Agreeably to Mr. Toplady's charge, Calvinism shall stand upon its legs. He takes care to show the right leg, in order to vindicate God's holiness upon the Calvinian plan; and I shall set forth the left leg, in order to show, that the honour of God's holiness is as incompatible with Calvinism, as light with darkness. Mr. Toplady's arguments are produced under No. 1, with the number of the page in his book where he advances them. In the opposite column, under No. 2, the reader will find my answer, which is nothing but Mr. Toplady's own arguments, retorted in such a manner as to defend the Second Gospel Axiom, which Calvinism entirely overthrows. No. 1 displays the unguarded manner in which Mr. Toplady defends the First Gospel Axiom. To form No. 2, I only make his arguments stand upon the other leg; and, by this simple method, I show the lameness of Calvinism, and the infamy which she pours upon God's holiness and goodness, under fair shows of regard for these adorable attributes.

The right leg of Calvinism,

or the Calvinian doctrine of Election and necessary holiness.

ARG. II. No. 1. (Page 17.) "I affirm with Scripture, that they [the elect] cannot be saved without sanctification and obedience. Yet is not their salvation precarious; for, that very decree of elec tion, by which they were

The left leg of Calvinism, or the Calvinian doctrine of Reprobation and necessary wickedness.

ANSWER. No. 2.-I affirm with Calvinism, that the reprobates cannot be damned without wickedness and disobedience. Yet is not their damnation precarious; for, that very decree of reprobation, by which they were nomi

controversial writers of the Gospel Magazine; if you will confirm Arminian teachers in their attachment to the holy election and righteous reprobation preached by St. Paul, and in their detestation for the Antinomian election and barbarous reprobation, which support your doctrinal peculiarities, only vindicate your election as inconsistently as Mr. M'Gowan, and your reprobation as openly as Mr. Toplady.(See two other notes on the same performance; the one under the Arg. xxxviii. and the other under the Arg. lxvii.)

Before I produce the next argument, I think it is proper to observe, that 'the election of grace,' which St. Paul defends, is not, as Calvin supposes, an absolute election to eternal life, through necessitated holiness : An election this, which, in the very nature of things, drags after it an absolute reprobation to eternal death, through remediless sin. But the apostle means a gratuitous election to the privileges of the best cover

6

of peculiarity,7-a most gracious covenant this, which is known under the name of "Christianity-the gospel of Christ," or simply "The Gospel," by way of eminence. For as, by a partial election of distinguishing favour, the Jews were once chosen to be God's peculiar people, (at which time the Gentiles were reprobated, with respect to Jewish privileges, being left under the inferior gospel dispensation of reprieved Adam and spared Noah,) so, when the Jews provoked God to reject them from being his peculiar people, he elected the Gentiles, to whom he sent the gospel of Christ: He elected them, I say, and called them to believe this precious gospel, and 'to be holy in all manner of conversation, as becomes Christians.' But, far from absolutely electing those Gentiles to eternal salvation, through unavoidable holiness Calvinistically imposed upon them, he charged them by his messengers to make their Christian calling and election sure, lest they also should be cut off,' as the Jews had been, for not making their Jewish calling and election sure.' In short, the election of grace' mentioned in the scriptures, is a gratuitous election to run the Christian race with Paul, Peter, and James; rather than the Jewish race with Moses, David, and Daniel; or the race of Gentilism with Adam, Enoch, and Noah. It is a gracious election, which implies no merciless, absolute reprobation of the rest of mankind. And the Calvinists are greatly mistaken, when they confound this election with our judicial election to receive the crown of life, a rewarding crown this, the receiving of which depends, (1.) On the grace of God in Christ; and (2.) On the voluntary obedience of faith; and will be judicially bestowed according to the impartiality of justice; and not according to the partiality of grace. This will be demonstrated in an Essay On the Election of Grace and the Election of Justice, where the reader will see the true meaning of the passages hich Mr. Toplady has so plausibly pressed into the e of the following arguments.

18, 19.)—"Yet again, God again, God hath from the hath from the beginning, beginning, [that is, from