ready proved the contrary. There are two extremes in the doctrine of faith, which fhould be carefully avoided by every Chriftian: The one is that of the author of P. O. who thinks, that an adulterous murderer may have true, faving faith in the height of his complicated crimes: And the other is that of Mr. Jonathan Ketlow, who afferts, there is no faving faith but that which has actually cleanfed us from all inbred fin, and opened a prefent heaven in our breast. The path of truth lies between the oppofite mistakes of those two good men; and that path I endeavour to point out.

As on the one hand it never came into my mind, that an impenitent murderer can have even the faving faith of a Heathen: fo on the other hand it never entered my thoughts, that a penitent can believe with the faith of full affurance when he will:

For this faith depends not only upon our general belief of the truth revealed to us, but alfo upon a peculiar operation of God, or revelation of his powerful arm. It is always attended with a manifeftation of the fpirit of adoption witneffing with our fpirit, that we are the children of God: And fuch a manifeftation, God in general grants to none but them, that groan deeply under the fpirit of bondage unto fear, as Paul did while he remained blind at Damafcus; them that are peculiarly faithful to the grace of their inferior difpenfation, and pray as earnestly power from on high, as the apoftles did after our Lord's

afcenfion.

for

Therefore, from my afferting, that "So long as "the day of falvation continues, all finners, who have "not yet finally hardened themfelves, may day or "night [thro' the help and power of the general light of

66

Chrift's GRACE mentioned John i. 9, and Tit. ii. 11."] "receive SOME truth belonging to the everlasting gofpel, which takes in the difpenfation OF THE HEATHENS; from my afferting this, I fay, you have no reason to infer, that I maintain, any man may day or night believe the forgiveness of his fins, and the deep

truth

actually abides on all thofe, who have not that faith? If we warily allowed the faith of the inferior difpenfations, which fuch divines clearly fee in the fcriptures, and feel in themfelves; would not their prejudices be foftened, and their minds. prepared to receive what we advance in defence of the faith of affurance?

*

(6) If it is urged, that the Spirit of God wit neffes to all fincere feekers of the kingdom of God, that they are in a damnable ftate, till they feel the pardoning love of God fhed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghoft given unto them; I demand proof: I deny the fact, and affert, that the divine Spirit can no more witness to an accepted, mourning Cornelius, that he is not accepted in any fenfe, than it can wit nefs to a palpable contradiétion. The truth is, our unbelieving fears and awakened hearts are very prone to furmife the worst, and we are very apt to take their furmifings for divine impreffions, even when we bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. I doubt not but St. Paul himself, in his agony of penitential grief, when he spent three days and three nights in fafting and prayer, had many fueh gloomy despairing thoughts; but they were certainly lying thoughts, as well as thofe, which David wifely checks in fome of his pfalms. Who will dare to fay, that Ananias found the apoftle in a damnable state, tha he found him without the fenfe of fin forgiven, as appears from the direction whieh he gave him, Arife, why tarrieft thou? Wash away thy fins, calling upon, and confequently BELIEVING in the name of the Lord?

with (7) The objection which I answer, may equal propriety be urged again ft St. Peter's doctrine. Acts. ii. 5, and x. 7, we read of DEVOUT men out of every nation under heaven, and of a DEVOUT foldier that waited continually on Cornelius, who himself feared God, worked righteoufnefs, and was accepted with all his houfe By Acts xi. 9, 14, it evidently ap pears, tho' Cornelius was cleanfed by God himself; yet he must fend for Peter, who was to tell him words.

whereby

whereby he and all his houfe SHOULD BE SAVED, i. e. fhould become partakers of the GREAT falvation revealed by the gospel of Jefus Chrift. But although St. Peter began his discourse by acknowledging, that his pious hearers were accepted with God, none of the congregation faid; Well, if we are accepted, we are already in a state of falvation, and therefore we need not hear words, whereby we fhall be faved. On the contrary, they all BELIEVED the word of THIS fuller falvation; for the Holy Ghoft fell on ALL them, that heard the word; and St. Paul informs us, that we receive the Spirit by the hearing of FAITH. Compare Acts x. 41, with Gal. ii. 3, and John vii. 39. It is plain, from this account, that no preaching was ever attended with a more univerfal bleffing, and that no difcourfe was ever more inftrumental in conveying to all, the power of the faith of affurance, than that very fermon, which the apoftle began by intimating, that his hearers were already accepted, according to an inferior difpenfation. Hence it is evident, that the doctrine we maintain, if it is properly guarded, far from having a neceffary tendency to lull people afleep, is admirably calculated to excite every penitent to faith, prayer, the improvement of their talent, and the perfecting of holiness.

*(8) May we not fufficiently guard the Chriftian difpenfation, by conftantly affirming: (1) That all Chriftian believers have now the witnefs in themfelves:

(2) That those, who have it not, either never had Chriftian faith, which is emphatically called faith in the gofpel, that they know only the baptifm of John; or, that with the unfettled Galatians, they are actually fallen from grace, i. e. from the Chriftian difpenfation; and now live under the law i. e. in the darkness of the Jewifh difpenfation: fuppofing they are not quite departed from God by indulging known fin.(3) That if they do not prefs after the faith of affurance, they are in the utmoft danger of lofing their talent of grace; like the

young

young man, whom Jefus loved, and who neverthelefs went away forrowful, when he was unwilling to give up all, and follow Jefus without referve; or like thofe thousands of Ifraelites, whom the Lord SAVED OUT OF the land of Egypt, and whom he af. terwards deftroyed, when they believed not the word, by which they were to be SAVED INTO the land of promife?

* (10) Not to mention all the arguments, by which the zealous Puritans defended the doctrine of affurance in the last century, and thofe by which the Methodists prove its neceffity in our days; is not the first argument ufed in my addrefs to the anti-christian moralift, fufficient to enforce the abfolute neceffity of rifing to higher difpenfations, when God calls us to it? If qucen Vashti loft her crown, for refufing to come to the royal banquet, at the king's commandment: -If thofe, who begged to be excufed, when they were invited to the gofpel-feaft, were at láft dreadfully unifhed: If St. Paul fays to loitering believers, who are backward to go on to perfection, How fhall we efcape if we neglect fo GREAT falvation, which at FIRST began to be fpoken by the Lord:-Nay, if Chrift himfelf threatens to fpue lukewarm, flothful Laodiceans out of his mouth; do we want even terrifying arguments to lafh the confciences of those, who, hoping they are perfectly fafe in their low attainments, def pife higher difpenfations, and bury their talent of grace, till it is taken from them, and given to those who improve their own? To conclude,

* (9) You are afraid, that the doctrine of this Ef. fay will make "Seekers" reft in Laodicean lukewarmnefs; but, permit me to obferve, that the Seekers you fpean of, are either forward hypocrites, or fincere penitents:If they are forward hypocrites, preaching to them the faith of affurance will never make them either humble or fincere. On the contrary, they will probably catch at an election, and then at an affurance of their own making; and fo they will think they have the faith, for which you contend,

when

when in fact they have only the name and notion of it. The religious world fwarms with inftances of this kind.—If, on the other hand, the Seekers for whom you feem concerned, are fincere penitents; far from being hurt, they will be greatly benefited by our doctrine: for it will at once keep them from chilling, despairing fears; and from faife, Crifpian comforts; the two oppofite extremes, into which upright, unwary mourners are apt to run. Thus our doctrine, instead of being dangerous to fincere feekers, will prove a fcriptural clue, in following which they will happily avoid the gloomy haunts of pharifaic defpair, and the enchanted ground of antinomian prefumption.