injunction. (3.) Exact in their ufelefs ceremonies, and fondly hoping to be justified by their partial obfervance of Mofes' Law, they well nigh forgot the merits of Chrift, and openly trampled upon his law, and walked after the flesh. Stirred up to contentious zeal by their new teachers, they defpifed the old Apoftle's miniftry, hated his perfon, and devoured one another. In short, they trulęd partly in the merit of their fuperftitious performances, and partly in Chrift's merits; and on this prepofterous foundation they built the bay of Jewish ceremonies and the ftubble of fleshly lufts. With great propriety therefore the Apoftle called them back with fharpnefs to the only fure foundation, the merits of Jefus Chrift; and wanted them to build upon it gold and precious ftones, all the works of piety and mercy, that fpring from faith working by love.

Now which of thefe errors do we hold? Do we not preach prefent juftification by faith, and juftification at the bar of God according to what a man Soweth, the very doctrine of this epiftle? And do we not "fecure the foundation" by infifling that both thefe juftifications are equally by the alone merits of Chrift, though the fecond, as our Church intimates in her 12th article, is by the evidence of works.

Will you bear with me if I tell you my thoughts? We are all in general condemned by the Epiftle to the Galatians, for we have too much dependence on our forms of piety, fpeculative knowledge, or paft experience; and too little heart-felt confidence in the merits of Chrift: We few too little to the ffirit, and too much to the flesh. But thofe, in the next place, are peculiarly reproved by it, who return to the beggarly elements, the idle ways and vain fashions of this world-Those who make as much ado about the beggarly e ement of water, about baptizing infants and dpping adults, as the Troublers of the church of Galatia did about circumcifing their converts that they might glory in their

fleft- Thofe who zealously affect others but not well- -Those who now defpife their fpiritual Fathers, whom they once received as angels of God. Those who turn our enemies when we tell them the truth, who heap to themfelves teachers smoother than the evangelically legal apoftle, and would call us blind if we faid as he does, Let every man prove his own WORK, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another, Gal. vi. 4.- -Those who plead for spiritual bondage while they talk of gofpel liberty, and affirm that the fon of the bond woman fhall always live with the fon of the free, that fin can never be caft out of the heart of believers, and that Chrift and corruption fhall always dwell together in this world.- And lastly, those who say there is no falling away from grace when they are already fallen like the Galatians, and boast of their ftability chiefly because they are ignorant of their fall.

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Obj. 5. "However your pharifaic doctrine flatly contradicts the gospel fummed up by our Lord in thefe words, He that believeth shall be faved, and be that believeth not shall be damned. Here is not one word about works, all turns upon faith."

Anf. Instead of throwing fuch hints you might as well speak out at once, and fay that Chrift in Mark xvi. . He that believeth and is baptized, fhall be faved, and he that believeth not shall be damned, flatly contradicts what he had faid Matt. xii. 37. By thy Words thou shalt be justified, or by thy Words thou shalt be condemned. But drop your prejudices, and you will fee that the contradiction is only in your own ideas. We steadily affert as our Lord, that he who believeth, or endureth unto the end believing (for the word implies both the reality and continuance of the action) fhall infallibly be faved; because faith which continues living, works to the laft by love and good works, which will infallibly juftify us in the day of judgment. For when faith is no more, love and good works will evidence (1.) that we were grafted in Chrift by

true

true faith, (2.) that we did not make fhipwreck of the faith,--that we were not taken away as branches in Him which bear not fruit, but abode fruitful branches in the true vine, and (3.) that we are still in him by HOLY LOVE, the precious and eternal fruit of true perfevering faitu. How bad is that caufe which muft fupport itfelf by charging an imaginary contradiction upon the Wisdom of God, Jefus Chrift himself *!

Obj.

*This is frequently the fratagem of those who have no arguments to produce. I bore my teftimony against it in the Vindication, and flattered myfelf that ferious writers would be less forward to oppofe the truth, and expofe the minifters of Christ by that injudicious way of difcuffing controverted points. Notwithstanding this, I have before me a little pamphlet, in which the Editor endeavours to answer Mr. W.'s Minutes, by extracting from his writings paffages fuppofed to ftand in direct oppofition to the Minutes. Hence in a burlesque upon the Declaration he tries to represent Mr. W. as a knave.

I would just obferve upon that performance, (1.) that by this method of railing duft, and avoiding to reafon the cafe fairly, every malicious infidel may blind injudicious readers, and make triumphing fcoffers cry cut, Jefus against Chrift! Saul against St. Paul! or John the Divine against John the Evangelift! as well as Wefley against John! and John against Wesley. (2.) Mr. W. having acknowledged in the beginning of the Minutes, he" had leaned too much towards Calvinifm," we may naturally expect to meet in his voluminous writings, with a few expreffions that look a little towards Antinomianifm; and with fome paragraphs, which (when detached from the context, and not confidered as fpoken to deep mourners in Zion, or to fouls of undoubted fincerity) feem directly to favour the delusion of the prefent times. (3.) This may eafily be accounted for, without flying to the charges of knavery or contradiction. When after working long without chearing light, we discover the ravishing day of luminous faith, we are all apt in the fincerity of our heart to speak almoft as unguardedly of works, as Luther did; but when the fire of antinomian temptations has frequently burned us, and confumed thousands around us, we justly dread it at laft; and ceafing to lean towards Crifp's divinity, we return to St. James, St. John, and St. Jude, and to the latter part of St. Paul's epiftles, which we too often overlooked, and to which hardly two Minifters did, upon the whole, ever do more juftice than Mr. Baxter and Mr. W. (4.) A man who gives to different people, or to the fame people at different

Obj. 6. "Your doctrine exalts man, and, by giving him room to boaft, robs Chrift of the glory of his grace. The top ftone is no more brought forth with fhouting Grace! Grace! but Works! Works!" ùnto it; and the burden of the fong in heaven will be "Salvation to OUR WORKS!" and no more Salvation to the Lamb!"

Anf. I no lefs approve your godly jealousy, than I wonder at your groundless fears. To calm them, permit me once more to obferve, (1.) That this doctrine is Chrift's, who would not be fo unwife as to fide with our self-righteous pride, and teach us to rob him of his own glory. It is abfurd to fuppofe Chrift would be thus againft Chrift, for even Satan is too wife to be against Satan. (2.) Upon our plan as well us upon Crifp's fcheme, free grace has abfolutely all the glory. The love and good works by which we fhall be juftified in the day of judgment are the fruits of faith, and faith is the gift of God. Chrift the great object of faith, the Holy Ghoft called the Spirit of faith, the power of believing, the means, opportunities and will to ufe that power, are all the rich prefents of God's free grace.. All our fins, together with the imperfections of our

times, directly contrary directions, does not always contradict himself. I have a fever, and my Phyfician, under God, restores me to health by cooling medicines; by and by I am afflicted with the cold rheumatifin, and he prefcribes fomentations and warming remedies, but my injudicious Apothecary opposes him, under pretence that he goes by no certain rule, and grossly contradicts himself. Let us apply this to Mr. W. and the Verfifier, remembering there is lefs difference between a burning fever and a cold rheumatism, than between the cafe of the trifling antinomian and that of the dejected penitent. (5) Whoever confiders without prejudice what our fatyric Poet produces as contradictions, will find fome of them do not fo much as amount to an oppofition, and that most of them do not feem fo contradictory, as numbers of propofitions that might be extracted from the oracles of God. -If the Editor of the Answer to the Minutes will compare this note with the 31ft page of the Vindication, I hope he will find his performance anfwered, his indirect attack upon the Minutes fruftrated, and Mr. W.'s honefty fully vindicated,

works,

1

works, are mercifully forgiven through the blood and righteousness of Chrift: Our perfons and fervices are graciously accepted merely for his fake and through his alone merits: And if rewards are granted us according to the fruits of righteousness we bear, it is not because we are profitable to God, but because the meritorious fap of the root of David produces thofe fruits, and the meritorious beams of the fun of righteoufnefs ripen them. Thus you fee that which way foever you look at our juftification, God has all the glory of it, but that of turning moral agents into mere machines, a glory which we apprehend God does no more claim, than you do that of turning your coach-horses into hobby-horses, and your fervants into puppets.

If faith on earth gives Chrift the glory of all our falvation, you need not fear that Love (a fuperior grace) will rob him in heaven; for love is not puffed up, feeketh not her own, and does not behave berfelf unfeemly towards a beggar on earth; much lefs will the do fo towards the Lord of glory, when the has attained the zenith of heavenly perfection. Away then with all the imaginary lions you place in your way to truth! Notwithstanding Crifp's prohibitions, like the Bereans, receive Chrift in his holy doctrine, and be perfuaded that in the laft day you will fhout as loud as the honeft Doctor, Grace! Grace! and Salvation to the Lamb: without fuggefting with him to thofe on the left hand the blafphemous fhouts of Partiality! Hypocrify! Barbarity! and Damnation to the Lamb! Thus fhall you have all the free grace he juftly boafts of, without any of his horrid reprobating work.

Obj. 7. "How will the converted thief that did no good works be juftified by works?"

Anf We mean by WORKS the whole of our inward tempers and outward behaviour; and how do you know the outward behaviour of the converted thief? Did not his reproofs, exhortations, prayers, pa

tience,