An Appeal to the Gospel or an Inquiry Into the Justice of the Charge That the Gospel Is Not Preached by the National Clergy; A Series of Discourses Delivered Before the University of Oxford, 1812, at the Lecture Founded by J. Bampton (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1812. Excerpt: ... "and the glory? Has he not told us, that hid kingdom ruleth over all; that he worketh ' all things after the counsel of his own will; "that he doeth according to his will in the "armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants "of earth; and that none can stay his hand, "or fay unto him, What doest thou0?"--When, I fay, these questions are put to us in support of the assertion, " that the fundamen"tal principles on which Calvinism rests are "incontrovertible," I apprehend them to be either altogether irrelevant to the subject, or else intended to insinuate against us an invidious and an unwarrantable charge. Each system is founded on the sovereign will of the Almighty. By the Calvinist it is supposed, that God chose to pass certain absolute decrees, and formed and disposed his creatures for their accomplishment: our hypothesis represents him as no less "working after the "counsel of his own will;" as choosing, in his sovereign power and authority, to form his creatures with a freedom of will and action; foreknowing, in the plenitude of his wisdom, what would be their conduct; and immutably framing his decrees according to his foreknowledge. So that, notwithstanding the remark, which has been ascribed to a royal Cal c Overton, p. 355. vinist in former times, that " if he did not be"lieve absolute predestination, he could not "believe a Providenced;" we apprehend that it is to represent the Almighty acting upon a plan, as much when it proceeds upon a knowledge of what use his creatures will make of his gifts, as when it is founded on his own absolute and overruling decree. As these attributes of the Deity then remain unaffected by the doctrines, which we are maintaining, I proceed to show, how grievously others are assailed by the doctrines, which we combat. I...