Spirit within them *, to the word of God, or his Spirit speaking in the Scriptures: but the letterwriter, doubtless animated by the same spirit of error, has hit upon a new artifice for corrupting and overthrowing the true doctrine of the gospel, 1 wiz. that of oppofing the grace of God manifefted in his word, to his grace communicated to the fouls, and implanted in the hearts of believers; and the work of Chrift in the impetration of redemption, to his work in the application of it. Yet those who have the least acquaintance with the Sacred Writings, and are not wholly given up to the power of error and delufion, will readily agree with me in affirming, that in Scripture the word of God, and the work of his Spirit upon the hearts of men, in order to make it effectual for their converfion and falvation; or the work of Christ finished upon the cross, and his powerful and gracious work upon the hearts of sinners, determining and enabling : them to believe what is revealed in the gospel concerning the former; to put a due value upon it, and take the benefit of it; are never opposed to each other; but that, on the contrary, the latter is every where either supposed, or expressly declared to be equally necessary to falvation with the former. And therefore whoever, on pretence of afserting the fovereignty and vindicating the honour of divine grace appearing in the atonement, derides or denies the work of his Spirit upon the hearts of his chofen people - may justly be accounted no

less an enemy to the grace and cross of Christ, and the fouls and salvation of men, than if he denied both.

Hence it appears, that Palemon, instead of being a friend and lover of the true apoftolic gospel; a character which he vainly arrogates to himself, and appropriates to those of his fraternity; is really a corrupter and fubverter thereof; no less an enemy to the cross of Christ, and the true doctrine of imputed righteousness, than those who openly impugn, deny, and vilify the fame. How far this charge is just, will best appear by comparing some of his tenets, respecting the matter now under confideration, with the true doctrine of the gospel taught by the apostles, and in other parts of the Sacred Writings.

The Spirit of God speaking by the apostles, and other inspired writers, teaches that the power of God, and the energy of his Holy Spirit, must concur with his word, in order to make it effectual for the converfion and salvation of finners: Palæmon plainly infinuates that no fuch thing is neceffary. The inspired writers plainly intimate, that this concurrence, and internal operation of the di.. vine Spirit, may be separated from the external revelation and exhibition of Chrift in the gospel; fo that the word, however clearly preached, may be, and is to fome the favour of death unto death. Palæmon confidently affirms, that the word and Spirit, or the knowledge of the truth and the agency of the divine Spirit, which according to him imports neither more nor less than the former f, are inseparable; so that in no respect whatever it can be truly said, that the word of God is to any a dead or

* 2 Cor. ii. 16. Luke xiii. 34. Ifai. vi. 9, 10. Hof.

vi. 5.

† Letters, p. 361.

G5

killing letter*. The apostles teach, that the minds of men must be enlightened from above, before they can receive the things of the Spirit of God, or perceive the least ray of divine glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ, however clearly manifefted in the external dispensation of the gospel: this Palamon will not admit; but, in a manner easy to be understood, frequently infinuates, that if any kind of agency, or operation of the divine Spirit, is supposed to be previous to the actual knowledge and belief of the truth, it must be acknowledged, that something befides the righteousness of Chrift, or faith in that righteousness, is necessary to the juftification of a finner; and that to affert the neceffity of any fuch thing, is to shut up our access to the divine righteousness, and to hold forth a preliminary human one, as fome way expedient, or rather neceffary to our enjoying the benefit and comfort of it †.

Further; the apostles teach, that men must have an understanding given them to know him that is true; that, in order to their coming to Chrift by faith, they must be drawn by the Father; and that, in order to a receiving and resting upon him, as an all-fufficient Saviour, and fubmitting and yielding cordial subjection to him, as their King and Lord, a divine power must concur with the word of the gospel, cafting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Chrift ; or, in other words, which the Holy Ghost also uses to denote the fame thing, that they must be made willing in the day of bis power H. But if, with the prophets and apoftles, we suppose, that

* Letters, p. 34, 35. ↑ Letters, p. 4. 12. 38.361. John v. 20. John vi. 44. 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. || Píal, cx. 3.

any

1

!

any such enlightening, renewing and humbling work of the divine Spirit upon the hearts of men, is necessary in order to make them know and believe the truth, so as really to enjoy the benefit and comfort of the divine righteousness, Palemon will tell us, it belongs to that preliminary counterfeit grace which, if we may believe him, is the capital characteristic of the popular doctrine; and serves only to make those who imagine they have any experience of it, entertain a fond conceit of their own excellency; as if they were more deserving objects of saving grace than the rest of mankind. It were easy to multiply instances of this kind; but we forbear. From those already adduced, we leave the impartial to judge, whether the letterwriter has acted an ingenuous part in dignifying his new fcheme of Christianity with the high title of the ancient apoftolic gospel.

As it must be obvious to every attentive reader, I reckon it unnecessary to observe how artfully and ungeneroufly, as is the manner of the man, Palamon has misrepresented the doctrine taught by those whom he calls the popular preachers concerning the internal, and supernatural operation of the divine Spirit in regeneration and converfion; as if the scope and tendency of it was to perfuade.. men, that they must have experience, and be conscious of fomething of this kind in order to prepare and qualify them for, and make them deserving objects of faving grace; or, which must be his meaning if he speaks to the purpose, to give them a diftinguishing right to the b'ellings of the gospel, or the benefit of the divine righteousness; whereas it is quite the reverse. For those eminent preachers, whose character he chiefly attacks, when giving an account of a faving work of the Spirit of God upon the hearts of men, still declare, that

the great design of it is to empty men of all selfrighteousness, and self-confidence, and to convince them of the folly of all imaginary claims to the divine favour, founded on any personal excellency, attainments, frames, experiences; or, in short, on any thing done by them, or wrought in them, whereby they are diftinguished from the rest of mankind. In one word, the leading scope of what they taught on this head was to lead men entirely out of themselves to the Lord Jesus, exhibited in the promises of the gospel, as their righteousness, strength, falvation, and all in all. Do they not constantly affirm, that this is a necessary effect, and the grand characteristic of that gracious work of the Spirit of God upon the hearts of finners, which, agreeably to Scripture, they hold to be neceffary, in order to an actual believing on the name of the Son of God, so as to be justified by his blood, and saved from wrath through him ?

The hinge of the controversy, then, between Palæmon and his principal antagonists, is not, whether men ought to renounce all confidence in their own righteousness, and all peculiar claims to the divine favour and mercy, founded upon any thing, in or about themselves, by which they are diftinguished from the rest of mankind? for this they readily grant, and teach, with as much plainness and unreferved freedom as he does, or can do: but the question is, how, or in what manner, they are brought to this humbling and self-denying exercise? The worthy preachers above-mentioned, with all found Proteftant divines*, agreeably to the Scrip

tures

Here I think it proper to acquaint the reader, that, though I am of opinion that Mr. Flavel, Marshall, Guthry, Boston, and Erskines, against whom the letter. writer