treaty, that as you love your foul, you would leave off unprofitable difputes; and not distract your mind, and carry away your thoughts from practical godliness, by fuch an earnest application to these controverted points: but fee to it, that you come to the footftool of divine grace, as a loft unworthy perishing finner; that you depend only upon the riches of God's free fovereign grace, to draw you to Chrift, and give you an interest in him; that you look to Chrift Jefus alone for righte oufness and ftrength; and chearfully truft in him as a fafe foundation of confidence and hope. See to it, that the life which you live in the flesh, be by the faith of the Son of God: and as you look to his righteousness only for the fafety of your ftate, fo likewife repair by faith to his fulness for all fupplies of grace, whereby you may make a progrefs in holinefs. See to it, that you do not quiet your confcience with a dead faith: but always remember, that he who hath this hope in Chrift, purifies himself even as he is pure: and that as your person, can. not be juftified, but by faith in Chrift, fo your faith cannot be justified but by a careful diligence in maintaining good works. Having therefore with the heart believed unto righteoufness, be you in an humble dependance upon Chrift, ftedfaft and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; and your labour will not be vain in the Lord. That you may be kept by the power of God through faith, and receive the end of your faith, the falvation of your foul, is the prayer of, Sir, Yours, &c. LETTER XVI. Wherein is confidered in what Refpects GOOD WORKS are NECESSARY; and our OBLIGATIONS to them represented and urged. SIR, YOU OUR obfervation is juft, that it would be unfuitable and unfeasonable to make apologies for this further trouble (as you are pleased to call it) after 'I have given you so many affurances of my chearful readiness, to contribute all in my power to your beft intereft.' Indeed, Sir, I have found nothing troublefome in the whole progrefs of our correfpondence, excepting some dark apprehenfions of late, left you would fruftrate the grace of God, in feeking righteousness, not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. But it now greatly animates my endeavours to serve you, to find thofe fears on my part fo happily removed, by finding the difficulties on your part obviated, in that important point, and you fatisfied with refpect to the foundation of your hope.' I am fenfible, that the principles, which I have been pleading for, are commonly loaded with opprobrious invectives, as being • deftructive of an holy life, and subverfive of morality and godlinefs.' But I think I have already given you fufficient evidence, that all thefe infinuations are mere calumnies: and that there is no other poffible foundation, than what I have reprefented to you, for a life of true holiness and piety. I appeal to your own obfervation and experience, whether in general there be any that live more holy lives, and more honour their profeffion, than they who moft ftrictly adhere to the doctrine of fpecial grace, and depend upon Chrift alone for righteoufnefs and ftrength: and whether they, on the contrary, who depend upon their good works for a title to the divine favour, do not too commonly fhew the weakness of their foundation, by the carelessness and unfruitfulnefs of their lives. The question which you propofe, is however worthy of a distinct consideration. How far and in what re fpects are our good works neceffary to falvation ?' In order to give you a proper view of this cafe, it will be needful to answer this question both negatively and pofitively or to thew you wherein our good works ought to have no place, nor be at all looked to or depended upon; and then to fhew you wherein good works ought to have place, and in what refpect they are neceffary to every Chriftian indeed, that would entertain well-grounded hope of eternal life. In my negative anfwer to this queflion, I must first obferve, that we are not to do good works in order to change God's purposes and defigns towards us; or to excite his benevolence and compaflion to us. I fufpect it is too common a cafe, for men to depend upon their penitent frames, their duties, their reformations, their works of charity, or other religious exercifes, as what will excite affections, paffions, or compaffions in the glorious God, correfpondent to what they find in themfelves. And thence whence confcience upbraids the finner for his paft provocations to God, he hopes to ap pease his displeasure by his remorse, by his duties or by his more careful future conduct; and now he is delivered to do all these abominations, his account is ballanced, and he begins upon a new fcore. Thence it is, that his hopes and fears bear proportion to his frames and carriages. Every ferious pang, every religious duty or mo ral practice, which his confcience approves, will raise his dejected hopes; and give him comforting expecta· tions of the divine favour. But it fhould always be remembered, that the change to be hoped for by our duties, religious frames, or moral conduct, must be in ourselves, and not in God. He is of one mind, and who can turn him? He is the Lord, he changeth not. We are therefore not to look to our good works, but to the Redeemer's merits, and the infinite mercy of the divine nature, as what will render God propitious to us. Though we are only to hope for mercy in a way of duty, it is not becaufe this will render God more willing to bestow it, but because it is the way which God has appointed, to render us more disposed and ready to receive it. It is an imagination very unworthy of God, to fuppofe, that we can move him to the exercife of compaffion, whofe very nature is goodness and love itself, that we can excite any mercy in him, whose infinite mercy endures for ever, or that we can procure any change of purpose in him who is without any variableness, or Shadow of turning. When the glorious God treats with us, as if he were a partaker of human affections and paffions, this is mere condefcenfion to our weakness; we being incapable to behold him as he is. Surely it is not to lead us into apprehenfions, that he is altogether fuch an one as ourfelves. Our business therefore is, to come to Chrift and learn of him, to bow our necks to his yoke, to do good works from faith in Chrift, and out of love and obedience to him; and in that way to hope in God for mercy, for Chrift's fake, and for his own fake, and not for ours. We are to obey him as a gracious fovereign; and to hope in him as the fovereign author and donor of his own favours. We are to hope in his mercy, not because we can allure him to the exercife of it, or recommend ourselves to him, by any thing we can do: but because he is infinite in goodness, and delighteth in mercy. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance, Rom. xi. 29. I may add, we are not to do good works with a view to qualify us for our reception of Chrift by faith, or for our interest in him. Multitudes feem most dangerously to deceive their souls in this matter. It is but too common a cafe for men to quiet their consciences, and to en. tertain hopes of falvation from apprehenfions, that they endeavour to be found in a way of duty, they endeavour to mortify their lufts, and to live a holy life; and therefore, though guilty of many defects both in their duties and converfations, they hope God will accept them upon Chrift's account, that the merits of Christ will make up the defects of their performances, and his blood cleanse them from the guilt of their fins. If they should fall into fome more grofs and enormous fins, or grow careless and remifs in duty, they will then perhaps fall into a pannick, and terrify themselves with apprehenfions, that Chrift will not accept fuch as they are: but when they have reformed their conduct, their fears blow over, and they revive their hopes, that they fhall yet obtain merсу for Chrift's fake. And what is the natural language of all this, but that they shall obtain an interest in Christ by their good works, and when they have done their part, he will do the reft, will make up the defects of their attainments, and give fuch a value to their fincere (tho' imperfect) obedience, that this fhall recommend them to the favour and acceptance of God. As though the glorious Redeemer undertook our ranfom, for no other end than to render our deficient duties meritorious, and our fins innocent and inoffensive. This legal and selfrighteous principle feems generally to obtain with the careless carnal world. And when finners come under conviction of their guilt and danger, they are yet influ enced by the fame legal difpofition, though it appear in another form. What diftreffing fears and terrors do they ufually agonize under? How impoffible is it to give them any fenfible view of the hope that is fet before them! But what ftands in their way? Their fins are great, their hearts are hard, their duties formal and hypocritical, their corruptions prevalent, that they cannot think Chrift will accept fuch as they are; and therefore they dare not venture their fouls and their eternal interefis upon him. Were the case otherwise, could they fubdue thefe ftubborn hearts, could they get a victory over these corruptions, fanctify thefe depraved affections, and be more fpiritual in their duties; or in other words, could they themselves begin their own falvation, then they could depend upon Chrift to carry on the work in their fouls; and then they could hope, that God would accept them for Chrift's fake. But all this is to fubftitufe our own righteousness in the place and ftead of the righteoufnefs of Chrift; or at best, to divide the work of our falvation between Chrift and ourselves. Will you bear with me, Sir, if I am forced to exprefs my fears, that you are yet under too great remainders of this unhappy difpofition. I rejoice in your recovery from your late dangerous mistake. I cannot but hope that you have chofen the good part, which shall not be taken from you. But what mean the frequent returns of your defponding hours? Whence do your hopes and fears bear proportion to your prefent frames? What occafions thofe many dark apprehenfions, not only that you have not yet an intereft in Chrift; but that you fhall never attain to it? I entreat you to confider, that Chrift came to fave finners; and that we must come to him and trust in him as finners, having no qualification of our own to intitle us to his favour, nothing but our guilt and pollution, and his fufficiency to plead, for our acceptance with and interest in him. In proportion as you look to your own qualifications to recommend you to Chrift, fo far you practically make a Saviour of your good works; and reject the terms of falvation by Jefus Christ. As it is certain that you can have no good works, which are acceptable to God for any faving purpaíes, till you have faith in Chrift; fo it is alfo certain, Y |