LETTER II. Winchefter-Row Dear Brother and Fellow-Labourer, LOVING-kindness crown thee both in thy ftudy, and in the pulpit. Your's I gladly received, but fhall return no thanks for the encomiums you have made on my experience, judgment, or penetration. If we experience life, it is the breath of the fecond Adam: if we have the light of knowledge, it is the gift of God, in which we difcern and embrace his revealed mind and will concerning us; therefore to him be all the glory from everlasting to everlasting. Let them feed on applaufe, and fing of merit, who are perfect in the flesh; but, for my part, I hope to live and die a believing finner, and muft remain a debtor to free grace and mercy to all eternity; and as fuch, can never join the chorus with any who fing that ancient God-dethroning, felf-exalting, and foul-damning ditty of free-agency. This will be harped upon by many at the day of doom (Matt. xxv. 44), but will be condemned by the Judge of quick and dead, Luke xiii. 26. Sovereign mercy will raise it from the mind and memory of every songster in heaven; and retributive Juftice will make confcience cry it down in hell: Therefore, let us fing the fong in time that grace will allow in eternity, we will fing of mercy and of judgment ; my mind, my understanding, and my memory received this fong under the two-fold impreffion of the Holy Ghoft; and I believe it will never be erafed from my foul in this world, nor be prohibited to be fung in the next. Indeed, my brother, I know not how to resolve your question; you have fet me a hard tafk: to give you a true portrait of a refined Antinomian requires a more ingenious limner than I am; nor are you the first believer this character has puzzled. You fay, "he is circumfpect in his walk." True; Satan is often entombed in a painted fepulchre, and has deceived many an innocent sheep, by wearing a fkin. You fay, You fay," he has a great gift." This he may have alfo, and speak with thị tongue of men and of angels: God fometimes gives a tinkling cymbal, to please a bastard child. Be not deceived by his running; he is not always on the winning fide who runs the fafteft; but he is a winner who runs fure-the firft are last in the Chriftian race, and the laft firft: the prey is not always caught by the fwift of foot, but by the cripple in fpirit: the lame take the prey, Ifaiah xxxiii. 23. Law terrors he may have had also, and yet be a ftranger to juftification: falvation lays not in Mofes's rod, but in Chrift's balm; it is Mofes that gives the wound, and Chrift the cure Many have faid faid I am wounded, who never could fay I am healed; therefore enquire after his health-afk how the atonement operated on his confcience-when he began to amend-what views and thoughts he had of the great phyfician-and whether he received joy only, Matt. xiii. 20; or the oil of joy, Ifaiah Ixi. 3. This nice diftinction is very neceffary in examination; joy may lift a man up, but the oil of joy works upwards and downwards; it softens the heart, and lays it compofed in deep humility; but raises the mind and affections heavenward: he will know fomething of this, if ever he was made whole. If you feel his pulfe, you will foon find it beat high with anger; and, indeed, you must not wonder if he should call you a quack, or a phyfician of no value. By their fruits we shall know them. True; but Chriftian fruits are two-fold-there are fruits of the Spirit within, and the fruits of faith without. Paul afks this question, Have you received the IIoly Ghoft? Acts xiv. 2. Now, fays he, the fruits of the Spirit are thefe-love, joy, peace, &c. Gal. v. 22: Know ye not, that Chrift is in you, except ye are reprobates? if ye have not the Spirit of Chrift ye are none of bis, Rom. viii. 9. A finner's heart under the curfe of the law is like the earth under the cur'e of God-it brings forth nothing but briers and thorns; and who can gather grapes of thorns? Indeed, you need not wonder at the apoftacy of fu many of them. "What is an Antinomian ?" In fhort, a fuperfine Antinomian is one who is an Evangelift Evangelift in the head, a Pharifee in the foot, a Believer in the tongue, but an Infidel in heart: he is one of Satan's bellmen; he cries up the letter, but cries down the spirit; his business is to condemn the meek, but juftify the prefumptuous. The operation of the Holy Ghost is laughed at, and called inward tickling; to have a fingle doubt of final victory in the fight of faith is certain damnation; but to harden one's confcience, and caft off all fear, is to be more than a conqueror. These noble Bereans take us to the law and to the teftimony, and when we come to that bar with them, their main business is to difpute us out of the law written in our hearts, and out of the testimony of a good conscience; and thus the kingdom ftands only in word, and that is to be exalted above the power. This turning things upfide down God esteems as potter's clay, Ifaiah xxii. 16; and toes part of iron and part of clay, is a kingdom partly strong, and partly broken, Dan. ii. 42; and they are too ftrong in the head, but not broken enough in the heart. The firft ftep these gentlemen take in their apoftacy is, to cavil against the power of godliness: it is a rare thing to find one of those foxes in the Lord's corn-field, without a coal of contention at his tail. The business of a contentious man is to kindle ftrife; and Solomon fays, we must spit upon it; but when we fball put it out, I know not. Let not their fiery zeal deceive you; if a man gets a notion into his head, he will defend it with something; and if he has has not got spiritual weapons, we may expect him to defend it with the fift of wickednefs, or with the tongue of the crafty. A Christian who enjoys communion with Chrift is compared to a dove, and his lonely moments are often the fweeteft; but an Antinomian is like a fea-gull, the bufieft in a storm. However, God allows us to contend with them until they are feated in the fcorner's chair, and then to leave them as irreclaimable: be that reproveth a fcorner, getteth himself a blot. Look back, my brother on all in D. who ran fo well in appearance, but are now ftumbling at the divinity of our Lord, that Rock of offence-look, I say, was there one of them all, who could give an account of the pardon of fin, of a godly forrow, and of the witness of God's Spirit? A broken heart, and a daily cross were wanting. On a proper reflection you may fay with the Pfalmift, when he looked back upon the profeffion of Ahitophel, he had no changes, therefore be feared not God. I need make no apology, knowing that your regard for me will oblige you to spread your skirt over every fault. I will fend you an account how we go on in London in my next. Oh, my brother, the sweetest religion is Chrift crucified in a broken heart! Be this thy lot and mine. I remain affectionately Your's in Gospel Ties, W. H. S.S. B LETTER |