The judicious reader will enter into this illustration, without being presented with a key of my own making; and, trusting his candour and good sense with that business, I draw the following inferences from the second gospel axiom which Mr. Berridge has explicitly granted. 1. God does not prevaricate, but speaks a melancholy truth, when he says, "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself." 2. Every reprobate is his own destroyer, not only because he has wilfully sinned away the justification mentioned Rom. v. 18, by which all infants are entitled to the kingdom of heaven; but also because he wilfully rejects the salvation really prepared for, and sincerely offered to, him in Christ. 3. According to the second covenant, we are never in a state of personal damnation, till we have personally buried the talent of that "grace which bringeth salvation, and hath appeared to all men." 4. Calvinism, which teaches the reprobates fully to exculpate themselves, and justly to charge God with shuffling, lying, injustice, cruelty, and hypocrisy, is a system that does the reprobates infinite honour, and the divine perfections unspeakable injury. And, 5. When Mr. Berridge maintains, that our damnation is wholly from ourselves," he maintains, indirectly, that the Minutes and Checks, which necessarily stand or fall with that gospel axiom, are truly scriptural. Thus, like other pious Calvinists,* he gives us an excellent

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* The warm author of a pamphlet entitled "Dr. Crisp's Ghost; or, a Check upon Checks: being a Bridle for Antinomians, and a Whip for Pelagian and Arminian Methodists," with this motto, "Without are dogs, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie;" designed, it seems, to whip the Arminian dogs, and to prove that Flavel, Baxter, Williams, and I, make a lie, when we represent Dr. Crisp as an abettor of "antinomian dotages; "this warm author, I say, informs us that even Dr. Crisp, overcome by the glaring evidence of truth, once said, "I must read the fearful doom of all who have not learned this lesson," (denying ungodliness,)" and are not yet taught it of God, &c. They are yet in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity,' and have not their part in this matter. I say, as yet, this is their fearful doom; and if they continue thus untaught their lesson, there can be no salvation by grace for them. 'Not every one that says, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven,' &c. Some licentious, ungodly wretches, I know, reply, though to their own ruin, &c., that Christ justifies the ungodly, and we are saved by faith without works' but, alas! they observe not how cunningly the devil equivocates to lull them asleep in their ungodly practices. It is true, indeed, that Christ justifies the ungodly, that is, he finds them ungodly when he imputes his righteousness to them: but

dose of antidote to expel antinomian poison. But who shall recommend it to the Calvinistic world? Mr. Wesley they will not hear: my Checks they will not read.

Go,

he does not leave them ungodly after he has inspired them; he teacheth them to deny ungodliness. He affords no cloak to perseverance in ungodliness, but will come in flaming fire, with his mighty angels, to render vengeance unto such. He that denies not ungodliness, him will Christ deny before his Father which is in heaven. Why, then, wilt thou be deluded with gross sophistry, in so clear a sunshine of the gospel? Is not the light so bright that thine own heart checks thee? And if thine heart condemns thee, God is greater, and searches all things"

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Hail! Crisp. Far from checking my Checks, and whipping the Arminian dog, in an happy moment thou manfully fightest St. James's battle; thou callest the doctrine of the Checks, "sunshine," and whippest thine own speculative error out of the church as gross sophistry." Dr. Crisp (as quoted by his opponent) almost discovered once the important difference between the salvation of a sinner, previous to works, and the salvation of a believer, consequent upon works.

His excellent words run thus :-"It is true also, we are saved by faith without works, but here also Satan equivocates as grossly as in the other case; for though faith only saves without works efficiently, yet not consequentially, as I said before: that is, though faith only saves, yet that faith must not be alone that saves, but must be attended with its fruits, to wit, denying ungodliness; else it is so far from saving, that it is but a dead faith, and he is but a vain man that has no better, as St. James well affirms. The person believing must deny ungodliness, though this denial works not his salvation." (This is very true, if it is understood either of initial salvation, or of the primary cause of eternal salvation.) "Our Saviour speaks to the same purpose: 'A good tree bringeth forth good fruit.' He does not say, the fruit makes it a good tree; yet the good fruit is inseparable. I speak not of quantities or degrees, &c., but of the truth, to wit, a real and sincere denial of ungodliness." Excellent! To whip the dogs, the Rev. Mr. P-1 needs only prove, that when David robbed Uriah of the ewe-lamb that lay in his bosom, tried to kill his soul with drunkenness, and treacherously killed his body with the sword of the Ammonites, he "really and sincerely denied ungodliness," and that his faith produced the good fruit which is inseparable from saving faith. The moment this is done, I promise the public to clear pious Calvinists in general from the charge of" speculative antinomianism;" Dr. Crisp, in particular, from that of "glaring contradiction; and his zealous second, who accuses me with " gross falsities," from Calvinistic rashness.

We can no more exculpate warm Calvinists, when they betray holiness into the hands of practical antinomians, because they now and then speak honourably of good works; than we can clear Pontius Pilate from the guilt of delivering the Messiah to the Jews, because he once solemnly" took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I find no fault in this just person; I am innocent of his blood: see ye to it." If the reverend author of the "Whip for the Arminians" considers this, or if he turns to Check IV., p. 33, where I produce D. Williams's observation concerning Dr. Crisp's inconsistency, he will, probably, be less forward in checking Checks, that he has not candidly considered ; and in making whips for the back of his honest neighbours, lest some of them should take them from him to lash his mistakes and chastise his precipitation.

then, “valiant serjeant If." Thou comest from Everton, therefore thou shalt be welcome. Thou knowest the way to the closets of solifidians; nay, thou art there already with "the Christian World Unmasked."

SECTION V.

THE pious author of "the Christian World Unmasked," speaking of the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional perseverance, which he confounds with the evangelical doctrine of conditional perseverance, page 194, says, with great truth, provided he had spoken of the latter, It "affords a stable prop to upright minds, yet lends no wanton cloak to corrupt hearts. It brings a cordial to revive the faint, and keeps a guard to check the forward. The guard attending on this doctrine is serjeant If; low in stature, but lofty in significance; a very valiant guard, though a monosyllable. Kind notice has been taken of the serjeant by Jesus Christ and his apostles; and much respect is due unto him, from all the Lord's recruiting officers, and every soldier in his army. Pray listen to the serjeant's speech: 'If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.' John viii. 31. ye do these things, ye shall never fall.' 2 Peter i. 10. If what ye have heard shall abide in you, ye shall continue in the Son and in the Father.' 1 John ii. 24.

If

"We are

made partakers of Christ, if we hold steadfast unto the end.' Heb. iii. 14. 'Whoso looketh and continueth' (that is, if he that looketh doth continue) 'in the perfect law of liberty, that man shall be blessed in his deed.' James i. 25.” And again, page 194: "If backsliders fancy they must all be restored by repentance, because David was restored, and Peter was; they might as well suppose they must all be translated into heaven without dying,* because Enoch and Elijah were." Page 199, line 17.

• Here Mr. Berridge, in a fit of legality, far exceeds the limits of the truth which I maintain in the Checks; for he insinuates, that the recovery of backsliders is as improbable as their bodily translation into heaven. For my part, severe as I am represented to backsliders, I

Upon this plan of doctrine, we are ready to lay by ou controversial pens, and shake hands with our Calvinist brethren. All that we desire of them, in order to a lasting agreement, is, 1. To consider what is implied in the preceding concessions; and not to gag serjeant If, when he honestly speaks the very words of "the Captain of our salvation," or those of the apostles his lieutenant-generals. 2. Not to call him a Galatian, or a papist, when he is found in company with St. James. 3. Not to enter an action against him, for disturbing the peace of those backsliders who, having denied the faith, and lost their first love, now quietly hug a bosom sin, or take their Laodicean rest on the pillow of self-election. 4. Not to put him under arrest, for heading a platoon of those whom some of the absolute elect call "diabolonians," because they doubt the truth of unconditional election, or election without if; and choose to fire at sin, rather than at their captain. And, 5. Not to say to him, "Hail, serjeant," kissing him as if he were a good Christian, in order to betray him with some decency into the hands of the antinomians, as a "circumcised caitiff."

Whether my pious opponent has not treated the honest serjeant in that manner, I leave the candid reader to determine. "Yet take notice," says he, page 194, “that serjeant If is not of Jewish, but Christian, parentage; not sprung from Levi, though a son of Abraham; no centinel of Moses, but a watchman for the camp of Jesus. He wears no dripping beard, like the circumcised race; and is no legal blustering condition to purchase man's salvation, but a modest gospel evidence to prove the truth of grace. He tells no idle tales." Enough, rev. sir, if "he tells no idle tales," he does not cavil and quibble, much less does he deny his proper name, and well-known meaning. Although he no more dreams of “purchasing man's salvation" than you do, yet he is conditional If, serjeant If, a very valiant guard to the scriptural doctrine of perseverance, and an irreconcilable enemy to Calvin's election, and "antinomian dotages."

believe their return is ten thousand times more probable than their going to heaven as Enoch and Elijah did.

O, ye opposers of the second gospel axiom, "pray come and peep!" See Calvinism "unmasked," by one of your principal leaders, who shows to the world the futile foundation of your doctrines of grace! Thanks be to his humorous honesty; we see now, that those famous doctrines stand upon the super-metaphysical difference there is between If and If; between Jewish If and Christian If; legal If and evangelical If; If at Madeley, and If at Everton. When If, the culprit, appears in the Founderypulpit, "he tells idle tales," it seems! he slily disguises himself! But when If, the orthodox, shows himself in the desk at * * *, (for, it is to be feared, that he seldom appears in the pulpit valiantly to guard bible perseverance,) he never equivocates! When he says to people that never stood, or to people that can never fall, “If ye do these things, ye shall never fall," &c., he is not a condition; and yet he never shuffles! These are strange hints indeed!

Patient reader, permit me to try, by the following questions, the solidity of the Calvinistic distinction between If and If, which supports the amazing weight of the great Diana. 1. When the gospel said to David, "If thou dost these things, thou shalt never fall," and he fell into adultery; was "serjeant If a modest gospel evidence to prove the truth of his grace?" And supposing he was such a modest evidence, did he "lend no wanton cloak to a corrupt heart?" 2. When our Lord said to the young ruler, "If thou wilt be perfect, sell all;" was serjeant If of Jewish or Christian parentage? 3. How shall I know when the serjeant is a "centinel of Moses; or when he is " a watchman for the camp of Jesus?" Should you answer, "A Jewish If wears a dripping beard," you may indeed by such an argument convince and entertain some Calvinists; but you leave me quite in the dark; and with "some very honest folks, who are cast in a gospel foundery," instead of "ringing a fire-bell," I smile at your wit and orthodoxy, but can no more understand what you mean by an "If, with a dripping beard," than you could conceive what I would be at, if I spoke of a Yes with a long tail, or a Perhaps