who is leaft in the kingdom of God (in that kingdom, which he came to fet up on earth, and which the violent now began to take by force) is greater than he. Not a greater prophet (as fome have interpreted the word) for this is palpably false in fact: But greater in the grace of God, and the knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Therefore we cannot meafure the priviledges of real Chriftians by thofe formerly given to the Jews. Their miniftration (or dif penfation) we allow was glorious; but ours exceeds in glory. So that whofoever would bring down the chriftian difpenfation to the jewish standard, &c. doth greatly err, neither knowing the fcriptures, nor the power of God. From thefe excellent quotations therefore, it appears, that you do me an honour altogether undeferved, if you fuppofe, that I first fet forth the doctrine of the difpenfations.

*

OBJ. VIII. "I cannot help thinking, that the doc"trine of a faith proper to all thofe difpenfations is "above the capacity of plain chriftians, and fhould never be mentioned, left it should puzzle, instead of edifying the Church."

:

If your fears are well-grounded, even the apoftle's creed is above the capacity of plain chriftians: for that creed, the fimpleft of all thofe, which the primitive church has handed down to us, evidently diftinguishes three degrees of faith (1) Faith in God the Father almighty, who made heaven and earth, which is the faith of the heathens: (2) Faith in the Meffiah, or in Jefus Chrift his only begotten Son our Lord; which is the faith of pious jews, of John's difciples, and of imperfect chriftians, who, like the apostles before the day of pentecoft, are yet ftrangers to the † great outpouring

+ I beg the reader would not mistake me. When I say that pious Jews, and our Lord's difciples before the day of pentecoft, were strangers to the great outpouring of the Spirit, I do not mean that they

were

pouring of the spirit: And (3) Faith in the Holy Ghoft -Faith of the operation of God, by which chriftians complete in Chrift believe according to the working of God's almighty power, and are filled with righteousness, peace, and joy in THUS believing.

And here honefty obliges me to lay before the public an objection, which I have had for fome time against the appendages of the Athanafian Creed. I admire the fcriptural manner, in which it fets forth the divine Unity in Trinity, and the divine Trinity in Unity but I can no longer indifcriminately ufe its damnatory claufes. It abruptly takes us to the very top of the chriftian difpenfation [confidered in a doctrinal light.] This difpenfation it calls the catholic Faith: and, without mentioning the faith of the inferior difpenfations,

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were ftrangers to his directing, fanctifying, and enlivening influences, according to their difpenfation. For David had prayed, Take not thy holy Spirit from me: John the Baptift had been vifited by his exhilarating power, even in his mother's womb: Our Lord had breathed upon his difciples, faying, Receive ye the Holy Ghoft; and had imparted him to them as a Spirit of grace and fupplication, to help them to wait in faith and unceasing prayer, till they were endued with power from on high: Befides, they had called him LORD in truth; and no man can do this, but by the Spirit of faith, which helps our unbelief and infirmities under all the divine difpenfations. Nevertheless they were not fully baptized. The Comforter, that vifited them, did not properly dwell in them. Altho' they had already wrought miracles by his power, the Promife of the Father was not yet fulfilled to them. They had not yet been made perfect in one, by the affimilating operation of the heavenly fire. They would have been puzzled by fuch questions as thefe: Have ye received the Holy Ghost fince ye believed? Acts xix. 2. —Is be fallen upon you? Acts x. 44. Is the love of God fhed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghoft given unto you? Rom. v. 5. Is the fountain fpringing up into everlasting life opened in your breaft? John iv. 14. After that ye believed, were ye fealed with that holy Spirit of promife? Eph. i. 13. -That Spirit, which forms thofe rivers of living water, that flow out of the belly, the inmoft foul of believers? - That Spirit which was not given before Chrift was glorified? John vii. 39.- That Comforter, which it is more expedient for us to receive, than even to have Christ's bodily prefence and conftant inftructions? John xvi. 7. — If these, and the like questions would have perplexed the apostles before Chrift had opened his fpiritual baptifm, and fet up his kingdoin with power in their hearts; we ought not to be furprized, that profeffors, who know only the baptism of John, should ingenuously confefs, they never

beard

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penfations, as our other Creeds do, it makes us declare, that' except EVERY ONE keep that faith' [the faith of the higheft difpenfation] whole and undefiled- he cannot be faved:- without doubt he shall perifh everlaftingly.' This dreadful denunciation is true with regard to proud, ungodly infidels, who, in the midst of all the means of chriftian faith, obftinately, maliciously, and finally fet their heart against the doctrine of Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft; equally defpifing the Son's atonement, and the Spirit's infpiration. But I will no more invade Chrift's tribunal, and pronounce that the fearful punishment of damnation fhall "without doubt" be inflicted 66 upon every" unitarian, arian, jew, turk, and heathen, that fears God and works righteousness, tho' he does not hold the faith of the Athanafian creed whole. For, if you except the laft article, thousands, yea millions, are never called to hold it AT ALL ; and therefore shall ne

ver

no

heard there was an Holy Ghoft [to be received] fince they believed, Acts xix. 2. Nor fhould we wonder if devout Jews, and eafy Laodiceans did even mock and fay, You would have us to be filled with NEW avine: but we are rich and increafed with goods, and have need of no thing. The water of our old cifterns is preferable to the new wine of your enthufiaftic doctrine, and our baptifmal ponds to your baptifmal flames.

This however was not Mr. Whitefield's language when he admitted an adult perfon to baptism: [and he knowingly admitted none but believers.] He knew then how to pray for the Promife of the Father, and how to point the difciple of John to the perfection of Chrift's dif penfation. As a proof of it take part of the truly chriftian hymn which he fung on that occafion :

ANOINT with HOLY FIRE,

BAPTIZE with PURGING FLAMES
This foul, and with thy grace inspire
In CEASELESS, LIVING STREAMS.
Thy HEAV'NLY UNCTION give,
THY PROMISE, Lord, fulfil,

Give Pow'r' [i. e. faith] THY SPIRIT TO RECEIVE,'
And STRENGTH to do thy will.

This good old gofpel is far more clearly fet forth in Mr. Wefley's fermon called Scriptural Chriftianity, and in his Hymns for Whitfunday, which I earnestly recommend, as pointing out the one thing needful for all carnal profeffors,

ver perish for not holding it WHOLE. See the notes p. 43 and 190. At all hazards then, I hope I fhall never ufe again thofe damnatory claufes, without taking the liberty of guarding them agreeably to the doctrine of the difpenfations. And if Zelotes preffes me with my fubfcriptions, I reply before hand, that the fame Church, who required me to fubfcribe to St. Athanafius's Creed, enjoins me alfo to believe this claufe of St. Peter's Creed, In every nation he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness is accepted of him: And it thofe two creeds are irreconcilable, I think it more reafonable, that Athanafius fhould bow to Peter, warmed by the Spirit of love; than that Peter fhould bow to Athanafius, heated by controverfial oppofition.

To return: That the diftinction of the three degrees of faving faith omitted in the Athanafian creed, but expreffed in the Apostles creed, and in the Nicene creed-That this distinction, I fay, is neither chimerical nor enthufiaftical, may be proved by a variety of arguments, two or three of which, I hope, will not intrude too long upon the reader's patience.

(1) The firft is taken from the doctrine exprefsly laid down in the new teftament. To what I have faid on this head, p. 229, &c. I add here what Chrift faid to his difciples, Ye believe in GoD, believe alfo in ME. Here the moft prejudiced, may fee, that faith in the FATHER is clearly contradiftinguished from faith in the Sox. As for faith in the HOLY GHOST, see in what manner our bleffed Lord fowed the feed of it in the hearts of his difciples. When the Comforter is come, whom I will fend unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, he fhall testify of me.-It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will fend him unto you. Behold I fend THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER upon you but tarry ye in the city of Jerufalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Nor was this great promife made to the apoftles alone; for, la the last day, that great day of the feaft, Jefus flood and cried, faying, If ANY MAN [not if an apofile] thirfi, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, A a 3

as the fcripture hath faid, out of his belly fhall flow rivers of living water. But this he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghoft was not yet [given; his difpenfation, which is the highest of all, was not yet opened] because that Jefus was not yet glorified. And the opening of this difpenfation in our hearts requires on our part, not only faith in Chrift, but a peculiar faith in the promise of the Father; a promise this, which has the Holy Ghoft for its great object.

(2) My fecond argument is taken from the experiences of thofe, who, by the Holy Ghoft, were made partakers of Chrift glorified, either on the day of pentecoft, or after it; and could feelingly confefs Christ dying for us, and Chrift living in us, the hope of glory. Acts ii. 5, we read of devout men out of every nation under heaven, who were come to worship at Jerufalem. But how could they have been devout men, if they had not believed in GOD? What could have brought them from the ends of the earth to keep a feaft to the Lord, if they had been mere atheists? And yet it is evident, that thro' prejudice many of them rejected our Lord; putting him to open fhame, and a bloody death: But when Peter preached Chrift on the day of pentecoft, they at firft believed on him with a true, tho' not with a luminous faith. This appears from the anguish, which they felt upon being charged with having flain the prince of life. No man in his fenfes can be pricked to the heart merely for having had a hand in the juft punishment of an impoftor, and a blafphemer, who makes himelf equal with God. If therefore keen remorfe pierced the heart of thofe penitent Jews, it is evident, that they looked no more upon Chrift as an impoftor, but already believed in him as the true Meffiah.

No fooner had they thus paffed from faith in the Father to an explicit faith in the Son, but they cried out, What shall we do? And Peter directed them to make by baptifm an open, folemn profeffion of their faith in Chrift, and to believe the great promife concerning the Holy Ghoft. The promife is unto you, faid he: Be baptized, EVERY ONE OF YOU, in the name

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