entire mystery of his gofpel, as far as his spirit has enlightened me into it.-The confequence of my first plan of operations was, that the generality of my hearers were pleafed: but very few were converted. The refult of my latter deliverance from worldly wisdom and from worldly fear (fo far as the Lord has exempted me from thofe fnares), is, that multitudes have been very angry: but the converfions, which God has given me reafon to hope he has wrought, have been, at least, three, for one before. Thus, I can teftify, fo far as I have been concerned, the usefulness of preaching predeftination: or, in other words, of tracing falvation, and redemption, to their first fource.

Your ladyship's goodnefs will pardon the unreferved freedom and plainnefs, with which I have taken occafion to open my mind. Nor will you, I hope, difbelieve me, when, with the fame fimplicity and truth, I affure your ladyship, that I love and revere you, for what God has made you, and for what he has effe&ted through you. Let me have, as you kindly promife, an intereft in your prayers.

Should I vifit my Bath friends, this winter, as I have fome thoughts of doing, I will avail myself of your ladyfhip's invitation, by paying my refpects to you; and the rather, as it is, now, between ten and eleven years, fince I had an opportunity of prefenting you with them in perfon. Whenever I have been in Bath, during this long period, your ladythip never happened to be there.

Wishing you, not the compliments of the enfuing feafon, but an encreafing enjoyment of the realities, which it brings to our remembrance, I remain, madam,

Your ladyfhip's moft obedient, and most

humble fervant,

Auguftus Toplady. P. S. May I take the liberty, to wish, that, when you next write to lord Moira, your ladyfhip would

conde

condefcend to make my refpects acceptable to him. Mr. Shirley, if at Bath, has my affectionate falutations.

LETTER

To the Rev. Dr. PRIESTLEY.

Rev. SIR,

L.

Broad-Hembury, Dec. 23, 1774

Condefcend to accept the thanks of a person, who has not the honour of being acquainted with you, for the pleasure and improvement, recently received, from a perufal of your spirited (and, for the most part, juft) Animadverfions on the three Northern Doctors. Allow me alfo to thank, in an especial manner, the good providence of God, which has raised up no lefs a man, than yourself, to contend, fo ably, for the great doctrine of neceffity: a doctrine, in my idea, not only effential to found and rational philofophy; but, abstracted from which, I could not, for my own part, confider Christianity itfelf as a defenfible system.

Greatly as I admire the main of your performance, I should, probably, not have taken the liberty to trouble you with my acknowledgements, but for the following circumstance.

In your fuccessful affault and battery of the new Scotch fortification, you have, occafionally, fired fome random shot on a very numerous fet of men, who, fo far as concerns the article of neceffity, are your actual friends, and your natural allies. Permit me, therefore, fir, to offer you, in this private manner, a few plain, but not intentionally difrefpectful, ftrictures on fome rash and exceptionable paffages;

which ferve, as foils, to render your penetration and candour, on fome other occafions, the more confpicuous.

I fhall confine myself to your Introduction.

66

1. Are you certain that " The common Arminian doctrine of freewill is founded on Scripture, and prefuppofed by the philofophic doctrine of neceffity ?" Is it not very poffible, and often actually matter of fact, that men have not "the power of doing what they please, or will" to do? The triumvirate of doctors (for inftance) are, I doubt not, very willing to beat you off from their intrenchments, and to give you a total defeat. But I am much mistaken, if they have" the power of doing it."

2. Why are "Calvin's notions" reprefented as gloomy?" Is it gloomy, to believe, that the far greater part of the human race are made for endless happiness? There can, I think, be no reasonable doubt entertained, concerning the falvation of very young perfons. If (as fome, who have verfed themfelves in this kind of fpeculations, affirm) about one half of mankind die in infancy; and if, as indubitable obfervation proves, a very confiderable number, of the remaining half, die in early childhood; and if, as there is the strongest reafon to think, many millions of thofe, who live to maturer years, in every fucceffive generation, have their names in the Book of Life: then, what a very small portion, comparatively, of the human fpecies, falls under the decree of preterition and non-redemption! This view of things, I am perfuaded, will, to an eye fo philofophic as your's, at least open a very chearful vifta through the "gloom;" if not entirely turn the imaginary darkness into fun-fhine. For, with refpect to the few reprobate, we may, and we ought to, refign the difpofal of them, implicitly, to the will of that only King who can do no wrong: instead of fummoning the Almighty, to take his trial at the tribunal of our

Own

own fpeculations, and of fetting up ourselves as the judges of Deity.

3. I must confefs, I fee nothing "wonderful," nor to be gazed at " as a ftrange phenomenon;" in the co-incidence of "philofophic neceffity" with the Calviniftic theology and metaphyfics. I fhould rather "wonder," if they did not co-incide: fince (according to the ideas formed by me, who live in a Chriftian country, and believe the Chriftian revelation) they mutually fuppofe and fupport each other. For, what is Calvinifm, but a fcriptural expanfion of the philofophic principle of neceffity? or, if you please, a ramification of that principle into its religious parts? It is poffible, indeed, for a perfon to be a grofs Neceffitarian, or a Neceffitarian at large, without being, fully, a Calvinift (witnefs many of the antient, and fome modern, philofophers) but it feems impoffible, to me, that any perfon can be, fully, a Calvinift, without being a Neceffitarian.

Moreover, every Chriftian Neceffitarian is, fo far, a Calvinift. Have a care, therefore, Dr. Priestley : left, having fet your foot in the Lemaine lake, you plunge in, quantus quantus. A catastrophe, which, for my own part, and for your own fake, I fincerely with may come to pafs; and of which I do not wholly despair.

4. There is, I apprehend, no fhadow of reason, for fuppofing, that, had the great and good Mr. Edwards "lived a little longer, he would have been fenfible, that his philofophy was much more nearly allied to Socinianifm, than to Calvinifm." That deep and masterly reafoner would, rather, have rejoiced, at feeing fo important a branch of the Calvinistic philofophy, (viz. the doctrine of neceffity) fo warmly adopted by a Socinian divine.

Seriously, I think you have admitted a Trojan horfe into your gates; whofe concealed force will, probably, at the long run, difplay the banner of

John

John Calvin on your walls, and mafter your capital, though at prefent garrifoned by the confederate forces of Pelagius, Sozzo, and Van Harmin.

5. Nor was it any "piece of artifice, in Mr. Edwards, to reprefent the doctrine of philofophical neceffity, as being the fame thing with Calvinifm; and the doctrine of philofophical liberty, as the fame thing with Arminianifm." This fuggeftion, fir, (which, by the way, is more than a little ungenerous, when we confider how upright and valuable a man Mr. Edwards, by all accounts, proved himself, in every part of his conduct) feems to have been started, merely, as a falvo for yourself. You are, on the article of neceffity, the reverse of an Arminian. And you are terribly afraid of being dubbed a Calvinift. I muft own you are in fome little danger. But, chear up. Your cafe is not yet defperate. Poor Janffenius was in a fituation, fomewhat fimilar to your's. He, indeed, fwam farther into the Geneva lake, than you have ventured to do: and, to elude the name of heretic, affured as many good people, as would believe him, that he was, all the while, bathing in the Tiber.

So far as I can judge, Mr. Edwards gave the naked and genuine fentiments of his heart to the public. And I am, likewife, of opinion, that the fact stands, fimply and literally, juft as he reprefents it. Arminianifm, when ftripped of its fophiftical trappings, contends for fuch an abfolute and inviolable freedom,

aug, as is independent, in its exercife, on any thing but the will itfelf. Confequently, the Arminian scheme is no lefs incompatible with the religion. of reafon, than with the religion of the Bible and directly contravenes the whole current, both of natural and of revealed truth.

6. It is, certainly, a very unguarded affertion, that "the modern queftion of liberty and neceffity" is what the Calvinian divines, "never understood, nor, indeed, fo much as heard of." The contrary is VOL. VI. (32.) evincible,

R