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"the second table, because those of the "first are often counterfeit, and practised in

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hypocrisy. St. John saith, that a man "doth vainly boast of loving God, whom "he hath not seen, if he love not his bro66 ther, whom he hath seen: and St. James saith, this is true religion and undefiled, "to visit the fatherless and the widow: so "as that which is with these zealots but philosophical and moral, is in the Apostles' phrase true religion and Christianity." There are too many of these zealots in this nation; a set of ignorant illiterate men, of a very different description of character from real respectable Calvinists; and whom, if he were alive, Calvin would never acknowledge as his disciples, though they have the presumption to call themselves Calvinists. These men do infinite mischief, by alienating the minds of the lower classes of the community from their lawful ministers, from the ministers of the Established Church; falsely asserting, that the latter do not preach the Gospel, and that they are not Gospel ministers a most cruel and unjust assertion, deserving of the most marked and severest reprehension; because it goes to the dreadful length of destroying all spiritual confidence

on the part of the parishioner towards his lawful minister, and thereby renders his best efforts of instruction entirely ineffective and nugatory. I believe all the Clergy of the Established Church preach, that, in consequence of the fall of Adam, such is the natural frailty and corruption of human nature, that, without the aid of the grace of God, and his holy Spirit, it cannot of itself either please God, or obey him: likewise they preach, that Jesus Christ descended from heaven, was incarnate by the Holy Ghost, suffered death on the cross for the sins of mankind; that he arose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and there graciously condescends to be a Mediator and Intercessor with his heavenly Father, to pardon the sins and frailties of mankind: further, that it is only by the merits of Jesus Christ, his Redeemer, that any man can expect to have his sins pardoned, be justified, or expect admission into the kingdom of heaven: they further preach, that every man at his best state is only an unprofitable servant; and that every good and perfect gift is from above, and its possession entirely derived from the spontaneous goodness of God, and not from any merit in man. This is, I

apprehend, to preach the genuine doctrines of the Gospel with respect to faith. They likewise preach largely, and frequently, earnestly inculcate, and strongly insist on, the observance of the duties of Christian charity and morality and if it is the great object and peculiar duty of a Gospel minister to imitate, as closely as he can, the conduct of God himself, his Prophets, that of our blessed Saviour, and his Apostles, they are then justified by these great examples in this their present mode of preaching. Are not the Ten Commandments of God, which he addressed and enjoined to the observance of the human race, all moral? And with respect to the whole duty he expressly informs. us by his prophet Micah he requires man to perform, two of its members, namely, doing justly and loving mercy, are entirely moral : and if walking humbly with God is not wholly to be classed under this denomination, it is so greatly connected with it, that without morality it is impossible to do so. Is not our Saviour's sermon on the mount entirely on the subject of Christian morality? And do not the Epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, and St. James, all of them, with force, frequency, and a divine elo

quence, inculcate that very Christian morality, which these men, improperly called Calvinists, censure the Clergy of the Established Church for inculcating? Before these men presume to dictate to the regular Clergy, they should reflect, that the lower classes of the people have no opportunity or means of studying moral philosophy, or of reading such moral books as the Spectator, Guardian, &c. and that if the welfare of themselves, their families, and society, require that their passions should be under discipline and subjection, this discipline and subjection can be accomplished only by instruction received from the pulpit. And they should know likewise, that if their own style of preaching was to be generally adopted throughout the nation, it would be disgracefully filled with hypocrites, fanatics, and enthusiasts, as it formerly was during the usurpation of that great hypocrite, Oliver Cromwell, who, to favour his secular views, adopted himself, and encouraged in others, this very species of fanaticism and enthusiasm, infallibly destructive of the very vital essence of that real religion, which is so well and effectively inculcated by the present mode of preaching adopted by the regular

Clergy of this country, and which it is most devoutly to be wished they will neither alter or relinquish; especially as there is every reason to believe there are as many, or more, sincere and devout Christians in this kingdom, as in an equal number of persons of the same rank in any other whatsoever or if in this estimate I should be considered as assuming too much, (which I believe those who have passed any time on the continent will not imagine,) let any person reflect on the present state of morality and piety in England, and compare it with the state in which it prevailed during the Protectorship of Oliver Cromwell, or during the reign of Charles the Second. By reference to the history and very different characters of these two potentates, we find a confirmation of the adage, “Qualis "rex talis grex ;" and how much the state of morality and piety, and the manners of a nation, depend on the reigning monarch. It is therefore only just to ascribe much of this present superior degree of morality and piety to the personal example of his present Majesty, and to the great attention he has invariably paid, during his whole reign, to the promotion of both. At the same time it is equally just and reasonable to impute an

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