ready proved the contrary. There are two extremes in the doctrine of faith, which should 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 breaft. 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; -Or them that are peculiarly faithful to the grace of their inferior difpenfation, and pray as earnestly for power from on high, as the apoftles did after our Lord's

afcenfion.

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 "Chrift's GRACE mentioned John i. 9, and Tit. ii. 11."] "receive SOME truth belonging to the everlasting gospel, 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

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truths of the gospel OF CHRIST; especially fince I mention immediately what truth it is, which all may believe, if they improve their talent, namely this: "There is a God, who will call us to an account for our fins, and who fpares us that we may break them off by repentance.

(2) It would be abfurd to fuppofe, that you can believe with the luminous faith of affurance, when God is cafting your foul into the dark prifon of your own guilt, to bring down your pharifaic looks, and make you feel the chains of your fins. But even then, may you not " believe, that God is" juft, holy, and patient? May you not acknowledge, that you deferve your fpiritual imprisonment far more than Jofeph's brethren deferved to be put all together into ward three days by their loving, forgiving brother? May you not believe that, altho' heaviness may endure for a night, yet joy cometh in the morning? And when you have humbly groaned with David, I am fo faft in prifon that I cannot get forth; may you not pray in faith, Bring my foul out of prifon, that I may praife thy name: Let the bones which thou haft broken rejoice: Give me the garment of praife for the fpirit of heaviness: Convince me as powerfully of righteoufness, as thou hast of fin: And let thy fpirit, which now acts upon me as a fpirit of bondage unto fear, act as a fpirit of adoption, and liberty; of righteoufnefs, peace, and joy? May you not even add, O God, I believe thy promife concerning the coming of the Comforter; help • thou my unbelief, and grant me fuch a faith as thou wilt vouchfafe to feal with that holy Spirit of promife." Thou shakeft before me the rod of infernal ven· geance: I deferve it a thousand times; but, O Father of mercies, O my Father, if for the fake of thine only begotten Son, thou wilt yet permit fuch a wretch as I am to call thee Father, give me the fpirit of adoption; and witness to my fpirit, that I · am a child of thine. But if thou wilt ftill hide thy face from me, never fuffer me to entertain " one difhonourable thought of thee; never let me

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think thee a Moloch. Tho' thy juftice flay me, let me ftill truft in thee, and believe, that for 'Chrift's fake thy mercy will revive my foul ?' it fcriptural to rank among abfolute unbelievers, a penitent who thus humbly waits for the faith of full affurance-the faith of Chriftianity? If our Lord pronounces fuch mourners bleed, does it become us to pronounce them accurfed? But I return to your objection.

*(3) The latter part of it confirms, inftead of overturning my doctrine; it being evident, that if the perfons you fpeak of, prayed with ardor for the faith of affurance, they had already fome degree of faith; for praying is calling upon the Lord, and St. Paul fpeaks the words of fobernefs, where he fays, How fhall they CALL upon him, in whom they have not BELIEVED?

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(4) I am fo far from thinking, our power to believe is abfolute, that I have afferted," it is impof fible" heartily to believe the truths, which do not fuit our prefent state:- And I have observed, that we favingly believe the "truth fuitable to our "prefent circumftance, WHEN it is kindly prefented by FREE GRACE, and affectionately embraced by PREVENTED free-will;" adding that, when we believe. our faith is more or less operative," not only according to the EARNESTNESS with which we," (i. e. our prevented free-will) "welcome the truth to our inmost "fouls" but alfo," according to the POWER with which the fpirit of grace impreffes it upon our hearts."Nay, I have afcribed fo much to the power of free grace, by which faving faith is "inftantaneouf ly formed," as to allow that fometimes [as at St. Paul's converfion] this power for a while bears all down before it. This was my meaning, when I faid p. 147, "We may IN GENERAL fufpend the act of faith, ESPECIALLY when the glaring light" [i. e. the luminous power] "that fometimes accompanies the revelation "of truth, is abated." Confider the force of the words, in general," and "efpecially:" advert to

the

the exceptions for which they make room; and you will fee, I allow that free-grace, AT TIMES, acts with almoft as much irrefiftibility, as fome moderate boundwillers contend for.

* (5) With refpect to my comparison between our power to believe, and our power to fee, far from fhowing that all men may at any time believe the gospel OF CHRIST, it intimates, nay, it proves the very reverse. Can you fee when you will, and what you will? Can you fee in a dark night without a light? Can you fee in a bright day, when a thick veil covers your face? Can you fee, if you place an opaque body full in your light? Can you fee what is out of the reach of your eyes? Can you fee the rifing fun, when you look full weft, or the ftars when you pore upon a dunghill? Can you fee when you obftinately fhut your eyes? Or when you have let a wicked man put them out, left you should not live in idleness? Apply to faith thefe queries about fight; recollect the preceding obfervation and you will perceive: (1) That our power to believe is various ways circumfcribed; it being impoffible, that he who has but one talent, perhaps unimproved, fhould carry on as extenfive a trade as the man who diligently improves his five or ten talents: (2) That nevertheless fuppofing we have still a ray of the light of truth, and have not yet been given up to judicial blindnefs, or to final hardness, we may day and night [if we do not ftill bury our talent] believe, by the above-mentioned helps fome obvious truth belonging to the loweft difpenfation of divine grace, and begin to follow our Lord's direction; While ye have the light believe in the light that ye may be the children of the light: And (3) That if we oppofe this doctrine, we begin to sneak after our Calvinist brethren into Crifpianity and are just ready to bow at the fhrine of the great Diana of the day, and to kifs her iron-clay feet, Finifhed falvation and Finifhed damnation..

OBF

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OBJ. VI. "Your doctrine concerning the school "of faith, and its feveral forms concerning the "temple of faith and its partitions, is entirely founded upon the doctrine of the difpenfations of divine grace; a doctrine this, which many people will "rank with what they call, The novel chimeras of 66 your Checks."

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I have proved what I have advanced concerning the difpenfations, by arguments founded upon fcripture, reason, and confcience. However, that the idea of novelty may not stand in the way of any of my readers, out of fifty authors, whom I might quote in fupport of this important doctrine, I fhall produce two, a calvinist and an anti-calvinift; not doubting but their confentaneous teftimony will fufficiently break the force of your objection. The first is the Rev. Mr. Green, late curate of Thurnscoe in Yorkfhire, and once an affiftant to Mr, Whitefield. In his book, called Grace and Truth vindicated, p. 116, you will find the following juft remarks;

It appears to me from fcripture, as well as experience, that there are divers difpenfations, but the fame fpirit: The kingdom of heaven confifts of various degrees, and different manfions. This is true, who".ther by the kingdom of heaven we understand the outward profeffors of religion and their privileges, the inward kingdom of grace, or the kingdom of glory: (in all which fenfes the words in fcripture are frequently ufed.)-As face answers to face in a glafs, fo do these respectively anfwer each other. Thus the outward privileges of religion from • Adam to Mofes were leaft; from Mofes to Chrift greater, and from Chrift to the reftitution of all things, greateft.-Again, to be a fpiritual or enlightened HEATHEN, as Socrates, Plato, or Cornelius before he heard Peter, is one degree or difpenfation of grace. To be a fpiritual or enlight ened Jew; and with Peter and the other difciples

• before