confefs) deferves fome attention. For perhaps no one thing has raised fuch prejudices in the minds of men against fpiritual and religious experiences, as thofe airy raptures and causeless exults, that in fome inftances have been feen of late.

I would therefore observe to you, that your own reprefentation of thofe joyful transports, of which you complain, is fufficient to diftinguish them from thofe joys of the Holy Ghoft, of which I wrote to you. You rightly obferve, that thefe falfe raptures are the product of an exalted imagination. But you have no room to conclude this to be the cafe with refpect to thofe fpiritual joys and comforts, of which I wrote in my last. I have known a wretched despicable beggar, cover'd with rags and vermin, who imagin'd himself a king's fon, and expected to be treated accordingly; But how vain and ludicrous foever his imaginations were, I never thought it an argument, that there are no kings fons in the world. He might probably entertain more transporting apprehenfions of his imagin'd royalty, than they who really poffefs that dignity, which he fo vainly pretended to. But muft thefe latter be rejected as vain pretenders, because of the craz'd imagination of fuch a miferable vagary!

To apply this to the present cafe, I readily allow that all those joys and comforts which flow from the imagi nation only, are always but airy and chimerical, falfe and delufive. Thus, for inftance, fome will rejoice and tri umph, from only imagining themfelves favourites of heaven; fome from being able to paint upon their imagi. nations the miracles, fufferings, refurrection, or afcenGion of Chrift; fome from an imaginary idea of the final appearing of Chrift, and their own future glory, and the like; yet all this while the poor fouls forget, that there is one thing wanting, in order to make their joys reasonable and substantial; and that is good evidence of their intereft in that Saviour, and his glorious falvation, of which they entertain fuch pleasing imaginations. They who have this evidence (in the manner described in my last) have a fubftantial foundation of comfort and joy, from having that falvation actually begun in their fouls, which is the pledge and earnest of their eternal inheritance; while the ethers are like to find themfelves as much deluded

in their expectation of future happiness, as they are in the foundation of their hopes.

You further reprefent these rapturous joys to be the effect of felf-esteem. And I readily acknowledge, that where it is fo, it is always deceitful and vain. The divine influences are always humbling to the foul which enjoys them. They therefore are horribly prophane, who impute their own pride and vanity to the Spirit of God, and confequently they are miferably deceiving themselves, whose joy and comfort flow from an high opinion of their imaginary attainments in religion. They are a fmoke in God's noftrils, who are saying, ftand by thyself, come not nigh me; for I am holier than thou. But then on the contrary, when the humble foul is lying at God's foot, felf-abafing and felf-condemning, adoring the infinite riches of God's free grace to fuch a vile, worthlefs worm; and rejoicing in Christ Jesus without confidence in the flesh; these bleffed effects are worthy of the Spirit of God, by whom they are wrought. And it is always true, that the believer's fenfe of his own vilenefs, pollution, and unworthiness, bears proportion to his joyful evidences of the divine favour.

You further object against the falfe pretenders you mention, that their conduct don't justify their joyful af• furance.' This is indeed a good evidence against their high pretenfions to extraordinary attainments in religion. For I believe, every Chriftian does certainly make the fame progrefs in holiness, as he does in well grounded comfort and joy. The objection therefore can no ways affect thofe with whom this is an experienced truth, who always find, that their hope and joy quicken them in their spiritual course, invigorate their duties, and enlarge their defires and endeavours after a conformity to the whole will of God.

1

I must now leave this matter to your own reflections; you yourself must judge the validity of your exceptions. Compare the picture you have drawn of fome empty, enthufiaftical pretenders to religious experiences, with the description I have given you of those, who have indeed experienced the divine life and confider whether there be any real fimilitude, in any marks and lineaments of their countenances. In thofe is found pride and pe

tulance but in thefe, humility and felf-abafement. In thofe, cenforioufneís and uncharitableness are the diftin, guishing characters; in thefe, a charitable preferring o thers to themfelves, There you fee fchifm, contention, and faction; here is kindness, peace, and brotherly love. There imaginary impulfe, but here the word of God a lone, is confider'd as the rule of life. There joy and comfort are confider'd as the evidence of a good state } here they are confider'd as the fruit of good evidence of faith in Chrift, and of a renewed nature. There religion is fuppofed to confift in rapture and extafy; here in fpiritual affections, and in a heavenly converfation. There we find men building their hope and comfort on their imaginary attainments: but here we find them making Christ Jefus their only refuge and hope. And to fum up all in a word, There are high pretences to religious experiences without the fruits of holiness; but here the happy effects of this change appear in the heart and life; and juftify the profeffion to be true, and the experiences to be indeed what they are pretended to be."

Upon the whole, there is nothing more certain than that the fcriptures do reprefent what I have fet before you, as the real characters of the children of God. It is equally, certain, that as an actual experience of the renewing change is, from the nature of things, abfolutely neceffary to falvation, fo a fense of this change wrought in us, is requifite to true peace and comfort; and there can be nothing but a want of due attention to this experience, or ignorance of the quality of that change they have fenfibly experienced, which keeps believers in darknefs and doubts about their state. The fubjects of this work can therefore have no greater evidence that it is. from God, than fenfibly to feel that it every way an 1wers the original defcription. What greater evidence can they have of the truth of the Gofpel, than a fenfible experience of its doctrines, and the truth of its promifes, by this wonderful work of grace in their own hearts, which fo vifibly carries the divine fignature both in its operation and effects; and is fo manifeftly diftinguished from all false appearances and pretences? For my own part, I cannot but look upon the irregular heats, you fpeak of, as affording fome convincing evidence in fa

vour of the cause I am pleading. These things are foretold in the fcriptures. By thefe things Satan is endea vouring to fupport his own kingdom, as we may reafo fonably expect he would do. He knows that he is moft likely to play the fureft game, when he transforms himfelf into an angel of light. And these false appearances ferve for a foil, to discover the greatest lustre in a true and real work of divine grace.

The only objection against all this, which I can fore fee, is, that I am philofophizing upon the golden tooth, and that the perfons I am characterizing, exift no where, fave in my descriptions of them. But I need add no more to what I have said upon this already, than my attestation, that I have the comfort of an inward and intimate acquaintance with confiderable numbers of fuch as those whom I have defcribed. And if you, Sir, would feek out fuch for your chofen companions, your objections would die of themselves; and the argument I have infifted upon, would appear in its proper light and ftrength.

I know not what more can be needful to be added upon this fubject, but my hearty prayers, that the Spirit of truth would lead us both into all truth; and that we may know by sensible experience what is the hope of Chrift's calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the faints, which has been justly, tho' but weakly and very imperfectly reprefented, in these let ters, from

Sir,

Yours, &c.

LETTER VII. Wherein the doctrine of GOD's SOVEREIGN GRACE is vindicated; and fome EXCEPTIONS against it confidered and anfwered.

SIR,

You

OU cannot imagine how much comfort you have miniftred to me by your last. I greatly rejoice to hear, that the more strictly you examine the caufe, the greater evidence you find of the undoubted truth and

• certainty of the Chriftian religion:' But that

a

·

you

⚫ are filled with confufion, to think how long you have lived at a distance from that bleffed Saviour, who has * wrought out fuch a glorious redemption for us.' And I am not at all furprised, to hear you complain, that you cannot entertain clear apprehenfions of my dif courfe of experimental religion that though your • last objections are filenced, there are others which fill your mind with greater difficulty; and are of much greater importance, if I have given you a juft view of the cafe.' And that you cannot tell how you can ever be brought to a feeling fenfe of the doctrines of fovereign grace, which I fo much infift on, while they appear to you fo inconfiftent with truth, and fo unrea • fonable.' I am not (fay) furprifed at this; for we are naturally prejudiced against thefe doctrines; and are not easily brought to receive them, by reafon of the ftrong bias there is upon our minds to the contrary principles. I fhall therefore endeavour to confider your fe veral objections; and how ftrong and plaufible foever they may appear, I do not defpair of giving you fatisfaction

You object, that if we are of ourselves capable of no qualifying conditions for the divine favour, or (to ufe my own words) if we must feel that we lie at mercy, and that all our own refuges, and all our endea vours in our own ftrength to relieve our diftreffed fouls, are fruitless and vain, you cannot tell to what purpofe any of our endeavours are; or what good it will do us to use any means at all for our falvation.'

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In order to a clear folution of this difficulty, it seems needful to convince you, that this loft, impotent, deplorable state, is the cafe in fact of every unrenewed finner, whatever objections we may frame in our minds against it: and therefore it is neceffary, that he should fenfibly perceive the cafe to be as it truly is. And then, it will be proper to fhew you, that the confequence you draw from this doctrine is unjuft; and even directly contrary to the improvement you ought to make of it.

I begin with the firft of thefe: and fhall endeavour ta convince you that man is indeed in fuch a loft and help. hefs ftate,, that he lies at mere mercy; and cannot bring