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TREATISE XXIII.

FIVE

LETTERS,

RELATING

To the fourth Propofition of Mr. Barclay's Apology,

VI Z.

I. An Examination of Mr. Barclay's Principles, &c. In Letter to a

Friend.

II. Human Nature vindicated or a Reply to Mr. Beaven's Book. In a fecond Letter to a Friend.

III. Some short Remarks on Dr. Morgan's Tract. In a third Letter to a Friend.

IV. Scripture Evidence consider'd, in a View of the Controverfy. In a fourth Letter to a Friend.

V. Reflections on natural Liberty. In a fifth Letter to a Friend.

ΑΝ

EXAMINATION

O F

Mr. BARCLAY's Principles,

With Regard to Man's natural Ability fince the Fall;

A S

Laid down in his Book, entitled, An Apology for the true Chriftian Divinity, as the fame is held forth and preached by the People called, in Scorn, Quakers. Wherein is fhewn, That the faid Principles are erroneous, and in which Human Nature is vindicated from that Burden of Reproach he has loaded it with. In a Letter to a Friend, occafion'd by the great Commendation given to Mr. Barclay's Performance, in the British Journal, No XXX. and now offered to the Confideration of the People called Quakers.

SIR,

A

S the great commendation given to Mr. Barclay's performance, in the British Journal, awakened your curiofity, and difpos'd you to buy the book; and as your reading it induced you to put it into my hands, that I might give you my opinion of that performance; fo I have, in justice to truth, fent you my thoughts of it, in this publick way. For tho the book has been publifh'd many years, and the author is long fince dead, and fo the taking notice of it, in this way, may have the appearance of unfairness; yet, feeing it has been lately fo highly commended, in a publick news-paper; when this is confider'd, that colour of unfairnefs, which otherwife my examining it might be liable to, I think, is taken away.

The British Journal, Saturday, April 13, 1723. Numb. XXX. gives the following character of Mr. Barclay's fcheme and performance.

"I am not

"asham'd to own, that I have, with great pleasure, read over Mr. Barclay's Apology for Quakerism, and do really think it to be the moft masterly, cha"ritable, and reasonable system, that I have ever feen. It folves the numerous difficulties, rais'd by other fects, and, by turns, thrown at one another; ❝ fhews

"

"fhews all parts of fcripture to be uniform and confiftent: and as Sir Isaac "Newton, by allowing him gravitation, has accounted for all the phænomena "of nature; fo if we allow Mr. Barclay thofe operations of the fpirit, which "the Quakers pretend to feel, and which, he fays, every man in the world has, "and may feel, if he watches its motions, and does not fupprefs them; then, "I think, all the jangling vain queftions, numerous, fuperftitious, and various oppreflions, which have plagued the world from the beginning, would cease, " and be at an end

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I shall not concern myself, with what this author has faid of Mr. Barclay's book; my intent not being to oppose him, but only to take the fame liberty, in giving my opinion of that performance, as he has done. I fhall, indeed, proceed one step farther than this author, namely, not only give my opinion, but likewife fhew, upon what grounds that opinion is founded, as will appear in the following lines. And if I fhould, in any particular, differ from him, I am perfuaded I fhall not offend; prefuming he will allow, that I have an equal right to diffent from him in my opinion, and to publish the grounds of that diffent, as he has to diffent from me. I fhall likewife confider Mr. Barclay's fcheme, and performance, what it is, in itself, and not what it is, when compar'd with other fyftems and performances. These things being premis'd, I proceed to obferve, that, I have likewise read Mr. Barclay's book, and do really think it contains a confus'd, abfurd fcheme of religion; in which God is confider'd, as dealing with his creatures, not according to the moral fitness of things, but from arbitrary pleasure. For tho the author fometimes brings juftice, goodness, truth, &c. into the cafe, and argues from thefe, and, confequently, reafons from the fitnefs of things, when it turns to the advantage of his argument; yet this is what his fcheme, upon the whole, will not comport with, but must be overthrown by. However, I fhall not enter into a particular examination of all the propofitions, laid down in the book referr❜d to; but shall fingle out one, upon which, I think, Mr. Barclay's fcheme has an apparent dependence.

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PROPOSITION IV.

Concerning the Condition of Man in the Fall.

"All Adam's pofterity, or mankind, both Jew, and Gentile, as to the first A"dam, or earthly man, is fallen, degenerate, and dead; depriv'd of the fensation, or feeling of this inward teftimony, or feed of God: and is fubject to the power, nature, and feed of the ferpent, which he foweth in men's hearts, whilft they "abide in this natural and corrupted eflate. From whence it cometh, that not "only their words, and deeds, but all their imaginations are evil perpetually in the "fight of God, as proceeding from this depraved and wicked feed. Man, therefore, "as he is in this ftate, can know nothing aright; yea, his thoughts and conceptions "concerning God, and things fpiritual (until he be disjoin'd from the evil feed, “and united to the divine light) are unprofitable both to himself, and others.

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"That, then, which our propofition leads to treat of, is,

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First, What the condition of man is in the fall, and how far uncapable " of meddling in the things of God.

"So that, tho we do not afcribe any part of Adam's guilt to men, until "they make it theirs, by like acts of difobedience; yet we cannot fuppofe, "that men, who are come of Adam naturally, can have any good thing in << their nature, as belonging to it, which he, from whom they derive their "nature, had not himself to communicate unto them.

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If, then, we may affirm, that Adam did not retain in his nature, as belonging thereunto, any will, or light, capable to give him knowledge in fpiritual things; then, neither can his pofterity. For whatsoever real good any man doth, it proceedeth not from his nature, as he is a man, or the "fon of Adam; but from the feed of God in him, as a new vifitation of life, " in order to bring him out of this natural condition: fo that tho it be in « him, yet it is not of him. And this the Lord himself witneffeth, Gen. vi. 5. where it is faid, He Jaw that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, "was only evil continually. Which words, as they are very pofitive, so are they very comprehenfive: obferve the emphafis of them. First, There is every imagination of the thoughts of his heart; so that this admits of no excep❝tion, of any imagination of the thoughts of his heart. Secondly, Is only e"vil continually. It is neither in fome part evil continually, nor yet only evil at fome times; but both only evil, and always, and continually evil: which certainly excludes any good, as a proper effect of man's heart naturally; for "that which is only evil, and that always, cannot, of its own nature, produce "any good thing. The Lord expreffeth this again a little after, Chap. viii. 21. "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: thus, inferring how na"tural and proper it is unto him. From which I thus argue,

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"If the thoughts of man's heart be not only evil, but always evil; then, are they, as they fimply proceed from his heart, neither good in part, nor at any time:

"But the firft is true, therefore, the laft.

Again,

"If man's thoughts be always and only evil; then, are they altogether ufe« less and ineffectual to him in the things of God:

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"But the firft is true, therefore, the laft.

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Secondly, This appears plainly, from that faying of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chap. xvii. 9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and defperately wicked. « For who can, with any colour of reafon, imagine that that, which is fo, "can have any power, of itself, or is any way fit to lead a man to righteouf"nefs; whereunto it is, of its own nature, directly oppofite? This is as contrary to reafon, as it is impoffible in nature, that a ftone, of its own nature, "and proper motion, fhould fly upwards. For as a stone, of its own nature, inclineth, and is prone to move downward, towards the center; fo the heart "of man is naturally prone, and inclin'd to evil; fome to one, and some to "another. From this, then, I alfo thus argue:

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