in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able," Luke xiii. 24. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth volence, and the violent take it by force," Matt. xi. 12.

To penitents that were never justified: "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit," Ps. xxxiv. 18. "They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them," Jer. xxxi. 9. "Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted," Matt. v. 4. "Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," chap. xi. 28. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," 1 John i. 9.

To those that have been justified, but have turned again to folly: "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man," Hos. xi. 8, 9. "Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do ear nestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord," Jer. xxxi. 20. "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him," Hos. xiv. 4.

To them that are in despair: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool," Isa. i. 18. "Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men," Matt. xii. 31. "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out," John vi. 37. "It is a good thing that a man should both hope, and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord," Lam. iii. 26. If backsliders: "The Lord will not cast thee off for ever. But though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies," Lam. iii. 31, 32. "For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth, for the spirit would fail before me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him : I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his mourners," Isa. lvii. 16-18. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous," 1 John ii. 1. "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory," Matt. xii, 20. VOL. XLII. JULY, 1819.

To babes in Christ: "As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have "Grow in tasted that the Lord is gracious," 1 Pet. ii. 2, 3. grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. iii. 18. "As ye have therefore received Christ "Little chilJesus the Lord, so walk ye in him," Col. ii. 6. dren, keep yourselves from idols," 1 John v. 21. "Beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life," Jude 20, 21.

To weak believers: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord," Isa. xl. 1. "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with a recompence, he will come and save you," Isa. xxxv. 4. "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength," Isa. xl. 29. "O thou of little faith, wheredidst thou doubt?" Matt. xiv. 31. "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness," 2 Cor.

xii. 9.

To declining ones: "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," Gal. iii. 1, 3; chap. v. 8; chap. vi. 7. "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works," Rev. ii. 4, 5. " Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die. If therefore thou wilt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee," chap. iii. 2, 3.

To them that are derided, or persecuted: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which "Thou therefore endure were before you," Matt. v. 10-12. hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," 2 Tim. ii. 3.

To those that art harassed by temptations and trials: "There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to "Blessed escape, that ye may be able to bear it, be able to bear it," 1 Cor. x. 13. is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to themthat love him :" James i. 12. "The Lord knoweth how

to deliver the godly out of temptation," 2 Pet. ii. 9. "The Lord trieth the righteous," Psa. xi. 5. "Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine; when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee," Isa. xliii. 1, 2. "Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness, Isa.xli. 10. "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God," Acts iv. 22. "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Now "no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness, unto them which are exercised thereby," Hebrews xii. 6, 11.

To active christians: "God is not unrighteous, to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister," Heb. vi. 10. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord," 1 Cor. xv. 58.

(To be continued.)

THE TRUTH OF GOD DEFENDED.

REMARKS

On the Rev. LATHAM WAINEWRIGHT'S "Observations," &c.

LETTER IV.

"Men who cannot deceive others, are very often successful in deceiving themelves; they weave their sophistry till their 'own reason is entangled, and repeat their positions till they are credited by themselves; by often contending, they become sincere in the cause; and by long wishing for demonstrative arguments, they at last bring themselves to fancy that they have found them." RAMBLER.

"Corrupted manners I shall ne'er defend;
Nor, falsely witty, for my faults contend."

OVID, translated by ELPHINSTONE.

.

REV SIR, Ir will generally be found, that a sect, in proportion as its leading characters are wise and virtuous, rises in respectability. That Methodism, therefore, should be held in such sovereign contempt by Mr. W. is not at all surprising, when we connect with the subject his views of the talents, the learning, and the piety of the preachers. They are characterized as self-electedunauthorized-illiterate without knowledge- mere empirics* 3 L 2

coarse-vociferous-declamatory-perverters and corrupters of the sciences-foolish arrogant-bewildered-artful-intrusively active, and as duping and deluding the people. Could the Rev. Gentleman have added to his list the sins and follies of drunkenness, swearing, lying, Sabbath-breaking, horse-racing, cockfighting, fox-hunting, gaming, and making merchandise of livings, he would unquestionably have done it: but, for these he has to look to another quarter. I shall omit at present, Sir, whatever involves a dereliction of moral principle and moral duty; because these are subjects into which the Methodist Conference will, upon Mr. W. preferring the charges, fully enter. What I more immediately wish to direct your attention to, out of this long head-roll, is, the qualifications the Preachers possess for the sacred office they sustain.

Mr. W. considers the Clergy of the Established Church as the only regular spiritual physicians, to whose care the people ought to be entrusted. In this honour he will participate; as you, Sir, must be content with a part of the odium which he throws upon those whom, in the humility of his spirit, he looks down upon as a set of mere theological quacks. From Dr. Johnson's testimony, as adduced in the first letter, it is a fact, that these regular spiritual physicians, whatever may be their natural or acquired endowments, have been unequal to the task of curing the moral disease of the people; and it is partly acknowledged by Mr. W. himself, that the Methodist Preachers, with all their quackery, have restored the "poorer classes" to a state of spiritual health,-have "produced a reform in the external conduct of many they address, and contributed to subdue their barbarism and excesses into comparative self-command and decency of deportment." This is generous; but there is something implied, which, to a medical man, must appear very ridiculous. All are infected with sin, and, for all, there is but one remedy: but Mr. W. seems to think, that the same medicine, which is to be administered for the same complaint, and to the same constitution-to one constitutionally bad, will produce in the poor, by means of Methodist Preachers, what it will not effect in the rich. The principal difference is in the pocket, both as it regards the physician and the patient; and really, Sir, if a quack, in an honest way, can effect a greater cure than Doctor Z. or Sir Humphrey X. I cannot perceive why his want of a title should be detrimental to his practice. Nature is frequently more lavish of her gifts than Art; and if an individual be gifted by Nature for any particular work, it would scarcely be prudent in Art to strut about, and find fault, because she did not come in for a due portion of the glory. I recollect, Sir, observing to you

P. 48, 134, 135, 133, 132, 142, 126, 128, 168, 193, 198, + Page 134.

once, that the cobler at his stall, who, amidst a thousand disadvantages, has acquired a knowledge of the Bible in the languages in which it was first written, is perhaps as exalted a character, and possesses as much real merit, as some who are bedaubed with Roman capitals from head to foot-as some who are decorated with all the initials of deplomatical and academical honour. From this, notwithstanding any thing Mr. W. has advanced, I have seen no reason to deviate.

Never was Mr. W. under a greater mistake than when he supposed that the Methodists plead for ignorance, and pour contempt upon learning. The state of the case is this:-They consider extensive literary accomplishments, not, with Mr. W., as "essential," or absolutely necessary, but as highly useful. With this exception, the Methodist Preachers, as a body, have no objection to unite with him in his eulogium on learning, and to applaud many of his remarks on the subject, which compose the best part of his book: I say many, for he is led astray in some, by proceding on the principle-that learning is every thing; and his premises being such, it is no wonder that his conclusions should be erroneous. Learning and eloquence have maintained the outworks of Christianity; but simplicity and truth have preserved the citadel. It is to Dr. Paley, and others, that the Methodists leave the outworks, and to the outworks alone do the most of Mr. W.'s qualifications extend. The Methodists would even hesitate implicitly to trust the whole of the internal evidences of Christianity to Soame Jenyns, admirably as he has written upon them.** Notwithstanding all that has been accomplished by the most eminent men, both in and out of the Establishment; notwithstanding the philosophic deist has been driven off the field,-sinners are yet to be converted to God." If the writings of different men on the external evidences of Christianity could effect this, why not read them every Lord's day? or why not preach sermons on the same plan? To the people, such sermons would be deemed unnecessary; and, in point of fact, they would be left, as many have been who have read and heard them,-depraved in heart, and immoral in life. With all the boasted learning of the Establishment, many of her congregations are unconverted, and many of her places of worship are nearly empty, except when an evangelical clergyman is the occasional instrument of filling them,

*Meth. Mag. 1815, p. 662.
§ P. 135-140.

** Among other things, Mr. Jenyns represents faith as possessing moral merit, because of its being a voluntary act, p. 60. Eating is a voluntary act. Query, Is there any merit in eating?

++ To you, Sir, I may safely employ the term "converted." Had I been addressing Mr. W. I should have adopted a term less objectionable, and with which he was better acquainted.