illustrate; namely, that of a convinced sinner trembling under a sense of guilt and apprehenfions of divine wrath, who fees every way of escape, but that by pure mercy, entirely blocked up; as convictions of this kind are frequently effects of the same power and grace that provided the atonement, and the ordinary method by which the Lord brings his people to saving acquaintance with himself, or forward to an actual enjoying of the benefit of that righteoufness and grace which are made known and exhibited in the dispensation of the gospel. For proof of this we might adduce a great many passages of Scripture; at present we shall only defire the reader to confult John xvi. 8, 9. Rom. vii. 7.

But, fays the letter-writer, " we cannot judge " merely from the disquiet produced in any man's " mind by a sense of guilt, whether his convictions " will land in the faving knowledge of the truth or " not; so cannot have the least ground to suggest " to him any hopeful symptom in his condition " from thence*." The antecedent may be granted, but we must deny the consequence, or that the conclufion can be justly drawn from the premises; for I think it will not be refused, that there are many things which may give ground for entertaining a favourable opinion of one's condition, that do not lay a foundation for absolute certainty concerning the fame.

This Gentleman's Logic andhis Divinity are much alike; the former being ordinarily as repugnant to found reason, as the latter is to the holy Scriptures. According to his method of reasoning, a physician cannot perceive any favourable symptoms in the cafe of his patient, unless he is absolutely certain of his recovery, which no fallible man can ever be, till.

Letters, p. 293,

the

the cure is perfected: and, by a parity of reason, Chriftians cannot have the least ground to enter tain a favourable opinion of the spiritual condition of one another, because they cannot judge merely from the external actions performed by any man, er any thing about him that lies open to human observation, whether he is a true Christian or a hypo crite: and Palemon himself grants, "that none " ought to conclude they are Christians on the " same grounds by which others are bound to love "them as such, seeing every man is best acquainted " with the spring or motive of his own actions*." Now how Christians can love one another as fuch and yet perceive no favourable symptoms in their condition giving them some ground to judge charitably of, and even comfort one another as there may be occafion, I think, is not easy to conceive; yet it is granted, that men cannot judge certainly in this cafe more than in the other.

But this is far from being the only inftance of felf-contradiction to be met with in the writings of this author: for he says and unsays; frequently de nies with the greatest confidence in one place, what he allows and argues from as an undoubted maxim. in another; and, in short, sticks at nothing that feems to afford him the least occafion for throwing an odium on the memory and character of his antagonists. However he may thus impose upon fome eredulous unthinking people, his loose manner of writing, glaring difingenuity, and malevolent temper, must certainly expose him to the contempt of every intelligent person, and provoke the indignation of every ferious reader and lover of truth.

As Palæmon, when opposing and pretending to refute what he calls the popular doctrine about convictions, plainly infinuates, that the knowledge and study of the divine law can be of no manner of advantage to an unbelieving finner, nor be any way fublervient to true converfion, or the exercife of faith in Chrift, nor indeed in the least available for bringing him to a sense of his fin and misery, at least not neceffary for that purpose; the light of a natural confcience being in his opinion fufficient for bringing to a true and thorough conviction of fin; it may be observed, that thus he, in effect, charges God with foolishness in publishing his law from Mount Sinai with such awful folemnity; that the secure, and felf-righteous Ifraelites, might be awaked and convinced of their guilt and misery, and of the abfolute impoffibility of obtaining life by their own righteousness and obedience; and so be led to prize and embrace the promise of the Meffiah made to Abraham and the rest of the Patriarchs, and renewed to themselves; and ratified by all those typical ordinances which were instituted as so many figures of him who was to come, and procure that by his obedience and death which guilty men could never acquire any title to by their endeavours and services of any kind, namely, pardon of fin, acceptance with God, and everlasting life.

It might be further obferved, that our author's doctrine on this head counteracts the design of all the precepts, and threatnings, of the law recorded in Scripture with regard to unbelieving sinners, and flatly contradicts the inspired apoftle who affirms, that the law was added because of tranfgreffions*; that by the law is the knowledge of fint; that it is of great ufe for stopping the mouths of the guilty, convicting them of their misery and danger, and overthrowing all the foolish pleas which they are

* Gal. iii. 19. † Rom. iii. 20.

ready ready to offer in their own desence*, and, in fine, that it is our fchool-master to bring us unto Cbrift t

What the letter-writer has advanced in relation to this fubject, has also a tendency to fix a charge of folly upon our blessed Lord himself, who began his public ministry by explaining, and shewing the fpirituality and vast extent of the divine law, which had been greatly obscured and corrupted by the gloffes which the Scribes and Pharifees had put upon it, tending to harden men in fin and security, and confequently in their unbelief and oppofition to the gofpel of Christ. And, upon the matter, he charges our bleffed Saviour with having acted imprudently, when he called finners to repentance, and warned. them of their danger, if they should still go on in their trespasses; and when he exhorted those who were yet destitute of true faith to labour, not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth to everlasting life, which the Son of Man would give unto them. And by asserting, that there is no need of ahy special agency of the Holy Spirit for convincing men of fin, and that the dictates of a natural conscience are every way sufficient for that purpose, he contradicts the testimony of our Lord in express, terms. The Lord Jesus declares, that the Holy Ghoft should convince the world of fin ||; no fays, Palamon, finners have no need of him, for any such end, or purpose: "-Afk them, is it true that they have " finned or not? If it stand true in their, confci

ence, that they have; this is conviction. If they "have finned, this is enough to damn them, what, "ever sense they have of their fin. And this is preparation enough for mercy §."

* Rom. iii. 19.

+ Gal. iii. 24. ‡ John vi. 27.

It

|| John xvi. 8. § Letters, p. 295, 296.

It would quite exhauft the reader's patience, should we attempt to lay open all the absurdities and abominations that lie concealed in this part of the pretended apoftolic gospel; yet, before we quit this head, we cannot help observing, that what the letter-writer alledges in oppofition to the doctrine of the popular preachers on this subject, is every whit as inconfiftent with his own scheme. Does not he still fuppofe, that men must be convinced, that they are poor, indigent and guilty finners; that they are fo in reality, and nothing else; that they have no amiable qualifications about them to abate the force of this charge; yea, that they must be pinched with the impoffibility of hope on every other side, before they will admit the saving truth, before they can enjoy the benefit of the divine righteousness? And what do his opponents say more? They constantly teach, that a finner must be convinced, that he never did, and never can do any thing to avert the wrath of God due to him for fin; and that there is nothing in him, or about him, that can recommend him to the divine favour, before he will believe, or even so much as understand the true import of the glad tidings of falvation through Jesus Chrift. And does not he himself grant, that such a conviction is necessary, when he supposes that men must be thoroughly pinched with an impossibility of hope on every other fide, before they can admit the aving truth, or allow it its due place in their consciences, so as to reap any faving benefit thereby* ?

Might not this Gentleman then turn his artillery, which he discharges with so much fury against the popular preachers for their doctrine about the neceffity of conviction, against himself and his own

* Letters, p. 402-410, &c.

scheme?