Confound, o'erpower me with thy grace, Now let me gain perfection's height, And feel that Christ is all in all. 4. But this is not all: he holds also a General Redemption, and its necessary consequences, which some account "dreadful heresies." He asserts with St. Paul, "that Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man ;" and this grace he calls free, as extending itself freely to all. Nor can he help expressing his surprise at those pious ministers, who maintain that the Saviour keeps his grace, as they suppose he kept his blood, from the greatest part of mankind, and yet engross to themselves the title of preachers of free grace! He frequently observes with the same Apostle, that "Christ is the Saviour of all men, but especially of them that believe:" and that" God will have all men to be saved," consistently with their moral agency, and the tenor of his gospel. With St. John he maintains, that "God is Love," and that "Christ is the propitiation not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world" With David he affirms, that God's mercy is over all his works;" and with St. Peter, that "the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance;" yea, that God, without hypocrisy, "commandeth all men every where, to repent." Accordingly he says with the Son of God, Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely;" and after his blessed example, as well as by his gracious command, he "preaches the gospel to every creature; which he apprehends would be inconsistent with common honesty, if there was not a gospel for every creature. Nor can he doubt of it in the least, when he considers that Christ is a king as well as a priest, that we are under a law to Him, that those men who will not have him to reign over them, shall be brought and slain before him; yea, that He will judge the secrets of men, according to St. Paul's gospel, and take vengeance of all them that obey not his own gospel, and be the author of eternal salvation to none but them that obey him. With this principle, as with a key given us by God himself, he opens those things which are hard to be understood in the epistles of St. Paul, and which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do some other scriptures, if not to their own destruction, at least to the overthrowing of the faith of some weak Christians, and the hardening of many, very many infidels. As a true Son of the Church of England, he believes that Christ redeemed him and all mankind; that for us men, and not merely for the elect, " he came down from heaven, and made upon the cross, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world." Like an honest man, and yet a man of sense, he so subscribed the 17th Article, as not to reject the 31st, which he thinks o. equal force, and much more explicit and therefore, as the 17th Article authorises him, he "receives God's promises in such wise as they are generally set forth in holy scripture:" rejecting, after the example of our Governors in Church and State, the Lambeth articles, in which the doctrine of absolute, unconditional election and reprobation was maintained, and which some calvinist divines in the days of Queen Elizabeth, vainly attempted to impose upon these kingdoms, by adding them to the 39 articles. Far therefore from thinking he does not act a fair part, în rea jecting the doctrine of particular redemption; he cannot conceive by what salvo the consciences of those ministers who embrace it, can permit them to say to each of their communicants, "The blood of Christ was shed for thee;" and to baptize promiscuously all children within their respective parishes, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," when all that are unredeemed have no more right to the blood, name, and Spirit of Christ than Lucifer himself. Thus far Mr. W. agrees with Arminius, because he thinks that illustrious divine agreed thus far with the scriptures, and all the early Fathers of the Church. But if Arminius (as the author of Pietas Oxoniensis affirms in his letter to Dr. Adams) "denied that man's nature is totally corrupt, and asserted that he hath still a freedom of will to turn to God, but not without the assistance of grace," Mr. W. is no Arminian, for he strongly asserts the total fall of man, and constantly maintains, that by nature man's will is only free, to evil, and that divine grace must first prevent, and then continually further him, to make him willing and able to turn to God. I must however confess that he does not, as some real Protestants, continually harp upon the words free grace and free will, but he gives reasons of considerable weight for it. 1. Christ and his Apostles never did so: 2. He knows the word grace necessarily implies the freeness of a favour, and the word will the freedom of our choice; and he has too much sense to delight in perpetual tautology. 3. He finds by blessed experience that when the will is touched by divine grace, and yields to the touch, it is as free to good, as it was before to evil. He dares not therefore make the maintaining of free will, any more than of free breath, the criterion of an unconverted man. On the contrary, he believes none are converted but those who have a free will to follow Jesus; and far from being ashamed to be called a free-willer, he affirms it is as essential to all men to be free-willing creatures, as to be rational animals; and he supposes he can as soon find a diamond or a flint without gravity, as a good or bad man without free-will. Nor will I conceal that I never heard him use that favourite expression of some good men, Why me? why me? Though he is not at all against their using it, if they can do it to edification. But as he does not see that any of the saints, either of the Old or New Testament, ever used it, he is afraid to be humble and wise above what is written, lest, voluntary kumility should introduce refined pride before he is aware. Doubting therefore whether he can say, Why me? why me? without the selfpleasing idea of his being preferred to thousands, or without a touch of the secret self-applause that tickles the pharisee's heart, when he thanks God he is not as other men, he leaves the fashionable exclamation to others, with all the refinements of modern divinity; and chooses to keep to St. Paul's expression, "He loved me," which implies no exclusion of his poor fellow-sinners; or to that of the royal psalmist, " Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him; and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" 5. As a consequence of the doctrine of General Redemption, Mr. W. lays down two axioms of which he never loses sight in his preaching. The first is, that all our salvation is of God in Christ, and therefore of grace; all opportunities, invitations, inclinations, and power to believe, being bestowed upon us of mere grace;-grace most absolutely free: and so far I hope that all who are called gospel-ministers agree with him: But he proceeds farther, for secondly, he asserts with equal confidence, that according to the gospel dispensation, all our damnation is of ourselves, by our obstinate unbelief, and avoidable unfaithfulness; as we may neglect so great salvation, desire to be excused from coming to the feast of the Lamb, make light of God's gracious offers, refuse to occupy, bury our talent, and act the part of the slothful servant; or in other words, resist, grieve, do despite to, and quench the Spirit of grace, by our immoral agency. The first of these evangelical axioms he builds upon such scriptures as these: "In me is thy help."-" Look unto me and be saved."-" No man cometh unto me except the Father draw him."-" What hast thou that thou hast not received?"-" We are not sufficient to think aright of ourselves, all our sufficiency is of God."-" Christ is exalted to give repentance." "Faith is the gift of God." "Without me ye can do nothing," &c. &c. 66 And the second he founds upon such passages as these, "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light."-" Ye always resist the Holy Ghost."-" They rejected the counsel of God towards themselves." "Grieve not the Spirit."Quench not the Spirit."—" My Spirit shall not always strive with man."Turn, why will ye die?"--"Kiss the son lest ye perish."---“ I gave Jezebel time to repent, and she repented not."--"The goodness of God leads, N. B. not drags, thee to repentance, who, after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures up wrath unto thyself."- "Their eyes have they closed lest they should see and be converted, and I should heal them.". "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh from heaven."---" I set before you life and death, choose life !"---" Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life."- -" I would have gathered you, and you would not." &c. &c. As to the moral agency of man, Mr. W. thinks it cannot be denied upon the principles of common sense, and civil government; much less upon those of natural and revealed religion; as nothing would be more absurd than to bind us by laws of a civil or spiritual nature; nothing more foolish than to propose to us punishments and rewards; and nothing more capricious than to inflict the one or bestow the other upou us; if we were not moral agents. -- He is therefore persuaded the most complete system of divinity is that in which neither of those two axioms is superseded: it is bold and unscriptural to set up the one at the expence of the other; the prophets, the Apostles, and Jesus Christ left us no such precedent: and to avoid what is termed legality, we must not run into refinements which they knew nothing of, and make them perpetually contradict themselves: not can we without an open violation of the laws of candour and criticism, lay a greater stress upon a few obscure and controverted passages, than upon an hundred plain and irrefragable scripture proofs. He therefore supposes that those persons are under a capital mistake, who maintain only the first gospel-axiom, and under pretence of securing to God all the glory of salvation of one elect, give perhaps twenty reprobates full room to lay all the blame of their damnation, either, upon their first parents, or their Creator. This way of making twenty real holes, in order to stop a supposed one, he cannot see consistent either with wisdom or scripture. "God Thinking it therefore safest not to put asunder the truths which God has joined together, he makes all extremes meet in one blessed scriptural medium. With the Antinomian he preaches, "God worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure;" and with the Legalist he cries, "Work out therefore your own salvation with fear and trembling;" and thus he has all St. Paul's doctrine. With the Ranter he says, has chosen you, you are elect;" but as it is through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth," with the disciples of Moses he infers, "Make your calling and election sure, for if ye do these things ye shall never fall." Thus he presents his hearers with all St. Peter's system of truth, which the others had rent in pieces. Again, according to the first axiom he says with the perfect preacher, 2 as All things are now ready;" but with him he adds also according to the In short, he would think that he mangled the gospel, and forgot part of his awful commission, if when he has declared that he who believeth shall be saved, he did not also add, that he who believeth not shall be damned; or, which is the same, that none perish merely for Adam's sin, but for their own unbelief, and wilful rejection of the Saviour's grace. Thus he advances God's glory every way, entirely ascribing to his mercy and grace all the salvation of the elect, and completely freeing him from the blame of directly or indirectly hanging the mill-stone of damnation about the neck of the reprobate. And this he effectually does by shewing that the former owe all they are, and all they have to creating, preserving, and redeeming love, whose innumerable bounties they freely and continually receive; and that the rejection of the latter has absolutely no cause but their obstinate rejecting of that astonishing mercy which wept over Jerusalem; and prayed, and bled even for those that shed the atoning blood;-the blood that expatiated all sin but that of final unbelief. I have now finished my sketch of Mr. W.'s doctrine, so far as it has fallen under my observation during above sixteen years particular acquaintance with him and his works: it is not my design, Sir, to enquire into the truth of his sentiments, much less shall I attempt to prove them orthodox, according to the ideas that some real Protestants entertain of orthodoxy. This only I beg leave to observe, suppose he is mistaken in all the scriptures on which he founds his doctrine of Christian Perfection and General Redemption, yet his mistakes seem rather to arise from a regard for Christ's glory, than from enmity to his offices; and all together do not amount to any heresy at all; the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, namely, the fall of man, justification by the merits of Christ, sanctification by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and the worship of the One true God in the mysterious distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as it is maintained in the three Creeds, not being at all affected by any of his peculiar sentiments. But you possibly imagine, Sir, that he has lately changed his doctrine, and adopted a new system. If you do, you are under a very great mistake, and to convince you of it, permit me to conclude this letter by a paragraph of one which I received from him last spring. "I always did (for between these thirty and forty years) clearly assert the total fall of man, and his utter inability to do any good of himself: the absolute necessity of the grace and Spirit of God to raise even a good thought or desire in our hearts: the Lord's rewarding no work, and accepting of none, but so far as they proceed from his preventing, convincing, and converting grace through the beloved. The blood and righteousness of Christ being the sole meritorious cause of our salvation. And who is there in England that has asserted these things more strongly and steadily than I have done?" Leaving you to answer this question, I remain with due respect, Hon. and Rev. Sir, your obedient Servant, in the bond of a peaceful gospel. MADELEY. July 29, 1771. J. FLETCHER. Second Letter to the Rev. Mr. Shirley. Hon. and Rev. Sir, HAVING proved that Mr. W.'s doctrine is not heretical, permit me to. consider the propositions which close the Minutes of his last conference. on which, it seems, your charge of dreadful heresy is founded. They wear, I confess, a new aspect, and such is the force of prejudice and attachment to particular modes of expression, that at first they appeared to be very unguarded, if not altogether erroneous. But when the din of the severe epithets, bestowed upon them by some warm friends, was out of my ears,—when I had prayed to the Father of lights for meekness of wisdom, and given place to calm reflection, I saw them in quite a different light. Our Lord commands us "Not to judge according to the appearance, but to judge righteous judgment;" appearances, therefore, did not seem to me sufficient to condemn any man, much less an elder, and such an elder as Mr. W. I considered, besides, that the circumstances in which a minister sometimes finds himself with respect to his hearers, and particular errors spreading among them, may oblige him to do or say things which, though very right according to the time, place, persons, and junctures, may yet appear very wrong to those who do not stand just where he does. I saw, for example, that if St. Paul had been in St. James's circumstances, he would have preached justification in as guarded a manner as St. James; and that if St. James had been in St. Paul's place, he would have preached it as freely as St. Paul; and I recollected, that in some places St. Paul himself seems even more legal than St. James. See Rom. ii, 7, 10. 14. Gal. vi. 7, &c. and 1 Tim. vi. 19. These reflections made me not only suspend my judgment concerning Mr. W.'s propositions, but consider what we may candidly suppose was his design in writing them for, and recommending them to, the preachers in connection with him. And I could not help seeing, that it was only to guard them and their hearers against antinomian principles and practices, which spread like wild-fire in some of his societies; where persons who spoke in the most glorious manner of Christ, and their interest in his complete salvation, have been found living in the greatest immoralities, or indulging the most unchristian tempers. Nor need I go far for a proof of this sad assertion. In one of his societies, not many miles from my parish, a married man, who professed being in a state of justification and sanctification, growing wise above what is written, despised his brethren as legalists, and his teachers as persons not clear in the gospel. He instilled his principles into a serious young woman; and what was the consequence ? why, they talked about "finished salvation in Christ," and " the absurdity of perfection in the flesh," till a perfect child was conceived and born; and to save appearances, the mother swore it to a travelling man. that cannot be heard of. Thus, to avoid legality, they plunged into hypocrisy, fornication, adultery, perjury, and the depth of ranterism. not hard that a minister should be traduced as guilty of dreadful heresy for trying to put a stop to such dreadful practices ? And is it not high time that he should cry to all that regard his warnings, take heed to your doctrine. As if he had said, Is it "Avoid all extremes. While on the one hand you keep clear of the pharisaic delusion that slights Christ, and makes the pretended merit of an imperfect obedience the procuring cause of eternal life; see that, on the other hand, you do not lead to the antinomian error, which, under pretext of exalting Christ, speaks contemptuously of obedience, and makes void the law through a faith that does not work by, love. As there is |