fication? A. Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.-Q. What benefits, in this life, accompany justification? A. Assurance of God's love, increase of grace, and perseverance therein, to the end.”

PREDESTINATION.

Lambeth Articles. 1. God, from eternity, predestinated certain men to life; certain men he hath REPROBATED. 2. The moving cause of predestination unto life, is not the foresight of faith, or of good works, &c. but only the good will of God. 7. Saving grace is not given to all men, &c.; and, 9. It is not in the will or power of every one to be saved.

Synod of Dort. 1. That God, by an absolute decree, hath elected to salvation a very small number of men, without any regard to their faith or obedience whatsoever; and secluded from saving grace all the rest of mankind, and appointed them by the sure decree, to eternal damnation, without any regard to their infidelity or impenitence.

Irish Articles of 1615. By the same eternal counsel God hath predestinated some unto life, and reprobated some unto death, of both which there is a certain number, &c.

The cause moving God to predestinate unto life, is not the foreseeing of faith, or perseverance, or of good works, or of any thing in the person predestinated, but only the good plea sure of God himself, &c. "But such as are not predestinated to salvation, shall finally be condemned for their sins.".

Calvin's Common Prayer Book for the English Church at Ge

neva.

"God, who, of the lost sons of Adam, hath ordained some as vessels of wrath to damnation; and hath chosen others as vessels of his mercy to be saved." Phoenix, vol. ii. p. 207.

Assembly's Catechism (Shorter, for Youth), set forth by the Westminster Divines, in the time of Charles the First. “Q. Did God leave ALL mankind to perish in the estate of sin and mi

3

sery? A. God, having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected SOME to eternal life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the state of sin and misery, and to bring them into a state of salvation by a Redeemer.-Q. Who is the Redeemer of God's elect? A. The Redeemer of God's elect, &c."

Compare these three titles with the whole of our Thirty-nine Articles, and particularly with the ninth, eleventh, and seventeenth, or with the analysis of them offered above, and sea whether they hold a language having even the remotest affinity to such strong, unambiguous Calvinism.

CHAPTER XII.

THE COMMONWEALTH

Contents.

1. The Engagement.II. Commissioners to examine Candidates for the Ministry: Penal Statutes gbolisked. « III. Acts against Licentiousness.-IV. Conciliatory Measures of the Government towards the Presbyterians and ejected Clergy-V. Restrictions on the Press and Pulpit. VI. Barebones' Parliament: Cromwell Protector.-VII. Enlarged Toleration.-VIII. Independ→ ents favoured: Tryers of Candidates for Orders.-IX. Lay Commissioners.-X. Encouragement of Episcopalians.-XI. Amicable Associations among the different religious Parties: and Plan of Toleration.-XII. The Parliament seem friendly to Republicanism.—XIII. Death and Character of Cromwell.-XIV. Acts or Ordinances.XV. Learned Divines.-XVI. Miscellaneous Matters: Roman Catholics: Baptists: Independents; their Confession: Presbyterians: Death of Love. -XVII. Levellers.-XVIII. Fifth Monarchy Men. -XIX. Millenarians.-XX. Joanna Southcott: Carpenter.-XXI. Antinomians: History and Refutation of Antinomianism: Crisp, Saltmarsh, Cudworth, and Kelly XXII. Huntingtonians.—XXIII. Muggletonians.-XXIV. Quakers.-XXV. Statement and Refutation of their Tenets.-XXVI. Quaker-Method

ists.

I. THE English constitution was now wholly dissolved. An apology for a House of Commons,

consisting of about eighty members, all Independents, voted the House of Lords to be useless, and the office of a King dangerous to the state. To secure obedience to this decree, a new oath, denominated the engagement, was prepared: by which the jurors bound themselves to be faithful to the government established, excluding Lords and Monarch. This instrument was designed chiefly as an ordeal for the Presbyterians, who, as a body, concurred with the Scots, and pronounced the existing powers usurpers.

II. But since it was expedient to conciliate as well as bind to the new government, the multifarious sects which had sprung up in this period of confusion; an act, passed at the request of Fairfax and Cromwell, removed the whole body of penal statutes connected with religion, and established on their downfal a general toleration, from which Papists and Episcopalians were alone excepted, Another ordinance appointed commissioners for each county, who should judge concerning the qualifications of such candidates for the ministry, as could not comply with the forms of ordination before established.

III. In several ordinances, professedly intended to check the prevailing licentiousness, it is curious to observe in how marked a manner the scandalous vices are singled out, in a canting age, for animadversion and punishment. While adul

tery, incest, fornication, swearing, sabbath-breaking, and blasphemy, are all subjected to the severe vengeance of the law, no notice whatever is taken of dishonesty or deceit. In the general dissoluteness and impiety which demanded this partial check, we may perceive the fatal consequence of the wildness of fanatical sects. Men of understanding, whose principles are not strongly confirmed, or whose moral behaviour is inclined to lukewarmness and laxity, finding no rational or persuasive religion to embrace, relapse insensibly into infidels and brutes †.

IV. Though strong measures were resorted to in enforcing the new formulary of allegiance; though Milton, being appointed to defend the kingless government, rallied the dissatisfied * Neale, vol. ii. p. 382.

†The people, weary of war, and anxious for tranquillity, in general submitted patiently to the engagement: but many of the Presbyterian clergy resigned their preferments, in conscientious attachment to the old Scottish covenant, and thus left vacancies to be supplied by dissenting ministers. This change, indeed, did not materially signify, for they were all Calvinists together. At Chester, the engagement was condemned to the lowest pit of hell. Baxter, who, with other Presbyterian ministers, inveighed against the engagement, and extolled the covenant, relates, that the former was accepted by all sectaries and cavaliers. Life, p. 64, 65. It is well known, however, that the cavaliers of Lancashire and Cheshire published a string of reasons for refusing it. These men were not paltry time-servers; and Mr. Baxter, who would exhibit them as such, was certainly not well acquainted with this matter.

Whitlock, p. 387.