(1) For the fame reafon which made him give celeftial grace to the angels who became devils by fquandering it away-paradifaical grace, to our firft parents --expoftulating, Gentile grace to Cain-jewish, royal grace to Saul-and chriftian, apoftolic-grace to Judas. If Mr. Hill fays he does not understand what that reafon is we anfwer: By the fame reafon which induced the Mafter who corrected Mr. Hill for making a bad exercise at Weftminfter fchool, to give his pupil pen, paper, ink, and proper inftruction, before he could reasonably call Mr. Hill to an account for his exercife. And by the fame reafon which would make all Shropshire cry out against Mr. Hill, as against a tyrannical mafter, fuppofe he horfe-whipped his coachman and poftilion for not driving him, if he had taken away from them boots, whips, fpurs, harness, coach and herfes; and if he had contrived himself the fall of their apartment, that they might put all their bones out of joint, when the floor gave way under them.

(2) If Mr. Hill is not fatisfied with these illuftrations, we will give him fome direct anfwers. God gives a manifeftation of his grace to those who make their reprobation fure by finally refifting his gracious Spirit, Fir: BECAUSE he will fhow himself as he is, gracious and merciful, true and long suffering towards all, fo long as the day of their vifitation lats. Thus he beflows a talent of grace upon all his flothful fervants who bury it to the laft, because he will difplay his equity and goodness, altho' they will difplay their wickedness and floth.-- -Secondly, BECAUSE he is determined, that if thofe fervants will deftroy themfelves, their blood fhall be upon THEIR OWN heads, according to the well known fcriptures, O Ifrael, THOU hift defroyed THYSELF. I would-and YE WOULD NOT:--Thirdly, BECAUSE God will judge the world in tightenfness, and difplay his diftributive juftice in renZ2 dering

dering to all according to THEIR WORKS; DESERVEDLY cloathing his finally-unfaithful fervants with fhame; and making the faithful walk with him in white, beCufe THEY ARE [evangelically) WORTHY. And, to fum all in up one, BECAUSE the two Gospel axioms are firm as the pillars of heaven and hell; and God will difplay their truth before men and angels, and efpecially before pharifees and antinomians. Now according to the firfl axiom, there is a Saviour, a meafure of faving grace, and a day of initial falvation for all. And according to the fecond axiom, there is freewillin all, and a day of judgment, with a final falvation or damnation for all, according to their good or bad works, that is, according to their free-agency; the good works of the righteous being the product of their free, avoidable co-operation with God's grace; and the bað works of the wicked fpringing from their free, avoid-able rebellion against that grace.

Hence it appears, that the 2d. Article of the fictitious creed contains indeed 66 a Shocking, not to fay blafphemous" confequence; but that this confequence is nothing but a fprig of Mr. Hill's fuppofed "orthodoxy," abfurdly grafted upon the fuppofed" herefy" which St. John and St. Paul maintain in thefe words: He (Chrift) was the true light, which lighteth EVERY MAN that cometh into the world-The GRACE Of God, which bringeth SALVATION, has appeared unto ALL MEN, TEACHING [not forcing] us to deny ungodliness, &c. and to live foberly, &c. [if we are obedient to its TEACHINGS.]

The

The Fictitious Creed,

ARTICLE III.

I Believe it depends WHOLLY on the will of the creature, whether he shall or shall not RECEIVE ANY benefit from divine Grace.”

The Genuine Creed.

ARTICLE II.

E believe that the benefits of a temporary re

W demption, of a day of falvation, and of the

free-gift which came upon all men to the juflification mentioned Rom. v. 18.- We believe, I fay, that these benefits, far from "depending wholly on the will of the creature" as to the receiving of them, depend no more upon us than our fight, and the light of the fun. All thofe bleffings are at firfl as gratuitoufly, and irrefiftibly bestowed upon us, for Chrift's fake, in our prefent manner of exiftence; as the divine image and favour were at firfl beftowed upon our first parents in paradife with this only difference: Before the fall their paradifaical grace came immediately from God -our Creator: whereas fince the fall, our penitential grace comes immediately and irrefiflibly from God our Redeemer :-I fay irrefiflibly, because God does not leave to our option whether we shall receive a talent of redeeming grace or no, any more than he left it to Adam's choice whether Adam fhould receive five talents of creative grace or no: Although afterwards he gives us leave to bury or improve our talent of redeeming grace,

grace, as he gave leave to Adam to bury or improve his five talents of creative grace. Our doctrine of the general redemption and free-agency of mankind ftands therefore upon the fame fcriptural and rational ground, which bears up Mr. Hill's fyftem of man's creation and moral-agency in paradife; it being im poffible to make any objection against the perfonal lofs of redeeming grace in Judas, that may not be retorted against the perfonal loss of creative grace in Adam or Satan.

But, with refpect to all the temporal and eternal benefits, which God has promifed by way of REWARD to his every good and faithful fervant, we believe that they depend upon the concurrence of two caufes, the first of which is the free-grace of God in Jefus Chrift; and the fecond, the faithfulness of our affifted and rectified Free-will; which faithfulness is graciously crowned by God's remunerative juftice and evangelical veracity. And, instead of blushing at this doctrine, as if it were "Shocking," we glory in it as being perfectly rational, ftrictly fcriptural, and equally diftant from the two rocks again which Calvininian orthodoxy is dafhed in pieces: I mean the twin doctrines of wanton free-grace, and eternal freewrath, according to which God without any refpect to the faith or unbelief, to the good or bad works of free-agents, abfolutely ordained for fome of them the robe of Chrift's imputed righteoufnefs, and the unavoidable reward of eternal life by means of unavoi table faith while he abfolutely appointed for all the reft the robe of Adam's imputed unrighteoufnefs, and the unavoidable punishment of eternal death, by means of neceffary, unavoidable unbelief.

:

The

The Fictitious Creed.

ARTICLE IV.

THOUGH the fcripture tells me that the carnal mind is enmity against God, yet I believe that there is fomething in the heart of every natural man, "that can nourish and cherish the grace of God; and that the fole reafon why this grace is effectual in fome "and not in others, is entirely owing to themfelves, and s to their own faithfulness, and not to the diftinguishing love and favour of God."

THOUGH the fcripture tells us that the carnal mind is enmity against God, and that the flesh lufleth against the fpirit, yet we believe, that from the time 'God initially raifed mankind from their fall, and promifed them the celeftial Bruifer of the ferpent's head, there is a GRACIOUS free-agency in the heart of every man who has not yet finned away his day of falvation; and that, by means of this GRACIOUS free-agency, all men, during the accepted time, can concur with, and work under the grace of God, according to the difpenfation they belong to.-Again, we believe that no child of Adam is a natural man in the "Calvinian fenfe of the word-[i. e. abfolutely deftitute of all faving grace] except he who has actually finned away his day of grace. And when we confider man as abfolutely gracelefs, or as a child of wrath in the higheft fenfe of the word, we confider him in fallen Adam,