Who having labour'd with Distinctions vain
"Mere Imputation" only to maintain,

Maintains, when speaking on another Head,
This horrid Thought, to which the former led :
"Predestination here I call," says he,

Defining, "God's Eternal, Fix'd Decree,
"Which having settl'd in His Will He pass'd,-
"What ev'ry Man should come to at the last."
And lest the Terms should be conceiv'd to bear
A Meaning less than he propos'd severe :
"For all Mankind," he adds to Definition,
"Are not created on the same Condition;'
("Pari Conditione" is the Phrase,

If you can turn it any other Ways ;)—
"But Life to some eternal is restrain'd,
"To some Damnation endless pre-ordain'd."

Calvin has push'd the Principle, I guess,

To what your Friends would own to be Excess;
And probably Aspasio, less inclin'd

To run directly into Calvin's Mind,

Would give "imputing" a more mod'rate Sense,
That no "Damnation" might arise from thence;
But how will mollifying Terms confute

The fam'd Reformer's Notion of "impute"?

If it confer such arbitrary Good,

The dire Reverse is quickly understood,

So understood, that open Eyes may see
'Tis Calvin's Fiction, and not God's Decree,—
Not His Whose Forming Love and Ruling Aid
Ceaseless extends to all that He hath made;
Who gave the Gift which He was pleas'd to give,
That "none might perish, but that all might live,”-

227. Life to some eternal is restrain'd. Eternal life is restricted to a certain number.

--

220

230

240

that ALL might live." Cf. 2nd St. Peter, iii. 9: "[The Lord] is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, 244. That "NONE might perish, but but that all should come to repentance."

His Only Son, in Whom the Light That guides

The born into the World to Life, resides,—

A real Life, that by a real Birth

Raises a Life beyond the Life of Earth

In all His Children.-But no more to you,
Better than me who know it to be true.
And, if Aspasio's really humbl'd Soul

Be by a touch of Garment-Hem made whole,

He might, as I should apprehend, be sure
That "Imputation" could not cause the Cure.
When the poor Woman, in the Gospel, found

"Touch of the Saviour's Clothes" to make her sound,
We know the Virtue did from Him proceed

That mix'd with Faith restor'd her, as we read.
"Gone out of Him" obliges to infer,

That 'twas by Faith attracted into her.

250

260

249. Better than me. Ungrammatically

for "better than I."

255. The poor Woman in the Gospel. See St. Mark, v. 25-34.

A CONTRAST BETWEEN TWO EMINENT

DIVINES.

[I have subjoined this epigram to Byrom's fragment on Theron and Aspasio. In the Introductory Note to that piece I have sufficiently dwelt upon the relations between Law and Hervey.]

TWO diff'rent Painters, Artists in their Way,

Have drawn Religion in her full Display;

To both she sat.—One gaz'd at her all o'er ;
The other fix'd upon her Features more:
Hervey has figur'd her with ev'ry Grace

That Dress could give;-but Law has hit her Face.

ON THE NATURE OF FREE GRACE, AND THE

CLAIM TO MERIT FOR THE PER

G

FORMANCE OF GOOD WORKS.

I.

RACE, to be sure, is in the last Degree

The Gift of God, Divinely pure and free;
Not bought or paid for, merited or claim'd,
By any Works of ours that can be nam'd.

II.

What Claim or Merit, or withal to pay,
Could Creatures have before creating Day?
Gift of Existence is the Gracious one
Which all the rest must needs depend upon.

III.

All "boasting" then of Merit, all Pretence
Of Claim from God, in a deserving Sense,
Is in one Word "excluded" by St. Paul:
"Whate'er thou hast, thou hast receiv'd it all."

IV.

But, sure, the Use of any Gracious Pow'rs
Freely bestow'd may properly be ours;
Right Application being ours to choose,
Or, if we will be so absurd, refuse!

5. Withal. Wherewith. 6. Before creating Day. date of their creation.

IO

iv. 7: "For who maketh thee to differ Before the from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst 7. The Gracious one. The one gift of Grace. receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou 10. In a deserving Sense. In the sense hadst not received it?" And cf. Romans, of putting forward any desert on the part iii. 27: "Where is boasting then? It is of man. excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: 11. By ST. PAUL. See 1st Corinthians, but by the law of faith."

V.

In this Respect what need to controvert
The sober Sense of Merit or Desert?
"Works," it is said, "will have,"

and is it hard.

20

To say "deserve," or "merit"-
"" their Reward,"

VI.

Grace is the real saving Gift; but then

Good Works are profitable unto Men.

God wants them not; but, if our Neighbours do,
Flowing from Grace, they prove it to be true.

VII.

When human Words ascribe to human Spirit
"Worthy," "Unworthy,"
," "Unworthy," "Merit" or " Demerit,"
Why should Disputes forbid the Terms a place,
Which are not meant to derogate from Grace?

VIII.

All comes from God Who gave us first to live
And all succeeding Grace; 'tis ours to "give
To God Alone the Glory," and to Man,
Empow'r'd by Him, to do what Good we can.

19. It is said. See Romans, iv. 4:

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." Cf. 2nd Chronicles, xv. 7: "Your work shall be rewarded."

29. Who gave us first to live. Who be stowed upon us as the first gift of this grace our existence. See 1. 7, ante.

30, 31.

"give

30

To GOD ALONE the Glory." See St. John, ix. 24: "Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, give God the Parise: we know that this man is a sinner."

31. And to MAN. To reserve for our human selves the endeavour.

A SOLILOQUY ON READING A DISPUTE

ABOUT FAITH AND WORKS.

I.

HAT an excessive Fondness for Debate

WHA

Does this dividing Faith from Works create!
Some say, "Salvation is by Faith alone,

Or else the Gospel will be overthrown;"
Others for that same Reason place the Whole
In Works, which bring Salvation to a Soul.

II.

Gospel of Christ, consistently applied,
Unites together what they both divide;

It is itself indeed the very Faith

That works by Love and saves a Soul from Wrath.
A new Dispute should some third Party pave,
Nor Faith, nor Works, but Love alone would save.

III.

The Solifidian takes a Text from Paul,

And "Works are good for Nothing, Faith is all; "-
Doctrine which his Antagonist disclaims,

And shows how Works must justify, from James.

A Third in either soon might find a Place,
Where Love is plainly the Exalted Grace.

IV.

There is no End of jarring System found
In thus contending not for Sense, but Sound,—

13. The Solifidian.

He who regards

in St. James.

Faith as the only means of Salvation.

17. In either. In either St. Paul or

IO

20

18. The Exalted Grace. The Grace extolled above all others.