We find a great deal more to the fame purpofe in our author's letters; yea a great part of his book contains nothing but idle repetitions of what is advanced in the paffages juft now quoted, which indeed contain the very fubftance of his doctrine concerning the mifery of man's natural ftate and his recovery out of it. But his fentiments, with regard to thefe matters, will be found not only oppofite to what the Scripture teaches concerning man's natural corruption by fin, and his recovery by grace, but a very fink of errors and abominations. Here the moft grofs Arminianifm and Antinomianifm are fo artfully blended together, as to form a fcheme feemingly oppofite to both, while really it contains the very quinteffence of both. According to this fcheme, if a man ftung with remorfe and a fenfe of guilt, which on many occafions he can hardly avoid, will only admit the truth of the refurrection, or that Chrift died and rofe again for the benefit of the guilty; or give a rational affent to this propofition, That Jefus was delivered for our offences, and rofe again for our juftification, which he may and muft do, if he acknowledges the Scripture to be the word of God, and attends to the evidence of the facts recorded in the New Testament, he commences a true believer. And the affent which he gives to that truth, fo as to find fome kind of relief to his mind or confcience, is juftifying faith, and the spring of all true love and obedience to God. Having this faith, he becomes immediately furnished with every Chriftian grace, with every good difpofition and affection neceffary to influence him in the practice of holinefs. In fhort, by that which every thinking man must acknowledge to be no more than an act of natural reafon, having revealed truth for its object, he is justified and fanctified, becomes a new man, man, and is thoroughly furnished to every good work. Should we attempt to prove, that this is the very reverse of what the Scripture teaches concerning the misery of man by nature, the way of falvation by grace, and the neceffity of a fupernatural work of the divine Spirit upon the fouls of men, to convince them of fin, enlighten their minds in the knowledge of Chrift, renew their wills, and determine them to believe on the name of the Son of God; as alfo to incline and enable them to perform acceptable obedience to the divine law; it would only be to affront the understanding of any reader who has the leaft acquaintance with the Sacred Writings. And, indeed, to make good this point, we needed only transcribe the feveral paffages in the Old and New Testament, in which the leaft mention is made of any of the particulars above-named. Hence it appears, that the letter-writer does not without reafon fhew a warm oppofition to what all. found divines, fince the commencement of Chriftianity, have taught concerning the special agency of the Spirit of God in the beginning, and carrying on a work of grace and holiness in the hearts of believers, or in applying the benefits of redemp tion purchafed by Chrift to his chofen people; for according to his fcheme that is altogether unneceffary; as a natural confcience in every man, and his own reason, furnished with a new object of knowledge, or the truths of the gospel as materials to work upon, do fully fupply the place of it. And it must be owned, that with no lefs reafon he rejects that fenfe of the words, grace, converfion, regeneration, holiness, &c. which has hitherto been given by all who have paid any due regard to what the Scripture teaches in relation to these matters for grace, converfion, regeneration, holi ness, nefs, &c. which Chriftians have hitherto thought themfelves fufficiently warranted to call fruits of a gracious operation of the divine Spirit upon the fouls of men, muft, in his opinion, all be the produce of unrenewed nature improved by divine revelation; which every man, merely by the affiltance of natural reason, may fully understand, believe, and attain the whole benefit of. But to affert, that this is the sense given of the words abovementioned, in the New Teftament, fhews a degree of impudence, that is truly aftonishing, and feems to be Palamon's peculiar characteristic. Though, from what has been already obferved, it appears, that the whole of that religion which the author of the letters fo earnestly contends for, confifts only in fuch an improvement of the gofpel-revelation, as corrupt and unenlightened reafon directs to, with fome extravagant and whimfical conceits that have no foundation either in Scripture or reafon; yet if he only meets with the word rational in any of the writings or difcourfes of his antagonists concerning religion, he immediately takes occafion to charge them with fetting forth a merely rational, or natural scheme of justification, and confequently with corrupting and perverting the gospel of Chrift, and obfcuring the glory of the divine grace and fovereignty. Thus, he is pleased to tell us, that the popular preachers fometimes fet forth as rational and natural a scheme of juftification as any philofopher could defire. For proof of this, he refers his reader to a paffage in a fermon preached by that eminent and judicious divine Mr. Thomas Bfton. "Mr. Bofton," fays this Gentleman*, " as if "he had learned to apply mathematics to the Letters, &c. p. 167. "Chriftian doctrine, is ready to fhew us by what "ratio or rule of proportion we are to expect the "favours of divine grace or pardoning mercy to "be diftributed among men, who are yet acknow"ledged to be equally deftitute of any claim up on that grace, in a fermon upon Luke xxiii. 42. "intitled, The extraordinary cafe of the thief upon "the cross, &c. He fays, it is unreafonable to "think, that it fhould fare at the laft with those "who have had means of grace all their days, "and defpifed them, as it may do with those who "never have fuch means until they come to die." Afterwards he tells us, "that it is very common "with this eminent preacher, and others of "his clafs, when they emerge a little out of "their depths, to addrefs their hearers thus: "But we must deal with you as with rational "creatures, and work upon you by rational argu"ments." Hence Palamon would have his readers believe, that the scheme of religion recommended by these worthy men, in their fermons and writings, is wholly founded upon those dictates of human reafon by which men endeavour to fortify themfelves in their oppofition to the truth of the gofpel; though they have fallen upon a notable expedient for concealing their own real fentiments, by having frequent recourfe to mystery, and plunging into their favourite depths, whereby they endeavour to confound, and perplex the minds of their readers, or hearers, who otherwife might eafily perceive the native scope and tendency of their doctrine. Was there ever a greater degree of impotent malice than is difcovered in thefe infinuations? Are there not many texts of Scripture that a profane wrangler might pun upon in the fame man ner ner the letter-writer has done upon the words of Mr. Bofton, above-quoted? Does not the Spirit of God, in the Scriptures, frequently intimate, that the condition of fuch who have all their days abused and defpifed the means of grace, and rejected all the calls and invitations of mercy they have been privileged with, is far less hopeful, and more dangerous, than that of those who never enjoyed fuch privileges? If any doubt of this, we fhall only defire them to confult the following texts of Scripture, Pfal. lxxxi. 11, 12. Prov. i. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. Isa. vi. 9, 10. Fer. vi. 8. Hof. iv. 17. Luke xiii. 34, 35. Does not our Lord warn many who had attended his public miniftry, and been privileged with the calls and offers of his grace, and yet mifimproved the former, and rejected the latter, that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for them? Does he not plainly intimate, that their case was, even then, far lefs hope-· ful than that of those who never enjoyed the benefit of divine revelation*? : It is easy to fee, that these words of our Lord, and the paffages of Scripture formerly quoted, would furnish the letter-writer with abundantly more matter for difplaying his critical talent upon, and give more occafion for his impertinent cavils, than any thing advanced by Mr. Boston †, in that paf * Matt. xi. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. I have omitted the title of Reverend, leaft it fhould offend our author; who carries his refentment, not against the popular preachers only, but against minifters of the gofpel in general, fo far, as to envy them the fmail degree of honour and refpect imported therein, which has been usually paid to their office and character. Why he fhould bear fuch a grudge against men invested with that character, I know not, unless we may suppose he hates them for their work's fake. And |