there would be no use in all that Christ had done for the salvation of mankind; no use in his incarnation, his passion, his resurrection; no use in the prophets, in the sacraments, in all the sacred volumes; the argument was mischievous, nay, diabolical in its nature, and would lead men either into despair, or the contempt of God and his revelation;-they would soon say, with the Epicureans, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die,' but to all such imaginations, the antidote was, a true knowledge of God, and his Christ, God is faithful who hath promised,' otherwise there would be an end of all our hopes of salvation. Thus, (says he,) in my Treatise on the Bondage of the Will, and in other places, I have observed that questions may be put concerning the secret or the revealed will of God; now we know nothing of God any further than He has been pleased to reveal himself; moreover, what is above our comprehension is nothing to us; deep speculations, and prying into matters not revealed, can do no good, they serve the devil's purpose, and may prove our utter ruin."

Further still, that Luther gradually, not only doubted of the necessity or utility of inculcating absolute predestination, but felt the extreme difficulty of reconciling that doctrine with the general tenor of revelation, is evident from some passages of his works, which Dr. Milner quotes, "after stating that a neighbouring minister, with the view of comforting one of his flock, whose mind was much distressed respecting the secret counsels of God, was desirous of obtaining from Luther more satisfaction on this head than could be collected from his publications," the historian quotes him as answering—“ Many have perished in the indulgence of such curious inquiries; it is a temptation which leads even to blasphemy; I myself, by giving way to it, have been more than once reduced to the last extremity. Tell your friend, if he would have peace of mind, to abstain from such intricate speculations; the subject is incomprehensible, and the study of it may drive him to despair and blasphemy flight is the true wisdom here, there is no room for Christ to dwell in the heart, so long as reasonings of this kind are uppermost."*

* Milner's History, vol. v. pp. 516, 517.

The historian further tells us, that in another letter, while he admits the pre-ordination and foreknowledge of God, nevertheless, from Ezek. xviii. 23, "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord God,' he argues that God chose, and seriously decreed from eternity, the possibility of the salvation and everlasting happiness of all men ; and hence he concludes, that the general promises of a gracious, God ought by no means to be limited, nor those suggestions of Satan to be indulged, which would separate us from the divine mercy, which is represented in Scripture as infinite." He then refers the afflicted penitent to the voice of God himself, "This is my beloved Son, hear him;" and to the words of Christ proclaiming in the streets, "Come unto me all ye that labour:' He invites ALL, even the very worst, as publicans and sinners, why should we perplex ourselves with difficult and circuitous roads, when the direct road is so clearly pointed out to us in the Gospel."

This admission of Luther's proves, that he ultimately felt distinctly, the inconsistency of the doctrine of absolute predestination, with the scriptural account of the divine mercy, and the gracious scheme of Christian redemption. It might have been hoped, that experience, and the progress of scriptural knowledge, and Christian toleration, would have had, on the generality of the reformed divines, and their followers, effects similar to those, which religious experience and reflection evidently produced upon Luther; and would have gradually detached them from the predestinarian scheme. But it cannot be denied, that the eagerness to oppose the popish doctrine, of the merit of good works being so transcendent, that some human beings (as saints and martyrs) might even do more than work out their own salvation, and might perform works of supererogation, the benefits of which could be transferred, to atone for the guilt of their fellow-men, and to supply the inexhaustible fund, from which pardons and indulgences were dealt forth, by the pontifical lord and dispenser of this sacred treasure-it cannot be denied, that the horror entertained against this most irrational and anti-Christian tenet, appears to have driven many of the reformers to adopt the opposite extreme, of irrespective election, excluding all regard to human merit, or works. And

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one dogma of the Calvinistic scheme having been thus recommended, so inseparable is the connexion of all the parts of that system, that it was natural all should gradually be admitted.* Add to this, that numbers of English clergymen, driven from their country, by the persecutions of queen Mary, and received at Geneva, when the reputation of Calvin and of his opinions was at its height, and the abhorrence of popery also inflamed to the utmost, greatly promoted the spread of this doctrine, on their return from exile, during the reign of Elizabeth. It was checked by the caution and steadiness of that great queen, and by the pacific character of James, who attempted to silence the disputants on both sides; and still more decidedly discountenanced in the unfortunate reign of the first Charles, in which religious difference supplied the watch-word of political party, and the constitution and church of England were overturned in the struggle. On the restoration, the doctrine of fatalism, and all the opinions connected with it, fell into discredit; but the abhorrence of popery, at the revolution returning with great force, united with the known Calvinism of the great restorer of our religion and liberties, gave this again a considerable revival.

The lapse of more than a century, the great diffusion of religious knowledge, of extensive inquiry, and unrestrained free

* Dr. Kipling-The Articles not Calvinistic, p. 51, note, observes, "Calvinism resembles a machine so modelled and constructed, that if any one wheel or any one peg were taken out of it, the whole would fall to pieces. Suppose, for example, the doctrine of reprobation was taken out of Calvin's system, then also would the doctrine of election follow; but with the elects and reprobates, would the decrees concerning them be abolished; and were there none of those parts in his system, invincible grace, that mainspring of Calvinism, would cease to have either any object to act upon or any end to effect. Again, suppose the doctrine of invincible grace to have no foundation in truth, on this supposition there would not be an agent in existence to hinder some of Adam's progeny from falling away finally; that is, there would be no Calvinistic elect, consequently no reprobates, therefore none predestinated, no absolute decrees, nor any thing else peculiar to Calvinism. Lastly, the same thing would follow, if the manner in which Calvin states the doctrine of original sin were taken out of this system. The existence of that corrupt mass which Adam's fall is said to have engendered, depends upon this doctrine. If you change this, you annihilate the very materials of which Calvin's elect and reprobate are formed, "Deum ex perdita massâ eligere et reprobare," consequently, as before, no part of his system would remain. Thus the truth of each Calvinistic tenet is necessary to the truth of every other, that therefore no person can be a piece of a Calvinist; and that to talk of a moderate and milder Calvinism is to use the signs of words without any ideas annexed to them.” I differ from the rev. author in this last remark. I can easily conceive some sincere and pious persons shutting their eyes, when they feel them pained by the harsh doctrines of Calvinism, and then believing they are not to be seen.

dom of judgment, have had, however, a powerful tendency to soften the bitterness of religious disputes; and even amongst those who retain much of Calvinism, have produced a disposition to smooth its harshness, and keep out of sight from the public, and perhaps in many cases even from its advocates themselves, its most revolting tenets, and have led them to dwell only on those parts which, in Dr. Milner's words, are less rigid and less "offensive to common sense, and the ordinary feelings of mankind." If necessary, however, it would be easy to prove, that the doctrines of unconditional reprobation, of salvation being altogether independent of any foreseen faith or good works in the elect, especially that of God's being the author of sin and all its consequences, although sometimes disavowed, and almost constantly kept back, yet are still maintained, when in the course of argument, their inseparable connexion with the other parts of the scheme, compels its advocates, either to defend them, or abandon the entire as unscriptural and untenable.

Of this we have a remarkable and recent instance, in the Rev. Mr. Vaughan's letter, in which the Calvinistic clergy are defended, and the most terrific doctrines of Calvin maintained with rigid strictness. He thus describes the fall and redemption of man: "The Gospel is that dispensation of the fulness of times, by which God effects his everlasting purpose of delivering, restoring, and bringing to everlasting felicity in his incarnate Son (Christ Jesus,) a portion of the human race, which he was intending to create in his own image of goodness, ' good--very good;' and of which the whole, according to his purpose, would fall from that state of uprightness into sin, curse, and damnation, through the power of the devil, acting upon the first man; this favoured portion or remnant, being so delivered, restored, and brought to everlasting felicity in Christ, by an exercise of will and righteous sovereignty on the part of God, whereby he chooses to himself a people out of this universally condemned race, to the rejection and exclusion of the rest, for reasons secret to us, but of which, the furtherance of his own glory is, as in every other appointment, word, and work of God, the ultimate and determinate object.'

*Page 61, and seq.

Mr. Vaughan, as if startled at the doctrine he had thus declared, when it appeared in its undisguised terrific features, immediately adds, "awful statement! which should never be proclaimed without surest conviction of its truth, or without deepest humiliation towards God, and most affectionate tenderness towards men; but which it is a false compassion to withhold upon demand; that is, in its proper time and place, if we be patiently and deliberately persuaded that it is of the revelation of God. You, (says he to his opponent,) I suppose, are prepared to say it is not, it cannot be, there is a lie upon the face of it; but my appeal, sir, is to the tribunal of those who believe the Scriptures to be genuine, authentic, and divinely inspired, plenarily so inspired; do you correspond to this description."

I can from my heart declare, I do believe the Scriptures to be genuine, authentic, and divinely inspired, plenarily inspired; yet, I have never been able to find, or believe, that this doctrine is contained in the word of God: and surely the proof ought to be most clear, to justify the admission of such doctrine.

The particulars which Mr. Vaughan enumerates, in his statement, are these:

"1st. We have here God's glory asserted to be the ultimate end of all his counsels and operations.

"2nd. We have here the fall, declared to have been contemplated and ordained before the creation.

"3rd. We have the entire ruin of the whole human race asserted to have taken place in Adam; the recovery of a part only of that ruined race in Christ.

4th. We have here the devil's agency set forth, as the great instrument in effecting the work of destruction; and Christ's agency set forth as the great instrument in effecting the work of restoration.

"5th. We have here God's sovereignty asserted, both in the acceptance of the saved, and the rejection of the lost; the saved being brought to everlasting felicity, through the electing grace of God; the lost inheriting their portion of everlasting woe, through his most awful, but most just decree of reprobation."

And again," not only is the constitution of redemption in