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save them as Socinians , &c , but ) ** to change their names , and make these wretched ruins pillars in his own church . " How edifying is M . Malari a s charity ! We shall soon see that his modesty is not less extraordinary .
I now proceed to the parts of the publication which relate to the doctrine of Final Perseverance . I shall occasionally subjoin the original French , to avoid the charge of misrepresentation : indeed , some of the expressions are so extravagant , that
it is scarcely possible to convey their precise import in a literal translation . The good sense of M . Malan has been much extolled , and Dr , Smith , who quotes from the Conventicule de Rolle , exultingly appeals to the discretion of its author , as a sufficient
guarantee that lie would not publish or utter any extravagant opinions ; we may therefore take the following exposition of the doctrine of final perseverance , contained in the extracts from M . Malan ' s book , as the orthodox faith of his Calvinistic brethren
in England , and also of the Scotch Seceders , among whom he has been recently and triumphantly admitted a member . < The soul , " says M . Malan , < € should most ardently desire to say
with full assurance it is saved , and at whatever moment it shall pass from this life to eternity , it will go there to be glorified in the bosom of its God . Those who have not saving faith , try to render themselves worthy of the
pardon of their sins by their virtues , and others , not comprehending the sacrifice of Christ , do not believe that the soul can be certain of its salvation , and call those proud who say that their salvation has been freely gained for them , and that they are certain of it for ever , because in God there is no variation or shadow of
change . Some labour and groan and torment themselves , and instead of saying , * Jesus has saved me on the cross—it is done—every thing is finished ; ' they cry out , 'When shall I have a faith sufficiently strong and holy ,
that Jesus may deign to receive me , and grant me his grace ? ' It is eighteen hundred years since Jesus purchased our salvation , and nothing * is left for us to do but to accept it , and to sing and leap for joy Jesus did opt wait till we had merited his love ;
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he received us into favour when we existed only in the decrees of God . If you wish to glorify yourselves , you ought to do it ; but glorify yourselves in your Saviour , in his grace which
has extended to your unworthiness : do not fear to believe it ; it is the order of God : be not afraid to say boldly , ' Christ has saved me when I was lost : * it is a fact , and do not hesitate to relate a fact that God
himself certifies : imitate the criminal who has received a pardon—rejoice , sing" , leap with gladness . It is surely something to make us bound with joy , for it is no slight solace to have a hell less to fear ; it is no trifle ( bagatelle ) gained to obtain an inheritance in heaven of which we are sure : * it is a
blessing , eternal as God , who is the source , and has alone the power and the merit of it . " No one can deny that M . Malan here earnestly recommends the new converts at Rolle to boast and glory in their salvation , without fear or shame , and he has
himself followed the advice he gives to others . ( See Mon . Repos . XIX . p . 519 . ) Yet an English Calvinist divine in high repute , at the very time that he is quoting from the Conventicule de Rolle , and extolling its author , with
singular inconsistency says , " He who boasts of this heavenly blessing , supplies the most painful reasons for apprehending that he is a total stranger to it . " Ib . 674 . It 13 truly remarkable that Dr . Smith , with the Conventicule de Rolle in his hand , could challenge me to produce any citations from M . Malan
* This expression is so purely French , that justice cannot be done to its epigrammatic point in a translation , and the whole passage Is worthy of notice . The writer exhorts the converts to boast of their salvation by demonstrations of joy as public and almost extraordinary as the saltations of David before the ark " N ' appr £ hendez pas de dire liardiment * Christ in ' a same' quand j' 6 tois perdu :
c ' est un fait ; et il ne faut pas heYiter a r £ pe * ter uti fait que Dieu mfeine assure . Fakes comme le crimiuel absous par gr&ce : rejouissez vous , chantez et
sauttz d ' all 6 gresse . Certes il y a de quo tressaillir de bonheur . Ce n ' est pas un leger soulagement qu ' un enfer de nioins < i craindre . Ce n ' est pas une bagatelle ac ~ quise , que rheritage de del dont on es Bur . " P . 26 .
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642 Mr . Bahewttl on the Doctrine of < the Final Perseverance
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1825, page 642, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2542/page/2/
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