given them, they travelled in birth, till Chrift fhould be formed in fouls.

It is true they taught, that, though the gift of righteoufness is brought near to all finners belonging to the human race, without exception, in the promifes and difpenfation of the gospel, yet none but thofe who are thoroughly convinced of their fin, guilt and mifery, will ever accept of it, or believe on the name of Chrift; that men must know they are fick before they will apply to the physician for healing; that they must feel their fpiritual fores and maladies before they can be truly concerned to obtain a cure; in a word, that they must know they are guilty before God, have nothing, and can do nothing, that can be in the least available for appeafing divine wrath, juftly incenfed against them for their tranfgreffions; or which can be pleaded with fafety in answer to the just accufations of their own confciences, or the high demands of the divine law and justice, before they will accept of the gift of righteousness, and rely wholly upon the divine mercy, and merits of the bleffed Redeemer, for pardon and acceptance with God.

But did they ever affirm, that convictions, a fenfe of guilt, or any qualifications of that kind, are neceffary pre-requifites to juf tification; fo as any way to belong to the grounds of it, or make any part of the finner's juftifying righteoufnefs before God;

or,

or, fo as, more or lefs, to intitle him to the benefit of the divine righteousness, as the letter writer would make us believe they did? No; they only taught, that the convictions afore-mentioned are, in the very nature of the thing, neceffary in order to a finner's accepting of the benefit of that righteousness which delivereth from death; that one must know he is guilty, before he will either ask or accept of a pardon; and know that he is poor, and really in want, before he will humble himself to receive fupply, or an alms of charity, at leaft from one he is very unwilling to be beholden to.

What harm could there be in all this? Do not the prophets in the Old Testament, and our Lord and his apoftles in the New, frequently teach and inculcate the very fame things? Does not every call and exhortation given to finners, in the word of God, fuppofe them to be true? Yea, are they not neceffarily implied in every description or account of faving faith; in every metaphor by which it is expreffed, and in every fimilitude by which the nature and actings of it are illuftrated, from one end of the Bible to the other?

In fine, does not the very formal notion of juftifying faith, whereby it is diftinguished from that general cold affent to the truth, in which thofe rational and philofophical

Christians

Chriftians for whom our author profeffes to have such a hearty contempt, would have the effence of it to confift, neceffarily fuppofe or imply the things afore mentioned?. And, which is very furprising, our author's own scheme of principles, if at all intelligible, is built upon a fuppofition of the truth of these very things, for afferting and incul cating which he inveighs fo warmly against those whom in derifion he calls the popular preachers.

For proof of this we need only refer to the words which he puts into the mouth of his converts who are supposed to stand fairest for enjoying the benefit of the atonement, and the only perfons who are like to make Christ's bare work finished upon the cross, as he calls it, the fole foundation of their hope, and fo obtain falvation through him. He makes them to profefs ftrong convictions, and a deep sense of guilt and wretchedness; a fenfe not only of their diftreffed and de. plorable condition, but also of their utter inability to help themselves, to do any thing more or less for their own relief and falvation; yea, he fuppofes them to have attained to fuch a degree of contrition and humility, as can never be found with the votaries of the popular doctrine*. Here then we have

Letters, &c. pages 47, 48, 85. dapa

the

the very fubftance of those pre-requifites, namely, conviction of fin and mifery, and of the vanity of all other ways of relief and falvation befides faith in Chrift, and the atonement he has made, &c. which, without any reason, he affirms that the popular preachers hold to be neceffary in order to put men in a condition to advance fome claim upon the Deity, fo as to treat with him on some rule of equity; though all that they affert concerning them is, that, though neither thefe nor any other perfonal qualifications are at all requifite in order to acceptance with God, as being in any refpect, more or lefs, the ground of that acceptance; yet, in the very nature of the thing, and in the manner formerly hinted, they are neceffary in order to our enjoying the benefit and comfort of the divine righteoufnefs: and he himself evidently supposes the fame thing, when he fpeaks with any fobriety, or fo as any body can understand him.

What a difingenuous part then does this author act, in making that very thing the ground of thofe grievous accufations, and bold calumnies, whereby he endeavours to defame the character and afperse the memory of those excellent men, which is no less imputable to himself than to them; and which every one must be equally chargeable with who knows what he fays, when he

talks

talks of faith and juftification through the imputed righteoufnefs, or of the report of the gofpel concerning that righteoufnefs as the fole reafon of hope? But the many palpable inconfiftencies to be met with in our author's performance may come to be confidered more particularly afterwards. I fhall only here obferve, that were the letters on Theron and Afpafio purged of all the glaring contradictions, impertinent and trifling cavils to be found in them, and of all thofe ambiguous phrafes and deceitful circumlocutions by which he endeavours to throw a mift before the eyes, or confound the minds of his readers, and make them admit notorious falfhoods, and the most palpable abfurdities, for undoubted truths, that voluminous performance might be contained within the narrow compass of a very few pages.

Were we to judge of the author's fcheme by the confidence of his affertions, we should be apt to conclude, that it must certainly be juft and very well fupported; but the apoftle exhorts us to try the fpirits whether they are of God. This is an exhortation neceffary to be put in practice by all who perufe the letters on Theron, &c. And if we may be allowed to try the doctrine taught, by the spirit that breathes therein, we shall eafily