pound shall always exactly weigh sixteen ounces;" I reply, that this is playing upon words; it being evident that the word permission, in such a case, is artfully put for the plainer word necessity or absolute decree. It is evident therefore, that although Mr. Toplady aims at being more consistent than the moderate Calvinists, he is in fact as inconsistent as they, if he denies that, upon the scheme of the abso-lute decrees preached by Calvin, and of the absolute necessity which he himself maintains, God is properly the contriver and author of all sin and wickedness.

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(6) It is dreadful to lay directly or indirectly all sin at the door of an omnipotent Being, who is fearful in holiness, and glorious in praises. Nor is it less dangerous to make poor deluded christians swallow down, as gospel, some of the most dangerous errors that ever were propagated by ancient or modern infidels. We have already seen the capital error of Manes was the doctrine of Necessity. This doctrine was also the grand engine, with which Spinosa in Holland, and Hobbes in England, attempted to overthrow christianity in the last century. Those two men, who may be called the Apostles of modern materialists and atheists, tried to destroy the Lord's vineyard, by letting loose upon it the very error, which Mr. T. recommends to us as the capital doctrine of grace. Spinosa, [says a modern author] will allow no Governor of the Universe but Necessity." As for Mr. Hobbes, he built his materialism upon the ruins of free-will, and the foundation of Necessity: hear the above-quoted author giving us an account of the monstrous system of religion, known by the name of Hobbism. "Freedom of will, it was impossible that Mr. Hobbes should assert to be a property of matter; but he finds a very unexpected way to extricate himself out of the diffi-, culty." The proposition against him stands thus; "Freedom of will cannot be a property of matter; but there are beings, which have freedom of will; therefore there are substances which are not material." "He answers this at once, by saying the most strange thing, and the most contradictory to our knowledge of what passes within ourselves, that perhaps was ever advanced; namely, that there is no freedom of will. Every effect, he says," [and this is exactly the doctrine of Mr. Toplady as the quotations I have produced from his book abundantly prove ;] "Every effect must be owing to some cause, and that cause must produce the effect necessarily. Thus, whatever body is moved, is moved by some other body, and that by a third, and so on without end. In the same manner he, [Mr. Hobbes] concludes, the will of a voluntary agent must be determined by some other external to it, and so on without end: therefore that the will is not determined by any power of determining itself, inherent in itself; that is, it is not free, nor is there any such thing as freedom of will; but that all is the act of necessity."-This is part of the account, which the Author of the Answer to Lord Bolingbroke's Philosophy gives us of Mr. Hobbes's detestable scheme of Necessity; and it behoves Mr. Toplady and the Calvinists to see, if while they contend for their absolute decrees, and for the doctrine of the absolute necessity and passiveness of all our willings and motions, they do not inadvertently confound matter and spirit, and make way for Mr. Hobbes's materialism, as well as for his scheme of necessity.

(7) The moment the doctrine of Necessity is overthrown, Mani

cheism, Spinosism, Hobbism, and the spreading religion of Mr. Voltaire, are left without foundation; as well as that part of Calvin's system, which we object against. And we beseech Mr. Toplady, and the contenders for Calvinian decrees, to consider, that if we oppose their doctrine, it is not from any prejudice against their persons, much less against God's free-grace; but from the same motive, which would make us bear our testimony against Manes, Spinosa, Hobbes, and Voltaire, if they would impose their errors upon us as "doctrines of grace." Mr. Wesley and I are ready to testify upon oath, that we humbly submit to God's sovereignty, and joyfully glory in the freeness of gospel-grace, which has mercifully distinguished us from countless myriads of our fellow-creatures, by gratuitously bestowing upon us numberless favours, of a spiritual and temporal nature, which he has thought proper absolutely to withhold from our fellow-creatures. To meet the Calvinists on their own ground, we go so far as to allow, there is a partial, gratuitous election and reprobation. By this election Christians are admitted to the enjoyment of privileges far superior to those of the Jews: and according to this reprobation myriads of heathens are absolutely cut off from all the prerogatives, which accompany God's covenants of peculiar grace. In a word, we grant to the Calvinists every thing they contend for, except the doctrine of absolute Necessity: nay, we even grant the necessary, unavoidable salvation of all that die in their infancy. And our love to peace would make us go farther to meet Mr. Toplady, if we could do it without giving up the justice, mercy, truth, and wisdom of God, together with the truth of the scriptures, the equity of God's paradisical and mediatorial laws, the propriety of the days of judgment, and the reasonableness of the sentences of absolution and condemnation, which the righteous judge will then pronounce. We hope therefore, that the prejudices of our Calvinian brethren will subside, and that, instead of accounting us inveterate enemies to truth, they will do us the justice to say, that we have done our best to hinder them from inadvertently betraying some of the greatest truths of christianity into the hands of the Manichees, Materialists, Infidels, and Antinomians of the age. May the Lord hasten the happy day, in which we shall no more waste our precious time in attacking or defending the truths of our holy religion; but bestow every moment in the sweetest exercises of divine and brotherly love! In the mean time, if we must contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, let us do it with a plainness, that may effectually detect error; and with a mildness, that may soften our most violent opponents. Lest I should transgress against this rule, I beg leave once more to observe, that, though I have made it appear that Mr. Toplady's Scheme of Necessity is inseparably connected with the most horrid errors of Manicheism, Materialism, and Hobbism, yet I am far from accusing him of wilfully countenancing any of those errors. If he does it, I am persuaded it is undesignedly. The badness of his cause obliges him to collect, from all quarters, every shadow of argument to support his favourite opinion: and I make no doubt, but, when he shall candidly review our controversy, it will be his grief to find, that, in his hurry, he has contended for a scheme, which gives up christianity into the hands of her greatest enemies, and has poured floods of undeserved contempt upon Mr. Wesley, who is one of her best defenders.

A

VINDICATION

OF

THE REV. MR. WESLEY'S

Calm Address to our American Colonies

IN THREE LETTERS

TO MR. CALEB WILLIAMS.

225

PREFACE.

It will probably seem strange, that Clergymen should meddle with a controversy, which has hitherto been considered as altogether political. But the reader's surprise, in this respect, will probably cease, if he give himself the trouble to read these Letters. He will then see, that the American controversy is closely connected with Christianity in general, and with Protestanism in particular; and that, of consequence, it is of a religious, as well as of a civil nature.

Is it not granted on all sides, that the gospel leads to the practice of strict morality? Is it not an important branch of such morality "to honour and obey the king;"-to extend that honour and obedience, in a scriptural and constitutional manner, to "all that are put in authority under him ;-to submit ourselves to all our governors ;to order ourselves lowly and reverently to all our betters ;-to hurt no body by word or deed;-and to be true and just in all our dealings" giving every one his due, "tribute to whom tribute is due, and custom to whom custom?" Do we not teach this doctrine to our children, when we instruct them in the first principles of Christianity? If Divinity, therefore, can cast light upon the question, which divides Great Britain and her Colonies; is it impertinent in Divines to hold out the light of their science, and peaceably to use what the Apostle calls the sword of the Spirit ;" that the material sword, unjustly drawn by those who are in the wrong, may be sheathed; and that a speedy end may be put to the effusion of Christian blood?

Another reason influences the Author to write upon the question which is now so warmly agitated in England, so dreadfully debated in America. Many of the Colonists are as pious as they are brave; and whilst their undaunted fortitude makes them scorn to bow under an hostile arm, which shoots the deadly lightning of war; their humble piety may dispose them (or some of them) to regard a friendly hand, which holds out an Olive branch, a Bible, and the Articles of Religion drawn by their favourite Reformer. Had more care been taken to inform their judgment, and to work upon their consciences, by addressing them, not only as subjects, but as free men, brethren, and protestants, it is probable that numbers of them would never have so strongly embraced the unscriptural principles, which now influence their conduct.

Should it be said, that it is too late now, to use spiritual weapons with the Colonists: I reply, that this objection bears too hard upon their candour: it can never be too late to hold out plain scripture, and solid arguments, to judicious Protestants. It is only to Papists strongly prejudiced, or to those who relapse into Popish obstinacy, that the light of God's word, and of sound reason can come too late. Besides, the mistakes which have armed the provincials against Great Britain, begin to work in the breasts of many good men among us; witness the principles of Americanus. Now, therefore, is the time to keep these well-meaning men from going to the same extremes, to which the Colonists are gone now is the time to prevent others, whose judgment is yet cool and sober, from drinking in errors, by which such numbers are intoxicated.