the reverfe; "Behold! I bring near my righteoufnefs unto you *." Thus fpake Peter to the moft obdurate and impenitent wretches, that ever appeared on this earth, to those who faw all the mighty works of Christ, and yet believed not, to those who were more guilty than Sodom and Gomorrah, to the very murderers of the Prince of life, to those who had invoked the vengeance, the curfe of his' blood on themselves and their children: "The promise is 66 to you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, 06 even to as many"---as fhall in the first place repent of their fins; no, but to--"as many as the Lord our God shall "call" He does not mean that they fhould have an intereft in the promise, if they did repent, to which duty he exhorts them in the preceding verfe; but he makes their prefent external intereft in the promife an argument enforcing the duty of repentance: "Repent for the promife is to you." It is directed to you; it outwardly belongs to you; God really makes over all the bleflings contained in it to you, even while impenitent. Let us alfo hear the apostle Paul: "He hath concluded all in unbelief," or unperfuadableness, "that he might have mercy on all ‡." He hath thut up in a ftate of unbelief, as in a prifon, all, whether Jews or Gentiles, that when he calls them, either externally by the word, as nations, or internally by his grace, as perfons, it may appear to proceed not from any thing done by them, or forefeen as worthy in them, but only from his fovereign mercy, as finding a glorious egrefs through the blood of reconciliation. This mercy it is alone that proclaims liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." I have only further to remark on this fubject, that you will generally obferve, that those who throw the gates of heaven moft wide, when there is no poffibility for one to enter into the kingdom of God, fhut them more closely than any others, when, according to God's method, the call is given to "enter in and bless the name of the Lord." With regard to the OLD TESTAMENT DISPENSATION, it is the general doctrine of Socinians, not only that the Ifraelites had nothing fave temporal bleffings promifed, but that the moral law, as given to them, was fo far imperfect as to need several additions under the gospel difpenfation *Ifa. xlvi. 13. H difpenfation. How near our author approaches to this doc. trine, we fhall leave the candid public to judge. P. 298. 1. 8. "Of this high advancement of the Son of 66 man the first vifible effect-was the free admiffion of "men of all nations into the church of God, upon new "and equal terms, that is, merely on their believing in "Chrift, and obeying his precepts; all the peculiarities of "the ceremonial law being abolished." The terms, then, are new whence he leaves us to conclude, that under the law men were not bound to believe in and obey the promised. Meffiah. But, perhaps, he means that they are new, only in refpect of the abolition of the ceremonial law. This cannot be, for he speaks in the plural,-terms; and there are only two mentioned, faith in Chrift, and freedom from that law: So that, if his language have any meaning, it fignifies that both thefe terms are new. They are alfo equal. Would not this feem rather to reflect on the equity of the divine difpenfation under the Old Teftament? But, however incautiously it is expreffed, perhaps his meaning is, that the terms are equal, because men of all nations are admitted into the church. P. 330. 1.3. "He loved the church, while as yet it had no being as a church." He muft either mean, that the Old Teftament church derived no benefit from Chrift, and that he had no connection with it; or, which is much the fame, that it was no church at all. P. 341. 1. 13. He denies that any facrifice was offered for "moral offences," or that the facrifices under the law had any relation to a final remiffion of fins," p. 342. 1. 2. It is one thing to affert that the legal facrifices could not in themselves remove moral guilt, and quite another, to affert that they had no refpect to it. "The blood of bulls and goats" could never really "take away fin." But to fay, that they had no relation to it, is directly contrary to the command of God in the very inftitution of them, refpecting the work of the priest on the great day of atonement: He fhall confefs over him (the fcape-goat) all the iniqui"ties of the children of Ifrael, and all their tranfgreflions "in all their fins;" that is, fins of every kind, whether moral or ceremonial. That there were fome particular fins, fuch as murder, that had no particular facrifices appointed for them, might be meant to take off the mind. of of that carnal people from refting in mere ceremonial obfervances, to fhew them the imperfection of their difpenfation, and to point out to them the neceffity of a better facrifice, which could really expiate fin. Befides, as the ceremonial law removed the legal uncleannefs only, and restored the offender to church-membership, there was no occafion for this in the cafe of murder, because "that foul was cut off froni his people."-To affert that these facrifices had no respect to " a final remiffion of fin," is to deny the very nature of that difpenfation; for, in this cafe, it had not even fo much as a "fhadow of good things to come." Did not Abraham "receive circumcifion as a feal of the righteoufnefs of the faith?" Now "the law could not difannul the covenant” he was under. The Fathers "did all eat the fame fpiritual meat, and did drink the fame fpiritual drink," which believers now partake of; "for they drank of that fpiritual rock that followed them; and that rock was Chrift." "Thefe all died in faith, not having received the promifes," as to the present enjoyment of the bleflings contained in them, but having "feen them afar off, and were perfuaded of them, and embraced them." However, our author speaks very doubtfully about the legal expiations being types and prefigurations of good things to come; p. 342 1. 23. He introduces, p. 339, a filly ftory about an Indian, evidently to throw contempt on the doctrine of Chrift, the just suffering for the unjust. FAITH is alfo deftroyed in its proper nature. This divine philofophy does not amufe us with barren fpeculations, but is a popular and practical science wholly in*tended to fanctify the heart and govern the life §." It is indeed true, that it does not amufe us with fpeculations" really barren. But it is evident, in what fenfe the author understands thefe. They are oppofed to all mysterious doctrines: for "this philofophy does not require capacity," &c. He takes "all the points of true religion to be practical" that is, "wholly intended to fanctify the heart and govern the life." There is no fubjection or illumination of the understanding requifite: Thus the effera tial character of faith,-believing a divine teftimony, is denied, in correfpondence with another branch of the SociniH 2 Rom. iv. II.. +1 Cor. x 3, 4. + Heb. xi. 13. an an fyftem. "An honeft mind is all that is neceffary." "In this fection, indeed, wherein he profeffes to fum up the benefits conferred by the gofpel, he confines them to inftructions, promises, and privileges, to the total exclusion of myfteries, about which faith is to be exercised, and to which, as revealed by God, the understanding is to be fubjected. JUSTIFICATION is alfo fet afide, and in its place repentance is reprefented as "the only effectual method to prevent final condemnation." All the efficacy lies on the finner's fide. Here, P. 277. 1. 20. "The primary, direct, and efficient cauf<s es of our juftification are only to be found in the free 66 grace of God, and the abundant favour he hath for his "Son, which he is willing fhould reach, in fome degree to "all that are connected with one fo dear to him." I. "The free grace of God, and the abundant favour he hath for his Son," are confidered as caufes of the fame nature. If fo, they must either be both meritorious causes of juftification, or neither of them can be fo. The grace of God cannot be a meritorious cause; for it would be absurd to fay, that an act of grace merits any thing as to its own egrefs. Therefore they are not meant as caufes in this fenfe. But whatever kind of causes they be, though the author confiders them as of the fame kind, the very text he brings to confirm his doctrine rifes up against him: "Being "juftified freely by his grace, through the redemption that "is in Jefus Chrift+." For, according to the fimple conftruction of the words, whether in the original, or in our verfion, the first expreffion denotes the impulfive, and the fecond the meritorious caufe. 2. He calls them "efficient causes." Now, neither the grace of God, nor his favour to Christ, can be the efficient cause of juftification. For the efficient caufe of any thing is that which accomplishes it. Therefore, the efficient caufe of juftification must be He, who judicially pronounces the fentence of acquittal. But "it is God that juftifieth;" not any fingle perfection or affection of his nature. Nay, this work belongs to God effentially confidered in the perfon of the Father, as oeconomically fuftaining the character of "the Judge of all," in the work of redemption. 3. At any rate, these are only primary caufes. Faith, repentance and obedience, mentioned † Rom. iii. 24. *P. 268. foot. LETTER III. To the Lay-Members of the Church of ScorLAND, and especially to those of the COLLEGIATE CHURCH of AYR. MY BRETHREN, IN the preceding letter I have taken a view of Dr. M'Gill's fentiments concerning reafon and mystery, creation, the covenant of works, the conflitution of the foul of man, the nature of fin, original fin, the covenant of grace, the Old Testament difpenfation, faith, and juftification. I now proceed to confider fome more of his te nets. That he exprefly denies the SPIRIT in his Perfon, I fhall not abfolutely affert. But his language looks very like it : He fays, "The Spirit-means the divine teftimonies, that "were given to Chrift from his baptifm to his death, and the miracles which were wrought by him, all proceeding "from the Spirit or Power of God." Thefe are his words, when speaking of the Three that bear record on earth. The highest idea, then, which he gives of the Spirit here, or any where elfe, is either that of a teftimony, or of a power. Inftead of a witness he is reduced to a teftimony: instead of a real agent, he is reprefented only as the power, or the exertion of an agent. This is the very language of all Socinians. They make the Spirit a divinę perfection, but deny him to be a divine person. He evidently denies the Spirit in his work: for he maintains that repentance is "the only radical cure of the mifery" of finners. Whereas, the fcripture reprefents regeneration as "the only radical cure," nay, as the very root of repentance itfelf: "A new heart will I give you. Then thall ye remember your own evil ways,-and fhall |