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him to the crofs," and that "his prayers had without doubt the defired effect with regard to many of them, who afterwards repented." But the queftion is not, what they did afterwards? Were they then" difpofed to improve the grace," I fay not, conferred, but offered to them? Were they not then impenitent? And if his prayer had the defired effect," was not this "procuring substantial good?" Nay, he tells us in another place, where he feems difpofed to be more liberal of merit to his nominal Mafter,

We may justly confider him as, in this inftance, pleading the caufe of all finners, in every age of the world, "whether they be fuch as reject the faith of the gospel, or "fuch as, profeffing to believe, do not yield obedience to "it" Was this "doing nothing for the impenitent?" Yes, according to our author himself in that place, it was. doing all that he could as Mediator; for, fays he, "he executed on the cross the priestly office of making interceffion." But indeed, it was "doing nothing' at all, in ftrict language; for, according to him, any believer may do as much, in a meritorious fenfe, as the Redeemer did. He would fain make the prayers and repentance of finners meritorious, before they can derive any benefit from Chrift. Therefore, be fays, " Our Lord's interceffion may avail to procure a refpite for finners,-and the pardon of their fins upon repentance. +" But it is a hard tafk; for, as he cannot deny, he "made interceffion for the tranfgreffors." Indeed, when he mentions this text, rather than grant that the interceffion of Chrift is truly efficacious for the converfion of the elect, he impioufly extends it to "the vessels of wrath," to "all finners;" even those who continue to "reject the faith of the gospel;" that it might feem from the event, to be equally ineffectual as to all. But is he not exalted for this very purpose, " to give repentance unto Ifrael, and the remiffion of fins ?" Nay, does he not actually pray for his own who are yet in a state of unbelief? This our author confeffes in the paffage already viewed; but he materially denies it in another. He prays for them, indeed, as those who shall believe, John xvii. 20, 21. but he at the fame time prays for faith to them. What is the meaning of thefe words otherwife? "That they alfo may be one in us." Does not this fignify a moft intimate union to God M 2 † P. 283. 1. 17.

*P. 172. 1. 16.

in

in Chrift by faith? He mentions them under the charac ter of "those who fhall believe on me through their words," not as fignifying that they could believe of themfelves, or that the grace of faith is effentially different from this union, for it is the great bond of it on their part, and "Chrift dwells in our hearts by faith;" but to diftinguish them, not only from those who already believed, but from those who should never believe, as not being his sheep, as not given to him by the Father. These words, then, only denote the extent of Chrift's interceffion, as reaching not only to actual believers, but to all "the veffels of mercy, and the limits of it, as reaching to fuch alone; and thus merely contain a diftinctive character; ufed in the fame fenfe with thofe formerly used in this memorable prayer, fuch as the following: "As many as thou haft given "him. The men which thou gavest me out of the world; ❝ —thine,-mine."-It is not a mere brotherly union that he here prays for; but a myftical union to God in the Mediator, that they may be one in us.

That this high honour may be our attainment, however much defpifed by the carnal mind, as, in its proper meaning, foolishness, is the ardent defire of,

MY BRETHREN,

Your very humble Servant,

A FRIEND TO TRUTA.

LETTER

LETTER IV.

To the Lay-Members of the Church of ScorLAND, and especially to thofe of the COLLEGIATE CHURCH of AYR.

IN

MY BRETHREN,

N my laft, I followed the Doctor through his labyrinth of error with refpect to feveral very important doctrines, the Perfon and Operations of the Holy Spirit, the Neceffity of an Atonement, the Subftitution of Chrift as our Surety, the Reality of that atonement made by him, Reconciliation, and the Interceffion of our glorious Advocate. I only mean further to illuftrate and examine his doctrine in regard to the Merit of good Works, and the Deity of Chrift.

After what has been already adduced, it may feem almoft fuperfluous to add any thing to prove, that our author is a warm friend to the doctrine of the MERIT of good works, and that he fubftitutes this in the room of the finished work of the Redeemer.

We have already feen that he declares, that "the holi"nefs and righteoufnefs of Chrift can procure fubftantial "good to none, but thofe who are difpofed to improve "the grace conferred on them through him." Compare this with the language of inspiration. "God commendeth "his love to us, in that while we were finners Chrift died "for us, for the ungodly,- for enemies,-for those who were without ftrength," Rom. v. 6. &c. "Herein is

"love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and "fent his Son to be the propitiation for our fins," 1 John iv. 10.

P. 288. 1. 5. &c-Though he grants that the worthiness of the righteous" is no equivalent for the rewards which God hath prepared," yet he defends it as real merit ;

"There

"There must be worth or merit in all that fhall be finally "admitted to the happiness of heaven." "The lowest "degree of virtue may be faid to have merit in it, com

66

pared with vice*." This he directly opposes to the merit of Chrift. It only ceafes to be merit in the perfon of a furety: "No man can merit rewards for others. Here he adduces feveral texts to fupport his doctrine. Luke xx. 35-Accounted worthy to obtain that world. Chap. xxi. 36.Accounted worthy to efcape all these things. Rev. iii. 4.They fhall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. No found divine denies the worthinefs of the faints. But there is a great difference between the worthiness of the perfon and that of his works. There may be a real worthiness attributed to the perfon, without afcribing this to his works, as the cause of it. There may be worthinefs in respect of fitness or evidence, where there is none in the fense of merit. The faints are accounted worthy. They are legally reckoned fo at the bar of God. But this does not say, that it is on the foot of their own performances. Such paffages must be explained according to the analogy of faith. They derive all their worthiness from that of the Lamb. To give but one evidence of this, let us examine the fense of Rev. iii. 4. Who are those that are worthy? The next verse tells us. They are fuch as overcome. But how do they overcome? It is "through the blood of the Lamb." In this refpect God "fees no iniquity in Jacob," which is more than the Doctor afcribes to the merit of his works: "For no ordinary man's virtue can come up to the purity. and rectitude of the divine law +"

P. 353. 1. 22. Chriftians are "fanctified by the Spirit"that they may be made obedient to his command, and "fo have their guilt washed away, according to the terms "of that new covenant," &c. What are thefe terms? Repentance and converfion. Remiflion of fins is in fcripture, indeed, afcribed to the blood of Chrift. But the author easi ly removes the force of this. "If these effects belong to "the covenant itfelf, they may with great truth and pro

priety be afcribed to that by which the covenant was "rendered valid ‡."- -Thefe flow from the blood of Chrift, only because this confirmed the new covenant, promifing falvation upon repentance and obedience.§"The

covenant

* P. 287. foot. † P. 287. l. 17. P. 353. 1. 11. § P. 360,

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covenant" of grace is made valid, according to his fove-
"reign appointment" (that is, the appointment of God
the author of it) just as any fign confirms a deed, not from
any virtue in the fign, but from its being used with this
fpecial defign. Nay, he goes the length of defcribing the
efficacy of the blood of Chrift in relation to the covenant,
by making baptifm analogous to it*. In a word, this
blood goes as far to confirm the threatnings of the law as
the promises of the gospel: For the gospel covenant devif-
ed by this gentleman includes legal terrors, as well as evan-
gelical comforts.But while he confiders the death
of Chrift as tending to confirm faith in the way of evidence,
he afcribes no merit to it as preparing a new nature to
those who are dead in trefpaffes and fins: "Our deliverance
"or purgation from the guilt of fin, flows in reality from
"the covenant, which promises and affures us of pardon
<< upon repentance; and yet we often find it ascribed to
"the blood that was fhed to ratify the covenant ‡”-
What is this covenant according to him? A covenant made
"with finful men :" A covenant, the condition of which
is repentance. Thus with him, "deliverance from the
"guilt of fin flows in reality" from our own repentance,
though in fcripture afcribed to the blood of Chrift. Here
the author muft either be viewed as afking leave to differ
from the word of God, or as representing it as a book tend-
ing to impose upon the weak and illiterate, and often attri-
buting the most important concerns of man to one caufe,
which in reality belong to another, entirely different, fre-
quently directly oppofite. To prove the foregoing doctrine,
he introduces a text apparently very much against him :
"The blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cleanfeth us from all
fin §." This he understands as fignifying that our fins are
pardoned by a covenant "confirming remiffion to all the
penitent and obedient." But if the blood of Chrift cleanses
from all fin, furely it muft cleanfe from impenitence and
difobedience, by removing the guilt of thefe fins, and
bringing fome who are under their power to godly re-
pentance and new obedience. Either thefe must not
be reckoned fins, or they are included in the all fin men-
tioned in the text. We do not mean that it cleantes from

* P. 361. l.
§ John i. 7.

9.

thefe,

† P. 363. 1. 16.

361. foot.

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