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(mountaineer), as the farcaftic infolence of an incorrigible Arminian.

I beseech you to make fome difference between the wisdom and poifon of the ferpent. If charity forbids to meddle with the latter, does not Christ recommend the former? Is every mild, well-meant irony, a bitter and cruel sarcasm? Should we directly infinuate that it is the fign of "a bad fpirit," the mark of murder in the heart; and that he who ufes it to fharpen the truth, + fcatters firebrands, arrows and death? To fay nothing of Elijah and the priests of Baal, did our Lord want either deep feriousness or ardent love, when coming more than conqueror, from his third conflict in Gethsemane, he roused his nodding difciples by this compaffionate irony, fleep on now, and take your reft! Did not the ufefulness of a loud call, a deserved reproof, a seasonable expoftulation, and a folemn warning, meet in that welltimed figure of speech? And was it not more effectual than the two awful charges, which he had given them before?

I intreat you to confider, that when the meanest of God's minifters has truth and confcience on his fide, without being either abufive or uncharitable, he may fay, even to one whom the Lord has exalted to the royal dignity, Thou art the man! God has exalted you not only among the gentlemen of fortune in this kingdom, but what is an infinitely greater bleffing, among the converted men who are tranflated into the. kingdom of his dear Son. Yet by a mistake, fashionable among religious people, you have unhappily paid more regard to Dr. Crifp than to St. James. And as you have pleaded the dangerous caufe of the impenitent monarch, I have addreffed you with the honest boldness of the expoftulating prophet. I have

faid

+ This affertion is the grand argument of an evangelical writer in the gospel-magazine, and of a charitable gentleman (a baptift minifter I think) in a printed letter dated Bath. If this method of arguing is Calviniftically evangelical, my readers will easily perceive it is very far from being either legal or fçripturally logical.

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faid to my honored opponent," thou art the man"with a commendable defign of comforting " mourning backfliders, you have inadvertently given occafion to the enemies of the Lord to blafpheme, and unfcripturally affured believers, that falls even into 66 enormous fins fhall work for their good, and accomplish God's purposes for his glory and their "falvation." And as I have fupported my expoftulations about your doctrinal mistakes with plain fcripture, which amounts to a thus fays the Lord; I befeech you to take them in as good part, as King David did the prophet's reproofs about his practical mifcarriages.

I owe much refpect to you, but more to truth, to conscience and to God. If in trying to discharge my duty towards them, I have inadvertently betrayed any want of respect for you; I humbly afk your pardon; and I can affure you in the face of the whole world, that notwithstanding your ftrong attachment to the peculiarities of Dr. Crifp, as there is no family in the world to which I am under greater obli-. gation than yours, fo there are few gentlemen for whom I have fo peculiar an esteem, as for the refpectable author of Pietas Oxonienfis. And till we come where no mistake will raife prejudice, and no. prejudice will foment oppofition to any part of the truth-till we meet where all that fear God and work righteoufnefs, however jarring together now, will join in an eternal chorus, and with perfect harmony afcribe a common falvation to the Lamb that was flain; I declare in the fear of God and in the name of Jefus, that no oppofite views of the fame truths, no clafhing diverfity of contrary fentiments, no plaufible infinuations of narrow-hearted bigotry, fhall hinder me from remaining with the greatest fincerity,. Honored and dear Sir,

Your most obedient and obliged Servant
in the bonds of a practical Gofpel,

MADELEY, Feb. 3, 1772..

J. F.

POSTSCRIPT.

POSTSCRIPT.

AS I have cleared my confcience with refpect to Antinomianifm, a fubject which at this time appears to me of the laft importance; I should be glad to employ my leifure hours in writing on fubjects more fuitable to my tafte and private edification: it is by no means my design to obtrude my fentiments upon my Calvinian, any more than upon my Arminian brethren. I fincerely wifh peace to both upon the terms of mutual forbearance, Veniam petimus que, damus que viciffim. Should therefore a fourth publication call for a fourth check; if I can help it, it fhall be fhort. I fhall juft thank my antagonist for his deferved reproofs, or point out his capital miftakes, and quote the pages in the three checks where his objections are already answered. But if his performance is merely Calvinistical, I fhall take the liberty of referring him to the Rev. Mr. Sellon's "imbecil performance" which, I apprehend, every unprejudiced perfon, who has courage to fee and read for himfelf, will find frong enough to refute the ftrongest arguments of Elifha Coles, and the Synod of Dort.

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Before I lay by my pen, I beg leave to addrefs a moment the true believers who efpouse Calvin's fentiments. Think not, honored brethren, that I have no eyes to see the eminent fervices which many of you render to the church of Chrift; no heart to bless God for the Chriftian graces which fhine in your exemplary conduct; no pen to teftify, that by letting your light fhine before men, you adorn the gofpel of God our Saviour, as many of your predeceffors have done before you. I am not only perfuaded that your opinions are confiftent with a genuine converfion, but, I take heaven to witness, how much I prefer a Calvinift who loves God, to a Remonftrant who does not. Yes, although I value Chrift infi

nitely

nitely above Calvin, and St. James above that good, well-meaning man Dr. Crifp, I had a thousand times rather be doctrinally mistaken with the latter than practically deluded with those who speak well of St. James's perfect law of liberty, and yet remain lukewarm Laodiceans in heart, and perhaps grofs Antinomians

in conduct.

This I observe to do your piety juftice, and prevent the men of this world, into whose hands these fheets may fall, from falfely accufing your good converfation in Chrift; and confounding you with practical Antinomians, fome of whofe dangerous notions you inadvertently countenance. If I have therefore taken the liberty of expofing your favorite mistakes, do me the juftice to believe that it was not to pour contempt upon your respectable persons; but to set your peculiarities in fuch a light, as might either engage you to renounce them, or check the forwardness with which fome have lately recommended them as the only doctrines of grace, and the pure gospel of Jefus Chrift; unkindly reprefenting their remonftrant brethren as enemies to free grace, and abettors of a dreadful herefy.

If you think that I have exceeded in my checks the bounds which brotherly love prescribes to a controverfial writer; permit me to remind you and myfelf, that we are parties, and therefore peculiarly liable to think the worst of each others intentions and performances. By our refpective publications we have appealed to the serious world; let us not then take the matter out of their hands: and while we leave to our merciful God the judging of our fpirits, let us leave our serious readers to judge of our arguments, and pass sentence upon the manner in which they are proposed.

And you my remonftrant brethren, who attentively look at our controverfial engagement; while a Geneva-Anticalvinist follicits an intereft in your prayersf or meeknefs of wifdom, permit him to offer you fome

fome seasonable advices, which he wants to inculcate › upon his own mind alfo.

(1.) More than ever let us confirm our love towards our calvinift brethren. If our arguments gallí them, let us not envenom the fore by maliciously triumphing over them. Nothing is more likely to provoke their displeasure, and drive them from what we believe to be the truth. If we, that immediately bear the burthen and heat of this controverfial day, are obliged to cut; help us to act the part of friendly opponents, by directly pouring into the wound the healing balfam of brotherly love; and if you fee us carried beyond the bounds of moderation, inftantly admonish us, and check our checks. Your whifpers will go farther than the clamors of our opponents. The former, we know, muft proceed from truth: but we are apt to suspect that the latter fpring from partiality, or a mere ftratagem not uncommon incontroverfial wars. Witness the clamors of the Jews and those of the Ephefians, when the one faw that their Idol-temple, the other, that great Diana was in danger.

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(2.) Do not rejoice in the mistakes of our c oppo nents, but in the detection of error. Defire not that we, but that truth may prevail. Let us not only be willing that our brethren should win the day, if they have truth on their fide; but let us make it matter of

folemn, earnest and conftant prayer. While we decry confined, fhackled grace, obtruded upon us as free grace; let not bigotry confine our affections, and fhackle our hearts. Nothing would be more abfurd than to fall into calvinian narrowness of fpirit, while we oppose Calvin's narrow system. If we admit the temper, we might as well be quite confiftent, and at once embrace the doctrine. The beft method of recommending God's univerfal love to mankind', is to love all men univerfally. If abfolute reprobation has no place in our principles, let it have none’in : eur affections. If we believe that all fhare in the divine

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