Simeon's opinion on the present subject, we may cite the following passage: "if we consider salvation as entirely by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the grace of God is indeed magnified beyond all the powers of language to express.... But let man be required to purchase this salvation, either in whole or in part, by any works of his own, and who does not see how the grace of God is lowered"? (p. 72, l. 10 and 23.) But cannot God require good works of his creatures without those works being the purchase-money of salvation? and, if he can, (as he assuredly may,) salvation is equally a free gift on his part, and therefore, his grace is just as much magnified, on the system of Mr. Simeon's opponents, as on his own. From the same neglect of distinguishing between good works as the condition, and as the meritorious cause of salvation, Mr. Simeon shortly afterwards falls into the following similar paralogism: (p. 73, 7. 10.) "St. Paul tells us, that if any thing were required on our part towards purchasing of salvation, salvation could be no longer of grace, because the two are contrary to, and absolutely inconsistent with, each other." ‹‹ If, (says he,) salvation be by grace, then is it no more of works." (Rom. 11. 6.) Now, supposing St. Paul had said so, his assertion would have been of no use to Mr. Simeon, for it would have done nothing towards disproving the necessity of good works as the means, though not the price, of salvation. But the fact is, the Apostle says nothing of the kind; his words are El de χαριτι, ουκ ετι εξ εργων,” and Mr. Simeon has most conveniently supplied a nominative to the sentence without a shadow of authority. The real one, to be extracted from the preceding sentence, is exλon-the election-of the believing Jews to the honour of still continuing God's people, though under a different dispensation from that to which they had been formerly subject; and thus, while the Apostle only means to declare, that their introduction into the Christian covenant was solely attributable to the mercy of God in Christ, Mr. Simeon would fain make him appear as a preacher of modern evangelicism, and accordingly introduces him, in strict conformity with that character, as undervaluing the importance of good works.

We have seen then by abundant testimonies from Mr.Simeon's "Appeal," that, in his opinion, salvation may be attained by faith only; and we have also seen that "faith," ac cording to his use of the term, can signify nothing more than "belief." He brings a variety of passages from Scripture, which he uses in proving, indiscriminately, sometimes that we are justified, and sometimes that we are saved, by faith only. We have considered some of them, and it is quite unnecessary to examine more, because those of them even, which are most to the purpose, only prove, what is admitted on both sides, that good works are never the meritorious cause of salvation; but not one of them has the most remote tendency to disprove the necessity of good works as a condition of salvation, the only question between us.

Of the texts, however, which refer not to the meritorious cause, but to the conditions of salvation, and which, therefore, militate against his opinions, Mr. Simeon has candidly enough produced two, which, though by no means the strongest that might have been chosen, are yet sufficient of themselves to settle the matter in dispute. The force of the first he apparently makes no attempt to evade; he attacks the second, but in a point where it is invulnerable, and his weapons only rebound upon himself. Let us shew the truth of these assertions. Mr. Simcon first mentions (p. 65, l. 22.) the question of the young man to our Saviour: "what good thing shall I do that 66 if I may have eternal life;" and our Saviour's reply: thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments;" (Matt. 19. 16, 17.) which Mr. Simeon paraphrases thus: "come and follow me in all that I command you, and you shall gradually be guided into all truth.' We will admit the accuracy of this interpretation, provided the words "all that I command you," are intended to include, (as we suppose they are,) the duties of morality in general, as well as those which are more peculiarly Christian; and that the "guiding into all truth" implies the attainment of salvation, which indeed it necessarily must do, for otherwise it would have been no answer to the young man's question. This passage, therefore, as

explained by Mr. Simeon himself, at once overthrows his own doctrine, for it proves decidedly, in direct opposition to Mr. Simeon's statement, that something besides faith in Christ is necessary to salvation. Nor has Mr. Simeon a word to say against this conclusion; his only remark on the objection started by himself, is this: "the command, which he imme diately gave the youth, to go and sell all that he had, and look for treasure in heaven, put his sincerity to the trial; and shewed him, that, notwithstanding the anxiety he professed to learn the way to life, he was more attached to his wealth than to his Saviour and his God." Now all this is very true, but nothing whatever to Mr. Simeon's purpose. Why he should have cited a text at all, which directly contradicts his own sentiments, and then have left it just as he found it, is not for us to determine; but such is the fact in the present instance.-Another very formidable opponent of Mr. Simeon is St. James, who tells us that "by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (2. 24.) Now, if a man cannot be justified without works(it matters not for our present purpose, in which of its senses we use the word "justify," though the context plainly determines in which it ought to be taken:) he certainly cannot be saved without works. This is indeed the very point which the Apostle's argument is designed to establish, and he asserts it in the strongest terms a few verses before, by asking: "what doth it profit, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works; can faith save him?"* How then does Mr. Simeon encounter this plain refutation of his opinion? Let us hear himself: "St. James is writing to some who said that they had faith, but had no works to support that claim. These he tells, that their faith was dead, and no better than the faith of devils. He declares to them that, as it would be to no purpose to profess compassion for a fellow-creature, when at the same time we

*The Apostle here manifestly uses the word "faith," in the same sense as Mr. Simeon, that is, for "belief."

+ Mr. Simeon also prints this word in Italics.
C

made no effort to relieve his distress, so it is in vain to profess faith in Christ, if we shew not forth our faith by our works." (p. 69, l. 3.) Mr. Simeon then evidently means to deny, that the persons, on whom St. James was animadverting, had faith; but here again he is contradicted by the Apostle, who fully admits that they had faith, for he reasons about it, and he could not reason about a non-entity; and he compares it to the faith of devils, which is undoubtedly a real faith, though a very useless one. Nay, he even supposes that this faith of theirs was correct, for he commends it, and produces one article of it which is so correct, that it forms the ground work of all true religion. (see verse 19.) The original assertion of the Apostle therefore, concerning the necessity of good works to salvation, remains unshaken; nor can the deficiency in point of practice, which he censures and condemns, be possibly construed to mean a deficiency in point of faith, to prove which, however, is the whole scope of Mr. Simeon's argument; for if, as he would represent the case to be, the Apostle required good works, only to "shew forth" faith, then it was, virtually and in fact, not works but faith which he required, and which he considered as deficient.*

13."

NOTE 24.-to p. 66, l. 13. However let us"..." hereafter," p. 68, 1. 32.-The whole of the character here given, as generally applicable to evangelical discourses, is correctly that which belongs to those of Mr. Simeon, contained in his "Appeal;" but the particular reason for laying down that character in the text, namely, that it might serve as a ground for determining the sentiments of our evangelical brethren on the requisites for salvation, is, in the case of Mr. Simeon, entirely superseded by his own express declarations, which were minutely detailed in the preceding note.

* This favourite theory of our opponents is examined more at large in the text, (see p. 69, last paragraph, &c.) and some farther observations will be offered upon it in Note 28.

NOTE 25.-to p. 68, l. 1.-" condition of salvation.”—Ac cordingly Mr. Simeon, throughout the whole of his sermon on Justification by Faith, has most religiously abstained from using the word condition, as in any respect applicable to good works.

NOTE 26.-to p. 68, l. 22.—“ qualification for salvation." "Is it nothing that God is glorified by them, and that the dispositions, from which they spring, constitute our meetness for the heavenly inheritance?" (p. 76, l. 19.)

NOTE 27.-to p. 69, 7. 10.-" to use it."Mr. Simeon says in one passage, that, with regard to the saints of old, "faith was the principle by which they were actuated, and the root from which all their obedience sprang." (p. 76, l. 1.)If Mr. Simeon had here gone one step farther, and told us plainly, that faith is the principle which suggests motives for obedience, he would have given us a just and rational account of the practical operation of faith, which is usually described in evangelical writings, as producing good works by a certain necessary and mysterious process, quite incomprehensible to all but the initiated, and perhaps not very intelligible even to them. (See note 30.)

NOTE 28. to p. 70, l. 2.- evidences of faith."-This is the grand purpose, to which Mr. Simeon appears to consider good works as subservient, and he accordingly places it first in the list of the uses to which they may be applied."What, (he asks,) if the works it (faith) produces be not to be relied on for our Justification before God? Is it nothing that they will be adduced in the day of judgment as the evidences of our love to Christ?" (p. 76, l. 14.) And when, in commenting on the decisive language of St. James, (sce note 23,) he does not venture absolutely to deny the necessity. of good works; the only reason which he gives for their being required at all, is the same as in the last instance: "We must give by our works, an evidence that our faith is genuine, for in any pretensions, which we make to a saving faith, it is by our works that we must be justified, (or proved upright,) and not by faith only," (p. 69, l. 17.) The Apostle does certainly