it in his head, to convene all the divines that disapprove the extract of Zanchius, to go with him in a body to Mr. Toplady's chapel, and demand a formal recantation of that performance, as heretical; yea to insist upon it, before they had "measured swords, or broken a pike together :" Would not the translator of Zanchius, from the ramparts of common sense, deservedly laugh at him, and ask whether he thought to frighten him by his protests, and bully him into orthodoxy? O Sir, have we not fightings enough without, to employ all our time and strength? Must we also declare war and promote fightings within? Must we catch at every opportunity to stab one another, because the livery of truth which we wear is not turned up in the same manner? What can be more cruel than this? What can be more cutting to an old minister of Christ, than to be traduced as "a dreadful heretic," in printed letters sent to the best men in the land, yea, through all England and Scotland, and signed by a person of your rank and piety; to have things that he knows not, that he never meant, laid to his charge, and dispersed far and near? While he is gone to a neighbouring kingdom, to preach Jesus Christ, to have his friends prejudiced, his foes elevated, and the fruit of his extensive ministry at the point of being blasted! Put yourself in his place, Sir, and you will see that the wound is deep, and reaches the very heart. I can apologize for the other "real Protestants." Some are utter strangers to polemic divinity; others are biassed by high Calvinism; and one, whose name is used, never saw your circular. letter till it was in print. But what can I say for you, Sir? Against hope I must believe in hope, that an unaccountable panic influenced your mind, and deprived you for a time of the calmness and candour which adorn your natural temper. If this is the case, may you act with less precipitancy for the future! And may the charity that hopeth all things, believeth all things, does not provoke, and is not provoked,' rule in our hearts and lives! So shall the Heathen world drop their just objections against our unhappy divisions, and once more be forced to cry out, "See how these Christians love!" And so shall we give over trying to disturb, or pull down a part of the church of Christ, because we dislike the colour of the stones with which it is built; or because our fellow-builders cannot pronounce Shibboleth just as we do. One word more about Mr. W., and I have done. Of the two greatest and most useful ministers I ever knew, one is no more. The other, after amazing labours, flies still with unwearied diligence through the three kingdoms, calling sinners to repentance, and to the healing fountain of Jesu's blood. Though oppressed with the weight of near seventy years, and the care of near thirty thousand souls, he shames still, by his unabated zeal and immense labours, all the young ministers in England, perhaps in Christendom. He has generally blown the gospel trump, and rode twenty miles, before most of the professors who despise his labours, have left their downy pillow. As he begins the day, the week, the year, so he concludes them, still intent upon extensive services for the glory of the Redeemer, and the good of souls. And shall we lightly lift up our pens, our tongues, our hands against him? No, let them rather forget their cunning! If we will quarrel, can we find nobody to fall out with, but the minister upon whom God puts the greatest honour ? Our Elijah has lately been translated to heaven. Grey-headed Elisha is yet awhile continued upon earth. And shall we make a hurry and noise, to bring in railing accusations against him with more success? While we pretend to a peculiar zeal for Christ's glory, shall the very same spirit be found in us, which made his persecutors say, 'He hath spoken blasphemy,' (or heresy,) what need we any further witnesses?' Shall the sons of the prophets, shall even children in grace and knowledge, openly traduce the venerable seer, and his abundant labours? When they see him run upon his Lord's errands, shall they cry, not, 'Go up, thou bald-head,' but "Go up, thou heretic?" Oh, Jesus of Nazareth, thou rejected of men, thou, who wast once called a deceiver of the people,' suffer it not!; lest the raging bear of persecution come suddenly out of the wood upon those sous of discord, and tear them in pieces. And suppose a Noah, an old preacher of righteousness, should have really nodded under the influence of an honest mistake, shall we act a worse part than that of Canaan? Shall we make sport of the nakedness, which, we say, he has disclosed, when we have boldly uncovered it ourselves? O God, do not thou permit it, lest a curse of pride, self-sufficiency, bigotry, Antinomianism, and bitter zeal, come upon us; and lest the children, begotten by our unkind preaching and unloving example, walk in our steps and inherit our propagated punishment! Rather, may the blessing of peace-makers be ours: May the meek, loving Spirit of Jesus fill our hearts! May streams, not of the bitter waters which cause the curse, but of the living water which gladdens the city of God, flow from our Catholic breasts, and put out the fire of wild zeal and persecuting malice! May we know when Sion is really in danger; and when the accuser of the brethren gives a false alarm to disturb the peace of the church, and turn the stream of undefiled, lovely, and loving religion, into the miry channel of obstinate prejudice, imperious bigotry, and noisy vain-jangling. And may we at last unanimously worship together in the temple of peace, instead of striving for the mastery in the house of discord! Should this public attempt to stop the war which has been publicly declared, be in any degree successful ;— should it check, a little, the forwardness that has lately appeared to stir up contention, under pretence of opposing heresy;-should it make warm men willing to let the light of their moderation shine before the world, and to 'keep a conscience void of offence' towards their neighbours, instead of openly opposing their liberty of conscience; should it cause the good that is in an eminent servant of Christ, to be less evil spoken of:-And above all, should it convince any of the great impropriety of exposing precious truths as "dreadful heresies;" and of preferring the gospel of Dr. Crisp, to the truth as it is in Jesus'-I shall be less grieved at having been obliged to expostulate with you, Sir, in this public manner. In hopes this will be the case, and with a heart full of ardent wishes that all our unhappy divisions may end in a greater union, I remain, Hon. and Rev. Sir, Your obedient Servant, In the peaceable Gospel of Jesus Christ, J. FLETCHER. July 29, 1771. A SECOND CHECK ΤΟ Antinomianism : (OCCASIONED BY A LATE NARRATIVE) IN THREE LETTERS TO THE HON. AND REV. MR. SHIRLEY. BY THE VINDICATOR OF THE REV. MR. WESLEY'S MINUTES. Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and (scriptural) Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith- VOL. I. |