CHRISTIANITY is a pure, per­fect, rational, consistent System; it is a Revelation worthy the God of Truth and Wisdom to dispense; its Doctrines have a direct Tendency to mo­ralize the Powers and Faculties, and to eno­ble and dignify the human Nature; it sets its true Professors free from ridiculous Ab­surdities, and enthusiastic Delusions; for its divine Author taught no Doctrines, en­joined no Precepts, but such as will bear the strictest Scrutiny, and must be owned by every truly wise and judicious Person, to be well adapted, and nicely calculated, at once to display the Power and Mercy of God, as well as to enrich, consolate, and make happy the Mind of every true Christian.

But how an Institution, thus wisely de­signed, ordered and established, should be so greatly mistaken, so unhappily perverted, and so grossly misrepresented, is no less sur­prizing than true; and therefore how much [Page 4] to be deplored and lamented! But why is this? How must we account for the many delusive Tenets and destructive Errors, which are industriously propagated by a Sett of mo­dern Teachers, and readily embraced, by so many Professors of Christianity. How? why, as the Papists mistakenly assert Igno­rance to be the Mother of Devotion, we may truly say, Ignorance is the Parent of Error, Folly and Delusion.

But to what Kind of Ignorance may we ascribe the Mistakes of the Teachers, and the Folly of the People in being thus de­ceived? Doubtless to an Ignorance of the Word of God, the holy Scriptures, which are the only sure Guide, the best Standard, and the most certain Criterion, whereby to discern Truth from Falshood, Right from Wrong; but through Neglect of searching those sacred Pages, the poor People easily become a Prey to every ignorant enthusiastic Preacher that comes in their Way; hence we see such a plentiful Production of Novel Doctrines, and such an abundant Fruitful­ness of extravagant Follies, and destructive Errors, which are so prevalent among us at this Day.

Men, Brethren and Fathers, see ye not what an Inundation of Error and Delusi­on hath broken in upon us? Observe you not the Overflowings of Immorality and Vice, which like a Torrent is overspreading our Land? Can you be unconcerned, when [Page 5] the dreadful Effects, and baneful Conse­quences, are so visible and evident? Alas Virtue reclines her fainting Head! Morality is almost banished but in Name! The golden Rule of doing to others as we would be done by, is neglected and disregarded! How few advert to the plain Requisition of the Prophet, To do justly, love Mercy, and walk humbly before the Lord? Surely it is too plain to be denied, we have forsaken the true Principles of the Gospel. Christ­ianity has lost its powerful Influence upon us; and therefore the Practice of Morality and Good Works, is so much neglected, so little attended to. O ye Ministers, ye pro­fessed Teachers, and Instructors of Mankind, will not ye attempt to stem the rapid Tor­rent, which threatens to carry all before it? There is no Way left, but to retreat to the primitive Doctrines of the Gospel, the esta­blished Principles of the Reformation. These, these constantly insisted on, and powerfully in­culcated will, nay, these only can be, attended with the happy Effects of reclaiming the Peo­ple from Error, rectifying their Principles, and effectually producing Christian Practices. As for you my Brethren, Brethren Profes­sors of the same Gospel, let me entreat and conjure you, if ye would be true Protestants against the Fallacy and Deceit of the Church of Rome, as you would desire to be Proof against all Doctrines of Novelty, all erro­neous [Page 6] Principles, all dangerous and delusive Tenets; would you perceive and detect, and so beware of deceiving Teachers, false Pro­phets, hypocritical and pretended Ministers; in one Word, are ye sollicitous to come to the Knowledge of the Truth as it is in Jesus, that so ye may be saved? search the Scrip­tures. Make this your constant Practice; for be assured ye are in the utmost Danger of being missed and deceived, never more so than at present. On the one Hand by the proud, self-presuming, God-resisting Infidel, on the other by the credulous, unscriptural, unmeaning Enthusiast. While the former is an open Enemy to the Doctrines of the Gospel, totally rejects every Article of the Christian Faith, acts as far wide from the moralizing Precepts of the Gospel as from Humility; the latter, the Enthusiast, deceives himself and others, by his meer Pretences to Inspi­ration; professes to have received the Gifts of the Spirit, but gives no Evidence to ascertain the Truth of it; makes solemn Declarations of being inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to preach to you, and only pretends to pray to God for spiritual Operations, Influences, and Impressions, but after all 'tis plain to the Eye of discerning Reason, he means nothing but to make Gain of his Pretensions to God­liness; for, contrary to his most solemn Pre­tensions and Professions, he utterly denies any true, real, inward Motion, Operation, and [Page 7] Influence of the Spirit: And hence doth he bewilder, amuse, and perplex the Ignorant and Unwary, by teaching unsound, unscrip­tural Doctrine.

Take heed to yourselves. Beware of such pretended Teachers; for you are liable to be led by such, into a Maze of Antichristian Errors, and a Wilderness of unscriptural Per­plexities; so as that your Danger, through their Means, may not easily be escaped, nor ever rectified. It is not a trifling Affair I am now addressing you about; but it is, my Brethren, of the utmost Concern, and of the greatest Importance, no less than your Souls are at stake, nothing less than an Eternity de­pends upon your being wise unto Salvation. For your Sakes, and in Regard to your Safety, suffer me here to introduce some of the truly scriptural, orthodox Articles of the Establish­ed Church of England, which as they are a Kind of Epitome, or Abridgment of the Gospel, I shall select such of them as may best serve our present Purpose, namely, to try and examine Doctrines and Teachers by, to detect Error, and discover Truth. By these let us determine our assent to, or dis­sent from, such Doctrines as are proposed to us, and I am verily persuaded, we shall escape Error, avoid Delusion, and be freed from Mistakes.

Perhaps a fond Attachment to our excel­lent Established Church (of which I am a [Page 8] Member) may influence me rather to fix on this Form of sound Words, than any other of Human Composition; be it so, I am (I think) herein justified, forasmuch as these Articles are supported by, and built upon, the Holy Scriptures. Therefore I am un­concerned what our modern Teachers, and new pretended Divines, think or say of me; if they dislike, and are ashamed of our Ar­ticles, I am not. For all our Christian Bi­shops (Heavens bless them!) and all our Church Parsons (Lord have mercy on them!) they all own them, and subscribe to them, ay and swear to them too; and they are publickly printed in all our Common-Prayer Books; for what Use think ye? but that we should read them, know them, be instructed in them, and always abide in them. God grant, Brethren, that we may! For if we are happily interested in the great Truths they contain, vain will be all the artful At­tempts, subtile Designs, and nefarious Stra­gems, of Men destitute of the Truth, to mislead, pervert, or delude us.

To this End, I shall now lay the Articles before you, make some Strictures upon them, and draw some Applications from them as I go along; God give us a right Judgment! We begin with the Doctrine of Original, or Birth Sin, Article the 9th.

‘Original Sin standeth not in the follow­ing of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly [Page 9] talk) but it is the Fault and Corruption of the Nature of every Man that is gendered of the Offspring of Adam, whereby Man is far gone from Original Righteousness, and is of his own Nature inclined to Evil.’

This the Pelagians of old denied, and this the modern Pelagians, who pretend to great Knowledge, while ignorant of themselves, and Strangers to the Corruption and Depra­vity of their own Hearts, disown. At the same Time they are standing Monuments of the Truth of this Doctrine, and whether they believe or confess it or not, their outward Actions plainly evince the inhering Power of Original Sin; their not seeing, not knowing, and not feeling it, is only one of the strongest Proofs of their being under original Blindness and Insensibility. And yet such as these truly, set up for Guides and Teachers of others. Know them, Brethren: Discern them you may, you ought; and for your Soul's Sake avoid such. Attend not to their sweet Syrens Songs, lest you are thereby lulled asleep up­on the Waves of Destruction. Take these Marks with you. Yourselves, Brethren, judge of their Doctrines by them: For our Articles plainly declare the miserable State and Condition of Man, of every Man that is born into this World; First, in the Loss of original Righteousness, or the Image of God; and Secondly, as possessed with a contrary Image; therefore is of his own Nature in­clined [Page 10] to Evil. Here behold the true Pic­ture of the so much boasted Dignity of human Nature! Thus is Man painted out by our Article, thus is Man described by the Oracles of Truth; and to this melancholy Account doth every true Christian readily subscribe, and every carnal, natural Man's Actions fully demonstrate it. Ay, but, say our new Doctors, and modern Teachers, this is too dark a Shade, too sable a Dress, too degrading of the hu­man Nature, and therefore they tickle the Ears, please the Pride, and flatter the Vanity of the human Mind, with their unedifying Jargon, unscriptural Harangues, and false Encomiums on the Moral Rectitude, Virtue, and Dignity of Man. But Brethren, would ye avoid an unskilful Quack in Surgery, who instead of searching and probing a Wound, in order to procure the Soundness and Health of the Body, should slightly heal and skin over the Parts aggrieved, while Putrefaction and Rottenness is at the Bottom, whereby the Life of the Patient is destroyed? So these Quacks in Divinity are much more to be dreaded, inasmuch as the Life of the Soul is of infinitely more Value than that of the Body. I have heard our true, staunch, Church Ministers, distinguish such Flatterers of human Nature by the Appellations of sleek Divines, downy Doctors, and velvet­mouthed Preachers. Pretty and significant truly! And the Apostle describes such, as [Page 11] serve not the Lord Jesus but their own Bellies, with fine Words and fair Speeches deceiving the Hearts of the Simple: For as they don't preach agreeable to the Articles, so neither do they chuse Scripture Language, nor A­postolic Diction, in their Compositions. For our Article next declares,

‘Therefore in every Person born into the World, it deserves God's Wrath and Dam­nation.’

What a strange Phrase is here, God's Wrath and Damnation. ‘Ah, say our new­fangled Teachers, our flimsy Divines, thank God we are not so uncharitable, to sup­pose any Person in the World deserving of God's Wrath and Damnation. What unpolite, uncouth Sett of Men were the Compilers of these Articles!’

Say ye so? Pray let me observe, That however unfashionable this Doctrine may be thought by some, however obsolete and harsh, the Expressions may seem to others of our airy fashionable Preachers, Truth it is. It is the Doctrine of Scripture, and those vener­able Compilers spake as the Oracles of God. And is it not better, far better, for the Sin­ner to hear and be made sensible of his Dan­ger, and deserving of God's Wrath and Dam­nation, so as to escape it now, than to be blinded by flattering Deceivers, till he falls a Sacrifice to God's Wrath and Damnation, [Page 12] in dreadful Eternity hereafter? This you must assent to, this you will not deny?

But our Article farther declares, ‘This Infection of Nature doth remain, yea in them that are regenerated.’ Regenerated, how? By Infant Baptism only? No, the Re­generate have received not the outward and visible Sign only, but are made Partakers of the inward and spiritual Grace also. By the quickening and purifying Operations of the Holy Spirit, a Principle of spiritual Life is implanted in them (and take this by the Way, without experiencing this, Infant Bap­tism will not, cannot profit any Person to Salvation:) So that such, and such only, are sensible of the different lustings of the Flesh and of the Spirit; and though there is no Condemnation for such as believe with a Faith of divine Operation, and are baptized with the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, ‘yet Con­cupisence and Lust, saith the Apostle (that is, inward Desires and Lustings) hath the Nature of Sin.’

But alas! in these Days of Modification and Refinement, if so be the outward Actions are somewhat decent, moral, and regular, no Thought or Concern is taken about in­ward Depravity and Heart-Wickedness. But what amazing Horror, what trembling Dread, will seize on such, when a Heart-searching God shall discover before Angels and Men the Vileness, Hypocrisy, and Deceitfulness [Page 13] of the Heart, and to the speechless Condem­nation of all miserable Dawbers and Soul-Deceivers, they shall be forced to own (when too late to be rectified) that their inward Parts were very Wickedness, and therefore stood in Need of being changed and renewed, as well as the outward Actions to be reformed and moralized.

And as the former Article shews the Wretchedness and Sinfulness of our Estate by Nature, the next Article (10) asserts the Helplessness and Insufficiency of our Con­dition.

‘The Condition of Man since the Fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and pre­pare himself by his own natural Strength and good Works, to Faith and calling up­on God. Wherefore we have no Power to do good Works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the Grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good Will, and working with us when we have that good Will.’

Deceivers will come, saith the Scripture; we believe it saith our Church; and there­fore we establish Articles, at once to settle the Judgment of our Members, and to guard them from erroneous Novelty. And are not these Deceivers already come? Is not their Name Legion? Do not Arminian Teachers swarm among us? Who teach, that Man has Free-Will and Power to turn and prepare [Page 14] himself, and to do good Works, by which he is to recommend himself to the Favour of God. Are not these the favourite Doctrines of this Day? Don't we constantly hear such Unscriptural, Antichristian Tenets daily ad­vanced, both from Pulpit and Press? Ask that reverend Gentleman in Black, Sir, what must I do to be saved? And you will find his An­swer as novel and as modish as the Fashion of his Periwig. He's too polite to dictate the old Scriptural Answer, Believe on the Lord Jesus. But ‘practice Morality, and do good Works, and you are safe.’ Was you to reply, Sir I have no Power to do good Works, pleasant and acceptable to God, with­out the Grace of God by Christ— ‘Psha, psha, prithee don't tire and teaze me with your Methodistical Rant, and Enthusiasti­cal Nonsense,’ would be your Answer from his Orthodox Reverendship. Man's Power, natural Ability, and Free-Will, are his favourite Themes, instead of free Grace, supernatural Power, divine and spiritual As­sistance. Lord have Mercy on the Sheep that are under the Care of such a Shepherd!

But, Brethren, let me plainly and briefly apply myself to you on the two foregoing Articles. Do ye know yourselves? Are ye sensible of your real State? Are ye made ac­quainted with your true Condition? Do ye know and feel your Misery and Want as Sin­ners? Are ye sensible of your own Weakness [Page 15] and Insufficiency to turn and prepare your­selves? Do you see your Inclination and Proneness to all Evil and Sin, and your A­version and Disaffection to all Holiness and Godliness? If you do not, have not thus seen yourselves stript of all Good, and full of all Evil, deserving God's Wrath and Damnation, it is plain you are blind even unto this Day, and farther, you never prayed in all your Life. Nay, don't start; 'tis plain Truth: You cannot, you dare not deny it before God, and your own Conscience, if you con­sider Prayer as a breathing out the Wants of the Soul before God, in and under a Sense of the same, and an humble Dependence on him, for Relief and Redress. But how could you pray to be delivered from Sin, Evil, and Danger, when you never saw it, never felt it, and was never sensible of it, and conse­quently could have no Desire to be delivered from it?

But you say you have gone to Church, and prayed—that you have gone to Church, and repeated the solemn Words of our excellent Liturgy, is not denied; but even then and there you offered the Sacrifice of Fools, and solemnly mocked God, while you pretended to address and worship him. Else how could you dare to tell God you was a miserable Sin­ner, desire him to have Mercy upon you, tell him there is no Health in you, that you are tied and bound with the Chain of your Sins, [Page 16] and that the Remembrance of your Sins is grievous unto you, and the Burden is intoler­able, while you neither feel nor experience such a State? Surely the most dreadful Hy­pocrisy this! The most fatal and dangerous Delusion possible!

But if not only your Heads are enlighten­ed, and your Judgment informed, but your Hearts also truly convicted and humbled be­fore the Lord, with a View of yourselves as described by our Scripture Articles; blessed Knowledge! Happy Sensibility! For this you are indebted to the Divine Grace, and Heavenly Teachings of the Holy Spirit, of whom you learn to ‘cast away all human Confidence, all Dependence on the Arm of Fesh only, and to fly to Christ for Help and Succour—with a Lord save, or we perish; for the Heart of Man by Nature is estranged and alienated from God and Christ, would try every other Means, and seek for Salvation in any Way, rather than accept it as a free Gift from Christ. To cast away all Self-Righteousness is grievous to the Heart in its natural State of Pride, and Affectation of Independency. Man would still be as God, still work out and merit for himself his own Salvation: And he must be driven to the last Extremity, see the Insufficiency of Law and SELF, of Morality and Works, before he can cast away all other Confidence, and apply to Jesus [Page 17] with a Lord save or I perish. It is Faith alone which can avail the Soul, and thus we must apply, if we would obtain the Gift of God in Christ, utterly renouncing all Self-Dependence, and perfectly assured, that he is able and willing to save to the uttermost ^*.’ Yea, God for Christ's Sake will enrich your Souls, and comfort your Spirits with the abundant Consolations ad­ministered in the 11th Article, which runs thus:

‘We (all true Believers) are accounted righteous before God, only for the Merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; by Faith, and not for our own Works and Deservings: Wherefore that we are justi­fied by Faith only, is a most wholsome Doctrine, and very full of Comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.’

Here is true Protestant, Anti-Romish Doc­trine. Blessed are the Ministers of our Church, that know and preach thus! Happy [Page 18] every Soul that can set to his Seal to the Truth of these Words! God will suffer no Flesh to glory in his Presence: Therefore in the Justification, Pardon, or Acceptance of a Sinner, he will magnify the Riches of his free Grace. To be justified freely through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and to be accounted righteous for the Righteous­ness of Jesus Christ only, is the only Doc­trine that can yield Comfort and Consolation to penitent humble Sinners, and Glory and Praise to the God of Mercy and Grace. But ‘no, say our modern Theologists, it is by our own good Works and Faith; Christ's Blood, Righteousness, and Merits, are not sufficient of themselves to avert the Wrath, procure the Favour, and recommend our Persons to the Acceptance of God.’ Be astonished O Heavens! Be amazed O ye Sons of God! Be confounded O ye Enemies of all Righteousness! at the Blindness, Va­nity, and Pride of relying on, or joining the imperfect Works, and sullied Obedience of fallen Man, with the perfect Righteousness, all-atoning Merits, and all-sufficient Sacrifice of the infinitely divine and holy Jesus. O how long will ye thus pervert the right Ways of the Lord! How long will ye trample on the precious Blood, depreciate the only-avail­ing Righteousness, and set at nought the all-prevailing Merits of the Sinner's Friend, the dear and loving Jesus! Be filled, O my [Page 19] Soul, be warmed, O my Friends, with a holy Indignation at the daring Insult and impious Affronts that are offered to Jesus your Saviour and your God, whose Blood and Righteousness is your only Plea! We don't preach Justification by Faith only, say the Papists. We are agreed with you, say their Confederates in Error, our pretended Pro­testant, but seducing Preachers. But why? Because it tends to destroy good Works, say both. It is false, says our Church; we expe­rience the contrary, say all its true Christian Members. But truly the Papists Teachers are honest upright Men, when compared with these modern Deceivers: For it is the avowed Tenet of their Church to deny and explode the Doctrine of Justification by Faith only, and the imputed Righteousness and Merits of Jesus Christ—but our only pre­tended Protestant Teachers, assent to it in the Articles of our Church as a most wholsome Doctrine, and very full of godly Comfort, and yet afterwards publickly preach and inveigh against it, and brand and stigmatize the Con­tenders for this Scripture Truth as a Sett of Madmen, Enthusiasts, and Deceivers. Pretty this truly, thus to cry out W—e first! Surprizing is such a Share of Assurance! A­mazing such Want of Modesty! Is this a Specimen of their good Works? Alas, alas, where is common Honesty, candid Judg­ment, and impartial Determination fled! O [Page 20] ye self-confident, soul-deceiving Teachers, how can ye look on this Article without be­ing filled with Shame and Confusion of Face? If Conscience performed its Office, blush ye must, ye would, at such a monstrous Be­haviour and inconsistent Practice.

But does our Church depreciate good Works, or deny their Usefulness? No; nei­ther do any of its true Ministers or Members, they all assent to the Doctrines of the 12th Article, that

‘Good Works are the Fruit of Faith, and follow after Justification (not go be­fore, in order to procure Justification) they cannot put away our Sins, nor endure the Severity of God's Judgment, yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true Faith, inasmuch as by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a Tree by its Fruit.’

O Brethren, what a Consistency of Doc­trine! What a Harmony of Divine Truth! What a Chain of Scripture Tenets, do our excellent Articles afford us! Thank God for antient, orthodox, Christian Compilers! From modern, heterodox, unchristian Teach­ers, good Lord deliver us! And let all our Church Members say Amen.

You see Brethren, that good Works are the Fruits of Faith. Have you received of God the Gift of Faith? Faith in our Lord [Page 21] Jesus Christ, whereby you are justified? Is the Condemnation and Guilt of your Sins taken away? And do ye possess Pardon and Peace from God? Then I am sure you must love God, and Love is the most powerful and availing Principle to produce good Works, ‘"pleasant and acceptable to God in Christ,"’ for only in Christ Jesus is it our Works are accepted; the best Work we can perform can't put away our Sins, and endure the Se­verity of God's Judgment: ‘But good Works spring out necessarily of a true Faith,’ they are true Marks and Evidences of a lively Faith, as the Fruitfulness of a Tree is an unanswerable Proof of the Life and Soundness of the Root. Hence ye see, Bre­thren, by the plain Sense of the Articles, that without a true justifying Faith in our Lord Jesus, no good Works can be pro­duced; and yet truly we find many, who pretend to be the only true orthodox Teachers of our Church, constantly exploding and ve­hemently denying the Doctrine of Justifica­tion by Faith only. Therefore it is a plain Consequence and natural Deduction, that the only Marks such give of their Orthodoxy is, that they have neither Faith nor good Works, notwithstanding all that prating and Noise they make about good Works. And this is more fully proved by Article 13, which as­sures us,

[Page 22] All ‘Works done before the Grace of Christ, and the Inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of Faith in Jesu Christ; neither do they make Men meet to receive Grace, or (as the School Authors say) deserve Grace of Congruity: Rather for that they are not done as God hath willed and com­manded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the Nature of Sin.’

The Grace of Christ, and the Inspiration of the Spirit! Why this is the very Mark and Characteristic of an Enthusiast, to talk of being inspired, say our new Lights and mo­dern Deceivers. But no, it is the only Prin­ciple of true Christian Practices. He is not a Christian who is not inspired by the Spirit of God, neither are any Works pleasant and acceptable to God, but what spring from In­spiration, says our Church. Inspiration sig­nifies a Breathing inward: What? Why the Vitality, Power, and Graces of the Holy Spirit; and from this inward Principle only, outward Actions good and pleasant to God, and profitable to Man flow.

But to avoid Prolixity, I shall not enlarge, as I find I have much exceeded my first In­tentions; but really our excellent Articles afford such a Field of Argument to support Truth, and detect Error, that they are plea­sing and delightful Themes to dwell on, though I doubt not but what I have advanced [Page 23] is sufficient, in the Judgments of the igno­rant and prejudiced Professors of Christianity, to determine me a Methodist and an Enthu­siast. Reader, let me appeal to thee: Have I strained one Sentence of our Articles from its natural Sense and plain Meaning? Well, if for a steady Adherence and firm Attach­ment to the Doctrines of the Church of Eng­land, I am accounted a Methodist, I am con­tent, may I live and die a Church of England Methodist! A Methodist! Why really its a simple and inoffensive Name, and I don't see much Reason to be ashamed of it; for I have often thought, and its well worth No­tice, that the World don't usually fix this Apellation upon Persons of an openly wicked and scandalously finful Life: Hence a gam­ing, pleasure-taking, Playhouse-frequenting Person, who lives in Debauchery and Excess of drinking, is sure to escape the Name of Methodist.

Nor has a Minister that Name given him, who notwithstanding his solemn Declara­tions, Subscriptions, and Oaths, to assent to and abide by the Articles of our Church, preaches contrary to them; denies the Fall of Man, Original Sin, contends for Justification by Works instead of Faith, is an Enemy to the Doctrine of imputed Righteousness; from whose Sermons you seldom or never hear the Name of Jesus, nor the Agency and Influ­ence of the Holy Spirit, unless utterly to [Page 24] deny, inveigh against, and explode all spiri­tual Inspiration and inward Feeling: These and such sort of Preachers escape free from the Imputation of Methodism.

So again that decent regular Person, who freed from the irksome Care of Souls, com­fortably lolls in his Chariot, thinks 'tis Time for him to have done with the Labour and Fatigue of praying and preaching (for he is turned of Forty) therefore has left off Trade, is content with a bare single 1000l. per Annum Church Preferment; he loves, wishes well to the Church (not without Reason by the by) rails at your popular, Mob-driving Preachers (as he terms them) is sure they would not take half the Pains they do, if Views of Money-getting were not at the Bot­tom: These sort of Gentlemen too, stand very clear of being deemed Methodists.

Reader, what dost thou think of all such? I appeal to thee, and every honest Mind, and unprejudiced Judgment, to determine whether a worse Name doth not properly belong to them?

Well, it is plain that Principles and Prac­tices, such as are contrary to the ignorant, formal, sinful, Antichristian Ministers and Professors of the Age, and to abide by and contend for the orthodox Articles of our Church, is thought sufficient to constitute a Person a Methodist: Therefore, Reader, let me here present thee with a just and plain [Page 25] Description of what the World mean by a Methodist. ‘He is one whom God hath chosen in Christ out of Mankind, to deliver from Curse and Damnation, and to bring by Christ to everlasting Salvation; he is called according to God's Purpose, by his Spirit working in due Season; he through Grace obeys the Calling; he is justified freely; he is made a Son of God by Adop­tion; he feels in himself the working of the Spirit of Christ (none but Methodists indeed talk thus, say the formal Professors) mortifying the Works of the Flesh, and his earthly Members, and drawing up his Mind to high and heavenly things; he is made like the Image of Christ, walks re­ligiously in good Works, and at length by God's Mercy attains everlasting Felicity.’

O happy Methodists! Blessed Description! Those who chuse to give a better are at their Liberty; for my Part, I am tenaciously fond of our Church Language, and therefore have transcribed the Words of our 17th Article.

And here, Brethren, may we not observe how highly dignified, how undesignedly ho­noured all the faithful, scriptural, orthodox Ministers of our Church are, by Ministers and Persons of a contrary Character?

Tell me ye blinded by Prejudice, ye heated with Resentment, ye pretended Mini­sters and Members of our Church, tell, prove to the World if ye can, wherein the ingenious Romaine, the judicious Murden, [Page 26] the zealous and laborious Jones, the learned and much-admired Dod, and such like con­scientious Ministers, have departed from, or advanced any one Tenet contrary to, the or­thodox Articles of our Church. If they have, look them in the Face, and by the Judgment and Determination of the Scripture and Ar­ticles, correct and refute them.

But if not (and no such Charge has hither­to appeared) how mean, base, and despicable is it, to attempt to load them with Odium, Contempt, and Infamy behind their Backs? Is it their Crime to be so unpolite as to make Conscience of their Oaths and Subscriptions, and to preach and abide by the excellent and Apostolic Doctrines of our Church? Is it for their Love to, and Zeal for, the Salva­tion of precious and immortal Souls? Is it because the Sheep know their Voice, and follow them as true Shepherds, therefore do ye Hirelings hate, contemn, and despise them? Weep O my Soul in Secret before the Lord, on Account of that Opposition to the Gospel of Jesus, and Unkindness to his Ministers! Rejoice O my Soul! Be thank­ful O my Fellow Sinners, to the great Shep­herd and Bishop of our Souls, in thus careing for, and sending forth these best Friends, truest Sons, and most faithful Ministers of our Church!

And blessed be the Name of the Lord for enduing them with that Spirit of Boldness [Page 27] and Constancy, whereby they declare the whole Counsel of God, no Man making them afraid. I know and am persuaded all that love our Lord Jesus in Sincerity, will feel the same Warmth of Zeal and fervent Affection to these, and all such true Ministers, and will (as I do from my Heart) honour, reve­rence, and esteem them highly in Love, for their Works Sake.

It matters very little to hear the many en­venomed Throats croaking out Enthusiasm. Reader, take Knowledge of that Thing, he is Parson of St.—'s Church, and lest the People should be seduced and deceived, by hearing the Doctrines of the Church of England preached, he denies these true Mini­sters the Pulpit, and says they are Enthu­siasts; and the People, as ignorant as him­self, join the Cry.

An Enthusiast! What is that? O 'tis the cant Word of the Day for the many-headed Monster, the Bugbear of the Times.

‘Ah, says a constant Church-goer, I heard one of these Preachers at our Church; he preached such a Sermon! almost an Hour long, and said downright, That all unconverted People were in a State of Damnation, and would go to Hell, if they did not believe on the Lord Jesus! Truly he set the Parish in an Uproar, for we are not used to such sort of preaching. Thank God for a good Parson say I; for next Sunday our Parson (God bless him) [Page 28] preached a Sermon against such Doctrine, and though he was no longer than a Quar­ter of an Hour, yet he made us all easy again; he told us we were in no Danger of going to Hell, and that there was no Fear of our being damned, for we were all good Christians, if we pay every one their own, and do as we would be done by.’

Why truly Reader, such is the preaching of too many who call themselves Ministers of our Church; but beware of them, for they are Heathens in Disguise.

‘But your Ethusiasts pretend to, and con­tend for, Inspiration of the Spirit.’ A heavy Charge this indeed! And is this what you mean by Enthusiasm? Are all that pre­tend to be inspired by the Spirit Enthusiasts? O yes, doubtless, say our modern Teachers, and unchristian Professors! Why then if so, is not every Minister of our Church an En­thusiast or a Deceiver? For they all at their Ordination, solemnly profess to be inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to take on them the holy Function; and also the Bishop pro­nounces on them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Hence 'tis plain our Church pre-requires the Necessity of an inward Call and Inspiration of the Spirit to the Work of the Ministry, (which if they pretend to and have not, they are Deceivers) and therefore 'tis expected they receive the powerful Influences and Opera­tions of the Holy Ghost, as though without [Page 29] them they could not be true Ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: And it has been be­fore proved, from the plain Declarations of our Articles, that without the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit none can be a true Christian, or do any good Works.

But if by an Enthusiast is meant a De­ceiver, one that fancies himself and pretends to be what in Reality he is not: I declare to you Reader, I do not know a worse Sort of Enthusiasm, nor a more dangerous Sett of Enthusiasts and Deceivers, (Deceivers both of themselves and others, let common Sense and right Reason determine the Point) than those Ministers who solemnly profess to be inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, pre­tend to receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit at their Ordination, assent, subscribe, and swear to the Articles of our Church, in which the Necessity of Inspiration is so strongly insisted on; use the most excellent Form of our Church Liturgy; constantly pray to God for the Inspiration, Guidance, and Operations of the Holy Spirit: And yet after all this (O dreadful Hypocrisy before God! O amazing Soul-Delusion!) can jest, jeer at, and ridicule all spiritual Influences and inward Operations; despise and contemn the honest, faithful, spiritual Ministers of our Church. Surely an honest Heathen would blush at such Behaviour. No Won­der such are so much despised and set at [Page 30] nought, who make themselves by their Ab­surdity contemptible in the Sight of Men.

But it is farther urged against our truly re­verend and Gospel Ministers, ‘That they are not content with the common and or­dinary Operations of the Spirit, but they talk of, and contend for, the extraordi­nary and miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost; therefore they are Enthusiasts.’ This is false; they neither expect, nor see any Necessity for the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost: But they contend for (agree­able to Scripture) the promised inward Gifts and Graces of the Holy Spirit, to enlighten, convince, convert, and make happy, the true Christian, by his indwelling Witness and comfortable Presence to the Soul.

Neither is their Pretensions to Inspiration ‘ungrounded and unwarranted (as others object, and therefore say) they are Enthu­siasts.’ This Kind of Pretension may be reduced to two Sorts for Matter, and for Manner. For Matter, when Persons pre­tend to Inspiration of God for things con­trary to Scripture, which God hath given us as a standing Rule to the World's End. But our Ministers pretend to no such Inspiration, seeing they constantly inculcate the Doctrines of our Church, which are agreeable to the Scriptures: Yea, they preach such Inspira­tion only, which the Word of God promises to every true Christian. Therefore they are not Enthusiasts.

[Page 31] For Manner, when Inspirations are ex­pected to exclude and supersede the Use of Reason, Scripture, and all Divine Ordinan­ces. Such as pretend to these are proper En­thusiasts. But our faithful and orthodox Ministers preach the rational Scripture Doc­trines of the Gospel only. They don't set up Heathen Morality instead of Christian Prac­tices, nor do they teach Man's natural Abili­ty, to the Exclusion of God's Divine Grace, nor the Works of Righteousness of sinful Man, in order to supersede and set at nought the meritorious Sacrifice and Righteousness of Jesus Christ. No; but they insist on the Reasonableness of being endued with spiritual Life and spiritual Power, in order to produce spiritual Actions; they scripturally teach, that Faith, and every other good Gift and Grace, is of the Spirit's Inspiration; and they therefore direct Souls to a diligent Atten­dance, and constant Waiting on the Ordi­nances, and to esteem them as Channels, wherein God is usually pleased to inspire in­to the Soul Divine Grace and spiritual Influ­ences. Therefore they are not Enthusiasts.

And now Reader, by such plain, scriptu­ral, and infallible Marks, we may know and discern the true Gospel Ministers of our Church from Enthusiasts, because they assert and preach that true Christianity is wrought in the Soul, by the Infusion and Inspiration of the Spirit only, authorized by the Word [Page 32] of God, and agreeable to the Voice of our Church, they constantly declare, No one can be a Minister of Christ without being called to and qualified for the preaching of the Gospel, by the Spirit of Christ only. Neither can any Person be a true Christian, but through the animating Power and A­gency of the blessed Spirit. For all godly Ministers and Christians do enjoy this in the Working and Increase of supernatural Grace: For Grace is not the Work of Nature and Reason (let heretical Pelagians and modern graceless Seducers say what they please) but of the Spirit only.

The Gifts and Graces of the Holy Spirit are promised in the Gospel to be with Christ's Church through all the succeeding Ages; to what End? But to carry on, and effectuate and apply, the Blessings and Comforts of Christ's Redemption to the Soul of every Member; to give them an Earnest of the purchased Inheritance in their Hearts here, and to qualify and prepare them for the En­joyment of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus, in a blessed Eternity hereafter? This the Word of God assures us of; this every true Christian happily knows by blessed Expe­rience; and this our truly Christian Church teaches us constantly to pray for and expect, in her Offices and Institutions; yea, in the Communion Service it is asserted of all her true Members, ‘We dwell in Christ, and [Page 33] Christ in us; we are one with Christ, and Christ with us.’

But by Men of corrupt Minds, destitute of the Truth, these antient Doctrines of the Bible, and of our Church, now are deemed New Doctrines, the Preachers of them railed against as Innovators, and from many Pul­pits the People are told (by Way of Preju­dice against them) that ‘they draw People away from the Church, and cause Schism and Division.’ Draw People from the Church, and cause Schism! Might they not with equal Propriety call them Presbyterian Papists, and say they set the Stone Walls of the Church on fire? For

Nonsense can never be understood; but the Discerning and Judicious will always re­ject Absurdity and Falshood. Is it Schism constantly to preach and inculcate the avowed Doctrines and Tenets of the Church? And 'tis obvious even to an Offence to some, that at whatever Church the faithful Gospel Mini­sters preach, numerous and crouded Con­gregations attend. Now is not this a strange Way of drawing People from the Church?

‘But then who are those that follow them?’ Why perhaps many of your Pa­rishioners go to hear them. ‘Ay, that is it, they draw People away from their own Parish Churches.’ Do they so? Why really Mr. Parson, Truth is a very desirable thing, and never more so, than when Reli­gion is concerned. Now the Case is plainly [Page 34] this: When a Person is not content to take up his Religion upon Trust, but reads with Attention and Discernment the Word of God, compares the Doctrines of our Church with the Bible, and observes the great and funda­mental Truths therein contained, either not preached at all in his own Parish Church, or what is worse, openly inveighed against, de­nied, and exploded. Such as the Doctrines of Original Sin, the Insufficiency of Works to justify the Sinner, the Merits and Righte­ousness of the Lord Jesus, and Justification through the same by Faith; the Necessity of inward Holiness and Sanctification by the Holy Spirit, &c. I say, when a Person sees the Weight and Importance of these sacred Scripture Truths, it is the very Delight of his Soul to hear them preached; he becomes a Church of England Man not by Profession merely, but on Principle chiefly.

And 'tis easy to be accounted for, that he takes some Pains to follow the Voice of the Church, and to attend the Sound of her Doc­trines at other Churches, and even thinks it an Unhappiness he can't hear them preached at his own Parish Church.

Now Doctor you say 'tis wrong, and you blame People for rambling away from their own Churches; but is it not worse in you to forsake your own Church Doctrines? 'Tis true, they sometimes forsake the Stone Walls and Buildings of their Parish Churches; but why? For this very Reason, because their [Page 35] own Parish Priests have departed from the constituent Principles and established Doc­trines of our Articles, Homilies, and Liturgy. And pray now, who is in Fault? Not those Ministers who preach the Doctrines of the Church of England, nor those who are so at­tached to the same as to follow them; but those who drive them away from their own stated Parish Churches, by preaching con­trary to the venerable Scripture Truths, and can't be content with the Religion of their Forefathers, the Doctrines of the Reforma­tion, but must broach some new-fangled Te­nets, and preach only the poor, dry, unavail­ing System of Heathenish Morality, instead of the lively, animating, powerful, truly-moralizing Truths of the Gospel.

Therefore let Clericus and his Brethren, who are so often haranguing against Schism and Separation, know that the Schism rever­berates and the Charge of Separation recoils back upon themselves, while they are guilty of Schism in Doctrine, and separate from the precious Truths, the avowed Tenets of our excellent Establishment.

But there is one Expedient, which from my hearty Zeal for our Church, and warm Affection to the Clergy, I would humbly re­commend to them (and may the Almighty God, who alone worketh great Marvels, in­cline them all to put it in Practice.) It is this, to preach constantly, maintain steadily, in­culcate fervently, the established Doctrines of [Page 36] our Church, the glorious Truths of the Re­formation. Now who would think there could be any Objection against this Method? Nay there can be none; and I am sure it will be practised by those who have so much Conscience, as to believe solemn Promises, Oaths, and Subscriptions, are binding and obligatory upon them.

Besides this, consider Reverend Sirs, pray consider that besides discharging your Con­science in the Sight of God, clearing your­selves from the Imputation of Schism and Disaffection to the Truths of our Establish­ment, you may also assure yourselves these happy Effects will be the Consequence of such a Practice: Your respective Flocks will be kept together, they will punctually attend their Ministers at their own Parish Churches, ignorant Professors will be instructed in the saving Doctrines of the Gospel, established in the Truth as it is in Jesus, and will be thereby preserved from being misled by Er­ror, and perverted by Delusion; a glorious Spirit of Reformation will overspread our Land, the Practice of Morality and good Works will abound, and our Church will soon become the Glory of the whole Earth.

O happy Period! A Time how much to be desired! May the God of Truth and Power hasten it for his Mercy's Sake!