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Paul brought forth to his opposers his trials, his revelations, his success, and disinterestedness; and I give you the same challenge. For the gospel's sake I have suffered distress in family, temptations, and persecutions, and am not a whit behind you all in experience, judgment or understanding; nor in usefulness or success in the ministry; nor with respect to circumspection in life, or liberality, according to my ability. In defence of these things I will never refuse to face any of you, who sit so often in judgment upon me; nor any accuser that shall speak to the contrary. I will not believe that any man who can conform to the fashions of the world; appear in the cottishness of a miss in her teens; stuffed with pride, arrogance, ignorance, covetousness, malice, and slander, can ever perform a good work; the tree must be made good, and then the fruit will be good. You pro

ceed.

'We are informed that, with respect to our ' obedience, it is that which brings peace and comfort to our souls.'

Who your informer was that told you so I know not. But I will be bold to tell him, as John did, that "he is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Neither peace nor comfort are the rewards of our obedience. Peace is the grand ordinance of God, a blessing of the covenant of grace; Christ made peace by the blood of his cross; and it is a free gift to the saints; "My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." Instead of our

obedience bringing peace, God sends peace to bring us to obedience. Christ shall speak peace to the heathen, and " as soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me." All men are rebels; and Christ received gifts for the rebellious, and peace is one of them; "Into whatsoever house ye enter, say, Peace be to this house; and, if the Son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it." And when a man is reconciled to God, and at peace with him, he will both love and obey him, but not till then.

Your doctrine, sir, sets aside the council of the Trinity, and a blessing of the covenant of peace, and makes it no longer a legacy; in plain English, it is false doctrine, and in the language of the schools Antinomianism; but in the Greek it is Antinomos; and as it makes faith void, and the promises of God of none effect, it certainly springs from one, "whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon," Rev. ix. 11.

You say that our obedience brings comfort. I deny it. The Comforter is the gift of God; the promise of the Father; the sent of the Saviour; and the root, spring, spirit, life, and author, of all evangelical obedience, and of every good word and work that ever was or will be performed in any of the children of God. But you proceed to prove that "the way of a fool is right in his own eyes;" and I go after you, insisting upon it that "he that hearkeneth to counsel is wise," Prov. xii. 15. You

say,

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There is no true joy in the heart of any one, but what springs from love to God and our obe'dience to his divine authority and commands."

If you had said, there is no true joy in the heart of any man but what springs from God's everlasting love to him in Christ Jesus; and that there is not one pure act of obedience to the law of God produced but what springs from the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost, you would have spoken the language of God. You go on.

'We are informed by this same author,' (but who that author is you take care to conceal)' that 'an assurance of our salvation by Jesus Christ is all 'that is necessary for us to have, though we are ' of the vilest stamp.'

If by the vilest stamp you mean that Jesus Christ came into the world to save the chief of sinners, it is a truth, of which I think Mary Magdalen and Paul were living witnesses; for, as the first had much forgiven, and the same loved much; so the other, being a great opposer of the gospel, was shewn how great things he should suffer for the name of Christ. And I think the life and conduct of both Mary and Paul are sufficient to stop the mouths of such false accusers as you, who attempt to charge the grace of God with licentiousness; his ministers with the ministration of sin; make his gospel of none effect; and the obedience of his people the procuring cause of their peace

and comfort, instead of making the grace of God the cause of all their evangelical obedience.

If you mean, that an assurance of our salvation by Jesus Christ is that which is necessary to satisfy us that we are in the bond of the covenant, you speak the language of scripture, which declares, that whosoever believeth in Christ, however vile he may have been, shall be saved; all manner of sins shall be forgiven him. "He that believeth shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." But, if you mean that a man who boasts of the assurance of his salvation by Jesus Christ while he lives in avowed sin, or continues one of the vilest stamp, as you express it, has got the faith that is necessary, God says that that man has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. I have no more opinion of his faith, and the state of his soul, than I have of the heart-holiness and good works of you, and the reverend Mr. Belly of Gravesend; who I believe are just as much converted to God, and commissioned to preach his gospel, as Simon Magus, or Alexander the coppersmith; whom the devil raised up and sent out to ridicule the apostles, and bring the grace of God into contempt.

I hope, sir, you will not be offended at this; for I believe the devil to be the first master of arts in the world; and it is clear from scripture that he has instructed and sent out more preachers than ever God did; which is not to be wondered at, for

he is a better Hebraist, Grecian, and Latinist, than you are, or ever will be; he is the first master of languages in the world, as well as the god of it. He has tempted every sinner capable of action, more or less, and is sure to do it in the sinner's own language, or mother-tongue. He was the first that ever took a text, as may be seen in his discourse with Eve; and, as he was the first quoter of scripture, so was he the first perverter of it; whose copy you follow. The devil was the first that ever set up a form of religion without the heart, as may be seen in the devotion of Cain, who was of that wicked one the devil, when he brought his offering, and persecuted him that offered in faith and worshipped God in the Spirit. You are no stranger to this, sir; for it is well known that you are dotingly fond of a form of godliness by the apish appearance you have made, and by your vigorous attempts to appear in it without being charged with the slanderous titles of an impostor or a mimick. I have no call to prove you one of his formalists, and a hater of spiritual men and spiritual devotion; what I have quoted from this mixed medley is quite sufficient for that purpose.

I now find you coming upon me; which I suppose would have been done before, had you not seen some people ready to take your slander down in black and white, which muzzled you for a time.

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