Nor are we any more

if the change is for the better. afhamed to own man's free-agency before a world of fatalifts, than we are afhamed to fay: Verily there is a REWARD for the righteous: Tho' band join in hand the wicked fhall not be unpunished: Doubtless there is a God that JUDGETH the earth, and will render to every man according to His works, that is, according to HIS freewill; works being OUR OWN works, only fo far as they fpring from OUR OWN free-will. And we think that the oppofite doctrine is one of the moft abfurd errors, that ever difgraced Chriftianity; and one of the most dangerous engines, which were ever invented in Babel to fap the walls of Jerusalem :—A dreadful engine this, which if it refted upon truth, would pour floods of difgrace on all the divine perfections; would overfet the tribunal of the Judge of all the earth; and would raise upon the tremendous ruins the throne of the doctrinal idol of the day: I mean the fpurious doctrine of grace, which I have fometimes called The great Diana of the calvinifts, because, like the great Diana of the Ephefians, it may pafs at once for Luna or finished Salvation in heaven, and for Hecate or finished damnation in hell.

The Fictitious Creed.

ARTICLE IX.

"BELIEVE that the feed of the word by which God's children are born again, is a CORRUPTIBLE feed; and that fo far from enduring FOR EVER (as. that mistaken apofile Peter rafbly affirms) that it is fre"quently rooted out of the hearts of thofe in whom it " is fown."

VOL. V.

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The

W

The Genuine Creed

ARTICLE IX.

E believe that the word of the truth of God, is the divine feed, by which finners are born again when they receive it, that is, when they believe and this fpiritual feed (as that enlightened apofle Peter, jufly affirms) endures FOR EVER :-but not for antinomian purposes-not to say to fallen believers in the very act of adultery or inceft, My love! my undefiled!--No: It endures FOR EVER, as a feed of reviving or terrifying truth: It endures FOR EVER as a two-edged fword to defend the juft or to wound the wicked; to protect obedient believers, or to pierce difobedient believers, and obftinate unbelievers: It endures FOR EVER, as a fweet favour of life to them that receive and keep it; and as a bitter favour of death to them that never receive it, and to them that final. ly caft it away, and never bring forth fruit to perfec

tion.

But altho' the feed of the word can NEVER be loft with refpect to both its effects, yet (as we have already obferved) it is too frequently loft with regard to its more defirble effect: If Mr Hill doubts of it, we refer him to the parable of the fower, where our Lord obferves that the good feed was thus left in three forts of people out of four, merely thro' the want of co-operation or concurrence on the part. of free will, which he calls good or bad ground foft or Alony ground, &c. according to the good or bad choice it makes, and according to the fleadiness or fickleness of that choice. And if Mr. Hill exclaims against the obvious meaning of so well known a portion of the gofpel, the world will eafily fee that fuppofing bir doc. trine of grace deferves to be called chaffe, when it prompts

prompts him to vindicate as openly as he dares, the profitableness of adultery and inceft to fallen believers; it by no means merits to be called devout, when it excites him to infinuate, that our Lord preached a Shocking, not to fay blafphemous" doctrine.

The Fictitious Creed,

ARTICLE X.

I BELIEVE that Chrift does not always give unto his sheep eternal life; but that they often perifb, and are by the power of Satan frequently "plucked out of his hand.""

WE

The Genuine Creed.

ARTICLE X.

E believe that Chrift's fheep mentioned in John x. are obedient perfevering believers; that is, as our Lord himself defcribes them John, x. 4, 5, 27. perfons that HEAR [i. es obey] his voice,and whom he KNOWS [i. e. approves :] Perfons that know (i. e. approve] his voice;-that know not [i. e. do not approve] the voice of frangers ;-and flee from a franger inftead of following him :-In a word, perfons that actually follow the good Shepherd in fome of his folds or paftures; In this defcription of a heef every verb is put in the prefent tenfe to fhew us that the word beep denotes a character, or perfon actually pof

feffed

feffed of fuch a character: So that the moment the character changes; the moment a man who once left all to follow Chrift, leaves Chrift to follow a firanger, he has no more to do with the name and privileges of a sheep, than a deferter or a rebel has to do with the name and privileges of his majesty's foldiers or fubjects.

According then to our doctrine, no freep of Chrifl, that is, no actual follower of the Redeemer perishes. We think it is fhocking to fay, that any of them are plucked out of his hand. On the contrary we frequently fay with St. Peter, Who will harm you [much more, who will feparate you from the love of Chrift] if you be followers of that which is good [i. e. if you be fheep and we infift upon the veracity of our Lord's promife, He that endureth unto the end in the character of a fheep, i, e. in the way of faith and obedience, the fame fall be [eternally] faved. And we maintain, that fo long as a believer does not make shipwreck of the faith and of a good confcience-fo long as he continues a beep, an harmlefs follower of the Lamb of God, he can no more perifh, than God's everlafting throne can be overturned. But what has this doctrine of our Lord to do with Calvinism ?

With regard to the fheep mentioned in Matt. xxv. 33, 34. whom our Lord calls BLESSED of his Father, we believe that they reprefent the multitude of obedient perfevering believers, whom two apoftles defcribe thus: BLESSED are they that do his [God's] commandments, that they may have right [or if Mr. Hill pleafes, privilege to the tree of life, and enter &c. into the city. Rev. xxii. 14.-BLESSED is the man that ENDURETH temptation: for WHEN he is tried, he shall receive the crown of LIFE, which the Lord hath promifed to THEM THAT LOVE HIM.- And this is the love of God that we keep his commandments. James, i, 12 1 John V. 3.--For

V.3.For fuch enduring, obedient believers a kingdom of glory is prepared from the foundation of the world; and to it they are and fhall be judicially elected; while the goats, i. e. unbelievers: or difobedient fallen believers, are and fhall be judicially reprobated from it. Hence it is, that when our Lord accounts for his judicial election of the obedient [whom he parabolically calls beep] he does not fay, Inherit the kingdom, &c. for I abfolutely finished your jalvation: but he says, Inherit the kingdom, for ye gave me meat, &c. ye fed the hungry from a right motive, and what you did in that manner, I reward it as if you had done it to my felf. In other terms, Ye heard my voice, and followed mẹ, in hearing the whispers of my grace and following the light of your difpenfation; and now I own you as my eternally-rewardable elect, my sheep, which have followed me without finally drawing back.

Again, when our Lord gives an account of the judicial reprobation of the finally disobedient, whom he parabolically calls goats, he does not fay, Depart ye curfed into everlafling fire prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I then abfolutely finifhed your eternal reprobation. No: this is the counter part of the gofpel of the day. But he fays, Depart, &c. for ye gave me no meat by feeding the hungry in your generation, &c. That is, ye did not believingly follow me in following your light and my precepts. Either you never began your courfe, or you' drew back before you had finished it. Either you never voluntarily lifted under my banner, or you deserted before you had fought the good fight out: Either you never believed in me the light of the world, and your light; or, instead of keeping the faith, you voluntarily, avoidably, unneceffarily, and refolutely made fhipwreck of it, and of a good conscience. And therefore your damnation is of your felves. You have perfonally forfeited

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