see the things which ye see: For I tell you that many prophets [such as Samuel, Isaiah, Daniel, &c.] and kings [such as David, Solomon, Josiah, Hezekiah, &c. St. Matthew adds, and righteous men,' such as Noah, Abraham, &c.] have desired to see the things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things which ye hear, and have not heard them.' (Luke x. 22, 23, 24; Matt. xiii. 17.)-Is not Mr. T. excessively fond of reprobating people to death, if he supposes, that, because it was not given to those prophets, kings, and righteous men, to know the mysteries of the' Christian Dispensation, they were all absolutely doomed to continue in sin, and be damned?

But, (2.) Should it be asserted, that, by the mys teries of the kingdom,' we are to understand here every degree of saving light, then the Reprobation mentioned in Matt. xiii. 11, is not the partial reprobation of Grace, but the impartial reprobation of Justice: And, in this case, to appeal to this verse in support of a chimerical reprobation of Free Wrath, argues great inattention to the context; for the very next verse fixes the reason of the reprobation of the Jews, who heard the gospel of Christ without being benefited by it-A reason this, which saps the foundation of Absolute Reprobation. But unto them it is not given :-For they are Calvinistically reprobated-No.- Unto them it is not given: For, whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: But whosoever hath not [to purpose] from him shall be taken away, even that he hath. (Matt. xiii. 12.) This Anti Calvinian sense is strongly confirmed by our Lord's words two verses below: To them it is not given, &c., for this people's heart is waxed gross: [NOTE: It is waxed gross, therefore, it was not so gross at first as it is now:] And their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, , and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.' (Matt. xiii. 15.)-To produce, therefore,

Matt. xiii. 11, as a capital proof of Calviniau Reprobation, is as daring an imposition upon the credulity of the simple, as to produce Exodus xx, in defence of adultery and murder. However, such arguments will not only be swallowed down in Geneva as tolerable, but the author of P. O. will cry them up as most masterly."

ARGUMENT, XLV. (Page 53.)-Mr. T. concludes his scripture-proofs of Calvinian Reprobation by these words: "Now, I leave it to the decision of any unprejudiced, capable man upon earth, whether it be not evident from these passages, &c., that God hath determined to leave some men to perish in their sins and to be justly punished for them? In affirming which I only give the scripture as I found it."-That the scriptures produced by Mr. T. prove this, is true; we maintain it as well as he: And if he will impose no other reprobation upon us, we are ready to shake hands with him. Nor needs he call his book, "More Work for Mr. Wesley," but, A Reconciliation with Mr. Wesley: For, when we speak of the reprobation of JUSTICE, we as sert that God hath determined to leave some men, [namely the wise and prudent in their own eyes, the proud and disobedient, who do despite to the Spirit of grace to the end of their day of salvation] to perish in their sins,and to be justly punished for them." But, according to Mr. T.'s system, the men left to perish in their sins," are not the men whom the scriptures which he has quoted, describe; but poor creatures absolutely sentenced to necessary, remediless sin, and to unavoidable, eternal damnation, long before they had an existence in their mother's womb. And, in this case, we affirm, that their endless torments can never be just: And of consequence, that the Calvinian Reprobation of unborn men, which Mr T. has tried to dress up in scripture phrases, is as contrary to the scripture Reprobation of stubborn offenders, as Herod's ordering the barbarous destruction of the Holy Innocents, is different from his ordering the righteous execution of bloody murderers.

SECTION VII.

An Answer to the Arguments by which Mr. T. tries to reconcile Calvinism with the Doctrine of a future Judgment, and ABSOLUTE Necessity with MORAL Agency.

His

THEY, who indirectly set aside the day of judgment, do the cause of religion as much mischief as they, who indirectly set aside the immortality of the soul. Mr. Wesley asserts, that the Calvinists are the men. words are, "On the principle of Absolute Predestination, there can be no future judgment. It requires more pains than all the men upon earth, and all the devils in hell will ever be able to take, to reconcile the doctrine of [Calvinian] Reprobation, with the doctrine of a Judgment-day."-Mr. T. answers:

ARGUMENT XLVI. (Page 82.) "The consequence is false; for Absolute Predestination is the very thing that renders the future judgment certain: God hath APPOINTED a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ORDAINED.'" -If Mr. T. had put the words 'in righteousness' in capitals, instead of the words 'appointed' and 'ordained' (which, he fondly hopes, will convey the idea of the Calvinian Decrees,) he would have touched the knot of the difficulty: For the question is not, Whether there will be a day of judgment; but, Whether, on the principle of Absolute Predestination, there can be a day of judgment, consistently with divine equity, justice, wisdom, and sincerity: And that there can, Mr, T. attempts to prove by the following reasoning:

ARGUMENT XLVII. (P. 83.)—"The most flagrant sinners sin voluntarily, notwithstanding the inevitable accomplishment of God's effective and permissive deNow they who sin voluntarily, are accountable: And accountable sinners are judicable; and if judicable, they are punishable."

crees.

Mr. T. has told us, (p. 45,) that "fallen men are involuntary beings ;" and in this page he tells us, that they sin voluntarily. Now we, who never learned Mr. T.'s logic, cannot understand how "involuntary beings' can sin voluntarily. But, letting this contradiction pass, and granting that sinuers offend voluntarily, I ask, Is their will at liberty to choose otherwise than it does, or is it not? If you say, it is at liberty to choose otherwise than it does, you renounce Necessitating Predestination, and you will allow the doctrine of free will, which is the bulwark of the second gospel-axiom, and the scripture-engine which batters down Calvinian Reprobation; and, upon this scriptural plan, it is most certain that God can ' judge the world in righteousness,' that is, in a manner which reflects praise upon his essential justice and wisdom. But if you insinuate that the will of sinners is absolutely bound by the efficacious purposes of heaven," and by the "effective decrees" of Him who "worketh all things in all men, and even wickedness in the wicked;"-if you say, that God's decree concerning every man is irreversible, whether it be a decree of Absolute Election to life, or of Absolute Reprobation to death, "because God's own decree secures the means as well as the end, and accomplishes the end by the means;" (p. 17;)-or, which comes to the same thing, if you assert, that the reprobate always sin necessarily, having no power, no liberty to will righteousness; you answer like a consistent Calvinist, and pour your shame, folly, and unrighteousness upon the tribunal where Christ will judge the world in righteousness.

A just illustration will convince the unprejudiced reader, that this is really the case. By the king's "efficacious permission," a certain strong man, called Adam, binds the hands of a thousand children behind their backs with a chain of brass, and a strong lock, of which the king himself keeps the key. When the children are thus chained, the king commands them all, upon pain of death, to put their hands upon their

breasts, and promises ample rewards to those who will do it. Now, as the king is absolute, he passes by 700 of the bound children, and as he passes them by, he hangs about their necks a black stone, with this inscription, "Unconditional Reprobation to Death :" But being merciful too, he graciously fixes his love upon the rest of the children, just 300 in number, and he ordains them to finished salvation by hanging about their necks a white stone, with this inscription, “Unconditional Election to Life." And, that they may not miss their reward by non-performance of the abovementioned condition, he gives the key of the locks to another strong man named Christ, who, in a day of irresistible power, looses the hands of the 300 elect children, and chains them upon their breasts, as strongly as they were before chained behind their backs. When all the elect are properly bound, agreeably to orders, the king proceeds to judge the children according to their works, that is, according to their having put their hands behind their backs, or upon their breasts. In the mean time, a question arises in the court : Can the king judge the children concerning the position of their hands, without rendering himself ridiculous? Can he wisely reward the elect favourites with life according to their works, when he has absolutely done the rewardable work for them by the stronger man? And can he justly punish the reprobate with eternal death, for not putting their hands upon their breasts; when the strong man has, according to a royal decree, absolutely bound them behind their backs?" Yes, he can;" says a counsellor, who has learned logic in mystic Geneva; "for the children have hands, not"withstanding the inevitable accomplishment of the "king's effective and permissive decrees: Now, "children who have hands, and do not place them as "they are bid, are accountable, and accountable "children are judicable; and if judicable, they are "punishable." This argument would be excellent, if the counsellor did not speak of hands which are absolutely tied. But it is not barely the having hands, but