of it: this would be cruel and shock- ing ! — p. 88. After all that Mr. B. has said, it is evi- dent from the above manner of speaking that he does, in fact, make the decrees of God rules of human action ; and herein lies a considerable part of the difference between us. We believe the doctrine of divine predestination as fully as he does, but dare not apply it to such purposes. SECTION XI. REPLY TO MR. B.'s THIRTEENTH LET- TER, ON THE TENDENCY OF THESE PRINCIPLES TO ESTABLISH THE DOC- TRINES OF HUBIAN DEPRAVITY, DI- VINE GRACE, THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT, &C. I HAD observed that the sentiment I opposed, as well as that which I attempt- ed to establish, " represented man as utter- ly unable to do things spiritually good ; but then it made that inability to be no part of his depravity, but altogether inno- cent in its nature." Mr. B. quotes this passage, not, however, as I wrote it, but very diiferently in sense as well as in words, and then finds fault with that which he himself had inserted. — p. 96. I never imagined that he would maintain men's aversion from all " moral good " to be innocent, nor even their aversion from spiritual things ; though I did not suppose he would have allowed that aversion to make any part of their inahUihj. Mr. B. complains of being injured, in that he is represented as maintaining the inability of man to things spiritually good to be alto- gether innocent. What I affirmed was that " the sentiment, when it spake con- sistently with itself, did so." I think so still ; for it appears to me an inconsistency for a man to be " both naturally and mo- rally unable " to come to Christ. Some- thing has been said upon this subject al- ready in the note, p. 320 ; but, as this is a subject on which Mr. B. frequently in- sists, let us examine it more particularly. In the first place : Supposing men's in- ability to do things spiritually good to be partly natural, and partly moral ; then, after all, it must follow that they are in part to blame for their non-compliance with those things ; and so consequently the contrary must in part have been their duty. That this sentiment follows from the position of Mr. B. is certain ; but whose cause it will subserve I cannot tell : it seems to suit neither. Mr. B., beyond doubt, means all along to deny every thing spiritually good being either in whole or in part the duty of carnal men. I have at- tempted on the other hand to maintain that such obedience is not merely in part, but fully, incumbent upon them. And one should think it eitlier is incumbent upon them or it is not ; but the above po- sition implies that it is neither. Farther : I question if both these kinds of inability can possibly obtain in the same instance. Where there is, and always was, an entire natural inability, there ap- pears to be no room for an inability of a moral nature. It would sound uncouth to affirm of any of the brute creation that they are morally as well as naturally una- ble to credit the gospel. It would be equally uncouth to affirm of a man in his grave that he is unwilling as well as una- able to rise up and walk. That men are capable of hating spirit- ual things nobody will dispute. But it is impossible that there should subsist any aversion from what there is an entire nat- ural inability to understand. We cannot hate that of which we have no idea, any more than love it. A brute, be his savage disposition ever so great, is incapable of aversion from every thing superior to his nature to understand. The same may be said of any being, intelligent or unintelli- gent. I may be told, perhaps, that a poor man may be of such a temper of mind, that, if he had a natural ability to relieve the dis- tressed, he would still be under a moral inability. Be it so : it is not proper to say he is morally as well as natui'ally una- ble to relieve the indigent. It might with truth be said that he is morally unable to do such kind actions as are within his reach ; and we may conclude he loould be equally so to relieve the indigent, if his wealth were to increase. Bui this does not prove that moral inability can exist without natural ability. Besides, the in- ability of the poor man to relieve the dis- tressed is not in every respect total, and so is not of equal extent with that plead- ed for in carnal men, as to the discernment of spiritual things. No man, however poor, is destitute of those faculties and powers of mind by which generous actions are performed. It is impossible, perhaps, to find a man naturally unable in every respect to do good in some way or other REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. 469 to his fellow-crcaturos ; or, if a man of that description could he found, he must he utterly void of reason ; and in that case he cannot he said to he morally as well as naturally unal)le to do fcood. Tliose who jiossess j^rcat natural ahility are capahle of heing the suhjccts of great- er moral inal)ility and suilt than others whose capacities are less. It is not in some men's power to he so w ickcd as oth- ers. And, wlicre there is and always was an entire natural incapacity, there is no place for an incapacity of a moral nature in any degree. Mr. B. denies that men either have or ever had any natural al)ility for the einhracing of spiritual things. We reply, If so, they would he equally incapa- ble of rejecting «s of embracing them. The aversion of the human mind from things of that nature I conceive to be a strong additional argument in our favor ; for which argument my thanks are due to Mr. Button. The above observations may be considered as a farther reply to the quotation from Mr. Brine. — p. 57. Can Mr. B. seriously pretend to main- tain that his sentiments represent human depravity in an equal light with ours 1 It seems he wishes to have it thouglit so ; but with what color of evidence it is diffi- cult to conceive. We suppose men's aver- sion is so great as to amount to a total moral inability, and so to render divine influence absolutely necessary. Mr. B. expresses his surprise that we should call this inability total. — pp. 56, 93. It seems, then, he does not think that the chain of men's native aversion from God and spir- itual things is strong enough to keep them from coming to Christ, without having something else in conjunction with it. But, if this cannot be maintained, he seems certain of the advantage in one re- spect, at least. "We certainly," says Mr. B., "lay man much lower than he does : " and this he thinks has a tendency to abase his pride, while our sentiments tend to gratify and promote it. — p. 96. It is true Mr. B. does lay man lower than we do : but it is observable that, so far as this is the case, it is not in the char- acter of a sinner but of a creature of God ; not on account of what he has made himself, but on account of what God has made him : and, if this is the way in which we are to be humbled, it might be done still more effectually if we were reduced to the condition of a stock or a stone. In reply to what is said on the doctrine of grace, and the work of the Spirit (j)p. 1, 93, 97,) little need be said in addition to the above. Though Mr. B. sometimes speaks of men's inability as being partly innocent and partly criminal ; yet, as was said before, it was manifestly his design all along to prove men trholly excusable in their omission of every thing sjiiritually good. But, suppose it were otherwise ; su]>pose they were only in part excusable ; i( it he a more glorious instance of grace, and a greater exertion ol ilivine inlluence, to save one who is partly innocent than one who is entirely to blame, it must he upon this principle, that, in proportion as criminality is lessened, the glory o( divine grace in salvation is increased : and, if so, then the most glorious display of grace that could he manifested in our salvation, must l)e upon the supposition of our being altogether innocent ! " When ye shall have done all those things which are commamded you," says Christ to his disciples, " say, We arc un- profitable servants : ive have done that ivhich loas our duty to do.''' — Luke xvii. 10. From this passage two things are ob- servable : First, That ol)edience to God cannot merit any thing at his hands. — Secondly, The reason why there is no such thing as merit in our obedience is, that all the good we have done, or may do, is commanded, is our duty. Hence it fol- lows, 1. Tiiat the very idea of duty ex- cludes merit and cuts off boasting. 2. That the more attached we are to our duty, as such, the more distant we are from all pretence of merit or Iwasting. The very way to extirpate the notion of human merit is to consider all which we do as heing our duty. 3. That if it were possi- ble to perform any thing which does not come under the idea of duty, then would there be some ground for merit. If the foregoing observations be just, it scarcely needs asking. Which sentiment is it that cuts off boasting, that of faith being con- sidered as a duty or the opposite 1 Perhaps it may be said, in answer io this, that when a man is enlightened l)y the Spirit of God, it is then his duty to be- lieve. But I think, if it be not incumbent before, it will be ditTicult to prove it so at all. In this case the work of the Si)irit upon the heart must constitute tlie ground of duty, and then it is necessary that the person should know that he is the subject of this work, before he can see it is his duty to believe. But by what evidences can he obtain this knowledge 1 Surely not l)y his impenitency and unbelief; and yet, till he has repented and believed, he can have nothing better. If it be as Mr. B. represents, the work of the Spirit must consist in giving us neiv natural powers. If we have no nat- ural power to embrace spiritual things till we are regenerated, then regeneration must be the creation of natural power. And what this is different from creating a 4'70 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. neio soul is difficult to determine. Be that as it may, the creating of natural power cannot he a spiritual exertion any more than the creation of a leg or an arm, and so cannot be reckoned amongst the special spiritual operations of the Holy Spirit. Whatever grace there may be in it, it is no part of the grace of the gos- pel; it is no part of salvation. It is not any thing that became necessary through sin; for it is supposed that man was as destitute of it in his created as in his fallen state. One should think, therefore, it can be nothing which is given us in behalf of Christ as mediator, or for which we shall have to praise him in that character to eternity. Among a catalogue of other bad conse- quences imputed to my sentiments, they are said to be "distressing to saints."— p. 105. This, for aught I know, may be just. They certainly have a tendency to convince both saint and sinner of abun- dance of sin, which the sentiments here opposed make to be no sin. It is no won- der, therefore, that true saints, by discern- ing their great obligations, both before and after conversion, to love the Lord Jesus Christ, should nowl)e greatly distressed in a way of godly sorrow. Looking upon him whom they pierced, they mourn, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. But this, so far I'rom lieing brought as an objection, ought to be considered as a cor- roboration. Tliat Avhich tends to soothe and quiet the minds of men, by giving diminutive representations of the causes of retlection and grief, is not the gospel. The gospel gives peace which passeth all understanding ; and this is consistent with the exercise of the most imngent grief: but that quietness of mind which arises from a diminution of blame-worthiness rather deserved tlie name of ease than of peace, and is much more to be dreaded than desired. It was acknowledged, in the former treatise, " that many who have dealt in addresses to unconverted sinners have dabbled in Arminianism." Mr. B. hence repeatedly represents me as acknowledg- ing that they tend that way. — p. i. Pref. and p. 100. This I must beg leave abso- lutely to deny. There is no such acknow- ledgment, nor anything like it; but tlie very reverse. Mr. B. cannot be ignorant that many who have maintained the doc- trines of grace have more than dabbled in Antinomianism, and yet that is no proof that the doctrines of grace are really of that tendency. As to the use that is made of my con- cession concerning the manner of address- ing sinners ; such as " Come to Christ now, this moment," &c., (p. 99,) I might refer the reader for answer to the passage itself; yea, to that part of it which Mr. B. has quoted. Surely he had no reason to conclude that I thought a believing in Christ was a matter that might safely be deferred. He professes to maintain that men ought to be- perfectly holy, in some sense or other ; but does he ever say to his auditory, Be perfectly holy now, this moment 1 j_:,.One remark more on this stdiject re- quires a reply. I had attempted to re- move the supposed absurdity of addresses to dead sinners, by observing that we sup- posed spiritual death to be altogether a criminal alfair. Mr. B. answers, from Mr. Wayman, " It was man's sin to de- stroy a moral life, but it is not man's sin that he hath not a spiritual one. It is God's eternal grace that gives life." — p. 102. To this it is replied, This position requires a higher authority to support it than Mr. Wayman.* If we admitted this sentiment as true, then, it is granted, our manner of address to unconverted sinners would be inconsistent ; but we deny it. In order to prove our conduct absurd, it should be proved to be inconsistent with some allowed principle, and not barely with the principles of our opponents. SECTION XII. SOME SERIOUS CONSIDERATIONS RECOM- MENDED TO MR. B. AND THE READER. There is great danger, in all disputes, of running into extremes. Mr. B. thinks my sentiments " the high road to Arminian- ism,''' (p. 100,) and perhaps to " some^Aing- ivorse." — p. 2. I am not convinced, at pre- sent, of their having any such tendency. However, it becomes me to watch against every thing that might lead me aside from the simplicity of the gospel, be that what it may ; and I hope I shall so far take Mr. B.'s advice. I hope also, in my turn, I may be allowed, without offence, to sug- gest a few serious hints to the same end. Mr. B. seems to think all the danger of erring to lie on one side (pp. i. ii. Pref.;) it is allowed there is danger on that side, * " It is not man's sin ihat he hath not a spirit- ual one:" — If spiritual life be wliat we never had, then we cannot be said to be spiritually dead; for death is not a mere negative, Init a privative idea. "It is God's eternal grace that gives life." — True; and is it not God's eternal grace that gives to a fallen creature a conformity to his holy law? and yet it does not follow from thence that it is not man's duty to have it. REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. 471 1)iit not on tluit side only. In jrencnil, ihtMi, I wisli Mr. B. to consiik'r wlietlicr his principles do not lend to lead him far- ther than he seriously intends to go. Par- ticularly. If, in the course of his ministry, he avoids giving the carnal part of his audi- tory to understand that God rc(juires any thing of them which is spiritually good ; whether it will not he natural for them so to understand it as to reckon themselves not at all obliged to love Gon, to be truly holy, to be the subjects of any internal re- ligion whatever; and whether they do not, in fact so understand it. Whatever dilTer- cnce there is lietwecn these things in the o{)inion of tiie preacher, I incline to think, not one hearer in a innulred makes any ac- count of it. They understand it of every thim; which concerns the heart. The gen- erality of those who would be olVended with us for enjoining spiritual obedience upon our carnal auditors would, I appre- hend, be equally olFended with Mr. B. were he to signify that they ought to wor- ship God in spirit and in truth, or to love him with their whole heart. Were any thing of this sort delivered, and nothing added to explain it away, it is likely the preacher would be interrogated in some such manner as this : How can unregen- erate sinners love God, or worship him in spirit and in truth ? You might as well call to the dead to come forlh, or bid people take wings and ily to heaven. Their busi- ness is to attend the means, and, if God j)lease to give them a heart to love him, well and good ; but, if not, to what pur- pose are all your harangues about what people ought to do 1 Cease this legal bu- siness, preach the doctrines of the gospel, and leave the Holy Spirit to do his own work. In the above, no respect whatever is had "n a personal way to Mr. B. or any of lis friends. Wliat is written is founded upon such facts as have fallen under my - oliservation ; and I suppose that the same causes are usually productive of the same effects in one place as in another. Farther: It may be well for Mr. B. to consider, while he professes to allow that men ought to do whatever was in the power of man in a state of innocence, whether his sentiments do not insensibly lead him to excuse men from every thing but what may be done by a tvicked mind, ivithout any true love to God, or regard for his glory. Mr. B., when asked in controversy " whether any internal religion is now required of men towards God or not," answers in the affirmative. — p. 72. But is it a matter which his views of things would ever, of their own accord, lead him to dwell uponl I am glad to see the frankness with which he expresses himself concerning the law of God being e.vcecdingly broad. "If the principles 1 have advanced," says he, "contradict this truth, let them forever be discarded. "r— p. I'o. Mr. B.'s meaning, in tiiis ingenuous sentence, cannot i)e sup- posed to amount to less than this — that, if he perceived his present sentiments to clasli with tiie spirituality of the law, he would disow n them ; and, if he found them to have such a tendency, he would at least sus|)ect them. Now I desire, in this mat- ter, to be determined \)y facts ; and by facts that cannot fairly be disputed. I ask, then, in what maimer do Mr. B.'s sentiments load itim to expound Scrip- turkI How has he expounded the Second Psalm and tiie Sixth of Jeremiah 1 What has he made tiiese passages to recpiire more than external obedience \ Is it not the tendency of all he says concerning the ad- dresses of Christ and his apostles to their carnal auditors to reduce them to the ca- pacity, not of a right sjiirit, such as man possessed in a state of innocence, but of an apostate mind? Are they not all along made to mean no more than what may be done without any real love to God, or re- gard for his glory 1 Is not such a sense put upon Isa. xlii. 18, " Look, ye blind," &c., as that its requirements shall be " WITHIN THE COMPASS OF NATURAL MEN, WHO ARE INTERNALLY DEAF AND BLIND 1"— p. 103. This is certaiidy a serious matter; and I hope Mr. B. will seriously consider it. If he does indeed i)elieve the law to be spiritual, and to require internal religion, it is hoped he will, on all proper occasions, acknowledge it, and not attempt to bring down the precepts of the Bible to the dis- positions of an apostate creature ; other- wise people may be ready to say he holds the spirituality of the law as some others do the doctrines of grace, who never think proper to mention them, except when an occasion offers to exj)lain them away. If any thing in the })reccding pages should be thought unkind, or exceeding the liberty we are allowed to use with a Christian brother, I hope for Mr. B.'s for- giveness. I can truly say. If tiiere is, it is unknown to me. It has been my endeav- our, all along, to make him feel nothing, except it be the force of truth. Before I conclude, I would beg leave to recommend a few serious hints to the reader. Whoever he is, and whatever his opinion may be in reference to this contro- versy, let me entreat him to put one serious question to his own soul, " Dost thou be- lieve on the Son of Godl" Let him re- member that nothing less than his eternal salvation or destruction hangs upon the answer; that the question must be an- 472 REPLY TO MR. BUTTON. swered, sooner or later; that there is no medium between being Christ's friend and his enemy ; and that it is not taking this or the other side of a dispute that will de- nominate any man a Christian. Neither let him evade the question by answering that he has already been acknowledged as a believer in Christ, is a member of a Chris- tian church, perhaps a preacher of the gospel, and has long been in the habit of taking this matter for granted, and of sit- ting in judgment upon other men and other things. All this may be true ; and yet things may issue in a dreadful disappoint- ment! But, supposing the reader a real Chris- tian, still there is great reason for prayer and watchfulness. Reading controversies may be advantageous, or it may be hurt- ful ; and that according to the spirit with which it is attended to. Every man had need to read with some degree of judgment of his own : and yet, if he set out with a de- termination to receive nothing but what shall accord with his own present view of things, he is likely to derive no real good, and perhaps much harm. He may meet with what confirms him in his sentiments ; and those sentiments may be on the side of truth : but if he have such sdetermination, though his creed is right, his faith is wrong ; especially if it lead him to despise others who think differently, and to glory over them as being confuted. On the other hand, he may meet with that which con- tradicts his sentiments ; he may reject it with abhorrence ; and, in so doing, think his heart very much establisned with grace, so as not to be carried away with every wind of doctrine ; and yet all may amount to nothing but a being ivisc in his oion eyes. We are never so safe as when we go about these matters with prayer, fear, and trembling. The subject her discussed is not a mere matter of speculation : it enters deeply into our spiritual concerns, relating both to this life and that to come. It is a matter, therefore, that is well worthy of earnest prayer, and of serious and impar- tial attention. If truth is but sought in this manner, it will be found. *' The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way." A R j: ply OBSERVATIONS OF PHILANTIIROPOS. It may appear somewhat extraordinary that the same sentiments should He liable to opposition from two o^entlcmen of such contrary princijdes as Mr. Buttox and Phila.vtiiropos. It may be less surpris- ing, however, when it is considered that there arc certain points in which the most opposite extremes are known to meet. An attentive reader will perceive a great affinity in the tendency of their reasonings on various subjects. If I am not greatly mistaken, they both particularly agi'ee in denying faith in Christ to be a duty requir- ed by the moral laio ; and in excusing the sinner, unless grace is bestowed upon him, in his non-compliance with every thing spiritually good. As to the spirit of Philanthropos, he has treated me with candor and respect. Though I quite disapprove of many of his sentiments, and though I think he has writ- ten in some places (pp. SS, 92, 93) in a manner bordering on irreverence, yet, so far as it concerns myself, what he has ad- vanced has never, that I remember, " giv- en me a moment's pain." He has exam- ined with freedom what I advanced. I re- spect him for so doing. I can, with the less fear of offence, use a like freedom in return. Complaint is made of the use of the terms Arminian, Calvinist, &c. — pp. 52 — 5(i. — When I have used the former of these terms, I am not conscious of ever having used it as " a term of reproach." As to calling P., or any other person, an Armin- ian, I never desire to athx to an honest man a name by which he would not call himself. For my own part, though I nev- er mean to set up any man as a standard of faith, and though in some things I think differently from Calvin, yet, as I agree with him in the main, particularly in the leading sentiments advanced in the former treatise, and as it served to avoid un- necessary circumlocution, I have used the term Calvinist, and have no objection to VOL. I. 60 being so called by others. Whether P. is an Arminian or not is of very little account with me ; it is not very dillicult, however, to discern the leading features of hi» scheme in the works of those who have chosen to be called by that name. But complaint is farther made of the Arminian divines l)eing misrepresented. — p. 52. Though I have no better an opinion of Ar- minius' doctrine of the Spirit's work, as given us by P. (p. 53,) than I had before, and though I believe it would be no diffi- cult matter to prove that the generality of Arminian divines have carried matters far- ther than Arminius himself did, (as P. seems in part to admit,)* yet I acknowl- edge what I said on that subject, in the passage referred to, was too strong, though, at the time I wrote, I was not aware of it. To what is said in p. 10 I have no ma- terial objection. What I meant was mere- ly to disown that any sinner was encour- aged by the gospel to hope for eternal life, without returning home to God by Jesus Christ. The omission of part of Isaiah. Iv. 7, as also the mistake respecting the prayer of the publican, were altogether without design. There are some remarks which, I think, are made merely for want of considering that those with whom I was in debate * If I am not'iiiisinformpil, tliR Reinr>iislraiit.«, in their Apology, maintained that " that ought not to lie commanded which is wrought in us; and cannot l>e wrought in us which is comm.indcd; that he foolisldy cominandetli tliat to Ije rayer and suppli- cation." And, afterwards, we find the apostle Paul requestinjz his Thessalonian brethren to pray for him and his asso- ciates in the work of the ministry, " that the word of the Lord might have free course and be irlorified." * The great accesion to the churcli of God in the laitrr days arc ascribed to the Same cause. In tlie (iOth chapter of Isaiah, after abundance of rich promises of a large and glorious increase, after the nudtitudes of conversion to Christ had I)een rajiturous- ly compared to a cloud, and the flockings of doves to their windows, tlie whole is thus concluded : " Thy people shall lie all right- eous : they shall inherit the land forever, the branch ofviy planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation : I the Lord will hast- en it iti his time.'' When the seventh angel sounded, and voices were heard say- ing, " The kingd()7ns of this world arc be- come the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, the four-and-twenty elders imme- diately fell upon their faces, and blessed him who was, who is, and is to come, be- cause he had taken to him his great power, and reigned.^' But, if the Spirit of God is not the cause why one sinner believes in Christ rather than another, then he is not the cause why there are more believers at one period of time than at another. And, if so, to what purpose are the before-cited prayers or promises ? As to the former, however strongly they speak of latter day glory, and of God's taking to him his great pow- er, and reigning, they are, after all, mere predictions of what will be, rather than jiromises of what shall be. The same may be said of the promises concerning the success of the gospel after Christ's ascen- sion. As to the latter, to what purpose was it to pray for what they already had ] They had a gospel adapted to the condi- tion of lost sinners ; and as to divine grace, if any thing of that be necessary to a re- ception of it, their hearers are supposed to have had a sufficiency of that already bestowed upon them, otherwise it would have been a mockery to address them. Now, if things are so, might not the apos- tles have expected some such an answer * Cor X. 4 ; Acts 1. 14 ; 2 Tliei?s. iii. 1. to their prayers as was given to Dives'? " They have Moses and the pro|)hets," yea, Christ Jind the apostles, " let them iiear them ;" I have given them grace suf- ficient already; I shall do nothing nnjie in oriler to their conversion, nothing]al all, until they have believed. III. The Scriptures represent God as having a determinate design in his goings fortii in a way of grace, a design which shall never be frustrated. " My counsel," saith the I..ord, " shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." — " I will work, and who shall let if]" In the sending forth of his gospel, particularly, he speaks on this wise : " For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but waterelh the earth, and mak- cth it firing forth and l)U(l,that it may give seed to the sower, and liread to the eater; so shall my word be that goetli forth out of my mouth : it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accom|)lish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." But the scheme of P., if I understand it, supposes no such design. On the contrary, it supposes that God, in sending his Son into the world, and the gospel of salvation by him, never absolute- ly determined the salvation of one soul ; that, notwithstantling any provision which he had made to the contrary, the whole world, after all, might have eternally per- ished ; the Son of God might never havo seen of the travail of his soul ; the gospel might have been a universal savor of death unto death ; and the whole harvest of the divine proceedings " an heaji in the day of grief, and of desperate sorrow ! " To say that God designed to save believ- ers, and therefore his design is not frus- trated, is to say true, but not sufficient. For how if there had been no believers to savel And there might have been none at all according to this scheme ; and so, instead of the serpent's head being bruised by the seed of the woman, Satan might at last have come off trium|ihant ; and the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier of men might have lieen baffled in all the works of their hands ! IV. The character of the converted, dur- ing their carnal state, is frequently such as proves that their conversion is to lie as- cribed to sovereign, discriminating, and ef- ficacious grace. It is not owing to any excellency in the objects, either natural or moral, tliat they are converted, rather than others. The apostle appeals to the Corinthians in respect of the former kind of excellences : " Forye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men af- ter the flesh, not many mighty, not many nofde, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish — the weak — and the base things 478 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. of this world, to confound the wise the mighty," &c. And all this is said to be, " That no flesh should glory in his pres- ence. But ojT/tim," continues the apostle, " are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption ; that he that glorieth may glory in the Lord." God bestows converting grace without any respect to moral qualities. The chief of sinners are frequently brought to believe in Christ before others, who are far be- hind them in iniquity. Numberless ex- amples might be produced of this. I shall only instance the case of those two fa- mous, or rather infamous, cities Jerusalem and Corinth. The one had been guilty of shedding the Redeemer's blood, and the other was a sink of abominations. And yet there were more believers in these cities than in almost any other. How this can be accounted for, but upon the sup- position of sovereign and invincible grace, is difficult to say. For, whether the de- pravity of man is sufficient to overcome any grace that is not invincible or not, it will be allowed, surely, to have a. tendency that way. And if so, one should think, the the greater depravity of any man is the more improbable must be his conversion. The worst of sinners, therefore, believing before others, appears to be altogether in- explicable on the scheme here opposed ; but to sovereign and omnipotent grace every mountain becomes a plain ; and to this the conversions in both tliese cities are attri- buted in Scripture. Of the one it was promised, " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." As to the other, they were reminded tliat, though they had been of the worst of characters, yet now they were "washed — they were sanctified by the Spirit of God." And, before their conversion, the apostle was encouraged in preaching, by this testimony, " I have much people in this city." V. The Scriptures represent the grace given by the Holy Spirit as being effectual ; or as producing certain and abiding effects. One great difference between the cove- nant made with the whole nation of Israel at Sinai, and that wiiich God promised to make with his elect under the gospel, ap- pears to consist in this : that the former only propounded things by way of moral suasion, but the latter not only admits of this, but provides for its becoming effec- tual: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah : not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers — which covenant they brake. — But this shall be the cove- nant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will V)e their God, and they shall be my people." This seems to constitute one essential difference between the law and he gospel; on ac- count of which the one is called the letter, and the other the spirit. The one is a mere inefficient rule of right and wrong ; the otlier makes provision for the bestow- ment of the Holy Spirit. It is observable, also, that these promises, which respect the first beginning of real good in the soul, are in every respect absolute. When promises are made of things which folloio after our believing, they are generally, if not always, connected with something good in the subject : thus it is promised that the righteous sliall hold on his way, and that they that endure to the end shall be saved. But nothing of that kind is mentioned here. If it is objected that, after mention made of some such things in the prophecy of Ezekiel, it is added, " Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them:" I reply, It is granted that noth- ing is more reasonable than that every man should pray to God to create in him a clean heart, and renew in him a right spirit ; and yet nothing is more cer- tain than that no man ever did so pray, in sincerity and truth, while under the do- minion of sin. And if God, in the be- stowment of a new heart, were to wait for this, not an individual would be found amongst the fallen race of man to be a re- cipient of his favor.* But how, then, are we to understand the passage Ijefore cited 1 I answer. Does not the Lord there speak of what he would do for his church ; in a way of increasing it loith men like a flock? If giving a new heart, in the former part of the chapter, is to be understood of regen- eration, God might make promises to them to renew souls for their enlargement, and these promises might be fulfilled in answer to their prayers, though not in an- swer to the prayers of the unregenerate. VI. The apostle Peter styles those to whom he wrote, " Elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obe- dience." Obedience, it should seem, in all its parts, according to this passage, is that of which election and the sanctifi- cation of the Spirit are the proper causes. By the former they are chosen to it; through the latter they are fitted for it. Now P. must admit that faith in Christ is Grace Comes iinprevented, unimplored, unsought. Happy for man so coming ! He lier aid Can never seek, once dead in sins, and lost. Milton. REPLY TO PHILANTIIROPOS. 479 not only on the root ol evangelical obedience but that itself, beinfi; a duty, is a part of oliedieiice. Hence it is that bclievinii; in Christ is callocl ()/>ci/inijhini, (Rom. x. IG ; vi. 17; i. 5. Hel>. v. i) ;) and the contrary is represented as disobeyingh'im. 2 Thess. i. S, 9. 1 Pet. iv. 17. it follows, then, that, if election and the sanctification of the Spirit are tiie causes of our ol)edionce, they must l)c tiie causes of our believing, and consecjuently must precede it, since the cause always precedes the effect. "God be thankep," says the grateful apostle, "that ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was de- livered you I" VII. Wiiatevcr difference there is l)e- tween us and others, we arc taught in the Scriptures to ascribe it all to God, and not to boast as if it were of ourselves : " are we better than they 1 no, in no wise " — "By the grace of God I am what I am." — " Who makelh thee to differ 1 and what hast thou that thou didst not re- ceive"? Now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it 1" That there is a difference between be- lievers and unbelievers all will allow : V)ut if the question be asked, " Who maketh thee to differ!" wiiat must be tiie answer 1 If the scheme of P. be true, I should think it must be a person's oivn self, and not God. If he reply, "No, I do not maintain tiiat man of liimself can do any thing spiritually good, it is all by the grace ol' God." Be it so: this grace is sup})Osed to be given indiscriminately to mankind in general. This, therefore, does not in the least alter the case. However the grace of God may be a re- mote cause of the good that is in me, yet it is easy to see that, upon this suppo- sition, it is no cause whatever of the differ- ence between me and another. My unbe- lieving neighbor had or might have had as much giace given him as I, but either he did not ask it, or did not improve the stock imparted to him, which I did. He resisted the Holy Spirit, but I was of a pliable temper and yielded to his persua- sions. I have, therefore, by a good im- provement of the grace given or offered to me in common with my neighbor, to all intents and {)urposes, made myself to dif- fer. But who am I personating! — Phi- lanthropes ] — No surely! It is the lan- guage of his creed, not of him : no, no, whatever may escape from the lip or the pen, his heart must unite with ours, "Not UNTO us, O Lord, not unto us, but TO THY NAME GIVE GLORY !" If it is objected that the apostle is writ- ing to the Corinthians concerning spirit- ual gifts and advantages, and cutting off their vain boastings on that score, and not concerning spiritual dispositions, I answer, there is in my oi)iiiion consiilcralile evi- dence of the contrary." But, be that as it may, tiie rcasoniiig with wiiicli this is effected is ey God and by his Spirit ac- cording to his good pleasure ; yet that is not the case in respect of virtue and pious dis- positions : in these he avers we may l)oast ; yes, in these we may glory in ourselves.} But I have too good an ojiinion of the hu- mility of P. to imagine that such senti- ments can occupy his bosom. I cannot persuade myself that he has so learned Christ. I w ill venture to repeat it, what- ever his hostile creed \m\y affirm, his heart, especially in liis near addresses to God, must accord with the apostle : " Of him," yes, of him, "are ye in Christ Jesus." — " He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."t * See Gill's " Cause," &c., P. II., C. IV., No. V. and Giiyse's parapliru.oe and note on the text. tWIiilby, on 1 Corinth, iv. 17. 'Tis true tlie Doctor observes " that we having otir faculties from God, the action may well be a.^cribed, and the wlmle glory must lie due to him." Indeed ! If the whole lie due to him, how is it that we are entitled to a part T Besides, how does this ascrilx; to (iod the glory of our lx;ing made to differ; seeing one is possess'd of these faculties as well as another 1 ^ The hinge of a great part of the controversy be- tween us turns on the solution uf the alwve subject. Tliat there is a difterence between one man and an- other cannot be called in question. This difi'ercnce is either to be ascribed to the grace of Goe asked, " do you exhort him to it, till you see his spirit changed V Why ] What if I go in hoj)e of being instniment- ;il in the changing of his spirit 1 Suppose I urge u|)on him the goodness of the law lie hii-s broken, his wicked and unreason- able revolt, his great and imminent dan- ger, and, above all, the clemency of the prince towards returning rebels ; suppose I conjure him, therefore, to go and submit to mercy : may not all this be done M'ithout imagining that going and submit- ting to mercy is a matter so easy that it may be done by a person possessing a mind still under the dominion of wickedness ^ May it not rather be done in the hope that such means may be succeeded to the redu- cing him to a right spirit 1 * * But might we not, upon these principles, as well let them alone ? Some, I pm aware, of very difi'er- ent sentiments from P., would sayj we might ; and tliat such a mode of exiiorting is only setting them to work, which lends to fill them with an idea of iheir oien righteousness. It is granted, if the works to which they are directed are mere external things, such as are " within the compass of acarnal heart," and such as they may go on in with ease; then it may tend to lift them up with pride and self-sufficien- cy. But if things which are spiritually good are pressed upon them, and tliey go about a compliance, it is so far from having a tendency to promote self- righteousne.-!S that it is the most likely means to de- stroy it. People who never try to repent, pray, &c., generally think they can do these things at any time. Putting a [ler.son to the ex|)eriment is the most likely way te convince him of his insufficiency, or, in other words, of his dreadful depravity; and, if this is but effected, he will then cry in earnest to the .strong for strength. I believe it is God's usual way thus to convince people of their insufJiciency. Wiiile Saul went on in external services, he was at ease, alive, and in high spirits, not doubting but that all was right, and that he was doing God service ; Ixjt a view of his great obligations to things ^spiritually good di.sco\ered to him a world of inii|uity of which he had ne\er thought. It was from this [leriod that hi." self-rightcousncss receivcil its fatal wound ; yes, then it was that sin revived, and he died. Rom. vii. 9. IVow, if this is God's usual methoil of work- ing, surely we ought not, as ministers, to set ourselves against it, but rather to concur with it. It is worthy of remark, how well our opponents here agree amongst themselves. 'Tis true they dif- fer in some respects: some think coming to Christ a matter so easy that an unrenewed heart may some- how or other accom|)lish it ; the others cannot think so, and therefore confine their exhortations to things of an external nature. But both agree in this, that men should not be exhorted to any thing but what may Ix; done by an unregenerate heart ; that i s, by a iieart at enmity with God. " Surely," says P., " it can- not be sin for men, as depraved, not to attempt that which the word tells them they cannot perform." — VOL. I. 61 This also may serve for a reply to what P. observes on " exhorting those who are in doubt of their conversion to apply to Christ."— p. 25. I think, with him, it is much belter to direct such persons im- mediately to apply to Christ than to set them about examining tiic evidences of their regeneration to the neglect of that. And tlioiigh lie is jdeased to call this " ab- surd and ridiculous" upon my principles, yet he has not condescended to back that assertion with any thing like evidence. If regeneration were that which constituted our warrant to apply to Christ, his reason- ing would be just ; but if it is only a be- getting in us a ris;ht spirit, a spirit to com- ply with the warrant which we already have, then there is no weight in it. All right action, whether corporeal or mental, must proceed from a right spirit; yet, if a man were in doubt whether he was of a right spirit, which would be reckoned the most ridiculous, to exhort him to right ac- tion, or to set him to examine his spirit by rules of theory, and bid him wait till he found he was of a good spirit, and then perform a good action 1 The latter would be pernicious, or, to say the least, per- plexing ; but a compliance with the for- mer would be attended with both safety and satisfaction. P. frequently makes mention of a pas- sage from Mr. Caleb Evans, which I also had quoted, and which is as follows : " The calls and invitations, the promises and threatenings, of the word of God, are means which every one knows are in their own nature adapted to remove a moral indisposition of the mind, just as much as the prescriptions of a physician, or the operations of a surgeon, are suited to remove any natural disorder of the body." He also frequently speaks as if the reason why the gospel, rather than the law, succeeded to the conversion of a sinner was because of this fitness, adapt- edness, or innate tendency of which it is possessed. — p. 67. But, it should be ob- served, Mr. Evans' words are not spok- en simply of tiie gospel ; they are spoken of the threatenings as well as the promises in the word of God, which, I should think, p. 23. And the reasonings of Mr. Button are fre- quently of the same tendency. But, whether such a position be agreeable or contraiy to the word of God, let the following pas.sages, amongst many others, de- termine: Jer. vi. 8 — 11, 15, 16. Matt. xii. 34. John V. 44, 4.5; viii. 43—46. Rom. viii. 8. 2 Pet. ii. 14. If. Mr. Button should here complain, and say he has acknowleility,) is as unrcasonaltle, unless {irace is bestowed, as to "com- mand a stone to walk, or a horse to sing." — p. 44. II tills is indeed the case, the distinction ought to l)c jriven up. Be lirat, however, as it may, whether there lie any real dill'erence hetwcen natural and moral inal)ility in point of hlamc- worlhincss or not, P. knows that I sup- pose there is; by what rule of fair reas- oning, therel'ore, he could take the con- trary lor granted, it is diflicult to deter- ;iiine. But, passing tliis, from the wiiole of wiuit P. has written on this sulyect, I observe, there are three tilings which, somehow or other, either severally or jointly, are supposed to constitute even a moral inal)ility blameless. One is, men could not avoid it ; they were depraved and ruined by Adam's transgression; an- otiicr is, its being so great in degree as to be insuperable; and tlie last is, if i^^race is not given sufficient to deliver us from it. " If," says he, " men could never avoid it, and cannot deliver themselves from it, and the blessed God will not de- liver them, surely they ought not to be punished for it, or for any ol its necessary ctTects." — p. G7. The first two of these suppositions, be it oi)served, are admitted l)y P. as facts. Men are, he acknowledges, i)orn in sin, and " their inability to do things spiritu- ally good is real and total." — pp. 44, 57. They cannot love God nor keep his holy law. Now these facts either do excuse mankind in their want of conformity to the law or they do not. If they do not, why are tliey produced I If tiiey do, there is no need for what respects the last sup- position. There is no need, surely, for grace to deliver men from a state wherein they are already blameless. The justice of God, one should think, would see to that, and prevent the innocent from being condemned. But let us give each of these sulijects a separate consideration. 1. Men being horn in six, or inherit- ing their evil propensities from Adam's fall. It has been observed already that P. admits the fact: now to admit this fact is, I should think, to admit a constitu- ted union having taken place lietwecn Ad- am and his posterity ; and yet the whole of w hat he says upon this sul>ject proceeds upon the supposition of no such u/i(Vm ex- isting; for he, all along, speaks of Adam and his descendants in a separate capaci- ty. Thus he insists upon it that " we could not be to lilame for what we could not avoid;" with many passages of the like kind. Very true : but, if the notion of a union l)clween Adam and hispinurity i)a admitted, then it cannot properly be said it)e could not avoid it: fjr, in tliat case, he was the head and we the mem- bers ; the whole constituting one body, or, as it were, one person. A union of this nature must cither be admitted or denied ; if admitted, why consider the descendants of Adam \\\ i\ separate capacity? — il de- nied, why sjieak of inheriting any thing from him, unless it were i)y ill example I Infants are not to blame in a personal cap;>.iity ; but, if there be a union between the parent of mankind and his posterity, through which their depravity is derived, as it is supposed there is, tiiey must be to blame relatively. No one, I suppose, can be to i)lame in a |)ersonal capacity, till he is capable of the knowledge of right and wrong ; but it does not follow thence that, till then, he is in every sense blameless, for that would be the same thing as to be sinless ; and, if so, I sec not how they can be said to be born in siii. If there is not blame somewhere, it will be very difficult to account for the misery and death to which infants arc exposed, and for the apostle's mode of reasoning, who first as- serts that l)elbre the Mosaic law sin was in the world, and then proves this asser- tion by the reign of death, " even over them that iiad not sinned after the simili- tude of Adam's transgression." That this is a difficult and awful sub- ject is allowed ; and so is the introduc- tion of moral evil into the world, be it up- on what hypothesis it may. It is a sub- ject, however, which, in my apprehension, I must cither admit or reject on the au- thority of the Bilde ; and, when I had done that, my difficulties, instead of being diminished, would be al)undantly increas- ed. I therefore admit it upon the credit of divine revelation ; and herein, it seems, I have the happiness to agree with P. He admits that men become sinners in conse- quence of Adam's fall. The question, then, between us seems to be this : Wheth- er to be a sinrier is the same thing as to be a subject of blame ; or whether there be a sort of sin which has nothing blame- worthy in it, and a sort of sinners who, nevertheless, are blameless beings. P. admits of our I'cing born with impure propensities, and yet supposes these pro- pensities in themselves to be blameless. He reckons the whole blame to lie, not in being the subject of these propensities, but in the exercise and indulgence of them. — pp. 6-5, G6. I confess I cannot under- stand how this can consist either with his own sentiments or with the nature of things. Not with his own sentiments ; for he allows that " men are ruined and 4S4 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. depraved by Adam's fall." But how can we be ruined and depraved by that which does not in any sense constitute us blame- worthy 1 What though we derive impure propensities from him, yet, if these pro- pensities are innocent, how can they ruin usl how can they deprave usi Our de- pravity must consist in, and our ruin arise from, that which constitutes blame, and that alone ; and if blame lies merely in the indulgence of impure propensity, and not in being the subject of the thing itself, why then it is there we have to look for the beginning of depravity and ruin, and nowhere else. How far these sentiments will agree likewise with the doctrine of human depravity, Avhich P. assures us he by no means intended to oppose, may de- serve his attention. Farther : I see not how the above sen- timents can consist with the nature of things. If blame does not lie in being the subject of an evil disposition, because as individuals we could not avoid it ; then, for the same reason, it cannot lie in the exercise of that disposition, unless that also can be avoided. And this is what P. seems to allow ; for he extends blameless- ness not only to evil dispositions, but to all their "necessary effects." — p. 67. — Now, there is either a possibility of that exercise being totally avoided or there is not : there is either a possibility, for in- stance, of a person living all his life with- out a foolish thought, or there is not. If there is, then there is a possibility of go- ing through life in a sinless state ; and, if so, how are we depraved by Adam's fall 1 If there is not, then it must follow that the exercise of evil dispositions may be blameless, as well as the dispositions themselves ; and, contrary to the decision of Holy Scripture, that "the thought of foolishness " is not sin. We may go on to distinguish an evil propensity from its exercise, till we use words without ideas ; for what is an evil propensity but an evil bias, or a bias of the soul towards evil 1 and whether it is possible to conceive of an inactive pro- pensity in a rational being is doubtful with me. But, suppose we may, the common sense of mankind never teaches them so to distinguish them as to excuse the one and place all blameworthiness in the oth- er. An impure propensity is an impure temper of mind, and a propensity to re- venge is the same thing as a revengeful temper : but tempers of this description are so far from being excusable that there is nothing mankind are more apt to cen- sure. 'Tis true they cannot censure them but as they see them discovered, because they have no other method of knowing the evil stock but by its evil branches ; but, when they do discover them, they seldom fail to curse both root and branch.* Neither do people think of excusing a churlish, haughty, or covetous temper in any man, because of his father's being so before him. On the contrary, they often turn that very circumstance to his re- proach. You are a villain, say they, by nature, and all your family were so before you. — If men offend one against another, strict inquiry is made whether the offence proceeded from an evil disposition or from mere inadvertency ; and, according as this is found, allowances are made. But I know not that it is ever asked how the party came by his evil disposition : that is a matter introduced into divinity, where God is the object offended ; but it cannot be admitted into the common affairs of life between man and man. Now, if the common sense of mankind never leads them to take this circumstance into con- sideration in matters between themselves, it is at least a presumptive argument that it will not bear advancing in matters of offence against God. " Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant." That evil dispositions are in themselves blameworthy, notwithstanding their deri- vation from our first parents, not only accords with the common sense of man- kind, but also with the word of God. The word of God requires us to love him with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength ; but to love God in this manner supposes the absence of all evil propen- sity to rebel against him, and of every ap- proach towards a spirit of contrariety to him. It must follow, then, so long as this holy law of God is allowed to be an "in- fallible test of right and wrong," (p. 67,) that such a propensity is in itself sinful, being directly contrary to its righteous requirements. It is not merely a some- thing which "leads to evil tempers," (as P. speaks, p. 66,) but it is itself an evil temper of the mind : a temper that can take no delight in God, or in any thing that bears his holy likeness. Farther : His ideas of blameworthi- * 'Tis true there are certain propensities which constitute a part of our nature as men, and which, therefore, are simply nc^ttra/; the excessive indul- gence whereof is nevertheless sinful. Thus emula- tion in itself is natural, but carried to excess it be- comes p»'tdc. Thus also the love of pleasure is in itself natural, but carried to excess it becomes vo- luptuousness, &c. &c. But P. cannot justly pre- tend that when he makes blame to consist not in the propensity itself, but in the exercise or indulgence of it, he means these natural propensities, because he speaks of them as derived from Adam's fall, which these are not, and calls them impure, whereas these, in themselves considered, area part of human nature in its purest state. RKI'LY TO IMIILANTIIROPOS. 485 ncss, if I understand it, agrees to nothing lull positive acts of sin; the exercise or indulgence of an evil propensity can agree to nothing else. Now, according to tliis, there is no such thing as sin or lihune in lliat universal want of love to God which lias place in all unregenerate men, and to an awtul degree in good men; (or that, strictly speaking, is not so nuicii a posi- tively evil disposition as it is the alisence of a good one. But, if the law of God is the "test of right and wrong," this must nevertheless be found sinful ; for it is the very reverse of what that law requires. If there is notiiing blameworthy in the want of a heart to love God, nor even in a propensity to hate him, then surely the moral law must be abrogated by man's apostasy, and can be no longer to us " the standard of right and wrong." The law is said to have entered " that the offence might abound ; " and " by the law is the knowledge of sin." The only certain rule, therefore, of determining what is sin, is to inquire into the extent of that unerring rule. Now the law, as given in the decalogue, requires love to God with all the heart, without making any allow- ance for our being born destitute of a disposition so to do. It should seem, therefore, that God considered the want of a disposition to love him as offensive; and gave the law, which requires such a disposition, that that offence might abound or be made manifest. But, if there V»e nothing l)laraeworthy in it, there can be nothing offensive ; and, if no ofTence exists, none can be made to abound. P. allows my " reasonings on the extent of the moral law to be very conclusive." This, I should think, is rather extraordi- nary ;but this is not all : he thinks " it would most certainly contribute much, under the blessing of God, to the conversion of sinners if a due regard were always paid to it." — p. 67. But, according to the reasoning above, I see no such tendency it could have. For the carnal mind of man is " enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be ; and they were born in this condition. How then could it promote rational convictionl Whatever tendency it might have to bring them to love the Saviour, it must be at the expense of their regard for the Lawgiver. Yea, it must fill them with greater enmity against him to hear of his requiring that of them which is not reasonal)le in their present circumstances should be required. If they are taught to consider the Lawgiver of the world as reseml)ling a cruel Egjp- tian task-master, and the Saviour as one who came into the world to deliver them by repealing his rigorous edicts, then they may love the one and hate the other. But if the Saviour is viewed in his true charac- ter as not coming to abrogate the law, but to magnify and make it honornhle, to con- demn the sinner's conduct while he saves his soul, then they cannot hate the one without equally hating the other. "I do not know," says P., "that the Scripture ever blames man, much less con- demns him, iiccause he is born impure, or because he is the subject of impure j)ro- pensities." — p. 05. As to the actual exe- cution of condemnation, it is not lor me to say how far the mercy of God will be ex- tendey " power" lie had MUMiit natural al)ilily, I sliouM cer- tainly have accoriloti with llic scnliment ; but it is very plain he means to apply it to moral as well as natural ability, and then he is certainly mistaken. For I not only can imairine that to he the rase, luit do vcrilv helieve it. Vea, I can scarcely tliink that P. himself can lielieve tiie con- trary ; at least, he will not, he cannot, abide by its just and necessary consequen- ces. If what he says be true, it is either possible that no offences should come, or else no icoc is due to those bij xchom they come. — Luke xvii. 1. It must likewise follow that every man has, or might have, power to live entirely blameless through life, both towards God and towards man ; for, be it so that some degree of imperfec- tion will continue to attend him, yet that imperfection, being supposed to be " a necessary ctVect " of the fall, cannot be blameworthy, (p. 67 ;) and so it is possible for a fallen son of Adam to live and die blameless, and, consequently, to appear in his own righteousness without /«u/^ be- fore the throne of God. These conse- quences, however anti-scriptural and ab- surd, are no more than must inevitably follow from the position of Philanthropos. "According to my principles," I am told, "men's moral inaliility is invinci- ble."— p. 68. If I liave used that term in the former treatise, or the present, it is for want of a better. It is easy to see that my principles do not so much main- tain that the moral inaliility of men is such as to render all their attemjits to overcome it vain, as that sin hath such a dominion in their heart as to prevent any real attempts of that nature being made. If a whole country were possessed by a foreign enemy, and all its posts and ave- nues occupied by his forces, and all the inhabitants dead that so much as wished to oppose him; in that case, to say his power was become invincible by any op- position Jrom that country, would hardly be proper ; seeing all opposition there is subdued, and all the country are of one side. Invincible is a relative term, and supposes an opposition made, though made in vain. But moral inai>ility is of such a nature, where it totally prevails, as to prevent all real and direct opposi- tion being made. It is the same thing as for the "hearts of the sons of men" to be "fully set in them to do evil " — to be full of evil, while they live ; " for "every imagination of the heart" to be "only evil, and that continually." Now, if we say this moral indisposition is invincible, it is for the want of a better term. What we affirm is this, rather: that, suppose it were conquerable, there is nothing of real good in the sinner's heart to concjuer it. If sin is conquered by any efforts oi' ours, it must be by such as are voluntary. It is not enough that we be " rational be- ings," and that conscience suggests to us what ought to be, (p. 66 :) we must choose U\ go aliout it, and that in good earnest, or we shall never elFect it. But where the thoughts of the heart are only evil, and that continually, il is supposing a plain contradiction to suppose our.-iches the sui)jects of any such volition, or desire. III. But it will be said, Though moral inability is total, yet it is contjuerable by THE GRACE OF GoD ; and this grace is given to every one in the world, or would be given, were he to ask it : and this it is which renders men inexcusable. — p. 66. Without this, P. avows that "any man, be his practices as vile as they may, may excuse himself from l)lame ; and all real good whatever may be denied to be the duty of an ui\principled mind." — p. 59. This seems to l)e his last and grand re- sort, and what he often dwells upon. The discussion of this subject will finish the present section. I bless God that moral inability is in- deed conqueralile by the grace of God, though I question whether it is, or ever was, conquered by what P. calls by that name. But su[)posc, for argument's sake, we grant him his hyj)othcsis, I question if it will answer his end. This grace is either actually given to all mankind, or rcould be given upon their application. If actually given, I should lie glad to know what it is. Is it light in the understand- ing, or love in the heart 1 Is it anv thing, or productive of any thing, that is truly goodl If so, how does this accord with the description given of men, that their minds are darkness, their hearts enmity, and that there is none of them that doeth good, no not one 1 * Or is it something for which there is no name, a sort of seed sown in the heart, which, if neglected, will perish, but, if watered by human in- dustry, will be productive 1 If so, the difficulty is not at all removed; for then the question is, whether a mind so de- praved as to be totally unable to do any thing spiritually good will ever be inclined to improve that grace, to water the seed, so as that it may bring forth fruit. If the latter member of the position be adopted, viz. that all mankind might have grace sufficient to overcome their moral inability, if they would apply for it; still the question returns, will a mind totally destitute of any thing spiritually good, and fully set upon doing evil, aj)ply to God for grace to such an end ? Is it not * Ephes. v. S. Rom. viii. 7; ill. 12. 488 RELLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. inconsistent for a tree that is wholly evil to brins? forth good fruit '? Or are we to imagine, after all, that Satan will rise up against himself 1 To apply to God in any right manner for grace, for the cure of an evil propensity, must suppose a desire to have that propensity cured; but to sup- pose a person totally under the dominion of a propensity, and at the same time properly and directly desiring to have such propensity removed, is what some people would call by the hard name of self-contradiction.* Farther : I query if the hypothesis of P., instead of answering his end, will not be found subversive of itself, and destruc- tive of his main design. Making this supposed grace the only thing which con- stitutes men accountable beings is making it debt, surely, rather than grace. I have too good an opinion of the humility and integrity of P. to imagine he intends merely to compliment the Almighty in calling it grace; but I think it becomes him to examine his scheme, and see Avhether it amounts to any thing less. Grace is free favor towards the unworthy. It supposes the subject destitute of all claim whatever, and the author to be free to give or to withhold. But all that this supposed grace amounts to is, not to prove that God has done any thing more than he was bound to do, but barely that he has done what we had a right to expect, or else be at liberty to throw off his yoke with impunity. It does not, therefore, at all prove Jehovah to be gracious; if it serve for any thing, it can be only to jus- tify his character from the imputation of injustice and cruelty, or from being what P. calls "a merciless tyrant." — p. 88. But farther : I question if even tins end will be answered by it. I question if it will not be found, upon the principles and reasonings of P., that this supposed grace, instead of being any real favor towards mankind, is the greatest curse that could ever befal them. If Christ had never come, and no grace had been given in him, then according to the reasoning of P. men had never been responsible for any part of their conduct. They Avould, it is true, have been born depraved, and lived depraved ; but, having no power to avoid it, or to free themselves from it, " where," he asks, " would have been their criminality 1 " — pp. 44, 57. He does not scruple to acknowledge that, if no grace were provided, " any man, be his prac- tices as vile as they might, might excuse himself from blame : and all real good * See President Edwards on the Will, Part III., Sect, v., on sincere endeavors. whatever might be denied to be the duty of an unprincipled mind." — p. 59. Now, if things are so, that men without the be- stowment of grace would have been free from criminality, surely the righteousness of God could never have suffered them to be sent to hell, and the goodness of God, we may suppose, would have raised them to eternal life ; and so they might have been innocent and happy, if Jesus had never died : but now, alas ! in conse- quence of his coming and of grace being given them, to deliver them from some- thing wherein they were never blame- worthy— now they lie all exposed to in- excusable blame and everlasting ruin! f P. speaks of the " almighty and all- gracious God being represented as con- triving to make poor sinners miserable under the color of invitations," &c. — p. 45. I delight not in the use of such ex- pressions ; they appear to me, to say the least, as bordering on irreverence. But if such language must be used, and such consequences urged, let the reader judge to whose sentiments they belong ; to those of P. or mine. " That Christ died for our sins, accord- ing to the Scriptures," is allowed by P., and, I should think, by every Christian, to be a fundamental doctrine of Christian- ity.— p. 34, note. The apostle, doubtless, considered this, and his resurrection from the dead, in such a light, when he conclu- ded that, if the opposite were true, the faith of the Corinthians ivas vain, and they were 'yet in their sins. — 1 Cor. xv. 3 — 17. But, fundamental as these sentiments are, if the scheme of P. be true, the first of them must, of necessity, be false. If his sentiments a^re true, Christ did not come into the world to save men from sin, but rather to put them into a capacity of sin- ning ; as it is in consequence of his death, and that alone, that guilt becomes charge- able upon them. So far from being yet in their sins, if Christ had neither died for them nor risen from the dead, they had then been incapable of sinning at all, and t When I consider the above positions, I am en- tirely at a loss to understand the following passage : — " It is granted, Sir, that God might justly have left man in ihe state he was born in, and brought in- to by Adam's sin, whatever state that be." — p. 57. What such a state would have been, P. does not de- termine: he seems here to consider it, however, as deserving some sort of punishment ; otherwise there is no meaning in that comparative mode of speaking, which he so frequently uses, ofheing punished more severely. But does P. really mean what he writesl Compare this passage with what he has asserted in pages 44, 57, 59, and it amounts to nothing less than this — that it ivould have been just in God to have punished the human race by acquitting them of all blame, and bringing them in guiltless ! REPLY TO nilLANTIIROPOS. 489 ought not to have been accountable to God, It seems, if men liad but power to let their practices iiavc been what tliey comply, all this injustice would subside. luiKht ! Well : we aOinn they have puwcr. They It is possible the reader may be startled ha\e the same natural aliility to eml)raco at the imputation of sucii consc(juences as Christ as to reject him. Tiiey could the al)ove; and, truly, they are ot such a comply with the gospel if thcij would. nature as ouuht to startle not the reader Is any thin>i more necessary to denomi- oniy. " But are not tilings carried to an nate them accountal)lc beings 1 Wc be- extrenieV \\i they are, it is unknown lieve not; and perhaps, in tact, P. be- to me : but let us go over the ground again lieves the same. In some jilaces, how- and sec. P. supposes, 1. That man was ever, he appears to think there is. Well : so reduced l)y the tall as to be ^^ really what is it] If any thing, it must bean and totally unahlc to do good." — p. 57. 2. inclination as well as an ability. Now, That, if he had been lelt in this condition, would P. be willing to have his objection he would not have been to blame tor not thus stated : — It is hard that new obliga- doing it, but that his inability would have tions should be laid uj)on persons who been his excuse, (pp. 44, 57, 59:) yea, have no inclination \.o what tliey already "let his practices have been as vile as lie under 1 If so, it will afford final un- thcy might, he would have been excusa- believers a powerful })lca at the last day. bio'"— p. 59. But, 3. That God has not " No," it will be said, " they might have left him in this condition. He has sect had an inclination if they uumld ; " l)ut his Son to die for all men universally; let it be considered whether any thing and, by giving, or at least ofTering, his like this is revealed in Scripture, and Spirit to all men, he removes the inability whether it is not repugnant even to com- which they derived from the tall ; and mon sense. If they had been tcilUng, they hence they become accountable beings, might, or ivould, have been ivilling ! that and are inexcusable if they do not comply is the amount of it, which is saying just with things spiritually good. — p. 66. If nothing at all. But, passing this, words have any meaning, I should think Whoever Vie right, he or I, neither of tlicse are the real sentiments of P. Now, us ought to take his own hypothesis for if these be true, it must follow that Christ granted and proceed to charge the conse- did not die for the si^s of any jnan excc\)t quences upon the other. And yet this is it were Adam ; since none of tlie fallen what P. has done. The w hole force of race could have sinned if he had never his reasoning in p. 45, and divers other died. The reasonings of P. suppose places, rests upon the sui)position of that that men are not chargeable with sin or being true which is a matter of dispute ! blameirorthiness, independently of the viz. that natural power is not power, and death of Christ and the grace of the gos- is not sutTicient to denominate men ac- pel ; and, if so, it could not be to atone countable beings. His statement of the for, s;;i that he laid down his life ; for, pri- above objection takes this for granted; or to the consideration of this, there was whereas this is what we positively deny, no sin for which he could have to atone. maintaining that natural power is power. If I have unhappily adopted an indefen- properly so called, and is, to all intents sible mode of reasoning, let it be fairly and purposes, sufficient to render men ac- confuted. Till I see that done I shall countable beings ; that the want of incli- nation in a sinner is of no account with the Governor of the world; that he pro- ceeds in his requirements, and that it is right he should jiroceed, in the same way as if no such disinclination existed. If continue to think the sentiments of P. on this sulijcct eversive of one of the funda- mental principles of Christianity. There is a thought on which P. repeat- edly insists. It is this, that, " supposing ittol)ejust to punish men eternally for this can be solidly disproved, let it; it that depravity whicii they derive Irom their will be time enough then to exclaim of first parents, (this, however, is more than injustice and cruelty, and to compare the he in fact will allow,) yet it is very hard Divine Being to an Egyptian task-master, that any addition should be made to the or to " a wicked Rehoboam." — p. 92,* obligations they lie under, and that pun- ishments should be annexed to these ol)li- gations which they have no power either to regard or avoid." — p. 45. Heoftenspeaks of the injustice of punishing those who ♦ I wish P. had ppoken oCtlie Divine Being-, Iiere and in some otlier places, in language more becom- ing a worm of the dust. 1 have no ohjoction to the consequences of a sentiment being fairly pointed out and thoroughly urged : but, suppose siicli a eon- enjoy gospel-opportunities, and neglect sequence as tliis had been just, it might have been them, " 7uore set-eWi/ tiian if they had nev- er enjoyed them, if they had not power suf- ficient to have enibraccd them." — ]). 57. To all which I reply, VOL. I. 62 urged in more sober language. Surely it is [too much for a creature to talk of his Creator Ijeing wicked ! But I have no conviction, at present, of such a consetjuence being just. If it Ix;, it must be upon this supposition, that not capacity and oppor^ 490 REPLY TO PHIL.\NTHROPOS. The question appears to me to be this, 7s it unrighteous in God to do right be- cause he knows men loill be sure to take occasion thence to do wrong and aggravate their own destruction 1 God knew assur- edly that all the messages sent to Pharaoh would only harden his heart and aggravate his ruin ; lam sure, said Jehovah to his servant, that the king of Egypt unll not let you go : no, not by a mighty hand, and yet he did not in the least hold himself obliged either to give him grace that should soften his heart or to discontinue his messages, which, without such grace, were certain to issue in the aggravation of his ruin. " But Pharaoh could have complied if he would." We grant it ; and so could they who reject Christ. They are under no other necessity in the one case than Pharaoh was in the other. Whatever dissimilarity there may be between the condition of fallen angels and that of sinners in the present life who will finally perish, the case of the former sufficiently serves to refute the supposition of P. The redemption of man has certainly been an occasion of a world of guilt to those revolted spirits. Had not Christ come, Satan could never have had an opportunity to have sinned in the manner he has in tempting him, insti- gating his murderers, and all along op- posing the spread of his kingdom. But would it be right, therefore, for Satan, in behalf of himself and his associates, to plead in this manner at the great assize — Why were we not confined to the deep 1 Seeing no mercy was designed for us, where was the justice of suffering us to range in the world, Avhere it was certain we should only increase our guilt and so be punished the 7nore severely 1 Surely our first revolt was enough for us, with- out being suffered to go any farther. If the reasoning of P. on this subject, particularly in p. 57, prove any thing, it will prove not merely that sinners ought not to be punished more severely, but that, if it were not for grace provided for them, they ought not to be punished at all. In that case, one should think, the greatest grace would have been to have let them alone, and left them under the ruins of the fall : then had they been blameless and harmless, without rebuke, and conse- quently unexposed to misery, either here or hereafter. After all, I question if P. really means any thing more by his notion of grace than we do by natural ability. We allow tunity, but inclination to do good, is analogous to the straw with which the Israelites ought to iiave been furnished for the making of brick. that men can come to Christ, and do things spiritually good, if they will. He is not satisfied, it seems, with this : they must have something oi grace given, or offered, or otherwise they cannot be ac- countable beings. Well : what does it all amount to 1 Does he mean that they must have something of real good and ho- ly inclination in them % I question if he will affirm this. Does he mean that this supposed grace does any thing effectually towards making them willing 1 No such thing. What, then, does he mean 1 Nothing that I can comprehend more than this — that men may come to Christ, if they will. His whole scheme of grace, therefore, amounts to no more than our natural ability. We admit that men in general are possessed of this ability ! but then we have no notion of calling it grace. If we must be accountable beings, we ap- prehend this to he no more than an exer- cise of justice. And in fact our oppo- nents, whatever terms they use, think the same ; for though they call it grace, and so would seem to mean that it is some- thing for which we had no claim, yet the constant drift of their writing proves that they mean no such thing : for they all along plead that it would be unjust and cruel in God to withhold it and yet to treat them as accountable beings. P. does not scruple to compare it to the con- duct of an Egyptian task-master, who required brick without straw. What end, therefore, they can have in calling this power by the name oi grace it is difficult to say, unless it be to avoid the odium of seeming to ascribe to divine grace noth- ing at all. For my part, I apprehend that, whatever grace is provided for or bestowed upon men, they are altogether inexcusable, without any consideration of that nature whatever. Some of the principal reasons for which are as follow : — 1. The term grace implies that the sulject is totally unworthy, alto- gether inexcusable, and destitute of any claim ; and all this previously to, and in- dependent of, its bestowment ; otherwise grace is no more grace. 2. The heathen, in their ignorance of God, are said to be without excuse : and that not from the con- sideration of grace, bestowed upon them, unless by " grace " is meant simply the means of knowledge by the works of crea- tion, answering to the testimony of con- science within them. " That which may be known of God," says the apostle, ".is manifest in them ; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and God- head ; so that they are without excuse." REPLY TO I'lIILANTIIROPOS. 491 3. The manner in uliich Ihe godly have do the same l)usiness which it was before, prayeci for grace to fullil their duly, aiul It is true it does not excuse his foriricr to i)reser\ e iheni from sin, sliow s tliat they inteiii|)erancc ; lor in that he was to hiainc : considered themselves as ol)ii<;ed to duty, but il excuses his present cessation Iroiu und as lial)le to sin, antecedently to its business: for that lie is not to Idamc ; nor bcstowmeiit. " Tiiou hast commanded can any person l)lame him. Tliis will hold us that we should keej) thy precepts dili- good in all cases of natural inaliilily what- gently : O that my ways were directed to ever; and, if there is no difl'erence l)etwecn keep thy statutes ! " — " We know not wiiat tiiat and what is of a moral nature, the we should pray lor as wc ought ; i)ut the same reasoning will apply to the fallen JSpirit itself helpeth our inlirmities." — angels. They were certainly to blame for "Hold up my goings in thy |)alhs, that their first revolt, l)y which they contracted my footsteps slip not." — "O that tliou their inability; but how can they be to wouldest keep mc I'rom e\il, that it may not blame for continuing wliat they are I grieve me!" — "Keep back thy servant Their propensity to evil is now become from presumptuous sins : then shall I be invincible, and no grace is bestowed upon innocent from the great transgression." them to deliver them from it: how, then, 4. Fallen angels are under amoral inal)ili- can they be to blamed And if truth is of ty to love God, or to do any tiling that is like force in all places, and at all times, really good, and no grace is provided for why should not the ploughl)oy's argument, them ; yet they are without excuse. as it is called, " VVIiat wc cannot do, we P. informs us of some unsuccessful con- cannot do," be as irrefragable in the lan- ferences which he has frequently had with guage of an apostate angel as in that of an unconverted sinners, in endeavoring, upon apostate man 1 Calvinistic principles, to fix blame upon their consciences. — p. GO. If I had had the pleasure of being a bystander in one or more of those conferences, I imagine I should have seen a very easy conquest : and no wonder ; people seldom manage to the best advanta.j^e those princijiles which they do not lielieve. We too often see this exemplified, when a controversy is written in the form of a dialogue. I do not apprehend that P. intended to I find it difficult to come at the real plead the cause of the infernal legions in sentiments of P. touching the moral law. their C07i/mMe(/ enmity to, and rebellion Sometimes he speaks of it as"aninvari- against, the Most High ; but, if I am not able rule of human conduct, and infallible greatly mistaken, the purport of his reason- test of right and wrong," (|). 07 ;) at other ing is fully of that tendency. There is times he speaks of il as wholly abrogated, only one particular wanting, viz. deriving as if "final misery was not brought uponsin- their depravity from a predecessor, to ren- ners by their transgression of the law, but der all their iniquities, according to his by their rejection of the overtures of mer- reasoning, entirely excusai'le. They can- cy." — p. 86. In his Ninth Letter he ad- not 7io!t' find in their hearts to do au^'ht mits that men "are bound, as sul)jects of but evil: and, no grace lieing bestowed God's moral government, to embrace what- upon them to deliver them, wherein can ever he reveals." — p. 89. One should consist their blame] It is true each of think that, if so, a rejection of the over- them brought his depravity ujjon himself, tures of mercy must itself he a transgres- without deriving it from another ; and this sion of the law. And yet he, all along, may prove them to have been to blame in speaks of our obligations to obey the gos- ihch first revolt, but not in any thing that pel as arising, if not wholly, yet chiefly, follows. They sinned, to lie sure, at the from the gospel itself. He does not seem beginning; but, if the reasoning of P. be willing (o deny the thing in full ; for he just, I do not see how they can have sin- cautiously uses the terms " wholly and ned from it. He insists upon it that in chiefly : " and yet if his arguments, es- these cases there is no difference between pecially from the contrary nature of the a natural and moral inability; " for what two dispensations, (p. 90,) from the silence wecannotdojwecannotdo."-- -p.GO. Now, of Scrij)ture, &c. &c., prove any thing, in all cases of natural inaltility, the party is they will prove that our obligations to excusal)le, even though he may, by his own obey the gospel must arise wholly and en- fault, have brought that inability upon him- tirely from the gospel itself, and not from self. If a man, by dcl)auchery or excess the moral law.* bring upon himself an utter disal)ility for all future employment, it is not then his duty to * That there is a tense in \\\nd\ our oLligation to SECTION III. ON FAITH IN CHRIST BEING A REQUIR- MENT OF THE MORAL LAW. 492 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. The purport of all the reasoning of P. on this subject supposes me to maintain that MEN ARE EXHORTED AND INVITED TO SUCH AND SUCH THINGS, MERELY AS MATTER OF DUTY, WITHOUT ANY PROM- ISE OF SALVATION ON THEIR COMPLI- ANCE. Hence he speaks of" binding men down in chains of darkness ; " of their " seeking the salvation of their souls in vain," (p. 46;) with various things of the kind : whereas I have given sufficient proof of the contrary throughout the former treatise, particularly in pp. 157 — 159. It is, all along, supposed that eter- nal salvation is promised by a faithful God to any and every exercise of what is spirit- ually good ; and that, if every sinner who hears the gospel were truly to come to Christ for salvation, every such sinner would undoubtedly be saved. It must be upon this mistaken supposi- tion that P. denies the gospel upon our principles to be in itself " good news," (p. 92,) or in its own nature, a " real privi- lege."— p. 87. But unless the aversion of men's hearts from embracing the gospel (if grace is not provided, to enable them to do so) makes that to be no privilege which would otherwise be so, such a con- sequence cannot justly be imputed to our sentiments. This, however, will not be admitted : yet P. seems to take it for granted, and proceeds to draw consequen- ces from it, as an undoubted truth. There is some force in what P. has ad- vanced on the subject of trust (p. 32 ;) and, for any thing I yet perceive, he is in the right in supposing that the venture of the four lepers into the Syrian camp could not pi'operly be called by that name. It should be considered, however, that the above case, which I produced for illustration, was not designed as a perfect representa- tion of a sinner's application to Christ. 1 never supposed it possible for a soul to ap- ply to Christ and be disappointed. Wheth- er the resolution of the lepers can be call- ed trust, or not, it never was my design to prove that a sinner has no greater encour- agement to apply to Christ than they had in their proposed application to the Syri- ans. On the contrary, the purport of the argument in that place was thus express- ed : "If it would be right to venture, even in such a case as that, surely Christ's having promised, saying, ' Hiin that cometh unto me I will in no loise cast out,' cannot make it otherwise." — p. 133. I admit there is no doubt of a sinner's acceptance who, from his heart, applies at the feet of Christ, as one who is utterly comply with die gospel does arise from the gospel itself is allowed. On this subject I have given my thoughts ill the former treatise, p. 57. lost, and righteously condemned : yet I do not feel the force of my opponent's censure when, speaking of coming to Christ with a " J) er adventure he will save my life,'' lie calls it the mere language of heathenism. A heathen's having used such language does not prove it to be the mere language of heathenism ; nor is it so. Peter exhort- ed the sorcerer, saying, " Repent there- fore of this wickedness, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee." Though there be no doubt of one who truly comes to Christ being accepted, yet there may be some doubt concerning a person's coming in the spirit of the gos- pel : and I believe it is not usual for a person, on his first application to Christ, to be able to decide upon that matter. On these accounts, I should think it is usual for a sinner, on his first application to the Saviour, to pray to the Lord, if so be that ihe evils of his heart and life may be for- given him. It is not the way of a contrite sinner to come as a claimant, but as a sup- pliant : " He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope." Trust, according to my present appre- hensions, when used to express faith in Christ, refers, like that, to a divine testi- mony, or promise. That for which every sinner who hears the gospel ought to trust to Christ is this : that, if he truly come to him, he shall surely be accepted of him ; for this is testified, or promised. He ought not so to trust in Christ as to depend upon being saved by him whether he come to him in the spirit of the gospel or not, (for that would be trusting in a falsehood,) but so as to give up every false object of con- fidence, and make trial of the divine vera- city. If there is any difference between the manner in which a sinner ought to trust in Christ, and in which a saint does trust in him, it appears to be this : the former ought to trust in God's promise that, if he come, he shall be accepted, and so make the trial : the latter may be conscious that he has come to Christ, and does fall in with his gospel and governmeiit ; and, if so, he trusts in his promise for the happy issue. There are seasons, however, in which true saints are in great darkness about their evidences for glory. At those times, they find it necessary to exercise renewed acts of trust on Christ in the manner first de- scribed. Not possessing a certain con- sciousness that they do fall in with his gospel and government, all they can do is to consider that the promise is stillin force, ''Him that cometh unto me I will in no ivise cast out ; " and so make trial afresh of the Redeemer's veracity. P. seems to think that his sentiments KI.I'LY TO I'lm.AiNTllUOI'OS. 493 lay II i)roj)er foiinihition lor trust to every jK)or sinner ; and tliat ours do not. But what lias any sinner to trust in uj)on liis priniiples, more tlian upon ours ! Ac- cordini^ to our prii\ciples, any sinner may trust tliat he shall l>e saved (/" he comr to Christ : and what do his do more ! They do not w arrant a sinner to trust that he shall lie sa\ ed whether he come to Christ or not ; lor thouirli F. siipposes Christ died lor all, yet he maintains that many of those for whom he ilied will linally perish. I see no aihantajic whatever, therelore, attend- inji his scheme, in layin_a:a more solid and extensive tbundation lor a sinner's trust than ours. in am not very much mistaken, P. has jrrcatly confounded two very dilTerent things, viz. an obligation and an encourage- ment to believe. The one, I suppose, arises from the moral law ; the other Irom the gospel. That the encouragements held out to sinners to return to God by Jesus Christ lieloniT to the law is what 1 never afTirmed. P. has quoted various Scrip- tures, in his Ninth Letter, of an encourag- ing nature; and these, doubtless, are the language of the gospel. But the question is, does our obligation to believe arise from these encouragements, or from the injunc- tions witli which they are connected 1 The encouragement of the j>rodigal to return, and make a frank acknowledgment to Ids father, arose from his father's well- known clemency, and there being bread enough in his house, and to spare; but that was not the ground of his obligation. It had been right and fit for him to have returned, wjiether such a ground of en- couragement had existed or not. As to those encouragements being im- proper without a. provision of mercy ; if it were possible for any returning sinner to be refused admittance for want of a suf- ficiency in the death of Christ, this might be admitted, V)ut not else. And if by a provision of mercy is meant no more than a provision of pardon to all who believe, and supposing, for argument's sake, every man in the world should return to God in Christ's name, thai Ihey would all be ac- cepted, I have no objection to it. At the same time, it is insisted that no man ever did come to Christ, or ever can find in his heart to do so, but whom the Father draws. But more of this hereafter: at present I shall offer a few arguments for the following position : — Though the en- couragements of a sinner to come to Christ arise wholly from the gospel, yet his ob- ligation so to do arises from the moral law. I. All obligation must arise from some law. If, therefore, our obligations to be- lieve in Christ do uot arise from the moral law, thev must arise from the gospel as a 7i<'ii' law: Vuit the gospel, as P. admits, is sim\t\\ goodneivs,{\). 5,) and ncirs, whether good or bad, relates not to [irccepts or in- junctions, but to tidings proclaimed. II. Sin is defined, by an inspired apostle, to be " the transgression of the lan\" — I John iii. 1. If this be a perfect definition, it must extend to all sin ; and conse(pient- ly to unbelief, or a rejection of God's way of salvation. But, if unl)elief be a trans- gression of the law, faith, which is the op- j)osite, must be one of its requirements. III. If love to God include faith in Christ wherever he is revealed by the gospel, then the moral law, which expressly re- quires the former, must also recjuire the latter. In proof that love to God includes faith in Christ, I ask leave to refer the reader to pages 33 — 35, and 69 of the former treatise. P. allows my "reasonings on the extent of the moral law, in pages ISS, 189,* are very conclusive ; " but what he calls " ana- logical reasonings, in this and other places, from the law to the gospel, he cannot think to be equally conclusive, unless the dis- pensation of the law and that of the gos- pel were the same." — p. 67. If I under- stand what he refers to by analogical rea- sonings, it is the argument contained in those pages to which I have just now re- ferred the reader. I might here ask. Is what was advanced in those pages answer- ed ^ I do not recollect that any thing like an answer to it is attempted by any one of my opponents. If the reasoning is inconclu- sive, I should suppose its deficiency is capable of being detected. Let P. or any other person prove, if he is able, that supreme love to God would not necessari- ly lead a fallen creature, who has heard the gospel of Christ, to embrace him as God's way of salvation ; or let him invali- date those arguments, in the pages referred to, in which the contrary is maintained. Let him consider also, whether, if he suc- ceed, he will not, in so doing, invalidate the reasoning of our Lord to the Jews, " I know' you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not." That the law and the gospel are two very different dispensations is allowed. The one is a mere inefficient rule, requir- ing what is right, but giving no disposi- tion to a compliance ; the other provides for the bestowment of the Holy Spirit, by which we are renewed in the spirit of our mind. The gospel makes effectual j)rovi- sion for the producing of those dispositions which the law simply requires. The law * This refers to the fir.-ited. Tlie substance will be found in App. p. 423. 494 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. condemns the sinner, the gospel justifies him. On these accounts, the former is filly called the letter lohich killeth, and the latter the spirit which giveth LiPE. — 2 Cor. iii. 6. For these reasons also, with others, the gospel is a better covenant. All this may be allowed, with- out making it a new law, requiring a kind of obedience that shall be within the com- pass of a carnal mind, and different in its nature Irom that required by the moral law. IV. Unbelievers will be accused and convicted by Moses ; their unbelief must, therefore, be a breach of the law of Mo- ses. After our Lord had complained of the Jews that " they would not come un- to him that they might have life ; " that, though he was come in his " Father's name, yet they received him not ; " he adds, " Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father ; there is one that accu- seth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye V^elieved Moses, ye would have believed me." It is very plain, I think, from this passage, that the thing for which Moses would accuse them was a rejection of Christ and the way of salvation by him ; which, according to our Lord's reasoning, implied a rejection of the writings of Mo- ses.* From hence, therefore, it is infer- red that a compliance with the gospel is what the law of Moses requires, and a noncompliance with it is a matter for which that law will accuse and condemn. f * By Moses's accusing diem, I apprehend, is meant the law of IMoses, which condemns the Jews to tliis present lime lor not believing in that prophet whom Moses i'> letold. Dent, xviii. 18, 19. •f If I II derstaed P., he considers the moral law as a s\\^lem of government now no longer in force; aixl tlie gospel as a new system of government, more suited to the state of fallen creatures, wiiich has taken place of it; for he supposes that " final misery is not now brought upon men by their transgression of the moral law, but by their reception of the overtures of mercy." — p. 86. Final misery, we are sure, must be brougiit upon men by sin, he it against what law it may; and, whatever law it is the breach of which subjects us to final misery, that must be the law that we are under. If this is not the moral law, then men are not under that law, nor can it be to us " the standard of right and wrong." If the gospel be a new system of government, taking place of the moral law, then all the precepts, prohibitions, promises, and threatenings, the neglect of which subjects men to final misery, must belong to the former and not to the latter. How far the.se sentiments accord with the Scripture account of eitlier law or gospel, let the reader judge. Let it be considered, also, whether it is not much more consistent with both to conceive of the former as the guardian of the latter, enjoining whatever re- gards are due to it, and punishing every instance of neglect and contempt of it. iSuch a view of things accords with the passage in John v., just cited, and is in no wise contradicted by those Scriptures to which we are referred in page 86. On the contrary, one of those passages, viz. 2 Thes. i. 8, in my opinion, P. has brought many proofs of the invita- tions of Scripture being enforced on gospel principles. This is a matter I should nev- er thought of have denying. But if an invi- tation to believe in Christ, enforced by gos- pel motives, will prove that faith is not a requirement of the moral law, then invi- tations to love God, to fear him, and to lie low before him, enforced in the same manner, will prove the same of them. Love, fear, and humility, are enforced upon gospel principles, as well as faith in Christ. Things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, and of which it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive, are prepared for them who love God. The exhortations to Jear God are not more numerous than the promises of mer- cy to those who are of such a spirit. Men are exhorted to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, with the encour- agement that he will lift them up. These are all gospel motives ; yet P. Avill not deny that the dispositions enforced are requirements of the moral law. Even rel- ative duties, such as those of husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, &c., which certainly are of a moral nature, are nevertheless enforced by gospel motives. But " how can the gospel answer the end of recovering miserable men," it is asked, "if it contain new injunctions, equally impossible, if not more so, than the moral law itself; and these injunctions enforced by more awful punishments 1 " — p. 93. I might ask, in return. How can the gospel have a tendency to recover sin- ful men from their evil propensities, if it is a kind of law which requires only such exercises as may consist with those pro- pensities 1 It can have no such tendency, unless tolerating an evil has a tendency to destroy it. " But is not the gospel adapted, as a means, to recover lost sinners 1" Yes, it is. By the cross of Christ, it exhib- its the evil of sin in stronger colors than all the curses of the law could paint it ; and so has a tendency, in the hand of the Holy Spirit, to convince the world of sin. Nor is this all : it exhibits a Saviour to the guilty soul, to keep him from despair, which, at the same time, tends to conquer his heart with a view of God's free and self- moved goodness. A person thus con- quered would admire the free and sove- reign grace of the gospel, but he would tends to establish it, and is in direct contradiction to the hypothesis of P. Vengeance is said to be taken on men, not'merely for their disobedience to ihe gospel, but, as well, for their ignorance of God, which is distinguished from the other, and is mani- festly a breach of the moral law. REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. 495 abhor the thought of a gospel that should make Jehovah stoop to the vile inclina- tions of his apostate creatures. His prayer would l)c, — " lucline" not tliy testimonies to my heart — l)ut " my heart to thy testiiiionios." liut " could the gospel have a tenden- cy to recover lost sinners, if it contain- ed new injunctions eipially imp()ssii)lc, if not more so than the moral law it- self 1" I own, I think it could not. And who supposes it could "! Surely P. jMUst have here forgotten himself. Does he not know tliat those are his own sentiments ratiier than mine ; so far, at least as relates to tiic gospel containing neio injunctions. I suppose the gospel, strictly speaking, to contain no injunc- tions at all, but merely the good tidings of salvation by Jesus Ciu'ist ; and tiiat, whatever precepts or injunctions arc to be found respecting its being embraced, they are the diversified language of the moral law, which obliges men, as P. himself allows, to " end)race whatever God reveals."— p. 89. Sometimes the word gospel is used, in a large sense, for the whole of the Christian dispensation, as contained in the New Testament, or the whole of that religion taught by Christ and Ids apostles, whether doctrinal or practical. In this use of the word we sometimes speak of tlie precepts of the gospel. But, when the term gospel is used in a strict sense, it denotes merely the good news proclaimed to lost sinners through the mediation of Christ. In this view it stands opposed to the moral law, and, in itself, contains no injunctions at all. If the gospel were a new system of governnjent, taking place of the moral law, one should think there would be no farther need of tiie latter ; whereas Christ, in his sermon on the mount, maintained its perpetuity, and largely ex- plained and enforced its precepts. " Do we then make void the law through faith 1 God forbid ; yea, we estal)lish the law. SECTION IV. ON THE DEATH OF CHRIST. The extent of Christ's death is well known to have been a matter of great controversy. For my part I cannot pre- tend to so much reading upon the sub- ject as to be fully acquainted with the arguments used on either side. If I write any thing about it, it will be a few plain thoughts, chiefly the result of reading the sacred Scriptures. I think no one can imagine that I am under any obligation from the laws of controversy to Ibllow P. into a long and labored defence of the limited extent of Ciirisl's death. All that can l)e reason- ably thougiit incumbent upon me is to treat of it so lar as respects its consist- ency or inconsistency with indelinite in- vitations. On this score I might very well be excused from entering upon any defence of the subject itself, or answer- ing the arguments advanced ibr the con- trary. Whatever notice is taken of ei- ther will l)e rather in comj)liance with what has l)een done by my opponent than in conformity to the laws of dis- putation. I suppose P. is not ignorant that Cal- vin ists in general have considered the particularity of redemption as consisting not in the degree of Christ's sufferings, (as though he must have suffered more if more had been finally saved,) or in any insufficiency that attended them, but in the sovereign purpose and design of the Father and the Son, whereby they were constituted or appointed the price of redemption, the objects of that redemption ascertained, and the ends to be answer ed by the whole transaction determined. They suppose the sufferings of Christ, in themselves considered, are of injinile value, sufTicient to have saved all the world, and a thousand worlds, if it had pleased God to have constituted them the l)rice of their redemption, and to have made ihern effectual to that end. Far- ther : w hatever difficulties there may ap- pear in these subjects, they in general suppose that there is in the death of Christ a sufficient ground for indefinite calls and universal invitations ; and that there is no mockery or insincerity in the Holy One in any one of these things.* * " The obedience and sufTerings of Christ," says Witsiiis, " considered in themselves,, are, on account of ihc infinite dignity of ilie person, of such value as to liave been suflicient fitr redeeming not all and every man in particular, but many myriads lx;sides, had it so pleased God and Christ that he should have under- taken and satisfied for them." And again, " The ol3cposing him to lail in what ho has undertaken. In perfect conformity with those sentiments, the following Scriptures represent our Lord Jesus, I apprehend, as havingunder- taken the certain salvation of all those for whom he lived and died. " It became him (or whom are all things — in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of tiieir salvation perfect through sufier- ings." He died, not for the Jewish na- tion only, " but that he might gatlier to- gether in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." — " Tiie children being partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the same." — " Here am I, and the children whom the Lord hath giv- en me." Though we receive not the " power (or privilege) to become the sons of God " till after we believe in Christ ; yet, from "before the foundation of the world," were we "predestinated to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will ; and so, in the esteem of God, were considered as children, even while as yet we lay scattered abroad under the ruins of the fall. Once more : Christ laid down his life as a sacrifice of atonement; and for whom did the priest under the law offer up the sacrifice \ For those, surely, on whose behalf it was sanctified, or set apart for that purpose. Some of the Jewish sacri- fices were to make atonement for the sins of an individual ; others for the sins of the whole nation : but every sacrifice had its special appointment, and was supposed to atone for the sins of those, and those only, on wliose behalf it was offered. Now Ciirist, being about to offer himself a sac- rifice for sin spake on this wise : " For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth." For their sakes, as though he had said, who were given me of the Father, I set myself apart as a victim to vengeance, that I may consecrate and present them faultless lie- fore the presence of .ny Father. — John xvii. 9, 19. 3. Such effects arc ascribed (o the death of Christ as do not terminate upon all mankind. Those for whom Christ died are represented as bcin^ redeemed by the shedding of his blood : " He hath redeem- 498 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. ed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." But redemption includes the forgiveness of s'm, (Ephes. i. 7 ; Col. i. 14;) and we know that to be a blessing which does not terminate upon all mankind.* Farther : it is not only ascri- bed to the death of Christ that pardon and acceptance arc procured for all who return in his name ; but that any return at all is attributed to the same cause : " He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." He gave himself for the church, " that he might sanctify and cleanse it." Our " old man " is said to be "crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed." But we see not these effects produced up- on all mankind; nor are all mankind his peculiar people. 4. Christ is said to have borne the sin of many ; and the blood of the new cove- nant was "shed for many, for the remis- sion of sins." The term many, it is al- lowed, when opposed to one, or to feui, is sometimes used for an unlimited number : in one such instance it is put lor all man- kind. But it is self-evident that, when no such opposition exists, it is always used for a limited number, and generally stands opposed to all. Who the many are in Isa. liii. 12, whose sins he bare, may be known by comparing it with the verse foregoing : " by his knowledge (that is, by the knowl- edge of him) shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their in- iquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall di- * P, I suppose li;is felt the force of this reasoning heretofore, and therefore, if I am rightly informed, he disowns a universal redemption; supposing that, properly speaking, Christ did not, by laying down his life, redeem any man; that no person can be said to have been redeemed, till he has believed in Christ. It is true we receive this blessing when we believe, as we then receive the atonement. It is then that we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: but as it does not follow, from our receiving the atonement when we believe, that atonement was not properly made when Christ hung upon the cross, so neither does it follow from our having redemption when we believe that Christ did not properly redeem us when he laid down his life. Certain it is that the passage before cited (Gal. iii. 13) refers not to what takes place on our believing, but to what was done at the time when Christ was made a curse for us b\ hanging upon the tree, Thougli I appreliend, for the reasons above, that being redeemed from the curse of the law does not necessarily suppose the subject to be in the actual possession of that blessing; yet to understand it of any thing less than such a virtual redemption as ef- fectually secured our enjoyment of deliverance in (he fulness of time is to reduce it to no meaning at all. M'e must either allow it to mean thus much, or say With P. that Christ, in laying down his life for us, did not redeem any man; but this, at present, appears to me to be contradicting, rather than explaining, Scripture. vide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death ; he was numbered with the transgressors, he bore the sins of many, and madeinterces- sion for the transgressors." There is no reason, that I know of, to be given why the many, whose sins he bore, should be understood of any other persons than the many who by his knowledge are justified, and who, it must be allowed, are not all mankind. 5. The intercession of Christ, which is founded upon his death, and expressive of its grand design, extends not to all man- kind : "I pray for them," says Christ; " I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, for they are thine." The intercession of the priests under the law, so far as I know, was always in behalf of the same persons for whom the oblation was offered. The persons prayed for by our Lord must either mean those who were then believers, to the exclusion of the unbelieving world ; or all who should at any period of time believe, to the exclusion of those who should finally perish. That Christ pray- ed for those who then believed in him is granted ; but that his intercession was confined to them, and excluded all that did not believe in him, cannot be admitted, for the following reasons:— (1) Christ prays for all that were given him of the Father ; but the term given is not applied to believers as such ; for men are represented as given of the Fa- ther prior to their coming to Christ. — John vi. 37. (2) The Scripture account of Christ's intercession does not confine it to those who are actually believers, which it must have done if the sense I oppose be admitted. When he hung upon the cross he prayed for his enemies ; and herein most evidently fulfilled that prophecy : " He poured out his soul unto death, he was numbered with the transgressors, he bore the sin of many, and made interces- sion for the transgressors." (3) It is ex- pressly said, John xvii. 20, " Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who s/i«Wbelieve in me tlirough their word." 6. If the doctrine of eternal, personal, and unconditional election be a truth, that of a special design in the death of Christ must necessarily follow. I do not sup- pose P. will admit the former; but I ap- prehend he will admit that, if the former couUUbe proved a Scripture-truth, the lat- ter would follow of course. I might then urge all those Scriptures and arguments which appear to me to prove the doctrine of election. But this would carry me be- yond my present design. I only say the following Scriptures, among many others, appear to me to be conclusive upon that subject, and such as cannot be answered REPLY TO PIIILANTHROPOS. 499 without a manifest force heino: put upon tlu'in. " God the Father hath lilossod us with ail spiritual hlessings in Christ Je- sus, according as he liath chosen us in him before the foundation of the worhi, that we should he lioly."— " God hath from the lieLMnninji ciiosen you to salva- ti(ui tiirouL'h sanctification of tlie Spirit and the belief of the truth."— "All that the Father Lnveth to me shall come to me." — "Whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate to he ronlbrmed to tlie im- aire of his Son. Moreo\ er, whom he did predestinate, them he also called ; whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorili- ed." — " I have much peo|)le in this city." — "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed." — " Elect, according to the foreknowledire of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedi- ence."— " Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own pur- pose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." — " Ye have not chosen me, but I have cho- sen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." — "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, he- cause thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." — "Except the Lord of hosts had left us a seed we had been as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomor- rah."— "At this present time, also, there is a remnant, according to tlie election of grace. The election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." — "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy ; and I will have compassion on whom I will liave compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."* The above passages must be allowed to speak only of a part of mankind. This part of mankind must be styled the chosen of God, s:iven of the Father, &c., either because of their actually being believers, or because it was foreseen that they would believe, or, as we suppose, because God eternally j)urposed in himself that they should believe and be saved. It cannot be on account of the Jirst ; seeing they were chosen before the foundation of the world, and given to Christ prior to their believing in him. It cannot be on account of the second, because then what he had done for us must have been according to * Kph. i. 3: 2 Thp.=s. ii. 13; John vi. 37; Rom. viii. 29; Acts xviii. 10, xiii. 48; 1 Peter i. 2; 2 Tim. i. 9; John xv. 16; iMalt. xi. 25; Iloin. ix. 15, 29, xi. 5, 7. something good in us, and not according to his own purpose and grace, given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. It would also be contrary to all those Scrip- tures recited above which represent our being chosen and given of the Father as the cause of faith and holiness. If our conformity to the image of the Son of God, our faith, holiness, and obedience, are the effects of election, they cannot be the ground or reason of it. If men are given to Christ prior to the consideration of their coming to him, then they cannot be said to be given on account of their so coming. If, then, it cannot be on account of either the Jirst or the second, I conclude it must be on account of the last. The death of Christ is assigned as a reason why none, at the last day, shall be able to lay any thing to the charge of God's elect.— Rom. viii. 33, 34. But, if it extends equally to those who are con- demned as to those who are justified, how does it become a security against such a charge"? Whatever difference there may be, in point of security, between those who at that day are justified and those who are condemned, the death of Christ is not supposed to have had any influence towards it. The security of the elect should rather have been ascribed to what they themselves have done in embracing the Saviour than to any thing done by him, seeing what he did was no security what- ever. It was no more than a cipher in itself considered. The efficacy of the whole, it seems, rested, not upon what Christ had done, but upon what they themselves had done in believing in him. 7. The character of the redeemed in the world above implies the sentiment for which we plead. Not only did the four living creatures and the four-and-twenty elders (wliich seem to represent the church militant) adore the Lamb, saying, " Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; " but it is witnessed of those who are without fault before the throne of God, that they were redeemed (or bought) from among men, being the first fruits unto God and the Lamb. But if all of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, were l)ought by the blood of Christ, there could be no possiVnlity of any being bought/rom among them. The above are some of the reasons which induce me to think there was a cer- tain, absolute, and consequently limited, design in the death of Christ, securing the salvation of all those, and only those, who are finally saved. The reader will now judge of the confident manner in which P. asks, " What end can it answer to take all 500 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. these pains to vindicate a doctrine which God has never revealed 1" — p. 36. Sect. II. — Wherp.insome notice is taken of the arguments of P. for the contrary hy- pothesis. The limited extent of Christ's death is said to be " inconsistent with divine good- ness, and with tlie tender mercies of God over all his ivorks. " * — p. 73. To this it is replied, Fallen angels are a part of God's works, as well as fallen men ; but Christ did not die for them : if, therefore, his death is to be considered as the crite- rion of divine goodness, and if the exer- cise of punitive justice is inconsistent with that attribute, then, suppose we were to admit that Christ died for all mankind, still the Psalmist's assertion cannot be true, and the difficulty is never the nearer being removed. That God loves all mankind I make no doubl, and all the works of his hands, as such considered, fallen angels themselves not excepted ; but the question is whether he loves them all alike ; and whether the exercise of punitive justice be inconsistent with universal goodness. It is going great lengths for a weak worm to take upon him to insist that divine goodness must be ex- ercised in such a particular instance, or it can have no existence at all. I dare not say there is no love, no goodness, in all the providences of God towards mankind, nor yet in his giving them the means of grace and the invitations of the gospel, though he does not do all for them which he could do to incline them to embrace them, and has neither purposed" nor provided for such an end. On the contrary, I believe these things, in themselves considered, to be in- stances of divine goodness, whatever the issue of them may be through men's de- pravity. But if Christ did not die for all man- kind, it is said, " his tender mercies cannot be exercised towards them ; no, not in the good things of this life ; for these only increase their misery : nor in life itself ; for every moment of it must be a dreadful curse." — p. 73. But, hor- rid as these consequences may appear, a denier of God's forcknoiuledge would tell P. that the same consequences fol- lowed upon his own scheme, and in their * Surely, it is of vast importance to remember that the death of Christ was intended not to prevent the divine character from being leproached on ac- coimt of tiie strictness of his law in condemning all transgressors, but to prevent it from being censured on account of the exemption of any ti-ansgressors from deserved punishment. Whatever considerations prove the necessity, or infinite expediency, of the atunemeiit, must prove it was akogether optional, and au instance of infinite and sovereign goodness in God, to provide a name for a sin offering, full extent. He would say, You pre- tend to maintain the tender mercies of God over all his works ; and yet you suppose him perfectly to know, before any of these works were brought into being, the part that every individual would act, and the consequent misery that would follow. He was sure that millions of the human race would so act, place them under what advantages he would, as that they would certainly in- volve themselves in such a condition that it tvere better for them never to have been born. He knew precisely who would come to such an end, as much as he will at the day of judgment. Why then did he bring them into existence 1 Surely they had better never have been born ; or, if they must be born, why were they not cut off from the womb, seeing he was sure that every moment of time they existed would only increase their misery ] Is this goodness 1 Are these his tender mercies 1 .... I trem- ble while I write ! For my part I feel difficulties attend every thing I think about. I feel myself a poor worm of the dust, whose understanding is infi- nitely too contracted to fathom the ways and works of God. I wish to tremble and adore ; and take comfort in this — that what I know not now, I shall know hereafter. But "it IS nowhere expressly said that Christ died only for a part of mankind." — p. 71. It is expressly said that he gave himself that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people ; that he laid down his life for the sheep ; that he loved the church, and gave himself for it ; that he died that he might gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad ; and that those who are without fault before the throne of God were bought from among men. But, be it so that we nowhere express- ly read that Christ did not die to re- deem all mankind ; the Scriptures do not so much deal in negatives as in posi- tives : their concern is not so much to inform mankind what is not done, as what is done. I know not that it is any where expressly said that all man- kind are not to be baptized ; yet I sup- pose P. well understands that part of our Lord's commission to be restrictive. There was no necessity for the apos- tles to publish the divine purposes to man- kind in their addresses to them. These were not designed as a rule of action either for the preachers or the hearers. It was sufficient for them both that Christ was ready to pardon and accept of any sinner whatever that should come unto him. It was equally sufficient, on the REPLY TO PHILANTHR0P05. 501 other hand, if, after people l^elieved, they were taiiirlit tliose truilis wliich relate to the purposes of grace on their lioliall, with a view to cut off all glorying in themselves, and that they might learn to astril)e the whole difference hetween themselves and others to the mere sove- reign grace of God. Hence it is that the chief of those Scriptures which we conceive to hold lortii a liniilalion ot de- sign in the death of Christ, or any other doctrine nl' discritniniitim^ grace, arc such as were addressed to iielievers. But the main stress of the argument seems to lie in the meaning of such gene- ral expresssions as all men — world — ivhole world, &c. If these are discussed, I sup- pose I shall lie allowed to have replied to the substance of what P. has advanced ; and that is all I can think of attending to. It is admitted, as was before observed, that there is in the deatii of Christ a suffi- cient ground for indefinite calls and uni- ve'-sal invitations; that God docs invite mankind without distinction to return to him through the mediation of his Son, and i)romises j)ardon and acceptance to whomsoever shall so return. There have been and now are many considerable wri- ters, who are far from disowning the doc- trine of particular redemption, (or that the salvation of those who are saved is owing to an absolute and consequently limited design in the death of Christ,) who yet apprehend that a way is opened tor sinners, without distinction, l)eing invited to re- turn to God with the promise of free par- don on their return. And they suppose the above general expressions are intend- ed to convey to us this idea. For my part, though I think with them in respect to the thing itself, yet I question if these general expressions are so to be under- stood. The terms ransom, propitiation, &c., appear to me to express more than this, and what is true only of those who are finally saved. To die /or us appears to me to express the design or intention of the Redeemer. Christ's death effect- ed a real redemption, through which ice are justified. He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, and thereby secured the blessing to come upon us in due time. — Rom. iii. 24. Gal. iii. 13, 14. Such a meaning, there- fore, of the general expressions above mentioned does not appear to me agree- able ; much less can I accede to the sense put upon them by Philanthropos. The rule of interpretation mentioned by P. (p. 76) I approve. His sense of the passages referred to I apprehend to be " contradicted by other Scriptures — con- trary to the scope of the inspired writers — ■ and what involves in it various absurdities." The following observations are submit- ted to the judgment of the impartial read- er : — 1. It is the usual language of Scripture, when speaking of the blessings of salvation extending to the Gentiles, to describe them in indcjinite terms : " O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee siiall all llesji con»e." — " The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all llcsh shall see it together." — "And it shall come to pass that Irom one new moon to another, and Irom one sabbath to another, shall all llcsh come to worship be- fore me, sailh the Lord." — "And 1 will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy," &c. — " Thy Maker is thy husband (the Lord of hosts is his name;) the God of the whole earth shall he be called." — " All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord : and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee." — " And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." — "Every valley shall be fdled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low ; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." — "All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, 0 Lord, and shall glorify thy name." — " All kings shall fall down before him : all nations shall serve him. Men shall be blessed in him ; all nations shall call him blessed." These passages, with many others, ex- press blessings which cannot be understood universally, as P. himself must acknow- ledge. Now, 1 ask, would not these fur- nish a contender for the universal and fi- nal salvation of all mankind with as good an argument as that which P. uses against us ] Might he not say, " The suliject in question can require no figures. Surely the great God could not intend to impose upon his poor, ignorant creatures. He could receive no honor from such an impo- sition. It would be no glory to you. Sir, to ensnare a fly or a gnat. We are infi- nately more below Deity than a fly or a gnat is inferior to us. He cannot, then, be honored by deceiving us. And we may say, with reverence, that his justice, and all his moral perfections, require that he should be explicit in teaching ignorant men on subjects of such importance as this !"— p. 40.* 2. The time in which the New Testament ♦P. ppeiiks of reverence ; nml I have no doubt but that in general he feels it ; hut surely, in this pUce, he must have forgotten himself. Surely a greater degree of sobriety would iiave i>ec<)me a creature go ignorant and insignificant as he describes him.seif, than to determine wiiat kind of language God shall use in conveying his mind to men. I'here is no d libt but God's word, in all its parts, is sutKcientlv ex- 1 it. Every thing that relates to tJie warrant and 502 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. was written renders such a sense of the in- definite terms there used very possible and very probable. The Jews, it is well known, were at that time very tena- cious of exclusive privileges. Their preju- dices taught them to expect a Messiah whose blessings should be confined to their own peculiar nation. The generality of even those who believed were exceedingly jealous, and found it hard work to relin- quish their peculiar notions, and be redu- ced to a level with the Gentiles. It seems highly proper, therefore, that the Holy Spirit should, in some sort, cut off their vain pretensions ; and this he did, not only by directing the apostles to the use of in- definite language, but by putting words into the mouth of Caiaphas, their own high-priest. He bore witness for God, though he meant no such thing, how that Jesus " should die for that nation : and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.'^ 3. The scope and connection of several of the passages produced countenance such an interpretation. 1 Tim. ii. 6. " He gave himself a ran- som for all," &c. This is a passage on which considerable stress is laid. The whole passage reads as follows : " I ex- hort, therefore that, first of all, supplica- tions, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men : for kings, and for all that are in authority ; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour : who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator lietween God and men, the man Christ Jesus ; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified indue time. Where - unto I am ordained a preacher and an apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity." I allow it to be the revealed will of God that every man who hears, or has oppor- rule of a sinner's application for salvation, especial- ly, is plain and easy. The wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err. And if some truths which do not affect either his right to apply to tiie Saviour or his hope of success on application, should be express- ed in figurative language, I hope such a mode of ex- pre.«sion will uol be found to reflect upon the moral character of God. I wish, especially, that P. had written with more sobriety in what he says of God's " deceiving and ensnaring us." What deception is there in the case 1 Do we suppose it possible for a poor sinner, encouraged by the invitations of the go.'«pel, to apply to Christ and there meet with a repulse? No such thing. To what purpose then is it asked, " How can any man believe the promises of God, if he be not as- sured that God is in earnest, and means to fulfil them V'—p. 49. tunity to hear, the gospel, should return to him by Jesus Christ; and whosoever so returns shall surely be saved. But I ap- prehend, let us understand by the will of God in this place what we may, we can nev- er make it applicable to all men universally. By the truth which God will have all men to come to the knowledge of is plainly in- tended that of ^/te one God, and one medi- ator betiveen God and men, the man Christ Jesus ; which is here opposed to the no- tion of many gods and many mediators among the heathens. But in no sense can it be said to be God's will that all men uni- versally should come to the knowledge of the latter branch of this truth, unless it be his will that millions of the human race should believe in him of whom they have never heard. I should think the latter part of verses 6, 7, determines the meaning. The phrase, " to be testified in due time,''' doubtless re- fers to the gospel being preached among "all nations," though not to all the indi- viduals of any one nation, " before the end of the world." Hence it follows, " Where- imto I am ordained a preacher — a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity." God does not now, as if the apostle had said, confine his church, as heretofore, amongst the Jews. Your prayers, hopes, and en- deavors, must now extend over all the world. God will set up his kingdom in all the kingdoms of the earth. Seek the welfare and eternal salvation of men, therefore, without distinction of rank or nation. There is not a country under hea- ven which is not given to the Messiah for his inheritance ; and he shall possess it in due time. In due time the gospel shall be testified throughout all the world ; for the ushering in of which glorious tidings I am appointed a herald, an apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.* I have seen nothing at present, sufficient to convince me but that this is the mean- ing of I John ii. 2, "He is the propitiation for our sins not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." John, the writer of the epistle, was a Jew, an apos- tle of the circumcision, in connection with Peter and James. Gal. ii. 9. The epis- tles of Peter and James were each directed * " He gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified indue time." — Whether the ransom of Christ ex- tends faillier than the testimony of the gospel or not is a question which Ido not pietend to determine: be that, however, as it may, neither supposition will suit the scheme of P. If it does not, his point is given up. If it does, if it includes the whole heathen wovld, it is to lie hoped they are somewhat the better for it, not only in this world, but in that to come. But, if so, either they must go to heaven without re- generation, or regeneration in those cases is not by faith. REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. 603 to the Jews (1 Pet. i.l ;2Pct.iii.l ;Jas.i. 1;) and Dr. Wliitliy acknowlcdires concerniiiir this ciiistle ' tliat, " it heing writloii by an apostle of the circumcision, it is not doiil>t- ed liut it was written to the Jews." Tiie same is intimated i)y several {)assages in the epistle itself. The f at hers, to wiioin he writes (chap. ii. 12, 14,) knew Christ from the bet^innini!;. In verse ISol the same chapter he appears |)lainly to reler to our Lord's |)rophccics concerninir the awful end of the Jewish nation, anc here repeated, tliat the doclrine of a limitation of desiirn in the death of Christ stands or falls with that of the divine purposes. If the latter can l)e inainlained, and main- tained to l>e consistent with the free agen- cy of man and the entire use of means, then it will not be very ditlicult to defend the former. I confess that the subject is profound, and I enter upon it with fear and treml)]in;j;. It is a subject on which I dare not iudulge a spirit of speculation. Perhaps the l)est way of studying it is up- on our knees. I hope it will be my en- deavor to keep close to what God has re- vealed concerning it. There are, doubt- less, many questions that might be start- ed by a curious mind which it would be difficult, and perhaps impossible, to solve. JSoT is this to be wondered at. The same difficulty attends us, in our present state, respecting almost all the works of God. No man could solve one half of the diffi- ■culties that might he started concerning Ood's goodness in creating the world, when he knew all that would follow. The «ame might be said of a thousand things in the scheme of divine providence. Suf- fice it for us, at present, that we know our littleness-, that, when we come to see things as they are, we shall be fully con- vinced of all that has been told us, and shall unite in the universal acclamation, He hath done all things well ! That there is a consistency between the divine decrees and the free agency of men I believe ; but whether I can account for it is another thing. Whether it can be accounted for at all, so as to enable us ■clearly to comprehend it, I cannot tell. Be that as it may, it does not distress me : I believe in both, because both appear to me to be plainly revealed. Of this I shall attempt to give evidence in what follows. 1. The time of viands life is appointed of God. " Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth 1 arc not his days also like the days of a hireling! His days are determined, the number of his months is with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass." — "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." And yet men are exhorted to use means to prolong their lives, and actually do use those means, as if there was no appointment in the case. God determines to send afflictions to in- dividuals and families ; and he may have determined that those afflictions shall ter- voL. I. 64 minate in death; nevertheless, it is God's revealed will that they should use means for their recovery, as much as if tiierc were no determination in the affair. Chil- dren were exhorted to honor their pa- rents, " that their days mif^ht be long in the land which the Lord their God had given thcnj." He that desired life, and loved many days, was exhorted to keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile. If, by neglect or excess, any one come to what is called an un- timely end, we arc not to suppose either that God is disappointed or the sinner ex- culpated. 2. Out portion in this life is represent- ed as coming under the divine appoint- ment.* It is a cup, a lot, a heritage. Da- vid spoke of his portion as laid out for him by line. " The lines," says he, " are fallen to me in pleasant places : yea, I have a goodly heritage." The times be- fore appointed are dcterviined, and the bounds of our habitation are fixed. — Acts xvii. 26. It is a satisfaction to a humble mind that his times and concerns are in God's hand, and that he has the choosing of his inheritance. — Ps. xxxi. 15; xlvii. 4. And yet, in all the concerns of life, we are exhorted to act with discretion, as much as if there were no divine providence. The purposes of God extend to the bit- ter part of our portion as well as to the sweet. Tribulations are things to which we are said to be appointed. Nor is it a mere general determination : of all the ills that befel and afflicted Job, not one came unordained. Cutting and complica- ted as they were, he calmly acknowledged this, and it was a matter of relief under his trouble : " He performeth the thiog that is appointed for me ; and many such things are with him." Nevertheless, there are things which have a tendency to fill up this cup with either happiness or misery ; and it is well known that men are exhorted to pursue the one, and to avoid the other, the same as if there were no divine purpose whatever in the affair. God appointed to give Pharaoh and Sihon up to their own hearts' lusts, which would certainly terminate in their destruc- tion ; and yet they ought to have accepted of the messages of peace which God sent to them by the hand of Moses. But here, I am told, I have obviated my own rea- soning, by observing, elsewhere, that the "predeterminations of God concerning those persons were founded on the fore- * P, calls tills in question, (p. 47;) and seems to admit that, if this could f)e proved, it would prove the consistency of the divine purposes concerning men's eternal state with their obligations to use die means of salvation. £06 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. sigR of their wicked conduct, of which ty to have done otherwise. Assyria was their noncompliance with these messages God's rod to Judah, and the staff in their of peace was no inconsiderable part."— p. hands was his indignation. And yet As- 47 By this it sliould seem, tlien, that P. syria ought not so to have oppressed Ju- admits the reality of divine decrees, and dah. Pride, coveteousness, and cruelty that the final state of every one is thereby were their motives ; for all which they determined of God ; only" that it is upon were called to account and punished. ihe foresight of faith or unbelief. In that case, he seems to admit of a consisten- cy between the purposes of God to pun- ish some of the human race, and their being universally created to believe and be saved. And yet, if so, I see not the propriety of some of his objections against the doctrine of decrees. The thing against which he, in some places, reasons, is not so much their uncondition- ality as the certainty of their issue. "All must be sensible," says he, " that the di- vine decrees must stand.'' — p. 50. Be it so : must they not stand as much upon his own hypothesis as upon ours 1 As to the conditionality of the divine decrees, it is allowed that, in whatever Our Lord was " delivered according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." His worst enemies did nothing to him but what " his hand and his coun- sel determined before to be done." And yet this did not hinder but that with " wicked hands " they crucified and slew him, that the contrary of all this was their duty, and that the invitations and expos- tulations of our Lord with them were founded in propriety and sincerity. God did not determine to give Judas a heart to forbear betraying his master, when tempt- ed by the lure of gain : on the contrary, he determined to give him up to his own heart's lust. The Son of man, in being betrayed, went " as it was determined : " tances God has determined to punish and yet there was a woe due to, and de- any of the sons of men, either in this world or in that to come, it is entirely up- on the foresight of evil. It was so in all the punishments that befel Pharaoh and Sihon. But there was not only the nounced against, the horrid perpetrator, notwilhstandin g. Exclamations may abound ; but facts are stubborn things. It is likely we may be told. If this be the case, we need not exercise of punitive justice discovered in he uneasy about it ; for it is as God would these instances, but, as well, a mixture of have it.— " If God has ordained it, why If the question be asked, should we oppose it 1 "—p. 50. But such " the an- a mode of objecting, as observed before. But if though of ancient is not of very honor- sovereignty. Why did God punish these men 1 swer is. On account of their sin it be asked. Why did he punish them rather than others in themselves equally wicked? the answer must be resolved into sovereignty. He that stopped a persecuting Saul in his vile career could have turned the heart of a Pharaoh ; but he is a debtor to none ; he hath said, he , tvt , i "will have mercy on whom he will have ficient to reply, "Nay but, O man, who mercv." The apostle Paul considered art thou that repliest against God 1 " After all, surely, there is a wide differ able extraction. If it be not identically the same which was made to the apostolic doctrine, it is certainly very nearly akin to it. I can discern no difference, except in words : " Thou wilt say, then. Why doth he yet find fault ? For who hath resisted his will 1 " To which it was thought suf- mercy." me apos the destruction of Pharaoh as not merely an instance of justice, but likewise of sovereignty (Rom. ix. 17;) and concludes, from his example, " therefore hath he mer- cy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth:" which, I should suppose, can intend nothing less than leav- ing them to the hardness of tlieir hearts. ence between an efficient and a permissive determination in respect to the existence of moral evil. To assign the former to the Divine Being is to make him the au- thor of sin : but not so the latter. That God does permit evil is a fact that cannot be disputed ; and, if we admit the perfec- tion of his moral character, it must be al- lowed to be consistent with his righteous- The 19th verse, which immediately fol- lows, and contains the objections of that -■ r -^ day is so nearly akin to the objections of ness, whether we can fully conceive of it P. (p. 50) that I wonder he should not per- or not. But, if it be consistent with the ceive it, and learn instruction by it. 3. Events which imply the evil actions of men come under the divine appointment. The visitations with which Job were afflict- ed were of God's sending. He himself knew this, and acknowledged it. And yet this did not hinder but that the Sa- beans and Chaldeans acted as free agents in what they did, and that it was their du- righteousness of God to permit evil, it cannot be otherwise to determine so to do, unless it be wrong to determine to do what is right. * 4. Our Lord declared, concerning those * Were it not for the candor which P. has discov- ered in other instances, and his solemn appeal to " the searcher of hearts that misrepresentation was REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. 507 who shoiilil blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, that their sin should not he for- given, neither in tliis worhl nor in that to not his aim," I slioiild iilinost iliink he intii^l take pieasiire in rupresenliii:^ my scniimeiils on llie divine aecrcf^s in as zthocking a lis^hr ;is he is alile. Whal I should r\|)iess in some such manner as lliis : — (>od commands men in general to l>elieve in Christ, thouj;h he knows they are so oljstinately wicked that thev cannot find in their heart so to do; and he lias delerniined not to do all that he is able to remove tlieir olistinany — he will express for mc thus : " (Sod conimauds all to l)elieve in Christ; and yet knows that llii-y arc not. nor ever were, and determines they never shall be able to do it." — p. 40. I*, will al- low, I .-oppose, that (Jod has not delerniined to en- able men, in the present slate, [Mrfectly to love him, with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength; and yet, if this were put into a |>osilive form — if it were "said that God has deteruiined that men, in the pres- ent stale, shall not love him with all their heart, but that they shall continue to break his law — it would wear a very difTiM-ent appearance. 'Iliat there is a conformity l)etween ( J od's revealed will and his decrees I admit. — p. 49. There is no contradiction in these things, in themselves consider- ed, however they may ap|x;ar to short-sighted mor- tals. That there is, however, a real distinction be- tween llie secret and revealed will of God is not very diliicult to prove. The will of God is represented in Scripture, 1. As that which CAN never be rRUSTR.\TED. — " Who luitli resisted his will?" — " He is in one mind, and who can turn hinil ami what his soul desiretli even that he doetii." — " Being pre- destinated according to the pmpose of liim who workelh all things after the counsel of his own will." — " My coun.^el shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." — " He eaten with many stri|)es." — " He that doelh the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and moth- er." The former belongeth unto God, being the nde of his own conduct, and to us is secrit: the lat- ter lielongeth to US and to our children forever ; be- ing (he rule of our conduct, " that we may do all the wfirds of his law; " and this is fully revtalcd. It was God's will, in some sense or other, to per- mit Job, at the devil's recpiest, to lie deprived of his property by the Sal)eans and Chaldeans: otherwise lie would noi have said to .Satan as he did — " All ihat he hath is in thy power, only upon himself put not forth thine hand." .\nd yet the conduct of ihe.-^e plun- derers was certainly contrary to his revealed will, and to every rule of reason and e<|nitv. Neverthe- less, God was not under obligation to do all he could have done to restrain them. It was not, therefore, at all inconsistent with his righteous disapprobation that he willed to permit their abominations. It was the will of God that Joseph should go riown into Egypt. God is said to have sent him. The very thing which his brethren meant loi' evil God meant for good. They fuKilleil his «;cret will in what they did, though without design; but they certainly vio- lated his revealed will in ihe most llagiant manner. If ihe commission of evil were llie direct end, or ultimate object, of the secret will of God, that would certainly be in opposition to his revealed will; come. Anil there is no tJoubt, I think, but that some of the Jews were guilty of tliis sin, if not before, yet after the pour- ing; out of the Spirit on tlic ilay of Pente- cost. Tlieir destruction then was inevit- able. And yet the apostles were connnis- sioned to preach the gospel to " every crea- ture," witiioiit tlistinction ; and Christ's promise, " Him that cometh to mc I will in no wise cast out," continued of univer- sal force. The jirimitivc ministers made no scruple to call men to repent and be- lieve, wherever tlicy came. It is true they seem to have been forbidden to pray for the forgiveness of the sin itself, (1 John V. 16,) for that would have been prayin}? in direct contradiction to God's revealed w ill ; but, as they knew not the hearts of men, nor who iiad, and who had not, com- mitted that sin, they were never forbid- den, that I know of, to pray for men's souls without distinction. They certainly did so pray, and addressed their auditors as if no such sin had existed in the world. —Acts xxvi. 29 ; Col. i. 28. P. will allow that the exhortations and invitations of the gospel were addressed to men indefinite- ly ; and, if so, I should think they must have been atldressed to some men whom at the same time it was not the intention of Christ to save. 5. God has not determined to give men sufficient grace in the present slate to love him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and their neighbor as them- selves ; or, in other words, to keep his law perfectly. He has not made provi- sion for it by the death of his Son. I sup- but this we do not suppose. If God wills not to hin- der sin in any given instance, it is not from any love he has to sin, but for some oilier end. A master sees his servant idling away his time. He secretes him- self, and sudeis the idler to go on without disturb- ance. At lengtii he appears, and accosts him in the language of rebuke. The servant, at a loss for a iHitler answer, lepiies. How is this? I find you have been looking on for hours. It was your secret will, therefore, to let me alone, and suffer me to idle away your time; and yet 1 am reproved for ilisobeyiug your will ! Il seems you have two wills, and these op- posite to each other. How can I obey your com- mands, unless I knew you would have me to obey theml Idleness, it seems, was agreeable to you, or you would not have stood by so long, and siifi'ered me to go on ill it iindi.-turbed. Why do you yet find fault? tcho hath resistid your will ? would any one admit ol such a re|)ly 1 And yet, for aught I see, it is as good as that for which my opponent pleads. In this case it is easy to see that the master does not will to permit the servant's idle- ne!^:^ for idleness' sake, but for another end. Nor does the servant do wrong, as influenced by his master's icUl, but by his own; and therefore his objections are altogether unreasonable and wicked. " These things hast thou done," said God to -^nch objectors, " and I kept silence: and thou thoughtest I was altogether such an one as thyself; but I will re- prove ihec, and set them in order belijre thine eyes'. " 508 REPLY ro PHlLANTHRaPOS^. pose this may be taken for granted. If, then, a gracious provision is to be made the ground and rule of obligation, it must follow that all commands and exhortations to perfect holiness in the present state are utterly unreasonable. What meaning can there be, upon this supposition, in such Scriptures as the following 1 "O that there were such an heart in them, that they would love me, and fear me, and keep all my commandments always ! " " And now, Israel, Avhat doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul!" — "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is per- fect." If God's law continues to be an " invariable rule of human conduct, and infallible test of right and wrong," as P. says it does, then either there is a gi'acious provision made for perfection in the pres- ent state, or God requii-es and exhorts men to that for which no such provision is made. 6. If I am not misinformed, P. allows of the certain perseverance of all true be- lievers. He allows, I suppose, that God has determined their perseverance, and has made gracious and effectual provision for it. He will not say so of hypocrites. God has not determined that they shall continue in his ivord, hold out to the end, and finish their course with joy. Never- theless, the Scriptures address all profes- sors alike, with cautions and warnings, promises and threatenings, as if there were no decree, nor any certainty in the mat- ter, about one or the other. " Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly call- ing," on the one hand, are exhorted to " fear, lest, a promise being left them of entering into rest, any of them shoidd seem to come short of it," and are warn- ed, from the example of the unbelieving Israelites, to " labor to enter into rest, lest any man fall, after the same example of unbelief." The disciples of Christ were charged, upon pain of eternal damnation, " if their right hand or right eye caused them to offend, to cut it off, or pluck it out." Whatever some may think of it, there would be no contradiction in saying to the best Christian in the world, " It you deny Christ, he will deny you ! " — 2 Tim. ii. 12. Such as proved to be mere profes- sors, on the other hand, were addressed by Christ in this manner, " If ye continue in my word, then shall ye be my dis- ciples indeed ; " and, when any such turn- ed back, and walked no more with him, though no such provision was made for their perseverance as is made for true be- lievers, yet their falling away was always considered as their sin. Judas, and De^ mas, and many others, fell under the divine displeasure for their apostasy, I confess these things may look like contradictions- They are, doubtless, pro-- found subjects ; and, perhaps, as some have expressed it, we shall never be fully able, in the present state, to explain the link that unites the appointments of God with the free actions of men ; but such » link there is : the fact is revealed abun^ dantly in Scripture ; and it does not dis' tress me, if in this matter I have, all my life, to walk by faith, and not by sight. From the above cases I conclude that, however difficult it may appear to us, it is proper for God to exhort and invite men to duties with which he has not determin- ed to give them a moral ability, or a heart, to comply ; and for which compliance he has made no effectual provision by the death of his Son : and, if it is so in these cases, I farther conclude it may be so in the case in hand. Two remarks shall conclude this part of the subject : — (1) Whether P. will allow of some of the foregoing grounds, as proper data, may be doubted. I could have been glad to have reasoned with him AvhoUy upon his own principles ; but, where that cannot be, it is right and just to make the word of God our ground. If he can overthrow the doctrine supposed to be maintained in these Scriptures, it is allowed that, in so doing, he will overthrow that which is built upon them ; but not otherwise. In the last two arguments, however, I have the happiness to reason from principles whichj I suppose, P. will allow. (2) Whether the foregoing reasoning will convince P., and those of his princi- ples, or not, it may have some weight with considerate Calvinists. They must either give up the doctrines of predetermination, or, on this account, deny that men are obliged to act differently from what they do ; that Pharaoh and Sihon, for instance, were obliged to comply with the messages of peace which were sent them ; or else, if they will maintain both these, they must allow them to be consistent with each oth- er ; and, if divine decrees and free agency are consistent in some instances, it be- comes them to give some solid reason why they should not be so in others. Sect. IV. General Reflections. 1 am not insensible that the cause I have been pleading is such as may grate with the feelings of some of my readers. It may seem as if I were disputing with Philanthropy itself. To such readers I would recommend a few additional con- siderations : 1. The same objection would lie against REI'LY TO PHILANTHROPOS. 509 me if I had been opposinsj the notion of Spirit to that end, wc doubt not bnt grace universal salvation; and yet it would not is provided for his assistance. God will follow thence that I must l»c in the wronj;:. surely " |?ive his Holy Spirit to them that The feelini!;s of ecuilty creatures, in mat- ask him." Where, then, is the superiori- ters wherein they themselves are so deep- ty of his system"! It nnikes no eflectual ly interested, are but poor criterions of provision for begetting a right disposition truth and error. in those who are so utterly destitute of it '2. There is no difference between us re- tliat they will not seek after it. It only specting the number or cfiaracter o( ihose encourages the well-disposed ; and, as to that shall Ite tlnally saved We agree that these, if their well-disposedness is real, whoever returns to God by Jesus Cinist there is no want of encouragement for shall certainly be saved ; that in every them in the system he opposes, nation they that fear God, and work rigiit- 4. Whether the scheme of P. has any eousncss, are accepted. Wiiat dilVorence advantage of that which he opposes, in there is respects the efficacy of Christ's one respect, or not, it certainly has a dis- death, and the causes of salvation. advantage in another. By it, the redcmp- 3. Even in point o( provision, I see not tion and salvation of the whole human wherein the scheme of P. has the advan- race is left to uncertainty ; to such uncer- tage of that which he opposes. The pro- tainty as to depend upon the fickle, ca- vision made l)y the death of Christ is of pricious, and perverse will of man. It two kinds : (1) A provision of pardon and supposes no effectual provision made for acceptance f^or all believers ; (2) A provi- Christ to see of the travail of his soul, in sion of grace to enal)le a sinner to believe, the salvation of sinners. P. has a very The former affords a motive for returning great objection to a sinner's coming to to God in Christ's name: the latter ex- Christ with a per«rfL'CH/wrc, (p. 33;) but it cites to a compliance with tliat motive, seems he has no objection to his Lord and Now in which of these has the sciieme of Saviour coming into the world, and laying P. any advantage of that whicli he oppos- down his life, with no better security, es 1 Not in the /ormer .• we suppose the Notwithstanding any provision made by provisions of Christ's death altogether suf- his scheme, the Head of the church might ficient for the i'ulfilment of liis promises, have been without a single member, the be they as extensive as tlicy may ; tliat King of Zion without a subject, and the full and free pardon is provided for all that Shepherd of Israel without any to consti- believe in him; and that, if all the inhab- tute a flock. Satan might have triumphed itants of the glolie could be persuaded to forever, and the many mansions in glory return to God in Christ's name, they would have remained eternally unoccupied by the undoulitedly be accepted of him. Does children of men ! * the scheme of P. propose any more 1 No: 5. Do we maintain that Christ, in his it pretends to no such thing as a provision death, designed the salvation of those, and for unftc/fei'ers being forgiven and accept- only those, who are finally saved ? The ed. Thus far, at least, therefore, we stand same follows from our opponents' own upon equal ground. But has not P. tlie advantage in the lat- * V. observeg, on Heb. ii. 9, that " it is undoubt- ter particular 1 does not his scheme boast edly a greater instance of the grace of God that Je- of an universal provision of grace, suffi- sus Chnst should die for a(/ than only for a par< of „■ . . 1, ' » 1 -ii mankind; and this he thniks " an argument of no cent to enable every man to comply with ,i„|^ f„^^; ;„ r^,.„, „f ,,i, ,,n,e of the ,«,.sage. "-p. tlie gospel] Yes, it docs; but what it go. It is true, if Christ had made ejffc/ua/ pmvi- ainounts to it is difficult to say. Does it sion for the salvation of all, it would have Ijeen a effectually produce, in mankind in general, greater display of grace than making sueeii forever 6/ame/e4s, and putting ihera into a situation in which, at best, their happiness was uncertain, their guilt certain, and their everlast- ing ruin very probable 1 * Yet, would grace iiave appeared so evident, if sistance in the good work, if they will but be in earnest, and set about it. Well : if this is the whole of which P. can lioast, I see nothing superior, in this either, to the sentiment he opposes. We consider no one of our race had sufleied the penalty of the the least degree of a rieht spirit as plenti- ^^"■"1 >^""''! every surmise have been precluded fully encouraeed in the^vord of God. If ^ "' ."fl-cfon w.jnld have Ijcen too great a stretch . S II- of severity ! \V ould it have been ('(juallv clear that a person do but truly desire to come to either theVemoval of guilt, or the conquest of deprav- Christ, or desire the influence of the Holy ity, was solely of grace 1 510 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. principles. They will admit that Christ had a certain fore -knowledge of all those who would, and who would not, believe in him : but did ever an intelligent being de- sign that which he knew would never come to pass 1 6. The scheme of P., though it profess- edly maintains that Christ died to atone for the sins of all mankind, yet, in real- ity, amounts to no such thing. The sin of mankind may be distinguished into two kinds : that which is committed simply against God as a lawgiver, antecedently to all considerations of the gift of Christ, and the grace of the gospel ; and that which is committed more immediately against the gospel, despising the riches of God's goodness, and rejecting hi^ way of salvation. Now, does P. maintain that Christ made atonement for both these "? I believe not : on the contrary, his scheme supposes that he atoned for neither : not for the former ; for he abundantly insists that there could be nothing of the nature of blameworthiness in this, and conse- quently nothing to require an atonement — not for the latter; for, if so, atonement must be made lor impenitency and unbelief; and, in that case, surely these evils would not prove the ruin of the subject. 7. If the doctrine of the total depravity of human nature be admitted (and it is so, professedly,) the scheme of P. would be ut- terly inadequate for the salvation of one soul. Supposing Christ to have died for all the ivorld, in his sense of the phrase, yet, if all the world are so averse from Christ that they will not come unto him that they may have life, still they are never the nearer. It is to no purpose to say, There is grace provided for them, if they will but ask it ; for the question returns, Will a mind, utterly averse from coming to Christ for life, sincerely desire grace to come to him'! Nor is it of any use to sug- gest that the gospel has a tendency to be- get such a desire; for, be it so, it is sup- posed there is no certainty of its producing such an effect. Its success depends en- tirely upon the will of man in being pliable enough to be persuaded by it : but, if man is totally depraved, there can be no such pliability in him. Unless the gospel could exhibit a condition that should fall in with men's evil propensities, the aversion of their hearts would forever forbid their compliance. Such a scheme, therefore, instead of being more extensive than ours, is of no real extent at all. Those good men who profess it are not saved according to it ; and this, in their near addresses to God, they as good as acknowledge. What- ever they say at other times, they dare not then ascribe to themselves the glory of their being among the number of believers rather than others. If the supposed universal extent of Christ's death had a universal efficacy, it would be worth the while of a lover op ALL MANKIND to Contend for it; but if it proposes finally to save not one soul more than the scheme which it opposes — if it has no real advantage in point of provision in one respect, and a manifest disadvantage in another — if it enervates the doctrine of the atohement, confessedly leaves the sal- vation of those who are saved to an uncer- tainty, and, by implication, renders it im- possible— then to what does it all amount 1 If P. holds that Christ died for all, it is neither so as to redeem all, nor so much as to procure them the offer of redemption ; since millions and millions for whom Christ suffered upon his principles have died, notwithstanding:, in heathen darkness.* P. thinks success to be a proof of the * It seems to me a poor and inconsisfent answer which is commonly given by our opponents upon this subject. They affirm that Christ died with a view to the salvation of the whole human race, how wicked soever they have been ; and yet they suppose that God, /or the sin of some nations, withholds the gospel from them. The giving of Christ to die for us is surely a greater ihing than .^ending the gospel to us. One should think, therefore, if, notwithstand- ing men's wickedness, God could find it in his heart to do the greater, he would not, by the self-same wickedness, lie provoked to withhold the le.ss. Be- sides, on some occasions, our ojiponents speak of the gospel as a .system adapted to the condition of sinners, yea, to the chief of sinners ; and, if so, why not to those nations who are the chief of sin- ners *? P. observes very justly, however inconsistent with some other things which he elsewhere advances, that the gospel takes men's fallen, polluted and de- praved state for granted, and is properly adapted to remove it, (p. 23 :) how is it, then, that that which renders them proper objects of gospel invitations should be the very reason assigned for those invita- tions being withheld'? Whether theie may not be a mixture of punitive justice in God's withliolding the gospel from some na- tinns I shall not dispute. At the same time, suppos- ing that to be the case, it may be safely affirmed that the same ptmishment might, with equal justice, have been inflicted upon other nations who have iill along enjoyed it ; and that it is not owing to their having been better than others that they have been so favored. One might ask of Jerusalem and Corinth, Chonizin and Uelhsaida, Were they less infamous than other cities 1 rather, were they not the reverse 1 And may we not all who enjoy the f^ospel, when we compare our.selves with even heathen nations, adopt the language of the apostle, "Are we better than they 1 no, in nowise ! " If it be said. The providence of God is a great deep ; and we cannot thence draw any conclusions respecting his designs ; I answer by gianting that, the providence of God is indeed, a great deep; and, if our opponents will never acknowledge a secret and revealed will in God in any thing else, one should think they must here; seeing Christ's revealed will is, " Go, preach the gospel to every creature," with- out distinction ; and yet, by their own confe.ssion, it is his secret purpose to withhold it from some, even whole nations. As to drawing conclusions hence con- REPLY TO PIIILANTHROPOS. 511 goodness of a doctrine. — pp. 4,5. I think it is a matter deserviniTfonsidcrahlc atten- tion ; luit cannot consider it as decisive : especially as certain ijuestions might l)C asked concernintt it which it would he dif- licult to answer ; as. What is real success ! and what was it, in the rnii\istry of a preacher, which was blessed lo that end \ If, liDwever, tiiat is to l>e a criterion ol principles, then we miirht ex|)ect, it the scheme of P. lie true, that in proportion as the do( trines maintained hy C'ahinand the first Reformers iiegan to he laid aside, and those of Arminius introduced in their stead, a proportionalile blessing should have attended them. Surely he cannot complain that the universal extent of Christ's death, with various other kindred sentiments, is not generally embraced. The number of advocates for these senti- ments has certainly been long increasing. If, therefore, these are gospel truths, the Christian world in general may be con- gratulated lor having imbiiied tlicm ; and, one should think, a glorious harvest might be expected as the effect. But, I suf)pose, were we to be determined by fact, as it has occurred in our own country, both in and out of the establishment, it would be far from confirming this representation. I question if P. himself will affirm that a greater blessing has attended the ministry in the Church of England, since little else hut these sentiments have sounded from its pulpits, than used to attend, and still attends, the labors of those whom he is pleased to style " Inconsistent Calvin- isTs." As to Protestant Dissenters, if such of them as maintain the universal extent of Christ's death have been, more cerning God's designs, I slioiild think it no arrogance so 10 do, provided we do not pretend to judge thence concerning events wliich are future. We are war- ranted to consider tjod's providences as .so many ex- pressions of what have Iteen hisdesigns. " He work- cth all things after the counsel of his own will." It is true we cannot thence learn* his revealed will, nor what is tlic path of duty ; nor are we to go l)y that in our preaching, hut by Chri.-sl's coniini.-sion. It were well if Christian miiii.sters could he excited and encouraged lo enter into the most dark ami heathen- isl> corners of the earth to execute their commission. They ought not to stand to in(|uii'e what are God's de- igns concerning thorn : their work is lo go and do as they are commanded. But, though the providence of God is not that from which weare to learn his reveal- ed will, yet, when we sec events turn up, we may conclude that, for some ends known to himself, these ■were among the alt things which he worketh after the counsel of his own will. Far lie it from me to pretend to falliom the great deep of divine pru\idence ! But when I read in my Bible that " as many as were ordained to eternal life Ixilieved," and that the a|)ostlc Paul was encouraged lo continue his ministry in one of the most infimons cities in the world by this testimony, " I have much people in this city," I cannot but think such pass- ages throw a light upon those darker dis|)ensation3. than others, blessed to the conversion of sinners, and if their congreirations, upon the whole, have more of the lite and pow- er of godliness among them than others, it is happy for them ; but, if so it is, I ac- knowledge it is news to me. I never knew nor heard of any thing snllicienl to warrant a supposition ot that nature. P. thinks my " views of things, after all, open a wide door to licentiou.sness," (p. GO;) but that, if we were to admit what he accounts opposite sentiments it would " he the most likely way to put a stop to real and practical Antinomianism." — p. 51. I reply, as before, Surely he cannot complain that the universal extent of Christ's death, with other kindred senti- ments, is not generally embraced ; and will he pretend to say that real and practical Antinomianism has been thereby rooted up1 Since the body of the Church of England have embraced those principles, have they been better friends to the law of God than before 1 and has a holy life and conversation been gradually increas- ing among them as the old Calvinistic doctrines have fallen into disre|)ute 1 Far- ther : do the l)ody of those Protestant Dis- senters who reject what are commonly called the Calvinistic doctrines discover more regard to holiness of life than the body of those who emltrace theml God forbid that we should any of us boast ; by the grace of God we are what we are ; and we have all defects enow to cover our faces with .shame and confusion! But, without invidious reflections, without im- peaching the character of any man or body of men, I am inclii ed to think that, if such a comparison were made, it would fail of proving the point which P. proposes. It is a well-known fact that many, who deny the law of God to l)e the rule of life, do, at the same time, maintain the universal ex- tent of Christ's death. P. seems to have written with the be- nevolent design of bringing me and others over to his sentiments ; and I thank him for his friendly intention. Could I see evidence on his side, I hope I should em- brace his invitation. But it is a presump- tive argument, with me, that his views of things must be, somehow or other, very distant from the truth, or they could not abound with such manilest inconsisten- cies. A scheme that requires us to main- tain that we are saved wholly by grace, and yet so far as we differ from others, it is not the Spirit of God, but we ourselves that cause the difference; that to be born in sin is the same thing as to be born blameless, or, in other words, free from it; that, if vice is so predominant that there is no virtue to oppose it, or not virtue suf- cient to overcome it, then it ceases to be 512 REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. vice any longer ; that God is obliged to give us grace, (or, in other words, we may demand that of him to which we can lay no claim, or else insist upon it that we are not accountable beings;) that God so lov- ed mankind as to give his Son to die — not, however, to save them from sin — but to deliver them from a blameless condition, put them into a capacity of being blame- worthy, and thus expose them to the dan- ger of everlasting destruction ; — a scheme, I say, that requires us to maintain such inconsistencies as these, must be, some- how or other, fundamentally wrong. — What others may think, I cannot tell ; but, for my part, I must withhold my as- sent, still more substantial and consistent evidence is produced. If I have not taken notice of every par- ticular argument and text of Scripture ad- vanced by P., I hope I shall be allowed to have selected such as were of the great- est force, and liy which the main pillars of his system are supported. If I have, in any instance, mistaken liis meaning, I hope he will excuse it. I can say, I have taken pains to understand him. But whether I have always ascertained his meaning or not, and whether the conse- quences which I have pointed out as aris- ing from his sentiments be just or not, I can unite with him in appealing to "the Searcher of hearts, that misrepresentation has not, in any one instance, been my aim." As I did not engage in controversy from any love I had to the thing itself, so I have •no mind to continue in it any farther than some good end may be answered by it. Whether what I have already written tends to that end, it becomes not me to decide ; but, supposing it does, there is a point in all controversies beyond which they are unprofitable and tedious. When we have stated the body of an argument, and at- tempted an answer to the main objections, the most profitable part of the work is done. Whatever is attempted afterwards must either consist of little personalities, with which the reader has no concern ; or, at best, it will respect the minutiae of things, in which case it seldom has a tendency to edification. To this I may add, though I see no reason, at -present, to repent of hav- ing engaged in this controversy, and, in similar circumstances, should probably do the same again, yet it never was my in- tention to engage in a controversy for life. Every person employed in the ministry of the gospel has other things, of equal im- portance, upon his hands. If, therefore, any or all of my opponents should think proper to write again, the press is open ; but, unless something very extraordinary should appear, they must not conclude that I esteem their performances unan- swerable, though I should read them with- out making any farther reply. The last word is no object with me; the main ar- guments, on all sides of the controversy, I suppose are before the public ; let them judge of their weight and importance. A reflection or two shall conclude the whole. However firmly any of the parties engaged in this controversy may be persuaded of the goodness of his cause, let us all beware of idolizing a sen- timent. This is a temptation to which controversialists are particularly liable. There is a lovely proportion in divine truth : if one part of it be insisted on to the neglect of another, the beauty of the whole is defaced ; and the ill effects of such a partial distribution will be visible in the spirit, if not in the conduct, of those who admire it. Farther : Whatever difficulties there may be in finding out truth, and whatever mistakes may attend any of us in this con- troversy (as it is very probable we are each mistaken in some things,) yet, let us ever remember, truth itself is of the greatest importance. It is very common for per- sons, when they find a subject much dis- puted, especially if it is by those whom they account good men, immediately to conclude that it must be a subject of but little consequence, a mere matter of spec- ulation. Upon such persons religious con- troversies have a very ill effect ; for, find- ing a difficulty attending the coming at the truth, and at the same time a disposition to neglect it and to pursue other things, they readily avail themselves of what ap- pears to them a plausible excuse, lay aside the inquiry, and sit down and indulge a spirit of scepticism. True it is that such a variety of opinion ought to make us very diffident of ourselves, and teach us to ex- ercise a Christian forbearance towards those who differ from us. It should teach us to know and feel what an inspired apos- tle acknowledged, that here we see but in part, and are, at best, but in a state of childhood. But, if all disputed subjects are to be reckoned matters of mere spec- ulation, we shall have nothing of any real use left in religion. Nor shall we stop here : if the same method of judging of the importance of things were adopted re- specting the various opinions in useful sci- ence, the world would presently be in a state of stagnation. What a variety of opinions are there, for instance, concern- ing the best modes of agriculture ! but, if any person were to imagine from this that agriculture itself must be a matter of no importance, and that all those articles therein which have come under dispute must be matters of mere idle speculation, what a great mistake would he be under ! REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. 13 And if a great niimhcr were to imhihe the same s|)irit, and, seoiiiL'^ there were so ma- ny opinioiis, resolve to pay no attention to any ol them, and to live in the total ne}r- lect of all husiness, how al)siird must such a conduct a|)pcar, and how pernicious must be the conse(juences ! But a neglect of all divine truth, on account of the variety of opinions cnncorninir it, is fully as ahsurd, and infinitely more pernicious. As much as the concerns of our iiodics are exceeded by those of our souls, or time by eternity, so much is the most useful human science exceeded in importance by those truths which are sacred and divine. Finally : Let us all take heed that our attachments to divine truth itself be on account of its being divine. We are ever in extremes: and whilst one, in a time of controversy, throws otf all regard to re- ligious sentiment in the gross, reckoning the whole a matter of speculation, anotlier becomes excessively affected to his own opinions, whether right or wrong, without bringing them to the great criterion, the word ol God. Happy will it be for us all if truth be the sole oitject of our inquiries, and if our attachment to divine truth it- self be, not on account of its being what we have once engaged to defend, but what God hath revealed. This only will endure reflection in a dying hour, and' be approved when the time of disputing shall have an end with men. VOL. I. 65 REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE, WITH THE CERTAIN SUCCESS OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM, CONSIDERED IN A SERIES OF LETTERS: CONTAINING REMARKS UPON THE OBSERVATIONS OF THE REV. DAN. TAYLOR ON MR. FULLER'S REPLY TO PHILANTHROPOS. BY AGNOSTOS. ADVERTISEMENT. The readers of the controversy between Mr. Fuller and Mr. Daniel Taylor will recollect that, at the close of this controversy, a pamphlet appeared, consisting of Letters addressed to Mr. Fuller and bearing the signature of Agnostos. As these Letters now make their appearance among Mr. Fuller's writings, it will be proper to state, for the information of readers in general, that, with the exception of one or two pages, they were written by Mr. Fuller himself. His reason for concealing his name in this publication may be stated in a few words. The controversy had already been extended to a considerable length. Mr. Fuller, while unwilling that it should termi- nate without his making some additional remarks, conceived that these remarks, if appearing to proceed from the pen of a third person, would be less likely to prolong the discussion, and would be read with greater interest by the public, who, he con- ceived, already began to be wearied by its prolixity. As this reason for concealment no longer exists, the Editor has inserted these observations in the body of Mr. Ful- ler's Works, and has cast them into the shape of Letters loritten by Mr. Fuller, in- stead of Letters addressed to him, by changing the second person, wherever it was necessary, into the first. This, with a few other trifling changes and omissions un- avoidably arising from the form which the Letters now assume, constitutes the whole of the alterations which have been made in them. The Letters were deemed too im- portant to be left out of a complete edition of Mr. Fuller's Works, but could not, with propriety, appear in their original form. REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. LETTER I. Mt dear Friend, I HAVE lately been engaged in a reli- gious controversy, in which my original design was directed against what I con- sidered as an abuse of the doctrines of discriminating grace; l)ut, in executing this design, I have sustained an attack from an opposite quarter. At this I am not much surprised, as the principles which I maintain are equally repugnant to Arniinianism as to Pseudo-Calvinism. Having carefully attended to this con- troversy in all its parts, I must confess myself still of opinion that in the main I have engaged on the side of truth, and that the arguments which I have advanced have not yet been solidly answered. Mr. Dan. Taylor, who under the sig- nature of Philanthropos aninuidverted on my first publication, and to whose ani- madversions I have written a reply, has taken up his pen again. In addition to V^ first Niiie Letters, he has written ^""■- teen more upon the subject ; y^ '^ ^P" pears to me that he has n""^ answered my main arguments, but. «" fact, has in various cases sufficien*'/ refuted himself. Mr. T. appears to have been hurt by what I said concerning his want of rever- ence, and the resemblance of his objec- tion to that made against the apostle in Rom. ix. He submits it "to the judg- ment of those wlio are accustomed to think dclil^rately how far any part of this was just; whether I did not arrogate a great deal more to myself than I ought to have done ; whether I ought not, prior to these charges, to have proved myself pos- sessed of apostolical authority, powers, and infallibility, and to have proved, by apostolical methods, that the particular sentiments against which he there object- ed came from heaven." (XIII. 135.)* Now, * The refereDces to Mr. Taylor's two publica- tions are distingiiished by the numerals IX, and XIII. Thus by (XIII. "135) is meant the 135th page of Mr. Taylor's Thirteen Letters; and by I hope not to be deemed arrogant, if I profess to have thought at least with some degree of " deliberation" upon the sub- ject ; and I declare I cannot see the pro- priety of any thing Mr. T. here alleges. I did not compare him to those who blas- phemously opposed the apostle's doctrine : the com})arison respected barely his mode of reasoning, and not his person or char- acter. Nor does what I have alleged re- quire that I should prove myself possess- ed of apostolical infallibility. The whole of what is said amounts to no more than this, that the resemblance of his objec- tion (IX. 50) to that made by the adver- saries of the apostle, in Rom. ix. 19, ought to make him suspect whether the sentiments he maintains are not too near akin to theirs ; and whether the sen- timents he opp^^es are not of the same stamp with tnose of the apostle ; other- wise, h^w is it that they should be liable to wve the same objections made against .'uem ■? f As to what I said concerning reverence, I oi)serve that in one place (XIII. 6) he thanks me for it, and hopes he " shall profit by it;" but, presently after, talks of pardoning me, and, before he has done, charges it to a want of candor or justice (XIII. 135;) and, all through his piece, frequently glances at it in a manner that shows him to have been quite displeased. Now, what can any one make of all this put together 1 There was either occa- sion for what I wrote, or there was not. If there was, why talk of pardoning me I and why charge me with a want of candor or justice ? — If there was not, and Mr. T. thinks so, why does he thank me for it 1 How are we to reconcile these things 1 (IX. 50) is meant tlie 50th page of his Nine Let- ters. The references to the latter publication are to the second edition. Those to Mr. Fuller's work are corrected to the present volume. t It is a good mode of reasoning to argue from the similarity of the opposition madeto any doctrine iu the days of the afwstles with tJiat which is made to the doctrine in the present day. Mr. Caleb Evans has thus I think solidly and excellently defended the doctrine of the atonement in four sermons on 1 Cor, ii. 23, ^. 518 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. Does the one express the state of mind Mr. T. would be thought to possess, and the other what he actually feels'! or did he set out in a inild and amiable spirit, but, before he had done, lose his temper, and not know how to conceal it 1 I would not wish, however, to spend much time in pointing out the defects of my opponent's temper. We all, particu- larly when engaged in controversy, need to take good heed to our spirits. And, perhaps, few can be long employed in so difficult an affair, without affording their antagonists an opportunity to say, " Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of." If this does not provoke retaliation, it may be of use to the person reproved, but is of very little consequence to the public, especially after the first dispute is over. Let us wave this subject in future, and pass on to such things as are of more general importance. I do not intend minutely to particular- ise every article of debate between myself and Mr. T., though, if I were, I am per- suaded the far greater part of his oVjser- vations might be proved to be destitute of propriety. I would only notice in this Letter one or two which seem to fall un- der the head of general remarks, and then proceed to the consideration of the main subjects wherein we differ. Itjis matter of "wondei " to Mr. T. that I should be " unable to prono.mce to what degree or extent a poor sinner Ki^st be- lieve the truth of the gospel in ordei +0 be happy ; or to what degree of holiness . man must arrive in'order to see the Lord." (XIII. 7.) It should seem then to be no difficulty with him. Well : how does he solve it 1 why, by acknowledging that it is not any degree of faith in the gospel which is necessary to salvation, nor any degree of holi7iess any more than faith, but the reali- ty of it, without which no man shall see the Lord!!! Mr. T. has a mind surely to make other people wonder as well as him- self! Again : I was thronged with oppo- nents. I did not therefore think it nec- essary to make a formal reply to every single argument ; such a plan must have swelled the publication to an enormous size : I therefore only selected the main subjects in debate, and attempted a fair discussion of them, with the arguments adduced in support of them. Mr. T. seems to complain of this my systemati- cal way of treating the subject, as he calls it, (XIII. 8;) and sometimes singles out a particular argument of his, of which 1 have taken no notice, and insinuates as if it was because I felt it unanswerable {XIII. 14.) But is it not wonderful that he should complain c f me, and, at the same time, be guilty of the same thing himself 1 He has omitted making any reply to nearly as much in mine as I have in his, and to things also of considerable force. My reasonings in pp. 209, 210, he has entire- ly passed over ; as also my argument on the non-publication of the gospel, pp. 257, 258, Note. If Mr. T. looked upon me as obliged to answer every particular ar- gument, notwithstanding the number of my opponents, what can be said for his oimi omissions, who had only one to op- pose 1 In my next I will begin to attend to the main subjects on which we differ; viz. The work of the Spirit — the excusableness of sinners on the non-provision of grace — the extent of the moral law — and the de- sign of Chrisfs death. LETTER II. I WOULD now proceed to the first of the four main subjects in debate between myself and Mr. Taylor — the work of THE Spirit. There has been pretty much said between us on the order of re- generation and faith, and the instrumen- tality of the word in regeneration. 1 did not wish to contest that matter, be it which way it might, provided the agency of the Holy Spirit was but acknowledged. Mr. T., however, chooses to dwell up- ""n this subject; yet it seems rather exti'a- orject to be passive in such be no reason why one man, rather than operation. The immediate effect may be another, believes in Christ." Thus I sta- activity. But, to suppose that tlie sutyect ted it in p. 194. Mr. T., in reply, com- on whom the operation is performed is not plains that I have wronged him in repre- passive in being tlie subject,of the opera- senting him as leaving out the agency of tion, is to suppose that he himself, and not the Holy Spirit in the act itself of believ- the Spirit, puts forth that operation by ing; and informs us that he distinguishes which grace is produced. That the mind, between " the operations and indwelling of in receiving Christ, is active, I allow ; but the Holy Spirit " (XIII. 27.) But where- this is no way inconsistent with the Holy in have I wronged him1 I have allowed Spirit being the proper, sole, efficient him to maintain a sort of divine agency, cause of such activity. There was no dis- or grace, which is given to men in com- pute whether "man was the subject of men : but this certainly can be no cause faith and unbelief," as his answer seems why one man, rather than another, believes to represent, (XIII. 24 ;) but whether the in Christ. And with this Mr. T.'s own blessed Spirit was the sole, efficient, and account (XIII. 13,) so far as I can under- proper cause of our believing, stand him, perfectly agrees. After all that Mr. T. says, in order to I maintain that it is owing to divine get over this difficulty, (XIII. 24, 25,) what agency, and to that alone, that one sinner, does it amount to 1 " If the Spirit by the rather than another, believes in Christ. I word, bring me to believe, and not another, must confess that Mr. T. writes, on this whatever is the cause or the obstruction, subject, in a confused and contradictory that is. in a general sense, done for me manner, (XIII. 23 :) and well he may ; liis which is not done for another, and demands system will not admit it, and yet his heart evcilasting grateful acknowledgments." knows not how to deny it. First, he goo» Of this general sense, or meaning, I can about to qualify my question ; " If hy the make no meaning at all. Itcertainly does term a/o?ie," saj'' '»e, " be meant that no not ascribe the difference between one sin- sinner wruld believe in Christ without ner and another to God, but to tlie crea- divine operations, I freely grant it." True ture ; and this is the very spirit and tenden- he might ; but that is not all I plead for, cy of his whole system, which ought to nor what my words evidently intend : and sink it in the esteem of every humble, this he knows very well, and ought not, considerate mind. But the Holy Spirit therefore to have made such an evasion. " does that for those who do not believe What he allows may be held without ad- which is sufficient for the purpose, and mitting that it is owing to the Holy Spirit which would bring them to faith and'hap- that one sinner, rather than another, be- piness, if they were not to abuse it," (XIII. lieves in Christ. He adds, " But, if he 25.) So far as relates to objective evi- dence being presented (and which is suffici- * Whatever Mr. T. thinks, some have thought that considerable ditiiciilties would attend our suppo- sing all divine illumination to be by the word; nor are these objections drawn from " metaphysical spec- ulations," but from the word itself Thus they rea- son: 1. It is a fact that e\il propensity in the heart success does indeed depend upon the pli- has a strange tendency to blind the mind.— E|)hes. iv. ability of the subject, then, SO far, salvation 18. 2. It IS promised by the Holy Spirit," I will ig not of grace ; for the very turning point give them an heart to know me. — Jer. xxiv. 7. But .,f »i,^ .. u^i« ,. - «>- v.it,m,uic, and cannot therefore, be produced by means of it. ^"^ ^? "'^ O"'" gOO" impro\ement of what 3. " The natural inaii " is said not to receive " the ^^^S given to him in common with others, things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know To Speak of that being done which is suf- them, lwcau.se they are spiritually discerned." But ficient, (/ not abused, is saying nothing at if a .«p.ntual discernment .s necessary, in order to all. For how, if the human heart should knowing .spiritual things, that discernment cannot be u„ „ i i ,i . •. -.i i .. produced by those spi. itual things, unless the con.e- ^^ '° depraved as that it will be sure to quent can produce its antecedent. I wished not, ^huse every word and work of God short of however, to dispute about the order of things, but that which is omnipotent "? That men ratlier te attend to what is of far greater importance, resist the Holy Spirit, and abuse the grace ent to render men who are in possession of their natural faculties inexcusable,) we are, in this matter, agreed. But, in refer- ence to the work of the Spirit itself, if its 520 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. of the gospel, is true : but the question is, not whether this their abuse is their wicked- ness, but how came Mr. T.,or any other man, to be so pliable and well-disposed as not to resist it ] * "I cannot prove," says Mr. T., "that the Holy Spirit does not do as much, or more, in this (general) sense, for some who do not repent and believe, as for some who do. Truth itself informs us that what was done without effect for Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, would have been effectual for Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom" (XIII. 25.) Truth, indeed, does inform us of something being done for those cities ; but it makes no mention of the work of the Spirit in or upon them, but merely of the mighty works or miracles, which were wrought among them. These ought to have led them to repentance, though they did not. "But did not Christ speak as if Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, would have repented had they en- joyed the same means 1 " Yes, he did; and so did God speak concerning his peo- ple Israel : " Surely they are my people, children that will not lie : so he became their Saviour " Again : " I looked that my vineyard should have brought forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes." Again : " Thou art not sent unto a people of a strange speech, and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel: surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have ineark- ened unto thee." — " Last of all, he sent, his son saying. They will reverence my son." But do these speeches prove that God really thought things would be so 1 Rather are they not evidently to be under- stood of God's speaking, after the manner of men, of what might have been expected according to human appearance 1 " I do not remember," says Mr. T., " that the Scripture ever ascribes the final misery of sinners to the want of divine in- fluences," &c. (XIII. 27.) True; nor do ray sentiments suppose that to be the cause of final misery. His reasoning on this subject (XIII. 32) is extravagant. It is sin, and sin alone, which is the cause of * In page 23 of his Thirteen Letters, Mr. T., speaking of believing in Christ, say.s he does " not appreliend that any man has any will or power, or any concern about the matter, till the Holy Spirit work, awaken, and produce these in the mind." But the Holy Spirit, he thinks, operates sufficiently in all men : he does that for those who do not be- lieve which is sufficient for the purpose : yea, he sup- pose.s he does as much, or more, in this sense, for some who do not repent and believe, as for some who do. — p. 25. Mr. T. must allow tliat no man can ever do what he has neither will nor poioer to per- form. The mind must be either active or passive in the production of the will and power of which he speaks. If passive, his whole system is overthrown : if ttciire, the supposed prior activity is while they have neither will not power to act, which isabsurd. any man's ruin. He might as well say that a man is brought into misery because he is not brought out of it. The destruc- tion of fallen angels is no more ascribed to the want of divine mercy than that of fallen men. Mr. T. thinks the cases of wicked men being restrained from wickedness, godly men growing in grace, &c., may illustrate the subject in question (XIII. 30.) I think so too. I also think with him concerning men's obligations to these things ; that much more might be done than what is done : but that, if they are done, it is to be ascribed to God, because it is he who works all our works in us ; I think the same of faith in Christ. These are not things wherein we differ; but the question is, though in words Mr. T. as- cribes these things, as well as faith, to God, whether his system does not ascribe them to the creature. This it certainly does ; and he as good as acknowledges it (XIII. 52,) where (in contradiction to what he here asserts) he pleads for men's being able, independently of the grace of the gospel, to abstain from gross abomina- tions. Mr. T. has not thought proper to con- trovert my arguments in pp. 194 — 201, for a special and effectual influence of the Holy Spirit; but thinks that these may be admitted, without destroying his senti- ments ; only observing that, if he were to follow me through those reasonings, he " should question the propriety of the turn I give to a few passages of Scripture (XIII. 26.) It will be time e^\ough to reply, when we know what he \>as to object against my sense of those pass- ages. But how is it that Mr. T. would have it thought that his sentiments are unaffected by those arguments 1 Had he but admitted the sentiment establish- ed by those arguments, it would have saved him much trouble which he has ta- ken, in trying to account for God's doing the same for one man as for another, and yet making men to differ. If God works effectually on some, that is more than he will pretend that he does upon all ; and this will perfectly account for a difference between one sinner and another. And, if this way of God's making men to differ be admitted in some instances, it must in all, seeing one believer, as much as another, is taught to ascribe the difference between him and others to God alone.f But Mr. T. does not believe in an effectual influ- ence; such an influence admitted, would be destructive of his whole system. He sup- t Rom. iii. 9. 2 Cor. xv. 10. John xiv. 22. I Cor. iv. 7. THE RLALITY AND EFFICArV OP DIVINK ORaCE. 621 poses an cfTectual infliioiico would be de- struclivc of free ngeiuv and moral l'^ovciii- meiit (XIII. 129.) That it would lie de- structive of eitluT, according to the scrip- tural account of thcin, has not yet lieen proved ; but that it would destroy his no- tions concerninir them is aibnitted ; and this proves that an eircctual intluence is inconsistent with his sentiments. If Mr. T.'s reasonings (XIII. 33) prove any thiuL', they prove that (Jod will fur- nish every man in the world with the means of sahation ; but so far is this from corrcspondinfi with /he/ that the •iosi)el was never preached to the far greater part of mankind who have hitherto lived; and some of whom, Mr. T. supposes, would have really believed and been saved, had they liut heard it.— XIII. 2.5. 1 shall close my remarks on this pari of the deliate with a few observations on the resistiblcness or irresistibleness of the Holy Spirit. I apprehend he is both re- sistible and irresistible, in different re- spects. The following observations are submitted to the reader's attention : — 1. God has so constituted the human mind that words, whether spoken or written, shall have an effect upon it. 2. The Ho- ly Spirit speaks to men in his word : he has written to them the great thing.? of his law. 3. It would be strange if God's word should not have some effect upon people's minds, as well as the words and writings of men. It would be very strange if neither the warnings nor expostulations, the threatenings nor the promises of God, should have any effect upon the mind ; whereas the same things among men are constantly known to inspire them with various feelings. 4. The influence of the word upon the mind, seeing that word is indited by the Holy Spirit, may be call- ed, in an indirect and figurative sense, the influence of the Holy Spirit. It was with this kind of influence that he strove with the antediluvians in the ministry of Noah, &c. (Gen. vi. 3,) and was resisted by the Israelites : that is, they resisted the mes- sages which the Holy Spirit sent unto them by Moses and the prophets ; and their successors did the same by the mes- sages sent them by Christ and his aj)0s- tles. — Acts vii. 51. And thus the admoni- tions of parents, the events of providence, and the alarms of conscience, as well as the word preached and written, may each, in an indirect sense, be said to be the strivings of the Holy Spirit. This influ- ence ought to suffice to bring us to repent of sin, and believe in Christ, and, were it not for the resistance that is made to it, ii;ould have such an effect ; but through the perverseness of the human heart it never has. It is a great sin to resist and VOL. I. 66 overcome it ; but it is such a sin as every man, while unregencratc, is guilty of. 5. Besides this, it has licen allowed, by many of the most steady and able defenders of the doctrine of efficacious grace, that the Holy S|)irit may, by his immediate but more common influence, impress the minds of unregcnenite men, and assist reason and natural conscience to perform their office more fully ; so that, notwithstanding the bins of the will is still in favor of sin, yet ihcy arc made sensible of many truths contained in the word of God, and feel somewhat of that alarming apprehension of their danger, and of the power of the divine anger, &c., which all imi)cnitent sinners will experience in a much superior degree at the day of judgment. But sin- ners, under these common awakenings only, continue destitute of that realizing sense of the excellence of divine things which is peculiar to those who are effec- tually renewed in the spirit of their minds; and to which the power of sin has entirely blinded the minds of the unregenerate. 6. From the depravity or perverseness of the human heart arises the necessity of a special and effectual influence of the Holy Spirit. The influence before mentioned may move the soul ; but it will not bring it home to God. When souls are effec- tually turned to God, it is spoken of as the result of a special exertion of almighty power. " God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the know- ledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." — " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy poller. " — " I ivill put my law in their inward part, and write it on their hearts ; and I will l)e their God, and they shall be my peoj)le." — " Who hath believed our report; and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been re- vealed ] " These observations may account for sev- eral things which Mr. T. has remarked, (particularly in XIII. 28, 29) without sup- posing that the special operations of the Holy Spirit are ever finally overcome. LETTER III. The second general subject in debate respects the nature of that inability of which mankind are the subject' in re- spect of compliance with the will ot God; or, more particularly, original sin, human depravity, and the grace of God. On these suiyccfs Mr. Taylor has written his Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Letters. He sets out with an ol'servation on free agen- B22 THR REALITY AND EFFICACY OP DIVINE GRACE. cf, which discovers, in my opinion, the ground of a great many other of his mis- takes. He supposes that a moral, as well as natural, ability to comply with the commands of God is necessary to render us free agents. Hence he does not seem to cansider man as a free agent in respect to keeping, or not keeping, the laiv, but barely "with regard to those objects which God in his gospel presents to him, as a fallen creature, to recover him from his fallen state." (XHI. 36 ;) and yet he speaks, in the same page, of his thus be- ing a "subject of God's moral govern- ment." Strange, indeed, that he should not be a free agent in respect of the moral law, and yet that he should be a subject of God's moral government ; yea, and that the moral law should, notwithstanding, be to him "a rule of life" (XHI. 61.) If we are not free agents in respect of the moral law, we cannot be the subjects of God's moral government, but, rather, of some supposed evangelical government. A free agent is an intelligent being xoho is at liberty to act according to his choice, without compulsion or restraint. And has not man this liberty in respect of the laiv, as well as of the gospel? Does he, in any instance, break the law by compulsion, or against his will! Surely not. It is im- possible the law should be broken in such a way ; for, where any thing is done with- out or against volition, no equitable law, human or divine, will ever blame or con- demn. Mr. T.'s great mistake in these matters lies in considering a bias of mind as destructive of free agency. If a bias of mind to evil, be it ever so deep-rooted and confirmed, tends to destroy free agency, then the devil can be no free agent, and so is not accountable for all his enmity against God. The same may be said of those who are, as Mr. T. expresses it, become " unimpressible " (XIII. 28,) and cannot cease from sin. It is not sufficient to say that "they had power to receive the word till they wil- fully resisted and rejected the truth; " if Mr. T.'s notion of free agency be just, they ought to have had power at the time, or else not to have been accountable. Mr. T. constantly reasons from natural to moral impotency, and, in these cases, ad- mits of no difference between them ; but he knows that, in respect of the former, if a man is unable to perform any thing that is required of him at the time, he is, to all intents and purposes, excusable ; yea, though he may have brought his im- potency upon himself by his own crimes. If, for example, a man destroys both health and reason by mere debauchery and wickedness, so as to become a poor ghastly idiot, can any one suppose that, in that state of mind, it is just to require him to perform the business of a man, or to punish him for his omission, under the pretence that he 07ice had reason and strength, but, by his wickedness, had lost them. No : far be it from either God or man to proceed in this manner 1 If, then, there is no difference between natural and moral impotency, those who are become "unimpressible," and are given up of God for sin (as were Judas, and the mur- derers of our Lord,) are not free agents, and so are not accountable beings. Farther : If a bias of mind to evil, be it ever so confirmed, tends to destroy the free agency of the subject, the same would hold true of a bias to good; which Mr. T. indeed seems to allow ; for he asks, (XIII. 51) " Are not free agents capable of sin- ning 1 " As if it were essential to free agency to be capable of doing wrong. But has Mr. T. forgot that neither God, nor Christ, (even when upon earth,) nor saints in glory, are capable of doing wrong 1 The bias of their minds is so in- variably fixed to holiness, that it is impos- sible they should, in any instance, deviate from it ; and yet will he deny them to be the subjects of free agency 1 Mr. T.'s ideas of free agency have prob- ably led him into some others, respecting the nature of that sin which men commit as the effect of Adam's transgression (XIII. 52.) His language on that sub- ject, all along, implies that all the sin which men commit as the effect of Adam's transgression must be involuntary ; as though it were something that operated within them, entirely against, or at least loithout, their consent. If this supposi- tion were true, I should not wonder at his pleading for its innocence. If men were under such a necessity as this of sinning, I should coincide with Mr. T. in denying that they were accountable for that part of their conduct. But the truth is, there is no such sin in existence. Sins of rg-no- rance, under the law, were not opposed to voluntary, but to presumptuous sins. — Numb. XV. 27 — 31. There are many sins that men commit which are not presump- tuous, but none which are, in every sense, involuntary. Mr. T. perhaps will allege the apostle's assertions, in Rom. vii., that what he would not, that he did. He makes much ado (XIII. 42) about this, and my supposed inconsistency, but all he there says was, I think, sufficiently obviated in my first treatise. After all, Mr. T. does not really think there are any sins besides what are voluntary. Though he talks of believers being guilty of such sins, and of Christ's dying to atone for them, (XIII. 52,) yet he would not allow it to be just for ajiy man, in his own person, either to THE REALITT AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. 623 be blamed or punished lor them : no ; he contends that it is the nincurrence of our wills that denomiiuites us blamcworttn/y (XIII. 41;) which is nM(hiul>tedly true in respect ol all personal l>liimc. When Mr. T. reviewed my tirst pubji- crtion, he spoke much in praise of the distinction between luitural and moral in- ahilily, and of the perspicuity ol the man- ner of statins; it (IX. 9, (j:J, 04.) Surely he must not, at that lime, have under- stood what he a()plaudcil ; and having since discovered this sword to have two edges, the one ecjually adapted to cut up Armin- isine; it is not, men iire excusahle in their nou-conipliaiue with the gospel. Mr. T.'s views upon this suhject are as a mill-stone al>oiil the neck of his systeni, that must needs sink it in the es- teem oC all who understand tiie artrument and ex|)ect to be saved hy p;ruce alone. He talks nuuh oljrrare, of Tree }rrace, and of salvation l>y grace ; and yet it is not more evident tliat tiie sun sliines at noon- day than ihal lie makes the whole of our salvation a debt, a del)t which God, of his " universal benevolence," is excited to pay, from the consideration that "we did not hring everlasting misery upon ourselves, nor was it ever in our power to avoid it. " (XIII. 81.) It is pity that we should cover our ideas by improper words. It is evident JVIr. T. means to appeal to the divine ^'ms<- ice ; only he has not courage sufficient to say soj and tiierefore uses the term be- nevolence. Yet if this be the truth, that men are pitiable creatures, much injured by the fall, but no way concerned in the guilt of it, nor in any of its certain effects — and if this be a consideration with the great Jehovah to save them — what a gos- pel have we sent us at last, and what a representation of the divine character! The Father sends his Son to atone for men's guilt and deliver them from ever- lasting misery, from the consideration that there was nothing in that guilt, antecedent- ly to his sending his Son and offering them grace, that properly deserved such misery, or indeed any misery at all ! The cove- nant which God originally made with man is so severe that, if he aliide by it he must deal cruelly with his rational offspring; so severe that he cannot stand to it through- out, but is induced, with a view to make the sons of Adam amends for the injury done them by their father's fall, to send them a Saviour, and to offer them assistance that they may make their escape ! Surely, all this is but the just picture of the divine character and conduct, according to Mr. T.'s scheme. But is this the real charac- ter and conduct of God 1 Is mercy indeed built up upon the ruins of equity, or does the grace of the second covenant imply a reflection upon the justice of the first 1 Is this the character of that God who de- clares that men who never heard the gos- pel of grace are without excuse ? — that all Itie world arc become guilty before Him — that salvation is altogether of grace — that he is not only at liberty to " have mercy on whom he will have mercy," hut w ill ex- ercise that liberty, and "will have compas- sion on whom he will have compassion 1 " I urged these consequences in my Re- ply, that, according to Mr. T.'s scheme. " making tlris supposed grace the only thing which constitutes men accountable beings was making it debt rather than grace.^' And what has Mr. T. said in answer to this objection 1 — XIII. 49. " 1. When I sjjcak of grace," says he, " I wish to speak of real, not supposed grace." That may be, and I hope it is so; but the (piestion is, will his hypotliesis coin- cide with the wishes of his heart on this sul)ject ! 2. "Suppose," says Mr. T. to ids friend, "we excuse Mr. F.'s play on the word grace, which is not in the sentence to which he is making this labor- ed reply, and his change o\' punished for ac- countablc ; yet still the jjosition to which he refers does not speak of grace as the only thing which renders men account- able. You remcnd)er, Sir, the position is, "if men could not avoid it, &c." Mr. T. seems all along to wish to represent me as having bestowed great pains to unravel one poor little period; whereas what I have written about grace is not merely in reply to that single period, (as was declared in my Reply, p. 482,) but to the whole of what Mr. T. had written upon the subject, which in that period happens to be nearly expressed. But he denies that he has represented grace as the only thing which renders men account- able ; how he can make this denial good is more than I can conceive. He advan- ces three things which, together, would make men not accountable. The first two of these he admits actually to exist, (IX. 44, 57, 59;) the last, therefore, must be the only thing left which can render men accountable, or, if he likes it better, punishable. But where is the answer, after all, to my objection! Has he proved his notion of grace to be any more than debtl Not at all, nor so much as attempt- ed it. " Is it uncandid to conclude that it was because he felt the attempt would have been in vain] " It was farther ob- jected that, according to Mr. T.'s scheme, there was no need for Christ to have died at all; and that, if the Divine Being had but let men alone, and had not provided any grace for them, they had been all very innocent; and, if justice had but been done them, very hap|)y. To this Mr. T. replies, by asking, 1. Whether I can prove that, without the bestowment of grace, there would ever have been any men to be free from criminality 1 "Can he prove," says he, "that Adam would not have died immediately, according to the threatening, if grace had not been given in the promise! " (XIII. 5^).)—'' Ac- cording to the threatening," that is beg- ging the question. The question is wheth- er that threatening implied in it the im- mediate and actual execution of corporal 532 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. death. If what Mr. T. says elsewhere is true, namely, that Adam's posterity were by his fall "exposed to misery, whatever that misery be," (XIII. 41,) it could not ; for non-existences could never be exposed to misery of any kind. If in Adam all died; if by one man sin en- tered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned ; this must imply the ex- istence of all men; for death cannot pass upon non-entities. But it is asked, 2. " Suppose Adam had not died, can Mr. F. prove that Adam's posterity would have been sent to hell for their father's sin, or for any of its necessary consequen- ces'! " Suppose they had not, and ought not, then it only tends to confirm ray rea- soning, rather than to refute it ; which was to prove that, if things are as Mr. T. represents, men might have been innocent and happy, if Jesus had never died ; and so that the gift of Christ and the gospel was no real benefit, but rather a curse upon the world, as it is this only that has rendered men capable of sinning, so as to become everlastingly miserable. The remaining questions (XIII. 52) have, for the substance of them, been al- ready discussed. — Reply 489, 490. Nei- ther are they in point to the present sub- ject in debate. They contain a question oi fact ; but that which is now in discus- sion is a question of right. Were I to admit the universal extent of Christ's death as a fact, and the utmost advan- tages as resulting from it, still I should reprobate, with all the powers of my soul, the principles upon which Mr. T. pleads for it, as destructive of the grace of the gospel, and hostile to the throne of God. Mr. T. had maintained, (IX. 57, 59,) 1. That man was so reduced by the fall as to be totally unable to do any thing really good : 2. That, if he had been left in this condition, he would not have been to blame for not doing it, but that his ina- bility would have been his excuse ; yea let his practices have been as vile as they might, upon the supposition of grace not being provided, he declares, that he ivould have been excusable, and that all real good whatever might be denied to be the duty of the unprincipled mind." Hence I con- cluded that, if it were so, then Christ did Bot die for the sins of any man, because antecedently to the consideration of his death, and of grace being given in him, there was no sin or blameworthiness to atone for. What a bustle does Mr. T. make concerning this conclusion ; calling it "a wonderful passage," and the rea- sonings "mere parade;'^ imputing it to the "imbecility of the human mind, and \o the disadvantageous situation to which the most upright disputant may be re- duced." &c. (XIII. 52.) I smile at this friendly apology ; but must own it appears to me more adapted to himself than his opponent. I before wrote in the language of diffidence : the consequences of Mr. T.'s sentiments appeared so eversive of the whole gospel that I could hardly help suspecting I must have mistaken him, somehow or other. Accordingly, I gave him a fair opportunity to clear himself if he could. But it is now time for that language to be laid aside. He has tried to defend his hypothesis, but it is abso- lutely indefensible. What has Mr. T. said in answer to my reasoning 1 Why he has, as usual, asked a number of questions .* " Suppose Christ had never come, and no grace had been provided, does not Mr. F.," he asks, "al- low that man is a free agent, and there- fore might have sinned voluntarily." (XIII. 51.) Yes, I do : I suppose the devil to be a free agent, though his heart is, and ever will be, invariably set in him to do evil; but the question here is, not what / allow, but what Mr. T. allows. Though I allow man to be a free agent, independently of \ the grace of the gospel, he does not : he con- siders moral as well as natural necessity as inconsistent with free agency; that if no grace were provided, " let a man's practices be as vile as they might, he would be excu- sable." And it was from his supposition, and not from mine, that I was reasoning. But he asks, farther, " Is nothing done wrong in this world but what is the neces- sary and unavoidable effect of Adam's transgression 1 Are not all our voluntary sins justly chargeable upon us V — (XIII. 52.) I answer, I know of no such necessity as impels men to sin involuntarily ; and as to the evils that are noio done in the world, or not done, they are nothing at all to the point ; nor whether they are done in con- sequence of Adam's transgression or not. Suppose they are done simply in conse- quence of men's own free agency, will Mr. T. allow that they would have had that free agency, and have been accountable beings, without the death of Christ and the grace of the gospel 1 If he will not, the consequence still remains unmoved, that, according to him, " Christ did not come into the world to save men from sin, but rather to put them into a capacity of sinning, as it is in consequence of his death, and that alone, that guilt becomes chargeable upon them." But if, on the other hand, he will allow this, he must in * Mr. T., it seems, expected to be answered in a way of direct reply. But it would fill a volume of no small size only to give a direct answer to all \\is and Mr. Martin's questions. THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. 533 so doing disallow of the substance of all his former rcasoninfjs. Partiiviiarly, he must disown that extravagant language, that, " if my principles are true, let a man^s practices be as vile as they may, he may excuse himself from blame." " Mr. F. justly observes," says Mr. T., " that I suppose fallen man really and totally unable to do good, and I explained my meaning by saying spiritually good ; but is there no medium between doing what is spiritually good, and going to the utmost lengths of wickedness! Are men under the necessity of working all al)om- inations because they cannot without di- vine grace serve God spiritually 1 Do not men work these abominations 1 Did not Christ die to atone for them 1 Did he not thendieforOUR SINS 1"— XIII. 52. Now Mr. T. thinks he has escaped the charge. But, let it be observed, though in one place he had used the term spirit- ual, but in another he extended blame- lessness to "practices be they as vile as they MAY ," if my sentiments were true, that is, if grace were not provided. Now, whatever medium there may be between not doing things spiritually good and work- ing all abominations, there is none I should think between vile practices and abomina- tions. Mr. T. therefore is as far off as ever from removing the shocking conse- quences of his sentiments. LETTER VI. Perhaps Mr. T. will again complain that too much is made of the Ratio ex concessis and the Reductio ad absurdum. (XIII. 53.) Well, it is not my wish to bear too hard upon him ; though, after all, it would have discovered a commendable frankness, consonant to his own profession, (XIII. 15,) to have confessed that he had said rather too much, instead of complain- ing of me for having improved it against him. But let us take it as he has noto stated it, that without the grace of God men cannot do any thing really or spirit- ually good ; but they may do some things otherwise good, or, at least, refrain from gross immoralities ; and this is all they are obliged to do antecedently to the he- stowment of grace ; and, consequently, the whole of their sin consists in the contrary of this; and these are all the sins for which there was any need for Christ to atone. Now, will Mr. T. stand to this hypothesis'? It is the only ground left him to stand upon, in supporting the body of his system. And, in order to possess this, he must retract his extravagant sen- tence in p. 59 of his Nine Letters; and periiaps much more. Let him soberly consider whether he can stand his ground even here witliout giving up at least the three following sentiments, each of which he has hitherto avowed, and for one of them most strenuously contended. \. That the moral law is spiritual, and requires love to God with all the lieart ; and that tiiis law is the rule of life to fallen men antecedently to and independ- ently of the consideration of the bcstow- mcnt of grace. If nothing but an absti- nence from gross abominations is incumbent on men, antecedently to the bestowment of grace, then either the moral law does not require the heart, or men are not under it as the rule of life. • 2. That if unconverted sinners are pre- served from the greatest lengths of icicked- ness it is to be ascribed to the preventing and restraining grace of God. This Mr. T. has hitherto avowed. (XIII. 30.) But, if he will maintain the above hypothesis, this also must be given up. The whole of Mr. T.'s argument (XIII. 52) goes upon the supposition that, if grace had never been bestowed or provided, yet men might have refrained from gross abomina- tions ; for it is brought to prove that men would not have been utterly blameless without the provision of grace ; and so that there were soine sins for Christ to die for, antecedently to the consideration of his death and the grace of the gospel. But, if so, their being preserved from gross wickedness is not, and ought not, to be ascribed to the grace of God. 3. That Christ died for the sins of the whole world. I need not prove to the reader that Mr. T. maintains this senti- ment ; but, if he will abide by the above hypothesis, this ( all-important as lie ac- counts it) must be given up. It is well known that the far greater part of the world die in infancy; but dying infants, according to the above hypothesis (and in- deed according to all that he has writen,) can have no sin in any sense whatever, for which Christ could have to atone. He could not, therefore, die for them ; and, as they make the greatest part of the human race, it must follow that Christ did not die for the sins of one half of the world after all. Thus Mr. T., by his notion of men being excusable on account of their moral inability, is driven to a most painful dilemma : he is driven to maintain, either that men, antecedently to the death of Christ and the grace of the gospel, are not free agents at all — are not accountable beings, no, not for even " the vilest of practices," (as he did in his Nine Letters) — and then it follows that Christ did not 534 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. die to atone for the sins of any man, but only for Adam's first transgression, there being no sins for which he could have to atone ; and that his death, and the grace of the gospel, must be a curse to the world rather than a blessing ; as it is in conse- quence of this, and this alone, that guilt becomes chargeable on men : or else, ac- cording to what he has advanced in his last performance, that men without the grace of the gospel would have been free agents in part ; that they would have been capable of performing the externals of re- ligion, and refraining from gross abomi- nation; that they as fallen creatures are accountable for the contrary of these, and for that only ; and that it is for sins of this description only that Christ could have to atone ;* and then it follows that the law as a rule of life to fallen men is not spirit- ual; that if men are preserved from gross aboinations, it is not to be ascribed to pre- venting grace ; and that Christ did not die for the sins of all mankind. Mr. T., it has been observed, has hith- erto allowed that the moral law is spirit- ual, and as such is the rule of life to fallen men, (XIII. 60 ;) but his other sentiments will not suffer him consistently to abide by this. To be consistent with them, he must either deny the spirituality of the law, or else its justice and goodness; that is, he must deny that it is fit to be a rule of life to fallen men. Mr. T. admits the law at present to be spiritual ; it must not, however, take cognizance of the state of the heart or mind; the mind may be the subject of an evil propensity, and yet be innocent, (XIII. 42 ;) so, then, the carnal mind which is enmity against God, is nevertheless in that respect blameless! All that is forbidden is " the indulgence of evil propensity, and the neglect of grace by which he might be delivered from it." Nor are these all the subtractions that Mr. T.'s scheme requires. Even here, it is not just that it should require any more than men can, some way or other, find in their hearts to give ; for he lays this down as a maxim that no man ought to be punished for what he cannot avoid. (XIII. 53.) But if it is not right that the law should re- quire any more than men can in every sense perform, or punish them for their defects, then it must follow that either men can now peribrm all the law requires of them, or else that the law is unreason- able, and so can be neither just nor good, nor fit to be a rule of life to fallen men. Which way will Mr. T. turn himself in this case 1 Will he affirm that men now * It is true Mr. T. tnlks of Christ having to atone for sins of oilier descriptions: but, surely, it is quite absurd to speak of his dying t(} atone for sins for which we were never blameworthy or accountable. can in every sense perform all that the law requires 1 Sometimes he seems as if he would ; for he speaks of the law as for- bidding only the indulgence of sin, and of grace as being provided to deliver us from that. (XIII. 41.) Here, if his words have any meaning, they must mean that men may through the grace of God comply with all the law requires. And yet, in other places, he allows that no man since the fall possesses an ability, either nat- urally or by the grace of God, perfectly to keep the law. (XIII. 60, 61.) But what in and out work is here ! One of these po- sitions must be retracted ; and Mr. T. is welcome to retract which of them he pleases. He may choose his ground. Neither will support him without giving up the sipritually, justice, and goodness of the law, as a rule of life to fallen men. If he retract the former, and allow that men cannot, even with the grace of the gospel, keep the law perfectly ; then he must either maintain the law to be unrea- sonable, or give up all his former reason- ings, and allow that it is right that God should require men to do that which they are, and always were, and always will be, in this life, morally unable to do. If he choose to retract his other position, (XIII. 61,) and maintain that, by the grace of God, men are now able to comply with all that the law requires, and to avoid all that it forbids, still he is never the nearer. This sentiment is as hostile to the native justice and goodness of the law as any po- sition Mr. T. has advanced. For, as to what men are able to do by the grace of God, that is nothing to the purpose. In order to justify the law, it is necessary that we should, in some sense, be able to obey it, prior to, and independently of, the provisions of the gospel. To introduce the bestovvment of grace, in order to vin- dicate the equity of the law, is injustice to both law and gospel : to the former as supposing it, in itself, unjust; to the lat- ter as rendering it not grace, but debt. Suppose the king and parliament of Great Britain should enact a law, requiring the inhabitants of any particular town to pay one thousand pounds annually, by way of tax. At the time of the law being enact- ed those inhabitants were well able to pay it, and afterwards became poor, and en- tirely unable. The government, however, still continue the law in force, notwith- standing their pecuniary inability. But the Prince of Wales, with the concurrence of the king and parliament, graciously re- mits, or offers to remit, to these' poor in- habitants, what shall be sufficient for the payment of the tax. Quere, 1. Does this remittance render the law which contin- ued to require a thousand pounds, when THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. 535 the inhabitants were unable to pay it, in ilselj, just or {lood 1 2. Is it to the lioiior of the prince, any more than of tlie king and parliament, to call such a remittance by the name o( grace, when its only pur- pose is to screen the government froni tiie charge of injustice ! I am persuaded that such a piece of conduct as Mr. T.'s sys- tem ascribes to the great God is what the honorable characters before mentioned would scorn to be engaged in. Such a law, undoubtedly, ought to be repealed. Should it l)c urged, for its continuance, that it should stand as it was, for the purpose of convincing the inhabitants of tlieir sin in not complying witli it, (XIII. 130,) they would reply, Convince us of sin ! No : that it can never do, but rather convince us of its own cruelty and its maker's ty- ranny.— But, perhaps, you have not done so much towards complying with it as you might have done. — Be it so : this can be no proper means of convincing us of sin : let us have a law equal to our capacity, and then, so far as we fall short of it, that will be a proper means of conviction, but no other. Tlie reader will not suppose that I am pleading for the repeal of God's law ; I sup- pose men's natural abilities are still equal to its demands : but my design is barely to show that, according to the tendency of Mr. T.'s principles, the law cannot be either just or good, and the gospel is not grace, but debt. Mr. T. often talks of his opponent ta- king his threefold argument, and answer- ing it conjointly. When an author ad- vances contrary positions, it is very diffi- cult to know w hat are his real sentiments ; otherwise Mr. T. has sufficiently answer- ed himself. 1. He allows that men are unable to keep God's law perfectly. (XIII. 60.) 2. He will not pretend to say that they ever could so keep it, since they were intelligent beings. (XIII. 60.) And 3. What is more, he does not profess to hold that grace is provided sufficient to enable them to keep it. (XIII. 61.) Here, then, all the three members of Mr. T.'s position concur, respecting men's inability to keep the law perfectly. " They could never avoid it, cannot deliver themselves from it, and the blessed God has not made such provision as is necessary to deliver them : " and yet Mr. T. allows that they ought to keep it, notwithstand- ing, (XIII. 60 ;) and, it should seem, their not keeping it is their sin, of which the law is a proper means to convince them. (XIII. 130.) The reader is here left to make his own reflections. But " is it right for a man to be etern- ally punished for what he could never possibly avoid! This is the question," says Mr. T., " to which I think Mr. F., with all his ingenious labor, lias not at- tempted to give a direct answer. Yet nothing is done till a direct answer be giv- en." (XIII. 51.) I reply, 1. If there be any weight in Mr. T.'s reasoning, it must affect ail punishment, as well as eternal punishment : * and, if so, the sentence of corporal death, which, in consequence of Adam's transgression, has passed upon all men, and is executed upon millions who have never actually sinned, must be an unrighteous sentence : 2. If man, as a fallen, polluted creature, is blameless, he must, if justice be done him, as such, be unexposed to punishment, either here or hereafter, and consequently must, as such, need no saviour at all. To speak, there- fore, of the fall as rendering a saviour ne- cessary, as Mr. T. himself seems to do (XIII. 140, 142,) or to say, with the apos- tle, that, " as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obe- dience of one shall many be made right- eous," must be altogether improper. But perhaps Mr. T. will still complain of the want of a direct answer. Well, if another form will please him better, let it stand thus : The fall and its necessary effects are what Mr. T. calls unavoidable by us : Christ, by laying down his life, delivered * My good opinion of Mr. T.'s integrity and piety makes me utterly at a loss how to account for the in- sinuation tliat it lias been genenilly acknowledged, by the " unhappy men" who deny the eternity of future punishment, and hold witli " universal salvation, that, before a man can !« of their .sentiments, he must l)e a Calvinist." To be sure we cannot be cer- tain that no one person who embniced the general restitution scheme w^as weak or wicked enough to drop such an expression, though I never heard of such an instance. But, to justify the manner in which this inuendo is brought in, it ought, at least, to have been a common repeated acknowledgment, made by some of the most eminent patrons of that .system. Surely the late Bishop of Bristol was never led into it by his Calvinism; nor have I ever heard of Dr. Priestley, or Dr. Chauncey, as suggesting that thia was the cfiect of tlieir former Calvinism. It is very evident that they were first.far from Calvinism lx;fore they espoused tliat notion. I wish Mr. T. (if this paragraph could indeed be his writing, and was not added to his manuscript by some unknown |)er.«on, devoid of con.science, to blacken Calvinism at any rate) would favor us with the names of " diese un- happy men who have so frequently said" it. Were it needful, I could name a member of Mr. T.'s own church who has pleaded for universal salvation with- out being led into it by a previous Calvinism. But the .Monthly Review for July, 17S9, has afford- ed an opportunity of appealing to Mr.T.'s conscience still more forcibly on this article. Does Mr. T. believe that the gentleman by whom he himself is there abused, for his " sulphurous discourse" on the eternity of future punishment, could never have treat- ed a scriptural doctrine with so much contempt, if the reviewer had not once been a Calvinist 1 Month- ly Review, p. 95. 536 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. US from the fall and its necessary effects ;* But Christ died, therefore, to deliver us from what Mr. T. calls unavoidable. But Christ would not have died to deliver us from a punishmeut which we never deser- ved. I do not conclude, therefore, that we deserve everlasting misery for that which, in Mr. T.'s sense of the word, is unavoidable. LETTER VII. There is one question more which Mr. T. holds up in his Sixth Letter, the solution of which goes a great way to- wards the deciding of the controversy be- tween us : this is, whether natural power is, to all intents and purposes, sufficient to render us accountable beings in respect of moral or spiritual exercises. This question I promised to discuss be- fore we had done. Previously, however, to entering upon it, let it be observed that if natural power is sufficient for the above purpose, and that antecedently to, and in- dependently of, the bestowment of grace ; then five parts out of six, at least, of Mr. T.'s Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Letters are to no purpose. All his exclamations against men being required to perform what they have no power to accomplish, blamed for their omission of it, &c. &c., entirely rests upon the supposition that natural power is not power , or, at least, not such power as to render men account- able for omitting moral and spiritual ex- ercises. All Mr. T.'s exclamations like- wise, in his Nine Letters, upon the cru- elty of punishing men more severely, rests upon this supposition, that natural poiver is of no account ; for the cruelty against which he there exclaims consists in pun- ishing men " for not doing what it never was in their power to do." (XIIL 58.) Now, if the contrary of this can be proved the body of Mr. T.'s system will be over- turned. When I affirm that natural power is, to all intents and purposes, sufficient to ren- der men accountable beings," Mr. T. calls for proof , (XIII. 56 ;) yea, and sug- gests that I have acknowledged the con- trary in my first treatise. Whether I have not proved this matter already, and whether Mr. T. has not alloived me to have proved it, we will now inquire. 1. I have proved that natural strength is the measure of men's obligation to love God; being that rule according to which * Rom. V. 15—21. J Cor. xv. 22. 1 Thess. i. 10. we are required to love him : " Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy strength." To this Mr. T. has made no reply ; but, on the contrary, has allowed my reasoning to be " very conclusive." (IX. 67.) 2. I have proved that men are obliged to the performance of all duty, and are inex- cusable for their omission of it, antecedent- ly to, and independently of the bestowment of grace, {Rep. p. 221.) To this also Mr. T. has made no reply; but, on the contra- ry, has told us that he " wishes to oppose nothing contained in it, so far as the pres- ent subject is concerned:" (XIII. 59.) Mr. T., therefore, has fully allowed me to have proved my point, and consequent- ly to have proved that the body of his own reasonings is fallacious. Surely Mr. T. must have engaged in a controversy which he does not sufficiently understand ; how else could he allow of these sentiments, and at the same time maintain their oppo- sites 1 To the above arguments might be add- ed the universal silence of Scripture in re- spect of the internal operations of grace being necessary to render men accounta- ble beings, as to moral and spiritual exer- cises. The scripture is not silent upon what it is that renders us moral agents ; but never, that I remember, gives us the least hint of grace, or Spirit's operations, being necessary to that end. Whenever God speaks of men in a way of complaint or censure, he urges their enjoyment of nat- ural powers, outward advantages, means, and opportunities, as what rendered it fit and reasonable for better things to have been expected at their hands. Rehears- ing what he had done for Israel, and com- plaining of their ungrateful returns, he says, " What was there more to be done to my vineyard,* that I have not done in it 1 Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes 1 " — Isa. v. 1 — 7. It is plain here that God reckoned himself to have done enough for them to warrant an expec- tation, speaking after the manner of men, of better returns ; and yet here is no men- tion of any thing but external privileges, means, and opportunities, which were bestowed upon them. It is true God is said to have given his good Spirit to in- struct them; but the meaning of that is, he inspired his servants the prophets, and sent them with repeated messages of in- struction ; or, as it is explained in the same place, " He testified against them by his Spirit in the prophets." — Neh. ix- * ^D^DS l)^ n)t^^,^-nO See True- man's Discourse of Natural and Moral Impotence, p. 179. THE REALITY AND EFFICACy OF DIVINE GRACE. 537 20, 30. These messages and messengers were what Stephen accused thcni with having always resisteil. " Which of tlie pro|)liets," said he, " have not your fa- thers persecuted ? " and this lie justly calls a resistance of the Holy Spirit. Acts vii. 51, 52. Wiien Christ com- plained of Chora/.in and Hethsaida, he made no mention of the intirnal opera- tions of his grace, as the ground of his just expectations, but barely of the " mighty works " which he had wrought among them. — Mattlicw xi. 20 — 24. So, when the apostle pronounces tiie heatlien to l)c "without excuse," and informs us where- fore they were so, he makes no men- tion of grace whicli they cither had, or might have had, but of tlic evidence af- forded to tliem l)y the visil)le creation, by which he intimates tliat the invisible pow- er and Godhead of its Creator miglit have been known, had they been but of a right temper of mind. — Rom. i. 19, 26.* But Mr. T. thinks I have contradicted all this by asserting that " natural ability is not, of itself, sufficient for the perform- ance of good." Cannot Mr. T., then, discern the difference between what is sufficient to render us accountable beings and what is sufficient for the actual per- formance of good 1 If a man is possessed of reason and conscience, he has that which, to all intents and purposes, ren- ders him an accountable being, and any court upon earth would treat him as re- sponsible for any trust which might be reposed in his hands ; but, if he is not possessed of integrity, he has not that in him which is sufficient for the security of his master's property, or any service which is truly virtuous. LETTER VIII. Another question in debate between myself and Mr. T. is whetiier faitli in Christ be a requirement of tlie moral law. On this subject Mr. T. has written his Seventh and Eighth Letters. If I under- stand the force of this question in'the pres- ent controversy, it is this : that it involves the doctrine of a provision of grace in or- der to make it equitable. Mr. T. con- siders faith as an additional oV)ligation to those required by the moral law, and therefore thinks it a hard and inequitable requirement, if grace is not provided to enable us to comply, (IX. 46.) * See Bellamy's True Religion Delineated, pp. 121—127. VOL. 1 68 On this subject Mr. T. admits that " the moral law — demands that whatever is revealed in the gosjiel, or any other dis- pensation, be received by all rational crea- tures to whom that revelation is made," (XIII. 69.) This is all that I have plead- ed for. 1 do not suppose the moral law expressly, but radically, or remotely, to require faith in Christ. I only contend that tliat love which the moral law ex- pressly requires would lead a person pos- sessed of it to cmbri.lui[oiuii, (he redemption of the purchased possession, or of the people acquired, or purchased, Ephes. i. It. On which Calvin remarks, /7«ijc.foir,(Ti,-, quain latine verlimus acquisi- tam hcereditatcm, non e,-t regnum cado- rum, aut beata immortalitas, sed ipsa ec- clesia.* Thus, in 1 Pet. ii. 9, they are styled, >'-i«"? »'« nnn.Toii,otr, a people ac- quired, or purchased to himself in a pecu- liar manner ; or a people for a peculiar possession. Paul says, 1 Thcss. v. 9, " God hath not appointed us to wrath ; l>iit to the ifin.iuit^oiy ov>n,iiiue, obtaining, or acquirins;, of salvation by our Lord Jesus Clirist, who died for us, that we should live with him." And 2 Thess. ii. 13, 14, he says, "Beloved of the Lord, God hath from the bcfrinning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you l>y our gospel, unto n^n>f7xoi\aiv 9oii}:, the obtaining, or acquisition, of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Let the impartial judge if these passages do not strongly favor the peculiarity of de- sign in Christ's death. And thus it is said of Christians, Till/;? i];'ondnSi^rt, ye are bought with a price, 1 Cor. vi. 20; vii. 23. If 2 Pet. ii. 1 should he alleged as an objection, I hope I have given a sufficient reason w hy that passage is not to be un- derstood of the Saviour's blood, but of God's deliverance in a way of providence, p. 504. It is such a reason, at least, as Mr. T. has not attempted to answer. LETTER XII. Mr. T., in his Nine Letters, offered arguments for the universal extent of Christ's death. He argued from the good- ness of God over all his works, and from various passages of Scripture which speak of the death of Christ in indefinite lan- guage. The principal of these passages and arguments I have considered in mv Reply. Mr. T., in the Eleventh Letter of his last publication, defends his former arguments. Before I enter on a discussion of partic- ulars, I would observe that, although Mr. T. pleads for the universal extent of Christ's death, yet he pleads for it in no * TTiniTcoir^rit!:, which we render ike purchased possession, is not the kingdom of heaven, or a bless- ed immmortalily but the church itself, VOL. I. 69 other sense than as laying a foundation for sinners, without distinction, being in- vited to return home to (i()d;l)y Jesus Christ, with the promise of forgiveness and acceptance on their return. He docs not pretend tiiat there is provision made l>y the death of Christ for the certain sal- vation of all men. Now, the thing itself for which he pleads is no more than I have admitted. It is true I have supposed that this being done for men in general cannot with propriety be called dying /or them. At the same time, I have allowed that "many considcial>le writers, who are far from denying that the salvation of all the saved is owing to an absolute, and conse- (juently limited, design in the death of Christ, have supposccl that it might ; and that the indefinite language of Scripture, concerning the death of Christ, is intended to convey to us this idea." The thing it- self I do not controvert ; only it appeared to me that the terms ransom, propitiation, dying for us, ike, were intended to con- vey something more than this, and what is true only of the finally saved. Now, admitting that I am mistaken in my supposition — admitting that the terms pro- pitiation, ransom, &c., are applicable to mankind in general, and are designed to express that there is a way opened for sin- ners, without distinction, to return home to God and be saved — nothing follows irom it but that I have misunderstood cer- tain passages of Scripture, by considering them as conveying an indefinite, but not a universal idea. In regard to the sen- timent itself, I do not see that Mr. T. pleads for more than I have admitted, ex- cept in one instance : we agree that a way is opened, by the death of Christ, for the salvation of sinners, without distinction; and that any man may be saved, if he is willing to come to Christ, that he may have life. Here I stop; but Mr. T. goes a step farther, and maintains that such a provision of grace is made by the death of Christ that all men have power to be loilling if they will; but of this, I am satisfied, no meaning can be made. I now proceed to particulars, by ob- serving that, whether my sense of the pass ages of Scripture adduced by Mr. T. be just or not, it does not appear to me that he has invalidated it. He argues in gen- eral from Psa. cxiv. 9, " His tender mer- cies are over all his works." I answered that the death of Christ was not the crite- rion of God's goodness ; that fallen angels were a part of God's works as well as fal- len men. Mr. T. replies by observing that fallen angels were not here intended. (XIII. 106.) Then it seems Mr. T. can sometimes discern a restriction in the word all, though a universal terra. Per- 546 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. haps it may be sufficient to observe that whether the phrase all his works intends all fallen angels or not, it intends more than that part of God's works for which Christ died. Is it not evident from the context that it denotes God's providential good- ness towards the whole animate creation 1 Is it not said of them, in verse 16, that "their eyes wait on him ; he openeth his hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing 1 " But Mr. T. contends that " thei-e is no goodness, no mercy, no tender mercy, ex- ercised towards a person who is placed in such a situation that he could not avoid sinning and being damned, and whose damnation is necessarily increased by calls and commands to repent, and believe in Christ ; when the great God, whose commands these are, has provided no mer- cy for him, nor intends to give him the least assistance, though he knows the poor sinner cannot, nor ever possibly could, obey these calls and commands, any more than he can fly to the moon." (XIII. 106.) To this shocking representation I have only to say. This is not my hypothesis nor any thing like it ; and, if Mr. T. thinks it is, it is time to give over controverting the matter with him. The Avhole passage is mere declamation, founded on the abuse of the terms cannot, could not, &c If, in- stead of " cannot, and never could," he had said will not, and never ivould, his ac- count of the poor sinner's case would not have appeared so plausible : and yet this he knows is the whole of our meaning. " Yes, but if they could never will to com- ply," says Mr. T., "that amounts to the same thing." (XIII. 57.) That is, unless they have the power of being willing, if they will ! Of this I shall only say that, when Mr. T. can make sense of it, it will be time enough to answer it. What follows has much more of argu- ment in it. " If the tender mercies of God are over all his works, and if no man can enjoy any mercy but through Jesus Christ, is it not a natural and reasonable conclusion that God has given his Son to die for all mankind V (XIII. 105.) I must observe however, by the way, that, " if no man can enjoy any mercy but through Jesus Christ," I cannot lait con- sider this as a full proof that the whole race were unworthy of all mercy, and that God might consistently with his justice and essential goodness have witheld it from them, and treated them as worthy of death ; for I have no idea that God need- ed the death of his Son to induce him to do that the omission of which Avould have exposed him to the charge of cruelty. If Mr. T. had always remembered this con- sideration, (which I think he cannot con- trovert,) it would have induced him to expunge a great deal of declamation in his letters. Having noted this, I confess I think that much mercy is exercised towards men in general through Jesus Christ ; and, consequently, that his death was productive of etfects which terminate on all. Nor do I question whether the opening of a way for the salvation of all who shall come unto God by him, and for men without distinction to be invited thus to come, is owing to the death of Christ ; and, if this can be called dying jor all mankind, I should admit without hesita- tion that he died for all. All I contend for is that Christ, in his death, absolutely designed the salvation of all those who are finally saved ; and that, besides the objects of such absolute design, such is the universal depravity of human nature, not one soul will ever believe and be saved. I am surprised at Mr. T.'s manner of treating the argument drawn from the objections that might be urged by a deni- er of God's foreknowledge, asking wheth- er I would seriously avow them. (XIII. 107.) One would think he need not be told that I seriously disapprove of that mode of reasoning as well as of his, and only meant throughjthat to show the tend- ency of his own. Such a way of arguing is fair and upright, and is used by writers of every description : it therefore ought not to have lieen called a. finesse. Mr. T. in what he has said on this suhject, as in many other places, gives "sufficient proof of two things : 1. That he is combating a scheme which his opponent does not hold. 2. That to reason with him upon such terms as cannot, unable, or unavoidable, and the like, is to no purpose ; for that he either cannot, or will not, understand our ideas concerning them. Mr. T. now enters on a defence of his arguments from the terms all men, world, ivholc world, &c. (XIII. 110.) I apprehended that to understand these terms as denoting men universally was contrary to other scriptures — to the scope of the inspired writers in the places where those expressions are found — and involved in it various absurdities. Mr. T. wishes I had given some instances of these con- tradictions and absurdities. This I cer- tainly attempted in a gieat deal of what followed; but Mr. T. has never yet fair- ly refuted my remarks. I pass over some less important matters, and observe what is advanced from 1 Tim. ii. 6, " He gave himself a ransom for all." Mr. T. here complains that I have not an- swered his reason for understanding the term all universally ; and I might as well complain of him for his not considering my reasons for understanding it otherwise. I remember that he had argued (IX. 79 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. 547 Ironi the use of the term all in the con- text, and the cogency of the apostle's ar- gument, " Pray for oil, because Christ died for all." I cannot hut think, with Mr. Robinson, tiiat " this passage ought not to be urged in the Arniinian contro- versy ; for a i)art of this period fixes the sense to ranks or degrees ol men. Pray for kings and for all that are in authority. Tiie meaning then is, pray lor all ranks and degrees of men ; for God will save some off/// orders. Christ gave himself a ransom lor persons of all t/f^i^rffes."' The arguments I had advanced in my Reply, p. 502, to |)rovt' tliat this passage could not be understood of men universally, he has not answered, but runs otfinto a declama- tion concerning the secret and revealed will of God, the substance of wiiicii I iiad endeavored to obviate in my Reply, p. 50t), 507, note. Little more I think need be said on 1 John ii. 1. Wiiat each of us has advanced u[)on it is before tiie public. My sense of the passage, which Mr. T. calls " a strange notion," (XIII. 15,) surely is not more strange or singular than his notion of re- demption. He must produce some bet- ter proof for another sense of the passage than " appealing to the understanding and conscience of his friend. '''\ It is wonderful that Mr. T. sliould plead for the universal spread of the gospel in the times of the apostles, and for the faith of the Romans being celebrated in all parts. (XIII. 116.) In alf parts of the Ro- man empire it might, and in some other nations ; but can any man persuade him- self that it was spoken of at Mexico or Otaheite 1 Mr. T. thinks that the whole earth (Isa. liv. 5) is to be understood universal- ly, and that God is there called the God of the whole earth as a creator, supporter, and judge, in distinction iVom the tender character of a husband. But, as he is called both the maker and tlie husband of the church there addressed, so it seems very evident he is described towards the whole earth. He who had heretofore been called " the Holy One of Israel " shall now be called " the God of the whole earth." See Henry's Exposition. The term xvholc,'\\\ Matt. xiii. 33, un- doubtedly is to be understood restrictive- ly ; for, though the gospel will spread * Notes upon Claude, \o\.U. pp. 269, 270. t It may not be inexpedient to inform some read- ers that Mr. T.'s letters were written to an old and intimate friend of his own, who entirely agrees with him in sentiment, and at who.«e request Mr. T. first commenced this controversy; ihoiigli, as that Fmtleman had .=ome slight acqiiaiiitiince with Mr. uller, Mr. T. all along Fpeaks to him of Mr. F. ns (he friend of hi.s correspondent. R. over all nations before the end of the world, yet not so as to renew every indi- vidual in them, much less every individu- al that has existed at every period. (XIIL 117.) Mr. T. is astonished to find me assert- ing that he himsell' does not understand the terms whole world, in 1 John ii. 2, and the same terms in chap. v. It), in the same sense, seeing he has declared the contrary. (XIII. 118.) Perhaps I had better have said, IVIr. T. cannot, upon due considera- tion, understand those terms as parallel, seeing he considers them in the former as meaning all the individuals in the world that ever did, or shall exist, except the persons from whom they are there dis- tinguished; whereas he cannot pretend that the latter mean any more than the world of ungodly men who at that time existed. Another passage that has been consid- ered by both of us is^ 2 Cor. v. 15, '* If one died for all, then were all dead," &c. (XIII. lis.) Mr. T. liere comj)lains, as he does in other places, of my not draw- ing my conclusions in form. I thought the conclusions I meant to draw were ob- vious to every attentive reader, and omit- ted drawing them out at length for the sake of brevity. I observed, 1. That the context speaks of the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, being interested in Christ. I supposed, therefore, it might be under- stood of men of all nations, in distinction from its being confined to the Jews. 2. That the apostle meant to affirm not that Christ died for all that were dead, .but that all were dead for whom Christ died. In proof of this, I argued from the apos- tle's describing the terrors of divine ven- geance to which they were subject ; arid from the phraseology of verse 14, " If one died for all, then were they all dead." For this Mr. T. has corrected me, charg- ing me with misquoting the Scripture. The words of the apostle are, on t( tli 1 :ii'j .idiTvtt uoi^uvii, itnu ot nccirtg uni&a' roi . Not having had those advantages for literary improvement which I should have been glad to enjoy, I was not forward, by a formal criticism, to tell my readers that I had acquired some small acquaintance with the original language, so as to be able to judge of the propriety of a translation; l)ut I knew that the article oi', here used, has been thought by very competent judg- es, to be anapliorical or relative, and that the passage should be read, " if one for all died, Xhonthny all, or those all, were dead." Nothing can be more exact than this trans- lation, unless Mr. T. would insist on hav- ing o! .-fuiTfc (V7 »,'',o 01 rendered THE «Wt«erc dead; and then he must equally complain of our comraon translators, for rendering 648 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. Lwrrec in the next verse, they loho live, instead of the living. But would not Mr. T. be ashamed to insinuate on this account, to " the inattentive reader," that they have "interlined and abused" the origi- nal language ol Scripture 1 I am so well assured of Mr. T.'s learning that I am hardly able to consider his "hope" that I quoted the passage wrong " through mistake" as any other than " a finesse.'" 3. I observed, on the distributive tlicy who, that my hypothesis, though it supposes that all for whom Christ died shall finally live, yet does not suppose that they all live at present. Here, I think, Mr. T. certainly misunderstands me. His original argument is this : by the language of the text it appears that Christ died for more than actually live. My answer is that, upon my hypothesis, Christ died for more than actually live at any period of time ; part of them being, at every period, in a state of unregeneracy. I have gone over the passages in debate between us, merely to prove that, whether my sense of those passages be just or not, Mr. T. has not invalidated it. At the same time, I cannot forbear repeating that, even allowing Mr. T. to have proved the universal extent of Christ's death in the most forcible manner, he has not proved that any thing more is done, towards the salvation of men in general, than what I admit, or that renders the salvation of one individual more probable. I have all along supposed tliat there is that done for them by Christ which renders their salvation no otherwise impossitZe, nor their destruction unavoidable, than as it is rendered so by their own temper of mind : no other ob- stacle could prevent their believing to the saving of their soul, but an evil heart, ob- stinately persisting in its departure from the living God. Mr. T. sums up his evidence on this subject in five topics of argument. — The silence of Scripture on the limited extent of Christ's death ; the willingness of the blessed God that all should turn, and live ; those who are not saved being more mise- rable than if Christ had not died ; the un- limited expressions used concerning the death of Christ; and such passages as dis- tinguish between those for whom he died and those who are finally saved. (XHI. 120.) With regard to the ^rs^, the Bible is not silent concerning a special design in the death of Christ, as in all the other works of God, in behalf of all who are finally saved. I hope this has been proved in Letters X. and XI., and in my Reply, pp. 496 — 500. It is true there are no such express words that I know of in the Bible; but, if the idea is there conveyed, that is sufficient. Mr. T. says, indeed, that, " if a doctrine is not mentioned in Scrip- ture, there is good reason to believe that doctrine is not true ; that we admit this on all other subjects, and ought to admit it on this." But so far is this from being fact, that we never find express mention of a divine providence, and yet we all allow the Scripture to be full of it. Reasoning from positive institutions to doctrines, as Mr. T. has done, (XHI. 109,) is very un- fair. Mr. T.'s second topic of argument is taken from the universality of divine love to man, and the willingness of the blessed God that all should turn and live. It is admitted that God's love to man is in one sense universal. He bears good will to- wards them, as the work of his hands; but it does not follow thence that he must do all that he could do for their salvation. If God loves all mankind, he must have loved the inhabitants of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom as well as those of Chorazin and Bethsaida : but though, as Mr. T. thinks, (XIII. 25,) if the same things which were done for the latter without effect had been done for the former, they would have been effectual, yet they were not done. As to God's willingness that all should turn and live, God's will, as has been observed, sometimes expresses what he approves, and sometimes what he purposes, pp. 506, 507 note. God wills, approves, and de- sires a sinner's turning unto him. It is that whicli, through the whole Bible, is re- quired of him ; and whosoever thus returns shall live. I may add, God is willing to receive and forgive every sinner that re- turns to him through Jesus Christ. He desireth not the death of a sinner, but ra- ther that he would repent and live. But he has not purposed the salvation of every sinner, or to incline his heart to embrace the salvation exhibited in the gospel. In this sense, the salvation of some is neither desired nor designed : if it were, it would be effected ; for "his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure." — " Whatso- ever his soul desireth, even that he doeth." — Isa. xlvi. 10. Jobxxiii. 13. "But can God," says Mr. T., "will that which he knows to be impossible ? which never teas possible ? which none could make possible, besides himself? which he was never wil- ling to make possible 1— XIII. 120. If, by impossible, Mr. T. means that which is naturally impossible, it is granted he can- not. But that he wills what is morally im- possible, Mr. T. himself must allow. God wills that Christians should be holy, as he himself is holy : and that in the present life, or he would not have enjoined it upon them. 1 Peter iv. 16. Matt. v. 48. But Mr. T. does not pretend that this is possi- THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. 549 ble, even by tho assistance of lUvino grace. (XIII. 01.) Mr. T.'s third topic of arsrumcnt is tiiiis expressed : — "All who are not saved will he more niiseial)le than it Christ had never died lor sinners. If Christ did not die lor thtmi they cannot, nor ever could, po.^sihly avoid this. This cannot lie reconciled to the Scripture account of divine justice and goodness." (XIII. 1"20.) Answer, 1. This can only l)C said of those who have heard the sanspel and rejected it, and not of "all who are not saved," that they will be more miserable than if Christ had never died. Supposinjx this argument, thereibre, to be valid, it will not prove tiiat Christ, in laving down his life, designed the sal- vation of all men universally, but merely of those to whom tlie gospel is exhibited. 2. It is no way inconsistent with the justice or goodness of God to sutFer good to ])e the occasion of evil. The gospel was preached to the unbelieving Jews, even after it was said of them, " Hearing tliey shall hear, and not understand ; and seeing they shall see, and not perceive ;" and V>e- came the occasion of much sin and misery. — Matt. xiii. 14. " But they inight have embraced the gosjiel when it was Jirst preached to them if they would." True : and at last too ; or it had been absurd to have preached it to them. There was nothing that hindered their believing, first or last, but their own wicked hearts. On that account they could not believe. — John xii. 39. Yet Christ, at the very time this was declared, exhorted them, while they had light, to " believe in the liglit, that they might be the children of light," (ver. 86 ;) and their contempt of his counsel ag- giavated their misery. Mr. T.'s fourth topic of argument is taken from the " expressions of Scripture, where the extent of Christ's death is di- rectly mentioned, being all universal and unlimited." Something has been said, in the Reply to Philanthropos, p. 501, which accounts for these indefinite modes of speech; something, too, which Mr. T. I think has not sutficiently answered. But suppose it were allowed, as has been said " before, that the language of Scripture, taken in its most literal and plain meaning, ])roves Christ, in some sense, to have died for all mankind ; still, if we will give fair scope to other parts of Scripture, it is evident that, in some sense, he died only for a part." These Scriptures have been considered in Letter X., and in the Reply to Philanthropos, p. 59(3—500. Lastly, Mr. T. observes that "several passages evidently distinguish between those for whom Christ died and those who will befinally saved." (Xin. 121.) The passages to which he refers are John iii. 16, " God so loved the icorld that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever hc- lieveth in him shouhl not perish but have everlasting life," and Matt. xxii. 1 — 11, concerning the marriage-feast, and provi- sion being made for those who did not come; with John vi. 32, "My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven; " which, as he observes, was spoken to the Jews in general without restriction. — (IX. 83.) These passages prove that there is that in the death of Christ which lays a founda- tion lor any sinner to apply to God in his name ; and that with an assurance of suc- cess. But tliis is no more than 1 have ad- mitted. In the invitations of the gospel being general we arc both agreed ; and also in a j)rovision of jiardon and acceptance on belialf of all who believe ; and that, therefore, there is no impossibility in the way of men's salvation but what consists in the temper of their own minds. But this does not disprove either the reality or necessity of an effectual provision of gi'ace in behalf of all who are finally saved. I conclude this letter by recommending Mr. T. to consider whether his scheme is not inconsistent with fact. If I under- stand him, he supposes that "final mis- ery" comes not upon any of the sons of men "by their original depravity, nor by their transgression of the law, but by their rejection of the overtures of mercy." Hence he supposes that " all who are not saved will be more miserable than if Christ had not died (or sinners." (IX. 86, XIII. 120.) Though the above expression might be considered as meant only of those sin- ners who hear the gospel, yet his subse- quent reasonings indicate that he viewed it as applicable to all mankind. He speaks all along as if our Saviour had not only died for the wliole world, but as if the whole world had heard the gospel, and as if none could perish, consistently with the justice and goodness of God, but for their rejection of it. Thus he goes on, bearing all down before him : "If Christ died for all, these reasons for their final condem- nation and misery are all perfectly clear and easy, because the provision being made for them (that is, for all) axd ex- HiBiTKD TO THEM (that is, to all,) they could not perish unless by rejection of that provision. Difficulty and inconsist- ency is all removed." (IX. ST.) This is talking at a high rate. Thus many a wri- ter, as well as Mr. T., has sat in his study and formed a theory, and delighted liim- self with its excellence. But bring it to experience and fact. Is it fact that the provision of the gospel has been, or is, "exhibited to alH" Mr. T.'s system requires that it should; and he seems to wish to take it for granted that it actually has : hut facts contradict it. 550 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. LETTER XIII. There is, doubtless, an analogy be- tween the works of God. Whatever va- riety there is in the works of creation, providence, or redemption, there are some general principles wherein they all agree. On this supposition, I argued ibr the con- sistency of sinners being exhorted and invited to return home to God by Jesus Christ, though no such provision be made for their return as shall remove their moral inability to comply. Thus, or to this effect, I have expressed it in my Re- ply* Mr. T. heie complains of the dark- ness of my reasoning. (XIII. 124.) How far this is just I shall not decide ; but this is pretty evident that there must have been darkness somewhere or there could not have been such answers given as there are. I argued, in the first place, from the appointment of God respecting the time of human life. Men are exhorted to use means for prolonging their lives ; and yet the time of their life is appointed of God ; and some of them, as King Saul and Ju- das for instance, have been under the do- minion of a moral impotcncy, in regard to preserving life. They were given up of God to their own wickedness, like those who cannot cease from sin ; and it was the purpose of a just God, for reasons satis- factory to himself, thus to give them up. But Mr. T. asks, "Supposing God has fixed the duration of every man's life, has he appointed (he should have said exhort- ed) men to use means to prolong their lives beyond that duration 1 " — XIII. 126. If self-preservation is a duty, and if God, at all times, exhorts us to exercise it, then it undoubtedly was the duty of Saul, Ahithophel, and Judas, to have used means to prolong their lives beyond the period to which they actually lived. The former, and his armor-bearer, ought to have avoided the sword, and the latter the rope. But "has God told us that we shall certainly die at the time he has ap- pointed if we do not use the means of pro- longing lifel " If I understand this ques- tion, it is intended to deny that the time of man's life is appointed of God, any oth- erwise than on condition of their using means. Doubtless, he that has appointed the end has appointed the means ; and Mr. T. should remember that he had just admitted the appointment to be absolute, * I did not undertake to prove, as Mr. T. expresses it, " the consistency of gosjjel-invitations where no provision is made." I admitted a provision, and explained in what sense I admitted it. — Reply, p. 504, .505. and professed now to be reasoning upon that supposition. But "has he assured us that all the means we use shall cer- tainly succeed 1 " No ; he has not : but I do not see wherein this ditference be- tween the case in hand and the call of the gospel affects the argument. But, "if we die at the time God has appointed, does he charge that to our account, and say it was because we did not use means to pro- long our lives 1 Certainly he does not lay his own appointments to our charge; but he may the time and manner of our death, and punish us for them, so far as they were owing to our sin, even though he has appointed to give us up to that sin. This was true of Saul and Judas, who ouglil to have used means' to live longer than they did, and exposed themselves to future punishment for using the contrary. But " does the great God declare and swear that he would not have us die nat- urally at the time when he has absolutely appointed that we should die 1 Does he say, we might live longer if we would? that he has called vis to live longer; and, if we do not, it is because we ivill not?" Mr. T. should remember I was not reasoning from the case of those who " die natur- ally," but from the case of those who, through their own sin, "come to what is called an untimely end," as did Saul and Judas ; and, in these instances, each of his questions may be answered in the affirm- ative. And a similar instance we have in the case of those Jews v/ho died "by the sword, by the famine, and by the pes- tilence," in consequence of their refusal to submit to the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, in Jer. xxvii. 13, which case I would recommend to the close attention of the Pseudo-Calvinists, as well as to that of Mr. Taylor. I argued, in the second place, from the appointments of God respecting our por- tion in this life. Men are exhorted and invited to seek after those good things, and to avoid those evil things, which, yet, many of them are morally unable to pur- sue or to avoid ; and God has appointed to leave them, in this case, to their own negligence and depravity. f Mr. T.'s questions under this head, (XIII. 127,) as under the former, are not in point. The question is, not whether all troubles arise from indiscretion, or any particular sin, t Admitting that, in some sense, CInist is given to the world in general, yet I suppose that it is in the same sense in which the earth is said to be given to the children of men, (Psa. cxv. 16;) in which general gift God still reserves to himself the power of disposing, in a way of special providence, of all its particular parts to particular persons, even to such a degree that every individual has a cvp assigned him to drink — a lot which Providence murks out for him. THE UEALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. )51 of the [tarty : if any do, that is sufiicient for my arzument. If there are troubles which iiiiirht he avoided if ice icould, and if it is the revealed will of God that we should avoid them, that is sufficient. Pharaoh and Sihon were exhorted and in- vit«(l to comply with the niessatres of peace that were sent them ; and yet they were under the dominion of a moral impotcncy to comply ; and God had appointed to leave them to the hardness of their hearts, in which they [terished, and involved them- selves in ruin. Nor is it in point for Mr. T. to allege tiiat no directions are given in Scripture, with encouragements and promises an- nexed, which the great God does not give power to practise, and with regard to which he has not provided such a sufficiency as that the practice invariably answers the ends designed by it, according to the tenor of the directions, and promises or encour- agements connected with them." (XIII. 128.) All this is granted, both in respect to the things of this life and also of that to come, and is no more than what perfect- ly accords with my views of the gospel. I never supposed but that Pharaoh and Sihon had power, sti'ictly speaking, to comply with the messages that were sent to them, or that there would have been any want of sufficiency, on God's part, to have made good his promises, in case they had complied. I argued, in the third place, from events whichimply the evil actions oj men coming under divine appointment. The Jews, in the time of Christ, were exhorted and in- vited to embrace the gospel ; and yet they were under the dominion of a moral im- potency to comply ; and it appears, from many passages of Scripture, that God had determined not to turn their hearts, liut to give them over to their own ways, which would certainly issue in the crucifixion of Christ, and in their own destruction. As Jehovah had said, long before, to their forefathers, in the days of Jeremiah, "Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee ;" while yet the prophet says, immediately after, respecting those very persons, " To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hcarl Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken ; " so our Lord re- marked to his disciples, '•' Unto you it is given to know the mystery of tiic king- dom of God : but unto them that are with- out, all things are done in parables : that seeing they may sec, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not un- derstand ; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiv- en them." Thus, of the same persons to whom the blessed Jesus had said, " While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light," it is added immediately, " But, though he had done so many miracles before them, yel liioy Iteliev- ed not on him : that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report ! and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been re- vealed ] Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again. He hath l)linded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal tlicm." Perhaps Mr. T. will say, " But they might have had grace before that time." Be that as it may, it makes nothing to the argument; seeing they were exhorted and invited at the time in which it was declar- ed they could not believe. I suppose God has willed, appointed, or ordained to permit sin. Mr. T. is not fond of saying that God permits sin. I suppose he would not object to the term suffer, which is applied to the existence of moral evil. Acts xiv. 16. He suffered all nations to walk in their own ways ; and the term permit, as any English dic- tionary will inform us, conveys the same idea, " to suffer without authorizing or approving," which is the only sense in which we use it on this subject ; though the word is sometimes used in a different signification, as " to allow by not forbid- ding," or even " to authorize." Mr. T.'s notions of what is necessary to free agen- cy I have already considered in the begin- ning of Letter III. The next topic of argument is taken from those who had sinned the sin against the Holy Spirit being, notwithstanding, exhorted to embrace the Lord Jesus : whence I conclude that such exhortations and invitations were addressed to some men whom, at the same time, strictly speaking, " it was not the intention of Christ to save." Mr. T.'s answer to this is foreign from the point. He " hopes Mr. F. will not assert that those who sin against the Holy Spirit do it necessarily, and never were or could be able to avoid it, either liy their own power, or by the power of divine grace." * How theycame to sin that sin is not the question. I did * XIII. 129. It is to very little purpose to con- trovert with Mr. T. so long as he is determined to affix to terms ideas which we utterly disavow. It is plain tliat by necessarily he means' by compulsion, or in such sort as tlicy were not able to avoid, let tiiem strive ever so sincerely against it. He need not question my denying that the sin against the Holy Spirit, or any other sin, could \>e committed in this way. Onr idea of moral necessity is no other tlian that of certainty, or a certain connexion between evil principles and evil practices, unless prevented by some exterior cause. 552 THE REALITY AND EFFICACY OF DIVINE GRACE. not argue from what they were before, or at the time, but from their state after hav- ing committed that sin. His accounting for the consistency of gospel-invitations being addressed tojthem, after they had sin- ned the unpardonable sin, by alleging that provision had been made for them, though now " they had sinned themselves beyond the reach of it," (XIII. 130,) is equally foreign. To argue that it is consistent to give an exhortation or invitation to-day, because grace might have been obtained yesterday, is absurd. If the gospel and its invitations were addressed to them, when their destruction was certain, then it is not inconsistent to address those invita- tions even to men who, as it may after- wards prove, were at the very time, as the just reward of their iniquity, appointed to utter destruction. The indefiniite call of the gospel includingthem as well as others, and the declaration of our Lord, " Him that Cometh to me T will in no wise cast out," holding good in regard to them, as well as any others ; it might be said with truth that there was no natural impossibility in the way of their salvation ; that, if they had repented, they would have found mercy. But the impossibility respected their being brought to repentance. — Heb. vi. 4, 6. They were under the power of a moral impotence ; or, which is the same thing, of a rooted enmity to Christ; and God had determined to leave them in that state to perish for their sin. I argued, in the next place, from the moral impotence of all men to " love God with all their hearts, and their neighbor as themselves," which yet we are exhorted to. Deut. v. 29. Matt. v. 48. " Perhaps," says Mr. T., " these premises might be fairly disputed." (XIII. 130.) That they might be disputed is true ; but surely not by Mr. T. He does not profess that grace is provided sufficient to enable men to keep the law, but barely to comply with the gospel. (XIII. 61.) And surely he cannot dispute our being exhorted to it : what meaning else is there in the above- cited passages 1 " But admitting the pre- mises," says Mr. T., " surely "Mr. Ful- ler will allow that God originally gave man power sufficient to keep the moral law; otherwise how could men be justly condemned for breaking it 1 True ; but what has the original power given to man to do with the argument which concerns men in their present state 1 They are noto exhorted to love God with all their hearts : and yet they are under a moral inability to comply ; and grace is not provided to enable them to comply. Compare Deut. V. 29 with xxix. 4. These are facts, and facts that are in point, too. The differ- ence between the law and the gospel, on which Mr. T. dwells, makes nothing to his purpose. The above facts will prove that a moral ability, which men either pos- sess or might possess, is not necessary to render exhortations consistent. Mr. T.'s argument, from the power that was given man originally to keep the law, for a power in men to comply with the gospel, is very just, provided it be un- derstood of power, properly so called ; namely, a capacity to embrace it if they would. But if by power he means incli- nation, (as he must, if it is of any use to him,) that is quite another thing. God is under no obligation to turn men's hearts in order to free his messages to them from the charge of inconsistency. Lastly, I argued from the certain perse- verance of believers. This subject, if Mr. T. admits it, must contradict his notion of a certain and effectual influence upon the mind being inconsistent with free agency, (XIII. 129,j and will prove that an absolute purpose in God to accomplish an end is inconsistent with the use of means, motives, warnings, counsels, &c. What remains of Mr. T.'s performance has either been occasionally noticed al- ready, or is of such a nature as not to re- quire an answer. He drops several re- marks towards the close of his piece which are very good, and in which I heartily unite with him. Whatever I may think of his sentiments, my good opinion of Mr. T.'s integrity and piety is not lessened by this controversy. Heartily desiring that every blessing may attend us all, and that we may each be led into the truth as it is in Jesus, I remain, &e. &c., AGNOSTOS. STRICTURES SANDEMANIANISM, TWELVE LETTERS TO A FRIEND. VOL. 1. 70 STRICTURES ON SANDEIMANIANISM. LETTER I. Introduction. Mt dear Friend, I HAVE been told more than once that my not answering the piece written some years since by Mr. A. M'Lean has been considered as a proof that I felt it unan- swerable. But, if so, I must have felt the productions of many other opponents unanswerable as well as his ; for I have seldom had the last word in a controversy. The truth is, I was not greatly inclined to answer Mr. M. I felt disgusted with the illiberality of his repeatedly arraign- ing my motives, his accusing me of inten- tional misrepresentations, and his insinu- ating as though I could " take either side of a question as I found occasion." I contented myself, therefore, with writing a small tract, called TliC Great Question Answered; in which, while comj)lying with the desire of a friend, I endeavored to state my views xcilhoul controversy ; and as Mr. M. had' given a caricature description of what my principles would amount to, if applied in the form of an address to the unconverted, I determined to reduce them to that form; hoping al- so that, with the blessing of God, they might prove of some use to the parties addressed. Whether it was owing to this tract or not, I have reason to believe that the friends of religion, who attended to the subject, did me justice at the time, and that even those who favored Mr. M.'s side of the question thought he must have mis- taken the drift of my reasoning, as well as have imputed motives to me of which I was innocent. Whatever Mr. M. may think of me, I do not consider him as capable of either intentional misrepresentation, or taking either side of the question as he may find occasion. That my principles are mis- represented by him, and that in a great number of instances, I could easily prove : but the opinion tliat I have of his charac- ter leads me to impute it to misunder- standing and not to design. ' I am not conscious of an unbrotherly feeling towards Mr. M. In resuming the sul)ject, however, after sudi a lapse of time, I have no mind to write a particular answer to his pcrlbrmancc, tiiough I may frequently notice his arguments. It is in consequence of observing the nature and tendency of the syslevi that I undertake to examine it. Such an examination will not only be more agreeable to my own feelings, but more edifying to the reader, than either an attack on an individual op- ponent or a defence of myself against him. In calling the sentiments I oppose San- demanianism, I mean nothing invidious. The principles taught by Messrs. Glass and Sandeinan, about half a century ago, did certainly give a new turn and charac- ter to almost every thing pertaining to the religion of Christ, as must appear to any one who reads and understands their pub- lications. In the north it is the former of these authors who gives name to the de- nomination ; with us it is the latter, as being most known by his writings. I have denominated Sandemanianism a system, because it not only, as I have said, affects the whole of Christianity, but induces all who embrace it to sepa- rate from other Christians. Mr. Sande- man manifestly desired that the societies which were connected with him should be unconnected with all others, and that they should be considered as the only true churches of Christ. Such a view of things amounts to more than a difference on a few points of doctrine ; it is a distinct species of religion, and requires, for dis- tinction's sake, to have a name, and till some other is found by which it can be designated it must be caJled after that of its author. It is not my design to censure Sande- manianism in the gross. There are many things in the system which, in my judg- ment, are worthy of serious attention. If Mr. Sandeman and his followers had only taught that faith has revealed truth for its object, or that which is true antecedently to its being l)elieved, and whether it be believed ornot ; that the finished work of Christ, exclusive of every act, exercise. 556 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. or thought of the human mind, is that for the sake of which a sinner is justified be- fore God; that no qualifications of any kind are necessary to warrant our believ- ing in him ; and that the first scriptural consolation received by the believer arises from the gospel, and not from reflecting on the feelings of his own mind towards it ; they would have deserved well of the church of Christ. Whether those against whom Mr. S. in- veighs, under the name of popular preach- ers, were so averse to these principles as he has represented them is another ques- tion. I have no doubt, however, but they and many other preachers and writers of the present times stand corrected by him and by other writers who have adopted his principles. Mr. Ecking (in his Essays, p. 33) re- marks on some passages in Mr. Boston's Fourfold State with much propriety, par- ticularly on such language as the follow- ing : — " Do what you can; and it may be while you are doing what you can for your- selves God will do for you what you can- not." Again: " Let us believe as we ca?i, in obedience to God's command, and while we are doing so, although the act be at the beginning but natural, yet, in the very act, promised and purchased grace strikes in and turns it into a supernatural act of believing." From other parts of Mr. Bos- ton's work, it appears that he did not con- sider grace as promised to any of the works of the unregenerate ; but allowing him, by " promised grace" in this passage, to mean that which was promised to Christ on behalf of those who were given him by the Father, yet the language is unscriptural and dangerous, as giving the sinner to un- derstand that his inability is something that excuses him, and that in doing what he can while in enmity to God he obeys the divine command, and is, at least in a more hopeful way of obtaining supernatu- ral grace. The apostles exhorted sinners to repent and believe the gospel, and to nothing short of it, making no account of their inability. If we follow their exam- ple, God may honor his own ordinances by accompanying them with his Holy Spirit ; but, as to any thing being done in concur- rence with the endeavors of the unregene- rate, we have no such idea held out to us in the oracles of God. It is God's ordinary method, indeed, prior to his bestowing that supernatural grace which enables a sinner to repent and believe the gospel, by various means to awaken him to reflection and to the seri- ous consideration of his condition as a transgressor of the divine law. Such con- victions may last for a considerable time, and may issue in true conversion ; but they may not : and so long as the gospel- way of salvation is rejected or neglected, in favor of some self-righteous scheme, there is nothing truly good in them. They are as the noise and the shaking of the dry bones, but not the breath of life. They are the means by which God prepares the mind for a welcome reception of the gos- pel, but they contain no advance towards Christ on the part of the sinner. He is not nearer the kingdom of heaven, nor less in danger of the wrath to come, than when he was at ease in his sins. Nay, notwith- standing the outward reformation which such convictions ordinarily produce, he is not, upon the whole, a less sinner in the sight of God than he was before. On the contrary, " He who continues, under all this light, and contrary to the plain dic- tates and pressing painful convictions of his own conscience, obstinately to oppose and reject Jesus Christ, is, on the account of this his impenitence and obstinacy, un- der this clear light and conviction of con- science, (whatever alteration or reforma- tion has taken place in him in other re- spects,) more guilty, vile, and odious in God's sight than he ivas before." * For a minister to withhold the invitations of the gospel till he perceives the sinner sufficiently, as he thinks, convinced of sin, and then to bring them forward as some- thing to which he is entitled, holding up his convictions and distress of mind as signs of grace, and persuading him, on this ground, to think himself one of God's elect and warranted to believe in Christ, is do- ing worse than nothing. The comfort which the apostles presented to awakened sinners consisted purely in the exhibition of Christ and the invitations to believe in him. Neither the company addressed by Peter nor the Philippian jailor were en- couraged from any thing in the state of their own minds, though both were deeply impressed, but from the gospel only. The preachers might and would take encour- agement on perceiving them to be pricked in their hearts, and might hope for a good issue ; but it had been at their peril to en- courage them to hope for mercy any oth- erwise than as believing in the Son of God. The Hyper-Calvinists, who set aside the invitations of the gospel to the unre- generate, abound in these things. They are aware that the Scriptures do invite sinners of some sort to believe in Christ ; but then they conceive them to be sensi- ble sinners only. — It is thus that the terras hunger, thirst, labor, heavy-laden, &c., as used in the Scripture invitations, are con- sidered as denoting spiritual desire, and as * Hopkins's True State of the Unregenerate, p. 6. INTRODUCTION. 557 marking out the persons who are untitled to come to (Christ. Tliat gospel invita- tions sliouhl lie addressed to sinners us the subjects of those icants and desires wliich it is adapted to satisl'v, such as the thirst for happiness, peace, rest, &c., is no more than mi^iit he expected. It had hecn stranu^c if livinff waters had been presented to them who in no sense were thirsty, or rest to them who were in 710 sense weary and heavy-hiden ; hut it does not follow that this ttiirsl and tliis weariness are spiritual. On tlio contrary, they wlio are invited to huy and cat, without money and without price, are su|)posod to be " spending tiieir money for that which is not bread ; " arc admon- ished as "wicked" men to forsake their way ; and invited to return to tlie Lord under a promise of abundant j)ardon, on ihcir so returning. The " heavy-hxden," also, are supposed as yet not to have come to Christ, nor taken his yoke, nor learned his spirit; and surely it could not have been the design of Christ to persuade tlicm to think well of their state, seeing he con- stantly teaches that till a sinner come to him, or believe in him, he is under the curse. It is also observable that the prom- ise of rest is not made to them as heavy- laden , hut as coming to Christ with their burdens. There is no proof that all who were " pricked in their hearts" under Pe- ter's sermon, and who inquired, " What shall we do 1 " believed and were saved. On the contrary, it seems to be intimated that only a. pari of them " gladly received the word, and were baptized." Had they all done so, it would probably have been said, " Then they gladly received his word, and were baptized." Instead of this it is said, " Then they that gladly received his word were baptized," &c. implying that there were some who, though pricked in their hearts, yet " received not" the word of the gospel, and were not baptized ; and who might leave the place under an im- pression that the forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus Christ was a hard saying. There are many, it is to be feared, who at this day feel guilt to be a heavy burden, and yet never bring it to Christ ; but lay it down on some self-righteous resting- j)lace, and so ])erish forever. It does not follow, however, that all convictions of sin are to be resolved into the operations of an awakened con- science. There is sucli a thing as a con- viction of the evil nature of sin, and that by a view of the spirituality and equity of the divine law. It was by the " com- mandment" that Paul perceived sin to be exceeding sinful." Such a conviction of sin cannot consist witii a rejection of the gospel way of salvation, but, as soon as it is understood, instantly leads the sinner to embrace it. It is thus that " through the law we become dead to the law, that we may live unto God." I may add, the attention of Christians a|)pears to have been too much drawn to- wards what may be called subjective reli- gion, to the neglect of that which is objective. Many speak and write as though the truth of the gospel was a suliject out of doubt, and as though the only question of importance was, wiiether they be interested in its blessings ; and there are not a few who have no doubt of their believing the for- mer, but many doubts respecting the lat- ter. Hence, it is proi)able, the essence of faith came to be placed, not in a belief of the gospel, but in a persuasion of our being interested in its benefits. If, how- ever we really believe tiie one, there is no scriptural ground to doul)t of the other ; since it is constantly declared that he who believeth the gospel shall l)e saved. If the attention of the awakened sinner, instead of l)cing directed to Christ, be turn- ed inward, and his mind be employed in searching for evidences of his conversion, the effect must, to say the least, be un- comfortable, and may be fatal ; as it may lead him to make a righteousness of his religious feelings, instead of looking out of himself to the Saviour. Nor is this all : If the attention of Christians be turned to tlieir own feelings, instead of the things which should make them feel, it will reduce their religion to something vastly different from that of the primitive Christians. Such truths as the following were the life of their spirits : " Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." — " Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ; and was bu- ried, an(l rose again the third day, accord- ing to the Scriptures."—" Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to the gospel." — " We have a great high-priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God," &c. But, by the turn of thought and strain of conversation in many religious connections of the present day, it would seem as if these things had lost their influence. They are become " dry doctrines," and the parties must have something else. The elevation and depression of their hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, is with them the favorite theme. The consequence is, as might be expected, a living to themselves rather than to him that died and rose again ; and a mind either elated by unscriptural en- joyment or depressed by miserable des- pondency. It is not by thinking and talk- ing of the sensation t- of hunger, but by 558 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. feeding on the living aliment, that we are filled and strengthened. Whether the above remarks will satisfy Mr. M'Lean that these are " really my fixed sentiments," and that he has great- ly misunderstood the ends for which I wrote the piece on Avhich he animadvert- ed, and of course misrepresented my prin- ciples as to their effect on awakened sin- ners, I cannot tell. * Be this as it may, I trust other readers will be under no temp- tation to do me injustice. But, whatever danger may arise from those principles which are too prevalent among us, they are not the only errors, nor does all the danger arise from that quarter. Subjective religion is as neces- sary in its place as objective. It is as true that " without holiness no man shall see the Lord," as that "without the shedding of blood there is no remission." It is necessary to look into ourselves for the purpose of conviction, (hough not for the cause of salvation ; and though the evi- dence of the truth of the gospel is without us, and independent of our state of mind towards it, yet this is not the case with respect to evidence of an interest in its blessings. We have no warrant to ex- pect eternal life but as being the subjects of those things to which it is promised. I do not perceive, therefore, how it can be justly affirmed, as it lately has been, that " self-examination is not calculated to quiet the conscience, to banish slavish fear, or to remove doul)ts and apprehen- sions of our being unbelievers ; " and slill less how it can be maintained that " peace of mind founded on any thing in ourselves will always puff us up with pride." If the state of our souls be bad, indeed, self- examination must disquiet the conscience, rather than quiet it : but are there no ca- ses in which, through the accusations of others, or a propensity in ourselves to view the dark side of things rather than the bright one, or the afflicting hand of God, our souls may be disquieted within us, and in which self-examination may yield us peace 1 Did the review which Job took of his past life (chap, xxxi) yield no peace to him 1 And though he was not clear when examined by the impartial eye -of God, yet were all his solemn appeals respecting his integrity the workings of self-righteous pride 1 Was David puffed up when he said, " Lord, I have hoped in thy salvation, and have done thy com- mandments 1 " Did John encourage a confidence in (he flesh, when he said, " If our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God 1 " or Peter, when he appealed to Christ, " Lord, thou * See his Reply, pp. 46, 47, 153. knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee 1 " Had it been only affirmed that no peace of mind can arise from the recollection of what we have felt or done in times past, Avhile at present we are unconscious of any thing of the kind, this had been true. Past experiences can no otherwise be an evidence of grace to us than as the re- membrance of them rekindles the same sentiments and feelings anew. But to object to all peace of mind arising from a consciousness of having done the will of God, and to denominate it "confidence in the flesh," is repugnant to the whole tenor of Scripture. A system may contain much important truth, and yet be blended with so much error as to destroy its salutary efficacy. Mr. Sandeman has expunged a great deal of false religion ; but whether he has ex- hibited that of Christ and his apostles is another question. It is much easier to point out the defects and errors of other systems (han to substitute one that is even less exceptionable; and to talk of "sim- ple truth," and "simple belief," than to exhibit the religion of Jesus in its genuine simplicity. In discussing the points at issue, we shall meet wi(h some things which may be thought of too metaphysical a cast to be of any great importance : and, had not the effects produced convinced me of the contrary, I might have thought so too. But though the principles on which the system rests are many of them so minute as almost to elude detection, yet they are not the less efficacious. The seed is small, but the branch is not so. It has been regretted that any person who drinks thoroughly into these views is at once separated from all his former re- ligious connections, Avhatever they might be ; and, where the heart has been united, it must needs be a matter of regret : yet, upon the whole, it may be best. What- ever fruits are produced by this species of religion, whether good or bad, they are hereby much more easily ascertained. Its societies bear some resemblance to so many farms, taken in different parts of the kingdom, for the purpose of scientific experiment; and it must needs be appa- rent, in the course of fifty or sixty years experience, whether upon the whole, they have turned to a better account than those of their neighbors. I will only add, in this place, that though I do not conceive of every one as embrac- ing this doctrine who in some particulars may agree with Mr. Sandeman, (for in that case I should be reckoned to embrace it myself,) yet many more must be con- sidered as friendly to it in the main than GENERAL VIEW OF THE SYSTEM. 559 those who choose to be called cither San- demaiiians or Glassitcs. It has i)ecii licid by people of various denoiniinitions ; l)y Presbyterians, Independents, and Bap- tists ; and has been observed to j?ive a dis- tinctive cliaracter to the wliole of tlieir reliirion. In this view of the subject I wish to examine it ; payin}^ attention not so much to persons or names as to things, let thenj be embraced by whom they may. LETTER II. A GENERAL VIEW OF THE SYSTEM, WITH ITS LEAPING POINTS OK DIFFERENCE FROM THE SYSTEMS WHICH IT OP- POSES. Although the writings of such men as Flavel, Boston, Guthrie, the Erskines, &c., arc represented by Mr. Sandeman as furnishing " a devout path to hell," and the writers themselves as pharisees, " than whom no sinners were more hardened, and none greater destroyers of mankind," yet he allows them to have set before us **raany articles of the apostolic doctrine;" yea, and to have " asserted almost all the articles belonging to the sacred truth," Considering this, and that so far as these writers held wiUi " good duties, good en- deavors, and good motions " in unbeliev- ers, preparing them for faith, we give them up, it may seem as if tliere could be no great difference between Mr. Sande- man and us. Yet a difference there is, and of such importance, too, as deeply to affect the doctrine, the worship, the spirit, and the practice of Christianity, The foundation of whatever is distin- guishing in the system seems to relate to Ike nature of justifying faith. This Mr. S. constantly represents as the bare belief of the bare truth ; by which definition he intends, as it would seem, to exclude from it every thing pertaining to the will and the affections, except as effects produced by it. When Mr. Pike became his disciple, and wished to think that by a " liare belief" he meant a hearty persuasion, and not a mere notional belief, Mr. S. rejected his construction, and insisted that the latter was his true meaning. "Every one," says he, "who obtains a just notion of the person and word of Christ, or whose notion corresponds to what is testified of him, is justified, and finds peace with God sim- ply by that notion."* ^ This notion he considers as the effect • Epistolary Correspondence, Letter IL of truth being impressed upon the mind, and denies that the mind is active in it. The inactivity of the mind in l>clieving is of so much importance, in his uccount, that the doctrine of justification by gTace dc|)cnds upon it. " He who maintains," says he, " that we are justified only by faiti), and at liiesaine time affirms, with As- jyasio, that faith is a work exerted by the human mind, undoul)tedly maintains, if he have any meaning to his words, that we are justified by a work exerted by the hu- man mind."t Mr. Sandeman not only opposes all ac- tive cndca\ors previously to faith, and as tending to procure it, (in which I have no controversy with him,) but sets himself against all exliortations, calls, warnings, and expostulations, with the sinner to be- lieve in Christ. "If," says he, "it be inquired what I would say for the relief of one distressed with a sense of guilt, I would tell him, to the best of my ability, what the gospel says about Christ, If he still doubted, I would set before him all the evidence furnished me by the same gospel. Thus, and thus only, would I press, call, invite, exhort, or urge him to believe. I would urge him with evi- dence for the truth."! And when asked how he would exhort, advise, or address stupid, unconcerned souls, He answers, " I am of the mind that a preacher of the gos- pel, as such, ought to have no influence on men but by means of the gospel which he preaches. — When Paul discoursed con- cerning the faith in Christ, and as he rea- soned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled. — It is the duty of every man, in every condition, to oVtey every divine command. The gos- pel always supposes this wliile addressing all men as sinners ; it demonstrates their danger, and discovers the remedy. Yet it is aV)surd to suppose that any man can love the gospel, or obey it, till he believe it. Therefore, to urge unbelievers to any shadow of that oliedience a,s preparative to justification by faith, can have no other ef- fect than to lead them to estal)Iish their own righteousness, and to stand in awe of the preacher." — p. 29. If there be any meaning in this answer, it would seem to be that faith itself is not a duty, and that unbelievers ought not to be exhorted to it, lest it should lead them to self-righteousness ; but barely to have the evidence of truth stated to them. Mr. S. represents the sinner as justified, and as having obtained peace to his soul while utterly destitute of the love of God. " I can never begin to love God," says he, t Letters on Tlieron and Aspasio, Vol. I. p. -163. % Epistolary Correspondence, p. 8. 560 STRICTURES ON SANDEM ANI ANISM. •♦ till I first see him just in justifying me angodly as I stand." — p. 12. But, being justified in tliis his ungodly state of mind, he loves God on account of it ; and here begins his godliness : " It all consists in Jove to that which first relieved him." — p. 8. If he had represented the doctrine of Christ as giving relief to the guilty crea- ture, irrespective of any consciousness of a change in himself, or as furnishing him with a ground to conclude that God can be just and the justifier of him if he believes in Jesus, this had accorded Avith Paul's gospel, (Rom. iv. 24 ;) but for a sinner to perceive himself justified implies a con- sciousnes that he is a believer, and such a consciousness can never be separate from a conscious love to the divine character. If, indeed, the gospel were an expedient merely to give relief to sinners, and no re- gard was had in it to the glory of God, a sinner full of enmity to God, might receive it, and derive peace from it ; but, if it be an essential property of it to secure the glory of the divine character, the belief of it must include a sense of that glory, Avhich cannot consist with enmity against it. Let it also be seriously considered Avhether it be true that a sinner is justified " ungodly as he stands 1 " If it be, he must have been so either antecedently to his " seeing " it to be so, and then it must be equally true of all ungodly sinners ; or it becomes so ivhen he sees it, and by his seeing it, which is the very absurdity which Mr. S. fastens on the popular preachers. Mr. S. and many others have caught at the phrase of the apostle Paul, of " God's justifying the ungodly;" but unless they can prove that by ungodly the apostle meant one who was at the time an enemy of God, it makes nothing in their favor. The amount is, Mr. S.'s relief arises from his " seeing " what is not to be seen; viz. God to be just in justifying him ungodly^as he stands ; and, his relief being founded in falsehood, all his godliness which confess- edly arises from it, must be delusive. The root is rottenness, and the blossoms loill go up as the dust. From the leading principles of doctrine above stated it is easy to account for al- most all the other peculiarities of the sys- tem. Where the root and substance of religion is placed in knowledge, exclusive of approbation, it may be expected that the utmost stress will be laid on the former, and that almost every thing per- taining to the latter will be decried under the name of pharisaism, or some other odious appellation. Thus it is that those who have drunk into this system generally value themselves on their clear vieivs ; thus they scarcely ever use any other phrase by which to designate the state of a converted man than his knowing the truth; and thus all those Scripture passages which speak of knowing the truth are con- stantly quoted as being in their favor, though they seldom, if ever, mean know- ledge as distinguished from approbation, but as including it. Farther : I do not perceive how a sys- tem whose first principle is " notion," and whose love is confined to " that which first relieves us," can have the love of God in it. It cannot justify God as a Lawgiv- er, by taking blame and shame to our- selves ; for it necessarily supposes, and even professes, an abhorrence to both law and justice in every other view than as satisfied by the cross of Christ. The re- conciliation to them in this view, therefore, must be merely on the ground of their be- coming friendly to our interests. But, if God be not justified as a Lawgiver, Christ can never be received as a Saviour. There is no more grace in justification than there is justice in condemnation : nor is it pos- sible we should see more of the one than the other ; for we cannot see things other- wise than as they are to be seen. But surely a system which neither justifies the Lawgiver nor receives the Saviour as hon- oring him cannot be of God. The love of God as God is not in it. Conversion, on this principle, is not turning to the Lord. It professes, indeed, to love God ; but it is only for our own sake. The whole pro- cess requires no renovation of the spirit of the mind ; for the most depraved creature is capable of loving himself and that which relieves him. Is it any wonder that a religion founded on such a principle should be litigious, conceited, and censorious towards all who do not embrace it 1 It is of the nature of a selfish spirit to be so. If God himself be loved only for the relief he affords us, it cannot be surprising that men should ; nor that, under the cover of loving them only for the truth's sake, all manner of bitterness and contempt should be cher- ished against every one who dares to dis- pute our dogmas. Farther : The love of God being in a manner excluded from the system, it may be expected that the defect will be sup- plied by a punctilious attention to certain forms ; of which some will be found to arise from a misunderstanding of the Scrip- tures, and others Avhich may not, yet, be- ing regarded to the neglect of weightier matters, resemble the tithing of mint, an- ise, and cu7nmin. Such, from the repeated views that I have been able to take of the system, ap- pear to me to be its grand outlines ; and I am not surprised to find that, in the course of half a century, it has landed so large a GENERAL VIEW OF THE SYSTEM. 561 part of lis votaries on Ihc shores of Infi- ilrlih , or sunk tlu'iii in tlio uliyss of world- ly conformity. Tliose wlio li\c nrartlirni say tlicri- is scarcely any a])pearancc ol serious roliiriini in tlieir taniilies, unless we mijilit call liy that name the scrupu- losity that would refuse to pray with an unbeliever, hut would have no ol)jection to accompany him to the theatre. Mr. S. and his admirers have reproached many for their dcvolioti ; but I cannot learn that they were ever rej>roached with this evil in return. The errand artrunicnt of Mr. S. against faith being an act of the mind, and against admitting of any active advance of the soul towards Christ as necessary to justi- lication, is that it is rendering faith a work ; and that to be justified l>y faith would, af- ter all, be to be justified by a work of our own. Tliis is the principal idea pertain- ing to what he calls " the very rankest poison of the popular doctrine."* If this argument can lie overturned, the greater part of his system falls with it. That it may appear in all its force I will quote his strongest representations of it. " Perhaps it will be thought needful that I should detine with greater precision than I have hitherto done what I mean by the popular doctrine, especially as I have considered many as preachers thereof who differ remarkably from each other ; and particularly as I have ranked among them Mr. Wesley, who may justly be reckoned one of the most virulent reproachers of that God whose character is drawn by the apostles that this island has produced. To remove all doubt concerning my mean- ing, I shall thus explain myself. Through- out these letters I consider all those as teachers of the popular doctrine who seek to have credit and influence among the people by resting our acceptance with God, not sijnply on what Christ has done, but more or less on the use rce make of him, the advance we make towards him, or some secret desire, wish, or sigh to do so ; or on something we feel or do concerning him, by the assistance of some kind of grace or spirit : or, lastly, on something we employ him to do, and suppose he is yet to do for us. In sum, all who would have us to be conscious of something else than the hare truth of the gospel ; all who would have us to be conscious of some be- ginning of a change to the better, or some desire, however faint, toward such change, in order to our acceptance with God ; these I call the popular preachers, how- ever much they may differ from each oth- er about faith, grace, special or common, or about any thing else. — My resentment * Letters on Theron and Aspasio, p. 448. VOL. I. 71 is all along chiefly pointed against the capital branch of the }>()pular doctrine, which, while it asserts uIjuosI all the arti- cles bclonuiing to the sacred trulli, al the same time time deceitfully clogs them with the o|iposite falsehoods." Again : " That the saving truth is ef- fectually undermined by tliis confusion may readily be seen in the following easy view " — (this is what I call his grand ar- gument)— "He who maintains that WE ARE JUSTIFIED ONLY HY FAITH, AND AT THE SAME TIME AFFIRMS, WITH As- PASIO, THAT FAITH IS A WORK EXERTED BY THE HUMAN MIND, UNDOUHTEDLV MAINTAINS, IF HE HAS ANY MEANING IN HIS WORDS, THAT WE ARE JUSTIFIED BY A WORK EXERTED BY THE HUMAN MIND." "I have all along studied to make use of every form of expression I could think of, for evincing in the most clear, palpa- ble, and striking manner, a difference of the last importance, which thousands of preachers have labored to cover with a mist. If I have made that difference man- ifest to those who have any attention for the subject, my great end in writing is gained, on whatever side of it men shall choose to rank themselves. It has fre- quently appeared to me a thing no less amazing than provoking, when the great difference between the ancient gospel here contended for and the popular doctrine has been pointed out as clear as words could make it, to find many, after all, so obstinately stupid as to declare they saw no real dirtercnce. Th'is I cannot account for by assigning any other cause than the special agency of the prince of darkness, "f After this, it may be thouglit an act of temerity to complain of not understanding Mr. Sandeman : and indeed I shall make no such conijilaint, for I think I do clearly understand his meaning; but whether he has fairly represented that of his oppo- nents I shall take the liiierty to inquire. The poi)ular preachers " rest our ac- ceptance with God," it seems, "not sim- ply on what Christ hath done, but on the active advance of the soul towards him," Do they then consider faith, whether we be active or passive in it, as forming a part of our justifying righteousness'! In other words, do they consider it as any part of that for the sake of which a sinner is accepted 1 They every where declare the contrary. I question if there be one of those whom Mr. S. ordinarily denom- inates popular preachers who would not cordially subscribe to the passage in As- pasio which he so highly applauds, and considers as inconsistent with the popular t Letters on Tlicron and Aspasio. Vol. IL pp, 480, 483. 562 STRICTURES ON S ANDEMANIANISM. doctrine ; viz. "Both grace and faith stand in direct opposition to works ; all works whatever, Avhether they be works of the law or works of the gospel, exercises of the heart or actions of the life, done while we remain unregenerate or when we be- come regenerate, they are all and every of them equally set aside in this great af- fair."* If the popular preachers main- tain an active advance of the soul to be necessary to our acceptance with God, it is in no other sense than that in which he himself maintains "the bare belief of the truth " to be so; that is, not as a procur- ing cause, but as that without which, ac- cording to the established order of things, there is no acceptance. To accuse them therefore of corrupting the doctrine of justification, on this account, must be owing either to gross ignorance or disin- genuousness. Yet in this strain the eulogists of Mr. Sandeman go on to declaim to this day. "His main doctrine," says one, "appears to be this : the bare work of Jesus Christ, which he finished on the cross, is sutfi- cient, without a deed or a thought on the part of man, to present the chief of sin- ners spotless before God."t If by suffi- cient be meant that it is that only on ac- count ofiohich, ov for the sake of which, a sinner is justified, it is very true ; and Mr. Sandeman's opponents believed it no less than he himself: but if it be meant to deny that any deed or thought on the part of man is necessary in the established or- der of things, or that sinners are jiresented spotless before God without a deed or a thought on the subject, it is very false, and goes to deny the necessity of faith to salvation ; for surely no man can be said to believe in Christ without thinking of him. Mr. Pike, who had embraced Mr. San- deman's view of faith, yet says to him, " I cannot but conceive that you are some- times mistaken in your representations of what you call the popular doctrine ; for instance. Upon the popular plan, say you, loe can never have peace in our consciences until we be sensible of some beginning of a good disposition in us towards Christ. Now, setting aside some few unguarded expressions and addresses, you will find that the general drift and purport of their doctrine is just the contrary to this ; and they labor this point, both Marshall and Hervey, to convince persons that nothing of this nature does or can recommend them to God or be any part of their justifying righteousness ; and their principal view is to beget or to draw forth such thoughts in * Letters on Theron and Aspasio, Vol. I. p. 276. t Cooper's Letters, p. 33. the mind as lead the soul entirely out of itself to Christ alone for righteousness."! It is observable, too, that though Mr. S. answered this letter of Mr. Pike, yet he takes no notice of this passage. I am not vindicating either Marshall or Hervey in all their views; but justice re- quires that this misrepresentation should be corrected, especially as it runs through the whole of Mr. Sandeman's writings, and forms the basis of an enormous mass of invective. By works opposed to grace and faith the New Testament means works done with a view of obtaining lijc, or of procur- ing acceptance with God as the reward of them. If acceptance, faith, or sincere obedience, be recommended as being such a condition of salvation as that God may be expected to bestow it in reward of them, this is turning the gospel into a covenant of works, and is as much op- posed to grace, and to the true idea of justification by faith, as any works of the law can be. But to deny the activity of the soul in believing, lest faith itself should become a work of the law, and so after all we should be justified by a work, is both antiscriptural and nugatory : anti- scriptural, because the whole tenor of the Bible exhorts simiers to forsake their ways and return to the Lord, " that he may have mercy upon them : " to believe in the light, "that they may be children of light;" and to come to him "that they may have life : " — nugatory, because we need not go far for proof that men know how to value themselves and despise oth- ers on account of their notions as well as of their actions; and so are capable of making a righteousness of the one as well as of the other. Farther : If there be any weight in Mr. Sandeman's argument it falls equally on his own hypothesis as on that of his oppo- nents. Thus we might argue. He Avho maintains that we are justified only by faith, and at the same time affirms, with Mr. Sandeman, that faith is a notion form- ed by the human mind, undoubtedly main- tains, if he has any meaning to his words, that we are justified by a notion formed by the human mind. Mr. S., as if aware of his exposedness to this retort, labors in the foregoing quo- tation, to make nothing of the belief of the truth, or to keep every idea but that of the truth believed out of sight. So fearful is he of making faith to be any thing which has a real subsistence in the mind that he plunges into gross absurdity to avoid it. Speaking of that of which the believer is " conscious," he makes it to be truth in- X Epistolary Correspondence, p. 24. GEiNERAI. VIEW OF THE SYSTEM. 563 stead of the belief of it ; as if any thini; could be an object of consciousness but what passes or exists in tlic mind ! It may l)e thouL'lit lliat tiic piirase, " All who would have us to be coiiftrious of somethinij else tiian the iiarc truth of the gospel " is a mere slip of the pen — i)ut it is not; for had Mr. S. spoken of belief, instead of the truth believed, as an object of consciousness, his statement would have l>een manifestly liable to the consequence which he charges on his opponents. It might then have been said to iiim, He who maintains that we are justified only i)y faith, and at the same time airirms tiiat faith is something inherent in the human mind, undoubtedly maintains, if he has any meaning to his words, that we are justi- fied by something inherent in the human mind. You must by this time perceive that Mr. Sandeman's grand argument, or, as he de- nominates it, his " easy view," turns out to be a mere sophism. To detect it you have only to consider the same thinz, in different views ; which is what Mr. Sande- man himself does on some occasions, as do all other men. "I agree with you," says he to Mr. Pike, "in maintaining that faith is the principle and spring of every good disposition, or of every good work ; but at the same time, I maintain that faith does not justify the ungodly as a principle of good dispositions." — p. 10. Why then may we not maintain that we are justified only by faith, and at the same time alTirm that faith is a grace inherent, an act of the human mind, a duty commanded of God; and all this without affirming that we are justified by any thing inherent, any act of ours, or any duty that we perform 1 And why must we be supposed to use words without meaning, or to contradict our- selves, when we only, maintain that we are justified by that which is inherent, is an act of the human mind, and is a duty ; while yet it is not as such, but as uniting us to Christ and deriving righteousness from him, that it justifies 1 * Assuredly, there is no necessity for re- ducing faith to a nullity, in order to main- tain the doctrine of justification I'y the imputed righteousness of Christ. While we hold that faith justifies, not in respect of the act of believing, but of the righteous- ness on which it terminates, or that God's pardoning and receiving us to favor is in reward, not of our believing, but of his Son's obedience unto death, every purpose is answered and all inherent righteousness is excluded. I have been the more particular on this *See President Edwards's Sermom on Justifi- cation, pp. 14, 26. "easy view " of Mr. Sandeman, because it is manifestly the grand pillar of his doc- trine. If this be overturned, there is nothing left standing but what will fall with a few slight touches : and whether it be so I now leave you and the reader to judge. To establish the doctrine of free justifi- cation Mr. S. conceives it necessary to reduce justifying faith to a bare "belief," exclusive of every " advance" of the raind towards Christ, or of coming to him, trust- ing in him, &c., and to maintain that these terms denote the effects of faith in those who are already in a justified state. — p. 34. In opposing Mr. S. many have denied that the belief of the gosj)cl is justifying faith. Observing, on the one hand, that numbers appear to believe the truth, on whom, nevertheless, it has no salutary ir- fluence ; and, on the other, that believing in Christ in the New Testament is synony- mous with "receiving him," " trusting in him," and "coming to him," they have concluded that the belief of the gospel is rather to be considered as something /)re- supposed in faith than laith itself. But there can be no doubt that the belief of the gospel has, in a great number of instances, the promise of salvation ; and as to those nominal Christians on whom it has no salutary influence, they believe Christ no more than the Jews believed Moses, which our Lord would not allow that they did. " If ye believed Moses," says he, " ye would believe me ; for he wrote of me." But though the belief of the gospel is allowed to have the promise of salvation, and so to be justifying, yet it does not fol- low that it is so exclus've of receiving Christ, trusting in him, or coming to him. It were easy to prove that repentance has the promise of" forgiveness, and that by as great a variety of passages as are brought to prove that the belief of the gospel is saving faith : but were this attempted %ve should be told, and justly too, that we are not to consider repentance in these pass- ages as excluding but including faith in the Saviour. Such, then, is the answer to the argument drawn from the promises of salvation made to the belief of the gospel : belief, in these connections, is not to be understood exclusive of receiving the Sa- viour, coming to him, or trusting in hira, but as supposing and including them. It is not denied that the ideas conveyed by these term are metaphysically distinct from that of believing the gospel, nor that they are its immediate effects ; but it is not in this metaphysical sense that faith is used in reference to justification. That belief of the gospel which justifies includes receiving Christ, coming to him and trustin:: in him. Whatever shades of 564 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. difference there be between belief and these " advances of the mind towards Christ," the Scriptures represent them, with respect to an interest in justification and other collateral blessings, as one and the same thing. This is manifest from the following passages : " As many as received him, to them gave he power (or privilege) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." — " I know whom I have believed, and am per- suaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to Aim against that day." — " Tlxat we should be to the praise and glory of his grace who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation ; in whom also after ye be- lieved ye were sealed," &c. — "He that coi.ieth to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst." — •' Ye will not come unto me that ye may have life." — " Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." In these and many other passages it is manifest that believing, coming, trusting, &c., are used as convertible terms, and that the thing signified by them is necessary to justification. If " receiving" Christ were an effect of faith in persons already justi- fied, why is it used as synonymous with it, and held up as necessary to our being the sons of God? If "coming" to Christ were an exercise of mind in one who was already in a state of justification, why is he said to come to him " that he may have lifel " And why, if salvation be prom- ised to a mere " notion" of the truth with- out any love to it, is it said of apostates, that " they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved?" Let those who have their senses exercised to discern between good and evil judge, from these things, whether a mere notion of the truth, exclusive, or, if you please, antece- dent to the consideration of receiving Christ, coming to him, and trusting in him, be the faith that justifies ; and whether, if the former were separate from the latter, it would not leave the sinner under con- demnation. It has been said, " In defining saving faith, some have included in its essence al- most every holy temper ; and, by insisting so much on this faith, and giving such la- bored descriptions of it, have almost inev- itably led their followers to look more to their faith than to the great object of faith ; to be more occupied in attending to the working of their own minds than with that truth which reconciles the sinner to God. It is in consequence to be feared that not a few who are reckoned orthodox are in fact trusting to their faith, and not to Christ, making hirn merely a minister of their own self-righteousness : for we may go about to establish our own right- eousness under the name of faith as well under any other name." I doubt not but preachers may abound in describing one part of divine truth, to the neglect of another, and may go even beyond the truth ; people may also make a righteousness of their faith, as well as of other things. If no more were meant than that a sinner whose inquiry is, What must I do to be saved 1 ought to be directed im- mediately to Christ, and not to an exam- ination into the nature of faith, I should most cordially acquiesce in it ; but it does not follow that nothing should on any occa- sion be said of the true nature of faith. There may be a time when the same per- son shall come with another and very dif- ferent question ; namely, Am I a true be- liever 1 Such questions there must have been in the apostle's time, or there would not have been answers to them. See 1 John ii. 3'; iii. 14, IS — 21. Now in an- swer to such an inquiry, the true nature and genuine effects of faith require to 1)6 stated and distinguished from that which leaves thousands short of salvation. And, as to men making a righteousness of their faith, men may make a righteousness of simple belief as well as of trust, or any other idea supposed to be included in jus- tifying faith ; and whether there be not actually as much labored description, self- admiration, and contempt of others (things nearly akin to self-righteousness,) among the advocates of this system, as among their opponents, let the candid observer judge. If we are to say nothing about the holy na- ture of faith, lest men should make aright- eousness of it, we must say nothing of any thing else that is holy, for the same rea- son, and so cease to distinguish all true re- ligion in the mind from that which is coun- terfeit ; but so did not the sacred writers. To the same purpose Mr. M'Lean writes in his treatise on the Commission : " Now when men include in the very na- ture of justifying faith such good disposi- tions, holy affections, and pious exercises of heart as the moral law requires, and so make them necessary (no matter under what consideration) to acceptation with God, it perverts the apostle's doctrine up- on this important subject, and makes jus- tification to be at least as it were by the works of the law." I know not of any writer who has given such a definition of faith as these state- ments would represent. No more holy affection is pleaded for in faith tlian unho- ly disaffection is allowed to be in unbe- GENERAL VIEW OF THE SYSTEM. 5G5 lief. But llic design is manifestly to ex- promises, hut tlioso tpor/cs o/ /Aa /aio (/one cliide all iioly atVeclioii fnmi failii, as 1)C- by a sinful creature ivith a view of uhtain- iii<: favorable to sell-rigliteousiiess. ins; life, or of proruring accrplunce tvith If, therefore, repentance he considered God as the revard of them. II holy af- as neeessarv to foririveness, seeinjr this fection were urired with such a view, then must lie allowed to iiuludo holy alVection, were it opposed to the free grace of the it will he considered as favorable to self- gospel; but, while this is not the case, all righteousness. And as to distinguishing such reasonings arc unscriptural reline- between what is necessary in the eslab- ments. /is/ieJ or(/rr o/f/iin^s, from what is neces- If men make a righteousness ot their sary as a procuring cause, this will not faith, it is not owing to these representa- be admitted ; for it is " no matter under what consideration :" if any thing recjnir- ed by the moral law be rendered nccessa- tions of it, but to their own corruptions; for, let faith include what good disposi- tion it may, it is no part of the meritorious ry, " it makes justification to be at least cause of justification ; and let it be sim- «"s it were by the works of the law." Yet plilied as it may, even till it shall contain Mr. M. allows faith, whatever it is, to be no more of the holy nature of God than a a duty. Is it then a requirement of a glance of the eye, yet is it not on tliis ac- new and remedial law 1 VVoiild not the count more friendly to the doctrine of love of God, which is required by the old grace, nor less liable to become the food law, lead any sinner to believe in Christ 1 of a self-righteous spirit. The way in If not, why "is unbelief alleged against the which this spirit is cut up in the New Jews as a "proof that tliey had not the love Testament is, not by reducing faith to an of God in (hem 1 See John v. 42, 43. As unfeeling speculation, but by denouncing Mr. AL, however, in his piece on the Calls the curse against every one who cometh and Invitations of the Gospel, has gone short of perfect obedience. — Gal. iii. 10. far towards answering himself, I shall It has been further said, " Faith [)uri- transcribe a passage from that perform- fies the heart, worketh by love, and dis- ance : "It is an unscriptural refinement covereth itself sincere by the performance upon divine grace," he there says, " and of good works. Faith, therefore, is not contrary to the doctrine of the apostles, holiness, love, or new obedience, unless to class faith and repentance with the the efl'ect is the same with the cause, or works of the law, and to state them as the evidence with the thing proved." Faith equally opposite to free justification. In- certainly is not the same thing as holiness, deed, neither faith nor repentance is the or love, or new obedience. Neither is meritorious or procuring cause of a sinner's unbelief the same thing as unholiness, justification, any more than the works of enmity, or disobedience : but it is not so the law are, (and who that really believes distinct from either as not to partake of and repents will imagine that they are 1) the same ^eneraZ nature. It is not only But still, the one is opposed to free justi- the root of all other sin, but is itself a sin. fication, the other not. To him that In like manner, faith is not only the root worketh is the reward not reckoned of of all other obedience, but is itself an grace but of debt ; and faith and repent- exercise of obedience. It is called " obey- ance corresponding exactly with tlie man- ing the truth," and " obeying the gos- ifestationof divine grace, as freely justify- pel." To say that faith includes no ing the guilty through the atonement, are holiness, (which this objection certain- in their very nature opposite to all self- ly does,) and yet ])roduces it, as the dependence, and lead men to glory in the seed produces the plant, is to contra- Lord."— p. 26. diet the established laws of nature, ac- We see here that there is nothing in (he cording to which every seed produces its nature of repentance that clashes with a oirn body. God can produce something free justification, which yet must be al- out of nothing, but in the ordinary course lowed to include a portion of holy affec- of traduction every seed produces after its tion. Why then object to the same thing kind. If holiness, therefore, were not in- in faith! Is it because holy affection is eluded in faith, it would not grow outof it. " required by the moral law 1 " Be it so : Mr. M'Lean does not agree with Mr. it is the same in repentance as in faith ; Sandeman in considering faith as a pas- and, if the one may in its very nature sive admission of the truth, but allows it agree with a free justification, so may the to be an act or exercise of the mind. — Be- other. The truth is, the moral law, 7>m- ply , pp. 14, 15. A large part of his work, ierially considered, is not ojiposed to free however, is taken up in attempting to justification. The love of God and man prove that it is a mere exercise of (he un- in its own nature is as opposite to self- derstanding, exclusite of every thing per- righteous pride as faith and repentance taining to the will and affections. It is no are. It is not the law that is against the part of the rjuestion between him and mo 995 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. whether, properly speaking, it has its seat in the understanding ; for this it may have, and yet be influenced by the disposition. Unbelief has its seat in the understanding as much as belief, yet it is not denied that this is influenced by the disposition. " It arises," says Mr. M'Lean, "not merely from ignorance, but also from the aversion of the will, whereby the judgment is blind- ed, and most unreasonably prejudiced against the truth." — p. 76. Nor had Mr. M'Lean any just ground for construing what I had said in proof of faith in Christ being such a belief as arises from a re- newal of the spirit of the mind, as an at- tempt to "prove that faith is more than belief." — p. 80. He allows unbelief to arise, in part, from disposition ; yet I sup- pose he would not be thought, by this con- cession, to make it something more than unbelief. If unbelief may consist in such a discredit of the gospel as arises from aversion to it, and yet be nothing more than unbelief; faith may consist in such a credit of the gospel as arises from a re- newal of the spirit of the mind, and yet be nothing more than belief. To this may be added, if faith in Christ be a duty commanded of God, an act of the human mind, an exercise of obedience to God, (all which Mr. M. acknowledges,) it must be the effect of regeneration, or it will follow that they that are in the flesh may please God. Mr. M'Lean speaks much of simple be- lief, as Mr. Sandeman did of bare belief. Mr. S. manifestly intended hereby to ex- clude every " advance " of the sinner to Christ, as signified by such terms as com- ing to Christ, trusting in him, &c., from justifying faith. Such may be the inten- tion of Mr. M'Lean : if it be not, I do not understand the use of the epithet. He cannot, however, consistently reject eve- ry "advance" of the mind to Christ as belonging to justifying faith, since he ac- knowledges the soul to be active in believ- ing. But, while dwelling so much on sim- ple belief why does he not dwell also on simple unbelief? If belief be simple, so must unbelief, for they are opposites. And I really acknowledge there are such things as simple belief and simple unbe- lief; but neither of them applies to the credit or discredit of the gospel. If a stranger, who has no claim on my confi- dence, relate a story of something that he has seen in a distant country, but which in no way concerns me, I may believe him, or disbelieve him : my faith in the one case, or my unbelief in the other, would be perfectly simple. But if it be a story of deep interest, if the undoubted veracity of the party has a claim on my confidence, and if my future course of life turns upon the credit or discredit that I give him, nei- ther the one nor the other will be simple, but compounded of a number of moral prin- ciples which influence my decision : if to discredit his testimony, they are prejudi- ces which blind me to the force of evi- dence ; if to credit it, candor, or open- ness to conviction. It is thus in believing the gospel, which is a subject of the deep- est interest, testified by a Being whose ve- racity it is a crime to question, and of such consequence to a sinner, even in this life, that, if he admit it, he must relinquish all his former courses and live a new life. Intrenched in prejudice, self-righteous- ness, and the love of sin, he continues an unbeliever till these strong holds are beat- en down ; nor will he believe so long as a wreck of them remains sufficient to shel- ter him against the arrows of conviction ; nor, in short, till by the renovating influ- ence of the Holy Spirit they fall to the ground. It is then, and not till then, that the doctrine of salvation by mere grace, through a mediator, is cordially believed. Mr. M'Lean, in his arguing for what he calls simple belief, seems to be aware that it is not the proper opposite of unbelief as described in the Scriptures. Hence he somewhere alleges that we cannot reason from the nature of unbelief, to that of be- lief any more than from that of demerit to merit. But the disparity between demerit and merit, to which he refers, does not respect their nature, but the condition of the party who is the subject of them. Mer- it is the desert of good, and demerit is the desert of evil : they are, therefore, properly opposites, whatever may be the condition of the party as to being equally capable of exercising them ; and it is fair in ascertaining their nature to argue from the one to the other. Upon the whole, I see no reason to re- tract what I have in substance said before, that if faith and unbelief be opposites, (which to deny were disowning that which is self-evident,) the cne can be no more simple, or exclusive of the influence of the will, than the other. LETTER III. A MORE PARTICULAR INQUIRY INTO THE CONSEQUENCES OF Mli. SANDE- MAN's NOTION OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. You will not conclude from any thing I have said, or may yet say, that I accuse every one who favors this doctrine of holding all tlie consequences which may CONSEQUENCES OF MR. S.'s NOTION OF FAITH. 667 \Hi proved to arise from it: it is, however, a fair method of tryin}^ a principle, to point out otlier principles to which it leads, which, if contrary to the Scri[)- turos, furnish reasons for rejectina; it. If the faith by wliich we are justified be a mere passive reception of lii:ht, or con- tain no exercise of alVection, it follows : — First, That rcpcntatice is not necessary tofori^ivcness. It is allowed, on all hands, that justification includes the forfriveness of sin. Whatever dilTerencos there l)e be- tween them, they are not so diflerent but that he who is justified is forgiven. If therefore we be justified by a mere notion of the truth antecedently to all exercise of alTection, we are forgiven in the same way ; that is, our sins are forgiven before we repent of them. Mr. Sandeman, I conceive, would have avowed this consequence. Indeed he does avow it, in effect, in declaring that "he can never begin to love God till he first see him just in justifying him, ungodly as he stands." If he cannot begin to love God, he cannot begin to be sorry for hav- ing sinned against him, unless it be for the consequences which it has brought upon himself. By being justified "ungodly as he stands," he means to say, therefore, that he is justified and forgiven while his mind is in a state of impenitence, and that it is the consideration of this that renders him penitent. Whether this notion be not in direct opposition to the whole current of both the Old and New Testament, let the fol- lowing passages, out of many more which might be selected, determine. "I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavcst the iniquity of my sin." — " If thy people Israel sin against thee, and repent, and make supplication unto thee towards this house, then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place and forgive thy people." — "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso con- fesseth and forsaketh them shall find mer- cy."— "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he wiil have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.'^ — "Thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preah ed in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." — "Repent, therefore, and be baptized, every one of yon, for the re- mission of sins. ^' — "Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out."—" Him hath God exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and the forgiveness of sins." — " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." i siiall not stop here to inquire into the order in which the Scriptures represent repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. This I shall at- tend to in a letter l)y itself. It is sufficient at present to ol)serve that, whatever be the order of repentance in respect of faith, it is uniformly represented in the Scriptures as necessary to forgiveness. Every no- tion, therefore, of standing forgiven in a state of im|)enitence, and of this being the only motive that can lead a sinner to re- pentance, is talse and delusive. Secondly : On this principle, faith in Christ is not a duty, and unbeliej is not a sin. I am not sure whether Mr. Sande- man would have avowed both or either of these consequences. He, however, utter- ly disavows urging unbelievers to the least shadow of obedience to the gospel in order to justification, as leading them to estab- lish their own righteousness.* The faith, therefore, which he allows to be necessary to justification includes no obedience, which is the same thing as its being no duty. And, if it be not a duty, unbelief is not a sin ; for, where there is no obliga- tion, there can be no transgression. But a system which goes to nullify the command of God to believe in his Son Je- sus Christ, and to excuse the sin which is threatened with eternal damnation, must be fundamentally erroneous, and, as far as it operates, subversive of true religion. Mr. M'Lean is very far from admitting this consequence, though he retains in part the principle from which it proceeds. He allows, as we have seen already, that faith is a duty, an act of obedience to God, and a holy exercise of mind: yet he pleads for its containing nothing pertaining to the will. Is it possible then for any thing to be either an act, or a duty, or to contain obedience, which is purely intellectual 1 In whatever belongs to the understanding only, exclusive of the will and affections, the soul, I conceive, is passive. There are acts, no doubt, which pertain to the intellectual, as well as to the visivc facul- ty ; but they are only such as fall under the influence of the ivill. It is an act to look, but not to see ; and to collect infor- mation, but not to be informed. If, there- fore, believing be an act of the mind, it must fall under the influence of the will. Mr. Sandeman is consistent with him- self, however inconsistent he may be with the Scriptures. In confining faith to the understanding, he was aware that he dis- * Epistolary Correspondence, p. 29. 568 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM . owned its being an act, and therefore, in his usual strain of banter, selected some of the grossest representations of his oppo- nents, and endeavored to hold up acts of faith to ridicule. But Mr. M'Lean allows of faith being an act, and an act of obedi- ence, and yet will have it that it contains nothing pertaining to the will, except in its effects. I can no otherwise account for such reasoning, in a writer of his tal- ents, than by ascribing it to the influence of early prejudices, contracted by having drank too deeply into the system of Mr. S., and retained by a partiality for what he has once imbibed, though utterly incon- sistent with other sentiments which he has since learned from the Scriptures. That nothing can contain obedience but that which includes the state or exercises of the will, or has some dependence upon it, is manifest from universal experience. Tell a man that God has commanded him to be or to do that in which he is absolute- ly involuntary, and that the contrary is a sin, and see whether you can fasten con- viction on his conscience. Nay, make the experiment on yourself. Did you ever perceive yourself obliged to any thing in which your will had no concern, or for a moment repent of living in the neglect of if? Knowledge may be a duty, and igno- rance a sin, so far as each is independent on the will, and comprehensive of appro- bation, but no further. i>ove is thk FULFILLING OF THE LAW, Or that which comprehends the whole of duty. So much, therefore, as there is of love, in any exer- cise of mind, so much there is of duty or obedience, and no more. Duty supposes knowledge, indeed, as Christianity suppo- ses humanity ; but the essence of it consists in disposition. It may be our duty to examine, and that with care, diligence, and impartiality ; but, if disposition have no place in faith, it cannot be our duty to believe. If faith be merely light in the under- standing, unbelief must be merely the ab- sence of it; and, if the former include noth- ing pertaining to the will, neither does the latter. To say that though unbelief con- tain a voluntary rejection of the truth, yet faith contains no voluntary reception of it, is saying that belief and unbelief are not opposites, which is equal to denj'ing a self-evident proposition. If the one be purely intellectual, so is the other; and, if there be no obedience in the former, there is no disobedience in the latter. Mr. M'Lean has said every thing on this subject that I could desire, except drawing the conclusion. Thus he reasons, when proving faith to be a duty : " Unbe- lief, which is the opposite of faith, is al- ways represented as a very great and heinous sin against God. The unbeliev- ing heart is termed an evil heart (Heb. iii. 12 ;) and there are many evils in the heart of man which both occasion and attend unbelief. It is frequently ascribed to ig- norance, (Matt, xiii. 19; Rom. x. 3 ; xi. 7, 25;) yet not to simple ignorance, from want of information or natural capacity, in which case it would be excusable, (John ix. 41; XV. 22, 24;) but such as arises from the agency of the god of this world, blinding the minds of them that believe not. — 2 Cor. iv. 4. It is wilful ignorance, occasioned by their loving darkness and hating the light, (John iii. 19, 20;) and so they are represented as having closed their eyes lest they should see. — Matt. xiii. 15. From this it appears that unbelief is founded, not merely on simple ignorance, but aversion from the things of God. " Now, if unbelief be a sin, and seated in the depravity of the heart, as has been shown, it necessarily follows that faith, its opposite, must be a duty," [and have its seat also in the heart.] Sermons, pp. 40, 41. The words added in crotchets merely go to draw the conclusion ; and whether it be fairly drawn let the reader judge. Mr. M. cannot consistently object that, by allowing unbelief to be seated in the heart, he did not mean to grant that it was seated in the toill, since his whole argu- ment asserts the contrary ; and he else- where says, " The Scriptures always rep- resent the regenerating and sanctifying influences of the Spirit as exerted upon the heart J which includes not only the understanding, but the will and affections, or the prevalent inclinations and disposi- tions of the soul." — Works, Vol. II. p. 91. I hafl said, (in my Appendix,) " I can scarcely conceive of a truth more self- evident than this, that God's commands extend only to that which comes under the influence of the will." Mr. M. allows this to be " a principle on which my main arguments seem to be grounded." It be- came him, therefore, if he were able, to give it a solid answer. And what is his answer ! It is so far, he says, from being self-evident, that to him it does not ap- pear evident at all. He should instance, then, in something which is allotoed not to come under the influence of the will, but which, nevertheless, is a duty. Instead of this, he says the commands of God "ex- tend not only to what comes uader the influence of the will, but also to the belief of the revealed truths and motives by which the loill itself is influenced." — Reply, p. 70. But who does not perceive that this is proving a thing by itself; or alleg- ing as evidence that which is the very point in dispute 1 CONSEQUENCES OF MR. S.'s NOTION OF FAITH. )Ga The argiimont was this : All duly coiiios niidcM- tlif ir.lluciico of (he will — But laitij is a duty — Tlioiclbic lailli comes under the induence ol" the will. To have over- turned the first of these propositions, whieii is that whicii he ealls in (jucslion, he should have shown hy something else than belief, soniethinir that is allowed not to come under the intlucnce of the will, that it may, nevertheless, he commanded of God. But this he has not shown, nor attempted to show. All that Mr. JVl'Lcan has done towards answcrinii this argument is i)y lal)oring to fasten eertain absurdities upon it. "If lielievinii God with the understanding," he savs, " he not a duty, it must he either because he has not given a clear revelation of tlic truth, and supported it wilh suffi- cient evidence, or if he has, that llierc is no moral tur|)itude in mental error." — p. 70. Bv this way of writing, it would seem as if I pleaded for men's helieving without their understanding, of which I certain- ly have no idea, any more than of their dis- hclieving without it. I hold no more in re- spect of faith than Mr. M. does in respect of unbelief; namely, that it does not per- tain to the underslandingo?i/i/. The great- est evidence or authority cannot oblige us to that in which wc are absolutely invol- untary. God commands us to love him with all our powers, but not V)eyond our powers. To love him with all our hearts includes every thing that depends upon disposition, even the bowing of our under- standings to revealed truth, instead of proudly rejecting it ; but that is all. So iar as knowledge or belief is absolutely involuntary, we might as well ascribe du- ty to the convulsive motions of the body as to them. And as to "mental error," if it could be proved to be merely mental, that is, not to arise from indolence, preju- dice, aversion, or any other evil disposi- tion, it would lie innocent. Christ did not criminate the Jews for simply misunder- standing him, but refers to the cause of that misunderstanding as the ground of censure. " Why do ye not understand my speech 1 because ye cannot hear my word ." that is, because they were utterly averse from it. Mr. M'Lean acknowl- edges as much as this, when he speaks of the neglect of the great salvation l>cing the effect of perverseness and aversion, and therefore inexcusable." What is this but admitting that if it arose from simple igno- rance it would be excusable! Another consequence which Mr. M. en- deavors to fasten upon this principle is, " If faith be not a duty unless it be influ- enced by the moral staleof the heart, then it can be no man's duty to believe the tes- timony of God concerning his Son till he VOL. I. 72 is previousli/ possessed of that moral state." — p. 73. But, if this conse(pience were just, it woidd follow from his own |)rinci- l)les as well as mine. He considers the illumination of the Holy Spirit as neces- sary to believing; but does he infer that till such illumination take place it is not a sinner's duty to believe ! He also consid- ers repentance as the fruit of faith ; but does he infer that till a sinner is in posses- sion of faith it is not his duty to repent 1 The truth is that God, inrccpiiring any one duty (l)e it repentance or faith, or what it may,) recjuires that, us If, after wiiat lias passed, I could hope tendency is true ; and the same would l)e for a candid attention, I would intreat true of his "notion," or "bare belief;" Mr. M. and otiiers like-minded with him, but to represent obedience to the gospel as to consider whether that practical neg- necessary in the established order of things led of calls and invitations to the uncon- fo justification is to represent it according verted which is said to prevail wherever to the whole current of Scripture, as is these sentiments are imbibed, and which he manifest from the foregoing passages ; and almost acknowledges to have attended his this can have no self-righteous tendency, own ministry, has not arisen from his He that bclicveth worketh not in respect cause. | So long as he considers faith as of justification. He does not deserve something in which the will is concern- what he ol>tains, but receives it as a Iree ed, instead of my being surprised at his gift ; and it is of the nature of faith so to feeling a difficulty in carrying the princi- receive it. We can distinguish between a pies j)Ieaded for in his Thoughts on the man who lives by his labors and one that Calls of the Gospelinto execution, I should lives hy alms ; and, without denying that be much more surprised at the contra- the latter is active in receiving them, can ry. If he be able to exhort sinners to re- clearly discern that his mode of living is pent and believe the gospel, it is more directly opposed to that of the other. He than I should be with his professed prin- that should contend that living by alms ciples. So far as I know myself, Icould actively received was the same thing as not possibly call or invite any man to that living by works would not be reckoned a in which his will had no concern, without reasoner but a driveller. feeling at the same time that I insulted To set ourselves against the practice of him. the prophets and apostles, in order to sup- h may seem a little remarka])le that this port the Ireeness of justification, is sup- system, and that of the high or Hyper- porting the ark with unhallowed hands ; Calvinists in England, which in almost all or, as Mr. M'Lean expresses it, replying other things are opposite, should on this against God. "Cannot the wicked," point be agreed. The one confines be- continues he, "be exhorted to believe, Ijeving to the understandintr, the other repent, and seek the Lord, and be en- represents sinners, awakened' sinners at couraged to this by a promise of success, least, as being willing to believe but (Isa. Iv. 6, 7,) without— making the sue- unable to do so, any more than to' take cess to depend on human merit 1 Are wings and fly to heaven. Hence neither of such exhortations and promises always to them holds it consistent to call on sinners be suspected of having a dangerous and to believe in Clirist, nor is it consistent self-righteous tendency 1 Instead of ta- ^-ith their principles; but how it is that king them in their plain and simple sense, they do not perceive, by the uniform prac- must our main care always be to a guard tice of Christ and his apostles that these against some supposed self-righteous use principles are antiscriptural I cannot oth- of them, till we have explained away their erwise account for than by ascribin<^ it to whole force and spirit, and so distinguish- the perverting iufluence of hypothesis ed and refined upon thein as to make men more afraid to comply w ith them than to ^ TlioiigliL«! on Call?, &c., p. 36. reject them, lest they should be guilty of X His words are, " However ne'^liijent I may tie some exertion of mind or body, some good '" "r^'"? sinners to repentance, it lia.s alwav.f been disposition or motion towards Christ, ""y '^■■'" '^'''^'^ ''"''' "'•'^ ""'y 'I'e unronverted, Imt even tlie converted liiemselves, need often to be call- * Epistolary Correspondence, p. 29. „ts." XXp'se"' "'" '" "'^" '" ''"^"" 572 STRICTURES ON S ANDEMANIANISM. LETTER IV. ON THE FAITH OF DEVILS AND NOM- INAL CHRISTIANS. You are aware that the apostle James speaks of some whose taith was dead, be- ing alone ; and that, in answer to their boastings, he reminded them that the dev- ils also believed and trembled. Hence, it has been generally thought, there must be an essential dilference between the nature of the faith of nominal Christians and devils on the one hand and that of true Christians on the other. But this would overturn a leading principle of the Sandemanian sys- tem. Its advocates, therefore, have gene- rally contended that, "whosoever among men believes what devils do, about the Son of God, is born of God and shall be sa- ved;" * and that the design of the apostle was not to compare but rather to contrast it with that of the nominal Christian ; the latter as having no effect on the mind, the former as causing its subjects to tremble. It has also been commonly maintained, on that side of the question, that the faith of which the apostle James speaks, instead ol being of a different nature from that of true Christians, was in reality nothing but pro- fession, or ''saying I have faith." " The design of the apostle," it has been said, " is to represent that faith, whether it be on earth or in hell, if it really existed and Avas not merely pretended or professed, was always productive of cosresponding works." As the whole argument seems to rest upon the question whether the faith of nominal Christians be here compared to that of devils or contrasted with it, and as the solution of this question involves a fundamental principle of the system, it is worthy of a particular examination. The words of the apostle are as follow : — " What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and have not works'! Can faith save him'! If a brother or sister 1)e naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them. Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body ; what doth it profit 1 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." — " Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith and I have works ; show me thy faith with- out thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou Itelievest that * Ecking's Esi'nys, p. 107. there is one God ; thou doest well : the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead." If the design be to contrast the faith of devils with that of nominal Christians, the apostle must undoubtedly mean to render the latter a nonentity, or a mere pretence, and to hold up the former as a reality ; and, what is more, to represent the "trem- bling" of the fallen spirits as a species of good fruit, good at least in its nature, and wanting nothing to render it saving but the circumstantial interference of a more favorable situation. To this view of the passage I have sev- eral ol)jections. — First : The apostle does not treat the faith of nominal Christians as a nonenity, but as something which existed, though void of life, as " a dead body without the spirit." On the principle here opposed there is no such a thing as a dead laith ; that which is so called being mere pre- tence. The party is, indeed, represented as saying he has faith, but the same may be alleged of the true Christian with re- spect to works, James, ii.^lS. If hence, the faith of the one be considered as a nonen- tity, the works of the other must lie the same. Secondly : The place in which the faith of devils is introduced proves that it is for the purpose of comparison and not of con- trast. If it had been for the latter it should have been introduced in verse 18, and classed with the operative belief of true Christians, rather than in verse 19, where it is classed with that of nominal Christians. The argument then would have been this : " Show me thy faith with- out thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works : the devils believe and trem- ble ; but thou believest and tremblest not; therefore thy faith is a mere pretence." Thirdly : The copulative particle ' also,' instead of the disjunctive, determines it to be a comparison and not a contrast. If it were the latter, the argument re- quires it to have been thus expressed : — " Thou believest there is one God ; thou doest well : but the devils believe and tremble." If ;^"( be rendered and, or even, instead of also, as it often is, yet the meaning is the same. " Thou believest there is one God : thou doest well ; and the devils believe and tremble; or even the devils believe and tremlile." None of these forms of expression conveys the idea of contrast but of likeness. Judge, my friend, and let the reader judge, whether the meaning of the apostle be not expressed in the following para- phrase : — Show me, if thou canst, a faith ON THE FAITH OF DEVILS. 573 wliicli is of any value without works, and 1 will show thee a laith whitii is ol value by its Iruits. Thou liclit\esl that there is one God ; a great uuitter truly ! and may not the same he said ol the worst ol beings ! yea, and more : lor they, having lell the power ol God's anger, not only iielieve liut tremble; whereas thy laith sutlers thee to li\e at ease. But as theirs, with all their tremi)iing, is ol no account, neither is thine ; lor faith without holy Iruits is dead. If the language of the apostle may be understood as a contrast, it may be used to express that which sulisists iietween other things that diller as well as these. For example : Between the faith olUluis- tians and liiat ol Jews. But the absurdity of this would strike any reader of common discernment. Thou lielie\est that there is one God; thou doest well : " Christians a/so believe and obey! To make sense of it, it should be, Jiiit Christians believe and obey. On the other hand, make an ex- periment in an instance of likeness, and the language is plain and easy. One boasts that he is not a heathen, nor a Jew, nor a Deist, but a Christian; while yet he is under ihe dominion of avarice. A man might say to him, " Thou believest there is one God, thou doest well : " Felix the heathen was so far convinced of this, and, what is more, trembled : yet Felix's con- victions were of no value, and brought forth no good fruit ; neither are thine, for faith without works is dead. There is no reason to conclude that the faith and trembling of devils differ in any thing, except in degree, from the convic- tions and trembling of Felix: If, there- fore, the former would in our circumstances have terminated in salvation, w hy did not the latter, whose situation was sufficient- ly favorable, so terminate 1 The convic- tions of James' nominal Christians might not be so strong as those of Felix, and his might not be so strong as those of the fall- en angels ; but in tiieir nw/itre they were one and the same. The first was convin- ced that there was one God ; l)ut it was mere light w ithout love. It", like what is said of the stony -ground hearers, a portion of joy at first attended it, yet, the gospel having no root in his mind, and being in circumstances wherein he saw no remark- able displays of the divine majesty, it made no dural>le impression upon him. The second might also be convinced that there was a God, and neither were his convic- tions accompanied i)y love, but "righte- ousness, temperance, and a judgment to come," being set before him, he "trem- bled." The last are convinced of the same truth and neither are their convictions ac- companied by love ; but, being placed in circumstances wherein the uwful majesty of God is continually before their eyes, they already know in part, by sad experi- ence, the truth of his threatenings, and tremble in expectation of greater torments. There is just as much holiness in each of these cases as in the tremiiling of an impenitent malefactor under the gallows. To reckon it in any of them, therefore, among " the corresponding fruits which always attend faith if it really exists," is to reckon as fruit that which the Scriptures reject as unworthy of the name. Of the four sorts of hearers, only one brought forth fruit. It is remarkable that Mr. M'Lcan, af- ter wiiat he has written, when discours- ing on the j)arab!e ot the sower, jiarticu- larly on those who are said to have " be- lieved for a while," should introduce the following sentiment in the form of an ob- jection : — "Such as fall away have never been enlightened in the knowledge of the truth, nor really believed the gospel ; but had only professed to believe." His an- swer to this objection is still more remark- al)le. " The Scripture," he says, " sup- poses them to have been once enlightened — to have received the knowledge of the truth, and of the way of righteousness — to have believed for a while — and to have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. See Heb. vi. 4; x. 26. Lukeviii. 13. 2 Peter ii. 20. And their falling away after such attainments is that which constitutes the very sin of apostasy, and by which the guilt of it is aggravated. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." — Sermons, p. 66. All this I account very good, though I should not have expected it from Mr. M. But his refusing after this to admit an es- sential ditference between Ihe faitli of the apostates and that of true l)elievers is most remarkable of all. If the diirerciuc lie not in the nature of their faith, nor in the nature of the things lielieved, against which he also reasons, where does it lie? They must, one would think, have been true be- lievers so far as they went, and so long as they continue to believe ; and their falling away must afford an example of the apos- tasy of true believers. But, if a person may be a true believer at one time and an appostate at another, he can have no scriptural ground at any period of his life, from any consciousness of believing the gospel, to conclude on his own particular salvation. Yet this is what Mr. M. has pleaded for in his treatise on the Com- 574 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. mission. Moreover, if there be not an essential difference between the nature of the faith of apostates, and that of true be- lievers, why does he himself when descri- bing them write as follows 1 " Whatever appearances of faith there may be in false professors, they have not the same per- ception of the truth, nor that persuasion of it upon its proper evidence, which real believers have." — Works, Vol. II. p. 96. I do not say of Mr. M., as he does of me, that " he can take either side of the ques- tion as he finds occasion : " but this I say, he appears to me to feel the force of some truths which do not well comport with some of his former reasonings ; and not being able, it should seem, to reconcile them, he leaves them unreconciled. Surely it were more agreeable to the truth, and to the passages on which he dis- courses, to admit of an essential difference between the faith of nominal and real Christians. In discoursing on the "good ground " in the parable, he very properly represents true believers, and them only, as being " taught by the special illumina- ting influences of the Holy Spirit ; " but surely that which is the fruit of this spe- cial influence possesses a special nature. Why else do we read that " that which is born of the Spirit is spirit 1 " and why does it denominate a man spiritual 1 — 1 Cor. ii. 15. We may not, as he says, be " able to distinguish, in the first impres- sions of the gospel, the faith of a stony- ground hearer from that of a true believ- er;" but it does not follow that there is not an essential difference notwithstand- ing- The unrenewed character, with all his knowledge, know eth nothing as he ought to know. He perceives not the intrinsic evil of sin, and, consequently, discerns not the intrinsic excellence of the knowledge of Christ. That in the gospel which pleases him is its giving relief to his troubled con- science. Hence "all his godliness," as Mr. Sandeman says, "consists in love to that which first relieved him." We have been told more than once that "there need be no question ahonihow we believe, but what we believe." Mr. M'Lean will answer this, that " the mat- ter or object of belief, even in apostates, is said to be ihe word of the kingdom — the truth — the way of righteousness — the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; and what oth- er object of faith have true believers 1 " — Sermons, pp. 66, 67. I have no objection to allowing, howev- er, that, if we believe the very truth as it is in in Jesus, there can he nothing want- ing in the manner of believing it. But though this be true, and though an inquirer after the way of salvation ought to he di- rected to the saving doctrine of the cross, rather than to the workings of his own mind concerning it, yet there is in the workings of a believer's mind towards it something essentially different from those of tlie merely nominal Christian ; and which, when the inquiry comes to be, "Am I a believer! " ought to be pointed out. He not only believes truths which the otiier does not, but believes the same truths in a different manner. In other words, he believes them on different grounds, and with different affections. That which he knoweth is, in measure, " as he ought to know it." He discerns spiritual things in a spiritual manner; which is the only manner in which they can be discerned as they are. It might be said there need be no ques- tion about hoto we repent, or hope, or love, or pray ; but ivhat we repent of, what we hope for, what we love, and what we pray for. And true it is that if we repent of sin as sin, hope for the things which the gospel promises, love the true character of God and all that bears his image, and pray for those things which are according to his will, there will be nothing wanting as to the manner : but it does not follow that there is no difference as to the manner of these exercises in true Christians and in merely nominal ones. Our being right as to the objects may be a proof of our being right as to the manner, as the nee- dle's pointing to the magnet proves the correspondence of the nature of the one with that of the other : but, as in this case we should not say it is of no account whether the needle be made of steel or of some other substance, so that it points to the magnet, neither in the other should we consider the nature of spiritual exer- cises as a matter of no account, but mere- ly the objects on which they terminate. When we read, concerning the duty of prayer, that " the Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him in truth," and that " we know not what to pray for as ice ought," we infer that there is something in the nature of a good man's prayers which distinguishes them from others. But there is just the same reason for inferring that there is something in the nature of a good man's knowledge which distinguish- es it from that of others ; for, as he only that is assisted by the Holy Spirit prays as he ought, so he only that is taught of God knoweth any thing as he ought to know. The holy nature of living faith may be difficult, and even impossible, to be ascer- tained but by its effects ; as it is difficult. ON THE FAITH OF DEVILS. 675 if not iiiij)OSsil>lc, to distinguisli some nothing. In hell the circumstances are seeds iVoin others till they have iirouglit sulTiciently impressive, and they actually forth their respective fruits; but a dilVer- believe; but then there is no hope, and ence there is, notwithstanding. If there so again it comes to nothing ! need lie no in(|uiry as to the nature ol Surely the paral)le of the rich man and faith, but merely concerning its objects, La/arus might sulTice to teach us the in- how was it tlrit the Corinthians, who, by suflTiciency of all means to bring sinners to their unworthy spirit and conduct, had God, when we are assured that, if they rendered their being Christ's disciples in- believed not Moses and the prophets, deed a matter of doubt, should be told to neither would they be persuaded though examine themselves whether they were in one should rise from the dead. I am far the faith, and should be furnished with from accusing all who have pleaded for this criterion, that if they were true be- the faith of devils being such as would be lievers, and not rejtrobates, or such as saving in our circumstances as designing would be disapproved as dross, Jesus to undermine the work of the Spirit ; but Christ was in them! On the principle that such is its tendency is, I presume, here opposed they should have exam- sufficiently n)anifcst. ined, not themselves, but merely their Nor is this all : not only is the influence creed, or what they believed, in order to of the Spirit set aside, in favor of the know whether they were in the faith. mere influence of moral suasion, but the If the faith of devils would have issued fruits of the Spirit are made to consist of in their salvation, provided, like us, they that which is the ordinary effect of such had been placed in circumstances of hope, influence. " When any jierson on earth " it will follow that faith is not produced by it has l)een said, " believes Jesus (who is the grace of the Holy Spirit, but merely now invisil)le) with equal assurance as the by Divine Providence. No one, I pre- devils, he rejoices in hope, is animated by sume, will ascribe the belief of devils to love to him, and feels disposed to obey his the Holy Spirit : whatever they believe will, and to resist his own eyil inclina- must be owing to the situation in which lions." they are placed, and the circumstances There are, I grant, sensations in the attending them. But, if faith may be the human mind which arise merely from the mere effect of situation and circumstances influences of hope and fear, and which in one case, why not in another] Sande- bear a near resemblance to the fruits of manians have often been charged with the Spirit; but they are not the same, setting aside the work of the Spirit, and The judgments of God inflicted upon the have often denied the charge : but, what- carnal Israelites in the wilderness caused ever may be said of their other principles, the survivors to tremble, and wrought in their notion of the faith of devils must them a great care to be more religious sap the foundation of that important doc- and toresist their evil inclinations. " Wheri trine. If this notion be true, all that is he slew them, then they sought him : and necessary is that the party be placed un- they returned early after God ; they re- der the influence of truth clearly stated membered that God was their Rock, and and sufficiently impressive, and within the high God their Redeemer." Such the limits of the promise of salvation, was the effect of moral influence, or of the All the change, therefore, which is neces- word and works of God : but wliat follows 1 sary to eternal life may be wrought by "Nevertheless they did flatter him with only a proper adjustment of moral causes, their mouth, and they lied unto him with Only place mankind in circumtances in {l\e'\r tongues \ for their heart icas not right which their minds shall be irniiressed with with him, neither were they steadfast in terror equal to that of the fallen angels, his covenant." Thus, on the approach of and let the jjromise of salvation to believ- death, we still see men greatly affected, ers be continued as it is, and all would be Light as they may have made of religion saved. And, with respect to the fallen an- before, they now believe enouL^i to make gels themselves, only extend to them the them tremble. At such times it is com- promise to lielievers, and they are at once mon for them to think how good they would in a state of salvation. Such, on this hy- be, and what a different life they would pothesis, would have been the happy con- lead, if it would please God to restore dition of both men and devils: but the them. And, should a favorable turn be hope of mercy and the sense of wrath are given to their affliction, they are affected both rendered abortive for want of being in another way; they weep, and thank united. Providence places sinners on God for their hopes of "recovery, not doubt- earth under the hope of salvation ; but ing but they shall become other men. then they are not in circumstances suffi- But I need not tell you, or the reader, that ciently impressive, and so it comes to all this may consist with a heart at enmity )76 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. with the true character of God, and that it frequently proves so, by their returning, as soon as the impression subsides, to their okl courses. The whole of this process may he no more than an operation of self- love, or, as Mr. Sandeman calls it, " a love to that which relieves them, which is something at a great remove from the love of God, and therefore is not "godliness." Godliness has respect to God, and not merely to our own relief. The distress of an ungodly mind, consisting only in a fear- ful apprehension of consequences, may be relieved by any thing that furnishes him with a persuasion of the removal of those consequences. It may be from an idea that he has performed the conditions of salvation ; or from an impulse that his sins are forgiven ; or from his imagining that he "sees God just in justifying him, un- godly as he stands." Any of these con- siderations will give relief; and no man will be so wanting to himself as not to " love that which relieves him." There may be some ditierence in these causes of relief: the former may be derived from something in ourselves ; and the latter may seem to arise from what Christ has done and suffered : but, if the undertaking of Christ be merely viewed as a relief to a sinner, we overlook its chief glory ; and the religion that arises from such views is as false as the views themselves are partial. The first idea in the doctrine of the cross is, " Glory to God in the highest.'" Its proclaiming "peace on earth, and good will to men," is consequent on this. But that which occupies the first place in the doctrine itself must occupy the first place in the belief of it. The faith of the gos- pel corresponds with the gospel : " So we preached, and so ye believed." God will assert his own glory, and we must sub- scribe to it, before we are allowed to ask or hope for the forgiveness of our sins ; as is clearly taught us in what is called the Lord's prayer. He, therefore, that views the cross of Christ merely as an expedient to relieve the guilty, or only subscribes to the justice of God in his condemnation, when conceiving himself delivered from it, has yet to learn tlie first principles of Christianity. His rejoicing in the justice of God, as satisfied by the death oj Christ, while he hates it in itself considered, is no more than rejoicing in a dreaded tyrant being appeased, or somehow diverted from coming to hurt him. And shall we call this the love of God 1 To make our de- liverance from divine condemnation the condition of our subscribing to the justice of it proves, beyond all contradiction, that Ave care only for ourselves, and that the love of God is not in us. And herein, if I may adopt Mr. Sandeman's term, consists the very " poison " of his system. It is one of the many devices for obtaining re- lief to tlie mind, without justifying God, and falHng at the feet of the Saviour; or, which is the same thing, without " repent- ance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." The doctrine of the cross presupposes the equity and goodness of the divine law, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the expo- sedness of the sinner to God's righteous curse, and his utter insufficiency to deliver his soul. To believe this doctrine, there- fore, must needs be to subscribe with our very heart to these principles, as they respect ourselves ; and so to receive sal- vation as being what it is, a message of pure grace, through a mediator. Such a conviction as this never possessed the mind of a fallen angel, nor of a fallen man un- taught by the special grace of God. LETTER V. ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN RE- PENTANCE TOWARD GOD AND FAITH TOWARD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. The advocates of this system do not consider the order in which these graces are ordinarily introduced in the New Tes- tament as being the true order of nature, and therefore generally reverse it, putting faith before repentance, and invariably placing repentance among the effects of faith. A sinner, therefore, has no spirit- ual sense of the evil of sin, till he has be- lieved in the Saviour, and stands in a jus- tified state. Then, being forgiven all trespasses, and reconciled to God through tlie death of his Son, he is melted into repentance. The question is not whether the gospel, when received by faith, operates in this way ; for of this there can be no doubt. Nothing produces godly sorrow for sin like a believing view of the suffering Sa- viour. Nor is it denied that to be grieved for having dishonored God we must first believe that he is; and, before we can come to him in acceptable worship, that through a mediator he is " the rewarder of them that diligently seek him." With- out a mediator, repentance, even if it could have existed, must have been hope- less. I have not such an idea of the sin- ner being brought to repentance, antece- dently to his believing in Christ for sal- vation, as Mr. Sandeman had of his be- lieving antecedently to repentance. Ac- cording to him, he believes and is justified, CONNECTION OF FAITH AM) UKl'ENTANCK. 577 not merely considered as ungodly, or without any cnn^idcrulion of e^odlinrss in him, l)ut atlually " miirodly as lie stands," and then, and not till tlien, begins to love God, and to he sorry for his sin. This is mar.ifestly holding up the idea of rt;i m- penitrnt believer, though not of one that continues such. But the antecedency which I ascribe to repentance does not amount to this. 1 have no conception of a sinner being so brought to rcpei\tance as to sustain the c/nirat/ t-r of a penitent, and still less to obtain (he Ibrgiveness ol sin, pre- viously to his Tailing in with the way of salvation. I belive it is not possible lor a sinner to repent, and at the same time to reject the Saviour. The very instant that he perceives the evil ot sin so as to repent of it, he cannot think of the Saviour with- out believing in him. I have, therefore, no notion of a penitent unbeliever. All that I contend for is, that, in the order of cause and effect, whatever may be said as to the order of time, repentance })reccdes as well as follows the faith of Christ ; and that faith in Christ cannot exist without repentance for sin. A sense of sin ap- pears to me essential to believing in the Saviour ; so much so that, without it, the latter would not only I'e a mere " notion," but an essentially defective one. It is admitted, on both sides, that there is a priority of one or other of these graces in the order of nature, so as that one is in- fluenced by the other; and, if no other pri- ority were pleaded, neither the idea of a penitent unbeliever on the one hand, nor an impenitent believer on the other, would follow ; for it might still be true, as Mr. M'Lean acknowledges, that " none believe who do not repent," and, as I also ac- knowledge, that none repent who, accord- ing to the light they have, do not believe. But if we maintain, not only that faith is prior in the order of nature, but that, ante- cedently to any true sorrow for sin we must " see God to l)e just in justifying us ungod- ly as we stand," this is clearly maintain- ing (he notion of an impenitent believer. From these introductory remarks, it will appear that I have no objection to faith being considered as contemporary with repentance in the order of time, pro- vided the latter were made to consist in an acquiescence with the gospel -way of salvation, so far as it is understood; but, if it be made to include such a clear view of the gospel as necessarily brings peace and rest to the soul, I believe that repent- ance for sin often precedes it, even in the order of time. Such is the connection between repent- ance and faith in the Scriptures that the one commonly supposes the other. Re- VOL. 1. 73 pentance, when followed by the remission of sins, supposes faith in the Saviour (Luke wiv. 47;)and faith, when followed with justification, equally supposes repentance for sin. Attempts have been made, by criticis- ing on the] word umnun( to exi)lain away, as it should seem, the proper object of re- pentance, as if it were a change of mind with regard to the gospel. " Repent- ance," says Mr. S.," is the change of a man's mind to love the truth, which always carries in it a sense of shame and regret at his former ()p])osilion to it."* But this is confounding repentance and faith object- ively considered. The olijccls of both are so marked in the apostolic ministry, that one would think they could not be honestly mistaken. Repentance is toicard God, and faith is toward our Lord Jesus Christ: the one has immediate respect to the Law-giver, the other to the Saviour. It cannot be denied that the order in which the New Testament commonly places repentance and faith is in direct op- position to what our opponents plead for ; and, what is more, than the former is represented as inlluencing the latter. This is manifest in the following passages : " Repent ye, and believe the gospel." — " Testifying repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." — " They repented not, that they might be- lieve him." — " If God peradventure might give them repentance /o the acknowledging of the truth." Mr. Sandeman, Mr. M'L and all the writers on that side of the question, very rarely make use of this lan- guage ; and, when they have occasion to write upon the subject, ordinarily reverse it. To accord with their ideas it should have been said. Believe the gospel and re- pent.— Testifying faith toward our Lord Jesus Clirist, and repentance toward God. — They believed not, that they might re- pent.— If God peradventure may give them faith to repent. To this I add, it is impossible, in the nature of things, to believe the gos])eI but as being made sensible of that which ren- ders it necessary. The guilty and lost state of sinners goes before the revelation of the grace of the gospel : the latter, therefore, cannot be understood or be- lieved, but as we are convinced of the former. There is no grace in the gospel, but upon the suposition of the holiness, justice, and goodness of the }aw. If God be not in the right, and we in the wrong; if we have not transgressed wi(hout cause, and be not fairly condenmed, grace is no more grace, but a just exemption from undeserved punishment. And, as faith * Letters on Tlieron and Aspasio, p. 408. ►78 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. must needs correspond with truth, it is impossible that we should believe the doctrine of salvation by grace in an impen- itent state of mind, or without feeling that we have forfeited all claim to the divine favor. We cannot see things but as they are to be seen : to suppose that we first believe in the doctrine of free grace, and then, as the effect of it, perceive the evil of sin, and our just exposedness to divine wrath, is like supposing a man first to ap- preciate the value of a physician, and by this means to learn that he is sick. It is true the physician may visit the neighbor- hood, or the apartments, of one who is in imminent danger of death, while he thinks himself mending every day ; and this cir- cumstance may be held up by his friends as a motive to him to consider of his condi- tion, and to put himself under his care. It is thus that the coming of Christ, and the setting up of his spiritual kingdom in the world, were alleged as motives to repentance, both to Jews and Gentiles. " Repent, /or the kingdom of heaven is at hand." — "Repent ye therefore.^' — "The times past of this ignorance God winked at ; but now commandeth all men every where to repent." But as it would not follow in the one case that the sick man could appreciate the value of the physician till he felt his sickness, neither does it follow in the other that faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ precedes such a sense of the evil of sin as involves the first work- ings of repentance toward God. To argue, as some have done, from the motives of repentance being fetched from the gospel, that it supposes their believing the gospel ere they could repent, proves too much ; for it is not to repentance only, but to faith, that the coming of Christ's kingdom is held up as a motive : but, to say that this supposes their belief of the gospel, is saying they must believe in or- der to believing. That a conviction of sin (whether it include the first workings of repentance or not) is necessary to faith in Christ is a matter so evident that those w4io have declaimed most against it have not been able to avoid such a representation of things. It is remarkable that, when Mr. Sandeman comes to describe his "ungodly man," he always contrives to make him not only full of distress, but divested of all self-righteous pride : he represents him as conceiving that there are " none more ripe for hell than he, and as having no hope but in the great propitiation." * Thus also Mr. Ecking, when describing a " mere sinner," represents him as one Avho "feels jLetterB on Tlieron and Aspasio, pp. 46, 48. himself in a perishing condition, and is conscious that he deserves no favor." f We must not say that repentance, or any degree of a right spirit, so precedes faith in Christ as to enter into the nature of it ; but, if we will but call the sinner by a few hard names, we may describe him in coming to the Saviour as sensible of his utter unworthiness, as divested of self- righteousness, and as ripe for hell in his own eyes ! In short, we may depict him as the publican who sought mercy under a humiliating sense of his utter unworthines* to receive it, so that we still call him un- godly. And to this we have no objection, so that it be understood of the character under which he is justified in the eye of the Lawgiver ; but, if it be made to mean that at the time of his justification he is in heart an enemy of God, we do not believe it. If he be, however, why do not these wri- ters describe him as an enemy ought to be described 1 They teach us elsewhere that "an attachment to self-righteousness is nat- ural to man as depraved ;" how then came these ungodly men to be so divested of if? Why are they not represented as thinking themselves in a fair way for heaven, and that if God does not pardon them he will do them wrong 1 Such is the ordinary state of mind of ungodly men or mere sinners, which is just as opposite to that which they are constrained to represent as the spirit of the pharisee was to that of the publican. Mr. M'Lean will tell us that " this is that part of the scheme whereby persons, previously to their believing in Christ, are taught to extract comfort from their con- victions."— Reply, p. 148. But, whatever Mr. M. may think or say, I hope others will give me credit when I declare that we have no idea of any well-grounded comfort being taken antecedently to believing in Christ. The publican is described as hum- bli7ig himself before God exalted him : but he did not derive comfort from this. If, instead of looking to the mercy of God, he had done this, it would have been a species of pharisaical self-exaltation. But it does not follow hence that there was nothing spiritually good in his self-abase- ment. But Mr. M. "believes a person may be so convicted in his conscience as to view himself mere^?/ as a guilty sinner; that is, as having no righteousness to recommend him to the favor of God; and that under such conviction his sense of the evil of sin will not be confined to its punishment ; but his conscience or moral sense will tell him that he deserves punishment at Ihe hands of a righteous God." — p. 149. * Essays, p. 41. CONNECTION OFFAITH AND REPENTANCE. bl9 Mr. M'Leaii admits, then, the necessity of conviction of sin prcNiously, in the or- der of tliini^s, to faitli in Clirist ; only there is no holiness ami consequently no true repentance in it. 1 have allowed in Let- ter I. that many convictions are to lie re- solved into the mere operations oi an en- lightened conscience and do not isnue in true conversion. I may add, I consider all conviction of sin which docs not in its own nature lead to the Saviour as of this description. It matters not how deep the distress of a sinner may l>e, so long as it is accompanied hy an unwillingness to l)e saved by mere grace through a mediator, there is no holiness in it, nor any thing that deserves the name of repentance. An enlightened conscience, I allow, will force us to justify God and condemn ourselves on many occasions. It was thus in Pha- raoh when he said, " The Lord is right- eous, and I and my people are wicked." And this his sense of the evil of sin might not be " contined to its punishment ;" his " conscience or moral sense might tell liim that he deserved punishment at the hand of a righteous God." So far then we are agreed. But if Pharaoh had had a just sense of the evil of sin it would not have left him where it did. There was an es- sential difference between what he saw by the terrors of God's judgment and what Paul saw when " sin by the commandment became exceeding sinful." Nor can I believe that any sinner was ever so divest- ed of self-righteous hope as to consider himself a mere sinner, who yet continued to reject the Saviour ; for this were the same thing as for him to have no ground to stand upon, either false or true ; but he who submits not to the righteousness of God is, in some form or other, going about to establish his own righteousness. There is, I apprehend, an important dif- ference between the case of a person who, whatever be his convictions, is still averse from giving up every claim and falling at the feet of the Saviour, and that of one whose convictions lead him to take refuge in the gospel, as far as he understands it, even though at present he may have but a very imperfect view of it. I can clearly conceive of the convictions of the former as having no repentance or holiness in them, but not so of the latter. I believe repentance has begun to operate in many persons of this descrii)tion, who as yet have not found that peace or rest for their souls which the gospel is adapted to afford. In short, the question is, whether there be not such a thing as spiritual conviction, or conviction which proceeds from the special influence of the Spirit of God, and which in its own nature invariably leads the soul to Christ. It is not necessary that it should be known by the party, or by others, to be so al the time, nor can it l>e known but by its effects, or till it has led the sinner to believe in Christ alone for salvation. But this does not prove but that it may exist. And when I read of sin by the com- mandment becoming exceedingly sinful, — of our i)eing through the law dead to the law, " that we might live unto God," — of the law being appointed as a school-mas- ter to bring us to Christ, " that we might lie justilied by laith," — I am persuaded that it does exist, and that to say all spir- itual conviction of sin is by means of the gospel, is antiscriptural and absurd. In places where the gosi)el is preached, and where persons have long heard it, it is not supposed that they are necessarily first led to think of the law, and of them- selves as transgressors of it ; and then, be- ing convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin by it, are for the first time led to think of Christ. No, it is not the order of time, but that of cause and effect, for which I plead. It may be by thinking of the death of Christ itself that we are first led to see the evil of sin ; but, if it be so, this does not disprove the apostolic doc- trine, that " by the law is the knowledge of sin." If the death of Christ furnish us with this knowledge, it is as honoring the precept and penalty of the law. It is still, therefore, by the law, as exemplified iu him, that we are convinced. "A spirit of grace and supplication" was to be poured "upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem," in con- sequence of w hich they w ere to " look upon him whom they had pierced, and mouru as for an only son, and to be in bitterness as one that is in l)itterncss for his first- born." Is this mourning dcscril)ed as fol- lowing or as i)receding their forgiveness 1 As preceding it. It is true they are said first to " look upon him whom they had pierced ;" but this view of the death of the Saviour is represented as working only in a wav of conviction and lamentation: the view which gave peace and rest to their souls follows upon their mourning, and is thus expressed : — "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness." Judge, my friend, and let the reader judge, whether this account accords with our first viewing God as just, and justify- ing us ungodly as we stand, and then be- ginning to love him, and to repent of our liaving sinned against him. Judge wheth- er it does not rather represent things in this order : first, " a spirit of grace and supplication" is poured upon the sinner; next he is led to think of what he has done against the Lord and his Christ, and 580 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. mourns over it in the bitterness of his soul, and then gets relief by washing, as it were, in the fountain of his blood. Such was doubtless the process under Peter's sermon. — Acts ii. 37, 38. On the connection of repentance and faith I am at a loss to ascertain Mr. Ms sentiments. He says, indeed that I know them ; and suggests that I must have intentionally misrepresented them. — Reply, p. 36. But, if they be so plain, I can only say, my understanding is more dull than he supposes ; for I do not yet comprehend how he can make repentance, in all cases, a fruit of faith in Christ, and yet consider it as necessary to forgiveness. He acknowledges that " none believe who do not repent" (p. 39.) and that repentance is " necessary to forgiveness," (p. 36.) " But forgiveness, though not the same as justification, is yet an essential part of it ; if, therefore, he allow repentance to be antecedent to forgiveness that is the same thing in effect as allowing it to be an- tecedent to justification, or that the faith by which we are justified includes repent- ance. Yet he makes faith to be such a belief as excludes all exercise of the will or affections, and consequently repentance for sin. He also considers repentance as an immediate effect of faith (p. 38,) and opposes the idea of any effect of faith be- ing included in it as necessary, not merely as a procuring cause, but in the estab- ished order of things, to justification. But this, so far as I am able to understand things, is making repentance to follow upon forgiveness rather than necessary to it. Mr. M'Lean adds, " Though repent- ance ought to be urged upon all who hear the gospel, and though none believe it who do not repent, yet I strongly suspect that it would be leading us astray to press re- pentance upon them before and in order to their believing the gospel." — p. 39. And why does he not suspect the sanie thing of pressing the belief of tlie gospel before and in order to their repentance 1 If in- deed the gospel were withheld from sin- ners till they actually repent ; or if it were suggested that they should first be- come penitents, and then think of being believers, this would be leading them astray : and the same might be said on the other side. If exhortations to repentance were withheld till the sinner had actually believed, or it were suggested that he should first become a believer and then think of repenting, this would be as anti- scriptural as the other. But why should we not content ourselves with following the examples of the New Testament, — " Repent and believe the gospel 1 " As Mr. M'Lean's placing faith before repent- ance does not require him to avoid telling sinners of the evil nature of sin till they have believed, nor to consider them as believers while they are impenitent, why does he impute such consequences to me, for placing repentance before faith 1 Mr. M'Lean refers to a passage in the preface to the first edition of The Gospel worthy of all Acceptation, as favoring these extravagant constructions. I had said, " No sort of encouragement or hope is held out in all the book of God to any sinner as such considered." That which I meant, at the time, was merely to dis- own that any sinner was encouraged to hope for eternal life without returning to God by Jesus Christ. Thus I explained it in my answer to Philanthropos ; but, as I perceived the idea was not clearly ex- pressed in the preface, and that the words were capable of an ill construction, I al- tered them in the second edition, and ex- pressed my meaning as follows : " There is no dispute concerning who ought to be encouraged to consider themselves as enti- tled to the blessings of the gospel. Though sinners be freel)' invited to the participa- tion of spiritual blessings, yet they have no interest in them, according to God's revealed will, while they continue in un- belief." I cannot consider Mr. M'Lean's other references to the first edition, after a second was in his hand, as fair or can- did ; and this appears to me unfair and uncandid in the extreme. It has been common to distinguish re- pentance into legal and evangelical ; and I allow there is a foundation in the nature of things for this distinction. The for- mer arises from the consideration of our sin being a transgression of the holy, just, and good law of our Creator ; the latter from the belief of the mercy of God as revealed in the gospel, and the considera- tion of our sin being committed notwith- standing, and even against it. But it ap- pears to me to have been too lightly taken for granted that all true repentance is confined to the latter. The law and the gospel are not in opposition to each other: why then should repentance arising from the consideration of them be so opposite as that the one should be false and the other ti'ue 1 If we wish to distinguish the false from the true, or that which needs to be re- pented of from that which does not, we may perhaps, with more propriety, de- nominate them natural and spiritual ; by the former understanding that Avhich the mere principles of unrenewed nature are capable of producing, and by the latter that which proceeds from the supernatural and renovating influence of the Spirit of God, CONNECTION OF FAITH AND REPENTanCK. 581 Natural repentance, llius defined, is sorrow lor sin chielly with respect to its consequences, accompanied, however, with the reproaclies of conscience on ac- count of the tliiuji itself. It is composed of remorse, fear, and regret, and is often followed hy a change ot conduct. It may arise from a view ol tiie law and its throat- enings, in which case it hatli no hope, liut worketh death, on account ol tliore heing nothing hut death held out l)y tlie law for transgressors. Or it may arise from a partial and false view of the gospel, by wliich the heart is often meltetl under an idea of sin being forgiven when it is not so; in this case it hath iiope, but, this be- ing unfountled, it notwithstanding worketh death in a way of self-deception. Spiritual repentance is sorrow for sin as sin, and as si7i committed against God. It may arise from a view of the death of Christ, through which we perceive how evil and i)itter a thing it is, and, looking on him whom we have pierced, mourn as one mourneth ibr an only son. But it may also arise from tlie consideration of our sin being a transgression of the iioly, just, and good law of God, and of our having dishon- ored him without cause. Such a sense of the evil nature of sin as renders it ex- ceedingly sinful includes the essence of true repentance : yet this, in the apostle, did not arise from the consideration of the gospel, but of the commandment. It was therefore legal repentance : yet as its ten- dency was to render him " dead to the law" as a medium of justification, and to bring him to Christ/or life, it was spiritual. It was repentance unto life. The chief ground on which repentance toward God has been denied to precede faith in Christ, in the order of nature, is that no man can repent of sin till he enter- tain tlie hope of forgiveness. Nay, it has been said, "No man can repent unless he knows himself to be of God ; and, as this cannot be known till he hath received Christ, faith must precede repentance." If the principle that supports this argument be true, we neither have, nor ought to have, any regard to God or man, but for our own sake. But, if so, the command ought not to have been, " Tiiou shall Jove the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and mind and strength, and thy neigh- bor as thyself :" but thou shalt love thy- self with all thy heart and soul and mind and strength, and thy God and thy neigh- bor so far as they are subservient to thee. — Moreover, if so, the world, instead of being greatly depraved, is very nearly what it ought to be ; for it is certainly not wanting in self-love, though it misses the mark in accomplishing its object. Some have allowed " that it is our duty to love God supremely, whether he save us or not ; but that, lunerthdess, the ihing is impossil)le." If it be physically impos- sible it cannot lie duty ; ibr God requires nothing in respect of obedience but that we lo\e him with all our strength. If it be only morally impossible, that is the same as its being so owing to the corrupt state of our minds. But we are not to supj)ose that God, in saving sinners, any more than in judging them, consults their depraved spirit, and adapts the gospel to it. On the contrary, it is the design of all that God does for us to restore us to a right spirit. His truth must not bend to our corruptions; but our hearts must lie " inclhied to his testimonies." So far, thereibre, as any man is renewed by the Spirit of God, so (ar is he brought to be ol God's mind, and does what he ought to do. God's law is written in his heart. Farther : II the principle that supports this argument be true, it will hold good in reference to men, as well as to God. And is it true that a man who is under just condemnation Ibr breaking the laws, and who has no hope of obtaining a pardon, ought not to be expected to repent for his crime, and, before he die, to pray God to bless his king and country ] On this prin- ciple, all confessions of this kind are of necessity mere hypocrisy. Even those of the dying thief in the gospel, so far as they respect the justice of his doom from his countrymen, must have been insincere; for he had no hope of his sentence being remitted. What would an offended father say, if the offender should require, as the condition of his repentance, a previous declaration of forgiveness, or even of a willingness to fbrgive ? A willingness to forgive might be declared, and it would heighten the criminality of the offender if after this he continued hardened ; but for him to require it, and to avow that he could not repent of his sin upon any other condition, would be the height of insolence. Yet all this is pleaded for in respect of God. "If I be a father, where is mine honor 1" Besides, how is a sinner to "know that he is of God," otherwise than as being conscious of repentance toward God and faitii toward our Lord Jesus Christ \ Till he is sorry at lieart for having dishonored God, he is not of God, and therefore can- not know that he is so. If some have gone into extremes in wri- ting of "disinterested love," as Mr. M'Lean suggests, it does not follow that true religion has its origin in self-love. Most men, who make any pretence to 582 STRICTURES ON SaNDEMANIANISM. serious Christianity, will allow that, if sin be not hated as sin, it is not hated at all: and why we should scruple to allow that, if God be not loved as God, he is not loved at all, I cannot conceive. I am not sur- prised, however, that those who have been so long and so deeply imbued in a system, a leading principle of which is " that godli- ness consists in love to that which first relieves us," should write in the manner they do. On some occasions, however, Mr. M. himself can say as much in favor of " dis- interested love " as his opponent, and can represent that which arises from " a mere principle of self-love " as being of no value. " There may be some resemblan- ces of repentance,^' he says, "in fear, re- morse, and sorrow of mind, occasioned by sin ; as in Cain, Judas, Felix, &c. But a mere principle of self-love will make a man dread the consequences of sin, while he has prevalent inclinations to sin itself. There is a difference between mere fear and sorrow on account of sin, and a preva- lent hatred of it ; between hatred of sin it- self, and mere hatred of its consequences ; between that sorrow for sin which flows from the love of God and of holiness, and that which flows from an inferior principle. Men may have even an aversion to some kinds of sin, because they interfere with others, or because they do not suit their natural constitutions, propensities, tem- pers, habits, age, worldly interests, &c., while they do not hate all sin universally, and consequently hate no sin as such, or from a proper principle. — Works, Vol. II. p. 95. LETTER VI ON THE CONNECTION BETVPEEN KNOWL- EDGE AND DISPOSITION. You need not be told that this is a sub- ject of prime importance in the Sandema- nian system. It every where considers knowledge as the one thing needful, and disposition as its natural and proper ef- fect. Mr. M'Lean represents me as maintain- ing that the understanding or perceptive faculty in man is directed and governed by his will and inclinations ; and this he sup- poses to be the principle on which my ar- guments are principally founded : a prin- ciple which can be true, he thinks, only in cases where the original order of things is perverted by sin. — Reply, p. 8^ 9. Wheth- er these sentiments be just, or contain a fair statement of my views, we shall in- quire as we proceed : at present I only observe that the state of the will or dispo- sition is, in Mr. M'Lean's account, gov- erned invariably by the understanding ; or, if in any instance it be otherwise, it is owing to the disorder introduced by sin. I should not have supposed, however, that sin could have perverted the established laws of nature. It certainly perverts the moral order of things, that is (as Dr. Owen represents it, to whom Mr. M. refers,) in- stead of the will being governed by j udg- ment and conscience, judgment and con- science are often governed by prejudice. But there is nothing in all this subversive of the established laws of nature ; for it is a law recognized both by nature and Scripture that the disposition of the soul should influence its decisions. A humble and candid spirit is favorable, and a proud and uncandid spirit is unfavorable, to a right judgment. " It is a maxim," says Mr. Ecking, " that has not yet been refuted, that the determination of the will must evermore follow the illumination, conviction, and notice of the understanding."* By the illumination, conviction, and notice of the understanding must be meant, either what the mind judges to be right, or what it accounts agreeable. If the will were al- ways determined by the former, there could be no such thing as knowing the will of God and not doing it. But I sup- pose this will not be pretended. It must therefore be of the latter that Mr. Ecking writes. His meaning must be, that the will evermore follows the mind's view of the object as agreeable. But is it certain that the viewing of an object agreeable is properly and perfectly distinct from choos- ing it 1 President Edwards conceived it was not, and therefore did not affirm that the will was deetrmined by the great- est apparent good, but merely that " i/te toill always is as the greatest apparent good, or as what appears most agreeable is."f This is not saying that the will is determined by the understanding; for, as the same author goes on to prove, the cause of an object appearing agreeable to the mind may be "the state, frame, or temper of tlie mind itself." But so far as this is the case, the judgment is de- termined by the state of the mind rather than the state of the mind by the judg- ment. A great deal of confusion on this sub- ject has arisen from confounding simple * Essays, p. 54. tOn the Will, Part 1. Section II. p. 11. CONNECTION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DISPOSITION. 583 knowledge, pcrtaininp: merely to the intel- lectual fiiculty, with tliat which is com- pound or comj)rclipnsive of approlnition. The former is with propriety distinguish- ed from wliatever pertains to the state of tlie will ; Iiut the latter is not, seeing it inclutles it. Mr. M'Lean, speaking of certain char- acters who had heard the gospel, says, " It is supposed that such men liavc now re- ceived some infonniition whidi they had not before, both with respect to their dan- ger and the remedy of it, and" — whatl that their w ills or dispositions are in that |)roportion changed 1 No: but "that they are hereby rendered quite inexcusa- ble if they should neglect so great salva- tion; whicli neglect must now be the ef- fect of perverseuess and aversion, and not of s'unpic ignorance. — John iii. 19; xv. 2, 25." * I do not say of Mr. M., as he did of me when I was only reasoning upon the principles of my opponent, that " he can take either side of the question as he finds occasion : " but this I say, that, when w riting in favor of the calls of the gospel he felt himself impelled to admit prin- ciples of which, in his controversy on the other side, he has quite lost sight. The above statement appears to me to be very just, and as he here so properly dis- tinguishes sn/ip/e ignorance from ignorance which arises from aversion or neglect — the one as tending to excuse, the other to criminate--hc cannot consistently oViject to my distinguishing between simple knowl- edge, which barely renders men inexcu- sable, and knowledge inclusive of appro- bation, which has the promise of eternal life. Simple knowledge, or knowledge as dis- tinguisiied from approbation, is merely a natural accomplishment, necessary to the performance of both good and evil, but in itself neither the one nor the other. In- stead of producing love, it often occasions an increasing enmity, and in all cases ren- ders sinners the less excusable. In this sense the term knowleds;e, and others re- lateil to it, are used in the following pas- sages : — " The servant w ho hncic his lord's will, and did it not, shall be beaten with many stripes," — " When they kneic God, they glorified him not as God." — " If ye know these things, happy arc ye if ye do them." — "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin." — " If I had not done among tliem the works which none other man did, they had not had sin ; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father." ♦ ThoughtB on Calls, &c., p. 17. But knowledge is much more frequently used in the Scriptures as includina; appro- bation. The Lord is said to know the righteous, and never to have known the workers of ini(piity. To understand this of simple knowlecigo would deprive God of his omniscience. As ascribed to men, it is what is denominated fl.s/ririhtfl/ nntZer- standine;. It is not necessary to an obli- gation to spiritual duties, but it is necessa- ry in the nature of things to the actual dis- charge of them. It may be said of the want of this, " The Lord hath not given you eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day ; " and that without furnisl>ing any excuse for tiic blindness of the parties. It is the wisdom from above imparted by the illuminating inlluencc of the Holy Spirit. That knowledge, in this sense of the term, produces holy affections is not de- nied. It is in itself holy, and contains the principle of universal holiness. It is that by wliich we discern the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, which glory being beheld assimilates us into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. But the question at issue respects knowledge in its simple and literal sense^ or that which is purely intellectual, exclu- sive of all disposition ; otherwise it would amount to no more than this, whether that whicli includes the seminal principles of holy affection (namely, a se7i.se of heart) tends to produce it : which never was dis- puted. The ground on which I am supposed to have proceeded is " that the understanding or perceptive faculty in man is directed and governed V)y his will ; " but (his is a mistake : I ground no doctrine upon any theory of the human mind which I may have entertained; but on what I consider as the scriptural account of things ; in which I find spiritual perception impeded by evil disposition, and promoted by the contrary. — 1 Cor. ii. 14. Neither is the above a fair statement of my views. If what I have written implies any theory of the hu- man mind, it is not that the understanding" is in all cases governed by the will ; but rather that they have a mutual influence on each other. I have allowed, in my Appendix, that volitions are influenced by motives or considerations which exist in the view of the mind ; and I should think it is equally evident, on the other hand, that our judgments are, in a great number of instances, determined by a previous state or disposition of the soul. In ob- jects which do not interest the affections the judgment may be purely intellectual, and the choice may naturally follow ac- cording to its dictates ; but it is not so in cases, as universal experience evinces. 584 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. '" But mu^t it not be owned," says Mr. -M. in liis Reply, " that, so far as this is the case in man, it is an irregular e^cer else of his faculties, arising from the moral dis- order of his lapsed nature, whereby judg- ment, reason, and conscience are weaken- ed, perverted, and blinded, so as to be subjected to his will and corrupt inclina- tions!"— p. 8. It must undoubtedly be owned that the influence of an evil dispo- sition in producing an erroneous and false judgment is owing to this cause; and if that for which I plead were what Mr. M. elsewere represents it, viz. a prejudice in favor of a report ivhich renders the mind regardless of evidence, (p. 67,) the same might be said of all such judgment. But how if the state of the will contended for should be that of a deliverance from pre- judice, by which evidence comes to be properly regarded 1 It is not to the dis- order introduced by sin that we are to as- cribe the general principle of the moral state or disposition of the soul having an influence on the judgment ; for it is no less true that a humble, candid, and im- partial spirit influences the belief of moral truth, or truth that involves in its conse- quences the devoting of the whole life to God, than that a selfish and corrupt spi- rit influences the rejection of it. Surely it is not owing to the human faculties being thrown into disorder that a holy frame of mind in believers enables them to under- stand the Scriptures better than the best expositor ! The experience of every Christian bears witness that the more spiritually-minded he is the better he is prepared for the discernment of spiritual things. Mr. M'Lean thinks I have mistaken the meaning of the term heart, in applying it to the dispositions and affections of the soul, as distinguished from the under- standing. When such phrases as a heart of stone, a heart of flesh, a hard and im- penitent heart, a tender heart, a heart to know the Lord, ^'c, occur, though they suppose the intellectual faculty, yet there can be no doubt, I should think, of their expressing the state of the will and affec- tions, rather than of the understanding. I have no objection, however, to the ac- count given of the term by Dr. Owen, that " it generally denotes the whole soul of man, and all the faculties of it, not ab- solutely, but as they are all one principle of moral operations, as they all concur in our doing good or evil.''' The term may sometimes apply to what is simply natural ; but it generally, as he says, denotes the principle of moral action, which, being comprehended in love, must in all cases, whether it relate to good or evil, include affection. And thus, in his Treatise on Justice, Dr. Owen observes that " assent is an act of the understanding only ; but believing is an act of the heart, which in Scripture comprises all the faculties of the soul as one entire principle of moral and spiritual duties. ' With the heart man believeth unto righteousness,' Rom, X. 10 ; and it is frequently described by an act of the will, though it be not so alone. But without an act of the will no man can believe as he ought. See John V. 40 ; i. 12; vi. 35. We come to Christ as an act of the will ; ' and let whosoever will, come : ' and to be willing is taken for believing. — Psa. ex. 3. And unbelief is disobedience. — Heb. iii. 18, 19." Chap. 1. p. 103. Nay, Mr. M'Lean himself acknowledges nearly as much as this. He says, " The Scriptures always represent the regenera- ting and sanctifying influences of the Spirit as exerted upon the heart, which includes not only the understanding, but the will and affections, or the prevalent inclinations and dispositions of the soul." — Works, Vol. II. p. 91. That disposition, in rational beings, presupposes perception, I never doubted ; but that it is produced by it is much easier asserted than proved. Knowledge is a concomitant in many cases where it is not a cause. If all holy dispositions be pro- duced by just preceptions, all evil dis- position is produced by just or erroneous ones. Indeed, this is no more than Mr. M'Lean, on some occasions at least, is prepared to admit. He tells us that " the word of God represents the darkness, blindness, and ignorance of the mind, with regard to spiritual things, as the source of men's alienation from the life of God, and of their rebelling against him." — p. 77. Does he really think, then, that the passages of Scripture to which he refers means simple ignorance 1 * If not, they make nothing for his argument. Does he seriously con- sider the blindness or hardness of heart, in Ephes. iv. 18, as referring to ignorance, in distinction from aversion, or as includ- ing it 1 f Can he imagine that the dark- ness in which Satan holds mankind is any other than a chosen and beloved darkness, described in the following passages 1 — " They loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." — " The * Eplies. iv. 18, 19. Acts. xxvi. 18. Ephes. vi. 12. Col. i. 13. t TToiQwaic: Parkhurst observes, is from ttcqoo) and signifies hardness, callousness, or blindness. "It is not mere ignorance," says Dr. Owen, " but a siubljorn resistance of liglit and conviction ; an ob- durate hardness, whence it rejects the impressions of divine triitli." — Discourses of the Holy Spirit, Book III. Chap. III. CONNECTION OF KNOULEUGK AND DI srOSITION. 685 heart of (his people is waxed gross, niul tlioir ears are dull o< hearintr and tlieir vyes lia\e lliey closed.'' Tliat voluntary l>liiidiiess renders sin- ners estranjred Iroiu (jcmI I ean easily un- derstand, nor am 1 at any loss to conceive of its lieiug "that l)y which Satan reignS; aiulniaiutains his power over the minds of men ; " Ixit I do not perceive, in any of these facts, the proof of disposition hav- in;j its orif^in in ijrnorance. Two friends, wliom I will call Matthew and Mark, were one evening conversing on this suii- jecl, when the following sentiments were exchanged. All sin (said Matthew) arises from ignorance. — Do you think then, (said Mark) that God will condemn men for what is owing to a want of natural capacity ? — O no (said Matthew;) it is a voluntary igno- rance to which I refer : a not likinp; to re- tain God in their knowledge. — Then (said Mark) you reason in a circle ; your argu- ment amounts to this : All sin arises from ignorance, and this ignorance arises from sin ; or, which is the same tiling, from aversion to the light ! If Mr. M'Lean, or others, will maintain tliat sin is the elfect of simple ignorance (and this they must maintain, or wiiat they hold is nothing diflerent from that which they oppose,) let them seriously consider a few of its consequences, as drawn l)y some of our modern Infidels. It is on this principle that Mr. Godwin, in his treatise on Political Justice, denies the original de- pravity of human nature; explains away all ideas of guilt, crime, desert, and ac- countahleness ; and i-epresents the devil himself as a being of considerable virtue. Thus he reasons : — " The moral characters of men originate in their perceptions. As there are no innate perceptions or ideas, there are no innate principles. — The moral qualities of men are the produce of the impressions made upon them, and there is no such thing AS AN ORIGINAL PROPENSITY TO EVIL." Book I. Chap. III. Again : "Vice is nothing more than er- ror and mistake reduced to practice. — Act- ing from an ill motive is acting from a mistaken motive. — Under the system of necessity (that is, as held by him,) the ideas of GUILT, crime, desert, and ac- COLNTABLENESS, HAVE NO PLACE," Book IV. Chap. IV.— VI. pp. 2.54, 314. Again : " Virtue is the offspring of the understanding. — It is only another name for a clear and distinct perception of the value of the object. — Virtue, therefore, is ordinarily connected witii great talents. — Caesar and Alexander had their virtues. — They imagined their conduct conducive to the general good. — The devil, as described by Milton, also was a being of con- voL. I. 74 siderahle viutie ! ! ! Why did he rebel against his Maker 1 Because he saw no suflicient reason for that extreme iiiee the mystery of the operation! Instead of being compared to the operations of the v/ind, of which we know nothing but by its effects,* it might have been ranked among the operations of motives as suggested by man to man, or, at least, as put into the mind by the provi- dence of God so ordering it that such thoughts should strike and influence the mind at the time. — Ezra vii. 27. But this would not answer to the scriptural accounts of our being quickened, who were dead in sins, by the ;?oioer of God ; even by the "exceeding greatness of his power, according to that which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead." Mr. M. has taken great pains to show the absurdity of my reasoning on this sub- ject ; yet the sum otitis this. That which is necessary in order to understanding and believing the word cannot be by means oj understanding and believing it. All true knowledge of divine things is no doubt to be ascribed to the word as the objective cause, in the same way as corpo- real perception is ascribed to light. We cannot see without light ; neither can we understand or believe spiritual things but * Such is the meaning of John iii. 8, according to Campbell, and all odier expositors that I have seen. REGENERATION NECESSARY TO BELFEVING. 593 )iy the word of God. But the question does not relate to wliat is ohjoctive, l>ut sul)- jcctivc ; or, if I niisrht speak in rel'ereiue to what is corporeal, not to liirlit, Imt liis- cernnient. Mr. Kckintr speaks of lij;ht si ininir into a dark room, and of the ab- surdity of supposing; there must he some principles of lijrht in this room which dis- posed it to receive that which shone into it. — p. GS. Kut, if by the lii^ht he mean the gospel, he should rather have compared it to light shining uiutn a blind man, and have shown tlic absurdity, if he could, of supposing it necessary lor his eyes to i>e openetl ere he could discern or enjoy it. Tliere is nothing in a dark room to resist the light, l)ut that is not tlie case with the dark soul of a sinner. " Tlie liglit shineth in darkness, but the darkness compre- hcndeth (or, as Campbell renders it, admit- teth) if not." Though I cannot think, with Mr. E., that the word of God becomes a spiritual principle in us till it is actively received, yet I allow that it is productive of great effects. The understanding and conscience being enlightened l)y it, many open sins are forsaken, and many things done in a way of what is called religious duty. And though I have no notion of directing sin- ners to a course of previous humiliation, nor opinion of the efforts of man toward preparing himself for the reception of di- vine grace ; yet I believe God ordinarily so deals with men as gradually to beat down their false confidences, and reduce t'nem to extremity, ere they are brought to embi-ace the gospel. Such things are not necessarily connected with faith or salvation. In many instances they have their issue in mere self-righteous hope; and, where it is otherwise, they are to faith and salvation, as I have said before, but as the noise and the shaking of the dry bones to the breath of life. Moreover, the word of God produces still greater and better elTects ichen it is believed. In them that believe " it work- eth effectually." When the commandment comes to a soul in its spirituality, it gives him to perceive the exceeding sinfulness of sin ; and when the gospel comes, not in word only, l)ut in power, it produces migh- ty effects. It is " the power of God unto salvation /o ereri/ one that belicveth." It operated before to the "pulling down of strong holds," and the casting down of many a vain " imagination ;" but now it " bringeth every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ." It is thus tiiat we " know the truth, and the truth (as known) makes us free." If once we are enabled to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, it changes us in- to the same image, begets and excites ho- VOL I 75 ly afTections, and produces every kind of gracious exercise. The gospel is the mould into which the mind of the believer is cast, and l>y which it is formed. The statement of Dr. Owen, as quoted by Mr. Ecking, is very just and scriptural. " As the word is in the gos- pel, so is grace in the heart; yea, they are the same things variously expressed. — Rom. vi. 17. As our translation doth not, so I know not how in so few words to ex- press tiiat wiiich is so emphatically here insinuated l)y the Holy Spirit. The mean- ing is, that the doctrine of the gospel be- gets i\\e form, figure, image, or likeness of itself in the hearts of them that believe : so they are cast into the 7nould of it. As is the one, so is the other. The principle of grace in the iiearf , and that in the word, are as childrei> of the same parent, com- pletely resembling and representing one another. Grace is a living word, and the word is figured, limned grace. As we have heard, so have we seen and found it : such a soul can produce the duplicate of the Avord, and so adjust ijll things there- by," &c.* All this describes the effect of the word on those U"/io believe it : but the question i.^, how we come to believe it T Dr. Ow- en has elsewhere attempted to solve this difficulty, by proving that a principle of spiritual life is communicated to the sin- ner in regeneration, antecedently to be- lieving.f He doubtless considered these things as consistent with each other; and, though Mr. Ecking in making the quota- tion appears to consider them as contra- dictory, yet, while he admits that "we must have a spiritual principle before we can discern divine beauties," the same contradiction, if such it be, attaches to himself. I allow, with Dr. Owen, that the Spirit of God makes use of " the reasons, mo- tives, and persuasive arguments which the word afl'ords, to affect the mind ; and that converted persons are able to give some account of the considerations whereby they were prevailed upon." But I also think, with him, that " the whole work of the Spirit in our conversion does not consist herein ; but tliat there is a real physical work whereby he imparts spiritual life to the souls of all who are truly retrenera- ted."t Mr. M'Lean rejects the idea of physical injluenre, and seems to confound it with something corporeal or mechanical. — Works, p. 84. If I understand the term * On Psalm 130, pp. 168— 170- : in Ecking'g Essay.s, pp. 77 — 79. t Discourses on the Holy Spirit, Book III. C. 1. X Discourses on the Holy Spirit, Book III. C. 5, Sec. 18. 594 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. physical, with respect to influence, it is opposed to moral. That influence is de- nominated moral that works upon the mind by motives or considerations which induce it to this or that, and all beyond this is physical and supernatural. When God created the soul of man originally in righteousness and true holiness, I sup- pose it must be allowed to have been a physical work. Man certainly was not induced by motives to be righteous any more than to be rational ; yet there was nothing corporeal or mechanical in it. It is thus that I understand Dr. Owen in the passage just quoted, in which, while he admits ot the use of moral suasion, he de- nies that the ivhole work of conversion consists in it ; and I should think Mr. M. could not even upon his own principles maintain the contrary. For, whatever motives or considerations the word of God may furnish in a way of moral suasion, yet he holds with the necessity of a divine supernatural influence being superadded to it, by which the mind is illuminated and rendered spiritual. But, if divine influ- ence consist in any thing distinct from the influence of the word, it must be supernatu- ral and physical. The party is also equal- ly unconscious of it on his pi'inciples as on mine : he is conscious of nothing but its effects. He finds himself the subject of new views and sensations ; but, as to knowing whence tlicy came, it is likely he thinks nothing of it at the time, and is ready to imagine that any person, if he would but look into the Bible, must see what he sees so plainly taught in it. He may be conscious of ideas suggested to him by the word, and of their elfect upon his mind ; but, as to any divine influence ac- companying them, he knows nothing of it. Mr. Ecking represents " the inability or spiritual death of sinners as consisting in disinclination, or lo^ing darkness rather than light." And tliis disinclination he ascribes to ignorance and unbelief; whence he argues, "If the removal of the elfect is by removing the cause, it is reasonable to suppose that this is the way in which God works upon the human mind," — p. 66. That the removal of the effect is by the removal of the cause I allow ; but what authority had Mr. E. for making ig- norance and unbelief the cause of spiritu- al death 1 Spiritual death consists in ig- norance and unbelief, no less than in dis- inclination. It consists in sin (Ephes. ii. 1 ;) and, if ignorance and unbelief are sins, they are of the essence of spiritual death. It is true they are productive of other sins, and may I'c considered as growing near to the root of moral evil : but, unless a thing can be the cause of it- self, they are not the cause of all evil. Before we ascribe spiritual death to ig- norance, it is necessary to inquire wheth- er this ignorance be voluntary or involun- tary 1 If involuntary, it is in itself sin- less ; and to represent this as tlie cause of depravity is to join with Godwin in explaining away all innate principles of evil, and indeed all moral evil and ac- countableness, from among men. livol- untary, the solution does not reach the bottom of the subject; for the question still returns, what is the cause of the vol- untariness of ignorance, or of the sinner's loving darkness rather than light 1 Is this also to be ascribed to ignorance'? If so, the same consequence follows as before, tliat there is no such thing as moral evil or accountableness among men. Mr. M'Lean has stated this subject much clearer than Mr. Ecking. He may elsewhere have written in a different strain, but, in the last edition of his Disser- tation on the Influences of the Holy Spirit, he attributes ignorance and unbelief to hatred, and not hatred to ignorance and un- belief. "Our Lord," he says, "asks the Jews, Wliy do ye not understand my speech? And gives this reason for it, even because ye cannot hear my word — that is, cannot endure my doctrine. Their love of worldly honor and the applause of men is given as a reason why they could not be- lieve in him. — John v. 44. He traces their unbelief into their hatred both of him and his Father.— John xv. 22, 24." Works, Vol. II. p. 110. Nothing is more evident than that the cause of spiritual blindness is, in the Scrip- tures, ascribed to disposition. " Light is come into the world ; but men love dark- ness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." — "They say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowieflge of thy ways." — "Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness {hiird- ness, or callousness) of their heart." — " Why do ye not understand my speech'? even because ye cannot hear my word." But if, as the Scriptures teach, the cause of both ignorance and unbelief is to be traced to hatred (as Mr. M'Lean acknow- ledges ;) and if, as Mr. Ecking says, " ef- fects are removed by the removal of the cause," I scarcely need to draw the con- sequence— that though in a general sense it be true that we are regenerated by be- lieving the gospel, yet in a more partic- ular sense it is equally true that we are regenerated in order to it. It is somewhat extraordinary that Mr. M'Lean, after allowing pride and aver- sion to be the great obstructions to faith, should yet deny the removal of them to be necessary to it. He will allow ON JUSTIFICATION. 595 some sort of conviction of sin to he that Dr. Gill was accused of sclf-right- necessary to l)elieving in Clirist ; but notli- cousness by Mr. Sandenian, on the ground ing tliat includes the removal of enmity of iiis being an anti-|)^'dol)aptist I or pride, for this were equal to allowing A large part of tiiat wliich Mr. M'Lcan repentance to be necessary toil; but, if has written on this suiiject is what I never ennuty and pride lie not removed, how meant to oppose ; much of what he imputes can tiic sinner, according to our Lord's reasoning in Jolm viii. 43, v. 11, under- stand or l>elieve the gospel"? If there lie any meaning in words, it is supposed liy to me is witiiout loundation; and even where my sentiments arc introduced they are generally in caricature. I have no doubt ot the character which LETTER VIIL AN INQUIRY WHETHER THE PRINCIPLES HERE DEFENDED AFFECT THE DOC- TRINE OF FREE JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. this language thai, in order to understand a sinner sustains antecedently to his justi- and iulieve the g()S|)el,it is necessary to fication, lioth in the account of the Law- " endures" the doctrine, and to feel a giver of the world and in his own account, regard to " the honor that cometh from being that of unv^odhj. I have no objec- God." To account for the removal of tion to Mr. M. 'sown statement, that God jtride and enmity as bars to believing, by may as properly lie said to justify the un- mcnns of believing, is, I say, very extraor- godly as to pardon the guilty. If the sin- dinary, and as consistent with Mr. M.'s ner at the instant of justification be al- own concessions as it is with Scripture lowed not to be at enmihj xriih God, that and reason ; for, wlien writing on spirit- is all I contend for, and that is in effect ual illumination, he allows the dark and allowed l)y Mr. M. - He acknowledges that carnal mind to be thereby rendered spirit- the apostle "docs not use the word un- ual, and so enabled to discern and believe godly to describe the existing character of spiritual things. — Reply, p. 7. an actual believer." — p. 123. But if so, as no man is justified till he is an actual believer, no man is justified in enmity to God. He also considers faith, justifica- tion, and sanctification, as coeval, and al- lows that no lieliever is in a state of en- mity to God. — p. 43. It follows that, as no man is justified till he believes in Je- sus, no man is justified till he ceases to be God's enemy. If this be granted, all is granted for which I contend. If there fe any meaning in words, Mr. Sandenian considered the term ungodly as denoting the existing state of the mind in a You are aware that this subject has believer at the lime of his justification ; frequently occurred in the foregoing let- for he professes to have been at enmity ters ; but, being of the first importance, with God, or, which is the same tiling, not I wish to appropriate one letter wholly to to have " begun to love him," till he was it. If any thing I have advanced be in- justified, and even perceived that he was consistent with justification by faith alone, so.f It was this notion that I wished to op- in opposition to justification by the works pose, and not any thing relative to the of the law, I am not aware of it; and, on character under which the sinner is jus- conviction that it is so, should feel it my tified. Mr. M.'s third question, namely, duty to retract it. I know Mr. M'Lean " whether justifying faith respects God as has labored hard to substantiate this the justifier of the ungodly," was never charge against me ; but I know also that any question with me. Yet he will have it belongs to the adherents of the system it that I " make the apostle by the term to claim the exclusive possession of this ungodly to mean godly." He might as doctrine, and to charge others with er- well say that when 1 allow pardon to re- ror concerning it, on very insufiicient spcct men as guilty, and yet plead for grounds. '^ You may remember, perhaps, repentance as necessary to it, I make repentance and luilt to be the same thing. * I do not mean to suggest that Mr. M'Lean's I am not aware of anv difference with »y«/6m ,. preciHly that of Mr. Saml.man. The Mr. M. as to what coJistitutes a -odly former, iii his 1 nous lit s on the Lalls of ifie Gas- . . rr^i i /■ -.i • ^ J pel, has ceriainly depar.e.l from it in n.anv things, ihartider. Though faith IS necessary to pariiciilarly in respect of tlie sinner's being"jiistiffed justification, and therefore in the order of antecedenlJy to any " act, exerci.«e or advance," ef nature previous to it, yet I have no objec- iiis mind towards Christ ; anil on uliich account Mr. S. would have set him down among tlie popu- "f '^b-. S. still in liis mind as often to reason upon lar preactiers .* But he has so much of the system '1'^ ground of it, and to involve liimself in numerous J, ^ , _•, I . • ,r I TT inconsistencies. 4S1 '"noI^"^''' "" A.pasio, Vol. IL p. ^ Epistolary Correspondence, p. 12. 596 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANI ANISM. tion to what he says, that it does not con- stitute a godly character, or state, previ- ously tojustitication. — p. 145. And what- ever I have written of repentance as pre- ceding faith in Christ, or of a liolij faith as necessary to justification, I do not con- sider any person as a penitent or holy character till he believes in Christ and is justified. Tiie holiness for which I plead antecedent to this is merely incipient ; the rising beam of the sanctification of the Spirit. It is no more than the spirituality Avhich Ml". M. considers as produced by divine illumination previously or in order to believing (p. 7 ;) and all the consequen- ces that he has charged on the one might with equal justice be charged on the other. Nor am I aware of any difference in our views respecting the duties of unbelievers ; if there be any, however, it is not on the side that Mr. M. imagines, but the con- trary. Having described the awakened sinner as "convinced of guilt, distressed in his mind on account of it, really con- cerned about the salvation of his soul, and not only earnestly desiring relief, but dil- igently laboring to obtain it, according to the directions given him by the exercise of holy atfections am:l dispositions," he adds, " all this I admit may be previous to faith in Christ and forgiveness through him. And will Mr. Fuller deny this is the re- pentance he pleads for in order to forgive- ness?'^ — p. 148. Most certanly he WILL. Had this been what he plead- ed for, he had been justly chargeable with the consequences which Mr. M'Lean has attempted to load him with. But it is not. I cannot but consider this question as a proof that Mr. M. utterly mistook my sentiments on this part of the subject, as much as I did his in another, in conse- quence of having considered him as the authm* of a piece called Simple Truth. 1 have no more idea of there being any holi- ness in the exercises which he has describ- ed than he himself has. I might add, nor quite so much ; for, notwithstanding what he has here advanced in his Thoughts on the Calls of the Gospel, he does not keep clear of unregenerate works being somewhat good, or at least that they are not all and altogether sinful.* If this be compared Avith what I have written on total deprav- ity in my Dialogues and Letters, it will be seen who holds and who holds not with the holiness of the doings of the unregenerate. But, whether or not I deny this to be the repentance for which I plead as ne- cessary to lorgiveness, Mr. M. plainly in- timates that it is all the repentance lohich HE allows to be so. In all that he has written therefore, acknowledging repent- * See Vol. II. of his \vorks,pp. 63, 64. ance to be necessary to forgiveness, he only means to allow that a few graceless convictions are so ; and, in contradiction to the whole current of Scripture, even to those scriptures which he has produced and reasoned from in his Thoughts on the Calls of the Gospel, still believes that sin- ners are forgiven prior to any repentance but that which needs to be repented of. — Reply, pp. 36 — 42. The difference between us, as to the subject of this letter, seems chietly to re- spect the nature of faith, whether it in- clude any exercise of the will; and, if it do, whether it affect the doctrine of free justification. Mr. M. acknowledges faith, as a princi- ple of sanctification, to be holy : it is only as justifying that he is for excluding all holy affection from it. — p. 97. But, if it be holy in relation to sanctification, it must be holy in itself; and that which is holy in itself must be so in every relation which it sustains. It is not one kind of faith that sanctifies, and another that jus- tifies ; but the same thing in different re- spects. To represent faith sanctifying as being holy, and faith justifying as having no holiness in it, is not viewing the same, but a different thing in different respects. For a specimen of Mr. M.'s manner of writing on this subject, you will excuse my copying as follows: "An awakened sinner asks, ' What must I do to be sav- ed"?' An apostle answers, 'Believe ir» the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' But a preacher of the doctrine I am opposing would have taught him an- other lesson. He might, indeed, in com- pliance with Scripture language, use the word believe ; but he would tell him that, in this case, it did not bear its usual sense, that it was not the assent of his imderstand- ing, i n giving credit to the testimony of the gospel, but a grace arising from a previous spiritual principle, and including in it a number oi' holy affections and dis- positions of heart, all which he must ex- ercise and set a working, in order to his being justified ; and many directions will lie given him how he is to perform this. But this is to destroy the freedom of the gospel, and to make the hope of a sinner turn upon his finding some virtuous exer- cises and dispositions in his own heart, instead of placing it directly in the work finished by ihe Son of God upon the cross. In opposition to this, I maintain that what- ever virtue or holiness may be supposed in the nature of faith itself, as it is not the ground of a sinner's justification in the sight of God, so neither does it enter into the consideration of the person who is really believing unto righteousness. He views himself, not as exercising virtue, but only ON JUSTIFICATION. 697 ns a incic sinner, wliile he lielievos on liiin lliat juslifieth tlie ungodly, through the atonement. " — pp. 98, 99. Vou will not expect ine to answer this. It is a proof how far a writer may misun- derstand and so misrepresent his oppo- nent ; and, even in those things wherein he understands him, describe him in cari- cature. I will only apply a few of the leading trails in this picture to Mr. M.'s own principles. — " A preacher of this doc- trine, instead of directing a sinner to lie- lieve in Christ, and there leaving it, would tell him that iaith was an assent of his tinderslanding, a grace arising from a previous divine illumintition, hy which he liecomes spiritual, and which he must tlierefore first he possessed of, and tlius set him a working in order to get it, that he may he justified. But this is to deny the treeness of the gospel, and to make the liope of a sinner turn upon his finding some light within him, instead of placing it upon the finished work of the Son of God upon the cross. In opposition to this, I maintain that whatever illumina- tion may be supposed necessary to believ- ing, and whatever spiritual perception is contained in the nature of it, as it is not the ground of a sinner's justification in the sight of God, so neither does it enter into the consideration of the person who is really believing unto righteousness. He views himself not as divinely illumi- nated, but merely as a sinner, believing in liim who justitieth the ungodly through the righteousness of his Son." Mr. M., when writing in this strain, knew that I had said nearly the same things ; and therefore that, if he were op- posing me, I had first opposed myself. He even quotes almost a page of my ac- knowledgments on the subject. — p. 100. But these are things, it seems, which I only " sometimes seem to hold." Well, if Mr. M. can prove that I have anywhere, either in the piece he was aivswering, or in any other, directed the sinner's attention to the workings of his own mind, instead of Christ, or have set him a working (un- less he please to give that name to an ex- hcrlation to forsake his way, and return to God, through Jesus Christ,) or have given him any directions liow to work himself into a believing frame ; then let all that he has said stand against me. But, if not, let me be believed when I declare my utter disapprobation of every thing of the kind- But Mr. M. has another charge, or rather suspicion, against me. " Mr. Ful- ler admits," he says, " liiat faith does not justify, either as an internal or external work, or holy exercise, or as being any part of that which is imputed unto us for righteousness ; and, did not other parts of his writings appear to clash with this, I should rest satisfied. But I own that I am not without a suspicion that Mr. F. here only means that faith does not justify as the procuring cause or meritorious ground of a sinner's justification; and that, while we hold tliis point, we may include as much virtue and holy exercise of the w ill and afVeclions as we please, without aflVcting the point of justifica- tion, as tiiat stands entirely upon another ground, viz. the righteousness of Christ. — But it must be carefully observed that the difFerence l)etween us does not respect the meritorious procuring cause of justifica- tion, but the way in which we receive it." —p. 100. Be it according to tliis statement (and I have no objection to say that such is the whole of my meaning,) yet what is there in this that clashes with the above ac- knowledgments, or with free justfica- tionl There may be a " difference be- tween us " which yet may not affect this doctrine. But let us hear him through. " The Scriptures abundantly testify that we are justified by faith, which shows that faith has some concern in this matter." True. " And Mr. Fuller admits that jus- tification is ascribed to faith, merely as that wliich unites to Christ, for the sake of whose righteousness alone we are ac- cepted." Very good. " Therefore, the only question between us is this : Does faith unite us to Christ, and so receive justification through his righteousness, merely in crediting the divine testimony respecting the sufficiency of that right- eousness alone to justify us ; or does it unite us to Christ, and ol)tain justification through his righteousness, by virtue of its being a moral excellency, and as in- cluding the holy exercises of the will and affections ] The former is my view of this matter : the latter, if I am not great- ly mistaken, is Mr. Fuller's." — j). 101. It is some satisfaction to find our differ- ences on the important doctrine of justi- fication reduced to a single point. Al- lowing my sentiments to be fairly stated (and, though I should not express them just in these words, yet I certainly do con- sider a holy faith as necessary to unite us to a holy Saviour,) the question is, whether this sentiment clashes with the forgeoing acknowledgments, or with the doctrine of freejustificationl It lies on Mr. M. toprove that it does so. Let us hear him. " I hold that sinners are justified through Christ's righteousness, by faith alone, or purely in believing that the righteousness of Christ which he finished on the cross, and which was declared to l)e accepted l)y his resur- rection from the dead, is alone sufficient for their pardon and acceptance with God, 598 STRICTURES ON SANDE3IAN1ANISM. however guilty and unworthy they are. But, in opposition to this, the whole strain of Mr. Fuller's reasoning tends to show that sinners are not justified by faith alone, but by faith working by love, or including in it the holy exercise of the will and affections ; and this addition to faith he makes to be that qualification in it on which the iitness or congruity of an inter- est in Christ's righteousness depends. — A])p. pp. 105, 106. Without this addition he considers faith itself, whatever be its grounds or objects, to be an empt)', un- holy speculation, which requires no influ- ence of the Spirit to produce it. — p. 1'28. So that, if what is properly termed faith has in his opinion any place at all in jus- tification, it must be merely on account of the holy exercises and affections which attend it."— pp. 101, 102. Such is Mr. M.'s proofof my inconsis- tency with my own acknowledgments, and with the freeness of justification. Let it be remembered, in the first place, that the ditTerence between us, by Mr. M.'s own acknowledgment, does not i-espect the meritorious or procuring cause of justification. All he says, therefore, of " tlie righteousness of Christ as finished, and declared to be accepted by his resur- rection from the dead, being alone suffi- cient for our pardon and acceptance with God, however guilty and unworthy we are," belongs equally to my views as to his own : yet, immediately after these words, he says, " but in oppositioJito this Mr. F," &c., as if these sentiments were exclusively his own. The difference be- tween us belongs to the nature of justify- ing faith. He considers the sinner as united to Christ, and so as justified, by the mere assent of his understanding to the doctrine of the cross, exclusive of all approbation of it : whereas I consider every thing pertaining to the understand- ing, when the term is used exclusive of approbation, to be either merely natural, or a " seeing and hating of Christ and the Father." Nor is approbation a mere ef- fect of faith, but enters into its essence. It is believing, but it is believing unth the heart; which all the labors of Mr. San- deman and his disciples have not been able to prove means only the understanding. We may believe many things without ap- proving them : but the nature of the ob- jects believed in this case renders cordi- ality essential to it. It is impossible, in the nature of things, to believe the gospel without a sense of the exceeding sinful- ness of sin, and of the suitableness and glory of the Saviour, which does not mere- ly produce, but includes approbation of him. To "see no form nor comeliness in him" is the same thing as to be an unleliever ; and the contrary is to be a believer. But I shall notice these remarks of Mr. M., a little more particularly. First : by the manner in which he has introduced them, it must appear to the reader that I had not fully declared my mind on this subject, and that Mr. M., in detecting my errors, was obliged to pro- ceed on the uncertain ground of " suspic- ion :" yet he could not have read the very pages on which he was animadverting, without having repeatedly met with the most express avowals of the sentiment, such as the following : — " Whatever is pleaded in behalf of the holy nature of faith, it is not supposed to justify us as a work, or holy exercise, or as being any part of thattohich is accounted unto us for righteousness ; but merely as that which UNITES TO CHRIST, for the sake of whose righteousness alone we are accepted :" — Again : " Living faith, or faith that work- eth by love, is necessary to justification, not as being the ground of our acceptance with God, not as a virtue of which justi- fication is the reward, but as that without which loe could not be united to a liv- ing REDEEMER." Yet, with thcse pas- sages before his eyes, Mr. M. affects to be at a loss to know my sentiments ; he " suspects " I maintain holy affection in faith as necessary to union with Christ! Secondly : If the difference between us has no respect to the meritorious or pro- curing cause of justification, as Mr. M. allows it has not, then why does he else- where tell his reader that "he thinks Mr. F. means to plead for such a moral fitiiess for justification as that wherein the virtue of the party commends him to it; or in which he is put into a good state as a fit or suitable testimony of regard to the moral excellency of his qualifications or acts."— p. 104. I know not what Mr. M. may think, but I should consider this as making faith the procuring cause, or mer- itorious ground, of justification : for what is the meritorious ground of a blessing but that in consideration of which it is be- stowed 1 Thirdiv : If it is not sufficient that we ascribe the meritorious or procuring cause of justification to the work of Christ, un- less we also exclude all holy affection from the nature of faith as uniting us to him, how is it that Mr. M. has written as he has on the Calls of the Gospel? He seems to have thought it quite enough for him to disavow repentance or faith as making any part of our justifying righte- ousness, though the same disavowal on my part gives him no satisfaction. " Did Peter, " he asks, " overturn the doctrine of free justification by faith when he ex- ON JUSTIFICATION. 599 hortcd tlie unbclieving;Jcws to roprnt and be toiiverteil tlmt llicir sins mi;j;l>l l)e l)l()t- ted out ? Does lie llicrc direct them to any })art of that work tvliirk Christ hadjinished for the justijicdlion of the ungodly, or lead tleni to think that their laith, repentance, and conversion, were to make an atone- ment for their sins? " Again : " Cannot the wicked lie exhorted to believe, repent, and seek the Lord, and l>e encourajred to this by a j)roniisc ol success, without makinu; the success to depend on human merit ! Are such exhortations and i)roni- ises always to he suspected of having a dangerous and self-righteous tendency 1 Instead of taking them in their plain and simple sense, must our main care always be to guard against some supposed self- righteous use of them, till we have ex- plained away their whole force and spirit, and so distinguished and refined upon them as to make men more afraid to com- ply with than to reject them, lest they should lie guilty of some exertion of mind or body, some good disposition or motion totvard Christ, which is supposed to be the highest icickrdness, and a despising of the work of Christ?"* If there be any meaning in words, Mr. M. here most decidedly contends for re- pentance, faith, and conversion (which must be allowed to include holy affection,) being necessary, in the established order of things, to mercy, pardon, &,c., which must also be allowed to include justifica- tion. Fourthly : With respect to fitness, I think, with Mr. M., that there is a "pe- culiar suitableness in faith to receive jus- tification, and every other spiritual bless- ing, purely of grace." — p. 106. It is " of faith that it might be of grace." And this peculiar suitableness consists in its being of the nature of faith to receive the blessings of grace as God's free gifts through the atonement, instead of perform- ing any thing in the way of being rewarded for it. Thus it is properly opposed to the works of the law. But it docs not follow that in order to this there must be no " good disposition or motion toward Christ" in our believing in him. On the contrary, if faith were mere knowledge, exclusive of approiiation, it would not be adapted to receive the doctrine of the gos- pel ; it would be either unholy, or at best merely natural. If the former, instead of receiving, it would be certain to reject the heavenly doctrine; and, if the latter, there would be no more suitableness to re- ceive it than there is in the wisdom of this world to receive the true knowledge of God. A holy faith is uecessary to receive * See Works, Vol. U., pp. 38, 55, 56. a holy doctrine, and so to unite us to a holy Saviour. The fitness for which I plead, in God's justilying those who cordially acijuiescc in the gospel-way of salvation, ralhor than others, and which Mr. M. considers as in- consistent with free justification (Reply, p. 103,) is no other than that fitness of wisdom, which, while it preserves ihe honors of grace, is not inattentive to those of righteousness. Had it been said. Though the wicked vlbrsake «(>/ his way, nor the unrighteous man his thoughts, and though he return 7iot to the Lord, yet will he have mercy upon him, nor to our God, yet will he abundantly pardon, we should feel a want of fitness, and instantly perceive that grace was here exalted at the ex- pense of righteousness. He that can dis- cern no fitness in such connections but that of works and rewards must have yet to learn some of the first principles of the oracles of God. Fifthly : With respect to justification by faith alone, Mr. M. appears to have af- fixed a new sense to the phrase. I have always understood it to mean justification by a righteousness received, in opposition lo justification by a righteousness per- formed, according to Gal. iii. 11, 12, — " That no man is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident : for the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith : but the man that doeth them shall live in them." In this sense, justification hy faith alone applies to my views of the subject as well as to his : but the sense in which he uses the phrase is very nearly akin to that in which James uses it when speaking of faith as dead, being alone. We are, indeed, justified hy Jaith alone ; but not by a faith which is alone. Mr. M. is in the habit of speaking of that holiness whicli I conceive essential to the nature of faith as something " added" to it, or as being something " more " than faith : but he might as well say that a cor- dial rejection of the gospel is something " more " than unbelief. In like manner he seems to consider the phrase, " (aith which worketh by love" as expressive of what faith produces posterior to its uniting us to Christ : whereas it is of the nature of faith in its very first existence in the mind to work, and that in a way of love to the object. It is also remarkable that Paul speaks of faith which " worketh by love " as availing to justification ; while circumcision or uncircumcision availcth nothing. — Galatians v. 6. Faith, hope, and charily, have, no doubt, their dis- tinctive cliaracters ; but not one of them, nor any other grace, consists in its being devoid of holy afTection. This is a com- mon property belonging to all the graces. 600 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANI SM. is coeval with them, and essential to them. Whatever we may possess, call it know- ledge, or faith, or what we may, if it be devoid of this, it is not the effect of spe- cial divine influence, and therefore not a fruit of the Spirit. " That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Lastly : If union with Christ were an- tecedent to all holy affection, it would not be what the Scriptures represent it; viz. a union of spirit : " He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.'" Union of spirit must include congeniality of disposition. Our heart must be as Christ's heart, or we are not one with him. Believing in him with all the heart, we hence, accord- ing to the wise and gracious constitution of the gospel, and not in reward of any holiness in us, possess a revealed interest in him, and in all the benefits arising from his obedience unto death. "He that hath the Son hath life." Such appears to be the order of things as taught us in the Scriptures, and such the connection be- tween faith and justification. If union with Christ were acquired by faith, and an interest in him were bestowed in re- ward of it, it would indeed be inconsistent with free justification ; but if the necessi- ty of a holy faith arise merely from the nature of things, that is, its fitness to unite us to a holy Saviour, and if faith it- self be the gift of God, no such conse- quence follows : for the union, though we be active in it, is in reality formed by him who actuates us, and to him belongs the praise. " Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and re- demption : that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." Mr. M. has written much about God's justifying the ungodly; but while he allows that the term is not descriptive of the ex- isting character of a believer, I have no dispute with him. He admits that, when Christ is said to die for the ungodly, the term includes many who at the time were saints, only he died not for them as saints (p. 115;) and this I readily allow. The examples of Abraham and David were not introduced by me to prove them to have been godly characters for many years prior to their justification ; but to show, from the examples of their faith not being taken from their first believing while yet it respected God as the justifier of the ungodly, that the doctrine of free justification could not require that the party should at the time be at enmity with God.* * On this subject I beg leave to refer to Discourse XXII. of my work on Genesis. Mr. M. has also written much alx)ut the state of an awakened sinner. As he had disowned his being the subject of any holy affection, I concluded he must be "a hard-hearted enemy of God." This was stated, not from a want of feeling toward any poor sinner, but to show whither the principle led. Mr. M. an- swers— "I have not the least idea that a hard-hearted enemy of God, while such, can either receive or enjoy forgiveness ; but I distinguish between such a state of mind and that of an awakened self-con- demned sinner, and also between the lat- ter and a real convert, who believes the gospel, has tasted that the Lord is gra- cious, and is possessed of holy affections." — p. 151. Is there a medium, then, be- tween holy affection and hard-hearted en- mity"? If so, it must be something like neutrality. But Christ has left no room for this, having declared, " He that is not with me is against me." Let a sinner be alarmed as much as he may, if he have no holy affection toward God, he must be a hard-hearted enemy to him. Such I be- lieve are many awakened sinners notwith- standing all their terrors, and such they will view themselves to have been, if ever they come to see things as they are. Tiiere are others, however, who are not so, but whose convictions are spiritual, like those of Paul, who saw sin, "through the commandment, to be exceeding sin- ful," and who "through the law became dead to the law, that he might live unto God." Convictions of this kind lead the sinner to Christ. They may not be dis- tinguishable at the time, either by himself or others, and nothing but the effects may prove the difference ; yet an essential dif- ference there is. Mr. M. refers to the case of the jailor. I know not what was his conviction of the evil of sin, nor when he became the subject of holy affection. But, be it when it might, he was till then a hard- hearted enemy of God. The case to which writers on Mr. M.'s side the ques- tion more frequently refer is that of the self-condemned publican ; but, antecedent- ly to his going down to his house justified, he "humbled himself," and that in a way oC holy though not of joyful affection. According to Mr. M. there is a state of mind which is not the effect of renewing grace, and therefore contains nothing truly good, but which is, nevertheless, necessary and sufficient to prepare the sinner for re- ceiving the forgiveness of his sin. "A hard- hearted enemy of God cannot receive or enjoy gospel forgiveness ; but a sinner un- der terrors of conscience, though equally destitute of all regard for God as the oth- er, can." ON JUSTIFICATION. 601 Far I'c it from mc to impeach Mr. I\I.'s llie parly to a good, or,/i's liiin lo enjoy it. inloijrity. I (loul)l not but lie lliiiiks tlmt in Willi respect to entitling us, I suppose, writiiii!: his Reply he was engajjecl in rofu- there is no dispute. The gospel and its ting error. Yet, il his own words are to invitations are our title to come to Christ lie helieved, he docs not know alter all Jbr salvation. And, with respect to fitting lull that he has been opposing the truth, us, there is nothing ol this kind thai is In paj.e 151 he says, " Whether such con- pleadable, or which furnishes any ground victions as issue in conversion diller in of encouragement to the sinner that he kind from others I will not t.\ke upon shall be accepted. It is not any thing ME TO DKTEKMiNE." That is, hc docs prior to coming to Christ, but coming it- not know but that it may be so, and that self, that lias tlie promise of acce|)tancc. there is such a thing as spiritual convic- All that is pleaded for is the necessity of lion, a conviction of the evil of sin, ante- a state ol" mind suited in the nature of cedenlly to believing in the Saviour and things to believing, and without which no subservient to it. But this is the same, sinner ever did or can believe, and which in effect, as saying hc does not know state of mind is not self-wrought, but the whether that which hc has been opposing effect of regenerating grace, throughout his [lerformancc may not, after Mr. Sandcman represents sinners as all, be true ! " But I am certain of this," saying to ])reachers, " If you would preach he adds, "that it would be very unsafe to the gospel to us, you must tell us some- build up any in an opinion of their pos- thing fit to give us joy as we presently sessing holiness merely upon the ground stand, unconscious of any distinguishing of their convictions, while they come short rjualijicafion." That the mind, at the of a real change and do not believe in the lime when it first receives gospel comfort, Lord Jesus Christ. That conviction of may be W7iconsc(ot/.5, not only of every dis- sin and its desert which is subservient to tinguiseing qualification but of being the faith in Christ will never lead a person to subject of any thing truly good, I allow; for think that it is any part of his holiness; I believe that is the first true comfort wliich for such a thought would be as opposite to arises from the consideration of ichat the nature of his conviction as his feeling Christ is rather than of what tre are to- a disease would lie to his thinking himself loard him. But to be " unconscious " of ■whole." Very good : but against what is any thing truly good and actually destitute it directed] not any thing advanced by of it are two things : and so are its being his opponent. It is, however, manifestly necessary in the nature of things to our against the scope of his own performance, enjoying the consolations of the gospel. The tendency, though not the design, of and its being so as a 7ua/iyirrt//on entitling, these remarks is to show that there is a or in some way recommending, us to the " difference in kind " between some con- divine favor. To conceive of a sinner victions and others, and a marked one too. Avho is actually hardened in his sins, "That conviction of sin and its desert bloated with self-righteous pride, and full which is subservient to faith in Christ will of opposition to the gospel, receiving joy never lead a person to think that it is any " presently as he stands," is not only con- part of his holiness ; " but (he might liave ceiving of rest for the soul without com- added) command his children, and his household after him, that they shall keep the way of the Lord, and do justice and judgment." Can a child be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord when it never hears its parents pray for it 1 Paul would not have eaten the Lord's supper with the ship's company ; but he made no scruple of " giving thanks to God in presence of them all" at a common meal ; and this, I presume, without any partition between his company and theirs, or so much as a mental reservation in re- 604 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. spect of the latter. Tojoin with unbeliev- ers in what is not their duty is to become partakers of other men's sins : but to allow them to join with us in what is their duty is not so. TIic believer is not at liberty to join in the prayer of unlielief : but the unbeliever is at liberty, if he can, to join in the prayer of faith. To deny him this were to deny him the right of becoming a believer, and of doing what every one ought to do. We ought to pray for such things as both believers and unbe- lievers stand in need of: if the latter unite with us in desire, it is well for them ; if not, the guilt remains with themselves, and not with us. The sanctification of the Lord's-day is said to be very generally disregarded among the admirers of this system. Hav- ing met and kept the ordinances, they seem to have done with religion for that day, and feel at liberty to follow any amusement or worldly occupation during the remainder of it. This is Christian lib- erty ; and the opposite is pharisaism ! So far as relates to its being the day ap- pointed for Christian worship, rather than the seventh ; that is to say, so far as it is positive, the keeping of it is amply sup- ported by Scripture precedent : but as to keeping the day holy to the Lord, this, being moral, is left to be inferred from general principles. This is the case as to the manner of attending to all positive in- stitutions. No injunctions were laid on the churches with respect to their keeping the Lord's supper in a holy manner ; yet in the neglect of this lay the sin of the church at Corinth. And the reasoning which the apostle used to convince them of their sin applies to the case in hand. He argues from the ordinance of breaking bread being the lord's supper that turn- ing it into their own supper was render- ing'it null and void : * and by parity of rea- soning it follows, from the tirst day of the week being the lord's-day, that to do OUR OWN work, find our own pleasure, or speak our own words on that day, is to make it void. Of the former he declar- ed, " This is not to eat the Lord's sup- per; " and of the latter he would, on the same principle, have declared. This is not to keep the Lord's-day. If, on the other hand, we do every thing that is commanded in the New Testament, according to the letter of the precept, we shall in many cases overlook the true in- ^lam aware that their own supper lias l^een understood as referring to the love feasts ; but the reason iug of tlie apostle seems to me to ad- mit of no such meaning. How could he accuse them of making void the Lord's suppei', if it was not the Lord's supper they were eating 1 tent of it, and do that which is manifestly wrong. The design of our Lord's precepts on prayer and alms-giving, in the Sermon on the Mount, is to censure a spirit of osten- tation in these duties ; but a strict confor- mity to the letter of them would excuse us from all social prayer and public con- tributions. The design of the precept, " Resist not evil," but " if a man smite thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other also," is to prohibit all private or selfish resentment, and to teach us that we ought rather to suffer wrong than go about to revenge an injury. Who does not admire the con- duct of the noble Athenian who, in a coun- cil of war held for the common safety of the coiuitry, when the Spartan chief men- aced him with his cane, cried, " Strike ; BUT hear me 1 " Such, in effect, has been the language of the martyrs of Jesus in all ages ; and such is the spirit of the precept. But to contend for a literal compliance with it were to reflect on the conduct of Christ himself, who, when smitten before the high priest, ditl not so exemplify it, but remonstrated against the injury. If the design of our Lord, in forbidding us to lay up treasures on earth, were abso- lutely and in all cases to prohibit the in- crease of property, it was his design to overthrow what the Scriptures acknow- ledge as a dictate of nature, namely, the duty of parents to provide for their chil- dren.— 2 Cor. xii. 14. True it is that men may hoard wealth in order to enrich and aggrandize their families to the neg- lect of present duty toward the poor and toward the cause of God : but this is the abuse of the principle, and ought to be cor- rected, and not the principle itself destroy- ed. Only let our own interest and that of our children, be pursued in subordina- tion to God, and in consistency with other duties, and all will be right. The contra- ry practice would load the industrious poor, and prevent their ever rising above their present condition, while it screened the indolent rich, who might expend the whole of their income in self-gratification, provided theyjdid not increase their capital. Nor can any good reason be given, that I know of, why we should understand this precept as prohibiting in all cases the in- crease of property, any more than that of "selling what we have, and giving alms," as absolutely forbidding us to retain it. To be consistent, the advocates of this inter- pretation should dispose of all tiieir prop- erty and distribute it among the poor. In other words, they should abolish all dis- tinctions of rich and poor so far as concern^. ON CHRISTIAN PRACTIIF.S. G05 themselves ; not only the very ridi and very poor, but all disliuction wliatcver, and bo i)tMlVctly on an equality. When they shall do this, they will at least prove tiieniselves to l)e sincere, and impart a weight to their censures ai^ainsl others wnicii at present they do not possess. It was not our Loril's design in this par- tial manner to lop oil" tiie branches ol a worldly spirit ; but to strike at the root of it. To lay up tnuisurcs on earth denotes the desire of amassing wealth that we may be great, and shine, or in some way con- sume it upon our lusts ; and herein con- sists the evil. There is as great a diller- ence between a ciuiractcr who acts on tliis princi|)lc, and one whom God prospers in the path of duty, and in the full exercise of l)enevolencc toward all about him, as be- tween one who engages in the chacc of worldly applause, and another who, seek- ing tlie good of those around him, must needs l)e respected and loved. The evil which arises from such inter- pretations, whatever may be their tend- ency, does not consist in throwing civil society into a state of disorder; for though men may admit them in theory, yet they will contrive some method of practically evading them, and reconcile their conscien- ces to it. The mischief lies in the hypo- crisy, self-deception, and unchristian cen- sures upon others, to which they give occasion. Much has been spoken and written on " observing all things which Christ hath commanded us," and on the authority of apostolic example. Both are literally bind- ing on Christiajis in matters of positive in- stitution; and in things moral the spirit or design of them is indispensable : but to enforce a literal conformity in many cases would be to defeat the end, and reduce obedience to unmeaning ceremony. In eastern countries the ivashing of the feet, after the toils of a journey, was a common and necessary refreshment ; and our Lord, to teach his disciples in love to serve one another, took upon himself the humble office of a servant, and washed their leet ; enjoining upon them to do that to one another whicii he had done to them. But to conform to this custont where it is not practised, nor considered as necessary to be done by any one, is to defeat the end of the precept by substituting a form in the place of a huml)le and affectionate ser- vice. We may wash the saints' feet, and neglect to dry their clothes, or to adminis- ter necessary comfort to them when cold and weary. If, in commands of this na- ture, no regard is to be had to times, pla- ces, and circumstances, why do Sande- manians allow it to be binding " only when it can l»c an act of kindness to do sol" It was customary in the east, and is still so in many countries, for men to express affection to each other by fl kiss; and tiie apostles directed that this common mode of salutation should be used reli- giously. But in a country where the practice is principally confmed to the ex- pression of love i)etween the sexes, or at most among relations, it is much more lia- ble to misconstruction and ai)use ; and, being originally a human custom, where that custom ceases, thoiigh the spirit of tlie precept is binding, yet tiic form of it, I conceive, is not so. For a man to have his head uncovered was once the commonly received sign of his authority, and as such was enjoined : but with us it is a sign of subjection. If, therefore, we are oliliged to wear any sign of the one or of the other in our religious assemblies, it requires to be reversed. The apostle taught that it was a shame for a man to wear long hair like a wo- man ; not that he would have concerned himself about the length of the hair, but, this being a distinctive mark of the sexes, he appealed to nature itself against their being confounded ; that is, against a mam's appearing in the gar!) of a woman. In the primitive times. Christians had their love feasts : they do not appear, however, to liave been a divine appoint- ment, but the mere spontaneous expres- sions of mutual affection ; as when " breaking bread from house to house they did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart." While these feasts Avere conducted with proj)riety all was well; but in time they were abused, and then they were mentioned in language not very respectful, "These are spots in your feasts of charity." Had they been of divine institution, it was not their be- ing abused that would have drawn forth such language. The Lord's supper was abused as well as they ; but the abuse in that case was corrected, and the ordinance itself re-inculcated. These brief remarks are intended to prove that, in the above particulars, Mr. Sandeman and his followers have mis- taken the true intent of Christ and his apostles. But, whetlier it be so or not, the proportion of zeal which is expended upon them is far beyond what tiieir im- portance requires. If,'as a friend to be- lievers' baptism, I cherish an overweening conceit of myself, and of my denomina- tion, confining the kingdom of heaven to it, and shutting my eyes against the ex- cellences of otliers, am I not carnall COG STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. The Jews, in the time of Jeremiah, thought themselves very secure on ac- count of their forms and privileges. — Pointing to the sacred edifice, and its di- vinely instituted worship, they exclaimed, " The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these:" but were they not carnall In how many ways, alas, are poor blind mor- tals addicted to err ! When the reflecting Christian consid- ers what contentions have been maintained about things of this nature, what divisions have been produced, and wliat accusations have been preferred against those who stand aloof from such strifes, as though they did not so much as profess to observe all things lohich Christ has commanded, he will drop a tear of pity over human weakness. But, when he sees men so scrupulous in such matters that they can- not conscientiously be present at any wor- ship but their own, yet making no scruple of joining in theatrical and other vain amusements, he will be shocked, and must needs suspect something worse than weak- ness ; something whicli strains at a gnat, but can swallow a camel ; something, in short, which, however good men may have been carried away by it, can hardly be conceived to have had its origin in a good man's mind. LETTER X. AN INQUIRY INTO THE PRINCIPLES ON WHICH THE APOSTLES PROCEEDED IN FORMING AND ORGANIZING CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. You need not be told of the fierce dis- putes which were first agitated by the leaders of this denomination, and which have since extended to others besides those who choose to be called after their names, concerning the order, government, and discipline of gospel churches. To write upon every minute practice found in the New Testament would be to bewilder ourselves and perplex the subject. If we can ascertain the principles on which the apostles proceeded in all they did, it will answer a much better purpose. Far be it from me to contend for an Erastian latitude in matters of church government and discipline, or to imagine that no divine directions are left us on the subject, but that the church must be modelled and governed according to circumstances. This were to open a door to every corruption that human ingenuity and depravity might devise. But, on the other hand, it is no less wide of the truth to consider the whole which is left us as a system o{ ordiiiances, or positive in- stitutions, requiring in all cases the most literal andp unctilious observance. Such a view of the subject, among other evil con- sequences, must introduce perpetual dis- cord ; seeing it aims to establish things from the New Testament which are not in it. It may be thought that in reasoning thus I adopt the principles of the Episcopa- lians against the Puritans, who denied the necessity of express precept or precedent from the Scriptures, which the others pleaded for. Had Episcopalians only de- nied this in respect of moral duties, I sliould have thought them in the right. It certainly is not necessary that we should have express precept or precedent for every duty we owe to our neighbors, but merely that we keep within the gener- al principle of doing unto others as we would that they should do unto us. And the same may be said of various duties toward God. If in our thouglits, affec- tions, prayers, or praises, we be influen- ced by love to his name, though his pre- cepts will be our guide as to the general modes in which love sliall be expressed, yet we shall not need them for every thing pertaining to particular duties. When Jo- siah, on hearing the book of the law read to him, "rent his clothes and wept," it was not in conformity with any particular pre- cept or precedent, but the spontaneous effusion of love. The question between the Episcopalians and the Puritans did not relate to moral obligations, but to "rites and ceremonies " in divine worship, wliich the church claimed a " power to de- cree." Hence it was common for them to urge it upon the Puritans, that if their principles were fully acted upon they must become Antipaedobaptists ; or, as they called them. Anabaptists:* a proof this, not only that in their judgment there was neither precept nor precedent in Ihe Scriptures in favor of pasdobaptism, but that it was in matters of positive institu- tion that they claimed to act without either. The question is, On what principles did the apostles pi'oceed in forming and organ- izing Christian churches, positive or mor- al ? If the former, they must have been furnished with an exact model or pattern, like that which was given to Moses in the mount, and have done all things according to it: but, if the latter, they would only * Preface to Bishop Sanderson's Sermons, Sect. 23. CHURCH GOVERNMENT AND DISCIPLINE. G07 he furnished wilh general principles, com- prcliciidin.;, but not specifying, a great variety of particulars. Tiuit the framing of the tahernacle was positive tiiere can lie no doubt ; and that a part of tlic religion of the New Testament is so is equally evident. Concerning tliis the injunctions of the apostle are minute and very express. " Ee ye followers (imita- tors) of me as I also am of Christ." — "Now 1 praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and kee]) the ordinances as I delivered them to you." — "For I have received of the Lord that which also I de- livered unto you." But were we to at- tempt to draw up a formula of church government, worship, and dicipline, which should include any thing more than gen- eral outlines, and to establish it upon express New-Testament authorities, we should attempt what is impracticable. Doubtless the apostles acted under di- vine direction : but, in things of a moral nature, that direction consisted not in pro- viding them with a model or pattern, in the manner of that given to Moses, but in furnishing them with general principles, and enduing them with holy wisdom to apply them as occasions required. VVe learn, from the Acts and the Epistles, that the first churches were congregations of faithful men, voluntarily uiyted togeth- er for the stated ministration of the word, the administration of Christian ordinan- ces, and the mutually assisting of each other in promoting the cause of Christ ; that they were governed by bishops and deacons of their own choosing ; that a bishop was an overseer, not of other min- isters, but of the flock of God ; that the government and discipline of each church was within itself; that the gifts of the different members were so employed as to conduce to the welfare of the body ; and that in cases of disorder, every proper means was used to vindicate the honor of Christ and reclaim the party. These, and others which might be named, are what I mean by general principles. They are sometimes illustrated by the incidental occurrence of examples (which examples in all sitnilar cases are binding ;) but it is not always so. That a variety of cases occur in our time respecting which we have nothing more than general principles to direct us, is manifest to every person of experience and reflection. We know that churches were formed, officers chosen and ordained, and prayer and praise conduct- ed with " the understanding," or so as to be understood by others : but in what par- ticular manner they proceeded in ^;ach we are not told. We have no account of the formation of a single church, no ordina- tion service, nor any such thing as a for- mula of worship. We are taught to sing praises to God in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, but have no inspired tunes. We have accounts of the election of church-ofiicers ; but no mention of the mode of proceeding, or how they ascer- tained the mind of the church. If we look for express precept or example for the re- moval of a pastor from one situation to an- other, we sliall find none. We are taught, however, that for the church to grow unto an holy temple in the Lord, it recjuires to be " fitly framed together." The want ofjitness in a connection, therefore, espe- cially if it impede the growth of the spir- itual temple, may justily a removal. Or, if there be no want of fitness, yet, if the material be adapted to occupy a more im- portant station, a removal of it may be very proper. Such a j)rinciple may be misapplied to ambitious and interested purposes ; but, if the increase of the tem- ple be kept in view, it is lawful, and in some cases attended with great and good eft"ects. This instance may suffice instead of a hundred, and serves to show that the forms and orders of the New-Testament church, much more than those of the Old, arc founded on the reason of things. They appear to be no more than what men, possessed of the wisdom from above, would, as it were instinctively, or of their own accord, fall into, even though no spe- cific directions should be given them. That such were the principles on which the apostles proceeded is manifest from their own professions, or from the gen- eral precepts which they addressed to the churches. These were as follows : " Let all things be done to edifying." — " Let all things be done decently, and in order." — " Follow after the things that make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." Whatever measures had a tendency to build up the church of God and individuals in their most holy faith, these they pursued. Whatever measures approved themselves to minds endued with holy wisdom as fit and love- ly, and as tending, like good discipline in an army, to the enlargement of Christ's kingdom, these they followed, and incul- cated on the churches. And, however worldly minds may have abused the prin- ciple, by introducing vain customs under the pretence of decency, it is that which, understood in its simple and original sense, must still be the test of good or- der and Christian discipline. The discipline of the primitive churches occupies no prominent place in their char- acter. It is not that ostentatious thing which, under the name of an " ordinance," has become of late a mere bone of con- 608 STRICTURES ON SaNDEMANIANISM. tention. It was simply the carrying into effect the great principle of brotherly love, and the spirit with which it was exercised was that of long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and meekness. The way in whicli the apostles actually proceeded, in the forming and organizing of churches, corresponds with these state- ments. When a number of Christians were assembled together in the days of Pentecost they were the first Christian church. But at first they had no deacons, *and probably no pastors, except the apos- tles : and if the reason of things had not required it they might have continued to have none. But in the course of tilings new service rose upon their hands, there- fore they must have new servants to per- form it ; * for, said the apostles, " It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables : wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost, and of wisdom, whom we may ap- point over this business." In this pro- ceeding we perceive nothing of the air of a ceremony, nothing like that of a punctil- ious attention to forms, which marks obe- dience to a positive institute ; but merely the conduct of men endued with the wis- dom from above, servants appointed when service required it, and the numlier of the one proportioned to the quantity of the other. All things are done "de- cently and in order;" all things are done "to edifying." In the course of things, the apostles, who had supplied the place of bishops, or pastors, would be called to travel into oth- er parts of the world, and then it is likely the church at Jerusalem would have a bishop, or bishops of their own. As the number of deacons was regulated by the work to be done, so would it be by bishops, both of this and in other churches. A large church where much service was to be done, required seven deacons : and where they abounded in numbers and spiritual gifts, theie might be a plurality of pastors. With respect to us, where the reason of the thing exists, that is, where there are churches whose numbers require it, and whose abilit}' admits of it, it is still pro- per : t but for a small church lo have more * A deacon, as well as a minister, means a ser- vant. •j- I say whose ability admits of it ; for there is equal proof from the New Testament that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel, as there is of a plurality of elders. But the zeal for the lat- ter has not always been accompanied by a zeal for the former. If the term elder nuist be understood to be not only a term of cilice, but of the pastoral office exclusively, and a plurality of them be re- quired, why is not a plurality of them supported? pastors than one, is as unnecessary as to have seven deacons. Such a rule must favor idleness, and confine useful ministers from extending their labors. To place two or three in a post which might be filled by one, must leave many other places unoccu- pied. Such a system is more adapted for show than for promoting the kingdom of Christ. It may serve to illustrate and simplify the subject, if we compare the conduct of the apostles with that of a company of missionaries in our own times. What, in- deed, was an apostle but an inspired mis- sionary"? Allowing only for ordinary Christian missionaries being uninspired, we shall see in their history all the lead- ing characteristics of apostolic practice. Conceive of a church, or of a society of Christians out of a number of churches, or of " any two agreeing together," as undertaking a mission among the heathen. One of the first things they would attend to would be the selection of suitable mis- sionaries ; next, they would instruct them in the things necessary to their undertak- ing ; and after this send them forth to preach the gospel. Such, exactly, was the process of our Lord toward his apostles. He first selected them ; then, during his personal ministry, instructed them; and, after his resurrection, gave them their commission, with a rich effusion of the Holy Spirit to fit them for their under- taking. The missionaries on arriving at the place of action would first unite in social prayer and fellowship ; and this would be the first Christian church. Thus the apostles, and those who adhered to them, first met in an upper room for prayer, pre- paratory to their attack on the kingdom of Satan ; and this little " band of about a hundred and ^^tvventy " formed the first Christian church ; and, when others were converted to Christ and joined them, they are said to be "added to the church." Again : the first missionaries to a hea- then country could not be chosen by those to whom they were sent, but by him or them who sent them ; nor would their in- fluence be confined to a single congrega- tion, but, by a kind of parental authority, would extend to all the societies that might be raised by means of their labors. The office of elder in those churches which are par- tial to this system is little more than nominal ; for, while an elder is employed like other men in the ne- cessary cares of life, he cannot ordinarily fulfil (he duties of his oftice. JVo man that wan^eth in this vmrfare (unless it be in aid of a poor church) ought to entangle himsclj loUh the ajfairs of this life ; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. cnuaCH G0\ UU^.MLiNT AND L»ISC1FL1>E. ton It would be dilTerent with succceilintr pas- tors wlio luipjlit lie raiseii up from anionsr the coinerls : they wouUl of course 1 e chosen by llioir brethren, nnd tlieiraiitlior- jty 1)0 confined to tliose wlio elected tliem. Thus tlie apostles were not conslituied such liy the churches, but received their appoinlnient iniinediatcly Iroin Christ ; nor was their autliority limited to any par- ticular church, but exiendcd to all. In tins they stand dislinLniishcd from ordi- nary pastors, who wore elected by the churches, and w hose authority is confined lo the churches that elected them. Airain : The first missionaries to a heathen country would be employed in the p/fl;i/i;)g- of churches wherever proi;er ma- terials were found lor the purpose ; and, if the work so increased upon their hands as to be too much for tlicm, they would depute others whom God should gift and qualii'y, Uke-raindcd with themselves, to assist tiiern in it. Some one person at least of this description would be present at the formation and oroanization of every church, to see to it that all things were done " decently and in order." And, if there were any other ciiurches in the neighborhood, their elders and messengers would doubtless he present, and, to ex- press their brotherly concurrence, would join in it. Thus the apostles planted churches ; and, when elders were ordain- ed, the people chose them, and they, by the solemn laying on of hands, invested them with the office (Acts xiv. 23,) and, when the work increased upon their hands, they appointed such men as Timothy and Titus as evangelists, to "set things in order" in their stead. — 2 Tim. ii. 2 ; Tit. 1. 5. In these ordinations, a Paul or a Titus would preside; l)ut tiie otlier elders who were present would unite in lirotherly con- currence, and in importuning a blessing on the parties : and hence there w ould be the "laying on of the hands of the presVjy- tery," or elders. I may add, though it does not immedi- ately respect any question here at issue, if the first missionaries, and those apj)oint- ed by them, planted churches, set them in order, and ])resi(led at the ordination of elders, it tfas not becaitsK the same th'nif^s would not have been v.^Lin if done by oth- eis, but because they would not have been DOXK. Let but churches be planted, set in order, and scripturally organized, and, whether it be by the missionaries or suc- ceeding native pastors, all is good and ac- ceptable to Christ. And such, I conceive, is the state of tilings with respect to the apostles and succeeding ministers. The .tame things wliich were done by the apos- tles were done V)y others np])ointed by VOL. I. 77 them; and had Ihcy been done l)y elders whom they had not aj)pointed, provided the will ol Christ had l)een jjroperly re- garded, they would not have objected to their validilij. This is certaiidy true in some particulars, and I see not why it should not be in all. Paul left Timothy at EphesMS flial he viight charge some thai they taught no other doctrine : but, if the E|)hcsian teachers had been themselves attached to the truth, neither Paul nor Timothy would have been offended with them for having superseded their interfer- ence. He also left Titus in Crete to set in order the things that were ivmiting, and to ordain ciders in every city : but, if Ihc Cretians themselves had had suiTicient wisdom and virtue to have regulated their own affairs by the word of God, I believe their order would not have been reckoned disorder. Had there been elders already ordained among them competent to assist in the ordination of others, if we may judge from the general tenor of apostolic practice, instead of oljecting to the valid- ity of their proceedings, both Paul and Titus v.ould, though absent in the flesh, have been with them in the spirit, "joy- ing and beholding their order, and the steadfastness of their faith in Christ." The sum is, that church government and discipline are not a body of ceremo- nies, but a few general principles and ex- amples, sufncient for all practical purpos- es, but not sufficient to satisfy those who, in New-testament directions, expect to find an Old-testament ritual. It is not difficult to perceive the wisdom of God in thus varying the two dispensations. The Jewish church was an army of soldiers, who had to go through a variety of forms in learning their discij)line : the Christian church is an army going forth to battle. The members of the former were taught punctilious obedience, f\nd led with gi'eat formality through a \ariety of religious evolutions : lait those of the latter (though they also must keep their ranks, and act in obedience to command whenever it is given) are required to attend, not so much to the mechanical as to the mental, not so much to the minute observation of forms as to the spirit and design of them. The order of the one would almost seem to be appointed for order's sake : but in that of the other the utility of every thing is ap- parent. The obedience of the former was that of children ; the latter of sons airived at malurer age. As our Saviour abolished the Jewish law of divorce, and reduced marriage to its original simplicity ; so, having abolished the form and order of the church as ap- dointed by Moses, he reduced it to what. 610 STRICTURES ON SANDEMANIANISM. as to its first principles, it was from the- begin ning, and to what must have corres- ponded with the desires of believers in every age. It was natural for " the sons of God," in the days of Seth, to assemble together, and " call upon the name of the Lord;" and their unnatural fellowship with unbelievers liroiight on the deluge. And, even under the Jewish dispensation, wicked men, though descended from Abra- ham, were not considered as Israelites in- deed, or true citizens of Zion. The friends of God were then the "compan- ions of those that feared him." They " spake often one to another," and assem- bled for mutual edification. What then is gospel church-fellowship but godliness ramified, or the principle of holy love reduced to action 1 There is scarcely a precept on the subject of church disci- pline but what may, in substance, be found in the proverbs of Solomon. It does not follow hence that all forms of worship and of church government are indifferent, and left to be accommodated to times, places, and circumstances. The principles or general outlines of things are marked out, and we are not at liberty to deviate from them ; nor are they to be filled up by worldly policy, but by a pure desire of carrying them into etfect accord- mg to their true intent : to which may be added, that, so far as they are exempli- fied in the New Testament, it is our duty in similar cases to follow the example. It does follow, however, that Scripture precedent, important as it is, is not bind- ing on Christians in things of a moral na- ture, unless the reason of the thing be the same in both cases. Of this proof has been offered in Letter IX., relative to the washing of the feet, the kiss of charity, &c. It also follows that, in attending to positive institutions, neither express pre- cept nor precedent is necessary in what respects the holy manner of performing them, nor binding in i-egard of merely ac- cidental circumstances, which do not prop- erly belong to them. It required neither express precept nor precedent to make it the duty of the Corinthians, when meeting to celebrate the Lord's supper, to do it soberly and in the fear of God, nor to ren- der the contrary a sin. There are also circumstances which may, on some occa- sions, accompany a positive institution, and not on others, which being, therefore, no part of it, are not binding. It is a fact that the Lord's supper was first celebrated with unleavened bread; for no leaven was to be found at the time in all the Jewish habitations : but no mention being made of this, either in the institution or in the repetition of it by the apostle, we con- clude it was a mere accidental circum- stance, no more belonging to the ordinance than its having been in "a large upper room." It is a fact, too, that our Lord and his disciples sat in a reclining posture at the supper, after the manner of sitting at their ordinary meals ; yet none imagine this to Vie binding upon us. It is also a fact, with regard to the time, that our Sa- viour first sat down with his disciples on the evening of the fifth day of the week, the night in which he was betrayed ; but though that was a memorable night, and is mentioned by the apostle in connection with the supper, yet no one supposes it to be binding upon us ; especially as we know it was afterwards celebrated on the first day of the week by the church at Troas. Much has been advanced, however, in favor of the first day of the week as exclu- sively the time for the celebration of the Lord's supper, and of its being still bind- ing on Christians. A weekly communion might, for any thing we know, be the gene- ral practice of the first churches ; and cer- tainly there can be no objection to the thing itself; but to render it a term of communion is laying bonds in things where- in Christ has laid none. That the supper was celebrated on the first day of the week by the church at Troas is certain ; that it was so every first day of the week is pos- sible, perhaps probable; but the passage does not prove that it ivas so ; and still less, as Mr. Braidwood affirms, that "it can only be dispensed on that day." — Let- ters, p. 44. The words of the institution are, "As often as ye eat," &c., without de- termining hoio often. Those who would make these terms so indeterminate as not to denote freqiiency , and consequently to be no rule at all as to time, do not suffi- ciently consider their force. The term " often," we all know, denotes frequency ; and "as often" denotes the degree of that frequency ; but every comparative sup- poses the positive. There can be no degree of frequency where frequency itself is not. It might as well be said that the words. How MUCH she hath glorified herself, so MUCH torment give her, convey no idea of Babylon having glorified herself more than others, but merely of her punish- ment being proportioned to her pride, be it much or little. The truth appears to be that the Lord's supper ought to be frequently celebrated ; but the exact time of it is a circumstance which does not belong to the ordinance it- self. Similar remarks might be made on fe- male communion, a subject on which a great deal has been written of late years CHURCH GOVi:RNMt:.NT AND DISCI PLINt. CU in the baptismal controversy. Whether there be express precept or i)receclent for it, or not, is of no consequence ; lor the distinction of sex is a mere circunistance in nowise aflectini^ the qualifications re- quired, and thererore not belonirinjr to the institution. It is ol just as much account as whether a believer be a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free man : that is, it is of no account at all ; " for there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor fe- male; l)ut all are one in Christ Jesus." Express precept or precedent miirht as well be den)anded for ti»e parties l)ein^^ tall or low, lilack or white, sickly or heal- thy, as for their being male or iemale. To accommodate the spirit of New-testa- ment practice to the fluctuatinc; manners and inclinations of men is certainly what ought not to l)e : but neitiier can it be dc-. nied that many of the apostolic practices were suited to tiie state of tilings at the time, and would not have iieen what tliey were if circumstances had been dilFerent. To instance in their proceedings on the seventh andjirst days of the week : — It is well known that, in preaching to tl e Jews, and others who attended with lliem, they generally took the seventh day of the week : * the reason of which doubtless was its being the day in whicii they were to be met with at their synagogues. Hence it is that on the first day of the week so little is said of their preaching to unbelievers, and so much of the celebra- tion of Christian ordinances, which is rep- resented as the specific object of their coming together.! But the same motive that induced the apostles to preach to un- believers chiefly on the seventh day of the week would, in oxir circumstances, have induced tliem to preach to them on the first, that being now the day on which they ordinarily assemble together. In countries where Christianity has so far obtained as for the legislature to respect the first day of the week as a day of rest, instead of having now and then an indi- vidual come into our assemblies, as the "•rimitive churches had, and as churches raised in heathen countries must still have, we have multitudes w ho on that day are willing to hear the word. In such circumstances the apostles would have preached both to lielicvcrs and unbelievers, and administered Christian ordinances, all on the same day. To frame our wor- ship in tilings of this nature after apostolic example, without considering the reasons of their conduct, is to stumble in darkness, instead of walking as children of the light. * Acts xiii. 42; xviii. 4; xvi. 13, t 1 Cor. xi. 20. Acts XX. 7. Yet this is the kind of apostolic practice t)y which the churches have been teazed and,divi(led, the great work of preaching the gospel to the ungodly neglected, and Ciirisiianity reduced to litigious trifling. If the practice of Christ and his apostles lie in all cases binding upon Christians, whether the reason of the thing be the same or not, why do they not eat the Lord's supper with unleavened bread, and in a reclining posture 1 And why do they not assemble together merely to celebrate this ordinance, and that on a Lord's-day evening? From the accounts in 1 Cor. xi. 20, and Acts xx. 7, two things appear to be evident — First : That the celebration of the Lord',? supper was the specific object oi' the coming to- gether both of the church at Corinth and of that at Troas : the former came togeth- er (professedly) /o eat the Lord's supper; the latter are said to have come together to break bread. Secondly : That it was on the evening of the day. This is mani- fest not only from its being called the Lord's supper, but from the Corinthians making it their oicn supper, and from its being followed at Troas by a sermon from Paul which required "lights," and con- tinued till "midnight." 1 do not mean to say that the church at either Corinth or Troas liad no other wor- ship during the first day of the week than this; but that this was attended to as a distinct object of assembling, and, if there were any other, after the other was over. It may be thought that these were merely accidental circumstances, and there- fore not binding on us. It does not ap- pear to me, however, that we are at liber- ty to turn the Lord's supper into a break- fast. But if we be, and choose to do so, let us not pretend to a punctilious imita- tion of the first churches. It is well known to be a peculiarity in Sandemanian societies not to determine any question by a majority. They, like the first churches, must be of one mind ; and, if there be any dissentients who can- not be convinced, they are excluded. Perfect unanimity is certainly desirable, not only in the great principles of the gos- pel, but in questions of discipline, and even in the choice of ofTicers ; but how if this be unattainable! The question is, whether it be more consistent with the spirit and practice of the New Testament for the greater part of the church to for- bear with the less, or, Diotrephes-like, to cast them out of the church ; and this for having according to the best of their judg- ments acted up to the scriptural clirec- tions! One of these modes of proceeding must o necessity be pursued, for there is STRICTUKES ON SA?>'DEMAMA.M SM. no middle course ; and if we loved one another with genuine Christian affection we could not be at a loss which to prefer. The New Testament speaks of an election of seven deacons, but says nothing on the mode of its being conducted. Novv', con- sidering the number of members in the church at Jerusalem, unless they were directed in their choice by inspii-ation, which there is no reason to think they were, it is more than a thousand to one that those seven persons Avho were chosen were not the persons whom every indi- vidual member first proposed. What then can we suppose them to have done 1 They might discuss the subject till they became of one mind : or, which is much more likely, the less number, perceiving the general wish and considering that their brethren had understanding as well they, might peaceably give up their own opin- ions to the greater, " submitting one to another in the fear of God." But sup- posing a hundred of the members had said as follows : — " Without reflecting on any who have been named, we tliink two or three other brethren more answerable to the qualifications required by the apostles than some of them ; but, having said this, we are willing to acquiesce in the general voice" — should they or v.'ould they have been excluded for this 1 Assuredly the exclusions of the New Testament were for very different causes ! The statements of the society in St. Martin's-le-grand on this subject are sophistical, self-contradictory, and blas- phemous. "Nothing," say ihey, "is de- cided by the vote of the majority." In some cases indeed there are dissenting voices. The reasons of the dissent are thereupon proposed and considered. If they arc scriptural, the whole church has cause to change its opinion ; if not, and the person persists in his opposition to the ttwrd of God, the church is bound to reject him." But vv-ho is to judge whether the reasons of the dissentients be scriptural or notl The majority no doubt, and an op- position to their opinion is an opposition to the word of God ! Humility and love will do great things toward unanimity ; but this forced una- nimity is the highest refinement of spirit- ual tyranny. It is a being compelled to believe as the church believes, and that not only on subjects clearly revealed and of great importance, but in matters of mere opinion, in which the most upright minds may differ, and to which no stand- ard can apply. What can he who exalteth himself above all that is called God do more than set up his decisions as the word of God, and require men on pain of ex- £oiBmunication to receive them 1 LETTER XI. ON THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST. You are aware that the admirers of Messrs. Glass and Sandeman generally value themselves on their " clear views of tiie gospel, and of the nature of Christ's kingdom ;" and I doubt not but they have written things concerning both which de- serve attention. It appears to me, how- ever, that they have done much more in detecting error than in advancing truth; and that their waitings on the kingdom of Christ relate more to what it is not, than to what it is. Taking up the sentence of our Lord, "My kingdom is not of this world," they have said much, and much to purpose, agaijist worldly establishments of religion, with their unscriptural ap- pendages ; but, after all, have they shown what the kingdom of Christ is; and does their religion, taken as a whole, exem- plify it in its genuine simplicity "? If wri- ting and talking about "simple truth" would do it, they could not be wanting; but it will not. Is there not as much of a worldly spirit in their religion as in that which they explode, only that it is of a dif- ferent species ] Nay, is there not a great- er defect among them in what relates to "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit," than will often be found in what they denominate Babylon itself! A clear view of the nature of Christ's kingdom would hardly be supposed to overlook the apostle's account, of it. " The kingdom of God," he says, " is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." From this statement we should expect to find the essence of it placed in tilings moral, rather than in things ceremonial ; in things clear- ly revealed, rather than in matters of doubtful disputation ; and in tilings of prime importance, rather than in those of but comparatively small account. We certainly should not expect to see the old error of the Pharisees revived, that of tith- ing mint and rue to the neglect of judg- ment, mercy, and the love of God. We should also expect the most emi- nent subjects of this kingdom would be men who, while they conscientiously at- tend to the positive instiutions of Christ, abhor the thouglit of making them a sub- stitute for sobriety, righteousness, and godliness : men who need not a special precept for every duty ; but, drinking deeply into the law of love, are ready, like the father of the faithful, to obey all its dictates. And, as the kingdom of God consista THE KINGDOM OF f UniST. 613 in peace, wc should expect its most emi- nent subjects to be irKtinguisiied l)y that dove-like spirit vhich seeks the things which make for peace. They may in- deed be called upon to contend for the faith, and that earnestly; but contention will not be their element, nor will their time be chiefly occupied in conversinc the "clear views" which they conceive thoir friends to entertain above otlier professinjj: Christians. Once more : Love, lie it for tiie sake of what it may, will so unite us to one another as to render so|)aralion painful, and lead to the use olall possil>le moans of i)rcvcnt- ing it. But such is the discipline of those who drink into these principles, that, for differences which others would consider as objects of forbearance, tiiey can sepa- rate men from their communion in con- siderable numbers, with little or no ap- parent concern. I can reconcile such things witii self-love; but not with love for the truth's sake. Secondly : The spirit of priniitivc Chris- tianity was a spirit of meekness and hu- mility. Of this Ciirist himself was the great pattern; and they that would be his disciples must " learn of him who was meek and lowly of heart." Tiicy were unl)elievcrs, and not Christians, who " trusted in themselves tliat tliey were righteous, and despised others." He that would be wise was required to become a fool that he might be wise. The apostle Paul, notwithstanding his high attainments in the knowledge of Christ, reckoned him- self as knowing nothing comparatively, desiring above all things " that he might know him, and tiie power of his resurrec- tion, and the fellowship of his suffer- ings, and be made conformable imto his death." If any man " thought tliat he knew any thing," he declared that he knew " nothing yet as he ought to know." But is this the spirit of the system in question 1 One of the first things that presents itself is a pretence to something very nearly akin to infalliliilily ; an im- posing air in all its decisions, tending to bear down timid spirits, especially as the sincerity and consequently the Christian- ity of the party is suspended upon his en- tirely yielding himself up to it. If it be necessary to become fools that we may be wise, how are we to account for those " clear views of the gospel " of which tiiese people boast! They have given abundant proof that they account others fools who do not .see with them ; and they may account themselves to have been such till they imbibed tlicir present principles ; but, if any symptoms have appeared of their being fools in their own eyes from that time forward, they have es- caped my observation. Instead of a self- diffident spirit, which treats with respect the understanding of others, and implores divine direction, no sooner have these principles taken possession of a man than VOL. I. 78 they not oidy render him certain that he is in the right, but instantly rovails, we hear most of bitterness, contention, and division. It may be said, this is no more than was true of tiie gospel itself, wliich set a man at variance with his father, his mother, and his nearest friends ; and relates not to what it causes, but to what, through the corruptions of men, it occasions. The words of our Lord, however, do not de- scril)e the bitterness of believers against unbelievers, but of unbelievers against believers, who, as Cain hated his brother, hate them for the gospel's sake. It has been said that " the poignancy of Mr. Sandeman's words arises from tlieir being true." The same might be said, and witli equal justice, of any other " bit- ter words," for which men of contempt- uous spirits know how to " whet their tongues." If the doctrine which Mr. Sandeman taught were true, it would do good to them that believed it. It certain- ly produces its own likeness in them ; but what is it "? Is it not " trusting in them- selves that they are righteous, and despis- ing others 1 " Is it not descrying the mote in a brother's eye, while blinded to the beam in their own 1 There is a very interesting description given in the Epistle of James of two op- posite kinds of imsdom. The former is represented as coming "from above;" the latter as "coming not from above," but as being "earthly, sensual, devilish." Tiiat is " first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hy- pocrisy : " this works "bitter zeal and strife in the heart." " The fruit of right- eousness is sown in peace," and in mak- ing peace, by the one : but by the other is produced "confusion, and every evil work." Yet these latter are supposed to "glory;" but in glorying they "lie against the truth." Witliout wishing to ascribe either to bodies of peojde indis- criminately, there is enough said to ena- ble us to form a judgment oi things by the effects whicii they produce. To conclude. — It is no part of my de- sign to vindicate or apologize for the er- rors of other denominations. The Chris- tian church is not what it was at the be- ginning ; and though every body of Chris- tians is not equally corrupt, yet none is so pure but that, if its character were re- ported by the great Head of tlie church, he would have " somewhat against " it. But, whatever errors or evils may be found in any of us, it is not this species of re- form, even if it were universally to pre- vail, tliat would correct them. On the contrary, if we may judge from its eflfects during the last fifty years, it would lead the Christian world, if not to downright infidelity, yet to something that comes but very little short of it. I am your affectionate Friend and Brotlier, ANDREW FULLER. DIALOGUES AND LETTERS BETWEEN CRISPUS AND GAIUS. VOL. I 78 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. DIALOGUE I. ON THE PECULIAR TURN OF THE PRES- ENT AGE. Crispus. Good morning, my dear Gaius ; I am glad to see you. The world is busy in grasping wealth, in discussing politics, and in struggling for dominion; all trifles of a moment : let us retire from the tumultuous scene, and discourse on subjects of greater importance. Gaius. I am glad, my dear Crispus, to find your mind exercised on such subjects. The present agitated state of the world is doubtless a great temptation to many to let go their hold of heavenly things, and to bend their chief attention to subjects which originate and terminate in the pres- ent life. C. My mind has of late been much en- gaged on divine subjects. I find in them a source of solid satisfaction. Yet I must confess I feel as well a variety of difficulties which I should be happy to have removed. I have often found your conversation profitable, and should wish to avail myself of this and every otlier op- portunity for improving by it. G. Suitable conversation on divine subjects is commonly of mutual advan- tage,'; and I must say there is something, I know not what, in the countenance of an inquisitive, serious friend, which, as iron sharpeneth iron, whets our powers, and draws forth observations where other- wise they never existed. I think I have been as much indebted to you for asking pertinent questions as you have been to me for answering them. C. I have been lately employed in reading the works of some of our first Reformers ; and, on comparing their times with the present, I have ol)scrved that a considerable difference has taken place in the state of the pu])lic mind. At the dawn of the Reformation the bulk of man- kind were the devotees of superstition, and stood ready to extirpate all those who dared to avow any religious princi- ples different from theirs. Even the Re- lormers themselves, though they inveigh- ed against the persecuting spirit of the Papists, yet seem to have been very se- vere upon one another, and to have exer- cised too little Christian forbearance, and too much of a spirit that savored of un- christian bitterness, toward those whose ideas of reformation did not exactly coin- cide with their own. A great deal of their language, and some parts of their conduct, would, in the present day, be thought very censurable. How do you account for this change 1 G. Were I to answer that the rights of conscience have of late years been more clearly understood, and that the sa- cred duty of benevolence, irrespective of the principles which men imbibe, has been more frequently enforced, I should so far speak the truth ; and so far we have rea- son to congratulate the present age upon its improvement. C. Do you suppose there are other causes to which such a change may be at- tributed] G. I do. Scepticism, and a general in- difference to religion, appear to me to have succeeded the blind zeal and superstition of former ages. It has been observed, I think by Dr. Goodwin, on that remarkable phrase of the apostle Paul, "Ye walked according to the course of this world," First : That there is a course which is gen- eral and common to all ages and places, and which includes the gratifying of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life the laying up treasures on earth instead of heaven, &c. Secondly : That there is a course which is more particular, and which is incessantly varying accord- ing to times, places, and circumstances.. Like the tide that is ever rolling, but in different directions. In one age or coun- try it is this, in another that, and in a third different from them both. The course of this world in the early ages was a course of idolatry. In tliis direction it ran until the days of Constantine, at which period the prince of darkness found it impracti- cable, in the civilized parts of the earth, any longer to support the Pagan throne. The leaders in the Roman empire resolv- ed to become Christians ; and great num- G24 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. bers from various motives followed their example. The tide had then changed its direction : the profession of Christianity was fashionable, was honorable, was the high road to preferment. Satan himself, if I may so speak, could now have no ob- jection to turn Christian. The external profession of religion became splendid and pompous ; but religion itself was gradually lost, and a system of ignorance, superstition, and persecution, was intro- duced in its place. For many centuries the course of tiiis world (I speak of the European part of it) was a course of Po- pery ; and so powerful was it that those who ventured to resist it did so at the ex- pense of every thing that was dear to them on earth. In this direction it ran till the Reformation. Since that })eriod there has been another turning of the tide. Several nations have become Prot- estant ; and yet the course of this world goes on, and Satan has great influence among us. He has no objection to our laughing at superstition, provided that in any form we remain tlie slaves of sin. The world of late years has not directed its course so immediately towards super- stition as towards a criminal carelessness and infidelity. Formerly the minds of men were so bent on uniformity in reli- gion as to require it in civil society. Now they tend to the other extreme, and are for admitting any kind of sentiments even into reZigious'society. In short, the pro- pensity of the world in this day is to con- sider all religious principles whatever, and all forms of worship, even those which are of divine institution, as of lit- tle or no importance. It is from this cause I am afraid, Crispus, and not merely from a better understanding of the rights of conscience, that a great part of the lenity of the present age arises. C. Be it so : yet the effect is friendly to mankind. If mutual forbearance among men arose from a good motive, it would indeed be better for those who ex- ercise it ; but, let it arise from what mo- tive it may, it is certainly advantageous to society. G. Very true : but we should endeav- or to have laudable conduct, if possible, arise from the purest motives, that it may be approved of God, as well as advantage- ous to men. C. But do you think we are to expect as much as this from the apostate race of Adaml In the apostle John's time the whole world was represented as lying in wickedness ; and, in fact, it has been so ever since. Formerly its wickedness op- erated in a way of intemperance : now it works in a way of indifference. Of the two, does not the latter seem to be the less injurious 1 G. It is indeed the less injurious to our property, our liberty, and our lives; but with regard to our spiritual interests it may be the reverse. Fashion, be it what it may, will always, in some degree at least, diffuse its influence through the minds of men, even of those who are truly religious. The intemperance of past ages gave to the temper of pious people as well as others a tinge of unchristian severity ; and the indifference of the present time has, I fear, operated with equal power, though in a different manner. We ought to be thankful for our mercies, but at the same time we should take heed lest we be carried away by the course of this world. C. What evidence have we that reli- gious people are influenced Viy a spirit of indifference 1 G. The crying up one part of religion at the expense of another. You may often hear of practical religion as being every thing, and of speculative opinions (which is the fashionable name for doc- trinal sentiments) as matters of very little consequence. Because they are not cog- nizable by the civil magistrate, they treat them as if they were of no account ; and, by opposing them to practical religion, the luiwary are led to conclude that the one lias no dependence on the other. The ef- fect of this has been that others, from an attachment to doctrinal principles, have run to a contrary extreme. They write and preach in favor of doctrines, and Avhat are called the privileges of the gospel, to the neglect of sid^jects which immedi- ately relate to practice. In other circles you may hear experience or experimental religion extolled above all things, even at the expense of Christian practice and of sound doctrine. But really the religion of Jesus ought not thus to be mangled and torn to pieces. Take away the doctrines of the gospel, and you take away the food of Christians. Insist on them alone, and you transform us into religious epicures. And you may as well talk of the pleasure you experience in eating when you are ac- tually deprived of sustenance, or of the exquisite enjoyment of a state of total in- activity, as boast of experimental religion unconnected with doctrinal and practical godliness. The conduct of a man who walks with God appears to me to resem- ble that of the industrious husbandman, who eats that he may be strengthened to labor ; and who by labor is prepared to enjoy his food. C. Well, you have opened a field for discussion. The next time we meet we may inquire fiirther into these subjects. Farewell. Tilt: IMfORTANCK OK TRUTH. Gi5 DIALOGUE II. ON THE I.MPORT.\NCE OF TRUTH. C. In our last conversation, Gains, you made some remarks on the indiffer- ence of the present age, with regard to re- ligious principles, wliich struck me forci- bly ; I should be glad to know what de- gree of importance you ascril)e to the leading doctrines or principles of Chris- tianity. G. If you mean to ask whether I con- sider the licliel of them as essentially necessary to the enjoyment of good neigh- borhood, or any of the just or kind offices of civil society, I should certainly answer in the negative. Benevolence is good will to men ; and, as far as good will to them can consist with the general good, we ouglit to exercise it towards them as men, whatever be their principles, or even Iheir practices. But, if your question relate purely to religion, I acknowledge tiiat I consider a reception of the great doctrines of Christianity (in those who have op- portunity of knowing them) as necessary to holiness, to happiness, and to eternal life. C. If your Ideas be just, they afford room for very serious reflection. But will you not be subject to great difficulties in deciding wjiat those truths are, and to what degree they must be believed \ You cannot deny that even good men entertain ditTerenl opinions of what truth is, nor that those wlio receive the truth receive it in very different degrees. 6r. The same objection might be made to the express decision of Scripture, that " without holiness no man sliall see the Lord." It might be said, You will find great difficulties in deciding what true ho- liness is, and what degree of it is neces- sary to eternal life ; for you cannot deny that even good men entertain different opinions of what true holiness is, nor that those who are subjects of it possess it in very different degrees. C. And what would you answer to tiiis objection ] G. I should say that no upright heart can be so in the dark respecting the nature of true holiness as to make any essential mistake about it. Whether I can deter- mine with metaphysical accuracy the dif- ferent component parts of it or not, yet, if I be a true Christian, I shall feel it, I shall possess it, I shall practise it. As to determining what degree of it will carry a man to heaven, that is not our business. We do not know to what extent divine mercy will reach in the forgiveness of sin; but this may be said, that a person VOL. I. 79 may be assured lie has no true holiness in him at all who rests contented with any degree of it short of perfection C. Will this answer apply to truth as well as to holiness? G. Why not 1 If Uie way of salvation be so plain that " a wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein," what can it be but prejudice that renders the truth dif- ficult to be understood! "He who does the will of God shall know of his doctrine." Surely then I may say that no one who is in a right temper of mind can be so in the dark, respecting what truth is, as to make any essential mistake about it. VVhcthcr I can determine the question with accuracy or not, yet, if I be a Chris- tian, the truth dioelletk in me. As to the precise degree in which we must receive the truth, in order to be saved, it is not our business to decide. But this is incon- testible, that he who does not seek after the whole of revealed truth, and sit as a little child at the feet of his divine In- structer, gives evidence that the truth is not in him. C. But is it not easier to discover what holiness is than what truth is 1 G. I grant that conscience assists in determining between right and wrong, which it does not in many things respect- ing truth and error. But, if we were en- tirely on God's side, we should find the revealed dictates of truth as congenial to our hearts as those of righteousness are to our consciences ; and in that case the one would be as easily determined as the other. C. But is there not a difference be- tween the importance of believing the truth of God, and that of complying with his commands'! G. You would not think more favora- bly of a child who should discredit your testimony than of one who sliould disobey your authority ; and the same Being who declares that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord," has declared that "he whobelicveth not the record that God hath given of iiis Son hath made him a liar" — that "lie wiio believeth not shall be damned ! " C. But should every error or mistake to whicli fallii)lc mortals are liable be con- sidered as unbelief, and as subjecting us to damnation 1 G. By no means. There is a specific difference between error and unbelief. The one is a misapprehension of what the di- vine testimony contains : the other sup- poses that we understand it, but yet dis- credit it. It is the latter, and not the for- mer, that is threatened with damnation C. Do you then suppose error to be innocent 1 626 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. G. The answer to this question must depend upon tlie cause from wliicli it springs. If it arise from the want of nat- ural power, or opportunity of obtaining evidence, it is mere mistake, and contains in it nothing of moral evil. But if it arise from prejudice, neglect, or an evil bias of heart, it is other\yise, and may endanger our eternal salvation. C. Will you be so good as to illustrate this distinction 1 G. Had David been engaged in the most wicked conspiracy when he fled to Ahimelech, and had Ahimelech in this circumstance given him bread and a sword; yet if he knew nothing oj the conspiracy, less or more, nor possessed any means of knowing it, his error would have been innocent, and he ought to have been acquitted. But had he possessed the means of knowledge, and from a se- cret disloyal bias neglected to use them, giving easy credit to those things which his heart approved, he would have deserv- ed to die. C. Among human errors, can we dis- tinguish between those which arise from the want of powers or opj)ortunities and such as spring from the evil bias of the heart 1 G. In many cases we certainly can- not, any more than we can fix the boun- daries between light and shade ; yet there are some things, and things of the great- est importance, that are so plainly reveal- ed, and of so holy a tendency, that we are taught l)y the Scriptures themselves to impute an error concerning them not to the understanding only, but to the heart. " The fool hath said in his heart there is no God." — "Why do ye not understand my speech 1 Because ye carinot hear my ivords." — "They stumbled at the stumb- ling-stone, being disobedient." C. Have not all men their prejudices, the good as well as the wicked 1 G. As all men are the subjects of sin, undoubtedly they have. But, as it does not follow that because a good man is the subject of sin he may live in the practice of all manner of abominations, neither does it follow that because he is the sub- ject of criminal error he may err in the great concerns of etei-nal salvation. Good men have not only their gold, silver, and precious stones ; but also their ivood, hay, and stubble, which will be consumed, while they themselves are saved : never- theless they are all represented as build- ing upon a right foundation. He that errs with respect to the foundation laid in Zion will, if God give him not repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, err to his eternal overtlirow. C. Does not this last species of error seem nearly related to unbelief? G. 1 conceive it to be so nearly related as to be its immediate effect. The heart leans to a system of falsehood, wishing it be to true ; and what it wishes to be true it is easily persuaded to think so. The first step in this progress describes the spirit of unbelief; the last that of error: the one grows out of the other. Such a pro- gress was exemplified in those persons described in the Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians : " They received not the love of the truth" — "believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous- ness"— " therefore God gave them up to a reprobate mind, that they might believe a lie, and be damned !" C. Surely it is a serious thing in what manner we hear and receive the word of God ! 6r. True ; and I may add, in what manner we preach it too. Wo unto us if we teach mankind any other way of escape than that which the gospel re- veals ! Wo unto us if we preach not the gospel ! If an angel from heaven preach any other gospel, let him be accursed ! DIALOGUE III. ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN DOCTRI- NAL, EXPERIMENTAL, AND PRACTI- CAL RELIGION. C. In our last interview, Gains, we discoursed on the influence of truth as it respected our eternal salvation : we will now inquire, if you please, into its influ- ence on the holiness and happiness of Christians in the present state ; or, in other words, into the connection between doctrinal, experimental, and practical re- ligion. G. Such an inquiry may convince us of the importance of each, and prevent our extolling one branch of religion at the expense of another. C. What do you mean by experimen- tal religion 1 G. Experimental religion may be con- siilered generally and particularly : in general we mean by it the exercise of sj)iritual or holy aflTections, such as hope, fear, joy, sorrow, and the like. C. And what relation do these things bear to divine truth 1 G. Under the agency of the Holy Spirit, they are its immediate effect. To render this matter evident, we need only DOCTRINE, EXPERIENCE, AND PRACTICE. G27 inquire wliat have liccii Ihc liest seasons those circumstances in wliicli we have oc- of our life, and our own rcmeinhrance will casion lor them, tliey liecome imjjrinted convince us that divine truth lias been at upon our hearts. It is then that we feel the bottom of all those enjoyments which were truly solid and valuable. C. Some of the best times in my life have been those in which I have mourned over my sin with godly sorrow. G. Very well ; this holy mourning arose from a sense of your own depravity, a truth plentifully taught in the Bible. their force and taste their sweetness : hence it is that " tribulation worketh pa- tience, and patience experience." It was, no doubt, a cheering truth at all times that God w as the portion of his people ; but never did they realize that truth so fully as when they were stripped of their earthly all and carried into captivity. It was C. I can remember, also, many joyful then that they sang, as taught by the seasons when I have been in the lively prophet, " The Lord is my portion, saith exercise of laith ami ho])e. my soul, therefore will I hope in him." G. Very good ; i)ut faith has truth for C. All experimental religion seems its olijcct, and hope lays hold of a blessed then to bear some relation to truth. If immortality. Take away the doctrine of taken generally, for the exercise of spirit- the cross and the promise of eternal life, ual affection, truth is here the cause, and and your taith and hope and joy would be these exercises arc its immediate effects. annihilated. If taken more particularly, for that proof C. I have heard some persons exclaim or trial which we have of divine things as against doctrinal preaching, as being dry we pass through the vicissitudes of life, and uninteresting : " Give me," say they, truth seems here to be the object of which " something spiritual and experimental." we have experience. G. Doctrines, it is allowed, may be so G. True ; and the more we have of represented as to become dry and unin- experimental religion, the more we shall teresting ; but scripture truth is not so in feel ourselves attached to the great doc- its own nature. The doctrines of the trines of the gospel, as the l)rcad and wa- gospel are expressly called "spiritual ter of life, wlience arises all our salvation, things," which are spiritually discerned, and all our desire. C. Does not the term experience con- C. Will not the connection between vey the idea of /jroq/ or trial? doctrinal and experimental religion ac- G. It does ; and this is what I had in count for the ignorance which is attribu- mind when I said the subject might be ted to carnal men with respect to divine considered particularly . Though we use things, as that they do not receive them, the term to express the exercise of spirit- and cannot know them? ual affection in general, yet it is more G. It will; nor is there any thing more accurate to apply it to that proof or trial surprising in it than that a mercenary which we make of divine things, while character should be a stranger to the joys passing through the vicissitudes of life. of benevolence, or a dishonest man to the C. Experimental knowledge, we com- pleasures of a good conscience : they nev- monly say in other things, is knowledge er experienced them, and therefore are obtained by trial, utterly in the dark concerning them. G. Very well : it is the same in reli- C. Will you give me your thoughts on gion. There are many truths taught us the influence of truth on holy practice 1 in the divine word, and w hich we may be G. Perhaps there is no proposition but said to know by reading; but we do not what has some consequence hanging upon know them experimentally till we have it, and such consequence must be expect- proved them true by having made the trial, ed to correspond with the nature of the C. Mention a few examj)lcs. G. We read in the Scriptures of the doctrine of human impotency, and we think we understand it ; but we never know this truth properly till we have had proof of it in our own experience. Far- proposition. A truth in natural philoso- phy will be productive of a natural effect. Divine truth, when cordially imbibed, proves the seed of a godly life. For ex- ample : If there he a God that judgeth in the earth, he is to be loved, feared, and ther : We read of the corruption of the adored. If man be a sinner before God, human heart, and think in our early years it becomes him to lie low in self-abase- that we believe it ; but it is not till we raent. If salvation be of grace, boasting have passed through a variety of changes, is excluded. If we be bought with a and had experience of its deceitful opera- price, we are not our own, and must not tions, that we perceive this truth as we live unto ourselves, but to him who died ought. Again : We read much of the for us, and rose again. Religious senti- goodness and faithfulness of God, and we mcnts are called principles, because, when subscribe to each ; but we never realize received in the love of them, they become these truths till, having passed through the springs of holy action. 628 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. C. Do the Scriptures confirm this view of things 1 G. You must have read such passages as the following : " Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."— " Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."—" Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, through the knowl- edge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." — " Speak thou the things which become sound doctrine." I suppose our Lord meant something like this when he told the woman of Samaria, " The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life :" that is, the gospel or doctrine that I preach, when cordially imbibed, shall become a well-spring of heavenly joy and holy ac- tivity, rising higher and higher till it ter- minate in everlasting blessedness. C. What inference may be drawn from all this 1 G. If God has joined these things to- gether, let no man, whether preacher or hearer, attempt to put them asunder. C Is it proper to distinguish between doctrinal and experimental religion 1 G. If by those terras it were only meant to distinguish between the truth to be known and a spiritual knowledge of it, they are very proper; but, if the latter be considered as existing without the former, it is a great mistake. DIALOGUE IV. ON THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD. C Your late observations on the im- portance of truth, and the connection be- tween doctrinal, experimental, and practi- cal religion, have excited in my mind an increasing desire after a more particular knowledge of the great doctrines of Chi'is- tianity. G. I am glad to hear it; and, if it be in my power to afford you any additional light on those interesting subjects, it will give me great pleasure. C. What do you consider as the first and most fundamental principle of true religion 1 G. Unless I except the existence of God, perhaps none is more deserving of those epithets than his moral character. C. What do you mean by the moral character of God 1 G. The divine perfections have been distinguished into natural and moral. By the former we understand those perfections which express his greatness : such are his wisdom, power, majesty, omniscience,om- nipotence, immutability, eternity, immen- sity, &c. By the latter, those which ex- press his essential goodness : such are his justice, his mercy, his veracity, or, in one word, his holiness. These last are the peculiar glory of the divine nature, and constitute what is meant by his moral character. C. Are not all the attributes of Deity essential to the character of an all-perfect Being] G. They ai-e ; but yet the glory of his natural perfections depends upon their being united with those which are moral. The ideas of wisdom, power, or immuta- bility, convey nothing lovely to the mind, but the reverse, unless they be connected with righteousness, goodness, and vera- city. Wisdom without holiness would be serpentine subtilty ; power would be ty- ranny ; and immutability annexed to a character of such qualities would be the curse and terror of the universe. C. But, as God is possessed of the one as well as the other, they all contribute to his glory. G. True ; and it affords matter of in- expressible joy to all holy intelligences that a being of such rectitude and good- ness is possessed of power equal to the desire of his heart, of wisdom equal to his power, and that he remains through eter- nal ages immutably the same. Power and wisdom in such hands are the blessing of the universe. C Is the above distinction of the divine perfections, into natural and moral, applicable to any useful purpose 1 G. It will assist us in determining the nature of that most fundamental of all moral principles — the love of God. If ho- liness constitute the loveliness of the di- vine nature, this must be the most direct and immediate object of holy affection. True love to God will always bear a pri- mary regard to that which above all other things renders him a lovely Being. C. I knew a lecturer on philosophy, who, by discoursing on the wisdom and power of God as displayed in the immen- sity of creation, was wrought up into a rapture of apparent devotion, and his audience with him ; and yet, in less than an hour's time alter leaving- the room, he was heard to curse and swear, as was his usual manner of conversation. G. You might find great numbers of this description. They consider the Di- vine Being as a great genius, as a fine architect, and survey his works with admi- ration ; but his moral excellence, which constitutes the chief glory of his nature, has no charms in their eyes. But, if that which constitutes the chief glory of his FREK-AGENCY. G29 nature have no charms in their eyes, all the admiration which they may bestow upon the productions of his wisdom and power will amount to nothing : the love oj God is not in them. C. You consider the moral character of God as a fundamental principle in reli- gion ; what then are those principles which are lounded upon it? Cr. The equity ol the divine law, the exceeding sinluiness of sin, the ruined state of man as a sinner, with the neces- sity of an Almighty Saviour and a free salvation. C. Will you oblige me by pointing out the connection of these princijjles ] G. If there he intinite loveliness in the moral character of God, then it is right and equital)le tiiat we should love him with all our hearts ; which, with a subor- dinate love to our neighl)or as ourselves, is the sum of what tlie divine law requires. And in proportion to the loveliness of the divine character must be the hatefulness of aversion to him and rebellion against him; hence follows the exceeding sinful- ness of sin. And if sin be odious in its nature it must be dangerous in its conse- quences, exposing us to the curse of the divine law, the just and everlasting dis- pleasure of a holy God. Finally : If, as rebels against the moral government of God, we be all in a ruined and perisliing condition, we need a Deliverer who shall be able to save to the utmost, whose name shall be called the Mighty God ; and a salvation without money and with- out price that shall be suited to our indi- gent condition. C. Is not the moral excellence of the divine character admitted by great num- bers who reject these principles, which you say arise from iti G. I suppose no person wlio admits the being of a God would expressly deny the excellence of his moral character ; but it is easy to observe that those who deny the foregoing principles either discover no manner of delight in it, but are taken up like your philosophical lecturer in athnir- ing the productions of God's natural j)er- fections, or else are employed in model- ling his character according to their own depraved ideas of excellence. Being un- der the influence of self-love, they see no loveliness but in proportion as he may subserve their happiness ; hence the jus- tice of God in the punishment of sin is kept out of view, and what they call his goodness and mercy (but which, in fact, are no other than connivance at sin and indifference to the glory of his govern- ment) are exalted in its place. A being thus qualified may be easily adored : it is not God, however, that is worshipped, but an imaginary being, created after the image of depraved men. C. " To know tjje only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent " — in other words, to know the true glory of the Lawgiver and the Saviour, seems to be of the highest importance. G. True; the former is absolutely necessary to the latter, and both to grace and peace being multiplied here, and to our enjoyment of eternal life hereafter. DIALOGUE V. ON THE FREE-AGENCY OF MAN. C. Our last conversation on the moral character of God has led me, Gaius, to desire your thoughts on the nature of man as a subject of moral government. G. This is, no doubt, a very interest- ing subject. As we all feel ourselves accountable beings, and must all give account of ourselves another day, it be- comes us to know ourselves and the nature of those powers with which the great Creator has invested us. C. Do you consider man as a free- agent 1 G. Certainly ; to deny this would be to deny that we are accountable to the God that made us. Necessarians and anti-necessarians have disputed wherein free-agency consists ; but the thing itself is allowed on both sides. C. Suppose then I were to change the question, and ask wherein does free-agen- cy consist? G. I should answer. In the power of folloioing the inclination. C. And is it in our power in all cases to follow our inclinations 1 G. No : there is such a thing as invol- untary motion. By the exercise of an absolute force upon our bodies we may be compelled to move against our inclination, and to forbear to move according to our desire ; but in these cases we are not ac- countable beings. C. Some have thought man to be a free-agent in natural things, but not as to things moral and spiritual. G. This is the same as supposing him accountable only for those things in which there is neither good nor evil; and this, if true, would prove rtiat we are not sul)jects of moral government, and shall never be called to give account of either good or evil. Besides, it is a fact that we as freely pursue our inclination in spiritual as in natural things; we as freely yield G30 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. ourselves to the servants of sin, or of God, as ever we choose to eat, drink, or walk. C. Then you think we are free-agents in all those matters which are inseparably connected witii eternal salvation 1 G. Certainly; if otherwise, we should be equally incapable of rejecting, as of accepting, the gospel way of salvation. C. And do you suppose we are free- agents with respect to keeping or breaking the divine law 1 G. I do : we are only required to love God with all our strength ; or to conse- crate all our powers to his service, be they great or small. C. Why then do we not keep the law perfectly 1 G. Because of the depravity of our hearts. If our hearts or inclinations were wholly on the side of God, we should feel no difficulty in keeping it ; on the contrary, it would be our meat and drink. C. But if our hearts be depraved, and we be enslaved to sin, how can we be said to be free 1 G. We cannot be morally free ; but moral slavery, any more than moral lib- erty, has nothing to do with free-agency. The reason is that, in this case, there is no force opposed to the agent's own will. C. I have often heard it asserted that it does not signify whether the incapacity lies in the will or in something distinct from the will. "If we cannot do good," say they, " we cannot, and in that case we are not free-agents." G. Those who speak thus of free- agency must mean to include in it a free- dom from the influence of motives ; a power of acting with or contrary to the prevailing inclination ; or, at least, a pow- er to change the inclination. C. Yes ; I have heard it observed that it amounts to nothing to say Vv^e have the power of following the prevailing inclina- tion unless we have also the power of counteracting or changing it. G. If, by amounting to nothing, they mean that we are not hereby any more qualified to be our own deliverers from the thraldom of sin than if we had no free- agency, but must be indebted wholly to sovereign and efficacious grace for it, I ad- mit the consequences. Little, however, as they make of this idea of free-agency, I might reply, it is all that they them- selves can conceive of, and all that can be ascribed to any being in heaven, earth, or hell. C. How does this appear 1 G. No one can conceive of a power of voluntarily acting against the prevailing inclination, for the thing itself is a contra- diction ; and a power of changing it is no less absurd. If a person go about to change his prevailing inclination, he must, in so doing, be either involuntary or vol- untary. If the former, this can be no exercise of free-agency ; if the latter, he must have two opposite prevailing inclina- tions at the same time, which is a contra- diction. And, if it were not a contradic- tion, he still does no more than follow his inclination ; namely, his virtuous incli- nation, which he is supposed to possess, to have his vicious inclination changed. If freedom from the influence of motives, or power to change one's inclination, be essential to free-agency, the Divine Being himself is not free. God, as all must allow, possesses an immutable determina- tion to do what is right, and cannot in the least degree, or for a single moment, in- cline to the contrary. His conduct is necessarily aud invariably expressive of the infinite rectitude of his will. The same, in a degi-ee, might be said of holy angels and tlie spirits of just men made perfect. So far irom being free from the influence of motives, or having a power to change the prevailing inclination of their hearts, those motives which, by reason of the depravity of our natures, have but little effect upon us, have full influence upon them, and constantly determine them to the most ardent pursuit of righ- teousness. C. And yet you say they are free- agents 1 G. If God, angels, and saints in heav- en, be not free-agents, who arel C. But this is moral liberty. G. True ; but the same reasoning will apply to moral slavery. If an unaltei-able bias of mind to do good does not destroy free-agency, neither does an unalterable bias of mind to evil. Satan is as much a free-agent as Ga])riel, and as much ac- countable to God for all he does. C. Some suppose man to have lost his free-agency by the fall. 6r. Say, rather, man has lost his mor- al rectitude by the fall. All that was entrusted in his hand was lost. But we might as well say he had lost his rea- s.on, his conscience, or his memory, as to say he had lost his free-agency ; and this would be supposing him to have lost his intellectual nature, and to have become literally a brute. C. Wherein does your notion of free- agency differ from the Arminian notion of free-v/ill '? G. The Arminian notion of free- will is what I have all along been op- posing : the one consists merely in the power of following our prevailing inclina- tion ; the other in a supposed power of acting contrary to it, or at least of chang- ing it. The one predicates freedom of the GOODNESS OF Till: MOUAL LA V\ G3] mail, the other of a laculty in iium ; which, Mr. Locke, though an atiti-necessarian, explodes as an absurdity. The one jioes merely to render us accountable beings ; the otiier arrogantly claims a pari, yea, the very turning point, ol salvation. Ac- cording to tlie latter, \\c need oidy cer- tain helps or assistances, granted to men in common, to enable us to choose the path of life; init, according to tiie lormcr, our hearts being l>y nature wholly dei)raved, we need an almighty and invincible power to renew them, otherwise our free-agency would only accelerate our everlasting ruin. C. You suppose, I imagine, that the invincible operations of the Holy Spirit do not interfere with our free-agency 1 G. Certainly : if the temper of the heart does not affect it, neither can any change upon that temper. It affects free- agency no more than it affects reason, conscience, or memory : man all along feels himself at liberty to follow what in- clination dictates; and, therefore, is a free-agent. C. Does your notion of free-agency agree with the language of the apostle Paul : " The good that I would, I do not; and the evil that I would not, that I do." — "To will is present; but how to per- form that which is good I find not 1" G. I think we ought to distinguish be- tween a willingness that is habitual and general, and one that is universal and en- tire. Paul, and every real Christian, generally and habitually wills to be holy, as God is holy ; but this volition is not universal and entire. It is not so perfect nor intense as that there is no remainder of indolence, obstinacy, or carnality. Perfection is the object approved, or rather desired ; but that approbation or desire is not perfect in degree : a perfect degree of willingness would be perfect holiness. C. Then you do not suppose the apostle to mean that sin operated abso- lutely, and in every^sense, against his will 1 G. I do not : it was certainly against the ruling principle of his soul ; but to suppose that any sin can be strictly and absolutely involuntary in its operations is contrary to every dictate of common sense. DIALOGUE VI. ON THE GOODNESS OF THE MORAL LAW. C. Our last two conversations, on the moral character of God and the frcc-agen- cy of man, have, I hope, iieen of use to me. I have been thinking since of the great rule of God's government — the moral law, as being the image of his moral char- acter. G. Your idea is just : God is love. All his moral attributes are but the differ- ent modifications of love, or love operating in dillorent ways. Vindictive justice it- self is the love of order, and is exercised for the welfare of beings in general ; and the moral law, the sum of which is love, expresses the very heart of him that fra- med it. C. I have been thinking of love as the band which unites all holy intelli- gences to God and to one another ; as that in the moral system which the law of attraction is in the system of nature. G. Very good : while the planets re- volve round the sun as their central point, and are supremely attracted by it, they each have a subordinate influence upon the other : all attract and are attracted by others in their respective orbits ; yet no one of these subordinate attractions in- terferes with the grand attractive influ- ence of the sun, but acts rather in perfect concurrence with it. Under some such idea wc may conceive of supreme love to God and subordinate love to creatures. C. Among tiic planets, if I mistake not, the attractive power of each body corresponds with the quantity of matter it possesses, and its proximity to the oth- ers. G. True : and though in general we arc required to love our neighbor as our- selves, yet there are some persons, on account of their suj)crior value in the scale of being, and others on account of their more immediate connection with us, whom we arc allowed and even obliged to love more than the rest. C. If we could suppose the planets endued with intelligence, and any one of them, weary of revolving round the sun, should desert its orbit, assume a distinct ccntroship of its own, and draw others off with it, what would be the consequence 1 G. Anarchy and confusion, no doubt, with regard to the system ; and cold and darkness and misery, with regard to those which had deserted it. C. And is not this a near resemblance to the condition of apostate angels and meni G. Doubtless it is ; and your simili- tude serves to illustrate the evil of sin, as it affects the harmony of the divine gov- ernment in general, and the happiness of each individual in particular. C. Is there not a general notion in the minds of men that the moral law is too strict and rigid for man in his fallen state "? 632 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. G. There is ; and some who ought to know better, have compared its require- ments to those of an Egyptian task-mas- ter, Avho demanded bricks without straw ; and have recommended the gospel as being at variance with it. Many, who would be thought the greatest it not the only friends of Christ, have made no scruple of professing their hatred to Moses, as they term the moral law. C. But does not the precept of the moral law require what is beyond our strength 1 G. If, by strength, you mean to include inclination, I grant it does ; but if, by strength, you mean what is literally and properly so called, it requires us even now but to love God ivith all our strength. It is not in the want of strength, literally and strictly speaking, that our insufficiency to keep the divine law consists, but in the want of a holy temper of mind ; and this, instead of being any excuse, or requiring an abatement of the law, is the very es- sence of that wherein blame consists. C. I have thought it might serve to show the goodness of the divine law if we were to suppose it reversed. Suppose, instead of loving, God should require us to hate him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor likewise 1 G. This would require us to be both wicked and miserable ; and the idea is sufficient to shock any person of common sense. C. But suppose God were to require us to love him and one another, only in a less degree ? G. That would be the same as requir- ing a part of our aifection, and allowing us to be of a divided heart. Our powers cannot be indifferent : If they are not ap- plied to the love of God and man, they will be applied to something opposite, even the love of the world. But, as the love of the world is enmity to God, if this were allowed it were the same as allowing men, in a degree, to be at enmity with him and each other ; that is, to be wicked and miserable. C. I have several more questions to ask you on this important subject, but shall defer them to another opportunity. G. Farewell then, Crispus : God grant that this divine law may be found written upon each of our hearts ! C. Amen ! DIALOGUE VII. ON ANTINOMIANISM. C. Our conversation on the moral law has led me to think of some other sub- jects nearly related to it. I have observed that many people have been called Anti- nomians ; yet very few call themselves so. What is Antinomianism 1 G. Enmity or opposition to the law of God. C. Are not all men then by nature Antinomians 1 G. 1 believe they are ; for the " carnal mind is enmity against God : it is not sub- ject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." C. By this passage it should seem that God and his laws are so united that a non- subjection to the one is enmity to the other 1 G. How should it be otherwise 1 The sum of the law is love ; and, in this case, not to love is to be at enmity. C. All men, however, do not profess to be at enmity either with God or his law. G. True : but many men are very different, you know, from what they pro- fess to be, and even from what they con- ceive of themselves. C. 1 can easily conceive of various wicked characters being enemies to the divine law, whatever they may say in its favor. G. And have you not observed that all the different species of false religion agree in this particular! C. I do not know whether I have suf- ficiently.— To what do you refer 1 G. 1 refer to the different forms in which mankind quiet their consciences and cherish their hopes, while the leve of God and man are neglected. What is super- stition but the substitution of something- ceremonial — something that may be done consistently with a heart at enmity with God — in the place of that which is moral 1 The tithing of mint and cummin, and vari- ous things of the kind, were much more agreeable, to the ancient Pharisees, than judgment, mercy and the love oj God. The modern Jews are greatly attached to cere- mony ; but the shocking indevotion which distinguishes their worship, and the mer- cenary spirit which too generally pervades their dealings, sufficiently discover their aversion from that law of which they ANTINOMIANISM. 633 make their boast. Impiety and cruelty arc proiiiinent features in the faces ot our modern heathens, with all their relineincnt ; and the same is oliserval)le in others who are less relined : gods and weapons oi war are to he found in the most barbarous heathen nations. Ignorant as they are. they have all learned to violate tlie two great brandies of the moral law.' Beads, and pilgrimages, and relics, and all the retinue of Popish ceremonies, arc hut substitutes for the love of God and our neighbor. The formal round of ceremo- nies attended to l»y pharisaieal professors of all communities is the same. Let an attentive reader examine tiic system of Socinus, and even of Arminius, and he will find them agreed in opposing the na- tive e(piity and goodness of the moral law. The former claims it as a matter of jus- tice that allowances be made for human error and imperfection ; and the latter, though it speaks of grace, and the medi- ation of Christ, and considers the gospel as a new, mild, and remedial law, yet would accuse you of making the Almigli- ty a tyrant, if this grace were withheld and the terms of the moral law strictly adhered to. All these, as well as that species of false religion which has more generally gone by the name of Antinomi- anism, you see, are agreed in this partic- ular. This last, which expressly disowns the moral law as a rule of life, sets up the gospel in opposition to it, and substitutes visionary enjoyments as the evidence of an interest in gospel blessings, in place of a conformity to its precepts. — This last, I say, though it professes to be greatly at variance with several of the foregoing schemes, is nearer akin to them than its advocates are willing to admit. If the love of God and man be left out of our re- ligion, it matters but little what we substi- tute in its place. Whether it go by the name of reason or superstition, religious ceremony or evangelical lilierty, all is delu- sion ; all arises from the same source, and tends to the same issue. Good men may in a degree have been beguiled, and for a time carried away, with these winds of false doctrine ; but I speak of things and their natural tendencies, not of persons. In short, we may safely consider it as a criterion by which any doctrine may be tried : if it be unfriendly to the moral /air, it is not of God, but proceedeth from the father of lies. C. What you have obsei'ved seems * This reflection was made by a friend of mine, on visitin!! IVie British ^luseuin and seeing vari- ous curiosities from heathen countries; among which were a number of idols and instniments of war. very clear and very affecting : but I have heard it remarked that some of these sys- tems naturally attach their adiierents to the works of the law. (t. Tiiis is very true ; Imt there is a wide difl'erence between an attachment to the law, and an attachment to the xrorks oj the law as the ground of eternal life ; as much as between the spirit of a faithful servant who loves his master, loves his family, loves his service, and never wishes to go out free, and that of a slothful ser- vant, wlio, tiiough he hates his master, hates his family, hates his employment and never did any real service, yet has the presumption to expect his reward. C. This distinction seems of great im- portance, as it serves to reconcile those Scriptures wliich speak in favor of the law and those which speak against an at- tachment to the works of it. G. It is the same distinction, only in other words, which has commonly been made respecting the law as a rule of life and as a covenant. C. Will you be so obliging as to point out a few of the consequences of denying the law to be the rule of life, and re- presenting it as at variance with the gos- pell G. First: This doctrine directly mil- itates against all those scriptures which speak in favor of the moral law, and af- ford us an honorable idea of it ; sucii as the following: — " O how I love thy law !" — " The law is holy, and the command- ment is holy, just, and good." — " I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it." — " Do we make void the law through faith 1 God forbid; Yea, we establish the law." — " I delight in the law of God after the inner man." — "I with my mind serve the law of God." Secondly : This doctrine reflects upon God himself for having given a law under one dispensa- tion which is at variance with a gospel given under another. Thirdly : It justi- fies the sinner in the breach of the law. There can be no evil in sin, but in propor- •tion to the goodness of that law of which it is a transgression. Fourthly: It is in direct opposition to the life and death of the Saviour. By the former he obeyed its precepts, by the latter endured its penalty, and by both declared it to be holy, just, and good. Every reflection, therefore, upon the moral law is a reflection upon Christ. Fifthly : It strikes at the root of all personal religion, and opens the flood- gates to iniquity. Those who imbibe this doctrine talk of being sanctijied in Christ, in such a manner as to supersede all per- sonal and progi-essive sanctification in the believer. VOL. I. 80 634 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. DIALOGUE VIII. ON HUMAN DJEPRAVITY. C I thank you, Gaius, for your ob- servations on various important subjects ; and now, if agreeable, I should be glad of your thoughts on the painful but in- teresting subject of human depravity. O. An interesting subject indeed ! Perhaps there is no one truth in the Scrip- tures of a more fundamental nature with respect to the gospel-way of salvation. I never knew a person verge toward the Arminian, the Arian, the Socinian, or the Antinomian schemes, without first enter- taining diminutive notions of human de- pravity, or blameworthiness. C. Wherein do you conceive deprav- ity to consist 1 G. In the opposite to what is required by the divine law. C. The sum of the divine law is love ; the essence of depravity then must consist in the want of love to God and our neigh- bor ; or in setting up some other object, or objects, to the exclusion of them. G. True ; and perhaps it will be found that all the olijects set up in competition with God and our neighbor may be re- duced to one, and that is self. Private self- love seems to be the root of depravity ; the grand succedaneum in human affec- tions to the love of God and man. Self- admiration, self-will, and self-righteous- ness, are but different modifications of it. Where this prevails, the creature assumes the place of the Creator, and seeks his own gratification, honor, and interest, as the ultimate end of all his actions. Hence, Avhen the apostle describes men under a variety of wicked characters, the first link in the chain is — lovers of their own selves. Hence also the first and grand lesson in the Christian school is — to deny ourselves. C. Almost all evangelical writers, I believe, have considered men as utterly depraved; and that not by education, or any accidental cause or causes, but by nature, as they are born into the world. G. They have. This was manifestly the doctrine generally embraced at the Reformation, and which has been main- tained by the advocates for salvation by sovereign grace in every age. C. Yet, one should think, if men were totally depraved, they would be all and always alike wicked. G. If by total depravity you mean that men are so corrupt as to be' incapable of adding sin to sin, I know of no person who maintains any such sentiment. All I mean by the term is this .—That the hu- man heart is by nature totally destitute of love to God, or love to man as the crea- ture of God, and consequently is destitute of all true virtue, A being may be utterly destitute of good, and therefore totally de- praved (such, it will be allowed, is Satan,) and yet be capable of adding iniquity to iniquity without end. C. I should be glad if you would point out a few of the principal evidences on which the doctrine of human depravity is founded. G. The principal evidences that strike me at this time may be drawn from the four following sources ; Scripture testi- mony, history, observation, and experi- ence. C. What do you reckon the principal Scripture testimonies on this subject 1 G. Those passages which expressly teach it; such as the following: — "And God saw that the wickedness of man Avas great in the earth, and that every imagina- tion of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." — " God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back, they are altogether become filthy : there is none that doeth good, no not one." — " Both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin ; as it is written. There is none righteous, no not one. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." — " The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." — " The whole world lieth in wickedness." — " Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind ; and Avere by nature the children of wrath, even as oth- ers."— Those passages also Avhich teach the necessity of regeneration. If men were not essentially depraved, a reforma- tion might suffice ; but, if all be corrupt, the whole fabric must be taken down : " Old things must pass away, and all things must become new." C. What evidence do you derive from history in favor of this doctrine 1 G. If our limits would allow us to sur- vey the histoiy of mankind from their first apostasy to this day, the amount would go to prove what the Scriptures affirm — that " the whole earth lieth in wickedness." The circumstances and changes among mankind have been vari- ous. They have greatly differed in their manners, customs and religions : one age has established what another has demol- ished ; in some ages they have been en- veloped in ignorance, in others irradiated. HUMAN DEIKAMIV 635 by science; but in all ages and in all cir- cumstances they have been alicnaled from tlic love of God. C. The history of the world, though it appear to favor the doctrine in question, yet seems to be too larirc and complicate an ol)ject to be viewed distinctly. Sup- pose you were to sinjrle out one nation as a specimen of the whole. G. Very well ; and suppose this one nation to have been attentled above all others with mercies and judgments, divine laws, special interpositions, and every thing that could have any tendency to meliorate the hearts of men. C. You seem to have in view the na- tion of Israel. G. I have ; and the rather because I consider this nation as designed of God to alford a specimen of human nature. The Divine Being singled tliem out, crowned them with goodness, strengthen- ed them with the teiulcrest encourage- ments, awed them witii the most tremen- dous threatenings, wrought his wonderful works before their eyes, and insjiired his servants to give us a faithful history of their character. I need not repeat what this character is. Excepting the conduct of a few godly people among them, which, being the eliect of divine grace, arg-ues nothing against the doctrine in question, it is a series of rebellion and continued departures from the living God. C. What additional evidence in favor of this doctrine do you derive from ob- servation ! G. In looking into tlie composition of the human mind, we observe various pas- sions and propensities ; and if we inspect their operations, we shall sec in each a marked aversion from the true God, and iVom all true religion. For example : Man loves to think, and cannot live with- out thinking ; but he does not love to think of God ; " God is not in all his thoughts." Man delights in activity, is perpetually in motion, but has no heart to act for God. Men take jileasure in con- versation, and are never more cheerful than when engaged in it ; but if God and religion l>e introduced they are usually struck dumb, and discover an inclination to drop the subject. Men greatly delight in hearing and telling neivs ; but, if the glorious news of the gospel be sounded in their ears, it frequently proves as unwel- come as Paul's preaching at Athens. In fine, man feels the necessity of a God, but has no relish for the true God. There is a remarkable instance of this in the conduct of those nations planted by the king of Assyria in the cities of Samaria. They were consumed liy wild beasts, and considered it as an expression of displea- sure from the god of the land. Tiiey wished to become acquainted with him, that they might please him. An Israelitish priest is sent to leach them the manner of the god of the land. But, when he taught them the fear of Jehovah, his character and worship do not seem to have suited their taste ; tor each nation preferred the worshij) of its own gods. — 2 Kings xvii. C. What evidence do you draw in fa- vor of this doctrine from experience? G. The best of men, whose lives are recorded in holy Scripture, have al- ways confessed and lamented the depravi- ty of their nature ; and I never knew a character truly penitent, iiut he was con- vinced of it. It is a strong presumjition against the contrary doctrine that the light-minded and dissipated part of man- kind are generally its advocates ; w hile the humble, the serious, and the godly, as generally acknowledge, with the apos- tle, that, " fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the nund, they were by na- ture children of wrath, even as others." C. I have several more inquiries to make on this interesting subject, which I must defer till another opportunity. DIALOGUE IX. ON THE TOTAL, DEPRAVITY OF HUMAN NATURE. G. 1 think you said, Crispus, at the close of our last conversation, on the de- pravity of human nature, that you had several questions to ask upon the suliject. C. I did so. No subject has appear- ed to me more interesting or more preg- nant with important consequences. The doctrine of total depravity, according to your own explication of it, seems to im- ply that all that which is called virtue in unregenerate men in not virtue in reality, and contains nothing in it pleasing to God, is no part of tlieir duty tow ards him ; but, on the contrary, is of the very nature of sin. G. And what if these consequences were admitted 1 C. I have not been used to consider things in so strong a light. I have gener- ally thought that men are universally de- praved ; that is, that all their powers, thoughts, volitions, and actions, are taint- ed with sin ; but it never struck me be- fore that this depravity was total, so total as that all their actions are of the very natui'e of sin. G. You must admit that this was the 636 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. doctrine embraced by the English Re- formers. They tell us that "works done before the grace of Christ and the inspira- tion of his Spirit are not pleasing to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the school authors say) deserve grace of congruity : yea, rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin."* C. True ; but I should have suspected that they had carried things rather to an extreme. There is something so awful in the thought of a human life being one un- mixed course of evil ; so contrary to what appears in numberless characters, whom we cannot but respect for many amiable qualities, though they do not appear to be the subjects of true religion; in a word, so discouraging to every effort for the attainment of any virtue short of real godliness, that my heart revolts at the idea. G. I am willing to examine every difficulty you can advance. Before you raise your objections, however, your first inquiry, I think, ought to be, Is it true? C. Very well ; proceed then to state your evidences. G. The following are the principal ev- idences which occur to me at present : 1. All those passages of Scripture cited in the last Dialogue which expressly teach it, declaring that " every imagination," purpose, or desire, " of man's heart is only evil continually" — that "there is none that seeketh after God" — "every one of them is gone back" — " they are altogether become filthy" — "there is none that doeth good, no not one." 2. Those Scriptures which declare the utter impossibility of carnal men doing any thing to please God; such as, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." — *'Tobe carnal minded is death." — "Be- cause the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So, then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God."t If they that are in the flesh did any part of their duty towards God, or if what they did were good and virtuous in his sight, so far as it goes, their minds would so far be subject to the law of God, and, being such, they might and would please him ; for God is not a ca- pricious or hard master, but is pleased * Article XIII. of the Church of England, t See this passage clearly illuslraled, and the truth contained in it fully enforced, in two pieces in the Evangelical Magazine for August and De- cember, 1703, pp. 72. 239. with righteousness wherever he sees it. 3. Those Scriptures which speak of the whole of goodness or virtue as compre- hended in love ; namely, the love of God and our neighbor: — "Love is the fulfil- ling of the law." — "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neigh- bor as thyself." If the love of God su- premely, and the love of creatures subor- dinately, comprise the whole of virtue, where these are wanting, virtue can have no existence. And that these are want- ing in all ungodly men is evident, for " they have not the love of God in them ;" and, where God is not loved supremely, creatures cannot be loved in subordina- tion to him; but are either disregariled, or regarded on some other account : such love, therefore, has no virtue in it, but is of the nature of sin. 4. Those Scrip- tures which teach the necessity of re- generation to eternal life : — " Ye must be born again." — "Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom ol God." — " If any man be in Christ, he is a new crea- ture ; old things are passed away, and all things are become new." If there were any degree of virtue in the carnal heart, or any thing that was pleasing to God, it might be cultivated and increased ; and in this case old things need not pass away, and all things become new. Regenera- tion would be unnecessary ; a mere refor- mation, or an improvement of principles already inherent in man, would suffice. 5. Those Scriptures which promise the blessings of salvation and eternal life to every degree of righteousness or true virtue: — "All things work together for good to them that love God." — "Christ is the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him." — "He that doth righteousness is righteous." — "They that have done good shall rise to the resurrec- tion of life." — "He that giveth a cup of cold water to a disciple, in the name of a disciple," or because he belongs to Christ, "shall have a disciple's reward." In these passages we must observe that God's gracious declarations and promises are not made to this or that degree of goodness, but to eveiy or any degree of it : or, rather, it is not the degree, but the nature of it, that is considered in the divine promise. Hence we may certain- ly conclude thptt unregenerate men have not the least degree of real goodness in them, or of any thing that is pleasing to God. C. I must acknowledge there is much apparent force in these arguments, and I am not at present sufficiently prepared to HUMAN DF.PRAVITV. 637 encounter them ; but I have some strong objections in my mind, which I wish to have thoroughly discussed. G. With ail my heart. Consider, Crispus, the tbrco of what has been al- ready alleged, and let me have your ob- jections in the strongest light in which you are capable of arranging them. C. I will endeavor to comply with vour advice, and the result of it shall be the subject of a future discussion. LETTER I. ON THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF HUMAN NATURE. [Oispusto Gaius.] C n, July 3, 1794. My DEAR Friend, As Providence has lately, by removing my situation, deprived me of the pleasure of your company, I hope that defect may be in some measure supplied by writing. The subject of our last two interviews, on the total depravity of human nature, has much occupied my attention. I feel it to he a. fundamental principle in religion; it is that, take it how we will, on which al- most all other principles are founded. I have objections to your ideas of this doc- trine, 1 confess ; and you desired me when we were last together, to place them in the strongest light I was able. The principal things which have hitherto occurred to me may be reduced to the fol- lowing heads : — First : The Scriptures appear to speak with approbation of some actions perform- ed by unregenerate men, and even God himself is represented as rewarding them. It appears to have been thus in the case of Ahab, when he humbled himself; and the Ninevites, when they repented at the preaching of Jonah; as also in the case of the young ruler in the gospel, whom our Lord is represented to have loved; and the discreet scribe, whom he assured that he was " not far from the kingdom of heaven." Now, if all the actions of un- regenerate men are of the nature of sin, these must have been so; but, if these were so, how are we to account for the favorable manner in which they were treated 1 Secondly: The common sense of man- kind unites to attribute many excellences and amiable qualities to persons whom, nevertheless, we are obliged, from other parts of their conduct, to consider as des- titute of true religion. Is it not right and amiable, even in the sight of God, so far as it goes, that children are dutiful tot heir parents, and parents aiVectionatc to their children ; that men are oiiediont to the laws, benevolent to the |)oor, faithlul in their connexions, and just in their deal- ings ! And is it not evident to universal observation that these arc things which may Vie found in characters who, never- theless, by other parts of their conduct, evince themselves to be strangers to true religion 1 Thirdly : Every man is possessed of conscience, which bears witness to him, in unnumbered instances, of what is right and wrong; and this witness is known to have considcral)le influence even on wick- ed men, so as to impel them to the per- formances of many good actions, and to deter them from others which are evil. Fourthly : If all the actions of unregen- erate men be not only mixed with sin, but are in their own nature sinful, then, whether they eat or drink, or whatever they do, they sin against God : but eating and drinking, in moderation, appear to be mere natural actions, and to have in them neither moral good nor moral evil. Lastly : If all the actions of unregener- ate men be in their own nature sinful, surely there can be no ground for a minis- terial address, no motive by which to ex- hort them to cease from evil and do good ; nor any encouragement afforded them to comply with any thing short of what is spiritually good. It has been very com- mon for even the advocates of salvation by free grace to distinguish between mor- al virtue and true religion ; the former they have allowed to exist in a degree in unregenerate men, and have thought it their duty to encourage it, though at the same time they have insisted on the ne- cessity of what is superior to it. But your ideas of total depravity would go to destroy this distinction, and render what has been usually called moral virtue no virtue. " This," I remember an inge- nious writer once observed, "is not ortho- doxy, but extravagance." For my part, I would not speak so strongly ; yet I can- not but say, you seem to carry things to an extreme. I am free to own, however, that I feel the difTiculty of answering what you advanced in ihe last dialogue. Every truth is doubtless consistent with other truths. Happy should I be to obtain sat- isfactory and consistent views on this im- portant subject. Some religious people, to whom I have repeated the suV)stances of our conversa- tions do not at all appear to be interested by them. They seem to me to be con- tented with a confused and superficial 638 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. view of things. I wish I could transfer my feelings to them. Did they but know the worth of just sentiments in religion, they would think no labor too great to obtain them. They seem to be averse from the pain which accompanies a state of hesitation and suspense, and therefore decline to examine all those difficult sub- jects which Avould produce it. But then they are of course equally unacquainted with the pleasure which arises from the solution of these difficulties, and from ob- taining clear and satisfactory views of divine subjects. Surely it were criminal indolence in us, as well as meanness, if, rather than be at the trouble of drawing from a deep well, we ai"e contented to sip muddy waters from any puddle that pre- sents itself. Your answer to the above will much oblige Your affectionate friend, CRISPUS. LETTER II. ON THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OP HUMAN NATURE. [In reply to the objections of Crispus.] K , Dec. 5, 1794. My dear Friend, I received yours with pleasure. It is quite agreeable to me to supply, as well as may be, the defect of personal inter- course by a free and friendly correspon- dence. Your thirst after truth is pleas- ing. Would to God we were all more of that temper which seeks for wisdom with the ardor of those who dig for hidden treasures ! I intend it not as a mere com- pliment, when I say that you have stated your objections to the doctrine of total depravity in as plausible a manner as I ever recollect to have seen them. I will endeavor to give them all the weight they possess. The point in dispute between us, you will observe, is, Whether an unregenerate sinner can be said to perform any part of his duty, or to obtain in any measure the approbation of his Maker. And I hope you will consider that this is, for sub- stance, the same thing as whether the carnal mind be wholly enmity against God, or whether it he in any measure sub- ject to the law of God, or indeed can be. You allow, I think, that, whatever excel- lences such characters possess, " the love of God is not in them," no, not in any de- gree. Their amiable qualities therefore, be they what they may, must be some- thing quite distinct from love, or any of its operations. But, as "love is the ful- filling of the law," it must comprehend the whole of moral excellence ; and con- sequently there can be no moral excel- lence in the sight of God without it. You first reason from the cases of Ahab, the Ninevites, the young man whom our Lord is said to have loved, and the scribe who was declared to be "not far from the kingdom of heaven." In an- swer to which I would observe, Though the great God knoweth the secrets of all hearts, yet in the government of the world he does not always proceed upon this principle. He has sometimes thought fit to reward men for their actions, not because he approved of them as actions of theirs, but merely because they tended to subserve his own great and wise designs. God rewarded Nebuchadnezzar for his long siege against Tyre, by giving him the land of Egypt ; yet Nebuchadnezzar did nothing iu this undertaking which in its own nature could approve itself to God. The only reason why he was thus rewarded was that what he had done sub- served the divine purposes in punishing Tyre for her insulting treatment towards the people of God.* God also rewarded Cyrus with treasures of Babylon, "the hidden riches of secret places." as they are called ; not because Cyrus did any thing that was pleasing in his sight ; his motive was the lust of dominion : but because what he did effected the deliver- ance of Judah, and fulfilled the divine predictions upon Babylon. And as, in the great system of the di- vine government, actions may be reward- ed which have no appearance of innate goodness, so others may be rewarded which have such an appearance, even though it be nothing but appearance. God does not always avail himself of his omniscience, if I may so speak ; but pro- ceeds upon the supposition that men are what they profess and appear to be. The end of Jehovah in punishing the person and the house of Ahab was to make man- ifest his displeasure against their idola- tries. But if, when Ahab humbled him- self and rent his garments, God had pro- ceeded towards him on the ground of his omniscience, and, knowing him to be des- titute of sincerity, had made no difference in his treatment of him, that end would not have been answered. For, whatever might be Ahab's motives, they were un- known to men : and, if no difference had Ezek. XXV i. 1 — 7 ; xxix. 17 — 2. ■j- Isaiah xlv. 3. HUMAN DEI'KAVITV. 639 appeared in llic divine treatment, tlicy would have concluded that it was vain to serve God. It see?ued <:ood tliereCore to him, in the present life, to treat Aiial) u|)on the sujiposition of his heinu' sincere : and, as to his insincerity, he will call him to account tor that anotiier day. Tiiere is a case, much resemlilinii this oiAiiai), in the liistory of Al'ijah, the son ol Ucholioam. In 2 Cliron. xiii. we read ol' his wars with Jeroltoam the sonofNclat, king; of Israel, and how he addressed the ajiostate Israelites previously to the liattle. Ilavine reproached them witii IbrsaUing the God of their fathers, and turnin-i«/. A sinner is ex- rational creature performs these actions horted to repent and believe in Christ he either to the glorj' of God (that is, that he feels hardened in insensibility — he cannot may be strengthened to serve the Lord, repent — he has no desire after Christ. A and do good in his generation), or he does consciousness of this kind, if it operate not. If he do, they are virtuous : if not, according to its native tendency, will lead there is a criminal defect in the end of him to reflect, What a state mus! I be in ! them ; and, as the end or intent of an ac- Invited to repent and believe in Christ for tion is that which determines its nature, the salvation of my soul, and cannot com- that which otherwise would have been ply ! Mine, surely, is the very heart of lawful and laudable becomes sinful. To VOL. I. 81 642 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. an infernal ! — Let a sinner be brought to such a state of mind, and there is some hope concerning liim. You seem to feel sorry that there should be no encouragement held out to sinners to comply with any thing but what is spir- itually good ; and many who have sus- tained the character of Christian ministers have felt the same ; and, considering that poor sinners cannot comply with duties of this kind, have contented themselves with exhorting them to things with which they ca7i comply and still retain their en- mity against God. But what authority have they for such a conduct 1 When did Christ or his apostles deal in such com- promising doctrine 1 Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ were the grand articles on which they insisted. So far from hesitating to exhort their carnal auditors to what was spiritually good, it may be safely affirmed that THEY NEVER EXHORTED THEM TO ANY THING ELSE. It would liavc bccn unworthy of God, and of his servants, to require any thing short of the heart, or its genuine expressions. To conclude : The following supposi- tion may serve to illustrate the foregoing subject. A ship's company rise against their officers, put them in chains, and take the command of the ship upon themselves. They agree to set the officers ashore on some uninhabited island, to sail to some distant port, dispose of the cargo, and di- vide the amount. After parting with their officers, they find it necessary, for the sake of self-preservation, to establish some kind of laws and order. To these they adhere with punctuality, act upon honor with respect to each oth- er, and propose to be very impartial in the distribution of their plunder. But, while they are on their voyage, one of the com- pany relents and becomes very unhappy. They inquire the reason. He answers, "We are engaged in a wicked cause! " They plead their justice, honor, and gen- erosity to each other. He denies that there is any virtue in it: "Nay, all our equity, while it is exercised in pursuit of a scheme which violates the great law of justice, is itself a species of iniquity!" — " You talk extravagantly ; surely we might be worse than we are if we were to destroy each other as well as our officers." — " Yes, wickedness admits of degrees ; but there is no virtue or goodness in all our doings ; all has arisen from selfish mo- tives. The same principles which led us to discard our officers would lead us, if it were not for our own sake, to destroy each other." — " But you speak so very discour- agingly ; you destroy all motives to good order in the ship : what would you have usdol" — " Repent, return to our INJURED OFFICERS AND OWNERS, AND SUBMIT TO MERCY ! " " O, but this WC cannot do : advise us to any thing which concerns the good order of the ship, and we will hearken to you!" — "I cannot bear to advise in these matters ! Re- turn, RETURN, AND SUBMIT TO MER- CY I " Such would be the language of a true penitent in this case ; and such should be the language of a christian min- ister to sinners who have cast off the gov- ernment of God. I am affectionately yours, GAIUS. LETTER IV. CONSEQUENCES RESULTING FROM THE DOCTRINE OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY. [From Ciispus to Gaius.] C n, March 9, 1795. My dear friend. Your last two letters have occupied much of my attention. I confess I feel the force of the argument ; and, though there are difficulties in my mind which I scarcely know how to state in form, yet I must ingenuously confess that the grand objections which I advanced are answered. The subject is more interesting to me than ever : it affects all the great doc- trines of the gospel. My thoughts have already been at work upon its conse- quences. I could wish, after having dis- cussed the subject, we could examine its hearings on the different systems which are embraced in the religious world. With your leave, I will mention a few of those consequences which have struck my mind as resulting from it ; and shall be obliged to you for your opinion of their propriety, and the addition of any thing wherein you may perceive me defective. First : If your views be just, I perceive that all mankind, without any distinction of sober and profligate, are utterly LOST, AND ABSOLUTELY IN A PERISHING CONDITION. All men will acknowledge that they are sinners ; that they have broken God's commandments, most or all of them, in thought or in deed, at one time or other ; and that the best of their works have their imperfections. But such ac- knowledgments are seldom expressive of any deep concern. On the contrary, it is common for men, while they speak thus, to discover a spirit of indifference, sup- ported by a kind of hope that God will HUMAN DEPRAVITT. 64S pardon a few sins, and make up for a few iiiipcrroctioiis ; otliorwise, Ihcy say, he must keep licavcn to liiinsclf. But, if your views be just, their whole life has l)ceu one uninterrupted course of foul revolt anc' alioniinable apostasy; and the irreg- ularities of their lives hear no more pro- portion to tiie whole of their depravity than the particles of water which are oc- casionally emitted from the surface of the ocean to the tide that rolls beneath. Nor is there any propriety in men of this de- scription acknowledging their imperfec- tions : imi)erfe(tions relate to a standard, and imply an hal)itual aim to conform to it. Such language is properly applied to the rig-hteous, the best of whom fall short of the mark ; but the life of wicked men is in one shape or other an uninterrupted course of evil. Secondly : If your views be just, they seem to aftbrd a presumptive if not more than presumptive proof of oru need of A Saviour; and not of a Saviour only, but of A GREAT ONE ! I do not know whether I can exactly trace the operation of these principles, or their opposites, in the human mind ; but this I know, it is a fact sufficiently notorious that those pro- fessors of Christianity who reject the proper deity and atonement of Christ, at the same time entertain very diminutive notions of their own depravity. I have known many persons who as soon as they have begun to lean towards the Socinian, Arian, or Arminian systems, have discov- ered an inclination to treat this doctrine with contempt. Those people, on the other hand, who have sat under such preaching as has led them to entertain low thoughts of Christ and the grace of the gospel, if at some period of their life they have been convinced of their guilty and perishing state as sinners against God, they have soon given up llieir other no- tions, and embraced the deity and atone- ment of Ciirist with all their hearts, and that with but little if any persuasion on the part of their friends. Nor does this appear very difficult to be accounted ibr : as the ichole need no physician, but those that are sick, so it is natural to suppose that, in proportion as a person feels the depth and danger of his malady, he will estimate the necessity, the value, and the efficacy of the remedy. Thirdly : If your views be just, I per- ceive that the work of turning a sinner's heart must be altogether oj God and of free grace. If a sinner could return to God of his own accord, or even hy divine influence helping or a,ssisting him, it must l>e upon the supposition of his having some will, wish, or desire to set about it. But, if men are totally alienated from God, all de- sire after him must he extinct; nnd all the warnings, invitations, or expostulations of the word will he inefl'ectual : yea, divine influence itself will be insufficient, if it falls short of renewing the heart. We have heard much of late concerning polit- ical regeneration. It has been warmly contended by many, in behalf of the change which has taken place in a neighboring nation, that tilings were too bad for a mere reformation ; and that therefore re- generation was necessary. However that he, is it not on these principles that we are told, " Ye must he l)orn again." Old things must pass away, and all things must become new ] If men lie so dejiraved as you suppose, the necessity of a divine and entire change must be indubitably evident. Fourthly : If your views be just, the doctrine of /ree or itncondilional election may be clearly demonstrated and proved to be a dictate of right reason. If men be utterly depraved, they lie entirely at the discretion of God either to save or not to save them. If any are saved, it must be by an act of free grace. If some are brought to believe in Christ, while others continue in unbelief, (which accords with continued fact), the difference between them must be altogether of grace. But if God make a difference in time he must have determined to do so for eternity : for to suppose God to act without a purpose is depriving him of wisdom; and to sup- pose any new purpose to arise in his mind would be to accuse him of mutability. Here, therefore, we are landed upon elec- tion— sovereign unconditional election. And does not this accord with the Holy Scriptures 1 — " You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins : wherein, in time past, ye walked accord- ing to the course of this world, accord- ing to the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Among whom, also, we all had our conversation in times past, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind ; and were by nature the chil- dren of wrath, evon as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his gi'eat love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us to- gether with Christ. By grace are ye sav- ed !" — " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy ; and will have compas- sion on whom I will have compassion!" — "He hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling; not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Ciirist Jesus before the world began." Fifthly : If your views lie just, the jus- tification of sinners by the tcork of their hands uttcrJy falls to the ground. The foundation on which sinners in general 644 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. build their hopes is something like this : They have more virtue than vice, more good works than evil ones : that as none are without fault (and wiiich they conceive affords a good excuse for them), God will not be strict to mark iniquity ; but will weigh the good against the evil, and so balance the account ! But, if all the works of unregenerate sinners be of the nature of sin, there is an end to all hope of being accepted of God on their own account. When ministers have endeavored to dis- suade sinners from a reliance on their own righteousness, I have heard them reason to this effect : " Your good deeds are all mixed with evil, and therefore cannot be acceptable to God." I acknowledge that this is just, and that the least mixture of sin is an eternal bar to our being justified by our own righteousness; but, methinks, if they could have alleged that all their works were essentially and entirely evil, their arguments must have been more effectual, as to the cutting up of self-right- eous hopes. And such a doctrine would leave no room for the supposition of Christ dying to render our imperfect but sin- cere obedience acceptable to God, instead of that which is perfect ; for, in this case, the idea of imperfect sincere endeavors in unregenerate men is inadmissible — there are no such endeavors in existence. These things I have been used to believe in time past ; but, if the principle in ques- tion be admitted, I find such solid grounds on which to rest them as I never felt be- fore. I shall leave you to conclude the subject, and remain Affectionately yours, CRISPUS. LETTER V. CONSEQUENCES RESULTING FROM THE DOCTRINE OP HUMAN DEPRAVITY. [From Gaius to Crispus.] K , April 9, 1795. My dear friend. If any thing I have advanced in the course of our correspondence has been of use to you, 1 am satisfied. The infer- ences which you have drawn from the doc- trine of total depravity, as far as they go, appear to me to be just. I shall suggest a few others in addition to them : and as I have some other necessary employments, which require my attentiou^ you will ex- cuse me if I propose, with these, for the present, to close our correspondence. Your inferences relate to the bearings of the doctrine of total depravity on the Socinian and Arminian schemes ; mine shall concern what I should call the Pseu- do-Caivinistic scheme, or that view of the doctrines commonly called Calvinislical, which induces many in the present day to disapprove of all exhortations to sinners, except to merely external obedience, or things which contain in them nothing truly or spiritually good. If the foregoing prin- ciples be just, three things at least will follow ; namely — that the distinction be- tween moral virtue and true religion has less foundation in truth than is commonly supposed — tliat men in general are either obliged to perform spiritual actions, or al- lowed to live in sin and perform sinful ac- tions— and that we ought not, as minis- ters, so to compi"omise matters with God's enemies as to exhort them to merely ex- tei'nal services. Let us particularly ex- amine these consequences. They will be found to be more than a little interesting. First : Let us inquire whetlicr the dis- tinction between moral virtue and true religion be founded in truth. It is true the term religion includes more than that of morality, as it is applied to doctrine as well as practice, and to the performance of things positive as well as moral; but, if genuine morality be supposed to exist without true religion, such a supposition I conceive to be unfounded. It is allowed that what is commonly called morality is very different from true religion ; because much that goes by this name is not moral- ity, nor any thing truly virtuous. Noth- ing is morality, strictly speaking, but that which is in some degree a conformity to the moral laAV ; and nothing contains tlie least degree of conformity to the moral law, unless it include the love of God and our neighbor. There is, therefore, no such tiling as morality in wicked men. On the contrary, " the carnal mind is en- mity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neillier indeed can be." That which constitutes the essence of genuine morality, namely, the love of God and man, contains the sum of prac- tical religion. Repentance, faith, and ev- ery species of obedience, are but differ- ent modifications of love. If we love God, we cannot but repent of having of- fended and dishonored him. If we love God in his true cliaracter, and bear gen- uine benevolence to man, we cannot but love tlie Saviour, and embrace his salvation, which proclaims " glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will to men." The rejection of Christ by the Jews afforded a proof that they "had not the love of God in them." If Ave love God, we shall love his image in those that HUMAN DEPRAVITV. 645 are born of him. In fine, if we love God, we simll keep liis coniniaiuliiionts, iiml liis coniniamlinenls will not i>e jiricvous. It is common lor professed Infidels, and otlier enemies to true relijrion, to cry up morality as somethiiiic opposed to it ; and hence, it may be, -some have thought pro|)er to cry it tlown : yea, inaiiy, who by their |)raclice iiave proved themselves friendly to a holy life, have yet, on this account, it should seem, found it necessa- ry so to distinguish between morality and religion as to represent the former as sometiiino: very inferior in its nature to the latter. But it ought to be consid- ered that the morality on which the en- emies of true religion love to dwell is of a spurious kind; it does not consist in the love of God in his true character, or of men in such a way as to rejoice in what contributes to their greatest good. It is a morality essentially defective ; it leaves God and religion out o( the ques- tion, and is confined to what are called the social virtues, or things whicii every man in his dealings with men finds it his interest to promote. When we hear such characters cry up morality, instead of coldly admitting it to be a very good thing in its place, and insisting that religion is something of an entirely diflerent nature, we ought cordially to allow the impor- tance of genuine morality, and insist upon it tliat, if this were attended to, true re- ligion could not be neglected. Such char- acters would then discover their dislike to our morality, as much as they now do to what is called religion. Such a statement of matters, though it might grate on their inclinations, must, at least, approve itself to their consciences. Every man feels himself obliged to act upon the principles of morality. Let us then drive home that point in which we have their consciences on our side : let us say with the poet, " Talk ihey of morals, O tliou bleeding love ! The gland morality is love of Thee !" AVhile you speak of religion as something entirely distinct from morality, such a character will rest contented in the neg- lect of the one, and think himself happy, inasmuch as you allow him to be possess- ed of the other. But could you prove to him that morality, if genuine, would com- prise the love of God, of Christ, of the gospel, and of the whole of true religion, it would plant a thorn in his bosom, which he would find it difficult to extract. Secondly : If the foregoing jjrinciples be true, it will follow that rnen in general are either obliged to perform spiritual ac- tions, or allowed to live in sin and to per- form sinful actions. In the voluntary ac- tions of a rational creature, there is no me- dium lictween what is good and well pleas- ing, and what is evil and olVensive in the sight of God. All our actions are, in some mode or other, the expressions of love, or lltey are not. If they arc, they are spirit- ually good ; they are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Wiioliier we cat or drink, or whatsoever we do, if it be done to the glory of God, this is godliness. The ac- tions perlbrmed may be simply natural, but tiie end to which liiey are directed, and which determines their quality, denomi- nates them sj)irilual. On the other hand: If they are 710/, there is no possibility of their being any other than sinful. The want of love is itself a sin : it is a sinful defect re- lating to principle ; and whatever is done otherw ise than as an expression of love, let it wear what face it may, is a sinful action. We ourselves esteem nothing in a lellow- creature which is not in some mode or other the expression of love. If a wife were ever so assiduous in attending to her husband, yet, if he were certain that her heart was not with him, he would al>lior her endeavors to please him, and nothing that she did would bo, acceptable in his sight. Instead of its being a question whether God requires any thing of carnal men which is spiritually good, it is evident, botii from Scripture and the nature of things, THAT HE REQUIRES IS'OTHING BUT WHAT IS SO. It has l)een alleged that the obedience which God required of Israel by the Sinai covenant was merely external, and did not extend to the heart. Their government, it is said, was a theocracy ; God acted towards them under the char- acter of a civil governor; and if so, it is supposed, he must Ibrbear to take cog- nizance of the heart, which it is beyond the province of creatures to inspect. That God acted towards Israel as a civil gov- ernor is admitted ; and that it belongs not to a civil governor, in his executive ca- pacity, to take cognizance of the heart, is also admitted. In the bestowinent of rewards and punishments he must act from what is apparent in the lives of men, hav- ing no other medium by which to judge of the temper of their hearts : but it is not so with respect to legislation, or the formation of the laws. No civil gov- ernment upon earth will allow its subjects to hate it in their hearts, provided they do but carry it fair in tiieir conduct. The spirit of an laws, in all nations, requires men to be sincere friends to their coun- try; but, as there is no medium for mor- tals to judge of the heart l)ut that of an overt act, it is fit that this siiould be the established rule for the dispensation of rewards and punishments. It was thus, I 646 DIALOGUES AND LETTERS. conceive, in the government of God over Israel. Every precept contained in the Sinai covenant required the heart, or, which is the same thing, some genuine expression of it ; but, under its adminis- tration, punishments were not always in- flicted, nor rewards conferred, according to what men really were, but what they appeared to be, or according to the judg- ment which would have been pronounced had a fellow -creature sat in judgment upon them. It was on this principle that Ahab's punishment was averted on his humbling himself before God. So far was the divine Legislator from requir- ing merely external odedience, by the Sinai covenant, that the grand prelimi- nary to that covenant was this : " If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people." And what is meant by obeying his voice in- deed is sufficiently evident, by the sub- sequent addresses of Moses, Joshua, Sa- muel, and others ; in many of which it is observable that, though the blessings promised were external, yet the proviso on which the promises were made was noili- ing less than a heart sincerely devoted to God: — " If ye will hearken diligent- ly unto my commandments, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul, 1 will give you the rain of your land in his sea- son : the first rain, and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn and thy wine, and thine oil." — "Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods ; and then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven that there be no rain, and that the land yield not lier IVuit, and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you." — " Take diligent heed to do the commandments which Moses the ser- vant of the Lord charged you, to love tlie Lord your God, and to walk in all his loays, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, — Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth, ivitli' all your heart: for consider what great things he hath done for you." \i external obedience were all that God re- quired by the Sinai covenant, why was he not satisfied with the goodly professions which they made during that solemn trans- action, saying, " All these things will we do ]" and wherefore did he utter that cut- ting exclamation, " O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and their children forever ?" Lastly : If the foregoing principles be just, instead of being a question whether ministers should exhort their carnal audi- tors to any thing spiritually good, it de- serves to be seriously considered wheth- er IT BE NOT AT THEIR PERIL TO EX- HORT THEM TO ANY THING SHORT OP IT. — If all duty consists in the genuine op- erations and expressions of the heart, it must be utterly wrong for ministers to compromise matters with the enemies of God, by exhorting them to merely exter- nal actions, or to such a kind of exercise as may be performed without the love of God. It is disloyalty to God, betraying his just authority over the heart, and ad- mitting that in behalf of him which we should despise if offered to ourselves from a fellow-creature. Nor is it less injuri- ous to the souls of men ; as it tends to quiet their consciences, and to cherish an opinion that, having complied with many of the exhortations of their minister, they have done many things pleasing and ac- ceptable to God; while, in fact, "every thought and imagination of their heart has been only evil continually." It may be thought that these things bear hard upon the unconverted sinner, and re- duce him to a terrible situation. But, if such in fact be his situation, it will not mend the matter to daub it with the un- tempered mortar of palliation : on the con- trary, it will render it still more terrible. The truth is, there is no way for a sinner to take in which he can find solid rest, but that of returning home to God by Jesus Christ. And, instead of trying to render his situation easy, it ought to be our busi- ness as ministers to drive him from every other resting-place, not for the sake of plunging him into despair, but, if it please God to bless our labors, that he may be ne- cessitated to betake himself to the " good old way, and find rest unto his soul I " We ought solemnly to assure him that, do what else he will, he sins, and is heaping upon his head a load of guilt that will sink him into endless perdition. If he pray, or fre- quent the means of grace, his -prayer "is an abomination to the Lord:" if he live in the omission of these things it is worse. Whether he eat or drink, plough the soil, or gather in the harvest (like the supposed ship's company, mentioned before, who with all their regularity continued in their rebellious course), all is iniquity. " In- cense is an abomination : it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting." To die is to lie j)lunged into the gulph of destruction ; and to live, if he continue in enmity to God, is worse ; as it is heaping up wrath in an enlarged degree against the day of wrath. What then, it will be asked, can sinners dol If they go forward, destruction is HUMAN DEPRAVITY. C47 before them ; if on this hand, or on that, it is the same. Whitlior can they go"? and what must they do 1 All the answer which the Scriptures warrant us to make is in- cluded in the warniniis and invitations of the gospel : " Repent, and helievc the gospel." — " Repent and be converted, that your sins may he blotted out." — " Be- lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved." — " Deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow me, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven! " If the answer be. We cannot comply with tiiese tilings ; our hearts are too hard ; advise us to any thing else, and we will hearken; — if this, or sometliing like it, I say, should be the answer, the servant of God having w arned them that what they call their incapacity is no other than a wicked aversion to God and goodness, that they judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life, and that their blood will be upon their own heads, — must there leave them. His soul may weep in secret places for them ; but it is at his peril to compromise the matter. If, seeing they cannot find in their hearts to comply witli the invitations of the gospel, he siiould ort'er any directions which imply that tlu'ir inal>ility is of such a kind as to atVord tliom any excuse — any directions wiiich imply that it is not their immediate duty to repent and return to God by Jesus Ciirist — any directions which may de- scend witiiin the compass of tiieir inclina- tions— let him look to it ! They may be pleased with his advice, and comply with it ; and, considering it as aiiout the whole of what can reasonably be expected of them in their present circumstances, they may be very easy ; and, persisting in such a spirit, they may die in it, and perish for- ever ; BUT THEIR BLOOD WILL SURELY BE REQUIRED AT HIS HAND ! I am, my dear friend. Yours very affectionately, GAIUS. THREE CONVERSATIONS ON IMPUTATION, SUBSTITUTION, AND PARTICULAR REDEMPTION. VOL. I. 82 THREE COiWERSATIOJNS. CONVERSATION I. ON IMPUTATION. Peter and James considered each other as good men, and had for several years been in tlie habit of corresponding on divine subjects. Tlieir respect was mu- tual. Their sentiments, however, though alike in the main, were not exactly the same ; and some circumstances had lately occurred which tended rather to magnify the ditTerencc than to lessen it. Being both at the house of" John, their common friend, in his company they fell into the following conversation. I am not without painful apprehension, said Peter to John, that the views of our friend James on some of the doctrines of the gospel are unhappily diverted from the truth. I suspect he does not believe in the proper hnjmtation of sin to Ciirist, or of Christ's rigliteousncss to us ; nor in his being our substitute or representative. John. Those are serious things ; but what arc the grounds, brother Peter, on which your sus])icions rest ] Peter. Partly what he has published, which I cannot reconcile with those doc- trines, and partly wliat he has said in my hearing, which I consider as an avowal of what I have stated. John. What say you to tiiis, brother James ? James. I cannot tell whether what I have written or spoken accords with broth- er Peter's ideas on these subjects ; indeed I suspect it does not : but I never thought of calling either of the doctrines in ques- tion. Were I to relincpiish the one or the other, I should be at a loss tor ground on which to rest my salvation. What he says of my avowing my disbelief of tliem in his hearing must be a misunderstanding. I did say, I suspected that his views of imputation and subslituiion were unscrip- tural, but had no intention of disowning the doctrines themselves. Peter. Brother James, I have no de- sire to assume any dominion over your faith, but should be glad to know what are your ideas on these important subjects. Do you hold that sin was properly impu- ted to Christ, and that Christ's righteous- ness is properly imputed to us, or notl James. You are quite at liberty, broth- er Peter, to ask me any (piestions on these subjects; and if you will hear me patient- ly I will answer you as explicitly as I am able. John. Do so, brother James ; and we shall hear you, not only patiently, but, I trust, with jjleasure. James. To impute (am ^■oyi':oiiui) sig- nifies, in general to charge, reckon, or place to account, according to the different objects to wiiich it is applied. This word, like many others, has a proper and an improper or figurative meaning. First : It is applied to the charging, reckoning, or placing to the account of persons and tilings, that which prop- KRLY BELONGS TO THE.M. This I COU- sider as its proper meaning. In this sense the word is used in the following pas- sages :—" Eli thought she (Hannah) had been drunken." — " Hanan and Mattaniah, the treasurers, were counted faithful." — "Let a man so account of us as the minis- ters of Christ and stewards of tiie mys- teries of God." — "Let such a one think this, that such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also indeed when we are present." — " I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be comj)ared with the glory that shall i>c revealed in us." Reckon- ing, or accounting, in the above instances, is no other tlian judging of persons and things according to xchat they are, or ap- pear to be. To impute sin in this sense is to charge guilt upon the guilty in a judi- cial way, or with a view to punishment. Thus Shimei besought David that his in- iquity might 710/ 6e imputed to him: thus the man is pronounced blessed " to whom tl)e Lord imputelh not iniquity ;" and thus Paul prayed that the i.in of those who deserted him might not be laid to their charr^e. In this sense the term is ordinarily used in common life. To impute treason or any other crime to a man is the same thing as charging him with having com- mitted it, and this with a view to his be- ing punished. Secondly : It is applied to the charging, reckoning, or placing to the account of persons and things, that which does NOT belong to them, AS THOUGH IT 652 CONVERSATIONS, &C. DID. This I consider as its improper or figunitive meaning. In this sense the word is used in tlie following passages : — "And this your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you as though it ivere the corn of the thrashing-floor, and as the fulness of the wine-press." — " Where- fore hidest thou thy face and holdcst me for thine enemy." — " If the uncircumcis- ion keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision." — " If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account." It is in this latter sense that I under- stand the term when applied to justifica- tion. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him ibr righteousness." — " To him that worketh not, but be- lieveth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." The counting, or reckoning, in these in- stances, is not a judging of tilings as they are; but as they are not, as though they tvcre. I do not think that faith here means the righteousness of the Messiah ; for it is expressly called believing. It means believing, however, not as a virtuous ex- ercise of the mind which God consented to accept instead of perfect obedience, but as having respect to the promised Mes- siah, and so to his righteousness as the ground of acceptance.* Justification is ascribed to faith, as healing frequently is in the New Testament; not as that from which the virtue proceeds, but as that which receives from the Saviour's fulness. But, if it were allowed that faith in these passages really means the object laelieved in, still this was not Abraham's vtvn righteousness, and could not be i)ro- perly counted by him who judges of things as they are as being so. It was reckoned omto him as if it were his : and the effects, (or benefits, of it were actually imparted to him : but this was all. Abraham did not become meritorious, or cease to be unworthy. " What is it to place our righteousness an the obedience of Christ," says Calvin, " but to affirm that hereby only we are laccounted righteous ; because the obedi- ence of Christ is imputed to us as if it WERE OUR OWN."f It is thus also that I understand the im- putation of sin to Christ. He was ac- counted, in (he divine administration, as if he were or had been the sinner, that those who believe in him might be ac- counted as if they were or had been right- eous. * See Calvin's Institutes, Book III. Chap. XI. § 7. Also my Expository Discourses on Genesis, Chap. XV. 1 — 6. t Institutes, Book III. Chap. XI. § 23. brethren, I have done. Whether my statement be just or not, I hope it Avill be allowed to be explicit. John. That it certainly is ; and we thank you. Have you any other ques- tions, brother Peter, to ask upon the sub- ject! Peter. How do you understand the apostle in 2 Cor. v. 21, " He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him 1" James. Till lately I cannot say that I have thought closely upon it. I have un- derstood that several of our best writers consider the word aiianTia (sin) as frequent- ly meaning a sin-offering. Dr. Owen so interprets it in his answer to Biddle (p. 510), though it seems he afterwards clianged his mind. Considering the op- position between the sin which Christ was made and the righteousness which we are made, together with the same word being used for that which he was made and that which he kneiv not, I am inclined to be of the Doctor's last opinion ; namely, that the sin which Christ was made means sin itself, and the righteousness which we are made means righteousnctL itself. I doubt not but that the allusion is to the sin-of- fering under the law, but not to its being made a sacrifice. Let me be a little more particular. There were two things he- longing to the sin-offering. First : The imputation of the sins of the people, sig- nified by the priest's laying his hands up- on the head of the animal, and confessing over it their transgressions, and which is called " putting them upon it :" that is, it was counted, in the divine administration, as if the animal had been the sinner, and the only sinner of the nation. Secondly : Offering it in sacrifice, or " killing it be- fore the Lord for an atonement." Now the phrase made sin, in 2 Cor. v. 21, ap- pears to refer to the first step in this pro- cess in order to the last. It is expressive of what was preparatory to Christ's suf- fering death, rather than of the thing it- self, just as our being made righteousness expresses what was preparatory to God's bestowing upon us eternal life. But the term tnade is not to be taken literally ; for that would convey the idea of Christ's being really the subject of moral evil. It is expressive of a divine constitution by which our Redeemer, with his own con- sent, stood in the sinner's place, as though he had been himself the transgressor ; just as the sin-offering under the law was, in mercy to Israel, reckoned or accounted to have the sins of the people " put ujion its head ;" with this difference, that was only a shadow, but this went really to take away sin. IMPUTATION. 653 Peter. Do you consider Christ as hav- ing been punished, really and properly PTNISHEl) ] Jaines. I sliould think I do not. But what do you mean hy punishment 1 Peter. An innocent person may suffer, but, properly speakinjr, he cannot he pun- ished. Punishment necessarily supposes criminality. James. Just so ; and tiierefore, as I do not believe that Jesus was in any sense criminal, I cannot say he was really and properly punished. Peter. Punishment is the infliction of natural evil for the commission of n)oral evil. It is not necessary, however, that the latter should have been committed by the party. Criminality is supposed; but it may be either personal or imputed. James. This I cannot admit. Real and proper punishment, if I understand the terms, is not only the infliction of natural evil for the commission of moral evil, but the infliction of the one xipon the person icho committed the other, and in displeasure against him. It not only sup- poses criminality, but that the party pun- ished was literally the criminal. Crimi- nality committed by one party and im- puted to another is not a ground for real and proper punishment. If Paul had sustained the punishment due to Onesimus for having wronged his master, yet it would not have been real and proper punishment to him, but suffering only, as not being inflicted in disj)leasure against him. I am aware of what has been said on this subject, that there was a more intimate union between Christ and those for whom he died than could ever exist between creatures. But be it so ; it is enough for me that the union was not such as that the actions of THE OXE BECAME THOSE OF THE OTH- ER. Christ, even in the act of offering himself a sacrifice, when, to speak in the language of the Jewish law, the sins of the people were put or laid upon him, gave himself, nevertheless, the just FOR THE UNJUST. Peter. And thus it is that you under- stand the words of Isaiah, " The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us alll" James. Yes ; he bore the punishment due to our sins, or tliat which, considering the dignity of his person, was equivalent to it. The phrase " He shall bear his iniquity," which so frequently occurs in the Old Testament, means, he shall bear the punishment due to his iniquity. Peter.' And yet you deny that Christ's sufferings were properly penal? James. You would not deny eternal life which is promised to believers to be properly a reward ; but you would deny its being a real and proper reward to THEM. Peter. And what then 1 James. If eternal life, tiiough it be a reward, and we partake of it, yet is really and properly the reward of Christ's obe- dience, and not ours; then the sufferings of Christ, though they were a punishment, and he sustained if, yet were really and properly the punishment of our sins, and not his. What he bore was punish- ment : (hat is, it was the expression of divine displeasure against transgressors. So what we enjoy is reward : that is, it is the expression of God's well-pleased- ncss in the obedience and death of his Son. But neither is the one a punish- ment to him, nor the other, properly speaking, a reward to us. There appears to me great accuracy in the scripture language on tliis subject. What our Saviour underwent is almost always expressed by the term suffering. Once it is called a chastisement: yet there he is not said to have been chas- tised ; but " the chastisement of our peace was upon him." This is the same as saying he bore our punishment. He was made a curse for us : that is, hav- ing been reckoned or accounted the sin- ner as though he had actually been so, he was treated accordingly, as one that had deserved to be an outcast from heav- en and earth. I believe that the wrath of God w hich was due to us was poured upon him: but I do not believe that God for one moment was angry or dis- pleased with him, or that he smote him from any such displeasure. There is a passage in Calvin's Insti- tutes which so fully expresses my mind that I hope you will excuse me if 1 read it. You will find it in Book II. Chap. XVI, § 10, 11. "It behoved him that he should, as it were, hand to hand, wrestle with the armies of hell, and the horror of eternal death. Tlie chastise- ment of our peace was laid upon him. He was smitten of his Father for our crimes, and bruised for our iniquities : whereby is meant that he was put in the stead of the wicked, as surety and |)ledge, yea, and as the verv' guilty person him- self, to sustain and bear away all the punishments that should have been laid upon them, save only that he could not })e holden of death. — Yet do we not mean that God was at any time either his enemy or angry with him. For how could he be angry with his beloved Son, upon whom his mind rested ] Or how could Christ by his intercession appease his Father's wrath towards others, if, full of hatred, he had been incensed 654 CONVERSATIONS, &.C. against himself? But this is our mean- ing— that he sustained the weight of the divine displeasure; inasmuch as lie, be- ing stricken and tormented by the hand of God, DID FEEL ALL THE TOKENS OF God when he is angry and pun- ISHETH." Peter. The words of Scripture are very express : " He hath made him to be sin for ms." — "He was made a curse for us.'' You may, by diluting and qualify- ing interpretations, soften what you con- sider as intolerable harshness. In other words, you may choose to correct the lan- guage and sentiments of inspiration, and teach the apostle to speak of his Lord with more decorum, lest his personal pu- rity should be impeached, and lest the odium of the curse, annexed by divine law, should remain attached to his death : but, if you abide by the obvious meaning of the passages, you must hold with a commutation of persons, the imputation of sin and of righteousness, and a vicarious punishment equally pregnant with execra- tion as with death. John. I wish brother Peter would for- bear the use of language which tends not to convince, but to irritate. James. If there be any thing convinc- ing in it, I confess I do not pei'ceive it. I admit, with Mr. Charnock, "that Christ was ' made sin' as if he had sinned all the sins of men; and we are 'made righteousness' as if we had not sinned at all." What more is necessary to abide by the obvious meaning of the words \ To go farther must be to maintain that Christ's licing made sin means that he was literally rendered wicked, and that his being made a curse is the same thing as his being punished for it according to his deserts. Brother Peter, I am sure, does not believe this shocking position ; but he seems to think there is a medium between his being treated as if he were -d sinner and his being one. If such a me- dium there be, I should be glad to dis- cover it : at present it appears to me to have no existence. Brother Peter will not suspect me, I hope, of wishing to depreciate his judg- ment, when I say that he appears to me to be attached to certain terms without having sufficiently weighed their import. In most cases I should think it a privilege to learn of him ; but in some things I can- not agree with him. In order to maintain the real and proper punishment of Christ, lie talks of his being " guilty by imputa- tion." The term guilty, I am aware, is often used by theological writers for an obligation to punishment, and so applies to that voluntary obligation which Christ came under to sustain the punishment of our sins : but, strictly speaking, guilt is the desert of punishment ; and this can never apply but to the offender. It is the opposite of innocence. A voluntary obli- gation to endure the punishment of anoth- er is not guilt, any more than a conse- quent exem{)tion from obligation in the offender is innocence. Both guilt and in- nocence are transferable in their effects, but in themselves they are untransferable. To say that Christ was reckoned or count- ed in the divine administration as if he iveie the sinner, and came under an obli- gation to endure the curse or punishment due to our sins, is one thing: but to say he deserved that curse is another. Guilt, strictly speaking, is the inseparable at- tendant of transgression, and could never, therefore, for one moment occupy the conscience of Christ. If Christ by impu- tation became deserving of punishment, we by non-imputation cease to deserve it ; and, if our demerits be literally transfer- red to him, his merits must of course be the same to us : and then, instead of ap- proaching God as guilty and unworthy, we might talie consequence to ourselves be- fore him, as not ^only guiltless but merito- rious beings. Peter. Some who profess to hold that believers are justified by the righteous- ness of Christ, deny nevertheless that his obedience itself is imputed to them ; for they maintain that the Scripture repre- sents believers as receiving only the bene- fits, or effects, of Christ's righteousness in justification, or their being pardoned and accepted for Christ's righteousness' sake. But it is not merely for the sake of Christ, or of what he has done, that believers are accepted of God, and treated as completely righteous ; but it is in him as their Head, Representative, and Sub- stitute, and by the imputation of that very obedience which, as such, he performed to the divine law, that they are justified. James. I have no doubt but that the imputation of Christ's righteousness pre- supposes a union with him ; since there is no perceivable fitness in bestowing ben- efits on one for another's sake where there is no union or relation subsisting between them. It is not such an union however as that the actions of ei- ther KECOME THOSE OF THE OTHER. That " the Scriptures represent believers as receiving only the benefits or the ef- fects of Christ's righteousness in justifi- cation " is a remark of which I am not able to perceive the fallacy : nor does it follow that his obedience itself is not im- puted to them. Obedience itself may be and is imputed, while its effects only are imparted, and consequently received. I never met with a person who held the IMPUTATION. 565 absurd notion of imputed benefits, or im- puted punishments ; and am inclincil to think ihere never was sucii a person. Be that liowevcr as it may, sin on the one hand, and rii:l)teousness on the otiier, are the proper ol)jeets of imputation ; hut tiiat imputation consists in cliarginj; or reok- oninjj^ them to the account ot the party in such a way as to impart to him their evil or benelicial etVects. Peter. The doctrine for which I con- tend, as taught l)y the apostle Paul, is neither novel nor more stroni^ly expressed than it has formerly been by authors of eminence. JuDics. It may be so. We have been told ot an old protestant writer who says, that "In Christ, and by him, every true Christian may be called a fuljiller of the /aic;" but I see not why he might not as well have added. Every true Christian may be said to have been slain, and, if not to have redeemed iiimself by his own blood, yet to be worthy of all that bless- ing and honor. and glory that sliall be conferred upon him in the world to come. — What do you think o f Dr. Crisp's Ser- mons 1 Has he not carried your principles to an extreme 1 Peter. I cordially agree with Wit- sius as to the impropriety of calling Christ a sinner, truly a sinner, the great- est of sinners, &c., yet I am far from dis- approving of what Dr. Criip, and some others, meant by those exceptionable ex- pressions. James. If a Christian may be called afulfller of the law, on account of Christ's obedience being imputed to him, I see not why Christ may not be called a trans- gressor of the laiv, on account of our dis- obedience being imputed to him. Persons and things should be called what they are. As to the meaning of Dr. Crisp, I am very willing to think he had no ill design : but my concern is with the meaning which his words convey to his readers. He con- siders God, in charging our sins on Christ, and accounting his righteousness to us, as reckoning of things as they are. — p. 280. He contends that Christ was really the sinner, or guilt could not have been laid upon him. — p. 272. Imputation of sin and righteousness, with him, is liter- ally and actually a transfer of ch.\r- acter; and it is the object of his rea- soning to persuade his believing hearers that from henceforward Christ is the sin- ner, and not they. " Hast thou been an idolater," says he, " a blasphemer, a despiser of God's word, a profaner of his name and ordinances, a thief, a liar, a drunkard 1 — If thou hast part in Christ, all these transgressions of thine become actually the transgressions of Christ, and so cease to be thine ; and thou ceasest to be a transgressor from the titnc they were laid upon Christ to the last hour of thy life : so that now thou art not an idolater, a perse- cutor, a thici, a liar, &c. — thou art not a sinlul person. Reckon whatever sin you commit, when as you have i)art in Christ, you are all that Christ was, and Christ is all that you were." — p. 270. If the meaning of this passage be true and good, I see nothing exceptional)le in the expressions. All that can be said is that tlie writer explicitly states his prin- ciple, and avows its legitimate consequen- ces. I lielicve the princij)le to be false. 1. Because neither sin nor righteousness is in itself transieral)le. The act and deed of one person may affect another in many ways, hut cannot possii)Iy become his act and deed. 2. Because the Scrip- tures uniforndy declare Christ to be sin- less, and believers to be sinful creatures. 3. Because believers themselves have in all ages confessed their sins, and applied to the mercy-seat for forgiveness. They never plead such a union as sliall render their sins not theirs, but Christ's ; but merely such a one as affords ground to apply for pardon in his name, or for his sake : not as worthy claimants, but as unworthy supplicants. Whatever reasonings we may adopt, there are certain times in which conscience will bear witness that, notwithstanding the imputation of our sins to Christ, ive are actually the sinners ; and I should have thought tliat no good man could have gravely gone about to overturn its testi- mony. Yet this is what Dr. Crisp has done. "Believers think," says he, "that they find their transgressions in their own consciences, and they imagine that there is a sting of this poison still behind, wound- ing them : but, beloved, if this principle be received for a truth, that God hath laid thine iniquities on Christ, how can thy transgressions, belonging to Christ, be found in thy heart and conscience \ — Is thy conscience Christ 1" — p. 269. Perhaps no man has gone farther than Dr. Crisp in his attempts at consistency ; and admitting his principle, that imputa- tion consists in a transfer of character, I do not see who can dispute his conclusions. To have been perfectly consistent, how- ever, he should have proved that all the confessions and lamentations of believers, recorded in Scripture, arose from their being under the mistake which he labors to rectify ; that is, thinking sin did not cease to be theirs, even when under the fullest persuasion that the Lord would not impute it to them, but would gracious- ly cover it by the righteousness of hi* Son. 656 CONVERSATIONS, &C. John. I hope, my brethren, that what has been said in this free conversation will be reconsidered with candor ; and that you will neither of you impute designs or consequences to the other which are not avowed. CONVERSATION II. ON SUBSTITUTION. John. I THINK, brother Peter, you ex- pressed, at the beginning of our last con- versation, a strong suspicion that brother James denied the substitution of Christ, as well as the proper imputation of sin and rig-hteousness. What has passed on the latter subject would probably tend either to confirm or remove your suspi- cions respecting the former. Peter. I confess I was mistaken in some of my suspicions. I consider our friend as a good man, but am far from be- ing satisfied with what I still understand to be his views on this important subject. John. It gives me great pleasure to hear the honest concessions of brethren when they feel themselves in any meas- ure to have gone too far. Peter. I shall be glad to hear brother James's statement on substitution, and to know whether he considers our Lord in his undertaking as having sustained the character of a Head, or Representative ; and, if so, whether the persons for whom he was a substitute were the elect only, or mankind in general. James. I must acknowledge that on this subject I feel considerably at a loss. I have no consciousness of having ever called the doctrine of substitution in ques- tion. On the contrary, my hope of sal- vation rests upon it ; and the sum of my delight, as a minister of the gospel, con- sists in it. If I know any thing of my own heart, I can say of my Saviour as laying down his life for, or instead of, sinners, as was said of Jerusalem by the captives : " If I forget thee, let my right hand forget : if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth !" [James here paused, and wept ; and both John and Peter wept with him. Af- ter recovering himself a little, he proceed- ed as follows :] I have always considered the denial of this doctrine as being of the essence of Socinianism. I could not have imagined that any person whose hope of accept- ice with God rests not on any goodness in himself, but entirely on the righteous- ness of Christ, imputed to him as if it were his oivn, would have been accounted to disown his substitution. But perhaps my dear brother (for such I feel him to be, notwithstanding our differences ) may in- clude, in his ideas on this subject, that Christ was so our head and representa- tive as that what he did and suflered we did and suffered in him. [To this Peter assented.] If no more were meant by this, resumed James, than that what he did and suffered is graciously accepted on our behalf as if it were ours, I freely, as I have said before, acquiesce in it. But I do not believe, and can hardly persuade himself that brother Peter believes, the obedience and sufferings of Christ to be so ours as that we can properly be said to have obeyed and suffered. Christ was and is our head, and we are his members : the union between him and us, however, is not in all respects the same as that which is between the head and the members of the natural body ; for that would go to explain away all dis- tinct consciousness and accountableness on our part. As to the term representative, if no more be meant by it than that Christ so personated us as to die in our stead, that we, believing in him, should not die, I have nothing to object to it. But I do not believe that Christ was so our representa- tive as that what he did and suffered we did and suffered ; and so became merito- rious, or deserving of the divine favor. But I feel myself in a wide field, and must intreat your indulgence while I take up so much of the conversation. Peter and John. Go on, and state your sentiments without apology. James. I apprehend, then, that many important mistakes have arisen from con- sidering the interposition of Christ under the notion of paying a debt. The blood of Christ is indeed the price of our re- demption, or that for the sake of which we are delivered from the curse of the law : but this metaphorical language, as well as that of head and members, may be carried too far, and may lead us into many errors. In cases of debt and credit among men, where a surety undertakes to represent the debtor, from the moment his undertaking is accepted the debtor is free, and may claim his liberty, not as a mat- ter of favor, at least on the part of the creditor, but of strict justice. Or, should the undertaking be unknown to him for a time, yet as soon as he knows it he may demand his discharge, and, it may be, think himself hardly treated by being kept in bondage so long after his debt had been actually paid. But who in their sober SUBSTITUTION. G57 senses will imagine this to be analogous to (lie redemplion of sinners l>y Jesus Christ ! Sin is a(iei)t only in a nietapiiorical sense; properly speaking, it is a crime, and sat- islaetion lor it recpiircs to he made, not on pecuniary l>ut on moral principles. If Pliilemon had accepted ol that part of Paul's oiler which respected property, and had |>laced so much to his account as he considered Onesimus to have " owed " him, tie could not iiave been said to have remitted his debt; nor would Onesimus have had to thank him for remitting it. But it is supposed of Onesimus that he might not only be in debt to his master, but have " wronged " him. Perhaps he had embezzled his goods, corrupted his children, or injured his character. Now i'or Philemon to accept of that part of the olTer were very dill'erent from the other. In the one case he would have accejttcd of a pecuniary representative, in the other ol a moral one, that is, of a mediator. The satisfaction in the one case would annihi- late the idea of remission ; but not in the other. Whatever satisfaction Paul might give to Philemon respecting the wound intlicted upon his character and honor as the head of a family, it would not super- sede the necessity of pardon being sought by the otVender and freely bestowed by the ofTended. The reason for this difference is easily perceived. Debts are transferable ; but crimes are not. A third person may can- cel the one, but he can only obliterate the effects of the other ; the desert of the criminal remains. The debtor is account- able to his creditor as a private individ- ual, who has power to accept of a surety, or, if he please, to remit the whole with- out any satisfaction. In the one case he he would be just; in the other merciful : but no place is afforded by either of them for the combination of justice and mercy in the same proceeding. The criviinal, on the other hand, is amenable to the magistrate, or to the head of a family, as a public person, and who, especially if the offence be capital, cannot remit the i)un- ishment without invading law and justice, nor, in the ordinary discharge ot his office, admit of a third person to stand in his jdace. In extraordinary cases, however, extraordinary expedients are resort- ed to. A satisfaction may be made to law and justice, as to the .s;)ir(7 of them, while the letter is dispensed with. The well-known story of Zaleucus, the Gre- cian lawgiver, who consented to lose one of his eyes to spare one of his son's eyes, who, by transgressing the law had sub- jected himself to the loss of both, is an example. Here, as far as it went, justice and mercy were combined in the same act ; VOL. I. So and had the satisfaction been much fuller than it was, so full that the authority of the law instead of lieing weakened should have i)een al)undantly magnified anil hon- ored, still it had been perfectly consistent tcith free furi^iveness. Finally : In the case of the debtor, sat- isfaction being once accepted, justice re- quires his complete discharge : but in that of the criminal, where satisfaction is made to the wounded honor of the law and the authority of the lawgiver, justice, though it admits of his discharge, yet no otherwise requires it than as it may have been matter of promise to the substitute. I do not mean to say that cases of this sort afford a competent representation of redemption by Christ. That is a work which not only ranks with extraordinary interpositions, but which has no parallel : it is a work of God, which leaves all the petty concerns of mortals inlinitely be- hind it. All that comparisons can do is to give us some idea of the principle on which it proceeds. If the following- passage in our admired Milton were considered as the language of the law of innocence, it would be inac- curate— -Man disobeying. He witli his whole posterity must die ; Die lie, or justice must; unless for him Some other able, and as willing, pay The rigid satisfaction, death for death." Abstractedly considered, this is true ; but it is not expressive of what was the revealed law of innocence. The law made no such condition or provision ; nor was it inditferent to the lawgiver who should suffer, the sinner or another on his behalf. The language of the law to the transgressor was not thou shall die, or some one on thy behalf, but simply thou shall die : and, had it literally taken its course, every child of man must have perished. The sufferings of Christ in our stead, therefore, are not a punish- ment inilicted in the ordinary course of distril)utive justice, but an extraordinary interposition of infinite wisdom and love ; not contrary to, but rather above the law, deviating from the letter, but more than preserving the spirit of it. Such, brethren, as well as I am able to ex- plain them, are my views of the substi- tution of Christ. Peter. The objection of our so stating the substitution of Christ as to leave no room for the free pardon of sin has been often made by those who avowedly reject his satisfaction ; but for any who really consider his death as an atonement for sin, and as essential to the ground of a 658 CONVERSATIONS, &C. sinner's hope, to employ the objection against us is very extraordinary, and must, I presume, proceed from inadver- tency. James. If it be so I do not perceive it. The grounds of the objection have been stated as clearly and as fully as I am able to state them. John. What are your ideas, brother James, with respect to the persons for whom Christ died as a substitute] Do you consider them as the elect only, or mankind in general ^ James. Were I asked concerning the gospel, when it is introduced into a country, For tvhom loas it sent? if I had respect only to the revealed will of God, I should answer. It is sent for men, not as elect or non-elect, but as sinners. It is written and preached "that they might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing they might have life through his name." But if I had respect to the appointment of God, with regard to its application, I should say. If the divine conduct in this instance accord with what it has been in other instances, he hath visited that country, to ''take out of it a people for his name." In like manner, concerning the death of Christ, if I speak of it irrespective of the purpose of the Father and the Son as to the objects who should be saved by it, referring merely to what it is in itself sufficient for, and declared in the gospel to be adapted to, I should think I answered the question in a scrip- tural way in saying. It was for sinners as sinners. But if I have respect to the purpose of the Father in giving his Son to die, and to the design of Christ in laying down his life, I should answer. It was for his elect only. Ill the former of these views I find the apostles and primitive ministers (leav- ing the consideration of God's secret purposes as a matter belonging to him- self, not to them) addressing themselves to sinners without distinction, and hold- ing forth the sacrifice of Christ as a ground of faith to all men. On this prin- ciple the servants sent forth to bid guests to the marriage-supper were directed to invite them, saying, " Come, /or all things are ready." On this principle the am- bassadors of Christ besought sinners to be reconciled to God; ''for," said they, " he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." In the latter view I find the apostles asci'ibing to the purpose and discrimina- ting grace of God all their success : "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed ;" teaching believers also to as- cribe every thing that they were, or hop- ed to be, to the same cause ; addressing them as having been before the founda- tion of the world " beloved " and " cho- sen " of God ; the " children " or " sons " whom it was the design of Christ, in becoming incarnate, to bring to glory ; the "church " of God, which he pur- chased with his own blood, and for wliich "he gave himself, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." If the substitution of Christ consist in his dying for or instead of others, that they should not die, this, as comprehending the designed end to be answered l)y his death, is strictly applicable to none but the elect ; for, whatever ground there is for sinners as sinners to believe and be saved, it never was the purpose or design of Christ to impart faith to any other than those who were given him of the Father. He therefore did not die with the intent that any others should not die. Whether I c?ai perfectly reconcile these statements with each other or not, I em- brace them as being both plainly taught in the Scriptures. I confess, however, I do not at present perceive their inconsis- tency. If I he not greatly mistaken, what apparent contradiction may attend them arises chiefly from that which has been al- ready mentioned ; namely, the considering of Christ's substitution as an affair between a creditor and debtor, or carrying the met- aphor to an extreme. In that view the sufferings of Christ would require to be exactly proportioned to the nature and number of the sins which were laid upon him; and if more sinners had been saved, or those who are saved had been greater sinners than they are, he must have borne a proportionable increase of suffering. To correspond with pecuniary satisfac- tions, this must undoubtedly be the case. I do not know that any writer has so stated things ; but am persuaded that such ideas are at the foundation of a large part of the reasonings on that side of the sub- ject. In atonement, or satisfaction for crime, things do not proceed on this calculating principle. It is true there was a designa- tion of the sacrifices offered up by Hez- ekiah : they were offered not only for Judah, but for those that remained of the ten tribes : " for so the king commanded, that the burnt-offering and the sin-offering should be made for all Israel." But the sacrifices themselves were the same for both as they would have been for one, and SUBSTITUTION. 659 required to be the same for one as they were lor liotli. It was their designation only that made tlic dilVoreuce. Tims I coiK'oivc it is in respect of the sacrifice of Christ. If fewer had i)een saved tlian are saved, to l)c consistent with justice it required to l)e hy tiic same l)crfect atonement ; and if more Iiad l)ecn sa\ed than arc, even the whole iiuman race, tiicre needed no other. But, if the satislaction ot Christ was in itself sufli- cient (or the whole world, there is no far- ther ]tropriety in asking, " Whose sins were imputed to Christ T or, For whom did he die as a substitute! " than as it is thereby inquired. Who were the persons whom he intended finally to savel That which is equally necessary for few as for many must, in its own nature, be equally suflicient for many as for few ; and could not proceed upon the principle of the sins of some bcin;;- laid on Christ rather ihan others, any otherwise than as it was the design of the Father and the Son, through one all-sufficient medium, to pardon the elect, while the rest are, not- withstanding, left to perish in their sins. It seems to me as consonant with truth to say that a certain numl)er of Christ's acts of obedience become ours as that a certain number of our sins become his. In the former case his one undivided obe- dience, stamped as it is with divinity, aflords a ground of justification to any number of believers : in the latter, his one atonement, stamped also as it is with divinity, is sufficient for the pardon of any numlicr of sins or sinners. Yet as Christ laid not his life down but by cove- nant, as the elect were given him to be the piirchase of his blood, or the Iruit of the travail of his soul, he had respect, in all he ilid and suffered, to this recompense of reward. Their salvation was the joy that was set before him. It was for the covering of their transgressions that he became obedient r.nto death. To them his sul)stitution was the same in effect as if their sins had liy number and measure been literally imparted to him. I am not aware that any principle which I imbibe is inconsistent with Christ's lay- ing down his life hij covenant, or with his l)eing the Sitreli/ of that covenant, pledg- ing himself for the certain accomplishment of w hatever he undertook ; as, that all that were given him should come to him, should not be lost, but raised up at the last day, and be presented without spot and l>lameless. All this I consider as in- cluded in the design of the Father and the Son, with respect to the application of the atonement. John. I have heard it objected to your views of the sufficiency of the atonement to this effect — " How docs this principle afford a ground for general invitations, if the design was confined to his elect peo pie] If the benefits of his death were never intended for the non-elect, is it not just as inconsistent to invite them to jiar- take of them as if there were a want of sufficiency ! This explanation therefore seems only to be shifting the difficulty." James. Pharaoh was exhorted to let Israel go; and, had he complied, he had saved his own lite and that of a great number of his people; yet, all things con- sidered, it was not God's intention to save Pharaoh's life, nor that of the Egyp- tians. And is there no difference be- tween this and his being exhorted under a promise in which the object promised had no existence 1 It is a fact that the Scriptures rest the general invitations of the gospel upon the atonement of Christ.* But, if there were not a sufficiency in the atonement for the salvation of sinners without distinction, how could the ambassadors of Christ be- seech them to be reconciled to God, and that from the consideration of his having been made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in iiiml What would you think of the fallen angels being invited to be reconciled to God, from the consideration of an atonement having been made for Allien men? You would say. It is inviting them to partake of a benefit which has no existence, the obtaining of which, there- fore, is naturally impossible. Upon the supposition of the atonement lieing in- sufficient for the salvation of any more than are actually saved by it, the non- elect, however, with respect to a being reconciled to God through it, are in the same state as the fallen angels ; that is, the thing is not only morally, but natu- rally impossible. But if there be an ob- jective fulness in the atonement of Christ, sufficient for any number of sinners, were they to believe in him ; there is no other impossibility in the way of any man's salvation, to whom the gospel comes at least, than what arises from the state of his own mind. The intention of God not to remove this impossibility, and so not to save him, is a purpose to withhold not only that which he was not obliged to bestow, but that which is never represent- ed in the Scriptures as necessary to the consistency of exhortations or invitations. I do not deny that there is difficulty in these statements ; but it belongs to the general subject of reconciling the pur- poses of God with the agency of man : whereas, in the other case, God is repre- * 2 Cor. V. 19—21; Matt. xxii. 4; Jolin iii. 16. 660 CONVERSATIONS, &C. sented as inviting sinners to partake of what has no existence, and which there- fore is physically impossible. The one, while it ascribes the salvation of the be- liever in every stage of it to Mere grace, renders the unbeliever inexcusable; which the other, I conceive, does not. In short, we must either acknowledge an objective fulness in Christ's atonement, sufficient for the salvation of the whole world, were the whole world to believe in him ; or, in opposition to Scripture and common sense, confine our invitations to believe to sucli persons as have believed already. John. May I ask you, brother Peter, whether, on a review of what has passed, you consider brother James as denying the doctrines of imputation and substitu- tion, or either of theml Peter. Though I consider brother James's statements as containing various mistakes, and though I am exceedingly averse from the necessary consequences of certain tenets, which, if I rightly un- derstand him, are avowed in them ; yet I am now convinced that respecting those doctrines he did not intend what I sup- posed he did. It behoves me, therefore, frankly to acknowledge that I have unin- tentionally misrepresented his sentiments respecting Ihem, for which I am truly son-y. John. I hope, brother James, you are satisfied witii this acknowledgment. James. Perfectly so ; and shall be hap- py to hear lirother Peter's remarks on those particulars in which he may still consider me as in the wrong. CONVERSATION III. ON PARTICULAR REDEMPTION. Peter. Notwithstanding what our brother James has stated, I am far from being satisfied with his views as they af- fect the doctrine o{ Particular Redemption. If I understand him, his sentiment may be expressed in this position : the par- ticularity OP THE ATONEMENT CON- sists in the sovereign pleasure of God with regard to its applica- tion. James. I should rather say, the par- ticularity OF REDEMPTION CONSISTS IN THE SOVEREIGN PLEASURE OF GOD WITH REGARD TO THE APPLICATION OF THE atonement; that is, ivith regard to the PERSONS TO WHOM IT SHALL BE APPLIED. John. It is to be understood then, I presume, that you both believe the doc- trine of particular redemption, and that the only question between you is, Wherein does it consist 1 Jaines. So I understand it. Peter. I consider the afore-mentioned position as merely a reconciling expedient, or compromise between principles which can never be reconciled. James. I am not conscious of embracing it for any such purpose — but let me hear your objections against it. Peter. It places the particulai"ity of red(;mplion in application. I understand, indeed, that by application you include, not only what the New Testament de- nominates "receiving the atonement" — " the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" — and "faith in his blood;" but also the absolute intention of Christ in his death to save all those who shall be finally happy. But, notwithstanding the unau- thorized latitude of meaning which, to render the position more plausible, is here claimed for a particular term, various and cogent reasons may be urged against it. Among others, it confounds the atonement itself with its application to the sinner ; whereas, though the former completely ascertains the latter, yet, not being the same fruit of divine favor, they must not be identified. The term application always supposes the existence of whatever is ap- plied. The atonement, therefore, must be conrsidered as existing, either actually or in the divine decree, before it can be applied to the sinner. The application of a thing to any person, or for any pur- pose, ought not to be confounded with the thing itself. Hence, in former times, hardly any distinction was more common, among theological writers, than that be- tween wliat they denominated the impctra- tion and (he application of redemption. To represent the intention of Christ in his death to save Paul, for instance, and not Judas, under the notion of applying the atonement to the one and not to tlie other, is to me at least a perfectly novel sense of the word application, and was, I presume, adopted to meet the necessities of this hypothesis. James. The whole of what you iiave said rests upon a mistake at the outset. You say the position in question "places the particularity of redemption in appli- cation." Whereas, if you recollect yourself, you will find that it places it in THE SOVEREIGN PLEASURE OF GOD WITH REGARD TO APPLICATION. The differ- ence between this and the other is as great as that between election and vocation. In- stead of my confounding redemption or atonement, therefore, with application, I have just cause to complain of you for PARTItlLAR REDEMPTION. 661 havinpr confounded application with the sovereiirn pleasure ot God respcctin;^ it, and for liaving loaded nic with the conse- quences. Peter. But have you never made use of ^hc term application so as to include the divine intciilioti ! James:. I am not aware of having done so; but, whotiier I have or not, you were not animadverting on what I may have said at otiicr times, but on the position which you yourself had stated, which position artirms the very opposite of what you al- lege. Allowing you to animadvert, how- ever, on other words than tiiose contained in the position, and admitting tiiat I may have spoken or written in the manner you allege, still it has iieen merely to distinguish the death of what Christ is i7i itself sujjicient for from what it was the design of the Fa- ther atid the Son actually to accomplish by it. This distinction is neither novel nor liable to the objection of confounding the impc- tration of redemption with its application. I have no other meaning, that I am aware of, than that of Dr. Owen in the following passage : " Sufficient, we say, was the sacrifice of Christ for the redemption of the whole world, and for the expiation of all the sins of all and every man in the world. This sufficiency of his sacrifice hath a two-fold rise. First : The dignity of the person that did offer, and was offered. Secondly : The greatness of the pain he en- dured,by which he was able to bear, and did undergo, the whole curse of the law, and wrathof God due to sin. And this sets forth the innate, real, true icorth and value of the blood-shedding of Jesus Christ. This is its own true internal perfection and suf- ficiency. That it should be applied un- to any, made a price for them, and become beneficial to them, according to the worth that is in it, is external to it, doth not arise from it, but merely depends upon the in- tention and will of God." Peter. Intention enters into the nature of atonement. Christ was voluntary in his sufferings, and his being so was essen- tial to liis death as a sacrifice and an atone- ment. His death, detached from these considerations, would be merely that of a martyr. It was the efTect of the highest degree of love, and of the kindest possible intention respecting the objects beloved; for otherwise it might well be demanded, To what purpose this vaste of love T James. Intention of some kind doubt- less does enter into the essence of Christ's laying down his life a sacrifice : but that it should be beneficial to this person rather than to that appears to me, as Dr. Owen expresses it, " external to it, and to de- pend entirely on the will of God." And, as to a waste of love, we might as well attribute a waste of goodness to the divine providence in its watering rocks and seas, as well as fruitful valleys, with the showers of heaven ; or to our Lord for his com- missioning his apostles to preach the gos- pel to every creature, while he never ex- pected any others to believe and be saved by it tiian those who were ordained to eternal life. It accords with the general conduct of God to impart liis favors with a kind of profusion which to the mind of man, that sees onlj' one or two ends to be answered by them, may have the appearance of waste : but, when all things are brought to their intended issue, it will be found that God has done nothing in vain. John. Placing the particularity of re- demption, as you do, in the sovereign pleasure of God with regard to the appli- cation of the atonement, or the j)ersonsto whom it shall be ai)plied. wherein is the difference between that doctrine and the doctrine of election ] James. I do not consider particular re- demption as being so much a doctrine of itself as a branch of the great doctrine of election, whicii runs through all God's works of grace. If this branch of election had not been more opposed than others, I reckon we should no more haAe thought of applying the term particular to it than to vocation, justification, or glorification. The idea applies to these as well as to the other. Whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate ; ichom he did predestinate, he called; whom he called, he justified; and ivhom he justified, he glorified. John. This w ould seem to agree with the a{)ostle's account of spiritual i)lessings in his Epistle to the Ephesians : " He hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ, according as he hath choseii us in hi7ti before the foundation of the tvorld." Peter. I have some questions which I wish to put to brother James on the dif- ference which he appears to make between atonement and redemption. If I under- stand him, he considers the latter as the effect of the former. James. There are few terms, whether in the Scriptures or elsewhere, that are always used in the same sense. Recon- ciliation sometimes means a he\n^ actually in friendship with God, through faith in the blood of Christ : but when used synon- ymously with atonement it denotes the satisfaction of justice only, or the opening of a way by which mercy may be exercised consistently with righteousness. In both these senses the word occurs in Rom. v. 10, " For, if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." On this passage 662 CONVERSATIONS, &C. Dr. Giiyse very properly remarks, " ' Rec- onciled to God by the death of his Son,' in the first clause, seems to relate to Christ's having worked out our reconcilia- tion, or completed all in a way of merit by his death that was necessary to appease the wrath of God, and make way for the riches of his grace to be communicated to us in full consistency with the honor of all his perfections, and of his law and gov- ernment, which the apostle had called (verses 6 and 8) 'dying for the ungodly,' and ' dying for us :' but ' being reconciled,' in the last clause, seems to relate to the reconciliation's taking effect upon us, or to our being brought into a state of actual reconciliation and peace with God, through faith in Christ's blood, which the apostle had spoken of in verses 1 and 9, and which, in the verse after this, is called 'receiving the atonement.' " — Thus also the term redemption is sometimes put for the price by which we are redeemed ; namely, the blood-shedding of Christ. In this sense it appears to be used by the apostle in Rom. iii. 24, "Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ." To be justified " through his redemnlion" is the same thing, I should think, as being "justified by his blood." But the term properly and ordinarily signi- fies, not that for the sake of which we are delivered from the curse of the law, but the deliverance itself. Viewing i-econcili- ation or atonement, as a satisfaction to divine justice, and redemption as the de- liverance of the sinner, the latter appears to me to be an effect of the former. Peter. I am far from being convinced that redemption is an effect of atonement any more than that atonement is an ef- fect of redemption : both are the im- mediate effects of Christ's death, viewed in different points of light. James. I freely admit that both are ef- fects of Christ's death ; but in such order as that one is the consequence of the other. I can conceive of the deliverance of the criminal arising from the satisfac- tion made to the judge ; but not of satis- faction to the judge arising from the deliv- erance of the criminal. Peter. To view the atonement as mere- ly a satisfaction to divine justice, or as a medium Viy which mercy may be exercised consistently with the divine perfections, without considering sinners as actually reconciled to God by it, is to retain little if any thing more than the name of atone- ment. James. I see no grounds for calling that which was wrought for us while we were yet enemies actual reconciliation. Actual reconciliation appears to me, as it did to Dr. Guyse, to consist in that which is accomplished through faith, or as receiv- ing the atonement. The reconciliation which is synonymous with atonement is expressed in 2 Cor. v. 18, " All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ." But this is not sup- posed by the apostles, important as it was, to have brought sinners into a state of actual friendship with God : for, if so, there had been no occasion for "the ministry of reconciliation," and for "be- seeching sinners to be reconciled to him." Nor do I see how a state of actual recon- ciliation could consist Avith the uniform language of the New Testament concern- ing unbelievers, whether elect or non-elect, that tiiey arc under condemnation. I never understood that you held with justification before believing : but actual reconciliation seems to amount to this. Neither have I understood that you have ever attempted to explain away the duty of ministers to beseech sinners to be reconciled to God. On the contrary, if I mistake not, you have pleaded for it. I am surprised, there- fore, at your speaking of them as being actually reconciled to God while they are yet enemies. John. What are your ideas, brother James, of that reconciliation which was effected while we were yet enemies 1 James. I conceive it to be that satisfac- tion to the divine justice by virtue of which nothing pertaining to the moral government of God hinders any sinner from returning to him ; and that it is upon this ground that sinners are indefinitely invited so to do. Herein I conceive is the great dif- ference at pi-esent between their state and that of the fallen angels. To them God is absolutely inaccessible ; no invitations whatever being addressed to them, nor the gospel preached to them : but it is not so with fallen men. Besides this, as Christ gave himself for us "that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people," I consider the actual reconciliation of the elect in the fulness of time as hereby ascertained. It was promised him, as the reward of his sufferings, that he should "see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." Peter. Is there any thing in the atone- ment, or promised to it, which infallibly ascertains its application to all those for whom it was made 1 James. If by this you mean all for whose salvation it was sufficient, I an- sv/er, There is not. But, if you mean all for whose salvation it was intended, I an- swer, There is. Peter. You consider the principal DESIGN of our Lord's atonement to be the manifestation of God's hatred to sin, in order to render the exercise of mercy PARTICULAR REDEMPTION. G63 consistent with justice ; but, thougli this iii(M is supposed, yet it is far Iroiu being the Inst, the most prominent, the clianic- tcrislic idea of our Lord's deatii : the grand idea suirgcsted to an cnliu,litened mind liy the atonement of Clirist is not God's liatrcd to sin, l)ut his lo\e to sin- ners. James. I liope we shall none of us pretend to he more enlightened than the a|)ostle Paul, and I am mistaken if he does not suggest the idea against which you militate. He rej)resents God as " set- ting Ibrth" ills Son as a " propitiation, to declare (or demonstrate) his righteousness in the rejiiission of bins. It is marvel- lous to me that I should l>e suspected of linlding up God's hatred of sin to the disparagement of his lo\e to sinners, when tiie lormer is supposed to iiave been man- ifested to prepare the way for the latter. Were I to say, The principal dksign of David in restoring Absalom at the in- stance of Joab, rather than by sending lor him himsell, was that even in pardoning the young man lie might show some dis- j)leasure against sin, and save his own lionor as the head of a family and of a nation, I should not be far from the truth. Yet I might be told, The grand, the prom- inent, the characteristic idea suggested by the king's consent was love; for " his soul longed to go forth to Absalom." Love to Absalom doubtless accounts for Da- vid's desiring his return; but love to righteousness accounts for his desir- ing it in that particular manner. So if the question were. Why did God give his Son to die for sinners, rather than leave them to perish in their sins? the an- swer would be. Because he loved them. But if the question be. Why did he give his Son to be an atonement for sinners, rather than save them ivithout one ? the answer would be. Because he loved riglit- eousness, and hated iniquity. Peter. On the principle I oppose, the love of God in applying the atonement is much greater than in giving his Son to be an atonement, since the latter is mere general benevolence, but the former is particular and effectual. James. You should rather have said, The love of God is greater in giving his Son to be a sacrifice in respect of those for whose salvation it was his pleasure to make it effectual, than in merely giving him, as he is said to have done, to some who never received him. — John vi. 32; i. IL If there was a particularity of de- sign in the gift of Christ, it cannot be ascribed merely to general benevolence. And, so far as it is so, we have no right to depreciate it on account of its not issu- ing in the salvation of sinners in general. It was no diminution to the love of God towards Israel, in bringing them out of Egypt, that the great body of them trans- gressed and |)erished in the wilderness : nor could it be truly said that the bring- ing of Caleb and Joshua into the land of promise was a greater expression of love than that which had been bestowed upon them, and the whole body of their con- temporaries, in liberating them from the Egyptian yoke. And let me intreat you to consider whether your princi])les would not furnish an apology (or the unbeliev- ing Israelites. — " There was little or no love in God's delivering us, unless he in- tended withal to prevent our sinning against him, and actually to bring us to the good land : but there was no good land tor us — Would to God we had died in Egypt I" To this, however, an apos- tle would answer, " They could not enter in because ol unbelief." And as this language was written for the warning of professing Christians, whose inclination to relinquish the gospel resembled that of their fathers to return into Egypt, we are warranted to conclude from it that, though the salvation of the saved be entirely of grace, yet the failure of others will be ascribed to themselves. They shall not have the consolation to say. Our salvation was a natural impossibility : or, if they were to utter such language, they would be repelled by Scripture and conscience, which unite in declaring, " They could not enter in because of unbelief." Peter. I remember an old nonconfor- mist minister says, " If any man be bound to believe Christ's satisfaction sufficient to justify him for whom it was never paid, he is bound to believe an untruth. God will never make it any man's duty to rest for salvation on that blood that was never shed for him, or that satisfaction that was never made for him." James. This reasoning of the old non- conformist may for aught I know be just on his principles, but it is not so on mine. If satisfaction was made on the principle of debtor and creditor, and that which was paid was just of sufhcient value to cancel a given number of sins, and to redeem a given number of sinners, and no more ; it should seem that it could not be the duty of any but the elect, nor theirs till it was reveal- ed to them that they were of the elect, to rely upon it; for " wherefore should we set our eyes on that which is not 1" But if there be such a fulness in the satisfac- tion of Christ as is sufficient for the sal- vation of the whole world, were the whole world to believe in him, and if the par- ticularity of redemption lie only in the purpose or sovereign pleasure of God to render it effectual to some rather than to 664 CONVERSATIONS, &C. others, no such consequence will follow : or, if it do, it will also follow that divine predestination and human accountable- ness are utterly inconsistent, and, there- fore, that we must either relinquish the former in favor of Arminianism, or give up the latter to the Antinomians. But though the ideas of my much-respected brother, on the subject of redemption, cannot be very ditferent from those of his old nonconformist, yet I should not have supposed he would have adopted his rea- soning as his own. Peter. Why not 1 James. Because it is your avowed persuasion that sinners as sinners are invited to believe in Christ for salvation. Thus you have interpreted the invitations in Isa. Iv. 1 — 7, and various others; care- fully and justly guarding against the no- tion of their being addressed to renetved, or, as some call them, sensible sinners. Thus also you interpret 2 Cor. v. 20, of God's beseeching sinners l)y the ministry of the word to be reconciled to him. But your old friend would tell you that God will never invite a sinner to rest for salva- tion on that blood that was never shed for him, or on that satisfaction that was never made for him. I should have thought, too, after all that you have said of the warrant which sinners as sinners have to believe in Christ, you would not have denied it to be their duty, nor have adopted a mode of reasoning which, if followed up to its legitimate consequen- ces, will compel you to maintain either that it is possible to know our election be- fore we believe in Christ, or that in our first reliance on his righteousness for accept- ance with God Ave are guilty of presump- tion. John. I conceive, my dear brethren, that you have each said as much on these subjects as is likely to be for edification. Permit me, after having heard and can- didly attended to all that has passed be- tween you, to assure you both of my es- teem, and to declare that in my opinion the difference between you ought not to prevent your feeling towards and treating each other as brethren. You are agreed in all the great doctrines of the gospel ; as the necessity of an atonement, the ground of acceptance with God, salvation by grace only, &c. &c.; and, with respect to par- ticular redemption, you lioth admit the thing, and I would hope both hold it in a way consistent with the practice of the primitive ministers ; or, if it be not alto- gether so, that you will reconsider the subject when you are by yourselves. The gi'eater part of those things wherein you seem to dilfer may be owing either to a difference in the manner of expressing yourselves, or to the affixing of conse- quences to a principle which yet are un- perceived by him that holds it. I do not accuse either of you with doing so inten- tionally : but principles and their conse- quences are so suddenly associated in the mind, that, when we hear a person avow the former, we can scarcely forbear im- mediately attributing to him the latter. If a principle be proposed to us for accept- ance, it is right to weigh the consequen- ces : but when forming our judgment of the person who holds it, we should attach nothing to him but what he perceives and avows. If by an exchange of ideas you can come to a better understanding, it will afford me pleasure : meanwhile it is some satisfaction that your visit to me has not tended to widen but considerably to diminish your differences. Brethren, there are many adversaries of the gospel around you who would rejoice to see you at variance : let there be no strife between you. You are both erring mortals ; but both, I trust, the sincere friends of the Lord Jesus. Love one an- other. SIX LETTERS TO DR. RYLAND, RESPECTING THE CONTROVERSY WITH THE REV. A. BOOTH. VOL. I. ^ 84 I LETTERS TO DR. RYLAND. LETTER I. NARRATIVE. January 4, 1803. My dear Brother, Though you are not wholly unacquaint- ed uitii what has lately passed between Mr. Booth and myself, relative to certain points of doctrine, yet I shall luiefly state tlie leading particulars, together with my sentiments on the subjects concerning which I am charged with error. In the month of May, 1S02, when I was in London, wishing lor a belter under- standing with Mr. B., I requested an in- terview. With his consent I went two or three times to see him. We had much conversation. I cannot pretend to recol- lect all that passed; but some things I well remember. After talking over cer- tain particulars of a personal nature, on which he appeared to be satisfied, he, in a very serious tone, suggested that I had changed my sentiments on some impor- tant doctrines of the gospel ; " and here," said he, "I have little or no hope." To these serious and heavy charges, from an aged and respected minister, I at first made but little answer, being all atten- tion to what he had to of?'er in support of them. I assured him that I was willing to reconsider any thing I had advanced, and desired to know wherein he thought me in the wrong. Mr. B. answered, " It is on the doctrines of imputation and sub- stitution that I conceive you to err." I asked whether his ideas on these doctrines did not proceed upon the principle of detit- or and creditor; and that, as was the number of sinners to Ik- saved, and the quantity of sin to be atoned for, such re- quired to be the degree of Christ's suffer- ings. This he disowned, saying, he nev- er had such an idea, nor did he ever meet with it in any writer;* adding to this ef- * Yet, if nine out often of the Iligli Calvinisld were asked their view.s on the subject, I am per- suaded it would appear they l>ad no other notion of it. IVo other notion, I think, could be collected from Dr. Gill's exposition of Isaiah liii. 6; and all he writes upon the subject seevas' to go upon that principle. feet, / am persuaded that if one sinner only were saved consistently with justice, it re- quired to be by the same alt-perfect sacri- fice. I felt persuaded that, if Mr. B. ad- mitted this principle in al! its bearings, there could be no material difference be- twixt us. In his letter to me, of September 3d, he says, "I deliberately aver, that in our second and last conversation I understood you to deny that Christ obeyed and died as a substitute, and that you did not ad- mit a real and proper imputation either of sin to Christ or of his righteousness to those who believe." I give him credit for this; but insist upon it that (excepting what relates to the terms " real and prop- er"—terms not used in the^V.sniote) he has no grounds for so understanding me, and that there were grounds, whether he attended to them or not, for a contra- ry conclusion. I declare that I never suspected, while in his company, that I was charged with any such thing's ; but merely that my views concerning those doctrines were not just. Under this im- pression, I said to Mr. B. to this effect,— "I do suspect, sir, that your views 'on imputation and substitution are not scrip- tural." I did not mean by this to char"-e him with denying either 'of those doc- trines; and I had no apprehension of his having any such charge to prefer against me. The whole difference l)etween us ap- peared to me lo consist in the manner of explaining doctrines which we both ac- knowledged and held fast. Mr. B. alleges, as a reason for his under- standing me to deny the doctrines in ques- tion, that in direct" opposition to this he pleaded 2 Cor. v. 21 : to which, he says, I replied,'^ made sin means became a sacri- fice for .sin; to which he could not accede. Granting this to be a fair statement, surely it does not follow that understanding the phrase "made sin" of Christ's bein? "made a sin-offering" amounts to a de- nial o( the imputation of sin to him. If it does, however, many of our best writers, among whom is Dr. Owen,t are subject to the same charge. But Mr. B. is mis- t Answer to Biddle, pp. 509, 510. Vide Dr. Owen on Justification, ch. xviii. pp. 504, 505, 4to. 668 LETTERS TO DR. RYLAND. taken in saying that I affirmed " made sin" to mean "made a sacrifice for sin." I merely asked him whether it did not, whether some expositors did not so inter- pret it, and whether there was not some- thing in the original word which led to such an interpretation. This, I am cer- tain, was the whole ; for I had not at that time any decided opinion as to the mean- ing of the passage, and therefore asked him merely for information. I well recol- lect the substance of his answer, namely, that the word uuaQTia, it was true, was sometimes rendered "sin" and sometimes a "sin-offering; " but the sin which Christ was made was that which he knew not, and which stood opposed to "the righteous- ness of God," which we are made in Him : to this I made no reply, as think- ing there appeared to be furce in what he said. I also very well remember his arguing from Gal. iii. 13, and contending that Christ must in some sense be guilty, else God could not have been just in punishing him : this argument did not approve itself to ray judgment like the former. I admit- ted guilt to be necessary to punishment, and had no doubt but that the sufferings of Christ were penai; but I had my doubts whether it were so proper to say Christ was punished, as that he bore our punish- ment : but, as I shall give my thoughts more particularly on this hereafter, I only say in this place that this conversation TOOK PLACE BEFORE I PREACHED FOR HIM, AND BEFOFvE HE ASKED ME TO PREACH FOR HIM.* It is somcwhat sur- prising to me, therefore, if I was consid- ered as denying the doctrines of imputa- tion and substitution, that I should re- ceive such an invitation. Whatever he may think of me, I would never consent to a man's going into my pulpit whom I considered as denying either the one or the other. I have said Mr. B. had grounds for a contrary conclusion, whether he attended to them or not. He cannot but remem- ber his putting the Liverpool Magazine into my hands, where he conceived it was proved that I had changed my sentiments. On this, I said that 1 was not aivare of any such change as he ascribed to me. Mr. B., I well remember, answered, in a tone of surprise, " No 1 Then you are lost !" that is, as I understood him, " You are bewildered in inconsistency, not know - * Mr. B. speaks in liis letter of September SJ of these things oceurring in our second ;iiid last con- versation ; but I am certain tliat all those things on which he grounds his charge, and his alleging 2 Cor. V. 21 and Gal. iii. 13, occurred in the first, and before he asked me to preach for him. ing what you believe." Now, be it so, that I am lost in inconsistency, this is a very different thing from a denial of what I had before advanced. If I was not aware of having relinquished the leading princi- ples of my answer to Philanthropes, I could not be aware of having given up the doctrines of Imputation and Substitution. It might also have been supposed that my pleading for Christ's being made a sin- offering, as I was accounted to do, was not the language of one who " denied that Christ obeyed and died as a substitute :" for what else was the sin-offering but a substitute for the people 1 Before I left town, I gave Mr. B. the manuscript of our last year's Circular Letter, on the Practical uses of Believers' Baptism, requesting his corrections. In this was the following sentence, with sev- eral others of like import — " Christ sus- tained the deluge of wrath due to our sins :" nor did this passage escape him ; his first note holds this sentence up as an example of my inconsistency. Some men would have drawn a different conclusion. They would have said. Surely I must have mistaken the writer when in con- versation : he cannot mean to discard these doctrines. If he did, why does he thus fully avow them 1 Instead of this, Mr. B., in the note accompanying the MS., flatly charges me with the denial of Substitution and of Imputation ; not mere- ly in his sense of them, nor with the epi- thets "proper and real " (since added as saving terras) ; but so as to disown the vica- riousness of what our Saviour did and suf- fered, which he never did, even " in his juvenile" years, when I suppose he was a professed Arininian. As this note did not reach me till I was just setting off for home, about the 2d or 3d of June, I could not see Mr. B. any more : and, being conscious that I never thought of denying either of the doctrines in question, I supposed Mr. B. could only mean to charge such denial as the conse- quence of what I avowed. I therefore took three or four weeks to consider and re-examine my sentiments, that if any such consequences did attach to them I might discover them. Early in July I answered the note, de- clared my lielief of both the above doc- trines, and complained of things being imputed to me as my principles which I did not avow, and which, if they had any connection with my principles, were mere- ly consequences, which consequences I did not perceive. AliOut the middle of July reports were circulated, both in town and country, that I had acknowledged myself to Mr. Booth to be an Arminian, &c. &c. One of my 1 NAHUATlVE. GG9 Tricnds was in London, and lieard it in a great numher of places; " froni Oxibrd- strect," as he said, " to Ratclifl' High- way;" and in every instance it was said to be authorised by Mr. B. I was in- i'ormed also that it was common talk among those congregations in Northamp- tonshire whicii rejected all invitations to the vniconverled, and nearly ail obliga- tions to spiritual religion. A person re- siding amongst them, who bore good will to me, came to my iiouse to know wheth- er the rcj)ort were (rue ; and he assured me that the whole rested on the testimony of Mr. B. Knowing that I had written to Mr. B., avowing my belief both in Imputation and Substitution, I knew not what to make of tilings. Pearly in September, while I was at Ediiil)urgh, I received a letter from Mr. B., partly averring that lie understood me, in conversation, to deny tiiat Christ obey- ed and died as a substitute, and to disown a real and proper imputation; and partly inquiring whether I did believe these doctrines, and in lohat sense it was that I held them. On receiving this letter, it appeared to me to contain a request, whch, had it been made previously to the sending abroad of a report to my disadvantage, had been fair, and I should freely have complied with it. But, as things were, I did not feel free to write any explanation to Mr. B.,till he should have given some explan- ation of his conduct towards me. I wish- ed for no humiliating concessions from a man so aged and so respectable as Mr. B. ; but I did think myself entitled to some explanation ; and that to have com- plied with his request without it had been a tame acknowledgment of guilt and fear, of neither of which I was conscious. To tins purpose I wrote (on October 7th), in answer to his of September 3d, wishing for nothing but a icw lines, ac- knowledging that if he had mistaken my meaning, and thereby injured mc, he was sorry; or any thing, however expressed, that should have discovered his regret for having been the occasion of misreprenta- tion. But to this letter Mr. B. has written no ansv.cr. I have to thank you, however, for the copy of a letter which he address- ed to yuu, dated December Gth. Here I find myself charged with having changed my sentiments ; ivith agreeing ivith Mr. Baxter in several of his leading peculiari- ties ; and with denying the doctrines of Imputation and Substitution, in the SENSE IN WHICH CaLVINISTS COMMON- LY HOLD AND HAVE HELD THEM. 1 own I feel dissatisfied with this sec- ond-hand method of attack, ia which the oracles of God are nearly kept out of sight, and other standards of ortiiodoxy set up in their place. Each of these charges may be true, and yet I may be in the right and Mr. B. in the wrong. It is no crime to change our views, unless in so do- ing we deviate from the Scriptures : noi is it an article of revelation thatjMr. Baxter's views are erroneous, or that the notions of Calvinists in general concerning Imputa- tion and Substitution are true. I write not thus because I feel the justice of ei- ther of these charges, but because I dislike such circuitous methods of judging con- cerning^ truth and error. They are un- worthy of a candid inquirer after truth, and chiefly calculated to inllame the pre- judices of the ignorant. If I have used the term Culvinistic in controversy, it has been merely to avoid circumlocution, and not as criminating my opponents on ac- count of their differing from Calvin. Mr. B. supposes that I suspect him of " insidious designs." No; I do not, nor ever did. I never thought him capable of this ; but I do think him capalile of being so far prejudiced against another as to think that to be right towards him which he would think very wrong if done to himself. LETTER IL ON IMPUTATION. Jan. 8, 1803. My DEAR Brother, While Mr. B. refuses to give any ex- planation of his conduct, there can be no intercourse between me and him. I have no objection to give the most explicit an- swers in my power to the questions on Imputation and Substitution. I shall tlierefore address them to you ; and you are at liberty to show them to whom you please. To impute* signifies, in general, to charge, reckon, or place to account, accord- ing lo the different objects to which it is applied. This word, like many others, has a prop- er and a. figurative meaning. First : It is applied to the charging, reckoning, or placing to the account of persons and things that which proper- ly belongs TO THEM. This, of coursc, is its proper meaning. In this sense the word is used in the following passages : — " Eli thought that she (Hannah) had been drunken."— '' Hanan and Mattaniah, the treasurers, were counted faithful."- — " Let a man so account of us as the ministers of * From ^^'n ''^"'^ /.oyt';ouai. 670 LETTERS TO UR. RYLAND. I Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." — " Let such a one think this, that such as we are in word by letters, when we are absent, such will we be also in deed, when we are present." — "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us."* Reckoning or accounting, here, is no other than forming an estimate of persons and things, according to lohat theij are, or appear to be. To impute sin, in this sense, is to charge guilt upon the guilty in a judi- cial tvay, ivith a view to his being punished for it. Thus Shimei besought David that his iniquity might not be imputed to him. Thus the man is pronounced blessed to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity : and thus Paul prayed that the sin of those who deserted him might not be laid to their charge.^ In this sense, the term is ordinarily used in common life. To impute treason or any other crime to a man is the same thing as charging him with having committed it, and with a view to his being punished. Secondly : It is applied to the charging, reckoning, or placing to the account of persons and things, that which does NOT PROPERLY BELONG TO THEM, AS THOUGH IT DID. This, of course, is its figurative meaning. In this sense the word is used in the following passages : — " And this your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you as though it loere the corn of the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the wine-press." — " Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy V — " If the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted (ov circum- cision 1" — "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on my ac- count."\ It is thus I understand the term, when applied to justification. "Abraham be- lieved God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. — To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness." — Rom. iv. 3, 5. I do not suppose that " faith " in these pas- sages means the righteousness of the Mes- siah ; for it is expressly called "believ- ing." It means believing, however, not as a virtuous exercise of the mind, which God consented to accept by a composi- tion, taking a part for the whole ; but as having respect to the promised Messiah, and so to his righteousness, as the ground * 1 Sam. i. 13. Neli. xiii. 13. 1 Cor. iv. 1 2 Cor. X. 11. Rom. viii. 18. t 2 Sam. xix. 19. Psalm xxxii. 2. 2 Tim. iv. 16. t Num. xviii. 27—30. Job xiii. 24. Roin ii. 26. Philemon 18. of acceptance. Justification is ascribed to faith as healing frequently is in the New Testament ; not as that which im- parted the benefit, but that which afforded occasion to the great physician to exercise his power and mercy. But, if it were allowed that faith, in these passages, means the object believed in, still this was not Abraham's oivn right- eousness ; and could not be properly im- puted, or counted, by Him who judges of things as they are, as being so. It was reckoned to him as if it ivere his, and the effects or benefits were actually trans- ferred to him ; but this was all. Abra- ham did not become meritorious, or cease to be unworthy. " What is it else to set our righteousness in the obedience of Christ," says Calvin, "but to affirm that hereby only we are accounted righteous, because the obedience of Christ is imputed to us, as if it were our own 1 " — Inst. B. iii. ch. xi. § 23. It is thus also that I understand the imputation of sin to Christ. He was viade sin for us, in the same sense as we are made the righteousness of God in him. He was accounted in the divine adminis- tration A"^ IF HE W^ERE, OR HAD BEEN, the sinner ; that those who believe on him might be accounted as if they were, OR had been, righteous. Mr. B. charges me with having ex- plained the phrase "made sin" made a sacrifice. I have already said that what I asked him was purely for information. Considering his answer as worthy of at- tention, I have since endeavored to form a decided opinion on the passage, and to give what he advanced its due weight. I perceive that many able writers, and a- mong them Dr. Owen, understand the term uuuQTiu, in this § as in many other places, of a " sin-offering," and I must say I see no force in the objection that it sounds incongruous to say Christ was " made punishment," or " made suffer- ing;" for the same objection might be brought against the express words of the prophet — " W^hen thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." The genius of our language does not allow us to say of any one, "he was made suffering;" but it al- lows us to say, " he was made an offering for sin," which was suffering. || The other reasons, however, which Mr. § III the MS- from wliich tliis vvns printed (ami which was corrected by Mr. F.) the following sen- tence, in reference t o the above remartc, appears in the hand-writing of Mi-. Booth: — " In his book against Biddle lie does; but the re- verse in a book published some years after on Justi- fication, Ch. XVllI."— Ed. II IIt(iL uiiuorlug in Rom. viii. 3, seems to mean an offering for sin; as it certainly does, Ileb. x.S. IMI'UTATION. 671 B. suggested, determine my mind to con- sider uKitijiiit, in this place, as meaning sin itself, and not the penal ctlects of it. I doul>t not hut tliat the allusion is to the sin-ollering under the law, but not to its hcing made a sacrifice. Let me explain myself. — There were two things belong- ing to the sin-offering: 1. The imputation of the sins of the people, signified by the priest's laying his hands on tiie head of the animal, anil confessing over it their transgressions, and whicii is called " put- ting them upon it" (Lev. xvi.21)-, that is, it was counted in the divine adminis- tration as if it had been the sinner, and the only sinner of the nation. 2. Making it a sacritice, or " killing it before the Lord for an atonement." — Lev. i. 4, 5. Now the phrase made sin, in 2 Cor. v. 21, appears to refer to the Jirst step in this process, in order to the last. It is ex- pressive of Avhat was preparatory to Christ's suffering of death, rather than of the thing itself; jusl as our being made righteousness expresses what was prepar- atory to God's bestowing upon us eternal life. But the verb i.roii^aiy, made, is not to be taken literally ; for that would convey the idea of Christ being really the sub- ject of moral evil, which none contend for. It is expressive of a divine consti- tution, by which our Redeemer with his own consent stood in the sinner's place, as though he had been himself the trans- gressor; just as the sin-offering under the law was, in mercy to Israel, reckoned, or accounted, to have the sins of the people " put upon its head." Thus he was made that sin ivhich he knew not, and which is properly opposed to the righteousness of God, which we are inade in him. But this, it will be said, is not a " real and proper'^ imputation. True: nor is such an imputation maintained, I should think, by INIr. B. any more than by me. A real and proper imputation, unless I have mis- taken the meaning of the term, is that in which there is no transfer of any kind ; and, if applied to Christ, would amount to a charge of his having actually com- mitted sin. Mr. B. further argued thus : — "If Christ had not died as a substitute — if sin, sin it- self, had not really been imputed to him, he could not have been made a curse for us." All this is freely admitted, save what respects the term "really," against which my objection is already stated. — " Nor could he have been punished," he adds, " in our stead by eternal justice ; for though an innocent person may suffer, yet, properly speaking, there cannot be punishment where there is no guilt, either personally contracted or imputed." If this sentence had ended with the word "guilt," I should have fully admitted it. Guilt imputed is not jjropcrly opposed to guilt contracted. Tiie term " imputed " is here used for "transferred," to which it is not synonymous. Hut we are per- l)lexed here by affixing different ideas to the same term. I will endeavor to define my own, and tlien attend to the thing sig- nified. By si)i I mean transgression ; by guilt, desert of punishment for having transgressed : * and by punishment the in- fliction of evil upon the guilty, in dis- pleasure against him. It is the opposite of reward, which is the bcstowment of fa- vor upon the obedient, in token of appro- bation of his conduct. Finally : Imputa- tion ought not to be confounded with transfer. In its proper sense, wc have seen there is no transfer pertaining to it. In its figurative sense, as applied to justi- fication, it is righteousness itself that is imputed ; but its effects only are transfer- red. So also in respect of sin : sin itself is the object of imputation ; but neither this nor guilt is strictly speaking transfer- red, for neither of thein is a transferable object. As all that is transferred in the imputation of righteousness is its benefi- cial effects, so all that is transferred in the imputation of sin is its penal effects. To say that Christ was reckoned or count- ed in the divine administration as if he tcerc the sinner, and came under an obli- gation to endure the curse for us, is one thing; but to say that he deserved the curse is another. To sj)eak of his being guilty by imputation is the same thing, in my ear, as to say he was criminal or w ick- ed by imputation; which, if taken im- properly, for his being reckoned as if he tcere so, is just ; but if properly, for his being so, is inadmissible. Guilt is the in- separable attendant of transgression. f If Christ by imjjutation became deserving of punishment, we by non-imputation cease to deserve it ; and, if our demerits be lit- erally transferred to him, his merits must of course be the same to us : and then, instead of aj)proaching God as guilty and unworthy, we might take consequence to ourselves before liim, as not only guiltless, but meritorious beings. As to Christ's being punished, I have * Some liave defined giiill an obligation to pun- ishment; but a voliinUiry ()l)ligiilioii to endiiie the piinislimeiit of another is not guilt, any more llian a ron.se<|«f;nt exempt i,')n from obligation in the oflender is innocence. Both guilt and innocence, thougli transferable in tiieir effects, are tliemselves un- tran.sferable. t This is admitted by Dr. Cri.~p, who on this ground argues hi.s point, that Christ was really the ninner, or guilt could not have been charged upon him. — Sermons, p. 272. 6VZ LETTERS TO DR. RYLAND. no doubl, and never had, of Iiis sufferings being penal, any more than I have of our salvation being a reward : but, as the lat- ter is not a reward to us, so I question whether the former can properly be said to be a punishment to Him. What he bore ivas punishment, that is, the expres- sion of divine displeasure against trans- gressors, in whose place he stood : so what we enjoy is reward, that is, the ex- pression of God's well-pleasedness in the obedience and death of his Son : but neither is the one a punishment to Him, nor the other a reward to us. There appears to me great accuracy in the Scripture phraseology on this subject. What our Saviour underwent is common- ly expressed by the termsw^erings. Once it is called a chastisement : yet there he is not said to have been chastised, but "the chastisement of our peace was upon him.'" This is the same as saying. He bore our punishment, He was made a curse for us : that is, liaving been reckoned or ac- counted the sinner, as though he had ac- tually been so, he was treated according- ly, as one that had deserved to be an out- cast from heaven and earth. I believe the wrath of God that was due to us was poured upon him ; but I do not believe that God for one moment was angry or displeased with him, or that he smote him from any such displeasure. " It behoved him," says Calvin, " that he should as it were hand to hand wrestle with the armies of hell and the horrors of eternal death. ' The chastisement of our peace was laid upon him.'' He was stricken of his Father for our sins, and bruised for our iniquities : whereby is meant that he was put in the stead of wicked doers, as a surety and pledge ; yea, and as the very guilty per- son himself, to abide and suffer all the punishment that should have been laid up- on them. Yet do we not mean that God was at any time his enemy, or angry with him. For how could he be angry with his beloved Son, upon whom his mind rested 1 or how could Christ by his inter- cession appease his Father's wrath to- wards others, if, full of hatred, he had been bent against himself? But this is our meaning : That he suffered the griev- ousness of God's rigor ; for that he, being stricken and tormented by the hand of God, DID FEEL ALL THE TOKENS OF GOD WHEN HE IS ANGRY AND PUNISHETH." Inst. B. II. Ch. xvi. § 10, 11. I remember Mr. B. once said to me, " Christ was not made sin by participa- tion ; but he was every thing excepting this." Herein I perfectly agree. When it is allowed that he was accounted as the sinner, yea, as the greatest of all sinners, as though he had been made up of sin it- self, every thing is allowed short of a par- ticipation in sin. If it be not, however, it lies upon him to point out a possible medium between his being treated as though he were a transgressor and his ac- tually being one. LETTER III. ON SUBSTITUTION. Jan. 12, 1803. My dear Brother, Whether Christ laid down his life as a substitute for sinners, was never a ques- tion with me. All my hope rests upon it; and the sum of my delight in preaching the gospel consists in it. If I know any thing of myself, I can say of Christ crucified for us, as was said of Jerusalem : " If I forget thee, let my right hand forget : if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ! " I have always considered the denial of this truth as being of the essence of Socini- anism. Mr. B. professes, "in his juve- nile years, never to have hoped for salva- tion but through a vicarious sacrifice." But, if he allow himself to have believed this doctrine when he was an Arminian, it is rather singular that I, who am not an Ar- minian, as he himself acknowledges, should be charged with denying it. I could not have imagined that any person whose hope of acceptance with God rests not on any goodness in himself, but entirely on the righteousness of Christ, would have been accounted to disown his substitution. But, perhaps, Mr. B. considers " a real and proper imputation of our sins to Christ," by which he seems to mean their being literally transferred to him, as essential to this doctrine ; and, if so, I acknowledge I do not at present believe it. For Christ to die as a substitute, if I understand the term, is the same thing as his dying /or us, or in our stead, or that we should not die. The only subject on which I ought to have been here interrogated is, " The per- sons for whom Christ was a substitute ; whether the elect only, or mankind in gen- eral." On this question I will be as ex- plicit as I am able. Were I asked concerning the gospel, when it is introduced into a country. For whom ivas it sent ? I should answer, if I had respect only to the revealed will of God, and so perhaps would Mr. B., It is sent for men, not as elect, or as non-elect, but as sinners. It is written and preach- I SUBS, i* L'TIO!^. 619 ed, " that they might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of Goil ; and tlip.t lie- lieving tliey might have life through his name." But, if I had respect to the secret will or appointment of God as to its api)li- cation, I should say. If the divine conduct in this instance accord with what it has l>cen in other instances, lie hatii visited that coun- try " to take out of it a peoi)le for his name." In like manner concerning tlie death of Christ. If I speak of it irrespective of the purpose of the father and the Son, as to the objects icho should be saved by it, merely referring to what it is in itself suf- ficient for, and declared in the gospel to be adapted to, I should think that I an- swered the question in a scriptural way by saying, It was for sinners as sinners : but if I have respect to the purpose of the Fa- ther in giving his Son to die, and to the desis:n of Christ in laying down his life, I should answer, // ivasfor the elect only.* In the former of these views, I find the apostles and primitive ministers (leaving the consideration of God's secret purpose as a matter belonging to himself, not to them) addressing themselves to sinners without distinction, and holding forth the d«ath of Christ as a ground of faith to all men. On this principle the servants sent forth to bid guests to the marriage- supper were directed to invite them, say- ing, " Come, FOR all things are ready." On this principle the ambassadors of Christ besought sinners to be reconciled to God, "for," said they, " he hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." In the latter view, I find the apostles ascribing to the purpose and discriminat- ing grace of God all their success ; and teaching believers to ascribe every thing that they were, or hoped to be, to the same cause; addressing them as having * Ttie distinction between what the atonement of Clirist is in \tse\( tufficient for and what it isasap- plied, under the sovereign will of God, is made l)y Dr. Owen, as well as many others. Speaking of " the dignity, worth, or infinite vahie of the death of Christ," he ascrilxjs it |)artly to " the dignity of his person, and partly to the greatness of iiis sufferings. And tiiis," he adds, " sets out the innate, real, true xcorth and value of the blood-shedding of Jesus Christ; this is its own true internal perfec- tion and sufficiency. That it should be applied un- to any, made a price for them, and become beneficial to them, according to the worth that is in it, is ex- ternal to it, doth not arise from it, but merely de- |jends upon the intention and will of God." And it is on this ground that Dr. Owen accounts for the propitiation of Christ being set forth in general and indefinite expressions — and for " the general prof- fers, promises, and exhortations made for the em- bracing of the fruits of the death of Christ, even to them v^ho do never actually perform it." — Death ot Death, &c.. Book iv. Ch.'l. VOL. I. 85 been before the foundation of the world the objects of his love and choice; the children or sons whom it was tlie design of Christ in becoming incarnate to bring to glory ; tlie church of God, wliich he purchased with his own blood, and for whicii he gave himself, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, and present it to himself. If it be a proper definition of the sub- stitution of Christ, that he died fur or in the place of others, that they should not die, this, as comprehending the designed end to be answered by his death, is strictly applicable to none but the elect : for whatever ground there is for sinners, as sinners, to iielieve and be saved, it never was the design of Christ to impart faith to any others than those who were given him of the Father. He therefore did not die with the intent that any others should not die. Whether I can perfectly reconcile these statements with each other, or not, I be- lieve they are both taught in the Scrip- tures; but I acknowledge that I do not at present perceive their inconsistency. The latter Mr. B. will admit; and, as to the former, I am quite at a loss what to make of his concessions, if they do not include it. According to the best of my recol- lection, he acknowledged to me that he believed the atonement of Christ to he suf- ficient for the whole ivorld, as ivell as I; and that, if one sinner only were saved consistently ivith justice, it required to be by the same all-perfect sacrifice. So, I am certain, I understood him. Now, if it be acknowledged that the obedience and death of Christ was a substitution of such a kind as to be equally required for the salvation of one sinner, as for many — is not tliis the same thing as acknowledging that atonement required to be made for si7i as sin; and, being made, was appli- cable to sinners as sinners ? In other words, is it not acknowledging that God redeemed his elect by an atonement in its own nature adapted to all, just as he calls his elect by a gospel addressed to alH If the speciality of redemption be pla^ ced in the atonement itself, and not in the sovereign icill of God, or in the design of the Father and the Son, with respect to the persons to whom it shall be applied, it must, as far as I am able to perceive, have proceeded on the principle of pecu- niary satisfactions. In them the payment is proportioned to the amount of the debt; and, being so, it is not of suflicicnt value for more than those who are actually lib- erated by it ; nor is it true, in these cases, that the same satisfaction is required for one as for many. But, if such was the satisfaction of Christ that nothing less was necessary for the salvation of one, nothing 074 LETTERS TO DR. RYLAND. more could be necessary for the salvation of the whole world, and the whole world might have been saved by it ?/ it had ac- corded with sovereign wisdom so to apply it. It will also follow that, if the satis- faction of Christ was in itself sufficient for the whole world, there is no further propriety in such questions as these — "Whose sins were imputed to Christ 1 for whom did he die as a substitute!" — than as they go to inquire who were the persons designed to be saved by him 1 that which is equally necessary for one as for many must, in its own nature, be equally sufficient for many as for one ; and could not proceed upon the principle of the sins of some being laid upon Christ, rather than others, any otherwise than as it was the design of the Father and the Son, through one all-sufficient medium, ulti- mately to pardon the sins of the elect ra- ther than those of the non-elect. It seems to me as consonant Avith truth to say a certain number of Christ's acts of obedi- ence are literally transferred to us as that a certain number of our sins are literally transferred to him. In the former case, his own undivided obedience, stamped as it is with divinity, affords a ground of jus- tification to any number of believers : in the latter, his own atonement, stamped also as it is with divinity, is sufficient to pardon any number of sins or sinners. Yet as Christ did not lay down his life but by covenant — as the elect were given to him, to be as the travail of his soul, the purchase of his blood — he had respect in all that he did and suffered to this recom- pense of reward. It was for the covering of their transgressions that he became obe- dient unto death. To them his substitu- tion was the same, in effect, as if their sins had by number been literally trans- ferred to him. I am not aware that any principle that I hold is inconsistent with Christ's laying down his life by covenant, or with his being the surety of that cove- nant, pledging himself for the certain ac- complishment of whatever he undertook ; as, that all that were given him should come to him; should not be lost, but rai- sed up at the last day, and be presented without spot and blameless. All this I suppose to be included in the design of the Father and the Son; or in the " sove- reign application" of the atonement. It has been objected, though not by Mr. B., "how does the sufficiency of Christ's death afford ample ground for general in- vitations, if the design was confined to the elect people 1 If the benefits of his death were never intended for the non-elect, is it not just as inconsistent to invite them to partake of them as if there were a want of sufficiency! This explanation seems to be no other than shifting the difficulty.'' To this I answer : — 1. It is a fact that the Scriptures rest the general invitation of the gospel upon the atonement of Christ. — 2 Cor. v. 19 — 21 ; Matt. xxii. 4; John iii. 16. 2. If there were not a sufficiency in the atonement for the salvation of sinners, and yet they were invited to be recon- ciled to God, they must be invited to what is naturally impossible. The message of the gospel would in this case be as if the servants who went forth to bid the guests had said, "Come," though, in fact, noth- ing was ready, if many of them had come. 3. If there be an objective fulness in the atonement of Christ sufficient for any number of sinners, were they to believe in Him, there is no other impossibility in the way of any man's salvation to whom the gospel comes than what arises from the state of his own mind. The intention of God not to remove the impossibility, and so not to save him, is only a resolution to withhold, not only that which he was not obliged to give, but that which is never represented as necessary to the consistency of exhortations and invitations to a com- pliance. I do not deny that there is a difficulty ; but it belongs to the general subject of reconciling the purposes of God and the agency of man; whereas, in the other case, God is represented as inviting sinners to partake of that which does not exist, and which therefore is naturally impossible. The one, while it ascribes the salvation of the believer, in every stage of it, to mere grace, renders the un- believer inexcusable, which the other, I conceive, does not. Such, as well as I am able to explain them, are my views of these important subjects. I may be mistaken in some particulars ; and, if so, I should be happy to receive further light from any one. — But, till I do, I shall not think the worse of what I have written for the names by which it may be stigmatized. LETTER IV. ON CHANGE OF SENTIMENTS. Jan. 17, 1803. My dear Brother, Mr. B., in his letter to you of Dec. 6, expresses his persuasion that " I could not now oppose Philanthrofos as I for- merly did ; we being more nearly agreed than we were twelve or fifteen years ago." CHANGE 07 SENTIMF.NTS. 675 When 1 wrote my reply to Pliilanthro- pos, I acknowlcdiied tliat 1 had read and ihoiiirht l)Ut litlle on tlie sulijcct, and tlierctore cng;ai:eil in that controversy with considerable reluctance. Were I to write it over airain, there would, doul>tless, he several alterations. I niii^iit understand some ])assan than what arises from the above particulars to reprint it as it is. I Ireely own that my views of particular redemption were altered by my engaging in that con- troversy ; but what alteration there was, was before I published my reply. The truth is, I tried to answer my opj)onent with- out considering the sufficiency of the atone- ment in itself considered, and of its being the ground of gospel invitations ; but I could not. I found not merely his reasonings, but the Scriptures themselves, standing in my way. After some serious thought upon the subject, therefore, I formed my judg- ment : and it was some relief to find all the old Calvinists defending the doctrine upon the same ground. I conceded to my opponent that the death of Christ in itself considered, i. e. irrespective of the design of the Father and Son as to its application, was suffi- cient for all mankind ; that a way was opened by which God consistently with his justice could forgive any sinner what- ever that returns to him by Jesus Christ; that, if the whole world were to believe in Him, none need be sent away for want of a sufficiency in his death to render his pardon and acceptance consistent with the rights of justice (p. 23;) and this is all that I should concede now. This is the whole of what I meant in the second edition of The Gospel Worthy of all Ac- ceptation, by "the peculiarity of redemp- tion consisting not in its insufficiency to save more than are .saved, but in the sove- reignty of its application." If more be conveyed by this sentence than the above, it conveys what I never intended ; but I am not able to perceive that this is the case. That for which I then contended was, that Christ had an absolute and determi- nate design in his death to save some of the human race, and not others ; and, were I engaged in a controversy with Philanthropos now, I should contend for the same thing. I then placed the pecu- liarity of redemption wholly in the ap- pointment or design of the Father and the Son, which, if I understand my own words, is the same thing as placing it in " the sovereignty of its a|>|)licati<(M." As my views of particular redemption were somewhat changed i)etwcon my writing the first edition of The Gospel IFortliy of all Acceptation and my Rtply to Philan- thropos, it was right when publishing a second edition of the former work to ren- der it consistent with the latter, as well as with my then present sentiments. In the course of twelve or fifteen years there are few, if any, thinking men, but what see reason to change their senti- ments in some particulars. What I have here stated on Imputation may not be the ideas which I entertained at tiiat distance of time, though I do not recollect to have written any thing upon it ; yet, to the l)est of my remembrance, I thought that in God's charging our sin on Christ, and placing His righteousness to our account, he reckoned of things as they icere ; as Dr. Crisp pleads (Sermons, p. 280), though how it was I could form no idea. I did not perceive at that time that imputation and transfer were not the same thing. In short, I had never closely considered the subject. The same might be said of some things which I have written in The Gospel its own Witness, P. ii. ch. iv., as whether the satisfaction of Christ proceeded on the principle of commercial or of moral jus- tice, and whether it was an event admissi- ble in the ordinary course of distributive justice, or an extraordinary expedient de- vised by infinite wisdom, answering all the ends of moral government, and so comporting with the spirit of the law, though not required or admitted by the letter of it. In answering the objection of the infi- del against the atonement, that it repre- sented divine justice as proceeding on the same principle in criminal cases as in cases of debt and credit, indifTerent to the object, so that the punishment was but inflicted, I must either acquiesce, or endeavor to repel it. Had I acquiesced, and maintain- ed with Dr. Crisp " that justice, as a blood-hound, follows the scent of blood, and seizes wherever it finds blood ;"* in other words, that it is indifferent to jus- tice who it punishes, provided it does but punish, whether it be the transgressor or one who condescends to have his trans- gressions imputed to him; had I acquiesced, I say, in this, how could I have disj)roved his calumny, that " what is called justice is not justice, but indiscriminate revenge 1" These sulijects were seriously examined, with no other design than to obtain just views of evangelical truth, and to vindicate * Sermon, p- 274. 676 LETTERS TO DU. RYLAND it against its adversaries. If in any instance I have betrayed it, I hope I should, on discovering it, be very sorry. The grounds on which I have attempted to vindicate the atonement do not appear to me to hear injuriously upon any other doc- trine of the gospel, nor upon the lead- ing principles in my former publications. So far from considering what I wrote of late as subversive of them, I always sup- posed it went to confirm them. They op- erate, I admit, against that notion of par- ticular redemption which places it not in the design of the Father in giving his Son, nor of the Son in laying dow n his life, but in the number of sins and sinners for which his sutferings sufficed as an atone- ment ; but tills in ray account is no part of evangelical truth ; and by the acknowl- edgment of Mr. B., that the same sacri- fice is necessary for the salvation of one sinner as of many, it would seem to be none in his. LETTER V. ON CALVINISM. Jan. 18, 1803. My bear Brother, When I had assured Mr. B., in my letter of July 7, 1802, that I did not de- ny either Imputation or Substitution, but merely the sense in which he held them, he writes in answer, " That he is not a- ware of his either understanding or using those terms in a sense which is not com- mon among Calvinists." And in his letter to you, of Dec. 6, Avhile he acquits me of being an Arminian, he says, " It is to me beyond a doubt that he (Mr. F.) does not hold the doctrine of Substitution, and of Imputation, as Calvinists have commonly done, and still continue to do." The amount is that, at least in these par- ticulars, Mr. B. is a Calvinist, and I am not. If this be true, it does not follow that I deny substitution or imputation. Mr. B. says " that in his juvenile years he never hoped for salvation but through a vicarious sacrifice." If then he could be- lieve this doctrine while an Arminian, surely I might be allowed to believe it, who, as he acknowledges, am not an Arminian. But, passing this, Mr. B.'s views on these subjects may, for aught I know, be more consonant with those of the general body of persons called Cal- vinists than mine. All the high Calvinists ■will doubtless agi-ee with him, and disagree with me, so far as they know our senti- ments ; but it does not appear to me that his opinions on either of the subjects in question are those of Calvin or of Calvin- ists during the sixteenth century. I do not pretend to have read so much of either as he has : but, from what I have seen, so it appears to me. The quotations that have already been made from Calvin, pp. 24, 33, 34, prove that he had no other notion of imputation than that of the right- eousness of Christ being reckoned to us " as if it tvere our own," and of our sins being so reckoned to Christ, that, " os the very guilty person himself, he suffer- ed all the punishment that should have been laid upon us." I should think it were manifest, from this, that he did not believe in a " real or proper " imputation in either case, nor in Christ's being really guilty, and as such punished. All he pleads for is, that " he felt all the tokens of God lohen he is angry, and punishcih ;" and this is precisely what I believe. With respect to substitution, from what I have read of Calvin, he appears to have considered the death of Christ as affording an offer of salvation to sinners without distinction ; and the peculiar respect which it bore to the elect as consisting in the sovereignty of its application, or in God's imparting faith and salvation through it, to them, rather than to others, as it was his design to do. To this effect is his comment on John iii. 16, " God so loved the world, that he gave his only -be- gotten Son, that whosoever believeth," &c. " This," says he, '' is a singular com- mendation of faith, that it delivereth us from eternal destruction. For his meaning was plainly to express that, though we seem to be born to death, yet there is certain deliverance offered in the faith of Christ : so that death, which oth- erwise hangeth over our heads, is nothing to be feared. He added also the univer- sal note " whosoever," both that he may invite all men in general to the participa- tion of life, and cut off all excuse from unbelievers. To the same end tendeth the term 'world;' for thougli there be nothing found in the world that is worthy of God's favor, yet he showeth that he is favorable to the whole world, when he call- eth all men witiiout exception to the faith of Christ. Let us remember, however, that though life is promised to all who shall believe in Christ, so commonly that yet faith is not common to all men ; for though Christ lieth open to all men, yet God doth only open the eyes of the elect, that they may seek him by faith." The Calvinists who met at the Synod OF DoRT have expressed their judgment on redemption in nine propositions. Were they not too long for transcription I would CALVINISM. 677 insert the whole. The following extracts, however, will sullicionlly express their sentitnents'onthe points in question. "The death of" the Son of God is tlic only and most complete sacrifice and satisl'action for sins, of infinite vahie, ainindantly suf- ficient to expiate the sins of the whole world.* The promise of the gospel is that whosoever helieveth in Christ cruci- fied shall not perish, hut have eternal life: which promise, logetlier with the command to repent and l>elieve, ought promiscuous- ly and indiscriminately to lit; ])ul)lished and proposed to all nations and individ- uals, to whom God in his good pleasure sends the gospel. The reason why many who are called hy the gospel do not re- pent and believe in Clirist, but perish in unbelief, is not through any defect or in- sufficiency in the sacrifice of Christ offer- ed upon the cross, but through their own fault." — " All those who truly believe, and by the death of Christ are delivered and saved, have to ascrii)e it to the grace of God alone, wiiich he owes to no one, and which was given them in Christ from eter- nity."— " The gracious will and intention of God the Father was, tiiat the life-eriving and saving efficacy of the precious deatii of his Son should exert itself in all the elect, to endue them alone irith justifying faith, and thereby infallibly bring them to sal- vation."\ 1 would not wish for words more appro- priate than the above to express my sen- timents. If Mr. B.'s views accord with them, there can be no material difference between us. But, if I be not mistaken, Mr. B. holds the sulistitution of Christ in a way that does not admit of " the covi- mnnd to repent and believe being promis- cuously addressed to all." I have never been al)le to learn, however, from his wri- tings, preaching, or conversation, after all that has been said about sinners as sinners being warranted to believe, that he even exhorts them to it; or avows it to be tiie command of God that they should repent and believe, in such a manner as is con- nected with salvation. Now what is it, but his ideas of imputation and substitu- tion, that can be the cause of this hesita- tion 1 I call it hesitation, because I never heard or saw any thing in him that amount- ed to a denial of it. Yet he does not avow it, though he well knows it was avowed by Calvin, and all Calvinists for more than * I question if any surli oonres.cing tlie causes, or grounds, on account of tvhich we are jus- tified ; and professes to plead for them only as " concomitants ; " just as we say repentance is necessary to forgiveness, and faith to justification, though these are not cotisiderations moving God to bestow those blessings. In short, I find it much easier to express my own judgment on justification, than to say wherein I agree or difl'er with Mr. Baxter. I consider justification to be God's graciously par- doning our sins, and accepting us to fa- vor, exempting us from the curse of the law, and entitling us to the promises of the gospel ; not on account or in consid- eration of any holiness in us, ceremonial or moral, before, in, or after believing, but purely in reward of the vicarious obe- dience and death of Christ, which, on our believing in him, is imputed to us, or reckoned as if it were ours. Nor do I consider any holiness in us to be necessa- ry as a concomitant to justification, ex- cept what is necessarily included in be- lieving. Mr. Baxter writes as if the unconverted could do something towards their conver- sion, and as if grace were given to all, except those who forfeit it by wilful sin. But no such sentiment ever occupied my mind, or proceeded from my pen. Final- ly : Mr. Baxter considers Calvinists and Arminians as reconcilable, making the dif- ference between them of but small amount. I have no such idea: and if, on account of what I have here and elsewhere avowed, I were disowned by my present connections, I should rather choose to go through the world alone than be connected with tiiem. Their scheme appears to me to undermine the doctrine of salvation by grace only, and to resolve the diflerence between one sinner and another into the will of man, which is directly opposite to all my views and experience. Xor could I feel a union of heart with those who are commonly considered in the present day as Baxteri- ans, who iiold with the gospel being a new remedial law, and represent sinners as con- tributing to their own conversion. The greatest, though not the only, in- struction that I have received from human writings, on these subjects, has been from President Edwards's Discourse on Justifi- cation. That which in me has been call- ed " a strange or singular notion " of this doctrine is stated at large, and I think clearly proved, by him under the third head of that discourse. — pp. 86 — 95. Here, my dear brother, I lay down my pen. Reduced as I am to the awkward necessity (unless I wish to hold a contro- versy with a man deservedly respected, and who is just going into his grave) of making a private defence against what is become a public accusation, I can only leave it to Him who judgeth righteously to decide whether I have been treated fairly, openly, or in a manner becoming the regard which one Christian minister owes to another. If what I have written contain any thing injurious to the truth, may the Lord convince me of it ! And, if not, may he preserve me from being im- properly moved by the frowns of men ! I am, as vou know, your affectionate brother, A. FULLER. REMARKS MR. MARTIN'S PUBLICATION, EKTITLED THOUGHTS ON THE DUTY OF MAN RELATIVE TO FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST," FIVE LETTERS TO A FRIEND Our want of power (to trust in Christ) is, generally speaking, want of will, and want of love." Mr. Martin. — Ser. on Rom. x. 3. p. 31. VOL. 1. 86 REMARKS ON MR. MARTIN'S PUBLICATION LETTER L ON MR. martin's accusations. My dear Frie.vd, You have requested my thoughts on Mr. Martin's recent pultlication. I now take up my pen to comply with your re- quest. I cannot hel[) observing that the spirit in which Mr. M. has conducted his performance renders a sol.er and serious re- ply to it very dillicult. His abounding like wise so much with what respects my per- sonal qualities as a writer and as a Chris- tian,must render a minute attention to what he has written, equally difficult. There is this comfort, however, that such things do not require an answer. Nobody ex- pects that I should go about to defend my own abilities for writing, or the spirit in which I have written; the impartial read- er, perhaps, may l>e a better judge of both than either Mr. M. or myself. All I shall attempt will be to notice a few of Mr. M.'s accusations, make some general observations on his peribrmance, and discuss two or three of the leading subjects in debate. Most writers propose to establish some system, or hypothesis, in the place of that which ihey go about to demolish ; but, whatever iSlv. M. may do in future, I think it must be obvious to every reader that he has done but little in this way at present. The main points that he seems to have kept in view arc to inform the world that there is such a person as a " Mr. Andrew Fuller, of Kettering, in Northamptonshire — that he is a very ob- scure, inconsistent, erroneous, ignorant, artful, vain, hypocritical, kind of a writer — that he has written upon humility, but is far from being humble — that he was under the influence of a lust of being con- sequential " — that when he professes a respejt for many of those who differ from him, and a grief of mind for the shyness which, he apprehended, his publication might occasion, he is not to be believed ; for the whole was only his vanity, or cov- ctuusness, whicii produced an anxious fear common to "poor authors, lesi iheir works should not be read, should not sell, or should not be applauded'' — that he is wanting in method — (hat his style is embarrassed, coarse, comical, and uncouth — that he is unqualified to instruct — and that those who cannot discern these defects and blemish- es in his writings are ignorant and incom- petent to discover even the mistakes which his Errata were given to correct. That Mr. M., on the contrary, "has had the advantage of trials and observations, more in number and variety than some people have had opportunities to experience and consider " — that " he fancied himself qual- ified to say something in answer to Mr. Fuller that should be above contempt — that he hoped lo gain some repute by it — but that, supposing he should not, yet it must be acknowledged, he thinks, even by his opponent, that lie is above contempt.'' — Now sujjpose all this were true, what do nine parts out of ten of it concern the reader 1 The question with which he is supposed to take a book in hand is, What is truth ? But, should this be the case with Mr. M.'s reader, must he not at least wait the publication of a second part for an answer 1 Mr. M., as if lie thought scorn to lay hands on a single obscure individual, ven- tures to extend his attack far and wide. Messieurs Evans of Bristol, Hall of Arnsby, Spencer of Alccstcr, and Thom- as of Z/eo7nins«er,* and indeed the whole Midland ^ssoctn/ioM are attacked amongst the living; and, amongst the dead, not *Tlie one you know wrote tlie ciiciilar letlor whicli IMr. M. iia.s censured, p. 72, and llie other si"ned it as a inodeiatur, and lias since defended it. 684 ON MR. MARTIX S PUBLICATION. only President Edwards, but all those Cdvinists who have pleads;! for a love to Gad and divine things for their own ex- cellency, fall under his severe rebuke. — 160. Well, I am hvippy in my company.— There is no need in this case that I should become the advocate of either the dead or the living; the writings of neither, I should hope, will be much endangered by Mr. M.'s attack. I need not say that Mr. M. deals plen- tifully in accusations. Besides those al- ready mentioned, I am accused oi speak- ing loosely of the Scriptures — and dimina- tively of the obligations of men — of aim- ing to be xoise above lohat is loritten — of attempting to equalize the obligations of all mankind, whose capacities and oppor- tunities God hath so variously distributed — of undervaluing an assurance of inter- est in Christ — and of importing my senti- ments from America. — These, with many other minor charges, Mr. M. has exhibit- ed, repeating on almost every occasion, as a kind of chorus to the song, those of ob- scurity, INCONSISTENCY, and 'er:-or. A long train of accusations indeed ! Are they founded in justice 1 Let us exam- ine— Because I suppose there are some truths which would be evident even to the mind of a heathen, were he but the subject of a right S|)irit, I am accused of speaking loose- ly of the Scriptures. — 42. This censure, however, tails equally upon the apostle Paul as upon me. — Rom. i. 19, 20. Farther, because I speak of God's re- quirements as being in themselves easy to be complied with, as having nothing hard or difficult in them but what arises from the depravity of our hearts, I am accused of diminishing the obligations of men, by representing it " as not being any great difficulty to perform the full extent of du- ty."— .52, 53. This censure likewise falls upon Moses, Samuel, and Jeremiah, as well as upon me. These each spoke of God's service in exactly the same kind of lan- guage as I have done, and with which Mr. M. is so much offended. — Deut. x. 12. 1 Sam. xii. 24. Jer. iii. 13. I am accused likewise of aiming to be xvise above ivhat is imparted. — 132. To imagine that we ought to be wise above what is imparted in the Scripture is the height of folly and presumption : attempts of this kind were severely censured by Agur, Mose-i, and John, in the passages quoted by Mr. M. But, if it is no man's duty to be wise but in proportion as wis- dom is actually and effectually imparted to him by the Holy Spirit, then it is no man's duty to be wiser than he is. And, if so, there could be no reason in ihat com- plaint, " O that they loere wise ! " Indeed, this is the main tendency of a great part of Mr. M.'s reasonings : if they prove any thing, they prove that no man is obliged to BE more wise, more holy, or more spir- itual than he actually is ; and that is the same thing as proving that there is no such thing as sin in the world. Much is said concerning equal obliga- tion, as covering what I have written with obscurity ; even the word man, in the con- nection in which I have used it, is said to be obscure. — 13. All obligation which creatures can be under, I have all along supposed to be in proportion to their nat- ural abilities and opportunities. A child of ten years old is not supposed to be ca- pable of understanding so much as when he becomes a man of thirty ; nor is a man obliged to believe faster or sooner than he has the means of obtaining evidence : but both the child and the man are obliged to be of such a disposition as shall cordially embrace the gospel when it is revealed, and its meaning comes within the reach of their understandings. All this was de-. clared in my reply to Mr. Taylor, p. 5, which had Mr. M. considered, it might have spared him the troulile (or should I have said, deprived him of the happiness? for so he accounts it, p. 190), of writing at least about twenty pages of his work.* But, if I talk of understanding what we believe, I shall be charged with adopting Mr. Foster's maxim, " Where mystery begins, religion ends." If by understand- ing were meant a perfect comprehension of all that pertains to a doctrine, the charge were just; but surely I must understand the meaning of the testifier before I can either believe or disbelieve his testimony ; except it be in a general way, taking it for granted, from the opinion I have of his veracity, that whatever he says is true. I can believe no particular scripture-doc- trine without perceiving that that doctrine is contained in Scripture; and such per- ception is the same thing ss understanding tlie meaning of the testifier. This is no more than Mr. M. himself elsewhere pleads for (143, 182); so that his opposi- tion to it here looks like contention for contention's sake. Again, I am accused of imdervaluing an assurance of a personal interest in Christ; because I suppose, that when compared with the heart's falling in with God's way of salvation, and when that is so at- tended to as that this is overlooked, it is a mean and loro idea of faith. — 134. That may be good and desirable in its place, which yet, if put in the place of some other thing of greater excellence, becomes mean and low. There is nothing mean or * Especially pages 13-15, 20, 21, 30—38, 44—46 . ACCUSATIONS 635 low In a man's pursuing his own interest in suhordination to the pulilic irood, or his own reputalion in sul'servieiu-y t'l Goil's glory ; l)ul, to ni.ikc eilhor ihc direct and ultimate end ol his pursuits, is mean and low, and unworthy ol a rational being. Much is said of my havinj^ read Ed- wards, Bellamy, and other American writers. Mr. M. seems as if he would have his readers think he has made a great discovery here ; tijough it is no more than I had freely acknowledged. It is true I have received instruction in reading the autliors above mentioned ; nor do I know of any sin or siiame cither in the thing itself or in openly acknowledging it. Mr. M. may wish to insinuate that I have taken mat- ters upon trust from these writers without examining them ; but in answer to such insinuations it is sufficient to say, that is more tiian he can prove. All he knows or can know of the matter is that I have read them, and approve of some of their sentiments ; and is there any crime in this ] I remember about fourteen years og) to have received some advantage on the subject now in debate by hearing Mr. Martin preach upon it. It is true we were 80 unhappy thtn,ns well as now, as to diflfer in our sentiments. I, at that time, did not think as I now do, but INIr. Martini did. I own I disliked the violence with which he then maintained my present sentiments ; and the supercilious language which he used of those who differed from him, whom I then understood to be Gill and Br^ine, or writers of their stamp. Upon the whole, however, what he said set me a thinking, and I believe was of use to me. I remember also soon after this time to have read Mr. M.'s sermon on Rora. x. 3, entitled The Rork of Offence the Sin- ner's last and only Rifuge. This sermon, whicli ascrii)es men's non-submission to the righteousness of God to voluntary ig- norance, prejudice, pride, and self-righte- ousness, appeared tome to carry in it con- siderable evidence in favor of those prin- ciples concerning the truth of which I then hesitated. And has not jMr. INI. de- rived instruction from the works of men as well as his neighbors \ If he has not, it is not much to his honor. Be that as it may, he cannot mean to censure the read- ing of o/^ human productions, for, if so, why does he offer his own to tha public 1 If somebody were not to go to market, Mr. M. might be in a similar predicament with other "poor authors — agitated lest his performance should not sell." — After all, perhaps, it is not going to market that Mr. M. objects to, either in himself or others, but going to an American market; for there are several authors whom he still recommends. Mr. M., whatever is the reason, seems to have an antipathy against America, in religion as well as in politics. Tiiare was a U\m, however, when the writings of Edwards had the honor of his warmest recommendation, when ho accounted his treatise on " Religious Af- lions" "a much wanted, and for that reason, perhaps, a much neglected book." End and Evid. of Adoption, p. 19. But " time and chancy happen to all things."—" There is a time ,to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted." Finally, I am accused of obscurity, in- consistency, and error. As to obscurity, I shall say nothing, except it be that every one does not think so, nor every one of my opponents; Mr. Taylor allows me to have written with " pers])icuity." As to inco7isistency. If what Mr. M. says is true, which doubtless it is, that " the most consistent character is only a little less inconsistent than his neighliors," it must be in vain for me wholly to deny the charge. Thus much, however, I may say, that the far greater part of what Mr. M. charges with inconsistency is such in sound onlv, and not in sense ; and that, if h^ had not almost perpetually confounded things that differ, he could not have lound so many apparent inconsistences as he has. No doubt you have observed how he confounds divine efficiency with human obligation (15); what is with what ought to be (44); men's obligation perfectly to conform to God's law with an obligation to make reconciliation for sin (62) ; their natural capacity to keep the law perfectly in fu'.nre (that is, to love God with all iheir'heart) with their capacity to produce suc'i a righteousness as the law requires, which must imply a making atonement for past sins (104, 144); rea- siin for keeping the law with encourage- ment to comply with the gospel (lOS, 110) ; the formal requirement of obedience with thai in the divine character and conduct which affords a reason for such require- ment being made (40); and that which warrants our coming to Christ with that which warrants us to conclude^ ourselves interested in eternal life (72 — 76) : — it is on these subjects principally that I am charged with inconsistency. It is allowed there are many opposite things asserted, but opposites'may be asserted surely of things that differ, 'wxlhont affording ground for a charge of inconsistency.* As to the ♦ After all that Mr. Martin has written upon my inconsistency, i.-? it not raiher .surprisiiig he should miintain that "nur want of poller (tn trust in Chi 1st) is,generalKs[eakirg,wanl oflctV/and wnMot love; —that the" reasons or caasw of the righteousness of Christ lieing rejected are voluntary ignorance, prejudice, pride, &c. ; and, when he lias doue, find 6S6 ON MR. MAHTIN S PUBLICATION. charge of error, that will come under con- sideration when I atttenipt a discussion of the leading subjects in debate. LETTER II. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. Having replied to Mr. M.'s principal accusations, I shall now make a i'ew gen- eral (ibservations on his performance. I know n')t how it is, but it is a fact I have sometiniL's observed, that, Vt'here a person is more than ordinarily addicted to certain vices, it is common for him to be the first that shall discover those vices in his neigh- bors. I knew a man that every body around him reckoned to he very proud, and yet he was always exclaiming against pride in others. There is some resem- blance between this temper of m.ind and-a certain distemper of the body which makes every object around us appear of the same color as thai with which the eye is infected. Whether this will not ac- count for some of Mr. M.'s charges, par- ticularly for those of obscurity, inconsist- ency, and error, I leave you to judge from the whole of his performance, especially from what v/iil be noticed in the folio v.'jiig observations. I think it must appear to every attentive reader that Mv. M.'has hitherto O.Qivi but little towards overturning my leading propositions, even though these were what in his title-page he proposed to consider. As to the iirst, he neither denies that whatever God commands is the dwiy of those to wliora it is commanded, nor attempts to invalidate the evidence in fa- vor of faith being commanded of God to unregenerate sinners. As to ll^e second, he has said something about it (32) ; he has tried his utmost to make it an identical proposition, but cannot gain his point : fiult with ine for ir.r.irilainiug ihe .seli-s."r my ignoraiicc. — True, but my siifierings might have been a little alleviated by Mr 31.'s condescend- ing to bec(;me my ciiiii|, anion and lelluw-.-utieicr. '• Are not all men anxicus to pcssiss," he ask.«, " what they covet fo cvjoy 1 " — 28. Undoubtedly ! and, when l-.e shall have miormed us of the 'lifference between a being anxious to possess and covcVmg to enjoy, we may perceive the tendency of this "■fact," if it has such a tendency, " to refute my in- fereuces." GENEKAI. OBSERVATIONS. 687 may be equally wron?; but the question is, Is it so in respect of bein^ Christ's friend or his enemij ; of a perfect /"w/urc conformity to God's law, or a livinir in the breach of it 1 JVIr. M., to make this ob- servation of any force, must admit that it would be equally an extreme for a sinner to be decidedly for Christ as it is to be decidedly against him ; that it were equal- ly wrong to love God with nil the heart as not to love him at all ; that his duty is to be of a divided heart, to be neither Jor Christ nor against him, but in a medium way, just as it is a man's duty to be neither covetous nor prodiiral, but something be- tween then). " Perhaps Mr. Fuller has considered"* that though there are cases in which both extremes are wrong, yet it is not so in this case; in this case our Lord declares a medium to be impossil Ic. I have taken it for granted that so Jar as any thing is charged upon men as their sin, so far the contrary must be their duty ; be- cause, where there is no obligation, there can he no transgression.! — I should not have imagined tiiat any man in his senses could have called this in question, and yet this is what Mr. M. has done. He calls it a mere inference, and talks of proving it a false consequence ! — S9. In page 146, he speaks of men being given up to vile. affections — allows such affections to be sinful, and yet w ill not allow it to be their duly to possess the contrary ! What he has advanced (89, 90), to prove this "a false consequence," amounts to this, that sinners cannot serve tlie Lord acceptably — and that, whatever good takes place, His ike effect of divine influence. This is the reasoning that is to prove that though men are criminal for breaking the law, yet they are not obliged perfectly to keep it — that though unbelief is a sin , yet faith is not a du- ty ! On what principles, and in what man- ner, is such a writer to be reasoned with 1 "Figurative expressions," Mr. M. con- tends, " are intended to convey ameaning." — 126. Undoubtedly; and sometimes as strong and stronger a meaning than terms used literally. Mr. M. had no right to represent as if by pleading for a figur- ative sense of the terms blind, deaf, and dead, I meant to lessen their/orce. The term nuick^ned has doubtless a meaning, and a very strong one ; and if Mr. M. had not thought himself warranted, while he censures his author as he calls him for coarseness and uncouthnass of style, to be £is coarse, as uncouth, as comical, and * See my rfply, p. 130, note, f The contrary mu^t be their duty ? — Wliat then, .Mr. M . will ask, is pi'odigiiliiy iIip Hiity of lie covetous ^ I answer, no ; iieiilier is prodigality, but conlenlment and generosity, the contrary of covet- oiisnese. — Heb. xiii. 5. as irreverent as he pleaded himself, ho could never have talked of I ting rubbed UP by the Spirit of God. Mr. M. frequently writes as if his only end was to oppose. Sometimes I am ac- cused of equalizing the oliligalions of men whose capacities are various (13); at other times for varying their obligations accord- ing to their natural capacity or incapacity. — iO-4- When I make it men's duty to possess that, in respect ol" holy disposi- tions, of which they are destitute, then he will have it that their duty is only to occupy what they have. — 18. On the other hand, when I admit, in respect of natural capacities and opportunities, that men are obliged only to occupy ivhat they have, then he complains that this is pitting the Al- mighty off with only a right use of what is left'— 98, 104. thus he falls out with Mr. Kall, o\' Amsby, for asserting that " God doth not require more of any man than a right use of wiiat he hath " — alleging that, "if so, it must inevitably follow that no man need seek for what he has not." — 76. Some people would have thought thai rightly to tise or occupy what wc have would be to seek that which we have not. If the slothful ser- vant had rightly used his talent, he would have increased it, by seeking that which he had not. If Mr. M.'s " modes of op- position are not more formidable than this conclusion is inevitable " we have not much to fear. After all, what does he mean'? what is he about! Has he any sentiment upon the subject 1 Or does he mean barelv to oppose ? If he has, it must be this, that natural impossibilities are binding upon mankind, but that moral im- possibilities AB.E NOT SO I Whether Mr. M. has not intermeddled in a controversy which, with all his " oppor- tunities " for obtaining knowledge, he does not understand, some have doubted. What his abilities are for writing, perhaps it does not become me to say, nor is it of any great consequence to determin?; but I should think it is no great recommenda- tion of his judgment in language to call that dictatorial which any reader may per- ceive to be written merely in the declara- tory style (66); such as every writer must use, unless he will be always repeating the words, I conceive, I apprehend, Stc. — It is not language, however, that I chiefly refer to, huCsentiment. Nothing is more common than for Mr. M. to be employed in zealously estaiilishing what I never denied, and refuting what I never, af- firmed. This is the case almost ajl through his piece when he treats on di- vine efficiency, and the duty of men, as he expresses it, to " possess the power of God," and perform- ads peculiar fo him. 688 ON MR. MARTIN S PUBLICATION. There are not wanting places wherein I am expressly acquitted, on the above suliject, of that ot which in other places I am accused. Compare p. 96 with p. 125. In the one, it is supposed that I ex- tend duty to "those actions which are not our own ; or to the possession oi" the pow- er of God ; in the other, it is acknowl- edged that I am " of opinion that spiritual blesf-ings, and the divine energy that gives us the enjoyment of them, cannot come under Ihe notion of duties." Is it uncan- did to impute the above to his not un- derstanding the subject on which he writes 1 On natural and moral abil- ity and inabilty, Mr. M. writes in a man- ner that is very extraordinary. He lallcs of men being enaliled to make a right use of moral ability (US) ; as if I supposed it to be a kind of talent, Avhith may be used or abused. Of natural abil- ity he asks, " Does it require ability to reject Christ 1 let this be proved." — 59. As if it required proof that a man must possess the powers of intelligence and choice in order to reject Christ ! If not, a stock or a stone might reject him as well as a man. — On all occasions he denies natural inability to be any excuse for the non- performance of that which would oth- erwise be duty. — 101, 122. He seems astonished at my supposing the contrary in cases where the parties have brought that inability upon themselves by their own sin. — 104. It seems by this as if Mr. M. would criminate the errors of a luna- tic, provided he has lost his reason by his own personal fault : yea, suppose he has not, his " natural defects and disorders are the continued consequences of our first revolt from God," and therefore it seems are inexcusable ! — 98. Some people, how- ever, will be ready to think a man cannot be faroffsucha state of mind himself when hecanadmitofsuchan idea. After all. Does not Mr. M.'s own description of the case of Sampson{2^), who lost his strength by his own sin, sufficiently refute what he would here establish 1 Mr. M. has greatly abounded in mis- representation. To enumerate every in- stance of it were as tedious as it is un- necessary. There are but few pages which are wholly exempt. If, as "he assures us, it is none of it to be imputed to unfair intention, but to a bad judgment (152), his judgment must be bad indeed !* * Query — Doe."! not Mr. M., by liis Iiere distin- guishing heXween judgment and intention, mean to exru.=e himself from Idame, at lea.st in some det^'ee, in case of any supposed misrepre.sentation ? Bui, if natural inaliility has no tendency to excuse (101), he might :is well have been willing to have it impu- ted to unfair iyitention as to a bad iuiJsment. The truth is, thouj;!) Mr. M. may treat tins sub- ject with sccrn, may call it a litt/c distinction, may assume an air of importanre, and aftirt great sup«- Much is made of what I said in my Trea- tise of" no sort of hope being held out to sinners as such." — 72, 73. I have long since as good as acknowledged that sen- tence to be obscure ; and have declared my meaning to be, " merely to disown that any sinner was encouraged by the gospel to hope for eternal life without returning home to God by Jesus Christ." — Reply to Pliilanthropos, p. 190. — But of (his Mr, M. has taken no notice. This might be an oversight. But to what can you im- pute his applying what was written upon humility in the abstract, to my oun humil- ity 1 Farlher, what can you make of his representing me as imputing it to ignor- ance, pride, dishonesty of heart, and aver- sion to God, that people do not believe as I believe — that is, that they do not embrace my views of the sentiment here in dis- pute!—133. Is this " the result of fair intention ?" It may be said Mr. M. meant to urge the above only as an infer- ence, and that he has so represented it in another place (142) : be it so, he had no warrant to represent that inference as my apprehension, which he does. — p. 113. But, suppose it were considered as an in- ference, what then 1 If mental errors are not excusable, as Mr. M. says they are not (101), then to what purpose are all his attempts to excuse them ? — 132, 143, 182. If mental errors are criminal in others, why should they be thought innocent in Mr. M. or me 1 I never professed to be free from prejudice, though I am persuaded it is no more than I ouglit to be ; and in proportion as this occupies the mind we shall linger and halt in embracing truth. Our Lord, who was never wanting in compassion \o his disciples, yet said, " O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken." I will mention but one instance more of Mr. M.'s misrepresentations. I had said, " Some have treated the distinction of in- ability into natural and moral as a new in- vention; but that only proves their own want of reading." Also that, " for want of knowing better, some people had suspected this distinction to be friendly to Arminian- ism1" Mr. M., after observing that I riority in knowledge (69), yet it is a distinction founded in the nature of things ; and Mr. M., and every other man, whether he will or no, must feel its propriety, and, by whatever language he may choose lo express it, must use it in ten thousand in- stances in life. As to the swelling language of page 69, and in- deed almost all through liis piece, few people except himself will ihink that of advant;ige to his lause. — " The ignorant and the insolent," as Mr. M. elsewhere observes, " in matters of religious nature, as well as in what relates to the circle of science, always make a more pompous profession of ttieir knowledge and zeal than those who aie wise and humble " — End and Evid. of Adoption, p. 5. CENLRAL CBStRVATIONS. 689 charge my Calvinistic opponents with tcant of retiiting, with want of knoicing belter, &.V., adds, " When the chiiractcis who are censured, on the one side, and the reading, knowledge, and years ot their formidable Censor, on the other, are du- ly considered, will such a contrast give the intelligent reader a high idea of our author's modesty !" — 91. But does Mr. IM. know what chauactkrs these arc ! It not, how can either he or his reader "consider " any thing aiiout thenil Will Mr. M. assert there can he no persons found on his side of tlie (jueytion in de- hate, of whom he himself would he asham- ed to say that they are persons of ex- tensive reading] VVIhIc yet there are others, who disagree with nie in this point, who would l)e ashamed to defend their cause i)v tlic rash assertions and misrepre- sentations wiiich some have advanced. Is it any compliment to Calvinish, and Cal- vinisls of character too, to sujipose them so ignorant as to treat the above distinc- tion as a new invention? Is Mr. M. one of these Calvinists? If he is, it would be no want of modesty to tell him tliat his reading must either iiave i)een very small or to very little purpose. One should think it must imply a greater want of modesty to deny than to affirm that, if the above distinction is supposed to be friendly to Arminianism, it must be for icant of knowing better, seeing three of the great- est champions that ever engaged in the Arminian controversy have either used it, or declared in its lavor. Edw^ards is well known to have used it, and that to purpose, in his Enquiry into the Freedom of the IVill : Topi.ady applauded Ed- wards's work, as adapted " totally to un- ravel and defeat the Arminian sophistry ;" and Gill, though he made but little use of it, yet declared that" th*^ distinction of the natural and moral liberty of the will was of great serrirc in the Arminian con- troversy." Query, Did not Mr. M. in the above remark icish to have his reader think that I referred to such characters as Gill and Brine (whose names he mentions within a page or two of the place); and spoke of them as men of lit- tle reading, and little knowledge ? Why else dirove his author, even that, he thinks, will prove one point which lie has long lai)ored to establish, namely, " the weakness '^f the human under- standing."— 9.5. That is, it will prove the weakness of Mr. Martin's understanding. But possibly that may never have yet been called in question; or if it have, and if after " long labor " he may be supposed by this time to have put the matter out of all doubt, still it nu\y not follow that, because his understanding is weak, there- fore every one's else must needs be the same. Seriously, was ever any question made of the w eakness of the human understand- ing! Was it ever denied that our natu- ral faculties are impaired, as well as our bodies subjected to disease, by the fall 1 True, it has been, and is supposed, that, let our natural faculties be impaired as they may, it is not our fault that we do not understand beyond their present ex- tent, any more than it is the fault of a man liorn blind not to read his Bible. But tlie chief of what I have written up- on the human understanding respects not its natural but moral weakness ; and has this ever been denied ! Has it not all along been maintained that men are blinded by prejudice ; and that even good men are infected with a sad degree of tlie same dis- ease! And how if it should prove that Mr. M.'s mind is tinctured with such a degree of prejudice, in favor of his own ways of thinking, as that he has involv- ed himself in far greater inconsistences than those which he thinks he has discovered in the autiior whom he has censured! Will this affect any argu- ment in debate between us 1 I appeal to you, sir, and to all " competent judg- es," whether Mr. M.'s understanding must not be weak indeed if he think it will. But suppose Mr. M., instead of gaining should lose ihc prize for whicli he is be- come competitor; still he comforts himself that his all will not be lost. He has a stock of respectability that will yet be unexhausted. He does not mean therefore, at any rate, to indulge despair. So well established is his respectability 698 TREATMENT OF MR. EVANS. that even " Mr. Fuller," he thinks, "can- not hesitate to say that he is above con- tempt."—208. Mr. M., I observe, though in general fond of sc(/'-applause, yet here appears hardly contented with it : he wishes, it seems, to know his author's opinion concerning him ; but, not having patience to wait for it, he ventures to an- ticipate the matter, and decide it himself. — Had Mr. M. but given me leave to speak for myself, I cannot tell how much I might have said in his praise ; as it is, I can only say that, if I could have access to him, I would whisper in his ear these lines of Dr. Young : — " Fame is a bubble tlie reserved enjny ; Who strive to grasp it, as they touch, destroy: 'Tis the world's debt, to deeds of high degree ; But, if you pay yourself, the world is free." Seriously, Is not Mr. M. ashamed 1 If he is not, must not his best friends be ashamed for him "? and not only ashamed, but grieved, for the idea he gives the world of the motives of those who are engaged in what he calls a " serious altercation 1" I remain affectionately yours, A. Fuller. POSTSCRIPT. You ask what I think of Mr. Martin's treatment of Mr. Evans, and particularly " whether his gross misrepresentation of his meaning, page 70, is to be attributed to ignorance or malevolence"? " I think his treatment of Mr. Evans is of a piece with his treatment of others. Mr. M. seems to be so intoxicated with ideas of his own " reputation " as to be incapable of respecting the character of other men. Few people who may read the 69th, 70th, and 71st pages of his book, will think he discovers much of the Chris- tian or the gentleman : some may sup- pose, however, that he has shown himself the man, particularly by his daring man- ner of speaking concerning Mr. Evans's resentment. If manliness consisted in the swell of self-importance, or the bold dash- es of insolence, Mr. Martin might well be entitled to that quality ; but the boldest attempts to provoke another's resentment are not always the strongest indications of manly courage. There are cases which are beneath resentment — cases in which the assailant himself cannot have the van- ity to expect it. I do suppose Mr. Mar- tin never expected that Mr. Evans would take any notice of what he has written ; and this might probably inspire him with courage to write as he did. As to the passage in page 70, I think a very small share of candor and common sense would have construed Mr. Evans's words as meaning no more than that men in general have the command of all the members of the body, and the use of all the faculties of the soul. Ignorance and malevolence, however, are hard words, es- pecially the latter; your "knowledge of Mr. M.'s character," you say, "makes you hope it was the former." For my part, I think it is very well that Mr. Mar- tin has informed us (p. 70) that he is not under the influence of envy ; for I con- fess I should otherwise have imputed his treatment of Mr. Evans to that cause ; and, even as it is, I know not upon what other principle to account for his harping upon the subject of " emolument." ANTlNOMIANISiVI CONTRASTED WITH THE RELIGION TAUGHT AND EXEMPLIFIED THE HOLY SCRIPTURES A IN T 1 N O 31 1 A N I S ]>! INTRODUCTION. When we consider the awful strides which irreligion has lately made in the Christian world, it is almost enough to induce us to think favorably of any thin^j; that hoars the name of Christ — at least of" any thinir, which professes to embrace the leadin'j; principles of the gospel : but thus it must not be. Irreligion is not so dan- gerous as false religion : the one is an en- emy at a distance, the other at home. The more we are threatened by the for- mer, therefore, the more necessary it is that we detect the latter. The friends of Christ, though they be but few, had better be by themselves. A little band girt with truth, and strengthened by the Lord of Hosts, will do more execution than a het- erogeneous mixture of friends and ene- mies. It is one of the arts of the wily serpent, when he cannot prevent the introduction of the gospel into a place, to get it cor- rupted ; by which means it is not only de- prived of its wonted efficacy, but convert- ed into an engine of destruction. In the early ages of the church, men rose up who advanced depreciating notions of the person, work, and grace of the Redeemer. These, however, Avere repelled, and a stig- ma fixed upon them, by the labors of the faithful : and, though they have had their advocates in all succeeding ages, yet men have not been wanting who have exposed their fallacy ; so much so, that the serious part of professing Christians have in a good measure united against them. But of late we have been taken as it were by surprise : while our best writers and preachers have been directing their whole force against Socinian, Arian, or Armini- an heterodoxy, we are insensibly overrun by a system of false religion which has arisen and grown up among us under the names and forms of orthodoxy. Several circumstances have concurred to render this system but little noticed. One is, its having been embraced not so much by the learned as by the illiterate part of professing Christians. Some of its prin- ciples, it is true, are common to every un- renewed mind ; but, considered as a sys- tem, it is especially calculated for the vul- gar meridian. On this account it has been treated as beneath the notice of the ablest writers. There is also something so low, foul, and scurrilous in the generality of the advocates of this system, that few have cared to encounter them, lest they ^lould brin^: upon themselves a torrent of abuse. But, though it is far from agree- able to have to do with such adversaries, yet it may be dangerous to treat their opinions with contempt. The Roman em- pire was overturned by a horde of barba- rians. An apostle did not think it beneath him to expose the principles of men who " crept in unawares and turned the grace of God into lasciviousness." The distinguishing feature of this spe- cies of religion is SELFISHNESS. Such is the doctrine and such the spirit which it inspires. The love of God as God, or an affection to the divine character as holy, is not in it. Love, as exemplified in the Scriptures, though it can never be willing to be lost (for that were contrary to its nature, which ever tends to a union with its oi)ject,) yet bears an invariable regard to the holy name or character of God. " How excellent is thy name in all the earth ! " — " O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." — " Let them that love thy name say con- tinually. The Lord be magnified." "Blessed be his glorious name forever and ever; and let the whole earth be fill- ed with his glory. Amen and amen." But love, as exemplified in the patrons ot this system, is mere favoritism. God having, as they conceive, made them his favorites, he becomes on that account, and that only, a favorite with them. Nor does it appear to have any thing to do with good will to men as men. The re- ligion of the apostles was full of benevo- lence. Knowing the terrors of the Lord, they persuaded men, and even besought them to be reconciled to God. They had no hope of sinners complying with these persuasions of their own accord, any more than the prophet had in his address to the diy bones of the house of Israel ; nor of one more being saved than they who were called according to the divine purpose ; 702 ON ANTINOMIANISjM. but they considered election as the rule of God's conduct — not theirs. They wrote and preached Christ to sinners as freely as if no such doctrine existed. "These things are written," said they, " that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that believing ye might have life through his name." Jesus wept over the most wick- ed city in the world; and Paul, after all that he had said of the doctrine of elec- tion in the ninth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, protested that " his heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel was, that they might be saved." He did not pray for them asreprubales, but as fellow- sinners, and whose salvation while they were in the land of the living was to him an object of hope. — Though, in his treat- ment of the most decided enemies of the truth, he sometimes rebuked them sharp- ly, and used an authority which was com- mitted to him as an extraordinary charac- ter; yet there is no malignant bitterness or low abuse in his language. But the religion of which I speak is in all these respects the very opposite. It beseeches not the unconverted to be reconciled to God, because it is God only who can turn their hearts. It refuses to pray for their salvation, as not knowing whether it would not be praying for the salvation of the non-elect. It has no tears to shed over a perishing world, but consigns men to perdition with unfeeling calmness, and often with glee. And, as to its adversa- ries, it preserves no measures of decency with them : personal invective, low scur- rility, and foul abuse are the weapons of its warfare. Tell any of its advocates of their unchristian spirit towards all who are not of themselves, and you may ex- pect to be answered in some such terms as these — I wish they were in hell : every one should be in his own place, and the sooner the better ! Nor is it less a stranger to the love of Christians as Christians. The religion of the New Testament makes much of this. It is that by which men were known to have passed from death to life ; for the love of him that begat and of those who were begotten of him were inseparable. But the love which this species of religion inspires is mere party-attachm^ent, the re- gard of pulilicans and heathens, any of whom could love those that loved them. If any man oppose their opinions, whatever be his character for sobriety, righteous- ness, and godliness, he is without hesita- tion pronounced graceless, a stranger to the new birth, and an enemy of Christ. Even an agreement in principles among the patrons of this religion, provided there be any competition in their worldly inter- ests, produces not union, but rivalship : and every low method is practised to sup- plant each other in the esteem of the peo- ple. In various other systems, though you have to dig through whole strata of error and superstition, yet you will occa- sionally discover a vein of serious and humble piety : but here all is naught. (I speak of the system as carried to perfec- tion, and which in the present day it is to be hoped it is.) Here nothing is to be met with that resembles love, joy, peace, long- suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, or temperance ; on the contrary, the fruits of this spirit are selfishness, pride, spleen, and bitterness, which, like the bowels of Vesuvius, are ever collecting or issiiing in streams of death. The origin of this species of religion in individuals will commonly, I fear, be found in a radical defect in their supposed conversion. True scriptural conversion consists in "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." But in many of these conversions there is no appearance of one or the other. With regard to repentance, the system goes in a great measure to preclude it. The manner in which it represents and dwells upon the fall of Adam, so as near- ly to remove all accountableness from his posterity, together with its denial in effect of the divine authority over the heart, leaves no room for repentance, unless it be for a few gross immoralities. The sins of not loving God, and neglecting his great salvation, are entirely kept out of sight. Hence, though you may sometimes see in such conversions great terror of mind, and great joy succeeding to it; yet you will rarely perceive in the party, from first to last, any thing like ingenuous grief for having dishonored God. As repentance toward God has little if any place in such conversions, the same may be said of faith toward our Lord Je- sus Christ. The true believer, in his first looking to the Saviour for life, stands upon no higher ground than that of a sinner ready to perish. Whatever evidence he may have afterwards of his being one of God's chosen people, he can have none at that time ; nor is it in this character that he applies for mercy. The gospel is that which first comforts him, or Christ's hav- ing come into the world to save the chief of sinners. But the conversions in ques- tion commonly originate in some supposed revelation to the party that he is of the number of God's elect, that Christ had died for him, and that of course he shall be forever happy. Considering this as coming from God, he believes it, and thenceforth reckons himself possessed of the faith of God's elect. If, afterwards, he be troubled by the dictates of con- INTRODUCTION. 703 science with suspicions of self-deception, he calls these temptiitions,ov the woikiiiixs of unbelief, and supposes that the enemy of souls wants to ro!) him of his enjoy- ments. Neither his faith nor his unlielief has any respect to revealed truth : his whole concern is alioul his own salety. It is of infinite im[)ortancc tiiat we be right in our first outset, and that we take up our rest in nothing short of Christ. When a sinner is convinced ol his danger- ous condition, fears and terrors will com- monly possess him. If, under tiicse im- pressions, he he led to relintjuish all other confidences, and to fly for refuge to the hope set before him, all is well. But if, having left offa few of his immoralities, and conformed to the outward exercises of re- ligion, witiiout lietaking himself wholly to Christ, he comforts himself that now he is, at least, in a fair way to eternal life, he is building on the sand, and may live and die a mere self-righteous jiharisee. Or should he be deprived of his rest — should his fabric be demolished by the blasts of new temptations, and his mind become rather aj^palled with fear than elated with self-confidence — if by this he be brought to give up his sclf-rigliteous hope, and come to Jesus as a sinner ready to perish, still it is well. " Such things workcth God oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the pit." But this is not always the issue. Longing for ease to his troubled spirit, he is in the most imminent danger of taking up his rest in any thing that will afford him a present relief; and if in such a state of mind he receive an impression that God has forgiven and accepted him, or read a book or heard a sermon favorable to such a mode of obtaining comfort, he will very probably imbibe it, and become inebriated with the delicious draught. And now, he thinks he has discovered the light of life, and feels to have lost his l)urden. Being treated also as one of the dear children of God by others of the same mind, he is attached to his flatterers, and despises those as graceless who would Avish to un- deceive him ! Let us pause a minute, and reflect upon this deplorable case. There is no situa- tion, perhaps, more perilous than that of an awakened sinner prior to his having closed with Christ. He is walking as up- on enchanted ground, and is in the utmost danger of falling asleep in one or other of its arbors. Nor is there any case in which it is of greater importance to administer right counsel. To go about to comfort such persons on the ground of their i)res- ent distress, telling them, as some do, that the Lord first wounds and then heals, and that their feeling the former is a sign that in due time they will experience the lat- ter, is to be aiding and alietling them in what may pro\c their eternal ruin. The mischief in these instances arises from a false notion of the case of the awakened sinner, as though he were really willing and even an.xiously desirous of being saved in God's way, if it would but please God to consent that he might, and to signify that consent by revealing it to him. So he thinks of himself, and so his advisers think of him. But the truth is, he is not strait- ened in God, i)ut in his own bowels. The fountain is open; the Spirit saith Come, and the bride saith Come, and whosoever will, may come, and partake of the water of life freely. God's word directs him to the good way and counsels him to walk in it, promising that in so doing he shall find rest to his soul. Nothing hinders his coming but a secret attachment to his idols, which on coming he is aware must be re- linquished. The only comfort that we are warranted to hold up to one in such circumstances is that of Jesus Christ hav- ing come into the world to save sinners, and of his being able and willing to save all them that come unto God by him. If this afford no consolation, it is at our peril to console him from what he feels in him- self, which, till he f\\lls as a sinner ready to perish at the feet of Jesus, is nothing better than the impenitent distress of a Cain, a Saul, or a Judas. It may termi- nate in a better issue, and it may not. Our business is to point to the gospel ref- uge ; teaching, intreating, and warning him to flee thither from the wrath to come. If once a sinner derives comfort from any thing short of Christ, he from thence falls asleep in security ; and it is well if he awakes in this world. He has obtained a kind of " rest for his soul " without " com- ing to him for it," which must needs there- fore be delusive. Stupified by the intox- icating potion, he dreams of being a favor- ite of Heaven, and, if any attempt to dis- turb his repose, it is commonly without efTect. " They have smitten me (saith he), and I was not sick ; they have beaten me, and I felt it not : when shall I awake 1 I will seek it yet again." Such, or nearly such, is very frequently the beginning of Antinomian religion. I call those convictions, terrors, and joys, selfish, which have no regard to the glory of God, but merely to one's own safety. Every one that knows anything of true religion will allow an essential dif- ference between terror on account of the consequences of sin, and an ingenuous grief for having sinned ; and the difTcrence is not less between the joy of an imagined safety (no matter how) and that which ari- ses from a believing view of the doctrine 704 ON ANTINOMIANISM. of the cross. Moreover, I call those im- pressions delusive in which it is not any part of revealed truth which is impressed upon llie mind, but a persuasion of our being the favorites of Heaven, loved with an everlasting love, and interested in the blessings of the covenant of grace. Nor is it of any account that the impression may have been made by means of some passage of God's word occurring to the mind : the question is, whether the idea impressed be revealed truth. Satan, we know, has made use of scripture passages for the purpose of impressing falsehood (Matt, iv.); and where the true meaning of God's word is perverted, and something inferred from it which never was in it, there is reason to think he does the same still. That God's love is everlasting, and that the covenant of grace abounds with blessings, is true ; but it is no where re- vealed of any person in particular that he is interested in them. The promises of God are addressed to men under certain descriptive characters, in the manner of the beatitudes in our Lord's sermon on the mount; nor can we know our interest in them otherwise than by a coiisciousness of these characters belonging to us. To imagine that it is immediately revealed to us by the Spirit of God, is to suppose that the Spirit's work is not " to take of the things of Christ, and show them unto us," but to disclose other things Avhich were never before revealed. If" the truth as it is in Jesus " be im- pressed upon our hearts by the Holy Spir- it, whether it be by reading, or hearing, or thinkin.r — whether by any particular pas- sage of Scripture or by some leading truth contained in it occurring to the mind — it Vi'ill operate to produce humility. To be impressed, for instance, with a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, with the love of God in the gift of his Son, with the love of Christ in dying for the ungod- ly, with his all-sufficiency and readiness to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by him, or v;ith the freeness of Lis grace to the most guilty and unworthy, is the same thing as to be made to feel the influence of that gospel which lays low the pride of man. The manner in which these things are impressed upon the mind may be various. I have no doubt but that some conversions which have been very extraordinary have been never- theless genuine ; for the things impressed are true, and might be proved true from the Scriptures ; the effects produced also are such as bespeak them to be wrought by the finger of God. But impressions of that which is not truth, or at least not any part of revealed truth, and the tendency lOi which is to inspire vain-confidence, self-admiration, and a bitter contempt of others, cannot proceed from that Spirit whose oifice is to lead us into the truth, and whose influence, no less than his na- ture, is holy. No sooner is tliis marvel- lous light discovered than the discoverer, encouraged by the example of others, is qualified to decide upon characters ; as who are gracious, and who are graceless ; and this not by the rule laid down in the Scriptures, but by his own experience, which he sets up as a standard by which others are to lie tried. He is also qualified to distinguish between true and false min- isters : this is legal, that is dead, and the other knows little or nothing of the gos- pel ; not because their preaching is un- scriptural, or unaccompanied with a holy life, but because it does not yield him comfort nor accord with his experience. It is also remarkable that, in such conver- sions, rcfen'ance for past sins has no place. The party, it is true, will talk of his past sins, even such as decency would forbear to mention ; but w ithout any signs of shame, or godly sorrow, on account of them. On the contrary, it is not uncom- mon to hear them narrated and dwelt upon with apparent glee, accompanied with occasional turns of wit and humor, suf- ficently evincing that they are far from being remembered with bitterness of soul. Genuine conversion includes genuine re- pentance, and genuine repentance looks back upon past sins with silent shame and confusion of face. "That thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God." But conversions like the above are noisy and ostentatious. The party, having forsaken a few gross immoralities, imagines himself a prodigy of grace, lioast- ing- ofthe wonderful change, and challeng- ing his adversaries to accuse him of evil from the time of his supposed conversion. But he that lacketh that faith which is fol- lowed by " virtue, knowledge, temper- ance, patience, godliness, brotherly kind- ness, and charity, is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." When old sins are ^-elated with new gust they are react- ed, and, lightly as it may be thought of, recommitted. I know of nothing that bears so striking a resemblance to such conversions as the case of the demoniac described by Matthew. Under first con- victions and terrors of conscience, " the unclean spirit," by which the sinner has hitherto been governed, " goeth out of him :" and, while " seeking rest " in some other habitation, the house is " swept " of its former filth, and "garnished " with the INTRODUCTION. 706 appearance of religion : still, iiowever, it reiuaiiis " empty," or unoccupied l>y the Spirit of God. Encouriiged liy soddtter- ing a prosj)cct, tiie demon " goclli, and taketli with iiim seven other sj)irits, more ^vicked than liiniself, and tiiey enter in, and dwell tiiere : and the last slate of that man is worse than the first." IMie former was a state of irreligion, tiie latter of false religion : in the one case he was void of light, in the other, the light which is in him is darkness. Neither are these delusive impidscs con- fined to the beginning of a religious |)ro- fession, l)ut generally atcomjjany it in all its stages ; and in every stage produce a most intolerable degree of spiritual j)ride. Such persons value themselves as the special favorites of the Almighty, with whom he is on terms of the greatest intimacy, mak- ing them, as it were, his confidants, reveal- ing to them the secrets of his heart. Al- most all the future events in their own lives, whether prosperous or adverse, with many things in the lives of others, are re- vealed to them, and not unfrequently their eternal destinies. And these are suppos- ed to be " the secrets of the Lord which are with them that fear him !" Another mark of this species of reli- gion, nearly akin to the former, and com- monly seen in persons of that description, is a dispositimi to interpret all favorable events in providence as proofs of their be- ing the favorites of Heaven ; and all unfa- vorable events tou:ards their adversaries as judgments for their conduct loicards them, and, as it were, an avenging of their quar- rels. This is a natural and necessary effect of a selfish religion. Supreme self-love, like every thing else which is supreme, subordinates every thing else to it. If men be governed by this prin- ciple, there is nothing in the word or providence of God, in the law, in the gospel, nor even God himself, which at- tracts esteem, but as it is subservient to the gratification of their desires. I knt;w a person of this description who came to the possession of a large estate. He was much elated by it, often talking of provi- dence, and exulting in his success, as an instance of eternal predestination. In a lift e time, however, there arose another claimant, who, by legal process, wrested it out of his hands. After this, no more was heard of providence, or predestination. From wishing every thing to be subser- vient to the gratification of self, it is an easy transition to think it is so ; for opin- ions are greatly governed by desires. Hence, if an adversary be unsuccessful in business, it is the blast of God upon him ; if afflictions befalhim, they are the arrows of the Almighty discharged at him ; or, if VOL. I. 89 he die, he is cut off as a monument of Di- vine displeasure ; and all because he has offended God, by offending this his peculiar favorite ! A truly humble Christian will regard the proviilencc of God in all things ; yet, knowing that "one event happencth to all," he is far from considering its boun- ties as any proof of an interest in special grace. Neither will he set up his jjrescnt accommodation as a matter of so much consequence that heaven, and earth, and all which in them is, should be rendered subservient to it. Nor is he dis|)oscd to triumph over an adversary when evil befals him; nor to imagine that it is in just judgment for the oflenccs commit- ted against him. It is said of lady Ra- chel Russel, whose lord was beheaded in the latter end of the reign of Charles II., that, " In the free effusions of her heart to her most intimate friends, with the con- stant moans of grief for the loss of her dear husband, there did not appear, in all her letters, so much as one trace of keen resentment, or reflection upon any person whatever that had any concern in his death, if ratlier it may not be called his murder. If the duke of York was so malignant as to instigate his brother, king Charles, to be inexorable to the applica- tions that were made for lord Russel's life, and even to propose that he should be ex- ecuted at his own door, the good lady drops no censures upon him ; and even after James II. was no more king, but a wan- derer in a foreign land, there is nothing like a triumph over him, or an intimation from her ladyship that she, thought he was justly i)unished for his bloody crimes. — Even the inhuman Jefferies himself, who distinguished himself by a flaming speech against lord Kussel, at his trial, is passed over in silence by her. She takes not the least notice of his disgrace, imprisonment, and death in the tower, owing, as it has been thought, to the blows he received while in the hands of an enraged popu- lace."* This is the spirit possessed by the first cliaracter of his age, holy Job, who stood accused, notwithstanding, by those who judged of characters by the events which befel them, of being a wicked man and a hypocrite. " He rejoiced not at the de- struction of him that hated him — neither did he suffer his mouth to sin by wishing a curse for his soul." One would think it did not require any extraordinary discernment to discover that this is true religion, and that it will be ap- proved at that tribunal where a spirit of * Dr. Gibbon's Memoirs of Eminently Pious Wo- men, Vol. I. pp. 313 — 315. 70S ON ANTINOMIANISM, pride and malignity will be ashamed to show its face. Far be it from me to suggest that all who have cherished notions which belong to this system are destitute of true reli- gion. It is not for us to pronounce upon the degree of error which may be permit- ted to accompany the truth. I have no doubt but thai many good men have been deeply tinctured with these principles, though it is not from them that their good- ness has proceeded. I believe, however, that this was more the case formerly than at present. Of late years the true char- acter of the system has been more mani- fest. Tis adherents having proceeded to greater lengths than their predecessors, both in theory and practice, upright char- acters, who for a time were beguiled by its specious pretences of magnifying grace and abasing human pride, have perceived its real tendency, and receded. What I have to offer will be compre- hended in three parts : the first containing a brief view of the system — the second its influence on some of the principal doc- trines of the gospel — and the tiiird its prac- tical efficacy on the spirit and conduct of its professors.* PART I. CONTAINING A BRIEF VIEW OF ANTI- NOMIANISM, WITH ARGUMENTS A- GAINST THE LEADING PRINCIPLE FROM WHICH IT IS DENOMINATED. The names given to the different sys- tems or doctrines of religion are seldom so accurate as to render it safe to rest our opinions upon them. They may be sup- posed to have been first conferred either by friends or enemies : if by the former, they commonly assume the question at is- sue ; and, if by the latter, they are as commonly mere terms of reproach. But allowing them to have been conferred im- partially, yet it is next to impossible for a name to express more than some one or two leading doctrines pertaining to a sys- tem. Unitarianism, for instance, not only assumes more than its opponents can grant, but, admitting its fairness, it expresses scarcely a tenth part of the principles of the people who wish to be denominated by it. It is thus in part with respect to Anti- nomianism. The name signifies that tohich is contrary to the law ; because those who are denominated Antinomians profess to * The author left the MS. in an unfinislied state, not having entered on the third part. Ed. renounce the moral law as a rule of con- duct, and maintain that as believers in Christ they are delivered from it; This appellation, so far as it goes, seems to be appropriate ; but it is far from expressing all the distinguishing opinions of which the system is composed. It may be found, however, to be that which the corner-stone is to the building. The moral government of God lies at the foundation of all true religion, and an opposition to it must needs be followed by the most serious conse- quences. If there be no law, there is no transgression ; and, if no transgression, no need of forgiveness. Or if there be a law, yet if it be unjust or cruel, either with respect to its precepts or penalties, it is so far no sin to transgress it, and so far we stand in no need of mercy. Or if there be a just law, yet, if on any consid- eration its authority over us be set aside, we are from that time incapable of sinning, and stand in no need of mercy. The sum is that, whatever goes to disown or weaken the authority of the law, goes to overtura the gospel and all true religion. It has been said that every unregenerate sinner has the heart of a pharisee. This is true ; and it is equally true .that every unregenerate sinner has the heart of an Anlinomian. It is the character expressly given to the carnal mind, that it is "en- mity against God;" and the proof of this is that it "is not subject to the law of God^ neither indeed can be." Nor is it surpris- ing that these two apparently opposite principles should meet in the same mind. There is no more real opposition between them than there is between enmity and pride. Many a slothful servant hates his master and his service, and yet has pride and presumption enough to claim the re- ward. It is one thing to be attached to the law, and another to be of the works of the law. The former is what David and Paul, and all the true servants of God, have ever been, loving and delighting in it after the inner man : the latter is what the unbelieving Jews were ; who, though they none of them kept the law, yet presump- tuously expected eternal life for their sup- posed conformity to it. The quarrels be- tween Antinomianism and i»harisaism arise, I think, more from misunderstanding than from any real antipathy between them. They will often unite, like Herod and Pontius Pilate, against the truth and true religion. The spirit of Antinomianism is to fall out with the government of God, to raise objections against it as rigorous and cruel, to find excuses for sin committed against it, and to seize on every thing that' affords the shadow of an argument for casting it off: but all this is common to every carnal AtlGU.MENTS AGAINST ITS LEAUINO; PHlNt H'LK. 707 Iftihd. If Our Antinoinians could pay a vi- sit to the heathens of Hindoostan (and pro- bably the same might be said ol lieathens in general), they would find millions on mil- lions of their own way ot thinking.* TSor need they go so far from home : among tJie apostles oi modern inlidelity the same thing may be found in substance. The doctrine of Necessity, as embraced by them,] reduces man to a machine, destroys his accountablcncss, and casts the blame of sin upon his Creator. The body of tJicse systems may be diverse, but the spirit that animates them is tiie same. Antinomianism, having; annihilated mo- ral obligation, might be expected to lead its votaries to the denial of sin : yet, strange as it may appear, there is scarcely any people who speak of their sins in such exaggerating language, or who make use of such degrading epithets concerning their character as they. But the truth is, they liave affixed such ideas to sin as divest it of every thing criminal, blame- worthy, or humiliating to themselves. By sin they do not appear to mean their being or doing what they ought not to be or do, but something which operates in them without their concurrence. In all the conversations that I have had with persons who delight in thus magnifying their sins, I cannot recollect an instance in which they appeared to consider themselves as in- excusable, or indeed ever the worse on account of them. On the contrary, it is common to hear them speak of their sin- ful nature with the greatest levity, and, with a sort of cunning smile in their coun- tenances, profess to be as bad as Satan himself; manifestly with the design of be- ing thought deep Christians, thoroughly acquainted with the plague of their own heart. There are two principal grounds on which moral government and accountable- n<;ss are by this system explained away ; namely, the inability of man, and the lib- erty and privileges of the gospel. The forniei applies to the unregenerate who pretend to no religion, and serves to keep them easy in their .sins ; the latter to those who consider themselves as regenerate, and serves to cherish in them spiritual pride, slothfulness, and presumption. It is undoubtedly true that the Scrip- tures represent man by nature as unable to do any good thing ; that is, they declare that an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit ; tiiat they who are evil cannot speak good things ; that they whose eyes are full of adultery cannot cease from sin ; that ♦ See Periodical Accounts, Vol. I. pp. 227, 228. t See A View of Religions by Hannali AdaniF, Article Necessarians, pp. 233 — 23S. they who are in the llesh cannot jdease God ; finally, that they whose hearts are attached to their idols, or to the mammon of this world, cannot serve the Lord.]: This doctrine, if properly understood, is of great account in true religion. Hence arises the necessity of our being created anew in Christ Jesus ere we can perform good works ; and of our being continually kept from falling liy the power of God. He that has the greatest sense of his own weakness and insufficiency to do any thing as he ought, will be most earnest in crying to the strong for strength, and most watch- ful against tiie temptations of the world. It is thus that " when wc are weak, then are we strong." But if this doctrine be confounded with physical inability, and understood to excuse the sinner in his sins, it is utterly perverted. If the con- nection of the above passages were con- sulted, they would be found to be the lan- guage of the most cutting reproach ; man- ifestly proving that the inability of the parties arose from the evil dispositions of their own minds, and therefore had not the least tendency to render them less account- able to God, or more excusable in their sins : yet such, in spite of Scripture, con- science, and common sense, is the con- struction put upon it by Antinomianism. Let a minister of Christ warn the un- godly part of his audience of their dan- ger, and exhort them to flee for refuge to the hope set before them ; and, if they have learned this creed, they will reply. We can do nothing. We desire to repent and be converted ; liut it is God only, you know, that can convert us. All that we can do is to lie in the way, and wait at the pool for the moving of the waters. — Let him visit his hearers upon a bed of afflic- tion, and endeavor to impress them with a sense of their sin, in having lived all their days in a neglect of the great salvation, and of their danger while they continue the enemies of Jesus Christ — if they have learned this system, he will be told that they have done all that they could, or nearly so ; that they ivish for nothing more than to repent and believe in Christ, but that they can as easily take wings and fly to heaven as do cither. Thus they flatter themselves that they are loilling, only that God is not willing to concur with their sincere desires : whereas the truth is no such desires exist in their minds, but merely a wish to escape eternal misery; and the want of them, together with a strong attachment to their present course, constitutes the very inability of which they are the subjects. Here, too, we see how the Antinomian can occasionally unite with i Matt. vii. 18, 12, 24. 2 Pet. ii. 14. Rom. viii 8. Josh. x.\iv. 19-23. 3Iatt. vi. 24. 708 ON ANTINOMIANISM. the self-righteous pharisee. The latter faith in Christ that believers live. All will insist upon the goodness of his /teaj-f; their hope is derived from his righteous- and the former tells you he wishes, he ness, which being imputed to them, they desires, he means well ; but he cannot do are accepted of God on account of it. it of himself, and God it seems will not Being " not under the law " as a covenant help him : but what do all these pretended " but under grace," sin hath no more do- minion over them. — But surely it does not follow that they are no longer under obli- gation to love God wilh all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, or their neigh- good wishes and desires amount to short of a good heart 1 The thing is the same, only expressed in somewhat ditferent lan- guage. It is remarkable that we never read of bor as themselves.* The prodigal son, this kind of answers being given to the when forgiven and accepted, was not less exhortations in holy Avrit. Wicked men obliged to conform to the orders of his of old were, in times of trouble, exhorted father's house than before he left it, but to " stand in the ways, and see, to ask for rather the more so. the old paths, where is the good way, and I shall conclude this part by ofifering to walk therein," and were told that in proof that though the law is dead to a so doing they should " find rest unto their believer, and a believer to it, as a term souls." To this they roundly answered, of life, yet he is under perpetual and in- " We will not walk therein." Had these dissoluble obligation to conform to it as «• people understood the modern Antinomian rule of conduct. refinements, they might, I think, have To satisfy a serious and sincere mind come oifwith somewhat a better grace, by on this subject, one would think it were alleging their inability ; but it does not sufficient to read the ten commandments appear that they were acquainted Avith in the twentieth chapter of Exodus. Is a them, and therefore the true cause was believer, any more than an unbeliever, al- assigned without ceremony or disguise. — lowed to have more gods than one 1 May When John the Baptist, Christ, and his he make to himself a graven image and fall apostles, exhorted their hearers to "re- down and worship if? Will the Lord pent and believe the gospel," if they had hold him guiltless if he take his name in been acquainted with these notions they vaini Is he not obliged to keep holy the might have answered. We ivish to do so ; sabbath day 1 Is he at liberty to dishonor but Jesus himself acknowledges that no his parents, or kill his neighbors, or corn- one can come to him " except the Father mit adultery, or steal, or bear false wit- draw him:" the fault, therefore, is not in ness, or covet any thing belonging to an- us. But this method of repelling the truth other 1 Surely the things which are re- seems to have been reserved for later quired by all these precepts must approve ages. I recollect nothing that bears any themselves to every man's conscience, resemblance to it in the Scriptures, unless unless it be perverted and seared as Avith it be the words of certain ungodly men in a hot iron. the times of Jeremiah, who said, "We But, in order to set aside the authority aredelivered to do all these abominations;" of the ten commandments as a rule of du- and the objection introduced by Paul, ty to the believer, it has been objected "Why doth he yet find fault, for who that they do not contain the ivholeufit. hath resisted his willl" These men If this were granted, yet it would not fol- seem to have been acquainted with that low but that they are binding as far as they part of the system which finds an excuse go; but, if so, why pretend to be delivered in the doctrine of divine decrees; but from the law 1 The new commandment even they do not appear to have learned of Christ, tolove another, does not include to plead innocent on the score of inability, the whole of duty, and yet we are not And wherefore 1 Because they were con- free from obligation to comply with it. If scious that It lay in the state of their own the ten commandments were admitted to minds. When asked, therefore, by our he binding as far as they go, their compre- feaviour How can ye being evil speak hending the whole of duty would be a good things! so far were they from question of comparatively small impor^ imagining that he meant to excuse them, tance ; but the manifest design of the ob- that they considered his words as the most jector is, by undermining their perfection, pointed reproach to overturn their authority, that, having \ynii respect to ifie liberty and privi- freed himself from this disagreeable yoke, leges of the gospel, it is a truth full of & j ' the richest consolation that those who be- * See Dr. Rylaml's Sermon before the Associa- lieve in Jesus are freed, not only from the tiou at Salisbury, entitlerl. The Dependence of the ceremonial yoke of the Mosaic dispensa- ^^^hole Lmo and tlie Prophets on the Two Pri- tion, but from the condemning power of '"'""^ Commandments, 1798. Al.^^o his Sermon the law considered as moraf It is bv ''*^'°'"^ ^''"^ Association at Lyme, on The Necessity J of the TrumpeVs giving a Certain Sound, \Q\^, ARGVMENTS AGAINST ITS LEADING I'RINCirLE. 709 he may establish what he calls Christian liberty. To show the perfection, then, as well as the authority ol the tea coinniandtiients, let it sullice to have recourse to our Sa- viour's exposition of them. If that expo- sition be laithful, they are reducible to two, answeriiij;; to the tables of stone on which they were written, and consisting in " love to Ciud with all the heart, soul, mind, and strcnirlh, and to our neighbor as ourselves." But love to God and our neitjhbor comprehends every act of duty that (an possibly be performed. Love is the fultiliinir of the law, and of all that Crod requires of man. It is the principle of all positive obedience : for he that loveth God supremely willingly obeys him in whatever forms he shall prescribe. The new commandment, of love to the breth- ren, is com])rehended in the old command- ment : tor he that loveth God cannot but love his image wherever it is seen. Hence the former is enforced by the latter. — Gal. V. 13— 1.5; Rom. xiii. "8— 12. All the graces of the Spirit, as repentance, iaith, hope, charity, patience, temperance, good- ness, &c., are but so many modifications of love. He that loveth God cannot but be grieved for having dishonored him ; cannot but believe his word, and embrace his way of saving sinners through the death of his Son; cannot but build his expectations upon his promises ; cannot but love those that love him ; cannot but take every thing well at his hand; in sliort, cannot but deny liimself for his sake, and aspire to be of his mind who causeth his sun to shine upon the evil and the good, and sendeth his rain upon the just and upon the unjust. Upon this great prin- ciple, therefore, as our Lord observed, *' hangs all the law and the prophets," and indeed the whole of true religion. Yes, say some, we must be ruled by a principle of love ; but not by the law as requiring it : the love of Christ constrains the believer to be zealous in the perform- ance of good works. — It is true, we shall never love without a principle, nor run in the wavs of God's commanii:;^''nts, unless constrained to do so ^.y » gracious en- largement of heart. Nor does an}' thing afford so powerful a motive fo it as the Jying love of Christ. But to make that the ri'.'.e which is the moving spring ofobe- d'lence is to confound things essentially dilTerent. " The way of God's command- ments" is the same, whether our hearts bo ''enlarged to run therein " or not. To confound the rule with the moving cause, or to make a rule of the latter to the ex- clusion of thai which is afforded by the commi mdment, is to reduce our obliga- tion ic . the standard of our inclinations, or to consider ourselves as boimd to yield just so much obedience lo God as we do yield, and no more; and this is ihe same thing as professing to live free from sin. Moreover, to make that the rule of obe- dience which is the moving cause of it, is the same thing as tor a son to say to liis father, Sir, I will do what you desire me when I feel inclined to do so, but I will not be coinmundcd. — Whatever may l)e argued against the authority of God, I iielicve there are few if any parents who could |>ut u|) with such language with re- spect to their own. In addition to the above, let the follow- ing particulars be duly considered : — I. If we be not under the moral law as a rule of life, we are not obliged to love either God or man, and it is no sin to be destitute of love to both. But such a state of things can never exist. The ob- ligation to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves, is founded in our relation to him and one another, and can- not i)ossibly be dissolved while God is God and man is man. To suppose the contrary is to suppo.^ie that the King of the uni- verse can abdicate his throne, and leave his subjects at liberty to hate and reliel against him with impunity. If all the fathers of families in the world could dis- pense with fdial affeclionin their children,, and all the princes in the world with loyal attachment in their subjects, it were less unnatural, and infinitely less mischievous, than for God to dispense with the require- ment of our loving him supremely, and. each other as ourselves. II. Believers are represented as sub- ject to commit sin, and as actually com- mitting it every day of their lives. The petition for daily forgiveness, in the Lord's prayer, supposes this ; and John teaches; that " if we say we have no sin, we de- ceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." But all sin implies a law of which it is the breach : " Where no law is, there is no transgression." Believers, there- fore, must lie under some law. And that this is no other than the moral law is ev- ident from the definition which is given of sin by the apostle John, that it is " the transgre5sion of the law.'' This is the same as saying; that every sin which is committed, whether by believers or un- believers, is a deviation from that divine rule. The sum is, if believers daily break the law, they must of necessity be under it as a rule of duty. If the law were abrogated, or its au- thority superseded, so as to be no longer a rule' of duty to believers, it could be no medium to them by which to come at the knowledge of sin. That by which sin is know n niust be a living rule. To say oth- 710 on ANTlNOMlAiVIsM. erwise is as absurd as to judge of the criminality of a prisoner by a statute which liad been long since repealed. III. One great and leading design of our Lord, in his sermon on the mount, was to vindicate the precepts of the moral law from the false glosses of Jewish rab- bles, and to show that in their most spir- itual meaning they were binding upon his followers. Coming into the world, as he did, to introduce a new dispensation, he was aware that men might suppose his mission was at variance with Moses and the prophets. To prevent such conceits, he speaks in the most decided language — " Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." He also goes on to warn his followers against those who should " break the least of the command- ments, and teach men so ;" and to declare that " except their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and pharisees, they should in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." To say that we need the righteousness of Christ to be imputed to us is to speak truth, but not the truth of this saying, the manifest design of which is to inclucate a purer morality than that which was taught and practised by the Jewish leaders. The advocates of the system I oppose are olFended at the very terms practical preaching and practical religion ; yet the sermon on the mount was full of it. The solemn and impressive similitude with which it closes is in the same practical strain. He that heareth his sayings and doeth them, he buildeth his house upon a rock ; and he that heareth, but doeth them not, buildeth his house upon the sand. It was not our Lord's design, indeed, to hold up any of our doings as the rock, but as building our house upon a rock ; and which none do but those whose faith is op- erative and practical. Had this sermon been heard by many a modern audience, it would have been condemned as legal, and the preacher ponounced a poor graceless wretch, who knew nothing of the gospel. IV. Believers are exhorted, in the New Testament, to love one another, on the express ground of its being a requirement of the moral law. " Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty ; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But, if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of an- other." If the "liberty " possessed by the Galatians consisted in a freedom from obligation to obey the precepts of the moral law, it is passing strange that these very precepts should be urged as an au- thority against their using liberty as an occasion to the flesh. Paul, whatever some of his professed admirers have been, was assuredly abetter reasoner than this would make him. The liberty of the gos- pel includes an exemption from the pre- cepts of the ceremonial law, and from the curse or condemning power of the moral law ; and these were privileges of inesti- mable value. They were, however, capa- ble of abuse ; and, to guard against this, the holy precept of the law, notwithstand- ing the removal of its penalty, is held up by the apostle in all its native and inalien- able authority. To the same purpose the apostle, writing to the believing Romans, inculcates brotherly love and purity from the authority of the moral law. "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another ; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false wit- ness. Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love workcth no ill to his neighbor, there- fore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our sal- vation nearer tlian when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand ; let us therefore cast off the works of dark- ness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day ; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in cham- bering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.* But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." If any man can read this passage without perceiving that the precepts of the moral law are still binding on believers, he must be proof against evidence ; and with such a person it is in vain to reason. If God give him not repentance to the acknowl- edging of the truth, he must e'en go on, and abide the consequences. V. Believers are either under the law (in the sense in which we plead for it) or " without law." By the language of the apostle there can be no medium. There is no other way of exonerating ourselves from the charge of being " w'ithout law to God," but by acknowledging that we are " under the law to Christ." Such was the acknowledgment of Paul in be- half of the primitive Christians : " To them that are without law, as without law * Even die terms, " Let us," &c., fiave of late given oflTence to sonwi hearers, as savoring of legali- ty; yet Paul's writings abound with such language. PERVERSION OP THE PRINCIi'AI, DOCTRINES OP TIIF. GOSfKL 711 (being not without law (o God, but under the law to Christ), tliat I might pain thciu that are without law." His worils plainly intimate a change, indeed, in its adminis- tration ; hut not ot the thing itself. For- merly it was adminisiered by Moses, and attended witii that terrilic aspect which properly pertains to it wlien addressed to transgressors : now it is adniinisteretl l>y Christ, who has placed it at tiie foundation of his legislative code, and, liy divesting it of its curse, has rendered it to llie believ- er a friendly guide. But the thing itself is the same, and will remain so when heaven and eartii shall have passed away. VI. Those who have the greatest aver- sion to the law lieing a rule of life, yet are very willing that others should make it the rule of their conduct towards them. Wheth- er they are bound to love their neigh- bors as themselves, or not, if they are treated unkindly or unjustly, even by their brethren, they are as much alive to re- sentment as any other people. But, if they be not obliged to love others, why should others be obliged to love them ; and why sliould they be offended with them for the contrary ] And, if the sec- ond table of the law be mutually liinding, on what ground can wc plead exemption from the first I We have often heard it intimated that the obligation of sinful creatures to love God with all their hearts is very difficult to be understood : yet we can any of us understand, with the greatest ease, the obligations which others arc under to us. If a man be a kind and good father, he feels no difficulty in understanding the fitness and reasonaVileness of his children loving him, and that with the most un- feigned affection ; receiving his instruc- tions, following his example, and taking pleasure in obeying his will. Should any one of them be ungrateful or disobedient, and plead that he could not love his fa- ther, nor take pleasure in obeying him, he would instantly perceive that what was alleged as his excuse was the very height of his disobedience, of which he ought to be ashamed. Yet, when God is concern- ed, the same man will tell you, We are poor sinners, and cannot love him ; and, as to your nice distinctions lietween nat- ural and moral inability, we cannot un-- derstand them : if we are unable, we are unable ; and it does not signify of what kind the inability is. So also when we insist on every person or thing being loved in subordination to the blessed God, and every action done with a view to his glory, it is objected that the subject is too abstruse and metaphy- sical for common Christians to under- stand it. Yet I never knew a Christian, or any man, but who coidd pretty wcU take in the doctrine of stihscrvlcncy as it related to himself. He can easily under- stand that a servant whom he pavs for his time and labor ought to lay them out in promoting his interest, and not merely his own ; and if such-servant, when pursuing his own private interest, should accidental- ly, or without design, promote that of his master, would his master thank him for it, or think a whit better of him on account of it 1 No, in all these things man is wise in his generation : it is (inly where God and religion are concerned that he finds such insuperable difficulties. Every nation, community, or individual, knows how to set itself up as supreme, and to wish for all others to be rendered subser- vient to its interests. Man, by his inge- nuity, can draw into subordination to him- self the light, the darkness, the fire, the water, the air, the earth, the animals, and almost every thing else that comes within his reach : but man cannot understand the abstruse doctrine of loving every thing in subordination to his Creator, and doing every thing in subserviency lo his glory ! PART II. THE INFLUENCE Of ANTINOMIANISM 11/ PERVERTING SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL. If the law and the gospel be in harmo- ny— (which if the author of both be im- mutable they are) — it may be expected that the same great design pervades them both. Such is the fact. The law requires us to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. Had this require- ment been obeyed, the honor of God and the happiness of creatures had been for- ever united. But men by sin have fallen into a gulf of selfishness. They neither love God, nor their neighbors for his sake. They are " lovers of their own selves ;" and care for neither God nor man any farther than as they conceive tiiem to be necessary for their own happiness. But what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the corruption of human nature, God sent his Son to accomplish. God would be glorified in Christ, though men had dishonored him ; and though they had incurred his wrath, and become hate- ful and hating oive another, yet peace and reconciliation should be restored to him. Hence, on his first appearance on earth, the angels, entering into the grand design "tl^ ON ANITNOMIANISM- of his coming, sang, '' Glory to God in the liighest and on earth peace, good will towards men !" But, if the law and the gospel be in harmony, they that fall out with the one must lall out with the other. A scheme that sets out with rejecting all obligation to the love of God and man cannot be friendly to either, nor to that gospel whose tendency is to promote them. It must be a mere system of selfishness ; suited not to the condition but to the pro- pensities of fallen creatures. It might be expected that a system founded on such a principle would go on to a flat denial of most of the doctrines of divine revelation. It is not so, however; the forms of orthodoxy are in general re- tained : it is the ideas chiefly that are giv- en up. The same terms may be used by different persons to express very different ideas. The Jews, in our Saviour's time, professed the same creed, perhaps, in the main, as their forefathers. They reckon- ed themselves, at least, to believe in Mo- ses : but, holding with Moses to the ex- clusion of Christ, their faith was so dif- ferent from that of their forefathers as to become void. " If ye believed Moses," said our Lord, "ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me." From the same principle it follows that the faith of those who hold with Christ to the exclusion of Moses is void; for if they believed one they would believe the other, seeing both are in perfect harmony. The doctrine of election, as it is taught in the Scriptures, is of a humbling and holy tendency. The whole difference be- tween the saved and the lost being ascri- bed to sovereign grace, the pride of man is abased. Upon every other principle, it is the sinner that makes himself to dif- fer; and who must, therefore, find where- of to g^lory. We may allow ourselves to be unable to repent and believe without the aids of the Holy Spirit : but while we maintain that these aids are afforded to sinners in common, and that faith, instead of being " the gift of God," is the effect of our having improved the help afforded, while others neglected it, if we think we do not ascribe the very turning point of salvation to our own virtue, we greatly deceive ourselves. But election, while it places no bar in the way of any man which would not have been there without it, re- solves the salvation of the saved into mere grace : " and, if of grace, then it is no more of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace." Such a view of things tends to humble us in the dust. It is frequently the last point which a sinner yields to God : it is the giving up of every other claim and ground of hope from his own good endeavors, and falling into the arms of sovereign mercy. And, having here found rest to his soul, he will not be less but more attentive to the means of salva- tion than he was before. His endeavors will be more ardent, and directed to a better end. Then he was trying to serve himself; now he will serve the Lord. But, if election be viewed in certain connec- tions, it will cease to be a doctrine ac- cording to godliness. If faith and works foreseen be connected with it as the pro- curing cause, grace is excluded, and self- righteous boasting admitted. If, on the other hand, they be not connected with it as effects, the interests of sobriety, right- eousness, and godliness, are relinquished. If we take our views of this great sub- ject with simplicity from the word of God, we shall consider it, like other divine pur- poses, not as a rule of conduct to us, but to himself. We shall agonize through life, that we may at last enter in at the strait gate, no less than if all was in itself uncertain. Nay, more so : "for as Paul's assuring the mariners that there "should be no loss of any man's life " would, if believed, inspire them with hope; so our being predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ, furnishes encouragement to be pressing on towards the mark. And as they were told, nevertheless, that ex- cept certain means were used they " could not be saved," so we can have no evidence of our " election to salvation," but as be- ing the subjects of " sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." Thus, while the blessing itself is an antidote to despair, the means connected with it are a preservative from presumption. In short, we shall view the doctrine of election in much the same light as we do other di- vine appointments concerning our lot in the present life. We are given to believe that what we enjoy in this life is so or- dered by the will of God, and so much the effect of providence, that there is no ground whatever of boasting in any crea- ture : yet we do not on this account neg- lect to plough or sow, or pursue the good and avoid the evil. A " fleshly mind " may ask, How can these things be 1 How can divine predesti- nation be made to comport with human agency and accountableness 1 But a truly humble Christian, finding both in the Bi- ble, will believe both, though he may be unable fully to conceive of their consist- ency ; and will find in the one a motive to depend upon God, and in the other a cau- tion against slothfulness and a presump- tuous neglect of duty. A Christian minister also, if he take his views simply from the Scriptures, will find nothing in this doctrine to hinder the free use of warnings, invitations, and persua- sions, either to the converted or to the un- I'ERVERSION OK Till: I'lU.NCIPAL DOCTRIMIS OF TIJL GOSPEL. 713 converted. Not that lie will louiul liis hopes ol success on the pliability ol the human mind ; but on the power and giace of" God, who, while he prophesieth to the dry bones as he is cornniaiulod, is known to inspire many with the breath of lil'o — Thus, while the apostle, in the 9th, 10th, and 11th chapters ol his Epistle to the Romans, traces the divine sovereignty in his callinu; some from amonir the Jews, and leaving the greater part of them to perish in un- belief; he nevertheless, so long as they were in this world, was deeply concerned for them. Even in his preaching to the Gentiles he had an eye to them, "if by any means he might provoke to emulation Ihem that were his flesh, and might save some of" them." And though he taught believers from among them to ascribe their salvation entirely to electing grace, and spoke of the rest as being blinded, yet he represents that blindness as being their own fault, to which they were judicially given up of God. — Rom. xi. 7 — 10. But, whatever this doctrine is in itself, it may be held in such a manner as to be- come a source of pride, bitterness, sloth- fulness, and presumption. Conceive of the love of God as a capricious fondness — suppose that, because it had not motive in the goodness of the creature, therefore it was without reason, only so it was, and so it must be — consider it not so mucli a means of glorifying his character as an end to which every thing must become subser- vient— imagine yourself to be an object of this love, a darling of heaven, a favorite of providence, for whom numerous inter- positions, next to miracles, are continual- ly occurring — and, instead of being hum- ble before God as a poor sinner, your feel- ings may resemble those of a flattered fe- male, who, while she affects to decline the compliments paid her, is in reality so intoxicated with the idea of her own im- portance as to look down with contempt on all her former companions. Such views of the doctrine will ordi- narily excite contemptuous feelings to- wards all who are not its adherents, con- sidering them as graceless sinners, stran- gers to the liberty of the gospel, pharisees, Hagarenes, children of the bond-woman, and the like ; towards whom the most ma- lignant bitterness is Christian faithfulness. God's election of the posterity of Abra- ham was of sovereign favor, and not on account of any excellence in them, natu- ral or moral. — Deut. vii. 7; ix. 1 — 6. In this view it was humbling, and had, no doubt, a good effect on the godly Israel- ites. But the Jews in our Saviour's time turned this their national election into an- other kind of doctrine, full of flattery to- wards themselves and of the most intol- voL. I. 90 erablc contempt and malignity towards others. The doctrine of the atonement is, in it- self, the life of the gospel system. "View it as a glorious expedient devised by Infi- nite VV'iwdoiii for tiie rejiaration of the in- jury done by sin to the divine government, and for the consistent exercise of free jnercy to the unworthy, and you are fur* nished with considerations the most hu- miliating, and at the same time the most transporting, that were ever presented to a creature's mind. The principles of this divine interposi- tion are set forth in the Scriptures in di- vers forms ; l)ut probably in none so fully as in the sitbstitulional sacrijiccs, which, from the fall to the coming of Christ, formed a conspicuous part of instituted worship. The great truth inculcated by these sacrifices, from age to age, would be, " Without shedding of blood there is no remission." Some of the leading sen- timents which they were calculated to in- spire mav be seen in the sacrifice of Job, on behalf of his three friends. "The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends ; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now sev- en bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept ; lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, like my servant Job." This reproof and direction would, if rightly taken, ex- cite the deepest rei)entance and self-abase- ment. To be told that they had sinned, that the wrath of Heaven was kindled against them, that an offering, and even a petition for mercy, would not be accepted at their hands, that it must be presented by a mediator, and that this mediator should be the very person whom they had despised and condemned as smitten of God and afflicted, was altogether so humiliating that had they been unbelievers, and left to their own spirit, they would have rejected it with a sullen scorn, equal to that with which many in our day reject the media- tion of Jesus Christ. But they were good men, and followed the divine direction, humiliating as it was, with implicit obedi- ence. " They did as the Lord command- ed them : the Lord also accepted Job." To them, therefore, this direction must have imparted a new set of views and feelings: as full of humility, thankful- ness, conciliation, and brotherly love, as their speeches had been of pride, folly, and brtterness. Such is the nature and tendency of the 714 ON ANTlfJOMlANlSM. Christian doctrine of atonement. But, huinblini!; as this doctrine is in itselt, k may be so perverted as to become quite another thing, and productive of an oppo- site eflfect. If God, as a lawgiver, be held up as an Egyptian lask-mastcr, nntl the mercy of the" Saviour be raagnitied at his expense if his atonement be considered rather as a victory over the law than as an honor done to it— if his enduring the curse be supposed to exonerate us irom obeying the precepts— if, in consequence of his having laid down his life, we think more lightly of sin, and imagine it to be a loss dangerous evil— finally, if, from the full satisfaction which he has made to divine justice, we reckon ourselves to be freed not only from punishment, but from the desert of it, and warranted not merely to implore mercy in his name, but to claim it as a right, — we are in possession of a scheme abhorrent to the gospel, and not a little productive of spiritual pride. Such views of the atonement excite an irrever- ent familiarity with God, and, in some cases, a daring boldness in approaching him ; yet such is the strength of the de- lusion, it passes for intimate communion with him ! An atonement has respect to justice, and justice to the law or rule which men have violated. If this be worthy of being tra- duced by a servant of Christ, it was wor- thy of the same treatment from his Lord and Master; and then, instead of being honored by his life and death, it ought to have been annulled, both in respect of him and of us. The doctrine of the cross, according to this view of things, was so far from being a display of the divine glo- ry that it must have been a most shocking exhibition of injustice. Every instance of punishment among men is a sort of atonement to the justice of the country, the design of which is to restore the authority of government, which transgression has impaired. But if the law itself be bad, or the penalty too severe, every sacrifice that is made to it must be an instance of cruelty ; and should the king's own son interpose, as a substitute, to save the lives of a number of offenders, whatever might be the love expressed on his part, it would be shocking in the gov- ernment to permit it, even though he might survive his sufferings. Could the public opinion be expressed on such an occa- sion, it would be to this effect: — There was no necessity for any atonement : it does no honor, but dishonor to the king ; and, though he has liberated the unhappy men, there was no grace in the act, but mere justice : the law, instead of being maintained by a suffering substitute, ought to have been repealed. It is easy to ses^ from hence, that in proportion as the law is depreciated the gospel is undermined, and the necessity, glory, and grace of the atonement rendered void. It is probable there are not many who would in so many words deny the law to be holy, just, and good: on the contrary, there is little doubt but most would in ar- gument acknowledge as much as this; but if on all other occasions they speak of it with disrespect, comparing it to the task- masters of Pharaoh, and disown the au- thority of its precepts to be binding on them, such acknowledgments can be con- sidered as nothing more than compliments to the express words of Scripture. If they really believed the law to be holy, just, and good, and holiness, justice, and goodness were their delight, however they might renounce all dependence upon "the works of it" for acceptance with God, they could not object to being under it as a rule of duty. It is the law as abused, or as turn- ed into a way of life in opposition to the gospel (for which it was never given to a fal- len creature), that the apostle depreciates; and not as the revealed will of God, or as the immutable standard of right and wrong. In this view he delighted in it. and if we be Christians we also shall delight in it, and if so, we shall not object to being un- der it as a rule of duty ; for no man objects to be ruled by the precejjts which he loves. Still less shall we allow ourselves to dis- parage it, and to represent the redemptior* of Christ as delivering us from its tyran- nical yoke. So far as any man is a Chris- tian, he is of Christ's mind, and that was to account it his meat and drink to do the will of his Father. If the law be really an oppressive and tyrannical yoke, it was requisite that our deliverance from it should have been by power, and not by price. This is the way in which we are delivered from the power of darkness. No satisfaction was made to Satan, inasmuch as his dominion was usurped. Captivity was led captive, and the prey taken from the mighty. If such had been the power which the law had over us, such would have been the nature of our redemption from the curse of it. But here the case is different. Christ, however strong his love was to us, did not ask our salvation at the expense of law or justice. He would rather die than admit of such a thought. He was actually set forth to he a propitiatory sacrifice, that he might " declare his righteousness in the remission of sins, and be just in justifying them that believe in him." Af- ter all this, is it credible that he should teach a doctrine, and approve of preaching. PERVERSION OF THE PKINCII'AL DOCTRI.IF.S OF THE GOSPEL. 715 the object of which is to traduce that which 111 life and deatl» it was his dclij^ht to iionor I The mediation and inlercps.tiun of Christ are lo luicd on iiis propitiatory saciilice, and carry on tiie great design of saving sinners in a way iionorai)le to the law. Mediations require to he conducted ac- cording to the nature of the case. If a father and a son he at variance, and a common (riend interpose to ert'ect a re- conciliation, his first inquiry is. Is there any fault in the case 1 If it be a mere misunderstanding, an explanation is suf- ficient. If lault exists, and it l)e on both sides, there will be ground for mutual con- cession. But il the lather hv. wholly in the right, and the son have olTended him without cause, he must do every ihing to honor the one and humble the other. To propose that, after the reconciliation, the former system of family-government should be superseded, and that the son in future should be under a different rule, or any thing implying a reflection on the fa- ther's former conduct, would render the breiich wider instead of healing it. S ich is the nature of the case between God and man. If our Advocate with the Fa- ther had pleaded for the superseding of God's authority as Lawgiver, he had proved himself utterly unqualified for his undertaking. But he "loved righteous- ness and hated iniquity ; and therefore God, his God, anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows," and grant- ed him the desire of his heart. Though he undertook the cause of sinners, tet he never pleaded in extenuation of their sins ; but presented his own blood as a consid- eration that they might be forgiven. The advocate for sinners is, as it was requisite he should be — "Jesus Christ the right- eous." In receiving the doctrine of the media- tion and intercession of Christ, it is of great importance that we consider it in harmony with the grace of God. Socin- ians, who reject the atonement, are con- tinually alleging its inconsistency with the idea of grace. If forgiveness, say they, requires a satisfaction, how can it be free ! And the way in which satisfaction has been sometimes held up by good men has furnished hut too much of a handle for their objections. If the atonement be considered as that throuirh which mercy is exercised consistently uiith justice, there will be nothing found in it inconsistent with grace ; l)u( if the benefits resulting from it be considered as objects of claim, or the bestowment of them as required by justice, it will be otherwise. It is doubt- less becoming the character of God to ful- fil his own gracious engagements. Thus " God is not H7iri!;htcnus to forget our works of faith and labors of love;" and thus " he IS faithful and jwit lo forgive us our sins." But, if salvation were so ob- tained by the i)ropiliation of Christ as that the bestowment of it should be re- quired bv essential justice, it had not been an object of intercession on his part, nor of prayer on ours. That which essential justice requires is not of grace, but of debt, and admits of the language of appeal rather than of prayer. These conse- quences have been actually drawn : the interce-jsion of Christ in heaven has been considered as possessing the nature of a demand. But whatever merit there was in his obedience unto death, or to what- ever reward he was entitle I from the re- munerative justice of God, yet, in asking th". life of another, and that other a rebel, it must not be in the language of demand. I recollect nothino: in the Scriptures favor- able to such an idea. The words of our Lord, in John xvii. 24, " Father, I will lliat they also whom thou hast given me be with me," &c., express (says Camp- bell) no more than a petition.* And as to our omitting to pray for the forgiveness of sin, or asking for it in the language of de- mand, I should hope no serious Christians can acton such principles, though some Antinomians have appeared to do so. I am far from thinking that every one who has pleaded for salvation as a matter required by essential justice is an Antino- mian ; but such may be the tendency of the principle notwithstanding. Every one that knows any thing of the gospel, knows that one of its grand peculiarities is, that it harmonizes the justice and mercy of God in the forgiveness of sins. In it " mercy and truth meet together, righte- ousness and peace kiss each other." In it God is "just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." But the princi- ple in question pleads for justice in such a way as to exclude mercy. To say mercy is exercised consistently with jus- tice is to represent them as harmonizing in the sinner's salvation : but say to it is required by justice is to say what is self- contradictory. If it be required by jui- tice it is not mercy, or at least not un] deserveil favor. If justice, for instance, require that the believer in Jesus be justi- fied, this is more than the covenant engage- ments of the Father to the Son requiring it : it amounts to this, that it would be an act of essential injustice in God to con- demn him. But, if so, we are not justified * Hence he renders it, " Father, I would," &c., and quotes Malt. xii. 38, xxvi 39, Mark vi. 25, 35, where the same word is used for request, not de- mand. Sec his note. 716 ON ANTINOMIANlbM. " freely by grace, through the redemption of Christ," but as a matter of right, in which grace has nothing to do beyond the gift of Christ. It has been thought that the idea of sal- vation being only consistent with justice, and not required by it, tends to diminish the efficacy and value of Christ's mer- its. But, as has been hinted already, the efficacy and value of these are in no\vise affected by this principle : for, whatever be their value, they cannot render our alvation a matter due to us on the footing afjustice, unless they render us merito- rious. If atonement had been made by us, and not by another for us — that is, if we ourselves had sustained the full penal- ty of the law — we mighi have claimed an exemption from further punishment as a matter of right ; and if, in addition to this, we had yielded perfect obedience to its precepts, we might claim justification as a matter of right : but if all this be ac- complished for us by another as our sub- stitute, though the benefit may be ours, yet it will be altogether of grace, and not by the requirement of justice. It is no less of grace than if we had been forgiven without an atonement. This will appear from the atonements under the Mosaic law. In cases wherein the sinner was himself made a sacrifice, justice took place, and grace and forgiveness were excluded. " He shall surely be put to death, his blood shall be upon him." But in cases wherein a substitutional sacrifice was ad- mitted, and the sinner escaped, it was of forgiving grace, the same as if there had been no sacrifice offered. "The priest shall make an atonement for him, and his sin shall be forgiven him." A substitu- tional sacrifice was an expedient devised by the Lawgiver that the exercise of mercy might be consistent with justice, or that God might forgive sin without seeming to connive at it: but it was no partof its de- sign to destroy or diminish the grace of forgiveness, or to render the deliverance of a sinner a matter of claim. To establish the principle of claim, it is necessary to prove that there was such a union between Christ and his people as not merely to furnish a ground for their sins being reckoned as his, but for their really and properly being his : not merely that he might bear the curse due to ihem ; but that, in sustaining it, he should suffer according to his desert : not merely that his righteousness should be reckoned or imputed to them by the gracious act of the Lawgiver; but that reckoning things as they are, and adjudging to every one what is his own, it should be really and prop- erly theirs : not merely that they should receive the benefit of his merits, but that they themselves should become meritori- ous, or deserving of all that they receive. But this amounts to Christ and his peo- ple being one and the same conscious being ; and, if so, there is no propriety in say- ing he died for them, seeing they themselves died in his death, and redeemed themselves by their own blood. It is this notion of the atonement, or what leads to this, that is continually held up by the Socinians, and which lays the foundation for all that they have ad- vanced, with any degree of plausibility, on its inconsistency with grace. Sub- stitutionary atonement, or atonement made for the sin of another, whether it be by slain beasts, or by any other means, in nowise interferes with grace. In pecu- niary satisfactions, if the creditor be but paid, whether it be by the debtor or by a surety on his behalf, he has received his due, and no room is left for remission or for grace ; but it is not so here. In cases of crime, nothing can render deliverance a matter of claim, but the criminal him- self having suffered the full penalty of the law. Deliverance by the interposition of a mediator, though it may answer the great ends of justice, and so be consistent xoith it, yet can never be required by it, nor be any other than an act of grace. This truth, while it repels the objections of Socinianism, corrects the abuses of Antinomianism. The doctrine o( justification by Jaith in Jesus Christ, without the ivorks of the lato, is in itself exceedingly humbling; for it is no otiicr than God's justifying the ungodly, or accepting to favor a be- lieving sinner, not for any worthiness in him, but for the sake of his righteous- ness in whom he believeth. It relates to the way in which we who are unright- eous are accepted of God as the lawgiver of the world, and treated as righteous. If we had retained our original righteous- ness, justice itself would have justified us ; but, having sinned, the question. How shall man be justified Avith God 1 is too difficult for created wisdom to solve. Whatever delight the Creator takes in honoring and rewarding righteousness, there is none left in this apostate world for him to honor or reward. " All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." If any child of Adam, therefore, be now accepted and rewarded as right- eous, it must be entirely on different ground from that of his own righteous- ness. What ground this could he, God only knew. This great difficulty, however, is solv- ed by the gospel. We are "justified freely by grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath PERVERSION OF THE PRlNtlFAL DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL. 717 8et forth to be a propilialion tliroii^h faith in his blood, lo ileclare his ri<;ht- eousness in tlie remission of sins Uiat are past, throiiijh the lorboaranro ot (Jod; to declare, I say, at tliis time his rijihteous- ness ; that lie miirlit lie Just, and thejiis- tifier of him that believeth in Jesus." Hence it is tliat justification is ascribed to faith, not as a virtue which (iod con- sented to accept for rifrhteouness instead of perfect obedience, but as receivintj the righteousness of his Son of whicii our justi- fication is the reward. Justification by faith, and beiiifj " made ri;ihteous by the obedience of Christ," arc the same thing. Believing him, we are united to liim, and so possess a revealed interest in him, and in all the benefits and blessings arising from his obedience unto death.* This right- eousness is imputed to us, or coutitedhy the Lawgiver of the world, in his treatment of us, as if it were our oivn. Not that it really 1.9 our own, for tiien should we cease to be guilty and unworthy, and might draw nigh to God as meritorious beings ; but as Christ was " made sin for us," though in respect to his real charac- terhe " knew no sin ;" so we are " made the righteousness of God in him," though in respect to our real character we are worthy of death. To believe for righteousness is to receive it as a free gift, and so stands opposed to justification by the works of the law, which is to receive it as the reward of our own doings. Hence it is said to be "of faith," that it may be of grace. Faith is necessary to justification, and so is repent- ance to forgiveness ; Imt neither the one nor the other is necessary as a cause, or as being that for the sake of which we are justified or pardoned. With respect to the meritorious or procuring cause, nothing is necessary but the righteousness of Christ. The sinner in his justification is considered as altogether unworthy, and even ungodly. As such our Redeemer died for us, and as such he justifies us. Being accepted in the Beloved, our ser- vices also are accepted through him. The Lord had respect not only to Altel but to his offering. Thus it is that our duties be- come rewardable, and that the promises of God are made to them. There are no promises made to the doings of unlieliev- ers, however fair they may appear in the eyes of men. In fine, being thus justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Je- sus Christ, and draw near to a throne of grace with humble boldness, as to a father. But the subject may be viewed in such a light as to become another doctrine, and * Rom. \iii. 1; Phil. iii. 9; 10 to be productive of another spirit. Con- ceive of the imputation of Christ's right- eousness as that by whicii wo are not only treated as righteous, l)ut are artually with- out spot in tlie sight of God — imagine that he can think a character to be ilin'erent from wiiat it really is, and suppose justifi- cation to include such a remission of our sins, past, jjrescnt, and to come, as ren- ders daily prayer lor forgiveness unneces- sary and even improper — and our souls will be so lilted up as not to be upright in us. It is true that God graciously deals with his people, not according to their sins, but according to the righteousness of his Son ; but this is without being blinded to their faults, or the less offended with them for their sins. It is also true that they are delivered from a state of exposediiess to condemnation on their first believing, and that provision is made for the remission of all their future transgressions ; but, as the Scriptures pronounce no sinnerjustified till he believes, so they declare no sin to be forgiven till it is confessed and forsaken. — Prov. xxviii. 13. 1 John i. 9. To obviate the plain testimony of Scrip- ture, which declares repentance to be ne- cessary to forgiveness, it is commonly al- leged that this does not mean forgiveness itself, but a sense of it in the mind : the thing itself is supposed to e.xist in the se- cret purpose of God. But forgiveness it- self is no more a secret purpose in the mind of God tlian it is a sensation or per- suasion in the mind of man ; rather, it is the gracious purpose of God as revealed in the Scriptures. Those sins which the Scriptures forgive are forgiven ; and those which they retain are retained ; l)ut the Scriptures declare no sin to be forgiven which is unlamented. I do not accuse all who have gone into the unscriptural notions to which I refer of being Antinomians. Many godly people have had their minds greatly perplexed on this subject, who yet have retained and felt so much of the truth as to "count all things but loss that they might win Christ, and be found in him, not having their own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God bv faith." Justification has by many been consid- ered as a gracious purpose in the mind of God not to impute sin, but the righteous- ness of Christ, to an elect sinner. Hence, as no new purpose can arise in the all-com- prehending mind, it has been considered as eternal; and what is denominated in the Scriptures justification hy faith as the revelation or discovery of it to the soul. But faith has to do with only revealed truth : supposing, therefore, that it were 71S ON ANTINOMIANISM. true of a sinner that he was justified in the divine purpose I'roni eternity, yet, this be- ing nowliere revealed of liini in the Scrip- tures, it cannot be \ y failh that he discov- ers it. It must either be l)y a new revela- tion I'lom heaven, or iy an impulse on bis imagination which he unhappily mistakes for one. But neither is it true that justification consists in the purpose of God not to im- pute sin, but the righteousness of Christ, to an elect sinner. It does not belong to the secret, but to the revealed will of God. It is ibr a believing sinner to be exempted from the curse of the law, and entitled to the blessings of the gospel, not in the di- vine purpose, but according to the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures. If justification be a law term, and op- posed to condemnation, as I believe it is generally allowed to be, it cannot be any thing existing merely in the divine mind. Neither the one nor the other is a purpose in the mind of the judge, but a sentence passed in open court. Condemnation as opposed to justification in the Scriptures is not an ap})ointment of sinners to future punishment, but a state of exposedness to the curse of the law. The former is not true of elect sinners, even while unlieliev- ers, but the latter is.* Whatever be the secret purpose of God in their favor, so long as they reject the Saviour, " the wrath of God abideth" upon them, or, which is the same thing, all the threaten- iniis and curses of the divine law stand in full force against them. But, if condem- nation consist not in God's purpose finally to punish, justification consists not in his purpose finally to acquit ; and if the former be that exposedness to the curse of the law which, according to the sentence pronoiinc- edin the Scriptures, belongs to every trans- gressor, the latter must l)e that change of slate, condition, or standing, with respect to the Lawgiver of the world, which takes place on our believing in Christ, and in which the sentence is revoked in respect of us, and we henceforth possess a revealed interest in all the blessings and promises of the gospel. I say, a revealed interest ; for, as the sentence of condemnation stood against us in the Scriptures, so that of justification must there stand for us. It is not the purpose which may exist in the divine mind, nor the injpulse, impression, or persuasion which may have place in our minds, but the voice of God in his word can- cel nins; Its, that determines our state, or denominates us justified or condemned. When the revealed will of God is dis- * " We were by nature childien of wratli, even as others," said Paul, of iiiniself and the believing Ephesians. — Chap. ii. 3. regarded as a rule of life, it is common for the mind to be much occupied about his secret will, or his decrees, as a sulisli- tuteforit. It is thus that men stumble upon the dark mountains, and fall into many dangerous errors, besides those on justification. To what other cause can it be attributed that the invitalions of the gospel, instead of being addressed to sin- ners considered merely as guilty and mis- erable, should be confined to sensible sin- ners, or to persons who, though they have never yet come to Christ, taken his yoke, or learned his spirit, are nevertheless sup- posed to be in possession of something that proves them to be of the elect, and therefore entitled to have the invitations addressed to them1 Who can trace the delusion which must arise from such a doctrine 1 If a sinner is ever invited to come to Ciirist, it is when he is consider- ed as sufficiently sensible of his lost con- dition ; and this is held up, not merely as that which is necessary in the nature of things to his coming, l>ut as giving hitn a warrant to come. Thus the sinner is taught to think himself one of God's elect, while as yet he has neither repentance to- ward God nor faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. To what is it owing but to the substi- tuting of the secret for the revealed will of God, that Christians should be afraid to pray for the salvation of their neighbors, ministers for that of their hearers, and parents for that of their children, lest they should not prove to be of the elect 1 If nothing more were meant than that in all our prayers there should be a condition implied, namely, that what we ask is ac- cording to the will of God, there could be no just objection to it. But if, lest what we ask should not accord with the divine purpose, we refrain from asking any thing, our conduct will resemble that of the slothful servant, who, from certain no- tions which he entertained of his Lord's character, concluded that there was no encouragement for him to do any thing, and therefore went and buried his Lord's talent in the earth. And why should we neglect to pray for our neighbors, our hearers, or our children only, lest they should not have been elected 1 Why not also on the same ground neglect to pray for ourselves ? There must have been a time when we had no ground to conclude ourselves elected ; and did we wait till we had obtained evidence of this before we began to pray for the salvation of our own souls 1 If we did not, and yet object on this account to pray for others, surely self-love must be the alpha and omega of our religion. Paul, as has been already observed, be- I'EHVERSION OF THE PRINCIPAL DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL. 719 lieved nnd laiieht Uie liortiino of election ; yet in the siitne epistle, nay, in tiie same rhapter, lie lieclareil his most anxious so- licitude for tlie sahation of his unbeliev- ingr " lirethien and kinsmen aceordiuir to the rtesli." And wheretore ! Because he desired any thing contrary to the will of God ! No ; luit, not kno\vinised, as though destitute of common understanding; but the first parent of our race, created in the image of God, is accounted a natural man, and as such utterly incapable of know- ing what they know. Even the angels in heaven are, in this respect, considered as greatly their inferiors. Much is said in tlie Scriptures of " liv- ing by faith ; " and, truly understood, it is of the greatest importance. Without it there is neither the progress nor existence of true religion. To live by faith on the Son of God is not only to be crucified to the objects of sense which surround us, and alive to unseen realities, but to feel habitually divested of self-sufficiency, and to |)lace our whole confidence in the prom- ised grace of Christ. Such a confidence has revealed truth for its foundation, and operates in a way of unfeigned humility. Hence the language of the prophet : " Be- hold his soul which is lifted up is not up- right in him : but the just shall live by faith.'' But, if a life of faith be under- stood to mean a continued unshaken con- fidence that we arc converted and sliall be saved, this is entirely another thing. That true Christians may know that they have passed from death to life is readily grant- ed : this, however, is not an ol)ject of faith, but of consciousness. It is no where revealed in the Scriptures concerning us that we are true Christians ; therefore it can be no exercise of faith to be persuad- ed of it. A lieliever may be conscious that he is such, and that he loves our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity; and, this faith and love having the promise of salvation, he may probably be also certain that he shall be saved. "If our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." The apostles and primitive Chris- tians appear to have entertained little or '20 ON ANTINOMIANISM. no doubt of their personal Christianity, Why 1 Because ^' great grace tvas upon them all." This afforded a living and constant evidence of their being born of God. But, when they speak of " holding fast the beginning of their confidence to the end," their meaning is not that they are to maintain a good opinion of their own state, but an unshaken attachment to the gospel, in the declarations and promises of which they had from the be- ginning confided. The most unshaken persuasion of the goodness of our own state may be mere seZf-confidence ; and, if it operate in a way of religious vaunt- ing, there is every reason for concluding it will be found nothing better. Such was that of the pharisees, who boasted that God was their Father, and so trusted that they were righteous and despised others. The soul of such a man is "lifted up," and therefore "is not upright in him." Instead of living by faith, his life is that to which a life of faith is directly opposed. Such doctrine has a bewitching influ- ence upon minds of a certain cast. It is a species of religious flattery, which feeds their vanity, and soothes their selfishness; yet they call it the food of their souls. Like intoxicating liquors to a drunkard, its tendency is to destroy; but yet it seems necessary to their existence ; so much so, that for the sake of it they de- spise the bread of life. EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES THE BOOK OF GENESIS, INTERSPERSED WITH PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. VOL. I. 91 BAPTIST CHURCH OF CHRIST AT KETTERING. My dear Brethren, It is now upwards of t\«enty-two years since I first took the oversight of you in the Lord. During the last fifteen years it has, as you know, been my practice to ex- pound among you, on a Lord's-day morning, some part of the Holy Scriptures com- monly a chapter. From all that I have felt in my own mind, and heard from you I have reason to hope these exercises have not been in vain. They have enabled us to take a more connected view of the Scriptures than could be obtained merely by ser- mons on particular passages ; and I acknowledge that, as I have proceeded, the work of exposition has become more and more interesting to my heart. I have not been in the habit of writing dedications to what I have published but in this instance I feel inclined to deviate from my usual practice. Considering my time of life, and the numerous avocations on my hands, I may not be able to publish any thing more of the kind ; and, if not, permit me to request that this family book may be preserved as a memorial of our mutual affection, and of the pleasures we have enjoyed together in exploring the treasures of the lively oracles. You will consider these Discourses as the resutof having oncejgone over that part of the Scriptures to which they relate. Were we to go over it again and again such is the fulness of God's word, that we should still find interesting and important matter which had never occurred in reading it before; and this should encourage us not to rest in any exposition, but to be constantly perusing the Scriptures themselves, and digging at the precious ore. As the Exposition was delivered in public worship, it was not my wish to dwell upon particular words, so much as to convey the general scope and design of the 724 DEDICATION. Scriptures. Whether I have in any considerable degree caught the spirit which runs through them is too much for me to decide : but this I can say, that such has been my aim. I know by experience that, with respect to this, when I have been the most spiritually-minded, I have succeeded the best ; and therefore conclude that, if I had lived nearer to God, the work had been better executed. But, such as it is, I com- mend it to the blessing of God and your candid acceptance ; and remain Your affectionate Pastor, THE AUTHOR. Kettering, October 29, 1805. EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES. DISCOURSE I. ON THE BOOK IN GENERAL, AND THE FIRST day's creation. Genesis i. 1 — 4. It is common for the writers of other histories to go back in their researches as far as possible ; but Moses traces his from the beginning. The whole book is upon the origin of , things even of all things that had a beginning. The visible crea- tion, the generations of man, moral evil among men, the spiritual kingdom of the Messiah, the new world, the church in the family of Abraham, the various nations and tribes of man ; every thing, in short, now going on in the world, may be traced hither as to its spring-head. Without this history the world would be in total darkness, not knowing whence it came, nor whither it goeth. In the first page of this sacred book a child may learn more in an hour than all the philosophers in the world learned without it in thousands of vears. There is a majestic sublimity in the introduction. No apology, preamble, or account of the writer : you are introdu- ced at once into the very heart of things. No vain conjectures about what was be- fore time, nor why things were done thus and thus ; but simply so it was. In this accouni of the creation nothing is said on the being of God ; this great truth is taken for granted. May not this apparent omission be designed to teach us that those who deny the existence of a Deity are rather to be rebuked than rea- soned with 1 All reasoning and instruc- tion must proceed \ipon some principle or principles, and what can be more proper than this 1 Those writers who have gone about to prove it have, in my opinion, done but little, if any good ; and in many instances have only set men a doubting upon a subject which is so manifest from every thing around them as to render the very heathens xoithout excuse. — Rom. i. 20. The foundation of this vast fabric is laid in an adequate cause Elohim, The Almighty. Nothing else would bear it Man, if he attempt to find an adequate cause for what is, to the overlooking of God, shall but weary himself with very vanity. The writer makes use of the plural term Elohim, which yet is joined to sin- gular verbs. This has been generally thought to intimate the doctrine of a plu- rality in the unity of the Godhead. It is certain the Scriptures speak of the Son and Holy Spirit as concerned in creation, as well as the Father.— John i. 1 ; Gen. i. 2. Nor can I, on any other supposition, affix a consistent meaning to such language as that which afterwards occurs : "Let us make man in our image, after our like- ness."— " Behold, the man is become like one of us." The account given by Moses relates not to the ivhole creation, but merely to what it immediately concerns us to know. God made angels ; but nothing is said of them. The moon is called.one ofihe great- er lights, not as to what it is in itself, but what it is to us. The Scriptures are writ- ten, not to gratify curiosity, but to nour- ish faith. 'They do not stop to tell you how, nor to answer a number of questions which might be asked; but tell you so much as is necessary, and no more. Ver. 1, 2. The first act of creation seems to have been general, and the foundation of all that followed. What the heavens were when first produced, previously to the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, it did not greatly con- cern us to know, and therefore we are not told. What the earth was we are in- formed in verse 2. It was a chaos, icith- outform, and void; a confused mass oi earth and water, covered with darkness, and void of all those fruits which after- 726 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. wards covered the face of it. As regen- eration is called a creation, this may fitly represent the state of the soul while un- der the dominion of sin. — "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The word signifies as much as brooded ; and so is expressive of " an active, effect- ual energy, agitating the vast abyss, and infusing into it a powerful vital princi- ple." Hence those lines of Milton: — " And chiefly tliou, O Spirit- -That with mighty wings outspread. Dove like, sati'st brooding on the vast abyss, And mad'st it pregnant." Thus also God hath wrought upon the moral world, which, under sin, was with- out form, and void ; and thus he operates upon every individual mind, causing it to bring forth fruit unto himself. Ver. 3. From a general account of the creation, the sacred writer proceeds to particulars ; and the first thing mentioned is the production of light. The manner in which this is related has been consider- ed as an example of the sublime. It ex- presses a great event in a few simple words, and exhibits the almighty God perfectly in character : " He speaks, and it is done ; he commands, and it stands fast." The work of the Holy Spirit upon the dark soul of man is fitly set forth in allusion to this great act of creation : *' God, who commanded the light to shine out of dai'kness, hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowl- edge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ." As soon might chaos have emerged from its native darkness as our benighted world, or benighted souls, have found the light of life of their own accord. Nor was it sufficient to have furnished us with a revelation from hea- ven : the same almighty power that was necessary to give material light a being in the world was necessary to give spiritual light a being in the heart. The light here mentioned was not that of the sun, which was created afterwards. Hence a late infidel writer has raised an objection against the Scriptures, that they speak of light, and even of night and day, which are well known to arise from the situation of the earth towards the sun, be- fore the sun was made. But he might as well have objected that they speak of the earth in ver. 1, 2, and yet afterwards tell us of the dry land, as separated from the waters, constituting the earth, ver. 9, 10. The truth seems to be that what chaos was to the earth that the light was to the sun : the former denotes the general prin- ciples of which the latter was afterwards composed. A flood of light was produced on the first day of creation ; and on the fourth it was collected and formed into distinct bodies. And though these bodies, when made, were to rule day and night, yet, prior to this, day and night were ruled by the Creator's so disposing of the light and darkness as to divide them, ver. 4. That which was afterwards done ordina- rily by the sun, was now done extraordi- narily by the division of darkness and light. Ver. 4. " God saw the light that it was good." Light is a wonderful creature, full of goodness to us. This is sensibly felt by those who have been deprived of it, either by the loss of sight, or by con- finement in dungeons or mines. How pathetically does our blind poet lament the loss of it : — " Seasons return ; but not to me returns Day, or the sweet approach of ev'n or morn. Or sigiit of vernal bloom, or summer's rose. Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine : But cloud instead, and ever-during dark Surrounds me ! From the cheerful \\ays of men Cut oflf; and, for the book of knowledge fair. Presented with a universal blank Of nature's works, to me expunged and rased. And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out!" If such be the value of material light, how much more of that which is mental and spiritual ; and how much are we in- debted to the Holy Spirit of God for in- diting the Scriptures, and opening our be- nighted minds to understand them ! DISCOURSE II. ON THE LAST FIVE DAYs' CREATION. Gen. i. 6—31. Ver. 6 — 8. We here enter upon the second day, which was employed in mak- ing a firmament, or expanse. It includes the atmosphere, and all that is visible, from the position of the sun, moon, and stars, down to the surface of the globe, ver. 14, 15, 20. The use of it was to "divide the waters from the waters :" that is, the waters on the earth from the waters in the clouds, 'vhich are well known to be supported by the buoyant atmosphere. The division here spoken of is that of distribution. God, having made the substance of all things, goes on to distribute them. By means of this, the earth is watered by the rain of heaven, without which it would be unfruitful, and all its inhabitants perish. God makes nothing in vain. There is a grandeur in the firmament to the eye ; but LAST FIVE DAYS CREATION. 727 this is not all : usefulness is combined with beauty. Nor is it useful only with respect to animal sulisistence : it is a mir- ror, cons|ii(uous to all, displaying the glo- ry of its Creator, ami sliowing his liandy works. Tlie clouds also, by emptying themselves upon tlie earth, set us an ex- ample ot generosity, and reprove those who,/H/^ of this world's good, yet keep it principally to themselves. — Eccles. xi. 1—3. Ver. 9 — 13. God having divided the heavens and the earth, he now, on tiie third day, proceeds to subdivide tiie earth, or chaos, into land and water. The globe became terraqueous; partly eartli, and partly sea. It is easy to perceive tlie goodness of God in this distribution. Important as earth and water both are, yet, while mixed together, they afford no abode for creatures ; but, separated, each is a beautiful habitation, and eacii subserves the other. By means of this distribution tiie waters are ever in motion, which preserves them, and almost every thing else, from stagnancy and pu- trefaction. That v.hich the circulation of the blood is to the animal frame, the wa- ters are to the world : were they to stop, all would stagnate and die. — Eccles. i. 7. See how careful our heavenly Father was to build us a habitation before he gave us a being. Nor is this the only instance of the kind : our Redeemer has acted on the same principle, in going before to prepare a place for us. Having fitted the earth for fruitfulness, God proceeds to clothe it with grass, and herlis, and trees of every kind. There seems to be an emphasis laid on every herb and tree having its seed in itself. We here see the prudent foresight, if I may so speak, of the great Creator in providing for futurity. It is a character that runs through all his works, that, having com- municated the first principles of things, they should go on to multiply and increase, not independently of him, but as blessed by his conservative goodness. It is thus that true religion is begun and carried on in the mind, and in care and the world. Ver. 14 — 19. After dividing this lower world, and furnishing it with the principles of vegetation, tiie Creator proceeded, on the fourth day, to the producing of the heavenly bodies. First, they arc descril)ed in general as the lights of heaven (ver. 14, 15); and then more particularly, as the sun, moon, and stars, ver. 16 — 19. The use of these bodies is said to be not only for dividing the day from the night, but "for signs and seasons, and days and years." They ordinarily afford signs of weather to the husViandman (Matt. xvi. 3); and, prior to the discovery of the use of the loadstone, were of great impor- tance totlic mariner.--Actsxxvii.20. They appear also, on some extraordinary occa- i sions, to liave been premonitory to the ' world. Previously to tiic destruction of Jerusalem, our Lord foretold that there siiould be great earthquakes in divers places, and iamines, and pestilences, and fearful sigiits, and great signs from heaven. — Luke xxi. 11. And it is said by Jose- phus that a comet, like a flaming sword, was seen for a long time over that devoted city, a little before its destruction by the Romans. Heathen astrologers made gods of these creatures, and filled the minds ol" men with ciiimerical fears concerning them. Against these God warns his peo- ple, saying, " Be ye not dismayed at the signs of heaven." This, however, does not prove but that he may sometimes make use of them. Modern astronomers, by accounting for various phenomena, would deny their being signs of any tiling : but, to avoid the superstitions of iicathen- ism, there is no necessity for our running into atheism. The heavenly bodies are also said to be for seasons, as winter and summer, day and night. We have no otiier standard for the measuring of time. The grateful vicissitudes also which attend them are expressive of the goodness of God. If it were always day or nigiit, summer or win- ter, our enjoyments would be unspeakably diminished. Well is it said at every pause, And God saw that it ivas good ! David improved tins suiiject to a reli- gious purpose : " Day unto day uttereth speech, and nigiit unto night showeth knowledge." Every nigiit we retire we are reminded of deatii ; and every morning we arise, of the resurrection. In behold- ing the sun also, " which is as a bride- groom coming out of his chamber, and re- joiceth as a strong man to run his race," we see every day a glorious example of the steady and progressive " path of the just, which shineth more and more unto the per- fect day." Ver. 20 — '2.5. We are next led to review the animal creation ; a species of being less resplendent, but not less useful, than some of greater note. In one view, the smallest animal has a property belonging to it which renders it superior to the sun. It has life, and some degree of knowledge. It is worthy of notice, too, that the crea- tion begins with things without life, and proceeds to things possessing vegetative life, then to those wiiich have animal life, and after that to man, who is the subject of rational life. This shows that life is of great account in the Creator's estima- tion, who thus causes the subject to rise upon us as we proceed. 723 EXI'OSITION OF GENESIS. Ver. 26—31. We are now come to the sixth and last day's work of creation, which is of greater account to us than any which have gone before, as the subject of it is man. — We may observe, 1. That the creation of man is intro- duced differently from that of all other be- ings. It is described as though it were the result of a special council, and as though there were a peculiar importance attached to it : " God said. Let us make man." Under the Great Supreme, man was to be the lord of the lower world. On him would depend its future well-being. Man was to be a distinguished link in the chain of being; uniting the animal with the spiritual world, the frailty of the dust of the ground with the breath of the Almigh- ty ; and possessing that consciousness of right and wrong which should render him a proper subject of moral government. 2. Man was honored in being made after his Creator's image. This is repeat- ed with emphasis : " God created man in his own image ; in the image of God cre- ated he him." The image of God is part- ly natural and partly moral ; and man was made after both. The former consisted in reason, by which he was fitted for do- minion over the creatures, James iii. 7 : the latter, in righteousness and true holiness, by which he was fitted for communion ■with his Creator. The figure of his body, by which he was distinguished from all other creatures, was an emblem of his mind : God made man upright. I remem- ber once, on seeing certain animals which approached near to the human form, feel- ing a kind of jealousy (shall I call if?) for the honor of my species. What a conde- scension then, thought I, must it be for the eternal God to stamp his image upon man I " God made man upright." He knew and loved his Creator, living in fellowship with him and the holy angels. Oh, how fallen ! " How is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed ! " DISCOURSE HL CREATION REVIEWED. Gen. ii. This chapter contains a review of the creation, with the addition of some par- ticulars, such as the institution of the sabbath, the place provided for man, the law given him, and the manner of the creation of woman. Ver. 1. There is something impressive in this review . " Thus the heavens and the earth Avere finished, and all the host of them" — wisely, mightily, kindly, grad- ually, but perfectly. Man's work, espe- cially when great, is commonly a work of ages. One lays the foundation, and another the top-stone ; or, what is worse, one pulls down what another had reared : but God finishes bis work. " He is a rock, and his work is perfect." Ver. 2, 3. The conclusion of so divine a work required to be celebrated, as well as the Creator adored, in all future ages : hence arose the institution of the sabbath. We are not to imagine that God was wea- ry, or that he was unable to have made the whole in one day ; but this was done for an example to us. The keeping of the sabbath sacred for divine worship has been a topic of mucb dispute. Some have questioned whether it was kept by the patriarchs, or before the departure of Israel from Egypt; sup'- posing that Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis about that time, might be led to introduce God's resting from his works on the seventh day as a motive to enforce what was then enjoined upon them. But if there was social worship before the flood, and during the patriarchal ages, one should think there must have been a time for it. We expressly read of time being divided into weeks during these ages, chap, xxix. 27, 28 : and as early as the flood, when Noah sent out the dove once and again from the ark, the term of " seven days " is noticed as the space between the times of sending her. Add to this, the division of time into weeks is said to have been very common in heathen na- tions in all ages ; so that, though they ceased to observe the sabbath, yet they retained what was a witness against them — the time of its celebration. The sabbath was not only appointed for God, but to be a day of rest for man, })ar- ticularly for the poor. It was enjoined on Israel for this reason, " That thy man- servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou : and remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt." Those who would set it aside are no less the enemies of the poor than of God and religion : they consult only their worldly interest. If such sordid characters could so order it, their servants would be'always in the yoke. Nor would their being so in the least tend to in- crease their wages: every day's work would be worth a little less than it is now, and the week's work would amount to much the same. To those who fear God it is also a rest to the mind ; a time of refreshing after the toils of worldly labor. The reason for keeping the sabbath was drawn not only from God's having rested, but from the rest which Israel felt from the CRLATION UtlVILWKD. 729 yoke of Eevpt. — Deut. v. 14, 15. Ami we have since lliat time anollier reason, namely, Cl)iist liaving rested from his works, as God did Irom his. — Heb. iv. 4 — 10. Hence, accordiaj;; to the practice of the primitive Christians, the day was altered. Acts xx. 7 : and by how much more interesting; tlje work of redemption is than that of creation, by so much is this reason greater tiian the other. Finally : It is a Jewish tradition, and seems to have generally prevailed, that, as there is a harmony of times in the works of God, this seventh day of rest is pre- figurativc of the seven thousandth year of the world being a rest to the church. We know tiiat years were divided into sevens, and seven time sevens. Every seventh year the land was to have its sab- bath, and every fiftieth year its jubilee: and thus it may be with the world. If so, we arc not at a great distance from it ; and this will i>e the period when a great num- ber of prophecies of the universal spread of the gospel shall be fultiUed. Ver. 4 — 7. Alter reviewing the whole in general, and noticing the day of rest, the sacred writer takes a special review of the vegetable creation, with an intent to mark the difference of its first production and ordinary j)ropagation. Plants are now ordinarily produced by rain upon the earth and human tillage : but the first plants were made before there was any rain, or any liuman hand to till the ground. After this, a mist or vapor arose which en- gendered rain and watered the earth — ver. 6. So also after this God formed man to till the ground. — ver. 7. It is God's im- mediate work to communicate the first principles of things ; but their growth is promoted by the instrumentality of man. And now, liaving made mention of man, he tells us of what he was made. His body was formed " of the dust of the ground." His soul proceeded from the inspiration of the Almighty. What a wonderful compound is man ! There seems to be .something in the additional phrase : "And manliecame a living soul." God i'! said to breathe the breath of life into all animals ; and we sometimes read of tlie soul of every living thing : lait they are never said to be living souls, as men are. God hath stamped rationality and immortality upon men's souls, so as to render them ca|)able of a separate state of being, even when their bodies are dead. Hence the soul of a beast, when it dies, is said to go downwards ; but the soul of man upwards. — Eccles. xii.7. Ver. 8. Next we have an account of the place provided for man : not only the world at large, but a pleasant part of it. It was situated in the country of Eden, in VOL. I. 02 Asia; probably among the mountains of the East. It was near the origin of sev- eral rivers, which always proceed from mountainous parts of the country. It is spoken of as rich and fruitful in a high degree, so as even to become proverbial. — Gen.xiii. 10; Isa.li. 3. Ver. 9. Things were also adapted to accommodate man : trees and fruits, for pleasure and use, were ready to his hand. Among the trees of Eden there were two in particular which appear to have been symbolical, or designed by the Creator to give instruction, in the manner which is done l)y our positive institutions. One was " the tree of life," to which he had free access. This was designed as a sym- bol to him of that life which stood con- nected with his obedience ; and, therefore, when he sinned he was debarred from eat- ing it, by the flaming sword and cherubim, which turned every way to guard it. The other was "the tree of knowledge of good and evil," wliich was the only tree of the fruit of w hich he was forbidden to eat. As the name of the former of these trees is given it from the effect which should follow obedience, so that of the latter seems to have been from the eflect which should fol- low on disobedience. Man, on the day he should eat thereof, should know good in a way of loss, and evil in a way of suffer- ance. Ver. 10 — 14. Besides this, it was a well-watered garden. A river rose among the mountains of the country of Eden, which directed its course through it; and afterwards divided into four heads, or branches. Two of them are elsewhere mentioned in Scripture ; viz-jthe Hiddekel, or Tigris, and the Euphrates, both rivers of Asia. With the others we are less ac- quainted. Ver. 1.5. Among the provisions for man's happiness was employment. Even in innocence he was to ilress the garden and keep it. Man was not made to be idle. All things are full of labor : it is a stupid notion that happiness consists in slothful ease, or in having nothing to do. Those who are so now, whether the very rich or the very poor, are commonly among the most worthless and miserable of man- kind. Ver. 16, 17. The trial of man, by a special prohibition, was singularly adapted to the end. To have conformed to his Creator's will, he must always have been contented w ilh implicit obedience, or satis- fied in abstaining from a thing on the mere eround of its being forbidden of God, with- out perceiving the reason of his being re- quired to do so. In truth, it was a test of his continuing in the spirit of a little child, that should have no will of its own ; 730 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS, and this is still the spirit of true religion. The consequences attached to a breach of this positive law teach us also not to trifle with the will of God in his ordinances, but implicitly to obey it. More particularly: Observe, 1. The fulness of the grant. Here was enough i'or man's happiness without the forhidden fruit ; and so there is now in the world, without transgressing the boundaries of heaven. 2. The positiveness of the pro- hibition— "Thou shalt not eat of it." So long as this was kept in mind it was well ; and it appears to have been deeply im- pressed, from the first answer ol the wo- man to the serpent, chap. iii. 3. It was this impression which lie aimed to efface by his devilish question, " Yea, hath God saiditl" And, when once she began to doubt of this, all was over. Let us learn to keep God's words in our minds and hide them in our hearts, that we may not sin against him. It was with — Thus and thus it is written, that our Lord repelled all his temptations. 3. The penalty an- nexed : "Thou shalt die," or "Dying thou shalt die." Some think this means corporeal death, and that only; and that if the threatening had been executed man must have been immediately struck out of existence. But the death here threatened, whatever it was, is said to have passed upon all men, which implies the existence of all men, and which would have been prevented if Adam had at that time been reduced to a state of non-existence. The original constitution of things provided for the existence of every individual that has since been born into the world, and that whether man should stand or fall. The death here threatened doubtless in- cluded that of the body, which God might execute at pleasure : the day he should eat he would be dead in law. But it also included the loss of the divine favor and an exposedness to his wrath. If it were not so, the redemption of Christ would not be properly opposed to it, which it frequently is. — Rom. v. 12 — 21 ; Heb.ix. 27, 28. Nor is Adam to be considered as merely a private individual : he was the public head of all his posterity, so that his transgression involved their be- ing transgressors from the womb, and alike exposed lo death with himself. Such has been the character of all man- kind ; and such is the account of things given in the Scriptures. If men now find fault with this part of the divine govern- ment, it is what they will not be'able to stand to at the last day. The judge of all the earth will, in that day, appear to have done right, whatever may be Ihouirht of him at present. 4. The promise of life implied by it. There is every reason to believe that if man had obeyed his Cre- ator's will he would of his own bound- less goodness, have crowned him with everlasting bliss. It is his delight to im part his own infinite blessedness as the reward of righteousness : if Adam, there- fore, had continued in the truth, he and all his posterity would»have enjoyed what was symbolically promised him by the tree of life. Nor is there any reason to suppose but that it would have been the same for substance as that which believers now enjoy through a Mediator: for the Scriptures speak of that which the law could not do (in that it was weak throvgh thcftesh, that is, through the corruption of human nature), as being accomplished by Christ. — Rom. viii. 3, 4. Ver. IS — 25. The subject closes with a more particular account of the creation of woman. We had a general one be- fore (chap. i. 27) ; but now we are led to see the reasons of it. Observe, 1. It was not only for the propagation of the human race, but a most distinguished pro- vision for human ha[)pines3. The woman was made for the vian ; not njerely for the gratification of his appetites, but of his rational and social nature. It was not good that man should be alone ; and there- fore a helper that should be meet, or suit- able, was given him. The place assign- ed to the woman in Heathen and Ma- homedan countries has been highly de- grading; and the place assigned her by modern infidels is not njuch better. Christianity is the only religion that con- forms to the original design, that confines a man to one wife, and that teaches him to treat her with propriety. Go among the enemies of the gospel, and you shall see the woman either reduced to abject slavery, or basely flattered for the vilest of purposes ; but in Christian families you may see her treated with honor and re- spect; treated as a friend, as naturally an equal, a soother of man's cares, a soft- ener of his griefs, and a partner of his joys. 2. She was made after the other creatures were named; and, consequent- ly, after Adam, having seen and observ- ed all the animals, had found none of them a fit companion for himself, and thus felt the want of one. The blessings both of nature and of grace are greatly endear- ed to us by our being suffered to feel the want of them before we have them. 3. She was made out of man, which should lead men to consider their wives as a part of themselves, and to I ve them as their own flesh. The woman was not taken, it is true, from the head, neither was she taken from the feet; bu: from somewhere near the heart ! 4. That which was now done would be a standing: VAl.L or MAN. 731 law of nature. Man would " leave fatlier and mother, and cleave to liis wile, and lUm twain should le one ilesh." Finally : ll i«! adiled, "They were loth naked, and were not ashamed." There was no fiuiit, and therefore no shame : shame is one of the Iruits oi sin. DISCOURSE IV. THE FALL OF M.\N. Gen. iii. 1 — 7. We have hitherto seen man as God created him, upritrht and happy. But here we lieliold a sad reverse : the intro- duction of moral evil into our world, the source ol all our misery. There can be no doubt but that the .ser- pent was used as an instrument of Satan, who hence is called " that old serpent, the devil." The subtilty of this creature might answer his purposes. The account of the serpent speaking to the woman might lead us to a number of curious questions, on which, after all, we might be unable to ol)tain satisfaction. Wheth- er we are to understand this, or the temp- tations of our Lord in the wilderness, as spoken in an audil)le voice, or not, I shall not take upon me to decide. Whatever may be said of either case, it is certain, from the wlicle tenor of Scri|)ture, tliat evil s{)irils have, by the divine jicrmission, access to human minds : not indeed so as to be able to impel us to sin without ourcon sent ; but it may be in some such manner as men influence each other's minds to evil. Such seems to be the proper id>ould be less humiliating tlian to he subdued by one of a nature inferior to his own. Tiie human nature especially appears to have become odious in his eyes. It is possible that the rejoicings of eternal wisdom over man wer;' known in heaven, and first excited his envy; and that his attempt to ruin tlie human race was an act of revenge. If so, there was a peculiar fitness that from 7?i«)i should proce. d his overthrow. 2. It was to be accomplished by the seed of the icoinan. This would be more humiliating still. Satan had made use of her to accomplish his pur- poses, and God would defeat his schemes through the same medium ; and by iiow much he had despised and abused her, in making her the instrument of drawing her husband aside, by so much would he le mortified in being overcome by one of her descendants. 3. The victory sl.ould l.e obtained, not only by the Messiah him- self, but by all iiis adherents. Tlie seed of the woman, though it primarily refer- red to him, yet, hoing opposed to " the seed of the serpent," includes all that believe in him. And lliere is little or no doubt that the account in Rev. xii. 17, has allu- sion to this passage: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commancUnonts of God, and the faith of Jesus." Now, if it were mortifying for Satan to be overcome by the Messiah himself, considered as the seed of the woman, how much more when, in addition to this, every individual be- liever shall be made to come near, and as it were set his feet upon ihc neck of his enemy'? Finally: Though it should be a long war, and the cause of the serpent would often be successful, yet in the end it should he utterly ruined. The head is the seat of life, which the heel is not : by this language, therefore, it is intimated that the life of Christ's cause should not be afl'ected by nnv p'H of Sntnn's opposi- tion ; but that the life of Satan's cause should l)y that of Christ. For this pur- pose is he manifested in human nature, that he may destroy the works of tlie devil ; and he will never desist till he ha\e utter- ly crusiied his power. Now, as the threatcnings against Baby- lon conveved good news lo the church, so this thr»'atoning against tiie old serpent is lull of mercy to men. But for this enmity which God would put into the woman's seed against iiim, he would iiave had eve- ry thing his own way, and every child of man would have had his portion with him and his angels. From the wiiole, we see that Christ is I'l foundation and suiistance of all true religion since the fall of man, and, therc- ibre, that the only way of salvation is by fait!) in him. We see also the importance of a decided attachment to him and his interest. There are two great armies in the world, Michael and his angels warring against the dragon and his angels ; and, according lo the side we take, such will be our end. Ver. 16 — 19. The sentence of the wo- man, and of the man, whicjj follows, like the rest, is under a veil. Nothing but temporal evils are mentioned ; but these are not the whole. Paul teaches us that, by the ofTense of one, judgment came up- on all men to condemnalion ; and such a condcnmalion as stands opposed lo justifi- cation of life. — Rom. v. 18. See on chap, iv. 11, 12, p. 49. The woman's load in this life was sorrow in bearing children, and subjection to her husband. The com- mand to be fruitful and multiply might originally, for aught I Unow, include some degree of jiain ; lut now it should be "greatly multiplied :" and ihere was doubt- less a naturtance. — Lev. ix. 24. Psa. xx. 3, margin. The order of things is worthy of notice. God first accepted Abel, and then his offering. If he had been justified on the ground of his good deeds, the order should have been reversed : but, believing in the Messiah, he was accepted for his sake ; and, being so, his works were well- 738 EXPOSITION Ot' GtrSESIS. pleasing in the sight of God. And, as Abel Avas accepted as a believer, so Cain was rejected as an unbeliever. Being such, the Lord had no respect to him : he was under the curse, and all he did was abhor- red in his eyes. The rejection of Cain and his offering operated upon him very powerfully. If the love of God had been in him, he would have fallen before him, as Joshua and his brethren did when Israel was driven back ; and have pleaded, " Show me wherefore tliou contendest with me." But " he was ivroth, and his countenance fell." Tliis is just what might be expected from a self- righteous, proud spirit, who thought so highly of his offering as to imagine that God must needs be pleased with it, and with him on account of it. He was very wroth ; and that no doubt against God himself, as well as against his brother. He went in high spirits, like the Pharisee to the temple, but came away dejected and full of foul passions, of which his fallen countenance was but the index. Ver. 6, 7. Cain having returned home, the Lord, perhaps in a dream or vision of the night, expostulated with him. " Why art thou wroth!" — What cause is there for this enmity against thy Maker, and envy against thy brother 1 — Doubtless, he thought that he had a cause ; but when in- terrogated of God he found none. "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accept- ed ] And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." By doing well he means doing as Abel did, offering in faith, which is the only well-doing among sinful creatures. If Cain had believed in the Messiah, there was forgiveness for him, no less than for his brother ; and he should also have had the excellence attached to the first-born, which he reckoned he had a right to, and the loss of which galled him. " If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door ;*" unforgiven, to go down with thee to the grave, and to rise with thee, and appear against thee in judgment. Observe how things are ordered in the dealings of God with men. Abel was not accepted of God /or his well-doing ; neith- er faith nor obedience was that on account of which he was justified, but the right- eousness of him in whom he believed. Yet it was in well-doing that he obtained eter- nal life. — Rom. ii. 7. Though faith was not the cause of the Lord's having respect to him, nor his having offered in faith the * This clause, which is in the middle of verse 7, I suppose should he in a parenthesis. I have tiiere- fore placed the first and l.isl in connection, and intro- duced this after them, hy whicli the sense is clear. cause of his having respect to his works; yet each was a necessary concomitant. And this, while it secures the interests of right- eousness in the righteous, serves to silence the wicked, and make them feel the jus- tice of their condemnation. Thus, at the last judgment, though every one who is saved will be saved by grace only, yet all will be judged according to their works. Things will be so ordered that the right- eous will have nothing to boast of, and the wicked nothing to complain of, inasmuch as the decision in both cases will proceed according to character. But though Cain was silenced by the Almighty, yet his malice was not subdued but rather inflamed. If the life of God had been within his reach he would have killed him : but this he could not do. From that time, therefore, his dark soul meditated revenge upon Abel, as being- God's favorite, his OAvn rival, and the only object within his power. This is the first instance of the enmity of the seed of the serpent breaking out against the seed of the woman ; but not the last ! Observe the subtilty and treachery with which it was accomplished : " Cain talked with Abel his brother." He talked with him, prob- , ably, in a very familiar manner, as though he had quite forgotten the affair which had lately hurt his mind ; and, when they were engaged in conversation, persuaded him to take a walk with him into his field ; and, having got him away from the family, he murdered him ! Oh Adam ! Thou didst murder an unborn world, and now thou shalt see some of the fruits of it in thine own family ! Thou hast never before wit- nessed a human death : go, see the first victim of the king of terrors in the mangled corpse of Abel thy son ! — Poor Abel ! — Shall we pity him 1 In one view we must, but in others he is an object of envy. He was the first of the noble army of martyrs, the first of human kind who entered the abodes of the blessed, and the first instance of deatli being subservient to Christ. When the serpent had drawn man into sin, and exposed him to its threatened penalty, he seemed to have obtained the power nf death; and, had man been left under the ruins of the fall, he would have been continually walking through the earth, arm in arm, as it were, with the monster, the one taking the bodies and the other the souls of men. But the woman's seed is destined to over- come him. By death he destroyed " him who had the power of death, and delivered them who" must otherwise, " through fear of death," have been "all their life-time subject to bondage." — Heb. ii. 14, 15, r\lN"s I'LNISllMICNT. 739 DISCOURSE VIII. Cain's punishment and posteuity. «cn. iv. 9—24. Veu. 0. We have seen the tragical end of righteous Aliel ; but what becomes of the murderer ? Probal>ly he liad liid the dead body of his brother,to elude detection: but God will find him out. Jehovah said to Cain, " Wiiere is Aliel, thy l)rother]" What a cutting question ! Tiie words thy brother would remind him of the tender ties of tlesh and blood w iiich he had bro- ken ; and, if he had any feeling of con- science left in him, must [>ierce him to the quick. But oh, how black, how hardened is the state of his mind ! IVIark his answer. First, The falseliood of it — " I know not." We feel astonished that a man can dare to lie in the presence of his Maker : yet how many lies are uttered before him by form- alists and hypocrites ! Secondly, The in- solence of it — "Am I my brother's keep- er !" This man had no fear of God before his eyes ; and, where this is wanting, re- gard to man will be wanting also. Even natural affection will be swallowed up in selfishness. Supposing he had not known where his brother was, it did not follow that he had no interest in his preservation : but he did know, and, instead of being his keeper, had been his murderer! Ver. 10. " And he said, What hast thou done V Ah, what indeed ! This was the question put to Eve ; and sooner or later it will be put to every sinner, and con- science must answer to it too ! But Cain refuses to speak : be it so ; there needs no confession to substantiate his guilt. His brother's blood had already done this ! Blood has a voice that will speak; yea, that will " cry to heaven from the ground" for vengeance on him who sheds it ; and a brother's blood especially. What a scene ■will open to view at the last judgment, when the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain ! And, if such was the cry of Abel's blood, what must have been that of the blood which was shed on Calvary ! We should have thought that blood must have called for vengeance seven-fold ; and in one view it did so, but in another it speaks " better things than that of Abel." Ver. 11,12. But let us notice the doom of Cain. He was cursed from the earth ; it should in future refuse to yield him its wonted fruits, and he should be a fugitive and a vagabond in it. Three things are here observable : 1. By the sovereign will of the Lord of All, his life was spared. Afterwards a positive law was made by the same authority, that "whosoever should shed man's blood, by man should his blood be shed." But at present, for reasons of slate in the breast of the King of kings, the murderer shall be reprieved. If he had died by the hand of man, it must have lieen either by an act of private revenge, which would have increased bloodshed ; or Adam himself must have been the exe- cutioner of his son, from which trial of " quenching the coal that was left " God might graciously exempt him. "2. The curse which attached to his life, like that of our first parents, is confined to the pre- sent state. There is no reason in the world to suppose that the punishment of such a crime would actually be so, any more than others, nor others any more than this ; but a future life was at that time sparinsly revealed, and almost every thing concealed under the veil of temporal good and evil. 3. It contains a special addition to that which was denounced on Adam. The earth was cursed to him ; but Cain was "cursed from the cartii." It had been his brother's friend, by affording a kind of sanctuary for his blood, Avhich he had pursued ; but to him it should be an enemy, not only refusing its wonted fruits, but even a place whereon to rest his foot, or in which to hide his guilty head ! Ver. 13, 14. This tremendous sentence draws forth an answer from the murderer. There is a great change since he spoke last, but not for the better. All the difference is, instead of his high tone of insolence, we perceive him sinking into the last stage of depravity, sullen desperation. Behold here a finished picture of im|)enitent mis- ery ! What a contrast to the fifty-first Psalm ! There the evil dwelt upon and jtathetically lamented is sin ; but here it is only punishment. See how he expatiates upon it ... . Driven from the face of the earth .... deprived of God's favor and blessing, and, in a sort, of the means of hope (ver. 16) ... . a wanderer and an out- cast from men .... to all which his fears add, — Wherever I am, by night or by day, my life will be in perpetual danger ! Tru- ly it was a terrible doom, a kind of hell upon earth. " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God !" Ver. 15. From the last part of what his fears foreboded, however, God was pleased to exempt him ; yet not in mercy, but in judgment. He shall not die, but live, a monument of divine justice. If he had died, his example might soon have been forgotten ; but mankind shall see and fear. "Slav them not, lest my people forget : scatter them by thy power and bring them down, O Lord! " God is not obliged to send a sinner to the place of the damned, in order to punish him: he can call his name Magor-missabib, and render 710 EXrOjITION OF C.ENKSIS. him a terror to himself and all about him. — Jer. XX. 3, 4. What the mark was which was set upon Caiu we know not, nor does it behove us to inquire : what- ever it was, it amounted to a safe passage through the world, so far as respected a punisiiment from man for his present crime. Ver. 16. And now, having obtained a reprieve, he retires in the true spirit of a reprobate, and tries to forget his misery. It shocked him at first to be driven out from God's face, by which perhaps he meant from all connection with the people and worship of God, from the means of grp^ce, and so from the hope of mercy ; but in a little time the sensation subsideg, and he resolves to enjoy the pre- sent world as well as he can. He goes out "from the presence of the Lord," takes a final leave of God and his wor- ship and liis people, and cares no more about them. If this be the meaning of the words (and I know of no other so probable), it wears a very favorable ap- pearance with respect to the state of things in Adam's family. It shows that the v.or- ship of God was there carried on, and that God was with them. Indeed, if it were not cai'ried on there, it appears to iiave had no existence in the world, which there is no reason to believe was ever the case when once it had begun. Witii respect to Cain, the country whither he went is call- ed Nod, or Naid, which signifies a vaga- bond. It was not so called before, but on his account ; as who should say. The land of the vagabond. Ver. 17. He was married before this, though we are not told to whom. Doubt- less it was to one of Adam's daughters, mentioned in chap. v. 4, which near alTniity, though since forbidden, was then absolute- ly necessar)^ Of her, in the land of the vagabond, he had a son, Avhora he called Enoch; not him who walked xoith God, but one of the same name. It signifies taught or dedicated : it is rather diHicult to account for his calling the child l\v this name after what had taken place. Possi- bly it might be one of those etTects of ed- ucation which are often seen in the ungod- ly children of religious parents. When he himself was born, he was, as we have scesij accounted an acquisition, and was doubt- less dedicated, and as he grev/ up taught by his parents. Of this it is likely he had made great account, priding himself in it, as many graceless characters do in be- ing the children of the righteous : and now, having a child of his own, he might wish to stan)p upon him this mark of hon- or, though it was merely nominal. After this, Cain built, or was building, a city: a very small one no doubt, as need re- quired. He began what his family, as they increased, perfected ; and called it after the name of his son. Thus he a- mused himself as well as he could. The divine forbearance probably hardened him in his security, as it commonly does the ungodly. " Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, there- fore the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil." Ver. IS — 24. Next follow the genera- tions of Cain, \yhich present a few general observations.—-!. Nothing good is said of any one of them ; but, heathen like, they appear to have lost all fear of God and regard to man. "2. Two or three of them become famous for arts ; one was a shepherd, another a musician, and another a smith; all very well in themselves, but things in which the worst of men may excel. Some have supposed that we are indebted to revelation for all this kind of knowledge. Had it been said we are in- debted to our Creator for it, it had been true ; for to his instruction the discretion of the husbandman is ascribed. — Isa.xxviii. 24 — 29. But revelation was given for greater and better objects ; namely, to fur- nish not the man, but " the man of God." 3. One of them was infamous for his wick- edness ; namely, Lamech. He was the first who violated the law of marriage : a man who gave loose to his appetites, and lived a kind of lawless life. Among other evils, he follov,ed the example of his ancestor Cain. It is not said whom he slcv/ ; but he himself says it was a young man. This is the first instance, but not the last, in which sensuality and murder arc connected. Nor did he barely fol- lov/ Cain's example : but seems to have taken encouragement from the divine for- bearance towards him, and to have pre- sumed that God would be still more for- bearing towards him. Thus one sinner takes liberty to sin from the suspension of judgment tow-ards another. Here ends the account of cursed Cain. We hear no more of his posterity, unless it be as tempters to "the sons of God," till they were all swept away by the delu'iC ! DISCOURSE IX. THK GEXERATIONS OF ADAM. Gen. iv. 25, 26; v. We have of late met with little else than the operations of sin and misery : here I hope we shall find something that will afford us pleasure. Adam had lived GRNKUATIONS OF ADA.M. ?n h) sec giievous lhin;^s in his family. At length, aliout a hundred anil thirl}' years after the creation, Eve hare him another son. Him iiis mother called Scth ; that .s, set, or appointed ; " for God," said she, " hath appoinl'jil mc another seed instead of A!)el, whom Cain slew." Tiic man- ner in whith llic niollier of mankind Sjtenks on tliis occasion is much in favor of her personal religion. The language irnpHes that though at first she liad doled upon Cain, yet as tliey grew up, and disco\cr- cd their dispositions, Ahcl was jreferred. He was the child in whom all the hojjcs of the family seem to have concentrated ; and, therefore, when he fell a sacrifice to his iirotltcr's cruelly, it was considered as a very heavy loss. She was not without a son before Seth was born, for Cain was yet alive : but he was considered as none, or as worse than none ; and therefore, when Seth was born, she hoped to find in him a successor to Abel: and so it prov- ed ; for this appears to have been the fam- ily in wiHchti)e true religion was preserv- ed in those limes. At the birlh of Enos, which was a hundred and five years after that of his father Selh, it is remarked with emphasis by the sacred historian — " Then began vien to call upon the name of the Lord." This cheering information doubt- less refers to t!ie families in connection with which it is spoken, and denotes, not that there had been no calling upon the Lord till that time, but that tlience true religion assumed a more visible form ; the seed of the woman, afterwards called "the sons of God," assembling together to worship him, while the seed of the ser- pent might very probably be employed in deriding them. From the genealogy in chap. v. I shall barely oflfer the following remarks : 1. It is a very honorable one. Not only did patriarchs and prophets, and tl>e church of God for many ages, descend from it, but the Son of God himself ac- cording to the ilesh ; and, to show the ful- filment of the promises and prophecies concerning him, is tlie principal reason of the genealogy having been recorded. 2. Neither Cain nor Abe! has any place in it. Abel was slain before he had any children, and therefore could riot ; and Cain by his sin had covered his name with infamy, and therefore should not. Adam's posterity therefore, after a lapse of one hundred and thirty years, must begin anew. 3. The honor done to Setli and his pos- terity was of grace ; for he is said to have been born in Adam's likeness and after his iviage ; a phrase which, I believe, is always used to express the qualities of the niind, rather than the shajJC of the body. Man was made "after the image of God ;" but, this being lost, tliey are born corrupt, the children of a corrupt lather. What i» true of all mankind is here noted of Seth, because ho was reckoned as Adam's first- born. He therefore, like all others, was l>y nature a child of wiath ; and w'.at he or any of his posterity were different from this, ihey were by grace. 4. The extraordinary length of human life at that period was wisely ordered ; not only for the peopling of the world, but for the supplying of the defect of a written revelation. From the death of Adam to the call of Abram, a period of about eleven hundred years, there were living either Enoch, Lamech, Noah, or Shem : besides other godly persons, who were their contemporaries, and wiio would feel- ingly relate to those about them the great events of the creation, the fall and recovery of man. 5. Notwithstanding the longevity of tiie antediluvians, it is recorded of them all, in tlieir turn, that they died. Though the stroke of dcall) was slow in its approach, yet it was sure. If man could live to a thousand years, yet he must die ; and, if he die in sin, he will be accursed. 6. Tho'.gli many of the names in this genealogy are passed over without any" thing being said of their piety, yet we are not hence to infer that they were im- pious. Many might be included among them who " called upon the name of the Lord," and who are denominated "the sons of God," though nothing is personally related of them. 7. Two of Ihem arc distinguished for eminent godliness ; or, as it is here called, ivalking rvHh God; 'namely, Enoch and Noah. Both these holy men are enrolled in the list of worthies in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Let us look a little intensely at the life of the former of these worthies, the short- est of all the lives, but surely the sweet- est : " Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah, three hundred years." — " He walked with God, and was not ; for God look him." This is one of those brief, impressive, descriptions of true religion with which the Scriptures abound. Its holy and progressive nature is here rjiost admirably marked. " Enoch walked witli God." He must then have been in a stale of reconciliation with God; for tv,o cannot walk together except they be agreed. He was what Paul infers from another consideration, a believer. Where this is not the case, v hatcver may be his outward conduct, the sinner walks contrary to God, and God to him. What an idea does it conve} also, of his setting God always before him, seeking to glorify 74i F.XI'OSITION OF CENESIS. him in every duty, and studying to show himself approved of him, whatever might be thought of his conduct by sinful men! Finally : What an idea does it convey of the communion which he habitually enjoy- ed with God ! His conversation was in heaven while dwelling on the earth. God dwelt in him, and he in God ! "Enoch walked with God, after he be- gat Methuselah, three hundred years," and perhaps some time before that event. Religion with him, then, was not a tran- sient feeling, but an habitual and aliiding principle. In reviewing such a character, what Christian can forbear exclaiming, in the. words of our Christian poet, " O for a closer walk witli God, A calm and heaveii'.y frame ; A liglu, to shine upon the road That leads me to the Lambl " Cowper. Just so much as we have of this, so much we possess of true religion, and no more. " Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him ; " that is, as Paul explains it, " he was translated, that he should not see death." This singular fa- vor conferred on Enoch, like the resurrec- tion of Christ, might be designed to afford a sensible proof of a blessed immortality, which, for the want of a written revela- tion, might then be peculiarly necessary. He had warned the wicked of his day that " the Lord would come, with ten thousand of his holy ones, to execute judgment: " and now, however offensive his doctrine might have been to them, God, by exempt- ing him from the common lot of men, will bear testimony that he hath pleased him, not only to the mind of Enoch, but to the world. It is possible, also, that the trans- lation of this holy man might be confer- red in order to show what would have been common to all had man persisted in his obedience — a translation from the earthly to the heavenly paradise. With respect to Noah, we shall have an account of his righteous life in the follow- ing chapters : at present we are only told of the circumstances of his birth, ver. 28 — 32. His father Lamech speaks, on this occasion, like a good man and a prophet. He called his son Noah, which signifies rest; "for this same," saith he, "shall comfort us concerning our work, and the toil of ovir hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed." Noah, by building the ark, saved a rem- nant from the flood ; and, by offering an acceptable sacrifice, obtained the promise that the ground should no more be cursed for man's sake, chap. viii. 21. As La- mech could have known this only by rev- elation, we may infer thence the sweet rest which divine truth aifords to the be- lieving mind from the toils and troubles of the present life; and if the birth of this child afforded comfort, in that he would save the world and remove the curse, how much more His wlio would be a greater Saviour, and remove a greater curse, by being himself an ark of salvation, and by offering " himself a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor ! " DISCOURSE X. THE CAUSE OF THE DELUGE. Gen. vi. 1—7. Ver. 1 — 3. When we read of men be- ginning to "call upon the name of the Lord," we entertained a hope of good times, and of comfort, as Lamech said, after toil and sorrow : but, alas, what a sad reverse ! A general corruption over- spreads the earth, and brings on a tre- mendous deluge, that sweeps them all, one family excepted, into oblivion. First : We may remark the occasion of this general corruption, which was the increase of population. " When men be- gan to multiply " they became more and more depraved : yet an increase of popu- lation is considered as a blessing to a country, and such it is in itself; but through man's depravity it often proves a curse. When men are collected in great numbers they whet one another to evil, which is the reason why sin commonly grows rank- est in populous places. We were made to be helpers ; but by sin we are become tempters of one another, drawing and be- ing drawn into innumerable evils. Secondly : observe the first step toicards degeneracy, which was the uniting of the world and the church by mixed marriages : — The sons of God and the daughters of men — the descendants of Seth and those of Cain — the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The great end of marriage, in a good man, should not be to gratify his fancy, nor to indulge his natu- ral inclinations, but to obtain a helper; and the same in a woman. We need to be helped on in our way to heaven, instead of being hindered and corrupted. Hence it was that, in the law^ marriages with idolaters were forbidden (Deut. vii. 3, 4); and hence Christian marriages were lir.'Jt- ed to those " in the Lord," 1 Cor. vii. 39. The examples which we have seen of the contrary have, by their effects, justified these injunctions. I would earnestly en- treat serious young people, of both sexes- t AL IF. OF TIIK bl LL (iL. 743 as they regard God's honor, their own spiritual welfare, and tlic welfare of the chiireh of God, to avoid lieing unequally yoked together willi iiidiclievers. Thirdly : Oliserve the great offence that God tot k at ihis conduct, and the conse- quences w liich grew out ol i-t : " The Lord said, iMy Spirit shall not always strive with man," &.c. Had the sons of God kept themselves to themselves, and pre- served their purity, God would have spared the world (or their sakes ; but they mingled together, and hecame in ellcct one people. The old ("oiks were in tlieir account too iiigoted, and it seemed much better for tiicm to indulge a more lilieral way of thinking and acting. But this, in tlie sight of God, was worse than almost any thing that had gone before it. He was more offended with the religious than with the irreligious part of liicm. Seeing tliey had become one people, he calls them all by one name, and that is 7nan, w ithout any distinction ; and, in giving the reason why his Spirit should not always strive with man, special reler- ence is had to their having becon)e de- generate— It was for that he also, or these also, icere Jlesh; that is, those who had been considered as the sons of God were become corrupt. God's Holy Spirit in his prophets had long strove or con- tended with the world (See Xeh. ix. 30; 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20): and, while the sons of God made a stand against their wicked- ness, God was with tliem, and the contest was kept up : but they having, like false allies, made a kind of separate peace, or rather gone over to the enemy, God will give up the war, let sin have a free course, and let them take the consequences ! "Bread-corn is bruised, because he icill not ever be threshing it.'' Fourthly : Observe the long-suffering of God amidst his displeasure: "His days shall he a hundred and twenty years." This refers to the period of time which should elapse before the drowning of the world, " when," as an apostle expresses it, "the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was pre- paring." All this time God did strive, or contend with them; but it seems without effect. Ver. 4. An)ong various other evils which at that time prevailed, a spirit of ambition was predominant ; a thirst of conquest and dominion; and of course a flood of injuries, outrages, and oppressions. The case seems to have been this : Previously to the unha[)py junction between the fam- ilies of Cain and Seth, there were, among the former, gf'an/s, or men of great stature, who, tempted by their superior strength, set up for champions and heroes, and bore down all before them.* Nor was the mischief confined to them : for also ajter that, when the two families had become one, as the children that were born unto them grew up, they emulated, as might be c\put is al.so ex- pressive of the continuity anram, in w hieii lie prom- ised great blessings to his posterity. " As forme," saith he, " behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations." Hence, in a great num- ber of instances wherein mercy was shown to the rcliellious Israelites, tiicy were re- minded that it was not for llteir sttkes, but on account of the covenant made with their father Abraham, and reiiewed icith Isaac and Jacob. It was upon this principle also tiiat God made a covenant with David, promising that his seed should sit upon his throne forever. And this is express- ed in much the same language as that of Noah and Abraham : " My covenant shall stand fast with him." — "Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for- ever, and his throne as the sun before him." Solomon pleaded this at the ded- ication of tlie temple. Hezekiah also de- rived advantage from it ; and, when the seed of David corrupted their way, the Lord reminded them that the favors which they enjoyed were not for their own sakes, but for his Name's sake, and for the cov- enant which he had made with David his servant. After these remarks, I scarcely need say that, by these proceedings, God, even at this early period, was preparing the way for the redemption of his Son, by render- ing the great principle on which it should proceed familiar to mankind. A very small ac(juaintance with the Scriptures will enable us to perceive the charming analog}- between the language used in the covensnat with Noah, Abram, David, &c., and that wliich respects the Messiah, " I ■will give thee for a covenant of the peo- ple, to establish the earth, to cause to in- herit the desolate heritages." — "It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my ser- vant, to raise up the tribes of Jacol) and to restore the preserved of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation to the ends of the earth." — " Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inher- itance, and the uttermost jtarts of the earth for tliy possession." — " Jle shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be sat- isfied." In these, as in the former in- stances, God's covenant stands fast with one, and many are blessed for his sake : their salvation is his reward. DISCOURSE XII. THE FLOOD. Gen. vii. We have seen the preparation of the ark, the warnings of God by it, and his long suffering for a hundred and twenty years. Now we see it finished : now the end of all flesh is come before him. Ver. 1. Observe, 1. God gave special notice to Noah, saying, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark ; for thee have I seen rijihteous." He who in well-doing commits himself into the hands of a faith- ful Creator, needs not fear lieing overtaken l»y surprise. Wiiat have we to fear when he whom we serve hath the keys of hell and of death ] This is not the only in- stance in which, when impending ills have been ready to burst upon the world, God has, in effect, said to his servants, "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee : hide thy- self, as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." 2. God gave him all his household with him. We are not informed whether any of Noah's family at present followed his example : it is certain that all did not : yet all enter- ed with him into the ark for his sake. This indeed was but a specimen of the mercy which was to be exercised towards his distant posterity on behalf of him, as we have seen in the former chapter. But it is of importance to observe that, though temporal blessings may be given to the ungodly children of a godly parent, yet without walking in his steps they will not be partakers with him in those which are spiritual and eternal. 3. It is an affect- ing thought that there should be no more than Noah and his family to enter into the ark. Peter speaks of them as few ; and few they were, considering the vast num- bers that were left behind. Noah had long been a preacher of righteousness ; and what ! is there not one sinner brought to repentance by his preaching.? It should seem not one ; or, if there were any, they were taken away from the evil to come. Not one that we know of was found at the time who had received his warnings, and was desirous of casting in his lot with him. We are ready to think our ministry has but little success ; but his, so far as appears, was without any ; yet, like Enoch, he pleased God. 4. The righteous- ness of Noah is repeated as the reason of the difference put between him and the world. This does not imply that the fa- vor shown to him is to be ascribed to his 748 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. own merit ; for, whatever he was, he was by grace ; and all his righteousness was rewardahle only out of respect to Him in whom he believed : but, being accepted for his sake, his works also were accepted and honored. And, while the mercy of God was manifested towards him, the dis- tinction between him and the world being made according to character would render his justice apparent. Thus at the iast day, though the righteous will have noth- ing to boast of, yet, every man being judjj;- ed according to his works, the world will be constrained to acknowledge the equity of the divine proceedings. Ver. 2, 3. Of the animals which were to enter into the ark with Noah, those that were clean, that is, those which were fit for human food and for sacrifice to God, were to go in by sevens, and those which were unclean, only by two of a kind. It would seem as if this direction differed from that in chap. vi. 19, 20, which men- tions only two of every sort : but the meaning there may be that whatever num- ber entered in they should be in pairs, that is, male and female, to preserve them a- live ; whereas here the direction is more particular, appointing the number of pairs that should be admitted, according as they were clean or unclean. This order is ex- pressive of the goodness of God in pro- viding food for man, and of his regard for his own worship. Ver. 4 — 9. Just one week was allowed for Noah to embark. What a week was this ! What feelings must it excite I His neighbors had seen him busily employed for the last hundred aud twenty years in rearing the massy fabric ; and doubtless had had many a laugh at the old man's folly and credulity ; and now, behold, he is going to remove all his family into it, with birds, and beasts, and creeping things, and provisions for their accom- modation ! "Well, let him go: a week longer, and we shall see what will become of his dreams ! " Meanwhile they eat and drink, and buy and sell, and marry and are given in marriage. As for Noah, he must have felt much in contemplating the destruction of the whole of his spe- cies, to whom he had preached righteous- ness iti vain. But it is not for him to lin- ger; buto t "do according to all that the Lord commanded him." He had borne his testimony : he could do no more. He, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, therefore, with all the inferior creatures, which probably wei-e caused to assemble before him by the same power which brought them to Adam to be named, enter into the ark. The same thing which is said of him in ver. 7, is repeated in ver. 13. He doubtless would have to enter and re-en- ter many times in the course of the week but the last describes his final entrance, when he siiould return no more. Ver. 10 — 16. From tlie account, taken together, it appears that, though God suf- fered long with the world during the min- istry of Noah, yet the flood came upon them at last very suddenly. The words, after seven days, in ver. 10, seem to mean on the sevenlli day ;* for that was the day when Noah made his final entrance into the aik ; namely, the seventeenth day of the second month, answering to our Octo- ber or November, in the six hundredth year of his life ; and "on that same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven opened." What a scene of consternation and dismay must that day have exhibited, on the part of those who were left behind! The manner in which the rains set in, would leave little or no hope of their be- ing soon over. It was not a common rain : it came in torrents, or, as we should say, in a manner as though heaven and earth were come together. The waters of the subterraneous cavities from beneath, and of the clouds from above, all met together at God's command, to execute his wrath on guilty men.f There is one sentence concerning Noah which is worthy of special notice : when he and all pertaining to him had entered into the ark, it is said, "And the Lord shut him in." The door of such a stupendous building may be supposed to have been too large for human hands to fasten, especially so few as they were, and all withinside it. It is possible, too, there might be, by this time, numbers crowding round it for admittance ; for those who trifle with death at a distance are often the most terrified when it approaches. But lo, all is over ! That act which shut Noah and his family in, shut them forever out ! And let it be considered that some- thing very nearly resembling this will ere long be acted over again. " As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man." Not only I mode of speaking is usual in the Compare ver. 6 with ver. 11, and chap. * Such Scriptures, xl. 18,20. t The great deep seems to mean that vast conflu- ence of waters said to have been gathered togetlier on the third day of the creation into one place, and called seas. — chap. i. 9, 10. These waters not only extend over a great part of the surface of the earth, but probably tiow, as through a number of arteries and veins, to its most interior recesses, and occupy its centre. This body of waters, which was ordain- ed, as I may say, unto life, was turned, in just dis- pleasure against man's sin, into an engine of destruc- tion. Bursting forth in tremendous floods, multitudes were hereby swept away; while, from above, the clouds poured forth their torrents, as though heaven itself were a reservoir of waters, and God had open- ed its windows. THE FLOOD. 749 shall the world, as tlion, he full of dissi- pation, l)iil tlie coiiciiidiiis; scotic is dc- scril)cd in nearly tlie same woriis — " And they tliat were ready went in, and the door was shut ! " Ver. 17 — 2}. We hear no more of the inhal)itants ol the world, except that "all llesh died that moved upon the oartli, both of fowl and of cattle, and of licast, and of every creepini;; thini; that creepeth upon the earth, and t'vcnj man : all in whose nostrils was the l»rcath of lite, of all that was in the dry land, died." We are informed, however, of the pro- gress of the flood. For six weeks, with- in two days, it continued to rain incessant- ly ; during whicii period it was of sufficient depth to liear up the ark from the earth, which alter this floated upon the surface of the waters, like a ship on the sea. For some time, however, there were mountains and high liills wliicii were out of water. Hither, therefore, we may naturally sup- pose, tlie inhahitants of the earth would repair, as to their last refuge : hut, by the end of the forty days, these also were cov- ered ; the waters rising above seven yards higher than the highest of them. Thus every creature was swept away and buried in one watery grave, Noah and his family only excepted. The waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days (that is, about five months) before they began to aliate. This might seem to us unnecessary, seeing eve- ry living creature would be drowned with- in the first six weeks ; but it would serve to exercise the faith and patience of Noah, and to impress his posterity with the great- ness of the divine displeasure against man's sin. As the land of Israel should have its sabbaths during the captivity, so the whole earth, for a time, shall be re- lieved from its load, and fully purified, as it were, from its unclcanness. DISCOURSE XIII. THE FLOOD (continued). Gen. viii. The close of the last chapter brought us to the crisis of the flood, or to the pe- riod in which it had arrived at its greatest height : hence it began to abate. Observe the form in which it is expressed : " God rememl>ered Noah, and those that were with him in the ark." A common histo- rian would only have narrated the event : but the sacred writers ascribe every thing to God, sometimes to the omission of sec- ond causes. The term is figurative ; for, strictly speaking, God never forgot them : but it is one of those modes of sjjcaking which convey a great fulness of meaning. It is ex|)rcssivc offender mercy, of cove- nant mercy, and of mercy alter a strong expression of displeasure. These are things which frecpiently occur in the di- vine j)roceedings. Hence, a wind ])asses over the earth, and the waters begin to assuage. Ver. "2 — 4. The causes of the deluge being removed, the effects gradually sub- side ; and the waters, having performed their work, return into their wonted chan- nels. The ark, which had hitherto floated on the waters, now finds land, and rests upon the top of one of the Armenian moun- tains ; and this just five months after the entrance into it. For a ship in the sea to have struck upon a rock or land would have been extremely dangerous ; but at this stage of the flood we may suppose the heavens were clear and calm, and the wa- ters still. Noah did not steer the ark; it was therefore God's doing, and was in mercy to him and his companions. Their voyage was now at an end. They put in as at the first possible port. The rest which they enjoy is a prelude to a more perfect one approaching. Thus God pla- ces believers upon high ground, on which they are already safe, and may anticipate a better country, even a heavenly one. Ver. 5 — 1.3. The first objects that greet them, after having been nearly eight months aboard, are the tops of the moun- tains. They had felt one of them before ; but now the waters are sufliciently abated to see several of them. If we had l)een on a long and dangerous voyage at sea, we should be better aide to conceive of the joy which this sight must have occasioned than we possibly can be without it. Often has a ship's company been called on deck to see a distant object, which promised to be land. Often too have Christians in their voyage been cheered by the signs of approaching blessedness, and the happy foretastes bestowed upon them. After the lapse of forty days more, the window of the ark was opened, and a raven sent forth for the purpose of experiment, that they might see whether it could subsist of itself or not ; and the event proved that it could subsist, for it returned no more. This was encouraging. Seven days after this, Noaii tries a more delicate bird, the dove, which could not live unless the ground was at least in some places dry : but she from necessity returned. A |)roof this that the waters as yet were on the face of the whole earth. Tarrying yet other seven days, Noah sends out a second time his faithful messenger, the dove, which again returned to him in the evening ; but 750 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. lo, a sign is in her mouth which gladdens all their hearts ! It is " an olive-leaf plucked off!" An olive-leaf might have floated upon the surface of the waters ; but it was observable of this that the dove had plucked it off the tree : a proof that the tops of the trees, in some places, were out of water. Perhaps it is from this event that the olive-branch has ever since been considered as the emblem of peace. After seven days more, Noah sends forth the dove again; which returning no more, he knew the earth must in some places be dry. The repeated mention of seven days seems to imply that from the beginning time had been divided into weeks ; which can no otherwise be accounted for, that I know of, than by admitting that, from the begin- ning, those who feared God remembered the Sabbath day to keep it holy. About a month after this the waters are dried up from off the earth, and the covering of the ark is removed. Now they have the pleas- ure to look around them, and to see the dry land in every direction ; but still it is not habitable. And, as Noah came into the ark by God's command, so he must wait his time ere he attempts to go out, which will be nearly two months longer. Ver. 14 — 19. At length the set" time to favor this little company is come. On the 27th day of the second month, that is, just a year and ten days after their en- trance into the ark, they are commanded to go forth of it, with all that pertained to them, and to begin, not the world, as we should say, again, but a new world. Obe- dient to the heavenly vision, they take leave of the friendly vessel which through many a storm had preserved them, and landed them in safety. Ver. 20—22. The first object of atten- tion with a worldly man might have been a day of rejoicing, or the beginning to build a house : but Noah begins by build- ing an altar to Jehovah, on which he of- fered " burnt-offerings of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl." I think this is the first time we read of a burnt-offering. It was so called, as Moses says, " because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning." It was a substitutional sac- rifice, for the purpose of atonement. The process is descrilied in Lev. i. 2 — 9. The sinner confessed his sin upon its head ; the animal was killed, or treated as if it -were the transgressor, and as if the sin had been actually transferred to it : the blood of the creature being shed was sprinkled round about upon the altar ; and to show the di- vine acceptance of it onbehalf of the offer- er, to make atonement for him, it was con- sumed by fire, either descending immedi- ately from heaven, as was the case on some occasions, or kindled by the priest from the sacred fire kept for the purpose (Lev. ix. 24; Ps. xx. 3. mar.) ; finally : The sacrifice being sprinkled with salt, and perhai)s with odors, ascended up in a sweet savor, and God Avas propitious to the offerer. The burnt-offerings of Noah, according to this, must have been designed for an atonement in behalf of the remnant that was left; and, as Hezekiah said after the carrying away of the ten tribes, " for the making of a covenant with the Lord." This his offering was graciously accepted : " The Lord smelled a sweet savor," and bestowed upon him, and those who were with him, a covenant promise, not to curse the ground any more for man's sake. The reason given for this is singular : " for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." If God had dealt with man ac- cording to law and justice, this ghould have been a reason for destroying, rather than sparing him ; and was the reason why the flood was brought upon the earth. But here he is represented as dealing with him through a substitute (for the promise fol- lows the acceptance of the burnt-offering) ; and in this view the wickedness of man, however offensive, should not determine his conduct. He would, as it were, look off from him, and rest his future conduct towards him on another ground. He would, in short, knowing Avhat he was, deal with him on a footing of mercy and forbearance. Surely I need not say that this sacrifice of Noah was one of those which bore a pe- culiar aspect to the offering of the body of Jesus once for all. It is not improbable that the apostle has a direct allusion to it when he says, " Christ hath loved us, and given himself for us, an offering and a sac- rifice to God, for a sweet-smelling savor." In reviewing the destruction of the world by a flood, and the preservation of Noah and his family, we are furnished with three important reflections : — 1. It is a solid proof of the truth of di- vine revelation. " We are acquainted," says a late perspicuous and forcible wri- ter, " with no ancient people who were without traditions of this great event. From Josephus we learn that Berosus, a Chaldean historian whose works are now lost, related the same tilings as Moses of the deluge, and the preservation of Noah in an ark. Eusebius informs us that the history of the flood was contained in the works of Abydenus, an Assyrian writer. Lucian, the Greek writer, says that the present is not the original race of men ; but is descended from Deucaliom, who was preserved in an ark from the universal deluge which destroyed men for their wick- edness. Varro, the Roman writer, divid- COVENANT WITH NOAH. 751 ed time into three periods, the first from the origin ol men to tlie delii;:;e. The Hindoo puninas contain tlie history ol tiie deluge, and ol Noaii under the name of Satyavrata. They relate tliat Satyavrata was miraeiiloiisly preserved in an ark from a deluge wliicii destroyed all mankind."'* The same writer adds, " That tiie whole ofourglol)e has lieen suiMiiergeil by the ocean is proved, not i)y tradition only, hut by its mineralogieal and fossil iiistory. On the summits of high mountains, and in the centres of continents, vast beds of shells and other marine productions are to be tbund. Petrified tislies and sea weed exist in tlie heart of quarries. The \egeiable and animal productions of the torritl zone have been dug up in the coldest regions, as Siberia ; and, vice versa, tlie productions of the polar regions have been found in warm climates. These facts are unan- swerable proofs of a deluge." 2. It is intimated by the apostle Peter that the salvation of Noah and his family in the ark was a figure of our salvation by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was for a time buried, as it were, in the floods of divine wrath from above and from be- neath. It rose, however, and weathered the storm, safely landing those on dry ground who had been committed to its care. I need not make the apjilication. A "like figure" of the same thing is Christian baptism, in which believers are said to be baptized into the death of Christ : "Buried with him into death, that like as he was raised up from the dead by (he glory of the Father, so they also should walk in newness of life." 3. We are directed to consider the de- struction of the world liy water as a pre- sage and premonition of its being destroy- ed in the end by fire. " The heavens and the earth, which now are, are kept in store, reserved unto lire against the day of judg- ment, and perdition of ungodly men." DISCOURSE XIV. god's covenant with NOAH. Gen. ix. Ver. 1, 2. We have now the begin- ning of a new world, and various direc- tions given to those who are to people it. In several respects it resembles its first * Letiers on the Evidences of the Cliristian Re- ligion : by an Enquirer. First printeil in tiie Ori- ental Star, at Calrutta ; reprintfd at Serampore in 1802; and since reprinted in England, with addi- tions and corrections by the Author. beginning ; particularly in the command to be fruitful and nmitiply, and in the subjection of the creatures to man. But there is one great difVerence : all must now rest ujion a gracious covenant. Man by sin had forfeited, not his existence in- deed (tor that was given him to hold on no conditional tenure), but the blessing of God, ami his ilomiiiion over his creatures. Nevertheless, he shall be reinstated in it. God will, as it were, make a covenant for him with the beasts of the field, and they shall be at peace with him, or at least shall be awed by his authority. All this is out of respect to the mediation of Christ, and for the accomplishing of the designs of mercy through him. Ver. 3, 4. Here is also a special grant, which does not appear to have been given before : not only the herbs of the field, but the animals are given to man for food. It is howeviTr accompanied with a special exception with regard to hlood, which is the life. This, lieing forlfidden to Noah, appears also to have iiecn forliidden to all mankind : nor ought this prohibition to be treated as belonging to the ceremonies of the Jewish dispensation. It was not only enjoined before that dispensation existed, but was enforced upon the Gentile Chris- tians by the decrees of the apostles. Acts XV. 20. To allege, as some do, our Lord's words, "not that which goeth into the mouth that deiileth a man," would equal- ly justify the [jractice of cannibals in eat- ing human flesh. The reason of this pro- hibition might be in part the prevention of cruelty ; for the eating of blood implies and cherisiies a ferocious disposition. None but the most ferocious of animals will eat it in one anotiier ; and one would think none but the most ferocious of mankind could endure it. But there may be a higher reason. Blood is the life, and God seems to claim it as sacred to himself. Hence, in all the sacrifices, the l)Iood was poured out before the Lord : and, in the sacrifice of Christ, he shed his blood, or poured out his soul unto death. Ver. .5, G. As God was tender of an- imal blood, in not suffering man to eat it, so, on the other hand, he would be espe- cially tender of human blood. If any animal slew a man, let him be slain on that account : or, if any man slew him- self, God would require it : or, if any man slew another man, he should be jiut to death by man. This also appears to be a new law, as we read of no executions for murder among the antediluvians. The reason for this law is not taken from the well-being of man, but man's being made in the image of .God. The image of God is of two kinds, natural and moral. The latter was lost by sin ; but the former con- 752 EXPOSITION OP GENESIS. tinues with man in every state, and ren- ders it peculiarly criminal to abuse him. To deface the king's image is a sort of treason among men, implying a hatred against him, and that, if he himself were within reach, he would be served in the same manner : how much more treasona- ble must it l)e to destroy, curse, oppress, or in any way abuse the image of the King of kings ! — James iii. 9.* Ver. 7. The command to multiply is repeated, and contains permission, not of promiscuous intercourse, like the brutes, but of honorable marriage. The same law which forbad the eating of blood, un- der the gospel, forbad fornication, which was common among the heathen ; and, alas, too common among those who call themselves Christians ! Ver. 8 — 17. Having given the lorego- ing precepts, God graciously proceeds to enter into a solemn covenant with Noah and his posterity, and every living crea- ture that was with them, no more to de- stroy them by water, of which "the bow in the cloud " was to lie the token. This covenant is an amplification of what was said at the altar, where the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and indeed the first seven- teen verses of this chapter are a continu- ation of that subject. We see here, 1. The mercy and good- ness of God in proceeding with us in a way of covenant. He might have exempt- ed the world from this calamity, and yet not have told them he would do so. The remembrance of the flood might have been a sword hanging over their heads in terrorem. But he will set their minds at rest on this score, and therefore promises, and that with an oath, that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth. — * In (lefeiuling the principles of civil and religious liberty against |)ersenulion for conscience' sake, it has often been alleged that civil government has no riglit to restrain or punish men, but on account of their injuriug their fellow-men. That whatever is punishable by man is injurious to man is true; be- cause all sin in some way or other is so: but to make this the sole ground, or reason, of punishment, is selfish and atheistical. It i.s making ourselves the chief end; wliereas this is what God claims to him- self at the hand of every man and body of men. The cognizance of the civil magistrate ought indeed to be confined to what is civil and moral; but, in punishing men for immorality, he ought not merely to regard his own safety, nor even that of the community, but the honor of God: and if he be a good man he will do so. If he regard merely his own safety, punish- ing crimes only in so far as they endanger it, the people will soon perceive that he is a selfish tyrant, and cares not for the general good : and if he regard only the public safety, punishing crimes merely on account of their being injurious to men, it is still a spirit of selfishness, only a little more extended; and !;e that, at the time of this division, God marked out tiie holy land as Israel's lot, so that the Canaanites were to possess it only during his minority, and that by sufferance. It was rather lent than given to them from the first. DISCOURSE XVII. THE CONFUSIOX OF TONGUES. Gen. xi. 1—9. It has been before noticed that this sto- ry is thrown farther on, on account of finishing the former. The event took place before the division of the earth in the time of Peleg ; for every family is there repeatedly said to be divided after their tongues ; which implies that at that time they spake various languages, and that this was one of the rules by which they were distinguished as nations. Prior to the flood, and down to this pe- riod, "the whole earth was of one lan- guage." We are not told what this was. Whether it was the same which continued in the family of Eher, or whether from this time it was lost, is a matter of small account to us. But it seemed good in the sight of God hence to divide mankind into different nations, and to this end to give them each a different tongue. The occasion of this great event will appear from the following story. The posterity of Noah, beginning to increase, found it necessary to extend their habitations. A company of them, jour- neying from the east, pitched upon a cer- tain plain in the land of Shinar, by the river Euphrates. Judging it to be an eli- gible spot, they consulted, and determined here to build a city. There was no stone, it seems, near at hand ; but there was a kind of earth very suitable for bricks, and a bituminous substance which is said to ooze from certain springs in that plain, like tar or pitch, and this they used for cement. Of these materials were after- wards built the famous walls of Babylon. Having found a good material, they pro- posed to build " a city and a tower " of great eminence, by which they shoul ob- tain a name, and avoid tlie evil of whicli they thought themschcs in danger, of be- ing scattered upon the face of the whole earth. But here they were interrupted by a divine interposition: the Lord came down and confounded their language, so that they could not understand one anoth- er's speech. To perceive tlie reason of this extraor- dinary proceeding, it is necessary to in- quire into the object, or design, of the builders. If this can be ascertained, the whole passage may be easily understood. It could not be, as some have su|)posed, to provide against a future flood ; for this would have needed no divine interposition to |)revent its having effect. God knew his own intention never to drown the world any more : and if it had been otherwise, or it they, from a disbelief of his prom- ise, had been disposed to provide against it, they would not have been so foolish as to build for this purpose a tower upon a plain, which, when raised to the greatest possiiile height, would be far below the tops of the mountains. It could not have been said of such a scheme, " This they have begun to do; and now nothing will he restrained from them which they have imagined to do :" for it would have defeat- ed itself. Neither does it appear to have been de- signed, as others have supposed, for an idol's temple. At least, there is nothing in the story which leads to such a conclusion. It was not for the name of a god, but for their own name, that they proposed to build ; and that not the tower only, but a city atid a tower. Nor was the confound- ing of their language any way adapted, that I can perceive, to defeat such a de- sign as this. Idolatry prevailed in the world, for aught that appears, as much under a variety of languages as it would under one. Some have imagined that it was intend- ed merely as a monument of architectural ambition, like the pyramids of Egypt. This supposition might in a measure agree with the idea of doing it for a name j but it is far from harmonizing with other parts of the history. It contains no such deep- laid scheme as is intimated in the 6th verse, and given as the reason of the di- vine interference : nor is it supposable that God should interpose in so extraordinary a manner, by working a miracle which should remain throughout every age of the world, or which at least has remained to this day, merely for the purpose of coun- teracting a momentary freak of human van- ity. There are four characters by which this design, whatever it was, is described. 'W\ 758 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. • — 1. It was founded in ambition; for they said, " Let us make us a name.''' — 2. It required union; for wliicli purpose they proposed to build "a cily,'' that they might live together, and concentrate their strength and counsels. This is noticed by the Lord himself: " Behold, the peopk," saith he, " are one, and have all one language :" and his confounding their language was for the express purpose of destroying this oneness, by " scattering them abroad upon the face of the earth." — 3. It required that they should be furnished with the means of defence; for which they pro- posed to add a "tower" to the city, to which the citizens might repair in times of danger J and of such a height as to bid de- fiance to any who should attempt to annoy them with arrows, or other missive wea- pons.— 4. The scheme was ivisely laid; so much so, that, if God had not inter- posed to frustrate it, it would have suc- ceeded : "And this they have begun to do ; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." The only object which appears to ac- cord with all these general characters, and with the whole account taken together, is that of A UNIVERSAL MONARCHY, liy which all the families of the earth, in all ^future ages, might be held in subjection. A very little reflection will convince us that such a scheme must of necessity be founded in ambition; that it required wni- on, and of course a city, to carry it into execution ; that a tower, or citadel, was also necessary to repel those who might be disposed to dispute their claims ; and that, if these measures were once carried into effect, there was nothing in the nature of things to prevent the accomplishment of their design. If there were no other reasons in favor of the supposition in question, its agree- ment with all these circumstances of the history might be sufficient to establish it : but to this other things may be added, by way of corroltoration. The time when the confusion of tongues took place renders it highly probable that the scheme which it was intended to' sub- vert was of Nimrod's forming, or that he had a principal concern in it. It must have been a little betore the division of the earth among the sons of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, "after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations;" being that which rendered such division neces- sary. Now this was about the time of the birth of Peleg, who was named from that event; and this, by reckoning the geneal- ogies mentioned in chap. xi. 10 — 16, will appear to have been about a hundred years after the flood. At this time, Nimrod, who was the grandson of Ham, must have been alive and in his prime. And as he was the first person who aspired to dominion over his brethren, and as it is expressly said of him that " the beginning of his kingdom was Babel," nothing is more nat- ural than to suppose that he was the lead- er in this famous enterprise, and that the whole was a scheme of his, by which to make himself master of the world. It was also natural for an ambitious peo- ple, headed by an ambitious leader, to set up for universal monarchy. Such has been the object of almost all the great nations and conquerors of the earth in later peri- ods. Babylon, though checked for the present by this divine interference, yet afterwards resumed the pursuit other fa- vorite object; and, in the time of Nebu- chadnezzar, seemed almost to have gained it. The style used by that monarch in his proclamations comported with the spirit of this idea : " To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and tongues !" Now if such has been the ambition of all Nim- rod's successors, in every age, it is nothing surprising that it should have struck the mind of Nimrod himself, and his adhe- rents. They would also have a sort of claim to which their successors could not pretend ; namely, that of being the first or parent kingdom ; and the weight which men are apt to attach to this claim may be seen by the later pretensions of Papal Rome (another Babylon), which, under the character of a mother church, headed by a pope, or pretended hoIy/oiAer, has subject- ed all Christendom to her dominion. To this may be added, that the means used to countei'act these builders were ex- actly suited to defeat the above design ; namely, that of dividing and scattering them, by confounding their language. And it is worthy of notice that, though several empires have extended their territories over people of different languages, yet lan- guage has been a very common boundary of nations ever since. There is scarcely a great nation in the v/orld but what has its own language. The dividing of languages was therefore, in effect, the dividing of na- tions ; and so a bar to the whole world being ruled by one government. Thus a perpetual miracle was wrought, to be an antidote to a perpetual disease. But why, it may be asked, should it be the will of God to prevent a universal monarchy ; and to divide the inhabitanfs of the world into a number of independent nations 1 This question opens a wide field for investigation. Suffice it to say, at pre- sent, such a state of things contains much mercy, both to the world and to the church. With respect to the ivorld, if the whole earth had continued under one government. CONFTSION OF TONGUES, 759 that government would of course, consid- ering what liuniiin nature is, have heen excecdiuiily despotic and oppressive. We know that in every state of society whore power, or wealtli, or coinincrcc, is monop- olized by an individual, or confined to a few whose interests may unite them to one another, there is the trreatest possible scope for injustice and oppression ; and where tiiere is the greatest scope for these evils, human nature being what it is, tlierc they will most abound. DitVerent nations and interests in the world serve as a balance one to the other. They are that to the world which a number of rival merchants, or smaller tradesmen, arc to society ; serv- ing as a check upon each otiier's rapacity. Union, when cemented by good irill to men, is exceedingly desiralile ; but, when self-interest and amiiition are at the bot- tom, it is exceedingly dangerous. Union, in such cases, is nothing better than a com- bination against the general good. It might be thought that, if the whole world were under one government, a great number oi tears might be prevented, which, as things now are, would be certain to take place. And it is true that one stable government, to a certain extent, is on this account j)referable to a great number of smaller ones, which are always at variance. But this princi|ile, if carried l)eyond cer- tain limits, becomes inimical to human hap|)iness. So far as ditTcrent nations can really become one, and drop all local dis- tinctions and interests, it is well : but if the good of the country governed be lost sight of, and every thing be done to ag- grandize the city or country governing, it is otherwise. And where power is thus exercised, which it certainly would be in case of universal monarchy, it would pro- duce as many wars as now exist, with only this difference, that, instead of their be- ing carried on between independent na- tions, they would consist of the risings of dilTerent parts of the empire against the government, in a way of rebellion : and by how much wars of this kind are accom- panied with less mutual respect, less quar- ter given and taken, and consequently more cruelty than tiie other, by so much would the state of the world have been more miserable than it is at present. The division of the world into indepen- dent nations has also been a great check on ptrsecution, am] so has operated in a way of mercy towards the church. If the whole world had been one dcsjiotic gov- ernment, Israel, the people of God, must in all ages have been in the condition to which they were reduced from the times of the captivity as a punishment for their sins, a mere province of another power, which might have crushed them and hin- dered them, as was tlic rase from the times of Cyrus to those oi Darius. And, since the coming oi Chri-^l, the only way in which he permits his tollowers to avoid the malice of the world, which rages against tliem for his sake, is this : " If they persecute you in one city, (lee to an- other." Of this liberty millions have availed themselves, from the earliest to the latest periods of the Christian church : but if the whole world had been under one government, and that government inimical to the gospel, there had been no place of refuge left upon earth lor the faithful. The necessary watch also that govern- ments which have been the most disposed to |>ersocute have lieen obliged to keep on each other has filled their hands, so as to leave them but little time to think of re- ligious people. Saul, when pursuing Da- vid, was withdrawn Irom his purpose by intelligence being brought him that the Philistines had invaded the land ; and thus, in innumerable instances, the quarrels of bad men have been advantageous to the righteous. The division of povver serves likewise to check the spirit of persecution, not only as finding employment for j)ersecutors to watch their rivals, but as causing them to l)e watched and their conduct exposed. While the power of papal Rome extended over Christendom, persecution raged abun- dantly more than it has done since the Reformation, even in popish countries. Since that period, the poj)ish powers, both ecclesiastical and civil, have fell them- selves narrowly watched by protestants, and have been almost shamed out of their former cruelties. What has lieen done of late years has been principally confined to the secret recesses of the Inquisition. It is by communities as it is by individuals : they are restrained from innumerable ex- cesses by the consideration of being under the eye of each other. Thus it is that lib- erty of conscience, being granted in one or two nations and becoming honorable, has insensibly made its way into the councils of many others. From the whole we may infer two things : — 1. The harmony of divine reve- lation with all that we know of fact. If any object to the probability of the fore- going account, and imagine that the vari- ous languages spoken in the world must have been of human contrivance, let them point us to a page in any history, ancient or modern, which gives an account of the first making of a language, dead or living. If all that man can be proved to have done towards the formation of any language be confined to changing, combining, improv- ing, and reducing it to grammatical form, there is the greatest probability, indepen- 760 EXPOSITION OP GENEStS. dently of the authority of revelation, that languages themselves were originally the work of God, as was that of the first man and woman. — 2, The desirableness of the universal spread of Christ's kingdom. We may see, in the reasons which render a universal government among men incom- patible with th€ liberty and safety of the world, abundant cause to pray for this, and for the union of all hissubjects under him. Here there is no danger of tyranny or op- jiression, nor any need of those low mo- tives of rivalship to induce him to seek the ■well-being of his subjects. A union with Christ and one another embraces the best interests of mankind. DISCOURSE XVIII. THE GENERATIONS OF SHEM, AND THE CALL OF ABRAM. Gen. xi. 10— 32; xii. 1— 4. The sacred historian, having given an account of the re-peopling of the earth, here takes leave of the "children of men," and confines himself to the history of the "sons of God." We shall find him all along adhering to this principle. When any of the posterity of the righteous turn their backs on God, he presently takes leave of them, and follows the true church and true religion wherever they go. Ver. 10 — 26. The principal use of the genealogy of Shem to Terah, the tatiier of Abram, may be to prove the fulfilment of all the promises in the Messiah. To this purpose it is applied in the New Tes- tament. Ver. 27 — 29. Terah, after he v/as sev- enty years of age, had three sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran. But the order in which they here stand does not appear to be that of seniority, any more than that of Shem, and Ham, and Japheth ; for, if Abram had been born when Terah was seventy years old, he must have been a hundred and thirty-five at the time of his father's death ; whereas he is said to have been but seventy-five when, alter that event, he set out for Canaan. Haran, theref^ore, appears to have been the eldest of the three sons. He died in Ur of the Chaldees ; but left behind him a son and two daughters. Lot, and Milcah, and Is- cah. The two surviving sons, Abram and Nahor, took them wives : the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, of whose descent we are not here told : but, by what he said other in chap. xx. 12, it would seem that she was his half-sister, or his father's daughter by another wife. In those early ages nearer degrees of consanguinity were admitted than were afterwards allowed by the divine law. Nahor married his broth^ er Haran's eldest daughter, Milcah. Ver. 31. It is said of Terah that he took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daugh- ter-in-law, his son Abram's wife ; and that they went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. But here is something supposed which the historian reserves till he comes to the story of Abram, who, next to God, was the first mover in the undertaking, and the princi- pal character in the story. In chap. xii. 1, we are told that "the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fa- ther's house, unto a land that I will show thee." Taking the whole together, it ap- pears that God revealed himself to Abram, and called him to depart from that idola- trous and wicked country, whether any of his relations would go with him or not ; that Abram told it to his father Terah, and to all the family, and invited them to accompany him ; that Terah consented, as did also his grandson Lot ; that Nahor and his wife Milcah were unwilling to go, and did not go at present; that, seeing they refused, the venerable Terah left them ; and though not the first mover in the affair, yet, being the head of the fam- ily, he is said to have taken Abram, and Sarai, and Lot, and journeyed towards Canaan ; that, stopping within the coun-. try of Mesopotamia, he called the place where he pitched his tent Haran, in mem- ory of his son who died in Ur of the Chaldees ; finally, that during his resi- dence in this place he died, being two hundred and five years old. But though Nahor and Milcah, as it should seem, refused to accompany the family at the time, yet as we find them in the course of the history settled at Haran, and Abraham and Isaac sending to them for wives, to the rejection of the idolaters among whom they lived, we may conclude that they afterwards repented. And thus the whole of Terah's family, though they do not go to Canaan, yet are rescued from Chaldean idolatry ; and, settling in Haran, maintain for a considerable time the wor- ship of the true God. Chap. xii. 1 — 3. But Abram must not stop at Haran. Jehovah, by whom he was called to depart from Ur, has another country in reserve for him ; and he being the great patriarch of Israel, and of the church of God, we have here a more par- ticular account of his call. It was fit that this should be clearly and fully stated, as it went to lay the foundation of a new order of things in the world. It was GALL OF AJjRAM. 761 therefore like the sprine: of a great river ; or rather like the hole of a quarry uliente the tirst stone was taken of which a city was built. It is this which is referred to for the encouragement of the church wiien in a low condition, and likely to become extinct. God called Abram alone, and blessed him, and increased him. Hence the faithful are directed to "look to the rock whence they were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence they were digired ;" and to depend upon liis ))roniise wlio as- sured them he would comfort the waste places of Zion. How long Aliram continued at Haran we are not told ; Init, aliout nine years after his departure from it, we read of his having three hundred and eighteen trained servants, who were "born in his house : " he must therefore have kept house be- tween twenty and thirty years al least be- fore that time, either in Haran, or in botli Ur and Haran. In the call of Abram we may observe, 1. The grace of it. Tiieie appears no reason to conclude that he was belter than his neighbors. He did not choose the Lord, but the Loid him, and brought him out from amongst the idolaters. — Neii. ix. 7. 2. Its peremptory tune: "Gel tlice out." The language very much resem- bles that of Lot to his sons-in-law, and indicates the great danger of his present situation, and the immediate necessity of escaping as it were for his life. Such is the condition of every unconverted sin- ner, and such the necessity of fleeing from the wrath to come to the hope set before us in the gospel. 3. The self-denial required by it. He was called to leave his country, his kindred, and even his fa- ther's house, if they refused to go with hira : and no doubt his mind was made up to do so. Such tiiinirs are easier to read concerning others than to practise our- selves; yet he that hafelh not father and mother, and wife, and children, and l)reth- ren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, in comparison of Christ, cannot i'c his dis- ciple. We may not be called upon to part with them ; but our minds must be made up to do so, if they stand between us and Christ. 4. The implicit faith which a com- pliance witii it would call for. Abram was to leave all and to go ... . he knew not whither .... unto a land that God would show him. If he had been fold that it was a land flowing with milk and honey, and that he should be put in possession of it, there had been some food for sense to feed upon : but to go out, " not know- ing whither he went," must have been not a little trying to flesh and blood. Nor was this all : that which was promised was not only in general terras, but very distartt. VOL. I. 96 God did not tell him he would give him tlie land, but merely show him it. Nor did he in his lifetime obtain the possession of it : he was only a sojourner in it, with- out so much as a place to set his foot up- on. He obtained a spot, it is true, to lay his bones in, but that was all. In this manner were tilings ordered on purpose to try his faith ; and iiis obedience to God under such circumstances was among the things which rendered him an example to future generations, even " the father of all them that believe." Ver. 2. The promise had reference to things which could be but of small ac- count to an eye of sense ; liut faith would find enough in it to satisfy the most en- larged desires. The objects, though dis- tant, were worth waiting for. He should be the father of "a great nation;" and what was of greater account, and which was doubtless understood, that nation should be the Lord's. God himself would bless him; and this would be more than the whole wo; Id without it. God would also make his name great ; not in the rec- ords of worldly fame, but in the history of the church : and, being himself full of the l)lessing of the Lord, it should be his to impart blessedness to the world: "I will bless thee, and thou shalt be a bless- ing." The great natnes among the hea- then would very cotiimonly arise from their being |)lagues and curses to mankind ; but he should have the honor and happiness of being great in goodness, great in com- municating light and life to his species. This promise has been fulfdling ever since. All the true blessedness which the world is now, or shall hereafter be pos- sessed of, is owing to Abram and his posterity. Through them we have a Bi- ble, a Saviour, arid a gospel. They are the stock on which the Christian church is grafted. Their very dispersions and pun- ishments have proved the riches of the world. What then shall be their recove- ry, but life from the dead? It would seem as if the conversion of the Jews, whenever it shall take place, will be a kind of resurrection to mankind. Such was the ho|)e of this calling. And what could the friends of God and man desire morel Yet, as if all this were not enough, it is added — Ver. 3. "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee." This is language never used but of an ob- ject of special favor. It is declaring that he should not only be blessed himself, but that all others should be blessed or curse;! as they respected or injured him. Of this the histories of Abimelech, La- ban, Potiphar, both the Pharaohs, Balak, and Balaam, furnish examples. 762 EXI'OSITION CF GENESIS. Finally : Lest what had been said of his being made a blessing should not be sufficiently explicit, it is added, "And in thee shall" all the families of the earth be blessed." This was saying that a blessing was in reserve for all nations, and that it should be bestowed through him and his posterity, as the medium. Paul applies this to Christ, and the believing gentiles being blessed in him: he calls it, "The gospel which was preached before unto Abraham." Peter also makes use of it in his address to those who had killed the Prince of life, to induce them to repent and believe in him. " Ye are the children of the prophets," says he, "and of the covenant which God made with our fa- thers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." As if he had said. You are descended from one whose pos- terity were to be blessed above all nations, and made a blessing. And, the time to favor the nations being now at hand, God sent his Son first to you, to bless you, and to prepare you for blessing them ; as though it were yours to be a nation of ministers, or missionaries to the world. But how, if instead of blessing others you should continue accursed yourselves 1 You must first be blessed, ere you can, as the true seed of Abraham, bless the kindreds of the earth, and that by every one of you being turned from his iniquities. Ver. 4. The faith of Abram operated in a way of prompt and implicit obedience. First it induced him to leave Ur of the Chaldees, and now he must leaveHaran. Haran was become the place of his fa- ther's sepulchre, yet he must not stop there, but press forwards to the land which the Lord would show him. On this occasion, young Lot, his nephew, seems to have felt a cleaving to him, like that of Ruth to Naomi, and must needs go with him ; encouraged no doubt by his uncle in some such manner as Moses afterwards encour- aged Hobab : " Go with me, and I will do thee good ; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning " Abram. Ver. 5. We now see Abram, being seventy-five years old, and Sarai, and Lot, with all they are and have, taking a long farewell of Haran, as they had done before of Ur. " The souls that they had gotten in Haran," could not refer to chil- dren, but perhaps to some godly servants who cast in their lot with them. Abram had a religious household, who were under his government, as we afterwards read, one of whom went to seek a wife for Isaac. We also read of one "Eliezerof Damas- cus," who seems to have been not only his household steward, but the only man he could think of, if he died childless, to be his heir. With these he set oft' for the land of Canaan, which by this time he knew to be the country that the Lord would show him ; and to the land of Ca- naan he came. DISCOURSE XIX. ABRAM DWELLING IN CANAAN, AND RE- MOVING TO EGYPT ON ACCOUNT OF THE FAMINE. Gen, xii. 6—20. Ver. G. Abram and his company, hav- ing entered the country at its north-eastern quarter, penetrate as far southward as Si- chem ; where meeting with a spacious plain, the plain of Moreh, they pitched their tents. This place was afterwards much account- ed of. Jacob came thither on his return from Haran, and bought of the Shechem- ites a parcel of a field. It might be the same spot where Abram dwelt, and was perhaps selected by Jacob on that account. After this it seems to have been taken from him by the Amorites, the descend- ants of Hamor, of whom he had bought it ; and he was obliged to recover il by the sword and by the bow. This was the portion which he gave to his son Joseph. There seems to be something in the his- tory of this place very much resembling that of the country in general. In the grand division of the earth, this whole land was assigned to the posterity of Shem : but the Canaanites had seized on it, and, as is here noticed, " dwelt in the land." As soon therefore as the rightful owners are in a capacity to make use of the sword and the bow, they must be dis- possessed of it. — See on ch. x. 25. Ver. 7. Abram having pitched his tent at Sichem, the Lord renews to him the promise of the whole land, or rather to his seed after Jiim ; for, with respect to himself, he was never given to expect any higher character than that of a sojourner. But, considering the great ends to be an- swered by his seed possessing it, he is well satisfied, and rears an altar to Jeho- vah. One sees here the difference be- tween the conduct of the men of this world and that of the Lord's servants. The former no sooner find a fruitful plain than they fall to building a city and a tow- er, to perpetuate their fame. The first concern of the latter is to raise an altar to God. It v/as thus that the new world was consecrated by Noah, and now the land of promise by Abram. The rearing of an ABRAM AND LOT. 7GS altar In the land was like taking possession inspired them with fear, and induced them ol" it, in rigiit, lor Joiiovali. to send liim and his wile away in safety. Ver. !S, 9. Tiie patriarchs seldom con- It was thus that lie rcl)uked kinjis for theif tinued long at a place, for they were so- sakes, and sufl'ered no man to hurt them, journers. Abram removes from the plain In how many instances has God, by his of Moreh, to a mountain on the east of kind providence, extricated us from situa- what was afterwards called Betiiel ; and tions into whicli our own sin and folly had here he l)uilt an altar, and called ujion the plunged us! name of the Lord. This place was also luuch accounted of, in after times. It was not tar hence that Jacob 9y this example, the danjrer o( leaving religious connections ; for, as man leels it not good to l>e alone, if he forego these he will he in a manner im|)elled hy his inclinations to take up with others of a contrary description. It isanas\ful character which is here given o( Lot's new neighhors. All men are sinners ; hut they were " wicked and sin- ners before the Lord exceedingly." When Ahram went to a new place, it was usual for him to rear an altar to the Lord; hut there is no mention of any thing like this when Lot settled in or near to Sodom. But to return to Ahram — Ver. 14 — 17. From the call of this great man to the command to ofTer up his son, a period of about fifty years, he was often tried and the promise was often re- newed. It was the will of God that he should live by faith. Its being renewed at this time seems to have been on occa- sion of Lot's departure from him, an 1 the disinterested s|)irit whidi he had manifest- ed on that occasion. Lot had lifted up his eyes and beheld the plain of Jordan ; and, being gone to take possession of it, God sailli utit'i A.bram, Lift up now tliine eyes, and look nortliward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to Ihee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. Thus he who sought this world lost it ; and he who was willing to give up any thing for the honor of God and religion found it. Ver. IS. After this, AViram removed to " the plain of Mamre, which is Hebron," where he continued many years. It was here, a long time after, that Sarah died. It lay about two and twenty miles south of Jerusalem. This removal might pos- sibly arise from re^anl to Lot, that he mie of the world, and capable of doing a great deal of mis- chief". This they did : for, not content wilh marching peaceab.ly through the country till they arrived at the cities which had rebelled, they laid all })laces waste which they came at ; smiting in their way, first the Rephaims, the Zurims, and the E minis ; then the Heroites of Mount Scir, and after them the -^niaZe/ciies and the Amoritcs. Ver. 8 — 10. By this time Abram's neigh- bors, the kings of Sodom, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela, must have been not a little alarmed. They and their people, however 766 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. determine to fight — and fight they did. The fiekl of action was "the vale of Sid- dira." Unhappily, the ground was full of slime pits, or pits of bitumen, much like those on the plains of Shinar ; and their soldiers being but little skilled in the art of war could not keep their ranks, and so were foiled, routed, and beaten, by the superior discipline of the invaders. Many were slain in the pits, and those that escaped fied to a neighboring mountain, which, beino- priibably covered with wood, afforded them a shelter in which to hide themselves. Ver. 11, 12. The conquerors, without delay, betake themselves to the spoil. They take all tiie goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the victuals ; and what few people are left they take for slaves. Among these was Lot, Abram's brother's son, his friend, and the companion of his travels, with all his family and all his goods ; and this notwithstanding he was only a sojourner, but lately come among them, and seems to have taken no part in the war. Oh Lot, these are the fruits of taking up thy residence in Sodom; or rather the first-fruits of it : the harvest is yet to come ! Ver. 13. Among those who fled from the drawn sword, and the fearfulness of war, there was one who reached the plain of Mamre, and told the sad tale to Abram. Abram feels much : but what can he do! Can he raise an army wherewith to spoil the spoilers and deliver the captives 1 He will try. Yes, from his regard to Lot, whose late faults would be now forgotten and his former love recur to mind : and, if he succeed, he will not only deliver him but many others. The cause is a just one ; and God has promised to 6Zess Abram and viake him a blessing. Who can tell but he may prove in this instance a blessing to the whole country, by delivering it from the power of a cruel foreign oppressor 1 Now we shall see how the Lord hath blessed Abram. Who would have thought it 1 He is able to raise three hundred and eighteen men in his own family ; men well instructed too, possessing skill, principle, and courage. Moreover, Abram was so well respected by his neighbors, Mamre, Eschol, and Aner, that they had already formed a league of confederacy with him to defend themselves, perhaps, against this blustering invader, whose coming had been talked of more than a year ago ; and they, with all the forces they can muster, consent to join with Abram in the pursuit. Ver. 15, 16. By prompt movements, Abram and his troop soon come up with the enemy. It was in the dead of night. The conquerors, it is likely, were off their guard, thinking, no doubt, that the coun- try was subdued, and that scarcely a dog was left in it that dare move his tongue against them. But when haughty men say Peace, peace, — lo, sudden destruction Cometh ! Attacked after so many victo- ries, they are surprised and confounded : and, it being in the night, they could not tell but their assailants might be ten times more numerous than they were. So they flee in confusion, and are pursued from Dan even to Hobah in Syria, a distance, it is said, of fourscore miles. In this bat- tle, Chedorlaomer, and the kings who were with him, were all slain. Abram's object, however, was the recovery of Lot and his family ; and, having accomplished this, he is satisfied. It is surprising that amidst all this confusion and slaughter their lives should be preserved ; yet so it was : and he with his property, and family, and all the other captives taken with him, are brought safe back again. It was ill for Lot to be found among the men of Sodom ; but it was well for them that he was so, else they had been ruined before they were. Ver. 17 — 24. This expedition of Abram and his friends excited great attention among the Canaanites. At the very time when all must have been given up for lost, lo, they are, without any effort of their own, recovered, and the spoilers spoiled ! The little victorious band, now returning in peace, are hailed by every one that meets them : nay, the kings of the differ- ent cities go forth to congratulate them, and to thank them as Ihe deliverers of the country. If Abram had been of the dis- position of those marauders whom he had defeated, he would have followed up his victory and made himself master of the whole country ; which he might probably have done with ease in their present en- feebled and scattered condition. But thus did not Abram, because of the fear of God. In the valley of Shavch, not far from Je- rusalem, he was met and congratulated by the king of Sodom, who by some means had escaped in the day of battle, when so many of his people were slain. He was also met in the same place, and at the same time, by another king, of high character in the Scriptures, though but rarely men- tioned, namely, " Melchisedek, king of Salem." He came, not only to congratu- late the conquerors, but brought forth " bread and wine " to refresh them after their long fatigues. The sacred historian, having here met with what I may call a lily among thorns, stops, as it were, to describe it. Let us stop with him and observe the description. Mention is made of this singular man only in three places ; viz. here, in the 110th Psalm, and in the seventh chapter of the SLAUGHTER OF TIIF. KINGS. 767 Epistle to the Hebrews. He is lield up in tiie two latter places as a type of tlie Messiah. Three things may he renmrked conceriiinu; him : — 1. He was (hnilitlcss a very holy man ; anil, il'aCanaanitc hy de- scent, it furnishes a proof, amonjr many others, thai the curse on Canaan did not shut the door of lailh upon his individual descendants. There never was an aL^e or country in which he tiiat feared God and worked riLditeousncss was not accepted. 2. He was a pcrsonajz:e in whom were united the kingly and priestly ofllices ; and, as such, he was a type of tiie Messiah, and greater than Ahram himself. Under the former of these characters, he was by in- terpretation " king of righteousness, and king of peace ;" and, under the latter, was distinguished as the "priest of the most iugii God." This singulardignity confer- red upon a descendant of Canaan shows that God delights, on various occasions, to ])ut more abundant honor upon the part that lacketh. 3. He was what he was, considered as a priest, not by inheritance, l)ut by an immediate diiine confy tlie name of God Almighty," lurt lli.it \<\ liis n:iine " JEHO- V.AH " lie was not known to tliem, cannot be nnder- .stood aljsolntelv. It does not appear, liowever, to iiave been used among tlie |)atriarclis in so pecidiar a sense as it was after the times of Moses among the 768 EXPOSlTIOiN OF GENESIS* f ter was that which had been just given to him by Melchisedek, and which appears to have inade a strong impression on Abram's mind. By uniting them together, he, in a manner, acknowieilged Meicliisedeii's God to be his God ; and, wiiile reproving the king of Sodom, expressed his love to him as to a brother. •2. His iiaving decided the matter before the king of Sodom met him, as it seems he had, implies something higldy dislionora- ble in the character of that prince. He must have been well known to Abram, as a vain, boasting, unprincipled man, or he would not have resolved in so solemn a manner to preserve himself clear from the very shadow of an obligation to him. And considering the polite and respectful man- ner in which it was common for this patri- arch to conduct himself towards his neigh- bors, there must have been something highly offensi\e in this case to draw from him so cutting and dismaying an intima- tion. It is not unlikely that he had thrown out some malignant insinuations against Lot and his old wealthy uncle, on the score of their religion. If so, Al:ram would feel happy in an o|)portunity of doing good against evil, ami thus of heaping coals of fire upon his head. The reason why he would not be under the siiadow of an obligation, or any thing w hich might be construed an obligation, to him, was not so much a regard to his own honor as (he honor of him in whose name he had suiorn. Abram's God had blessed him, and promised to Mess him more, and make him a l;lessing. Let it not lie said by his enemies that, with all his blessed- ness, it is of our substance that he is what he is. No, Al>ram can trust in " the pos- sessor of heaven and eartii " to provide for him, without being beholden to the king of Sodom. 3. His excepting the portion of the young men who were in league with him shows a just sense of propriety. In giving up our own right, we are not at liberty to give away that which pertains to others connected with us. Upon the whole, this singular undertak- ing would raise Abram much in the esti- mation of the Canaanites, and luight pos- siMy [irocure a little more respect to Lot. It had been better in the latter, however, if he had taken this opportunity to have changed his dwelling place. I.sraelites. Theiioe it soems very srenerally to denote tlie specific name of tlie Goil anrl King of Israel. \n tliis view we perceive tiie force and pi-upricty of s-ucli l.ingiiagp as the follls on model for believing lor jiisliiicaiion was this sul)je(t, assuring him that his heir not this, nor any oilier o( the kind : but should descend (iom his own body ; yet those oidy in which there was an immedi- he must continue to live upon promises, ate respect had to the person of the Alessi- These promises, however, are conlirnjcd ah. The examjiles of faith referred to in by a sign. He is led abroad from his tent both these epistles are taken from his be- in the night-lime, and shown the stars of lieving ihe promises relative to his seed ; heaven; which when he had scon, the in which seed, as the a|)oslle observes, Lord assured him, " So shall thy seed lie." Christ was included. — Rom. iv. 11 ; Gal. And now his doubts are removed. He is iii. Il3. Though Christians may believe in no longer weak, but strong in faith: he God with res[)ect to the common concerns staggers not through unl)elief, but is fully of this life, and such faith may ascertain persuaded that what God has }>romised he their being in a justified stale; yet this is aiile to perform. And therefore " it was is not, strictly speakinjr, the faith by which imputed to him lor righteousness." they are justified, which invariably has Mucli is made of this passage by the respect lo the person and work of Christ. apostle Paul, in establishing the doctrine Abram believed in God as /5r(*nusing- Christ; of justification by (aitii ; and much has they believe in him as having " raised him been said by others, as to the meaning of from the dead." " By him, all that V)e- both him and Moses. One set of expos- lieve (that is, in him) are justified from all itors, considering it as extremely evident things, from which they could not bejus- that by faith is here meant the act of believ- tilled by tlie law of Moses." It is through i'n^, contend for this as ourjuslifying right- faith in his blood that they olHain remis- eousness. Faith, in llieir account, seems sion of sin. He "is just, and the justifier to be imputed to us for righteousness by a of him that helieveJh in Jesus." kind of gracious compromise, in which 2. This distinction, so clearly perceiv- God accepts of an imperfect instead of a able both in the Old and New Testament, perfect obedience. Another set of expos- sufficiently decides in what sense faith is itors, jealous ibr the honor of free grace, considered as justifying. Whatever other and of the righteousness of Christ, con- properties the magnet may possess, it is tend that the faiih of Abram is here to be as pointing invariably to the north that it taken f)6;e called hhmael, or, God shall hear, from the circumstance of God having " heard her affliction. " God is not said to have heard her |)rayer ; for it does not appear that she had as yet ever called upon his name : she merely sat bewailing herself, as not knowing what would be- come of her. Yet, lo, the ear of mercy is open to affliction itself! The groans of the prisoner are heard of God : not only theirs who cry unto him, but, in many cases, theirs who do not. Ver. 12. The child is also characterized as a wild man, a bold and daring character, living by his bow in the wilderness, and much engaged in war; his hand lieing, a.« it were, "against every man, and every man's hand against him : " yet that he should maintain his ground notwithstand- ing, "dwelling in the ^)resence of all his brethren," and dying at last in peace. — See chap. xxv. 17, IS. Nor was this prophecy merely intended to describe Ish- mael, but his posterity. Bishop Newton, in his dissertations on the prophecies, has shown that such has been the character of the Aral)ians, who descended from him, in all ages ; a wild and warlike people, who under all the conquests of other nations by the great i)ow'ers of the earth, remained unsubdued. Ver. 13, 14. The effect of this divine appearance on Hagar was lo bring her to the knowledge and love of God ; at least the account wears such an aspect. She who, lor any thing that ap|)cars, had never })rayed bclore, now addresses herself to the angel who spoke to her, and w hom she considers as Jehovah, calling him by an enilearing name, the meaning of which is, Tliou God seest me. She did not mean by Ihis to acknowledge his omniscience, so much as his mercy, in having beheld and pitied her affliction. On ids withdrawing, she seems to have looked after him, with faith, and hope, and affectionate desire ; and, reflecting upon what had passed, is overcome with the goodness of God to- wards her, exclaiming, " Have I also here looked after him that seclii nie ! " It was great mercy lor God to have looked on her, and iieard her afflictive moans ; but it was greater to draw her heart to look after him ; and greater still that he siiould do it here, in the wilderness, when she had lived so many years where prayer was wont to be made, in vain. Under the influence of these impressions, she calls the well by which she sat down Beer-lahai-roi, a name which would serve as a memorial of the mercy. Let this well, as if she had said, be called Jehovah's well, the icell of him that liveth and seelh me ! Thus God, in mercy, sets tliat right which, through hu- man folly, had been thrown into disorder. Hagar returns and sui)mits; bears Abram a son when he is fburscove and six years old ; and Abram, on being informed of the prophecy which went before, called his name Ishmael. DISCOURSE XXV. god's covenant with abram and his SEED. Gen. xvii. Thirteen years elapse, of which nothing is recorded. Hagar is submissive to Sarai, and Ishmael is growing up; but, as to Al)ram, things after all wear a doulitful aspect. It is true, God hath given him a son ; but no intimations of his lieing the son of |)romise. No divine congratulations attend his birth; but, on flie contrary, Je- hovaii, who had been used lo manifest himself with frequency and freedom, now geems to carry it reservedly to his servant. 774 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. It is somethins like the thing which he had believed in; but not the thing itself. He has seen, as it were, a wind, a fire, and an earthquake; but the Lord is not in them. Ver. 1. After this, when he was ninety- nine years old, the Lord again appeared to him, and reminded him of a truth which he needed to have re-impressed ; namely, his almighty power. It was for want of considering this that he had had recourse to crooked devices in order to accomplish the promise. This truth is followed by an admonition — " Walk before me, and be thou perfect;" which admonition im- plies a serious reproof. It was like say- ing, "Have recourse no more to unbe- lieving expedients; keep thou the path of uprightness, and leave me to fulfil my promise in the time and manner that seem good to me ! " What a lesson is here afforded us, never to use unlawful means undoi- the pretence of being more useful, or promoting the cause of God ! Our concern is to walk before him, and be up- right, leaving him to bring to pass his own designs in his own way. Ver. 2, 3. Abram having been admon- ished, the promise is renewed to him; and, the time drawing near in which the seed should be born, the Lord declares his mind to make a solemn covenant with him, and to multiply him exceedingly. Such language denotes great kindness and con- descension, with large designs of mercy. Abram was so much affected with it as to fall on his face, and in that posture "the Lord talked with him." Ver. 4 — 6. It is observable that the last time in which mention is made of a covenant with Abram (chap. xv. 18) God made over to his posterity the land of Ca- naan for a possession : but the design of this is more extensive, dwelling more particularly on their being multiplied and blessed. The very idea of a covenant is expressive of peace and good-will; and, in this and some other instances, it is not confined to the party, but extends to others for his sake. Thus, as we have seen, God made a covenant of peace, which included the preservation of the world; but it was with one man, even Noah, and the world was preserved for his sake. And the covenant in question is one that shall involve great blessings to the world in all future ages : yet it is not made with the world, but with Abram. God will give them blessings ; but it shall be through him. Surely these things were designed to familiarize the great principle on which our salvation should rest. It was the purpose of God to save perishing sinners ; yet his covenant is not originally with them, but with Christ. With him it stands fast j and for his sake they are accepted and blessed. Even tht? blessedness of Abram himself, and alJ the rewards conferred on him, were for his sake. He was justified, as we have seen, not by his own righteousness, but by faith in the promised Messiah. Moreover : A covenant being a solemn agreement, and indicating a design to walk together in amity, it wag proper there should be an understanding, as we should say, between the parties. When Israel came to have a king, " Samuel told them the maimer of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord." Thus, as Abram is- about to commence the father of a family, who were to be God's chosen people, it was fit at the outset that he should not only be encouraged by promises, but di- rected how he and his descendants should conduct themselves. The first promise in this covenant is,- that he shall be " the father of many nations ;" and, as a token of it, his name in future is to he called Abraham. He had (he name of a high, or eminent, father, from the beginning; but now it shall be more comprehensive, indicating a very large progeny. By the exposition given of this promise in the New Testament (Rom. iv. 16, 17.), we are directed 'to un- derstand it, not only of those who sprang from Abram's body, though these were many nations ; but also of all that should be of the faith of Abraham. It went to make him the father of the church of God in all future ages ; or as the apostle calls him, "the heir of the world." In this view he is the father of many, even of a mul- titude of nations. For all that the Chris- tian world enjoys, or ever will enjoy, it is indebted to Abraham and his seed. A high honor this, to be the father of the faithful, the stock from which the Messiah should spring, and on which the church of God should grow. It was this honor that Esau despised, when he sold his birth- right ; and here lay the profaneness of that act, which involved a contempt of the most sacred of all objects — the Messiah, and his everlasting kingdom ! Ver. 7 — 14. The covenant with Abra- ham, as has been observed already, was not confined to his own person, but extend- ed to his posterity after him in their generations. To ascertain the meaning of this promise, we can proceed on no ground more certain than fact. It is fact that God in succeeding ages took the seed of Abraham to be a peculiar people unto him- self, above all other nations ; not only giving them " the land of Canaan for a possession," but himself to be their God, king, or temporal governor. Nor was this all : it was among them that he set COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 775 up his spiritual kinscdom ; civina; tliem lii? lively oiiu les, sciulinji; to them his propluMs, and cstablishiiijr among them his holy worship; whicii great advantages were, for many a^es, in a manner confined to them : and, what was still more, the great body of those who were eternally saved, previously to the coining of Christ, were saved from among them. These things, taken together, were an immensely greater favor tiian if they had all been literally made kings and priests. Such then lieing the /«r/s, it is natural to suppose that such was the meaning of the promise.* * As nn Anti|)iP(iol)aptist, I see no necessity for ■denying lluit spiritual blessings weie pronii..^e(l,m this general teai/ , to the natural .^eed of Abraham ; nor can it I lliink lie fairly drnicd. The Lord engaged to do that which he arlnallvdid; namely, to take ont of them, ralher than other nations, a people for himself This, I suppose, is the seed promised to Abraham, to uliich the apostle refers Nvhen he says, " They which are the children of the Hesh, these are not the children of God ; but ihecliildren of the prom- ise are counted for tlie sf.F.d." — Rom. ix. 8. By "the chililren of promise" he did not mean iheelect in general, composed of Jews and (Jentiles, luit the elect from among the J(?\vs. Hence he reckons him- self " an Israelite, of the seed of Al)raham, and the tribeOf Benjamin," as a living proof that " God had not cast away liis people \viiom he foreknew." — Kom. xi. 1,2. B\it I perceive not how it follows hence that God has promised to take a people fiom among the natural descendants of believers, in distinction from otiiers. What was promised to Abraham was neither prom- ised nor fulfilled to every good man. Of ihe pos- terity of Irs kinsman, Lot, nothing good is recorded. It is true the labors of those parents who bring up their children " in the nurture and admonilion of the Lord " are ordinarily blessed to the conversion of some of them : and the same may be said of the la- bors of faithful ministers, wherever providence sta- tions them. But, as it does not follow in the one case tliat the graceless inhabitants are more in cov- enant w ith God than those of other places, neither does it follow in the other that the graceless offspring of believers are more in covenant with God than those of unljelievers. " New-Testament saints have no- thing more to do with the Abrahainic covenant than the Old-Testament believers who lived jirior to Abraham. " I am aware that the words of the apostle, in Gal. iii. 14, " The Idessing of Abraham is come on the Gentiles, through Jesus Christ," are alleged in proof of the contrary. But the meaning of that passage, I conceive, is not that through Jesus Christ every l)e- liever becomes an .Abraham, a father of the faithful; but that he is reckoned among his children: not h slock, on which the future church should grow; but a branch partaking of the root and fatness of tlie olive-tree. Sio, at least, the context appears to ex- plain it : " 'I hey which are of faith are the chil- dren of faithful .Abraham." — \er. 7. But if it were granted that the ble.=:-ing of Abra- ham is so come on the Ijelieving Gentiles as not only to render them blessed as his spiritual children, but to insure a people.for God from among iheir natural posterityratherthanfronitlio.se of others, yit it is not as their natural posterity that they are individual- ly entitled to any one spiritual blessing; for this is more than was true of liie natural seed of Abraham. Nor do I see iiow it follows heace tliat we are war- As a sign or token of this solemn cov- enant with Aliraham and his posterity, "every man-child among them" was re- tpiired to be "circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin ;" and not only tiieir own chil- dren, but those of their "servants born '\n their house, or bought with Iheir money." This ordinance was tlie mark by which they were distinguished as a people in covenant with Jehosah, and which liotind thent by a special oliligalion to obey hint. Like almost all other positive institutions, it was also prefiguralive of mental purity, or " putting off Ihe body of tlie sins of the flesh." A neglect of it subjected the party to a being cut off from his people, as having broken God's covenant. Vcr. 1.5, 16. As Abram's name had been changed to Abraham, a similar honor is conferred on Sarai, who in future is to be called Sarah. The difference of these names is much the same as those of her husband, and corresponds with what had been prortiised them both on this occasion. The former meant. My princess, and was expressive of high honor in her own fam- ily ; but the latter, A princess, and denoted more extensive honor, as it is liere ex- pressed, "A mother of nations." This honor conferred on Sarai would correct an important error into which lioth she and her husband had fallen ; imagining that all hope was at an end of a child being born of her, and therefore that, if the promise were fulfilled, it must be in Ishmael. But not only must Aliram become Abraham, " the father of many nations ;" but Sarai, Sarah, " the mother of nations ;" and this not I'y her handmaid, as she had vainly imagined; but God would give him a son also " of her," and kings of people should be "of her." Ver. 17, IS. The effect of this unex- pected promise on Abraham was, that he " fell on his face and laughed." The terra does not here indicate lightness, as we commonly tise it; but joy, mingled with ranted to baptize them in their infancy. Abratiam, it is true, was commanded to circumcise his male chil- dren; and if we had been commanded to baptize our males, or females, or both, or any example of the kind had been left in llie New Testament, we should be as much obliged to comply in the one case as ho was in the other. But we do not think ourselves w.Trranted to rea.eon from circumcision to ijaptisni ; from tlie circumcision of males lo tie baptism of males and females; and from the circumcision of die cliildren of a nation (llie grealer part ol whom weie unbelievers), and of " senanis born in llie house, or bought wiih money," to the baptism of ihe ciiildren of believers. In short, we do not think ourseUes warranted, in mailers of positive institution, lo found our piaclire on anahigies, whether real or su[ipo.raliarn. 2. It was punclilious. The corrospon- dence between the command of Go(i and the ol)e(lience of his servant is minutely exact. 'IMie words ot the former are, — "Thou shait keep my covenant, and thy seed after liiee .... and he that is born in thy house, or bought with money of any >tran<:er, which is not ol thy seed." With this agrees the account of the latter : " In the self-same day was Abraham circum- cised, and IshmacI his son ; and all tiie men of his house, horn in the house and bouiihl with money of the stranijer, were circumcised with him." A riijid reirard to the revealed will of God enters deeply into true reli^;ion : that s[>irit which dis- penses with it, tho i<:h it may pass under the specious name of liberality, is anti- chrisfian. 3. It was yielded in old age, when Mjany would have pleaded otf frotn ensiagin^; in any thing new, or ditferent from nhal they had before received; and when, as some think, it would be a fur- ther trial to his faith as to the fulfilment of the promise. " Ninety and nine years old was Abraham when he was circumcis- ed." It is one of the temptations of old age to be tenacious of what we have be- lieved and practised from our youth ; to shut our eyes and ears against every thing that may prove it to have been erroneous or defective, and to fiml excuses for being exempted from hard and dangerous duties. But Abraham to the last was ready to re- ceive farther instruction, and to do as he was commanded, leaving consequences wilh God. This shows that the admoni- tion to "walk before him and be perfect," had not been given him in vain. DISCOURSE XXVI. ABRAHAM ENTERTAIXING ANGELS, AND INTERCEDING FOR SODOM. Gen. xviii. Ver. 1 — 3. The time drawing nigh that the promise should be fulfdled, God's ap- pearances to Abraham are frequently repealed. That which is here recorded seems to have followed the last at a very little distance. Sitting one day in a kind of porch, at his tent door, which screened him from the heat of the sun, "he lift up his eyes, and lo, three men " stood at a little distance from him. To him they appeared to be three strangers on a jour- ney, and as such he treated them. His conduct on this occasion is held up in the epistle to the Helirews as an example of hospitality ; and an admirable example it VOL. I. 93 affords. His generosity on this occasion is not more conspicuous than the amiable manner in which il was expressed. The instant he saw them, he rises up, as by a kind of instinctive courtesy, to bid them welcome to his tent, and that in the most respectful manner. Though an old man, and they perfect strangers to him, he no sooner saw them than he " ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed him- self toward the ground ;" and observing one of them, as it should seem, presenting himself to him before the other, he said lo him, "My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant." Ver. 4, 5. And whereas they were sup- posed to be weary, and overcome with the heat, he persuades ihem to wash their feet, and sit down under the shade of the spread- ing oak near his tent, and take a little re- freshment, though it were but a morsel of bread, lo comfort their hearts ; after which they might go forward on their journey. Something may be said of the customs of those times and countries, and of there being then but few, if any, inns for the accommodation of strangers ; but il cer- tainly aftbrds a charming specimen of pa- triarchal urbanity, and an example of the manner in which kindness and hospitality should be shown. To impart reliet in an ungracious and churlish manner destroys the value of it. We see also in this con- duct the genuine fruits of true religion. That which in worldly men is mere com- plaisance, dictated often by amlsition, in Abraham was kindness, goodness, sym- pathy, and humbleness of mind. It is to the honor of religion that it produces those amiable dispositions which the worst of men are constrained, for their own repu- tation, to imitate. If such dispositions and such behavior were universal, the world would be a paradise. Ver. 6 — S. The supposed strangers having con'^ented to accept the invitation, the good old man, as full of pleasure as if he had found a prize, resolves to entertain them with something better than " a mor- sel of bread," though he had modestly used that language. Hastening to Sarah, he desires her to get three measures of fine meal, and bake cakes upon the hearth ; while he, old as he was, runs to the herd, and fetches a calf, tender and good, and gives it to one of his young men, with or- ders to kill and dress it immediately. And now, the table being spread beneath the cooling shade of the oak, the veal, with butler and milk to rend.-r il more palatable, is placed upon it, and Abra- ham himself waits on his guests. Such was the style of patriarchal simplicity and hospitality. As yet Abraham does not 778 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. appear to have suspected what kind of guests he was entertaining. He might probably be struck from the first with their mien and appearance, which seem to have excited his highest respect ; yet he con- sidered them merely as strangers, and as such entertained them. It was thus that he " entertained angels unawares." Ver. 9, 10. But, while they sat at din- ner under the tree, inquiry was made after Sarah, his wife. Abraham answered, "Behold, she is in the tent." This in- quiry must excite some surprise ; for how should these strangers know the name of Abraham's wife, and her new name too ; and why should they inquire after her 1 But, if the inquiry must strike Abraham with surprise, what followed must have a still greater effect. He who was the first in the train on their arrival, and whom he had addressed in terms of the highest re- spect, now adds, "I will certainly return unto thee, according to the time of life, and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son." This language must remind him of the promise which he had so lately received, and convince him that the speaker was no other than Jehovah, under the appearance of a man. In the progress of the Old- testament history, we often read of simi- lar appearances; particularly to Jacob at Peniel, to Moses at the bush, and to Josh- ua by Jericho. The divine personage who in this manner appeared to men must surely have been no other than the Son of God, who thus occasionally assumed the form of that nature which it was his inten- tion, in the fulness of time, actually to take upon him. It was thus that, "being in the form of , God, he thought it not rob- bery to be equal with God ;" that is, he spake and acted all along as God, and did not consider himself in so doing as arro- gating any thing which did not properly belong to him. Ver. 11 — 15. Sarah having overheard what was said concerning her, and know- ing that according to the ordinary course of things she was too old to have a son, laughed within herself at the saying. She supposed, however, that as it was to her- self the whole was unknown : but it was not. The same word is used as was be- fore used of Abraham, but it was not the same thing. His laughter was that of joy and surprise : hers had in it a mixture of unbelief, which called forth the reproof of Jehovah. "Jehovah," the same person- age who is elsewhere called an angel and a man, " said unto Abraham," in the hear- ing of his wife, " Wherefore did Sarah laugh 1 " And to detect the sinfulness of this laughter, he points out the principle of it — it was saying, " Shall I of a surety bear a ehjldj who am old 1 " which prin- ciple he silences by asking, " Is any thng too hard for Jehovah 1 " And then he solemnly repeats the promise, as that which ought to suffice : " At tlie time ap- pointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." This language, while it proved that he who uttered it was a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, covered Sarah's face with confusion. In her fright, she denies having laughed ; but the denial was in vain. He who knew all things replied, " Nay, but thou didst laugh." We may imagine that what merely passes in our own minds has in a manner no ex- istence, and may almost persuade our- selves to think we are innocent : but in the presence of God all such subterfuges are no better than the fig-leaves of our first parents. When he judgeth, he will overcome. Ver. 16 — 19. The men, as they are called, according to their appearance, now take leave of the tent, and go on tiieir way towards Sodom. Abraham, loth to part with them, went in company, as if to bring them on their way. While they were walking together, Jehovah, in the form of a man, said unto the other two (who appear to have been created an- gels), "Shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I dol" Two reasons are as- signed for the contrary. First : the im- portance of his character. He was not only the friend of God, but the father of " a great nation," in which God would have a special interest, and through which all other nations should be blessed. Let him be in the secret. Secondly : The good use he would make of it. Being previously disclosed to him, he would be the more deeply impressed by it : and, ac- cording to his tried and approved conduct as the head of a family, would be concern- ed to impart it as a warning to his poster- ity in all future ages. As the wicked ex- tract ill from good, so the righteous will extract good from ill. Sodom's destruc- tion shall turn to Abraham's salvation: the monument of just vengeance against their crimes shall be of perpetual use to him and his posterity, and contribute even to the bringing of that good upon them which the Lord had spoken concerning them. The special approbation with which God here speaks of family-religion stamps a divine authority upon it, and an infamy upon that religion, or rather irreligion, which dispenses with it. Ver. 20, 21. Jehovah, having resolv- ed to communicate his design to Abra- ham, proceeds to inform him as follows : " Because the cry of Sodom and Gomor- rah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see DKSTRUCTION OF SCDOM. 779 wlicthcr tlicy have done altoircther accord- ing to the cry of it wliich is come unto nie ; anil, if not, I will know." This lan- guaire, thoujrh spoken alter the manner of men, contains much serious and important instruction. It teaches us that the most abandoned people arc still the sul)jccts of divine government, and must, sooner or later, give an account; that in)piety, sen- suality, and injustice, arc followed with a cry for retril>ution ; that tiiis cry is oft- en disregarded liy earthly triliunals ; that, where it is so, the prayers of the faithful, the groans of the oppressed, and the blood of the slain, constitute a cry which asccndelh to heaven, and entereth into the ears of the Lord of Sabaotli ; and, finally, that in executing judgment, though God will regard these cries, espe- cially where they wax greater and greater, as this is afterwards said to have done ; yet, as tliey may be partial and erroneous, he will not proceed by them as a rule, but will avail himself of his own omniscience, that tiie worst of characters may have no cause to complain of injustice. Vcr. 22 — 33. It is natural to suppose that the mind of Abraham must be forci- bly impressed with this intimation. He would feel for his poor ungodly neighl'ors ; but especially for Lot, and other righteous men whom he might hope would be found among them. At this juncture the men, that is, two out of the three (chap. xix. 1), went towards Sodom : but the third, who is called Jehovah, continued to con- verse with Aliraham. The patriarch stand- ing before him, and being now aware that lie was in the presence of the Most High, addressed him in the language of prayer, or intercession. A remarkal'le interces- sion it is. We remark, I. Abraham makes a good use of his previous knowledge. I^eing made acquainted with the evil com- ing upon them, he stands in the gap, and labors all he can to avert it. They knew nothing; and, if they had, no cries, ex- cept the shrieks of desperation, would have been heard from them. It is good to have such a neighbor as Abraham ; and still better to have an Intercessor before the throne who is always heard. The con- duct of the patriarch furnishes an exam- ple to all who have an interest at the throne of grace, to make use of it on be- half of their poor ungodly countrymen and neighbors. 2. He does not plead that the wicked may be spared for their own sake, or because it would be too severe a jiroceeding to destroy them ; but for the sake of the righteous who mi^ht be jound among them. Had either of the other pleas been advanced, it had been siding with sinners against God, which Abraham would never do. Wickedness shuts the mouth of intercession ; or, if any should j)resume to speak, it would be of no ac- count. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, shoidd plead for the ungodly, they would not be heard. Kighieousncss only will bear to i-e made a plea before God. But iiow then, it may be asked, did Christ make intercession for transgressors? Xot by arraigning the divine law, nor by alle- ging aught ill extenuation of human guilt ; l>ul i'V pleading his own oi)edience unto death. 3. He charitai'ly hopes the best with res[)ect to the number of righteous characters even in Sodom. At the outset of his intercession, he certainly consider- ed it as a possible case, at least, that there might be found in that wicked place fifty righteous : and thougii in this instance he was sadly mistaken, yet we may hope hence that in those times there were many more righteous people in the world than those which are recorded in Scrip- lure. The Scriptures do not profess to be a book of life, containing the names of all the faithful ; but intimate, on the contrary, that God reserves to himself a people, who are but little known even by his own servants. 4. God was willing to spare the worst of cities for the sake of a few righteous characters. This truth is as humiliating to the haughty enemies of religion as it is encouraging to its friends ; and furnishes an important lesson to civil governments, to beware of undervaluing, and still more of persecuting and banish- ing, men whose concern it is to live sober- ly, righteousl}', and godly in the world.* Excei)t the Lord of hosts had left us a remnant of such characters, we might ere now have been as Sodom, and made like unto Gomorrah! If ten righteous men had been found in Sodom, it had been spared for their sakes : but, alas, there is no such number ! God called Abraham to Haran, and, when he left that place, men- tion is made, not only of" the substance which he had gathered," but of" the souls which he had gotten." But Lot, who went to Sodom of his own accord, though he also gathered substance, yet seems not, by his residence in the place, to have won a single soul to the worship of the true God, DISCOURSE xxvn. THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GO- MORRAH. Gen. xix. Ver. 1, 2. The two angels who left Abraham communing with Jehovah went on their way till ihey came to Sodom. * Chap. vi. 11. 780 ABRAHAM ENTERTAIMNG ANGELS. Arriving at the city in the evening, tlie first person whom they saw appears to have been Lot, who was sitting alone, it should seem, at the gate of tlie city. They had found Abraham also sitting alone, but it was at his own tent door. Lot, wliose house was in the city, had probably no place where he could be out of the hear- ing of those whose conversation vexed his righteous soul : he therefore took a walk in the evening, and sat down without the city gate, where he might spend an hour in retirement. Seeing two strangers com- ing up to him, he beiiaved in much tlie same courteous and hospitable n^anner as Abraham had done. Bowing himself with his face toward the ground, he said, "Be- liold now, my lords ; turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and goon your ways." This was lovely; and the contrast between this and the conduct of his neighbors shows, what was suggested in the ibrmer chapter, the genuine fruits of true religion. What is said to be the customary hos})itality of the age and country was far from being practised by the other inhabitants of Sod- om. But, though Lot had given them so kind an invitation, they seem determined not to accept of il — "Nay," said they, "but we will abide in tiie street all night." This might be either for the purpose of being eye-witnesses of the conduct of the citi- zens, or to express their abhorrence of the general character of the city ; as when the prophet of Judah was sent to Bethel he was forbidden either " to eat bread or drink water in that place." — 1 Kings xiii. 8—17. Ver. 3. After being greatly pressed, however, by Lot, they yielded to his im- portunity, and entered into his house ; Avhere he made them a feast, as Abraham had done, and they did eat. Ver. 4, 5. But, while things were going on well with respect to Lot, the baseness of his neighbors soon betrayed itself. A little before bed-time they beset the liouse ; not for the purpose of robbing, or insult- ing them in any of the ordinary ways of brutal outrage — this had been bad enough, especially to strangers — but to pcr|)etrate a species of crime too shocking and detes- table to be named; a species of crime which indeed has no name given it in the Scri[>tures but what is borrowed from this infamous place. Ver. 6—9. The conduct of Lot, in go- ing out and expostulating witli them, was in several respects praiseworthy. ' His shutting the door after him expressed how delicately he felt for his guests, though at present he does not appear to have "con- sidered them in any other light than that of strangers. It was saying, in effeci^ Let not their ears be oflended with what passes abroad; whate\er is scurrilous, obscene, or abusive, let me iiear it, but not them. — His gentle and respecllul man- ner of treating tliis worst of mobs is also worthy of notice. He could not respect them <>n the score of character; but he would try and do so, as being still his fel- low creatures and near neighbors. As such he calls them brethren, no doubt hoping, by such conciliating language, to dissuade them from their wicked purpose. But when, to turn oil their attention from his guests, he j)roposes the l)ringing out of his daughters to them, he appears to have gone too far. It is not for us to go into a less evil, in the hope of [)reventing a great- er ; but rather to consent to no evil. It might l)e owing to the perturbation (.f his mind ; but pnjbably, it he had not lived in Sodom till his mind was almost famil- iarized to obscenity, he would not have made such a proposal. Nor had it any good effect. He only got himself more abused for it; and even his gentle remon- strance was perversely construed into ob- trusive forwardness, and setting himself up for a judge, who was merely a sojour- ner among them. Persuasion has no force with men who are under the dominion of their lusts. So now their resentment burns against him, and they will be re- venged on him. They will not be content- ed now with having the men brought out,, but will go unto them, and break the door open, to effect their purpose. Ver. 10. 11. Such an attempt, and such a perseverance in it, must have been proof sullicient to the heavenly messengers that the cry of Sodom had not exceeded the truth. Putting forth their hands, therefore, the} pulled Lot into the house to them, shut to the door, and smote the people without with blindness. The power and indignation displayed in these acts would convince him that they were no common, strangers ; and, one would have thought, might have struck them with awe, and caused them to desist from their horrid purpose : but they are infatuated. Though supernaturally smitten with blindness, they must still " weary themselves to find the door." Such daring presumption, in the face of heaven, must have filled up the measure of their crimes, and rendered them ripe for destruction. Ver. 12, 13. Things are now hastening to their awful crisis : but mark the mercy of divine proceedings. Ten righteous men would have saved the city ; but there seems to have been only one. Well, not only shall that one escajie, but all that belong to him shall be delivered for his sake ; or, if otherwise, it shall be their EXPOSITIO.t OF GENESIS. 781 own fault. S )ns-in-ia\v, sons, (UuiirlUors, wrath to come ; and such the mercy of or whatever he .had, are tiirected to he God towards tliciii. liroughl out of lliis [dace; for, said they, Ver. 17. Havini^ hecri so far saved, as it were o|iet)iu;i tiieir comiuission and almost in spile of liiiinelf, he is now sol- reading it to Lot, " \Vc will destroy this emnly charged to " escape for Ids lile," place, because the cry of them is waxen not so mich as to look behind him, nor ureal before the tace of Jehovah, and Je- stay in all the plain; but to " escape to hovah hath sent us to destroy it." the mountain," lest he should be " con- V^er. 14. Giving lull credit to the di- sumed." This was continuing to be mer- vine thrcateninir, and being deeply im- cifully severe ; and such are our Lord's pressed with it. Lot went forth to warn commands which require us to deny self, his sons-in law, who had married his take up tlie cross, and follow him. It daughters. We do udI read till now that was better for Lot to be thus warned off Lot had a family. It looks as il he had the ground, than to be consumed upon it : taken ids wife from Sodom, »oon after he and we had l)etter cut off a right hand, had parted from Aliraliam ; and, as he or pluck out a right eye, than be cast into must have lieen there alout twenty years, hell. he had daughters, some of wiiom were mar- Ver. 18 — "22. Lot was certainly a right- ried, and two remained with iiim single, eous man; but in times of trial his graces No mention is made of his married daugh- do not appear to the best advantage. He ters being alive at this time ; but by the is directed to flee to the mountain, and he manner in which the others are spoken of, had belter have lieen there all his days in verse 15, " Thy two daugters which than where he was; but he pleads hard to are here," it is probable they were else- live in a city, and hopes he may be ex- ichcre ; viz. along with their husl>ands, cused in this desire, seeing it was "a and perished with them in the overthrow, little one." Had he pro[)erly confided in The warning given to his sons-in-law was God, he would have gone to the mountain abru|)t and |)oinled ; " L^p. get ye out of without hesitation : l-ut his faith is weak, this place; for Jehovah will destroy this and his fears prevail, that if he go thither city! But he seemed to tliem as one that "some evil will take him, and lie shall mocked," or who was in jest. He be- die." This, his imbecility, however, is lieved, and therefore s])ake : but they dis- graciously passed over; his request is believed, and therefore made light of it. A granted, and the city spared for his sake, striking exam|)le this of the ordinary ef- Nor was this all. The angel kindly hast- fcct of truth upon the minds of unbeliev- ens his escape to this city, formerly called ers. Bela, but henceforward Zoar, that is, lit- Ver. 15, 16. All this had taken place tic ; for that he could do nothing till he in one night. Early in the morning, Lot should have come thither. All this was is hastened away from the devoted spot, merciful, very merciful ; and proves not And as his sons-in-law, and it seems their only that the Lord knowelh hoiv to de- wives with them, would not hear, he is liver the godly out of temj)lation, but also- commanded to leave them ; and, without that their blood is precious in his sight, farther delay, to take his w ife, and his two Ver. 2.3 — 25. By the time that Lot en- daughters who were with him, lest he tered into Zoar, ihe sun had risen upon should be consumed in the overthrow of the earth. It promised perhaps to be a the city. The threatening part of this fine day ; and the inhabitan's of Sodom, language would proliably not have been after tin ir niglit's revel, would 1 e going addressed to him, had he not discovered a forth to do as at other limes. But lo, on reluctance lo depart. I hoye. it was not a sudden, floods of fire and brimstone his worldly substance that clave to him, from the Lord out of heaven descend upon much less any attachment to that wjcked this and the neighboring city of Gomorrah, city; hut rather that it was his daughters utterly consuming them, and all their in- and their husitands, who could not be per- haiiitants ! Some have supposed this tre- suaded lo accompany him, that occasioned mendous judgtnent to have been effected this strong conflict. It was on this ac- by a volcani- eruption in the neighborhood, count, I suppose, that !,e is said to have the lava of which, first ascending high lins;ered ; and his deliverers were at last into the atmosphere, and then descending obliged lo lay hold upon his hand, and upon the devoted cities, destroyed them, upon the hand of his wife, and upon the If so it were, God's hand was in it, di- hand of iiis two daughters, and (Jehovah rectinsr and timing its operations, no less being merciiul unto him) liy force, in a than if it were accomplished without the manner, to set tiiem w iliiout the city, interference o< anv second cause. Such has been the strug'_de in many minds, Ver. 26. The Lord delivered just Lot, when called to leave all and flee from the and his whole family, as we have seen; 782 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. had much mercy shown them for his sake. But favor may be shown to the wicked, yet will they not learn righteousness. — Some refused to go with him, and those that did go proved to him a grief and a snare. His wife is said to have " looked back from behind him " during their jour- ney, and was instantly struck dead, and remaiued upon the spot a petrified monu- ment of divine vengeance. It may be thought a hard fate lor a mere glance of the eye ; but that glance, no doubt, was expressive of unbelief, a nd a lingering desire to return. Probably she was of much the same mind as her sons-in-law, and attributed the whole to the resent- ment of the strangers, whom her husband was weak enough to believe It is certain that her example is held up by our Lord as a warning against " turning back," which intimates that such was the mean- ing of her look. Ver. 27 — 29. Abraham having made intercession, though the issue of it gave him but little hope of success, yet is anx- ious to see what will be the end of these things. Unable, it seems, to I'est in his bed, he arose early the next morning, and went to the place where he had stood be- fore the Lord. From having a view of the plain, he beheld, and lo the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. He had not mentioned Lot by name, in his intercession, though doubt- less it had respect to liim ; and the Lord so far hearkened to his prayer as to deliv- er that good man in answer to it. Lot could not pray for himself, for he was not aware of his danger till it in a manner came upon him. What a mercy it is to have an Intercessor who knows all the evils which are coming upon us, and prays for us that our strength fail not ! But to return to Lot — Ver. 30. On leaving Sodom he was very earnest to have Zoar granted him for a refuge, and to be excused from going to dwell in the mountain : yet now, all on a sudden, he went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain ; and that for the very reason which he had given for a contrary choice. Then he feared some evil would take him if he went to the mountain ; — now he " fears to dwell in Zoar." It is well to know that the way of man is not in himself, and that it is not in man to di- rect his steps. Our wisdom is to refer all to God, and to follow wherever his word and providence lead the way. But why did not Lot return to Abraham 1 There was no occasion now for strife about their herds ; for he had lost all and but just es- caped with his life. Whatever was the reason, he does not appear to have made a good choice. Had he gone to the moun- tain when directed, he might have hoped for preserving mercy : but going of his own accord, and from a motive of sinful distrust, evil in reality overtakes him. His daughters, who seem to have con- tracted such habits in Sodom as would prepare them for any thing, however un- natural, draw him into intemperance and incest, and thus cover his old age with in- famy. The offspring of this illicit inter- course were the fathers of two great but heathen nations; viz. the Moabites and the children of Ammon. The dishonorable end of this good man shows that we are never out of danger while we are upon earth. He whose righteous soul was grieved with the filthy conversation of the wicked while in a city is drawn into the same kind of evils him- self when dwelling in a cave ! His whole Iiistory also, from the time of his leaving Abraham, furnishes an affecting lesson to the heads of families in the choice of habitations for tliemselves or their chil- dren. If worldly accommodations be pre- ferred to religious advantages, we have nothing good to expect, but every thing evil. We may, or we may not, lose our substance as he did ; but, what is of far greater consequence, our families may be expected to become mere heathens, and our own minds be contaminated with the examples which are continually before our eyes. Such was the harvest which Lot reaped from his well-watered i)lain ; and such are the fruits very commonly seen in the experience of those that follow his example ! DISCOURSE XXVIII. ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH. Gen. XX. Ver. 1. After the affecting story of Lot we return to Abraham. When he and his kinsman parted he pitched his tent in the plains of Mamre, and appears to have continued there nearly twenty years. At length he removes again, journeying southward, and taking up his residence for a time at Gerar, which was then a royal city of the Philistines. Ver. 2. And here we find him a second time saying of Sarah his wife, " She is my sister." His sin in so speaking seems to be much greater than it was before. For, 1. He had narrowly escaped the first time. If God had not remarkably interposed in his favor, there is no saying what would have been the consequence. The repeti- tion of the same fault looked like presum- ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH. 783 injr upon providence. 2. Sarali was now he not unto me, She is my sister 1 And pregnant, anil that ol a son o( promise : she, even she hersoll", said, He is my he mig;ht ihcrelore surely have trusted hrotlier. In the integrity of my heart and God to preserve tlicir lives in the straight- innocency of n)y hands have I done this." ibrward path of duty, instead of having The first sentence in this answer ajjpears recourse to hi.s own crooked policy. But to contain a reference to the recent and he did not. There are exceptions in eve- awful event of Sodom's overthrow, which ry human character, and olton in the ver}- must have greatly impressed ti)e surround- thing wherein they in general excel. The ing country. It is as if he had said, I am consequence was, Aliimclech, king of Ge- aware that thou hast slain a nation noto- rar, sent and took her, prol>aI>!y hy torce, rious for its (iUIiy and unnatural crimes ; to he one of his wives. We siiould have hut we are not such a nation; and in the thought that the age of Sarah might iiavc present case all tliat has been done was exempted l)oth iier and her husl)and from in perfect ignorance. Surely thou wilt this temptation : hut luinian lite was then not slay tlie innocent. — The answer of God much longer than it is now ; and she was admits his plea of ignorance, and suggests a heautitul woman, and we may suppose that he was not charged with havingyet sin- carried iier years l)etter than many. Be ned, l)ut threatened with death in case he that as it may, she is involved in a dilh- persisted, now that he was informed of the culty from which she cannot get clear, nor truth. It is intimated, however, that if he can Ahraham tell how to deliver her. It had come near her, he would, in so doing, has been oi)served that, wiicn wicked men have sinned against God, whether he had deviate from truth, thoy will very com- sinned against Abraham or not ; and this, monly get tiirough with it : but, if a good perliaps, owing to her being in a state of man think to do so, lie will as commoidy ])regnancy, of which, in tiiat case, he find himself mistaken. If once he leave could not have been ignorant. But God the path of rectitude he is entangled, and had mercifully withheld him from thus presently betrays himself. The crooked sinning against him, for whicii it l)ecame devices of the tlesh are things in which he him to be thankful, and without delay to is not sufTiciently an adept, and conscience "restore the man his wife." It was also will often prevent his going through with added that the man was "a prophet," or them. God also will generally so order one who had special intercourse with things that he shall be detected, and put heaven; and who, if he restored his wife, to shame at an early stage, and that in would pray to God for him, and he should mercy to his soul ; while sinners are left live ; but, if he withheld her, he should to go on in their evil courses with sue- surely die, and all that belonged to him. cess. We see in this account, 1. That abso- Ver. 3 — 7. Man's wisdom leads him lute ignorance excuses from guilt; but into a pit, and God's wisdom nuisl draw this does not prove that all ignorance does him out. God has access to all men's so, or that il is in itself excusal)Ie. Where minds, and can impress them by a dream, the powers and means of knowledge are an affliction, or in any way he thinks prop- possessed, and ignorance arises from neg- er. He did thus by Aliimelcch. Dreams, lecting to make use of them, or from aver- in general, are mere vanity, the excursions sion to the truth, it is so far from excusing of imagination, unaccompanied with rea- that it is in itself sinful. 2. That, great son ; yet these are under the control of as the wickedness of men is upon the face God, and have, in many instances, been of the earth, it would be much greater, the medium of impressing things of great were it not that God by his providence, importance on the mind. Abimelech in innumeral)le instances, tcitltholds them dreamed that he heard the voice of the from it. The conduct of intelligent be- Almighty, saying unto him, " Behold, thou ings is influenced by motives ; and all mo- art a dead man, tor the woman which thou fives which are presented to the mind are hast taken, for she is a man's wife." subject to his disposal. Hence we may Whether Abimelech was an idolater I feel the propriety of that petition, "Lead know not: but this I know, that if, in us not into temptation, but deliver us from countries called Christian, every adulterer evil." were " a dead man," many would be num- Ver. 8. Abimelech, awaking, is deeply bered with the dead who now glory in impressed with his dream. He rises early, their shame. And, though human laws calls together the princi|)al people about may wink at this crime, it is no less him, and imparts particulars to them, at heinous in the sight of God than when it the rehearsal of which they are sore afraid. is punished with death. Abimelech, con- Some afflictions had already l)een laid up- scious that he had not come near the wo- on them, of which they seem to have been man, answered in his dream, " Lord, wilt aware (ver. IS); and considering the late thou slay also a righteous nation] Said tremendous judgments of God upon Sod- 784 EXPOSITIOrf OF GENESIS. om, with the terrific dream of the led us." There are periods in life in which we are led to review the dispensations of God towards us, w ith spe- cial gratitude and renewed devotion. In this situation Abraham continued " many days;" but still he is "a sojourner," and such he must continue in the present world. DISCOURSE XXX. ABRAHAM COMMANDED TO OFFER UP HIS SON ISAAC. Gen. xxii. When Isaac was born, Abraham might be apt to hope that his trials were nearly at an end : but, if so, he was greatly mis- taken. It is not enough that, in conse- quence of this event, he is called to give up Ishmael : a greater trial than this is yet behind. " And it came to pass, after these things, that God did tempt Abraham." Many temptations had assailed him from other quarters, out of which God had de- * See on chap: xv. 10. livered him : and does he after this become his tcmi)terl As "God cannot be tempt- ed with evil, so neither (in one sense) tcmpteth he any man." But he sees fit to try the righteous ; and very frequently those most who are most distinguished by their faith and spirituality. So great a value doth the Lord set upon the genuine exercises of grace that all the grandeur of heaven aiul earth is overlooked, in com- parison of " a poor and contrite spirit, which trembleth at his word." It is no wonder, therefore, that he should bring his servants into situations which, though try- ing to them, are calculated to draw forth these pleasant Iruits. In discoursing upon this temptation of Abraham, I shall deviate from my usual practice of expounding verse by verse ; and shall notice the trial itself — the con- duct of the patriarch nnder it — the reward conferred upon him — and the general de- sign of the whole. First, with respect to the trial itself The osition, and his posterity, the Edomites, always cherished a most cruel and bloody anti[)alhy against Israel. In allusion to this, when the ene- mies of the church are punished, they are not only represented as Edomites, but God is described as giving them as it were blood for blood. " Who is this that com- eth from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah 1 — Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people there was none with me : for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprink- led upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment." Jacob, on the other hand, supplanted his brother in the aflair of the birth-right, as we shall see presently. As his having hold of his brother's heel seem- ed as if he would have drawn him back from the liirth, and have been before him, so his mind in after life apjicared to aspire after the blessing of the first-born, and never to have rested till he had obtain- ed it. As they grew up they discovered a dif- ferent turn of mind. Esau was the expert huntsman, quite a man of the field j but Jacob was simple-hearted, preferring the more gentle employment of rearing and tending cattle. The partiality of Isaac towards Esau, on account of his venison, seems to have been a weakness rather un- worthy of him : that of Rebecca towards Jacob appears to have been better founded; her preference was more directed by the prophecies which had gone before of him, choosing him whom the Lord had chosen. Ver. 29 — 34. In process of liuie, a cir- cumstance arose in the family which in its consequences was very serious. Jacob was one day boiling some pottage, per- haps for his dinner ; for he lived mostly upon herbs. Just then came in Esau from hunting, very fainl and hungry, and had a great mind to Jacob's pottage. Its very color, corresponding with his sanguinary disposition, seemed to take his fancy ; on which account he was called Edom, a name commonly api)lie(i to his posterity, and of similar import with that which was at first given to him. There seems, at first sight, to be something ungenerous in Ja- cob's availing himself of his brother's hun- ger in the manner he did ; but, if there were, however it (nay reflect dishonor upon him, it reflects none upon the event. God often brings his purposes to pass l)y means which on man's part are far from justifia- ble. The reformation was a great and good work, and we may wish to vindicate every measure which contributed to it, but that is more than we can do. God's thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor his ways as our ways. It will be found that " he is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works ;" but this is more than can be said of his best servants, in any age of the world. A close inspection of this affair, however, will convince us that, whether Jacob was right as to the means he used or not, his motives were good, and those of Esau were evil. Observe, par- ticularly. 1. The birthright attached to seniority. 2. It ordinarily consisted in the excellence of dignity, the excellence of power, and a double portion. — Genesis xiix. 3 ; Deut. xxi. 17. 3. These privi- leges of the first-born were in several in- stances forfeited by the misconduct of the parties ; as in the case of Cain, Reu- ben, &c. 4. There was in the family of Abraham a peculiar blessing, which was su|)posed to be attached to the birthright, though God in several instances put it in- to another direction. This blessing was princij ally spiritual and distant, having respect to the setting up of God's king- dom, to the birth of the Messiah, or, in other words, to all those great things in- cluded in the covenant with Abraham. This was well understood l>y the family : both Esau and Jacob must have often heard their parents converse about it. II the birthright that was bought at this time had consisted in any temporal advantages of dignity, authority, or property to be en- joyed in the life-time of the parties, Esau would not have made so light of it as he did, calling it this birthright, and intima- ting that he should soon die, and then it 800 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. would be of no use to him.* It is a fact, too, that Jacob had none of the ordinary advantages of the birthright during his life-time. Instead of a double portion, he was sent out of the family with only a staff in his hand, leaving Esau to possess the whole of his father's substance. And when, more than twenty years afterwards, he returned to Canaan, he made no scru- ple to ascribe to his brother the excel- lence of dignity, and the excellence of power, calling him My Lord Esuu, and acknowledging himself as his servant. — The truth is,lhe question between them was, which should be heir to the blessings promised in the covenant with Abraham. This Jacob desired, and Esau despised ; and in despising blessings of so sacred a nature, and that for a morsel of meat, he was guilty of profaneness. The spirit of his language was, "I cannot live upon promises : give me something to eat and drink, for to-morrow I die. Such is the spirit of unbelief in every age ; and thus it is that poor deluded souls continue to despise things distant and heavenly, and prefer to them the momentary gratifica- tions of flesli and sense. From the v/hole, we may j)erceive in this case a doctrine which runs through the Scriptures; namely, that, while the salvation of those that are saved is alto- gether of grace, the destruction of those that are lost will be found to be of them- selves. From what is recorded of Jacob, he certainly had nothing to boast of; nei- ther had Esau any thing to complain of. He lost the blessing, but not without hav- ing first despised it. Tiius when the apostle had asserted the doctrine of elec- tion, and grounded it upon God's absolute right to have mercy on whom he would have mercy, he nevertheless proceeds to ascribe the cause of the overthrow of them that perish merely to themselves. " But Israel, which Ibllowed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore 1 Be- cause they sought it not by faith ; but as it were by the works of the law : for they stumbled at the slumliling-slone." I am aware that when we preach in this man- ner many are ready to accuse us of incon- sistency. " You preach the doctrine of election," say they; "but before you hive done you destroy your own work, by telling the unconverted that if they perish, the fault will lie at their own door." * He could not menu surely that lie should then die of hunger, unles.s he iile of llie poitai^e; for that is sraicely eonceivalile, while he had full access to all the provision in Isaac's house; bat that in a lit- tle time he shonlil he dead ; and theji of whut account would these fine promises be to him 1 We answer it is enough for us to teach, what the Scriptures teach. If we cannot conceive how the purposes of God are to be reconciled with the agency and accoun- tableness of man, let us be content to be ignorant of it. The Scriptures teach both ; and true wisdom will not aspire to be wise obove what is written. DISCOURSE XXXV. ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. Gen. xxvi. We saw Abraham in a great variety of situations, l)y means of which sometimes his excellences and sometimes his failings became the more consjiicuoiis. Isaac has hitherto been but little tried, and there- fore his character is but little known. In this chapter, however, we shall see him roused from his retirement, and brought into situations in which, if there be some things to lament, there will be many to admire. Ver. 1 — 6. We now see him in afflic- tion, by reason of "a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham." There seem to have been more famines in the times of the pa- triarchs tiian usual ; which must not only be afflictive to them in common with their neighlxirs, l)ut tend more than a little to try their faith. Every such season must |irove a temjitation to think lightly of the land of promise. Unbelief would say, " It is a land that eateth up the inhabit- ants :" it is not worthy waiting for. But faith will conclude that he who hath prom- ised to give it is able to bless it. Thus Abraham believed, and therefore took every thing jjatiently ; and thus if is with Isaac. He first went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. His father Abraham had found kind treatment there about a hundred years before, and there was a covenant of peace between them. It seems, however, as if he had thought of going as far as Egypt; but the Lord appeared to him at Gerar, and admonish- ed him to put himself under his direction, and go no where without it. " Dwell," saith he, " in the land that I shall tell thee of: sojourn in this land, and 1 will be with thee, and I will bless thee." In times of trouble we are apt to cast, and fore- cast, what we shall do : but God merci- fully checks our anxiety, and teaches us, by such dispensations, in all our ways to ackno wedge him. To satisfy Isaac that he should never want a guide, or a provi- der; the Lord renews to him the promises ISAAC ANU AltlMI-LKCH. SOI Vv>iich had been to his father Ahraliarn. Hud he met with nothing to drive him from his retreat by the well of" Laliai-roi, he fnight have enjoyed more quiet ; hut he might not have heen indulged with such great and precious promises. Times of affliction, thougli disagreealde to the flesh, have often proved our hcst limes. Two things are observable in this sol- emn renewal of the covenant witli Isaac. 1. The good things promised. The sum of these blessings is, the land of Canaan, -a numerous jirogeny, and, what is the greatest of all, the Messiah, in whom the nations should be blessed. On these pre- cious promises Isaac is to live. God pro- vided him with bread in the day of fam- ine ; but he lived not on bread only, but on the words which j>roceeded from tlie mouth of God. It was in reference to such words as these that Moses said imto Hobab, " We are journeyin<; to the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you : come thou wiih us, and we will do thee good ; for the Lord hath spoken good con- cerning Israel." 2. Their being given for Abraham's sake : " Because that Abra- ham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." We are expressly informed in ■vvhat manner this patriarch was accepted of God, namely, as " believing on him who justifieth the ungodly' ;" and this ac- counts for the acceptance of his works. The most spiritual sacrifices, being offer- ed bj- a sinful creature, can no otherwise be acceptable to God than by Jesus Christ ; for, as President Edwards justly remarks, *' It does not consist with the honor ol the majesty of the King of heaven and earth to accejit of any thing from a condemn- ed malefactor, condemned by the justice of his own holy law, till that condemnation be removed." But, a sinner being ac- cepted as believing in Jesus, his works also are accepted for his sake, and become rewardable. It was in this way, and not of works, that Aliraham's obedience was honored with so great a reward. The blessings here promised are called the mer- cy to Abraham. — Mic. vii. 20. Hence we perceive the fallacy of an objection to the New-testament doctrine of our being forgiven and blessed in Christ's natne, and for his sake ; that this is no more than was true of Lrael, who were blessed and often forgiven for the sake of Abraham. "Instead of this fact making against the doctrine in question," says a late judicious writer," it makes for it ; for it is clear from hence that it is not accounted an improper or unsuitable thing, in the divine adminis- tration, to confer favors on individuals, and even nations, out of respect tn the pieiij of another to whom they stood related. But, VOL. I. 101 if this principle be admitted, the salvation of sinners out of respect to llie obedience and suffering-s of Christ, cannot be ol)ject- ed to as unr -asonable. To this may be added that every degree of divine respect to tiic obedience of the ))atriarchs was in fact no other than respect to the oliedi- ence of Christ, in whom they believed, and through whom their obedience, like ours, became accej)table. The light of the moon, which is derived from its look- ing as it were on the lace of the sun, is no other than the light of the sun itself redected. But il it be becoming the wis- dom of God to reward the righteousness of his servants, and that many ages after their decease, so highly (which was only borrowed lustre), much more may he re- ward tiic righteousness of his Son, from which it originated, in the salvation of those that l)elieve in him."* Tiie renewal of these great and pre- cious promises to Isaac in a time of famine would preserve him from the fear of per- ishing, and be more than a balance to pres- ent inconveniences. It is not unusual for our heavenly Father to make up the loss of sensible enjoy'ments by increasing those of faith. We need not mind where Ave sojourn, nor what we endure, if the Lord be with us and help vs. When Joseph was sold into a strange land, and unjustly cast into prison, it was reckoned a suffi- cient antidote to add, " But the Lord was with Joseph." Ver. 6 — n. After so extraordinary a manifestation of the Lord's goodness to Isaac, we might have supposed he would have dwelt securely and happily in Gcrar : but great mercies arc often tbllowed with great temptations. The abundance of rev- elations given to Paul were succeeded by a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet hitn. It is said of our Lord himself, after the heavens were opened, and the most singular testimony had been borne to him at Jordan, " Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be templed of the devil." Heavenly en- joyments are given to us in this world, not merely to comfort us under present troubles, but to arm us against future dan- gers ; and happy is il for us if they be so ijnprovcd. Isaac had generally lived in solitude; but now he is called into company, and company becomes a snare. " The men of the place asked him of his wife." These questions excited his apprehen- sions, and put him upon measures of self- preservation that involved him in sin. Ob- serve, 1. He did not sin by thrusting him- self into the way of le.mplation ; for be * Williaras's Letters to Bel^hiim, pp. 156 — 158, 802 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. was necessitated and directed of God to go to Gerar. Even tiie calls of necessity and duty may, if we be not on our \vatch, prove ensnaring; and, if so, what must those situations be in which we have no call to be found 1 2. The temptation of Isaac is the same as that which had over- come his father, and that in two instances. This rendered his conduct the greater sin. The falls of them that have gone before us are so many rocks on which others have split; and the recording of them is like placing buoys over them, for the security of future mariners. 3. It was a tempta- tion that arose from the benuly of Rebec- ca. There is a vanity which attaches to all earthly good. Beauty has often been a snare, both to those who possess it and to others. In this case, as in that of Abra- ham, it put Isaac upon unjustifittble meas- ures for the preservation of his own liie ; measures that might have exposed his companion to that which would have been worse than death. Man soon falls into mis- chief when he sets up to be his own guide. And now we see, what we are grieved to see, a great and good man let down be- fore heathens, and reproved by them for his dissimulation. He had continued at Gerar a long time uninterrupted, which sufficiently showed that his fears were groundless ; yet he continued to keep up the deception, till the king observed from his window some freedoms he took with Rebecca, from which he inferred that she was his wife. The conduct of Abiraelech on this occasion was as worthy of a king as that of Isaac had been unworthy of a servant of God. Ver. 12 — 17. Things being thus far rectified, we see Isaac engaged in the primitive employment of husbandry ; and the Lord blessed him and increased him, so that he became the envy of the Philis- tines. Here again we see how vanity at- taches to every earthly good : prosperity begets envy, and from envy proceeds in- jury. The wells, which Abraham's ser- vants had digged, Isaac considered as his own, and made use of them for his flocks; but the Philistines, out of envy to him, "stopped them up and filled them with earth." Had they drank of them it might have been excused ; but to stop them up was downright wickedness, and a gross violation of the treaty of peace which had been made between a former Abimelech and Abraham. The issue was, the king, perceiving the temper of his people, en- treated Isaac quietly to depart. The rea- son he gave for it, that he luas much mighl- ier than they, might be partly to apologize for his people's jealousy, and partly to soften his spirit by a compliment. If Isaac was so great as was suggested, he might, instead of removing at their re^ quest, have disputed it with them ; he might have alleged the covenant made with his father, the improvement of his lands, &c. But he was a peaceable man; and therefore, without making words, re- moved to the valley of Gerar, either be- yond the borders of Abimelech's territory, or at least farther off from the metropo- lis. A little with peace and quietness, is better than much with envy and contention. Ver. 18 — 22. Isaac, though removed to another part of the country, yet finds " wells of water which had been digged in the days of Abraham his father," and which the Philistines had stopped up after his death. It seems, wherever Abrahara went, he improved the country ; and, wherever the Philistines followed him, their study was to mar his improvements, and that for no other end than the pleas- ure of doing mischief. Isaac, however, is resolved to open these wells again. Their waters would be doubly sweet to him for their having been first tasted by his beloved father; and, *i show his filial affection still more, he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. Many of our enjoyments, both civil and religious, are the sweeter for being the fruits of the labor of our fa- thers ; and, if they have been corrupted by adversaries since their days, we inus-t restore them to their former purity. Isaac's servants also digged " new wells," which occasioned new strife. While we avail ourselves of the labors of our forefathers, we ought not to rest in them w ithout mak- ing farther progress, even though it ex- pose us to many unpleasant disputes. En- vy and strife may be expected to follow those whose researches are really bene- ficial, provided they go a step beyond their forefathers. But let them not be discour- aged : the wells of salvation are worth sitriving for ; and, after a few conflicts, they may enjoy the fruits of their labors in peace. Isaac's servants dug two wells, which, from the bitter strife they occasion- ed, were called Esek and Sitnah, conten- tion and hatred; but, peaceably removing from these scenes of wrangle, he at length digged a well for which " they strove not." This he called Rehobolh, saying, "Now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." Ver. 23—25. The famine being now over, Isaac returned to Beersheba, the place where he and his father had lived many years before. It may seem strange, after God had made room for him at Re- hobolh, that the next news we hear is that he takes leave of it. This however might be at some distance of time, and Bcershe- ba was lo him a kind of home. Here, iSAAC AND AUIMF.LV.CII. 80.'i Ihc very first nisrlit lie ariivecl, the Lord appearoil to liiiii, jnol^alily in vision, 5ay- ing, '• I am tiie Goil ol" Abraham tliy la- tiicr ; Tear not, lor I am witii tliee, and will bless thee, ami miilti|»iy thy seed, for my servant Alnaliam's sake." Isaac was at- tached to the wells which his father had diiiged, and to tiie place where he had so- journed ; and doubtless it would add en- dearment to the very name of Jehovah hipnelf, that he was the God of Abraham, especially as it would remind him of the covenant which he had made with him. A self-righteous spirit would have been offended at the idea of being blessed for another's sake ; but he who walked in the steps of his father's faith would enjoy it ; and, by how much he loved him for whose sake the blessing was bestowed, by so much would this enjoyment be the greater. The promises are the same for substance as were made to him on his going to Ge- rar. The same trutlis are new to us un- der new circumstances, and in new situa- tions. To express the grateful sense he had of the divine goodness, he arose and " built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord : '' and now , the very place being rendered doubly dear to him, "there he pitched his tent, and there his servants digged a well." Temporal mercies are sweetened by their contiguity to God's altars, and by their being given us after we have first sought the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Ver. 26 — 31. One would not have ex- pected after driving him, in a manner, out of their country, that ihe Philislines would have had any thing more to say to him. Abimelech, however, and some of his courtiers pay him a visit. They were not easy when he was with them, and now they seem hardly satisfied when he has left them. I believe they were afraid of his growing power, and, conscious that they had treated him unkindly, wished for their own sakes to adjust these differences before they proceeded any farther. Isaac, while they acted as enemies, bore it pa- tiently, as a part of his lot in an evil world ; but now they want to be thought friends, and to renew covenant with him, he feels keenly and speaks his mind. " Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you 1" We can bear that from an avowed adversary which we cannot bear from one in habits of friendship. " It was not an enemy that reproached me ; then I could have borne it." To this they answer, " We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee." Had they any regard, then, for Isaac's God, or for him on that ac- count ? I fear they had not : they feel however a regard to themselves, and a kind of respect for Isaac, which is very commonly seen in men of no religion to- wards them that fear the Lord. We do not blame them for wishing to be on good terms with such a man as Isaac ; but they should not have pretended to have "done unto him nothing but good," when they must know , and he must have felt, the con- trary. But this is the very character of a self-righteous heart, when seeking recon- ciliation with God as well as with man. It palliates its sin, and desires peace in re- turn for its good deeds, when in fact its deeds are evil. Isaac, being of a peacea- l)le spirit, admitted their plea, though a poor one, and treated them generously. Next morning they arose; and, having solemnly renewed covenant with each oth- er, parted in peace. Ver. 32, 33. The same day in which Abimelech and his courtiers took leave, the news came out of the field that Isaac's servants had discovered a well. It is the same well as they are said in tiie 25th verse to have digged; only there the thing is mentioned without respect to the time. Here we are told that the news of the dis- covery of the well arrived immediately after the mutual oath which had been ta- ken between Isaac and Abimelech, and he for a memorial of the event called it Shc- ba, an oath ; and a city being afterwards built on the spot, was hence, it seems, call- ed Beersheba, the well of the oath. In- deed this name had been given it by Abra- ham above a hundred years before, and that on a similar occasion; but what was now done would serve to confirm it. Ver. 34, 35. The Lord had promised io multiply Isaac's seed ; and they are mul- tiplied in the person of Esau ; howbeit not to the increase of comfort either in him or in Rebecca. Esau went into the prac- tice of polygamy, and took both his wives from among the Canaanites. Whether he went into their idolatrous customs we are not told, nor whether they lived in the father's family. However this might be, their ungodly, and some think undutiful behavior, was a grief of mind to their aged parents. Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife when she bare no children ; and, now that they have children grown up, one of them occasions much bitterness of spirit ; this indeed is not uncommon. Such an issue of things in this instance would tend to turn away the hopes of Isaac from seeing the accomplishment of Abraham's covenant in the person of his first-born son, to whom he appears to have been inordinately attached. By other in- stances of tiie kind, God teaches us to he- ware of excessive anxiety after earthly comforts, and in receiving them to re^ joice with trembling. 804 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. DISCOURSE XXXVI. Jacob's ortaining the blessing. Gen. xxvii. Before we entered on the history of Isaac, we met with some painful events re- specting the departure of Ishmael ; but, in the introduction to the history of Jacob, we find things much more painful. In the former instance, we found him that was rejected a mocker; but in this we see in the heir of promise a supplanter. This deviation from rectitude, though it changes not the divine purpose, but, on tiie contra- ry, is overruled for its accomplishment, yet sows the seed of much evil in the life of the offender. Isaac retained his place in the family ; but Jacob was obliged to depart from it. When the former was of age to be married, an honorable embassy was sent to bring it about : but the latter is necessitated to go by himself, as one that had just escaped with his life. There is a deep mystery in the system of provi- dence, and much eventual good brought out of great evils. Ver. 1 — 4. Isaac was now about a hun- dred and thirty-seven years of age, and " his eyes were dim, so that he could not see." He therefore called Esau his eld- est son, and said, " Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death — take I pray thee thy weapons — and go out to the field, and take me some venison ; and make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die." Isaac lived forty- three years after this ; but, as it was un- known to him, he did very properly in set- tling his affairs. The day of our death is concealed from us for the very purpose that we may be always ready; and when life is upon the wane, especially, it becomes us to do what we do quickly. The above account, however, does not appear greatly to his honor. His partiality towards Esau would seem to imply a disregard to what had been revealed to Rebecca ; and his fondness for the venison has the appear- ance of weakness. But, passing this, there are two questions which require an answer — Wherein con- sisted the blessing which was now about to be bestowed] and why was savory meat required, in order to the bestowment of it 1 Respecting the first, I might refer to what has been said on the birthright. — Ch. xxv. 29 — 34. There was, no doubt, a common blessing to be expected from such a father as Isaac on all his children, and a special one on his first-born ; but in this family there was a blessing superior to both. It included all those great things contained in the covenant with Abraham, by which his })osterity were to be distinguished as God's peculiar people. Hence that which Isaac did is said to have been done in faith, and was prophetic of "things to come." — Heb. xi. 20. The faith of \his good man was however, at first, much interrupted by natural attachment. Desirous of con- ferring the blessing on Esau, he gives him directions as to the manner of receivingit. And here occurs the second question, Why was savory meat required in order to the bestowment of the blessing 1 The design of it seems to have been, not merely to strengthen animal nature, but to enkindle affection. Isaac is said to have loved Esau on account of his venison (ch. xxv. 23); this therefore would tend, as he supposed, to revive tliat affection, and so enable him to bless him with all his heart. It seems, however, to have been but a carnal kind of introduction to so divine an act; partaking more of the flesh than of the Spirit, and savoring rather of that natural affection, under the influence of which he at present acted, than of the faith of a son of Abra- ham. Ver. 5 — 10. Rebecca, overhearing this charge of Isaac to his son Esau, takes measures to direct the blessing into anoth- er channel. This is a mysterious affair. It was just that Esau should lose the bless- ing, for liy selling his birthright he had despised it. It was God's design too that Jacob should have it. Rebecca also knowing of this design, from its having been revealed to her that the elder should serve the younger, appears to have acted from a good motive. But the scheme which she formed to correct the error of her husband was far from being justifiable. It was one of those crooked measures which have too often been adopted to ac- complish the divine promises ; as if the end would justify, or at least excuse, the means. Tlius Sarah acted in giving Ha- gar to Abraham ; and thus many others have acted, under the idea of being useful in promoting the cause of Christ. The answer to all such things is that which God addressed to Abraham : "I am Go0 Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect." The deception practised on Isaac was cruel. If he be in the wrong, endeavor to convince him ; or commit the affair to God, who could turn his mind, as he afterwards did that of Jacob, when blessing Ephraim and Manasseh : but do not avail yourself of his loss of sight to deceive him. Such would have been the counsel of wisdom and rectitude : but Re- becca follows her own. Ver. 11—13. We ought not to load Ja- JACOB S OBTAlNIi^G THE HLESSi:^G. 805 cob with more of the euill of lliis trans- action tluin belongs to him. He was not first in the transirression. His leoiini^s re- volted at it when it was proposed to him. He remonstrated ajrainst it. Consideiinfi tot) that it was against the advice, or rath- er the command, of a parent, sucii remon- strance would seem to l-^o far towards ex- cusini^ him. But no earthly authority can justify us in disregardin;.; the authority of God. Moreover, the remonstrance itself is founded merely on the co7ise(juenres of the evil, and not on the evil itself. What a difference between this reasoning and that of his son Joseph I " I shall bring, a curse upon me," said he, "and not a blessing." '• How can I do this great wickedness," said the other, "and sin against God ]" The resoluteness of Re- becca is affecting. " Upon me be thy curse, my son : only oliey my voice." Surely she must have presumed upon the divine promi.se, w hich is a dangerous thing: our Lord considered it as templing God. — Matt. iv. 7. Those who do evil under an idea of serving God, commonly go to the greatest lengths. It was in this track that the Lord met Saul in his way to Da- mascus. Ver. 14 — 17. If Jacob's remonstrance had arisen from an aversion to the evil, he would not so readily have yielded to his mother as he did : but, to resist tempta- tion with merely the calculation of conse- quences, is doing nothing. Rebecca takes the consequence upon herself, and then he has no more to ol)ject, but does as she in- structs him. She also perlorms her part; and thus between them the scheme is ex- ecuted. What labor and contrivance are required to dissemble the truth and carry on a bad cause ! Uprightness needs no such circuitous measures. Ver. 18 — 24. Jacob now enters upon the business. And first, with all the arti- fice of his mother, she cannot guard him at all points. He is obliged to speak, and he could not counterfeit his brother's voice. " My father," said he: the pa- triarch starts "Who art thou, my son 1 " It was the voice of one of his sons, but not of him whom he expected. And now what can Jacob answer] He must either confess the deception, or per- sist in it at all events. He chooses the latter. One sin makes way for another, and in a manner impels us to commit it : "Jacob said, I am Esau thy first-born — I have done according as thou badest me — Arise, I pray thee, sit, and eat of my ven- ison, that thy soul may V)less me." Isaac, still suspicious, inquires how he came so soon. The answer intimates that by a special interposition of his father's God he had met with early success ! It is not easy to conceive of any thing more wicked than this. It was bad enough to deal in so many known falsehoods : but to bring in the Lord God of his father, in order to give them ti>e appearance of truth, was much worse, and what we should not have ex|)ected but from one of the worst of men. Tiicre is somethin-j: about falsehood which though it may silence, yet will not ordinarily satisfy. Isaac is yet suspicious, and tiicrcfore desires to feel his hands ; and here the deception answered. The hands, he thinks, are Esau's ; but still it is mysterious, for the voice is Jacob's. Were it not for some such things as these we might o erlook the wisdom and good- ness of God in affording us so many marks by which to detect imposture, and distin- guish man from man.. Of all the multitudes of faces, voices, and figures in the world, no two are perfectly alike : and, if one sense fail us, the others are frequently improved. Such was the strength of Isaac's doubts, that he would not be sat- isfied without directly asking him again, "Art thou my very son Esau T' and re- ceiving for answer " I am." After this he seems to have thought that it must be Esau, and therefore proceeded to bless him. The adversaries of revelation may make the most they can of these narraiions : evil as was tlie conduct of Jacoi) and of Rebecca, the history of it contains the strongest internal evidence that it is written by inspiration of God. Had it been a cunningly devised fable, it would have been the business of the writer to have thrown the faults of this his great ancestor into the shade : but the Scrip- tures do not profess to describe perfect characters : they represent men and things as they were. We feel for the imposition practised on Isaac; and yet it was no doubt a chastisement to him for his ill- placed partiality for Esau, on grounds so unworthy of him, and to the disregarding of what God had revealed concerning them. Ver. •25— -29. It was of the Lord that Jacob should have the blessing, notwith- standing the unwarrantable means he had used to obtain it. In pronouncing it, Isaac was supernaturally directed ; other- wise it would not liave corresponded with what afterwards actually befel his poster- ity, which it manifestly does; nor would he have felt himself unable to revoke it. It is observalile, however, that tiie bless- ing is expressed in very general terms. No mention is made of those distinguish- ing mercies included in the covenant with Abraham; and this might be owing to his having Esau in his mind, though it was Jacob who was before hira. He could 806 EXP0SIT10?f OF GENESII. not be ignorant how that young man had despised these things, and this iniglit be a check to his mind wliiie he thought he was blessing him. Moreover, his attachment to Esau, to the disregard of the mind of God, must have greatly weakened and injured his own faith in these things : it might therefore lie expected that the Lord would cause a comparative leanness to attend his blessing, corresponding with the slate of his mind. Ver. 30—33. Jacob had scarcely left the room when Esau, returning front the chase, enters it, and presents his father ■with his. venison. This at once discovers the imposition. Isaac is greatly affected by it. At first, when he heard his voice, he was confounded: "Who art thoul" And when he perceived that it was in- deed his first-born son, Esau, he " trem- bled very exceedingly," and said, " Who, where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before thou earnest, and have blessed him "? " Such a shock must have been more than he knew how to sustain. To ascertain the sensations of which it was composed, we must place ourselves in his situation. As an aged and afflicted man, the imposition which had been practised on him would excite his indignation. Yet a moment's reflection would convince him that the transfer of the blessing must have been of the Lord; and, consequently, that he had all along been acting against his will in seeking to have it otherwise. Two such considerations rushing upon his mind in the same instant sufficiently account for all his feelings : it was to him like a place where two seas met, or as the union of subterraneous fires and waters, the com- motion of which causeth the earth to tremble. It must have appeared to him as a strong measure, permitted of God for his correction ; and that he had thus caused him to do that against his choice which should have been done with it. Viewing it in this light, and knowing the blessing to be irrevocable, he, like a good man, acquiesced in the will of God, say- ing, "Yea, and he shall be blessed." Ver. 34 — 40. The very exceeding trem- bling of Isaac is now followed by "a great and exceeding bitter cry " on the part of Esau. Nothing he had ever met with seems to have affected hitn like it. Bat how is it that he who made so light of the birthright, as to part with it for a morsel of meat, should now make so much of the blessing connected with it 1 It was not that he desired to be a servant of the Lord, or that his posterity should be his people, according to the tenor of Abra- ham's covenant ; but, as he that should be possessed of these distinctions would in other respects be superior to his broth- er, it became an object of emulation. Thus we have often seen religion set at nought, while yet the advantages which accompany it have been earnestly de- sired ; and where grace has in a manner crossed hands, by favoring a younger or inferior branch of a family, envy, and its train of malignant passions, have frequent- ly blazed on the other side. It was not as the father of the holy nation, but as being "lord over his brethren," that Ja- cob was the object of Esau's envy. And this may farther account for the blessing of Isaac on the former dwelling princi- pally upon temporal adoantages, as design- ed of God to cut off the vain hopes of the latter of enjoying the power attached to the blessing, while he despised the bless- ing itself. When Esau perceived that Jacob must be lilessed, he entreated to be blessed also: " Bless me, even me also, O my iather ! " One sees in this language just that partial conviction of there being something in religion, mixed with a large portion of ignorance, which it is common to see in persons who have been brought up in a religious family, and yet are strangers to the God of their fathers. If this earnest I'equest had extended only to what was consistent with Jacob's having the pre- eminence, there loas another blessing for him, and he had it : but though he had no desire after the best part of Jacob's por- tion, yet he was very earnest to have had that clause of it reversed, "Be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee." If this could have been granted him, he had been satisfied ; for " the fatness of the earth " was all he cared for. But this was an object con- cerning which, as the apostle observes, " he found no place of repentance " (that is, in the mind of his father), " though he sought it carefully with tears." Such will be the case with fornicators, and all profane persons, who, like Esau, for a few momentary gratifications in the present life, make light of Christ, and the bless- ings of the gospel. They will cry with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, saying, " Lord, Lord, open unto us ! " But they will find no place of repentance in the mind of the Judge, who will answer them, " I know you not whence ye are : depart from me, ye workers of iniquity." Esau's reflections on his brother for having twice sup})lanted him were not altogether without ground : yet his state- ment is exaggerated. It was not accurate to say, " He took away my birthright," as though he had robbed him of it, seeing he himself had so despised it as to part with it for a morsel of meat : and, having JACOB 5 DEPARTURE FUOM IJ E E It S 11 F.r A. S07 tlone so, whatever miglil be said ol' Jacoli's coiuiuft in the sight of" God, lie had no reason to coniphiin. Ver. 41. Esau obtained, as \vn have seen, a blessing, and sonic relief on the score of sul jcction ; yet, l.ccause he could not gain his point, but the posterity of Ja- cob must needs ha\e the ascendancy, there is nothing left lor him 1 ut to " hale him (or the blessing whereuilh his lather blessed him." He was not ijinorant of Isaac's partiality : he must iherelore have known that ii was not o\\ing to him, nor even to Jacob's suiitilty, that the first do- minion was given him. He must have perceived, from what his father had said, that the thing was of the Lord, and there- fore could not be reversed. Hence it appears that the hatred of Esau was of the same nature w ilii that of Cain to Abel, and ot Saul to David ; and operated in the same way : it was directed against him principally on account of his having been an object whom the Lord had favored, isuch also was tlie motive of hatred w hich, in after ages, subsisted in the Edomites against Israel. As nothing could comibrt Esau but the hope ol murder, so nothing could satisfy his posterity I'ut to see Je- rusalem razed to its foundations. Isaac had talked of dying, and Esau thought to be sure the lime was not far distant; and then, during the days of mourning for his father, he hoped for an opportunity of murdering his brother. He might think also that it was best to suppress his re- sentment till the poor old man was dead, and then it would not be a grief to him. The most cruel designs of wicked men may be mixed with a partiality lor those who have been partial to them. Ver. 42 — 45. Esau, it seems, liad not only said in his heart I will slay my brother, but had put his thought into words, probably before some of the ser- vants. The hint, however, was carried to Rebecca, and she clearly foresaw what was to be expected. She therefore sent for Jacob, and told him of his brother's design, counselling him at the same time to go to her relations at Haran, and tarry there awhile, till Esau's anger should have subsided. The reason which she urges to enforce her counsel is very strong : " Why should I be deprived of you both in one day 1 " Had Esau's purpose succeeded, the murderer, as well as the murdered, had been lost to her. We see here the liilter fruits which Rebecca begins to reap from her crooked polit y : she must part with her favorite son to preserve his life, and will never see him again in this world, though slie thinks of sending in a little time to fetch him luiiie. Ver. 46. By the manner in which things are here related, it apjtears that Isaac was so infirm as to lia\e lost all the power of management, and that the whole in a man- ner devolved on Rebecca. She advises Jacob what to do: it is expedient, if not necessary, however, before he takes his departure, to obtain his father's concur- rence. She does not choose to tell her husband the true reason of her wishes, as that was a tender point, and might lead to a sul>ject which she might think it bet- ter to pass over in silence; but, knowing that he as well as herself had been grieved wilh Esau's wives (chap. \xv. '.in), she judges that the most likely means of suc- cess would be a jtroposal lor Jacob to go to Haran (or the purpose of taking a wife from among their relations in that coun- try. She does not i)r()pose it, however, directly, but merely exjiresses her strong disapprobation of his following the exam- |)le o( his brother, leaving it to Isaac to men- tion positively wiiat should be done. And this, her a[)parent modesty, answered the end, as we shall see in the tbllowingcliapter.. DISCOURSE XXXVII. Jacob's departure from beersheba. Gen. xxviii. Ver. 1 — 4. The hint which Rebecca had dro|i|)ed against Jacob's taking a wife from among the daughters of Helh quite fell in with Isaac's mind ; and, knowing that there was but one place for him to go to on such an errand, he determines with- out delay to send him thither. The ac- count here given of his calling, blessing, and charging him, is very much to his honor. The first of these terms implies his reconciliation to him; the second, his satisfaction in what had been done liefore without design ; and the last, his concern that he siioiild act in a manner worthy of the blessing which he had received. How differently do things issue in different minds ! Esau, as well as Isaac, was ex- ceedingly affected by what had lately oc- curred : but the bitter cry of the one is- sued in a settled hatred, while the trem- bling of the other brought him to a right mind. He had been thinkin'jr matters over ever since, and the more he thouL'-ht of them the more satisfied he was that it was the will of God, and that all his private parlialilies should give jdace to if. One sees in what he now does that his heart is in it. He not only ilesses him, but invokes the blessing of Almighty God to alleiul him : " God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee. 808 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. that thou inayest be a multitude of people ; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to tliee, and to thy seed with thee, that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abra- ham." Who does not perceive the dif- ference between this blessing and the for- mer 1 In that he was thinking of one per- son and blessing another : in this he un- derstands what he is about. Then his mind was straitened by carnal attach- ment: now it is enlarged by faith. The rich promises of Abraham's covenant seem there to have been almost forgot- ten ; but here they are expressly named, and dwelt upon with delight. Of what importance is it for our minds to keep one with God's mind ; and what a difference it makes in the discharge of duty ! We may pray, or preach, after a manner, while it is otherwise; and God may pre- serve us from uttering gross error: but what we deliver will be miserably flat and defective in comparison of what it is when a right spirit is renewed within us. Ver. 5 — 9. The departure of Jacob was attended by many painful and humiliating circumstances, as well it might ; for these are the necessary consequences of sin. The parting scene to Isaac was tender ; but Jacob and his mother must have felt something more than tenderness. As to Esau, it is not likely that he was present. He was near enough, however, to eye his motions, and by some means to make him- self acquainted with every thing that pass- ed. Probably he expected more supplant- ing schemes were (brming, and longed for the time when a lair opportunity should offer for his being revenged on the sup- planter. But when he found that his fa- ther had iilessed him, and charged him not to take a wife of the daughters ol Ca- naan, and that he had olieyed his voice, and was gone to Padan-aram, it seems to have wrought in a way that we should scarcely have expected. Finding himself left in the possession of all the substance of the family, and Jacob out of his way, he thinks he has now only to please his father, and, notwithstanding the loss of his birthright and blessing, all will be his. And now, to accomplish his end, he care- fully notices the means by which Jacob succeeded in pleasing his parents. One great advantage which he had gained over him, as he perceived by his father's charge, was in reference to marriage. He had obeyed the voice of his father and his mother, and was gone to take a wife from the family of Bethuel. I will take anoth- er wife then, said Esau to himself, if that will please them ; and, as they seem at- tached to their relations, it shall be from among them. Moreover, as Jacob, who is his mother's favorite, intends tj; his love tx) Raciiel. Aware that he had no dowry, like his father Isaac, he could not well have asked her, luit for such an opportunity as this being all'orded him. It was humiliating, however, to be thus in a manner ot>liged to earn his wife before he could have her. This is twice afterward relerrcd to in the Scriptures, as an instance of his low condition. It was a part of the confession required to be made by every Israelite, when he present- ed his basket of first-lruits before the Lord. " A Syrian, rcaJi/ to perish, was tny father ! " And when, in the days of Hosea, they were grown haughty, the prophet reminds them that " Jacob Jled into the country of Syria, and Israel serv- ed for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep." Half the generosity which Lal>an's words «eem to express would have given Jacob the object of his choice, without making him wait seven years for her. It was very proper for the one to offer it ; but it was mean and selfish for the other to ac- cept it. If he had really esteemed his daughters, and on this account set a high value on them, he would not afterwards have imposed two, where only one was desired. But his own private interest was all he studied. In his sister Rebecca's marriage there were presents of gold and silver, and costly raiment, besides an as- surance of the Lord having greatl}^ bless- ed the family, and that Isaac was to be the heir. These were things which wrought much on Laban's mind. He could then say, " Behold, Rebecca is be- fore thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife." But here are none of these moving inducements. Here is a man, it is true, and he talks of promised blessings : but he is poor, and Laban cannot live upon promises. He perceives that Abraham's descendants are partial to his family, and he is resolved to make his niarket of it. The sight of the very flocks of Laban, as being his mother's brother, interested Jacob's heart ; but he would soon find that Laban will make him pay for his attachments. Such, however, was the love he bore to Rachel that he took all in good part, and consented to serve seven years for her. Xay, such was the strength of his affection, that " they seemed unto him but a few days." Some would suppose that love must operate in a contrary way, cavsing the time to ap- pear long rather than short ; and there- fore conclude that what is here spoken is expressive of what it appeared tchen it was past ; but the phraseology seems rath- er to denote what it appeared nt ttie time. The truth seems to be this : when there is nothing to obstruct a unioti, love is impatient of delay ; but, when great diffi- culties interpose, it stimulates to a patient and resolute course of action, in order to surmount them. Where the object is highly valued, we think little of the la- bor and expense of obtaining it. "Love endureth all things." Ver. 21 — 24. At the expiration of the time Jacob demanded his wife, and prep- aration is jnade accordingly for the mar- riage. Laban, like some in their gifts to God, is not wanting in ceremony. He made a feast, gave his daughter a handmaid, and went through all the forms; but the gift itself was a deception : it was not Rachel, but Leah, that was jirescnted. It seems somewhat extraordinary that Jacob should be capable of being tlius imposed upon. Perhaps the veil which was then worn by a woman on her marriage might contribute to his not perceiving her. It was a cruel business on the part of Laban ; yet Jacob might see in it the punishment of his having imposed upon his father. In such a way God often deals with men, causing them to reap the bitter fruits of sin, even when they have lamented and forsaken it. " When thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee." Ver. 25 — 30. Jacob, perceiving by the light of the morning, how he had been de- ceived, remonstrated ; but it was to no purpose. The answer of Laban was friv- olous. If the custom of the country was as he alleged, he ought to have said so from the first : but it is manifest that he wanted to dispose of both his daughters in a way that might turn to his own advan- tage. Hence he adds, " Fulfil her week, and I will give thee this also." These words would seem to intimate that he had seven years longer to stay for Rachel ; but this does not agree with other facts. Jacob was twenty years in Haran — ch. xxxi. 41. At the end of fourteen years Joseph was born. At which time Rachel had been a wife, without bearing any chil- dren, for several years — xxx. 22 — 2-5. The two marriages therefore must have been within a week of each other; and the meaning of Laban's words must be. Fulfil the seven days' feasting for Leah, and then thou shalt have Rachel, and shalt serve me seven years after the marriage on her account. — With this perfectly agrees what is said in ver. 30, in which he is said to have gone in also unto Rachel, denoting that it was soon after his having gone in unto Leah ; and in which the seven years' 812 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. service is spoken of as following his mar- riage to her. This proposal on the part of Lahan was as void of principle as any thing could well be. His first agreement was ungenerous, his breach of it unjust; and now to extort seven years' more la- bor, or withhold the object agreed for, was sordid in the extreme. Jacob had no desire for more wives than one : yet as polygamy was at that time tolerated, and as the marriage had been consummated, though ignorantly, with Leah, he could not well put her away : yet neither could he think of foregoing Rachel. So he ac- ceded to the terms, notwithstanding t eir injustice, and was married also to Rachel ; and Bilhah was given to her for a hand- maid. But it was to him a sore trial, and that which laid the foundation of innumer- able discords in his family, of which the succeeding history of it abounds. The fol- lowing prohibition to Israel seems to have been occasioned by this unhappy example in their great ancestor : "Thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, besides the other, in her life-time." Ver. 31—35. That Leah, who was never the object of Jacob's choice, and who must have had a share in the late imposition, should be hated in compari- son of Rachel, is no more than might be expected : yet it is worthy of notice how God balances the good and ill of the pres- ent life. Leah is slighted in comjiarison of Rachel : but God gives childien to her, while he withholds them from the other; and children, in a family whose chief blessing consisted in a promised seed, were greatly accounted of. The names given to the children were ex|)res- sive of their mother's state of mind ; part- ly as to her affliction for want of an in- terest in her husband's heart, and partly, we hope, as to her piety, in viewing the hand of God in all that befel iier. Four children were born other successively; namely, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Ju- dah : and thus God was pleased to put more abundant honor upon the part that lacked. The name of the last of these children, though given him by hi? mother merely under an emotion of thankfulness, yet was not a little suited to the royal tribe, whence also the Messiah should descend. Of this his father was made ac- quainted by revelation when he blessed his sons. "Judah," said he, "thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise — the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gath- ering of the people be ! " One sees, in the conductof both Jacob and Leah, i;ndcr their afflictions, a portion of that patience which arose from a con- sciousness of their having brought thera upon themselves. Tbey were each buf- feted in this manner for their faults ; and, being so, tliere was less of praiseworthi- ness in their faking it patiently. Yet, when compared with some others, who, in all their troubles, are as bullocks unaccus- tomed to the yoke, we see what is worthy of imitation. DISCOURSE XXXIX. JACOB IN HAR.\N. Gen. XXX. ; xxxi. 1 — 16. Though every part of Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profit- able for various purposes, yet I conceive it is no disparagement from its real value to say that every j)articular passage in it is not suited for a public exposition. On this ground I shall pass over the thirtieth chapter, with only two or three general re- marks. First : The domestic discords, envies, and jealousies, between Jacob's wives, serve to teach us the wisdom and goodness of the Christian law, that every man liave his own wife, as well as every woman her own husband. No reflecting person can read this chapter without being disgusted with polygamy, and thankful for that dis- pensation which has restored the original law of nature, and, v\'ith it, true conjugal felicity. Secondly: Though the strifes and jeal- ousies of Jacob's wives were digusting, yet we are not to attribute their desire of children, or the measures which it put them upon for obtaining tiiem, to mere carnal motives. Had it been so, there is no reason to believe that the inspired wri- ter would have condescended to narrate them. " It would," as an able writer ob- serves, " have been below the dignity of such a sacred history as this is to relate such things, if there had not been some- tiiing of great consideration in them." The truth appears to be, they were influ- enced by the promises of God to Aiira- ham ; on whose posterity were entailed the richest blessings, and from whom the Messiah was, in the fulness of time, to descend. It was the belief of these prom- ises that rendered every pious female in those times emulous of being a mother. Hence also both Leah and Rachel are rep- resented as praying to God for this honor, and, when children were given them, as acknowledging the favor to have proceed- edf-rom him.— Ver. 17, 18, 22. JAtOC IN HARAX. 815 Thirdly : Tlie measure which Jacob took to obtain llie best of the cattle would at (irst sight a|i|iear to be scllisli and disin- genuous ; and il vieued as a mere liunian device, o|>erating accordinji to the estab- lished laws of nature, it would lie so : but such it was not. As, when unbelievers object to the curse of Noah upon his son that il was the mere ellect of revenge, we answer, Let them curse those who dis- please them, and see whether any such ef- fects will (bllow; so, if they object to the conduct of Jacob as a crafty device, ive inigiit answer. Let them make use of the same, if they be ai)Ic. I believe it will not be pretended that any other |)erson has since made the like experiment with success. Il must therefore have 1 een by a special direction of God thai he acted as he did. — xxxi. 10 — 12. And this will acquit him of seKishness, in the same manner as the divine command to the Isra- elites to borrow of the Egyptians acquits them of fraud. Both were extraordinary interpositions in bclialf of the injured; a kind of divine refirisal, in which justice was executed on a broad scale. And as the Egyptians could not complain of the Israelites, for that they had freely lent or rather given them their jewels, without any expectation of receiving them again;* so neitlier could Laltan complain of Jacol), for that he had nothing more than it was freely agreed he should have ; nor was he on the whole injured, but greatly benefit- ■ed by Jacob's services. Chap. xxxi. 1, 2. It is time for Jacob to depart ; for though Laban has acknow I- edged, in the hope of detaining him, that the Lord had blessed him for his sake, yet there is at this time much envy and evil- mindedness at work in the family against him, overlooking all their gains, and dwell- ing only upon his. Mercenary characters are not contented to prosper with others, but think much of every thing that goes teside themselves. If a poor tenant or a servant thrive under them, they will soon be heard murmuring, " He hath taken away all that was ours, and of that which was ours hath he gotten all this glory." If Laban's sons only had murmured thus, Jacob might have borne it; but their fa- ther was of the same mind, and carried it 4hus unkindly towards him. He had been very willing to part with his daughters, more so indeed than he ought to have been ; but Jacob's increase of cattle under him touches him in a lender part. Ver. 3. The Lord liad promised to lie with Jacob, and to keep him in all places whither he went ; and he makes good * Tlie Hebrew woid -)^^ often signifies merely to ask. — Ps. il. 8, his promise. Like a watchful friend at his ri'^ht hand, he observes his treat- ment, and warns him to depart. If Jacob had renio\ed Irom mere personal resent- ment, or as stimulated only I y a sense of injury, he might have siimed against God, though not against Laban. But when il was said to him, " Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to ihy kindred, and I will be with thee," his way was plain be- fore him. In all our removals, it becomes us so to act as that we may hope for the divine |)rcsence and blessing to attend us ; else, though wc may (lee Irom one trouble, we shall fall into many, and be less able to endure th^ni. Ver. -1 — 13. And now, being warned of God to de[)art, he sends for his wives into the field, where he might converse with them freely on the subject, without danger of being overheard. Had they been servants, it had been sufiicienl to have imparled to them his will; but, be- ing wives, they require a different treat- ment. There is an authority which Scrip- lure and nature give to the man over the woman ; but every one who deserves the name of a man will exercise it with a gen- tleness and kindnoss that sliall render it pleasant rather tlian burdensome. He w ill consult with her as a iriend, and sat- isfy her by giving the reasons ol his con- duct. Thus did Jacob to both his wives, who, by s ch kind conduct, forgot the dif- ferences between thcmsehes, and cheer- fully cast in their lot with him. The reasons assigned for leaving were partly the treatment of Laban, and j)artly the intimations from God. "1 see your father's countenance," says he, " that it is not toward me as before." It is wisely ordered thai the countenance shall, in most cases, be an index to the heart; else there would 1)6 inucii more deception in the world than there is. VVe gather more of men's disposition towards us from looks than from words ; and domestic happiness is more influenced by the one than liy the other. Sullen silence is often less toler- able than contention itself, because the latter, jiainful as it is, afl'ords opportunity for mutual explanation. But, while Ja- cob had to complain of Laban's cloudy coiintenance, he could add, "The God of my father hath been with me." God's smiles are the best support under man's frowns: if we walk in the light of his countenance, we need not fear what man can do unto us. He then appeals to his wives, as to the faithfulness and diligence with which he had served their lather, and the deceitful treatment he had met with in return. " Ye know that with all my power I have served your father; and 814 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times." Next lie alleges the good hand of his God upon hitn, tliat he had not suffered him to hurt him; but, in whatever form his wages were to be, had caused things in the end to turn to his account; and that the purport of this was revealed to him by a dream before it came to pass, in which he saw the cattle in those colors whicii were to distinguish them as his hire. Moreover, that he had very late- ly had another dream, '^ in which the An- gel of God directed him to observe the lact as accomplished, of which he had be- fore received only a pre-intimation ; and accounted for it, saying, "I have seen all that Lallan doeth unto thee." In alleging these things in his defence, Jacob said, in effect, " If your father's cattle have of late lieen given to me, it is not my doing, but God's, who hath seen my wrongs, and redressed them." Finally: he alleges, as the grand reason of his departure, the command of God. The same Angel who had directed him fo oi)serve the accom- plishment of his former dream, at the same time added, "I am the God of Beth- el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and vowedst a vow unto me : now arise, get thee out of this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred." Let us pause, and observe with attention this important passage. " I am the God of Bethel !" Such words could never have been uttered by a created angel ; nor does the appearing in the form of an an- gel, or messenger, accord with the Scrip- ture account of God the Father: it must therefore have been the Son of God, whose frequent appearances to tlie patriarchs af- forded a prelude to his incarnation. Paul, speaking of Christ in his incarnate charac- ter, says, that, "being in the form of God, he thought it not rol>bery to be equal with God." But fo what does the apostle re- fer] When or where had he appeared equal with God] In such instances as these, no doubt ; wherein he constantly spoke of himself, and was spoken fo by his servants, as God; and in a manner which evinces that he accounted it no usurpation of that which did not belong to him. " I am the God of Bethel !" When at Bethel, the Lord said, "I am Jehovah, God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac." He might have said the same now ; but it was his pleasute to direct the * I am aware that tlie dreams in verses 10, 11, are generally con.-iiderecl as one and the same. IJut those who tlius consider them are not only obliged to inter- pret those as one which the text represents as two, bnt wliat is said by the angel in the 12th and 13th verses as two speeches, which manifestly appears to be one. attention of his servant to the last and to him the most interesting of his manifest- ations. By gi\ing him hold of the last link in the chain, he would be in possession of the whole. The God of Bethel was the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac; the God who had entered into covenant with the former, had renewed it with the latter, and again renewed if with him. What satisfaction must it afford to be di- rected by such a God ! It is also observalile that, in directing Jacob's thoughts to the vision at Bethel, the Lord reminds him of those solemn acts of his own l)y which he had at that time devoted himself fo him. " I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and vowedst a vow unto me." It is not only necessary that we be reminded of God's promises for our support in troubles, but of our own soleinn engagements, that the same affections which distinguished the best seasons of our life may be re- newed, and that in all our movements we may keep in view the end for which we live. The object of the vow was that Jefiovah should be his God; and, when- ever he should return, that that stone shoxild be God's house. And, now that the Lord commands him to return, he reminds him of his vow. He must not go to Canaan with a view to promote his own temporal interest, but to introduce the knowledge and worship of the true God. This was the great end which Je- hovah had in view in all that he did for Abraham's posterity, and they must never lose sight of it. Ver. 14 — 16. Jacob, having given the reasons for his proposed departure, paus- ed. The women, without any hesitation, acquiesce, intimating that there was noth- ing in their father's house that should in- duce them to wish to stay in if. It is grievous to see the ties of nature dissolved in a manner by a series of selfish actions. I am not sure that Rachel and Leah were clear of this spirit towards their father : their words imply that they were suffi- ciently on their own side. Yet the com- plaints which they make of him were but too well founded. The sordid bargain which he had made with Jacob, exacting fourteen years' labor from him as the price of his daughters, appears to have stung them at the time ; and, now that an oppor- tunity offers, they speak their minds with- out reserve. They felt that they had been treated more like slaves than daughters, and that he had not consulted their happi- ness any more than their husband's, but merely his own interest. Moreover, they accuse him of having devoured all their money. Instead of providing for them as daughters, which the law of nature re- JACOB S DKPARTURK FROM IIAUAX. 315 quired ("2 Cor. xii. 14), he seems to liave contrived to get all tliul private money wliith it is coimiiDii to allow a son or a daughter wiiile residing with their parents into his haiuls, and had ke|)t thecn in a manniM' pennyless. Hence they allege that all the riches which had heen taken trom him and given to tlieir hushand were theirs and their children's in right ; and that God, knowing their injuries, h.ul done this to redress ihem. Uj)on the whole, their mind is that Jacob should go, and they will go with him. We have seen some tilings in the history of these women which has induced us to hope well of them, notwithstanding their many failings : hut tliough in this case it was their duty to comply with the desire of their hushand, and lo own the hand of God in what had taken place between their father and him; yet there is something in Iheir manner of expressing themselves that looks more like the spirit of the world than the spirit which is of God. A right spirit would have taught them to re- member thai Laban, whatever was his conduct, was still their lather. They might have felt it impossible to vindicate him ; but they should not have ex|)atiated on his faults in such a manner as to take pleasure in exposing them. Such conduct was but too much like that of Ham to- wards his father. And as to their acknow I- edging, the hand of God in giving their father's riches to their husband, this is no more than is often seen in the most selfish characters, who can easily admire the di- vine providence when it goes in their fa- vor. The ease, however, with which all men can discern what is just and equitable towards themselves renders the love of ourselves a proper standard for the love of others, and will, sooner or later, stop the mouth of every sinner. Even those who have no written revelation have this di- vine law engraven on their consciences : they can judge with the nicest accuracy what is justice to them, and therefore cannot plead ignorance of what is justice from them to others. DISCOURSE XL. Jacob's departure from haran. Gen. x\xi. 17 — 55. Ver. 17 — 21. Jaool) having consulted with his wives, and obtained their consent, the next step was to prepare for their de- parture. Had Laban known it, there is reason to fear he would either have detain- ed him by force, or at least have deprived him of a part of his property. He must therefore, if possible, depart without his knowl dge. At that time Laban was three days' journey from home, at a sheep- shearing. Jacob, taking advantage of this, ed'ected his escape. The women, returning from t!ie field, collected tlieir matters together in a little time; and, be- ing all ready, Jacob rose up, set his fam- ily upon the camels, and, with all his sub- stance, set otr for his father's house in the land of Canaan. Being apjjrehensive that Laban would |)ursue him, he passed over the Eupiuates, and hastened on his way towards mount Gilead. I do not know that we can justly blame Jacob for this his sudden and secret de- parture : but, when we read of Rachel's availing herself of her father's absence to steal his images, a scene of iniquity opens to our view ! What, then, is the family of Nahor, who left the idolatrous Chal- dees — the family to which Abraham and Isaac repaired, in marrying their children, to the rejection of the idolatrous Canaan- ites — is this family itself become idola- ters'? It is even so. But is Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, not only capable of stealing, but of stealing images 1 Some, reluctant to entertain such an o[)inion ol her, have sujiposed she might take them away to prevent their ill elTects on her father's familv : but subsequent events are far from justifying such a supposition. It is a fact that these teraphim aiterwards proved a snare to Jacob's family, and that he could not go up to Bethel till he had cleansed his house of them. — Ch. XXXV. 1 — 3. But had the family of La- ban cast otr the acknowledgment of Je- hovah, the one true God ] This does not appear, for they make frecpicnt mention of him. Both Rachel and Leah, on the birth of their children, were full of appar- ently devout acknowledgments of him ; and we were willing, thence, to entertain a hope in favor of their piety. Lal)an also, notwithstanding his keeping these images in his house, could aiterwards in- voke Jehovah to watch between him and Jacob. — ver. 49. The truth seems to be, they were like some in after times, who swure by the Lord and by J^Ialcham (Zeph. i. .5); and others in our times, who are neither cold nor hot, but seem to wish to serve both God and mammon. The tera- j)him that Rachel stole were not public idols, set up in tem|)les for worship; but, as some think, little images of them, a kind of household gods Laban's family would probably have been ashamed of publicly accom|)anying the heathen to the w orship of their gods ; but they could 81G EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. keep images of them in their house, which implies a superstitious respect, it' not a private homage paid to them. This dividing of matters between the true God and idols has in all ages been a great source of corruption. A little be- fore the death of Joshua, when Israel be- gan to degenerate, it was in this way. Thev did not openly renounce the ac- knowledgment of Jehovah, but kept im- ages of the idols in the countries round about them in their houses. Of this the venerable man was aware ; and therefore, when they declared, saying, "We will serve Jehovah, for he is our God," he an- swered, "Ye cannot serve Jehovah, for he is a holy God, he is a jealous God : he will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins." And when they replied, "Nay, but we will serve Jehovah," he an- swered, " Put away the strange gods that are among you :" as if he should say, "You cannot serve God and your idols : if Jehovah be God, follow hin) ; but if Baal, follow him." What is Popery 1 It does n.'it profess to renounce the true God ; but aliounds in images of Ciirist and de- parted saints. What is the religion of great numbers among Protestants, and even Protestant Dissenters "? They will ac- knowledge the true God in words : but their hearts and houses are the abodos of spiritual idolatry. When a man, like La- l)an, gives himself up to covetousness, he has no room for God or true religion. The world is liis god ; and he has only to re- side among gross idolaters in order to be one, or at least a favorer of their abominations. Ver. 22—30. The news of Jacob's ab- rupt departure was soon carried to Laban, who, collecting all his force, immediately pursued him. It was seven days, howev- er, ere he came up with him. Without doubt, he meditated mischief. He would talk of his regard to his children, and grandchildren, and how much he was hurt in being prevented from taking leave of them : but that which lay nearest his heart was the substance which Jacob had taken with him. This, I conceive, he meant !)}■ some means to recover. And, if he had by persuasion or force induced the family to return, it. had been only for the sake of this. But, the night liefbre he overtook Jacob, God appeared to him in a dream, and warned him not only against doing him harm, but even against "speaking to him (!hat is, on the subject of returning to Haran) either good or bad." From this time his spirit was manifestly over- awed, and his heart was smitten as with a palsy. Overtaking Jacob at mount Gil- ead, he begins with him in rather a lofty tone, but faulters as he proceeds, dwelling upon the same charges over and over again. " What hast thou done, said he, " that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword 1 Where- fore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away froiii me "? and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret and with harp ] and hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters'! thou hast now done foolishly in so doing." In all this he means to insinuate that Jacob had no cause to leave him on account of any thing he had done ; that where there was so much secrecy there must be something dishonorable ; and that, in pursuing him, he was only moved by affection to his children. He adds, " It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt : but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, ' Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or had.' " With- out doubt Lallan's company was much more [)owerful than that of Jacob, and he meant to impress this idea upon him, that his forbearance might appear to be the effect of generosity; nay, it is possible he might think he acted very religiously, in paying so much deference to the warning^ voice of his God. He concludes by ad- ding, " And now, though thou wouldst needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house ; yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods ? " The man- ner in which he accounts for his desire to lie gone has an appearance of candor and sympathy ; but the design was to insinuate that it was not on account of any ill treat- ment he had received from him, and per- haps to give an edge to the heavy charge with which his speech is concluded. It wa.> cutting to be accused of theft ; more so of having slolen what he abhorred ; and, for the charge to be preferred by a man who wished to make every possible allow- ance, would render it more cutting still. Jacob felt it, and all his other accusations, as his answers sufficiently indicate. Ver. 31, 32. With respect to the- reiterated complaints of the secrecy of his departure, Jacob answers all in a few words: It was " because I was afraid: for I said, peradventure thou wouldst take by force thy daughters from me." This was admitting his power, but impeaching his justice : and, as he had dwelt only upon the taking away of his daughters, so Jacob in answer confines himself to them. Lahan might feel for the loss of some- thing else besides his daughters ; and Ja- cob, when he left Haran, might be afraid for something else: but, as the charge respected only them, it was sufficient that the answer corresponded to it. If by Jacob's depauturk from haran. 817 uilhholding tho women lie could have de- tained hitn and his substance, his ibrnier conduct proved that he would not liave been to be trusted. With respect to the gods, Jacol)'s answer is expressive of the strongest indignation. He will not deign to disown the charge ; but desires that all his company might be searched, saying, *' With whomsoever Ihou findcst thy gods let him not live!" It was worthy of an upright man to feel indignant at the charge ol stealing, and o( a servant of God at that of stealing idols. But, unless he had been as well assured of the innocence of all about him as he was of his own, he ought not to have spoken as he did. His words might have proved a sorer trial to him than he was aware of. Though Lat)an had not expressly charg- ed him wilii fraud in any thing except the gods ; yet, having dwelt so much upon the privacy of his departure as to intimate a general sus|iicion, Jacob answers also in a general way, "Before our brethren, dis- cern thou what is thine with mc, and take it to thee." It was unpleasant to be thus pursued, accused, and searched; but it was all well. But for this, his upright- ness would have appeared in a more sus- picious light. Ver. 33 — 42. Laban accepts the offer, and now begins to search. Going from tent to tent, he hopes to find at least his gods. Rachel's policy, however, eludes his vigi- lance : " He searched, but found not the images." No mention is made of his go- ing among the cattle, which proves he had no suspicion of being wronged in respect of them. During the search, Jacob look- ed on and said nothing ; but, when noth- ing was found that could justify the hea- vy charges which had been preferred against him, his spirit was provoked. "He was wroth, and chode with Laban." Hard words and cutting interrogations follow. " What is my trespass 1 what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me 1 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy house- hold stuff! Set it here before my breth- ren, and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both." He goes on, and takes a review of his whole conduct to- wards him for twenty years past, and proves that he had been very hardly dealt with, summing up his answer in these very emphatic terms : " Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had been with me," notwith- standing all thy talk of sending me away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp, " surely thou hadst sent me away now empty : God hath seen mine affliction, and the labor of mine hands, and rebuked thee yesternight." Laban made VOL. I. 103 a merit of obeying the dream ; but Jacob im|)roves it into an evidence of his evil design, for which God had rebuked him, and pleaded the cause of the injured. Ver. -13 — 53. Laban, whose spirit was checked l>eforc he began, was now con- founded. He cpiite gives up the cause, and wishes to make up matters as well as he can. He cannot help j)refacing his wish, however, with a portion of vain boasting and atlccted generosity. " These daughters arc my daughters, and these chil- dren are niy children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine : and what can I do tiiis day unto these my daughters or unto their children which they have borne 1" As if he had said, Yes, yes, God hath given you many thing-; ; but remember they were all mine, and you have obtained them under me. Let us have no more disputes, however ; for thougli I am come so far, and possess so great a force, yet how can I find in my heart to hurt my own children! Come, therefore, and let us make a covenant and be good friends. Jacob makes no reply to Laban's boast- ing, but lets it pass : and though he had felt sokeenly, and spoken so warmly, yet he consents to a covenant of peace. An- ger may rise in the breast of a wise man ; but it resteth only in the bosom of fools. He said nothing, but expressed his mind by actions. He first " took a stone and set it up for a pillar ;" then said to his brethren, " Gather stones ; and they took stones, and made a heap, and did eat to- gether," in token of reconciliation, upon it. This done, Laban called it Jegar- sahadutha, and Jacob Galeed : the one was the Syriac and the other the Hebrew word for the same thing; that is, the heap oj witness. It was also called Miz- pah, a beacon, or watch-tower. The mean- ing of these names, in reference to the present case, is explained by Laban, as being the elder man, and the leading par- ty in the covenant. " This heap," said he, " is a witness between me and thee this day. Jehovah wakA between me and thee, when we are absent one from anoth- er. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives besides my daughters, no man is with us : see, God is witness betwixt me and thee." To this he added, " Behold this heap, and behold tills pillar — this heap be witness, and this jiillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father judge betwixt us." To this covenant Ja- cob fully assented, and sware by the fear of his father Isaac ; that is, by the God whom Isaac feared. 818 EXPOSITION OF GEKESI5. We are surprised to hear a man who On observing the place from which Ha- had been seven days in pursuit ol' certain laam, the son of Beor, is said to have been stolen gods speak so much, and in so sol- sent for, to curse Israel, namely, Pethor, emn a manner, about Jehovah : but wick- of Mesopotamia (Deut. xxiii. 4), or Aram ed men will, on some occasions, utter ex- (Num. xxiii. 7), or, as it is frequently cellent words. After all, he could not called, Padan-aram, and that it is the help manifesting his attachment to idola- same with that in which Laban dwelt, I try. When speaking to Jacob of Jehovah, have been inclined to think he might be he calls him " the God of your father," in one of his descendants. He is supposed a manner as if he was not not his God ; to have lived about two hundred and eigh- and, in swearing to the solemn covenant ty years after Jacob's departure from that which had been made between them, he country, which in those ages Would not does not appear to have invoked Jehovah include above two or, three generations, as the only true God. It is very observa- The opinion of ancient Jewish writers, ble that though he makes mention of " the though often fabulous, yet, when agreeing God of Abraham," yet it is in connection with what is otherwise probable, may with iVa/ior and their father, that is, Te- serve to strengthen it. "The Targum of rah : but when Abraham was with Nahor Jonathan on Numb. xxii. 5, and the Tar- and Terah they were idolaters. To this gum on 1 Chron. i. 44, make Balaam to purpose we read in Joshua: " Thus saith be Laban himself: and others say he was the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers the son of Beor, the son of Laban."* The dwelt on the other side of tiie flood in old former of these opinions, though in itself time, even Terah the father of Abraham, utterly incredible, yet may so far be true and the father of Nahor; and they serv- as to hit upon the family from which he ed other gods." The God of Abraham, descended; and the latter, allowing per- and Nahor, and Terah, therefore, were haps for a defect of one generation, ap- words capable of a very ill construction, pears to me to be highly probable. Add Nor does Jacob appear to be ignorant of to this, that the teraphim, or images, which Laban's design in thus referring to their Laban kept in his house, and which he early ancestors; and therefore, that he would doubtless replace on his return, are might bear an unequivocal testimony supposed to be a sort of " talisman ;" they against all idolatry, even that of Abraham " were consulted as oracles, and in high in his younger years, he would swear only esteem with the Chaldeans and Syrians, a by " the fear of his father Isaac," who had people given to astrology, and by which never worshipped any other than the true they made their divinations. — Hos. iii. 4; God. It were worth while for those who Zech. x. 2."t According to this, Balaam, plead for antiquity as a mark of the true the soothsayer, would only tread in the church to consider that herein they fol- steps of his ancestor* ; not utterly disown- low the example of Laban and not ofJa- ing Jehovah, but being devoted to the cob. abominations of the heathen. Ver. 54, 55. Laban had professed his If the above remarks be just, they show, regret that [he had 'not an opportunity to in a strong point of light, the progress of enjoy a day of feasting and of mirth at apostasy and corruption. Laban imitated parting with his children. Such a parting the corruptions of his ancestors, some of would hardly have been seemly, even in a whom were good men; and his descend- family which had no fear of God before ants degenerated still more. Thus you their eyes. Jacob, however, makes a re- will often see a man who has descended ligious feast, previously to the departure fvom religious parents, but whose heart is of his father-in-law. " He offered sacri- entirely taken up with the world : he keeps fices upon the mount Galeed, and called up the forms of godliness though he de- his brethren," that is the whole company, nies the power, and mixes with them all *' to eat bread : and they did eat bread, the evil that he can rake up from the ex- and tarried all night in the mount. And amples of his forefathers, and considera- early in the morning Laban rose up, and ble additions of his own. The next gen- kissed his sons and his daughters, and eration degenerates still more, having less blessed them : and Laban departed, and of the form of religion, and more confor- returned unto his place." This parting mity to the world. The third throws off proved final. We hear no more of Laban, both the form and the power, retaining no nor of the family of Nahor. They might vestige of the religion of their ancestors, for several ages retain some knowledge of excepting a few speculative notions, learnt Jehovah'; but, mixing with it the super- from a few old books and sayings, which stitions of the country, they would in the end sink into gross idolatry, and be lost * See Gill on Num. xxii. 5. fimong the heathens. t Gill on Gen. xxxi. 19. JACOB S FEAR OF F.SAU. S19 have no other inrtiionce upon tlieni tlian to enable them to l)e more wicked than their neighbors, by sinning against somewliat of superior liglit. How important is it for good men to act in cliaracter in their fam- ilies, inasmuch as every evil which they practise will he re-acted and increased by their carnal posterity I DISCOURSE XLI. Jacob's fear of esau — his wrestling WITH THE AKGEL. Gen. xxxii. Ver. 1, 2. The sacred writer, pursu- ing the history of Jacob, informs us that he went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And wlien he saw them, he said, " This is God's host : and he called the name of that place Maliana- im." That the angels of God are " min- istering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," is a truth clearly revealed in the Scrip- tures : hut this their ministry has seldom been rendered visible to mortals. "The angel of Jehovah," it is said, "encamp- eth round al)out them that fear him, and delivereth them." But I do not recollect that any of tiiese celestial guardians have appeared in this character to tlic servants of God, excei)t in times of imminent dan- ger. When a host of Syrians encompass- ed Dothan, in order to take Elisha, his servant was alarmed, and exclaimed, — "Alas! master, how shall we do V The prophet exclaimed, " Fear not : for they that be with us are more than they that l)e with them." Yet there was no earth- ly force to protect them. But when, in answer to the prophet's prayer, " the young man's eyes were opened, he saw the mwuntain full of horses, and chariots of (ire round about Elislia." In this case, God's host became visible, to allay the fear of man's hosts. Thus it was also in the present instance. Jacob had just escaped one host of enemies, and another is com- ing forth to meet him. At this juncture God's host makes its appearance, teach- ing him to whom he owed his late escape, and that he who had delivered, did deliv- er, and he might safely trust would deliv- er him. The angels which appeared on this occasion are called God's host, in the singular : but, by the name which Ja- cob gave to the place, it appears that they were divided into two, encompassing him as it were before and behind ; and this would correspond with the two hosts of adversaries which at the same time, and w ith almost the same violent designs, were coming against him ; the one had already been sent back \vilhout striking a l)low, and the other should be the same. This, however, was not expressly revealed to Jacob, l>ut merely a general encourage- ment afforded him ; for it was not the de- sign of God to supersede other means, but to save him in the use of them. Ver. 3 — 5. Jacol) has as yet heard no- thing of his brotiier Esau, except that he had settled " in the land of Seir, the coun- try of Edom : but knowing what had for- merly taken place, and the temper of the man, he is apprehensive of consequences. He therefore resolves on sending messen- gers before him, in order to sound Jiim, and, if possii)le, to ajjpeasc his anger. — These messengers are instructed what they shall say, and how they shall con- duct themselves on their arrival, all in a way to conciliate. " Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau ; Tiiy servant Jacob saith thus : I have sojourned with Laban, and staid there until now. And I have oxen, and asses, Hocks, and men-servants, and women-servants ; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight." Observe,!. He declines the hon- or of precedency given him in the bless- ing, calling Esau his Lord. Isaac had said to him, " Be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee ;" but Jacob either understood it of spiritual ascendency, or, if of temporal, as referring to his posterity rather than to him. He therefore declines all disputes on that head. 2. He would have him know that he was not come to claim the double portion, nor even to divide with him his father's inheritance ; for that God had given him plenty of this world's goods without it. Now, as these were the things which had so greatly provoked Esau, a re- linquishment of ihem would tend more than any thing to conciliate him. Ver. 6 — 12. Thc'messengers had not pro- ceeded far ere they met Esau coming forth to meet his lirother Jacol), and four hundred men with him. It would seem, by the ac- count, that tiiey went and delivered their message to him. But, however that was, they appear to have been struck with the idea that he was coining with a hostile design, and therefore quickly re- turned and informed their master of par- ticulars. We are surprised that Jacob's journey, which had taken him only about a fortnight, and had been conducted with so much secrecy, should yet have been known to Esau. His thirst for revenge must have prompted him to great vigilance. One would think ho had formed connec- tions with persons who lived in the way, and engaged them to give him information 820 EXrOSlTION OF GENESIS. of the first movements of his brother. However this was, Jacob teas greatly a- fraid, and even distressed. This term with us is sometimes ligiitly applied to the state of mind produced by ordinary trou- bles; but in the Scriptures it denotes a sore strait, from which there seems to be no way of escape. This distress would probably be heightened by the recollection of his sin, which first excited the resent- ment of Esau. There is no time, however, to be lost. But what can he do 1 Well, let us take notice what a good man will do in a time of distress, that we may as occa- sion requires follow his example. First: He uses all possible precaution, "divid- ing the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands," saying, "If Esau come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape." Secondly: He betakes himself to prayer; and, as this is one of the scripture exam- ples of successful prayer, we shall do well to take particular notice of it. Observe, 1. He approaches God as the God of his father ; and, as such, a. God in covenant. " O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac! " This was laying hold of the divine faithfulness : it was the prayer of faith. We may not have exact- ly the same plea in our approaches to God ; but we have one that is more endearing, and more prevalent. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is a character which excites more hope, and in which more great and precious promises have been made than in the other. 2. As his own God, pleading what he had promised to him. "Jehovah, who saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee." Jehovah has never made promises to us in the same extraordinary way as he did to Jacob : but whatever he hath promised to believers in general, may be pleaded by every one of them in particular, especially when encountering opposition in the way which he hath directed them to go. 3. While he celebrates the great mercy and truth of God towards him, he acknowl- edges himself univorthy of the least in- stance of either. The worthiness of merii is what every good man, in every circum- stance, must disclaim : but that which he has in view I conceive is that of meetness. Looking back to his own unworthy con- duct, especially that which preceded and occasioned his passing over Jordan with a staff only in his hand, he is affected with the returns of mercy and truth which he had met with from a gracious God. By sin he had reduced himself in a man- ner to nothing ; but God's goodness had made him great. As we desire to succeed in our approaches to God, we must be sure to take low ground ; humbling our- selves in the dust before him, and suing for relief as a matter of mere grace. Finally : having thus prefaced his peti- tion, he now presents it : " Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau ; for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children." This was doubtless the petition of a kind husband and a tender father : it was not as such only, nor principally, however, but as a believer in the promises that he presented it : the great stress of the prayer turns on this hinge. It was as though he had said. If my life, and that of the mother, with the children, be cut off, how are thy promises to be fulfilled 1 Hence he adds, "And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for mul- titude." It is natural for us as husbands and as parents to be importunate with God for the well-being of those who a?« so nearly related to us : but the way to obtain mercy for them is to seek it in sub- ordination to the divine glory. Ver. 13 — 30. Jacob and his company seem now to have been north of the river Jabbok, near to the place where it falls into the Jordan. Here he is said to have " lodged that night." Afterwards we read of his rising up, and sending his company over the ford. — ver. 22. Probably it was during one single night that the whole of what follows in this chapter occurred. The messengers having returned towards evening, he divided his company into two bands, and then committed his cause to God. After this he halted for the night : but whatever sleep might fall to the lot of the children, or rest to the beasts of bur- den, there was but little of either for him. First, he resolves neither to flee nor fight ; but to try the effect of a present. Upwards of five hundred head of cattle were sent off in the night, under the care of his servants; and, to produce the greater ef- fect, they were divided into droves, with a space between drove and drove. Hav- ing sent off the present, he seems to have tried to get a little rest ; but, not being able to sleep, he rose up, and took his whole family, and all that he had, and sent them over the ford of Jabbok. Every servant presenting his drove in the same words, would strike Esau with'amazement. It would seem as if all the riches of the east were coming to him : and every one concluding by announcing his master as coming behind them would work upon his generosity. He expected, it is likely, a host of armed men, and felt resolved to fight it out; but, instead of an army, here JACOB S INTERVIEW UITIl fclSAU. 821 is a present worthy of a prince, and the owner coming -.(rier it \viih all Ihe confi- dence of a friend, and kindness of a brother. Whether he thoufrht it would express more Iriendship, and be better taken, to be at tiie trouliie of crossing the ford in order to meet Esau, than to oblige Esau to cross it in order to meet him, or whatever was his reason, so he acted : and, the family being all over the river, he himself staid behind. Here it was that he met with that ext^raordinary appearance on which he wrestled with the Angel and prevailed. Tiie account is as tbllows : — "And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the break- ing of the day. And, when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said. Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name ^ And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel (that is, a prince of God) ; tor as a prince hast thou pow- er with God and with men, and hast pre- vailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name : and he said. Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name 1 And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel : for I have seen God lace to face, and my life is preserved." On this singular manifestation of God to his servant, we offer the following re- marks : — 1. It does not appear to be a vis- ion, but a literal transaction. A person- age, in the form of a man, really wrestled with him, and permitted him to prevail so farastogain his object. 2. Tliough the form of the struggle was corporeal, yet the essence and object of it was spiritual. An inspired commentator on this wrestling says, " He wept and made supplication to the Angel." That for which he strove was a blessing, and he obtained it. 3. The personage with whom he strove is here called a man, and yet, in seeing him, Jacob said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." Hosea, in reference to his being a messenger of God to Jacob, calls him " the Angel : yet he also de- scribes the patriarch as having " power with God." Upon the whole, there can be no doubt but that it was the same divine personage who appeared to him at Bethel, and at Padan-aram ; who, being ^in the form of God, again thought it no usurpa- tion to appear as God. 4. What is here recorded had relation to Jacob's distress, and may be considered as an answer to his evening supplications. By his power xcith God he had power w.th men. Esau and his hostile company were conquered at Peniel. 5. The change of his name from Jacob to Israel, and the blessing which fol- lowed, signified that he was no longer to be regarded as having obtained it by sup- planting his brother, but as a prince of God, who had wrestled with him lor it and prevailed. It was thus that the Lord par- doned his sin, and wiped away his re- proach. It is oliser\able, too, that this is the name by which his posterity aie after- wards called. Finally : The whole trans- action furnishes an instance of believing, importunate, and successful prayer. As Jacob would not let the Angel go except he blessed hiin ; and as the latter (though to convince him of his power he touched the hollow of his thigh, and put it out of joint), suffered himself to be overcome by him ; so every true Israelite jdeads the promises of God with an importunity that will take no denial, and God is [tleased to sufier himself in this manner to be as it were overcome. Ver. 30 — 32. What a night was this to Jacob! What a difference between what he felt the past evening, on the return of the messenger:}, and what he now ielt ! Well might he wonder and exclaim, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved!" Passing over Peniel, how- ever, to rejoin his family, just as the sun rose upon him, Ae halted upon his thigh. This would be a memorial to him of his own weakness, as well as of the power and goodness of God, who, instead of touch- ing a single part, might, as he intimated, have taken away his life. The law which afterwards prevailed in Israel, of not eat- ing of the sinew wfiich shrank, might be of divine origin, as it corresponds with the genius of the ceremonial economy. DISCOURSE XLII. Jacob's interview with esau, A^'I) ARRIVAL IN CANAAN. Gen. xxxiii. Ver. 1 — 4. No sooner had Jacob pass- ed over the ford of Jabbok, and rejoined his family, but, lifting up his eyes, he saw his brother a[)pr()aching hini, and four hundred men with him. He has just time before he comes up, to arrange his family, placing the children with their res|ective mothers, and those last for whom he has the tenderest affection. This circumstance shows that though he treated Esau with the fullest confidence, yet he was still 822 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. secretly afraid of him. He must, howev- er, put the best face he can upon it, and go on to meet him. This he does ; and, as he had by his messengers acknowledged him as his lord, so he will do the same by bowing down to him. His object was to satisfy him that he made no claim of that kind of pre-eminence which the other's heart was set upon, but freely gave it up. And this seems to have had the desired effect on Esau's mind ; for though he did not bow in return to his brother, since that had been relinquishing his superiority ; yet "he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him : nor could such an unexpected meeting fail to dissolve both of them in tears ! It is pleasant and affecting to see the bitter heart of Esau thus melted by a kind and yielding conduct. We must not forget that God's hand was in it, who turneth the hearts of men as rivers of water : but nei- ther must we overlook the means by which it was effected. " A soft tongue," saith Solomon, " breaketh the bone." On which our commentator Henry remarks, with his usual pith, "Hard words, we say, break no bones, and therefore we should bear them patiently ; but it seems soft words do, and therefore we should, on all occasions, give them prudently." Treat men as friends, and make them so. Pray but as Jacob did, and be as obliging and condescending as he was, and you will go through the world by it. Ver. 5 — 7. The two brothers having wept over each other, Esau, lifting up his eyes, saw the women and children, and inquired who they were. Jacob's answer is worthy of him. It savors of the fear of God which ruled in his heart, and taught him to acknowledge him even in the ordinary concerns of life. " They are," saith he, " the children which God hath graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also, witli her children, came near and bowed themselves : and after came Joseph near, and Rachel, and they bowed themselves." Had this been done to Jacob, methinks he would have answered, " God be gracious unto you, my children !" But we must take Esau as he is, and re- joice that things are as they are. We have often occasion to be thankful for civilities, where we can find nothing like religion. One cannot help admiring the uniformly good behavior of all Jacob's family. If one of them had failed, it might have un- done all the good which his ingratiating conduct had done : but, to their honor it is recorded, they all acted in unison with bim. When the head of a family does right, and the rest follow his example, every thing goes on well. Ver. 8. But Esau desires to know the meaning of these droves of cattle being sent to him. The answer is, " These are to find grace in the sight of my lord." This would express how high a value he set upon his favor, and liow much he de- sired to be reconciled to him ; and so tended to conciliate. We might, in most cases, purchase peace and good-will from men at a much cheaper rate than this ; a few shillings, nay, often only a few kind words, would do it ; and yet we see, for the want of these, strifes, contentions, law-suits, and I know not what evil treat- ment, even between those Mho ought to love as brethren. But, if the favor of man be thus estimable, how much more that of God ! Yet no worldly substance, nor good deeds of ours, are required as the price of this ; but merely the receiv- ing of it as a free gift, through Him who hath given himself a sacrifice to obtain the consistent exercise of it towards the unworthy. Ver. 9 — 11. The reply of Esau to this obliging answer was, " I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself." There might be in this language pretty much of a high spirit of independence. Whatever effect Jacob's ])resent had upon him, he would not be thought to be influ- enced by any thing of that kind; espe- cially as he had great plenty of his own. Jacob, however, continued to urge it upon him, not as if he thought he needed, but as a token of good-will, and of his desire to be reconciled. He did not indeed make use of this term, nor of any other that might lead to the recollection of their former variance. He did not say that he should consider the acceptance of his present as a proof that he was cordially reconciled to him : but what he did say, though more delicately expressed, was to the same effect. Such I conceive to be the import of the terms, " If now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand." The receiving of a present at another's hand is perhaps one of the greatest proofs of reconciliation. Every one is conscious that he could not receive a present at the hand of an ene- my. And upon this principle no offerings of sinful creatures can be accepted of God, till they are reconciled to him by faith in the atonement of his Son. To find grace in the sight of Esau, and to have his present accepted as a token of it, was the desire of Jacob. To these ends he further assures him how highly his fa- vor was accounted of, and that to have seen his face in the manner he had was to JACOB S INTERVIEW WITH ESAU. 823 him next to seeing the face of God. This was strong language, and doul)tless it was expressive of strong feelings. Reconcili- ation witii those with whom we have long been at variance, especially when it was through our own misconduct, is, as to its effect upon tiic iniiui, next to reconcilia- tion with God. Finally : he entreats him to accept wliat he iiad presented, as his blessing (so a present was called when accompanied with love, or good-will : see Josh. XV. 19; 1 Sam. xxv. 27; 2 Kings V. 15): and tho rather because God had graciously blessed him, and given him enough; nay, more, had given him all things.* Esau on this accepted it; and, as far as we know, the reconciliation was sincere and lasting. Ver. 1"2 — 15. Esau proposes to be go- ing, and to guard his brother and his fam- ily through the country. The proposal was douiitless very friendly and very hon- orable ; and appears to have contained an invitation to Jacob and his family to his house at Seir : iiut Jacob respectfully de- clines it, on account of the feebleness of the cattle, and of the children. There is no reason that I know of for supposing Jacob had any other motive than that which he alleged ; and this is expressive of his gentleness as a shepherd, and his tenderness as a father. There are many persons with whom we may wish to be on good terms, who nevertheless, on account of a difference of character, taste, or man- ners, would be very unsuitable companions for us. Jacob proposes going to Seir alter his arrival ; and this he probably did, though we read not of it. We have no account of his visiting his father Isaac till he had been several years in Canaan; yet, to suppose him capable of such a neglect, were not only injurious to his character, but contrary to what is implied in Debo- rah, one of Isaac's family, being found in his house at the time of her death. — Ch. XXXV. 8. Esau's first proposal being de- clined, he next offers to leave a part of his men as a guard to Jacob's company ; but this also he respectfully declines, on the ground of its being unnecessary ; ad- ding, " Let me find grace in the sight of my lord " — which I conceive was equal to saying, Let me have thy favor, and it is all I desire. Ver. 16 — 20. The two brothers having parted friendly, Esau returns to Seir, and Jacob journeyed to a place east of Jor- dan, where he stopped a while, and built a house for his family, and booths for his cattle. Upon this spot a city was after- * Though Ixiih expips.sions 'are rendered alike,/ have enough, yet they differ in the original: Esau said 2-\ -^ ;y ^ '"'^'c much; but Jacob "73 -^ jy< / have all. R. wards built, and called Succoth; that is, booths, from the circumstance above relat- ed.— Josh. xiii. 27; Judges viii. 5. He did not stop here, however, with a design to abide ; tor he was commanded to return to the land of his kindred, that is, to Canaan, and he was as yet not in Ca- naan : but, finding it a country abounding with rich pasture, he might wish to refresh his herds, and take time for impiiry into a more suitable place for a continued resi- dence. Hence, wlien after this he passed over Jordan, and " came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, in the land of Canaan," it is said to be "when he came from Padan- aram ;" intimating that till then he had not arrived at the end of his journey. Shalem is considered by Ainsworth , and some others, not as the name of a city, but as a term denoting the perarc and safety with which Jacob arrived. Hence they render it, " He came in safety, or in peace, to the city of Shechem." It is an argu- ment in favor of this translation that we have no account of a city called Shalem, near to Shechem. All agree that it could not be the place where Melchizedek reign- ed, as it was forty miles distant from it; and as to that near Enon, where John was baptising (John iii. 23), it was not in the neighborhood of Shechem, but of Jordan. This rendering also gives additional pro- priety and force to the phrase, " When he came from Padan-aram." It is a decla- ration to' the honor of him who had said, " Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land." He arrived in peace at his journey's end, not- withstanding the dangers and difficulties he met with by the way. Shechem, before which Jacob pitched his tent, was a city called after the name of the son of Hamor, its king, of whom we shall presently hear more. It is the same place as that^which in the New-Tes- tament is called Sychar. — John iv. 5. Here he bought " a parcel of a field," that neither he nor his cattle might trespass on the property of others. This field was afterwards taken from him, it should seem, by the Amorites ; and he was under the necessity of recovering it "by his sword and his bow ;" which having ac- complished, he bequeathed it to his son Joseph. I have sometimes thought that this parcel of ground might be designed to exhibit a specimen of the whole land of Canaan. When the Most High divi- ded to the nations their inheritance, he marked out an allotment for the children of Israel (Deut. xxxii. 8): but the Ca- naanites, taking possession of it, were obliged to be dispossessed by the rightful owners, with the sword and with the bow. 824 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. But (hat which requires the most par- ticular notice is, that " he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel ; i. e. Go.l the God of Israel." It was worthy of this great and good man })ublicly to ac- knowledge God, after so many signal de- liverances, and soon after his arrival. His first purchasing a |)iece of ground, and there erecting his altar, was like say- ing. Whenever this whole country shall be in possession of my posterity, let it in this manner be devoted to God. Nay, it was as if he had then taken possession of it in the name of the God of Israel, by setting up his standard in it. It is the first time also in which he is represented as availing himself of his new name, and of the covenant blessing conferred upon him under it. The name given to the al- tar was designed, nodoul)t, to be a memo- rial of both ; and, whenever he should present his offerings upon it, to revive all those sentiments which he had felt when wrestling with God at Peniel. It wei-e no less happy for us than consistent with our holy profession, if every distinguishing turn of our lives were distinguished by re- newed resignations of ourselves to God. Such times and places would serve as me- morials of mercy, and enable us to recov- er those thoughts and feelings which we possessed in our happiest days. DISCOURSE XLIII. DINAH DEFILED, AND THE SHECHEMITES MURDERED. Gen. xxxiv. The arrival of Jacob in Canaan prom- ised fair for a holy and happy residence in it. Laban no more oppresses him, and the breach between him and his brother Esau is healed. But alas ! foreign troub- les being removed, domestic ones take place of them. He had but one daugh- ter, and she is defiled. He had many sons, antl the greater part of them are deceit- ful and cruel. What with the conduct of the one and the other, his heart must be sorely grieved. It was not however (ill he had lived six or seven years in the neighborhood of Shechem that these troubles came upon him; for in less time than this (he two brethren couid not have arrived at man's estate : and tliere is rea- son to believe that, (rom his lirst settle- ment at (his place, his mind began (o sink in(o a state of spiritual declension. One would think, if he had had a proper sense of things, he could not have continued so long to expose a family of young people to the contagious influence of a heathen city. It was next to (he conduct of Lot when he took up his residence in Sodom. Ver. 1, 2. It is natural to suppose that the younger branches of the family, hear- ing every thing that was going on among the youth of the place, would think it hard if they must not go among them. Wheth- er the sons formed acquaintances among the Shechemites, we know not ; but Di- nah, on a certain occasion, " must needs go out to see the daughters of the land." She wished no doubt to be acquainted with them, to see and be seen of them, and to do as they did. It might not be to a ball, nor a card-party; but I presume it was to some merry-making of this kind : and though the daughters of the land were her professed companions, yet (he sons of (he land must have assembled with them, else how came Shechem there 1 Young peo- ple, if you have any regard for your pa- rents, or for yourselves, beware of such parties ! The consequence was what might have been expected. Shechem was the son of the "prince of the country," and men of rank and opulence are apt to think themselves entitled to do any thing which their inclinations prompt them to. The young woman was inexperienced, and unused to company of this kind ; she therefore fell an easy prey to the seducer. But could Dinah have gone v/ithout the consent or connivance of her parents, at least of one of them 1 We should think she could not. I fear Leah was not clear in this matter. Ver. 3, 4. The story is such as must needs excite indignation : some circum- stances, however, bad as it is, tend in a certain degree to extenuate it. The young- man is not like Amnon by Tamar ; he is attached to her, and applies to his father Hamor to obtain her for him to wife. Had this been done at (irst, all had been honorable ; but a bad beginning seldom admits of a good ending. And though a respectful application was immediately made to the parents of the damsel, yet she herself was at the same time detained in Shechem's house. But let us observe the effect of this disgraceful transaction. Ver. 5 — 24. The news soon reached Jacob's ear ; his sons were in the field ; he felt much, no doubt, but said nothing till they returned. He did not, however, foresee what would tbllow, or he would not have reserved (he u((erance of his grief to (hem. But probably he knew not what to do. If Leah had connived at her daugh- ter's visit, he would not know how to speak to her; and, as to Rachel, the jealousies between the sisters might pre- vent his speaking freely to the one on the concerns of the other. So he held his INDIGNATION OF JACOB S SONS. 825 peace till his sons should lelurn. Mean- of intermarriages between the families in while Haiiior, and il seems his son with ueneral, and hy the son as a lover, in or- hini, came out ot the cily to Jacob, to der to gain the damsel); they heard it, I commune with him on (he snljecl, and to say, with n)uch apparent coolness, and ask the young woman in marriage. It" stated their ol'jeclions in a manner as if had been well if he and Jacol) had settled there was nothing between them but the it, and this to all a|i|iearance they might compliance with a certain ceremony, and have done; Imt scandal, with its swift as though they lelt nothing for their sister wintis, reaching the young men in the that should hinder their entering into a field, brought them home before the usual covenant of peace with him who had se- time ; so that Hamor and his son had duced her. But all was deceit; a mere scarcely entered Jacoli's door, ere they cover to a bloody design, which they ap- followed them. Had Jacob and Hamor pear to have formed for the purpose of conversed the matter over by themselves, revenge; because he had defiled Dinah or Jacob and his sons by themselves, their their fii.ster. anger might have been somewhat alated ; The deceitful proposal, however, sue- but, all meeting together, there was no ceedcd : "Their words pleased Hamor, vent for the first strong feelings of the and Shechem, Hamor's son." So they mind ; and such feelings when suppressed, go al)out forthwith to persuade the citizens 1 ke subterraneous tires, m st find their into a compliance with them ; not as a Avay, and very commonly issue in some matter of principle, but of policy, as a dreadful explosion. The young men said measure which would contribute to the little, but thought the more. The real country's good. They also succeed, the state of their minds is thus described: Shediemites are circumcised, andallseems "And the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daugh- ter, which ihing outiht not to be done." to bid fair for an amicable issue. But let us pause and reflect on the right and wrong in these transactions. What was the line of conduct that Hamor and There certainl/was cause for great dis- Shechem should have pursued 1 They pleasure; and provided it had been di- ought no doubt, in the first place, to have rected against the sin, frankly avowed, restored the young woman to her parents; and kept wiihin the limits of ec)uity, great and at the same time to have acknowl- dispieasure ought to have been manifested, edged the great injury done to her and to Light as heathens and other wicked men the family, and expressed their sorrow on may make of fornication, it is an evil and account of it. Till they had done this, a bitter thing. To the honor of Jacob they had no reason to expect any thing and his posterity, he that was guilty of it like a reconciliation on the part of Jacob, among them was said to have " wrought or his sons. But it is likely the young folly in Israel," and to have done that man being of so honorable a family, and which "ought not to be done." It might the sin of fornication being so common in be from the present early example that the country, made them think these punc- this phraseology became proverbially de- tilios might be dispensed with in the scriptive of a (oruicator (2 Sam. xiii.' 12); present instance. And, being wholly un- and a great advantage it must be to any der the influence of sensual and worldly people w here the state of society is so far motives, they are prepared to profess any influenced by principles of honor and religion, or profane any institution, how- chastity, as by common consent to brand ever sacred, so that they may accomplish such characters with infamy. It was their selfish ends.— But what was the line proper that the brothers of the young of conduct which ou<:ht to l>ave been pur- woman should be grieved: it was not un- sued by Jacob and his sons'? If the one natural that thev should be ivroih : but had taken a greater share in the conver- wherefore did they feel thus strongly 1 sation, and the othei; a less, it had been Was it for the sin committed against God, more to the honor of both ; and might not or only for the shame of it in respect of have issued in the manner it did. It is the family ? Here, alas ! they failed ; and very proper for brothers to consider them- this it wa's that prompted them to all their selves as guardians of a sister's honor; other wickedness. Jacob was grieved and but not.in such a way as to supersede the displeased as well as they: but his grief authority or silence the counsel of a fa- and displeasure wrought not in the man- ther. The answer to the question, Wheth- ner theirs did. The'reserve which they er Dinah should be given in marriage to assumed, while Hamor and his son were Shechem, belonged to the parents, and not speakin-r, concealed behind it the most to the brothers. With respect to the deadly resentment. Thev heard all that displeasure which required to be express- was said (and many fine things were said, ed, it ought to have been confined to both by the father'as a politician, in favor words ; and, if the proposed marriage VOL. I. 104 826 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS- could not be acceded to, they should, as they said, have " taken their sister and been gone." As to their objection on the score of circumcision, there appears to have been no such law established as yet in Jacob's family. It is true they were discouraged from marrying with the devotees of idolatry; but the circumcision of the Shechemites was merely a form ; and, had they been suffered to live, would have produced no change in respect of this. Could they indeed have been in- duced to renounce their idolatrous prac- tices, and to cast in their lot with Israel, the good had overbalanced the evil ; but religion was no part of the young men's concern : the whole was a mere pretence, to cover their malignant designs. Ver. 25 — 29. The result was shocking. Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah's breth- ren by the same mother, as well as father, availing themselves of the present incapac- ity of the Shechen)ites to resist them, took each man his sword, and slew all the males of the city, with Hamor, and She- chem his son, and took their sister out of his house, and went their way ! Nor was this cruel business to be attributed to the two brothers on!} ; for the rest were so far accessory as to join in plundering the city, and taking captive all the females. Alas, how one sin leads on to another, and, like flames of fire, spreads desola- tion in every direction! Dissipation leads to seduction ; seduction produces wrath ; wrath thirsts for revenge ; the thirst of re- venge has recourse to treachery ; treach- ery issues in murder ; and murder is fol- lowed by lawless depredation ! Were we to trace the history of illicit commerce between the sexes, we should find it, more perhaps than any other sin, termin- ating in blood. We may read this warn- ing truth, not only in the history of Da- vid and his family, but in what is constant- ly occurring in our own times. The mur- der of the innocent offspring by the hand of the mother, or of the mother by the hand of the seducer, or of the seducer by the hand of a brother or a supplanted ri- val— is an event which too frequently falls under our notice. Nor is this all, even in the present world. Murder seldom escapes detection; a public execution therefore may be expected to close the tragical process ! Ver. 30, 31. It is some relief to find the good old man expressing his disapproba- tion of these proceedings : " Ye have troubled me," says he to Simeon and Levi, " to make me stink among the in- habitants of the land — and, I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and I shall be de- stroyed, I and my house." Both Abra- ham and Isaac had carried it peaceably in all places where they pitched their tents, and by their good conduct had recommend- ed true religion, and gained great respect among the heathen. It was Jacob's de- sire to have tvod in their steps ; but his sons were children of Belial, who knew not the Lord ; yet, being so nearly akin to him, his character is implicated by their conduct. Their answer is insolent in the extreme : " Should he deal with our sis- ter," say the}', " as with a harlot 1" As if their father had no proper concern for the honor of his children, and cared not what treatment they met with, so that he might be at peace and maintain his credit. But bow is it that Jacob should dwell only upon the consequences of the sin, and say nothing about the sin itself! Prob- ably because he knew his sons to be so hardened in wickedness that nothing but consequences, and such as affected their own safety too, would make them feel. It is certain that he did abhor the deed^ and that with all bis soul. Of this he gave a most affecting proof upon his dying bed, when, instead of blessing the two brethren with the rest of his children, he in a manner cursed them, or at least branded their conduct with perpetual in- famy. " Simeon and Levi," said he, "are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. Oh ! my soul, come not thou into their secret ; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united ; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel : I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel !"* We read no more of Dinah, except her bare name: probably she died single. Her example affords a loud warning to young people to beware of visiting in mixed companies, or indulging in amusements by which they put themselves in the way of temptation. * Simeon and Levi are brethren, InstriimeiUs of violence are llieir fraudulent bar- gains : Into tlieir secret come not thou, O my soul ; Unto their a.=senil)ly be not united, mine honor : For in tiieir anger they slew a man, And in iheir self-will ihey exterminated a prince. Cursefl be their anger, for it was fierce ; And their excess ol" passion, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter tliem in Israel. But Venenia would render the last distich in a good sense. [Yet] I will grant them a portion in Jacob, And cause them to be di^u^'d abroad (Gen. x. IS) in Israel. R. JACOB S REMOVAL TO BETHEL. 827 DISCOURSE XLIV. Jacob's removal to bethel — god's renewal of covenant with him the death of deborah, rachel, AND ISAAC — ESAu's GENERATIONS. Gen. XXXV. xxxvi. There is a greater diversity in the life of this patriarch tiian in that of Aluaham, -and much greater than in that of Isaac. If he did not attain to " the days of the years of the life of liis fathers," the records o\' his pilgrimage are not less useful than those of either of them. Ver. 1. It might have been expected that Jacob would leave Shechem, on ac- count of what had taken place : yet he would not know whitlier to flee : but " God said unto him, Arise^ go up to Bethel, and dwell there : and make there an altar unto God that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy l)roth- er." This admonition appears to resem- ble that which was addressed to Abram, •" Walk before me, and be thou perfect ; " that is, it implies a reproof, and was in- tended to lead Jacob to reflect upon his conduct. There were two things in par- ticular, which required his serious con- sideration. 1. Whether he had not neg- lected to perform his vow. He had sol- emnly declared, in the presence of God, that if he would be with him, and keep him in the way he went, and give him bread to eat, and raiment to put on, then Jehovah sliould be his God : and that the stone which he then set up for a pillar should be God's house. — Ch. xxviii. 20 — 22. Now God had performed all these things on his part ; but Jacob had not been at Bethel, even though he had now resided in Canaan about seven years. And, what "was worse, though Jehovah had been his God, so far as respected himself, yet his house was not clear of idols ! Rachel's stolen teraphim had proved a snare to the family. At the lime Laban overtook him, Jacob knew nothing of them, but he ap- pears to have discovered them afterwards ; and yet, till roused by this divine admoni- tion, he never interposed his authority to have them put away. 2. Whether the late lamentable evils in his family had not arisen from this cause. Had he gone sooner to Bethel, his house had been sooner purged of the strange gods that were in it, and his children had escaped the taint which they must of necessity impart. At lirst the gods of Laban were hid by Rachel, and none of the family except herself seemed to know of them : but now Jacob had to speak to his " house- hold, and to all that were with him," to cleanse themselves. Moreover, had he gone sooner to Bethel, his children might have been out of the way of temptation, and all the impure and bloody conduct in which they were concerned have been prevented. From the whole, we see the effects of spiritual negligence, and ot trifling svith temptation. Do not neglect God's house, nor delay to keep his com- mandments. He that puts them off to a more convenient season has commonly some idols about him, which it does not suit him just yet to put away. Ver. 2, 3. No sooner is Jacob admon- ished to go to Bethel than he feels ihe ne- cessity of a reformation, and gives com- mand for it. This proves that he knew of the corrupt practices of his family, and had too long connived at them. We are glad, however, to find him resolved at last to put them away. A constant attendance on God's ordinances is dwelling as it were in Bethel ; and it is by this that we detect evils in ourselves which we should other- wise retain without thought or concern. It is " coming to the light," which will "manifest our deeds, whether they be wrought in God " or not. Wicked men may reconcile the most sacred religious duties with the indulgence of secret sins ; but good men cannot do so. They must wash their hands in innocency, and so compass God's altar. — Psalm xxvi. 6. Ja- cob not only commands his household to put away their idols, but endeavors to impress upon them his own sentiments. " Let us arise," saith he, " and go up to Bethel ; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went." He is decided for himself, and uses all means to persuade his family to unite with him. His intima- ting that God had heretofore answered him in the day of his distress might be de- signed not only to show them the propri- ety of what he was about to do, but to excite a hope that God might disperse the cloud which noio hung over them on ac- count of the late impure and bloody trans- action. Ver. 4. Considering the evils which pre- vailed in this family, and the bewitching nature of idolatry, it is rather surprising to observe the readiness with w hich they con- sent to give it up. But no doul)t the hand of the Lord was in it. When Jacob spoke as he ought to speak, their hearts were bowed before him. Difficulties which, in a languid state of mind, seem insurmount- able, are easily got over when once we come to act decidedly for God : and those whom we expected to oppose the good 828 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. work shall frequently be found willing to engage with us in it. They not onl} gave their gods, hut even their ear-rings, wliich in those times were convertible, and often, if not always, converted to purposes of idolatry. — Exodus xxxii. 2. Hos. ii. 13. But why dfd Jacob hury them 1 We may think they might have been melted down, and converted to a better use : but that was expressly torbidden by the Mosaic law, Deut. vii. 25, and it seems the patri- archs acted on the same princi[)le. But why did he not utterly destroy them 1 Perhaps it would have been better if he had. I hope, however, he hid them where they were found no more. Upon the whole, we see at this time a great change for the better in Jacob's family. He should not have been reluctant, or indiffer- ent, to going up to Bethel ; for it appears to have been the design of God to make it one of his best removals. It was a sea- son of grace, in which God not only bless- ed him, but caused even those that dwelt under his shadoio to return. 1 have more hope of Rachel and Leah's having relin- quished all for the God of Israel from this time than from any thing in the ibr- mer part of their history. Ver. 5. We now see Jacob and his family on their journey. It would appear to the cities round about, that the slaugh- ter of the Shechemites was the cause of this removal. Their not pursuing them being ascribed to the terror of God being upon them implies that the pul'lic indig- nation was so excited against tliem that, if they had dared, they would have cut them off. The kind care which God ex- ercised on this occasion was no less con- trary to the parent's fears than to the de- serts of his ungodly children ; and its be- ing extended to them /or his sake must, if they had any sense of things, appal their proud spirits, and repress the inso- lence with which they had lately treated him. Ver. 6, 7. Arriving at Bethel in safe- ty, Jacob, according to his vow, " built there an altar" unto Jehovah, and gave it a name which God had graciously given himself; namely, '■'■ El-bethel, the God of Bethel.''' This altar, and this name, would serve as a perpetual memorial of God's having "appeared to him when he fled irom the face of his brother." And, as at that time many great and precious promises were made to him, it would be natural for him to associate with the idea of the God of Bethel that of a God in cov- enant; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Ver. 8. While Jacol) and his family were at Bethel, their enjoyments seem to have been interrupted by the death of " Deborah, Rebecca's nurse.'' Some par- ticulars are here implied which are not re- corded in the history. Deborah did not belong to the family of Jacob, but to that of Isaac. Jacob must therefore have gone and visited his lather; and finding his mother dead, and her nurse far advanced in years, more fit to be nursed herself than to be ol any use to her aged master, he took her home, where she would meet with kind attentions fi-om her younger country-women, and probably lurnished his father with another more suitable in her place. Nothing is said of her from the time she left Padan-aram ' with her young mistress : but, by the honorable mention that is here made of her, she seems to have been a worthy character. The death of an aged servant, when her work was done, would not ordinarily ex- cite much regret. To have afforded her a decent burial was all that in most cases would be thought of: but Jacob's family were so much affected by the event as not only to weep over her grave, but to call the very tree under the shadow of which she was interred Allon-bachuth, the oak of weeping. It is the more singular, too, tliat the larnily who wept over her was not that in which she had lived in what we should call her liest days ; but one that had merely taken her under their care in her old age. It is probable, however, that the sorrow expressed at her inter- ment was on account, not only of her character, but her office, or her having been " Rebecca's nurse." The text seems to lay an emphasis upon these words. The sight of the daughter of Lal>an, " his mother's brother," and even of his sheep, had interested Jacob's heart, ch. xxix. 10; much more would the bur- ial of her nurse. In weeping over her grave, he would seem to be weeping over that of his beloved parent, and paying that tribute of affection to her memory which providence had denied him at the time of her decease. Ver. 9 — 15. - During the seven years in which Jacob resided at Shechem we do not find a single instance of God's mani- festing himself to him, except that of ad- monishing him to depart. But now that he has come to Bethel, and has performed his vow, " God appeared unto him again, and blessed him." But how is it that this is said to be " when he came out of Pa- dan-aram 1 " The design of the phrase, I apprehend, is not to convey the idea of its being at the time of his return from that country, or immediately after it ; but to distinguish it from that appearance of God to him, in the same place where he now was, in his way thither. He appear- ed to him at Bethel when he was going to DF.VTll or RACHEf, 829 Padan-aram ; and now he " api)oarcd to him again," at the same phice, " wlien lie was come out of it."* The whole ac- count given in these verses of the ap|icar- ance ol God to Jat;ol), and of his coiulmt in return, descrilies a solemn and mutual renewal of covenant. There is nothing material in wliat is here said to him Itut wiiat JKul liocn said hdore ; and nothing material which he did luit what had been done hcfore ; hut tiie whole was now as it were consolidated and confirmed, i. God had before told him that Ids name should he no more called Jacob, but Is- rael, ch. xxxii. 28 : this honor is here re- newed, and the renewal of it contained an assurance that he should still go on and prevail. 2. God had before declared that the promises made to Aliraham should be fulfilled in him and his posterity, eh. xxviii. 13, 14 : this declaration is here renewed and prefaced with an assertion of his own all-sufTiciency to fulfd them. 3. When God had before apjieared to him, he set up a pillar of stone, and poured oil upon it, and called the name of the jjhue Belii- el, ch. xxviii. 18, 19 : this process he now renewed, with the addition of a driiik-ot- fering, tor which on his first journey he probably had not the materials. These renewals of promises and acknowlrdg- nients may teach us not to be so anxious after new discoveries as to overlook those which we have already obtained. God may appear to us by the revival of known truths, as well as by the discovery of what was unknown ; and we may glorify him as much by "doing our first works" as by engaging in something which has not been done before. Old truths, ordinances, and even places, become new to us w hen ■we renew communion with God in them. Ver. 16 — 20. We are not told the rea- son of Jacob's leaving Bethel. Probably he was directed to do so. However this might be, his removal in the present in- stance was accompanied with a very pain- ful event; namely, the loss of his beloved Rachel, and that in the jirime of life. Journeying from Bethel, and within a lit- tle of Ephrath, or Bethlehem, she " trav- ailed, and had hard labor." The issue was, the infant was spared but the mother removed. Thus she that had said, " Give me children, or I die," died in childbirth ! Several circumstances which attended this afflictive event are deserving o( notice. 1. The words of the midwife : " Fear not : thou shalt have this son also." When Rachel bare her first son she called him Josepli, that is Addins; ; " for," said she, by A pro|)hetic impulse, " the Lord shall add to me another son." It is probably * So the passage is rendered by Ainf.vorth.. in reference to this that the midwife spake as she did. Her words if reported to Ja- cob, with the recollection of the abo\c prophetic hiht, would raise his hopes and render his loss more aflV-cting, by adding to it the pain of disappointment. They appear to ha\e no influence, however, on Rachel. She has ihe sentence of death in herself, and makes no answer : but lurn- ning her eyes towards tlie child, and cal- ling him Ben-oni, the son of my sorrow, she expires ! 2. The terms by w hith her death is described — " It came to pass, as her soul was in departing." An ordinary historian would have said, as she was dy- ing, or as she was ready to expire : but the Scriptures delight in an impressive kind of phraseology, which at the same time shall both instruct the mind and aflect the heart. It was by means of such lan- guage, on various occasions., that the doc- trine of a future state was known and felt from generation to generation among the Israelites, while the heathen around them, with all their learning, were in the dark upon the subject. 3. The change of the child's name : " She called his name Ben- oni ; but his father called him Benjamin." The former, though very approiuiate at the tinie, yet, if continued, must tend per- petually to revive the recollection of the death of his mother; and of such a jnon- itor Jacob did not stand in need. The name given him signified, the son of my right hand; that is, a son of the most ten- der affection and delight, inheriting the place which his mother had formerly pos- sessed in his father's heart. If the love of God be wanting, that of a creature will often be supreme ; and, where this is the case, the loss of the object is frequently known to leave the party utterly inconso- lable : but though the a'fleclionof a good man may be very strong, and his sorrow proportionably deep, yet he is taught to consider that every created good is oidy lent him : and that, his genfiation work being as yet unfidfilled, it is not for him to feed melancholy, nor to pore o\er his loss with a sullenness that shall unfit him for duty, but rather to di\ert his affections from the object that is taken, and direct them to those that are left. 4. The slone erected to her memory, which appears to have continued lor many generations. Burying her in ihe place where she diedj " Jacob set a pillar upon her !j:rave ;" and' that was the pillar of Rachel'i grave when her history was written. It Avas near this place, if not upon the very spot, that the tribe of Benjamin afterwards had its in- heritance ; and therefore it is (hat Ihe peo- ple w ho lived in the limes of Jeremiah arc called "Rachel's children."— Jcr. xxxi. 15. The babes which Herod murdered 830 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. are also so called ; and she herself, though long since dead, is supposed to rise, as it were, out of her grave, and witness the l)loody deed : yea, more, to stand upon it and weep, refusing to be comforted, be- cause tiiey were not ! Ver. 21. It is proper that Jacob, or, as he is now called, Israel, after having inter- red his beloved Rachel, should remove to some little distance, at least, from her grave. The tower of Edar, near to which he next spread his tent, was in the neigh- borhood of Bethlehem. In removing, however, from the scene of one sorrow he is soon overtaken by another. While dwelling in that land, a criminal inter- course look place between Reuben and Biihah, his father's wife. It was done in secret; hut Israel heard of it. For this, his unnatural wickedness, Reuben was af- terwai-ds cursed as a tribe, the heavier on account of his being the first-born of the family. — Chap. xlix. 4. By his conduct, however, in reference to his brother Joseph (chap, xxxvii. 20, 22), he seems to have obtained at least a mitigation of his pun- ishment : for Moses, in blessing the tribes, said of him, " Let Reuben live, and not die, and let not his men be few." Yet even here he does but live : no idea is sug- gested that he should ever excel, and with this the history of his tribe, in after ages, perfectly accoids. ye,._ 22 — 28. The history will hence- forward principally respect "the sons of Jacob," as being the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. We have here, therefore, at the outset, a particular account of them, as descended from the different wives of their father Jacob. Ver. 27 — 29. Before the sacred writer, however, proceeds to narrate their history, he furnishes two other subjects, that the thread of the story may not be broken. One of them is the conclusion of the life of Isaac; and the other, which is contain- ed in the thirty-sixth chapter, a brief sketch of the family and temporal prosperity of Esau. If the former of these events had been introduced in the order of time, it would have fallen in the midst of the his- tory of Joseph; for it occurred about twelve or thirteen years after his being sold into Egypt. There are not many particu- lars concerning it. Jacob seems to have been sent for just in time to witness his father's decease. By the years of his life, namely, a hundred and fourscore, it appears that he must have lived fifty-seven years in a state ofblindness and inactivity. This is one of the mysteries of providence which often strikes us ; an aged and af- flicted person, whose usefulness appears to us at an end, shall have his life pro- longed, while a hundred active young peo- ple around him shall be cut otF. We know not the reason of these things in the present state ; but we may know it hereafter. Chap, xxxvi. With respect to Esau, he and his brother had been together at their father's funeral, and for aught that appears were on brotherly terms. In the course of this chapter we find them sepa- rated : not however from any difference arising between them, but on account of their great prosperity. Their riches are said to have been " more than that they might dwell together ; and the land where- in they were strangers could not bear them, because of their cattle." The account which is here given of him and his posterity is, however, a kind of leave taken of them : Ave shall hear no more of Esau, nor of his descendants, but as enemies to the people of God. It is remarkable that three times in this chapter when Esau is spoken of we meet with the phrase " This is Edom ;" and twice, " He is Esau, the father of the Edomites."— Verses 1, 8, 9, 19, 43. We have seen that the name of Edom was given him on account of his sanguinary disposition (chap. xxv.*24 — 34); and as this was notoriously the character of the Edomites, especially towards Israel, it would seem as if the Holy Spirit would have it well remembered that the bitterest enemies of the church of God descended from this man. He seems to be marked as the father of persecutors, in some such manner as Ahaz is marked by his wicked- ness of another kind, " This is that king Ahaz."— 2 Chron. xxviii. 22. Finally : It is remarkable that Esau, though he had despised and lost his birth- right, yet was prospered in his life-time, and for several generations, more than his brother. While the latter was a servant at Padan-aram, he established his domin- ion in mount Seir; and, while the de- scendants of the one were groaning under Egyptian bondage, those of the other were formed into an independent kingdom, and had eight kings in succession, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. In this manner did God order things, to show, it may be, that the most valuable blessings require the greatest exercise of faith and patience. JOSKPH SOLD lOK A SL.VVL. S31 DISCOURSE XLV. JOSEPH SOLD FOR A SLAVK. Gen. xxxvii- Wk now enter on the very interesting his- tory ot Joseph, a history in which I feel not pleasure only but a portion of (iisn)ay ; and this liecause I have but little liopo ol'doin^ justice to it. It is a history, perhaps, un- equalled for displaying the various work- ings of the human tnind, botii good and Viad, and the singular providence of God in making use ol them i'or the accomplish- ment ot his purposes. Ver. 1. Jacob is represented as "dwell- ing in the land wherein his father was a stranger." The character of sojourn- ers was common to the patriarchs : it is t'.iat which Jacob afterwards confessed I;e- fore Pharaoh ; on which the ajjostlc re- marks that "they who say such things declare plainly that they seek a country." Ver. 2. The "generations of Jacob" seem here to mean his family history : so the word is used of Adam, chap. v. 1. And Joseph being, as we should say, the chief hero of the tale, it begins with him. It was the design of the sacred writer, in the course of his narration, to tell of all the great events of that family : as of their going down into Egypt, remaining there ibr a number of years, and at last being brought out by the mighty hand of God ; at present his object is to lead us to t!ie origin of these events, as to the spring- head of a great river, or to describe the minute circumstances by which they were brought about. Joseph was distinguished by his early piety. His brethren were most, if not all of them, very wicked; and he, being Ire quently with them in the field, saw and heard such things as greatly affected him. We are not told what they were : the oracles of God have thrown a veil over them till the judgment day. Suffice it for us to know that the mind of this godly youth was hurt by their conversation and behavior, and that he could not be easy ■without disclosing particulars to his father. In this he was to be commenfled ; for though a child should not indulge, nor be mduiged by his parents, in reporting every tri\ial tale to the disadvantage of his broth- ers or sisters ; yet, where wickedness is acted, it ought not to be concealed. The parents should know it, that they may correct it ; or, if that cannot be, that they may be enabled to counteract its efTects. But that which was commendable in him produced hatred in them. They would perceive that he did not join them when in company, and perhaps the carriage of their father would lead them to sus()ect that this his favorite son had been their accuser. In this, the outset of Joseph's story, we perceive a striking resemblance between iiim and our Lord Jesus Christ, whom " the world hated, because he testified of it that the works thereof were evil." Here, therefore, before I proceed any further, I would ofTer a few words on the question whether Joseph is to be consider- ed as a type of Christ. I am far from thinking that every point of analogy which may be traced by a lively imagination was designed as such by the Holy Spirit ; yet neither do I t!iiid< that we are warranted in rejecting the idea. We have already seen that God prepared the way for the coining of his Son iiy a variety o\ things, in which the great principles of his undertaking were prefigured, and so rendered familiar to the minds of men (see on ch. vi. 18, xvii. 4) ; and he [)ursued the same oljectby a variety of persons, in whom the life and character of Christ were in some degree previously manifest. Thus Melchizedek prefigured him as a priest, Moses as a prophet, and David as a king; and I cannot l)ut tliink that in the history of Joseph there is a portion of designed analogy between them. But to return — Ver. 3, 4. The hatred of Joseph's breth- ren on account of his re|)orls was not di- minished, but heightened, by his father's partiality towards him. It is much less difficult to account for this partiality than to justify it, or at least the method of ex- pressing it. He was the son of the belov- ed Rachel; and, though Benjamin was in this respect equal to him, yet he was but a ciiild, and had as yet .developed nothing as to character : he therefore would be out of the question. Joseph seems to have been the only one in the family who had hitherto disco\erc(l either the fear of God, or the duty of a child. From these con- siderations his father might be allowed to love him with a peculiar afTeclion ; but his clothing him with " a coat of many col- ors " was a weakness calculated only to excite envy and ill-will in his Itrethren. If he had studied to provoke these disposi- tions, he could scarcely have done it more effectually. The event was, that the ha- tred of the brothers could no longer be concealed, nor could they speak in the usual strain of civility to Joseph. Ver. 5 — 11. Another circumstance oc- curred which tended still more to heigh- ten the enmity, namely, certain dreams which Joseph had at this time, and which he in the simplicity of his heart related to his brethren. These were divine intima- tions of his future advancement, and were S32 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. rciaarkably fulfilled in Egypt about twen- ty-three years allerwards. But at present they iiillaiued a reseiiliiient already too strong; and even his lather thought it necessary to chide what seemed a little presumptuous in his son. Yet as Jacob I'elt a check on this occasion, rnd observed the saying, suspecting, it should seem, that there might be more in it ihan he was at present aware of, so I ap]ireliend his sons had a secret persuasion that these dreams were prophetic : but that which soitened the father only hardened and int^amed the sons. Their hatred had originated in re- ligion ; and the thought of God having de- termined to honor him jirovoked them tlie more. Such were the operations of mal ice in Cain towards A.bel, in Esau towards Jacob, in Saul towards David, and in the Scribes and Pharisees towards the Lord of Glory. Ver. 12 — 17. Things now approach fast to a ciisis. It seems as if the vale of He- bron, where Jacob now was, did not con- tain suffiicient pasturage for his flocks : tlie young men therefore take them to Shechem, a distance it is said of about sixty miles, and the place where they liv- ed for tlie first seven years after their re- turn from Padan-avam. Jacob, feeling anxious about them and the cattle (as well he might, considering the part they had acted there), proposes to Joseph that he should go and inquire, and bring him word of their welfare ; to which the latter with cheerful ol)edience consents. Arriving at Shechem, he finds they had left it with the flocks ; and being informed l)y a stran- ger that they were gone to Dothan, a dis- tance of about eight miles, he proceeds thither. Ver. 18—22. The sight of Joseph, while he was yet afar off, rekindles all the foul passions of his brethren, and ex- cites a conspiracy against him. " Behold," say they, with malignant scorn, " this dreamer cometh! Come now, let us slay him I " In some cases sin begins upon a small scale, and increases as it advances ; but the very first proposal in this case is murder ! This shows the height to which their hatred had been previously wrought u|), and which, now that opportunity offer- ed, raged like fire with unconiroUahle fury. But have tliey no apj)rehensions as to con- sequences 1 What tale are they to carry home to their father"? O, they are at no loss for this. Malice has two intimate friends always at hand to conceal its dark deeds ; namely, artifice and falsehood. " We will cast him into some pit," say they, " and we will say. Some evil beast hath devoured him : and we shall see what will become of his dreams !" Who will say that the workers of iniquity have no knowledge 1 They have all the running as well as the cruelly of the old serpent. See how they wrap it up. But what do they mean by that sarcastic saying, " We shall see what will become of his dreams'?" If they had considered them as feigned through ambition, they would not have felt iiall the resentment. No, they would have winked at it as a clever piece of de- ceit, and have had a fellow-feeling for him. I doubt not but they considered these dreams as the intimations of heaven, and their language included nothing less than a challenge of the Almighty ! But is it possible, you may say, that they could think of thwarting the divine counsels'? It is possible, and certain, that men have been so infatuated by sin as to attempt to do so. Witness Pharaoh's pursuit of Isra- el, after all that he had seen and felt of the divine judgment ; Saul's attempts on David's life; Herod's murder of the chil- dren of Bethlehem; and the conspiracy of the Jews against Christ, who, as many of them knew, had raised Lazarus from the dead, and done many miracles. Yes, we will kill him, say they, and then let God advance him to honor if he can ! But they shall see what will become of his dreams. Yes, they shall see them accomplished, and that by the very means they are con- certing to overthrow them. Thus, though " the kings of the earth take counsel to- gether against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying, Let us break tlieir bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us ;" yet " He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh at them, the Lord shall have them in derision." Joseph's brethren, like the sheaves in the dream, shall make obeisance to him ; and " at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord, unto the glory of God the Father." In this bloody council there was one ^^H dissentient. God put it into the heart of '^^ Reuben, though in other respects none of the best of characters, to oppose their measures; and, being the elder brother, his opinion must have somewhat the great- er weight. He appears to have utterly disapproved of their intention, and wished earnestly to get the lad safe out of their hands, that he might deliver him to his father; though perhaps through fear of his own life he made only a partial oppo- sition. His counsel, however, saved his life, and he was doubtless raised up on this occasion for the very purpose ; for Joseph's time was not yet come. Ver. 22—24. All ihat had hitherto taken place was during the time that Jo- seph was absent. Glad to have caught the sight of them, he was walking towards them in the simplicity of his heart, while reUben successfully opposes the mufdek of joskpu. 833 they were taking counsel to destroy him ! He arrives. Like leasts of })rey, ihey immediately seize him, and tear off the envied " coat of many colors." It was not enough to injure him ; they must also insult him. Thus Jesus was stri|i{>ed and dejiradcd before he sufl'ered. Now it was, as they alterwards confessed one to anoth- er in the Eiryptian prison, that they "saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought them, and (hey would not hear :" now it was (hat Reulien interceded on his behalf, saying, " Do not sin against the child ; but they would not hear." — Cliap. xlii. 21, 22. No, they would not hear: " they greater than he was sold by Judas Iscariot lor but a little more. Ver. 29,.30. Dui ing this iniquitous trans- action Reul en was absent. I sujijiose, while they were eating and drinkiig, he stole away from their company, with the intention of going by himself to the pit and delivering Joseph ; and to the pit he went : I ut t; king a ciicuilous course it may be to prevent suspicion, he was too late I At this he is greatly afl'octed, rends his garments, returns to the company and exclaims, " The child is not : and I, with- er shall I go 1" But though he s|)oke like a brother, and an elder brother, who was look and cast him into a pit :" probably a obliged to give account to his father, yet hole in the earth, both dark and deep ; for it appears to have made no impression on he does not appear to have been able to them. Like the scribes and Pharisees, get out again. It was however empty, they were ready to answer, " See thou to or without water. Whether they knew that !" of this circumstance or not, God knew it; and it seems to have been known to Reu- ben wen he made the proposal of his be- ing cast into it, seeing he hoped by this means to save his life. Ver. 25 — 28. Having thus far gratified their revenge, they retire, and with hard- ened unconcern " sit down toeat bread." It is probable that they both ate and drank, Ver. 31 — 36. They feel not for Joseph, nor for Reuben ; l)ut have some concern about themselves, and immediately fall upon a stratagem wherewith to deceive their father. A kid is slain, and the coat of Joseph is dipped in its blood. This is to be carried home, and shown to Jacob, with the addition of a lie, saying they had " found " it ; and thus the poor old man and made merry ; and it may be partly in was to be persuaded that some evil beast allusion to this that certain characters, in had devoured him. Who will say that the the times of the prophet Amos, are de- workers of iniquity have no knowledge 1 scribed as drinking wine in bowls, and an- Yet one cannot but remark the difficulty oinling themselves with the chief oint- of supporting a feigned character. To have ments, but were" not grieved for the af- done it completely, they should firsthave fliction of Joseph." seen their father without the coat, broke At this juncture appeared a company of it to him by degrees, afTected to grieve merchants, who were going down to Egypt, with him for the loss, and at last have They are called Ishmaelites, and also Mi- presented the coat with apparent reluct- dianites : they were it seems a mixed peo- ance, as that which must harrow up his pie, composed of both. On the sight of feelings. Instead of this, the whole is them a thought occurs to the mind of Ju- done in the most unfeeling and undutiful dah, that they had better sell their broth- manner that it could be : " This have we or for a slave than murder him, which he proposes to the rest. His proposal con- tains words of mercy, but it was mercy mix- ed with covetousness. I am not sure that Judahfelt any tenderness towards Joseph, as being his "brother, and of his flesh," any more than his namesake did in sell- found," say they, " know now whether it be (hy son's coat, or no ! " They could not deny themselves the brutal pleasure of thus insulting their father, even in the hour of his distress, for his former par- tiality. Wicked dispositions often make men act like fools : hence it is that mur- ing Christ : it is not unusual for covetous dercrs commonly betray themselves. The men to urge. their objects under a show of disguise of hypocrisy is generally very generosity and kindness. But, if he did, thin : truth only is throughout consistent, it was the profit that wrought upon the This disguise, however, thin as it was company. The love of money induced seemed at present to answer the end. Ja- them to sell their brother for a slave ; and cob knew the bloody garment, and said, the same principle carries on the same cruel traffic to this day. So they sold Joseph for " twenty pieces of silver," the value of which was about twenty shil- " It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him : Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces." No, it is no evil beast, but men more cruel than tigers that have lings of our money, ten shillings less than done towards him what is done : but thus the price of a slave. — Exod. xxi. 32. A Jacob thought, and thus he mourned. We goodly price at which they valued him ! are ready to wonder how Reuben could But let not Joseph complain, seeing a keep his counsel ; yet with all his grief he VOL. I. 105 834 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. did SO : perhaps he might be afraid for his own life. Whatever was the cause, how- ever, of Jacob's being thus imposed up- on, it Avas wisely ordered that he should be so. The present concealment of many things contributes not a little to the ac- complishment of the divine counsels, and to the augmenlationof luture joy. Jacob's mourning is deep and durable : when, after a time, his sons and his sons' wives rose up to comfort him, lie refused to be comforted ; resolving to die a mourn- er, and to welcome the grave, which, though a land of darkness, should be dear to him, because his lieloved Joseph was there ! " Thus his father wept for him." From the whole, one sees already with admiration the astonishing machinery of providence. The malignant brothers seem to have obtained their ends ; the merce- nary merchants, who care not what they deal in, so that they get gain, have also ob- tained theirs ; and Potiphar, having got a fine young slave, has obtained his. But, what is of greater importance, God's de- signs are by these means all in train for execution. This event shall issue in Is- rael's going down to Egypt ; that in their deliverance by Moses ; that in the setting up of the true religion in the world ; and that in the spread of it among all nations by the gospel. " The wrath of man shall praise the Lord, and the remainder thereof will he restrain." DISCOURSE XL VI. THE CONDUCT OF JUDAH JOSEPh's PRO- MOTION AND TEMPTATION. Gen. xxxviji. xxxix. If we turn aside with the sacred writer for a few minutes, and notice the conduct of Judah about this time, we shall per- ceive new sources of sorrow for the poor old patriarch. This young man, whatev- er was the cause, must needs leave his fa- ther's family; and, wandering towards the south, he entered into the house of one Hirah, an inhabitant of Adullam, with whom he formed an intimate acquaint- ance. If all the brethren had dispersed and mingled among the heathen, if we consider only their state of mind, there had been nothing surprising in it. While tarrying here, he saw a young female, whose father's name was Shuah ; and though he had joined in objecting to his sister's marriage with Shechem, yet he makes no scruple of taking this Canaan- itish woman to be his wife; and that Tvjthout at all consulting his father. The children which he had by this marriage were such as might 1 e expected ; and the loose life '*\hich he himself led, aided in it as he was l-y his friend the Adullamite,; was that of a man who, weary of the res- traints of religion, had given himself up ta his evil propensities. Yet it is observable how he keeps up the customs of his father's family, by di- recting his yourger son to take the widow of the eldest, that he might raise up seed unto his brother ; and, though he himself indulged in licentiousness, yel he can feel indignation and even talk of burning his daughter-in-law for the same thing. Thus we have often seen men tenacious of cere- monies while living in the grossest immo- rality, and quick to censure the faults of others while blinded to their own. The odious wickedness committed irs this family might not have been recorded but for the purpose of chronology, and to show what human nature is till it is re- newed by the grace of God. How this connection between Judah and his friend the Adullamile came to be broken we know not; but, finding him afterwards in his father's house, we hope it was so. — Even while he continued on that side of the country he had some remorse of con- science, particularly when he discovered the supposed harlot to be his daughter Tamar. " She hath been," said he, " more righteous than I." But we return to the history of Joseph — Chap, xxxix. We left him in Egypt^ sold to Potiphar, a captain of the guard j and here we find him. He was sent be- forehand as a saviour; and, like the Sa- viour of the world, was not sent in state, but in the form of a servant. Nothing is said of the grief of mind which he felt on the occasion, but this must needs have been great. A youth of seventeen, torn from his father, enslaved to all appearance for life, and that among idolaters, where the true God was utterly- unknown J If the day of Jacob's depar- ture from his father's house was " the day of his distress," ch. xxxv. 3, what must Joseph's have been 1 The archers may- well be said to have " sorely grieved him." Ver. 2, 3. But here is a remedy equal to this or any other disease : " The Lord was with Joseph ! " God can make up any loss, sustain under any load, and ren- der us blessed in any place. To this Mo- ses alludes in his dying blessing upon the tribe of Joseph : " Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven — for the precious things of the earth" — and for the " good will of him that dwelt in the bush : let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was sep- COD BLESSES JOSEPH I.N HIS CAPTIVITT. 855 Mated from his brethren!" If we be not only blesses them, but " makes them but in the path of duty, we have nolhiiiir a blessing." Sucli was Jacob lo Laban ; to fear. Whatever wrongs we stitTor, if sucli is Joseph to Potiphar, and afterwards we be but kept from doiiiij wroiii;, we to all Eiiy pt ; and such has Israel l>een to shall enjov tiie peace of God in our hearts the worhl, who Irom thetu derive a Sav- and all will conic to a ji^ood issue. What iour, and all that they possess of true re- a dilTerence is there between the cases of Josefdi and Jonah! They were both in trouble, both absent from God's people, both amoui!; the heathen : but the sull'er- inj^s of the one were for righteousness' ligion. Even the casting away of them has proved the reconciling of the world, and how much more shall the receiving ol them at a future day be as life from the • lead ! It might also be the design of God, sake, while those of the other were of his by tliis as well as other of his proceedings, own procuring. to set forth under a figure the method in God makes Joseph ;jrospcrous. He must which he would bless the world ; namely, then have submitted with cheerfulness to " for the sake of another that was dear his lot, studied to make himsell agreeable unto him." Potiphar was not blessed for and useful to his master, and applied at- his own sake, or on account of any of his tentively to business. Herein he was an good deeds ; but tor the sake of Joseph, example of resignation to the will of God Even his receiving Joseph into favor was in afHictive circumstances. Fretfulness not that on account of which he was bless- greatly aggravates the ills of life, while a cd, though that was necessary to it : it was cheerful submission to the will of God al- Joseph to whom the eye of the Lord was leviates them. The prosperity attending directed: he looked on him, and blessed Joseph was manifest : his master sees it, Potiphar. So that for the sake of which and sees that "Jehovah is with him," and we are accepted and saved is not any work that it is his hand which blesses all he of righteousness which we have done, nor does. This is a circumstance not a little even our believing in Christ, though this to Joseph's honor ; for it implies that he is necessary to it ; but the name and made no secret of his religion. Hfe must righteousness of Jesus. Thus, in both have refused to join in Eiryptian idolatry, cases, grace is displayed, and boasting a ul avowed himself a worshipper of Jeho- excluded. Finally: It was a proverb in vah, the only true God. In many cases, Israel that, "when it goeth well with the for a poor unprotected slave to have done righteous, the city rejoicelh." This w'as this, would have cost him his life; but the singularly exemplified in the prosperity of Lord was with Joseph, and had all hearts Joseph, and still more in the exaltation of in his hand. Potipliar, observing that the Christ. From the day that he was made religion of the young man turned to his account, like many irreligious masters in the present day, makes no objection to it. This holds up a most encouraging exam- head over all principalities and powers, from that time forward the Lord hath blessed the world /or his sake. Ver. 6. So great was the confidence pie to religious servants to recommend which Joseph's fidelity inspired in his the gospel by their fidelity and diligence; and to all Christians to be faithful to God, even when there are no religious friends about them to watch over them. This is walking with God. master, that all his concerns were left in his hands ; and for his own part he did nothing but enjoy the prosperity which was thus bestowed upon him. This cir- cumstance might be wisely ordered to Ver. 4. The effect of this is, Joseph prepare this lovely youth for his future comes into favor, and is promoted over all station. He was now brought into busi- the other servants. From a slave he is ness, and inured to management : had he made a steward; a steward not only of been raised to his last post first, he might the household, but over all his master's have been less qualified to fill it. Sudden affairs, and this though but a youth. advancements are seldom safe. Ver. 5. And now, as Potiphar favors Under all this prosperity, what may we the Lord's servant, the Lord will not be suppose to be the state of Joseph's mind? behindhand with him, but will favor him. No doubt his thoughts would sometimes From this time forward every thing is glance to the vale of Hebron, and he blessed and prospered " for Joseph's sake." Vvould ask himself, " How does my father We see here that it is good to be connected bear the rending stroke ; and what is be- with them that fear God, but much better come of mv poor wicked brethren! But to cast in our lot with them. In that case as to himself, so far as it was possible to we shall not only gain by them for this be happy in a strange land, happy he must life, but, as Moses told Hobab, whatever have been. God was with him, every good thing the Lord doth to them shall be thing he did prospered, and every thing done to us. Here also we see the promise he met with was extremely flatterino-. to Abraham fulfilled in his posterity : he Indeed there are few characters who, at 836 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. his period of life especially, could bear such a tide of success. We see in hitn nothing assuming or overbearing towards his fellow-servants, nor forgetful of his God. If, however, any thing of this kind should have been at work in his heart, he will soon meet with that which shall recal him to a right mind. A sharp temptation approaches, in which his virtue and pa- tience shall be put to the proof After a day of prosperity, let us expect a day of adversity ; for " God hath set the one over against the other," even in the lot of his most favored servants. Ver. 7 — 9. Joseph's goodly and well- favored countenance excites the lawless desires of a faithless woman, who, in vi- olation of her marriage vows, and of all the modesty and decency which should distinguish her sex, tries to seduce him. In such a situation, how many young men would have been carried away ! Nay, how many are so where the temptation is far less powerful ! His conduct on this oc- casion is a proof of great grace, and ex- hibits to all posterity an example of what may be done by closely walking with God. The first attack upon him is repelled with a modest but severe remonstrance, exactly suited to his situation. Let us examine it minutely. There are four things in it worthy of admiration. 1. He is silent with respect to the wickedness of the tempter. He might have reproached her for the indelicacy, the infidelity, and the baseness of her proposal : but he con- fines himself to what respected his own obligation, and what would be his own sin. In the hour of temptation it is enough for us to look to ourselves. It is remarkable that all our Lord's answers to the tempter, as recorded in the fourth chapter of Mat- thew, are in this way. He could have accused him of insolence and outrage ; but he barely refuses to follow his coun- sels, because thus and thus it teas ivritten. 2. Joseph considers his obligation as rising in proportion to his station : "There is none greater in this house than I." Some young men would have drawn a con- trary conclusion from the same premises, and on this ground have thought them- selves entitled to take the greater liber- ties ; but this is the true use to be made of power, and riches, and every kind of trust. 3. He considers it as heightened by the generosity and kindness of his master, who withheld nothing else from him. Eve reasoned at first on this prin- ciple, ch. iii. 2 ; and, had she kept to it, she had been safe. When we are tempted to covet what God has forbidden, it were well to think of the many things which he has not forbidden, but freely given us. 4. He rises from created to uncreated authority : It would not only be treachery to my master, but " wickedness," "great wickedness, and sin against God." In the hour of temptation it is of infinite im- portance what view we take of the evil to which we are tempted. If we suiFer our thoughts to dwell on its agreeabieness, as Eve did concerning the forbidden fruit, its sinfulness will insensibly diminish in our sight, a number of excuses will present tliemselves, and we shall inevitably be carried away by it : but if we keep our eye steadfastly on the holy will of God, and the strong obligations we are under to him, that which would otherwise appear a little thing will be accounted what it is, a great wickedness, and we shall re- volt at the idea of sinning against him. This is the armor of God, wherewith we shall stand in the evil day. Ver. 10. This remonstrance, however, strong as it was, has no lasting effect upon the woman : for sin, and this sin in par- ticular, is outrageous in its operations. Joseph therefore finds it necessary to shun her company, carefully avoiding, as much as possible, to be with her any where alone. This showed. First, great sincer- ity ; for if we throw ourselves in the way of temptation, or be not careful to shun it when occasions offer, in vain do we talk against sin. Secondly, grea/ wisdom; for, though he had been kept hitherto, he was not sure that he should be so in future. Thirdly, great resolution and persever- ance; for it is not everyone who with- stands a temptation in the first instance, that holds out to the end. Eve repelled the tempter on his first onset, but was carried away by the second. Job endured a series of trials, and sinned not; yet af- terwards spake things which he ought not. Finally, great grace. " Can a man go on hot coals, and his feet not be burned 1 " No ; if we voluntarily g-o into temptation, we shall assuredly be hurt, if not ruined by it; but when God by his providence leads us into it, for the trial of our graces, we may hope to be kept in it, and brought victorious out of it. Ver. 11 — 20. If we were told of a young man in Joseph's situation, we should probably advise his leaving the family ; but, circumstanced as he was, that might be impossible. He was a bought servant, however exalted, and therefore was not at liberty to leave. Nor could he speak on the subject to his master without ruining his peace forever. He therefore kept it to himself, and went on as well as he could, watching and pray- ing, no doubt, lest he should enter into temptation. One day, being under the necessity of going into the house about business, his mistress renewed her solici- JOSEPH IN PRISON. S3- tations ; on which he fled from her pres- ence as before ; hut, as he was escaping, she caught a piece of his earmenl, and kept it liy lior. Wantonness heing disap- pointed, and pride wounded, the whole is now turned into haired anil levenjre. She will work his overthrow, that she will I Mark how the cunning ol the old serpent operates. The servants are called in to witness how she had heen mocked, or, as we should say, insulted l)y this Hei)rew. If they knew nothing Ironj other quarters, it was very natural they should think it was so; and thus they were every thing but eye-witnesses of Josej)h's guilt. Pre- sumptive evidence is certainly very strong against him. Yet, with all this cunning, like other hypocrites, she does not (fo it completely. She should have pretended how much she (elt for the insult offered to her hushand, as well as to herself: hut the truth will come out, after ail the pains taken to conceal it. How disrespectfully she speaks oi him to the servants, half attributing the pretended insult to him. "See," saith she, " he hath brought an He- brew in unto us to mock us I" Such lan- guage not only betrayed the alienation of her heart from her husband, but tended to «et the servants against him. Nothing but truth is consistent throughout. If these servants possessed only a moderate share of good sense, they must have seen through this thin disguise, whether they chose to speak their minds or not. The scheme however took. Potiphar thought the story so plausible that there could be no doubt of its being true. His wrath therefore was kindled, and without further ceremony he took Joseph and com- mitted him to prison. Being fired with anger, he had no ear to hear what could be said on the other side; and perhaps Jo- seph might think that nothing he could say would be regarded; or, if it were, it must ruin his master's peace of mind : he would therefore go in silence to prison, trusting in God to vindicate his injured charac- ter. But what an affecting reverse of con- clition ! Poor young man ! A stranger in a strange land, without a friend to speak for him or to care about him. Behold him confined in the dungeon, and think what must have heen his reflections. — Oh, if my father knew of this, what would he feel on my account I How mysterious are the ways of providence, that, by an inflex- ible adherence to righteousness, I should be brought into this horrid place ! — He was not only confined in a dun:<;con, but, as we are told in the 105th Psalm, "his feet were hurl with fetters, being laid in iron." The last phrase is very emphatic. Calvin renders it, " The iron entered into his soul."* Not only were his feet galled, but his heart was grieved ; and probably he expected nothing i)ut doath. Vcr. 21 — 23. But, as under his former affliction, so under this, "the Lord was with Jose()h." What was once said to Abraham might now be said to him : " 1 am God all-surticient : walk licfore me, and be thou perfect." All will be right at last. Where providence leads us into dilhculties and hardships, grace can sus- tain us under them ; and if we suffer for righteousness' sake, as Joseph did, we may be assured it will be so. Nothing shall eventually harm us, if we be follow- ers of that which is good. In a little time, Joseph obtains favor in the eyes of the keeper of the prison, as he had done before in those of Potiphar. And now he has an opportunity of showing the pow- er of true religion in the prison, by his fi- delity, his tenderness, and his worship of the only true God. It might l)e wisely ordered, too, that he should go into his high station by way of a prison ; he might not otherwise have been so well qualified to feel for his brethren, and for other pris- oners. Nor would he have been in the way of his future advancement, if he had not been there. "Before honor is humil- ity." The Lord of glory himself obtain- ed not the crown, but by first enduring the cross. DISCOURSE XLVII. JOSEPH IN PRISON. Gen. xl. We left Joseph in prison ; but, by the good hand of God upon him, its hardships are greatly mitigated. At first he is thrown into a dungeon, and laid in irons ; but now he is made a kind of steward, or overseer of the other prisoners. Yet it is a prison still, and he desires to be free ; but he must wait awhile. God will deliver him in his own time and way. This chap- ter contains the story of the means by which his deliverance was effected. Ver. 1, 2. Two of Pharaoh's officers offend their lord, for which they are com- mitfed to prison — the chief butler and the chief baker. Whether they suffered just- ly for having attempted to poison the king, which was often done in heathen countries, or merely on account of un- founded suspicion ; whether, if there were any thing actually attempted, it was their y\T reminded (he I'utler how much he issue of the above, the sacred writer informs owed to his sytnpatlii'lic and kind trnit- us ofthc request ol tiie I akei. Olscr\ing incnt : Imt lie lelt lliese tlunjis to speak the success ol his com) anion, he is eniour- for liienisclvcs, using no otlicr language anay take comfort emus. In making use of the term seen w ithout effect. To this, however, the courtiers make no an- swer. If they felt a little jealous of this young foreigner, it were not to be won- dered at. Such were the feelings of the Babylonish nobles towards Daniel. It were easier to see the goodness of the counsel which left a hope to each man of a new office, than to see that Joseph was the only man in the land that could exe- cute it. They knew very well that they VOL. I, 106 had not, like him, " the Spirit of God ;" but inight think themselves capable, never- theless, of managing this business. How- ever, they silently acquiesce; and Phara- oh proceeds without delay to carry his purposes into effect. Ver. 39 — 45. And now all power, ex- cept that which is supreme, is put into his hands, over the house and over the nation ; and, as the courtiers had prol)ably discovered a secret reluctance, Pharaoh repeats his determination the more ear- nestly, that, as the dream had been" re- peated to him, the thing might be estab- lished, and immediately put in execution. To words were added signs, which tended to fix his authority in the minds of the people. The king took his ring from his hand, and put it upon the hand of Joseph, clothed him in fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. Nor was this all : he caused him to ride in the second char- iot through the streets of the city, and that it should be proclaimed before him, " Bow the knee," or " Tender father." The Chaldee translates it, as Ainsworth observes, " The father of the king, mas- ter in wisdom, and tender in years;" — as who should say, Though a youth in age, yet a father in character. In addition to this, Pharaoh uses a very solemn form of speech, such as that which is prefixed or affixed to many of the divine commands : "I am Pharaoh ;" and without thee shal{ no man lift up his hand or loot in all the land of Egypt ! — See Lev. xix. Finally, to crown him with respect, he gave him a new name, the meaning of which was, a revealer of secrets ; and the daughter of a priest, or prince, to be his wife. Pause a moment, my brethren, and reflect .... Who, in reading the preceding sufferings and present advancement of Joseph, can forbear thinking of Him who, " for the suffering of death, was crowned with glo- ry and honor — whom God hath highly ex- alted, giving him a name which is above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in hea^ ven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father?" Surely it was the design of God, by these sweet analogies, to lead the minds of believers imperceptibly on, that, when the Messiah should come, they might see him in per- fection, in their Josephs, and Joshuas, and Davids, as well as in their sacrifices, their cities of refuge, and their juliilees. Ver. 46 — 49. Joseph, being thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, was just suited for active life. At such a pe- riod, however, and raised from such a sit- uation, many would have been lifted up Iq 842 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. their hurt : but He who enaV)led him to rejiel temptation, and endure affliction, enabled him also to hear the glory thai was conier.ed upon him uilh humility. It is observable that, on iroing out from the presence of" Pharaoli, he did not go hither and thither to show his greatness ; iiul immediately betook himself to business. New honors, in his acount, conferred new obligations. The first thing necessary for the execution of his trust was a general survey of the country ; which having tak- en, he proceeded to execute his plan, lay- ing u}) grain during the seven plentiful years beyond all calculation. Ver. 50 — 52. During these years of plenty, Joseph had two sons by his wife Aseiiath, both which are significantly named, and express the state of his mind in his present situation. The first he called Manosseh, that \s, forgetting ; "for God," said he, " hath made me to forget all my toil, and all my father's house." A change from the extremes of either joy to sorrow or sorrow to joy is expressed hy the term fur get fulness : and a very ex- pressive tern) it is. " Thou hast removed my soul far off from peace : 1 forgot pros- perity.— A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her h.Tiir is come : but, as soon as she is delivered, she re- membereth mi more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." But what, had Joseph forgotten his father's house 1 Yes, so far as it had been an affliction to him ; that is, he had forgotten the cruel treatment of his brethren, so as no longer to lay it to heart. His second son he called Ephraim, that is, made fruitful; "for God," said he, "hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of n)y affliction!" In both he eyes the hand of God in doing every thing for him, and gives the glory to him only. Ver. 53 — 57. But now the day of pros- perity to Egypt is at an end, and the day of adversity cometh : " God hath set the one over against the other," to sweep away its fulness, that man should find nothing after him. And now the people, being famished for want of bread, resort- ed to Pharaoh. Had not Pharaoh been warned of this evil beforehand, he might have replied as Jehoram did to her that cried, " Help, my lord, O king. — If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee ! Out of the barn-floor, or out of the wine-press 1" But provision was made for this time of need ; and the peo- ple are all directed to " go to Joseph." And here, I may say again, who can for- bear thinking of Him in whom it hath pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell, and to whom those who are ready to perish are directed for relief! This sore famine was not confined to Egypt, but extended to the surrounding countries : and it was wisely ordered that it should be so; since the great end for which God is represented as calling for it (Ps. cv. 16) was to bring Jacob's sons, and eventually his whole family, into Egypt; which end would not otherwise have been answered. Joseph is now filling up his generation work in useful and important labors ; and, like a true son of Abraham, he is blessed and made a blessing. Yet it was in the midst of this career of activity that his father Jacob said, with a deep sigh, " Jo- seph is not ! " What a large portion of our troubles woidd subside^ if we knew but the whole truth ! DISCOURSE XLIX. THE FIRST INTERVIEW BETWEEN JO- SEPH AWD HIS BRETHREN. Gen. xiii. Things now approach fast to a crisis. We hear but little more of the famine, but as it relates to Jacobs family, on whose account it was sent. It is remark- able that all the three patriarchs, Ai)ra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob, experienced a famine while sojourning in the land of promise ; a circumstance sutTicient to try their faith. Had Ihey been of the dispo- sition ol the spies in the times of Moses, they would have conclu led it to be a land which ate up the inhabitants, and there- fore not worth accepting; but they be- lieved God, and thought well of whatever he did. Ver. 1, "2. Jacob and his family have well nigh exhausted their provision, and have no |)rospect of recruiting it. They had money, but corn was not to be had for mnney in their own country. They could di notliinj;, therefore, but look one at another in sad despair. But Jacob, hearing that there was corn in Egypt, rouses them from their torpor. His words resemble t lose of the four lepers : " Why sit we here until we die] " It is a dictate of nature not to despair while there is a door of hope; and the principle will hold good in things of everlasting moment. Why sit we here, poring over our guilt and misery, when we have heard that with the Lord there is mercy, and with him there is plenteous redemption 1 How long shall we take counsel in our soul, having sorrow in our hearts daily"? Let us trust in his mercy, and our hearts shall rejoice in his salvation. Joseph's first interview with his brethren. 843 Ver. 3, 4. Tlic ten brethren iminerli- quired to attend his movements, a niim- alely betake themselves to their journey, ber of the Eizyplians ifoinj^ with him. Tliey are calieil "Jo-seph's lirethren," But it was doubtless ordered of God that and not Jacob's sons, because Joseph is he should not eo, but that his brethren at present the principal character in the should come to him; for on tiiis depended story. B.it, when Benjamin is called " his the whole issue of the affair. And now brother," there is more meant than in the comes on the delicate part of the story : other case. It would seem to be assi^rned "Joseph saw his brethren, and knew as the reason why Jacob is unwillin;; to them." What must have been his feel- part with him, that he was the only sur- ings! The remembrance of tlie manner vivin<^ child of Rachel, ami brother ofhim in which lie ])arted from them two-and- thal was not ! As mischief had befallen twenty years atro, the events which had him, he was afraid the same should befal since befallen him, their prostration he- his brother, and therefore wished the younsr fore him, and the absence of Benjamin, men to jro without him. Jacob does not from which he miirht be apprehensive that say. " Lest you should do him mischief, they had also made away with him — alto- as I fear you did his brother : " but I sus- '^retiior, must have been a treat shock to pect there was somelhinii of this at the his sensibility. Let him beware, or his bottom, which, when afterwards uri^ed hy countenance will betray him. He feels a kind of necessity to part with Benjamin, the Hansrer of this, and therefore immedi- c-ame out : " Me ye have bereaved atelv puts on a stern look, sjieaks roughly Joseph is not I" — "Ver. 33. At first he to them, and affects to take them for spies, appears to have thoui^ht that some evil By this innocent piece of artifice, he could beast had devoured iiim ; but, upon mire interrogate them, and get out of them all mature observation and reflection, he tlie particulars that he wished, without might see reason to suspect, at least, betraying himself, which he could not whether it was not by some foul dealing have done by any other means. The man- on their part that he had come to his end. ner in which he asked them, " Whence As nothinir, however, could be proved, he come ye 1" would convey to them an idea at present kept his suspicions to himself; of suspicion as to their designs. It was and the matter passed, as it had done from like saying. Who and what are you 1 I the first, that mischief in son)e unknown do not like your looks. Their answer is way had befallen him. humble and proper, stating the simple Ver 5. Nothing is said of their jour- truth .... they came from Canaan, and ney, exce|)t that a number of their coun- had no other design in view than to buy trymen went with them on the same er- food. rand ; for the famine was in the land of Ver. 8. " Joseph knew his brethren," Canaan. Such a number of applicants and lelt for them, notwithstanding his ap- mii^ht possibly excite fears in their minds parent severity; "but they knew not lest there should not be enough for them liim I " It was wisely ordered that it all. Such fears, however, if they existed should be so, and is easily accounted for. in this case, were unnecessary ; and must When they last saw each other, they were always be unnecessary, where there is grown to man's estate, but he was a lad ; enough and to spare. they were probably in much the same Ver. 6. Now, Joseph being governor dress, but he was clothed in vestures of of the land, they find him on their arrival fine linen, with a golden chain about his fully employed in ser\inirthe Egy|itians. neck; and they had only one face tojudge He had assistants ; but his eye pervaded by, whereas he had ten, the knowledge of everything. As soon as they could get anv one of which would lead to the knowl- access to the grivernor, they, according to edge < f all. Now Joseph sees, without the eastern custom, bow themselves before being seen ; and now he remembeis his him, wiih their faces to the earth. dreams of the sheaves, and of the stars. Ver. 7. We may wonder that Joseph Ver. 9 — 14. Determined to continue rould live all this time in Egypt, without at jtresent unknown, and yet wishing to going to sec his father or his brethren, know more ot them, and of matters in We might indeed alle!:e that while with Canaan, Joseph slill speaks under an as- Potiphar he had prohaiiiy neither oppor- sumed character, and affects to be dissat- tunity nor inclination ; when in prison he isfied with their answer. "Ye are spies," was not allowed to go beyond its walls; sailh he, "to see the nakedness of the and, when advanced under Pharaoli, his land are ye come. " They modestly ;nd hands were so fully employed that he could respectfully disown ihs charge, and repeat not be spared. We know that when his the true and only object of their ccming; father was to come down to him he could adding, what is very much in point, only send for him ; and, when h& went to " We are all one man's sons." This was bury him, there was great formality re- saying. Ours is not a political, but a do- 844 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. mestic errand : we are not sent hither by a king, but by a father, and merely to sup- ply the wants of the fannly. Still he af- fects to disbelieve them ; for he does not know enough yet. He therefore repeats his suspicions, in order to provoke them to be more particular : as if he should say, I will know all about you before I sell you corn, or send you away. This had the desired effect. " Thy servants," say they, "are [or were] twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan ; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not." This is deep- ly interesting, and exquisitely affecting to Joseph. By this he learns that his father was yet alive, and his brother too. O these are joyful tidings! I'his was the drift of his questions, as they afterwards tell their father Jacob : " The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kin- dred, saying. Is your father yet alive! Have ye another brother 1 And we told him according to the tenor of these words." — Ch. xliii. 7. But what must have been his sensations at the mention of the last words, " One is not !".... Well, he conceals his feelings, and affects to turn their account of matters against them. They had not told all the truth at first. It seems at first there were only ten of them, and now there were eleven : "That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies." Ver. 15, 16. He now proposes to prove them. " By the life of Pharaoh," saith he, "you shall not go hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you and letch him, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you; or else, hy the life of Pha- raoh, surely ye are spies." Some suppose that Joseph had learned the manner of the Egyptians by living among ihem, or that he would not thus have sworn by the life of Pharaoh ; but I see no ground for any such thing. We might as well say that he had learned to speak untruth, be- cause he really had no such suspicions as he feigned ; or, that he had learned magic, seeing he afterwards talked of "divining;" or, that our Saviour had learned the proud and haughty spirit of the Jews, who treat- ed the Gentiles as dogs, because, for the sake of trying the woman of Canaan, he made use of that kind of language. The truth is, Joseph acted under an assumed character. He wished to be taken for an Egyptian nobleman, with whom it was as common to swear by the life of Pharaoh as it was afterwards for a Roman to swear by the fortune of Caesar. But wherefore does Joseph thus keep up the deception"! and why propose such jtuethods of proving his brethren! I sup- pose at present his wish is to detain them. Yes, they must not leave Egypt thus ■:■ had they done this, he might have seen them no more : yet he had no other cause to assign than this, without betraying the truth, which it was not a fit time to do at present. Ver. 17, 18. Take these men up, said Joseph to his officers, and put them into a place of safe custody : it is not proper they should be at large. Here they lie three days ; a period which afforded him time to think what to do, and them to re- flect on what they had done. On the third day he paid them a visit, and that in a temper of more apparent mildness. He assures them that he has no designs upon, their life, nor any wish to hurt their fam- ily ; and ventures to give a reason for it which must to them appear no less sur- prising than satisfying: "I fear God." What, an Egyptian nobleman "know and fear the true God! If so, they have no- injustice to fear at his hands ; nor can he withhold food from a starving family. The fear of God will ever be connected with justice and humanity to man. But how mysterious an affair ! If he be a good man, how is it that he should treat us so roughly ! How is it that God should suf- fer him so to mistake our designs ! Se- verity from the hand of goodness is douWy severe. Their hearts must surely by this time have been lull. Such were the meth- ods which this wise man made use of to agitate their minds, and to touch every spring of sensibility within them ; and such were the means ivhich God by him made use of to bring them to repentance. This indeed is his ordinary method of deal- ing with sinners : now their fears are awakened by threatenings, or adverse providences, in which death sometimes stares them in the face : and now a little gleam of hope arises, just sufficient to keep the mind from sinking ; yet all is covered with doubt and mystery. It is thus, as by alternate frost and rain and sunshine upon the earth, that he humbleth the mind, and maketh soft the heart of man. Ver. 19 — 24. Joseph, still under a dis- guise, though he consents that nine out of the ten should go home with provision for the relief of the family, yet, that he may have some pledge for iheir return, insists on one being detained as a hostage till they should prove themselves true men, by bringing their younger brother; and his will at present must be their law. Having thus determined their cause, he withdraws from their immediate company to a little distance, where perhaps he might stand conversing with some other persons, but still within hearing of what passed among JOSEPHS FIRST INTKKVIEW WITH HIS BRETHREN. 845 (hem. As he hnd nil along spoken to tlu'in Joseph. Perhaps he was the man who by on interpreter, lliey had no suspicion tore ofl" his coat ol many colors, and that he lintlerstood Hehrew, and therclore threw him into the pit. If so, it would began talking to one another in that Ian lend tohumlile him, and hciuhien all their guage will) the greatest freedom, and, as lears, as leholding in it the ri;:hteous judg- they thought, without danger of heing un- nient of God. derstood. 1 heir lull hearts now hegan to Ver. 25 — "28. This done, their sacks utter themselves. Perhaps their being are ordered to be filled and their money obliged to speak of Joseph as "not" restored; not by givingii into their hands might serve to I'ring him to their remem- however, but by puttimrit into the mouths brance. Whatever it was, the same of their sacks. But w liy all this mysteri- ihoughts had heen in all their minds, ous contiuct ] was it love ! It was at the which probably they could read in each bottom; but love operatimi at present in other's looks. As soon, therefore, as one a way tending to perplex, confound and of them broke silence, the rest immediate- dismay them. It could not ajjpear to them ly joined in ascribing all this evil which in any other light than as either an over- had befallen them to this cause. " They sight, or a design to ensnare and find occa- said one to another. We are verily guilty sion against them. It was certain to fill concerning our brother, in that we saw their minds with consternation and fear • the anguish of his soul, when he hesought and such appears to have been the inten- us, and we would not hear; therefore is tion of Joseph from the first. It accords tbis distress come upon us!" God, in with the wisdom of God, m hen lie means dealing with sinners, usually adapts the to bring a sinner to aright mind, to lead punishment to the sin, so as to cause him into dark and intricate situations of them to read the one in the other. Hence which he shall be utterly unable to per- adverse providences call our sin to re- ceive the design; to awaken ly turns his membrance ; our own wickedness corrects fears and his hopes ; bring his sin to re- us, and our backslidings reprove us. They membrance; and cause liim to (eel his would not hear Joseph in his distress, and littleness, his danger, and his utter insuffi- now they could not be heard : they had ciency to deliver his soul : and such in thrown him into a |)it, and are themselves measure, appears to have been the desisin now thrown into prison! These convic- of Joseph, according to the wisdom th^\t tions are heightened by the reproaches of was imparted to him on this singular oc- Reuben, who gives them to expect blood casion. If his brethren had known all for blood. Reuben was that, methinks, to they would not have felt as they did : but his brethren which conscience is to a sin- neither would they have been hrought to ner ; remonstrating at the outset, and, when so right a state of mind, nor have been judgment overtakes him, reproaching hitn, prepared, as they were, for that which and foreboding the worst of consequences, followed. And if we knew all, with re- His words are sharp as a two edged sped to the mysterious dispensations of sword " Spake I not unto you, saying, Do God, we should have less pain ; hut then not sin against the child ; and ye would not we should be less humbled, and less hear ^ Therefore behold, also, his blood fitted to receive the mercy which is pre- is required ! " But, that which is still pared for us. more affecting, Joseph hears all, and un- It is rcmarkalile how this circumstance derstands it, and this without their sus- operates on their minds. They construe peeling it. Such words however were too it to mean something against them ; but in much for the heart of man, at least such what way they know not. They do' not re- a man as he was, to bear : it is no wonder, proach the man, the lord of' the land therefore, that he " turned himself about though it is likely from his treatment of from them and wept ! " But, having re- them that they would suspect some ill de- covered himself", he returned to them, and sign against them : but, overlookin and dine I" Ver. 17,18. But to Joseph's brethren things still wear a mysterious and con- founding aspect : that which he meant in love, they construed as a design to ensnare 848 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. and enslave them. The mind, while in a state of dark suspense, is apt to view eve- ry th'uvj[, through a discouraging medium. It will misconstrue even goodness itsell', and fiud fear where no fear is. Thus it is that souls depressed under God's hand often misinterpret his providences, and draw dismal conclusions from the same things which in another state of mind would afford them relief. When the soul is in such a frame as to " refuse to be comforted," it will "remember God, and be troubled." — Psa. Ixxvii. 2,3. Ver. 19 — 23. Being introduced into the house of Joseph, however, though it ex- cited their fears, yet it afforded an oppor- tunity during his alisence of speaking to the steward concerning the money found in their sacks, which was the circumstance that at present most alarmed them. It was wise in them to be first in mentioning this matter, that, if any thing were after- wards said by Joseph about it, they might appeal to the steward, and he could de- clare on their behalf that, without any ac- cusation, they had of their own accord mentioned the whole business to him, and returned the money. But the answer of the steward is surprising. He could scarce- ly have spoken more suitably, if he had been in the secret. I do not suppose he knew that these were Joseph's brethren ; but he would know that they were his countrymen ; and perceiving the interest which he took in them, and the air of mystery which attended his conduct to- wards them, he would be at no loss to conclude that there was no ill design against them. It is likely he knew of the money being returned by Joseph's order ; and he knew his master too well to sup- pose that, whatever might be his design in it, he would hurt the poor men for what had been done by his own order. More- over, this steward, whoever he was, ap- pears to have learnt something by being with Joseph concerning the true God, the God of the Hebrews. His answer is kind, and wise, and religious. " Peace be unto you, fear not ; your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks : I had your money." q. d. Let your hearts be at rest : I will be answera- ble that you paid what was due : inquire no farther about it : providence brought it, and let that satisfy you. To render them still more at ease, Simeon is brought out of his confinement and introduced to them ; which, being done by the order of Joseph, was a proof of his being satisfied. The deliverance of the hostage was an evidence that all was well. Thus the " bringing again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep," was to us a token for good, and therefore is ascribed to God, as the God of peace. — Heb. xiii. 20. Ver. 24, 25. While Joseph is busy about his concerns, and thinking how he shall conduct himself towards his brethren, they are busy in washing and dressing themselves to appear before him, and in preparing the present which they had brought for him. What was done required to be done in a handsome manner, and they are disposed to do their best. Ver. 26, 27. And now, the business of the nmrning being over, Joseph entei^s. They immediately request his acceptance of the spices and sweetmeats of Palestine, sent as a present by their father, bowing down their faces to the earth, as they had done before. Thus Joseph's dream, which was lepeated to him, is repeated in its ful- filment. There is nothing said of his man- ner of receiving it ; but doubtless it was kind and affable. And, as they would present it in the name of their father, this would furnish a fair opportunity to inquire particularly respecting him; a subject on which his feelings would be all alive. It is charming to see how he supports the character which he had assumed, that of an Egyptian nobleman, who remembered what they had said about a venerable old man, of whose welfare he very politely in- quires. " Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake 1 Is he yet alive 1" Ver. 28. They answer very properly,, and call their father his servant, and again make obeisance. Tlius, in them, Jacob himself bowed down to Joseph; and thereby that part of his dream was also fulfilled. Ver. 29. When Joseph first saw his brethren, his eyes, perhaps without his be- ing aware of it, were fixed on Benjamin. — Ver. 16. But, having detected himself in that instance, he appears to be more up- on his guard in this. He receives the pres- ent, and converses with them about their father's welfare, without once turning his eyes towards his brother. But, having done this, he thinks he may venture a look at him. He "lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said " to the others, but still under the same disauise, " Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto mel" If he could have waited for an answer, they would douV)tless have told him it was ; but his heart is too full. No sooner is the question out of his lips than (it may be with his hand upon his head) he adds, "God be gracious unto thee, my son!" Oh Joseph, on what tender ground dost thou presume to walk! This benediction, though under the disguise of a good wish THE CUP IN BENJAMIN S SACK. 849 from a stranger, was in reality an effusion of a full he rt, which in this manner sought lor ease. Genuine love longs to express itself. Ver. 30, This little indulgence of affec- tion, however, had well nigh betrayed him. Ardent desires will always plead hard to go a little way, and presume not to go too far; i'ut to indulge (hem a little is like letting air into a room on lire. Jo- seph is so affectctt hy what has passed that he is obli<.'ed to quit the company and re- tire into his chamber to weep there. Ver. 31. Having recovered himself, and washed liis face, that they might not discover his tears, he re-enlcrs, and be- haves with mu'.h hospitality and attention. Ver. 32 — 34. And now I apprehend it was Joseph's wish to discover himself to his brethren, or rather to enable them to discover him. There are three things in particular, while they were at dinner, each tending to this end, and, as I conceive, de- signed for it. 1. The order of the tables. One for himself, one for the strangers, and one for the Egyptians. The design of this was to set them a thinking of him, and who he was, or could be. That the Egyp- tians and Hel)rews should eat apart they could easily account for : but who or what is this man! Is he not an J^gyptian ! Yet, if he be, why eat by himself! Sure- ly he must be a foreigner. '2. The order in which they themselves were seated : it was " before him," so that they had full opportunity of looking at him ; and, what was astonishing to them, every man was placed " according to his age." But who can this be, that is acquainted with their ages so as to be al)le to adjust things in this order! Surely it must be some one who knows us, though we know not him. Oris he a diviner! Who or wiiat can jie be! They are said to have "marvelled one at another," and well they might. It is marvellous that they did not hence sus- pect who he was. 3. The peculiar favor which he expressed to Benjamin, in send- ing him a mess five times more than the rest. There is no reason to suppose that Benjamin ate more than the rest : but this was the manner of showing special favor in those times. — See chap. xlv. 22, 23. It was therefore saying, in effect, I not only know all your ages, but tow ards that young man I have more than a common regard .... Look at all this, and look at me .... Look at me, my brotiier Benjamin. Dost thou not know me ! — But all was hid from them. Their eyes, like those of the dis- ciples towards their Lord, seem to have been holden, that they should not know him. Their minds, however, are eased from all apprehensions, and they drank and were cheerful in his company. VOL. I. 107 DISCOURSE LI. THE CUP IN benjamin's SACK. Gen. xliv. I — 17. Ver. 1, 2. As every measure which Joseph had yet taken to lead his brethren to discover who he was had failed, he must now have recourse to another expe- dient to detain them. Their sacks are ordered to be filled, and their beasts lad- en with as much corn as they can carry, their money restored as before, and a silver cup put into the sack's mouth of the young- est. All this is love : but it is love still working in a mysterious w ay. The object seems to be to detain Benjamin, and to try the rest. Ver. 3 — 6. Having stopped over the night, next morning at break of day they are dismissed, and set off for home. Af- ter the treatment which they had received, we may suppose they were now all very happy. Simeon is restored, Benjamin is safe, and they are well laden with provis- ions for the family. They would now be ready to anticipate the pleasure of seeing their father and easing his anxious heart. But lo ! another dark cloud presently over- spreads their sky. They had scarcely got out of the city before the steward over- takes them, and charges them w ith the hei- nous crime of having stolen his lord's cup ; a crime which would have been highly of- fensive at any time, but much more so af- ter the generous treatment which they had received. And, to perplex them the more, he intimates as if his lord were a diviner, and must needs be able to find out stolen (jrojierty ! Such we see was hea- tlienism in those early ages; and such hea- thenism is found even in Christian coun- tries to this day. Ver. 7—9. At this they are all thun- derstruck with surprise; yet, conscious of their innocence, they disown the charge, and express the utmost abhor- rence at such a conduct. They appeal also to a fact with which the steward was well acquainted ; namely, their having brought again the money which they had found in their sacks. Did this conduct comport with the character of thievesi Can it be supposed after this, say they, that we should steal out of my lord's house either silver or gold ! Search us throughout. On whomsoever it be found, let him die, and we will all consent to be- come slaves I — Such was their confidence that the charge was unfounded ; and their invoking so severe a penalty would be a presumptive evidence that it was so. 850 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. Ver. 10, 11. The steward, who is well particularly mentioned, as having a special aware of some profound design on the interest at stake on account of his surety- part of his master, tliough he knew not ship: but neither he nor iiis brethren tan the whole of it, humors the thing with utter a word, but wait in this humble pos- much addiess. He accedes to the mode ture to hear what is said to them, of trial, but softens the penalty, proposing Joseph, having carried matters to this that none but the guilty should suffer, and height, once more assumes the tone of a he nothing more than the loss of lit erty. great man, highly oflentled ; suggesting^ With this they readily acquiesce; and being witlial, that they ought to have known that slung with reproach, they, with indignant such a man as he could certainly divine, sensations, hastily unlade every man his and that therefore it would I e in vain to beast, in order to disprove the charge, think of escaping with his property un- How willing is conscious innocence that detected. things should be searched to the bottom; As Judah appeared foremost on their and how confident of an honorable acquit- entrance, Joseph's words would probably tal ! be directed to him for an answer. But Ver. 12. And now search is made from what answer can be given 1 The surety the eldest to the youngest. Ten out of and the advocate is here dumb ; for he had eleven are clear, and enjoy the triumph of been a party in guilt; not indeed in the a good conscience ; but, lo, in the sack of present instance, but in another. He can the youngest the cup is found! Every therefore only exclaim, " A\hat shall we thing seems contrived to give an edge lo say unto my lord 1 What shall we speak, their sorrow. It was when they were or how shall we clear ourselves 1 God leaving Egypt in high spirits, that they hath found out the iniquity of his servants ! were stopped; and now when they have Behold, we are my lord's servants; both disproved the charge, except in one in- we, and he also with whom the cup is stance, lo, that instance fails them! To found!" He did not mean by this to have their hopes raised within one step of plead guilty to the charge; tut neither an acquittal, and then to be at once disap- dare he plead innocent, for that would pointed, was very affecting. "Thou hast have been accusing the offended party of lifted me up and cast me down." having ensnared them, and so have made But what a confounding event! Could the case still worse ; neither was'he able they really think for a moment that Ben- to confront the evidence which aj)peared jamin had been guilty of the mean and against his younger brother. What can wicked action which seems to I e prov- he say or do 1 He can only suggest that ed upon him 1 I do not suppose they could, ii is a mysterious providence, in which it They must remember having found the appears to be the design of God to punish money in their sacks' mouths, when, nev- them for their formkr crimes. This ertheless, they knew themselves to be in- answer, which was manifestly dictated by nocent. Nay, and in searching for the what lay up|ermost in all their minds, was cup, though nothing is now said of the at the same time the most delicate and money, yet they must have found it there modest manner in which he could possibly a second tin)e. All this would acquit Ben- have insinuated a denial of tb.e charge, jamin in their account. Yet what can While it implied their innocence in the they allege in his favor, without reflecting present instance, it contained no reflec- upon his accusers 1 The article is found tion upon others, but an acknowledgment upon him; which is a species of proof that of the divine justice, and a willingness to seems to admit of no answer. A deep and bear the punishment that might 1 e inflit ted dismal silence therefore pervades the ( cm- upon them, as coming from abo\e. If pany. In very agony they rend their Joseph had really 1 een the character clothes, reload their beasts, and return which he a| peared to I e, such an answer into the city. As they walk along, their must have gone far towards disarming him thoughts turn upon another event an of resentment. How forcil le are right event which had more than once occurred words! 7 he simple and genuine utterance to tht ir remembrance already. It is the of the heart is the most irresistible of all Lord! W^e are murderers; and, though eloquence. we have escaped human detection, yet di- Jose) h, in answer, disclaims every thing vine vengeance will not suffer us to live, that might wear the appearance of cruelty. There, though guilty, we were acquitted : No, he will not make bondujen of them, here, though innocent, we shall be con- but merely of him on whom the cup was demned ! found. Such is the sentence. They may Ver. IS — 17. Arriving at Joseph's go about their business; but Benjamin house, where he still was, no doul t ex- must be detained in slaxery. Alas! and pecting their return, Judali and his breth- is this sentence irrevocable^ Better all ren fall prostrats beforo bim. Judah is ba detained than ho ; fur it will bo tho Jl'DAH b INTERCE88IO?«. 551 rlealh of his talher ! What can he saiH, Dr done } Tlie surety now becomes the advocate, ami llial to purpose. Sui h an intercession as that which lollows we shall no where tind, unless it he in His wlioin the Father " heareth always." But I sliall here close the present discourse, with only a reflection or two on the sul>ject. 1. We see a strikinfi analogy Itetwcen the conduct of Josepii towards his hrotiier Benjaiain and that of Jesus towards his people. " Whom I love, 1 rei)uke and chasten." Benjamin must have thought himseIC peculiarly unhappy to he one day marked out as a favorite, anil the ne.\t convicted as a criminal ; and yet in nei- ther instance able to account tor it. It niiglit teach him, however, when the mys- tery came to he unravelled, n:)t to draw hasty conclusions from uncertain premises; but to wait and see the issue of things, before he decided upon them. Sucli a lesson it will he well lor us to learn from it. The Lord often brings us into dilTi- culties, that he may detain us, as I may say, from leavinvr him. Were it not lor these, he would lave fewer importunate applications at a throne of grace than he has. He does not"af]lict willingly," or Jroni his heart : but from necessity, and that he may bring us nearer to him. 2. We see also a striking analogy be- tween Joseph's conduct towards his l)reth- ren and that of the Lord towards us. In all he did, I suppose, it was his design to try them. His putting the cuj) into Ben- jamin's sack, and convicting him of the supposed guilt, would try their love to him, and to their aged father. Had they been of the same disposition as when they sold Joseph, they would not have cared for him. Their language would have been somewhat to this effect : — Let this young favorite go, and be a slave in Egypt. If he have stolen the cup, let liim suffer for it. We have a good riddance of him ; and without 1 eing under the necessity of dealing with him as we did with his brother. And, as to ihe old man, if he will indulge in such ))artial Ibmlness, let him take the consequence. — But, happily, th?y are now of another mind. God aj)- pears to have made use of this mysterious providence, and of Joseph's behavior, among other things, to bring them to re- pet.lancc. And the cup being found in Benjamin's sack would give them occasion to maniiest it. It must have afforded the most heart-felt satisfaction to Joseph, amidst all the pain which it cost him, to witness their tender conrern for Benja- min, and for the life of their aged f-ither. This of itself was sufficient to excite, on his part, the fullest forgiveness. Thus God is represented as "looking upon a contrite spirit," and even overlooking heaven and earth for it. — Isa. Ix\i. 1, 2. Next to the gilt of his Son, he accounts it the greatest blessing he can bestow upon a sinful creature. Now, that on which he sets so high a value he may be expected to produce, even though it may be at the exi)ense of our present peace. Nor have we any cause of complaint, but the contrary. What were the suspense, the anxiety, and the distress of Joseph's brethren, in comparison of that which followed ] And what is the suspense, the anxiety, and the distress of an awakened sinner, or a tried believer, in comparison of the joy of faith, or the grace that shall be revealed at the appearing of Jesus Christ] It will then be found that our liiiht aflliction, which was but for a mo- ment, has been working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. DISCOURSE LII. jud.\h's intercession. Gen. xliv. 18—34. Joseph, in the character of a judge, has sternly decided the cause, that Benja- min, the supjjosed offender, should be de- tained a bondman, and the rest may go in peace. But Judah, the surety, wounded to the heart with this decision, presumes as an advocate to i)lead, not that the sen- tence may be annulled, but that it may be chanired with respect to its object. It was a difficult and delicate undertaking; for, when a judge has once decided a cause, his honor is pledged to abide by it. He must, therefore, have felt the danger of incurring his displeasure, by attempting to induce him in that stage of tin; business to alter his purpose. But love to his father, and to his brother, with a recollection of his own engagement, impose upon him the most imperious necessity. Ver. IS. Prompted by these sentiments, he approaches the judge. His first at- tempt is to conciliate him : "Oh I my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant ; for thou art even as Pharaoh.''' This hiief intro- duction was admirably calculated to soften resentment, and obtained a patient hearing. The respectful title given him, My lord — the entreaty for permission to f^peok — the intimation that it should be but as it were a word — the defirecation of his anger, as being in a manner equal to that of Pha- r loh — and all this prefaced with an inter- jection of sorrow, as though nothing but 852 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS, the deepest distress should have induced hiin to presume to speak on such a subject, — showed him to be well qualified lor his undertaking. Ver. 19. And now, perceiving in his judge a willingness to hear, he proceeds, not by passionate declamations and appeals to his generosity, but by narrating a simple tale, and then grounding a plea upon it. Truth is the best weapon wherewith to assail the heart : only let truth be repre- sented in an affecting light. His object, remember, is to persuade the judge so far to reverse the doom as to accejit ot him, the surety, for a bondman, instead of the supposed offender. Mark how every thing he says leads to this issue. " My lord asked his servants, saying. Have ye a fa- ther, or a brother 1" Here the judge is gently reminded that the occasion ot this unhappy young man coming at all into Egypt was what he himself had said. He does not mean to reflect upon him for it ; but he might hope that merely this circum- stance would have some weight in soften- ing his resentment against him. It is ob- servable, however, that in repeating the questions of Joseph, or their own former answers to him, he does not confine him- self to terms. Joseph did not say, in so many words, Have ye a father, &c nor did they make answer in the exact form as is here repeated ; but he pretends only to repeat the tenor of what passed, of the justness of which the judge himself would be well acquainted. Nor is this verbi^l deviation to be attributed merely to the failure of memory ; for he avails him- self of it to introduce every affecting cir- cumstance that could possibly touch the heart, which if he had adhered to a mere verbal rehearsal would have been lost. Of this the following words are a remark- able instance. Ver. 20. " And we said unto my lord. We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one ; and his broth- er is dead, and he alone is left of his moth- er, and his father loveth him." All these things were said, I believe, either express- ly or by implication, but not in this order. As they were said before, they were mere- ly rays of light dififused in the air; but here they are reduced to a focus, which burns every thing before it. I need not repeat how every word in this inimitable passage tells ; how it touches every princi- ple of compassion in the human n)ind ; in short, how it rises, like a swelling wave, till it overcomes resistance, and in a man- ner compels the judge to say, in his own mind, " Well, whatever this young man has done, he must not be detained ! " Ver. 21—29. Having already intima- ted that the coming of the lad was occa- sioned by the inquiries concerning the family, and made a pro])er use of that, the advocate proceeds another step, and re ■ minds his judge that it was in obedience to his command: "Thou saidst, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him." This circumstance, though it conveyed no reflection, any more than the former, yet would work upon a generous mind, not to distress an aged lather by tak- ing advantage ot an affair which had oc- curred merely from a willingness to oblige him. To this he adds, that they discov- ered at the time a reluctance, on their fa- ther's account, to comply with this part of his request; but he would have no denial, protesting that, except their younger brother came with them, they should see his face no more. Nor was this all : not only did ihey leel reluctant on their fa- ther's account, but he, when told of it on their return, I'elt a still great r relvctance. The manner in which he introduces his father's objection, repeating it in his own words, or rather in his own words at dif- ferent times reduced as to a focus, is amazing. We repeated, q. d., the words of my lord to our father ; and when, feeling the imperious calls of nature, he requested us to go again and buy a little food, we answered him that we could not go without our younger brother, for we could gain no admittance except he were with us. On this painful occasion thy ser- vant, our father, addressed us as follows : — "Ye know that vify wife bare me two sons. And the one went out from me, and I said. Surely he is torn in pieces : and I saw him not since. And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befal him, ye shall bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave ! " To point out the force of this overwhelm- ing argument requires a view of the human mind, when, like a complicate machine in motion, the various powers and passions of it are at work. The whole calamity of the family arising from obedience to the judge's own command; an obedience yielded to on their }>art with great reluctance, because of the situation of their aged lather; and on his part with still greater, because his brother was as he supposed torn in pieces, and he the only surviving child of a beloved wife ; and the declaration of a venerable, grey- headed man, that if he lose him it will be his death .... was enough to melt the heart of any one possessed of human feel- ings. If Joseph had really been what he appeared, an Egyptian nobleman, he must have yielded the point. To have withstood it, would have proved him not a man, much less a man who " fear- ed God," as he had professed to be. JUDAH S INTERCESSION. 853 But, if such would have been his feelings even on that su|)|)ositi()n, what inu?it lliey have been to know what he knew ] What im|»ression must it have made upon his mind lo be told of Jacob's words : " My wife hare me two sons; an 1 the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces! " It is also observatile wilh what singu- lar adroitness Judah avoids making men- tion of this eider brother of tiie lad, in any other than his lather's words. He did not say he was torn in pieces. No ; he knew ii was not so ! But his father had once used that language ; and, thou'ih he had lately spoken in a manner which bore liard on him and iiis brethren, yet this is passed over, and nothing hinted but what will turn to account. Ver. 30, 31. The'inference of what ef- fect the detention of Benjamin would have on the aged parent might have been left for the judge to make ; but it is a part of the subject which will bear a little enlarge- ment, and that to a very good purpose. Thus therefore he proceeds : " When I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us (seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life), it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, he will die ; and thy servants shall bring down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave!" The whole of this intercession taken together is not the twentieth part the length of what our best advocates would have made of it in a court of jus- tice : yet the speaker finds room to expa- tiate upon those parts which are the most tender, and on which a minute description will heighten the general effect. We are surprised, delighted, and melted with his charming parenthesis: '' seeins; that bis life is bound up in the lad's life." It is true it does not seem to inform us of any thing which we might not have known without it ; but it re|)resents what was be- fore stated in a more affecting light. It is also remarkable how he repeats things which are the most tender; as, "When I come, and the lad be not ivith us." "It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us." So also in de- scribing the effect this would produce : "When he seeth that the lad is not with us, Ae will die; and we shall bringdown the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave." This last sen- tence, also, not only repeats the death of the aged parent in a more affecting manner than the first, but contains a plea forBenjamin's release founded on the cruel situation of their being otherwise forced in a manner to become parricides ! Ver. 32 — 34. One plea more remains, which will at once contain an apology for his importunity, and make way for uliat, with iiumlile submission, he means (o pro- pose. This is, "Thy servant became surely lor the lad unto my father." And, that it may make the deeper impression, he repeats the terms of it : " If 1 bring him not unto ihee, let me bear the blame forever." And now, having stated his peculiar situation, he presumes to express iiis petition. But why did he not mention that at first, and allege what he has alleged in support of it 1 Such might have been the process of a less skilful advocat'- ; but Jud.di's leelitigs tauiihl Idm better. His withholding that to the last was holding the mind of his judge in a stale of atfecting sus- pense, and preventing the objections which an al>ru()t introduction of it at the beginning might have created. He might in that case have cut him short, as he had done before, saying, " God fori)id that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant." But he could not refuse to hear his tale; and by that he was prepared to hear his petition. Tiius Esther, when presenting her |)eli- tion to Ahasuerus, kept it i)ack till she had, l)y holding him in suspense, raised his desire to the utmost height lo know wiiat it was, and induced in him a predis- position to gvant it. But what is Judah's petition ] That the crime may be passed over, and that they may all return home to their father 1 No : " Let thy servant, 1 pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bondman lo my lord, and let the lad go up with his brethien ! " If we except the grace of anotlier and greater substitute, never surely was there a more generous proposal ! And when to this is added the filial regard from which it proceeds, " for how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not v.ith me ; lest peradventure I see the esil that shall come on my father I " this in itself, distinct from all which had gone before it, was enough to overcome every objection. DISCOURSE LIII. JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN. Gen. xlv. Ver. 1—3. The close of Judah's speech must have been succeeded by a sol- emn pause. Every heart is full; but eve- ry tongue is silent. The audience, it Ihey understood the language, would he all in tears. The ten brethren, viewing the whole as the righteous judgment of God S54 EXrOSlTION OF GENESIS. Upon Ihetn, would be full of fearful amaze- ment as to tlie i?sue. Bcnjpniiii would feel 1 olli (or his dear fallier and his 1 eiov- ed hrollier who had olfered to give himself for him ! B.it what saith thejudiiel How does he stand afTected 1 I have no dotift 1 ul that he must have covered his face during the greater part of the time in Avhich Judah had I een | leading : and now this wili nut sulRte. I'lie fire l.urns with in him, and it must have vent. " Cause every man," said he. "to depart irom nie ! " And then he breaks out in a loud weeping, so that the Egyptians from with- out heard him. Their minds no doubt must be filled with amazement, and desire to know the cause of this strange affair; while the parties within would be still more confounded, to witness suc!i a burst of sorrow, Irom him who, hut awhile be- fore, was all sternness and severity. But now the mystery is at once revealed, and that in a lew word^— T AM JOSEPH ! ! ! Doth my father yet live 1 If they had been struck liy an electrical shock, or the most tremendous j)eal of thunder had instantly been heard over their heads, its effect had been nothing in comparison of that which these words must have [uo- duced. They aie all struck dumb, and as it were petrified with terror. If he had been actually dead, and had risen and appeared to them, they could not have felt greatly diff'erent. The flood of thoughts which would at once rush in upon their minds is past description. No words could better express the general effect than those which are used : " They could not answer him ; for ihey were troubled at his presence !" Ver. 4 — 8. A little nnnd, amidst all its sympathy, might have enjoyed the trium|)h which Joseph now had over them who once hated him, and have been wil- ling to make them feel it : but he has made them feel sufficiently already ; and, hav- ing Ibrgiven them in his heart, he remem- bers their sin no more, but is full of ten- der solicitude to heal their wounded spirits. " Come near unto me," sailh he, " I pray you ; and they came near : and he said, I am Joseph j'our brother, whom ye sold into E!.'y[)t." This painful event he does not seem to have mentioned hut for the sake of convincing them that it was he himself, even their brother Joseph, and not another ; and lest the mention of it should he taken as a reflection, and so add to their distress, he immediately follows it up witli a dissuasive from overmuch sor- row : " Now therefore he not grieved, nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither : for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in t!ie land : and yet there are five ) ears in the which there shall be neither earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you, to preserve a posterity in the earth, and l()sa\e yourlives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you' that sent me hither, b.t God : and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh," &c. In this soothing and lender strain did this excellent irian pour I aim into their wounded hearts. A less delicate mind would have talked of forgiving them ; but he entreats them to forgise themselves, as though the other was out of the question. Nor did he mean that they should abuse the doctrine of providence to the making light of sin ; but merely that they should eye the hand of God in all, so as to he reconciled to the event, though they might weep in secret for the part w liich lliey had acted. And it is his desire that they should for the present, at least, view the suhject much in that point of light, which would arm them against despondency and a be- ing swallowed up of overmuch sorrow. Their viewing things in this light would not abate their godly sorrow, hut rather increase it: it would tend only to exjiel the sorrow of the world, which v^oiketh death. The analogy between all this, and the case ol a sinner on Christ's first man- ifesting himself to his soul, is very strik- ing. I cannot enlarge on particulars : suffice it to say, the more he views the doctrine of the cross, in which God hath glorified himself, and saved a lost world by those very means which were intended for evil by his murderers, the better it will he with him. He shall not he able to think sin on this account a less, but a greater, evil ; and yet he shall be so armed against des(:ondency as even to rejoice in what God hath wrought, while he trembles in thinking of the evils from which he has escaped. Ver. 9 — 11. It is not in the power of Joseph's brethren to talk at present : he therefore talks to them. And to divert their minds from terror, and gradually re- move the effects of the shock, he goes on to tell lliem they must make haste home to his father, and say thus and thus to him in his name ; and invite him and all his family to comedown fbrlhwiih into Egypt, where he and they shall be well provided for during the five years' famine yet to come, and where he shall lie near unto him. Ver. 12 — 15. While he is thus talking with his brethren, they would be apt to suspect whether all could he true, and whether Ihey were not in a dream, or im- posed upon in some supernatural way. To obviate these nnsgivings of mind, he adds, " And heboid, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benj;:niin, that it is my mouth which speakelh unto you, and you JOSEPH MADE KNOWN TO HIS buethre:*. S55 shall tell my father of ;ill my glory in and meat for him liy the way. Tlicse Esiypt." '1 i)e lormer part of ih s speech things iiiij;hl not he all necessary: Jacob must needs have produced in him a liesh would need no more for himsell than any flood ol tears. As to them, 1 know not other indi\idual o( the taniily ; hut, as we whether ihey could weep at (iresenl. Noth- saw in tiie mess which was sent to Benja- ing is said ol the kind ; and it is natural min, this was the mode at that time of e\- to sufi|)()se that they had too much fear as pressing peculiar afl'ection. To all this yet mingled with their sorrow to admit of kindness he added a word of counsel: its heing vented in this manner. He how- " Sec that yc fall not out hy the way." ever, having made mention of Ben- Joseph had alre.idy heard from Reul en juniin, cannot fbrhear failing upon liis some severe reflections on his lirelhren neck and weo[>ing over him: and Benja- (ch. xlii. '22); and mijiht supjiuse that min, not feeling that petrilying guilty such things would ie repeated when Ihey sh;)ck which must have con'ounded them, were alone. One might he accused of fell upon his neck, and wept wiih him. this, and another of that, till all their Joseph had said nothing to his 1 rcthren minds would he grieved and wounded. of forgiving them ; hut he would now But he that could find in his heart to love express as much, and more, I y his actions ; them, after all their unworthy conduct, giving an afleclionate kiss to every one of gives them, as I may say, "a new com- thcm, accon)panied with tears of tender- mandnient, that they should love one an- ncss. This ap[)ears more than any thing other!" to have removed their terror, so that now Ver. 25 — 23. And now the young peo- they are sufTiciently composed to talk pie betake tiumselves to their journey, with him, if not to mingle their fears with and in a little time arrive at their father's Lis. house. Jacob liad doul tiess I een I )oking Ver. 16 — 24. The secret, heing once and longing for their return, and that with disclosed vvithin doors, soon got out ; and many fears and misgivings of mind. If news of Joseph's brethren being come flies the matter was announced as suddenly as thiough the city, and reaches ihe palace, it is here related, it is not surprising that Pharanh and his court too are well pleas- "Jacob's heart fainted, and that he he- ed with it; or, if there were any, who lieved them not." It must appear too might envy Joseph's high honor, they much to I e true. The suddenness of the would not dare to express it. transition would p,roduce an effect like In other cases, Pharaoh had left every that of fire and water coming in contact : thing to Joseph ; and Joseph know ing what and though he had suspected that Joseph he had done, and the confidence which he had not been fairly treated by his brethren, j)ossessed, had given orders in this case ; yet he never seems to have doubled that yet, to save his feelings in having to invite he was dead. It would appear therefore, his own relations as it were to another at first, as if they meant to tantalize him. man's house, as well as to express the grat- Perhaps, too, we may partly account for itude of the nation to so great a beiielac- this incredulit} from the aptness there is tor, the king in this instance comes for- in a dejected mind to 1 clieve what i.s ward, and gives orders himself. His or- against him rather than what is for him. ders loo were more liberal than those of When ihey brouiiht the bloody garment Jose[)h : he had desired them to bring with he readily believed, saying, "Joseph is them all the projierty they had ; 1 ut Pha- without doubt rent in pieces ! " But, raoh I ids them to disregard their stuff, for wiien good news is told him, it seems loo that the good of all the land of Egy|)t was good to be 4rue. theirs. Joseph had said nothing about They went on, however, and told him the mode of conveyance; but Pharaoh of all the words of Josejih ; that is, of gives orders for waggons, or chariots, as the invitations which he sent hy them ; the word is sometimes rendered, to be and, as a proof, pointed to the waggons sent to letch them. which were come to take him down. The Joseph, however, in executing these sight of these overcomes the incredulity orders, gives fresh testimonies of affection, of the patriarch, and revives his spirit, not only in furnishing them with " provis- "It is enough," said he: "Joseph juy ions by ihe way," bul to each man changes son is yet alive. I will go and see him of raiment, and to Benjamin his 1 lothcr before I die ! " Yes, this was enouuh, not three hundred pieces ol silver, and five only to remove his doul ts, but to heal his changes of raiment. An:l to his honored wounded heart, to set ,A\ riglit, to solve father, though he could not on account of all mysteries, and to satisfy his soul. He business go and fetch him, yet he sends had no more wishes on this side the grave, the richest present; namely, ten asses No mention is made of how he received laden witii the good things of Kgypt, and the gifts, or w at he said of his son's glo- teo she asseg laden with corn and bread ry : it was enough for him that he was 856 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. alive. The less must give way to the greater. He seems to have considered death as near at hand, and as though he had nothing to do but to go and see him, and, like old Simeon by the Saviour, de- part in peace. — Ch. xlvi. 30. But he must live a few years longer, and reflect upon the wisdom and goodness of God in all these mysterious events. DISCOURSE LIV. Jacob's going down into egypt. Gen. xlvi. The patriarch, having resolved to go and see liis beloved Joseph, soon gets ready (or his journey, and takes with him "all (hat he had." It was generous in Pharaoli to j)ropose his leaving tiie stuff behind hini; liut Jacob was not eUited uilh the riches of Egypt, and might vvish to put his friends to as little expense as pos- sible. Those things wliich Pharaoh would call stuff might also have a peculiar value in his esteem, as having been given him in answer to prayer. — Chap, xxviii. 20. What is given by our best iriend should not be set at nought. But does not Jacob acknowledge God in this undertaking. It is a very impor- tant one to him and to his posterity. Sure- ly he does not " use lightness " in such an affair; and " the thing which he purpos- eth is not according to the flesh." No, he will solen)nly invoke the divine bless- ing, but not till he has gone one day's journey. He had doubtless committed his way to God, and we hope was satis- fied as to the path of duty ; but he might have a special reason for deferring his public devotions till he should arrive at Beersheba. This was a distinguished spot : what had there taken place would tend to assist him in his approaches to God. It was there that Abraham, after many changes and trials, " called on the name of the everlasting God ;" and there that Isaac had the promise renewed to him, " built an altar, and called also upon the name of Jehovah." This therefore shall be the place where Jacob will offer a solemn sacrifice, and invoke the divine blessing on himself and his children. Arriving at the a[)pointed place towards evening, he and all his company stop; and having reared an altar, or repaired that which had been built aforetime, " offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac." Jacob, in his approaches to God, did not forget to avail himself of the covenant made with his forefathers, and of the promises already on record. His comjfig to this place seems to have been with the very design that his eyes, in beholding the surrounding objects, might assist his mind and affect his heart in the recollection. Nor must we in ours forget to avail our- selves of the covenant of God in Christ, in which is all our salvati^m. The re- meml)rance of the godliness of our prede- cessors also, in like circumstances with ourselves, may have a happy influence on our devotions. It is sweet to a holy mind to be able to say, " He is my God, and I will exalt him : my father's God, and I will build him a habitation! " Ver. 2 — 1. Jacob, having closed the day by a solemn act of w orsiiip retires to rest ; and, as in a former instance, God ap- peared and spake to him in visions of the night ; calling liim twice by name, "Jacob, Jacob ! " To which the patriarch answers, " Here am I," ready to hear what God the Lord will speak . nto his servant. And he said, " I am God." To one so well ac- quainted with the divine character as Jacob was, this would be cheering; especially as it would indicate his acceptance of the sa- crifice, and his being with him in the way he went. It would seem enough for a godly mind to know that God is with him. But, in compassion to Jacob, it is added, "the God of thy father." As such he had sought him, and as such he found him. This language amounted to a re- newal of the covenant of Abraham, that " God would bless, and make him a bless- ing; and that in him, and his seed, all the nations of the earth should be iilessed." And, lest this should be thought too gen- eral it is added, " Fear not to go down in- to Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt ; and I will also surely bring thee up again, and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes." Though Jacob's affection to Joseph made him resolve at first to go and see him, yet it is likely he had afterwards some misgivings of mind upon the subject. Abraham went once into Egypt; but he left it under a cloud, and never went again. Isaac, in a time of famine, was forbidden to go. — Chap, xxvi. 2. And, though Jacob had sent his sons to buy corn, yet it did not seem to be the place for him. But God removes his fears, and intimates that Egypt is design- ed lo be the cradle of that great nation which should descend from his loins. They were idolaters, and should prove in the end oppressors : but the promise of God to go withhim was enough. Neither tem[)tation nor persecution need dismay us, when we are led into it by the Lord : if he lead us into it, we may hope that he will keep us in it. The Lord, in promis- Jacob's going into lgvpt. b57 in» J;icob t'lat h" wn-il 1 s'jrclj briii'; him self, his son Joseph, and his two sons u:> ajfiin, (iiil n )t iiiejii ih.il he hiiiisi'lf Ephrnim an.l Manassch, who tame in his sh >ul;i conit; liuck agiiiii alive; 1) .1 thai I>)iih, "were threescore and ten." — ver. his posterity should, alter ln'iomin>,' a '21. But Stephen says, " J()ve|)h callrd jrreat nation. With respect to himselt, his latliL-r Jacob to him, and all his kindred, he was i!;iven to expect that his lieloved threescore and lilteen souls." Moses Joseph siionld survive him, and he present speaks ol him and those who " descended at his death to rl )ne his eycfi. But his from his loins,' to the exdu.sion of "his descendants shi)uld he hrought hack with sons' wives;" but Stephen of his kindred a hii^h hand : and, as what «as spoken ol' in general, which would include them, brinu'ing him up ag^ain respected tiu-in, so V^er. 2^. Drawing nigh to Eizypt, Ju- that ol going down with him extended to dali is sent helore to a|»prize Joseph of his them also. lather's arrival. Judah had acquitted Ver. 5 — 7. Alter so signal an instance himself well in a former case of great del- of mercv, Jacob can leave Beersheba icacy, and this might recomtncnd him in will) a cheerful heart. He is now so far the present instance. He who could advanced in life, however, as to be glad of plead so well for his lather shall have the a carriage to convey him, and of all the honor of introducing him. It is lilting, too, kind and dutiful assistance of his sons t<» that the latiier of the royal tribe, and of accommodate him. Time was when he the Messiali himself, should not be the last wanted ni accommodation of this sort; in works of honor and usefulness, but rath- but set off on a much longer journey with er that he should have the pre-eminence, only a staf; but sixty years' toil and When inquiry was made in the limes of trouble, added to the seventy which had the judges, " Who shall go up for us gone before, have reduced him to a state against the Canaanites first to fight against of feebleness and debility. Nature is or- them ! Tiie Lord said, Judah shall go dain d to decay : but, if grace do but up." thrive, it need not be regretted. It is Ver. 29. Joseph, on receiving the intel- wisely and mercifully ordered that the ligence, makes ready his chariot to go and strong sh.iuld bear the infirmities of the meet his lather : for being in high office he weak, and that those who in infancy and m'jst act accordingly ; else another kind childhood have been borne by their parents of carriage, or perhaps a staff only, would should return the kindness due to them un- have satisfied him as well as his father; der the imliecilily of age. but situations in life often impose that up- In taking; all his sul)stance, as well as on huml)le minds which they would not all his kindred, he would cut off occasion covet of their own accord. The inter- from those who might be dis|)osed, at least view is, as might be expected, tender and in after limes, to re(iroach the famdy with affecting. The account is short but ap- having come into Egypt empty-handed, propriale. He presents himself to his ven- and thrown themselves upon the bounty of erai)le father; but, unalile to speak, "fell the country. upon his neck, and wept a good while ! " Ver. 8 — 27. The names of Jacob's de- And who that reflects on the occasion can scendants who came wilh him into Egyp.t forbear to weep with him 1 are here particularly recorded. Com- Ver. 30. As to the good old man, he pared with the families of Abraham and feels so happy that he thinks of nothing Isaac, they ap[)ear to be numerous, and af- but dying. Perhaps he thougiit he should ford a pros|)ect of a great nation : yet, die soon : having enjoyed as much as he compared with those of Ishmael and Esau, could desire in this world, it was natural they are but few. Three-and-twenly now to wish to go to another. Having years ago there was " a company of Ish- seen all things brought to so blessed an is- maeliles," who bought Joseph : and, as to sue, both in his circumstances and in the Esau, he seems to have become a nation character of his children, it is not surpri- in a little time. We see hence that the sing that he should now desire to quit the most valuable blessings are often the long- stage. " Lord, now let thy servant depart est ere they reach us. " The just shall in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy sal- live by failli." vatinn I " Yet Jacob did not die for sev- There seems to be some difference be- enteen years; a proof this that our feel- tween the accoimt of Moses and that of in'i^s are no certain rule of what shall be- Stephen in Ac^s vii. 14. Moses says, fal us. "All the souls that came with Jacob into Ver. 31 — 34. As soon as the tenderness Eiiypt, which came out of his loins, be- of the interview would permit, Joseph sides his sons' wives, were threescore and kindly intim.Ues to his father and his six. — ver. 26. And all the souls of the brethren what was proper to be done, as sons of Jacob which came into Eeypt," to their being introduced to the king : and, that is, first and last, including Jacob him- that they might be prepared for that piece VOL. I. 108 858 EXPOSITION OF GENESiS. of necessary formality, he gives them some general instructions what to answer. And here it is observable liow careful he is to keep them clear of the snares of Egypt. A high-minded young man would have been for introducing his relations into posts of honor and })rotit, lest they should disgrace him. But Joseph is more concerned for their purity than their out- ward dignity. " I will go before you," says he, "and tell the king that you are shepherds," and have been so all your lives, and your fathers before you. This will prevent his making any proposals lor raising you to posts of honor in the state ; and he will at once feel the propriety of assigning you a part of the country which is suited to the sustenance of your flocks and herds, and where you may live by yourselves unconlaminated by Egyptian customs. And when you come before the king, and he shall ask you of your occu- pation, then do you confirm what I have said of you : and as the employment of a shepherd is njeanly accounted of in Egypt, and those that follow it are despised and reckoned unfit for the higher offices of the state, this will determine the king to say nothing to you on that subject, but to grant you a place in Goshen. Thus, while men in general are pressing after the highest stations in life, and sac- rificing every thing to obtain them, wc see a man who had for nine years occupied one of these posts, and felt both its ad- vantages and its disadvantages, carefully directing his dearest friends and relations into another track ; acting up to Agur's prayer : " Give me neither poverty nor riches; but give me food convenient." The cool and sequestered path of life is the safest, happiest, and most friendly to true religion. If we wish to destroy our souls, or the souls of our children, let us seek, for ourselves and them, great things ; but, if not, it becomes us, having food and raiment, therewith to be content. A rage for amassing wealth, or rising to emi- nence, is a whirlpool in which millions have perished. DISCOURSE LV. Joseph's conduct in the settlement of his brethren, and in the af- fairs of egypt. Gen. xlvii. Ver. 1, 2. Joseph having adjusted matters with his father and his brethren, with respect to their appearance before the king, takes with hira five of the lat- ter, and introduces them. His object is not merely a compliance with the rules of respect which were proper on such an occasion, but to ol)tain tor them a resi- dence in Goshen, where they might pur- sue their usual avocations, and be near unto him. To this end he mentions that they were in that part of the country with their flocks and their herds; hoping that this miglit induce the king to consent to their continuance there. Ver. 3, 4. The young men appearing before Pharaoh, he asks them, as Joseph supposed he would, what was their occu- pation. A very proper question to be put by a magistrate to young men at any time; but the object in this case seems to have been to ascertain what posts in the state they were qualified to fill. He took it lor granted that they were of some lawful calling; and every government has aright to require that those who enjoy its pro- tection should not be mere vagrants, but by their industry contribute in some way to the public good. Their answer accords with their previous instructions : they were "shejiherds, both they and (heir fa- thers." To this they added what was their wish, if it might please the king,, which was, not to be naturalized, but merely to sojourn for a season in the country, with their flocks and their herds,, which were starved out by the severity oi" the famine in their own land. This lan- guage implies their faith in the divine promises ; for they that say such things declare plainly that they seek another country. It would also tend to second the endeavors of Josejdi, in removing from the king's mind all thoughts of promoting them to places of honor, and obtaining for them a residence in Goshen. Their an- swer concludes with an express petition for this object. Ver. 5, 6. Pharaoh, turning himself to Joseph, with much politeness and frank- ness, thus addressed him : Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee : the land of Egypt is before thee. In the best of the land, in the land of Goshen, seeing they prefer it, let them dwell. And, as to promoting them, it does not seem to suit their calling or their inclinations to be raised in the manner which I might have proposed on their behalf: I will tlierefbre leave it to you to make them haj)py in their own way. If there be one or more of them better qualified for business than the rest, let them be appointed chief of my herdsmen. Ver. 7 — 10. The grand object being accomplished, all hearts are at rest, and now Joseph introduces to the king his aged father ; not upon business, but merely in a way of respect. When the young men JACOB AND HIS SONS APPKAR BEFORK PHARAOH. 859 nere presented, they stood before liim ; Heb. xi. 13, 14, where it is called a con- )nit Jarol), in honor of his years, and iit fcssion, and its iinplicalion is insisted on : cniMpassion lo liis inlirmities, is [)lace(i up- "They that say suchthinj^s declaie plain- on a sfo/. Thelirst olijecl thalniecls his ly thai they seek a couulry." We may eyes is Pharaoli, sitting in his royal rolics see in it a charming example of spiritiial- helbre him. 'I'iio sii;iil of a prince who ity, and how sucli a slate of mind will tind had shown sucii kindness to itim and hi?, in a way of introducing religion, even in an- a time ofdistress, calls lorlh the must lively swer to the most simple and common qucs- sensationsol'gratitude, which he is prompt- tions. We go into the company of a great «d to express by a solemn Wessing! How man, and come away without once thi-nk- befniing and "how affecting is this ! It ing of introducing religion : nay, it would was reckoned by the apostle as a truth seem to us almost rude to attempt it. But *' beyond all contradiction that the less is wherefore] Because of our want of spirit- blessed of the better," or greater. In one ual -mindedness. If our spirits were im- respect Pharaoh was greater than Jacob; bued with a sense of divine things, we but, in another, Jacob was greater than should think of the most common concerns he; and Jacob knew it, and thought it no of life in a religious way ; and, so think- presumption to act upon such a principle, ing of them, it would be natural to speak He was a son of Abraham, whose i)ecu- of them. Jacob, in answer to this simple liar honor it was that he and his |)osteiity question, inlroiluces several important should be blessings to inankind : " I will truths, and that without any force orawk- blcss thee, and thou shalt be a blessing." wardness. He insinuates to Pharaoh that He was also himself a man who, "as a he and his fathers before him were stran- prince, had power with God and men, and gers and pilgrims upon the earth; that prevailed." The blessing of such a man their portion was not in this world, but in ■was of no small account ; for God suffered another; that the life of man, though it not the words of his servants to fall to the extended to a hundred and thirty years, ground. ^vas but a few days ; that those few days It Avouid seem at first sight as if Pha- were mixed with evil ; all which, if the raoh was not struck with the blessing, but king properly reflected on it, would lead merely with the venerable aspect of the him to set light by the earthly glory with man, and therefore proceeded to inquire which he was loaded, and to seek a crown his age : but I incline to think he was which fadcth not away. It is admirable chiefly struck with the former. He must to see how all these sentiments could be have perceived a wide difference between suggested in so prudent, so modest, so this and any thing he had ever met with natural, and so inoffensive a manner. If from the Egyptian sages, something Pharaoh was alfectcd with Jacob's bless- heavenly and divine: and as the steward ing him, and wished by his question to turn appeared to be well acquainted with the the conversation to something less tender^ religion of the family, telling the brethren he would be in a manner disappointed, that "their God and the God of their He is now in company with a man who, father, had given thom the treasure talk on what he will, will make him in their sacks" (chap, xliii. 23); so we feel; and yet it shall be in a way that may suppose was Pharaoh himself, cannot hurt him, for he says nothing about He would see also in this solemn blessing, him, but speaks merely of himself, in which Jacob no doubt made use of Having thus made a suitable con/essjon, the name of the Lord, something perfectly the patriarch, whose heart was \uU, could correspondent with what might have been not take leave of the king without repeat- ex(>ected from the father of " a man in ing his solcTun blessing. Whether Pha- whom was tiie Spirit of God." If he felt raoh ever saw him again we are not told : the force of these things, it would over- but, if what was then said had a proper come him, and render him scarcely aide to effect, he would remember this inter- speak; and hence it would he natural, in view asoneof the most interesting events order to recover himself, to turn the con - of his life. versation upon a less affecting topic, in- Ver. 11, 12. Joseph, having obtained quiring, " How old art thoul " The an- the consent of the king, places his father swer to this question is very pathetic and and his brethren in the situation he intend- impressive : " The days of the years of my ed, and there continues to nourish and pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years ; cherish them, "as a little child is nourish- i'ew and evil have the days of the years of ed." And thus he is made, more than at my life been, and have not attained unto the birth of Manasseh, to foitret all his toil the days of the y^ars of the life of my and all the distresses which he had met fathers in the days of their pilgrimage." with in his father's house. We have a comment upon this answer in Ver. 13 — 28. The sacred writer inforra EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. US, as a matter by the bye, of the state of things in Egypt during the remaining five years of famine, under Joseph's adminis- tration. The famine was so sore in the land that to purchase the necessaries of life, the inhabitants first parted with all their money ; and not only liiey but the countries adjacent ; so that the king's treasury became greatly enriched. And, when money failed, their cattle were re- quired ; and last of all their lands, and their persons, save only that the lands of their priests, or |)rinces, were not sold : for being, according to the laws of the country considered as a part of the royal house- hold, they were not under the necessity of selling their estates. Iiut were participants of all the advantages which Pharaoh deri- ved by Joseph. This part of Joseph's conduct has been thought by some very exceptionable, as tending to reduce a nation to ))overty and slavery. I am not sure that it was entire- ly right, though the parties concerned ap- pear to have cast no reflection upon him. If it were not, it only proves that Joseph, though a good and great man, yet was not perfect. But difference of time and cir- cumstances may render us incompetent to judge of his conduct with accuracy. The following remarks, if they do not wholly exculpate him, may at least ser\e greatly to extenuate the evil of his con- duct. 1. He does not appear to have been employed by the country, but by the king only, and that for himself. He did not buy up corn during (he plentiful years at the public expense, but at that of the king, paying the peo[)le the full price for their commodities, ;ind, as it would seem, out of the king's private |)iirse. 2. Ifllie Egyptians had believed the word of God, as the king did, ihey had the same op- portunity, and might have laid by grain enough, each f;imily for itself, during the seven plentiful years, fully to have supfili- ed their own wants during the years of famine. But it seems they paid no re- gard to the dreams nor to the interpre- tation, any more than the antediluvians did to the preparations of Noah. All the plenty which had been poured upon them, according as Joseph had foretold, did not convince them : the only use they made of it was to waste it in luxury as it came. It was just, therefore, that they should now feel some of the consequences. 3. In supplying their wants, it was absolute- ly necessary to distribute the provisions not by gijt but by sale; and that according to what we should call (he market price: otherwise the whole would ha\e l.een con- sumed in half the time, and the country have perished. 4. The slavery to which they were reduced was n)eiely that of I e- ing tenants to the king, who accepted of one fifth oi the })roduce for his rent. In- deed it was scarcely possible for a whole nation to be greatly oi)pressed, without feing driven to redress themselves ; and probal ly what they [laid in afierlimes as a rent was much the same thing as we pay in taxes, enabling the king to maintain his state and support his governnient, with- out any other burdens. There is no men- lion, I believe, in history, of this event producing any ill effects upon the coun- try. Finally : Whatever he did, it was not for himself, or his kindred, but for the king by whom he was employed. The utmost therefore, that can be iriade of it to his disadvantage does not affect the disinterestedness of his chararter. Ver. 27, 23. The sacred historian, now returning to Israel, inlbrms us that they " dwelt in Goshen, and had pos- sessions, and grew and multiplied exceed- ingly;" and this during the lifetime of Jacob, who lived seventeen years in Egypt. The vision which he had at Beersheba contained an intimation that he should die in that country, ebe we may suppose he would have been for re- turning as soon as the famine had sub- sided : but Jacob is dire,.ted by the will of heaven, as his descendants were by the cloud in the wilderness. Ver. 29 — 31. And now, the time draw- ing nigh that Israel should die, he sends for his son Joseph, and engages him by a solemn oalh to bury him, not in Egypt, but in the sepulchre of his fathers. This request was not merely the effect of nat- ural affection, but of faith. As it was by faith that Joseph gave commandment cjncerning his bones, doubtless tliis arose from the same principle. The patriarch, relying on the covenant made with his fathers, and believing that his posterity wovdd hereafter possess the land, wished to lie among them, and to have his body carried up, to take a kind of previous possession on their behalf. To this re- quest of his father Joseph readily consents. The venerable man, however, is not yet at the point of denth, but is desirous of set- ting things in order, that when he comes to die he may have nothing else to think about. JOSEPH S INTERVIEW WITH HIS DYING FATHER. S61 DISCOURSE LVI. Joseph's interview with his dyinc; fatheh, with the hlessinc of HIS SONS. Gen. xKiii. Ver. 1. Jacol> dill not die iiii'i ediatrly after having sent tor his son Josepii ; 1 ut he seems iit that time to have 1 een conlin- ed to his " bed," and prol aV>ly it was liy the same affliction which is>iue(l in his death. Joseph, as soon as he was tohi of liis lather I einir sick, w ilhoiit waiting to be sent for another time, proceeded lo ihc place, and took his two sons lo ol tain his dyini^ benediction. Ver. 2. On enterinjr the house his name is announced ; tlie mention of which i;ives the veneralile patriarch a portion of new life. He " strentrthencd himself and sat upon the bed." And now we may e\pr>ct to hear somethins^ worthy of attention. The words of dying men to their chihiron are, or should I c, interesting, especially of good men, and still more of men inspir- ed of God. Ver. 3. The man of God has neither time nor streng h to lose in ceremony : he comes therefore immediately to the point. " God Almighty," said he, "appoareil to me at Luz, in tlie land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me, Bciiold I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee; and I will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed after thee, for an everlasting possession." Observe, 1. The appearance at Luz, or Belhel. — Chap, xxviii. If it was not the first time in which God had made himself known to Jacob, it was certainly the most remarkaf)le epoch in his life ; and almost all that had gone before it was nothing, or worse than nothing. 2. Though the mention of Luz, or Bethel, must ever be sweet to Jacob, and tlioujili he could have told what a support the promise *here made had been to him through the pilgrimage of life, yet he confines himself at present to the aspect which it bore to his posterity, whom he was now abo t to bless. The promise made to Abraham's seed involved all the goodness intended for the world in after ages ; and tliis occu- pies the chief attention of Jacob. The dying words of David dwell upon the same thing: the everlasting co\enant, \vliich contained "all his salvation, and all his desire," was that in which God had prom- ised of his seed to raise up the Messiah, whose kingdom should endure to all gen- erations. To "see the good of his chos- en, (o rejoice in the gladness of his nation, and to glory witli ids ihlioriiance," is en(uiuh lor a servant ol God : and l(»r an aged piiieni, after seeing much c\il in his family, lo le able io l.ikc leine ol ihciii in I c lull expedatioii ol ihediviue i Icss- ing allentling ihein, is a death whuli let- ter rharacleis than Balaam might wish lo die. 3. The nienlion of Canaan to Jo- seph was de>^igned to draw oil" his atten- tion from a pci manent settlement in Et'ypI, and. to fix his faith uptian piincess, but in Ca- naan, or ratiier in tlic promise of the (Jod of Israel. The mention of tiie death and burial of Rachel might be partly to fur- nish Joseph will) another motive of allach- ment to Canaan ; and partly to account for tiiis doul le portion being conferred upon him, she being in the most proper sense his wile, and he in a sense his first- born son. Ver. 8 — 11. Jacol> Iiad made nienlion of Ephraim and JVIanasseh 1 efore, I ut he had not seen them. Lifting u[) his eves, iie perceives two young men standing by llie side of ids beloved Joseph, and in- quires who liiey are. " They are my sons," said Joseph, " whom God hath given mc in this jdace." On tiiis he re- quests them to bo brought unto liim, that he might I less them. He could scarcely see liiem, for his eyes were dim of age; but liis h^art was lull of tendeincss to- wards them, for liieir (allicr s srke, and for the sake of the hope of wiiicli tiiey were heirs; tiierelore he kissed jind cm- braced tiieni. And, 1 eing full of holy af- fection, he looks 1 ack upon his past sor- rows, and admires the grace of God to- wards him and his. " I had not thougiit," said lie to Joseph, " /o Fee Ihy fit e ; and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed." How much better is God to us than our fears! Only let us wait witli faitli and patience, and our desponding tlioughls will lie turned into songs of [iraise. Ver. 12 — 14. After this affei tionale embrace, Joseph brought forti) the two young men from between his father's knees, and bowed himself with his face to QQ2 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. the earth, in token of thankfulness for the him," answered the venerable man, " dur* kindness conferred upon himself and his ina; all which lime he never did me any sons, and in expeclalion of a farllier IMess- injury: how then can 1 lilasiilienie him ins;;.' And liaving prolaMy observed the who is my king and my Saviour V Heark- order in which his iather had spoken en, oh ' young people, to this atl'ecting of them, putting E[)hraim before Manas- language ! It is a juinciple dictated liy seh ver. 5 he wished to correct it as a common prudence, "Thine own friend, mistake and therefore placed the young and thy father's friend, forsake not :" and men accordini;; to their age, Ephraim to- how much more forcibly does it apply to •wards Israel's left hand and Manasseh to- the God of your fathers ! 4. This God wards his riuht hand, and in tliis manner is called " the Angel who redeemed him presented them iiefore him. But the con- from all evil." Who this was it is not duct of the patriarch was not thus to be difficult to decide. It was the Angel, no corrected. God, from whom the blessing doubt, with whom Jacob wrestled and pre- proceeded, directed him in this case to vailed, and concerning whom he said, " I cross hands. Nor is this the only instance have seen God face to face, and my life in which tlie order of nature is made to is preserved." — Ch.xxxii.24 — 30. Hos. give way to that of grace ; for of this Ja- xii. 2. 5. The blessing of God, under all cob himself had been an example. these endearing characters, is invoked up- Ver. 15, 16. In this attitude Jacob pro- on the lads, their forefathers' names put ceeds to bless the lads. " And he bless- upon them, and abundant increase prom- ed Joseph, and said, God, before whom ised to them. Surely it is good to be con- my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, nected with them that fear God : yet the God which fed me al! my life long un- those only who are of faith will ultimate- to this day, the Angel which redeemed ly be blessed with their faithful predeces- nie from all evil, bless the lads ! And let sors. my name be named on them, and the name Ver. 17 — 20. Joseph's enjoyment of of my fathers, Aiiraham and Isaac; and let this sweet and solemn blessing was sadly them grow into a multitude in tiie midst of interrupted by the unpleasant circum- the earth." Observe,!. Though Ephraim stance of his father's crossing his hands, and Manasseh were both constituted heads and he could not refrain from respectfully of tribes, yet they were blessed Ml //le per- remonstrating. Thus our frail minds are son of their father Joseph: He blessed liable to be rufiled by some trivial event, Joseph, &c. in this, as in many other in- even on the most solemn occasions, and so stances, God would exemplify the great to lose the advantage of some of the hap- principle on which he designed to act in piest opportunities. Jacob, however, is blessing mankind in the name and for the not to be dissuaded. He had been guided sake of another. 2. Jacob, thougii now by an unseen hand ; and, like Isaac after amono" the Etryptians, and kindly treated having blessed him, he could not repent, by them, yet makes no mention of their " I know it, my son," said he, " I know it gods, but holds up to his posterity " the — He shall be great; but truly his young- living and true God." In proportion as er brother shall be greater than he." God Euypt was kind to the young people, such is as immutable as he is sovereign. It would be their danger of being seduced : does not become us to contend with him ; but let them remember the dying words and it is to the honor of Joseph that, as of their venerable ancestor, and know soon as he perceived his father knew what whence their blessedness Cometh. 3. The he did, believing him to be directed from God whose blessing was bestowed upon above, he acquiesced. Hence the patri- them was not only the true God, but " the arch went on without farther interruption, God of their fathers ;" a Ccd in covenant saying, "In thee shall Israel bless, say- Avith the family, who loved them, and was ing, God make thee as Ephraim, and as loved and served by them. " God, before Manasseh ! " whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, Ver. 21. A word or two more to Jo- did walk." How sweeland endearing the seph, and the present interview is closed, character; and what a recommendation of " I die," said Israel; "but God shall be these holy patterns to the young people ! with you, and bring you a^;ain unto the Nor was he merely the God of Abraham land of your fathers." All that he had and Isaac, but Jacob himself also could said before tended to break oft" their at- spcak well of his name; adding, "The tachment to Egypt, and to tix their faith in God who fed me all my life long unto this the divine promise : such also wa« the de- day ! " Sweet and soletnn are the recom- sign of these words. How satisfactory is mendations of aged piety. " Speak re- it to a dying saint to consider that God proachfully of Christ," said the persecu- lives, and will carry on his cause without tors to Polycarp, when leading him to the him as well as with him. The great John stake. " Eighty-six years I have served Owen, two days before he died (which THE BLESSING OF RKUBEN, SIMEON \SD LEVI. S63 was in 1683, a time when popery and ar- The word is used I Itcliove in only three lijlrary power tliroateiu-d to overspread the other places in the OKI Tes(aMieiU (Judges lanii),'lhus wrote in a letter to a IVieiid : — ix. 4, Jer. \xiii. 32, Z.v\,\\. iij. 4); and in " I am leasing the ship ol the church in a llu-rn il is rendered ligfif, or lif^hlnens : de- storm ; but, whilst the ;:reat Pilot is in noting' not only a readiness to turn aside it, the loss of a poor under-rower will be for want of solid principles, but that spe- ineonsitierabie." c"*-'s ol le\ity in particular which lidongs Ver. 22. One more special token of to a lasci\ious mind, and wliich is ordi- love is added to Joseph's portion ; namely, narily denominated looseness, or lewdness. a parcel of ground which had been origin- ^nd\ was the spirit o( Reuben, or he could ally bought of the sons of Hamor ; but, not have acted as he did towards Billiah, his as it would seem, being seized by some of lather's wile. — Chap. xwv. 22. The man- Iheir descendants, Jacoi) was necessitated ner in whicli the patriarch expatiates up- to recover it by force of arms. — Cli. xxxiii. on tliis crime shows how I.einjus il was 18—20. This portion he gave to Josepli, i'» his eyes. " 'I'hou weiitisl up to thy and the triHe ol E|)liraim afterwards pos- father's bed ; then delildedst thou il." sessed it.— John iv. 5. The hazard at And, to show his ai>horrence, he turnsnway which tliis portion was obtained would no 'loni him, and addresses his other sons, as doubt endear it to Joseph ; for we prize 't "ere by way ot appeal : " He went up those tilings which they who were dear to to my couch I " For this lewd behavior us acquired at a great 'expense. On this he \s ln\d, he sltall tiut excel. Il is a brief principle we have often been admonished mode of expression, alluding to the ex- to hold fast our civil lilierties. On tliis cellence of dignity and of power which principle especiallv it liecomes us to value pertained to him as the first-born; and our reliijious advantages, for which so denotes ihat all his advantages were re- much blood has been shed. And on this versed by his base conduct, and that which principle we are called to prize, more than would otherwise have feen a blessing was any thing, the hope of the gospel, to ob- turned into a curse. The double portion tain which our Saviour laid down his ilfc ! ^vas taken from him, and given, as we have seen, to Joseph (chap, xlviii. 5 — 7), the kingdom to Judali, and the priesthood to Levi ; and thus the excellence of dignity, and the excellence of power, were sepa- rated from his tril e, which never sustained any conspicuo is characler in Israel. , From w hat is said of Reuben we may JACOB S BLESSING ox THE TRIBES. i^ ,l„ «- „•. .l I I ■ j .1 learn the ottensive, the debasmg, and the daiuerous nature of that light-mindedness which indulges in fillhiness and foolish Ver. 1, 2. Jacob having blessed Jo- talking, jesting, and lewd behavior. Such seph's sons, and feeling that he drew near appears to have l|een the spirit ol the his end, sent for the rest of his children, ^''^.^^ prophets in the times ol Jeremiah, that he might in the same prophetic style ''''^"".^ ''•^^ and lightness caused God s declare to them what should befal them, People to err.-Jer. xxiii 32. And such, and their posterity after them. The sol- alas ! is the charac-ter of too many who emn manner in which he called them to- ^^^'" "'^ name o( Christians and even of gether and bespoke their attention shows Christian ministers, at ll.is day Assur- that, being under a divine inspiration, he ^^''^ ^''«>' '''^'' "^^ '^^^ ' «"'^' "'^'l?"] wouhl deliver thimrs of great importance, repentance, woe unto them when God and such as, corresponding in many instan- ^''^j' ^'l" **^^'V« account! ces not only with the meaning of their ^ !,':• ^-^- ^he next in order of years names, but with their personal conduct, are Sfmeon a,ic/ Lei-i who also in their would furnish matter for reflection and en- P«'^'erity shall reap the bitter fruits of courairement. their early sins ; and having not only de- Ver. 3, 4. Reuben, being his first-born scended Irom the same parents, but been son, is first addressed. He is reminded of ff o^'ates in iniquity, they, according to his superior advantages. He was ihe first ^'^^ "waning ol the name ol the latter, are eflfect of " his misrht/' or " the be^rinning jomed together in reeeiving the rewar.l of of his strenoih ;"^and to him as such nat '^•.„^' "'", ^'"'^ V''«" ^''*^,^« -V"','"''' '"*^"' urally belonged " the excellence of dicr- ^^" ^ ,<^.^"''' treaehery and cruelly, look nitv, and the excellence of power." But, each his sword and slew the Shechemiles, as Es HI and othe.s forfeited the birthright, ^'''t f^l""^''^:' '"' clisapproi at.on ol the so did Reuben. His character did not an- ^''^f ' ' ''"^ "^l! '^ censures .1 in the strong- »,..«_♦ .1 i- •. . r u- • i.,..- „ ij est terms. "instruments ol crue tv are swer to the disrnity ol his situation. He is • ,. • ■ ■ •. ■ ,, i- ■ • ■ -^ , «K„_ „i -.u T ■ ti . ui „ . 51 in their hanitalions ; which is saving that charged with being " unstable as water. ^i ii i a- j ■ o •^""'^ ° ° they were bloody men. Ainsworth ren^ DISCOURSE LVII. Gci). .\li.s. 864 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. ders it, " snjournincc hnMtati-ins," which heiiihleiK Ihe sin, as being cMininilleil in a place where I hey had na residence In I by the courtesy of the country. " O my soul, coin3 not thou into their secret; un- to their assernhly, mini' honor, he not thou united!" Wluit we cannot prevent, we must lie conlenlod to disavow, having ' no felioweliij) with the unlruitlul works of darkness." These young men took coun- sel together: they were very careful to cf)nceal their design from Jaco!) their fa- ther, knowing hefoi'eiiand that lie would be certain to oppose ti.eir scheni'^s ; and now Jacob is no less careful to disavow all connection wilh them in the horrid deed. Such a disavowal, though it must give the most acute pain to tlie sons, yet was worthy of tlie father. A great deal of evil ha(i been wrought in his family ; but be it known to all the world, by the dying testimony which he bears against it, that it was altogether contrary to his mind. And, let young people hear and know that liie crimes of youth will some time find them out. It they lepent and ol;tain mercy, as there is reason to 1 elieve these young men did, yet ih^y shall reap the bitter fruits ol their sin in tlie [iresent life: and, if they remain impenitent, trib- ulation and anguish will overtake them in the next. The crime of these brethren is thus described: "In their anger they slew a man," even Hamor, king of the countrv, as well as Shechem his son; and that not in the Of)cn field of contest, but by assas- sination ! Anger in general is outrageous; but in young men, whose immature judg- ment and slender experience affonl but liitle check to it, is comtnonly the n)ost mischievous. "In their selt-will they digged (hwn a wa'l," or, as some render it, " they houghed the oxen."* The for- mer would express their breaking into houses to murder the inhai itants, and the latter their cruelty extending even to the dumb animals. Anger, when accomjianied with self-will, rages like fire before the wind. How inipor'ant is the government of one's own spirit: and, considering ■what human natuie is, what a mercy it is that the wrath of tnan is under the divine control! If Simecn and Levi had not re- pented of this sin, it is likely that the curse, like that of Noah on Canaan, would have fallen upon their j)ersons ; but, as it was, it alights only upon their dispositions and actions : " Cursed 1 e their anger, for it was fierce ; and their wrath, for it was cruel !" God in mercy torgave them, but took vengeance of their inve.itions. * Fifr'i(,>r',T»''i.— I.XX. rm rather, " They exteimiiiated a piiiice." See p. 194. And, with respect to the tribes of which they were \.hj heads, they were to be " divided and scattered in Israel." " The Linites," says Mr. Henry, " were scat- tered throughout all t e tribes, and Sim- eon's lot lay not together, and was so strait that many of that tribe were forced to disperse themselves in quest of settle- ments and subsistence. This curse was a'terwards turned into a blessing to the Leviies ; but the Simeoniles, for Zimri's sin, had it bound on. --Numb. xxv. Sliaine- fui divisions are the juH |)unishment of sinful uni(ms and con ederacies." Ver. 8 — 12. From what was said of the first three sons, the rest might begin to tremble, lest the whole should le a s ccession ol curses instead of blessings. But in what respects Judalt we see a glorious reverse. The bdessodness of Ihis tribe principally consi-;ts in that blessing whii-h was in it, the Lord Messiah. "Ju- dah," saith the patriarch, "thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise ; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies : thy faiher's children shall bow down befoie thee." In the first sentence allusion is had to his name, which signifies /?raJse ; and the meaning of the whole is tliat this tribe should be distinguished, first by its victories over the Canaanites, and after- wards by i!s being the tribe which God would choose to bear ru/e in Israel. Hence also it is represented in verse 9, by a Hon, Ihe most m.ijestic of animals, and the proper emi lem of royalty. Much of this prophecy was doubtless fulfilled in David and his successors : but all was prefigura- tive of the Messiah, who, in allusion to this passage, is called, " the Lion of the tribe of Judah." In him all that is said of Judah is eminently fulfilled. He is indeed the object of [)raise, his hand has been in the neck of his enemies, and be- fore him his brethren have bowed down. Grappling with the powers of darkness, we see him as a lion tearing the |)rey ; ascending above all heavens, as a lion go- ing up from Ihe prey ; and seated at the right hand of God, as a lion couchant, or at rest after his toils, where it is at the [)eril of Ihe greatest monarchs to rouse him up. — Psa. ii. 10 — 12. That which before is represented under strong figures is in verse 10 declared plain- ly ; viz. that Judah should be the govern- ing tribe, and that its chief glory should consist in the Messiah, who should de- srend frcm it : yea, the very time of his coming is marked out. The sceptre, or government, should not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh came. The governnient de[)arted from ten tribes, out of the twelve, during the reign of Hezekiah, and has never been THE BLESSING OF JUDAH, ZEBULO?( AND ISSACHAR. 865 restored: hut Judali continued to rule with God. At icnglli ihey also were car- ried into Ci\|)livily; yet God's eye was upon tliein, and in seventy years tliey were restored. And, notwithstanding the many overlurnings of the diadem by the suc- cessive monarchies ot Persia, Greece, and Rome, yet it continued till the coming of Christ. The theocracy then licing dis- solved, and the power given to him whose right it was, Judah in a few years ceased to lie a l;ody politic, or to have any gov- ernment ot its own. If there he such a thing as an irrefragable proof, surely this is one, that Shiloh, the peaceable, the prosperous, [he Saviour, \s come; and it is a mark of judtcial blindness and hard- ness of heart in the Jews that they con- tinue to disbelieve it. Of Shiloii it is added, "To him shall the gathering of the people be." As all the tribes of Israel gathered together, and anointed David king in Hebron ; so all the tribes of tnan shall sooner or later submit to the kingdom of Christ. During his ministry, his enemies, touched with fear and envy, were ready to say. Behold the world is gone after him ! And no sooner was he lilted up upon the cross than he began to draw all men unto him. Multi- tudes of his own countrymen, who had before seen no form or comeliness in him, now believed on him. Now also began to be fulfilled all the prophecies which had gone before, of the calling of the Gentiles. For such was the value of his sacri- fice and mediation that it was considered as a light thing for him merely to raise up the tribes of Jacob : he must be a light to the Gentiles, and God's salvation to the ends of the earth. Nor has this promise yet spent its force : probably the greater part of it is yet to be fulfilled. What is foretold to the church in the 60th of Isaiah, of multitudes of all nations gath- ering together unto her, will be the ac- complishment of this promise concerning Christ; for those that are gathered to her are first gathered to him. The 11th and r2lh verses are express- ive of the great plenty of wine and milk which the tribe of Judah should possess. Vines, even the most choice, should be so common that you might have tied your beasts to them, as you would here tie them to an elm or ash ; or so abundantly productive that it should be the ordinary practice to bind a colt to the vine, and load it with its fruits. Wine with them should be so plentiful that you might have washed your garments in it. The inhab- itants, even the common people, might drink of it till their eyes were red ; and such an abundance should there be of the milk of kine that their teeth might be VOL. I. 109 white with it.* This p/en/y of milk and wine may have a larther reference, how- ever, to the plenty of evangelical blessings under the reign of the iMcssiah, in the same manner as the dominion ascribed to Judah has an ultimate reference to his dominion. The language used by Isaiah, " Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price," cei lainly refers to the great |)lenty of those articles in the land of promise, and seems to allude to the very words of Jacob in this prophecy. Ver. 13. The blessing ot Zebulon pre- dicts the situation of that tribe in the promised land. They should be a mari- time people, bordering upon the sea of Galilee eastward, and upon the Mediter- ranean on the west. Its "border reach- ing unto Zidon" does not mean the city, but the country of that name, that is, Phe- nicia. If the future settlement of the tribes had been ot choice, it might have been said that they contrived to fulfil these predictions : but, being bij lot, the hand of God is seen, both in them and their ac- complishnjcnt. There seems to be a dis- tinction made between Zebulon being "at the haven of the sea," and his being *'for a haven of ships." The tbrmer may de- note his advantages; and the latter the benevolent use he should make of them, opening his harbors for the reception of distressed mariners. We have all our situations and advantages according to the will of God, and should be concerned to employ them to a good purpose. This tribe had also its disadvantages : being far from the seat of divine instruction, its in- habitants are described as "sitting in dark- ness." Upon them, however, the light of the gospel, by the personal ministry of our Lord, sprung up. Ver. 14, 15. Next follows the blfessing of Issackar. The character given to thiif tribe intimates that it should be addicted to husbandry, as Zebulon was to the dan- gers and perils of the sea. He is com- pared to a " strong ass, couching down between two burdens ; " not on account of any thing mean in him, but for his indus- trious, patient, and peaceable disposition. This situation would neither require the heroic qualities of Judah, nor the enter- prizing ones of Zebulon ; and his dispo- sition should coincide with it, preferring the fruits of peace and industry, though obliged to pay tribute for them, to the more splendid fortunes of commerce, or triumphs of war. Some men would pro- nounce Issachar, ar>d those of his mind, mean spirits ; but let not this part of th« ♦ Or if may lie renflere^, Hitey^s shall b« more sparkling than wina. And nis teeth whiter than milk. See LXX. 365 EXPOSniOlS' OF GEiNESIS, community be tliought light of. If it be those of the Moabites, the Ammonites, less lirilliant, it is not less uselui than the and the Syrians. But it is predicted that, others. The kini;, is served hy the lield. however ihey mij,4it for a time be over- No condition of liTe lias iewer teniptalioiis, come, yet tliey should overcome at last; nor is any more Irieniiiy to true religion, and this exactly accords with their his- Thou'"h the people ot lliis tribe were still tory. — Judges x. xi. xii ; 1 Chron. v. IS and peaceable; yet there were among — :^2. In this blessing we see not only them "men who had understanding ol the an exam[)le of the life of every believer, times and who knew what Israel ought but the wisdom of God in so ordering it, to do : " nor w as it any dispai agement to as an antidote to presumption and despair, their " brethren to be at their command- Present defeats have a tendency to pre- jjjgi^l" — 1 Chron. xii. 32. serve us irom the one, and the promise of Ver. 16, 17. The blessing of Dan al- being finally viclorious from the other, hides to the meaning of his name, that is, Ver. 20. Next follows Asher, whose j id gins;, and signifies that he should main- name signifies the happy, or the blessed, or tain his authority ; not oidy in respect ot making happy ; and with his name corres- h s rank among the tribes, but in tlie pre- })onds his I lessing. The meaning is, that servation of order in his own territory, his lot should be a rich one ; yielding not His beinp- compared to "a serpent by tlie only necessaries, bnt dainties, even royat way, an adder in ihe jiatii, that bileih the dainties. Such is llie lot of a few in this horse-heels, so thai his rider shall fall woild, and it is well that it is but a lew; backward," would seem to intimate, how- for, while men are what they are, great ever, that the Daniles would be a subtle fulness would soon render ihem like Sod- and mischievous people, carrying on their om and Gomorrah. •wars more by stratagem and artful sur- Ver. 21. Naphtali is descrilied by "a prise than by conflict in the open field, hind let loose,'' and is said to " give good- Such were the wars of Sampson, who was ]y words." The description would seem of this tribe, against the Philistines. lo hold up, not a warlike tribe, nor a Ver. 18. Here the man of God seems tri!)e noted for its industry ; but rather ta have paused, periiaps on account ot a people distinguishsd by their vivaci- bodily weakness; and, biting up his eyes ty, timidity, and softness of man- to heaven, said, " I have waited ior ihy ners. The diversity of natural disposi- salvation, O Lord." Had these words (ions contribules upon the whole to hu- followed the blessing of Judah, we might man happiness. Men have their partial- have supposed tliat the salvation he refer- ities, some to this, and ofhers to that; red to was the coming Messiah: but, and, if their wishes could be gratified, standing where it does, it appears to have would commonly shape all others by their been merely a sudden ejaculation, sent up own favorite model : but, after all, variety at the close of his pilgrimage, in a view is the best. As the delicate could not of being delivered from all its evils. It subsist without the laborious and~ the res- serves to show the state of the patriarch's olute, so many a rugged spirit, both iiv mind; and that, while pronouncing bless- the world and in the church, would be inss on his posterity, in respect to their worse than useless, but for its union witlr settlemeni in the earthly Canaan, he was others more gentle and affectionate, himself going to a better country, even a Ver. 22 — 26. We next com-e to the heavenly one. When he thought that Jo- blessing of Jof-eph, and on this the patri- sei h was dead, he talked of " going down arch delights to dwell. Plis enrbl'em, tak- into his grave mourning; " and afterwards, en from Ihe meuning of his name, is that when he found him alive, he seems as if of "a fruitful bough," situated liy a well, he could have descended into it rejoicing by which its roots were watered, and its (chap, xxxvii. 35; xlvi. 30): but it was branches caused to run over the wall, not for him to determine the time of his The meaning is, that his posterity should departure, but to wait his appointed time, be distinguished by their extraordinary Old aee is the time tor the patience of increase. But now the imagery is drop- hope ito bear its richest fruits; and a ped, or rather chanoed, and his personal pleasant thing it is to see this and other history reviewed. He was attacked at an o-races in full lloom, while the jiowers of early period, as by a band of archers, who nature are filling into decay. "sorely grieved him, shot at him, and Ver. 19. The patriarch, resuming his hated him." There is a delicacy in his subject, proceeds to bless the tiibe of Gad. speaking of the brethren (who were stand- His name sis-nified a troop, and it is inti- ing by) in the third person rather than the mated that they should be a warlike peo- second, and that under a figure : let him ] e. Their situation was east of Jordan, express it, however, in what form he will, where they were exposed to the incursions they must feel it. He adds, "But his ot the neighboring nations ; particularly bow abode m strength, and the arras of THE BLESSING OF li K.\J A :M I.N DCATH OP JA(. OB. 867 his hnnds were made strong liy liic mii.'lily God ol Jaiol> ; lioin llience is llie shep- herd, the stone ol Israel.'" As his breth- ren were a liaiul ol arehers, he is deseril)- ed iiiuler the same character, Imt as one ©nly against many. Their arrows were those of haired, Imt his ol love, overcom- ing evil with good. They streiiglhcned one a/ioliier in an evil cause ; hut he was strengthened l>y " the mighty God of Ja- cob." In these particulars, surely, he was a type of Christ ; and still more in being, by the blessing o( tlie God of Ja- cob, " the shepherd and stone of Israel ;" providing for their wants, and supporting their interests. In Messing Joseph, Jacob feels his heart enlarged ; |)0uiing upon him the blessings of almighty God, the God of his father; blessings of heaven aliove, blessings of (he deep that iielh under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb; imihialing al- so that his power of blessing when ter- minating on him exceeded that of his fa- thers, extending not only to the land in gen- eral, but to the very mountains on which his children should reside. And that which drew upon his head all these bless- ings was the painiul, but endearing, cir- cumstance of his having been "sepaiatcd frotn his brethren." Joseph considered his separation as or- dered of God for the good of others (ch. xlv. 7, S) ; and he seems all along to have acted upon this principle: but a life so spent shall lose nothing by it in the end. God will take care of that man, and pour the richest blessings upon his herd, whose great concern it is to glorily him, and do good in his generation. Jacoii felt much for Joseph's separation. The spirit of his benediction was, By how much he was afflicted for the sake of others, by so much let him be blessed and honored, and that to th*; latest |)OsterityI — And such is the mind of God, and all his true friends, concerning a greater than Joseph. " For the suffering of ust have been very affecting for these brethren thus to stand bv and hear, as from the n)outh ot Gnd, what wovdd be the conscfpiences of their early conduct on their distant posterity : and, as their minds were now tender, it may be supposed to have wrought in them renew- ed rei)cntance, or gratitude, a.s the subject required. Ver. 29 — 33. The patriarch now gives directions concerning his burial. He de- sires to be interred, not in Egypt, but in the burying-place at Mamre, where lay Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Leah. If he had been governed by natural affection, he might have chosen to lie by the side of his beloved Rachel : but he " died in faith," and therefore re- quests to mini.de dust with his fathers, who had been heirs with him of the same promise. Having said all he had to say, he cheerfidly resigned his soul into the hands of him that gave it, and was num- bered with his departed ancestors. Thus died Jacob ; a man whose con- duct on some occasions was censurable, whose life was tilled up with numerous changes, but whose end was such as his worst enemies might envy. DISCOURSE LVIH. THE BURIAL OF JACOI! JOSEPH RE- MOVES THE FE.^RS OF HIS BRETHREN THE DEATH OF JOSEPH. Gen. 1. Ver. 1. We have seen tl)e venerable patriarch yielding up tiie ghost ; and now we see the expressions of affection to- S68 EXPos!TIO^" or genf.sis. ward him by the survivors. Let the mem- ory of the just be blessed. It was reveal- ed to Jacob in his lile-time that Joseph should " put his hand upon his eyes ;" and Joseph not only did this, but, in ihe fulness of his heait, " iell upon his face after he was dead, and wept upon him, and kissed him." This is all that we can do towards the most beloved ohjet.'is, when death has performed his ofTice. The mind is gone ; the body only remains; and of this we mr.st take a long farewell. Faith, however, looks forward to a joyful resur- rection, and teaciies us not to sorrow as those that have no hope. Ver. 2. Josejili next proceeds to have the dead body embalmed with sweet spices. This was an art carried to great perfec- tion in Egypt : the effects of it are not totally extinct even to this day. It was suitably applied in the present instance, not only as an honor done to a great and good man, but as a means of preserving the body from putrel'action, during its re- moval to Canaan. Ver. 3. Nor was this the only honor that was paid to him. The iamily no doubt mourned very sincerely lor him ; and, to express their respect for Josepii, liie Egyptians, probably the court and the gen- try, went into mourning; ami not merely forty days, which was customary it seems for every one who had the honor of being Cirpbalmed, but, in this instance, another month v/as added. The customs of polite nations, though often consisting of mere forms, yet servo in some instances to show what should be. They expressed, in this case, a respect for departed v/orth, and a sympathy with alilicted survivors, weep- ing \vith them that v/eep. Ver. 4 — 6. The days of formal mourn- ing being ended, Joseph next proceeds- to the- burial of his father. . But for this he must first obtain leave of absence from the king; and, desirous of conducting the business with propriety^ he applies to some of the -royal household to make the re- quest, for him : not, as some b.ave suppos- ed, because it was improper for him to ap- pear before the king in mourning apparel ; for " the days of his mourning were jiast ■;" but with a view of honoring the sovereign, and cultivating the esteem of those'-about him. A modest behavior, is said to be rarely found in royal favorites : but by the grace of God it was found in Joseph. The plea he urged was nothing less than his being under a solejnn oath, imposed upon him by the dying request of his father : a plea to which Pharaoh could make no ob- jection, especially as it was accompanied with a promise of a return. -, Ver. 7—11. We now behold the fune- ral procession. The whole family (except their little ones, who, with their cattle, were left, behind), were, as we should say. the first iollowers ; but all the elders of respectability, of the court, and of the counlry, with both chariots and horsemen, were in the Irain. It was " a very great company," not only in number, but in quality. For grandeur and magnificence it is said (o be without a paraliel in histo- ry. This great honor was not in conse- quence of any wish on the part of Jacob : ail l;e desired was, to be carried by his sons, and iiuried in the land of promise. His desire was that of faith, not of ami i- tion. But, as in the case of Solomon, seeing he asked ibr that which God ap- proved, he should have his desire in that, and the other should be added to it. Thus God delights to honor those v/ho honor him. And, as it was principally for Joseph's sake that this great honor was conferred on his father, it shows in what high es- teem he was held in Egypt, and serves to prove that, whatever modern adversa- lies may say of his conduct, he was con- sidered at the time as one of the greatest benefactors to the country. Nothing remarkable occurred in the procession till they came to the threshing,- fioor oi' Atad, which was within the land of Canaan, near to Jericho, and not many miles from the place of interment. Here they stopped, it would seem, for seven days, performing funeral obsequies, or " mourning with a great and sore lamenta- tion."' So great was it thatit drew the attention of the Canaanites, who, on see- ing and hearing what passed, ob.served one to another, " This is a grievous- mourning to the Egyptians, '-'{for such they consid- ered them, seeing they came from Egypt); wherefore (he name of the place was after- wards called Ahd'Mizraini — " tiie mourn- ing of the Egyptians." Ver. 12 — 21. Joseph and his brethren, having buried- their father in the place where he requested to iie, return to Egypt, v/iih the company which went with them. The pomp and hurry of the funeral, wjiile it lasted, would occupy their attention ; but, this having subsided, the thoughts of the ten brethren were directed to other things. The dealli of great characters being often followed by great changes, conscious-guilt being always alive to fear, and the chasm which succeeds a'funeral inviting a flood of foreboding apprehen- sions, they find out a new- source of troub- le : Peradventure, all the.kindhess hitherto shown us has been only for our father's sake . . . . Peradventure, Joseph, after all, never forgave us in his heart'. . . . and now our father is dead, so as not to be grieved^ by il, peradventure he will feel that hatred to us which we once felt to BEATH or JOSEPH 869 him; and, if so, he will certninly requite the evil whirh we have done unto him. Oh jealousy ! Is it not rightly said ol thee, Thou art cruel as the prave \ But how can ihcy disclose their suspi- cions ? To have douo it personally would have been too much lor either him or Ihcui to bear, let him take it as he mi>;lit. So they "sent inessen-iers unto him," to sound him. We know not who they were ; hut, if Benjamin was one of them, it is no more than might he expected. Mark the delicacy and exquisite tender- ness of the messaj^e. Nothing is said of their suspicions, only that the petition im- plies them : yet it is expressed in such a manner as caimol offend, but must needs melt the heart of Joseph, even though he had been possessed of less affection than he was. 1. They introduce themselves us acting under the directioii of a media- tor, and this mediator was none other than their deceased father. He comtnanded us, say they, before he died, that we should say thus and thus. And was it possible for Josejih to 1 e offended with them for obeying Ais orders'? Bxitstop a moment — May not tee hmitea-similar use of what our Saviour said to us before he died 1 He commanded us to- say, " Our Futher — forgive us our debts." Can we Hot make the same use of this as Jacob's sons did of their father's commandment 1 2. They present the petition as cvniing from their father. " Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin ; for they did unto thee evil." And was it possible to refusL- complying with his la- ther's desire] The intercessor, it' is to be observed, does not go about to extenu- ate the sin of the offenders ; but frankly acknowledges it, and that, if justice were to take its course, they must be punished. Neither does he plead their subsequent repentance as the ground of pardon ; but requests that it may be done for his sake, or on account of the love which the of- fended bore to him. 3. They unite their own confession and petition to that of their father.- It was certainly proper that they should do so : for, though they no more plead their own repentance as the ground of forgiveness than the mediator had done, yet it was fit they should re- pent, and acknowledge their transgres- sions, ere they obtained mercy. More- over, though they must make no merit of anything pertaining to them*;elves; yet, if there be a character which the offended party is known to esteem above all others, and they be conscious of sustaining that character, it will be no presumption to make mention of it. And this is what they do, and that in a manner which-rnust make a deep impression upon a heart like that of Joseph. "And now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of ihe God of thy lather!" It were suf- ficient to have gained their point, even though Joseph had been reluclani, to h.ive pleaded their being children of Ihe same father, and that father making il, as it were, his dying request : but ihi; consid- eration of their being the servui.ts of his father'ft God was overcoming. Were we to look lack to some former periods of their history, wo could not have consider- ed them as entitled to this character : but since that time God had brought them through a series of trials, ly means of which he had turned them to himself. And though they are far trom considering their present state of mind as obliterating the guilt of their former crimes, yet, knowing that Jose|)h was himself a ser- vant of God, they knew that this consid- eration would make a dee|) impression upon him. It is no wonder that, at the close of this part of the ^lory, it should be added, " And Joseph wept when they spake unto him ! " But this is not all : they go in person, and " fall before his face," and offer to be his ser cants. This extreme al nsement on their part seems to have given a kind of gentle in('ignancy to Jose[ih's feelings. His mind revolted at it. Il seemed to liim too much. " Fear not," saith he ; " for am I in the place of God 1" As if he should say. It may belong to God to take \engeance : but for a sinful worm of the dust, who himself needs forgiveness, to do so, were highly presumptuous : you have therefore nothing to fear from me. What farther forgiveness you need, seek it of him. Ver. 20, 21. There was a delicacy in the situati(m of the ten brethren, in respect to this application to Joseph, as it would imply a doubt of his former sincerity. They were aware of this, and therefore in every thingthey say, whether by messen- gers or in personal interview, are careful to avoid touching upon that subject. Nor is there less delicacy in Joseph's answer. He does not coTTi|)lain of this implication, nor so much as mention it : but his answer- ing them in nearly the same words as he had done seventeen years before, " Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive;" Isav, his answering the?n in this language was saying, in effect. Your suspicions are un- founded : what I told you- seventeen years ago J meant; and the considera- tions which then induced me to pass over it induce me still to do the Sf»me. "Now, therefore, tear ye not : I will nourish you and your little ones." I will not be your 870 EXPOSITION OF GENESIS. mossier, but your brother, and, as it were yoar lather. In this manner did he "cotnfort them, and spake kindly unto them." Ver. 22, 23. Joseph was about fifty- six years old when his lather died ; he must therefore have lived fifiy-four years aiterward^ ; durinji which period he saw Epliraim's children, of the ihird genera- tion ; and the grandsons of Manasseh were brought up, as it were, upon his knees. Ver. 24 — 23. And now the time draws near that Joseph also must die ; and like his worthy ancestors he dies in faith. 1. He is persuaded of the truth of God to his covenant promises. "I die," saith he; "and God shall surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Aliraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." 2. Under the in- fluence of this persuasion he taUes " an oath of the children of Israel," that when they should depart from Egypt they would take his " bones with them." Such a desire might have arisen merely from a wish to mingle dust with his fore- fathers : but we are directed to attribute it to a higher motive. It is in reference to this exercise of faith that his name is enrolled in the catalogue of believing worthies. — Heb. xi. 22. Having said all he wished to say, "he died, being a hun- dred and ten years old ; and they embalm- ed him, and he was put in a cotfin in Egypt. As the burial of Jacob in Canaan would attract the minds of Israel to that coun- try, so the depositing of Joseph in a moveable chest, together with his dying word, would serve as a memento that Egypt was not their home. CONCLUSION. I HAVE endeavored to intersperse re- flections on the various subjects as they have occurred ; but there are a few others which arise from a review of the whole ; and with these I shall conclude. First : The truth of recelntion, and its leadini^ doctrines. That which accounts for things as they are, or as they actually exist in the world, and that in such a manner as nothing else does, carries in it its own evidence. Lor)k at tilings as they are, and look at this, and you will find that as face answerelh to face in water, so doth the one answer to the other. Look at the material creation around you, and ask the philosophers of all ages how it came into lieing. One ascribes it to a fortuitous assemblage of atojns; another conceives matter to have been eternal; another imagines God himself a material being. But revelation, like ihe light shining upon chaos, dissipates in a few wordi all this darkness, iniorming us that, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Look at hutnan nature as it now is : depraved, miseral)le, and subject to death. Ask philosophy to account for this. The task will be found to surpass its powers. None can deny tiie fact that men are what they ought not to be ; but how they came to be so cannot be told. To say, as many do, that the stock is good, but that it gets corrupt in rearing, is to reason in a manner that no one would have the face to do in any other case. If a tree weje found which in every cli- mate, every age, every soil, and under eve- ry kind of cultivation, broug-ht forth the fruits of deatii, nobody would hesitate to pronounce it of & poisonous nature. Such is the account given us by revelation, and this book informs us how it became so. It is true it does not answer curious q es- tions on this awful subject. It traces the origin of evil as far as sobriety and humil- ity would wish to inquire. It states the fact, that God hath " made man upright," and that he " hath sought out many inven- tions ;" but there it leaves it. If men will object to the equity of the divine pro- ceedings, and allege that what is in conse- q\ience of their first father's transgression is on their part guiltless, they must go on to ol^jecl. Every man's conscience tells him that he is accountalde for all he does from choice, let that choice have iieen in- fluenced by what it may ; and no man thinks of excusing his neighbor for his ill conduct towards him because he is a son of Adam. Out of their own mouth, there- fore, will such objectors be judged. — But if the doctrine of the fall, as narrated in this book, be admitted, that of salvation by free grace, through the atonement of Clirist, will follow of course. I do not say that redemption l)y Christ could be inferred from the fall itself; but, being revealed in the same sacred book, we can- not believe the one without feeling the ne- cessity of the other. Look at the page of history, and you will find yourselves in a world of the ex- istence of which you can find no traces till within about four thousand years. All beyond is darkness ; and all pretensions to earlier records carry in them self-evi- dent marks of fable. These things are accounted for in this book. If the world was destri\ved by a flood, there could no nations have existed till a little before the tiujes of Abraham. Nay, this book gives tO.NCLUSIO-N. 571 us ihe origin of all the nations, and calls their virissitudes, narrating the trials and many ol ihein liy the iranjes wiiicli tliey tnuniplis oi laiUi in iiicsc luily nit-n ; wlwlc sustain to this day. tlie l^niMaeis, tlic JLiaans, i.nil ull w liu apus- Finally : Look at the antipathy which lalizcd Iroin the ti ue (joil, arc gisen up, is every where to l)e seen I), iwecn the anC lost in llie great world, it traces tlie righteous and the wicked, helweun thcrn spiritual kingiiuni of God to its smallest that tear (>od and them that lear him not. I'Cginnings, and lullows it through its va- *'\ll the narratives which have passed un- rious obstructions; while the wars, con- der review, as those ol Cain and Ahel, quests, and intrigues ot the great nations Enoch and his contemporaries, Isaac and ol antiquity are passed over as unworthy Ishmael, Jacoli and Esau, are pictures ol ol notice. In all this we see that the originals w hich the world continues in ev- things which are higidy esteemed anion"- ery age to exhilit. But this hook traces men are lul lighll) accounted ot hy the this antipathy to its source, and gives us Loid ; and that lie who hath heaven lor reason to expect its continuance till Satan his liuone, and eartii lor his loolslool, and his cause shall lie hruiscil under our overlooks both, in comparison ol a poor ieet. and contrite spirit. Secondly : 7Vte peculiar characters of Easily : Die slow but certain progress sacred history. It is the most concise, of the divine designs. God promised anti yel comprehensive, ol' any record that Abraham a son when he was se\enty-lhe iias ever yet ap|)eared in Ihe world. In years old; i)ut he was not born till he was the book ol Genesis only we have gone a hundred. And, when he is borji, he over the history ot two Ihfmsaiid, three lives lorty years unmarried : and when hundred, and sixty-nine years. A com- married, under an expectation ot great luon historian might have used more IVuillulness, it is twenty years more ere words in giving us an account of one ol Rebecca bears children; and then it is Niinrods expeditions. Yet it is not like not without earnest prayer. And, now the abridged histories of human writers, tiiat he has two sons born, Jacob, in which often contain a string olunconnect- whom the promise is to be lultillcd, lives ed facts, which leave no imjiression, and seventy-live years single, and his lile is a are nearly void of useful information, kind ot blank: and, when he goes to Pa- You see human nature, as created, as de- dan-aram for a wife, he must wait seven praved and as renewed 1 y the grace of God: years longer ere he oblains her : and when you see the motives of men and the rea- he has a family of children, tiiey j)rose son of things so as to enable you to draw some of the worst of characters. Ihe from every story some important lesson, only one that is any way hopelul is taken some warning, caution, counsel, encour- away, lie knows lot how ; and a long se- agement, or instruction in righteousness. ries of afflictions follow , one upon anoth- The reason of so much being included er, ere any thing like hope makes its ap- in so small a compass is, it is select. It is pearance. Yet all this while the Lord not a history of the world, but of jiersons had promised, " I will surely do thee and things which the world overlooks. It good ;" and in the end the good is done, keeps one great object always in vievv ; G d s ways fetch an astonishing compass. n?ime\y, the progress of the church of God, His heart is large, and all his plans are and touches other societies and their con- great. He does not make haste to fulfil cerns only incidentally, and as they are his counsels ; but waits, and causes us to connected with it. The things which are wait, the due time. But at thai time here recorded are such as would have they are all (ulfilled. teen mostly ovcilooked by common histo- We may observe a difference, however, lians, just as things of the same kind are as to the lime taken for the fulfilment of overlotd