them with uncommon violence at King Charles's reftoration, by an indirect blow fhook two thousand Calvinist-minifters out of their pulpits; and getting far beyond its fcriptural place, began to bear hard upon, and even thruft out the grand doctrine of Salvation by grace. Thus the abfurdity and mifchief of antinomianifm, began to drive again the generality of English proteftants into Pharifaifm, Arianifm, Socinianifm, or open infidelity; that is, into the ftate, in which most of the learned are at Rome and Geneva.

I grant that near forty years ago, fome clergymen from the univerfity of Oxford returned to the principles of the reformation, and zealously contended again for falvation by grace and for univerfal obedience. By the divine blefling upon their indefatigable endeavours, Faith and Works met, again, and for fome time walked undisturbed together. A little revolution then took place: Practical Christianity revived, and leaning upon her fair daughters Truth and Love, took a folemn walk thro' the kingdom, and gave a foretaste of heaven to all that cordially entertained her.

She might, by this time, have turned this favourite ifle into a land flowing with fpiritual milk and honey, if Apollyon difguifed in his angelic robes, had not played, and did not continue to play his old game. Nor does he do it in vain. By his infinuations men of a contrary turn rife against Practical Christianity. Many of the devout call her Herefy, and many of the gay name her rank Enthufiafm. In the mean time the drops a tear of tender pity, prays for her mistaken perfecutors, and quietly retires into the wilderness. Lean Obedience is foon driven after her to make more room for fpeculative Faith, who is fo highly fed with lufcious food and wild honey, that she is quite bloated, and full of humours. Nay, in fome fhe is degenerated into an impatient quarrelfome fomething, which calls itself Orthodoxy, or the Truth, and must be treated with the greatest refpect; while Charity, cold, fickly, and almoft ftarved for want of work, is hardly used with common good manners.

In a word, Antinomian Christianity is come, and makes her public entry in the profeffing church. A foolish virgin, who affumes the name of Free Grace, walks before her, and cries, "Bend the knee, bow the heart, and entertain the old, the pure, the only gofpel." An ugly black boy called Free-Wrath, bears her enormous train, and with wonderful art hides himfelf behind it. While thoufands are taken with the fmiles and chearfulness of Wanton Free Grace [for that is the virgin's right name] and for her fake. welcome her painted mother; a grey-headed Seer paffes by, fixes his keen eyes upon the admired family, fees thro' their difguife, and warns his friends. This is highly refented, not only by all the lovers of the fprightly, alluring maid, but by fome excellent people, who, in the fimplicity of their hearts, mistake her for the celestial virgin Aftrea. Mr. H. and Mr. T. two of her champions, fall upon the aged Monitor; and to the great entertainment of the pharifaic and antinomian world, do their beft to tread down his honour in the duft.

While they are thus employed, a rough country: man, who had taken the Seer's warning, throws him felf full in the way of Antinomian Christianity, and tries to stop her in her triumphant march. Wanton Free Grace is a little difconcerted at his rudeness, fhe reddens, and foon fhews herself the true fifter of FreeWrath. To be revenged of the clown, the charges him with-guess what-A rape: No, but with being great with the fearlet whore, and concerned with the Romish man of fin. If he is acquitted of these enormities, they fay that the is determined to indite him for murder or "forgery; " and if that will not do, for highway robbery, or "execrable Swiss flander." The mountaineer, who counts not his life dear, stands his ground, and in the fcuffie difcovers the black boy, lays faft hold of him, and notwithstanding the good words that he gives one moment, and the floods of invectives, which he pours out the next; he drags him out to public view, and appeals to the chriftian world. Et adhuc fub judice lis eft.

But

But leaving England, the scene of the prefent controverfy, I afk, What does Calvinism at this day for Scotland, where national honours are paid to it, and where for fome ages it has paffed for the pure gofpel? Alas! not much, if we may depend upon the obfervations of a gentleman of piety and fortune, who went last year with an eminent minifter of Christ, to infpect the state of fpiritual chriftianity in the north, and brought back this melancholy account: "The decay of vital religion is yet more vifible in Scotland than in England."

Should by this time fome of my readers be ready to afk, what Arminianifm has done for Holland and Eng-. land; I reply: If by Arminianifm you mean the pure doctrine of Chrift, especially the doctrine of our free juftification thro' Chrift, by the inftrumentality of faith. in the day of a finner's converfion, and by the evidence of the works of faith afterwards: if you mean, as I do, a fyftem of evangelical truth, in which the two gofpel precepts believe and obey are duly balanced, and faith and works kept in their fcriptural place; I answer that, under Chrift, it has done all the good which has been done, not only in Holland and England, but in all Christendom,

-

Be not then mistaken: When minifters, leaning towards fpeculative antinomianism, have done good; it has not been by preaching wanton free grace, and by Shackling the free gospel: but by powerfully inforcing the truth as it is in Jesus; by crying aloud, "Believe, "thou loft finner, and be faved by grace-Obey, "thou happy believer, and evidence thy falvation by "aworksAnd whosoever will, let him come and "take of the water of life freely, for all things are now ready." So far as they have ftarted afide from this guarded, and yet encouraging gofpel, they have pulled down with one hand what they built with the other; they have tried to make up the pharifaic, by widening the antinomian gap; they have departed from what we call Chriftianity, and what you are at full liberty to call Arminianifm, Baxterianifm, or Wefleianifm.

To

To return: I observed just now, that antinomianifm drives us into pharifaifm, focinianifm, and infidelity; but might I not have added fatalism, the highest degree of fashionable infidelity? And after all, what is fatalifm, in which the greateft infidels unanimously fhelter themselves in our day? Is it not the beginning or the end of high Calvinifm, whofe emblematical representation may be a ferpent forming a circle while it bites its tail, with this motto, In fefe volvitur error, After a large circuit Error ends where it began? If high Calvinism is the head, is not Fatalifm the tail?

For my part I fhall not wonder, if some of our high predeftinarians find themselves before they are aware, even at Hobb's or Voltaire's feet, humbly learning there the horrible leffons of Fatalism. Nay, if I am not mistaken, they perfectly agree with the French philofopher in the capital point. One might think. that they have converted him to their orthodoxy, or that he has perverted them to his infidelity. Candid reader, judge of it by the following extract of his lecture on Destiny.

"Homer [fays he] is the firft writer, in whose "works we find the notion of fate. It was then in vogue in his time. Nor was it adopted by the pharifees, till many years after: for these pharifees "themfelves, who were the firft men of letters among "the Jews, were not very ancient, &c. But philofophers needed neither the help of Homer, nor that "of the Pharifees, to perfuade themselves, that all things happen by immutable decrees, that all is "fixed, that all is necessary." Now for the proof. "Bodies [adds hej tend to the center, pear trees can never bear pine apples, a man cannot have above 66 a certain number of teeth" And directly flying from teeth to ideas, he would have us infer, that we can no more arrange, combine, alter, or dismiss our ideas than our grinders, and that an adulterer defiles his neighbour's bed as necessarily as a pear tree produces pears. - He even adds, "If thou couldst alter "the deftiny of a fly, thou shouldst be more powerful 66 than

"than God himself." See Dictionaire Philofophique portatif, Londres, 1764. Page 163, 164.

This ingenious infidel is quite as orthodox (in the Calviniftic fenfe of the word) in his article on Liberty. "What does then your free will confift in [fays he] "if it is not in a power to do willingly what abfolute "neceffity makes you chufe ?" Nay, he is fo ftanch a predeftinarian, fo compleat a fatalift, that he maintains, no one can chuse even or odds without an irrefiftible order of all-directing fate. And he concludes by affirming, that all "liberty of indifference," that is, all power to do a thing, or to leave it undone at our option, without the neceffitating agency of fate, "is arrant nonfenfe." See the fame book, page 243, &c.

Thus the moft fubtle, felf righteous infidel in France by going full eaft; and the most rigid, tho rough-paced antinomian in England by going full weft, in the ways of Error, meet at laft face to face in the antipodes of Truth. O may the shock caused by their unexpected encounter, wake them both out of their fatal dreams, to call upon him, who takes the wife in their own craftiness, imparts true wisdom to the fimple, and crowns the humble with grace and glory.

As high Calvinism on the left hand falls in with fatalism, fo on the right hand it runs into the wildest notions of fome deluded myftics, and ranting perfectionifls. Judicious reader, you will be convinced of it by the following propofitions, advanced by Molinos + the father of the myftics and perfectionis, who are known abroad under the name of Quietifts. Thefe pofitions, among many others, were condemned by the Pope as "rafh, offenfive to pious ears, erroneous, fcandalous, &c." I extract them from the Bull of his Holiness, given at Rome 1687, and published by the archbishop of Cambray at the end of his book called Inftruction paftorale, printed at Amfterdam 1698. See page 192, &c.

He was a pious, but injudicious clergyman of the church of Rome, who, in fome of his works, fpoiled the doctrine of grace by Calvinific refinements; and that of christian perfection by antinomian

rant.