sick, and renounce their physicians of no value, before they can make one true application to the invaluable Physician. What a variety of things is therefore implied in believing, which we cannot but acknowledge previous to justification! Who can then, consistently with reason, blame Mr. Wesley for saying something must be done in order to justification?

Again: if nothing is required of us in order to justification, who can find fault with those that die in a state of condemnation? They were born in sin, and children of wrath, and nothing was required of them in order to find favour; it remains, therefore, that they are damned through an absolute decree, made thousands of years before they had any existence. If some can swallow this camel with the greatest ease, I doubt, sir, it will not go down with you, without bearing very hard upon the knowledge you have of the God of love, and the gospel

of Jesus.

Once more: Mr. Wesley concludes his proposition by a very pertinent question: "When a man that is not justified does works meet for repentance, what does he do them for?" Permit me to answer it according to scripture and common sense. If he does them in order to purchase the divine favour, he is under a self-righteous delusion; but if he does them, as Mr. Wesley says, in order to find what Christ hath purchased for him, he acts the part of a wise protestant.

Should you say, that such a penitent does works meet for repentance, from a sense of gratitude for redeeming love; I answer, this is impossible; for that "love" must be "shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him," in consequence of his justification, before he can act from the sense of that love and the gratitude which it excites. I hope it is no heresy to maintain, that the cause must go before the effect. I conclude, then, that those who have not yet found the pardoning love of God, do works meet for repentance in order to find it. They abstain from those outward evils which once they pursued ; they do the outward good which the convincing Spirit prompts them to; they use the means of grace, confess

their sins, and ask pardon for them; in short, they seek the Lord, encouraged by that promise, "They that seek me early shall find me." And Mr. Wesley supposes they seek in order to find. In the name of candour, where is the harm of that supposition?

When the poor woman has lost her piece of silver, “she lights a candle," says our Lord, she "sweeps the house, and searches diligently till she finds it." Mr. Wesley asks, "If she does not do all this in order to find it, what does she do it for?" At this the alarm is taken, and the post carries through various provinces printed letters against old Mordecai; and a synod is called together, to protest against the dreadful error.

This reminds me of a little anecdote. Some centuries ago, one Virgilius (I think a German bishop) was bold enough to look over the walls of ignorance and superstition, which then inclosed all Europe. And he saw, that if the earth was round, there must be antipodes. Some minutes of his observations were sent to the pope. His holiness, who understood geography as much as divinity, took fright. Fancying the unheard-of assertion was injurious to the very fundamental principles of Christianity, he directly called together the cardinals, as wise as himself, and, by their advice, issued out a bull, condemning the heretical doctrine; and the poor bishop was obliged to make a formal recantation of it under pain of excommunication. Which are we to admire most? the zeal of the conclave, or that of the "real protestants?" While you

consider a proper answer to this question, let me observe, that as all the Roman catholics do now acknowledge there are antipodes, so all real protestants will one day acknowledge, that penitents seek the favour of God in order to find it; unless some rare genius should be able to demonstrate that it is in order to lose it..

Having defended Mr. Wesley's third proposition from scripture and common sense, permit me to do it also from experience and here I might appeal to the most established persons in Mr. Wesley's societies; but as their testimony may have little weight with you, I wave it, and appeal to all the accounts of sound conversions that have

been published since Calvin's days. Show me one, sir, wherein it appears that a mourner in Sion found the abovedescribed justification, without doing some previous "works meet for repentance." If you cannot produce one such instance, Mr. Wesley's doctrine is supported by the printed experience of all the converted Calvinists, as well as of all the believers in his own societies. Nor am I afraid to appeal even to the experience of your own friends. If any one of these can say, with a good conscience, that he found the above-described justification without first stopping in the career of outward sin, without praying, seeking, and confessing his guilt and misery, I promise to give up the Minutes; but if none can make such a declaration, you must grant, sir, that experience is on Mr. Wesley's side, as much as reason, revelation, the best Calvinists, and yourself: I say yourself.

Give me leave to produce but one instance. Page 76 of your Sermons, you address those "who see themselves destitute of that knowledge of God which is eternal life,” the very same thing that Mr. Wesley calls "justification;" and which you define, "a home-felt knowledge of God by the experience of his love being shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given unto us, the Spirit of God bearing witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God;" and you recommend to them to "seek and press after it." Now, sir, seeking and pressing after it is certainly doing something in order to find it.

I must not conclude my vindication of the third proposition without answering a specicus objection: "If we must do something in order to justification, farewell free justification: it is no more of grace, but of works, and consequently of debt. The middle wall of partition between the church of Rome and the church of England is pulled down, and the two sticks in the hands of that heretical juggler, John Wesley, are become one."

I reply, 1. That some, who think they are real pillars in the protestant church, may be nearer the church of Rome than they are aware of; for Rome is far more remarkable for lording it over God's heritage, and calling the most faithful servants of God heretics, than even for her pha

risaic exalting of good works. 2. If the church of Rome had not insisted upon the necessity of unrequired, unprofitable, and foolish works; and if she had not arrogantly ascribed saving merit to works, yea, to merely external performances, and by that means clouded the merits of Christ; no reasonable protestant would have separated from her on account of her regard for works. 3. Nothing can be more absurd than to affirm, that "when something is required to be done in order to receive a favour, the favour loses the name of a free gift, and directly becomes a debt." Long, too long, persons, who have more honesty than wisdom, have been frighted from the plain path of duty by a phantom of their own making! O may the snare break at last! And why should it not break now? Have not sophisms been wire-drawn, till they break of themselves in the sight of every attentive spectator?

I say to two beggars, "Hold out your hand; here is an alms for you." The one complies, and the other refuses : who in the world will dare to say, that my charity is no more a free gift, because I bestow it only upon the man that held out his hand? Will nothing make it free but my wrenching his hand open, or forcing my bounty down his throat? Again: the king says to four rebels, “Throw down your arms; surrender, and you shall have a place both in my favour and at court." One of them obeys, and becomes a great man; the others, upon refusal, are taken and hanged. What sophister will face me down, that the pardon and place of the former are not freely bestowed upon him because he did something in order to obtain them? Once more:

The God of providence says, "If you plough, sow, harrow, fence, and weed your fields, I will give the increase, and you shall have a crop." Farmers obey and are they to believe, that, because they do so many things towards their harvest, it is not the free gift of Heaven? Do not all those who fear God know that their ground, seed, cattle, strength, yea, and their very life, are the gifts of God? Does not this prevent their claiming a crop as a debt? and make them confess, that, though it

was suspended on their ploughing, &c., it is the unmerited bounty of Heaven?

Apply this, sir, to the present case, and you will see that our "doing something in order to justification" does not in the least hinder it from being a free gift; because, whatever we do in order to it, we do it by the grace of God preventing us that we may have a good will, and working with us when we have that good will; all being of freemost absolutely free-grace, through the merits of Christ. And, nevertheless, so sure as a farmer, in the appointed ways of providence, shall have no harvest if he does nothing towards it, a professor, in the appointed ways of grace, let him talk of finished salvation all the year round, shall go without justification and salvation, unless he does something towards them. My comparison is scriptural: "He that now goeth on his way weeping," says the psalmist, "and beareth forth good seed, shall doubtless come again with joy, and bring his sheaves with him." "Be not deceived," says the apostle : "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; and he" only "that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." David, therefore, and St. Paul must be proved enemies to free grace before Mr. Wesley can be represented as such; for they both did something in order to justification: they both sowed in tears before they reaped in joy their doctrine and experience went hand in hand together.

Having now vindicated the three first propositions of the Minutes, levelled at three dangerous tenets of Dr. Crisp, and shown, that, not only yourself, sir, but moderate Calvinists, are, so far, entirely of Mr. Wesley's sentiment,

I remain, honoured and reverend sir,

Your obedient servant, in the bonds of

a free and peaceful gospel,

J. FLETCHER.