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fearn from Scripture Teftimony, and may daily observe in our own melancholy Expérience. The Book of Job gives us a very striking Inftance in the Perfon of that great Man, who vented the En mity of his Heart against the Methods of Providence in very indecent and irreverent Expreffions. At laft it pleafed God to interpofe, and vindicate his own Honour, even by the very Mouth which had fo grofsly infulted it.

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"Shall be that contendeth with the ALMIGHTY « inftru&t Him, (faid GoD) be that reproveth God, "let him anfwer it." Then Job anfwered the LORD and faid. Behold I am vile, what shall I answer "Thee? I will lay mine Hand upon my Mouth. Once "have I spoken, but I will not answer; yea twice, *but I will proceed no further," Job xl. 1, &c. When it pleafed the ALMIGHTY to open further to Job the Volume of Nature, that beholding therein his exceeding Ignorance of outward Things, he might be ftill more deeply convicted of his Arrogance and Infolence, in daring to arraign the Wif dom, Justice, and Sovereignty of GOD in the Ways and Methods of His Councils and Providence "Then Job answered the LORD and said, I know "that Thou canst do every Thing,"-confequently reconcile what did, or doth, appear to the Appréhenfions of finful Men, utterly irreconcileable,

" and that no Thought is witholden from Thee ;” i. e. that thy Wisdom is as infinite as thy Power-a9 infinitely beyond the Line of human Comprehenfion. "Who is be that bideth Coursel without "Knowledge?" faid GoD, ch. xxxviii. 2. "I." I am that Wretch, I have darkened or ebfcured thy Counfels by Mifconftruction, my own by rafh and unfkilful Expreffions." I bave uttered that "I understood not, faid Job, Things too wonderful·

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for me which I knew not ;" i. e. I have rafhly and imprudently, yea gracelessly and impudently spoken of thy Ways and Judgments, which were " far "out of my Sight," and defired to difpute with Thee, daring to reprehend what I did not comprehend, and to pass my Verdict on Things which are too hard for me." Hear, I beseech thee, and “I will speak, I will demand of Thee, and declare "Thou unto me;" i. e. I will pray unto Thee, do Thou hear me; I will afk Counsel at Thy Mouth, O LORD do Thou teach me. "I have beard of "Thee by the bearing of the Ear;" i. e. I had a Knowledge of Thee, which I learned from others; --" but now mine Eye feeth Thee, and being thus brought to a Sight and Senfe of thy Glory, Power, Wisdom, and Majefty." I abbor myself, and re"pent in Duft and Afbes." Vid. Job xlii. 1, &c.

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Job had" added Rebellion to his Sin, and multi"plied his Words against GOD," Chap. xxxiv. 37. -He had even charged Injustice upon GOD, and faid, that he was more righteous than GOD, Chap. XXXV. 2. Cruelty (Chap. xxx. 21.) alfo was a Part of his Charge, and all this because he could not reconcile God's Dealings towards him, with fome Notions of his own. But I have feen a certain printed Sermon filled with fuch Expreffions, as the Author acknowledges," are enough to make the "Ears of him that heareth to tingle," and all to make up a * San benito for the poor Calvinists.—But how any Man can be fuppofed to be ferious, in wifhing to be found at their Feet in the Day of Judgment,"

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* The San benito is a Garment fomething like a Herald's Coat, painted full of Flames and Devils, and put upon those condemned to be burnt by the Inquifition for Calvinism.

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"Judgment," is past my Comprehenfion; for my own Part, if what the Sermon charges upon the Calvinists be true, I fhould as foon wifh to be found at the Feet of the Devil and bis Angels, though I were convinced that the Devil is not fo black as the Sermon makes him; and indeed I don't find in Scripture the leaft Trace of Satan's daring to utter fuch Expreffions, or take fuch Liberties with the Name of GOD, as the Sermon fuppofes. Whatever that unhappy Spirit might think of the DEITY's determining the Salvation of fome of His apoftate Creatures, and leaving others to the bitter Confequences of their Sin and Rebellion, (a Matter he was not a little concerned in, and which he had full as good a Right to dispute as our Author) yet he feems to have known his OWN DESERTS too well, to fay any Thing against

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I very fincerely wish that the Author of the Ser→ mon may have a right View of thefe Matters, and that as he has exceeded Job in Rafbnefs of Expreffion, he may at least equal him in the Depth and Reality of his Repentance, before he be fummoned away, and put upon his Defence of this Sermon at that awful Bar, where no vain, irreverent, or abufive mention of the glorious and fearful Name of the LORD GOD, will be found juftifiable on any Principles, defenfible or proper on any Provocation whatsoever.

I cannot conclude this Subject better, than in the Words of Bishop Burnet, Exp. Art. p. 166. "Another very indecent Way of managing these "Points is, that both Sides do too often fpeak

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very boldly of GOD. Some petulent Wits, in "order to the reprefenting the contrary Opinion as abfurd and ridiculous, have brought in GoD, 66 repre

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*<representing him with indecent Expreffions, as "acting and decreeing, according to their Hypo"thefis, in a Manner that is not only unbecom"ing, but that borders upon Blafphemy. From which though they think to escape by saying, "they are only fhewing what must follow if the other "Opinion were believed, yet there is a Solemnity "and Gravity of Style, that ought to be most religiously obferved, when we poor Mortals take upon us to speak of the Glory or Attributes, "the Decrees or Operations of the Great GoD of "Heaven and Earth *."

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Though I fhould injure the Subject, by adding any thing of my own to the above ftriking Sentiments of the Bishop, yet I cannot avoid a Recommendation of a Book, wherein the Fallacy and Unfairness, which even good Men may be betrayed into, when their Zeal gets the better of their Reflection, are detected and expofed; I mean Eleven Letters," written by the late Rev. James Hervey, and published by his Brother after his Death. Many pious Frauds have been made use of to fupprefs the Circulation of these masterly Performances-They have been bafely infinuated to be Forgeries-the Libels of an Antinomian Preacher-filled with Alterations and Interpolations.-But, ex Pede Herculem, give them but one unprejudiced Reading, the inimitable Pen of the truly Reverend Author must be acknowledged in every Line, and the Reader will no more imagine that they are the Productions of an illiberal Slanderer, than that the Productions of Rubens's Pencil are the Daubings of a Sign Painter. However, to put this Matter out of Doubt, I have the original Manufcript now in my Book cafe, from which the genuine Edition was printed, and there is not a fingle Line in any but Mr. Hervey's own Hand, except about a Page and a half, which appears to be in the late Mr. Whitefield's; but though the Writing be his, yet the Didion is evidently Mr. Hervey's own. So much of Mr. Hervey's Shorthand as could be made out, is in diftinct Papers at the L 2 End,

For my own Part, I must confefs, that the very Objections which are usually made to the Doctrines which are called Calviniftical, are, to my Apprehenfion, the strongest Proofs of their Agreement with the Gospel which the Apostles preached. They were charged with Antinomian Principles, even with teaching Men, to do Evil that Good might come, Rom. iii. 8. with cancelling all Obligation to good Works, or making void the Law through Faith, Rom. iii. 31. with encouraging Men to continue in Sin that Grace might abound, Rom. vi. 1. with making

End, and carries the Name of Addington, whom I fuppofe to have been employed as Decypherer.

At the same time that these Letters contain a Detection of Falsehood, they exhibit a glorious View of divine Truth. They were occafioned by an unprovoked Attack upon Theron and Afpafio, which was firft made by private Letter, and then published to the World; this called forth Mr. Hervey to a Defence of himself and his Writings, which he maintained with all that Elegance of Style and Strength of Argument, of which he was peculiarly poffeffed. This great Man, though no Friend to the Holinefs of Monks-the Devotion of Hermits-or the Pretenfions of Perfectionifls-lived and died as fhining an Example of the Power of Chriftian Godliness, as he was the fteady and able Affertor of the only Foundation on which it can reft *-A Proof of the former, muft live in the Remembrance of all who had the Honour and Happiness of his Acquaintance; a Demonftration of the latter will meet the Reader in every Page of the above Letters. A full Account of their Publication is to be found in the Preface to the genuine Edition, published by Mr. Rivington, 1765; and they are well worthy the attentive Perufal of fuch as do not think the worse of sound Doctrine, because it is delivered in elegant Language, fupported by conclufive Arguments, and cleared from the Mifconftructions and Mifapprehenfions of its Oppofers.

1 Cor. iii. 11, 12, 13.

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