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that he had God on his side. I have been living on milk for babes long enough, and I begin to want some strong meat; and now the Lord has sent it to us. I have lately had a new light into some passages of scripture, which I never understood before. [To Mr. Lovegood.] And when you, Sir, understand the gospel better, you will not give us such long harangues on the need of personal sanctification, or a growth in grace, as we had from you last night; but all this must be expected from such as deny imputed sanctification; and you know what the Apostle says on that subject, that "Christ is made unto us sanctification."

Loveg. If we poor babes may speak for ourselves, some things may be made ours by imputation, other things can alone be made ours by impartation. It shall be most fully admitted, that our criminality was made over to him who "suffered the just for the unjust;" and that the whole of his obedience and sufferings unto death, are made over to us, for our justification unto life but can I impute my wisdom, to make another wise, as I can impute my money to pay another's debts? is it possible to make knaves honest, by imputed honesty; drunkards, sober, by imputed sobriety; and whoremongers chaste, by imputed chastity? I am quite at a loss to know what you can mean. Pray explain yourself.

Mer. Do you think then, Mr. Lovegood meant last night, that when we are directed to grow like vegetation, or like children, it is to be an imputed growth; or when we are commanded to increase in every Christian grace, and to abound more and more in all good things; that your sort of imputation will accomplish it, while the impartation is withheld?

Mal. I must confess Mr. Lovegood puzzled me for a while; but I soon recovered myself, after I had entered a little more deeply into the doctrine of eternal justicfiation.

Loveg. I thought I should find you thereabouts: Pray, Sir, were you born from all eternity?

Mal. Why, Sir, "known unto God, are all his works from the foundation of the world."

Loveg. I am willing to go with you further still upon that point; the infinite foreknowledge of God existed before all worlds were made; it is from eternity, to eternity. But what of that, Sir?

Mal. Why, Sir, upon that it is, I ground the doctrine of eternal justification; that the elect were actually justified from all eternity.

Loveg. Surely, Sir, you only mean, that it was the design of God from all eternity, that they should be justified.

Mal. O no, Sir! that they actually were justified.

Mer. Am I then to understand, that when you called me in the other day, to witness the signing of your indentures, you were articled to an attorney from all eternity?

Loveg. Again, Sir, have you been committing a deal of sin from all eternity?

Mal. How could I do that before I was born?

Loveg. So I think, Sir. God does nothing, if he pardons nothing, when he has nothing to pardon. Pray, can the king pardon a criminal, before he is a criminal? or did he reign from all eternity; because there was a time fixed in the purpose of God, when he should reign ?

Savory. Aye, and I heard quite as much as this, at our meeting before I left it. I cannot tell what possessed our old man to ask the foolish question, whether an elect soul would be damned, if he should die before it was given him to believe?"*

Loveg. What, then, are we to suppose that God can violate his own designs, to suffer any such to die in un

These extracts are from Dr. Crisp.

belief, and thus to save them contrary to his own solemn declaration, he that believeth not shall be damned ?" I should rather have concluded that such were immoral, until their conversion and salvation from sin took place. But how did he settle this knotty point?

Sav. Why, he began in his accustomed style, and said, "Let me speak freely to you. The Lord hath no more to lay to the charge of an elect person, yet in the height of iniquity and excess of riot, and committing all the abominations that can be committed; I say even then, when an elect person runs such a course, the Lord hath no more to lay to that person's charge, than God hath to lay to the charge of a believer; nay, God hath no more to lay to the charge of such a person, than he hath to lay to the charge of a saint triumphant in glory."

Mer. What, are these your sentiments now, Mr. Malapert, after having attended upon my ministry, above these four years?

Mal. To be sure they are, if I believe in eternal justification; " for being the elect of God, they are the heirs of God; and as they are heirs, so the first being of them, puts them into the right of inheritance ; and there is no time but such a person is a child of God."

Mer. Even all the time he is manifesting himself to be a child of the devil! What then can the Apostle mean concerning himself, and the converted Ephesians, who were "predestinated to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ?" was he mistaken in this point, when he says, they were "all by nature, children of wrath, even as others;" that "we were enemies to God by wicked works ;" and that while in that state, they were "not his people, and not beloved?"

Loveg. Yes, and how contrary all this is to the express declaration of the word of God. "He that believeth not is condemned already;" yea, that "the

wrath of God abideth on him;" while the same Apostle pronounces a solemn anathema against all "who love not the Lord Jesus:" one would think that such people meant to fly in the face of that most direct declaration, "Know ye not, that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God: be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God;" and you don't suppose, that your old preacher would register these among the non-elect, when it is further added, "and such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God:" does it not therefore evidently appear, that such people, while they were in such a bad state, could not have entered the kingdom of God, till after they had been put into a good one; is it possible for the Lord to say any thing to the wicked, but "Depart, ye cursed!"

Mal. But God foresaw that they would be put into à good one.

Loveg. Who doubts of that? But what has that to do with the horrid supposition, that men may live and die in all sorts of sin, and still be saved? and this conclusion must and will be drawn by such as love sin and hate to leave it.

Mal. But, Sir, if you properly understood the doctrine of imputation, as we do, you would still find yourself in the wrong though your arguments may be a little more specious than I can at present contradict.

Loveg. We are very willing to hear you further on your doctrine of imputation.

Mal. A great Doctor in our way observes, "Must not a man be reckoned to be a sinner while he does sin? I answer, No, though he doth sin, yet he is not to be

reckoned a sinner; but his sins are reckoned to be taken away from him ;" and again: "If thou hast a part in the Lord Christ, (as all the unbelieving elect have, even while acting like so many devils,) all these transgressions of thine, are become actually the transgressions of Christ, and so cease to be thine, and thou ceasest to be a transgressor: from that time, they were laid upon Christ, to the last hour of thy life; so that now thou art not an idolater, a thief, or any thing else that is bad; thou art not a sinful person, whatever sin thou committest."

Mer. This is strong meat with a vengeance. Whoever can swallow this, may swallow any thing.

Sav. I suppose you had all this from the young man that preached at our meeting since I left it.

was.

Mal. Yes, and an excellent Christ-exalting sermon it I hope I shall never be alarmed by my legal fears, again; I hope I shall never be such a poor weak believer as to have my confidence shaken by sin, or to look after marks and evidences of sanctification any more.

Sav. You went to hear it, cousin John, when I refused to go with you, because I did not choose to set a bad example.

John. He said nearly the same things; I suppose they were all taken out of the same author. "It is the iniquity itself; not our punishment but our sin, that the Lord hath laid upon Christ; I mean it is the fault of the transgression itself. (It almost made my hair stand on end, when he went on saying,) "To speak more plainly hast thou been an idolater? hast thou been a blasphemer? hast thou been a murderer, an adulterer, a thief, a liar, or a drunkard? if thou hast part in the Lord, all these transgressions of thine became actually the transgressions of Christ. Nor are we so completely sinful, but Christ, being made sin, was as completely sinful as we." And after he had said a few

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