Spirit within them, to the word of God, or his Spirit fpeaking in the Scriptures: but the letterwriter, doubtlefs animated by the fame fpirit of error, has hit upon a new artifice for corrupting and overthrowing the true doctrine of the gofpel, viz. that of oppofing the grace of God manifested 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 thofe who have the leaft 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 conversion and falvation; or the work of Christ finished upon the cross, and his powerful and gracious work upon the hearts of finners, 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 fuppofed, or exprefsly declared to be equally neceffary to falvation with the former. And therefore whoever, on pretence of afferting 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 This is, at bottom, nothing else but their own blind and depraved reafon, which is fometimes influenced and elevated to a greater height of oppofition to the truth, by the fuggeftions, illufions, and impulfes of the evil spirit. lefs lefs an enemy to the grace and cross of Christ, and the fouls and falvation of men, than if he denied both. Hence it appears, that Palamon, inftead of being a friend and lover of the true apoftolic gospel; a character which he vainly arrogates to himself, and appropriates to thofe of his fraternity; is really a corrupter and fubverter thereof; no lefs. an enemy to the cross of Christ, and the true doctrine of imputed righteoufnefs, than thofe who openly impugn, deny, and vilify the fame. How far this charge is juft, will beft appear by comparing fome of his tenets, refpecting the matter now under confideration, with the true doctrine of the gospel taught by the apoftles, and in other parts of the Sacred Writings. The Spirit of God speaking by the apostles, and other infpired 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 falvation of finners: Palamon plainly infinuates that no fuch thing is neceffary. The infpired 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 gofpel; fo that the word, however clearly preached, may be, and is to fome the favour of death unto death*. Palemon 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 infeparable; fo that in no refpect whatever it can be truly faid, that the word of God is to any a dead or vi. 5. 2 Cor. ii. 16. Luke xiii. 34. Ifai. vi. 9, 10. Hof. + Letters, p. 361. killing letter. The apoftles 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 leaft ray of divine glory Shining in the face of Jefus Chrift, however clearly manifefted in the external difpenfation of the gospel this Palamon will not admit; but, in a manner eafy to be understood, frequently infinuates, that if any kind of agency, or operation of the divine Spirit, is fuppofed to be previous to the actual knowledge and belief of the truth, it must be acknowledged, that fomething befides the righteoufnefs of Chrift, or faith in that righteoufnefs, is neceffary to the juftification of finner; and that to affert the neceffity of any fuch thing, is to fhut 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 apoftles 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 refting upon him, as an all-fufficient Saviour, and fubmitting and yielding cordial fubjection to him, as their King and Lord, a divine power muft concur with the word of the gofpel, 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 Ghoft alfo ufes to denote the fame thing, that they muft be made willing in the day of bis power. 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. Pfal. cx. 3. any any fuch enlightening, renewing and humbling work of the divine Spirit upon the hearts of men, is neceffary in order to make them know and believe the truth, fo as really to enjoy the benefit and comfort of the divine righteoufnefs, Palamen 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 ferves only to make thofe who imagine they have any experience of it, entertain a fond conceit of their own excellency; as if they were more deferving objects of faving grace than the reft of mankind It were eafy to multiply inftances of this kind; but we forbear. From thofe already adduced, we leave the impartial to judge, whether the letterwriter has acted an ingenuous part in dignifying his new scheme of Chriftianity with the high title of the ancient apoftolic gospel. As it must be obvious to every attentive reader, I reckon it unneceffary to obferve how artfully and ungenerously, as is the manner of the man, Palemon has mifreprefented the doctrine taught by thofe whom he calls the popular preachers concerning the internal, and fupernatural operation of the divine Spirit in regeneration and converfion; if the fcope and tendency of it was to perfuade men, that they must have experience, and be confcious of fomething of this kind in order to prepare and qualify them for, and make them deferving objects of faving grace; or, which muft be his meaning if he fpeaks to the purpose, to give them a diftinguishing right to the b'effings of the gospel, or the benefit of the divine righteoufnefs; whereas it is quite the reverfe. For those eminent preachers, whofe character he chiefly attacks, when giving an account of a faving work of the Spirit of God upon the hearts of men, ftill declare, that the great defign of it is to empty men of all felfrighteousness, and self-confidence, and to convince them of the folly of all imaginary claims to the divine favour, founded on any perfonal excellency, attainments, frames, experiences; or, in short, on any thing done by them, or wrought in them, whereby they are diftinguished from the reft 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 Jefus, exhibited in the promises of the gofpel, as their righteousness, strength, falvation, and all in all. Do they not conftantly affirm, that this is a neceffary 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, fo as to be juftified by his blood, and faved from wrath through him? The hinge of the controverfy, then, between Palamon and his principal antagonists, is not, whether men ought to renounce all confidence in their own righteoufnefs, 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 reft of mankind? for this they readily grant, and teach, with as much plainners and unreserved 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, Marfball, Guthry, Boflon, and Erskines, against whom the letter writer |