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free grace to distinguish between moral virtue, and true religion; the former they have allowed to exist in a degree in unregenerate men, and have thought it their duty to encourage it, though at the same time they have insisted on the necessity of what is superior to it. But your ideas of total depravity would go to destroy this distinction, and render what has been usually called moral virtue, no virtue. " This, (I remember an ingenious writer once observed,) is not orthodoxy, but extravagance." For my part, I would not speak so strong; yet I cannot but say, you seem to carry things to an extreme. I am free to own, however, that I feel the difficulty of answering what you advanced in the last dialogue. Every truth is doubtless consistent with other truths. Happy should I be to obtain satisfying and consistent views on this important subjest.

Some religious people hereabouts, to whom I have repeated the substance of our conversations, do not at all appear to be interested by them. They seem to me to be contented with a confused and superficial view of things. I wish I could transfer my feelings to them. Did they but know the worth of just sentiments in religion, they would think no labour too great to obtain them. They seem to be averse to the pain which accompanies a state of hesitation and suspense, and therefore decline to examine all those difficult subjects which would produce it: But then they are of course equally unacquainted with the pleasure which arises from the solution of these difficulties, and from obtaining clear and satisfactory views of divine subjects. Surely it were criminal indolence in us, as well as meanness, if, rather than be at the trouble of drawing from a deep well, we are contented to sip

muddy waters from any puddle that presents itself. Your answer to the above will much oblige,

Your affectionate friend,

*

CRISPUS.

LETTER THE SECOND.

On the Total Depravity of Human Nature.

[In Reply to the Objections of CRISPUS.]

My Dear Friend,

I

K, Dec. 5, 1794,

RECEIVED yours with pleasure. It is quite agreeable to me to supply, as well as may be, the defect of personal intercourse by a free and friendly correspondence. Your thirst after truth is pleasing.Would to God we were all more of that temper which seeks for wisdom with the ardour of those who dig for hidden treasures! I intend it not as a mere compliment, when I say, that you have stated your objections to the doctrine of total depravity, in as plausible a manner as I ever recollect to have seen them. I will endeavour to give them all the weight they possess.

The point in dispute betwixt us, you will observe, is, Whether an unregenerate sinner can be said to perform any part of his duty, or to obtain in any measure, the approbation of his Maker? And I hope you will consider that this is, for substance, the same thing as, Whether the carnal mind be wholly enmity against God, or whether it be in any measure subject to the law of God, or indeed can be? You allow, I think, that whatever excellencies such characters possess, the love of God is not in them, no, not in any degree. Their amiable qualities, therefore, be they what they may, must be something quite distinct from love, or any of its operations. But as love is the fulfilling of the law, it must comprehend the whole of moral excellence; and consequently there can be no moral excellence in the sight of God without it.

You first reason from the cases of Ahab, the Ninevites, the young man whom our Lord is said to have loved, and the scribe who was declared to be not far from the kingdom of heaven. In answer to which, I would observe: Though the great God knoweth the secrets of all hearts, yet in the government of the world he does not always proceed upon this principle. He has sometimes thought fit to reward men for their actions, not because he approved of them as actions of theirs, but merely because they tended to subserve his own great and wise designs. God rewarded Nebuchadnezzar for his long siege against Tyre, by giving him the land of Egypt; yet Nebuchadnezzar did nothing in this undertaking which in its own nature could approve itself to God. The only. reason why he was thus rewarded was, that what he had done subserved the divine purposes in punishing Tyre for her insulting treatment towards the people of God *. God also rewarded Cyrus with the treasures of Babylon, the hidden riches of secret places, as they are called †, not because Cyrus did any thing that was pleasing in his sight; his motive was the lust of dominion: but because what he did effected the deliverance of Judah, and fulfilled the divine predictions upon Babylon.

And as, in the great system of the divine government, actions may be rewarded which have no appearance of innate goodness; so others may be re* Ezek. xxvi. 1-7. xxix. 17. 20. † Isa. xlv. 3.

warded which have such an appearance, even though it be nothing but appearance. God does not always avail himself of his omniscience, if I may so speak; but proceeds upon the supposition that men are what they profess and appear to be. The end of Jehovah in punishing the person and the house of Ahab was to make manifest his displeasure against their idolatries: But if, when Ahab humbled himself, and rent his garments, God had proceeded towards him on the ground of his omniscience; and knowing him to be destitute of sincerity, had made no difference in his treatment of him, that end would not have been answered. For whatever might be Ahab's motives, they were unknown to men: and if no difference had appeared in the divine treatment, they would have concluded that it was vain to serve God. It seemed good therefore to him, in the present life, to treat Ahab upon the supposition of his being sincere: and as to his insincerity, he will call him to account for that another day.

There is a case much resembling this of Ahab, in the history of Abijah, the son of Rehoboam. In 2 Chron. xiii. we read of his wars with Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, king of Israel, and how he addressed the apostate Israelites previous to the battle. Having reproached them with forsaking the God of their fathers, and turning to idolatry, he adds: But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken him : and the priests which minister unto Jehovah are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business; and they bring unto Jehovah every morning and every evening, burnt sacrifices and sweet incense : the shew-bread also, set they in order upon the pure table, and the candlestick of gold, with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of Jehovah our God; but ye have forsaken him. And behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O ye children of Israel, fight ye not against Jehovah, God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper! To all appearance this prince was zealous for Jehovah, God of Israel; and one might suppose that the signal victory given him over Jeroboam, was an expression of divine approbation: but if we turn to the account given of the same reign, in 1 Kings xv. we shall find that this Abijah, (or Abijam, as he is there called,) was a wicked prince; that notwithstanding his boasting language when addressing Israel, he walked in all the sins of his father; and that although God gave him a signal victory over the idolatrous Israelites, yet it was not for his sake, or out of regard to any thing he did; but for David's sake, and for the establishment of Jerusalem. His attachment to Jehovah was nothing better than pharisaical formality; and his boastings of the state of things in Judah were no better than the swellings of spiritual pride: but God proceeded with him, not according to his principles, but according to his professions. His hypocrisy was known to God; and he will appear to take cognizance of it in the day when he shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.

Much the same things might be observed concerning the Ninevites. There might be many true penitents amongst them, for aught we know; but whether holy love or slavish fear was their motive, they professed and appeared to be humbled, and discovered all the apparent fruits of repentance; and as such it was manifestly an instance of divine wisdom, as tending to do honour to his own government in the eyes of surrounding nations, to proceed with them upon

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