his objection thus: "Can the common maker of mankind put an arbitrary difference between the men he has made, confiftently with infinite goodness and. juftice?"

However, we will let Mr. Toulmin have his own way, and cloath his argument in his own terms. He obferves,

1. That "Our Lord has taught us to argue from the paternal character" of God.-True. And that paternal character is neither lefs nor more, than the creative character. The paffage, Matt. vii. 11. to which Mr. Toulmin refers, plainly establishes this remark for it is tantamount to faying, How much more shall your Maker, who is in heaven, &c. [Let me digrefs, en paffant, by obferving, that, in the 21st verfe of the above chapter, Chrift ufes the word, Father, in its true and abfolute fignification. For the first person in the Godhead is, properly, literally, and phyfically, the Father and the immediate fource of the fecond, per communicationem effentia.]

2. Mr. T. afks Mr. R. "Would you, fir, who are a parent, fecretly refolve, before your children were born, and could have done either good or evil, to difinherit any of your children?"

On which I obferve,

(1.) That Mr. Rooker may, in his turn, afk Mr. Toulmin, And would you, fir, after your children are born, actually permit any of them to be very wicked and very miferable, if it was in your power, by a fingle hod of your will to make them good and to render them happy? Now, God certainly is able to endue all mankind, and the very devils themselves, with holiness and felicity. He could both have faved them from falling; and can ftill reclaim them, though fallen. And yet he, knowingly and willingly, permits many of the former, and the whole number of the latter, to be the fubjects of fin and pain. And, if the real, pofitive, continued permiffion of this be not inconfiftent with the "paternal charac

ter;"

ter;" why fhould that "character" be fuppofed to reftrain God from fecretly refolving, beforehand, on that permiffion? For, furely, the refolution to do, or to permit, a thing; can no more clath with the "paternal character," than the actual doing, or the actual permitting, of the thing itself.-But, after all,

(2.) God, and an earthly parent, are not parallels, in any one refpect whatever. When an human father becomes poffeffed of the fame numerical nature and attributes as God is, in all their infinity and perfection; it will then (but, until then, it cannot) be an admiffible pofition, that the Deity is and must be fuch an one as ourfelves, and ought to regulate his conduct, by the example we fet him.-I remember, in the year 1759, while I was a ftudent at college, a gentleman afked me (with reference to this very doctrine which Mr. T. oppofes,) would you, if you was God, create any being to mifery? My anfwer was, when I am God I will tell you.-Surely, Arminians must be at a difinal lofs, ere they could thus think of fetting up the human paffions, and parental affection in particular (which is, ufually, the blindest affection of any,) as the ftandard, and model, and archetype, from which God himself must form his eftimate of right and wrong, and in conformity to which he his bound, (for the plea fuppofes this, if it fuppofes any thing) to accommodate his purposes and shape his moral conduct! As if his ways were not higher than our ways, and his thoughts than our thoughts!

(3.) The cavil is very unhappily flated. For, the moft material part of it is phrafed in the very words of Scripture. With this effèntial difference, however that the faid Scripture phrafes pofitively affirm the identical propofition, which the cavil is framed to deny. So directly and totally contrary is the judgement of Mr. T. to that of St. Paul!

(4) It is mouftroufly inaccurate, to infinuate, that God has "Secretly refolved to difinuerit fome

of his children." We utterly reject the very shadow of fuch an idea, as involving in it both a religious and a philofophical impoffibility. To difinherit is, to cut off, from fucceffion to a patrimony or other property, one, who, before, was actual heir. Men may do this: becaufe men are liable to change, and to mistake, and to be chagrined or difgufted by unforefeen incidents. But this can never be the cafe with God. Confequently, he cannot be faid to dif inherit the reprobate, who never were heirs. And, for the elect, he will never difinherit them: fecing, nothing fhall be able to feparate them from that unchangeable love, which hath gracioufly made them heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Chrift himself.

(5.) I fuppofe, Mr. Toulmin meant to ask: "Would God refolve, not to inveft fome of his creatures with a title to the heavenly inheritance ?" To which I anfwer, Yes. God not only justly might, but he actually has fo refolved: unless the Bible is falfe from end to end. But, as to difinheriting, the Bible knows nothing of that. It is Arminianifm, which reprefents the immutable God as the capricious difinheritor of his children; not we, who believe, that whom he did predeftinate,-them he alfo glorified.

(6.) To make the objection fquare with the thing objected to, the objection thould run thus: "Would you, Mr. Rooker, who are a creator, fecretly refolve, before your creatures were formed, to exclude any of them from felicity, for wife and just reasons best known to yourself?". But this phrafeology, which alone comes up to the point in debate, would not fuit Mr. Toulmin's fallacious views. It would not fuffice to raife a fophiftical mift before the eyes of the unwary, which are apt to be caught by fuperficial appearances, and to be dazzled by the trappings of undue metaphor artfully put on. To make a flrait ftick feem crooked, you must look at it, through a denfer medium than air: i. e. hold it flantingly

flantingly under water, and the bufinefs is done. Unguarded fpe&tators may be feduced by the ftratagem: but careful obfervers perceive the trick.

In one word: the queftion, as ftated and phrafed by Mr. Toulmin, argues à diverfo ad diverfum : and, confequently, is totally illogical, and proves nothing.

I am, with great esteem, &c.

Auguftus Toplady.

LETTER

LIX.

To Meffieurs VALLANCE and SIMMONS.

GENTLEMEN,

Plymouth, July 7, 1775.

fet

AM here, on a fhort vifit, previously to my I ting out for Bath and London: and now write to you, on occafion of a report, which prevails here, that Mr. J. W died, lately, in Ireland.

You, who dwell at the mart of intelligence, know, probably, the real ftate of that matter, with more certainty, than I can yet attain to at this diftance. But, fhould my information be true, I muft fignify to you my hearty wifhes, that my Effay on Necef fity, if not yet actually publifhed, may be fuppreffed for the prefent: until I can throw it into a new form, by cancelling all the paffges, which have any perfonal reference to my old antagonist; and by retaining only fo much of the Treatite, as relates to the naked argument itself.

I hope, this intimation will reach you, time enough, to answer the defired purpofe. If it be too late, I cannot help it. But I do not wifh to profccute my war with that gentleman, if he be really fummoned

fummoned to the tribunal of God, and unable on earth to answer for himfelf. In that cafe, let my remembrance of his mifdemeanors die and be buried with him.

Direct your anfwer, to me, at Mr. D's, in G ftreet, Bath. I have only time to add, that I am, with esteem,

Gentlemen, yours, &c.

Auguftus Toplady.

LETTER LX.

To Lady HUNTINGDON.

MADAM,

BEST

EST thanks to your dear ladyship for the honour of your much efteemed letter from Briftol, of the 8th instant. You was fo ill when I left you there, that the receipt of a letter which carries in it the evident traits of your recovery, was peculiarly welcome, and furnished me with additional matter of thanksgiving to that God, who, in mercy to his Church, has been graciously pleafed to protract a life fo tranfcendently useful and valuable. It would be far better for your ladyfhip to be diffolved and to be with Chrift: but it is more needful for his people below that you remain in the body. On their account, may it be very long ere you exchange your coronet for a crown.

It would have given me much joy, to have been prefent, on a late happy occafion, at Briftol; our friends Mr. and Mrs. when they had the honour of waiting on your ladyship there, prefented my meffage, I fuppofe, and affigned the reafon; I blefs the Father of mercies, that the power of the fpirit was ex

perienced,