ally to those of them who have but little money to fpare for the purchase of books, or time for the reading of them.

I am not fo little acquainted with human nature, as to expect any great fuccefs in this attempt to overturn long-established errors; and leaft of all can I hope to convince those who refufe to read, or to hear (which is the cafe with too many) on whom even miracles could produce no effect; but the restoration of christianity to its primitive purity and efficacy, after fo long and fo radical a corruption (which was forefeen and lamented by the inspired writers of the New Teftament) is fo great and fo worthy an object, that every man, who has the interest of religion at heart, will rejoice in every opportunity that divine providence affords him for promoting it, with respect to ever so few, or even a fingle individual of his fellow-creatures.

A zeal for the truth, and even to contend earnestly for it, does certainly well become a christian. Since, however, the inspiring of a christian spirit is the great purpose to which purity of chriftian faith is fubfervient, I hope that, with refpect to myfelf, I have been careful not to lofe the end, while I have been contending for the means. Of th myread er may be a pretty good judge; fince that zeal which arifes from the love of truth, and of mankind, will easily be distinguished from that fpirit which actuates thofe whom Paul calls the dif

puters

puters of this world, a fpirit which favours ftrongly of pride, hatred and malice, and which often induces them to have recourse to unfair and unworthy artifices in order to gain a victory.

Some persons think that in these publications I have attacked too many long-established errors, and that it would have been more prudent to have attempted one thing at once, and to have proceeded gradually and gently. But it should be confidered,' that there are in the world perfons in every poffible ftate of mind with refpect to these things; fo that what will ftagger fome is calculated to make the ftrongest and beft impreffion upon others. Since, therefore, every thing that is published from the prefs must be diftributed promifcuously, we can only take care that what we write be calculated to do good in general; and fince a nice calculation of this kind is exceedingly difficult, it appears to me to be the beft, upon the whole, for every person to endeavour to establish what appears to himself to be the whole truth, and not to trouble himself about any confequences. The gofpel-fower muft caft his feed promifcuoufly on all kinds of ground, hoping that in fome it may yield a good increase, though he muft lay his account with its being loft, and even worse than loft upon others.

I alfo think it an objection to the flow and cautious proceeding which fome perfons recommend, that the evidence of any truth is exhibited.

to the most advantage in connection with the whole fyftem to which it belongs. Nor would I conclude that because the minds of many are ftaggered by bold and undisguised representations of truth, this mode of proceeding is, upon the whole, lefs effectual. In many cafes it may be the only method of gaining a fufficient degree of attention to a subject; and when this only is done, a great point is gained. The horror with which an offenfive fentiment is viewed at firft may wear off by degrees, and a cool examination fucceed. What could give more offence, even to good minds, than the manner in which Luther, and other reformers, attacked the church of Rome? Any perfon would have imagined, a priori, that it could only offend and irritate. We must wait a confiderable time before we can form a judgment of the number of converts that any perfon makes.

I cannot help expreffing my furprize that fo many perfons, and especially of the clergy of the eftablifhed church, fhould profefs themfelves Arminians, rejecting the Calvinistic doctrines of election and reprobation, and yet entertain fuch a horror of Arianifm, or Socinianifm, contending with the greateft earneftnefs for the divinity of Chrift, and atonement for fin by his death; when it appears to me, that the literal interpretation of the language of feripture (which is almoft all that can be pleaded in favour of any of thofe opinions) is even more fa

vourable

vourable to the former than to the latter, as, I fhould think, muft appear to any person who will attend to those which I have quoted in this treatise. I know that I have found much more difficulty in my attempts to explain them. I confider it, however, as an undoubted sign of the progrefs of juft thinking in matters of religion, that the standard of orthodoxy is fo much lower at prefent than it has been in former times.

Time was, and, though I am not old, I well remember the time, when Arminians would have been reckoned no better than Socinians by thofe who were reputed the orthodox of their day; and yet with what rage have fome of thefe orthodox-writers, attacked a brother-heretic? How would the manes of those old champions fmile to fee us fall out by the way, when they were confident that we must all come to the fame place of torment at laft; and the furious zeal of thofe veterans was far more plausible and refpectable, than that of the modern pretenders to orthodoxy?

There is fomething friking and confiftent in the genuine Supralapjarian fyftem, of the eternally deftined fall of man, an infinite penalty incurred by one, and, by the imputation of his fin, affecting all, and an infinite atonement adequate to it made by an infinite being; by which means a fmall remnant of the human race are neceffarily faved, while all the rest of mankind, including new-born chil

dren,

dren, unbelieving jews, mahometans and heathens, arminians and baxterians, arians and focinians, without distinction (as deftitute either of faith, or the right faith) are configned to everlasting torments with the devil and his angels; from whence refults glory to a God, who, in all this dreadful scheme, is supposed to have sought nothing else.

These are the tremendous doctrines which have óver-awed mankind for fo many centuries; and, compared with this, all the modern qualified, intermediate fyftems are crude, incoherent, and contemptible things. My antagonists may cavil at election and reprobation, or any other fingle article in the well-compacted fyftem, but every part is necessary to the whole; and if one stone be pushed out of its place, the whole building tumbles to the ground. And when, in confequence of their illjudged attempts to alter, patch, and repair, they have brought things to this cataftrophe, there will be nothing left but the fimple belief, that the merciful parent of the univerfe, who never meant any thing but the happiness of his creatures, fent his well-beloved fon, the man, Christ Jesus, to reclaim men from their wickedness, and to teach them the way of righteoufnefs; affuring them, for their encouragement, of the free and unbought pardon of their fins, and promifing a life of endless happiness to all that reccive and obey the gospel, by repenting

of