ARGUMENT XXXVI. (Ibid.) “There is no way of solidly, &c., justifying the ways of God with men, but upon this grand datum, That the exercise of his own infinite mercy is regulated by the voluntary determination of his own most wise and sovereign pleasure. Allow but this rational, scripturál, &c., proposition, and every cavil, grounded on the chimerical unmercifulness of non-election ceases even to be plausible."-The defect of this argument consists also in covering the left leg of Calvinism, and in supposing, that Calvinian' Non-election is a bare non-exertion of a peculiar mercy displayed towards some; whereas it is a positive act of barbarity. We readily grant, that God is infinitely merciful, though his infinite wisdom, truth, and justice do not suffer him to shew the same mercy to ALL, which he does to SOME. But it is absurd to suppose, that, because he is not bound toʻshew Mercy' to all those who have personally and unnecessarily offended him (or indeed to any one of them), he may shew Injustice and Cruelty to unborn creatures, who never personally offended him so much as by one wandering thought, and he may absolutely doom myriads of them to sin without remedy, and to be damned without fail.

ARGUMENT XXXVII.-(Page 48.)-After all his pleas, to shew that God can, without impeachment of his Holiness, Justice, and Mercy, absolutely appoint his unborn creatures to remediless wickedness and everlasting torments; Mr. Toplady relents, and seems a little ashamed of Calvinian Reprobation. He tells us, that "Reprobation is, for the most part, something purely negative," and "has, so far as God is concerned, more in it of Negation than Positivity."-But Mr. Toplady knows that the unavoidable END of absolute reprobation is DAMNATION, and that the means conducive to this fearful end, is unavoidable wickedness; and he has already told us, (p. 17,) that "God's own decree secures the means as well as the end, and accomplishes the end by the means."—Now securing and accomplishing a thing, is something altogether positive. Hence it is, that, (p. 83,) Mr. T. calls the decrees by which the

reprobates sin, not only permissive but “ effective;" and tells us, (p. 77,) that " God efficaciously permitted horrible wickedness. And herein he exactly follows Calvin, who, in his Comment on Rom. ix. 18, says, "INDURANDI verbum, quum Deo in Scripturis tribuitur, non solum, PERMISSIONEM (ut volunt diluti quidam moderatores sed) divinæ quoque IRE ACTIONEM signifi cat."-" The word HARDEN when it is attributed t God in scripture, means not only PERMISSION, (a some washy, compromising divines would have it,) bu it signifies also THE ACTION of divine wrath."

Besides, something negative amounts, in a thousan cases, to something positive. A general, for example denies gunpowder to some of his soldiers, to whom I owes a grudge; he hangs them for not firing, and the exculpates himself by saying, "My not giving the powder was a thing purely negative. I did nothing them to hinder them from firing: On the contrary, I b them fire away." This is exactly the case with t Manichean god and his imaginary reprobates. He bi them repent or perish- believe or be damned-do go works or depart into everlasting fire. And yet, all t while, he keeps from them every dram of true grac whereby they might savingly repent, believe, and obe Is it not surprising that so many of our gospel ministe should call preaching such a doctrine, preaching Gospel and exalting Christ ?—But Mr. Toplady replie

ARG. XXXVIII. (P. 48,) "If I am acquaint with an indigent neighbour, and have it in my pow to enrich him, but do it not; am I the author of man's poverty, only for resolving to permit him, and actually permitting him, to continue poor? Am blameable for his poverty, because I do not give him utmost I am able? Similar is the case now in deba

↑ Not unlike this argument is that of the Letter Writer, on w I have already bestowed a note, Sect. II.

"Divine Justice," says he, (p. 4, 5,) could not condemn, till law was broken." True; But Calvinian Free Wrath reprobated) all eternity, and consequently before the law was either broke given. "Therefore condemnation did not take place before a law given and broken." This author trifles; for, if Calvinian Reproba took place before the creation of Adam, and if it necessarily di

Ever since the fall of Adam, mankind are by nature spiritually poor."

Mr. T. is greatly mistaken when he says, "Similar is the case now in debate." To show that it is entirely dissimilar, we need only make his partial illustration stand fairly upon its legs." If you know that your neighbour

But "

after it the uninterrupted breach of the law, and the condemnation consequent upon that breach, Calvinian reprobation differs no more from everlasting damnation, than condemning and necessitating a man to commit murder, that he may infal libly be banged, differs from condemning him to be hanged. suppose that out of twenty found guilty, his Majesty King George should pardon ten, he is not the cause of the other ten being executed. It was his clemency that pardoned any: It was their breaking the laws of the kingdom that con. demned them, and not his Majesty." Indeed it was his Majesty who condemned them, if, in order to do it without fail, he that made (1.) Efficacious and irresistible decrees of the means, they should necessarily and unavoidably be guilty of robbery; and (2.) Efficacious and irresistibie decrees of the end, that they should unavoidably be condemned for their crimes, and Inevitable guilt. The chain by which the god of Manes and Calvin drags poor reprobates to hell, has three capital links; The First is, Absolute, unconditional Reprobation: The Second is Necessary remediless Sin: And the Third is Ensured eternal Dam. nation. Now although the middle link intervenes between the first and the last link, it is only a necessary connexion between them: For, says Mr. Toplady, (p. 17,) "God's own decree ecures the means as well as the end, and accomplishes the end by the means." That is, (when this doctrine is applied to the present case,) the first link, which is Calvinian reprobation, Iraws the middle, diabolical link, which is remediless wicked. less, as well as the last link, which is infernal and finished amnation. Thus Calvin's god accomplishes danination by means fsin; or, if you please he draws the third link by means of he second. Who can consider this and not wonder at the preupon the idice of the Letter Writer who boldly affirms, that alvinian scheme, God is no more the author and cause of the amnation of the reprobates, than the king is the cause of the ondemnation of the criminals whom he does not pardon! or my part, the more I consider Calvinism. the more I see, at the decree of Absolute Reprobation, which is inseparable om the decree of Absolute Election, represents God as the are Author of sin in order to represent him as the sure AuLor of damnation. The horrible mystery of absolute reproation, necessary sin, and insured damnation, is not less ential to Calvinism, than the glorious mystery of Fath ad Holy Ghost, is essential to Christianity; and m is The Gospel! the Doctrines of Grase!

who is an industrious tenant of yours, must work of break; and if, in order to make him break, according to your decree of the end, you make a decree of the means-an efficacious decree, that his cattle shall die, that his plough shall be stolen, that he shall fall sick, and that nobody shall help him; I boldly say, You are "the author of that man's poverty:And if, when you have reduced him to sordid want, and have, by this means, clothed his numerous family with filthy rags, you make another efficacious absolute decree, that a majority of his children shall never have a good gar ment, and that at whatsoever time the constable shall find them with the only ragged coat which their bank. rupt father could afford to give them, they shall all be sent to the House of Correction, and severely whipt there, merely for not having on a certain coat, which you took care they should never have; and for wearing the filthy rags, which you decreed they should necessarily wear, you shew yourself as merciless to the poor man's children, as you shewed yourself ill-natured to the poor man himself.-To prove, that this is a just state of the case, if the doctrine of absolute predestination be true, I refer the reader to Section II, where he will find Calvinism " on its legs."

Upon the whole, if I mistake not, it is evident that the arguments by which Mr. Toplady endeavours to reconcile Calvinian reprobation with Divine MERCY, are as inconclusive as those, by which he tries to reconcile it with Divine JUSTICE; both sorts of arguments drawing all their plausibility from the skill with which Logica Genevensis tucks up the left leg of Calvinism, or covers it with deceitful buskins, which are called by a variety of delusive names, such as passing by, not electing, not owing salvation, limiting the display of goodness, not extending mercy infinitely, not enriching," &c., just as if all these phrases together conveyed one just idea of Calvinian reprobation, which is an absolute unconditional dooming of myriads of unborn creatures, to live and die in necessary, remediless wickedness, and then to depart into everlasting fire," merely because Adam according to divine predestination

necessarily sinned; obediently fulfilling God's absolute, irreversible, and efficacious decree of the means (sin :) An Autinomiau decree this, by which, if Calvinism be true, God secured and accomplished the decree of the end, that is, the remediless sin and eternal damnation of the reprobate: For, says Mr. T., (p. 17,) "God's own decree secures the means as well as the end, and accomplishes the end by the means.'

"

And now, candid reader, say if Mr. T. did not act with a degree of partiality, when he called his book "A Vindication of God's Decrees, &c., from the defamations of Mr. Wesley;"-and if he could not, with greater propriety, have called it, "An Unscriptural and Illogical Vindication of the Horrible Decree, from the scriptural and rational exceptions made against it by Mr. Wesley.”

SECTION VI.

A View of the SCRIPTURE-PROOFS by which Mr. T. attempts to demonstrate the Truth of Calvinian Reprobation

THAT the Old and New Testament hold forth a PARTIAL REPROBATION of distinguishing grace, and an IMPARTIAL REPROBATION of retributive justice, is a capital truth of the gospel. One of the leading errors of the Calvinists consists in confounding these two reprobations, and the elections which they draw after them. By the impetuous blast of prejudice, and the fire of a heated imagination, modern Aarons melt the partial election of Grace, and the impartial election of Justice; and, casting them in the mould of coufusion, they make their one partial election of unscriptural, necessitating, Antinomian FREE GRACE, to which they are obliged to oppose their one partial reprobation of necessitating, Manichean FREE w WRATH. Now, as the scriptures frequently speak of the harmless Reprobation of Grace, , and of the awful Reprobation of Justice, it would be surprising indeed, if out of so large a book as the Bible, Logica Genevensis could not extract a few passages, which, by being wrested from the context, and misapplied according to art, seem to