ing the most plausible objections, or avoiding the strongest arguments which are, or may be advanced against our reconciling doctrine, I have carefully searched them out, and endeavoured to encounter them as openly as David did Goliah. Had our opponents followed this method, I doubt not but the controversy would have ended long ago in the destruction of our prejudices, and in the rectifying of our mistakes. O, if we preferred the unspeakable pleasure of finding out the truth to the pitiful honour of pleasing a party, or of vindicating our own mistakes, how soon would the useful fan of Scriptural, logical, and brotherly controversy "purge the floor" of the Church! How soon would the light of truth and the flame of love "burn the chaff" of error and the thorns of prejudice "with fire unquenchable!" May the past triumphs of bigotry suffice! and instead of sacrificing any more to that detestable idol, may we all henceforth do whatever lies in us to hasten a general reconciliation, that we may all share together in the choicest blessings which God can bestow upon his peculiar people;-the Spirit of pure, evangelical truth, and of fervent, brotherly love. MADELEY, March 30, 1775. Enoch with respect to the peculiar blessings of Judaism; and David with regard to the still more peculiar blessings of Christianity. But although neither of them had a share in the election of God's most peculiar grace; that is, although neither was chosen and called to the blessings of Christianity, their lot was never cast with those imaginary "poor creatures," whom Calvin and his followers affirm to have been from all eternity reprobated with a reprobation which infallibly draws eternal damnation after it. For Enoch and David made their election to the rewards of their dispensations sure by the timely and voluntary obedience of faith. And so might all those who obstinately bury their talent or talents to the last. By FUTURE CONTINGENCIES, understand those things which will or will not be done; as the free, unnecessitated will of man shall choose to do them or not. By SEMINAL EXISTENCE, understand the existence that we had in Adam's loins before Eve had conceived; or the kind of being which the prince of Wales had in the loins of the king before the queen came to England. EQUAL CHECK, PART THIRD. BEING THE SECOND PART OF THE SCRIPTURE SCALES. SECTION I. Containing the Scripture doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. I PROMISED the reader that Zelotes and Honestus should soon meet again, to fight their last battle; and, that I may be as good as my word, I bring them a second time upon the stage of controversy. I have no pleasure in seeing them contend with each other; but I hope that when they shall have shot all their arrows, and spent all their strength, they will quietly sit down and listen to terms of reconciliation. They have had already many engagements; but they seem determined that this shall be the sharpest. Their challenge is about the doctrine of perseverance. Zelotes asserts that the perseverance of believers depends entirely upon God's almighty grace, which nothing can frustrate; and that, of consequence, no believer can finally fall. Honestus, on the other hand, maintains that continuing in the faith depends chiefly, if not entirely upon the believer's free will; and that of consequence final perseverance is partly, if not altogether as uncertain as the fluctuations of the human heart. The reconciling truth lies between those two extremes, as appears from the following propositions, in which I sum up the Scripture doctrine of perseverance :— I. God makes us glorious promises to encourage us to persevere. Free grace always does its part. Final perseverance depends, first, on the final, gracious concurrence of free grace with free will. As free grace has in all things the pre-eminence over free will, we must lay much more stress upon God's faithfulness than upon our ourn. The spouse comes out of the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved, and not upon herself. II. Those promises are neither compulsory nor absolute. We must on our part faithfully use the help of God. Free will does not always do its part. Final perseverance depends, secondly, on the final, faithful concurrence of free will with free grace. But to infer from thence that the spouse is to be carried by her Beloved every step of the way, is unscriptural. He gently draws her, and she runs. He gives her his arm, and she leans. But far from dragging her by main force, he bid's her remember Lot's wife. I. The believer stands upon two legs, (if I may so speak,) God's faithfulness and his own. The one is always sound, nor can he rest too much upon it, if he does but walk straight, as a wise Christian; and does not foolishly hop as an Antinomian, who goes only upon his right leg; or as a Pharisee, who moves entirely upon the left. When Gospel ministers speak of our faithfulness, they chiefly mean, (1.) Our faithfulness in repenting, that is, in renouncing our sins and Pharisaic righteousness; and in improving the talent of light, which shows us our natural depravity, daily imperfections, total helplessness, and constant need of an humble recourse to, and dependence on Divine grace. And, (2.) Our faithfulness in believing (even in hope against hope) God's redeeming love to sinners in Christ; in humbly apprehending, as returning prodi. gals, the gratuitous forgiveness of sins through the blood of the Lamb; in cheerfully claiming, as impotent creatures, the help that is laid on the Saviour for us; and in constantly coming at his word, to "take of the water of life freely." And so far as Zelotes recommends this evangelical disposition of mind, without opening a back door to Antinomianism, by covertly pleading for sin, and dealing about his ima. ginary decrees of forcible grace and sovereign wrath, he cannot be too highly commended. If Zelotes will do justice to the doctrine of perseverance, he must speak of the obedience of faith, that is, of genuine, sincere obedience, as the oracles of God do. He must not blush to display the glorious rewards with which God hath promised to crown it. He must boldly II. The believer's left leg, (I mean his own faithfulness,) is subject to many humours, sores, and bad accidents; especially when he does not use it at all, or when he lays too much stress upon it, to save his other leg. If it is broken, he is already fallen; and if he is out of hell, he must lean as much as he can upon his right leg, till the left begins to heal, and he can again run the way of God's commandments. To aim chiefly at being faithful in external works, means of grace, and forms of godliness, is the high road to Pharisaism, and insincere obedience. I grant that he who is humbly faithful in little things, is faithful also in much; and that he who slothfully neglects little helps, will soon fall into great sins: but the professors of Christianity cannot be too frequently told that if they are not first faithful in maintaining true poverty of spirit, deep self humiliation before God, and high thoughts of Christ's blood and righteousness; they will soon slide into Laodicean Pharisaism; and, Jehu like, they will make more of their own partial, external, selfish faithfulness, than of Divine grace, and the Spirit's power:-a most dangerous and common error this, into which the followers of Honestus are very prone to run, and so far as he leads them into it, or encou rages them in it, he deserves to be highly blamed; and Zelotes, in this respect, hath undoubtedly the ad. vantage over him. Would Honestus kindly meet Zelotes half way, he must speak of free grace, and of Christ's obedience unto death, as the Scriptures do. He must glory in displaying Divine faithfulness, and placing it in the most conspicuous and engaging light. He must not be To see the truth of these propositions, we need only throw with candour, into the Scripture Scales, the weights which Zelotes and Honestus unmercifully throw at each other; taking particular care not to break, as they do, the golden beam of evangelical harmony, by means of which the opposite scales and weights exactly balance each other. I. The weights of free grace thrown by Zelotes. The Lord shall establish thee a holy people to himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, Deut. xxviii, 9. Know therefore the Lord thy God; he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant, Deut. vii, 9. He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure: for this is all my salvation and all my desire, 2 Sam. xxiii, 5. II. The weights of free will thrown by Honestus. If thou shalt keep the command. ments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. (Ibid.) But they, &c, have transgressed the covenant. They continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, Hos. vi, 7; Heb. viii, 9. They have broken the everlasting covenant: therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, Isa. xxiv, 5. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law, &c, so a fire was kindled in Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation, &c. The wrath of God came upon them, &c, and smote down the chosen of Israel, Psa. lxxviii, 10. 21, 22, 31. Hence it appears, that part of the "everlasting covenant ordered in all things and SURE," is that those who break it presumptuously, and do not repent (as David did) before it be too late, shall SURELY be smitten down and destroyed. |