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ration is perfifted in to the end of the day of falvation, the fin unto death is committed, the spirit is quenched in his faving operation, the apoftate dies the fecond death, and his corrupt foul is caft into the bottomless pit, as a putrid corpfe into the noisome grave.

Again, if faith has the advantage over works by giving them birth, works have the advantage over faith by perfecting it. Seeft thou, fays St. James, fpeaking of the Father of the faithful, how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And if St. Paul affirms, that works without faith are dead, St. James maintains, that faith without works is dead alfo.

Once more, Chrift is always the primary, original, properly-meritorious caufe of our juftification and falvation. To difpute it is to renounce the faith, and to plead for antichrift. And yet, to deny, that, under this primary caufe, there are fecondary, fubordinate, inftrumental caufes of our juftification, and confequently of our falvation, is to fet the bible afide, and fly in the face of judicious Calvinifts, who cannot help maintaining it, both from the pulpit and from. the prefs. Now if in the day of our converfion faith

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+ The Rev. Mr. Madan does not fcruple to call our faith" the 'inftrumental CAUSE" of our juftification. See his fermon on James ii. 24, printed by Fuller, London, 1761, page 18. And if we shall be juftified in the day of judgment BY our words, they fhall undoubtedly be at leaft an evidencing CAUSE of our final juftification. Hence it is that the fame jud cious divine fpeaks [p. 30, 1. 4, &c.] of our being "juftified in this threefold fenfe of the word, meritoriously " by Chrift, inftrumentally by faith, and declaratively by works, which are the fruits of faith."

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The reader will permit me to illuftrate the effential difference there is between primary and fecondary caufes, by the manner in which David became Saul's fon-in-law. The primary causes of this event were undoubtedly, on God's part, affifting power and wifdom; and on king Saul's part, a free promife of giving his daughter in marriage to the man, who fhould kill Goliah. The fecondary caufes [according to the Rev. Mr. Madan's plan] may be divided into inftrumental and declarative. The inftrumental caufes of David's honourable match, were his faith, his fling, his ftone, Goliah's fword, &c: And the declarative or evidencing caufes, were his works. He infifts upon fight

faith is the fecondary, fubordinate caufe of our acceptance as penitent finners; in the day of judgment works, even the works of faith, will be the fecondary fubordinate caufe of our acceptance as perfevering faints. Let us therefore equally decry dead faith and dead works, equally recommend living faith and its important fruits.

Hitherto I have endeavoured to check the rapid progress of fpeculative antinomianifm, that perpetually decries works, and centers in the following paragraph, which prefents without disguise the doctrine of the abfolute, unconditional perfeverance of adulterous believers, and incestuous faints.

Saving faith being immortal, can not only fubfift without the help of good works; but no aggravated crimes can give it a finishing ftroke. A believer may in cool blood murder a man, after having feduced his wife, without expofing himself to the leaft real danger of forfeiting either his heavenly inheritance, or the divine favour: because his falvation, which is finished in the full extent of the word, without any of his good works, cannot poffibly be fruftrated by any of his evil ones,

It will not be improper now to attempt a check to pharifaifm, which perpetually oppofes faith, and whofe deftructive errors collected in one pofition may

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ing the giant, he rencunces carnal weapons, puts on the armour of God, runs to meet his adversary, flings a fortunate ftone, brings his adverfary down, flies upon him, and cuts off his head. By thefe works he was evidenced a perfon duly qualified to marry the princefs; or, to keep to the Rev. Mr. Madan's expreffion, "by" thefe "works" he "declaratively" judged a man fit to be rewarded with the hand of the princess. Now not clear, that his works, upon the evi dence of which he received fuch a reward, had as important a part in his obtaining it, as the faith and fling by whofe inftrumentality he wrought the works? And is it not ftrange that the Rev. Mr. Madan fhould be an crthodox divine, when he fays, that "we are declaratively jufified by works," and that Mr. Wesley should be a dreadful heretick for faying, that we are faved not by the merit of works, but by works as a condition; or in other terms, that we are finally juftified not by works as the primary, meritorious caufe; but as a fecondary, evi-` dencing, declarative caufe?

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run thus: If people perform external acts of worfhip towards God, and of charity towards their neighbour; their principles † are good enough: and fhould they be faulty, thefe good works will make ample amends for that deficiency. Upon this common plan of doctrine, if the filthy fepulchre is but whitewashed, and the noisome grave adorned with a flowery turf, it little matters what is within, whether it be a dead man's bones, a dead heart fwelled with pride, or all manner of corruption.

It is hard to fay, who do christianity moft differvice, the folifidians, who affert that works are nothing before God; or the pharifees, who maintain that certain religious ceremonies, and external duties of morality are the very foul of religion. O thou, true believer, bear thy teftimony against both their errors; and equally contend for the tree and the fruit, the faith of St. Paul and the works of St. James; remembring that if ever the gates of hell prevail against thee, it will be by making thee over-value faith and defpife good works, or over-rate works and flight precious faith.

The world, I grant, is full of Gallios, eafy or bufy men, who feldom trouble themselves about faith or works, law or gofpel. Their latitudinarian principles perfectly agree with their loofe conduct and if their volatile minds are fixed, it is only by a steady adherence to fuch commandments as thefe: "Be not righteous over much : ·Get and spend: · Marry or be given in marriage: - Eat and drink:-Lie down to fleep and rife up to play: Care neither for heaven nor hell:- Mind all of earth but the awful spot allotted thee for a grave: &c." However, while they punctually obferve this decalogue, their confcience

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The ingenious author of a new book, called Effays on public worship, patriotifm, &c: does not fcruple to fend fuch an exhortation abroad into the world. "Let us fubftitute honesty instead of faith. "It is the only foundation of a moral character, and it ought to be "the only teft of our religion. It should not fignify what, or how "little a man believed, if he was honeft, This would put "chriftianity upon the best footing." See the Monthly Review for March 1773.

is fometimes awakened to a fenfe of corroding guilt, commonly called uneafinefs, or low fpirits and if they cannot shake it off by new fcenes of diffipation, new plunges into fenfual gratifications, new fchemes of hurrying business; if a religious concern fastens upon their breasts, the Tempter deludes them, by making his falfe coin pafs for the gold tried in the fire. If his dupes will have faith, he makes them take up with that of the antinomians. If they are for works, he recommends to them those of the self-righteous. And if fome feem cut out to be brands in the church; fiery, perfecuting, implacable zealots; he gives them a degree in the univerfity of Babel: One is a Batchelor of the fcience of fophiftry, an other a Master of the liberal art of calumny, and a third a Doctor in human, or diabolical divinity: But if all these graduates have not as much faith as Simon Magus, or as many works as the conceited pharifee; yet they may have as much zeal for the church as the bigot, who fet out from Jerufalem for Damafcus in pursuit of heretics. They may fometimes purfue thofe, who diffent from them, even unto ftrange cities.

Has not the world always fwarmed with those devotees, who, blindly following after faith without loving obedience, or after obedience without loving faith, have made havock of the church, and driven myriads of worldly men to a fettled contempt of godlinefs while a few, by equally ftanding up for true faith and univerfal obedience, have alone kept up the honour of religion in the world? Take a general view of the church, and you will fee this obfervation confirmed by a variety of black, bright, and mixt characters.

The first man born of a woman, is a striking picture of perverted mankind He is at once a fullen pharifee, and a grofs antinomian: he facrifices to God, and murders his brother. Abel, the illuftrious type of converted finners, truly believes, and acceptably facrifices. Faith and works fhine in his life with equal luftre; and in his death we fee what the godly

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may expect from the impious church and the pious world. Protomartyr for the doctrine of this check, he falls the firft innocent victim to pharifaical pride and antinomian fury. The fons of God mix with the daugh ters of men, learn their works, and make shipwreck of the faith. Enoch nevertheless truly believes in God, and humbly walks with him: Faith and works equally adorn his character. The world is foon full of mifbelief, and the earth of violence. Noah however believes and works: he credits God's word, and builds the ark. This wORK condemns the world, and he becomes heir of the righteousness which is by FAITH.

Confider Abraham; fee how he believes and works! God fpeaks, and he leaves his house, his eftate, his friends, and native country. His faith works by love : he expofes his life to recover his neighbour's property, he readily gives up to Lot his right of choice to prevent a quarrel, he earneftly intercedes for Sodom, he charitably hopes the best of its wicked inhabitants, he gladly entertains ftrangers, humbly washes their feet, diligently inftructs his houfhold, and fubmiffively offers up Ifaac his favourite fon, the child of his old age, the hope of his family, his own heir, and that of God's promife: by these works his faith is made perfect, and he deferves to be called the Father of the faithful.

Moles treads in his steps: he believes, quits Pharaoh's court, and fuffers affliction with the people of God. Under his conduct the Ifraelites believe, obey, and cross the red fea with an high hand; but foon after they murmur, rebel, and provoke divine vengeance. Thus the deftruction, which they had avoided in Gofhen thro' obedient faith, they meet in the wilderness thro' the works of unbelief. Nature is up in arms to punish their backflidings. The peftilence, the fword, earthquakes, fiery ferpents, and fire from heaven, combine to deftroy the ungrateful, antinomian apoftates.

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