and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God, Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!" Here the reason of the error of the false prophets is, that "they prophesied out of their own hearts," and "followed their own spirit," instead of submitting to the predictions that God had delivered by the true prophets. Had not Jeremiah, for the space of forty years, in the most precise manner, and with a variety of emblems, declared to the people of Israel, that their city should be destroyed, and themselves carried into captivity to Babylon? Why, then, was not this believed? Why did they not return from their idolatry, as the only means by which they could escape this dreadful catastrophe? Was it not the true interest of both people and prophets to understand the mind of God on this subject? Was not error in this matter the greatest evil? Yet neither prophets nor people believed God. On the contrary, the prophets predicted peace, and encouraged the people to hope that the city and temple should not be destroyed, and that they themselves should not be carried to Babylon. The false prophets prophesied out of their own hearts. They predicted not what God had declared on this subject, but what was agreeable to their own wishes. Instead of following the Spirit of the Lord, they followed their own spirits, and declared visions, when, in reality, they had seen nothing.

In these false teachers of Israel, we have a picture of all false teachers, in every age. Their doctrines are not taken from the Scriptures, but from their own hearts. They follow their own spirit, instead of searching for the mind of the Spirit of the Lord in his word. They proclaim their dogmas as the truths of revelation, when in revelation they have found no such thing. They have seen nothing; yet they utter their own sentiments as the dictates of the Holy Spirit. This strikingly applies to the author of the article in the "EDINBURGH REVIEW," which is the subject of the following strictures. His doctrines are not founded in Scripture; they are in direct opposition to Scripture ;

yet he pretends that they have their foundation in the Word of God. He "speaks out of his own heart,” and "follows his own spirit," yet he ushers in his errors with a "Thus saith the Lord."

To the last moment, the false prophets of Israel continued to deceive the people, by assurances that the predictions which denounced evil, should not be accomplished. Thus they surrounded the city with a wall, that on the outside appeared to the people sufficient, but which was incapable of withstanding assault. "Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace, and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar : Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury, to consume it. So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar; and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; to wit, the prophets of Israel, which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace saith the Lord God."Ezek. xiii. 10-16.

Here we see that these false prophets deceived the people with the cry of peace, and assured them that the city should not be taken. Yet destruction was at their very door. So shall it be with every refuge of lies invented by false teachers, in order to deliver sinners from the wrath to come. They may build up a wall for defence, and cover it over with untempered mortar, which may give it an appearance of strength, but it

will fall when the storm of the divine fury assails it. Instead of saving the inhabitants of the city, it will crush them under its ruins.

The same disposition that originated the false refuges of the prophets and people of Israel, models the doctrines of the Scriptures in every age. The Scriptures give an account of man, that is not at all agreeable to himself, and, therefore, false teachers employ all their subtlety to alter or modify that account. The Scriptures represent men, by nature, as the children of wrath-as totally corrupted and ruined-false teachers, speaking "out of their own hearts," and "following their own spirit," force the Scriptures either to retract or qualify their assertions. The Scriptures assure us, that without a spiritual birth, men cannot enter into the kingdom of God: this doctrine is not agreeable to the human mind, and therefore it continues to represent this spiritual birth as nothing but a change from heathenism, to a profession of Christianity; or, if the language of Scripture is refractory, and will not yield to this torture, still man must have the glory of choosing whether the Spirit of God shall bring him to life. The Scriptures assure us, that men are not justified by works, either in whole, or in part; but that they are justified freely by faith in the Lord Jesus, who gave himself to redeem his people from their sins: yet false teachers, speaking out of their own hearts," evade the clearest, and strongest, and fullest declarations to this purpose, and assure men, that their works must have some share in their acceptance. If all other expedients fail, faith itself is turned into a work; salvation is supposed to be by faith, because of the excellence of faith as a moral quality. There is not one declaration of Scripture that has not been set aside by this pernicious principle. On every subject, the Scriptures are obliged to speak, not what God has given them in charge, but what the wisdom of this world thinks most suitable to be spoken. In interpreting the Scriptures, false teachers, "speak out of their own hearts"- "follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing." Their object is not to ascertain with precision what God has spoken, but to make God speak what is agreeable to their own system.

The Lord calls the prophets of Israel, foolish pro phets. No doubt they were at the head of the wise men of this world, and had the greatest influence in their country. They might look down with insolent contempt on the "silly creatures that saw their lost and perishing condition by nature;" they might value themselves on account of their superior attainments; but in the estimation of Jehovah, they were fools. And were they not fools in the highest sense of the word? Was it not the most consummate folly to hope to evade the divine judgments, by denying them? A short time discovered their folly; and the ruin of Jerusalem, with the captivity of the people, proved them to be prophets of lies. And are they wise who attempt to banish the evangelical doctrines from the Bible? Will not God, though he be long silent, at length arise to speak on this subject? The storm will at last fall down upon this crazy wall, and crush the false teachers under their own works. Let modern false teachers read their doom in God's denunciations against the prophets of Israel. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith; and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord God, because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; shall know that I am the Lord God."Ezekiel

and ye xiii. 6-9.

TO THE

AUTHOR OF AN ARTICLE

IN THE

EDINBURGH REVIEW,

ON

EVANGELICAL PREACHING.

LETTER I.

SIR-In your Strictures on Evangelical Preaching, you commence by observing, that "Persons who appropriate to themselves, as par excellence, a title which others claim an equal right to enjoy, or profess a similar desire to merit, must expect their pretensions to be subjected to a somewhat rigid scrutiny; nor are they ever entitled to complain, if they incur a certain degree of obloquy and invective." With the former part of this observation, I cordially agree; the latter I denounce as unchristian and unreasonable. Let the pretensions of every doctrine be examined with a scrutiny, rigid in proportion to its importance. As the point referred to is the most momentous that can occupy the attention of the human mind; as the system called Evangelical, denounces every opposite system, as being eternally ruinous to the souls of men, let it be tried with the utmost severity, by the only test of truth-the Word of God. But to assert that the speaking of a certain set of doctrines as Evangelical, while others opposed to them claim the same title, justly incurs any degree of obloquy and invective, is as disgraceful to a philosopher, as it is unworthy of a Christian. Two systems opposed to each other, cannot both be the gospel; and shall he be reproached, who calls that system evangelical, which he perceives to accord with the Scriptures? Even if he is wrong, he is not worthy of obloquy and invective. If he uses false reasoning, let him be exposed; if he employs quibbles or disengenuous resources, let him be