“This is the plan of this work, in which I equally fight for faith and works, for gratuitous mercy and impartial justice; reconciling all along Christ our _Saviour_ with Christ our _Judge_, heated Augustin with heated Pelagius, free grace with free will, Divine goodness with human obedience, the faithfulness of God’s promises with the veracity of His threatenings, _first_ with _second_ causes, the original merits of Christ with the derived worthiness of His members, and God’s foreknowledge with our free agency. “The plan, I think, is generous; standing at the utmost distance from the extremes of bigots. It is deep and extensive; taking in the most interesting subjects, such as the origin of evil, liberty, and necessity, the law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ, general and particular redemption, the apostacy and perseverance of the saints, and the election and reprobation maintained by St. Paul. I entirely rest the cause upon _Protestant_ ground; that is, upon _Reason_ and _Scripture_. Nevertheless, to show our antagonists that we are not afraid to meet them upon any ground, I prove, by sufficient testimonies from the fathers and the Reformers, that the most eminent divines in the primitive Church and our own, have passed the straits which I point out; especially when they weighed the heavy anchor of prejudice, had a good gale of Divine wisdom, and steered by the Christian mariner’s compass, ‘_the Word of God_,’ more than by the _false lights_ hung out by party men.” It is hoped that these quotations from the preface of Fletcher’s book will induce the reader to peruse and study the book itself. To analyse it here is impracticable; and if one extract were given, hundreds ought to follow. In this frothy age, the book to many will seem dry and tedious; but to a man sincerely and earnestly in search of sacred truth it will prove a mine full of invaluable treasures. At the end of the _first_ edition, the following was printed:— “Advertisement. “The key to the controversy, which is designed to be ended by the ‘_Scripture Scales_,’ proving too long for this place, the publication of it is postponed. It _may_ one day open the way for _An Essay on the XVIIth Article_, under the following title: ‘The Doctrines of Grace Reconciled to the Doctrines of Justice. Being an Essay on Election and Reprobation, in which the defects of _Pelagianism_, _Calvinism_, and _Arminianism_ are impartially pointed out, and primitive, scriptural harmony is more fully restored to the Gospel of the day.’” This was not published until the year 1777; but it is mentioned here to show that, in substance, it was already written, and, thereby, to show the activity of Fletcher’s mind, and the accumulated labours which soon broke down his health.