_London, October 1, 1759._
OBSERVATIONS ON SOME FATAL MISTAKES, In a Book lately published, and intitled,
“The DOCTRINE OF GRACE; or, The OFFICE and OPERATIONS of the HOLY SPIRIT vindicated from the Insults of Infidelity, and the Abuses of Fanaticism. By _William_ Lord Bishop of _Gloucester_.”
In a LETTER to a FRIEND.
_Truth is never more grosly abused, nor its Advocates more dishonoured, than when they employ the foolish Arts of Sophistry, Buffoonery, and Scurrility in its Defence._ Bishop of Gloucester’s Preface.
OBSERVATIONS, &c.
_My dear Friend_,
WHEN the great St. _Paul_, in his epistle to the _Romans_, had a mind to lay a solid foundation for the grand distinguishing doctrines of the gospel, I need not inform you, that, like a wise master-builder, he took care to dig deep into the corruption of human nature: and after having given us a lively portraiture of the universal depravity of the _Gentile_ world, he proceeded, in a most masterly manner, to bring down the proud thoughts and high imaginations of the self-righteous and formal Pharisees; by proving, to a demonstration, that the _Jewish_ professors, notwithstanding all their peculiar advantages of external revelation, circumcision, near affinity to _Abraham_, and such-like, were all equally included under sin, were all equally guilty before GOD, had all equally fallen short of his glory, consequently were all upon an equal level with the rest of mankind, and stood as much in need of the free grace of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, and the sanctifying operations of his Holy Spirit, as the most savage barbarian, or disputing Greek. This was acting like as did the forerunner or harbinger of our blessed LORD; for, when he saw many of the Sadducees and Pharisees (the infidels and professors of that age) coming to his baptism, disregarding as it were the former, in a very pungent, and what some would term, a very unpolite manner, he thus addresseth himself to the latter: “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? And think not to say within yourselves, We have _Abraham_ for our father; for I say unto you, GOD is able of these stones to raise up children unto _Abraham_.” But why speak I of acting like the forerunner? I should rather have said, this was imitating our common LORD himself, who, in his glorious and divine sermon, (when, to use the words of the seraphic _Hervey_, “a mount was his pulpit, and the heavens were his sounding-board”) employs himself chiefly in detecting the false glosses and corrupt interpretations of the then masters of _Israel_; withal adding this cutting assertion, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
What a pity is it, my dear friend, that our modern defenders of christianity, in their elaborate and undoubtedly well-meant treatises, have not been more studious to copy after such bright and unerring examples! Many of these tracts I know you have read; and am persuaded, out of your usual candour, you will do them so much justice as to acknowledge, that, in respect to the outworks of religion, such as clearing up the prophecies of the Old, and vindicating the miracles of the New Testament, against the attacks of infidels and free-thinkers, they have shewn themselves, as far as bare human learning, added to external revelation, can carry them, to be masters of strong reasoning, nervous language, and conclusive arguments. But then, as I have often heard you lament, one thing they seem to lack, a deeper and more experimental knowledge of themselves, and of JESUS CHRIST. Hence it is, that when they come to touch upon the internals and vitals of christianity, they are quite grappled, and write so unguardedly of the all-powerful influences of the Holy Ghost, as to sink us into a state of _downright formality_; which, if the Apostle _Paul_ may be our judge, we have need as much to be cautioned against, as of fanaticism, superstition, or infidelity itself: for in his second epistle to _Timothy_, after giving us a dreadful account of the abounding of wicked men in the last perilous times, such as “lovers of their own selves, ♦coveteous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false-accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of GOD;” he brings up the rear in this awful manner, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such, turn away;” and to use the words of our LORD, “Publicans and harlots enter into the kingdom of GOD before them.”
♦ “covetous” replaced with “coveteous”