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SERMONS:

ON THE

DOCTRINE

O F

RECONCILIATION.

TOGETHER WITH AN

APPENDIX,

IN ANSWER TO A

DIALOGUE

ROTE

TO DISCREDIT THE MAIN TRUTHS
CONTAINED IN THESE DISCOURSES,

By the Reverend WILLIAM HART,
Of SAYBROOK, in CONNECTICUT.

By Nathanael Whitaker, D. D.
Minifter of the Gofpel in SALEM, in MASSACHUSETTS-BAY.

"Stand ye in the Ways and fee, and afk for the old Paths; where is the good
Way, and walk therein, and ye shall find Reft for your Souls: But they said,
we will not walk therein." JER. vi. 16.

SALEM, NEW-ENGLAND.

Printed by SAMUEL HALL, in the main Street. MDCCLXX.

100.9.74

"TIS hoped the Subfcribers will readily excufe the delay of this publication, and alfo its appearing on fo mean a paper ; as the first has been occafioned only by repeated disappointments in procuring the paper, arifing from its scarcity; and the laft could not be remedied, and a better paper obtained, without further delay; and 'tis not doubted but those who are concerned to find the truth more than to please the fancy, will make no difficulty in excufing this defect, which perhaps is the leaft; far lefs, I am fure, than many the author is confcious of in himself.

A

PRE FA CE

TO THE SECOND EDITION

OF THE

SERMON S.

HE following Sermons were preached in England,

Before they were put to the prefs, they were revised and corrected by two minifters of note and learning in London. They were left in the hands of one of them when I came from thence, whom I defired to examine, and expunge any thing be fhould think amifs in them, and then, if he thought proper, put them to the prefs. It was above fix months after my arrival in America before I heard any thing farther about them; when only fifty copies were fent me by the bookfeller, as a prefent for the original. These I diftributed to friends in New-Jersey, New-York, Connecticut and Maffachusetts, and by fome means the Rev. William Hart of Say-brook in Connecticut came to the knowledge of them. And only these fifty copies has filled him with such fear left the churches should be poisoned by them, as to excite him to write his dialogue,and warn “ the churches and covenant people to bear their teftimony against them

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In his preface be tells us, "Tis error, hurtful error, I " contend against, not men," I don't doubt his thinking so, but am forry he has broached, and done his best to fupport, So many errors of a very dangerous nature, fome of which are pointed out in the appendix. I do not blame Mr. H. for the concern be fhews at the prevalence of error: I beartily wish there were more of this, both among minifters and churches, who ought to awake from their flumbers, when the great reformation doctrines are oppofed, and fuch a flood of errors breaking in upon us,

As

As Mr. S. Hopkins's enquiry wrote against Dr. Maybew of Boston,is fpread thro' the country,and must be owned on all fides to be a masterly performance, though very full of what Mr. H. calls error, and wrote with a defign to fupport it; one would have thought Mr. H's zeal would have led him to have read and made that the chief object of his oppofition; and not two poor Sermons which were only in fifty bands. But perhaps for this reafon be chofe thefe or it may be he had heard that Hopkins, as he politely and genteely calls him once and again, is a veteran, and bas conquered more powerful antagonists; and therefore chofe only to touch him on bear-fay as he passed along,without coming to a close engagement, or fo much as examining bis piece.

I heartily wifh Mr. H. had managed the controverfy in d manner less flighty and fuperficial When I heard he was about to write, I hoped from the account I had beard of him he would have caft fome light on the subjects, of which I had treated in my fermons But I was greatly difappointed when I read his book, which has not difcovered him to be either a logician, metaphyfician, philosopher or divine. The great advantage bis book has against my ermons is, that it is wrote to fuit the taste, and fauster the pride and corruption of depraved nature, which readily admits and extols thofe fntiments which encourage felf-conceit. But for this, instead of an/wering, I should only have re-printed my Jermons with a few corrections, and fo left them to peak for themselves, which they could not do while unknown to the most who may read his dialogue. The whole controverfy between us may be brought to this single question, viz. Is man by nature totally depraved? This I affirm, and he denies. I efteem this a doctrine of effential importance in the christian system; and he thinks it as abfurd as the doctrines of Rome.

σε

One thing in his preface gives me furprize, viz. “The following dialogue has been fhewn to most of the gentle"men in the miniftry in my neighbourhood, who have given "it me as their opinion, that it is necessary to bear a pub

66

"lick teftimony against the dangerous errors which are Spreading among our churches, and that the following teftimony is fo calculated to ferve the interest of truth,that "it will be for the edification of the churches to publifh it.”

66

My acquaintance with a number of those gentlemen led me, on reading this, to fufpect that fome grofs error bad been difcovered in my fermons that I was not aware of: but when I read the dialogue, I could not but doubt the truth of this affertion; and the enquiry forced itself upon me, Is this poffible? Are the Rev. Meffrs. Throop, Jewet, Johnlon, Beckwith and Huntington, with whom I am acquainted; all of whom, with fome others, are of bis affociation; are all these who have appeared found Calvinifts, turned quite about, and become advocates for man's fufficiency?—It cannot be. It is more charitable to believe Mr. H. bas committed an error in this, than to condemn so many who have appeared friends of the doctrines of free grace. But if this indeed is the cafe that the most of his neighbouring minifters do approve bis fentiments, it ought, in my judgment, to be a matter of lamentation to all the lovers of the ancient gofpel, and found an alarm to the churches in that neighbourbood, and roufe them up to make a vigorous stand against a deluge of Arminian errors which are coming on them, and must foon overspread them if they continue under the influence and guidance of Arminian teachers. May the great Head of the church mercifully interpofe and difpel this dark cloud which, if Mr. H's account is true, is just ready to burft and spread ruin and deftruction in New-ngland, and efpecially in the western divifion of New-London in Con

necticut.

I have endeavoured to avoid perfonal reflections on my antagonist, and therefore have let pafs fome things in his dialogue which look as though he "contended against men and not burtful error,"as unworthy of notice, and as tending to bitterness and strife: And tho' I rank Mr. H. among Arminians,yet I fuppofe he cannot call this a perfinal refection, fince be fe fully holds and openly defends their most fundamental errors. If I have in any thing mifrepresented Mr.'

H's

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