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"Velle operari active eft Deum offendere, qui vult effe folus agens, &c. To be willing to be active and "work, is to offend God, who will be the fole agent, "&c. - Our natural activity ftands in the way of

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grace, and hinders the divine operation and true "perfection, quia Deus vult operari in nobis fine nobis, "because God will work in us without us. - - The "foul ought not to think upon rewards and punish"ments. We must leave to God the caring of all "that concerns us, that he may do in us, without us, his divine will. He that will be refigned to "God's will, muft not ask him any thing, because petitions favour of our own will, and therefore are imperfect;" [or, to speak in the Calvinistic way, finful.]

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Again, "God, to humble and transform us, per86 mits and wills, that the devil fhould do violence to "the bodies of fome perfect fouls" [i. e. established believers] and should make them commit carnal "actions against their will. God now fanctifies his "faints by the ministry of devils, who by caufing in "their flesh the above-mentioned violent impulfes, "makes them defpife themselves the more, &c.—St. "Paul felt fuch violent impulfes in his body: hence "he wrote, The good that I would, I do not; and the evil "which I would not, I do. Thefe violent impulfes

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are the belt means to humble the foul to nothing, "and to bring it to true holinefs, and the divine union; there is no other way, et hæc eft via faci"liar et tutior, and this is the eafier and the fafer way - David, &c. fuffered fuch violent impulfes to external impure actions, &c."

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Who does not fee here fome of the moft abfurd tenets, or dangerous confequences of Calvinifm! Man is a mere machine in the work of falvation - The body of holy Paul is fold under fin - David in Uriah's bed is complete and perfect in Chrift- Actual adultery humbles believers, and is an excellent mean of fanctification, &c.

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When we fee antinomianifm thus defiling the founder part of the Romish and Proteftant churches; when the god of this world avails himself of thefe "antinomian dotages" to confirm myriads of ftiff pharifees in their felf-righteous delufions; and when the bulk of men, fhocked at the glaring errors of both, run for fhelter to deifm, and grofs infidelity; who would not defire to fee the doctrines of faith and aworks, grace and obedience fo ftated and reconciled, that men of reafon might no longer be offended at chriftianity; nor men of religion one at another?

This is again attempted in the following difcourse, the fubftance of which was committed to paper many years ago, to convince the pharifees and papifts of my parish, that there is no falvation by the faithlefs works of the law, but by a living faith in Jefus Christ. With fhame I confess, that I did not then fee the need of guarding the doctrine of faith, against the defpifers of works. I was chiefly bent upon pulling up the tares of pharifaifm: Thofe of antinomianifm were not yet fprung up in the field, which I began to cultivate: or my want of experience hindered me from difcerning them. But fince, what a crop of them have I perceived and bewailed!

Alas they have in a great degree ruined the fuccefs of my ministry. I have feen numbers of lazy feekers, enjoying the dull pleasure of floth on the couch of wilful unbelief, under pretence that God was to do all in them without them. I have feen fome lie flat in the mire of fin, abfurdly boatting that they could not fall; and others make the means of grace, means of idle goffiping or fly courtship. I have feen fome turn their religious profefion into a way of gratifying covetoufnefs or indolence; and others, their skill in church-mufic, their knowledge, and their zeal, into various nets to catch efteem, admiration, and praife. Some have I feen making yesterday's faith a reafon to laugh at the cross to-day; and others drawing from their misapprehenfions of the atonement, arguments to be lefs importunate in fecret prayer and

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more conformable to this evil world, than once they were. Nay, I have feen fome profefling believers backward to do those works of mercy, which I have fometimes found perfons, who made no profeffion of godlinefs, quite ready to perform. And Oh! tell it in Sion, that watchfulness may not be neglected by believers, that fearfulness may feize upon backfliders, and that trembling may break the bones of hypocrites and apoftates; I have feen thofe, who had equally fhined by their gifts and graces, ftrike the moral world with horror by the groffeft antinomianifm; and difgrace the doctrine of falvation thro' faith, by the deepest plunges into fcandalous fin.

Candid Reader, I need fay no more, to make thee fenfible of the neceffity of the additions and notes, by which I have ftrengthened and guarded my old difcourfe, that it might be an EQUAL Check to phariJaifm and antinomianifm, an equal prop to faith and works. If it affords thee any edification, give God the glory, and pray for the defpifed author. Afk in the words of good Bifhop Hopkins, that I may fo BELIEVE, fo reft on the merits of Chrift, as if I had never wrought any thing; and withal so WORK, as if I were only to be javed by my own merits. And O! ask it again and again, for I find it a difficult thing, to give to each of thefe its due in my practice. It is the very depth and height of chriftian perfection.

END OF THE ESSAY.

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me.

Madeley, Jan. 10, 1774.

BOVE fifteen years ago I looked into Baxter's Aphorifms on Juftification, and thro' prejudice or floth I foon laid them down, as being too deep for But a few days fince a friend having brought me Mr. Wefley's extract of them, I have read it with much fatisfaction, and prefent my readers with a compendium of my difcourfe in the words of thofe two judicious and laborious divines.

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As there are two covenants, with their diftinct ⚫ conditions; fo is there a two-fold righteoufnefs, and both of them abfolutely neceffary to falvation. Our righteousness of the first covenant, is not perfo⚫nal, or confifteth not in any actions performed by us; for we never perfonally fatisfied the law' [of innocence] but it is wholly without us in Chrift. In this fenfe every chriftian disclaimeth his own righteoufnefs, or his own works Thofe only fhall be in Chrift legally righteous, who believe and obey the gospel, and fo are in themfelves evangelically righteous -Tho' Chrift performed the conditions of the law' [of innocence] and fatisfied for our non-performance, yet it is ourselves that muft perform the conditions of the gofpel· These two' [laft] propofitions feem to me fo clear, that I do wonder any able divines fhould deny them: Methinks they fhould be articles of our creed, and a part of children's catechifms. To affirm that our evangelical or new-covenant righteoufnefs is in Chrift, and not in ourselves; or performed by Chrift, and not by ourselves; is fuch a monftrous piece of • antinomian doctrine, as no man, who knows the nature and difference of the covenants can poffibly • entertain.' Bax. Aphor. Prop. 14, 15, 16, 17.

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Salvation

Salvation by the Covenant of Grace:

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DISCOURSE

On ROMANS xi. 5, 6.

Even fo then, at this prefent time alfo, there is a remnant according to the election of grace: And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwife grace is no more grace: But if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwife work is no more work.

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INTRODUCTION and DIVISION.

HE Apostle complains in the preceding chapter, that Ifrael was blinded, and did not fee the way of falvation: I bear them record, fays he, Rom. x, 2, that they have a zeal for God, but not according 10 knowledge; for being ignorant of God's righteousness, i. e. of God's way of faving finners + merely thro' Jefus Chrift, and going about to establish their own righteousness,

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(1)+ When I say that God faves finners "merely" thro' Jefus Chrift, I do not exclude our faith, the inftrumental cause of our falvation; nor our works of faith, the evidencing cause of it any more than I exclude divine mercy. I only mean, that Chrift is the primary, meritorious cause of our justification; and that from him all fecondary, inftrumental caufes receive whatever influence they have towards our eternal falvation. Nor do I take away from the Redeemer's glory, when I affirm with the Rev. Mr. Madan, that "we are juftified infirumentally by faith, and declaratively by works ;' or that faith is the inftrumental, and works are the declarative caufe of our complete juftification. For as I fpeak of faith in Christ, the Light of men and the Saviour of the world; and as I mean the works of that faith; I fecure his mediatorial honours; fuch works being all wrought thro' bis influence, perfumed with his merits, and accepted thro' bis interceffion, Christ is then all in all still; the primary and meritorious caufe paffing thro' all the fecondary, and inftrumental causes, as light does thro' our windows and eyes; food thro' our mouths and stomachs; and vital blood thro' our arteries and veins.

N. B. The parts of this discourse, which are enclosed in brackets, [] are the additions that guard or firengthen the old fermon which my opponent calls for; and the parts contained between the two hands,

are the paffages, which he has extracted from it, and publish-ed at the end of his Finishing Stroke.

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