unto him; for, no doubt, Adam had a power to believe every word of God, any revelation that was, or might be made unto him. Now all mankind were in him, in fuch fenfe, as Levi was in the loins of Abraham, and paid tithes in him long before he was born; yea, they were in Adam as their federal and reprefentative head, and fo had, reprefentatively, the power he had, which, when they finned in him, and fell with him, in his firft tranfgreffion, they loft: hence followed a depravation of nature, an enmity to God, an oppofition to his will, and an impotence to all that is Spiritually good, which is the root and fource of infidelity; but tho' men have lost the power of believing, and are shut up in unbelief, God may justly require them to give credit to, and believe, whatever revelation he is pleased to make. As for those texts of scripture', I know of none, that exhort and command all men, all the individuals of human nature, to repent, and believe in Chrift for falvation; they can only, at moft, concern fuch perfons who are under the gospel difpenfation, and, in general, only regard an external repentance and reformation, and an hiftorical faith in, or af fent to, Jefus, as the Meffiah. Our bleffed Saviour ", marvelling at the unbelief of his

Whitby, P. 169. Ed. 2. 165; "Ib. p. 172. Ed. 2. 168.

country

countrymen, and at the faith of the Centu rion, is to be understood of him as man, and no way contradicts mens difability to believe he marvelled at the unbelief of his countrymen, that they fhould be offended at him, and reject him as the Meffiah, on the account of the meanness of his parentage and education, when they had fuch large means, by his miniftry and miracles, to convince them that he was the Meffiah, whom they might have believed in, and received as fuch, though they lay under a difability of coming to him, or believing in him to the faving of their fouls, without the special grace of God: he marvelled at the faith of the Centurion, that he, who had fuch small means, and fuch little knowledge of him, yet should so strongly be lieve in him; which greatly argued the mighty power of God in him, and is what our Lord defigned, thofe about him should take notice of to the glory of God. The inftances from fcripture of Chrift's upbraiding perfons for their impenitence and unbelief, refpect himself as the Meffiah, and not affenting to him as fuch, and not repenting of their rejection of him, when they had fuch plain proofs, demonstrations and examples; and are far from difproving man's disability to repent and believe in a

*.Whitby, p. 173. Ed. 2. 169.
G 2

fpiri

spiritual manner. The parables of the marriage fupper, and the talents, are foreign to the purpofe; the defign of the one being to fhew that men may be externally called, by the miniftry of the word, and not be chofen; and have neither the grace of God, nor the righteoufnefs of Chrift; and fo will, at the laft day, be fpeechless, and have nothing to fay why they should not be condemned for their many actual fins and tranfgreffions, from which, the grace of God, and the righteousness of Chrift, could only fave them; though they could not obtain, procure, and merit either of these by their own defervings, fince, as they were deftitute of them, fo they were unconcern'd about them, made no application for them, but, perhaps, flighted and contemned them. The defign of the other, is to fhew the nature and ufe of external gifts for the miniftry, which men may have, and use, and improve, as they ought, and as they have power to do, even though deftitute of the grace of God. But thefe inftances, as they do not properly belong to this branch of the argument, fo moft, if not all of them, have been confider'd in the first. part of this performance, which the reader may consult.

VII. It

VII. It is faid ", That "that which doth render this doctrine (of particular Redemption) moft worthy to be rejected by all who truly love their God and Saviour, is this confideration, that it unworthily reflects upon our good and gracious God, our bleffed Lord and merciful High priest, who is, in fcripture, often faid, but, by this doctrine, is denied to be the Saviour of the world; for it, in effect, declares he who is, in fcripture, ftiled Love, hath, from eternity, hated the greatest portion of mankind; represents him as having no bowels of compaffion, no drop of mercy, no inclination to do good to the generality of his most noble creatures, and renders the God of truth and fincerity, full of guile, deceit and infincerity, diffimulation and hypocrify." To all which I reply;

1. As to what is faid, That "this do&trine unworthily reflects on our bleffed Lord and merciful High-prieft, who is, in fcripture, often faid, but, by this doctrine, is denied to be the Saviour of the world; I observe, That Chrift is not often, only twice, in fcripture, faid to be the Saviour of the world, John iv. 42. 1 John iv. 14. nor is he denied to be fo, by the doctrine of particular redemption; though, accord

y Whitby, p: 176, 177, 179. Ed. 2, 171, 172, 175.

ing to that doctrine, this phrafe is to be understood in a limited and reftrained sense, as it appears, it fhould be from thofe fcrip-. tures in which he is oftner faid to be our Saviour, the Saviour of Ifrael, and the Saviour of the body, the church. He is, indeed, a merciful High-prieft; but it should be obferv'd, that he is alfo a faithful one, in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the fins of the people: but if he has not taken care of things pertaining to God, fo as to make full atonement for the fins of his people, that juftice may have no more to require, and they be entirely free from any further demands of his, and not liable to future punishment; I cannot fee how he can be either a merciful, or a faithful Highprieft. And it deferves confideration, whether that doctrine does not moft unworthily reflect upon our bleffed Lord and merciful High-prieft; which reprefents him not as procuring by his death, an actual pardon and reconciliation for any, only a conditional one for all; not as obtaining certain falvation for any of the fons of men, only as putting them into a falvable ftate, or into a capacity of being pardoned, reconciled,. and faved, through conditions of their own performing, and as dying in vain for multitudes, whom he came into the world to fave.