4. This author feems to have no other notion of original fin, but as it is an approbation or imitation of Adam's tranfgreffion; "if we approve of, fays he, "and imitate Adam's tranfgreffion, we may be punished for fuch approbation "and imitation, but not for his tranfgreffion:" which was the vain opinion of the Pelagians, condemned by that church, to which he would be thought to belong, in her ninth Article, and in which the represents original fin as defervof God's wrath and damnation: it begins thus, "Original Sin ftandeth not in "the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk) but it is the fault "and corruption of the nature of every man that naturally is engendered of "the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righte"ousness, and is, of his own nature, inclined to evil; fo that the flesh lufteth "always contrary to the fpirit; and therefore in every perfon born into this "world it deferveth God's wrath and damnation."

IV. The doctrine of man's free-will, and the irrefiftible grace of God in converfion, is next confidered. And under this head our author,

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1. Most bitterly exclaims against the preachers of free grace, and affirms, that they are the greatest enemies to it in the world, upon their scheme of predeftination, particular redemption, and the ministry of the gofpel; and asks if this and that, and the other thing, are grace in God, fome of which are fuppofitions of his own, and were never articles of our faith. And pray let me ask this writer, upon the foot of the universal scheme, "what grace is that in God, "to decree to fave all men conditionally, to fend his Son to redeem all man"kind; and yet to millions, even to whole nations, and that for many hundred years together, never so much as to afford the means of grace, the means of "knowing the way of falvation and redemption by Chrift; and to multitudes, "who enjoy the outward miniftry of the word, he does not vouchfafe his fpirit "to convince of fin, righteousness, and judgment, or to make application of "falvation, but leaves them to go on in fin, and at last eternally damns them?" Whereas, according to the particular scheme, God chooses fome peremptorily to eternal falvation, fends his Son to obtain eternal redemption for them, calls them effectually by his grace, and at last brings them fafe to eternal glory; in doing which, are fhewn forth the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards them.

2. He next proceeds to ftate the notion of free-will, which he himself gives into: "If, fays he ', by free-will, you mean a faculty or power in man to turn "his thoughts to this fubject or another, to do good or ill actions, to choose "the way of life or death, when both are set before him, to receive or reject "the

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"the offers of Chrift, when fairly made; I cannot but think every man hath "this fort of free-will." And further obferves, that fuch who "declaim against free agency, act upon this principle as much as other men—exhort "and perfuade to religion and good works, and act and live upon the principle of free agency, while in words they deny it." I hope, then, fuch perfons are not Antinomians; and yet this poor inconfiftent man, though he ftiles himself a confiftent Chriftian, immediately obferves: "Thus do Antinomian. "notions in divinity turn mens heads, and quite intoxicate their brains.". We own, that there is a power of free-will in man to perform the natural and civil actions of life, yea, the external parts of religion, but not any thing that is fpiritually good; fuch as to convert and regenerate himself, to believe in Chrift, and repent of fin in an evangelic manner. God made man at first upright, with a power to do that which is truly good, and under no co-active neceffity of finning; his prefent cafe is not owing to his original make, but to his fin and fall. Men in an unregenerate ftate, are only free to do evil, without a power to do good; which is no felf-contradiction; as appears from the cafe of the devils, who have no power to do good, are wholly bent upon evil, and yet do it freely. This freedom, indeed, is no other than fervitude; men are overcome by fin, are brought into bondage through it, and are flaves unto it. This may be thought, indeed, contrary to the notion of man's prefent ftate, being a state of trial, and to fome mens way of preaching; but does not contradict man's obligation to duty, nor overthrow the doctrine of a future. judgment. Regenerate perfons are free to do that which is good; but this freedom they have not naturally, but from the grace of God, by which they are made a willing people in the day of its power upon them. No man is or can be truly converted unto God, but by his powerful, efficacious and irresistible grace. But,

3. To say a man cannot turn to God without his almighty and irresistible grace, is reprefented as making the gofpel not only an ufelefs, but a deceitful inftitution. This must be denied; it is not hereby made a deceitful one, fince that fully and clearly holds forth and expreffes this truth, that no man can come to Chrift except the Father draw him; nor is it made an useless one, feeing it is the power of God unto falvation to many fouls, agreeable to this doctrine. But if no man can come to God or Chrift unless irrefiftible grace draw him, it is urged, that "then he cannot help turning, then there can be no fault in not "turning, and no virtue in turning to God." This argument, as well as fome others, is borrowed from Dr Whitby. And to it I anfwer, that not to turn to God,

God, or to be in an unconverted ftate, is to be in a finful one, and to live in fin is blameworthy: and though man, by finning, has involved himself in a state out of which he cannot extricate himfelf; yet is he not the lefs culpable on that score for living in it, though none will be punished for not being elected or converted, but as finners. And when a man is turned or converted to God, this is, indeed, no natural virtue in him; nor is it to be ascribed to any such virtue; but all the praise and glory of it are to be given to the powerful and efficacious grace of God, who will follow his own work of grace with glory, and not to the free-will of man; for, as it is expreffed in the tenth Article of the Church of England, which I would recommend to the perufal and confideration of our Church"The condition of man, after the fall of Adam, is such, that he can"not turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, "to faith and calling upon God: wherefore we have no power to do good works "pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Chrift prevent"ing us; that we may have a good-will, and working with us when we have "that good-will.”

man;

4. This man obferves, that "men refift the holy Ghost, and when God would “heal them, will not be healed, nor come to Chrift for Life." I reply, men may indeed refift the holy Ghost, as the Jews did, Ats vii. 51; which is what I fuppofe is referred to: but this is to be understood of refifting the holy Ghost in the external miniftry of the word, of the Jews contempt, rejection and perfecution of the prophets and apostles; as appears from the following words, and not of a refifting the internal operations of his grace; though we do not deny that these may be refifted, yet not so, as to be overcome, fruftrated and brought to nothing: this is our fenfe of irrefiftible grace. As for God's willingness to heal perfons when they would not be healed, I know no fuch expreffion in fcripture, especially as referring to fpiritual healing; it is faid in Jer. li. 9. We would bave healed Babylon, but she is not healed. But this defigns not the willingness of God, but of the Jews, or fome other people to heal her. This mistake Dr Whitby is guilty of: It is not always fafe to follow him. It is true, indeed, the Jews would not come to Chrift for life, which is an argument not for, but against free-will; and fhews the weakness, wickedness and obftinacy of the will of man.

V. Another doctrine militated against by this Dialogue-writer, is, that of the infufficiency of man's righteoufnefs to juftify him before God, and the imputation of the righteoufnefs of Chrift for that purpose. And,

1. He

f Dialogue, p. 32.

Difcourfe of Election, p. 204, 477. Ed. 2. 199, 457

1. He allows", that the false deceitful outfide and ceremonial righteousness of the fcribes and Pharifees, of Jewish and Chriftian hypocrites, may well enough be compared to filthy rags; but not the righteousness of the faints. But pray, who were the perfons that acknowledged their righteousness to be as filthy rags in Ifai lxiv. 6. the only place of scripture where this phrafe is used? Were these scribes or Pharifees, Jewish or Chriftian hypocrites, who made fuch an ingenuous and hearty confeffion of the pollution both of their nature and actions? No, they were the church of God, a fet of godly perfons in Isaiah's time, whose minds were impreffed with a fenfe of the awfulness of the divine Majesty, and of their own vilenefs and unworthiness; they were men truly humbled before God, in a view of the impurity of their nature, the imperfection of their fervices, and their coldness and backwardnefs to things divine and fpiritual; as the context manifeftly fhews. Can it be thought that fuch words as these should be spoken by hypocrites, we are all as an unclean thing? How ftrong and full is the following expreffion? And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags: not only some part of our obedience, but all our performances, even the best of them, every thing done by us, that can come under the name of righteousness, are so, being attended with fo much fin and imperfection. What righteousness was that which the apostle Paul renounced, Phil. iii. 9. and defired not to be found in? Says this man, his Jewish righteousness, or conformity to the ceremonial law; but this he had renounced before, in ver. 4-7. and then adds, ver. 8. Yea, doubtlefs, I count all things but lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Now, by all things, he must mean something else, over and above, and befides what he had before renounced, and which at least, in part, he explains of his own righteousness, which is of the law, his moral righteousness; yea, all the obedience he had been enabled, by the grace of God, to perform, fince his conversion; for to understand it of his ceremonial righteousness, is to make him guilty of a very great tautology.

2. The imputed righteousness of Christ, this author fays*, is a phrase no where to be found in God's book, nor is it easy to be understood; wherefore he calls it unfcriptural and unintelligible doctrine. Imputed righteousness is a phrase neither unfcriptural nor unintelligible, nor is the imputed righteousness of Chrift so. David describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works'. Now what righteoufnefs is that which is imputed without works? not a man's own righteoufnefs, that cannot poffibly be imputed without works; it must be the righteousness of Chrift, which is imputed without the works of men being joined unto it to make it perfect. Again: Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteoufnefs". Not Abraham's own faith, or faithful * Ibid. p. 34, 35.

b Dialogue, P. 33.

m Verse 3.

Ibid.

1 Rom. iv, 6.

ful obedience, as fays" this man; but the object of his faith, the righteousness of the Meffiah, in whom he believed; for that which was imputed to Abraham,' was not imputed to him only, but to others, even to believers under the gospel difpenfation. Now it was not written, fays the apostle, for his fake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jefus our Lord from the dead. So Chrift is made unto us righteousness, by the imputation of it, not to himself, but to us; nor is the meaning, as this author would have it, that the doctrine, example, life and death of Christ, are the means of making men righteous; but he himself is made unto them righteousness, and they are made the righteousness of God in him, through the imputation of his righteousness to them, as he is made fin for them, through the imputation of their fins to him'. Add to all this, that in the fame way that we are made finners by the difobedience of one, which is by the imputation of his disobedience to us, are we made righteous by the obedience of one, of Chrift, namely, by the imputation of his obedience or righteousness to us'.

3. This writer fuggefts, that the "doctrine of Juftification, by the imputed " righteousness of Chrift, is a poisonous doctrine; and afferts it to be an encou"ragement to bad men and loose women to go on in fin, and a difcouragement "to good men to perform duty." To which I need only fay, with the apostle ", Do we make void the law through faith? that is, by the doctrine of justification by faith in the righteoufnefs of Chrift, which is the doctrine he was speaking of? God forbid! yea, we establish the law. Nothing can lay men and women under a greater obligation to live foberly, righteously and godly, or has a greater tendency to make them careful to maintain good works, than this doctrine of grace, or the confideration of this, that being justified by grace, they are made beirs according to the hope of eternal life". In this, as in other doctrines, our author. fhews himself to be no true Churchman; and, for the future, ought to drop that character. The doctrine of Juftification is thus expreffed in the eleventh Article of the Church of England: "We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit. "of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift by faith, and not for our own works or "defervings; wherefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesom "doctrine, and very full of comfort; as more largely is expreffed in the Homily of Juftification." Nor did the compilers of this Article reckon this doctrine a. licentious one, or a difcouragement to good works, as appears by the Article concerning them, which follows upon this.