The position of these Divines, especially of John Goodwin, amongst the religious thinkers of that age, is remarkable and significant, and deserves much more attention than it has ever received. The common notion is that the Puritan movement, in its theological character, was essentially Calvinistic, that Calvinism constituted its life and soul; and, moreover, that evangelical opinions in general,--understanding by them those views of the Gospel which rest on a keen appreciation of its precious and saving character,--necessarily involve ideas of Divine predestination, akin to those which were entertained by the great Genevan Reformer. Both the disciples and the opponents of that illustrious man have, in many cases, adopted or countenanced this conception. But the writers we have just described show us that it is a mistake. Here were men Puritan in spirit, Puritan in their characteristic religiousness, Puritan in their habits and modes of life, who, so far from being imbued with the distinctive sentiments of John Calvin on the subject of the Divine purposes and decrees, utterly repudiated them, and spent an immense amount of time and thought upon their confutation. They believed in justification by faith, in conversion to God, in the gracious work of the Holy Spirit upon the human soul, and in the riches of Divine mercy manifested throughout the salvation of men, as firmly and deeply as did any of those who most fervently proclaimed the doctrines of election, effectual calling, and perseverance. Neither their philosophy, nor their logic, nor their religion, led them to identify the one class of ideas with the other. And, if the discussion were proper in a work like this, it would not be difficult to show, that the motive power in Puritanism--that which made it such a well-spring of life and energy to multitudes of Englishmen--consisted not in high notions of predestination, where such notions were entertained, but in those articles of evangelical belief which can unite devout Calvinists and devout Arminians in the bonds of a common experience, and in the inheritance of the same hope. And, if anything further were needful to prove that the Puritan spirit can exist and thrive apart from Calvinistic theology, it is sufficient to point to the Wesleyans of the present day, than whom none are more decided in their opposition to predestinarianism, none are more zealous in preaching salvation by grace, and none are more inspired with the life and glow of a warm-hearted piety. Anti-Calvinistic zeal, however, often took an anti-Puritanical form, and by assaults which were made upon predestinarian principles, the interests of evangelical religion were very seriously compromised. [Sidenote: “FUR PRÆDESTINATUS.”]