<j* u yv'w 
 
 1 1 
 
 i 
 
i ^J\i^l 
 

SERIES 
 
 or 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 DELIVERED IN 
 
 PAKE STREET CHURCH, 
 
 BOSTON, 
 
 SABBATH EVENING. 
 
 BY EDWARD D. GRIFFIN, D.D. 
 
 PASTOR OF PARK STREET CHURCH, 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 PRINTED BY NATHANIEL WILLIS, 76, STATE STREET. 
 SOLD BT S. T. AR.M.STJlONt;, 50, CORNUILL, 
 
 181,3. 
 
[L. S.J District of Massachusetts, to iuit : District Cleric's Office. 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the tenth day of May, A. D. I813, and in the thirty-seventh 
 ■year of the independence of the United States of America, Nathaniel Willis, of the said District, has 
 deposited in this Office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as Proprietor, in the words 
 following, to wit : " A Series of Lectures, delivered in Park Street Church, Boston, on Sabbath Even- 
 ing. By Edward D. Griffin, D. D. Pastor of Park Street Church." In conformity to the Act of the 
 Congress of the United States, intitled, "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the 
 copies of maps, charts, and books to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the times there- 
 in mentioned;" and also to an Act entitled, "An Act Supplementary to an Act, entitled, an Act for the 
 encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the Authors and Pro- 
 prietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned ; and extending the benefits thereof to the 
 arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints." 
 
 WM. S. SHAW, Ckrk of the Diilrict tf Maisachwel'ti. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Dedication 5 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 Total Depravity 9 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 Same Subject continued 31 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 Men with natural affections, but without holiness 61 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 Men love God supremely or are His enemies 91 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 Regeneration not progressive . ... Ill 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 Regeneration supernatural 1-37 
 
LECTURE VII. 
 
 Page 
 
 The Means of Grace .187 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 Same Subject continued 189 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 Election 215 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 The plea of Inability considered • . . 24*5 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 The Perseverance of Saints 27 i 
 
 LECTURE XII. 
 
 The System confirmed and applied . . 29B 
 
TO THE CONGREGATION WHO SUPPORT THE LECTURE IN 
 PARK STREET CHURCH ON SABBATH EVENING. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 In dedicating to you a series of Discourses prepared for 
 your benefit, and now published at the request of a very re- 
 spectable portion of you, I think I am prompted no less by 
 propriety than feeling. Though many of you do not belong 
 to my particular charge, the Lecture which you have con- 
 tributed to maintain is your own, and these fruits of it are 
 your own. I am glad also to have this opportunity to ex- 
 press my gratitude for the liberality and candour with which 
 you have supported that Exercise, and statedly listened to 
 the expositions there attempted. As a distinct expression of 
 this sentiment I commit these plain, unadorned Discourses 
 which you have caused to be preached, to your patronage 
 and protection, while in a higher sense I commend them to 
 the favour and gracious protection of God. 
 
VI 
 
 Should strangers chance to cast an eye on the following 
 pages, they will probably regard them with various feelings ; 
 but you, my brethren, will certainly read them with candour 
 and kindness, and especially the numerous proofs adduced 
 from the Word of God. On these I beseech you to ponder 
 with deep and solemn attention and with many prayers. 
 By the Book which furnishes these proofs we must all be 
 judged in the Day that shall decide the eternal destinies of 
 men. He is an infidel who will not suffer that volume abso- 
 lutely to govern his faith, in spite of preconceived opinions 
 or present reasonings. It was to be expected that a Reve- 
 lation of the Infinite God would rise above the blinded 
 reason of man. " My thoughts are not your thoughts, nei- 
 ther are your ways my ways, saith the Lord ; for as the 
 heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher 
 than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." 
 Whoever sits down to these sheets with a proud determina- 
 tion, whatever the Scriptures may decide, to think for him- 
 self, will be likely to rise with his old opinions. But the 
 man who enters on the investigation with humility and pray- 
 er, will be guided into all truth, whether he finds it in these 
 pages or not. If any reader is resolved not to bow r implicit- 
 ly to the Word of God, I beseech him to close the book here. 
 
 Should any of you be tempted to think that some parts 
 of this exposition are too much against you, before you de- 
 cide recollect that you are & party concerned. 
 
 In these Discourses you will find no reasonings on 
 points foreign to godliness, — no theories about the origin 
 
VII 
 
 of sin, — no challenge for a conditional consent to be 
 damned, — no perplexing speculations about taste and ex- 
 ercise 5 (in saying this I intend no reflection on a body of 
 men, whom, notwithstanding their speculations on these 
 points, I venerate and love ;) but you will find the funda- 
 mental and practical truths of our holy religion, a simple 
 defence of the faith of our fathers. In expressing my own 
 views of truth I have had no wish to give offence or pain 
 to others. I have spoken plainly as time and circumstances 
 seemed to require, and expect to have my motives re-exa- 
 mined at a tribunal from which there is no appeal. If I 
 have censured without the gentleness of the Christian spirit, 
 may God forgive ; if with right views and feelings, to Him 
 be the praise. 
 
 My heart's desire and prayer to God is, that even these 
 Discourses may prove of some advantage to you and your 
 children. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Dear Brethren, 
 
 With affectionate respect. 
 
 Your brother and servant in the Lord. 
 
 EDWARD D, GRIFFIN. 
 
 Boston, March 26, 18i3, 
 
LECTURE I 
 
 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 
 
 GENESIS VI. 5. 
 
 AND GOD SAW THAT THE WICKEDNESS OF MAN WAS GREAT IN THE EAHTE, 
 AND THAT EVERT IMAGINATION OF THE THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART WAS 
 ONEY EVIL CONTINUALLY. 
 
 Such was the character of the whole antedilu- 
 vian world, with the exception of a single family. 
 And unless human nature is essentially changed, 
 such is the character, with the exception of those 
 who are renewed by grace, of the whole modern 
 world. But human nature is not changed. It ne- 
 ver was tainted with any thing worse than inordi- 
 nate self-love ; it is tainted with that still. The 
 nature of man, like that of other animals, remains 
 essentially the same in every period and condition. 
 '•'As in water face answereth to face, so the heart 
 of man to man."* Different restraints may be im- 
 posed, by light, by example, by civilized habits, 
 by divine and human laws, by motives growing out 
 of peculiar circumstances, by more or less activity 
 in the social affections ; but till a new nature is im- 
 
 * ProY, xxvii W. 
 
10 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. I. 
 
 planted, selfishness gives essentially the same form 
 in the sight of God to every human character. He 
 that only " hateth his brother is a murderer ;' ? he 
 that cherishes an impure desire is an adulterer; he 
 that covets is an idolater.* In this polluted prin- 
 ciple lurk the seeds of all sin ; and where nothing 
 else of a moral nature exists, as in all cases where 
 "true holiness" is wanting, it constitutes the whole 
 character in the sight of God. Of course the cha- 
 racter of all unholy men, however variously com- 
 pressed by restraints, is specifically the same. 
 
 What then does our text affirm of all unsancti- 
 fied men? That every imagination of the thoughts 
 of their heart is only evil continually. Language 
 could not more fully or plainly assert that funda- 
 mental doctrine of our holy religion which 1 shall 
 lay at the foundation of these Lectures, that man- 
 Jcind by nature are totally depraved. 
 
 But what is meant by Total Depravity ? Not 
 that men are as bad as they can be ; for in general 
 they lie under strong restraints. Not that they are 
 all equally wicked ; for some are more restrained 
 than others. Not that they are destitute of every 
 thing useful and lovely in society; their humanity 
 and social affections are decidedly of this charac- 
 ter. Not that the form of their actions is always 
 wrong; the contrary is manifestly true. It is on- 
 ly meant that they are utterly destitute of holiness, 
 and of course are sinful so far as their feelings and 
 
 * Mat, v. 28. EpU. v. 5. Col. iii. 5. 1 John iii. 15. 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 11 
 
 actions partake of a moral nature. It certainly is 
 not meant that they are necessarily inclined to evil 
 without the power of resistance. They possess 
 ample power, and in all their wickedness are vo- 
 luntary and free. 
 
 This is the precise shape of the doctrine to he. 
 supported. The principal arguments on which it 
 rests will he detailed in this and the three follow- 
 ing Lectures. 
 
 Argument T. By the first creation or birth m an- 
 kind are united to the first Adam, and inherit the 
 character which he possessed immediately after the 
 fall, until by a second creation or birth they are 
 united to the Second Adam, and become partakers 
 of His holiness. — It is necessary to view this ar- 
 gument by parts. 
 
 I. Depravity is derived from Adam. This 
 is proved, 
 
 (1.) From the universal depravity of man. 
 "God looked upon the earth, and behold it was cor- 
 rupt, for all flesh had corrupted his way." " The 
 Lord looked down from heaven upon the children 
 of men to see if there were any that did under- 
 stand and seek God. They are all gone aside; 
 they are together become filthy ; there is none that 
 doth good, no not one," " We have before prov- 
 ed both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under 
 sin; as it is written, There in none righteous, no 
 not one : there is none that understandeth ; there 
 is none that secketh after God. They are all gone 
 
1& TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT, 1. 
 
 out of the way ; they are together become unprofit- 
 able; there is none that doth good, no not one.— 
 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no 
 jleslihv justified," "The Scripture hath conclu- 
 ded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus 
 Christ might be given to them that believe," " If 
 we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, 
 and the truth is not in us. — If we say that we have 
 not sinned we make Him a liar, and His word is 
 not in us." God " now commandeth all men every 
 where to repentJ'* 
 
 So deeply is sin rooted in the human heart that 
 the continued struggles of the best men, with all 
 the means and aids derived from heaven, have ne- 
 ver prevailed in a single instance to eradicate it en- 
 tirely. "Who can say, I have made my heart 
 clean, I am pure from my sin?" " There is not a 
 just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not." 
 " In many things we offend all." " For there is 
 no man that sinneth not."f 
 
 Now here is a wonder (o be accounted for,- — sin 
 tainting every individual of Adam's race, in every 
 age, country, and condition, and surviving in every 
 heart all exertions to destroy it. One would think 
 this might prove, if any thing could prove, that sin 
 belongs to the nature of man as much as reason 
 or speech, (though m a sense altogether compatible 
 
 * Gen. vi. 12. Ps. xiv. 2, 3. and cxxx. 3. Acts xvii. 30. Rom. LiV. 
 9—12, 20. Gal. iii. 22. 1 John i. 8. 10. J 1 Kings viii. 46. Frov,. 
 xx. 9. Eccl. vii. 20. James iii. 2. 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 13 
 
 with blame,*) and must be derived, like oilier uni- 
 versal attributes of our nature, from the original 
 parent, — propagated precisely like reason or 
 speech, (neither of which is exercised at first,) — 
 propagated like many other propensities, mental as 
 well as bodily, which certainly are inherited from 
 parents, — propagated like the noxious nature of 
 other animals. If the phenomenon is not account- 
 ed for in this natural and easy way, so analogous 
 to that great law by which all animals propagate 
 their kinds and their dispositions, it must remain 
 to the end of the world an unsolvible mystery. I 
 prove the derivation of sin from Adam, 
 
 (2.) From the fact that mankind are born de- 
 praved. 
 
 Whether the depravity of infants consists in 
 exercises or disposition, or whether from the first 
 or at what age they begin actually to sin, I shall 
 by no means allow myself to inquire. Without 
 denying what others may choose to assert on these 
 points, all that I can feel authorized to say is, that, 
 as the young lion is born not an elephant, but with 
 a carnivorous nature, though he docs not at first 
 feed on flesh ; and as the serpent is not a dove, but 
 possesses a poisonous nature, while yet in the egg ; 
 and both will certainly act out their peculiar na- 
 ture when they arrive at maturity; so infants are 
 born with a nature which, not by necessity, bat 
 
 * Compatible with blame, because an ftbreditftry propensity is as 
 much the spontaneous action of the heart as any other ; and to be railing- 
 is to be/ree,- to be voluntary in sin is to be blamewortht 
 
14 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT, I. 
 
 by the free consent of the heart, will in all cases 
 actually sin as soon as they are able. Without 
 denying that more is true, I mean to assert no more 
 when I speak of the depravity of infants, and when 
 I call them sinners. Least of all do I undertake 
 to decide ou their condition in a future world. In 
 the hands of divine mercy I leave them, and bow 
 in submissive silence. That infants in this sense 
 are depraved, I argue, 
 
 [1.] From the fact already established that 
 in all ages and nations, without a single exception, 
 they do sin when they arrive at years of discretion. 
 This furnishes the same evidence that they arc 
 born witli a bent to evil, that is furnished by the 
 universal propensity of lions to feed on flesh, that 
 they are born with a carnivorous nature. I argue 
 this, 
 
 [2.] From the sufferings and death of infants. 
 If it be said that the sufferings and death of 
 brutes furnish the same evidence of their depravi- 
 ty, I admit that the groans of the irrational crea- 
 tion, as well as the briers and thistles of the ground, 
 prove that the nature of all things is marred by the 
 sin of man. But for this no animals would have 
 been carnivorous, none poisonous, none resentful.* 
 The fall of man, though it could not infect brutes 
 with moral depravity, has occasioned a real de- 
 pravation of their nature. No animals are found, 
 if possessed of sufficient vigour, which are not ca~ 
 
 * Isa. xi. 6—9. and lxv. 25. 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 15 
 
 pable of bitter animosity. I am willing to regard 
 the sufferings of the irrational tribes as a publick 
 token of the depravation of their nature ; and must 
 by analogy regard the sufferings and death of in- 
 fants as a token of the depravity of a nature crea- 
 ted for moral action. 
 
 In relation to mankind it is a fundamental max- 
 im of divine government that " the curse causeless 
 shall not come." " Whoever perished being inno- 
 cent ? or where were the righteous cut off ? w * I 
 forbear to insist on the several recorded instances 
 of the destruction of infants expressly in token of 
 God's displeasure against sin, as at the time of 
 the flood, the burning of Sodom, (which ten right- 
 eous persons would have saved, f) the plagues of 
 Egypt, the destruction of Korah, Dathan, and 
 Abiram, of Achan, of the nations of Canaan, of Je- 
 rusalem, of Babylon ;f as also the express com- 
 mand, in several instances, to destroy infants with 
 their parents as a punishment for sin.§ I forbear 
 to insist on these ; for in that memorable passage 
 in the 5th of Romans, the apostle appears to have 
 settled the point that death comes upon the whole 
 human race, (not as it does on brutes,) in conse- 
 quence of their sin, of nature or practice. " By 
 one man sin entered into the world, and death by 
 sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that 
 
 * Job iv. 7. Prov. xxvi. 2. f Gen. xviii. 32. t Exod. xii. 29. 
 Numb. xvi. 27 — 33. Dcut. ii. 34. and iii. 6. and vii. 2. and xxxii. 25. 
 Josh. vii. 24, 25. Isai. xiii. 18. Jer. ix. 21. and xliv. 7. Lam. ii. 11, 
 19, 20. and iy. 4, 10. § Num. xxxi. 17. 1 Sam. xv. 3. Ezek. ix. (5. 
 
10 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. I. 
 
 all have sinned." His argument plainly rests on 
 the principle that among the human race, (not a- 
 mong brutes,) the empire of sin and that of death 
 are coextensive. If in the sequel he makes the vi- 
 sible ground of the death of infants to be the pub- 
 lick sin of Adam, (a point which I freely concede,) 
 I hope to show hereafter that for the posterity of 
 Adam to suffer any evil on account of his sin, is it- 
 self a sufficient proof that they partake of his de- 
 pravity. I argue the depravity of infants, 
 
 [3.] From their need of a Saviour, and from 
 their being brought to a Saviour in baptism. 
 u We thus judge that if One died for all, tlien 
 iv ere all dead, and that He died for all."* If 
 infants are saved by Christ certainly they are sin- 
 ners, (in the sense already explained,) for He came 
 to save none but sinners. " They that be whole 
 need not a physician, but they that are sick."f 
 Whoever is entitled to salvation by law cannot be 
 saved by grace. But if infants are not saved by 
 grace, and by Christ, why bring them to Him in 
 baptism, and fix upon them the seal of the cove- 
 nant of grace? If they are pure, why sprinkle them 
 with water as if they were unclean ? Why was an 
 ordinance instituted to set forth their need of puri- 
 fication ? If children are spotless infant baptism 
 is a jest. But their depravity is settled, 
 
 [4.] By express declarations of Scripture. 
 u Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did 
 
 * 2 Cor. v. 14, 1-5. f Mat. ix. 12, 13. 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 17 
 
 my mother conceive me." " What is man that he 
 should he clean ? and he which is horn of a wo- 
 man that he should be righteous ?" " Who can 
 bring a clean thing out of an unclean ?" " How 
 can he be clean that is born of a woman?" "The 
 wicked are estranged from the womb ; they go as- 
 tray as soon as they be born." "I knew that thou 
 wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a 
 transgressor from the womb." "Foolishness is 
 bound in the heart of a child." "For the imagi- 
 nation of man's heart is evil from his youth." 
 " The children of Israel — have only done evil be- 
 fore me from their youth." "As for thy nativity, 
 [alluding to the pollution and ruin accompanying 
 the first birth, and the remedy which divine mercy 
 provided,] in the day thou wast born — thou [wast 
 not] washed in water,— but thou wast cast out in 
 the open field to the loathing of thy person, in the 
 day that thou wast born. And when I passed by 
 thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I 
 said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live : 
 yea I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, 
 Live." "That which is born of flesh is flesh," — 
 is carnal. "The natural man receiveth not the 
 things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish- 
 ness unto him." " Anions: whom we all had our 
 conversation, — and were by nature children of 
 wrath even as others."* 
 
 * Gen. vlii. 21. Job xiv. 4. and xv. 14. and xxv. 4. Ps. li. 5. and 
 lviii. 3. Prov. xxii. 15. Isai. xlviii. 8. Jer. xxxii. 30. Ezek. xvi. 4, 5. 
 John iii. 6. 1 Cor. ii. 14. Eph. ii. 3. 
 
 3 
 
18 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. I. 
 
 Now if all mankind are born depraved, there 
 is the same evidence that depravity is propagated 
 from father to son through all generations, as that 
 speech, or reason, or any of the natural affections 
 are, (though in a sense entirely compatible with 
 "blame,) and of course is to be traced equally with 
 them to the original parent. 
 
 But if on the other hand infants receive their 
 whole nature from their parents pure, — if when 
 they leave the duct through which all properties 
 are conveyed from ancestors they are infected with 
 no depravity, it is plain that they never derive a 
 taint of moral pollution from Adam. There can 
 be no conveyance after they are born, and his sin 
 was in no sense the occasion of the universal de- 
 pravity of the world, otherwise than merely as the 
 first example. These two points, Vim depravity of 
 infants, and tlie derivation of sin from Adam, stand 
 or fall together. Either infants are born depraved, 
 (just as they are born with the faculties of reason 
 and speech, and with the instincts on which are 
 founded the natural affections,) or the universal 
 depravity of man no more follows from the sin of 
 Adam than from the sin of Noah. I prove the de- 
 rivation of sin from Adam, 
 
 (3.) From the fact that we are involved by 
 him in condemnation and punishment. 
 
 In condemnation at least to temporal evils. 
 That all the temporal evils pronounced upon our 
 first parents, the toil and trouble, the thorns and 
 thistles, the state of female subjection, the pains of 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 19 
 
 child-birth, and death itself, do in fact come upon 
 their posterity, not casually, but according to the 
 original sentence, is so evident that it is not de- 
 nied. Just cast your eyes however on the follow- 
 ing texts : u I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to 
 usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence ; 
 for Adam was first formed, then Eve ; and Adam 
 was not deceived, but the woman being deceived 
 was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she 
 shall be saved in child-bearing, if they continue in 
 faith and charity." "Since by man came death, 
 by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 
 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all 
 be made alive. [And to prolong the quotation 
 though the subject changes,] — The first man 
 Adam Was made a living soul, the last Adam was 
 made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not 
 first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, 
 and afterwards that which is spiritual. The first 
 man is of the earth earthy, the second man is the 
 Lord from heaven. As is the earthy such are they 
 also which are earthy, and as is the heavenly such 
 are they also that are heavenly. And as we have 
 borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear 
 the image of the heavenly."* 
 
 It has been said that the temporal evils con- 
 templated iu the original sentence, were entailed 
 on mankind merely as blessings. But how could 
 they be regarded as blessings unless the race were 
 
 * Gen. iii. 16—19, 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22, 45—49. 1 Tim. ii. 12—15, 
 
30 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [lECT. I. 
 
 viewed as sinners standing in need of chastise- 
 ment P It is no blessing to a perfectly holy being 
 to suffer. The very supposition that they were 
 entailed as blessings, gives up the argument. But 
 the death entailed, (and by a parity of reason all 
 the temporal sufferings which come by Adam,) is 
 represented in the 5th of Romans, not as a mercy, 
 but as a punishment following a sentence of con- 
 demnation. 
 
 But in whatever light you regard these suffer- 
 ings, whether as blessings or punishments, God 
 distinctly disclaims the principle of inflicting them 
 on innocent children for the sins of the parents. 
 At the time of the Babylonish captivity the Jews 
 thought they had reason to complain, "The fathers 
 have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teetli 
 are set on edge." Ezekiel was sent to reprove 
 them, and to say, "What mean ye that ye use 
 this proverb? — The soul that sinneth it shall die. 
 ■ — If he beget a son that seeth all his father's sins, 
 — and doth not such like,- — he shall not die for 
 the iniquity of his father ; he shall surely live. — 
 Yet say ye, Why, doth not the son bear the ini- 
 quity of the father ? When the son hath done that 
 which is lawful and right, — he shall surely live. 
 The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, 
 neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the 
 son : the righteousness of the righteous shall be 
 upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall 
 be upon him." God indeed visits "the iniquity of 
 the fathers upon the children unto the third and 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPHAYITY* 21 
 
 fourth generation ;" but it is upon the generations 
 " of them that hate' 7 Him. When Josiah confess- 
 ed, "Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled 
 against us, because our fathers have not hearken- 
 ed/' the answer was, "I will bring evil upon this 
 place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, — because 
 they have forsaken me." They suffered for the 
 sins of their fathers because they partook of their 
 fathers' sins. On the same principle the sins of 
 persecuting ancestors were visited upon that gene- 
 ration who persecuted Christ and His apostles. 
 " Behold I send unto you prophets, and wise men, 
 and scribes ; and some of them ye shall kill and 
 crucify, and some of them shall ye scourge in your 
 synagogues, and persecute them from city to city ; 
 that upon you may come all the righteous Hood 
 shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous 
 Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachi- 
 as, whom ye slew, [the crime had been committed 
 five hundred years before,] between the temple 
 and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these 
 things shall come upon this generation." For the 
 same reason the sin of Esau was visited upon his 
 posterity : " For three transgressions of Edom, 
 and for four, I will not turn away the punishment 
 thereof; because he did pursue hie brother with 
 the sicord, and did cast off all pity, and his anger 
 did tear perpetually, and kept his w rath forever.' " 
 Precisely for the same reason the sin of Adam is 
 visited upon his posterity in temporal calamities 
 and death : " Thy first father hath sinned, and 
 
22 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [l.r.CT. I. 
 
 thy teachers have transgressed against me; there- 
 tore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, 
 and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to 
 reproaches."* Thus the temporal evils entailed 
 on men for the sin of Adam, incontestably prove 
 that they partake of his depravity. 
 
 There is one passage which has been under- 
 stood to assert that the posterity of Adam are con- 
 demned for his sin to eternal death. The passage 
 is in the 5th of Romans. It certainly affirms 
 that they are condemned for his sin ; but whether 
 to temporal only, or to eternal death, is a question 
 which I have no call to decide. Whichever death 
 is intended the passage opens to my view the fol- 
 lowing theory. Adam was the federal head of his 
 posterity. The covenant with him provided that 
 if he stood they stood, if he fell they fell. It 
 made him the root from which all the branches 
 should derive their nature. It was as though they 
 had all been contemporary with him, and with 
 their hearts his heart had been connected by innu- 
 merable veins or conductors to convey instantly 
 his purity or poison to them. Thus inseparably 
 united in temper, his publick transgression was as 
 much the index of their hearts as of his own, — as 
 much the index of their hearts as though it had 
 been their own hand which had plucked the forbid- 
 den fruit. His publick act, standing thus in the 
 
 * Exod. xx. 5. 2 Kin. xxii. 13, 16, 17. Isai. xliii. 27, 28. Ezek. 
 sviii. 1—20, Amos i. 11. Zcch. i. 1. Mat. xxiii. 34—36. 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 23 
 
 place of an external act of theirs, became the 
 ground of their jmblick condemnation, (whatever 
 the sentence included.) in the same sense in which 
 the outward act is in any case the ground of con- 
 demnation. In no case is it the ground otherwise 
 than as being, or supposed to be, the index of the 
 heart. And Adam's posterity would not have been 
 condemned for his act had not their hearts been as 
 completely indicated by it as they could have been 
 by any act of their own. Of course every evil de- 
 nounced against them for his sin, (whether tempo- 
 ral or eternal,) proves that they partake of his de- 
 pravity. 
 
 (1.) The derivation of sin from Adam is sup- 
 ported by other passages of Scripture. Of these 
 however I shall mention but two. " Adam — begot 
 a son in his own likeness, after his image." Was 
 it necessary after mankind had seen animals pro- 
 pagate their kinds for twenty-five-hundred years, 
 for Moses to inform the world that Adam begot a 
 son with a body shaped like his own ? In the other 
 passage the original righteousness and the sub- 
 sequent sins of man, are spoken of as the right 
 eousness and sins of the sjiecies, as if the whole 
 race lost their original holiness in Adam : " Lo 
 this only have I found, that God hath made man 
 upright, but they have sought out many inven- 
 tions."* 
 
 * Gen. v. 3. Eccl. vil. 29. 
 
84 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [lECT. U 
 
 Thus I have shown in the first part of the ar- 
 gument, that depravity is derived from Adam. I 
 am now to show you, 
 
 II. That this depravity is total. 
 
 (1.) Adam himself sunk into total depravity 
 as soon as he had broken the covenant. That the 
 wages of sin involved abandonment to unmixed 
 depravity, I suppose will not be denied. One 
 thing is certain, from that moment he could re- 
 ceive no favour but by grace ; for grace is favour 
 to the ill -deserving. No divine influence could 
 from that moment work holiness in his heart with- 
 out being an operation of grace, or favour to the 
 ill-deserving. If such an influence was necessary 
 to make him holy, he must have remained utter- 
 ly destitute of holiness till it was given him by 
 grace. Every man then who believes that God is 
 the source of holiness, in any other sense than by 
 creating rational beings and leaving them to them- 
 selves, must believe that the fallen Adam was to- 
 tally depraved till restored by the dispensation of 
 grace. 
 
 (2.) Adam transmitted to his posterity the na- 
 ture which he possessed immediately after the fall, 
 not the nature which he received by grace. The 
 moment he broke covenant bv one offence, he had 
 done all that he could do to fix the character and 
 fate of his offspring.* He was their federal head 
 in his fall, but not in his reascent. He left them 
 
 * Rom. v. 12—21- 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 25 
 
 there, to be raised not by him but by Christ. The 
 idea that he became restored, and propagated that 
 restored nature to his seed, is making him the fe- 
 deral head in the restoration of the world, — is put- 
 ting him exactly in the place of the Second Adam. 
 But the experience of a hundred generations evin- 
 ces that grace is not hereditary. 
 
 It is apparent then that the posterity of Adam, 
 viewed as existing immediately after the fall, were 
 totally depraved : and if any or all of them were 
 ever to be restored to the lowest degree of holi- 
 ness, or even to a neutral state, it was to be accom- 
 plished by Christ under the dispensation of grace. 
 Let us then inquire, 
 
 (3.) "Whether the race were so restored by 
 Christ at the time of the first promise in Eden, that 
 they come into the world in successive generations 
 otherwise than totally depraved.* To this ques- 
 tion I answer, 
 
 [t.] That there is not a particle of evidence 
 that the posterity of Adam were at all affected by his 
 sin, except what is contained in those declarations 
 and facts which apply to them exclusively after 
 
 * It has been said that mankind would have been left by the fall 
 in as deplorable a condition as the author represents, had not a Saviour 
 been provided ; but by means of this provision their lapsed powers 
 have been restored, and they have come into the world in every genera- 
 tion with minds resembling a sheet of white paper, — without a stain, 
 but susceptible indifferently of good and bad impressions. As a species, 
 according to this hypothesis, they both fell and were restored before 
 any posterity existed. This idea of an antecedent restoration is what the 
 author has endeavoured to meet. 
 4 
 
26 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [lECT. I, 
 
 they come into existence. Cast your eye over the 
 texts on which all our knowledge of the connexion 
 between Adam and his posterity depends, and you 
 will find them uniformly referring to a posterity in 
 actual existence, and no other. The notion that 
 greater evils were antecedently denounced against 
 that posterity by law than they actually find at 
 their entrance on existence, is a fancy unsupported 
 by a single hint in all the Bible. 
 
 [2.] This opinion has arisen from two mis- 
 takes : 
 
 First, from the idea that infants are born pure. 
 This has been shown to be an errour ; but if it 
 were not, it would not justify the notion of an ante- 
 cedent restoration, If infants are born pure, as 
 they can draw no pollution from Adam afterwards, 
 they never derive any depravity from him. Those 
 texts then which relate to Adam's posterity, must 
 not be understood to import that an existing pos- 
 terity are tainted by his Ml. But no other pos- 
 terity are referred to in any text in the Bible. We 
 are left then without a particle of proof that the 
 posterity of Adam fell with him in any sense. But 
 if they did not fall they could not be restored. 
 Thus take away the depravity of infants and you 
 find no occasion for this antecedent restoration ; 
 admit their depravity and it is manifest they are 
 not restored. 
 
 Secondly, this opinion has arisen from the idea 
 at the lapsed powers of man needed to be repair- 
 
fcECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. ®f 
 
 ed to fit him for a state of probation. Lapsed 
 powers repaired ! What powers had lapsed ? 
 Not the natural powers. Who will prove that 
 Satan himself has not as vigorous an under- 
 standing as he had in heaven ? Will and affec- 
 tions he also has, and is a complete moral agent; 
 and is blamed and punished for sins committed 
 since his fall, — for seducing our first parents, 
 and for all his enterprises against Christ and His 
 Church. Nothing is necessary to turn that apos- 
 tate into an angel of light but a new heart. And 
 what powers had men lost that needed to be re- 
 stored? They still possessed understanding, will, 
 and affections. They still were complete moral 
 agents, with full ability to perforin their whole du- 
 ty if rightly disposed. All that had befallen them 
 was, their hearts were inclined to evil. But how 
 could this be remedied except by making them ho- 
 ly ? And was it absolutely necessary to make 
 them holy before putting them on probation ? The 
 very object of the probation was to decide whether 
 they would be holy. For this trial what powers 
 could they want but enough to render them moral 
 agents ? Tiiese they had ; what more was it pos- 
 sible for them to possess ? 
 
 The fancy of an antecedent restoration being 
 thus removed, we are thrown back to the conclu- 
 sion that men are born into the world as they 
 were left by the fall of Adam, in a state of Total 
 Depravity. 
 
28 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [leCT, U 
 
 III. Ill tins state they continue till by a second 
 creation or birth they are united to the Second 
 Adam, and become partakers of His holiness. 
 
 In this position two ideas are contained ; viz. 
 that the new creation or birth first unites them to 
 Christ, and that till this union they remain desti- 
 tute of holiness. Both of these positions are sus- 
 tained as well by analogy as Scripture. 
 
 As men are united in depravity and condemna- 
 tion to the first Adam by the first birth or creation, 
 imalcgy requires that they should be united in ho- 
 liness and justification to the Second Adam by 
 nothing less than a second creation or birth. As 
 they do not share in the depravity of the first 
 Adam till they are born or created, analogy re- 
 quires that they should not share in the holiness of 
 the Second Adam till they are created or born 
 again. As they do not share in the depravity of 
 the first Adam earlier than they partake of his 
 condemnation, (whatever that condemnation im- 
 plies,) analogy requires that they should not par- 
 take of the holiness of the Second Adam till that 
 union to Him by which they become completely 
 justified. In a word, analogy requires that the 
 new creation or birth should be that great revo- 
 lution by which mankind become first united to 
 Christ in holiness, and completely united to Him in 
 justification. 
 
 What is thus suggested by analogy is abun- 
 dantly confirmed by Scripture. That teaches us 
 
LECT. I.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 29 
 
 that men are first united to Christ by the new crea- 
 tion : " If any man be in Christ he is a new crea- 
 ture/' (then there is no union to Christ before the 
 new creation;) "We are His workmanship crea- 
 ted in Christ Jesus unto good works/' (then there 
 is no new creation earlier than a union to Christ.) 
 That teaches us that until the new creation and 
 union to Christ the old nature remains entire, and 
 that a nature altogether new is at that time impart- 
 ed : " If any man be in Christ he is a new crea- 
 ture ; old things are past away, behold all tilings 
 are become new." " They that are Christ's, [and 
 if the assertion has any meaning, none but they,'] 
 have crucified the flesh " By flesh is meant all 
 that man is by the first birth : " That which is 
 born of the flesh is flesh." None therefore but 
 they who are united to Christ have begun to cru- 
 cify the nature with which they were born. None 
 begin to " put off the old man" till they begin to 
 " put on the new ;" but to " put on the new man" 
 is to become " a new creature" As might there- 
 fore be expected, the two births are represented as 
 the two sources, if I may so say, of all the moral 
 qualities which men ever possess. The whole is 
 told when it is said, "That which is born of. the 
 flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit 
 is spirit." Hence under the two denominations of 
 flesh and spirit, (every where set in the strongest 
 opposition to each other,) are comprehended all the 
 moral qualities of the human race. The whole 
 
80 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [lECT, 1* 
 
 warfare between contending principles is express- 
 ed in these words, "The flesh lusteth against 
 the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and 
 these are contrary the one to the other." Hence 
 mankind are represented as remaining, (under the 
 denomination of natural men,) what they were by 
 nature, till they become spiritual men by receiving 
 the Spirit of God : " The natural man reeeiveth 
 not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are 
 foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, 
 because they are spiritually discerned; but he that 
 is spiritual judgeth all things." And hence the 
 term natural, under which is included every moral 
 quality not derived from the Spirit, is used as 
 synonymous with fleshly, sensual, wicked: "These 
 ["mockers,— who walk after their own ungodly 
 lusts," are] natural, having not the Spirit." " This 
 wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, 
 natural, devilish."* 
 
 But the evidence arising from the new creation 
 or birth is worthy to be presented in the form 
 of a distinct argument, and in this shape shall ap- 
 pear in the following Lecture. 
 
 * John ill. 6. 1 Cor. ii. 14, 15. 2 Cor. v. IT. Gal. v. 17, 24. Eph 
 u. 10. James iii. 15. Jude 19. 
 
LECTURE II 
 
 SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 
 
 GENESIS VI. 5. 
 
 AND GOD SAW THAT THE WICKEDNESS OF MAX WAS GREAT IX TIIE EARTtf, 
 AND THAT EVERY IMAGINATION OP THE THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART WAS 
 ONLY EVIL CONTINUALLY, 
 
 Argument II. There is a change wrought in 
 the elect in some part of their lives, by which 
 they receive the first holy principle : of course 
 they possessed no holiness before. 
 
 That this change introduces the first holy prin- 
 ciple, is apparent from the names by which it is 
 called. Of these the most remarkable are, the 
 new creation and new birth. If these names are 
 not utterly insignificant they import the beginning 
 of life. Now in the language of Scripture spirit 
 ual life is holiness.* As then the first birth or cre- 
 ation is the beginning of natural life, the new cre- 
 ation or birth, if these terms have any meaning, 
 must be the besinnina: of holiness. To sav that 
 these names denote a progress in spiritual life, is 
 
 * "Rom. vi. 4 — 13. and viii. 6, 10. and xi. 15. Epli. ii. 1. Col, iii. 3, 
 
33 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [l,ECT. If, 
 
 to say that the new creation or birth is repeat- 
 ed upon Christians every day. But why call a 
 •progress in life a creation or a birth, rather than 
 by any other name to be found in language. To be 
 consistent you must call the progress from youth to 
 manhood a creation and a birth. 
 
 The very phrases neiv creation and new birth 
 carry in them an intimation that the first creation 
 or birth was totally defective, and must be entirely 
 done over again ; that the defect can be remedied 
 by no other means ; that we remain what the first 
 creation or birth made us until new made and new 
 born; and that something is produced in this change 
 which did not exist before. What is a new crea- 
 tion if nothing ne w is created? What is a new 
 birth if nothing new is born ? 
 
 This argument must be conclusive if the terms 
 under consideration really denote the. beginning of 
 spiritual life in the soul. One of three things must 
 be true. They denote the beginning of spiritual 
 life in the soul, or the progress of that life, or some- 
 thing distinct from inward holiness. To apply 
 them io the progress of that life, is exactly like 
 calling the advance from youth to manhood a crea- 
 tion and a birth. That fancy must be given up. 
 Only this alternative then remains: either the terms 
 denote the beginning of holiness in the soul, (and 
 then the argument is irresistible,) or they denote 
 something distinct from inward holiness. The 
 latter has been asserted. The only way attempted 
 
LECT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 33 
 
 to avoid the force of this argument has been to al- 
 lege that nothing more is meant by the new creation 
 than a conversion from pagan or Jewish darkness 
 to the profession of Christianity, and nothing more 
 by the new birth than an introduction to the visible 
 Church by baptism. The decisive question to be 
 tried then is this, Do these terms denote the pro- 
 duction of real holiness of heart, or a mere intro- 
 duction to the visible Church, from a pagan, Jew- 
 ish, or Christian state ? 
 
 Before putting this question to trial I will make 
 two preliminary remarks. 
 
 First, if these and other terms of similar 
 import were used in primitive times to denote 
 that revolution which took place at the trans- 
 lation of men from pagan ° r Jewish darkness 
 and sin into the light and holiness of the Chris- 
 tian state, it is not necessary to suppose that 
 they expressed merely or chiefly the outward 
 change. If they were applied in the absolute 
 form to visible Christians ; if in the lips of 
 men they even became proper names of what was 
 apparent to the eye in the Christian character; 
 it is natural to suppose that they were used, not 
 to denote a hypocritical show, but to distinguish 
 what was deemed an expression and evidence of 
 the change within. When we point to the visible 
 figure of a human being, and call it a man, we do 
 not mean to overlook the soul tSiat chiefly consti- 
 tutes him such. If there is such a thing as inward 
 
34 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [lECT. II. 
 
 holiness, there is such a thing as outward holiness, 
 and in the languages of men the outward and in- 
 ward character will he called by the same name. 
 We daily speak in the ahsolute form of meirs con- 
 version, without meaning to say that conversion is 
 a mere visible change. We call a man who is ex- 
 ternally good, a good man, and one who makes a 
 credible profession of Christianity, a Christian, 
 though we know that these names imply and chief- 
 ly express an inward character. Honest man, 
 friend, and all the terms descriptive of character, 
 are daily used in the same way. And because 
 you apply such appellations to men whose hearts 
 you cannot know, is it to be inferred that there are 
 honest men, and friends, who are not so in heart ? 
 If the visible churches to whom the Epistles 
 were written were called " saints," " holy bre- 
 thren," " faithful," " beloved of God," " elect," 
 "justified,"" "sanctified in Christ Jesus," "par- 
 takers of the divine nature," " children of God," 
 " joint heirs with Christ," it is not necessary 
 to suppose that these titles denoted merely an 
 outward character and condition. Nor can they 
 be so understood, unless Christianity is altoge- 
 ther an outside thing, in no degree intended to 
 cleanse the fountain of action, or form the temper 
 for a future life. 
 
 Secondly, if the terms under consideration 
 really denoted an inward change in Jews and pa- 
 gans, the same change must be wrought in people 
 
LECT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 35 
 
 in a Gospel land, unless they already possess the 
 temper denoted by the terms. If any can be found 
 who are not what is really intended by new crea- 
 tures and new born, it is plain that they must be 
 created and born anew. But whether all the in- 
 habitants of Christendom, or even all within the 
 pale of the Christian Church, do possess such a 
 character, will appear when the import of these 
 terms comes to be examined. 
 
 Now for the trial of the question. Do the 
 terms new creation and new birth denote the pro- 
 duction of real holiness of heart, or a mere intro- 
 duction to the visible Church, from a pagan, Jew- 
 ish, or Gospel state? Let us examine the two 
 phrases separately. 
 
 First, of the new creation. It is by this ope- 
 ration that " the new creature" or " new man" is 
 formed. What account then have we of the new 
 creature or new man ? 
 
 To be a new creature is to be in Christ: u We 
 are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus." 
 Unless then a union to the visible Church actually 
 unites one to Christ, something more is meant by 
 The new creation. It is absolutely necessary to be 
 a new creature in order to be in Christ: " If any 
 man be in Christ he is a new creature." Unless 
 then a union to the visible Church is essential to a 
 union with Christ, something more is meant by the 
 new creation.* 
 
 ■ 2 Cor. v. ir. Eph. ii. 10. 
 
36 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. II. 
 
 Here let us settle once for all what is meant by 
 being in Christ. To be in Christ is to be so im- 
 mured as it were in Him as to be completely shel- 
 tered from condemnation : " There is — now no 
 condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." 
 It is to be " members of His body, of His iiesh, 
 and of His bones :" " So we being many are one 
 body in Christ." It is to have a sure title to all 
 the promises. The promises were all made to 
 Christ, and are represented as laid up in Him for 
 all who are there inclosed : " To Abraham and 
 his Seed were the promises made : He saith not, 
 And to seeds, as of many, but as of One, and to 
 thy Seed, which is Christ." " That the Gentiles 
 should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and 
 partakers of His promise in Christ." " For all the 
 promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him 
 amen." To be in Christ is to be in Him as in a 
 house which will inclose us after all visible church- 
 es shall cease, — which will inclose us when we lie 
 in the grave, and when we rise. The apostle 
 speaks of those who had " fallen asleep in Christ " 
 and says that " the dead in Christ shall rise first." 
 In short this was a common expression used by the 
 apostles to denote the union of real Christians to 
 Christ* And all this is implied in being a new 
 creature. 
 
 * Rom. viii. 1. and xii. 5. and xvl. 7. 1 Cor. iii. 1. and xv. 18, 22. 
 2 Cor. i. 20, 21. and xii. 2. Gal. I 22. and iii. 16. Eph. iii. 6. and 
 v. 30. 1 Thes. iv. ta 
 
LECT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 3? 
 
 To be a new creature is io possess that faith 
 which worketh by love, and avails to salvation. 
 Compare the two following texts, standing near 
 each other in the same Epistle : "For in Christ 
 Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor 
 uncircumcision, but a neiv creature." " For in Je- 
 sus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, 
 nor uncircumcision, but faith ivliich worketh by 
 love" Again, as far as the new creation proceeds 
 it annihilates the nature with which we were born, 
 and produces something entirely new : " If any 
 man be in Christ he is a new creature : old things 
 are passed away, behold all things are become 
 new" Again, to become a new creature or new 
 man is to be delivered from the power of sin, and 
 to be made holy in heart and life : " We are His 
 workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good 
 works." " Our old man is crucified with Him, thai 
 the body of sin might be destroyed" " Lie not one 
 to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with 
 liis deeds, and have put on the new man, which is 
 renewed in knowledge after the image of Him 
 that created him." What more do you require? 
 Show me, you say, a text which plainly declares 
 that the new creation produces true holiness. That 
 text you shall see. " That ye put off concerning 
 the former conversation the old man, which is cor- 
 rupt according to the deceitful lusts, and !>e renewed 
 iji the spirit of your minds : and that ye put on the 
 
38 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. II. 
 
 neiv man, which after God is created in right- 
 eousness and true holiness."* 
 
 If these texts do not establish the point that 
 the new creation is something more than a change 
 in the outward character and condition ; — if to be 
 renewed in the sjiirit of our mind, after the image 
 of Him that created us, — if after God to be crea- 
 ted in righteousness and true holiness, does not 
 mean to be made holy as He is holy, it is impossi- 
 ble to express that idea in language. Let us now 
 turn. 
 
 Secondly, to the new birth. The meaning of 
 tills phrase cannot be mistaken if you attend to the 
 figure as it is carried out into the cause, means, 
 and effects. The subjects of the new birth are 
 begotten of God, by the incorruptible seed of the 
 Word, — are born His children, the seed of Christ, 
 the heirs of God, and joint heirs with His Son. 
 That all these terms are only the expansion of the 
 same figure, and refer to one and the same change, 
 will be seen by a single glance at the following 
 texts : 
 
 " Whosoever believeth — is born of God ; and 
 every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth him 
 also that is begotten of Him. By this we know 
 that we love the children of God, when we love 
 God." 
 
 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit 
 sin ; for His seed remaineth in him, and he cannot 
 
 * Rom. vi. 6. 2 Cor. v. 17. Gal. v. 6. andvi. 15. Eph. ii. 10. and 
 iv. 22—24. Col. ill. 9, 10. 
 
LECT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 39 
 
 sin because he is born of God. In this the chil- 
 dren of God are manifest, and the children of the 
 devil." 
 
 " To them gave lie power to become the sons 
 of God ; which were born, not of blood, nor of the 
 will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of 
 God." 
 
 " The children of the promise are counted for 
 the seed." 
 
 "If children then heirs, heirs of God, and 
 joint heirs with Christ." 
 
 " He saved us by the washing of regeneration, 
 — that — we should be made heirs" 
 
 " According to His abundant mercy [He] hath 
 begotten us again — to an inheritance incorruptible ; 
 — born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incor- 
 ruptible, by the Word of God."* 
 
 Thus to be begotten and born of God is to be 
 made His children, the seed of Christ, and the 
 heirs of glory. If then to be the children of God, 
 the seed of Christ, and the heirs of glory, implies 
 any thing more than an outward character and con- 
 dition, — if all this implies real holiness, to be bom 
 again implies the same. Pray, are none the chil- 
 dren of God, the seed of Christ, and the heirs of 
 glory, in a higher sense than as members of the 
 visible Church ? If they are, is that higher sense 
 any where expressed in the Bible ? If it is, in what 
 
 * John i. 12, 13. Rom. via. 17. and. ix. 8. Tit. iii. 5, 7. 1 Pet. 
 i. 3, 4, 23, 1 John iii. 9, 10. and v. 1, 2. 
 
40 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. II. 
 
 terms, unless in those iv .aider consideration ? 
 But if in the true and proper meaning of these 
 terms the higher sense is contained, then when 
 they are applied to the visible Church, they are 
 applied to it as visibly possessing this character. 
 Thus we every day call a visible church a collec- 
 tion of Christians, without meaning to say that the 
 whole Christian character is an outside thing. 
 But in whatever sense men are the children of 
 God, the seed of Christ, and the heirs of glory, 
 whether visibly or really, in the same sense, and no 
 other, are they begotten and born of God. But to 
 limit the meaning of the new birth to a relation to 
 the visible Church, is to say that men are really, 
 and in the liighest sense, born of God, when they 
 only visibly become His children and heirs. 
 
 Let us now descend to a more particular exa- 
 mination of the meaning of these terms, begotten 
 and born of God, children of God, and seed of 
 Christ. 
 
 Begotten and born of God. These terms de- 
 note a change absolutely necessary to salvation ; 
 and that is more than any of us would be willing 
 to say of a union with the visible Church. " Veri- 
 ly, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born 
 again he cannot see the kingdom of God." They 
 denote such a change as took place in Paul, not 
 when he w r as baptised, but when he fell on the 
 plains of Damascus : " Last of all He was seen 
 of me also, as of one born out of due time." They 
 denote a change which to Nicodemus appeared, 
 
LECT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 41 
 
 after Christ Himself had explained it, altogether 
 mysterious, — a change wrought by the Spirit of 
 God, — by operations which can no more be seen, 
 or calculated on, or accounted for, than the motions 
 of the wind. "Verily, verily I say unto thee, 
 Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
 lie cannot enter into the kingdom of God. — The 
 wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the 
 sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, 
 and whither it goeth ; so is every one that is born 
 of the Spirit " u Of His own will begat He us." 
 " Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will 
 of the flesh, nor of the will of man, [certainly then 
 not merely by entering the Church,'] but of God." 
 The terms import the production of that faith which 
 accepts Christ, and triumphs over the world : " As 
 many as received Him, to them gave He power to 
 become the sons of God, even to them that believe 
 on His name; which were born — of God." "Who- 
 soever believeth [truly] that Jesus is the Christ, is 
 born of God. — Whosoever is born of God over- 
 cometh the icorld, and this is the victory that over- 
 cometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that 
 overcometh the world but he that believeth that 
 Jesus is the Son of God ? w The terms import the 
 production of that love which " is the fulfilling of 
 the law," and that knowledge of God which is 
 " eternal life." " Every one that loveth is born of 
 God and knoweth God." The terms import a de- 
 liverance from sin, and the production of real ho- 
 liness : " Whosoever is born of God doth not com* 
 6 
 
13 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [leCT. 
 
 II. 
 
 mit sin, for His seed rema'meth in him, and lie can- 
 not sin because he is born of God." " We know 
 that whosoever is born of God sinneth not ; but he 
 that is born of God keepeth himself and that wicked 
 one touclieth him not." " Ye have purified your 
 souls in obeying the truth, through the Spirit, unto 
 unfeigned love of the brethren, — being born again. 
 — Wherefore, — as new born babes, desire the sin- 
 cere milk of the word. — Ye also as living stones 
 are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to 
 oiFer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by 
 Jesus Christ. — Unto you therefore which believe 
 He is precious. — Ye are a chosen generation, a 
 royal priesthood, a holy nation. " Of course these 
 terms import the restoration of the divine image : 
 u If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that 
 every one that doth righteousness is born of Him" 
 "Every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth 
 him also that is begotten of Him," on account of 
 thQ resemblance. Finally, these terms import an 
 unfailing title to everlasting glory: " He saved us 
 with the washing of regeneration and renewing of 
 the Holy Ghost, — that being justified by His grace, 
 we should be made heirs according to the hope of 
 eternal life." " Elect, according to the foreknow- 
 ledge of God the Father, — who hath begotten us 
 again — to an inheritance, — reserved in heaven for 
 you, who are kept by the power of God through 
 faith unto salvation."* 
 
 * John i. 12, 13. and iii. 3—9. 1 Cor. xv. 8. Tit. iii. 5, 7. James 
 i. 18. 1 Pet. i. 2—5, 22, 23. and ii. 1, 2, 5, 7, 9. 1 John ii. 29. and iii. 
 9, 10. and iv. 7. and v. 1, 4, 5, 18. 
 
LECT. 11.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 43 
 
 That all these ideas arc really contained in the 
 terms begotten and born of God, is still more ap- 
 parent from the description given of 
 
 The children of God. These are (hey who hear 
 (he image of God, (a leading idea suggested by 
 the figure,) — the image of God upon their hearts 
 as well as lives. " Love your enemies, bless them 
 that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and 
 pray for them which despitcfully use you and per- 
 secute you ; that ye may be the children of your 
 Father which is in heaven, for He maketh His sun 
 io rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain 
 on ike just and on the unjust." " Be ye therefore 
 followers of God as dear children." Of course the 
 children of God are holy, (in some measure,) as He 
 is holy : " Whosoever is born of God doth not 
 commit sin. — In this the children of God are mani- 
 fest, and the children of the devil." " The good 
 seed are the children of the kingdom, but the tares, 
 [false professors,] are the children of tlwicicked 
 one." " As obedient children, not fashioning your- 
 selves accord ins: to the former lusts ; — but as He — 
 is holy, so be ye holy." u According as He hath 
 chosen us — before the foundation of the, world, that 
 we should be holy, and ivithout blame before Him in 
 love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of 
 children" The children of God possess the filial 
 temper, and are led by His Spirit which witnesses 
 to their adoption : u Jls many as are led by the 
 Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For yc 
 have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, 
 
4H TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. II. 
 
 but ye have received the spirit of adoption where- 
 by we cry, Abba Father ! The Spirit itself bear- 
 eth witness with our spirit that we are the children 
 of God." " Because ye are sons, God hath sent 
 forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, cry- 
 ing, Abba Father." The children of God are con- 
 stituted such by faith in Christ : " As many as 
 received Him, to them gave He power to become 
 the sons of God, even to them that believe on His 
 name." " Ye are all the children of God by faith 
 in Christ Jesus." The children of God are re- 
 deemed, forgiven, accepted : " Having predesti- 
 nated us unto the adoption of children, — to the praise 
 of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made 
 us accepted in the Beloved ; in whom we have 
 redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of 
 sins." Of course the children of God are the ob- 
 jects of His tenderest love : " Whom the Lord loveth 
 He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He 
 reeeiveth. If ye endure chastening God dealeth 
 with you as with sons." The children of God are 
 entitled to all the promises : " The children of 
 the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the 
 children of the promise are counted for the seed/' 
 " Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children 
 of the promise." " To Abraham and his Heed 
 were the promises made. — Ye are all the children 
 of God by faith in Christ Jesus : — and if ye be 
 Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs ac- 
 cording to the promise." Finally, the children of 
 God ivill inherit eternal glory, and will bear this 
 
LECT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 45 
 
 name when all visible churches are no more : " If 
 children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs 
 with Christ." " If a son, then an heir of God 
 through Christ." " In the resurrection — they are 
 equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, 
 being the children of the resurrection." " The 
 creature itself also shall be delivered from the bon- 
 dage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the 
 children of God" Indeed as Christians will then 
 enter into the full possession of their inheritance, 
 this investiture, which is regarded as the consum- 
 mation of their sonship, is called by way of emi- 
 nence their adoption : " We ourselves groan 
 within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, 
 the redemption of our body."* 
 
 Such is the account given us of the children of 
 God ; and a similar description is given of 
 
 The seed of Christ. This appellation distin- 
 guishes a class of men who wtxcjjromised to Christ 
 as the fruit of " the travail of His soul," and are 
 called " the holy seed," " a seed" tiiat <• serve 
 Him," " the seed which the Lord hath blessed," an 
 ** elect" seed, born to possess the inheritance, a 
 seed which shall be established forever, and though 
 chastened never forsaken on account of their sins. 
 Being the seed of Him in whom centred all the 
 promises made to Abraham, they inherit a sure 
 
 * Mat. v. 9, 44, 45. and xiii. 38. Luke vi. 35, 36. and xx. 33, 36. 
 John i. 12. Rom. viii. 14—17, 21, 23. and ix. 8. Gal. iii. 7—29. and 
 iv. 5, 7, 28. Eph. i. 4—7. and v. 1. Ileb. xii. 6, 7. 1 Pet. i. 14, \j 
 1 John iii. 9, 10. 
 
46 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT, If. 
 
 title to all covenant blessings : " It is of faith that 
 it might be by grace, to the end the promise might 
 be sure to all the seed." " They are not all Israel 
 which are of Israel ; [not all seed who belong 
 to the visible church ;] — that is, they which are 
 the children of the flesh, these are not the children 
 of God, but the children of the promise are counted 
 for the seed."* 
 
 After the Scriptures have spoken in this sort, 
 is it not worse than trill in 2: to sav that new crea- 
 tare, begotten of God, new-born, children of God, 
 seed of Christ, express nothing more than a relation 
 to the visible Church ? That these terms, like all 
 others descriptive of holy character, are applied to 
 visible churches, is not denied ; but it is on the 
 presumption that they are what they profess. Is it 
 not the strangest fancy that ever was conceived, 
 that because such terms are applied to visible 
 churches, they express no more than an outward 
 character and condition ? Because you call mem- 
 bers of the visible Church Christians, is it to be 
 inferred that men are real Christians without a 
 good heart P 
 
 Thus it appears that the new creation or new 
 birth implies the production of real holiness of heart, 
 or spiritual life. If then the terms have any sig- 
 niiicancy, they import the beginning of that life. 
 If so, there was no holiness before. And this con- 
 
 * Ps. xxii. 30. and lxxxix. 4, 29—37. Isai. vi. 13. and liii. 10, 11. 
 and lxv. 9. Rom. iv. 16. and ix. 6, 8. Gal. iii. 16, 29. 
 
LECT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 47 
 
 elusion, drawn from the plain meaning of the terms, 
 is confirmed by the tenour of the numerous texts 
 "which have been cited. 
 
 Argument III. The Scriptures in a variety of 
 forms plainly assert the doctrine of Total Depra- 
 vity. 
 
 (1.) The manner in which they speak of man, 
 the sons of men, and the world, is as if these terms 
 stood for nothing but sinners, — as if nothing but sin 
 was inherent in the human nature. " The way of 
 man is froward and strange.'' " How much more 
 abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh ini- 
 quity like water." " Do ye judge uprightly, O ye 
 sons of men ? yea in heart you work wickedness ; 
 you weigh the violence of your hands in the earth." 
 " My soul is among lions, and I lie even among 
 them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, 
 whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue 
 a sharp sword." A direct opposition is every 
 where set up between God and man, God and the 
 world, Christ and the world : " Get thee behind 
 me, Satan ; for thou savourest not the things that 
 be of God, but the things that be of man." " We 
 have received, not the spirit of the world, but the 
 Spirit which is of God." " We know that we are 
 of God, and the whole world lieth in icickedness." 
 " I have given them thy word, and the world hath 
 hated them, because they are not of the world, even 
 as I am not of the world." "If the world hate you, 
 ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If 
 
48 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. II. 
 
 ye were of the world, the world would love his 
 own ; but because you are not of the world, but I 
 have chosen you out of the world, therefore the 
 world hateth you. 5 ' Hence the epithets worldly 
 and earthly are used to express qualities altogether 
 wicked : « Ungodliness and worldly lusts." " This 
 wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, 
 natural, devilish."* 
 
 (2.) The promises of the Gospel are made to 
 the least degree of holiness, and the threatenings 
 of death are denounced against nothing less than 
 an utter want of holiness. 
 
 Such is the tenour of the promises. " Whoso- 
 ever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones 
 a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, 
 verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his 
 reward." " All things work together for good to 
 them that love God," in the least degree. u He 
 that lovelh me [at all, 2 shall be loved of my Father, 
 and I will love him." " Repent and be baptised 
 every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for 
 the remission of sins, [no particular degree of re- 
 pentance is specified,] and ye shall receive the gift 
 of the Holy Grhost." " He that believeth, [ever so 
 feebly,'] shall be saved." 
 
 Such also is the tenour of the threatenings. 
 " Follow — holiness, ivithout which, [that is, if it is 
 entirely wanting,] no man shall see the Lord." 
 
 * Job xv. 16. Ps. lvii. 4. and lviii. 1, 2. Prov. xxi. 8. Mark viii. 33. 
 John xv. 18, 19. and xvii. 14, 16. 1 Cor. ii. 12. Tit. ii. 12. James 
 iii. 15. 1 John v. 19. 
 
JLFXT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 49 
 
 U If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christy let 
 him be anathema maranatha." " Except ye re- 
 imnt, [in some degree,'] ye shall all likewise pe- 
 rish." " He that helieveth not, shall be damned."* 
 
 None therefore but those who are freed from 
 the threatenings of death, and have a title to the 
 promises of life, possess a particle of holiness. 
 
 Before I proceed further allow me to remind 
 you of one fact with which you cannot be unac- 
 
 * Mat. x. 42. Mark xvi. 1.6. Luke xiii. 3. John xiv. 21. Acts ii. 
 38. Rom. viii. 28. 1 Cor. xvi. 22. Heb. xii. 14. If it be said that the 
 terms which express the conditions of these promises and denuncia- 
 tions, are all descriptive of general character, (like the texts referred to 
 in the third Lecture, p. 74 — 76,) the author concedes that they may 
 be so understood without giving a wrong view of the promises and 
 threatenings ; because men who love, repent, or believe, in the least de- 
 gree, do the same habitually. But while some passages almost ex- 
 pressly speak of general character, and are evidently confined to that 
 view, (as those cited in the third Lecture,) many of the promises 
 and threatenings are so constructed as plainly to imply, that those who 
 are not entitled to the one, but are exposed to the other, are entirely 
 destitute of holiness. Indeed by a union of indejiniteivess, (which by o- 
 mitting the notice of degrees suggests the idea of general character,) 
 with explicitness, (by which the utter destitution of the wicked is suffi- 
 ciently expressed,) they seem to have been constructed on pur- 
 pose to hold out this precise proposition, that they wlio are not holy 
 in their general character, possess no holiness at all. The general and 
 sweeping tenour, for instance, of the promises and threatenings above 
 quoted, in which no degrees of holiness are marked, but a distinct line 
 of separation is drawn between those who love and those who love 
 ft 7iot" those who repent and those who repent " ?wt" those who believe 
 and those who believe " not? those who possess and those who are 
 " without holiness," evidently implies that they whose general character 
 is not marked with love, repentance, and faith, are utterly destitute 
 of these and every other holy principle. And if this is allowed to be 
 their language, they only assert what the great body of Scripture a- 
 hundantlv confirms. 
 
50 TOTAL DEPRAVITY." [lECT. If, 
 
 quaintcd. The Scriptures divide mankind into 
 two classes ; the good and the bad, the righteous 
 and the wicked, natural men and spiritual men, 
 believers and unbelievers, those who are in Christ 
 and those who are out, the justified and the con- 
 demned, the heirs of heaven and the heirs of hell. 
 There is not a third class. With this fact before 
 me I remark, 
 
 (3.) A number of the most simple and essential 
 properties of a holy nature are particularly speci- 
 fied, and are declared not to belong to the class 
 denominated wicked. This class possess no love 
 to God or Christ, The proof of this I shall re- 
 serve for the next Lecture. This class have no 
 desire after God : " The wicked — say unto God, 
 Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of 
 thy ways."' They have no desire after Christ: 
 He is to them " as a root out of a dry ground ; He 
 Lath no form nor comeliness, and when [they] — see 
 Him there is no beauty that [they] should desire 
 Him." They do not seek God : " The wicked, 
 through the pride of his countenance, will not seel: 
 after God." If there should be any doubt who 
 are meant by the wicked that do not seek God, tlie 
 Psalmist will resolve it at once : " The Lord 
 looked down from heaven upon the children of men, 
 to see if there were any that did — seek God. They 
 are all gone aside ;" "there is nonethat seekeili after 
 God" This class do not fear God, though " the 
 fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:" 
 "The transgression of the wicked saith within my 
 
J*ECT» II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 51 
 
 heart, that there is no fear of God before their 
 eyes." And to show infallibly that by the wicked, 
 in this and other similar passages, are meant the 
 whole race of natural men, the apostle in the 3d 
 chapter of Romans quotes these very words, and 
 other things alleged against the wicked in the Old 
 Testament, as asserted of all natural men, and in- 
 tended to prove that "both Jews and Gentiles — are 
 all under sin," (that " every mouth may be stopped, 
 and all the world may become guilty before God/') 
 and that "by the deeds of the law — no flesh 
 [can] be justified." This class do not know 
 God : " O righteous Father, the world hath not 
 known thee" " These things will they, [the 
 world,] do uuto you for my name's sake, because 
 they know not Him that sent me" This class are 
 wholly unacquainted with the way of life : " The 
 way of peace have they not known :" Hence in 
 allusion to the conversion of sinners it is said, " I 
 will bring the blind by a way that they knew 
 not ; I will lead them in paths that they have not 
 known" This class have no spiritual discern- 
 ment, or understanding, or right knowledge of di- 
 vine things : " We speak — not the wisdom of 
 this world, — but — the wisdom of God in a mystery^ 
 — which none of the princes of this world knew ; 
 — as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 neither have entered into the heart of man the 
 things which God hath prepared for them that love 
 Him ; but God hath revealed them unto us by His 
 
8% TOTAL BEPRAVITT. [lECT. 1U 
 
 Spirit. — For what man knoweth the things of a 
 man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? Even 
 so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spi* 
 rit of God.— But the natural man receiveth not the 
 things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness 
 unto him ; neither can he know them, because they 
 are spiritualty discerned." " My people is foolish;, 
 they have not known me; they are sottish children, 
 they have none tinder standing" "The Lord look- 
 ed down from heaven upon the children of men, 
 to see if there were any that did understand. — 
 They are all gone aside." "There is none thai 
 under standeth." Hence all spiritual understand- 
 ing is represented as coming from God : " The 
 Bon of God is come, and hath given us an under- 
 standing, that we may know Hint that is true." 
 "We— dp not cease to pray for you,- — that ye 
 might be filled with the knowledge of His will, in 
 all wisdom and spiritual understanding" This 
 class have none of that love to their neighbour 
 which is required in the divine law : " Beloved, 
 let us love one another, for love is of God, and every 
 dne that loveth is horn of God, and knoweth God." 
 This class have no true hatred of sin : " The fear 
 of the Lord is to hate evil ;" but they have " no 
 fear of God before their eyes." However the 
 body of sin may change its form, and some of its 
 members be retrenched, they are in no degree de- 
 livered from its dominion ; " To depart from evih 
 
LfeCT. II.] TOTAL DEPRxYVITY, 3^ 
 
 is understanding ;" but of them it is said, " Thou 
 hast hid their heart from understanding."* 
 
 (I.) All natural men are the enemies of 
 God and His Son. This decisive proof of To- 
 tal Depravity will be reserved for the following 
 Lecture. 
 
 (5.) That natural men possess no holy princi- 
 ple is evident from this, that all their actions, so 
 far as they partake of a moral nature, are wicked. 
 Their "ways are always grievous." They "have 
 only done evil— from their youth." They " have 
 only provoked me to anger with the work of their 
 hands." The very "plowing of the wicked is 
 sin." Even their " sacrifice — is an abomination 
 to the Lord." " So then they that are in the flesh, 
 [in their natural state ,2 cannot please God :" or 
 what amounts to the same thing, " Without faith it 
 is impossible to please Hini."f 
 
 (6.) The doctrine is supported by direct and 
 positive declarations. " God saw that the wicked- 
 ness of man was great in the earth, and that every 
 imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only 
 evil continually." " The heart of the sons of men 
 is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while 
 they live, and after that they go to the dead." 
 "Because sentence against an evil work is not 
 
 "a 
 
 executed speedily, therefore the heart of the son 
 
 * Job xvii. 4. and xxi. 7, 14. and xxviii. 23. Ps. x. 4. and xiv. 2, 3. 
 and xxxvi. 1. and cxi. 10. Prov. i. 7. and viii. 13. and ix. 10. Isai. xlii 
 16. and liii. 2. Jer. iv. 22. John xv. 21. and xvii. 25. Rom. iii. 9— 
 20. 1 Cor. ii. 6—14. Col. i. 9. 1 John iv. 7. and v. 20. f Ps. x. 4. 
 Prov. xv. 8. and xxi. 4. Jer. : v xxii. 30. Rom. viii. 3. Heb. xl 6. 
 
M TOTAL DEPRAVITY* [t.ECT, IlJ 
 
 of men is /«% se£ in them to do evil." " The 
 heart is deceitful above all things, and desperate- 
 ly wicked; who can know it?" Whose heart? 
 The heart, — in the most universal form. " The 
 whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint : from 
 the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no 
 soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and pu- 
 trifying sores." " Unto them that are defiled and 
 unbelieving, is nothing pure, but even their mind 
 and conscience is defiled; — -being abominable, and 
 disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.'' 
 "That which is born of the flesh, [by natural 
 generation,] is flesh " — is nothing but flesh ; be- 
 cause all that is spirit, or that stands in opposition 
 to flesh, is produced by a second birth : " That 
 which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which 
 is born of the Spirit is spirit." By flesh is un- 
 questionably meant the old nature with which we 
 were born. What then is the character of the 
 ilesh? Let an apostle answer : " I know that in me, 
 that is in my flesh, clwelleth no good thing." 
 "Will you hear him further ? " The flesh lustcth 
 against the spirit, and the spirit against tiie flesh, 
 and these are contrary the one to the other. — Now 
 the works of the flesh are — these : adultery, forni- 
 cation, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witch- 
 craft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, 
 seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunken- 
 ness, revelliugs, and such like. — But the fruit 
 of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. — And they that 
 are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the af- 
 
LF.CT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 53 
 
 fections and lusts." Hear him yet further : "They 
 that are after the flesh do mind the things of the 
 flesh, hut they that are after the Spirit, the tilings 
 of the Spirit; for to be carnally [fleshly] minded 
 is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and 
 peace ; because the carnal [fleshly] mind is en- 
 mity against God, for it is not subject to the law 
 of God, neither indeed can be. So then thcv that 
 are in the flesh, [in their natural state,] cannot 
 please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in 
 the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in 
 you J 9 
 
 To this mass of proof may be added, what 
 perhaps is the most decisive of all, that mankind 
 by nature are " dead in trespasses and sins :" 
 " You being dead in your sins, and the uncircum- 
 cision of your flesh, hath He quickened." " You 
 hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses 
 and sins." If you say these were heathen, let us 
 then go to the Jews : " God who is rich in mercy, 
 for His great love wherewith He loved ii8 9 even 
 when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us." 
 €t Jesus said unto him, Follow me, and let the dead 
 bury their dead." a The hour is coming, and now 
 is, when the dead sIk 11 hear the voice of the Son 
 of God, and they that hear shall live." If you 
 say these were Jews, let us go then within the pale 
 of the Christian Church : " Honour widows that 
 are widows indeed ; — hut she that liveth in plea- 
 sure is dead while she liveth." " These are spots 
 
56 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. II, 
 
 in youu feasts of charity ; — trees whose fruit wi- 
 thereth, — twice dead, plucked up by the roots." 
 " I know thy works, that thou hast a name that 
 thou livest and art dead."* 
 
 The dismal picture which the apostle draws in 
 the 3d chapter of Romans, by composing into one 
 form the different features of tbe " wicked" which 
 had been traced in the Old Testament ; and his 
 declaration that the features were originally intend 
 ed for the whole human family, authorizing thus 
 the universal application of the term wicked as 
 it stands connected with those delineations ; are 
 sufficient in themselves to settle this question. 
 Pray read that description, (and add to it the dread- 
 ful account of the whole heathen world in the first 
 chapter ;) and after being thus taught to apply to 
 all natural men the allegations of the Old Testa- 
 ment against u the icicked" read the descriptions 
 of the wicked contained in the 21st chapter of Job, 
 the 10th, 14th, 36th, 50th, and 73d Psalm, 
 and to mention no more, the 59th chapter of 
 Isaiah. 
 
 Argument IV. The representations in the 
 Psalms and chapters above referred to, are abun- 
 dantly confirmed by the history of the world. 
 
 But a few ages had elapsed after the fall of 
 man before *f the earth was filled with violence," 
 
 * Gen. vL 5. Eccl. Via. 11. and ix. 3. IsaS. i. 5, 6. Jer. xvii. 9. 
 Mat. viii. 22. John iii. 6. and v. 25. Rom. vii. 18. and viii. 5—9. Gal. 
 v. 17—24. Eph. ii. 1, 4, 5. Col. ii. 15. 1 Tim. v. 3, 6. Tit. i 15, 1& 
 1 Pet. iv. 6. Jude 12. Hey. iii. 1. 
 
LECT. II.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 5? 
 
 and the whole world, with the exception of a sin- 
 gle family, must he swept away with a flood. As 
 soon as men began to multiply again on the earth, 
 the whole race, except one family preserved by a 
 succession of miracles, apostatized to idols. " Pro- 
 fessing themselves to be wise they became fools, 
 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God 
 into an image made like to corruptible man, and 
 to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 
 — For this cause God gave them up unto vile af- 
 fections," to wallow in the most unnatural and 
 brutal lusts. " As they did not like to retain God 
 in their knowledge, God gave them over to a re- 
 probate mind ; — being filled with all unrighteous- 
 ness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, ma- 
 liciousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, 
 malignity ; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, 
 despiteful, proud, boasters, in venters of evil things, 
 disobedient to parents, without understanding, co- 
 venant-breakers, without natural affection, implaca- 
 ble, unmerciful,*' " murderers of fathers, and mur- 
 derers of mothers."* Only collect the crimes com- 
 mitted in the Assyrian and Persian courts, inclu- 
 ding the frequent murder of the nearest relations 
 10 opeu a way to the throne, and without looking 
 further this whole catalogue of charges stands sup- 
 ported. Sodom was but a specimen of the heathen 
 world. 
 
 Rom. i. 22— 32. 1 Tim. i. 9, 10. 
 
58 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [LECT. II. 
 
 And if you turn from this wilderness to the 
 
 vinevard on which all the culture of heaven was 
 bestowed, you see little else than the grapes of 
 Sodom and clusters of Gomorrah.* Under the 
 glories of the burning mount, while the voice of 
 God was still sounding in their ears, they con- 
 structed a molten calf, and stupidly cried, " These 
 be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out 
 of the land of Egypt. "f Their unbelief and re- 
 bellion never ceased. From generation to genera- 
 tion their lust after other gods could scarcely he 
 restrained by all the miracles wrought before their 
 eyes,— by all the fervid expostulations of anxious 
 prophets. Those prophets they slew, and at length 
 filled up the measure of their iniquity by the mur- 
 der of the Son of God. 
 
 And what has the Christian world exhibited ? 
 Must I retrace that apostacy which gave one half 
 of the Church into the hands of the Saracens and 
 Turks ? Must I measure over those scenes of pride 
 and pollution which laid the other half at the feet 
 of the Man of Sin ? Must I revisit the faggots of 
 the martyrs, and wade through the seas of blood 
 which have been shed by hands bearing the cross ? 
 Look where you will, and the deep depravity of 
 man on every side appears. The history of the 
 world is a history of crimes. The earth has been 
 from the beginning a great Aceldama, a shamble** 
 of blood. And lest it should be thought that Chris- 
 
 • Deut. xxxii. 32, 33. Isai. v. 1—7- f Exod. xxxii. I— £ 
 
EECT. IT.] TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 59 
 
 tianity, and science, and modern refinement, have 
 tamed the natural heart, the most polished nation 
 on earthy in the centre of the Christian world, has 
 been selected to take the lead in that scene of athe- 
 ism and violence reserved for the latter day, — re- 
 served to make a full developement of the human 
 character, that the millennium might be introdu- 
 ced without a remaining doubt on earth of the total 
 depravity of man. 
 
 This horrid scene, in the centre of the Chris- 
 tian Chinch, was foretold by astonished prophets. 
 " This know, — that in the last days perilous times 
 shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own- 
 selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, dis- 
 obedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without 
 natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, in- 
 continent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
 traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures 
 more than lovers of Okl, having the form of god- 
 liness, but denying the power thereof : from suck 
 turn away. 7 '' u And there fell upon men a great 
 hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight 
 of a talent ; and men blasphemed God because of 
 the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof was 
 exceeding great/'* 
 
 Such is the history of man, — of man under 
 every form of society, pagan, Jewish, and Chris- 
 tian. And it furnishes a fair illustration of what 
 selfishness will do in sjnie of all the affections of 
 nature, when divine restraints are taken off, and 
 
 * 2 Tim. in. 1—9. Rev. xvi. 21. 
 
6*0 TOTAL DEPRAVITY. [lECT. IT, 
 
 (Sufficient temptations occur. It may then be re- 
 garded as the history of every man left to him- 
 self. For " as in water face answereth to face, so 
 the heart of man to man/' The conduct of those 
 wretches who are recorded as prodigies of iniquity, 
 is only an exemplification of selfishness, and a 
 specimen of what every man would do if left of 
 (rod. All doubt on this subject will be removed as 
 soon as the wicked enter the eternal world and be- 
 gin to exercise the rage of the damned. Hence in 
 the descriptions of man which are drawn by the Ho- 
 ly Ghost, crimes, that have not been acted out by 
 all, but by a part as a sample of the rest, are set 
 down among the characteristicks of the whole hu- 
 man family. * 
 
 But men will be slow to believe all this, because 
 they are ignorant of themselves. No man knows 
 what is in his heart further than he is tried ; be- 
 cause no man knows what selfishness, restrained 
 only by nature, is capable of doing. Hazael could 
 say, "Is thy servant a dog that he should do this 
 great thing?" and yet he did it.f The Jews who 
 crucified the Saviour of the world, thought that if 
 they had lived in the days of their fathers they 
 should not have slain the prophets.;]: And if any of 
 you are dreaming that, left to yourselves, you should 
 Jiot go the length of those whose history you have 
 reviewed, let that dream end at this spot, — " The 
 heart is deceitful above all things and desperately 
 wicked ; tvho can know it f" 
 
 • Rem. iii. 9—20. f 2 Kin. viii. 13. t Matxxiii, I 
 
LECTURE III 
 
 NATURAL AFFECTIONS NOT HOLINESS, 
 
 Iir.BREWS XII. 14. 
 
 FOLLOW TEACE WITH ALL MEN, AND HOLINESS, WITHOUT WHICH Kft 
 MAN SHALL 5EE THE LORD. 
 
 Salvation depends very much on possessing 
 a correct view of our native ruin and need of a Sa- 
 viour. For want of this many disdainfully reject 
 the offers of grace, and undertake to recommend 
 themselves to God in a way more gratifying to hu- 
 man pride. None will apply to the physician till 
 they feel that they are sick. 
 
 The most holy and devout portion of (he Chris- 
 tian Church have always held, with the fathers of 
 New-England, that mankind by nature are totally 
 depraved ; hy which they have meant, not that they 
 are as had as they can be, — not that they are all 
 equally wicked, — not that the form of their actions 
 is always wrong, — not that they are wholly desti- 
 tute of love to men, — of all moral sense, — of all re- 
 gard for the natural iitness there is in virtue, — of 
 all disgust at the natural unfitness there is in vice ; 
 
63 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. ViU 
 
 but merely this, that tliey are utterly destitute of 
 holiness. And this our text evidently implies. It 
 virtually declares that none shall be debarred from 
 seeing the Lord but they who are " without holi- 
 ness ;" which is to say, that all who are not entitled 
 to heaven are destitute of that principle, — all who 
 in Scripture are called sinners in distinction from 
 saints, children of wrath in distinction from chil- 
 dren of God, natural men in distinction from spirit- 
 ual men, the world in distinction from the Church, 
 are " without holiness." 
 
 There are however in natural men certain sem- 
 blances of holiness which have been often alleged 
 in opposition to this doctrine. Natural men are 
 susceptible of gratitude and patriotism ; of the do- 
 incstick affections, such as subsist between parent* 
 and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sis- 
 ters ; of humanity, including both compassion and 
 general good wishes for the happiness of others ; 
 of a sweet disposition, enlarging their humanity, 
 and producing gentleness, patience, forgiveness, 
 kindness, and beneficence. They are susceptible 
 of a sense of honour, revolting from meanness and 
 pollution ; of taste, that delights in beautiful pro- 
 portions in all visible objects and relations ; of con- 
 science, or the moral sense, which approves of jus- 
 tice and virtue, and disapproves of vice, and when 
 sufficiently enlightened justifies the whole law of 
 God, and religion generally, and good men, and 
 condemns the opposite of all these. Under the 
 influence of these principles, fortified by education 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. 63 
 
 and habit, aided by hopes and fears, by respect for 
 human opinions and laws, by regard for good or- 
 der, (especially as being necessary for their own se- 
 curity,) by the general good nature which prospe- 
 rity imparts even to selfish minds, and by number- 
 less associations of ideas, multitudes of natural 
 men lead amiable and moral lives. But after all 
 they are utterly destitute of that a holiness without 
 which no man shall see the Lord." To put this 
 matter beyond a doubt, let us, 
 
 I. Inquire what holiness is. 
 
 II. Compare the world with this standard. 
 
 III. By this standard test the natural princi- 
 ples which have been mentioned. 
 
 I. What is holiness? Avoiding all points 
 liable to dispute, I will give such an answer to 
 the question as I think no man will be disposed to 
 contradict. I will put the answer in two forms, 
 and you may take your choice. Holiness consists 
 in conformity to the moral character of God. The 
 other answer is, Holiness consists in obedience to 
 His commands. I will illustrate the principle in 
 both forms. 
 
 (1.) Holiness consists in conformity to the 
 moral character of God. If a doubt could rest on 
 this point the whole Bible would join to remove it. 
 In the image of God man was originally made, 
 and that image is reins tampt on his soul in sane- 
 tification. u We all with open face beholding as 
 in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed iutp 
 the same image from glory to glory/' Holiness in 
 
6i NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. III.* 
 
 creatures is the same in kind as holiness in God : 
 u Be ye holy for I am holy."' Hence Christians 
 are said to be " partakers of His holiness," and 
 " partakers of the divine nature."* 
 
 Holiness in creatures consists, then, in loving 
 the same things that God loves, in hating the same 
 tilings that He hates, in desiring the same things 
 that He desires, in having the same supreme end, 
 in rejoicing in the same things in which He rejoi- 
 ces ; in short, in possessing His temper, and acting it 
 out in corresponding conduct. Let us expand these 
 ideas. Holiness consists 
 
 hi loving the same things that God loves ; in 
 loving therefore being in general ; (such an affec- 
 tion exists in God, for " God is love ;") in loving 
 all His perfections, in which He Himself delights ; 
 in loving the precepts and penalties of that law 
 which is a transcript of His nature ; in loving His 
 providential government, which he approves ; in 
 delighting in His will, which is necessarily agree- 
 able to Himself; in loving His Son, His beloved 
 Hon in whom He is well pleased; in loving the 
 whole plan of salvation, which He regards with in- 
 finite affection ; in loving His Word, with all its 
 doctrines, which are dear to Him; in loving His 
 Church and all good men, whom He has graven 
 upon His heart. 
 
 In hating the same things that God hates; in 
 hating sin therefore, and the characters of wicked 
 men, and the manners of an ungodly icorld. 
 
 * Gen. i. 26, 27. 2 Cor. iii. 18. Heb. xii. 10. 1 Pet. i. 16. 2 Pet. i. 4. 
 
JLECT. III.] KOT HOLINESS. 65 
 
 In desiring the same things that God desires ; 
 in desiring therefore His glory, the enlargement 
 and consummation of His Church, the universal 
 reign of holiness, the universal belief of God-ex- 
 alting and soul-debasing truths, and the fulfilment 
 of all the designs of infinite love. 
 
 In having the same supreme end that God has ; 
 in making His glory therefore the grand object of 
 pursuit. 
 
 In rejoicing in the same things in which God 
 rejoices ; in rejoicing therefore in His being, go- 
 vernment, and glory, in the honour put upon His 
 law, in the certainty that all His purposes will 
 be accomplished, in the everlasting glory of His 
 Church, and the eternal destruction of His ene- 
 mies. 
 
 In acting out this temper in corresponding con- 
 duct, — in precisely that conduct toward God, His 
 Son, His institutions, and our fellow men, which 
 His Word requires. 
 
 Must not this, and nothing short of this, be the 
 holiness that will fit us to enjoy and commune 
 with God forever? — Shall I now turn to the other 
 answer ? But as the law of God is a transcript of 
 His nature, this answer must amount to the same 
 thing. 
 
 (2.) Holiness consists in obeying God's com- 
 mands. Can any man doubt this ? If the law of 
 the universal King is not the universal standard 
 of right; if He has left any thing unforbidden 
 which will injure the prosperity of His kingdom; if 
 9 
 
6(5 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. Il£ 
 
 He has tolerated by silence any principle or act 
 hostile to the interests of the universe ; what will 
 you say of His government? It were blasphemy 
 to suppose it. If the definition of sin is, that it is 
 "the transgression of the laiv,"* the definition of 
 holiness must be, that it is obedience to the law. 
 
 But the law of God, if I may be allowed the 
 expression, has both a body and a soul. It is not 
 confined like human laws to external things. The 
 law of the moral Governour must strike chiefiy, and 
 in a sense entirely, at the heart, the real seat of all 
 moral good and evil.- Now if we could find a sin- 
 gle principle of the heart which in itself and its* 
 proper fruits comprehends complete obedience to 
 the law, we should find holiness in its most simple 
 and elementary form. "Well that principle is 
 found; and it is such a one as will perfectly assi- 
 milate us to the moral character of God. It is 
 love, — and " God is love/' "Love is the fulfil- 
 ling of the law."f But what love? Let the Pro- 
 phet of the world, the Lawgiver Himself, reply : 
 " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
 heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
 This is the first and great commandment. And 
 the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbour as thyself. On these tico commandments 
 hang all the Law and the Prophets." " All the 
 Law, [in respect to man,"] is fulfilled in one word, 
 even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy- 
 
 * 1 John iii. 4. f Rom. xiii. 10. 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. 67 
 
 self." "He thatloveth another hath fulfilled the 
 Law."* And as evangelical faith, the sum of 
 Gospel duties, " worketh by love,"\ love is the ful- 
 filling of the Gospel as well as the Law, and com- 
 prehends all the holiness of the Old Testament and 
 the New. This is that charity which so involves 
 all moral excellence, that all other things without it 
 are declared to he nothing: "Though I speak 
 with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not 
 charity, [love,] I am hccome as sounding brass or 
 a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of 
 prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all 
 knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I 
 could remove mountains, and have no charity, I am 
 nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to 
 feed the poor, and though I give my body to be 
 burned, [as a martyr,'] and have not charity, it 
 jsrqfiteth me nothing. P% 
 
 k\\ holiness then consists in that love to God, 
 to Christ, and our neighbour, which stands op- 
 posed to selfishness, and causes us, when it is per- 
 fect, to love God with all our heart, and our neigh- 
 bour as ourselves. But who is my neighbour ? 
 Not my friend, not my relation, not my Christian 
 brother, not my countryman ; but the Samaritan, 
 (as Christ Himself explained it,||) one that is of 
 another religion, of another nation, reputed wick- 
 ed, and my natural enemy ; one that has nothing 
 
 * Mat. xxii. 37—40. Rom. xiii. 8. Gal. v. 14. f Gal. v. 6. 
 
 . 1 Cor. xiii. 1—3. 9 Liike x. 29—37. 
 
(58 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. III. 
 
 to recommend him but that he is a man. In this 
 is involved the spirit of all those precepts which 
 require us to love our enemies, to exercise the most 
 perfect good will and kindness to the evil and un- 
 thankful. The love then which is the fulfilling of 
 the law, is limited to no circle, no country, but 
 reaches as far as man is found. It is restricted by 
 no partialities, it stops at no character, no friend- 
 ships, no aversions, but centres on simple being. 
 It stops not at human being, but goes forth to God, 
 who comprehends in Himself infinitely the greatest 
 portion of existence. It fixes on Him supremely, 
 and loves Him, when it is perfect, with all the 
 heart, and soul, and mind. And if angels, if the 
 inhabitants of all worlds should come distinctly 
 into view, what should hinder it from fixing on 
 them as it now does on God and man ? Nor does 
 it stop at intelligent being ; it goes forth with en- 
 tire good will to the sensitive creation, to all that 
 are capable of pleasure or pain. Surely in the 
 love which is the fulfilling of the law must be 
 comprehended that benevolence which causes " a 
 righteous man" to regard " the life of his beast/' 
 since this is a part of moral goodness which God 
 has seen fit to approve.* An affection thus going 
 forth to being as such, without regard to character, 
 relation, proximity, or species, must have for its 
 object all existence capable of pleasure or pain. 
 It can find nothing to limit it to the inhabitants of 
 
 * Prov. xii. 10. 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. 69 
 
 one world, except ignorance that others exist. In 
 a finite being it will indeed act most strongly to- 
 wards objects most in view ; but the same good 
 will that can love an enemy and wish well to a 
 brute, would for the same reason love millions of! 
 beings of other worlds as fast as they should come 
 into view. This is that general benevolence which 
 makes men good citizens of the universe. This is 
 that law which was fitted for a universal empire. 
 You must possess domestick affections to render you 
 good members of a family ; you must have the more 
 extended principle of patriotism to render you good 
 members of the state : for the same reason you 
 must possess universal benevolence to render you 
 good subjects of a kingdom which comprises all 
 worlds as so many provinces of a vast empire. 
 Nothing short of this is holiness. Family regula- 
 tions are necessary for the domestick circle ; civil 
 laws are necessary for the commonwealth ; but this 
 great law of love, which knows no limit of time or 
 place, is fitted to be the universal statute of a king- 
 dom comprehending all worlds. 
 
 But though this affection fixes on general 
 being as its primary object, it has a secondary 
 object, and that is holy love, including both the love 
 of being and the love of holiness. As it delights 
 in the happiness of general existence, it delights 
 in that benevolence which is friendly to general 
 existence and which loves this sacred temper in 
 others. lake God Himself it regards with com- 
 
^0 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [lECT. III." 
 
 placency both the love of being and the love of 
 holiness. 
 
 May I not add as a distinct idea, that this holy 
 affection delights in the measures on which the 
 happiness of general being depends, such as the 
 law and providential government of God, and the 
 Gospel of Christ. It delights also in the truths 
 which relate to these measures, and in those which 
 relate to the character of God, and the mode of His 
 existence. But this is net a distinct idea. For to 
 love divine truths is not distinct from loving the 
 objects which the truths disclose. The only way 
 in which we see the objects is in the truths which 
 relate to them, and all that we see in truth is the 
 objects disclosed. Hence the unavoidable infer- 
 ence, that the haters of divine truth must be stran- 
 gers to holiness. 
 
 But there is one attribute of holy love which I 
 wish to set more distinctly in your view. Whether 
 this affection respect being or character, it will 
 necessarily regard God supremely. That bene- 
 volence which wishes well to being, will value the 
 happiness of God more than that of all creatures, 
 because He comprises in Himself infinitely the 
 greatest portion of existence. That charity which 
 takes complacency in moral excellence, will love 
 the character of God more than that of all creatures, 
 because He possesses infinitely the greatest portion 
 of benevolence. Where God therefore is not su- 
 premely loved, there can be no holiness. This 
 will be more evident when it is considered that 
 
X.ECT. Ill,] NOT HOLINESS, Jl 
 
 where He is not loved siqrremely, He is not loyed 
 at all* And certainly there can be no love of 
 general being that wholly disregards Him who 
 comprises in Himself infinitely the greatest portion 
 of general being, nor any love of moral excellence 
 thrt wholly disregards Him who contains infinitely 
 the greatest portion of moral excellence in Himself. 
 The man who after God is clearly revealed does 
 not love Him, cannot possess a spark of true bene- 
 volence, nor any delight in it. This will be still 
 more evident when it is considered that the man 
 who does not love God, is His enemy. There can 
 be no indifference here. You may be indifferent to 
 a thousand things in which you have no concern ; 
 but your King, whose laws interfere with every ac- 
 tion of your lives, and every motion of your hearts, 
 — that great and dreadful King who has you in 
 His hands, and is to make you happy or misera- 
 ble to eternity, — to Him you cannot be indifferent. 
 Him you must love or hate. And now let common 
 sense speak :- Can there be a particle of universal 
 benevolence in those who hate the .Being that com- 
 prehends in Himself infinitely the greatest portion 
 of existence? Can men possess a particle of love 
 for moral excellence, who hate the Being that con- 
 tains in Himself infinitely the greatest portion of 
 
 * The author does not mean to approach the question, whether in 
 those hours when the Christian's love is not supreme, it is extinguish- 
 ed ; nor the question, whether love may exist in a disposition when it is 
 not in exercise. He only means to say, that they who never love God 
 supremely, never love Him at all. 
 
5"'3 NATtTHAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. III. 
 
 moral excellence, and even hate Him /or that very 
 reason ? 
 
 I will now show yon how far some of the fore- 
 going views are supported by the Word of God. 
 That leaches us, in the first place, that where God 
 is not loved supremely, He is not loved at all. For 
 First, it instructs us that all who love Him in the 
 least degree, are accepted as Christians and heirs of 
 salvation. All the promises are made to those who 
 possess the smallest degree of love. " Whosoever 
 shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, 
 hecause ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you 
 he shall not lose his reward." " Be merciful un- 
 to me as thou usest to do unto those that love thy 
 -name," — in the least degree. " We know that all 
 things work together for good to them that love 
 God." u Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
 have entered into the heart of man the things which 
 God hath prepared for them that love Him." " The 
 kingdom which He hath promised to them that love 
 Him." "The crown of life which He hath pro- 
 mised to them that love Him."* Secondly, it teaches 
 us that all who are thus accepted as Christians and 
 heirs of salvation, love God supremely. " He that 
 loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy 
 of me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more 
 than me, is not worthy of me." "If any man come 
 to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, 
 
 * Ps. cxix. 132. Mark ix. 41. Rom. viii. 28. 1 Cor. ii. 9. James 
 i. 12. and ii. 5. For a vindication of this construction of the above texts, 
 see Note to page 49. 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. 73 
 
 and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and 
 his own life also, he cannot be my disciple . — Who- 
 soever he be of you that forsakeih not all that he 
 hath, he cannot be my disciple." The great rival 
 of God is the world ; but Christians are represent- 
 ed as being u dead" to the world, as not coveting 
 the world, (for "no — covetous man, who is an 
 idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of 
 Christ,") as even " hating cove ton sness." " God 
 forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified 
 unto me, and I unto the world." " Whom have I 
 in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth 
 that I desire besides thee." To " mind earthly 
 things," to serve " the creature more than the Cre- 
 ator," to be " lovers of pleasures more than lovers 
 of God," to love the praise of men more than the 
 praise of God,'" are set down as incontestable marks 
 of unrenewed nature.* But both of the foregoing 
 particulars are comprised in a single text : " If 
 any man love the world [supremely,'] the love of 
 the Father is not in him."-\ 
 
 Thus the Scriptures instruct us that where God 
 is not loved supremely He is not loved at all. 
 But they stop not here. They teach us that the man 
 who does not love God is His enemy. " He that 
 is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth 
 
 * Exod. xviii. 21. Ps. lxxiii. 25. Prov. xxviii. 16. Mat. x. 37. 
 
 Luke xiv. 26, 33. John xii. 43. Rom. i. 25. 1 Cor. vi. 10. Gal. vi. 
 
 14. Eph. v. 5. Phil. in. 19. Col. Hi. 1—3. 2 Tim. Hi. 4. f 1 John 
 ii. 15. 
 
 10 
 
74 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. III. 
 
 not with me scattereth abroad." In one of the ten 
 commandments, intended for all ages and nations, 
 the whole human race are divided into two classes, 
 those who love God, and those who hate Him. "A 
 the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the 
 iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the 
 third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 
 and showing mercy unto thousands of them that 
 love me."* We are then brought to the conclusion 
 that they who do not love God supremely are His 
 enemies. And this is asserted in express terms : 
 " No man can serve two masters ; for either he 
 will hate the one and love the other, or else he will 
 hold to the one and despise the other: ye cannot 
 serve God and mammon." " The friendship of 
 the world is enmity with God : whosoever there- 
 fore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of 
 God."\ 
 
 All who do not love God supremely are then 
 His enemies. But I go further. All are His 
 enemies whose hearts and lives are not governed 
 by this affection as their ruling passion, so habitu- 
 ally as to form their general character. % What 
 
 * Exod. xx. 5, 6. Mat. xii. 30. f Mat. vi. 24. James iv. 4. 
 
 t What is said in this and the next paragraph is not inconsistent 
 with the assertion repeatedly made, that the least degree of love entitles 
 one to all the promises. The harmony of these thoughts will appear 
 when it is considered, (1) that all who love God in the least degree, 
 nay all who are not unreservedly His enemies, love Him supremely. If 
 this point has not been sufficiently established, the reader is requested 
 to suspend his judgment till he has perused the fourth Lecture. (2) 
 All who love God supremely are Christians, in the highest sense of the 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. ?5 
 
 else can be understood by the passages already 
 quoted ? In these there is a character ascribed to 
 Christians, (including all who love God at alL) and 
 this character is, that they hate their nearest relations, 
 and even life, in comparison with Him ; that they 
 do not " love the world,'' are not friends of tlm 
 world, do not u mind earthly things," are " dead" 
 to the world, are not " covetous," are not idolaters, 
 do not i( serve mammon," do not serve u the crea- 
 ture more than the Creator," are not " lovers of 
 pleasures more than lovers of God," do not " love 
 the praise of men more than the praise of God." 
 Whatever remaining sins they have, this is their 
 character, their only character, then certainly their 
 general character. And is it true after all that 
 •'nine hours out of ten" they are alive to the world, 
 are friends of the world, are covetous, are idolaters, 
 are servants of mammon, are lovers of pleasures 
 more than lovers of God, are enemies of God ? 
 Then this is their general character, and by these 
 names they ought to be called. Are they who are 
 described as serving God and not mammon, really 
 serving mammon and not God " nine hours out of 
 ten" ? After the Bible has declared that no covet- 
 ous man shall inherit the kingdom of Christ, shall 
 they inherit who remain covetous, "nine hours out 
 
 word. This will not be denied. (3) All who are truly Christians 
 love God habitually. The proof of this is to be exhibited i« the remain- 
 ing part of this second head. Therefore, (4) all who love Cod in the 
 least degree love Him habitually. In oilier words, the least degree of 
 love will certainly in all cases be habitual, — on supposition of the 
 Perseverance of the Suints. 
 
76 NATURAL AFFECTIONS. [LECT. III. 
 
 of ten," to the day of their death? Is the good man 
 of the Bible one who, " nine hours out of ten/' dif- 
 fers in nothing from the wicked ? Do those temples 
 in which the Holy Ghost "dwells," contain, "nine 
 hours out of ten," nothing but idols and enmity 
 against God ? Christians are said not to " commit 
 sin,"* to be " dead to sin/' to be " freed from 
 sin,"f which is explained to mean that they do not 
 serve sin. J And after all do they sin with the pre- 
 vailing consent of their minds " nine hours out of 
 ten" ? They indeed have large remains of indwell- 
 ing corruption, and often " do that which [they] 
 would not" ; but they are allowed to plead, " It is 
 no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me ;"|| 
 that is, It is no more I in my general character. 
 
 It is very apparent that men are denominated 
 in Scripture according to their general character. 
 For example, when our Saviour says, " Whoso- 
 ever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny 
 before my Father," $ He must speak of general 
 character, or Peter falls under this sentence. 
 When the apostle says, "Whosoever hateth his 
 brother is a murderer, and ye know that no mur- 
 derer hath eternal life abiding in him,"l[ lie must 
 speak of general character, or Bavid fell from 
 grace, and indeed all the saints daily fall. But 
 David was not a murderer, nor Peter a denier of 
 Christ, in the sense of Scripture, because such was 
 
 * 1 John iii.9. f Rom. vi. 2, 7, 18, 22. $ Rom. vi. 12, 16, 2'). 
 I Rom. vii. 20. § Mat. x. 33. % 1 John in. 15. 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. 77 
 
 not their general character*. When it is said, 
 " There is — no condemnation to them — who walk 
 not after the flesh, but after the Spirit: — if ye live 
 after the flesh ye shall die/'* the reference must he 
 to general character, or we must all exclaim, 
 "Who then can be saved?" By analogy, then, the 
 declaration that "no — covetous man, who is an 
 idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of 
 Christ," must import that no Christian is covetous 
 or idolatrous in his general character. That is, no 
 Christian habitually loves "the creature more than 
 the Creator."f 
 
 * Rom. viii. 1. 13. 
 f To this conclusion the author has conceived himself driven by 
 the W r ord of God. Any question connected with the subject which is 
 not decided by that arbiter, he dares not touch ; for instance, whether 
 the term love, as it is used in the Bible, includes both the disposition 
 and the exercise, like the root and stock of a tree which go in to 
 make one whole ; how great a part of the time the Christian exercise* 
 direct love to God ; how far his exercises, when God is not the im- 
 mediate object of attention, may still be regarded as love to Him. He 
 will venture to say thus much : Other affections may hourly rise in the 
 Christian's heart ; other passions may occasionally take possession of 
 his mind ; other objects may frequently engross his attention : his 
 views may often be obscure when his attention is directed to God ; 
 through the insensible influence of selfish passions he may neglect to 
 rouse himself to discern the will of God, and by that means may omit 
 many self-denying duties which a realizing sense of divine authority 
 would have enforced : by the same means his attention may be drawn 
 away from the interests of others, and leave his mind to sleep over a 
 perishing world. But in almost all these seasons let God present 
 Himself before him, and fix the attention upon Himself, and there is 
 found a temper to prefer Him and His interest to all other objects ; 
 there is found a heart which in the trying hour would die for the 
 name of Jesus. 
 
78 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. 111. 
 
 All then who are not the enemies of God, and 
 of course utterly destitute of holiness, are habitu- 
 ally governed by supreme love to Him. Or to re- 
 verse the proposition, all who are not habitually 
 governed by supreme love to God, are His ene- 
 mies and utterly destitute of holiness. 
 
 II. With this standard let us now compare 
 the world. 
 
 If all are destitute of holiness who do not love 
 God supremely, who are not habitually governed 
 by this affection, will any affirm that the mass of 
 mankind possess a holy principle ? Instead of su- 
 preme, habitual love, I shall prove that they do not 
 love God at all, but are His enemies. 
 
 The mass of mankind do not love God at all. 
 It has already been proved that they who love 
 God in the least degree are heirs of all the pro- 
 mises, and will inherit eternal glory : of course all 
 who are not entitled to heaven are utterly destitute 
 of this affection. In the last Lecture I cited a 
 number of texts which asserted that natural men do 
 not desire God, do not seek God, do not /ear God, 
 do not know God, and have no desires after Christ. 
 In addition to all this, I am now to present you 
 with several classes of men who are expressly de- 
 clared not to love God. They who hate any of 
 their fellow men, do not love God: " If a man 
 say, Hove God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; 
 for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, 
 how can he love God whom he hath not seen ?" 
 The reasoning in this passage proves that there is 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. ?<) 
 
 no love to God without universal love to man ; for 
 if a single individual is excluded from our good 
 will, the reasoning lies full against us. Again, 
 they who withhold alms do not love God : "Who- 
 so hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother 
 have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compas- 
 sion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in 
 him ?" Again, they who reject the Gospel do not 
 love God. It was on this account that our Saviour 
 said to the Jews, " I know you that ye have not 
 the love of God in you." " If God were your Fa- 
 ther ye would love me, for I proceeded forth and 
 came from God ; neither came I of myself, but He 
 sent me." Again, they who disobey God do not 
 love Him : " He that hath my commandments and 
 keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, — If a man 
 love me he will keep my words. — He that loveth 
 me not keepeth not my sayings. — Ye are my friends 
 if ye do whatsoever I command you" Again, 
 none of the wicked whom God will destroy have 
 any love to Him : " The Lord preserveth all them 
 that love Him, hut all the wicked will He de- 
 stroy."* 
 
 All then who either hate any of their fellow 
 men, (in other words, lack universal love to man- 
 kind,) or withhold alms from the needy, or reject 
 the Gospel, or habitually disobey the divine com- 
 mauds, or are of the class that will finally perish; 
 
 • Ps. cxlv. 20. John v. 42. and via. 42. and xiv. 21, 23, 24. and xv. 14. 
 1 John iii. 17. and iv. 20. 
 
80 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. III. 
 
 or are not at present heirs of salvation, are utterly 
 destitute of love to God. And pray will not these 
 classes include every natural man on earth ? 
 
 That natural men possess no love to God is 
 further evident from this, that the love of God is 
 " the fruit of the Spirit :" « The love of God is 
 shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which 
 is given unto us."* The same truth is further 
 evident from the consideration that the unregenerate 
 do not love the image of God in His children. 
 " We know that we have passed from death unto 
 life because we love the brethren." "Every one 
 that loveth [the brethren,] is born of God, and 
 knoweth God. ?? f 
 
 Thus it appears that the whole mass of natural 
 men are entirely destitute of love to God. Here I 
 might rest my cause. But there is proof against 
 the world still more decisive. The whole race of 
 natural men are His enemies. It has already ap- 
 peared that there are no neutrals, that they who 
 are not for God are against Him. This join- 
 ed with the last particular makes out full proof 
 that the whole body of natural men are His ene- 
 mies. Again, it has been proved that all who 
 serve mammon, who are friends of the world, 
 who love another object supremely, are the ene- 
 mies of God. And can it be doubted that these 
 descriptions are applicable to all natural men ? 
 But I have further evidence to offer. Let us in the 
 
 * Rom. v. 5. j 1 John iii. 14. and iv. 7* 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. 81 
 
 first place dispose of the heathen world. This 
 great portion of the human race are expressly set 
 down by the apostle, in the first chapter of Ro 
 mans, as " haters of God." Nor did they obtain 
 this character by being heathen, but they became 
 idolaters because "they did not like to retain God 
 in their knowledge J 9 In the second place let us 
 settle the question as it respects the Jewish world, 
 Of this second great division of mankind our Sa- 
 viour says, " They have both seen and hated both 
 me and my Father.'' In the next place let us take 
 up the question as it relates to the whole world. 
 And what says our Saviour to this ? " If the 
 world hate you, ye know that it hated me before 
 it hated you. — He that hateth me hateth my Father 
 also/ 9 On no other principle can you account 
 for the rancorous opposition which the icorld 
 have always made to the Gospel and disciples 
 of Christ, "Marvel not— if the world hate 
 ijou." " If they have called the Master of the 
 house Beelzebub, how much more them of His 
 household.— Think not that I am come to send 
 peace en earth ; I came not to send peace but a 
 sworct For I am come to set a man at variance 
 against his father, and the daughter against her 
 mother ;— and a man's foes shall be they of his 
 own iKmsehokl." a And the brother shall deli- 
 ver up the brother to death, and the father the child ; 
 and the children shall rise up against their parents, 
 and cause them to be put* to death. And ye shall 
 ateji of all men for my name's sake" But the 
 * i i 
 
82 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. Ill, 
 
 apostle has put this question finally to rest by 
 ranking all men among the " haters of God" who 
 retain the carnal or natural heart : '• The carnal 
 \_ fleshly] mind is enmity, [not unfriendly, but enmi- 
 ty'] against God ; for it is not subject to the law of 
 God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are 
 in the flesh cannot please God." If you would 
 know without a doubt who they are that are in the 
 flesh, or possess the fleshly mind, our Saviour will 
 tell you at once : " That which is born of the flesh 
 is flesh" This He said to Nicodemus to show him 
 from the defect of the first birth the necessity of be- 
 ing born again. All that is born by natural gene- 
 ration, then, is flesh, is carnal, is enmity against 
 God, until it is born again.* 
 
 And now let me repeat the question, Can there be 
 a particle of universal benevolence in those who hate 
 the Being that comprehends in Himself infinitely 
 the greatest portion of existence ? Or a particle 
 of love for moral excellence in those who hate the 
 Being that contains infinitely the greatest portion 
 of moral excellence in Himself, and hate Him for 
 that very reason ? 
 
 III. By the same standard let us now test 
 the natural principles which have been mentioned. 
 
 Enough has been said to show that these prin- 
 ciples must be essentially different from holiness, be- 
 cause they are found in the great mass of those who 
 
 * Mat. x. 21, 22, 25, 34—36. John ill. 6. and v. 40. and xv. 18, 23, 
 24. Rom. i. 28, 30, and viii. 7, 3. 1 John iii. 13. 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. 83 
 
 have been proved to be destitute of holiness. But 
 it may be profitable to pursue this subject a little 
 further. 
 
 I begin by remarking that these principles 
 may easily be conceived to have been implanted 
 in men to fit them to live together in this world, 
 without being at all designed to qualify them for 
 subjects of the universal kingdom of God. Do- 
 mestick affections were lodged in their nature 
 to render them good members of a family. But 
 these cannot constitute them useful members of 
 the state without patriotism. By analogy, patriot- 
 ism and all the other limited affections cannot 
 render them good citizens of the universe without 
 universal love or holiness. And to cherish the 
 hope of being qualified for heaven by these, is like 
 expecting by mere domestick affections to be fit- 
 ted to subserve and even to manage the interests of 
 a nation without a spark of patriotism. 
 
 Some of these principles, (particularly the mo- 
 ral sense,) appear to be essential to a moral agent. 
 Others, which are of the nature of disinterested af- 
 fections, were doubtless intended to act as restraints 
 on selfishness, to enable men to live in society ; 
 as without them it is manifest the world would be 
 a hell, and wholly unfit for the purposes of proba- 
 tion. But they may all be traced to sources en- 
 tirely distinct from universal love. Of these the 
 principal appear to be three. 
 
 (1.) Self-love. A great part of natural grati- 
 tude, the sense of honour, and the love of country, 
 
81? tfATTTRAL AftfECTlOKS [lECT, lit, 
 
 may be traced to this source ; the other parts, to 
 sources yet to be named. Now I suppose it will 
 be readily acknowledged by most of my hearers 
 that the mere streams of self-love cannot be 
 holy. 
 
 (3.) The love of natural fitness, or of beautiful 
 proportions and relations, both in things material 
 sod immaterial. From this principle men are pleas- 
 ed with the proper proportions of a building, the 
 good order of a family, the relations established in 
 a well regulated state, the beautiful proportions of 
 justice, of gratitude, of the virtues generally, and 
 the exact fitness of one thing to another in the go- 
 vernment of God. There is certainly much natural 
 beauty in all these things, (independent of their 
 simple subserviency to the glory of God and the 
 happiness of His creation, J which therefore can 
 please a mind that is a stranger to universal love. 
 Can you not see a wide difference between delight- 
 ing in proper proportions, and delighting in the 
 happiness of general being? Yet to a law of 
 our nature as distinct from benevolence as this, (a 
 law aided indeed by many associations of ideas,) 
 may be traced the operations of conscience or the 
 moral sense, — the approbation of justice, of grati- 
 tude, of virtue generally, — the principle which we 
 call taste, — and apart of those which are denomi- 
 nated honour and patriotism. 
 
 Are these principles holy? Try (\\q question tii 
 relation to conscience, which perhaps has the fairest 
 pretension to this rank. If the approbation which 
 
LECT. III.] KOT HOLINESS- 85 
 
 conscience yields to the character and government 
 of God were holy love, remorse of conscience 
 •would be true repentance, and then there would 
 he true repentance in the world where the worm 
 never dies. 
 
 (-3.) Instincts. Under this head may he rank- 
 ed a class of affections really disinterested, (because 
 they terminate in the happiness of others,) amount- 
 ing to a sort of limited benevolence. Of this class 
 are the domestick affections. Of this class is hu- 
 manity, comprehending compassion, and Avhatever 
 else is pleasant in the social dispositions not in- 
 cluded under the former names. 
 
 These affections are all amiable and useful in 
 their place, and when duly subordinated materially 
 aid the local operations of holy love. And being 
 not destructible but by an uncommon domination of 
 selfishness, their extinction becomes a mark of the 
 last stages of degeneracy.* But their grand defect 
 is that they are limited in their very nature to a 
 contracted circle. They do not go up to God, and 
 breathe through Him good wishes to the whole in- 
 tellectual system. They brood exclusively over a 
 private interest, and unless bound by a better prin- 
 ciple, are ready to fly in the face of the whole uni- 
 verse that comes to disturb that. In their greatest 
 enlargement they still exclude the Creator. They 
 stop at the threshold of being. They fix on a drop 
 of the ocean. Should they love a world as tender* 
 
 * Rom. i. 31. 2 Tim. ill. 3. 
 
86 NATURAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. III. 
 
 ly as a parent loves his child, and stop there, they 
 would still be hostility to infinitely the greatest por- 
 tion of existence. A limited affection, (limited I 
 mean, not by the contracted view or capacity of the 
 subject, but by its own nature,) necessarily in- 
 cludes, as it stands alone, a principle of hostility 
 to the universe. The parent rises against God 
 for taking away his child. * The patriot sets his 
 country in array against all the rest of the world. 
 The most extended of all these private affections 
 regards but an infinitely small part of universal be- 
 ing, and is prone to set up the interest of that por- 
 tion in opposition to the rest. Till they are sub- 
 dued, and bound, and subjected by religion, they 
 are all as really hostile to the universe as the most 
 contracted selfishness. 
 
 Of all these instincts that which most resembles 
 holy love is humanity. Yet even here the differ- 
 ence is easily traced. In those operations of hu- 
 manity which we call compassion, men are gene- 
 rally satisfied with relieving the object from misery, 
 with little concern for his positive happiness. In 
 
 * If you ascribe this effect to self-love, it does not weaken the argu- 
 ment. As far as the parent feels a. personal calamity, it is because he 
 loved his child. Now if you are disposed to put the love of his child on 
 a level with the love of wealth, and call it a mere personal taste which 
 selfishness loves to gratify, it renders the affection no less hostile. 
 But where the parent fears for the happiness of the dead, he certainly 
 mourns for another as well as for himself I admit that if self love were 
 subjected he would not murmur; for then his parental love would be 
 subjected also. But the two still appear t© be distinct grounds of un- 
 submission. 
 
LECT. III.] NOT HOLINESS. 87 
 
 some cases, (as where an enemy suffers.) they do not 
 desire the positive happiness of the object, nor even 
 his complete relief, hut only some alleviation of his 
 sufferings. In no case do they wish him the high- 
 est degree even of earthly prosperity, and during 
 the greatest commotion of their pity would he 
 grieved to know that he was destined one day to 
 outshine themselves. But holy love knows no such 
 limits : it wishes its ohject the greatest measure of 
 happiness that his capacity will admit. 
 
 In cases where humanity desires the positive 
 happiness of a wide extent of society, it then makes, 
 of all the natural affections, the nearest approaches 
 to universal henevolence. This is the hardest case 
 of all. But even here the difference may be plain- 
 ly perceived. If in this shape humanity were holy 
 love, it would in all its subjects stand connected 
 with the love of God, and Christ, and the Gospel. 
 But some of its highest actings I have seen in a 
 sweet tempered iniidel, who never betrayed any 
 malice except against the Gospel of Christ. Fur- 
 ther, if humanity were holy love it would in all 
 cases wish its object the best kind of happiness, 
 that of communion with God. And lastly, it would 
 take the highest complacency in that benevolence 
 which makes God its centre, and would long to see 
 such a temper universal. But in these three im- 
 portant respects it fails. It acts vigorously in 
 many an infidel without exciting one solitary wish 
 to see men enjoy communion with God, without 
 producing the least complacency in religion, or any 
 
88 iLKAL AFFECTIONS [LECT. III. 
 
 desire for its advancement, without checking a vio- 
 lent opposition to the religion of Christ in every 
 form. 
 
 This decisive proof of unholiness lies against 
 all these natural principles. You will find them 
 all in violent opposers of God aud the Gospel. 
 You might have found them all in the Jews, of 
 whom our Saviour said, that they had both seen 
 and hated both Him and His Father. You might 
 have found them all in Adam immediately after the 
 fall, before he began to be restored by grace, when 
 it will be acknowledged that he was totally de- 
 praved. Indeed in a slavish subjection to these 
 and other limited affections, which had raised their 
 objects to the place of God, his whole depravity 
 consisted. 
 
 Further, if these principles were holy, we 
 should expect to see the love of God and real godli- 
 ness prevail exactly in proportion to their strength. 
 But so far from this you find most of them stronger 
 in infidels and libertines of mild and generous dis- 
 positions, than in some Christians whose tempers 
 are naturally contracted and sour. 
 
 It is another conclusive proof of the unholiness of 
 all these principles, that they not only are unaccom- 
 panied with the love which the divine law requires, 
 but have no tendency to produce it. The instincts, 
 for instance, have no tendency to carry forth the 
 heart to God and His Kingdom, because affections 
 limited in their very nature have no tendency to 
 become unlimited. And into no affection but that 
 
LECT. III.] NOT IIOL1N 89 
 
 of universal benevolence can the love of God enter, 
 because to love God is to be like Him, and God 
 is universal love. Though these instincts do in- 
 deed lay some restraints on selfishness, they do not 
 on the whole diminish the aggregate strength of the 
 
 ted affections which act against God. Of course 
 they have no tendency to weaken the hody of sin. 
 They may garnish that body ; they may vary its 
 forms ; but they still leave it in full life. Show 
 me an unsanetified worldling who possesses all 
 these principles in the highest degree, and has cul- 
 tivated them with the most studious care, and I 
 will show you bite who loves himself as inordi- 
 
 ly as any Other sinner, though his pride, and 
 education, and the manners of cultivated society,, 
 may have thrown his selfishness into new forms, 
 and drawn over it the vail of good breeding. I 
 will show you one whose pridk is in full 
 strength, whose idolatrous love of the world is not 
 a. whit abated, and whose unbelief has never opened 
 its eyes. And with these four grand sins of a de- 
 praved soul in full vigour, what has he gained in 
 point of real sanctifiea.tion by all his natural prhic) 
 pies ? A little paring and polishing of the extre- 
 mities, but the pulse of sin still beats strong at the 
 heart. The most that he can boast of is love to 
 man. But is even that love such as the divine law 
 requires ? No, the love contemplated in the Second 
 Table, far from being natural is "the fruit of 
 ihe Spirit," the offspring of regenerating grace; 
 - * Beloved, let us love one another, for love is d 
 
90 NATURAL AFFECTIONS, &C. [LECT. III. 
 
 God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and 
 knowcth God." " We know that we have passed 
 from death unto life because we love the brethren." 
 " By this we know that we love the children of 
 God, when we love God and keep His command- 
 ments."* So long as men retain "the carnal 
 mind" of u enmity against God," they have no true 
 charity to men, not even to good men. In every 
 point of view they fall short of that "love" 
 which " is the fulfilling of the law." And this 
 wanting, what are all their natural affections? 
 This wanting, miraculous powers are nothing, 
 nothing the consecration of all their goods to feed 
 the poor, and of their bodies to be burned. f Their 
 inscription still is, Destitute of that " holiness 
 without which no man shall see the Lord." 
 
 Let the unregenerate hear this! Let the un- 
 sanctiiied think of this ! Let it follow them to their 
 closets and their pillows. And O let the peal 
 never cease to ring through their ears, Destitute of 
 that " holiness without which no man shall see the 
 Lord" / 
 
 Gal. v. 22. 1 John iii. 14. and iv. 7. and v. 2. f 1 Cor. xiii 1—3. 
 
LECTURE IV 
 
 SUPREME LOVE OR ENMITY 
 
 MATTHEW VI. 24. 
 
 NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS ; FOR EITHER RE WILL HATE THE ONF. 
 AND LOVE THE OTHER, OR ELSE HE "WILL HOLD TO THE ONE AND DE- 
 SPISE THE OTHER : TE CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON. 
 
 In the last Lecture you saw the doctrine of 
 Total Depravity deduced from the nature of holi- 
 ness ; in this you will see the same truth drawn 
 from the nature of sin. From the nature of siu I 
 shall undertake to prove that the mass of men are 
 the enemies of God; and this, as appeared in 
 the foregoing Lecture, amounts to the fullest 
 proof that they are totally depraved. 
 
 Our text distinctly affirms that to love another 
 object supremely is to be the enemy of God. a No 
 man can serve two masters ;" no man can satisfy 
 two conflicting claims ; no man can be under the 
 commanding influence of God and mammon. Ei- 
 ther he will hate God and love mammon, or he will 
 cleave to God and desjrise mam mo a. If one is 
 supreme the other must be hated or despised. The 
 
9£ SUPREME LOVE [lECT, 
 
 reasoning though applied to wealth is not confined 
 to it, the application being intended only to fur- 
 nish an instance to illustrate what is manifestly laid 
 down as a universal maxim, that " No man can 
 serve two masters/' that no man can love two ob- 
 jects severally and imperatively claiming to be 
 supreme. The plain instruction is, that the man 
 who loves any creature supremely is the enemy 
 of God. And this is taught expressly by the apos- 
 tle James : " The friendship of the world is 
 enmity with God : whosoever therefore will be a 
 friend of the world is tlie enemy of God,"* 
 
 When I speak of supreme love to the world, I 
 mean nothing different from supreme self-love. 
 What is self-love ? No man feels that fondness for 
 Ms own person which he may feel for another, 
 Nothing can be meant by the love of himself but a 
 regard for the hajpjnness attached to his own con- 
 sciousness. Now tli at happiness can reach his 
 consciousness through no other medium than the 
 gratification of Iris tastes and feelings. Self-love 
 then is a regard for the gratification of one's own 
 tastes and feelings. And what is the love of the 
 world ? Not a mere relish for worldly things, as 
 food, a landscape, a garden, &c. That relish is 
 not indeed self-love, nor is it what the Scriptures 
 mean by the love of the world. The love of the 
 world is a doting on worldly things. And why? 
 No man loves these things as he loves beings ca~ 
 
 * James iv. 4. 
 
T.ECT. IV.] Oft ENMITY. 03 
 
 pable of pleasure or pain, with an affection termi- 
 nating in them. He dotes on them, (except so far 
 as he regards them as the means of happiness to 
 others,) only as instruments of his own gratifica- 
 tion, that is, as instruments of his own happiness. 
 And to dote on wealth and honour, for instance, as 
 the mere instruments of his own happiness, is not 
 distinct from loving himself. All that is sinful then 
 in the love of the world, (except the small portion 
 to he charged to the account of undue social af- 
 fections,) is comprehended in self-love. To this 
 principle as the grand root of sin I now wish to 
 draw your attention. The thoughts which I have 
 to suggest on this subject shall he arranged under 
 the following heads : 
 
 I. The grand root of sin is inordinate self- 
 love. 
 
 II. Every man who is not supremely attached 
 to God, is supremely attached to himself. 
 
 III. Supreme self-love necessarily produces 
 enmity to God. — It follows from these principles, 
 
 IV. That all men by nature are God ? s ene- 
 mies. 
 
 I. The grand root of sin is inordinate self- 
 love. 
 
 Unless something is loved or regarded as desi- 
 rable, there can be no motive to action, no excite- 
 ment to feeling, nothing to inflame the passions. 
 The love of something therefore must precede eve- 
 ry sinful action or emotion. As then holiness radi- 
 cally consists in the love of universal being, (as 
 
94r SUPREME LOVE [lECT. IV. 
 
 was shown in the last Lecture,) the root of sin, its 
 opposite, must be found in the exclusive love of a 
 private circle or object, — in affections so limited as 
 to set up the interest or gratification of an individual, 
 a family, a country, or a world, in opposition to the 
 interest of God and the universe. Now it is a law of 
 these limited affections that their strength increases 
 as their circles contract. No man loves the world at 
 large as well as he loves his own country, nor his 
 country as well as his family, nor his family as well 
 as himself. Self-love of course becomes the ru- 
 ling passion, and by far the most productive source 
 of sin. It is obviously this which produces pride; 
 and " only by pride cometh contention"* Only 
 by pride come therefore the causes of contention, 
 viz. anger, malice, envy, self-will, ambition, and I 
 may add, the whole family of dependant vices. 
 Self-love originates almost all the actions which 
 men have agreed to denominate crimes. Self-love, 
 fixing chiefly on the world as the grand instrument 
 of personal gratification, offers all the worship that 
 is paid to the world's trinity, riches, honour, and 
 pleasure. How great a proportion of the sin of 
 man is comprehended in this operation of selfish- 
 ness, may be estimated from the fact that a single 
 branch of this idolatry, (viz. " the love of money,") 
 has been pronounced by an apostle " the root of all 
 evil. ,? f Self-love, while it often acts towards God 
 in gratitude and desires after future happiness, is 
 
 * Prov. xlii. 10. f 1 Tim. vi. 10. 
 
I.ECT. 
 
 IV.] 
 
 OR ENMITY. 
 
 95 
 
 almost the exclusive source, as will presently ap- 
 pear, of all the enmity that is exercised against 
 Him. 
 
 That this principle iu its inordinate degrees is 
 the exact opposite of holy love or charity, will be 
 evident from almost any selection you can make 
 from the precepts, prohibitions, or didactick parts 
 of Scripture. The following texts, selected almost 
 at random, will be sufficient for the purpose.* 
 
 THE DISINTERESTEDNESS AND 
 SELF-DENIAL OP HOLY LOVE. 
 
 THE BIAS OF SIN TOWARDS 
 ONE'S OWN INTEREST. 
 
 " Charity — seeketh not 
 her own." 
 
 " If any man will come 
 after me, let him deny him- 
 self and take up his cross." 
 
 " If thou turn away — from 
 doing thy pleasure on my holy 
 day, — not doing thine own 
 ways, nor finding thine own 
 pleasure, — then — I will — feed 
 thee." 
 
 " Men shall be lovers of 
 their own selves." 
 
 " Who have said, — our 
 lips are our own, who is lord 
 over us ? " My river is my 
 own, and I have made it for 
 myself." 
 
 " How can ye believe 
 which receive honour one of 
 another ?" 
 
 * Some of the texts in the left column are quoted only to show 
 how constantly the divine Spirit espouses the part of others against 
 self, by appealing to what we ourselves have done against others, or 
 what mercy we ourselves need from others, or by insisting that our 
 regard for others should be measured by the claims which we make 
 on them. In the right column several texts are inserted merely to 
 show how many different sorts of sin may at first sight, or by a mo- 
 ment's reflection, be traced to this source, 
 
96 
 
 SUPREME LOVE 
 
 [LECT. IV 
 
 " Whosoever will lose his 
 life for my sake shall find 
 it." 
 
 "Let no man seek his 
 own, but every man another's 
 wealth." " Look not every 
 man on his own things, but 
 every man also on the things 
 of others." 
 
 " As ye would that men 
 should do to you, do ye also 
 to them likewise." " For all 
 the law is fulfilled in one 
 word, even in this, Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself." 
 " We then that are strong 
 ought to bear the infirmities 
 of the weak, and not to please 
 ourselves. Let every one of 
 us please his neighbour for his 
 good to edification ; for even 
 Christ pleased not Himself." 
 " If a man be overtaken in a 
 fault, ye which are spiritual 
 restore such a one in the spi- 
 rit of meekness, considering 
 thyself lest thou also be tempt- 
 ed. Bear ye one another's 
 burdens, and so fulfil the law 
 of Christ." " Take no heed 
 unto all words that are spo- 
 ken, lest thou hear thy servant 
 curse thee : for oftentimes al- 
 so thiue own heart knowetk 
 that thou thyself likewise hast 
 cursed others/' 
 
 " Whosoever will save his 
 life shall lose it" 
 
 " All seek their own, not 
 the things which are Jesus 
 Christ's." " They — serve not 
 our Lord Josus Christ, but 
 their own belly." 
 
 " If ye were of the world 
 tlie world would love his 
 own; but because ye are not 
 of the world, — therefore the 
 world hateth you." 
 
 a Why beholdest thou the 
 mote that is in thy brothers 
 eye, and considerest not the 
 beam that is in thine own 
 eye?" "Wherein thou judg- 
 est another thou condemnest 
 thyself. — Thou— art confident 
 that thou thyself art a guide 
 of the blind: — an instructer of 
 the foolish. — Thou therefore 
 which teachest another, te&elu 
 est thou not thyself? Thou 
 that preachest a man should 
 not steal, dost thou steal ?" 
 
LECT. 
 
 IV.] 
 
 OH ENMITV. 
 
 97 
 
 " Avenge not yourselves, 
 but rather give place unto 
 wrath." " Recompense no 
 man evil for evil." " Forgive, 
 and ye shall be forgiven." 
 "Love your enemies, tlo good 
 to them which hate you, bless 
 them that curse you, and pray 
 for them that despitefully use 
 you. And unto him that 
 smiteth thee on the cheek, of- 
 fer also the other. — For if ye 
 love them which love you, 
 what thank have ye ? for sin- 
 ners also love those that love 
 them. And if ye do good to 
 them which do good to you, 
 what thank have ye ? for sin- 
 ners also do even the same." 
 
 " If there be — .any comfort 
 of love,— -let nothing be done 
 through strife or vain glory ; 
 but in lowliness of mind let 
 each esteem other better than 
 themselves." " Be kindly af- 
 fectioned one to another with 
 brotherly love, in honour pre- 
 ferring one another." " Seek- 
 est thou great tilings for thy- 
 self? Seek them not." " Mind 
 iiot high things, but conde- 
 scend to men of low estate. 
 Be not wise in your own con- 
 ceits." " For I say — to ev- 
 ery man — not to think of him- 
 self more highly than he ought 
 13 
 
 " From whence come wars 
 and fightings among you ? 
 Come they not hence, even 
 of your lusts ? [selfish covet- 
 ings, according to that ex- 
 planation, " I had not known 
 lust except the law had said, 
 Thou shalt not covet."]— Ye 
 lust and have not ; ye kill, 
 and desire to have, and can- 
 not obtain ; ye fight, and war, 
 and yet ye hav& not." 
 
 " Only by pride comeih 
 contention" [The selfish- 
 ness of pride is apparent 
 to all.] « He that is of 
 a proud heart stirreth up 
 strife." "Desirous of vain 
 glory, provoking one another, 
 envying one another." " Pre- 
 sumptuous are they, self- 
 willed, they are not afraid to 
 speak evil of dignities." « Ye 
 are they which justify your- 
 selves before men." " I have 
 spread out my hands all day 
 unto a rebellious people, — 
 which say, Stand by thyself, 
 come not near to me, for Jam 
 
98 
 
 SUPREME LOVE 
 
 [lect 
 
 IV. 
 
 to think," « We had the sen- 
 tence of death in ourselves, 
 that we should not trust in 
 ourselves but in God." " Trust 
 in the Lord with all thy heart, 
 and lean not unto thine own 
 understanding, — Be not wise 
 in thine own eyes." " Cha- 
 rity vaunteth not itself, is not 
 puffed up." 
 
 " We preach not ourselves, 
 but Christ Jesus the Lord, 
 and ourselves your servants 
 for Jesus sake." " Being 
 affectionately desirous of you, 
 we were willing to have im- 
 parted unto you, not the Gos- 
 pel of God only, but also our 
 own souls, because ye were 
 dear unto us." 
 
 " Who shall dwell in thy 
 holy hill ? — he that sweareth 
 to his own hurt and changeth 
 not." 
 
 " Render — to all their dues; 
 tribute to whom tribute is due, 
 custom to whom custom.— 
 Owe no man any thing but to 
 love one another." 
 
 " Him that taketh away 
 thy cloak, forbid not to take 
 
 holier than thou." " Thou 
 hast done foolishly in lifting 
 up thyself." « Be not right- 
 eous overmuch, neither make* 
 thyself overvvise." 
 
 " Some indeed preach 
 Christ even of envy and 
 strife. — The one preach 
 Christ of contention, — the 
 other of love." " He that 
 is a hireling,-— whose own 
 the sheep are not, seeth the 
 wolf coming, and leaveth 
 the sheep and fleeth." 
 
 " Take ye heed every one 
 of his neighbour, and trust 
 ye not in any brother ; for 
 every brother will utterly 
 supplant, and every neigh- 
 bour will walk with slan- 
 ders. And th'ey will deceive 
 every one his neighbour, and 
 will not speak the truth." 
 
 " The balances of deceit 
 are in his hand ; he loveth 
 oppression," 
 
 " There is utterly a fault 
 among you because ye go to 
 
LECT. IV.] 
 
 OR ENMITY. 
 
 99 
 
 thy coat also. Give to every 
 one that asketh of thee, and 
 of him that taketh away thy 
 goods ask them not again. — 
 If you lend to them of whom 
 ye hope to receive, what 
 thank have ye ? for sinners 
 also lend to sinners to re- 
 ceive as much again. But — 
 do good and lend, homing for 
 nothing again." 
 
 " Use hospitality one to 
 another without grudging." 
 
 " Sell that ye have and 
 give alms." " Remember — 
 them which suffer adversity, 
 as being yourselves also in the 
 body." 
 
 law one with another. Why 
 do ye not rather take wrong ? 
 Why do ye not rather suffer 
 yourselves to be defrauded ? 
 Nay ye do wrong and de- 
 fraud, and that your bre- 
 thren." 
 
 " They murmured against 
 the good man of the house, 
 saying, These have wrought 
 but one hour, and thou hast 
 made them equal unto us 
 which have borne the burden 
 and heat of the day." 
 
 " Hear this word, ye kine 
 of Bashan — which oppress 
 the poor"* 
 
 These passages, and numberless others which 
 might he selected, manifestly take it for granted 
 that the controversy lies between a man's own self 
 
 * Ps. xii. 4. and iv. 1, 4. Prov. iii. 5, 7. and xiii. 10. and xxviii. 25. 
 and xxx. 32. Eccl. vii. 16, 21, 22. Isai. lviii. 13, 14. and lxv. 2, 5. 
 Jer. ix. 4, 5. and xlv. 5. Ezek. xxix. 3. Hos. xii. 7. Amos iv. 1. Mat. 
 vii. 3. and xvi. 24, 25. and xx. 11, 12. Luke vi. 27 — 37. and xii. 33. and 
 xvi. 15. John x. 12- and xv. 19. Horn. ii. 1, 17 — 23. and vii. 7. and 
 xii. 3, 10, 16, 19. and xiii. 7, 8. and xv. 1—3. and xvi. 18. 1 Cor. vi. 7, 
 8. and x. 24. and xiii. 4, 5. 2 Gor. i. 9. and iv. 5. Gal. v. 14, 26. and 
 vi. 1, 2. Phil. i. 15—17. and ii. 1, 3, 4, 21. 1 Thes. ii. 8. 2 Tim, iii 
 £ Ileb. xiii. 3 James iv. 1, 2. 1 Pet. iv. 9. 2 Pet. ii. 10. 
 
100 SUPREME LOVE [LECT. IV* 
 
 and all beings beyond hhn, and to an eye that 
 closely inspects them render it sufficiently evident 
 that self-denial lies at the foundation of all ho- 
 liness, and that the great root of sin is inordinate 
 self-love. 
 
 II. Every man who is not supremely attached 
 to God, is supremely attached to himself. 
 
 Every man has some one object of supreme re- 
 gard. This will probably not be denied. It will 
 hardly be pretended that among the objects in high- 
 est esteem there are several which hold exactly an 
 equal rank. Every man has his ruling passion ; 
 every man has his god ; every man has his " mas- 
 terP But " no man can serve two masters." I 
 assume then that every man has some one object 
 of supreme regard. But in the universe there are 
 but two that can possibly rise to this rank, God 
 and self. Where can you find a third ? Is it the 
 world ? But all inordinate love of the world is 
 comprehended in se/f-love, as has been already 
 shown. Where tlien can you find the third? If 
 there were a third it must be some fellow creature, 
 or community of creatures. But no man ever loved 
 his fellow creatures supremely. The social affec- 
 tions may restrain selfishness, but cannot dethrone 
 self. Wherever one's essential interest in both, 
 worlds comes in competition with that of others, 
 self-love and not the social affections will prevail. 
 For the proof of this I confidently appeal to every 
 man's consciousness, and am willing to rest my 
 cause there without further argument. 
 
LECT. IV.] Oil ENMITY. 101 
 
 It may then be adopted as an incontrovertible 
 maxim, that every man makes either God or himself 
 his supreme object.* 
 
 • There are some who disown the distinction between selfish and 
 disinterested affections ; and others, who while they admit the distinc- 
 tion, maintain that all men love themselves supremely, (that is, desire 
 their own happiness more than any thing else,) and that the only dif- 
 ference between a good and a bad man is, that one places his happiness 
 in right things, the other in taring. In answer to the first class, I free- 
 ly concede that in two thing's all being's agree, — in following their incli- 
 nations, and in finding their happiness, so far as tlicy find it at all, in 
 the gratification of their inclinations. But the great difference lies in 
 their objects. The object of the selfish man is the gratification of him- 
 self '; the object of the disinterested man, the happiness of others. One 
 follows his inclinations for the mere satisfaction which he is thence to 
 derive ; the other, for the happiness which he hopes to impart to others. 
 When you spring to catch a falling child, is it from the refection that 
 you must suffer with it, or from direct regard to the comfort of the 
 child ? Do you wish that your dying friend may be happy, or merely 
 that you. may think he is happy ? In laying out a course of benevolent 
 conduct, where the mind has leisure to contemplate all the good re- 
 sulting from its plans, self-love will doubtless take into account the 
 personal satisfaction of doing good. But if self-love stood alone, whence 
 tlie satisfaction of imparting happiness ? If I love only myself, why is 
 it a pleasure to relieve another ? Whence comes the inclination ? Tliat 
 must be in complete existence before I have any chance to draw per- 
 sonal comfort from its indulgence. It could not be created by the re- 
 flection that if I possessed and indulged it I should be happy. But can 
 it be necessary to employ arguments to prove that we are capable of 
 really loving another, and of being gratified by his happiness in itself 
 considered ? And this is all that any one means by disinterested love. 
 
 In reply to the other class, I as freely concede that the difference 
 between a good and a bad man consists in their placing- their happiness, 
 the one in right things, the other in wrong. But is it the right things, 
 or his own happiness, which the good man makes his supreme object? 
 This is the question. While the wicked place their whole happiness 
 in gratifying affections which terminate in themselves or a limited circle, 
 the "right things" in which the good place their highest happiness, 
 (I suppose will not be denied,) arc the glory of God and the prosperity 
 
103 SUPREME LOVE* [lECT. IV. 
 
 III. Supreme self-love necessarily produces 
 enmity to God. 
 
 The simple reason is that God is opposed to 
 this idolatry, and requires upon pain of eternal 
 death that universal love which will fix the heart 
 supremely on Himself. " Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God ivith all thy heart, and with all thy 
 soul, and with all thy mind, — and thy neighbour as 
 thyself:"* thyself then only as thy neighbour. If 
 supreme love to your neighbour is not allowed, 
 neither is supreme love to yourself. But is your 
 neighbour to be loved with all the heart, and soul, 
 and mind ? That love is reserved for God. And 
 it is supreme, unless one, at the same moment that 
 he thus loves God, can love another object with 
 more than all the heart, and soul, and mind. Thus 
 speaks the Law, and sanctions the precept with ail 
 its curses. And what says the Gospel? "If any 
 
 of His kingdom. Now I ask, is the satisfaction which they hope to de- 
 rive to themselves from that good, or the good itself y their supreme ob- 
 ject ? Do they rejoice more in the reflection that they, (rather than 
 others,) shall enjoy the sight of God's glory, than that God will be 
 glorified ? If so, they no longer place their supreme happiness in His 
 glory, but in their own gratification, — a gratification more refined in- 
 deed than the grosser pleasures of sense, but still personal and private. 
 To say that they place their supreme happiness in the glory of God, 
 and yet make their own happiness the highest object, is a plain con- 
 tradiction. For to place their supreme happiness in the glory of God, 
 necessarily implies that they love and value His glory more than any 
 other object. I love that most in which I place my highest delight. 
 How comes it to pass that the glory of God gives me the greatest sa- 
 tisfaction, unless I love it most ? And if I love it most, I seek it most, 
 And if I love and seek it most, T make it my supreme object. 
 * Mat. xxiir37— 39. 
 
LECT. IV.] OR EMM1TY. 103 
 
 man come to me and hate not his father, and mo- 
 ther, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sis- 
 ters, yea and his own life also, he cannot he my 
 disciple"* By the consent then of both Law and 
 Gospel, all are consigned to eternal death who do 
 not love God supremely. 
 
 This it is which rouses the war. Supreme self- 
 ishness cannot but be the eternal enemy of a God 
 who makes such demands, and enforces them with 
 such penalties ; because the demands and sanctions 
 crush and destroy all its dearest interests. Here 
 lies the main ground of hostility. " The carnal 
 mind is enmity against God, for [because'] it is not 
 subject to the law of God, neither indeed can 
 be. ?? f A moral Governour, who has never been re- 
 vealed but in the attitude of standing with a drawn 1 
 sword between the sinner and his idols, and say- 
 ing. Touch that idol and you die, cannot but be 
 hated by a supremely selfish heart. Since the 
 world began was it ever known that one stood full 
 in the way of another's supreme object, and was 
 not hated ? The man that idolizes himself and the 
 instruments of his own gratiiication, cannot but hate 
 the divine holiness, because the whole strength of 
 that perfection acts directly against him. The 
 whole exhibition of that perfection consists in the 
 prohibition and punishment of this idolatry, — in 
 the voice that sounds through heaven and earth; 
 li Thou shalt have no oilier gods before me f* 
 
 * Luke xiv. 26. t Rom. viii. 7. 
 
101 SUPREME LOVE [lECT. IV. 
 
 6 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
 heart, — and thy neighbour as thyself/ 7 or suffer 
 eternal pain. Remove that prohibition and punish- 
 ment, and you cover from creatures every trace of 
 the divine holiness. Against the man then who 
 supremely loves himself, the whole strength of the 
 divine holiness exclusively acts ; against all the 
 holiness of God, (indeed against His whole author- 
 ity, J acts the man whose heart centres in himself. 
 What but enmitv and eternal war can subsist in 
 such a case? 
 
 But you say, I certainly can love another object 
 while I love myself supremely. You can, where 
 that object does not interfere with self-love by es- 
 sentially opposing your own interest. But you 
 ask, Can I not love an earthly parent some while L 
 love myself more P No, — -if that parent unchange- 
 ably declares, I will treat you as an enemy forever 
 unless you love me supremely ; do this or die ; — 
 if he follows you wherever you go, and fills your 
 ears with this sound from morning to night, and 
 from month to month, — if every gift which he puts 
 into your hand is accompanied with this declara- 
 tion, — and especially if his character is all of a 
 fiece. Your deaf and forgetful brother, who is 
 unconscious of his father's law and character, may 
 love his gifts, and feel some gratitude to the giver ; 
 but you, as certainly as you love yourself supreme- 
 ly, can never love such a parent, but must feel the 
 strongest enmity against him. But you say, I 
 could exercise some love towards him if I was con- 
 
1LECT. IV.] OR ENMITY, 105 
 
 vinced that His law was just. What, love justice 
 against yourself, and yet be supremely selfish ! If 
 your own interest is paramount in your affections 
 to all other considerations, what can induce you to 
 love that justice which destroys your interest ? 
 That you might love the justice if it were not 
 against you, I do not deny. I have admitted that 
 sinners would not hate God if His law were not 
 against them. It of course happens that they who 
 have expunged from their creed all intimations of 
 punishment, find no difficulty in loving the god 
 which their fancies have formed. The enmity of 
 sinners is not disinterested but selfish, as it must 
 be if it arises from inordinate self-love. But did 
 you ever know a selfish, man who loved the law that 
 condemned him ? or loved the law-giver, whose 
 ivliole character was transfused into the law, and 
 who was himself the executioner P 
 
 Love the justice which condemns you ! Do. you 
 consider where you stand ? You have now taken 
 the ground of disinterested and holy love. And 
 what, I pray, can prevent that affection from fixing 
 supremely on God ? There is more in Him to please 
 and gratify such an affection than in the universe 
 besides. Do you say, That affection will indeed 
 love God more than the same affection will love 
 any thing else, but it is weak, and self-love is 
 strong and has predominating influence? The ques- 
 tion then comes to this, Whether an affection which 
 delights in God above all things, can exist in a soul 
 that is under the governing influence of selfishness, 
 and of course under the governing influence of en- 
 1* 
 
106 SUPREME LOVE [LECT. IV. 
 
 iiiity to God. Now did you ever find a mind ba- 
 lanced after this sort? Did you ever find a mind go- 
 verned by enmity against a man of a uniform and 
 consistent character, and at the same time possessed 
 of an affection which loved his tvhole character 
 more than any other object, more than even self? 
 Such a phenomenon has never appeared in the 
 moral or social world, and the fancy which created 
 it is only a dream. It is apparent then that there 
 cannot be a particle of disinterested and holy love 
 which does not fix supremely on God, (whenever 
 the mind has a distinct view of Him,) nor a parti- 
 cle of love to God, which, (under the same circum- 
 stances,) does not govern the soul; and that where 
 self-love predominates, (in a fair view of all the ob- 
 jects which solicit regard,) enmity to God must ex- 
 ist, must prevail, and exclude every better affection 
 towards Him. No affection but that of universal 
 love will truly fix on God ; but how r can universal 
 love exist in a heart that would sacrifice the uni- 
 verse to serve a private end ? 
 
 I have one more question on this subject. If 
 supreme selfishness is not sufficient to produce en- 
 mity to God, pray what ever did 'produce it in any 
 mind f What greater cause ever produced it in 
 wicked men or devils ? Nothing worse existed in 
 Cain or Judas, nothing worse can be found in hell. 
 
 IV. It follows from these principles that all 
 men by nature are the enemies of God. 
 
 Independently of these reasonings it might be 
 concluded that if there is any such thing in the 
 w 7 orld as " the fleshly mind" which " is enmity a- 
 
1.ECT. IV.] OR ENMITY. 107 
 
 gainst God," it must belong to every one that is 
 " born of the flesh/' for " that which is born of 
 the flesh is flesh" in every instance ; that if there 
 is any such tiling in the world as " the natural 
 man" who regards "the things of the Spirit of 
 God" as "foolishness/" it must be every man as he is 
 formed by nature.* But I have heard it said that 
 though mankind were thus depraved as they stood 
 connected with the first Adam, thev were in some 
 degree restored by Christ, and in this restored state 
 are born into the world. Now if what has been said 
 under the preceding heads is true, this question is 
 fairly laid to rest. None are in fact raised above 
 the character of enemies of God but they who are 
 restored to supreme love. After all that Christ 
 has done the world are still divided into two class- 
 es, they who hate God, and they who love Him su- 
 premely. All who are not restored to the temper 
 of real Christians and martyrs, are settled in enmi- 
 ty against Him, without one solitary emotion of 
 love. And what were they ever worse than this even 
 in the eye of law ? What worse character does 
 any evangelical minister ascribe to " the fleshly 
 mind," as it now is, or as it ever was ? Until 
 therefore you prove, in opposition to the whole te- 
 nour of revelation and experience, that all the world 
 are supremely attached to the true God, you must 
 admit that some are not raised a whit above their 
 original pollution. 
 
 Again 1 have heard it said that " the natural 
 man" is a heathen, and that the Regeneration 
 which our Saviour pronounced so necessary for 
 
 Johniii. 6, Rom vili. 7. 1 Cor. ii. 14. 
 
108 SUPREME LOVE [LECT. IT, 
 
 admission to His kingdom,* is only a turning 
 from paganism. This by the way would fairly 
 exclude every heathen on earth from salvation, — - 
 an inference not very acceptable to the generality 
 of those who would fritter down Regeneration to 
 this. It may also be a matter of wonder to some 
 that a Jewish ruler should have heard with so much 
 astonishment that pagans must be converted to the 
 revealed faith. But let that pass. I ask whether 
 there are none in Christian countries who are under 
 the supreme dominion of self-love ? none with an 
 historick faith who serve " the creature more than 
 the Creator? 7 ' none that belong to the Church who 
 love " the praise of men more than the praise of 
 God" ? none who cover even with canonicals a 
 heart supremely attached to the world ? If these 
 you find, you find all the attributes of " the fleshly 
 mind" within the pale of the Christian Church. 
 Why then go to pagan countries to seek " the 
 natural man" ? The whole population of Christen- 
 dom are enemies of God, with the bare exception 
 of those who love Him supremely. And if of all that 
 population none love Him better than life till " the 
 love of God is shed abroad in [their] hearts by the 
 Itoly Ghost ,"f then none of the inhabitants of 
 Christendom, as they are born into the world, pos- 
 sess any other temper than that of God's enemies. 
 
 Thus I have finished what was proposed. And 
 now may we not all find sufficient reason to lay our 
 hands on our hearts ? We may often have seen 
 sin in ourselves without knowing it, and may have 
 promoted the deception by calling it by another 
 
 * John iii- 3, 5. f Rom. v. 5. 
 
LECT. IV.] OR ENMITY, 109 
 
 name ; and while restrained from actual crimes, we 
 may have wondered at the strong charges of the di- 
 vine Word against us. But if every undue bias in 
 our own favour contains in itself the grand princi- 
 ple of all rebellion against God, we need only watch 
 our hearts for a single hour to find reason enough 
 to exclaim with distress and amazement, " The 
 whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint !" 
 In the strong workings of this polluted principle 
 we may discover the deep and dreadful malignity 
 of sin ; and our wonder that we are thus charged, 
 will soon yield to greater wonder that Ave are out 
 of everlasting despair. What reason for humility 
 and self-loathing ! for shame, and grief, and tears ! 
 If supreme attachment to the creature is itself 
 Total Depravity, I tremble as I inquire how many 
 of my hearers are still totally depraved. Should 
 an angel pass from seat to seat with a commission 
 to take the account, how many of you would he 
 find supremely attached to the world ? how many, 
 more anxious for the success of their commercial 
 pursuits, than for the interest of the Church and the 
 glory of God? how many, more enamoured of a- 
 musements than prayer ? how many, more eager to 
 exalt themselves than the Saviour of the world ? 
 Precisely that number he would write down totally 
 depraved, and God would approve the record. 
 
 My dear hearers, do you love God? Do you 
 love the God that made and redeemed you, — the 
 God of infinite and eternal love, — the treasure and 
 glory of the universe ? All heaven is full of exul- 
 tation and transport that such a God exists, and do 
 
 * Rom. v. 5. 
 
110 SUPREME LOVE, &C. [jLECT. IV. 
 
 you love Him ? Without that love you arc wretch- 
 es to eternity in whatever world you dwell. With- 
 out that love you are wretches on the highest throne 
 in glory. You are pressed witli infinite obligations, 
 and do you love that God ? Let the question reach 
 every part of the house, and ring through every con- 
 science, Do you love the ever-blessed God ? Love 
 Him ! we should be monsters if we did not love 
 Him. Amen to that, — but do you really love Him ? 
 Ho you love Him better than father or mother, wife 
 or children, houses or lands, or life itself P That we 
 cannot say. Then, my dear hearers, you have not 
 a particle of love to God in your hearts. Nay 
 more, — how shall I utter the dreadful charge ! — 
 You are His enemies. Enemies of God ! In what 
 world am I ? I see not the chains and bars around 
 me — am I in the world that was once wet with a 
 Saviours blood? am I in an assembly of people 
 for whom He died ? Enemies of God ! Why 
 what evil hath He done f If you are resolved to 
 remain His foes I will follow you with this mov- 
 ing entreaty till I die, Why what evil hath He 
 done P Is it for the love that gave being to num- 
 berless worlds, and feeds them all from the stores 
 of His bounty ? Is it for the love that sent His only 
 Son to expire on a cross ? Is it for the compassion 
 that cries after you from year to year? But I 
 have done. When it shall be told another day 
 that redeemed sinners were enemies of God, — I 
 had almost said,-— all heaven will be in tears ! 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 REGENERATION NOT PROGRESSIVE, 
 
 EZEKIEL XL 19. 
 
 I Will, PUT A NEW SPIHIT WITHIN YOU ; AND I WILL TAKE THE STONX 
 HEART OUT OF THEIR FLESH, AND WILL GIVE THEM A HEART OJ 
 FLESH. 
 
 There is a phenomenon hi the moral world 
 for which no adequate natural cause has ever yet 
 been assigned. I mean a great and sudden change 
 of temper and character, brought about under a 
 strong impression of scriptural truths ; a change in 
 many cases from habitual vice and malignity to 
 the sweetness and purity of the Christian spirit, 
 and continuing to manifest itself in a new charac- 
 ter through life, accompanied, if you will believe 
 the subjects, with new views of God, and Christ, 
 and divine things in general, and with new feelings 
 towards them. This change is discovered in peo- 
 ple of all temperaments ; in the phlegmatick as 
 well as the ardent, in the slow and cautious as well 
 as the impetuous and sanguine, in minds wholly 
 subject to the understanding as well as those which 
 
112 REGENERATION [LECT. V» 
 
 yield more to the dominion of the imagination. 
 It takes place in people of all ranks and conditions ; 
 in the wise and learned as well as the simple and 
 ignorant, in persons insulated by society of a dif- 
 ferent cast, and strongly prejudiced against the be- 
 lief of such a change. Thousands who are not mad, 
 but cool, dispassionate, and wise, the ornaments 
 of society and of learning, whose word would be 
 taken in any other case, and who certainly ought 
 to be regarded as competent judges, tell you that 
 they have had opportunity to see both sides, as the 
 revilers of this doctrine have not ; that they once 
 looked upon the subject with the eyes of their op- 
 ponents, but have since seen for themselves, and 
 do assuredly know that there is such a thing as a 
 spiritual change of heart. And what witnesses 
 can you oppose to these ? Men who have nothing 
 to offer but mere negative testimony, — who can 
 only say, they know of no such thing. 
 
 To this interesting change, as the Second 
 grand topick of the Course, I am now to draw your 
 attention. But as the reasonings on this point will 
 be founded on truths already established, it is 
 necessary to lay these truths before you again and 
 at one view. It has been proved that holiness 
 radically consists in universal love which fixes 
 the heart supremely on God ; that sin has its root 
 in affections limited to a private circle, but chiefly 
 in selfishness, including as a main part the love 
 of the world ; that every man makes either God 
 or himself the object of his chief regard \ that su- 
 
r.ECT. V.] NOT PROGKESS1YE. 113 
 
 pre me self-love necessarily produces enmity to 
 (iod, to the utter exclusion of every better affection 
 towards Him ; that they who do not love God su- 
 premely are destitute of true charity to man, and 
 altogether without holiness ; that this is the native 
 character of all who are born into the world, 
 whether in pagan or Christian countries. 
 
 Out of these truths arises the necessity of that 
 moral change which is denominated Regeneration. 
 The reason of this necessity is here laid open to 
 the core, and proves to be the same that our Sa- 
 viour assigned to the wondering Nicodemus. He 
 had astonished that Jewish ruler with the solemn 
 asseveration, " Verily, verily I say unto thee, Ex- 
 cept a man be born again he cannot see the king- 
 dom of God ;" and while the Jew stood doubting 
 and amazed. He added, as the sole ground of this 
 necessity, u That which is born of the flesh is 
 fiesh ;"* in other words, that which is born by 
 natural generation is "carnal," is "enmity against 
 God," and must be born again. 
 
 These truths disclose also the precise nature of 
 the change which is necessary. It is a transition 
 from supreme selfishness to universal love,— -from 
 ■enmity against God to supreme attachment to Him. 
 Of course it must be the greatest change that ever 
 lakes place in the human affections. 
 
 The first question that arises on the subject is, 
 Whether Regeneration is progressive or instanta- 
 
 '9. I shall attempt to prove from the truths 
 
 * John iii 
 
 15 
 
114 REGENERATION [LECT. V. 
 
 already established and from other considerations 
 that it must be in si ant an eons. It is not necessary 
 however to suppose that the precise time is always 
 known. Conceive of a man sitting in a dungeon, so 
 occupied in thought as not to notice the change 
 which is gradually produced by a light approach- 
 ing at a distance. At length turning his eye he 
 discerns objects, and perceives that light has been 
 admitted into the room ; but when it began to enter 
 he cannot tell. Still there was a moment when 
 the first ray passed the casement. So in the pre- 
 sent case, the evidence of the change may be earlier 
 or later in its appearance, and more or less rapid 
 in its developeinent, but the change itself is always 
 instantaneous. Is not such an idea more than im- 
 plied in the text ? What is tiie blessing promised? 
 Not the gradual improvement of an old temper, but 
 "a new spirit;" — "the stony heart" not softened by 
 degrees into flesh, but by one decisive effort remov- 
 ed and a heart of flesh substituted in its room. 
 
 You are told by some that no other change is 
 necessary than what is accomplished by reason, 
 gradually resuming its empire over the appetites 
 and passions. But this theory entirely overlooks 
 the enmity of heart that refuses to yield to reason. 
 It arrays its ethicks against the grosser ebullitions 
 of sin, but leaves the seat of the disorder untouch- 
 ed. You are told by others that through the in- 
 fluence of instruction, example, one's own exertions, 
 and the common operations of the Spirit, the enmi- 
 ty is gradually weakened till it is destroyed, and 
 
LECT. V.] NOT PROGRESSIVE. 115 
 
 the taste of .the mind, as in many other cases, 
 is brought over by degrees from aversion to love. 
 But does not this, and every other theory which re- 
 cognises the principle of progressive Regeneration, 
 wholly overlook the nature of the disease, and the 
 real ground of the native enmity ? The disease is 
 supreme self-love; the ground of enmity, that God 
 requires upon penalty of eternal death that universal 
 love which will fix the heart supremely on Himself. 
 This enmity will remain and exclude every parti- 
 cle of love, as long as self-love is supreme. Now 
 self-love will remain supreme till the chief regard 
 is transferred to another object. But in the uni- 
 verse there in not another object to receive it but 
 God Himself. Self-love then will remain supreme, 
 and support tlm enmity in all its vigour, till God is 
 supremely loved. As long as the sinner loves him- 
 self chiefly lie is the enemy of God, to the utter 
 exclusion of every better affection towards Him ; 
 the moment he ceases to love himself supremely 
 his highest affection centres in God. There is 
 no intermediate space. No time can elapse be- 
 tween the last moment in which he loves himself su- 
 premely, and the first moment in which he does not. 
 You talk of the taste's being brought over by a 
 gradual process from enmity to love ; but can you 
 find any step in that process at which the man does 
 not either love the world better than God, or God 
 better than the world? If lie loves the world better 
 than God he has made no progress at all ; for "if 
 any man love the world the love of ike Father is not 
 
tlQ PtEGENERATION [lect, w 
 
 in h im ? l and if no love, there must be enmity : u He 
 that is not with me is against me." " The friend- 
 ship of the world is enmity with God ; whosoever 
 therefore will be & friend of the world is the enemy 
 of God." u Either he will hate the one and love 
 the other, or else he will hold to the one and de- 
 spise the other."* On the other hand, if he loves 
 God better than the world Regeneration is con- 
 summated, and there is no room for progress. 
 Either then he has made no advance or the 
 work is complete. In every step of the supposed 
 progress he is either an enemy to God or loves 
 Him supremely. 
 
 Yielding then the point that the man is an 
 enemy to God till the change is complete, it may yet 
 be asked, is not that enmity gradually weakened f 
 It cannot be radically weakened till its cause is 
 weakened, which is supreme self-love, (or more 
 generally the love of the creature, for the social 
 affections too may set up their objects in opposi- 
 tion,) struggling against the Law and administration 
 of God. But the love of the creature, (in which 
 self-love is included,) cannot be weakened before 
 the love of God is introduced. What is there to 
 weaken it ? If the heart is taken from the creature, 
 it must be set on another object or be annihilated. 
 But there is no other object except God Himself. 
 Before the love of God therefore is implanted there 
 is no way radically to weaken the enmity, but to 
 weaken all the affections and reduce the soul near- 
 
 * Mat. vi. 24. and xii. 30. James iv. 4. 1 John ii. 15. 
 
LECT. V.] NOT PROGRESSIVE, 117 
 
 cr to a state of insensibility. And even then the 
 love of the creature, (the sole cause of the hostili- 
 ty.) would exert as absolute a dominion as before, 
 only over a weaker subject. Particular lusts may 
 be absorbed in others, but the current of sin is only 
 turned into new channels. The passions may be 
 more or less inflamed, and thus the actings of self- 
 love more or less violent. By this means one may 
 sin with a stronger hand than another of equal 
 capacity. Again the passions may be allayed, and 
 less guilt be incurred in an equal time ; but the su- 
 preme love of the creature, which is the prepara- 
 tion in the soul for the future rage of all these pas- 
 sions, cannot be abated, (at least its dominion can- 
 not be reduced,) but by that heavenly charity which 
 fixes the heart supremely on God. 
 
 But you ask, May not new light thrown upon 
 the conscience convince the mind of the unreasona- 
 bleness of its opposition, and thus sooth and allay 
 its enmity? I answer : by reasoning you may 
 compose the passions of an angry man without at all 
 changing his disposition. After you have succeed- 
 ed in calming the risings of enmity against God, I 
 ask, is the dominion of the limited affections in the 
 least abated P This is the decisive question : for 
 supreme attachment to the creature comprehends 
 the root and essence of the whole disease. Now 
 can you weaken the love of the creature by light P 
 Or to confine the question to a part of the evil, can 
 you by light and conscience weaken the power of 
 self-love P Can you reason a man out of his at- 
 
I ( i REGENERATION [LECT. V. 
 
 tacluncnt to himself? Will all the light of the Last 
 Day abate in the least the selfishness of the wick- 
 ed ? Will not light and conscience in their highest 
 degrees act together in the regions of despair, with- 
 out producing any other effect than rage and gnash- 
 ing of teeth? No but the living, you say, possess 
 hope. Hope ! and can you then bribe a man to be 
 less selfish f What, bribe a man to hate a bribe ! 
 If enmity against God were only a prejudice aris- 
 ing from a misconception of His true character, it 
 might indeed be removed by light. In that case 
 it would not be a sin but a virtue ; for to hate a 
 false image of God, in other words, a false God, 
 is a duty. But if the heart of sinners is depra- 
 ved, if they hate the true character of God in what- 
 ever form it appears, they will hate it the more the 
 more it is seen, and light, so far from abating, will on- 
 ly rouse the enmity to stronger action. You may con- 
 vince theni of the justice of the divine administra- 
 tion; (that indeed will not rouse their enmity :) but 
 while they love their own interest supremely, what 
 can abate their hatred of a law which says, Thou 
 slxalt love the Lord thy God supremely, or suffer 
 eternal pain ? Can the love of private interest re- 
 gard more favourably the destruction of that in- 
 terest because the destruction is just ? And can self- 
 love hold dominion and actually govern the heart, 
 and not controul every consideration suggested by 
 conscience to oppose its power? without continuing 
 to array the whole heart against the absolute de- 
 stroyer of self-interest? In a word, can supreme 
 
LECT. Y.] NOT PROGRESSIVE. 119 
 
 love to one's own interest radically Late either 
 more or less than it actually does, the destruction 
 of that interest, or any arrangement for its de- 
 struction, while the capacity of the soul remains the 
 same ? 
 
 But you say again, May not the divine Spirit, 
 before the love of God is implanted, bring the mind 
 to a better frame by weakening its prejudices against 
 religion, and exciting reflections, desires, and reso- 
 lutions which come nearer to a holy character? 
 All that the Spirit does before Regeneration, I 
 suppose, is to pour light upon the mind ; thus a- 
 wakening remorse of conscience, alarming self-love, 
 and occasioning various and strong actings of this 
 principle. If this is all that the Spirit does before 
 Regeneration, the question has been already answer- 
 ed in what was said of the influence of light. But 
 whatever the Spirit does He certainly does not per- 
 form impossibilities. If in the nature of things 
 nothing can weaken the enmity that does not first 
 dethrone the love of the creature, and if nothing 
 can dethrone that despot but the love of God, then 
 no operation of tlie Spirit which does not introduce 
 the love of God, can weaken the empire of de- 
 pravity. But I have another thing to say. The 
 feelings of the convicted are holy, or sinful, or 
 neither. If neither, they have no moral nature, 
 that is, are deserving neither of praise or blame 
 from the moral Governour of the world, and of 
 course have nothing to do with our subject. If 
 they are sinful, what approaches, I pray, can sin 
 
120 REGENERATION [lECT. V, 
 
 make to holiness P to the lowest degree of holiness ? 
 What approaches can total darkness make to the 
 lowest degree of light ? or total deadness to the 
 lowest degree of life ? Will you say then that 
 they are holy P What, holy without love to God ! 
 without a particle of that " love" which " is the 
 fulfilling of the law/' which includes the whole 
 that the law requires ! What says the apostle ? 
 " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of 
 angels, and have not love, I am hecome as sound- 
 ing brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have 
 the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries 
 and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so 
 that I could remove mountains, and have no love, 
 I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods 
 to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be 
 burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing."* 
 Will you say then that the convicted sinner has 
 some love to God though it is not supreme P What, 
 while the enmity remains ? while the enmity pre- 
 vails f for prevail it must while he loves himself 
 supremely, — prevail it must therefore till his su- 
 preme affection is transferred to God. Eut once 
 for all let an apostle decide whether any love 
 to God can exist while the heart is supreme- 
 ly attached to another : " If any man love the 
 world the love of the Father is not in him."f 
 In every view then it appears that there can be 
 no approaches towards Regeneration in the ante- 
 cedent temper of the heart. The moment before 
 
 * Rom. siu. 10. 1 Cor. xiii. 1—3. f 1 John ii. 15. 
 
LECT. V.] NOT PROGRESSIVE. i2i 
 
 the change the sinner is as far from sanctification 
 as darkness is from light, as death is from life, as 
 sin is from holiness. Admitting that his passions 
 are somewhat allayed, and the actings of self- 
 'ove not equally violent, (a concession by no means 
 to be made, certainly not in every case, consider- 
 ing the strong light in which he views the objects of 
 his aversion and dread.) still the least action of en- 
 mity (o God is as far removed from the lowest degree 
 of holiness, as an object which God infinitely hates > 
 from an object which He iniinitely loves, — as far as 
 a thing whicli deserves everlasting shame and con- 
 tempt, front a grace that will receive endless and 
 inconceivable rewards. And the two can never 
 be brought nearer together. 
 
 I have now finished one train of reasoning and 
 will enter on another. I prove that Regeneration 
 is instantaneous from the established truth that 
 mankind by nature are destitute of holiness. Re- 
 generation is nothing more nor less than the com- 
 mencement of holiness in the soul,- — the increase 
 of that principle being not Regeneration but sancti- 
 fication. If the soul is wholly destitute of holi- 
 ness there must be a moment when it first receives 
 that principle, provided the principle itself is speci- 
 fically different from any thing preexisting in the 
 mind, and is not a compound gradually formed out 
 of the natural affections. Even in that case there 
 would be a moment when by increase j or by a per- 
 fect process of combination, it would first become 
 
 itled to the name of holiness. But not to insist 
 
i%& REGENERATION [lECT. V. 
 
 on that, it is very apparent from what has been 
 said of the nature of holiness, that however multi- 
 tudinous it may be in its operations and effects, it 
 is not a compound, but a property no less simple in 
 its essence than universal love, and that it is as 
 specifically different from any thing preexisting in 
 the mind, as parental affection is from humanity, or 
 the love of science from the love of food. A pro- 
 perty so simple and distinct from all others, may 
 be reasoned upon with as much precision as any of 
 the elementary substances of the chemist. Now 
 the production of a new. and simple property, like 
 the power of attraction first communicated to a re- 
 pellent body, must be instantaneous. The begin- 
 mng of a thing, one would think, cannot be pro- 
 gressive. 
 
 This idea may be further illustrated by a recur- 
 rence to some of the images under which this change 
 is represented. It is set forth by the figure of light 
 struck out in the midst of total darkness : " God 
 who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, 
 hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the 
 knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
 Christ." It is called the opening of blind eyes, 
 and the unstopping of deaf ears. It is called a 
 resurrection from the dead : "You hath He quick- 
 ened who were dead in trespasses and sins.- It is 
 called a new creation : "If any man be in Christ 
 lie is a new creature." " We are His workman- 
 ship created in Christ Jesus unto good works." 
 "Put on the new man which after God is created 
 
KJBCT. V.1 NOT PROGRESSIVE. 4 23 
 
 in righteousness and true holiness." It is called 
 the removal of a heart of stone and introduction of 
 a heart of flesh. It is called a new birth.* Now- 
 all these figures import an instantaneous change. 
 There is a moment when* the first ray of light en- 
 ters a region of total darkness. There is a mo- 
 ment when the blind man begins to see. There 
 is a moment when the deaf man hears the first 
 sound. There is a moment when life begins to 
 animate a dead body. The creation of a simple, 
 substance must be instantaneous. The formation 
 of tiie various objects that were to compose a 
 world, admitted of successive acts ; and to this is 
 analogous the new creation of the whole body of 
 the elect in successive generations : but when a sim- 
 ple substance was to lie produced, u God said, Let 
 there be light, and there Was light. v f The remo- 
 val of a heart of stone and substitution of a heart 
 of flesh, must likewise be instantaneous, or accord- 
 ing to the figure there is a time when either there 
 are two hearts or no heart at all. And in regard 
 to a birth, there is a moment in every case in 
 which it may be first said, a child is born into the 
 world. 
 
 Regeneration has sometimes been compared to 
 the struggle of light with darkness, and the gradual 
 prevalence of the former, at the dawn of day. But 
 what do they mean by light f If they mean hoti- 
 
 * Ps. cxlvi. 8. Isai. xxix. 18. and xxxv. 5. and xlii. 16 — 19. and xliil. 
 8. Ezek. xi. 19. Luke iv. 18. John iii. 3. 2 Cor. iv. 6. and v. 1" 
 Eph. ii. 1, 10. and. iv. 24. 2 Pet, i, 9. Rev, Uv If. f Gen. I 3. 
 
1S4 REGENERATION [LECT. V* 
 
 ness, they assume what has been proved to be false, 
 that there is holiness in the heart before the comple- 
 tion of Regeneration. Show me a man in whom 
 holiness and sin are struggling for dominion, and 
 I will show you one who is already born again. 
 But if they mean any thing besides holiness, any 
 thing besides the identical principle whose preva- 
 lence is to constitute the change, the change itself 
 bears no resemblance to the progress of the morning, 
 —the progress of the same light that makes the 
 day. It might more fitly be compared to the first 
 ray that strikes the eastern horizon, or rather to the 
 first ray that enters a region of total darkness, 
 And between the last moment of total darkness, and 
 the first moment of commencing light, no time can 
 elapse. But if by light in this comparison is meant 
 speculative knowledge, and this were even allow- 
 ed to be the cause of Regeneration, still the change 
 could not be progressive, if any thing more than 
 ignorance, if moral depravity is to be removed. 
 No matter by what means the change is accomplish- 
 ed, if it is a transition from supreme selfishness to 
 the supreme love of God, it must be instantaneous 
 according to the reasonings already had. 
 
 It affords much support to these reasonings that 
 the Scriptures divide the whole human race into 
 two classes, — saints and sinners, the good and the 
 bad, believers and unbelievers, natural men and 
 spiritual men, those who are in Christ and those 
 who are out, they who are still under condemna- 
 tion and they who are justified, the heirs of heaven 
 
LECT. V.] NOT PROGRESSIVE. l£5 
 
 and the heirs of hell. There is not a thud class. 
 " He that is not with me is against me."* It fol- 
 lows that every man, at every moment of his life, 
 belongs to one or the other of these two classes. 
 Then he helongs to one till the moment he enters 
 the other. Were it otherwise there would be a 
 time in which he is neither good nor had, neither in 
 Christ nor out, neither condemned nor justified, 
 neither an heir of heaven nor an heir of hell. 
 What is he then ? To whom does he belong ? 
 Whither would he go should he die ? Is there a 
 purgatory ? 
 
 I might add to these reasonings that Regenera- 
 tion is represented to be a great exhibition of pow- 
 er, — as great as the resurrection of Christ: "The 
 eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that 
 ye may know — what is the exceeding greatness of 
 His power to us- ward who believe, according to the- 
 working of His mighty power which He wrought 
 in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and 
 set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly 
 places. ?, f This certainly favours the idea at least 
 of a sudden change. Divine power is doubtless as 
 much exerted in the gradual motion of the heavenly 
 bodies, and in the slow process of vegetation, as 
 it was in stopping the sun over Gibeon ; but when 
 men are summoned to witness a great exhibition of 
 power, they naturally look for a sudden effect, as 
 the burst of a volcano, or the sweep of a whirlwind. 
 But if instead of one grand effort Regeneration is 
 
 • Mat. xii, 30. f Eph. i. 18—20. 
 
i2& REGENERATION [LECT. V. 
 
 brought about by a lingering influence, especially 
 if it is produced by the slow operation of reason 
 and knowledge, it is no more an exhibition of pow- 
 er than the growth of a plant, or the alteration of 
 any of our tastes. 
 
 But after all the question chiefly turns on these 
 two points, — the supreme selfishness or total de- 
 pravity of the human heart, and the nature of holi- 
 ness. No one who admits this view of the native 
 character, and believes that holiness is a simple 
 principle, not a compound formed out of preexist- 
 ing properties, can doubt that there is a moment 
 when it is first introduced. What is the character 
 of the natural heart ? and What is holiness f are 
 the two questions which on this subject must divide 
 the world. For if holiness is a simple principle, 
 and first introduced in Regeneration, especially if it 
 is a principle of supreme love to God, following su- 
 preme selfishness, nothing can be plainer than that 
 the change is as sudden as the entrance of the first 
 drop that falls into a vessel, or the first ray that pe- 
 netrates a dungeon. 
 
 This doctrine however does not militate against 
 the idea of an antecedent preparation in the con- 
 science, wrought by the means of grace, and the 
 enlightening influences of the Spirit. But on this 
 subject I shall have occasion to treat in a future 
 Lecture. At present I shall content myself with two 
 inferences from the doctrine already established. 
 
 (1.) It inevitably follows from the foregoing 
 exposition that none of the feelings, or actions, or 
 
LECT. V.] NOT PROGRESSIVE. 4&7 
 
 duties, (as they are called,) of the unregenerate, 
 so far as they partake of a moral nature, that is, 
 so far as they are entitled to praise or hlame from 
 the moral Governour of the world, are otherwise 
 than sinful. They are sinful, or holy, or neither. 
 If neither, they receive no praise or blame from the 
 moral Governour. For whatever may be said. of 
 God in the character of temporal head of the Jew- 
 ish nation, or as accommodating in these days His 
 visible dispensations to visible characters, yet as 
 moral Governour He praises nothing but holiness, 
 or real conformity to His law, and blames nothing 
 but sin, which ( * is the transgression of the law." 
 For to govern according to law enters into all 
 our ideas of a righteous Governour. That some of 
 the feelings and actions of the unregenerate are of 
 a neutral character is not denied, but these are to 
 be set aside as of no account. The rest are either 
 sinful or holy. But they are not holy, for the be- 
 ginning of holiness is Regeneration : they must 
 of course be sinful. 
 
 It is a credit not denied to the unregenerate that 
 the form of their actions is often right; and if the 
 form by itself can be supposed to be respected in 
 the divine law, it is as far as it goes real obedience. 
 But is the form so divided by the divine law from 
 the disposition, that standing alone it constitutes 
 any part of obedience? If so the form without the 
 disposition must constitute some part of transgres- 
 sion ; and then, in the eye of the divine law, a man 
 in part commits murder who kills bis neighbour by 
 
*28 REGENERATION [LECT. V* 
 
 accident, or in a paroxism of madness. The truth 
 is that no action is rewarded or punished by God 
 or man, (unless by God accommodating His visible 
 dispensations to the apprehensions of mankind,) 
 otherwise than as it is known or supposed to be the 
 index of the heart. Separate from murder all ideas 
 of malicious intent, and it is no longer murder in the 
 eyes of God or man. Separate from prayer all 
 ideas of pious feeling, and in the eyes of God and 
 man it is no longer prayer. No law human or di- 
 vine ever thought of forbidding a mad man to kill 
 his neighbour ; (no matter for what reason.) No 
 law human or divine ever thought of requiring a 
 mad man to perform deeds of charity. It is then a 
 fact that no law ever forbade or required an exter 
 nal action but as an expression of mind, of choice, 
 of disposition. The external action, in its naked 
 form, separate from the choice and disposition, is 
 not required, and the action thus alone is no part of 
 obedience, no part of holiness. But if any thing 
 in the mind is necessary to impart a holy character 
 to an action, it must be holiness in the mind. 
 For certainly nothing but the thing itself can in- 
 stamp its own character. Where therefore there 
 is no holiness in the heart, there can be, in the 
 view of Him who tries the reins, no holy action. 
 
 But while I neglect to ascribe holiness, I do not 
 mean to impute sin, to the bare form of actions. In 
 strictness of speech the form distinct from the mind 
 no more partakes of a moral nature than the motions 
 of a clock. All that I affirm of the sinfulness o£ 
 
I.ECT. V.] NOT PROGRESSIVE. 129 
 
 the actions of the nnregenerate is, that so far as 
 those actions, considered in both the outward and in- 
 ward part, partake of a moral nature, they are sin- 
 ful, and that whether the external form is right or 
 wrong. In strictness of speech the sin lies not in 
 (he outward form even when that form is wrong, 
 certainly not when it is right. Yet in the popular 
 language of Scripture, as in the common language 
 of mankind, the form and disposition are both com- 
 prehended in the action. Now what I assert is, 
 that the action, thus complexly considered, takes its 
 moral character, not from the form, but from the 
 disposition ; and where the disposition is wrong, 
 the general action is pronounced sinful. " The 
 Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on 
 the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on 
 the heart." He affectionately approves the widow's 
 mite, while He rejects the man who without evan- 
 gelical love bestows all his goods to feed the poor, 
 and then with a martyr's zeal gives his body to be 
 burned. He accepts " the willing mind" even 
 where no action follows, while He pronounces the 
 very "sacrifice of the wicked — an abomination." 
 While " a cup of cold water," administered in 
 love, is rewarded with eternal life, " he that turneth 
 away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer 
 [is] abomination ;" and that not merely when he 
 intends to mock : " The sacrifice of the wicked is 
 abomination, hoiv much more when he bringeth it 
 with a wicked mind." Nor let it be supposed that 
 his sacrifices are singled out to bear this reproach : 
 J7 
 
130 REGENERATION [LECT. V. 
 
 " The plowing of the wicked is sin." His com- 
 monest actions are an offence to God, because they 
 proceed from a heart " deceitful above all things and 
 desperately wicked." You must cleanse the foun- 
 tain before the streams can be sweet ; you must 
 heal the tree before the fruit can be pleasant. 
 "Make the tree good and his fruit good." 
 " Cleanse first that which is within the cup and 
 platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." 
 Hence those maxims inscribed on the tablet of ever- 
 lasting truth, " They that are in the flesh, [in their 
 natural state,] cannot please God ;" and " With- 
 out faith it is impossible to please Him." With- 
 out that "faith" which "is the gift of God," that 
 belief that "Jesus is the Christ" which bespeaks 
 one " born of God," no action, no prayer is accept- 
 ed. " If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of 
 God ; — but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, 
 for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea : — 
 for let not that man think that he shall receive axy 
 thing of the Lord." " Ye ask and receive not, 
 because ye ask amiss," is the common reproof 
 administered to all who are supremely attached 
 to the present world. "We know that God heareth 
 not sinners/" was a profession of knowledge made 
 even by the Jews.* 
 
 The case is not altered by any convictions 
 which may be excited by the Spirit, by any anxie- 
 
 * 1 Sam. xvi. 7. Prov. xv. 8- and xxi. 4, 37. and xxviii. 9. Jer. xvii. 9. 
 
 Mat. x. 42. and xii. 33. and xxiii. 26. Mark xii. 42 — 44. John ix. 31. 
 
 Rom. viii. 8. 1 Cor. xiii. 1 — 3. 2 Cor. viii. 12. Eph. ii. 8. Keb. xi. 6. 
 James i. 5 — 7. 'and iv. 3. 1 Jobn v. 1. 
 
LECT. V.] NOT PROGRESSIVE. 131 
 
 ties of the sinner, by any of his attentions to the 
 means of grace. If Regeneration is the commence- 
 ment of holiness, all the feelings and actions to that, 
 moment, so far as they partake of a moral nature, 
 must be sinful. So far as the moral Governour is 
 at all affected, He is only disgusted and offended 
 till the very moment of the change. 
 
 (2.) It follows from this view that the unre- 
 generate, even under their highest convictions, and 
 however near they may have approached to the time 
 of their conversion, still lie at the uncovenantetl 
 mercy of God. By this I do not mean that no pro- 
 mises are held out to them on condition of their re- 
 turn ; I only mean that nothing which they now do 
 has the promise of any reward or notice from God. 
 The moral Governour of the world cannot pledge 
 Himself to reward sinful actions, nor actions barely 
 neutral. A temporal king may consistently engage 
 to recompense actions which have only a fair exte- 
 rior ; but for God to do this, would be to relinquish 
 His right to search the heart. While acting as 
 temporal head of the Jewish nation, (an office, how- 
 ever, which He never for a moment stood bound by 
 promise to appear in, but occasionally assumed it in 
 sovereign condescension to the weaknesses of the 
 people,) He visibly rewarded actions which were 
 good only in the sight of men ; (and to present to the 
 eye a continued picture of Himself in His providence, 
 He does the same now;) but He never promised that 
 nation a sheaf of bailey nor a bin of oil, but on con 
 ditiou of sincere and holy obedience, The follow- 
 
I3g REGENERATION [LECT. V. 
 
 iug passage reveals the sole condition, (unless you 
 profanely suppose two conditions, like the two 
 prices of the petty merchant,) on which all temporal 
 blessings were promised that people : " And it 
 shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently 
 unto my commandments which 1 command you this 
 day, to love the lord your god, and to serve 
 
 Him WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR 
 
 soui,, that I will give you the rain of your land in 
 his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that, 
 thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and 
 thine oil."* Indeed the duty oflove to God and man 
 made so conspicuous a figure in the Mosaick code,) 
 [hat this condition was necessarily implied in all the 
 promises suspended on general obedience.^ The 
 sum of that code was this : " And now Israel, 
 what doth the Lord thy God inquire of thee, but to 
 fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and 
 io love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God tcitk 
 all thy heart, and with all thy soul" "Thou shalt 
 not hate thy brother in thine heart, — but thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself. "|| 
 
 There is another insuperable difficulty in the 
 way of extending the promises to the unregenerate ; 
 they are not united to Christ. The great bond of 
 union is faith ■; but " whosoever believeth — is horn 
 of God" " If any man be in Christ he is a new 
 creature." Now it is obvious that none can partake 
 
 * Deut. xi. 13—15. f Deut.vi. 5, 6. and vii. 9. and x. 16, 19. 
 
 and xi. 1, 13, 22. and xiii. 3. and xix. 9. and xxx. 2, 6, 16, 20. Josh, 
 xxii. 5. and xxiii. 11. * Deut. vi. and xi. and xxviii. and xxx. II Lev. 
 xix. 17, 18. Deut. x. 12. 
 
1..ECT. Y.] NOT PROGRESSIVE. 133 
 
 of the promises but they who are united to Christ ; 
 for like the oil on Aaron's head that descended to 
 the skirts of his garments, the promises are all pour- 
 ed upon Christ, and descend to His members only. 
 ••' To Abraham and his Seed were the promises 
 made ; He saith not, And to seeds, as of many, but 
 as of One, and to thy Seed, which is Christ ;" 
 "that the blessing of Abraham might come on the 
 Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might re- 
 ceive the 'promise of the Spirit through faith ;'' 
 u that the Gentiles should be — partakers of His 
 jiromise in Christ." " Jill the promises of God in 
 Him are yea, and in Him amen," — even in Him 
 who was given " for a covenant of the people. " 
 " The Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that 
 the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be giv- 
 en to them that believe."* How then can any pro- 
 mise reach those who are out of Christ ? The pro- 
 mise chiefly contended for is one that is supposed to 
 ensure to the unregeneratc an answer to then* prayers. 
 But if such prayers are answered, it must be with" 
 out the influence of Christ : of course they might 
 have been answered if Christ had never died. 
 Why then did He die ?f If one prayer of a sinner 
 could ascend to God without going through Christ, 
 a whole soul might ; and if one soul might, a whole 
 
 * Isai. xlii. 6. 2 Cor. i. 20. and v. 17. Gal. iii. 14, 16, 22. Eph, 
 iii. 6. 1 John v. 1. 
 
 f But the unregenerate, it may be said, do receive number- 
 less blessings on Christ's account, that is, in consequence of His 
 having undertaken the work of redemption. Every favour which 
 raises them above the condition of the damned, comes to them in 
 this way. Granted. But there is a material difference between 
 
131* REGENERATION [LECT. V. 
 
 world might. If in one act a sinner is accepted 
 without a Saviour, he may be so accepted in his ge- 
 neral character; and if one may, a whole world may. 
 Why then was a Saviour provided ? But far be 
 such a thought from us. Infinite purity cannot 
 commune with pollution in a single instance, nor 
 look upon a sinner but through a Mediator. What 
 mean you to contend for the privilege of going to 
 God without a Mediator? for the privilege of 
 rushing into a consuming lire ? for the privilege 
 of being pagans P Presume that a prayer may 
 reach the mercy seat without going through Christ ! 
 — if this is not self -righteousness, expunge the word 
 from the language. Further, a promise implies a 
 reward. Now if the unregenerate are rewarded, 
 1 hey are rewarded before they are pardoned. They 
 receive tokens of favour while they remain objects of 
 
 blessings bestowed in sovereign mercy, (that is, without any covenant 
 obligation,) merely to put them in possession of the full advantages 
 of probation, and containing no expression of approbation, but only of 
 patience, and blessings conferred as a reward, a promised reward, and 
 expressive of the approbation of God. Though in sovereign mercy 
 God may deal more favourably with sinners than if no chance existed for 
 their salvation, He cannot approve of ah unholy work even for Christ's 
 sake, and cannot, in His secret transactions with the soul, express that 
 approbation by a reward. For Christ's sake He may accept a ho- 
 ly action, which otherwise could not be accepted from a sinner, that 
 is, could not be rewarded with any token of favour ; but to accept 
 unholinesB on Christ's account, is no part of the Gospel plan. It is no 
 part of that plan to accept an act of a sinner on Christ's account 
 without his own consent that Christ should be the ground of accep- 
 tance) in other words, without his own faith. If then the prayers of 
 those who are not united to Christ by faith, are approved, accepted, an- 
 swered, rewarded, (for all these terms are applicable if one is,) it is not 
 done on Christ's account. If such prayers reach the throne of God, 
 they do not ascend through a Mediator. 
 
LECT. V.] NOT PROGRESSnE. 135 
 
 wrath. And for what are they rewarded ? Not for 
 the merits of Christ, (for they have no part in Him,) 
 but for their own works, — works too which if not 
 indifferent are positively sinful. This is " confusion 
 worse confounded." But charge not this confusion 
 upon the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation not 
 a promise of such a nature is found. u Ask and ye 
 shall receive/' is indeed said to all ; but when 
 you would know the meaning of that condition, 
 the answer is, "Ask in faith, nothing waver- 
 ing," It is said indeed that " the kingdom of 
 heaven suilereth violence, and the violent take it 
 by force ;" but if you have yet to learn what sort 
 of violence is meant, even an Old Testament saint 
 can tell you : " My son, if thou wilt receive my 
 words, and hide my commandments with thee, so 
 that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply 
 thine heart to understanding ; yea, if thou wriest af- 
 ter* knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for tinder- 
 standing ; if thou seekest her as silver, and search- 
 est for her as for hid treasures ; then shalt thou 
 understand the fear of the Lord, and find the know- 
 ledge of God." In short all the promises address- 
 ed to the unregenerate are summed up in either of 
 the following texts : " Ye shall seek me and find 
 me, when ye shall search for me with all your 
 heart." "If — thou shalt seek the Lord thy God 
 thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy 
 heart, and with all thy soul."* 
 
 • Deut. iv. 29. Prov, ii. 1— 5. Jer.xxix. 13. Mat. xi. 12. John 
 xvi, 24, James i. 6. 
 
LECTURE VL 
 
 REGENERATION SUPERNATURAL. 
 PSALM CX. 3. 
 
 TRF PEOPLE SHALL BE BILLING IN THE DAY 01? THY POWER. 
 
 This promise to Christ respecting His future 
 kingdom is very empliatick. It can scarcely be 
 tortured into any other meaning than that His 
 power should be effectually exerted to render His 
 people willing to submit to His empire ; not indi- 
 rectly by presenting to their view His miracles and 
 the destruction of His enemies, and leaving the 
 event to the casual operation of their self- determin- 
 ing power; but by a conquest of their wills or 
 hearts through the efficacious influence of His Spirit. 
 
 In the last Lecture it was proved that Regene- 
 ration is an instantaneous change, from exclusive 
 attachment to the creature, from supreme selfish- 
 ness, from enmity against God, to universal love 
 which fixes the heart supremely on God ; that 
 there is no previous abatement of the enmity or ap- 
 proximation towards a right temper, the heart being 
 at one moment in full possession of its native self- 
 ishness and opposition, at the next moment in pos- 
 18 
 
138 REGENERATION £ LECT ' VI « 
 
 session of a principle of supreme love to God, — 
 acquiring thus in an instant a temper which it never 
 possessed before. Here is a phenomenon wholly 
 unlike any other revolution in the moral or social 
 world. How is it to be accounted for ? Is it pro- 
 duced by the self-determining power of the human 
 will, or by the power of God? If by God, is it 
 brought about according to the stated operations of 
 nature, or in a supernatural way ? If in a super- 
 natural way, is it done on account of any thing pre- 
 viously performed by the sinner, or in any sense 
 by his cooperation ? These three questions will 
 form the plan of the present Lecture. 
 
 I. Is this change produced by the self-deter- 
 mining power of the human will, or by the power 
 of God ? Not by the self-determining power of the 
 will, or heart, (both are included in the term as here 
 used.) for the very last act of the will or heart before 
 the change was entirely hostile to God, and the first 
 right act evinces the change to be past. The will 
 was an enemy in the last act before the act of love. 
 Hoes then the foe instantly create the friend ? Hoes 
 an effort of enmity instantly produce love ? When- 
 ever did darkness create light, or death life ? Is it 
 credible that the will, while fully opposed to God, 
 should contrive and accomplish so holy and so vast 
 a change in a moment ? None will pretend it. No 
 man in his senses ever pleaded for the self-determin- 
 ing power who allowed the change to be so sudden 
 and so great. But I ask again, what could possibly 
 have induced the will all at once to make so great 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 139 
 
 and new an effort ? Motives ? But the same motives 
 had been resisted for years, and were firmly resist- 
 ed in the very last act before the change. Now 
 that the will should steadily resist all motives from 
 the beginning, and all at once yield in an instant, 
 without any new inducement, without any previous 
 consent of its own ; — that love should startup out 
 of enmity in a moment, uncaused but by itself, is 
 altogether incredible, and never was and never will 
 be believed by any rational mind. The moment 
 Regeneration is proved to be an instantaneous 
 change from unabated enmity to supreme love, the 
 argument for the self- determining power is forever 
 ruined. 
 
 Nor will any relief be found by seeking an ally 
 for the will in the understanding. Universal ex- 
 perience proves that the understanding cannot con- 
 troul, much less create, the affections. If it could, 
 every man would be sure to do as well as he knows 
 how. If it could, the enmity of the natural heart 
 ■would be chargeable only to ignorance, and then 
 the enmity would not be directed against the true 
 God, but against a false image of God which it is 
 every man's duty to hate. These faculties of the 
 mind have indeed some controul over each other, 
 but by no means enough to support such an hypo- 
 thesis. Their empires are very distinct, and divide 
 a man as it were against himself. In its turn the 
 understanding will not submit to the heart. Who- 
 ever set himself down to any mental effort, for 
 instance to write a composition, without feeling tlio 
 
iVd REGENERATION [LECT. VI. 
 
 uncertainty whether his intellect would obey his 
 wishes ? The will has to stand and solicit, and is 
 often held in suspense whether its suit will be fa- 
 voured or denied. Hence the fancy of the poets 
 about courting the Muses. Could the heart con- 
 troul the understanding, who would not at once 
 make himself a Newton ? And it is only an equal 
 law of nature that the understanding should not con- 
 troul the heart, If it could, who would not speedi- 
 ly rid himself of many uncomfortable passions ? If 
 it could, which of you would not become a Chris- 
 tian at once ? 
 
 The theory of the self-determining power being 
 thus set aside, those systems which have been built 
 upon it sink of course. These systems may all be 
 reduced to three ; the Pelagian, Arminian, and Se- 
 mi- Arminian. I will spend a moment in spreading 
 these out by the side of the Calvinistick doctrine, 
 that you may distinctly see in what points they differ. 
 
 The Pelagian theory is, that God does no more 
 than present motives to the mind by the external 
 light of truth : to these the will in the exercise of its 
 self-determining power yields or refuses to yield, 
 and the good man alone makes himself to differ 
 from others who possess equal means of information. 
 This system wholly sets aside the influences of the; 
 divine Spirit. 
 
 The Arminian theory is precisely the same, on- 
 ly it acknowledges the enlightening influence of the 
 Spirit as an auxiliary in setting motives before the 
 mind. To these motives the will in the exercise 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. ill 
 
 of its self-determining power yields or refuses to 
 yield, and the good man alone makes himself to 
 differ from others who enjoy common grace. 
 
 The Semi-Avminian theory differs from the lat- 
 ter only in name, and in a greater confusion of lan- 
 guage. According to this system God affords a 
 portion of spiritual aid, producing something more 
 than light, and something less than holiness. If that 
 aid is improved He will afford more, and so on till 
 the change is complete. This un definable influence, 
 between an enli^htenins: and a sanctifyinir one, the 
 mind, though utterly destitute of " true holiness," i«f 
 capable of improving so as to meet with divine ap 
 probation, and in reward to receive more ; but it is 
 capable, by the self-determining power of the will 
 which that influence does not controul, of misim- 
 proving the grace, and so losing the effect. God re- 
 ally does more for one than another, because one has 
 better improved His grace, though with an unhohj 
 heart ; but He would do as much for one as ano- 
 ther if all would improve alike. The real differ- 
 ence is made, not by discriminating grace, but by 
 one's improving divine influence better than ano-i 
 ther, through the self-determining power of the will 
 which that influence did not controul. This theory 
 rests its weight on three columns 5 the self-deter- 
 mining power, progressive Regeneration, and the 
 dogma that God approves of unholy deeds ; all 
 which I persuade myself have been proved to bo 
 but shadows. 
 
 Men go through life the dupes of names. I bc£ 
 10 know what can be meant by an influence which 
 
14£ REGENERATION [lECT. VI. 
 
 produces something more than light, and something 
 less than holiness ? Does it enlarge the understand- 
 ing ? Does it strengthen the memory ? And if it did, 
 what then ? What lias an enlargement of natural 
 powers to do with a change of heart ? Satan in na- 
 tural powers surpasses any saint on earth. But of a 
 moral tendency what other influence can there he, 
 than that which informs the conscience or improves 
 the heart ? in other words, than that which enlight- 
 ens or sanctifies P Do you say it is an influence 
 Which would lead to holiness if the will did not re- 
 sist P But what other can that be than an enlight- 
 ening influence ? Come fix a micioscopick eye on 
 this single point. What influence can you conceive 
 of between that which presents motives to the will, 
 leaving it unconstrained, and that which bends the 
 will by constraining power?* Do you say there may 
 be a pressure of power which the will resists ? But 
 upon your principle what right has power to en- 
 croach upon the freedom of the will by undertaking 
 to compel it ? If I have no right to bring a man by 
 force to the house of Grod, I have no right to exert 
 the least muscular strength upon him, or to assail 
 him in any other way than by motives. But who 
 knows that such a pressure is made if no effect fol- 
 lows? Who can be conscious of a divine influence 
 but by the eiFect ? But if there is an effect, what ef- 
 fect ? What effect pressing in the direction of holi- 
 ness ? Do you say there is thoughtfulness, solem- 
 
 * For an explanation and vindication of such expressions, see Note 
 io page 145. 
 
LECT. VI. 3 SUPERNATURAL. 143 
 
 nity, and distress ? Bat these are only natural 
 effects of light carried home to the conscience. Do 
 you say it removes prejudice ? But how except 
 by light, since it leaves the heart unaltered ? Bo 
 you say it restrains from passion and sin ? But 
 how except by motives, (and by regulating per- 
 haps the tone of the body, and the disposition of 
 outward circumstances,) if the heart remains the 
 same? This intermediate influence then must be 
 an illusion unless it is something which makes the 
 heart better without holiness. But it has appeared 
 in a former Lecture, that in the nature of things the 
 heart cannot be made better till it is supremely fix- 
 ed on God. I ask again, what aid can the mind 
 need other than light, when the self- determining 
 power is fully competent to settle the issue ? If the 
 will cannot determine itself to good without other 
 aid, what becomes of the boasted self-determin- 
 ing power ? I cannot therefore comprehend what 
 more the sinner is to receive for improving the 
 grace. More what ? More strength ? But what 
 do you mean by more strength ? I)o you mean 
 more natural powers of body or mind ? But these 
 are not needed upon any plan, certainly not upon 
 yours, for the will, you say, is fully competent to 
 determine itself. Do you then mean more moral 
 strength ? But moral strength is holiness, of which 
 the sinner possesses none till Regeneration is com- 
 plete. Do you mean more strength of resolution 
 and desire ? But what are resolutions and desires 
 that make the heart no belter ? Do you mean re~ 
 
144 REGENERATION [lECT. ?U 
 
 solutions and desires "which gradually improve 
 
 the heart without holiness? But this again is 
 running foul of the doctrine of progressive Regene- 
 ration, which has heen shown to he a dream. You 
 must then mean more light, and it comes to this 
 at last, that all which has been received is au 
 enlightening influence, that all which is to be re- 
 ceived is more light, and still more light, — and the 
 self- determining power of the will, influenced only 
 by light, is to change the heart : and this carries 
 you back to downright Arminianism, from which 
 you never departed but in name, and in a more per- 
 fect confusion of tongues. Indeed it is capable of 
 the fullest demonstration, that between the grossest 
 Arminianism and the correct system there can be 
 no medium. And then this ruinous attempt to bol- 
 ster up the self-righteousness of sinners by telling 
 them that God will reward their unholy deeds ! 
 Has it not been shown that all the feelings and ac- 
 tions of the unregenerate, so far as they partake of 
 a moral nature, are not only unholy but sinful ? 
 And will you presume to tell men that God will re- 
 ward sin, or things at best but indifferent ? that He 
 will lavish rewards on men who are out of Christ, 
 and still lie under condemnation ? Do it if you wil^ 
 but you must answer it to God. 
 
 In opposition to all these theories the Calvin- 
 ist tells you, that the heart is so depraved that it 
 will not improve divine influence till it is changed ; 
 that it stubbornly resists all light and motives till 
 it is forced to submit ; that the moral Ruler Ins 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 145 
 
 as much occasion to subdue the heart by strength, as 
 an earthly king to quell by force his rebellious sub- 
 jects ; and that the simple history of the change is, 
 that God makes His people witting in the day of 
 His power.* And if the change is instantaneous 
 from unahated enmity to supreme love, the Calvin- 
 ist must be right. These other theories are founded 
 on the principle of progressive Regeneration, (so 
 far as they recognise any such change,) and on that 
 of the self-determining power. Prove Regenera- 
 tion to be instantaneous, and thus dissolve the dream 
 of the self-determining power, and all these theories 
 sink at once. 
 
 But to whom do the Scriptures ascribe the 
 change in question? The answer meets you on 
 every page. " The 1 preparations of the heart in man, 
 and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 19 
 
 * When the author speaks of the will's being constrained and sub- 
 dued, he means nothing inconsistent with freedom. He means merely 
 that a rebellious will has its resistance destroyed by the power of Gcd. But 
 it still remains a will, and acts as such ; that is, the mind continues to 
 will, in other words, to be willing, and if willing, therefore free. The 
 very act of the will is voluntariness itself, — is therefore freedom it- 
 self : and the question whether this faculty is under a constraint incon- 
 sistent with liberty, is to the author's mind as unmeaning as the ques- 
 tion whether freedom is free. The only effect of what in popular 
 language he calls a constraining influence, is that God's people are 
 made willing in the day of His power. But when an opposing will, 
 which is the voluntary action of the man, has its resistance destroy- 
 ed by the power of God, — when the spontaneous and wicked opposi- 
 tion of the soul is thus annihilated by superior strength, it is calcu- 
 lated to give a just idea of the moral agency and guilt of the sinner to 
 i>ay, that the will is subdued, that the rebel is conquered. And if this 
 style does not perfectly accord with the dialect of metaphysicians, it 
 is no less to its praise that it agrees with the language of prophets and 
 -lies. 
 
146 REGENERATION [lECT. VI. 
 
 P Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from 
 above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." 
 " By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that 
 not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" " Who 
 then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by 
 whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every 
 man? I have planted, Apollos watered, but God 
 gave the increase. So then neither is he that 
 planteth any thing, neither he that watereth, but 
 God that giveth the increase."* 
 
 II. Is this change brought about according to 
 (lie stated operations of nature, or in a supernatu- 
 ral way ? 
 
 In settling this question every thing depends on 
 obtaining precise ideas of the meaning of the terms. 
 What then is meant by the stated operations of 
 nature ? Precisely what the terms obviously ex- 
 press, and what they have always been understood 
 io import; viz. the stated operations of divine pow- 
 er*, exerted through the medium of second causes, 
 and in so uniform a way that a person, having a, 
 comprehensive view of all the laws of nature, and 
 of the second causes that would be brought to act 
 in a particular case, might infallibly calculate the 
 issue unless disappointed by a supernatural inter- 
 position. 
 
 This stated operation extends not only to mat- 
 ter but mind, and of course to man as composed of 
 both. Could you perfectly know the habitual dis- 
 position of a man, what would be the state of his 
 
 * Prov. xvi. 1. 1 Cor. iii. 5—7. Er;h. ti. 3. James i. If. 
 
T,ECT. VI.] SrPERNATURAr,. 11; 
 
 body and outward circumstances at a given time, 
 and all the motives that would assail him ; and 
 were you sufficiently skilled in the laws of nature 
 to estimate universally and with precision the influ- 
 ence of second causes ; you might infallihly calcu- 
 late how he would feel and act if not prevented by 
 a supernatural influence. Even with our limited 
 knowledge of the laws of nature, we can form in 
 many instances very correct conjectures respecting 
 the future conduct of men. A skill at this calcula- 
 tion forms much of the ability of the statesman, and 
 indeed much of the prudence of ordinary life. 
 From the laws of nature you may calculate with 
 great certainty, that men in given circumstances will 
 exercise feelings zcJwlly unlike amy which they now 
 possess, and in some cases, wholly unlike any which 
 they ever had ; as that a passionate man, whom 
 you now see placid and affectionate, will rage when 
 he is provoked ; as that a covetous man, who is 
 now melted into compassion and charity, will ex- 
 ercise oppression as soon as a fit occasion offers ; 
 as that a youth, when he becomes a parent, will ex- 
 ercise parental affection. Now can you form any 
 sach calculation respecting the future conversion 
 of men ? or could you if you were perfectly ac- 
 quainted with all the laws of nature ? This is the 
 
 QUESTION TO BE TRIED. 
 
 But before proceeding to examine those laws of 
 nature on which this effect must depend if it is a 
 natural effect, let us be fully apprized of the con 
 sequences which must result from adopting such a 
 principle. If the change is brought about by di- 
 
148 REGENERATION [LECT. > ,. 
 
 vine power working through the medium of second 
 causes, in a stated order, according to the establish- 
 ed course of nature, then these consequences will 
 follow : 
 
 First, no greater or other exertion of power is 
 giade at the time of producing the effect, than was 
 made in the antecedent preparations in nature to 
 produce it. 
 
 Secondly, no greater or other exertion of pow- 
 er is made where the effect follows, than where it 
 does not, the whole exertion being put forth to sup- 
 port the attributes of the natural agents, which aro 
 always tjie same whether combined for action or 
 not, and must produce the effect when they are 
 combined and meet with no special resistance, 
 Thus no greater or other exertion is made to 
 produce a crop, where seed, and soil, and rain, 
 and heat, and air combine, and find no special 
 resistance, than to support the same agents where, 
 they do not combine, or where the crop is pre- 
 vented by reptiles, flood, &re, or the violence of 
 man. 
 
 Thirdly, where all the natural agents combine, 
 the effect cannot be prevented without a supernatu- 
 ral interposition. 
 
 Fourthly, where natural agents enough com- 
 bine to produce the effect in one instance, they will 
 produce it in all, unless prevented by special resist- 
 ance. We should then expect that the same out- 
 ward means that can convert one, would convert all, 
 unless some invisible cause, such as peculiar stub- 
 bornness, or special temptation, or the self-deta 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 149 
 
 mining power, prevented. But persons appa- 
 rently the most stubborn, and most exposed to 
 temptation, often become Christians, while others, 
 apparently more pliable and less tempted, re 
 main in sin, — both under the same instruction. 
 To account for numberless disproportions of this 
 sort, we should be obliged, so far as we can dis- 
 cover, to resort to the self-determining power of 
 the will. 
 
 The whole drift of these consequences is to 
 deny that Regeneration is any greater or other ex- 
 hibition of divine power than the common opera- 
 tions of nature. But how does this comport with 
 those texts which represent the change as preemi- 
 nently the work of God, and as being a vast exhi- 
 bition of power ? " This shall be the covenant that I 
 will make with the house of Israel : After those days, 
 saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward 
 parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their 
 God, and they shall be my people."' "And J will 
 give them one heart and one way, that they may 
 fear me forever.— /will put my fear in their hearts 
 that they shall not depart from me." " The Lord 
 thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart 
 of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God." " I will 
 pour upon the house of David, and upon the inha- 
 bitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of 
 supplications ; and they shall look upon me whom 
 they have pierced, and they shall mourn." " I 
 thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, 
 because thou hast hid these things from the wise 
 and prudent; and hast revealed them unto babes. 
 
ioO KEG L.N Ell ATI ON [lECT. VI. 
 
 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy 
 sight." " Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for 
 flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but 
 my Father which is in heaven." " No man can 
 come to me except the Father which hath sent me 
 draw him. — No man can come unto me except it 
 were given unto him of my Father" u A certain 
 woman, named Lydia, — heard us, whose heart the 
 Lord opened." " For God who commanded the 
 light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our 
 hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the 
 glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." " In 
 whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision 
 made without hands, in putting off the body of the 
 *ins of the ilesh by the circumcision of Christ ; biu 
 ried with Him in baptism, wherein also you are 
 risen with Him through the faith of the operation 
 of God who hath raised Him from the dead." 
 **The eyes of your understanding being enlighten- 
 ed, that ye may know — what is the exceeding 
 greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, ac- 
 cording to the working of His mighty power which 
 He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from 
 the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the 
 heavenly places." " By the grace of God I am 
 what I am;" " ministering the Gospel of God, 
 that the offering up of the Gentiles might be ac- 
 ceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost:" 
 " Whereof I was made a minister, according to 
 the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the 
 effectual working of His power. — Now unto Him 
 xhat is able to do exceeding abundantly above all 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 151 
 
 that ice ask or think, according to the power that 
 worketh in us, uuto Him be glory in the Church by 
 Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without 
 cud. Amen."* 
 
 Such is the emphasis every where laid, uot only 
 on the agency, but on the mighty power of God in 
 sanctifying the heart. And now let me ask, do 
 these representations appear as though He was the 
 Author of holiness in no higher sense than He is the 
 "Father" of " the rain/' and begetteth " the drops 
 of the dew" ? 
 
 But this question must be brought to a stricter 
 test. It is necessary to examine those laws of na- 
 ture in relation to mind on which the change must 
 depend if it is a natural effect. If this part of the 
 subject should be less intelligible and interesting, 
 it may be some consolation to know that it will not 
 be long. 
 
 There are but two ways of changing the mind 
 of man by second causes ; one by motives, the 
 other by mechanical influence. Every influence of 
 a second cause which is not of the nature of a mo- 
 tive, may properly be denominated mechanical, as 
 its action, not being through the medium of the 
 will, is much like that of one material substance 
 upon another. Now if we examine the effects pro 
 duced on mind by these two causes, we shall come 
 to the three following conclusions : first, that motives 
 
 * Deut. xxx. 6. Jer. xxxi. 33. and xxxii. 39, 40. Zech. xii. 10. 
 Mat xi. 25, 26. and xvi. 17. John vi. 44, 65. Acts xvi. 14. Rom. xv 
 16. ICor. xv. 10. 2 Cor. iv. 6. Eph. i. 18— 20. and Hi. f, 20. Coi: 
 i* 11, 12. 
 
^38 REGENERATION [lECT. th 
 
 have no influence to change the disposition ; se- 
 condlv, that mechanical causes, which alter the 
 disposition, taste, and feelings of the mind, do it 
 by a gradual process, except in the single instance 
 •where the change depends on a sudden alteration 
 in the state of the body ; thirdly, that of course 
 no law of nature can produce an instantaneous 
 change of heart. 
 
 The three leading laws of nature in relation to 
 mind, which have any connexion with our subject, 
 are these : 
 
 First, that the will, the immediate cause of mus- 
 cular motion, is governed by motives addressed 
 to the heart, and approved by the heart. As 
 far as the motive agrees with the temper of the 
 heart, that is, with the tastes and affections of the 
 man, and no further, has it any power to move 
 the will. A feast is no motive where there is no 
 appetite. The happiness of another is no motive 
 where the person is hated. The glory of God 
 is no motive to an opposing heart. The power of 
 a motive to influence the will, always presupposes 
 a disposition in the heart to entertain and fall in 
 with it. 
 
 Secondly, the disposition of the heart, (whether 
 you mean by disposition the stated manner of its 
 acting, or the foundation of its exercises.) is never 
 produced by motives even as a second cause. If 
 by the disposition of the heart you mean the stated 
 manner of its acting, and call the objects towards 
 which it acts the motives of its aetion> then my po- 
 sition is, that the objects, (though individually the 
 

 LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 153 
 
 occasion of each particular exercise,) never gave 
 the heart the habitual turn to act with love rather 
 than aversion towards ohjects of that description. 
 To he beloved the ohjects must individually be of 
 a class which the heart is already accustomed to 
 love, or is commencing the custom under the influ- 
 ence of a cause wholly distinct from the objects. 
 An object belonging to a class which the heart 
 is accustomed to hate, will not excite love, till 
 there is first a change of stated action which the 
 object did not produce. The heart must have 
 begun a course of action favourable to objects of 
 a particular description, before you can calculate 
 that any one of them will be beloved. When one 
 of that class, standing late in the series, is pre- 
 sented to the mind, and meets with regard, you at 
 once perceive that that individual did not produce 
 the established course. Transfer then vour thoughts 
 to the first object in the series, and you imme- 
 diately discover that that individual had no more 
 influence to settle the course. You instantly re- 
 sort to an anterior cause. That cause you say is 
 God, whose influence to begin the course was prior 
 in the order of nature to the first act towards the first 
 object. The objects individually occasion action of 
 some sort; but that a whole class are statedly loved 
 by one, and hated by another, must be imputed to 
 a cause wholly distinct from the objects themselves : 
 for if the cause lay in the objects, the effect would 
 be the same on every mind. It is obvious there- 
 fore that the love of an object presupposes a course 
 of action favourable to objects of that class, previ- 
 
134 REGENERATION [LECT. VI, 
 
 ously established, or then commencing under the 
 influence of a cause wholly independent of the ob- 
 ject. In other words, it pre supposes a stated man- 
 ner of action* — a disposition, (as yon are pleased 
 to call it) which the object had no influence to pro- 
 duce. What is presupposed in the first influence 
 Which the object exerts, could not be produced by 
 the object itself, even as a second cause. 
 
 On the other hand, if you mean by disposition 
 a taste or principle that is the foundation of exer- 
 cises, then it is still more evident that an object to 
 be beloved must be adapted to the existing disposi- 
 tion : of course it had no influence to produce it. If 
 you admit the existence of a taste or principle, and 
 call the object the motive which moves the heart 
 to action, you will readily allow that the object 
 must be accommodated to the taste before it can be- 
 come a motive, that is, before it can be beloved. It 
 must find the disposition prepared to entertain it 
 before it can move the heart. A hated object can 
 never be a motive to love ; but a beloved object 
 finds the taste already in its favour. The power of 
 the object to become a motive presupposes a dis- 
 position in the heart to love it. Of course it did 
 not produce that disposition even as a second cause. 
 And if by its own charms it cannot create the dispo- 
 sition, neither can it by associating with itself the 
 consideration of advantage. The heart is not so to 
 be bribed. " If a man would give all the substance 
 of his house for love, it would utterly be contemn- 
 ed."* It is impossible then that a new disposition 
 
 * Cant. viii. t. 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 135 
 
 should be produced in a natural, (Inlay add, or 
 even in a supernatural) way, by the iufiuence of 
 
 motives. Motives, as objects of love or aversion, 
 occasion the heart to aet according to its existing 
 disposition, and there their power ends.* 
 
 Thirdly, thoueh the taste and feeliiurs of the 
 
 «/ - o o 
 
 heart cannot be changed by motives, they do under- 
 go great and permanent alterations through the me- 
 chanical influence of second causes, and therefore in 
 a natural way ; but these changes are all brought 
 about by a gradual process, except in the single in- 
 stance where they depend on a sudden alteration in 
 the state of the body. AVhere the body is suddenly 
 and permanently thrown into a new state by deep af- 
 fliction or disease, the man may instantly and final- 
 ly lose, for example, his love of books, his love of 
 musick, or painting, or commercial business, or a 
 military life. In all other instances the change is 
 slow and progressive. How many new tastes or 
 habits of feeling are gradually contracted by en- 
 largement of views, by increasing age, by new con- 
 
 • To some who cast an eye on the first edition of this work, it did 
 not appear self-evident that a new disposition may not be produced by 
 the instrumentality of motives, though not in a natural, yet in a su- 
 pernatural way. Hut if in the nature of things a motive cannot exert 
 an influence on the mind till it first accords with the disposition ; for 
 instance, if a feast cannot excite a desire while it is loathed ; it can- 
 not be made to exert such an influence by any power whatever. For 
 one to exercise a direct desire for what he hates, — for a detested ob- 
 ject to awaken love, or by all the considerations associated with it to 
 produce a disposition to love the object for its own sake, appears 
 not to lie within the reach of possibility. Such an antecedent as the 
 presentation of motives, there may be ; but it is a mere antecedents, 
 without any of the influence which belongs to a second cause or hi- 
 nt in the works of God, whether natural or supernatural, 
 
136 REGENERATION [LECT, VI, 
 
 nexions, by a change of employment, by the influ- 
 ence of climate, diet, affliction, and various other 
 causes. 
 
 According to these laws, then, God acts in a 
 natural way when He causes the muscles to obey 
 the will, the will to obey the heart by yielding to 
 motives which the heart approves, the heart to act 
 towards different objects according to its present 
 disposition, naturally produced, (whether you mean 
 by disposition the stated manner of its acting, or 
 something which is the foundation of its exercises,) 
 or when He alters the disposition, either suddenly 
 by a change in the body, or progressively by the me- 
 chanical influence of other natural causes. These 
 I call natural effects, because a person acquainted 
 with all the laws of nature, knowing perfectly the 
 present disposition of another, and all the mecha- 
 nical causes that would conspire to alter it, (every 
 thing supernatural being withheld.) having a com- 
 plete view of the state of that person's body and 
 outward circumstances at a given time, and foresee- 
 ing all the motives that would be addressed to his 
 heart, might calculate how he would feel and act, 
 we have every reason to believe, with as much pre- 
 cision as we can calculate an eclipse. 
 
 Now to apply these principles to the case of 
 Regeneration. It will not be pretended that this 
 ^reai and permanent revolution of character is pro- 
 duced by a sudden alteration in the state of the body ; 
 and as it is instantaneous, it cannot be brought about 
 by the mechanical influence of other second causes, 
 not therefore by light, in the way that our tastes and 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL, 15? 
 
 habits of feeling are gradually changed by know* 
 ledge. Therefore in one of the two ways in which 
 the mind is changed by second causes, this revolu- 
 tion cannot take place. It must then, if it is a natu- 
 ral effect, be brought about by motives. But motives, 
 we have seen, have no influence to produce a new dis- 
 position in either sense of the word, least of all to pro- 
 duce that heavenly temper which is wrought in Re- 
 generation. Though the Word of God in the shape 
 of motives has an important instrumentality in carry- 
 ing on the preparatory work in the conscience, and 
 in occasioning the exercises of the new heart, it is in 
 no sense instrumental in changing the disposition. 
 The motives must find the disposition already pre- 
 pared to favour them before they can act upon the 
 mind. The holiness and justice of God, for instance, 
 are no motives to love while they are hated. The 
 amiableness of religion is no motive while it does 
 not appear amiable to the mind. The mercy of 
 God, and the rewards of religion, with ail the hopes 
 they inspire, and all the claims to gratitude they 
 bring, and I may add, the terrors of the law, find 
 nothing of a moral nature to address in such a hear! 
 but the mere principle of selfishness : but consider- 
 ations addressed to selfishness, or which find no- 
 thing else in the heart to appeal to, can never weak- 
 en the dominion of self-love. The reasonable- 
 ness of religion, and the criminality of sin, may 
 press the conscience; but they will press mil- 
 lions of consciences to eternity without proving 
 motives to love. If conscience can controul the 
 heart, the heart is not depraved. If the heart h 
 
158 REGENERATION [LECT. VI. 
 
 ready to love God as soon as it sees its obligations, 
 it is well disposed. If all that is to be removed is 
 ignorance, its sin is only a misfortune. If the enmity 
 is a mere prejudice which light can remove, it 
 opposes nothing but a false image of God, and is 
 commendable. But if the carnal mind is hostile to 
 the true God, it will hate Him the more the more He 
 is seen, and light, (as at the Last Day,) will only 
 rouse the enmity to stronger action. To use light then 
 as an instrument to cure the disposition, is like using 
 oil to extinguish tire. But it is enough to ask, how 
 can the motives of religion be the instruments of 
 producing a new disposition, when that disposition 
 must exist before the motives can take hold of the 
 heart ? Or the question may be decided by facts. 
 Have not all these motives assailed the heart for 
 many years, without taking away a particle of its 
 opposition? For months together have they not 
 been set home upon the conscience, without at all 
 weakening the enmity ? How comes it to pass then, 
 that at length in one moment they enter the heart and 
 rise to supreme dominion ? Have they all at once 
 broken their way through, and assisted in new-mo- 
 delling a heart on which till that moment they could 
 have no influence ? The decisive question is, Was 
 the power applied to the motives to open a passage 
 for themselves, or to the heart to open a passage for 
 them? Let the event declare, — the heart was new 
 before the motives entered. 
 
 As then the change in question is effected 
 neither by mechanical causes, nor by the influ- 
 ence of motives, it is not brought about by any 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 159 
 
 of the laws of nature, and of course is super- 
 natural. 
 
 An effect may be supernatural which is pro- 
 duced by a second cause above nature, for in- 
 stance, an angel ; but the one under consider- 
 ation is not only supernatural but immediate. Or 
 if not altogether immediate because there was such 
 an antecedent as the presentation of motives, yet 
 immediate in the sense in which those effects were 
 which followed the extension of Moses' rod, the 
 blast of trumpets before the walls of Jericho, the 
 voice of Ezekiel in the valley of bones, and the ap- 
 plication of clay (o the eyes of the blind man. In 
 all these cases the antecedent had no such influence 
 as belongs to a second cause in nature, for instance, 
 to fire as the agent in consuming a building ; but 
 every body sees that the power was as immediately 
 exerted as though no antecedent had existed, lu 
 the same sense the power which changes the 
 heart is immediate, acting through no second 
 cause, producing its effect by no instrument: and 
 if immediate, then certainly supernatural ; and I 
 may add, special, as distinguished from the common 
 efforts of nature. 
 
 To sum up all in a word, there is no stated ope- 
 ration of divine power from which we can infer, 
 or could if we knew all the laws of nature, that a 
 convicted sinner, in any state in which he can be 
 before Regeneration, will the next moment be the 
 subject of this change ; or indeed that a man pla- 
 ced in any situation, or assailed by any means, will 
 ever become a real Christian. In other words, 
 
160 REGENERATION [LECT. VI. 
 
 there is no operation of God upon a second cause 
 which is an invariable antecedent to this effect. 
 " The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
 nearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence 
 it comcth, and whither it goeth ; so is every man 
 that is born of the Spirit."* 
 
 This doctrine is confirmed by the Word of God 
 in representations as strong as any language can 
 furnish. The change is there expressed by a va- 
 riety of names borrowed from the most stupendous 
 operations of supernatural power. It is called a 
 new creation ; " We are His workmanship cre- 
 ated in Christ Jesus unto good works." " There- 
 fore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature" 
 " The new man which after God is created in right- 
 eousness and true holiness." If the first creation 
 established the laws of nature, the new creation, 
 according to analogy, should establish another se- 
 ries of operations, regular indeed, but above nature. 
 And this appears to be the fact. Further, the 
 change is called a resurrection from the dead: 
 a You hath He quickened who were dead in tres- 
 passes and sins. — God who is rich in mercy, for 
 His great love wherewith He loved us even when 
 we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together 
 with Christ." " As the Father raiseth up the dead- 
 mid quickeneth them, even so the Sou quicken eth 
 whom He will. — The hour is coming, and now is, 
 when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, 
 and they that hear shall live." The vision of Eze- 
 kiel is to the same purpose. The change is also 
 
 * John Hi. 8. 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. K 
 
 called by names taken from the supernatural ope 
 rations of our Saviour upon the bodies of men. suet 
 as opening the eyes of the blind, and unstopping the 
 ears of the deaf: "1 the Lord have called thee in 
 righteousness, — to open the blind eyes." " And 
 in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, 
 and the eves of the blind shall see out of obscuri- 
 tj and out of darkness." It is called the removal 
 of the old heart and the production of a new one : 
 - A new heart — will I give you, and a new spi- 
 rit will I put within you, and I will take away the 
 stony heart out of yonr flesh, and I will give you 
 a heart of flesh." It is called a new birth : u Ex- 
 cept a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom 
 of God."* The first birth is according to nature \ 
 but I am disposed to inquire with the wondering 
 Nicodemus, by what natural process a man can be 
 born when he is old. Indeed all these figures, if 
 you would save them from the charge of the most un- 
 accountable extravagance, denote a change above 
 nature. How strangely inflated would it seem 
 to call any of the natural alterations which daily 
 take place in our feelings and conduct, a new 
 creation, a new birth, or a resurrection from the 
 dead ! 
 
 But though the effect is supernatural I do not 
 call it miraculous, this term being appropriated to 
 events more obvious to the senses, and intended to 
 
 * Isai. xxix. 18. and xlii. 6, 7. Ezek. xi. 19. and xxxvi. 26, 27. 
 and xxxvii. 1—10. John ill. 3, 5. and v. 21, 25. 2 Cor. v. 17, Eph. 
 "''.}, 4, 5, 10. and iv. 24. Col. ii. X 3. 
 
 SI 
 
16.3 REGENERATION [lECT. VI. 
 
 furnish visible and tangible proof of the truth of re- 
 ligion. This is the fair definition of a miracle ; 
 and to apply the name to such an invisible, unob- 
 trusive effect, can have no other tendency than to 
 discredit the doctrine of a supernatural change. 
 
 III. Is this change wrought on account of any 
 thing previously done by the sinner, or in any sense 
 by his cooperation ? 
 
 This question is soon disposed of. It has been 
 proved that till the moment of the change the sin- 
 ner is in a state of complete rebellion against God, 
 and except things indifferent does nothing but sin. 
 But does the moral Governour of the world reward 
 actions which are sinful or indifferent? I have 
 proved that He does not. And what proof can 
 you set in opposition to this? None derived 
 from His promises, for it has been shown that 
 none of the promises respect the actions of the un- 
 regenerate. And if no promise, then no explicit 
 encouragement ; for with every being of truth and 
 honour such an encouragement would amount to a 
 promise. You cannot then find the proof in His 
 Word. And to argue from His providence is alto- 
 gether fallacious. " No man knoweth cither love 
 or hatred by all that is before them. All things 
 come alike to all ; there is one event to the righteous 
 and to the wicked."* You do not then find the 
 proof in His providence, nor yet in His Word. 
 Where then do you find it? Indeed for a man, icith- 
 out any other dependance on Christ than the un~ 
 
 * Eccl. ix. 1, 2. 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 163 
 
 regenerate feel, to expect to obtain a new heart 
 from God by any thing which he can say or do, 
 is the very definition of self-righteousness. 
 
 Nor does the sinner cooperate in producing this 
 change, unless unabated enmity is cooperation. In 
 the conversion which follows he is indeed active ; 
 but in effecting the change itself, he cooperates in 
 no other sense than the rebel who is subdued by 
 force of arms assists his prince in vanquishing him- 
 self. His conscience is indeed on the side of (rod, 
 and so are the consciences of devils. His loishes ap- 
 pear to lean the same way, but it is from selfish con- 
 siderations. His body so far cooperates as to bring 
 him to the temple and altar. But his heart, whieh 
 in the sight of God is the ichole man, struggles a- 
 gainst the Spirit till the change is complete. Till 
 the whole cause has exerted itself, the whole 
 strength of the moral affections is opposed to holi- 
 ness. 
 
 INFERENCES. 
 
 (1.) Wherever this supernatural power is ex- 
 erted the effect will surely follow. What should 
 hinder? The opposition of the heart? But the very 
 thing which the power has to do is to annihilate that 
 opposition, and make the subject " willing." If it 
 does not this it does nothing, it has not the least 
 influence, it is no power. If God attempts to sanc- 
 tify the heart and does not succeed, one thing is 
 certain; creatures can never know that the attempt 
 
164? REGENERATION [LBCT. VI, 
 
 was made unless He informs them. They cannot 
 ifeel His hand r they only feel the effect. But God is 
 not likely to disclose a secret so discreditable to Hi« 
 power. Do you say His power is limited hj a re- 
 gard for the liberty of His subjects ? Then I pro- 
 pose this dilemma : either He can make his peo- 
 ple " willing" without destroying their freedom., 
 or He cannot : if He can, why should the attempt 
 ever fail? if He cannot, His success is never certain, 
 and He must ask leave of the self- determining pow- 
 er of the will to have a Church : how then could 
 He promise His Son a seed to serve Him ? But 
 it is not so. He can make His people u willing" 
 and yet leave them free. If they are u willing' 7 
 are they not free ? What is freedom but a powei* 
 to do as they please P In no act are they made to 
 act against their will. Their willingness, though 
 produced by God, is as much their own willingness 
 as though they had produced it themselves. Will 
 you say that the infant does not himself fee because 
 he did not produce his own life ? or that he does 
 not himself see because he did not create his own 
 eyes? or that a man is not himself willing, and there- 
 lore free, because he was made willing in the day 
 of God's power ? What then should hinder God 
 from making His people willing in every instance 
 in which He undertakes? In other words, what 
 should hinder Him from destroying all resistance? 
 and making the soul a willing captive, in every cas& 
 where He attempts to produce this identical effect ? 
 This is the only thing that He ever attempts to ac- 
 
LECT. VI.] SUPERNATURAL. 165 
 
 coinplish when lie exerts His sanctifying influence. 
 If this is not done nothing is done ; if this is not 
 attempted nothing is attempted ; for between ma- 
 king His people willing, and not making them wil- 
 ling, there is no spot at which His sanctifying pow- 
 er can stop, no point at which it can aim. In all 
 cases then where this influence is exerted, the effect 
 will certainly follow.* Of course wherever this 
 effect does not follow, the influence is not exerted, 
 Therefore, 
 
 (2.) God exerts this influence upon some and 
 not upon others ; and that not because the favoured 
 ones have better improved His grace, not because 
 they have done any thing to aid or induce Him, 
 but because He " will have mercy on whom" He 
 " will have mercy. " " So then it is not of him that 
 willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that 
 showeth mercy. — Therefore hath He mercy on 
 whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He 
 hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why dotli 
 He yet find fault ? for who hath resisted His will ? 
 Nay but O man, who art thou that repliest against 
 God ? Shall the thing formed say to Him that form- 
 ed it, Why hast thou made me thus ? Hath not the 
 potter power over the clay, of the same lump to 
 make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dis- 
 honour ?" " What saith the answer of God ? I have 
 reserved to myself seven thousand men who have 
 not bowed the knee to Baal. Even so then at this 
 
 * Yet the influence is not properly called irresistible, for it merely 
 prevents resistance. 
 
106 REGENERATION, &C. [LECT. VI. 
 
 present time there is a remnant according to the 
 election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no 
 more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. 
 But if it be of works, then it is no more grace ; 
 otherwise work is no more work. What then? 
 Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, 
 but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were 
 blinded." " I thank thee, O Father, Lord of hea- 
 ven and earth, because thou hast hid these things 
 from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them 
 unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good 
 in thy sight." " Who maketh thee to differ from 
 another ? and what hast thou that thou didst not 
 receive ? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost 
 thou "lory as if thou hadst not received it P"* Does 
 the Armiuian hear this ? Do a gainsaying world 
 bear this ? Let every mouth be stopped, and the 
 whole world prostrate and speechless before God. 
 Amen. 
 
 * Mat. xi. 25, 26. Rom. ix. 15—21. and xi. 4—7. 1 Cor. iy. f. 
 
LECTURE VII. 
 
 MEANS OF GRACE. 
 
 ISAIAH LV. 11. 
 
 SO SHALL Mr WORD BE THAT GOETH FORTH OUT OF MY MOUTH ; IT SHALL 
 NOT RETURN UNTO ME VOID, BUT IT SHALL ACCOMPLISH THAT WHICH 
 I PLEASE, AND IT SHALL PROSPER IX THE THING WHERETO I SENT IT. 
 
 In former Lectures it lias appeared that du- 
 ring all the convictions and exertions of the unre- 
 generate, they experience no diminution of depra- 
 vity, no approximation towards holiness, no feel- 
 ings which are otherwise than sinful or indifferent ; 
 that none of their actions in the sight of God are 
 good, none of their prayers answered ; that no influ- 
 ence of the Spirit is exerted upon their minds fur- 
 ther than to enlighten them and leave truth to 
 work its natural effect ; and that Regeneration, 
 viewed distinct from the convictions which go be- 
 fore and the exercises which follow, is wrought by 
 immediate power without an instrument. 
 
 It might he expected that something should be 
 said, in this part of the Course, about the Means of 
 Grace ; aud for this purpose I have chosen a text 
 
168 MEANS OF GRACE. [lECT. VII. 
 
 which will lead me to speak of the Word of God: for 
 excepting two things in the exertions of Christians 
 which I shall presently mention, all the Means of 
 Grace consist in the truths of the Word, and the 
 various ivays of conveying them to the mind. What 
 are Bibles, sermons, and sacraments, but instru- 
 ments to carry truth to the understanding and heart? 
 What are all the expostulations of others, but ef- 
 forts to press the motives contained in truth upon 
 the sensibilities of the soul ? What are the passion 5 
 which ministers address, but channels through 
 which truth is carried to the quick, or instruments 
 to rouse the soul to view it with sharpened atten- 
 tion ? What does providence more than illus- 
 trate and enforce revealed truth ? Sabbaths are not 
 means of grace, so much as opportunities to attend 
 on ordinances and exercises that are. All the ex- 
 ertions of men for their own salvation, (except mere 
 motions of the body, and two things in the efforts of 
 Christians before alluded to,) may be summed up 
 in the single word attention, — attention to truth, 
 and to the ordinances which convey truth to the 
 mind. If the attention is set to watch their own 
 corruptions, it is only to see the illustrations of a 
 revealed truth. If they strive to regulate their pas- 
 sions, the only effort, besides shunning motives 
 which excite the passions, in other words, avoiding 
 temptation, — the only effort made upon the mind, 
 is to fix its eye steadily on motives, drawn, if the 
 motives are right, from the Word of God. Every 
 other exertion to subdue the passions or improve' 
 
LECT. VII.] MEANS OF GKACE. 169 
 
 the temper, (as any one may perceive by a close 
 attention to the actings of his own mind.) is made 
 upon the body, and spends its strength upon the 
 nervous system. And what is meditation, other 
 titan a fixed attcntion'to truth ? Prayer too, besides 
 the efficacy of asking in faith, and the mere exer- 
 cise of pious feelings, is only the highest degree 
 of attention. I say, besides the efficacy of asking 
 in faith, and the mere exercise of jnous feelings ; 
 these are the two things in the exertions of Chris- 
 tians, before alluded to, which are not included in 
 attention : and these arc the only two things com- 
 prehended in the Means of Grace which are not 
 resolvable into truth and the means of getting truth 
 before the mind. The prayer of faith certainly 
 obtains divine influences for ourselves and others ; 
 and there are appointed ways of improving our 
 graces by exercise,- (for instance, in thanksgiving 
 and praise,) much in the same way as you im- 
 prove soldiers by exercise, or confirm any of your 
 habits by indulgence. Yet even in these two cases, 
 so far as the affections are improved, it is done 
 through the instrumentality of truth. The sanc- 
 tified affections which follow the prayer of faith, 
 (or ''looking'' to Christ,) follow from transforming 
 views of Him ; and the exercizes by which the 
 heart is improved, owe their effect to the instru- 
 mentality of the truths contemplated. 
 
 To these remarks I may add, that the divine 
 Spirit, except in Bis sanctifying influence, does no 
 wore than carry in the truth and lay it before the 
 %% 
 
170 MEANS OF GRACE. [LECT. Tit. 
 
 eye of the mpid, and apply it to that individual con- 
 science. For it has been proved that there is no 
 influence between an enlightening and a sanctifying 
 one, — between that which addresses motives to an 
 old disposition and that which creates or strength- 
 ens a new one. And even in His sanctifying in- 
 fluence, so far as the affections are concerned, the 
 effect is wrought by the instrumentality of truth. 
 
 Dropping then from our calculation the efficacy 
 of the prayer of faith, and the appointed ways of 
 improving our graces by exercise, (so far as these 
 are exceptions ;) — laying out of view also the mo- 
 tions of the body, and the sanctifying influence of 
 the Spirit ; and all that is contained in means or 
 efforts, human or divine, for the salvation of our- 
 selves or others, is comprehended in truth, and the 
 various ways of presenting truth to the mind. Abso- 
 lutely the whole as relates to the unregenerate, (ex- 
 cept mere bodily motions,) is contained in these two 
 things. This class offer no prayer of faith, they 
 partake of no sanctifying influence, they have no 
 graces to improve by exercise ; and as their hearts 
 cannot be made better till they are made new, no- 
 thing can be done for them but to carry to their 
 minds a deep conviction of truth. 
 
 Now all the truth ever intended for the salva- 
 tion of men is contained in the Word of God. No- 
 thing new is revealed by the Spirit. The exhibi- 
 tions in creation and providence only confirm and 
 illustrate Bible truths. The Word may be regard- 
 ed as the epitome of all the manifestations of Goc\ 
 
I,ECT» VII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 171 
 
 io man. With the exceptions then already made, 
 every question relating to the Means of Grace, and 
 to efforts, human or divine, for the salvation of men, 
 may he reduced to these two : What is the use of 
 the Word of God ? and how is it conveyed to the 
 mind ? In attempting to illustrate these two points^ 
 I shall treat, 
 
 I. Of the use of the Word generally; 
 
 II. Of its use to the unregenerate in particular ^ 
 
 III. Of the means and influences hy which it 
 is conveyed to their minds; 
 
 IV. Of its success in accomplishing, as the 
 text suggests, every end which God designed. 
 
 I. Of the use of the Word generally. 
 
 It has always heen the received opinion 
 that the Word of God is the grand instrument 
 of converting the world ; and this opinion is con- 
 firmed hy the testimony of facts. It is a matter 
 of fact, that where the Gospel is preached statedly 
 and faithfully, more are converted than where it is 
 seldom or loosely preached. It is a matter of fact, 
 that when God intends to bring men to salvation; 
 (the only salvation revealed, J He first places them 
 under the sound of the Gospel, leads them to at- 
 tend on the means of instruction, awakens their 
 attention to the truths of His Word, causes them 
 ordinarily to he pressed hy the importunities of 
 others, increases by these means their conviction of 
 truth, and after all this changes their hearts. It h 
 a matter of fact, that as Christians grow in know- 
 ledge they grow in grace } that as a realiziug rawf 
 
17£ MJBANS OE GRACE. [lect. VII. 
 
 of truth increases, their holy affections increase. 
 If in all these previous steps you can see nothing 
 but an arbitrary series of antecedents, like the rod 
 of Moses, or the voice of Ezekiel over the val- 
 ley of hones, still they are not to be regarded as 
 unimportant. 
 
 It must be acknowledged that we can see no 
 instrumentality in truth to create, or increase, or 
 continue the new disposition. In the regulation of 
 that power truth has none of the influence of a 
 second cause,— no more influence than EzekieFs 
 voice had to raise the dead. It may then be 
 asked, Why should a second cause intervene 
 which has no influence? If divine power produces 
 the whole effect, why couple itself with a power- 
 less cause ? Why not act alone without that idle 
 attendant ? These questions would be unanswera- 
 ble if there w as nothing to be done but to create, 
 and continue, and increase the new disposition : but 
 there are views, and affections, and acts of the 
 will, and motions of the body, to be produced, or 
 the disposition is altogether useless. In the produc- 
 tion of all these, both in their beginning and in 
 all the degrees of their increase, truth, where it 
 finds the disposition favourable, has the proper in- 
 fluence of a second cause or instrument. Every 
 consideration which is apprehended by the under- 
 standing or felt by the heart, every object of holy 
 affection, every motive which controuls the will 
 mud impel f to action, is found in truth alone. This 
 I the essential and immediate instrument by which 
 
LECT. VII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 1/3 
 
 all right views and feelings, all correct ads of 
 choice and virtuous conduct, are produced, and by 
 which a rational kingdom is moved and governed. 
 If God is to preside over a rational kingdom. He 
 must move it altogether by the instrumentality of 
 motives. To act without motives, is to be a mad- 
 man or a machine. To love or hate without an ob- 
 ject, is a contradiction in terms. Should God's re- 
 newing influence pass over a mind wholly destitute 
 of knowledge, nothing would be felt, no affections 
 would be excited, nothing sensible would follow. 
 Although therefore truth cannot create or continue 
 ihe disposition, nor efficiently cause even the affec* 
 lions, there is good reason why the power which 
 produces these effects should always accompany 
 the truth, and (the case of infants and heathens 
 being out of question,) should never act with- 
 out it. Why should divine power produce a dis- 
 position to feel where no feelings can follow ? 
 or incline the heart to love where no object is 
 found ? 
 
 There are good reasons also why truth should 
 come to men through the medium of language, and 
 in the form of a written Word, It might have 
 been communicated immediately, as it was to the 
 first created angel and to inspired men ; but in the 
 display of truth, both in heaven and earth, God 
 has principally made use of second causes, as being 
 better calculated to furnish the evidence which is 
 adapted to the government of rational creatures. 
 The whole system of matter is a system of second 
 
174 MEANS OF GRACE. [LECT. VIL 
 
 causes, forming a visible chain leading into the se^ 
 crecy of the First Cause, and betraying an agency 
 which otherwise might have been forever conceal-" 
 £d. So necessary have those tangible links been 
 deemed, that even in cases Where God lias exerted 
 His power miraculously and immediately, He lias 
 generally made use of visible antecedents to con- 
 nect the effect more evidently with His own power : 
 as in the case of Moses' rod, the trumpets at Jeri- 
 cho, the pitchers and lamps of Gideon's army, the 
 washing of Naaman in Jordan, the extension of 
 Elisha's body over the Shunammite's son, the salt 
 cast into the fountain, the clay applied to the eyes 
 of the blind man, and many other instances which 
 might be mentioned. So instead of conveying truth 
 to mankind by immediate revelation, accompanied 
 "with silent efforts of sanctifying power, He has cho- 
 sen to send it to them in the languages of men, in the 
 shape of a written Word, and to form a visible 
 chain of prophets, apostles, ministers, and ordi- 
 nances ; not only because this mode was better 
 adapted on many other accounts to the purposes of 
 a moral government, but that He might manifest 
 more distinctly the source of the power which con- 
 verts the world* Thus the word with which our 
 Saviour composed the winds, and healed the sick, 
 discovered whence the power proceeded, more than 
 if He had done the same by a silent influence. If 
 then the whole body of truth by which the heart, 
 the will, and the life are to be influenced, is con- 
 veyed only through a written Word, and by the 
 
X.ECT. VII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 175 
 
 ordinances instituted to impress that Word on the 
 mind, there can, in an ordinary way, he no holine , 
 no salvation, without an attendance on the Means 
 of Grace. 
 
 Now the word of God may he considered as 
 acting on the mind at three different stages; viz, 
 before Regeneration, at the time of conversion, and 
 in the progress of sanctiiication. By attending to 
 its effects at these several stages we shall discover, 
 that though the difference between a sinner the 
 moment before and the moment after Regeneration 
 is produced by immediate power, yet the differ- 
 ence between a convicted sinner and an estab- 
 lished Christian, much more between a heathen 
 and an established Christian, is in a great measure 
 brought about by the instrumentality of the Word, 
 " How — shall they call on Him in whom they 
 have not believed ? and how shall they believe in 
 Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall 
 they hear without a preacher ? — So then faith com* 
 eth by hearing, and healing by the Word of 
 God"* 
 
 The use of the Word before Regeneration I 
 shall consider under the second head. Let us now 
 examine its influence at the time of conversion, and 
 in the progress of sanctiiication. 
 
 At the time of conversion the truths of the Word 
 are the instruments of producing all the thoughts 
 which fill the understanding, all the motions of 
 ■he heart, the will, and the body ; and are tbua 
 
 * I?om. x. 14, XT. 
 
1/0 ME ASS OF GRACE. j_LECT. VII, 
 
 the instruments of producing the whole of that 
 turning which the term imports. A manifestation 
 of God to the soul is as much the instrument of 
 producing love to God, as light is the instrument of 
 vision. A manifestation of sin is equally the in- 
 strument of producing repentance ; and a mani- 
 festation of Christ, as much the instrument of pro- 
 ducing faith : for without the presentation of the 
 objects the affections could not exist. Hence by a 
 very significant figure the Word of God is called 
 i( the sword of the Spirit," and is said to be 
 " quick and powerful, and sharper than any two 
 edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asun- 
 der of soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- 
 row.''* If your heart is pierced with a sword, 
 you feel not the hand which wields it, but the 
 sword onlv. So in conversion the soul feels not 
 the Spirit, but only the truths of the Word. There 
 is however this difference in the two cases ; in one 
 instance the power is applied to Hit heart to open 
 a passage for the Word, in the other it is applied 
 to the sicord to open a passage for itself. But in 
 both cases the instrument alone is felt. A pene- 
 trating sense of truth, together with those affections, 
 determinations, and actions which follow in view 
 of truth, comprehends the whole effect of He., 
 generation. Regeneration is the formation of the 
 eye, but light is necessary for actual vision. That 
 conversion is thus brought about by the instru- 
 mentality of the Word, is expressly asserted ; 
 
 * Eph. vi. 17. Ucb. Lv. 12. Rev. i. 16. and ii, 12, 
 
LECT. VII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 177 
 
 ' ; The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the 
 soul." On the same principle they who preach 
 the Word are said to convert men : " If any of 
 you do err from the truth, and one convert him, 
 let him know that lie which converted a sinner 
 from th^ errour of his way, shall save a soul from 
 ikath."* 
 
 Hitherto I have; made a distinction between 
 Regeneration and conversion ;f but it must he allow- 
 ed that the former is sometimes taken in so broad 
 a sense as to include both ; and then the general 
 Change, bearing the name of Regeneration, is said 
 to be brought about by the instrumentality of the 
 Word. u Of His own will begat He us with the, 
 Word of truth." u Being horn again, not of corrup- 
 tible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of 
 God" " For in Jesus Christ I have begotten you 
 through the Gospel." The same idea is conveyed 
 in other forms of speech : " Is not my Word as a 
 lire, — and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in 
 pieces?" " The words that I speak unto you, they 
 are spirit and they are life. r? J As a new living 
 man is a man with new feelings and actions, so by 
 a new heart, in the fullest sense of that phrase, is 
 meant a heart with new affections. When men are 
 commanded to make to themselves new hearts, to 
 
 * Vs. xix. 7. James v. 19, 20. 
 j The same distinction was generally made by the old Calvinisticfc 
 divines. By Regeneration they meant the implantation of a new principle 
 •or disposition, to serve as the foundation of new exercises ; by conversion, 
 the actual turning to God in the exercises which followed. 
 
 Ter. xxiii. 29. John vi, 63. 1 Cor. iv. 15. James i. 18. 1 Pet. i. 22, 
 23 
 
iyS ME ASS Ol GttACE. [_LECT. Vila 
 
 circumcise and purify their hearts,* nothing more 
 nor less is meant than that they should exercise 
 new affections. Regeneration or the production of 
 a new heart, understood in this sense, is certainly 
 accomplished hy the instrumentality of the Word. 
 By the same instrumentality are produced all 
 the new affections, volitions, and actions of the 
 Christian in the progress of sanctification. Though 
 the new disposition, as distinct from the affections, 
 is both continued and increased by immediate pow- 
 er, yet that power is exerted in so stated a way 
 that the improvement of the disposition keeps pace 
 with the growing strength of the affections, and 
 the affections themselves are increased by the in- 
 strumentality of increasing knowledge. As truth 
 becomes more clearly understood, the heart acts 
 more vigorously towards it. Thus while in the 
 " glass" of the Word we behold " the glory of the 
 Lord," we " are changed into the same image from 
 glory to glory," j— much in the same way as men 
 are improved by example. Hence a very distinct 
 emphasis is laid upon the Word as the instrument 
 of sanctification. " Christ — loved the Church, and 
 gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and 
 cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word." 1 
 "Now ye are clean through the Word which I have 
 spoken unto you." " Sanctify them through thy 
 truth, thy Word is truth." '• Ye received it not as 
 the word of men, but (as it is in truth,) the Word 
 
 • Deut. x. 16. Jer. iv. 4. Ezek. xviii. SI. James iv. 8. 
 t 2 Cor. ft, 18. with 1 Cor. xiu. 12. 
 
LKCT. VII.] MEANS OF GRACE. i?$ 
 
 of God, which effectually icorkeih also in you that 
 believe." Hence the dispensation of the Word is 
 compared to planting and watering seed in the 
 earth, and they who preach it are called fellow la. 
 bourers with God : " I have planted, Apollos Wa- 
 tered, but God gave the increase. — We are labour- 
 ers together with God : ye are God's husbandry. "* 
 II. I am to consider the use of the Word to the 
 unregenerate. How the truth is instrumental after 
 the new disposition is implanted, is now apparent. 
 But it may be asked, what is the use of communi- 
 cating knowledge before, when it can excite no ho- 
 ly affections, especially as it is not expected to have 
 any influence in altering the disposition ? Why is 
 the sinner commanded, entreated, and even convict- 
 ed, when it is known that none of the considerations 
 suggested will move his heart ? Why not reserve 
 the motives till the disposition is renewed ? In 
 other Words, why pour truth upon the mind before 
 the heart is disposed to embrace it ? In reply to 
 this I observe, that even in cases where it is fore- 
 seen that the sinner will resist the light and perish, 
 this experiment will illustrate his hardness and inex- 
 cusableness, and display the condescension and mer- 
 cy of God. The truths exhibited are only an appeal 
 of One who requires a reasonable service, to the reft- 
 son and conscience of a moral agent, who in the 
 service required must be guided by light, and must 
 exert understanding, will, and affections towards 
 
 * John xv. 3. and xvli. 17 \ Coy. iii. 6, 9. Eph. v. 25, 26. 1 Thus. 
 K.13. 
 
l&O MEANS OF GRACE. [oECT. VI J. 
 
 the identical objects which the truths present. It 
 is the moral Governour bringing forward His just 
 claims, disclosing the obligations of the sinner, and 
 offering him life on condition of his doing what no- 
 thing but his obstinacy prevents. This proceeding 
 will convince the universe that He was the con- 
 sistent, righteous moral Governour, and the merci- 
 ful Father ; and that the sinner's opposition was; 
 most unreasonable, and his ruin self-induced. This 
 pubiick display of character is all the end that can 
 be answered where Regeneration does iiot follow ; 
 and this end will be answered where it does follow. 
 But in the latter case a further purpose is accom- 
 plished by the antecedent knowledge. A clear 
 discernment of truth before Regeneration prepares 
 the sinner for greater humility, love, and gratitude., 
 and for more full acknowledgments to Christ, 
 through all his future existence. Even in the 
 process of sunctiji-catiow, it is God's usual method 
 by discoveries of truth to prepare the way for 
 stronger exercises of repentance and gratitude, be- 
 fore He excites these affections. The only differ- 
 ence is, in the present instance He prepares the 
 way before He gives the new disposition. But in 
 both cases the same reason exists why conviction 
 of truth should precede the affections. The diffi- 
 culty which has been raised about His commanding, 
 urging, and entreating sinners to act before He dis- 
 poses them, will vanish when the nature and sources, 
 of the necessary antecedent knowledge are consi- 
 dered, "What sinners want is a just view of their 
 
I.ECT. VII.] MKANS OF GRACE, i&i 
 
 sin, and ruin, ami need of a Saviour, drawn, as it 
 necessarily must be, from a discovery of God, His 
 law, and the claims which the moral Ghoveraour has 
 upon them. These claims, it is to be remember- 
 ed, are not weakened by their dependance on 
 Him for holiness, that is, by their incorrigible 
 indisposition to obey ; for if their indisposition im- 
 paired His claims, they never could reasonably be 
 required to resist their inclinations, nor arraigned 
 for following them ; and then all moral government 
 would be at an end. Acting as moral Governour, 
 and treating with moral agents, He makes there- 
 fore no account of Himself as the main-spring of 
 motion* but addresses them, whatever be their cha- 
 racter, as distinct and complete agents, and holds 
 the same language with them that one man would 
 hold with another whom he wished to reclaim. 
 There is no correct display, nor even exercise, of a 
 moral government upon any other principle. Such 
 then are the claims of Use moral Governour. Now 
 if the foundation of all just ideas of guilt lies in a 
 right understanding of these claims, it is necessary 
 for the conviction of sinners that their relation to 
 the moral Governour should be laid open ; and this 
 can be done only by Ilis coming out with the full 
 assertion of all His authority and rights. In order 
 to throw Himself upon the view of any individual, 
 He must come to him with all His demands, and 
 without making any allowance for indisposition and 
 dependance, must reason and expostulate with him 
 as man with man. The moment that the propriety 
 
)S£ MEAKS OF GRACE. [lECT. Vli. 
 
 of this course is practically denied by the moral 
 Governour Himself, His claims arc withdrawn from 
 the view of men, and the foundation of all just con- 
 viction is removed. Let it be considered also that 
 the primary and essential instruments by which 
 the moral Governour works in the management of 
 a rational kingdom, are reason and motives. It 
 behooves Him therefore, acting in this character, to 
 spread before the sinner all the motives which ought 
 to influence a rational mind ; such as the character 
 of the Lawgiver, the nature of the obedience re- 
 quired, his own obligations to obey, the evil of 
 transgression, and the sanctions of the law. This 
 is the only proper way to treat a rational being. 
 Thus you would deal with a rebellious servant 
 whom you wished to reduce to obedience. You 
 would set before him the justice of your claims, the 
 evil of his conduct, and all the reasons for submis- 
 sion which you could produce. It was only pursu- 
 ing the same principle a little further, that when 
 God undertook to bring back a revolted race to His 
 service, and to salvation through a Redeemer, He 
 not only exposed to their view their guilt, ruin, just 
 condemnation, and helplessness, and thus made 
 "the law" a "schoolmaster to bring" them "unto 
 Christ;" but laid before them the character, offices, 
 and work of the Mediator, the terms of salvation 
 through Him, and their obligations to return in this 
 appointed way. Such an exposition of His cha- 
 racter and government, and the way of restoration, 
 with all the circumstances of their case, (made by a 
 
LECT. VII.] MEANS OF GRACE!. 183 
 
 course of conduct adapted to them as subjects of 
 moral government,) furnishes the very knowledge 
 they need to fit them for deep repentance and ad- 
 miring views of Christ, and to bring tiiem to as*- 
 cribe all their salvation to Him as soon as their 
 hearts are renewed. 
 
 Peculiar advantages are gained by making these 
 discoveries before Regeneration. The exhibition 
 of such a government and such a way of salva- 
 tion to an opposing heart, is calculated to try the 
 strength of that opposition, and to produce upon the- 
 sinner a lasting impression of the greatness of the 
 mercy and power which redeemed him. The in- 
 veteracy of his opposition becomes more apparent 
 by his unavailing struggles to subdue himself. He 
 has an opportunity to contemplate the wretchedness 
 of his prison, not with the look of a passing stran- 
 ger, but with the sensations of the prisoner him- 
 self, and while entertaining little or no hope of es- 
 cape, — to view his native misery, not with the ken 
 of an angel, but in some measure with the experi- 
 enced eye of the damned. Thus he collects a deep 
 sense of many truths, not otherwise learned, which 
 he carries with him into a gracious state ; and they 
 will help him to look back through all eternity, 
 with deeper humility, wonder, and gratitude, '* to 
 the hole of the pit whence" he was " digged." 
 Thus the eyes of sinners are opened that God may 
 perforin the great work of restoration full in the it 
 view, and lead them to see the whole wondrous 
 process step by step : that however others may dc 
 
18$ MEANS OF GRACE. [lECT. VII. 
 
 ny His agency in this work, there may he as many 
 witnesses as there are converted sinners. Thus they 
 are brought to Zion, not like blind machines, but 
 like rational beings, and are illuminated before the 
 passage, are illuminated in the passage, and are 
 illuminated after the passage, that they may make 
 every stage with their eyes open, and see all that is 
 done for them ; that they may first distinctly survey 
 the dreary scene without the walls, and compare it 
 with the beauty and glory within ; in other words, 
 that they may trace the workings of their own 
 minds before and after, and estimate the greatness 
 of the change, and know the power and mercy by 
 which it was produced, — that entering on the new 
 life with a deep view of their native guiit, ruin, and 
 helplessness, they may begin their course with more 
 humility, dependance, and gratitude, with clearer 
 apprehensions of the sovereignty of grace, with 
 higher admiration of all the provisions of the Gos • 
 pel, and with minds sufficiently enlightened to as- 
 cribe all the glory of their salvation to Christ. 
 
 The necessity of some knowledge before liege « 
 ncration will be set in a strong light by adverting to 
 the case of a heathen. Were a pagan to receive a 
 new heart, it could be of no manner of use, except 
 so far as regards his feelings and conduct, very im- 
 perfectly regulated, towards his fellow-men. He 
 cannot love God, for he never heard of Him ; he 
 cannot repent of sin, for he has no knowledge of the 
 divine law ; he cannot believe in Christ, for he 
 knows not that such a Being exists. Before the 
 
LECT. VII.] MEANS OF GRACE, 185 
 
 new life is imparted a body of truth must be formed 
 in the understanding, to prepare the way for Chris- 
 tian exercises as soon as the heart is renewed. This 
 is strikingly illustrated in the vision of Ezekiel.* 
 It would have been to no purpose to have imparted 
 life to the dry bones in their disjointed state. They 
 could not have seen, for they had no eye ; 
 they could not have heard, for they had no ear ; 
 they could not have spoken, for they had no 
 mouth ; they could not have moved, for they had 
 neither joint nor muscle. Life would have been 
 utterly lost upon them. Before the inspiration 
 of breath the bones must come together, bone to 
 his bone, the sinews and flesh must come up 
 upon them, and the skin must cover them above ; 
 and thus human bodies must be organized to exer- 
 cise the functions of living men. A similar pre- 
 paration is made before the infusion of life and 
 breath in the natural birth. A body is first form- 
 ed and fitted to exercise the living functions, and 
 then life and breath are inspired. The necessity 
 of a correspondent preparation for the second birth 
 is clearly suggested by analogy. Or to vary the 
 illustration, if you form a design to convert a dun- 
 geon into a convenient room for business, you first 
 store it with furniture and admit the light. Or 
 to bring a case still more in point, God in the 
 beginning created the light before He formed the 
 pye. 
 
 * Ezek. xxxvii. 1—10. 
 
186 MEANS OF GRACE. [i.ECT. VI i. 
 
 Some knowledge antecedent to Regeneration is 
 then necessary. And it must be more than barely 
 sufficient to distinguish a man from a heathen, — 
 more indeed than any sinner in a Gospel land will 
 acquire in a state of stupidity. One may live with 
 the Bible in his hands all his days without a real- 
 izing sense of a single truth, and with no under- 
 standing of several things most important to be 
 known before the new birth, such as the enmity 
 and stubbornness of the heart, his desert of eternal 
 punishment, his helplessness and perishing need of 
 a Saviour : and should he suddenly receive a new 
 heart in that condition, he would probably never to 
 the, day of his death possess so deep a sense of the 
 native ruin of man, and the sovereignty of grace, 
 nor give so much glory to Christ, as though his an- 
 tecedent knowledge had been greater. He would 
 be likely, (especially if surrounded by people as 
 ignorant as himself,) to pass through life with very 
 indistinct ideas of the Gospel way of salvation, and 
 never extend a view beyond the outlines of Chris- 
 tianity. Such Christians we must charitably be- 
 lieve there are, — converted with little more know- 
 ledge than is common to other stupid sinners ; and 
 they labour through life with very confused ideas 
 of the ruin and helplessness of man, the sovereign- 
 ty of grace, and all the distinguishing doctrines of 
 the Gospel. If such are received as brethren, they 
 ought to be contented, and not condemn the views 
 of others who have been favoured with more deep 
 and abasing discoveries than themselves. 
 
LECT. VII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 187 
 
 It is one of the established laws of the universe 
 that creatures should acquire their knowledge gra - 
 dually, and not all at once. It does not comport 
 with this law, (nor yet with another by which it is 
 £xed that our sense of things shall be drawn from 
 experience , J that the deficiency of antecedent 
 knowledge should be supplied by sudden commu- 
 nications at the time of Regeneration. That deep 
 view of native guilt and stubbornness which is 
 necessary to do honour to Christ and sovereign 
 grace, must be obtained beforehand, and will never 
 be obtained in a state of stupidity. The sinner 
 must be awakened and convicted for a consider- 
 able time, before lie will know enough of his con- 
 dition and necessities to ascribe all the glory of his 
 salvation to Christ. And till he is prepared to do 
 this, in an ordinary way God will not change his 
 heart. 
 
 This then is the preparation which commonly 
 precedes the new birth. It consists entirely in a 
 conviction of truth, and of course is brought about 
 by the immediate instrumentality of the Word, 
 and the means appointed to impress that Word 
 on the mind. Here the work of preparation 
 ends. This is the boundary of all that can be 
 done for unregenerate men. The preparation 
 does not improve, and has no tendency to change, 
 their hearts. The bodies in the valley of vision 
 were as dead after their organization as before ; 
 nor had the organization the least tendency to 
 originate life. This was. infused bv the wind 
 
188 MEANS OF GRACE. [LECT. VII. 
 
 which afterwards breathed through the valley. 
 And in the case under consideration, "Neither 
 is he that planteth any thing, neither he that wa- 
 tereth, but God that giveth the increase."* The 
 ancient dispute between Abraham and the rich 
 man in torment whether the most powerful array 
 of motives could change the heart, has convinced 
 thousands in every generation, and me among the* 
 rest, that they who for twenty or thirty years can 
 withstand Moses and the Prophets, would not "be 
 persuaded though one rose from the dead."f 
 
 * 1 Cor. iii. 7. f Luke xvi. 19—31; 
 
LECTURE VIII. 
 
 SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED 
 
 ISAIAH LV. 11. 
 
 SO SHALL MY WORD BE THAT GOETH FORTH OUT OF MT MOUTH ; IT SHALL. 
 NOT RETURN UNTO ME VOID, BUT IT SHALL ACCOMPLISH THAT WniCH. 
 I PLEASE., AND IT SHALL PROSPER IN THE THING WHERETO I SENT IT. 
 
 III. I am to treat of the means and influences 
 by which the Word is conveyed to the minds of 
 the unregenerate. 
 
 It is now ascertained that all that can he done 
 for the unregenerate, by their own exertions, or the 
 efforts of others, or the Means of Grace, or the in- 
 fluences of the Spirit, (laying out of account the 
 prayers of Christians for them,) is to set home upon 
 their minds the truths of the Word. The question 
 then arises, how far are these several agents and 
 instruments concerned in this effect, and what pro- 
 portion of the effect is ascribable to a natural, and 
 what to a supernatural operation ? It is important 
 to know how to estimate both our dcpendance on 
 God, and the value of the Means of Grace ; to as^ 
 certain, on the one hand, how far we are beholden 
 
190 MEANS OP GRACE, [LECT. VIII. 
 
 io a supernatural influence, and to what extent that 
 influence coincides with the course of nature, and 
 encourages human exertions ; and on the other hand, 
 how far means and human efforts are available, and 
 which of the exertions of men, and of the means 
 within their reach, have the fairest chance for suc- 
 cess. But let us not lose sight of the effect about 
 which we are inquiring. It is not Regeneration, 
 nor conversion, but simply the conviction of the 
 unregenerate. 
 
 This effect is partly natural and partly super- 
 natural. The supernatural influence, though not so 
 regular in its operation as *to reduce it to one of the 
 laws of nature, is so far stated and coincident with 
 the natural order as greatly to encourage human ex- 
 ertions. In illustrating these ideas we shall have 
 an opportunity to contemplate the vast importance 
 of the means and efforts which God has appointed 
 for man. 
 
 ( 1 . ) The effect is partly natural. This at once 
 brings back the question, how far the exertions of the 
 unregenerate themselves, and the efforts of others 
 for them, and the Means of Grace, are concerned 
 in conveying truth to their minds in a natural way. 
 Now it is manifest that all the ordinances of reli- 
 gion address truth directly to their eyes or ears, in 
 in a manner perfectly natural. The dispensations 
 of providence suggest truth to their minds in the 
 same direct way, or by means of the association of 
 ideas. The expositions and exhortations of others 
 lay before them the instructions and motives con* 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS O? GRACE. 191 
 
 tained in truth. Their own exertions, (except the 
 mere motions of the body,) are all comprehended in 
 the single word attention, — attention to truth, and 
 to the means appointed to convey truth to the mind. 
 There is such a thing as an effort of the mind to 
 fix its eye on truth, much like the effort of the na- 
 tural eye to adjust itself to an object, and to pry if 
 the object is indistinct. Without this effort of its 
 own, all the exertions of others to bring truth be- 
 fore it are in vain. A thousand objects may be 
 presented, but if the mind shuts its eye, or turns it 
 another way, it is all to no purpose. It must at- 
 tend for itself or it will never see. Even the influ- 
 ence of the Spirit, (such influence I mean as is af- 
 forded to the unregenerate,) if it could be exert- 
 ed without fixing the attention, would infuse no 
 light, would produce no effect. Every ray of light 
 must enter through the eye of the mind, and except 
 flashes sometimes produced by more immediate 
 power, must enter while the eye is purposely di- 
 rected towards the object. 
 
 Thus far the process is altogether natural ; and 
 according to the laws of nature the effect would be 
 proportionate to the human exertions within and 
 without, and greater or less according to the chan- 
 nels through which the truth was conveyed, and to 
 the means employed to propel it through. There 
 are different channels by which natural truths arc 
 carried to the mind with different decrees of clear- 
 ness, such as the external senses, the passions, the 
 imagination. &c. There are different outward 
 
192 MEANS OF GRACE. [LECT. VIII, 
 
 means by which natural truths arc propelled 
 through these channels with different degrees of 
 force, such as the instructive discourses and pas- 
 sionate addresses of others, including their tones, 
 gestures, &c. But the same instruments and chan- 
 nels by which natural truth is conveyed to the 
 mind with different degrees of force, will serve for 
 the conveyance of spiritual truth with force in cor- 
 responding proportions, though weakened in all its 
 degrees by the resistance which it meets within. 
 Again, it is a law of nature that when the mind 
 turns its own attention to natural truth it discovers 
 it, and with a degree of clearness proportioned to 
 the intenseness of its application. By a process 
 equally natural it may discover divine truth, with a 
 distinctness proportionate to the degree of its atten- 
 tion, except so far as its vision is perverted by pre- 
 judice, — allowing also that the views accompanying 
 every degree of attention will be greatly obscured 
 by unbelief. Now the mind is capable of different 
 degrees of attention, from what may be called simple 
 reflection, up through the ascending grades of medi- 
 tation, study, and that agonizing reach of soul 
 which is put forth in prayer. In no other sense than 
 as being the highest degree of attention to truth, are 
 the prayers of the unregenerate of any use. But as 
 such, when the mind is serious in the effort, they 
 are of all means the most powerful to impress truth 
 upon the conscience, — those truths in particular 
 which the soul struggles most to apprehend in 
 prayer, for instance, those which respect the cha- 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS OF GRACE* 193 
 
 racter of God, His relations to us, the vileness, 
 clanger, and ruin of the sinner, and his helpless- 
 ness, made more and more apparent by every 
 struggle to subdue himself and prevail with God. 
 That divine truth should be apprehended in pro- 
 portion to these several degrees of attention, when, 
 ignorance or special prejudice does not prevent, is 
 altogether according to the laws of nature. Fur- 
 dicr, so far as the attention is turned to divine 
 things by the mere influence of the Means of Grace, 
 or the exertions of others, or any of those causes 
 which act on the body and induce melancholy, as 
 sickness, affliction, evening, autumn, &c. it is a 
 natural effect. Also, the anxious feelings of the 
 sinner which follow in view of truth, appear to be 
 as much a natural effect, (allowing the truth to be 
 flrst set home,) as the sensation produced by the 
 touch of tire. But 
 
 (2.) After natural causes have spent their 
 force, the attention is by no means sufficiently rous- 
 ed, nor the truth sufficiently apprehended, to an- 
 swer the purpose. There is occasion for the inter- 
 position of supernatural power. It was not the 
 voice of Ezekiel, but the power of God, which or- 
 ganized the bodies in the valley ; and it is the of- 
 fice work of the Holy Spirit to " convince the world 
 of sin/'* This supernatural influence answers 
 three ends : First, to bring truth into view without 
 the aid of means. Awakening thoughts arc often 
 fehot into the mind in a way not to be accounted for 
 
 * John xvi, 8. 
 
191 . MEANS OF GRACE. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 on the principle of association, nor from any of 
 the known laws of nature. Secondly, to disclose 
 the sinner's heart to his own view, and thus induce 
 a self-application of the truths which come in from 
 the Word. But the principal end is, Thirdly, to 
 counteract that unbelief which blinds the mind and 
 prevents a realizing sense of truth. This particu- 
 lar act of God, to which I intend to confine my at- 
 tention, brings no truth before the mind, but only 
 causes what is already there to be realized. How 
 this is done we can by no means explain. How a 
 truth which already lies before the understanding 
 is made to be more deeply realized, by an influence 
 which makes no alteration in the temper of the. 
 heart, we can no more conceive than how unim 
 bodied spirits communicate their thoughts to each 
 other. But it appears to be something entirely dif- 
 ferent from merely fixing the attention. The at- 
 tention is often closely fixed while no realizing 
 sense of truth is obtained. All we can say is, it i^ 
 an operation which counteracts the blindness of un- 
 belief, and increases the liveliness of speculative 
 faith. Were it not for this influence, in its more 
 imperceptible operations, unbelief would probably 
 so blind the mind as to produce a total neglect of 
 the Means of Grace, and truth would not be suffi- 
 ciently realized to turn the attention to divine sub- 
 jects, and give opportunity for the natural causes 
 which have been mentioned to operate. Unbelief 
 would so strongly guard the avenues to the soul, 
 that ordinances, dispensations of providence; and 
 
 
LECT. VIIT.] MEANS OF GRACE. 195 
 
 human eloquence, (which can now send in divine 
 truth by a natural process,) would have no c fleet. 
 And should this divine influence, combined Avith 
 natural causes, produce as much belief and attention 
 as can be found in the most decent of the una- 
 wakened, and go no further, the man would die 
 grossly ignorant of many things important to be 
 known before Regeneration. 
 
 This operation which causes truth to be reali- 
 zed, is wholly the work of God, to which no means 
 or human exertions from without can reach a 
 helping hand. And that His agency may be the 
 more manifest, He does npt always cause the mind 
 to realize what is laid before it, even when its at- 
 tention is highly excited. Still 
 
 (3s) This operation is so far stated as to ac- 
 commodate itself to the nature of man, and encou- 
 rage human exertions. When motives are present- 
 ed and pressed upon the mind by ministers and 
 Christians, that is the time which the Spirit ordi- 
 narily takes to carry them home to the conscience. 
 Millions of instances, amounting to general expe- 
 rience, and producing an ordinary calculation, at- 
 test this. Such an order seems established, not 
 only that by encouraging human instrumentality 
 the best affections of the heart my be called forth ; 
 not only that the light which comes from God ac- 
 companied with effects so glorious, may disclose 
 its source by being conveyed to the mind through 
 visible conductors ; but that men as moral agents 
 may be wrought upon in a way conformable to theit 
 
196 MEANS OF GRACE. [lECT. VIII, 
 
 nature, — in a way as nearly coincident as possi- 
 ble with the natural order. And it does in fact 
 very nearly coincide with that. When truths, 
 naturally adapted to interest the existing; feel- 
 ings of the heart, are urged by others, it is a 
 law of nature that the feelings should be in- 
 terested by them. In the present case unbe- 
 lief keeps them out, and prevents what other- 
 wise would be a natural effect. It is only 
 necessary that divine power should counteract 
 this unbelief, and then the Word, and ordinan- 
 ces, and dispensations of God, and the appeals of 
 sacred eloquence, will naturally move the soul. 
 God really carries sinners through the whole course 
 of conviction by the power of motives, as in every 
 instance of moral suasion, except that He counter- 
 acts their unbelief, and so lets the motives in full 
 upon their minds, leaving them then to produce 
 their natural effect. But it is moral suasion still. 
 It is God speaking inwardly to the mind. Not 
 leaving the motives where they dropt from the lips 
 of human eloquence, He carries them in and lays 
 them before the eye of the soul, and becomes Him- 
 self the preacher to a new sense. It is still no- 
 thing but truth addressed to the mind, as in every 
 instance of moral suasion. The only difference is, 
 that in one case He gives efficacy to truth by the 
 natural operations of His power, in a way alto- 
 gether stated ; in the other, by the supernatural, and 
 in a less stated manner. But even in that which is 
 less stated He acts very much in a line with nature, 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 197 
 
 entering the mind by tl>c ordinary avenues, and 
 pressing natural causes into cooperation, so that to 
 an observer the whole appears often like a natural 
 effect. Thus when the mind is softened by afflic- 
 tion, or put in a frame for serious reflection by 
 causes operating on the body, or by a view of dan 
 ger, that is the time when it is most likely to come 
 under those impressions which but for unbelief 
 would have been a natural effect. It is upon 
 flie same principle that the operations of grace 
 after conversion are regulated so much by the pe- 
 culiarities of different constitutions. Grace sets the 
 man in motion as nature made him, only in pur- 
 suit of a new object. Ardent men make ardent 
 Christians, and timid men make fearful Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 Upon the same principle the particular kinds of 
 address which would be best calculated to impress 
 the mind were there no unbelief, and therefore no 
 need of supernatural interposition, is now best cal- 
 culated to impress it. God more generally causes 
 the impression which depends on His agency to 
 bear much the same proportion to the natural power 
 of means as though it were a natural effect. Thus a 
 pungent exhortation is likely to make deeper im- 
 pressions than a frigid exposition. The manner 
 best calculated to persuade a reasonable man to do 
 you a favour, is best calculated to prevail on him to 
 be a Christian. When the parent sits down in 
 earnest to press the conscience of his child, and 
 feeto that he cannot let him go, he is very likely to 
 
198 MEANS OF GRACE. [lECT. VIII. 
 
 succeed. These things are so ordered, among other 
 reasons, to encourage us to put every wheel of na- 
 ture in motion for the salvation of men which would 
 promise to he successful if that salvation were a 
 natural effect. Were we not encouraged to make 
 these exertions, we could make none at all, ex- 
 cept merely by jirayer ; for all our other means, 
 and all our powers, lie within the boundaries of 
 nature. We cannot reach beyond, nor move a 
 step but by her laws. Yet all these means and 
 efforts prove unavailing in instances enough to 
 convince us of our absolute dependance on super- 
 natural power. 
 
 Thus far I have applied the principle to the 
 exertions of men for the conviction of others ; but 
 the coincidence of the supernatural with the natu- 
 ral order will more clearly appear from the use 
 that is made of the sinner's own asjencv. God 
 carries on the work of conviction, (so far as He is 
 pleased to advance it,) through the sinner's own 
 attention, pouring light through the eye of the mind 
 as it is eagerly held towards the truth, and making 
 the effect to depend on that attention as really as 
 in any other case. To go back to the beginning : 
 the mind of the stupid sinner always has an eye 
 open, however vacantly it may gaze, and truth in 
 the first instance is brought and laid before it by 
 divine or human agency without any effort of its 
 own. At that moment God gives, or neglects to 
 give, a realizing view. If the view is not suffi- 
 ciently distinct to fix the attention, and the mind 
 
t,ECT. VIII.] MEANS Or GRACE. 199 
 
 turns its eye away, or fails to adjust it to the 
 object, the view will be gone, or continue very 
 indistinct and only for a short time. All the ef- 
 forts from without, whether of God or man, do no 
 more than present objects of attention, and urge 
 motives to stimulate attention, and cause realizing 
 views to accompany attention. But if the attention 
 is not fixed the effect ceases. The mind must see 
 for itself, or it will not perceive ; and it cannot sea 
 (he object while the eye is turned another way. 
 The sinner must attend to what in the first instance 
 is laid before him, and under the excitement of that 
 motive must put himself in the way to see more, and 
 as new truth is presented must fix his eye eagerly 
 on that, and stimulated by the new motives thus 
 discovered must bend a still more earnest atten- 
 tion to the subject, and so on in a series of increas- 
 ing efforts, or according to God's ordinary mode of 
 operation he will never be convicted. 
 
 All this time the hand of God is behind him, 
 effectually urging him forward by a clear display of 
 motives : and it is before him, pouring new light 
 through the eye as it gazes. The first realizing 
 view which fixes the attention is from God. As 
 the attention is thus turned to truth, and by a natural 
 process obtains clearer knowledge, the superna- 
 tural influence, counteracting the blindness of un- 
 belief, saves a still more realizing view. The at- 
 iention thus sharpened gazes with greater eager- 
 ness, and the accompanying influence continues to 
 give realizing views of what the mind by its own 
 
200 MEANS OF GRACE. [l/SCT. VIII. 
 
 effort indistinctly discovers. And more gene- 
 rally the realizing sense, in every step of the pro- 
 gress, is in proportion to the degree of attention 
 which immediately preceded. Not always how- 
 ever. There are exceptions enough to convince, 
 the mind of its absolute dependance on supernatural 
 power, — a sense which goes in to constitute an es- 
 sential part of the conviction desired. Thus by its 
 very failures the attention helps forward with 
 the work. So by its failure to conquer the 
 heart, and bribe God by self-righteousness, it 
 brings an increased sense of the stubbornness of the 
 heart, and the need of a Saviour. But it advances 
 the work chiefly by its success, the view following 
 the effort to see as though it were a natural effect. 
 While the mind strives to see it sees ; while it ga- 
 zes with increased eagerness, it sees more and more. 
 Through the sinner's own exertions to frequent 
 places where truth is displayed, — through his pry- 
 ing efforts to see the object in the clearest light, to 
 catch its exact lines and colours, — through the 
 deep attention which he pays to his own wretch- 
 ed character and wretched case, the work of illu- 
 mination and conviction is carried on. The sin- 
 ner's agency, though not employed in Regeneration, 
 is greatly employed here. It is as much employed 
 in the progress of conviction, (so far as God is 
 pleased to carry on the work,) as the agency of the 
 Christian in the progress of sanctification, — with 
 these points of difference however : the Christian 
 lias a promise and certainty that his agency shall 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 201 
 
 succeed, the sinner has no promise or certainty at 
 all : the Christian's agency is holy, and connect- 
 ed with a holy result, the sinner's agency is unho- 
 ly, and connected with no other result than a con- 
 viction of truth. But the two cases agree in these 
 three respects : in neither is the human agency the 
 efficient cause ; in neither can the effect follow 
 without that agency ; in hoth that agency has a 
 somewhat stated, (much resembling a natural) ten- 
 dency, by the accompanying influence of God, to 
 produce the effect. These three ideas are perfect- 
 ly displayed in a single case : Sampson must bow 
 himself with all his might to remove the pillars of 
 the house, though the house fell by supernatural 
 power. The power acting thus through his will 
 and agency, gave every appearance of a natural 
 effect. Thus God works " all oar works in us." 
 We " labour, striving according to Hi 3 working 
 which worketh in" us " mightily." While ice 
 " work out" our " own salvation," it is lie that 
 •• worketh in" us " to will and to do."* 
 
 IV. I am to treat of the success of the Word 
 in accomplishing, as the text suggests, every end 
 Which God designed. 
 
 That men are convicted who are never con- 
 verted, facts abundantly testify. That they return 
 to sin from every stage of conviction, is equally evi- 
 dent. In many instances they "quench — the Spi 
 rit," and fall away after having been "enlighten- 
 
 * Tsai. xxvi. 12. Phil, u, 12, 13. Col i. 29. 
 
~U£ MEANS 01" GRACE, [LECl'. vlli * 
 
 cd," and k » tasted of the heavenly gift/' and been 
 " made partakers of the Holy Ghost/' and " tasted 
 of the good Word of God, and the powers of the 
 world to come."* That God should begin a work 
 of conviction upon the non-elect, is no more un- 
 accountable than that He should send them the 
 Gospel. The design in both cases is doubtless the 
 same. But the question is, Hoes His power secure 
 the conviction of as many as He pleases, and as far 
 as He pleases? Or is the event left contingent? I 
 shall assume that the work is carried on through the 
 sinner's own attention, that if his eye is not kept 
 anxiously turned toward the truth with a strong ef- 
 fort to see, the whole effect will fail. The question 
 then is, Will God certainly keep up that attention 
 as far as He pleases ? And how can He keep it up 
 in spite of all resistance, (without altering the dis- 
 position or weakening the resistance,) and yet leave 
 the sinner free ? 
 
 In this place it is necessary to introduce more 
 distinctly the doctrine of motives. Either we must 
 admit the self- determining power of the will, hold- 
 ing in its hand the decision whether to yield or not 
 to yield to motives, or we must believe that the will 
 is absolutely governed by motives. The latter is 
 unquestionably the truth, and common sense, in- 
 structed by experience, pronounces it true every 
 hour of the day. Common sense, delivered from 
 the labyrinths of metaphysicks, pronounces that 
 men alwavs vicld to the strongest inducement, and 
 
 * Heb. vi. 4—3. 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 203 
 
 yet are free. Upon this principle yon arc constant- 
 ly calculating the future conduct of men. You feci 
 a perfect confidence that if you offer a miser a bag 
 of money to induce him to walk a mile, and no 
 stronger motive draws the other way, he will com- 
 ply ; and yet you never dreamed that he would not 
 be free. The whole business of the commercial 
 world is conducted upon the same calculation, and 
 so is the whole system of social intercourse. Break 
 up the uniformity of this principle, and leave it 
 wholly uncertain whether a father Avill move to 
 snatch a child from the fire, whether the friend who 
 meets you in the street will be restrained by a thou- 
 sand motives from taking your life; and all the 
 foundations of order and rational action are remo- 
 ved, and the world is transformed into one vast 
 bedlam, — a bedlam in which the maniacks are as 
 likely to kill a friend to gain a feather as to win a 
 crown, — as likely to kill a friend without motives, 
 and in full opposition to all motives, as to hurt an 
 enemy when most highly induced. This is a new 
 species of madmen, a world of madmen moving in 
 a maze, without a particle of reflection, without any 
 end or object even floating in a distempered fancy. 
 Such a self-moving will, (good Lord deliver us !) 
 — such a self-moving will, unharnessed from reason 
 and let loose into the world, would be more to be 
 dreaded than wolves and tigers. In short there 
 can be no rational action a whit further than the 
 will is absolutely controuled by motives ; that is to 
 -ay, a whit further than v. has a reason ■ f<jr its' de~ 
 
MO^ means of grace. [lect. vnr. 
 
 cisions, and is governed by the considerations which 
 appear strongest and best. 
 
 The world then is governed by motives. Of 
 course it is easy with God, without in the least al- 
 tering the disposition, to exert a perfect controul 
 over all the volitions of men, by only spreading for 
 them a proper train of motives. To recur now to 
 the question : it is only for God to display truth 
 before the minds of sinners, with so much clear- 
 ness as to create a motive to attention stronger 
 than every opposite motive, and the attention is 
 secured. So long as He continues to exert such 
 an influence, the attention will be kept alive, and 
 exactly in proportion to the clearness and strength 
 of the motives presented. The motives cannot in- 
 deed act upon rny other than natural principles.* 
 for none else exist. The sinner will not follow 
 them to the end to which they invite, viz. to holi- 
 ness ; but he will be sure to follow where apparent 
 interest calls, and of course to those efforts after 
 deliverance which will fix his eye attentively upon 
 divine truth. Whom therefore God chooses to 
 convict He will convict, and just as far as He 
 pleases, and that through their own voluntary aU 
 tention. 
 
 It may then be asked^ how far have sinners the 
 power to prevent the effect ? The answer is, they 
 have complete natural power to prevent, as in eve- 
 ry other case where their agency is necessary to the 
 issue. This ability however lies not in the self- de- 
 termining power of the will, but in a power to exe 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS OF GRACE. %05 
 
 cute any opposite decree which the will should 
 issue ; in other words, in a power to turn away the 
 attention if they are so inclined. This case is mate- 
 rially different from that of Regeneration, where the 
 effect is wrought without their agency. In this case 
 they have as much power to turn away their atten- 
 tion, and thus arrest the progress of conviction, as 
 they have to stop in a journey when the stronger 
 motive impels them forward, as they have to sit 
 still when the stronger motive solicits them to walk ? 
 as they have to refuse an invitation to a feast when 
 urged and entreated by a friend. If the motive 
 which incites them to divine contemplations is not 
 at first strong enough to countervail all others, God 
 will indeed, if He is determined ou success, press 
 them with stronger inducements till He prevails. 
 But the whole process is still of the nature of moral 
 suasion. There is no more compulsion in the case 
 than in all the common actions of life ; for all our 
 actions are equally governed by motives. Nor is 
 this particular case at all different from the rest, 
 except that the motives are more solemn, and are 
 made clear to the mind by supernatural power. In 
 a word the sinner is as free to turn away, and thus 
 stop the progress of conviction, and by this means 
 prevent Regeneration, as he is to do any other 
 thing ; but it is certain that he icill mot turn away 
 if God continues to set sufficient motives clearly be- 
 fore him. 
 
f~0(3 MEANS OF GltACE. [lECT. VIII. 
 
 INFERENCES. 
 
 (1.) We sec the good tendency and absolute 
 need of the sinner's own attention to the Word of 
 God and the Means of Grace,-— of his agonizing 
 exertions to understand and gain realizing views of 
 revealed truth. These exertions do not indeed 
 tend to change his heart ; but if they are earnest 
 and solemn, and guided by judicious instructions, 
 they do tend, (such is the common mode of divine 
 operation,) to advance the work of conviction, and ve- 
 ry much in proportion to their strength. The agoni- 
 zing reach to apprehend divine things which is made 
 in prayer, has a better tendency than meditation ; 
 meditation has a better tendency than bare atten- 
 tion ; and the slightest attention of mind has a 
 better tendency than a vacant attendance on 
 means. An attendance on means with an idle, 
 wandering mind, has scarcely any tendency at 
 all to bring home a realizing sense of truth. 
 There is no such spell in ordinances to con- 
 vict a mind that is roving in tlie ends of the 
 earth. There ought to be as strong an effort to 
 realize divine things as to extinguish the flames 
 which are kindling on your house, — as to support 
 a rock that must crush you in its fall. There is no 
 more need of strong efforts in these cases than in 
 that, and without exertions approaching to this 
 character there is absolutely no prospect of the 
 sinner's salvation. To sit still without an ef- 
 fort is nothing less than putting the pistol to his 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS OP GRACE. 20J? 
 
 own breast. To neglect the Means of Grace, 
 or to attend on them without a struggle to realize 
 divine things, is as direct a way to destroy the soul, 
 (according to God^s usual mode of operation,) as 
 abstinence from food to destroy the body. The 
 only difference is, that now and then a sinner is 
 converted in an extraordinary Avay without the usu- 
 al means. 
 
 Say not, then, that if you are elected to be 
 saved you shall be saved, whether you make exer- 
 tions or not. There is no such decree that prevents 
 the absolute dependance of the end on the appoint- 
 ed means. Had not Naaman washed in Jordan, 
 no decree would have healed the leper. Had not 
 the blind men sat by the way side, no decree would 
 have opened their eyes. Had not the impotent man 
 lain by the pool, no decree would have made him 
 whole. Had not the bones been within the reach 
 of EzekiePs voice, no bodies would have been or- 
 ganized. Had the parts failed to come together, 
 " bone to Ids bone," no life would have been 
 infused. Or to illustrate the idea by a case 
 still more in point, if a man does not open his 
 eyes he will not see. If he does not turn his eyes 
 towards the object, and pry if it is obscure, he will 
 not see it clearly. Now if it is decreed that his 
 view of the object shall be distinct, it is decreed 
 that these previous steps shall be taken, and the 
 end is no more certain than the means, and will 
 certainly fail if they fail. If it is certain that a 
 farmer will have a crop, it is certain that he will 
 
&08 MEAXS OF GRACE. [LECT. VI 11. 
 
 sow liis seed. If it is certain that a man Avill live 
 to old age, it is certain that he will continue to take 
 food. IT it is certain that a man will be glorified, 
 equally so that he will first be justified ; if that lie 
 will be justified, equally so that he will be effectual- 
 ly called 5 if that he w ill be effectually called, 
 equally so that he will be convicted ; if that he will 
 be convicted, ninety-nine times in a hundred it is 
 equally certain that lie will make the exertions 
 which have been mentioned. And to say that if he 
 is elected he shall be saved whether he use means 
 or not, is like saying, if it was decreed that he should 
 live to old age, lie will live though he renounce food, 
 and would though he had never been born. 
 
 Nothing then but inevitable destruction awaits 
 those who cast off fear and restrain prayer, who 
 neglect the Means of Grace, or attend on them 
 with a careless mind. Not a symptom appears 
 that such people are ever to be saved, and con- 
 tinuing thus they are as certainly lost as there is a 
 God in heaven. 
 
 But after ail this whole process is only God us- 
 ing means with the sinner, and not the sinner using 
 means with God. The voluntary agency of the 
 sinner must be set in motion, and the indispensa- 
 ble necessity of this may be displayed, to show him 
 the madness of stupidity and to rouse his attention 5 
 but after all in a moral point of view his agency is of 
 110 account. The whole credit is due to another. It 
 is God that awakens his attention and keeps it awake. 
 It is God pressing an unholy agency into service, as 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 209 
 
 He did in the case of Pharaoh. The whole is nothing 
 but God struggling with the sinner, and the sinner 
 with all his moral feelings struggling against God. 
 It is God bringing good out of evil, and forciug the 
 selfish agency which is directed against Him to pro- 
 mote His merciful designs. In a word it is God 
 using means upon the sinner, and not the sinner 
 using means for himself. To compare his unholy 
 exertions, (as is often done,) to the lawful means 
 employed by the husbandman, is grossly deceptive, 
 and tends only to foster that self-righteousness 
 which is the principal enemy to be overcome. 
 There is no real resemblance between the two ca- 
 ses. The sinner has never broken up his u fallow 
 ground ;*' he only sows upon a rock ; he plants 
 « thistles — instead of wheat, and cockle instead of 
 barley." 
 
 (2.) We see on what account there is more 
 hope of awakened sinners than of the stupid, and 
 more of the convicted than of the awakened, and 
 more of those who are deeply than those who are 
 slightly convinced. It is not because they have 
 done any thing acceptable to God, nor because they 
 are interested in any of His promises, nor because 
 they have approached nearer to a holy temper, 
 nor because any of their struggles or acquisitions 
 tend to change their hearts ; but because God 
 lias begun the preparatory work, and has thus 
 far advanced it. The more advanced it is, the 
 more the evidence I hat He intends to carry it 
 through. 
 
 27 
 
210 MEAXS OP GRACE, [LECT. Vlil. 
 
 (3.) We see the good tendency of preaching 
 to sinners, and following them with exhortations 
 and entreaties. These exertions answer two ends : 
 First, to explain and hold up truth before them. 
 It is in vain for them to turn their eye if the object 
 is not presented. Secondly, to furnish motives to 
 stimulate their attention to the object. They cer- 
 tainly will attend if sufficient motives are brought 
 clearly to their view, and they will not attend 
 without. There is than the same need and the. 
 same encouragement to throw in motives as in any 
 other case. One thought suggested by a friend 
 when their attention begins to flag, may rouse it 
 again and prove an essential link in the chain of 
 their salvation. The thought would naturally sink 
 into their minds if unbelief did not resist ; but the 
 time which the Spirit ordinarily takes to counter 
 act that resistance, is when good men are striving 
 to fix impressions upon their hearts. It is not Hi^ 
 usual way to send home immediate suggestions, but 
 to apply considerations offered by others. When 
 a solemn truth is laid before them we never know 
 but He may lodge it deep in their conscience. And 
 as so much depends on putting their agency into 
 action, and keeping it in action, every thing that 
 can be done ought to be done for this purpose. 
 The success of these efforts may be expected to 
 bear some proportion to the nature and clearness 
 of the truths suggested, and to the earnestness and 
 address with which they are enforced. There is 
 then every encouragement, and it is of infinite im- 
 
L^T. VIII.] MEANS OF GRACE. 211 
 
 portance, for ministers to labour in season and out 
 of season ; for friends to speak often one to another ; 
 for parents to teach and exhort their children when 
 they sit in the house, and when they walk by the 
 way, when they rise up, and when they lie down. 
 Had not EzekiePs voice been heard in the valley, 
 the bones would not have lived. 
 
 (4.) We learn from our subject the manner in 
 which sinners ought to be addressed. 
 
 First, we see the infinite importance of declaring 
 to them the whole counsel of God, comprehend- 
 ing all the motives that can rouse their attention, 
 and all the considerations that can affect their hearts. 
 The more plainly and fully the truth is displayed, 
 the greater the prospect of their salvation. It is' 
 not to offer instruction in loose and general terms ; 
 it is not to sketch the mere outlines of the Christian 
 doctrine; it is nut to deal out a few scraps of mora- 
 lity ; but particularly and clearly to lay open all 
 that God has revealed. It is not to ring perpetu- 
 al changes on a few party shibboleths, — a few ab- 
 stract doctrines ; we must present the objects of 
 religion in all their affecting attitudes ; we must 
 display the truths of God in all their pungency and 
 point, and pour all the motives of Christianity up- 
 on the heart. This leads me to say, 
 
 Secondly, we have as much encouragement as 
 in any other case to use an interesting, impressive 
 manner, (the manner adapted to the nature of 
 man,) as being calculated not only to waken atten- 
 tion, but to seize all the natural avenues to the 
 
%i% MEANS OF GRACE. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 soul. Such is the coincidence between the su- 
 pernatural and natural order of divine operations, 
 that this manner promises by far the greatest 
 success. 
 
 Thirdly, we learn the importance of urging up- 
 on sinners the duty of immediate submission, as 
 best calculated both to rouse their highest attention, 
 and to present to their view the most powerful and 
 direct means of conviction. The only end of preach- 
 ing to that class of men is to produce attention, and 
 through that, conviction, — conviction, in the first 
 place, of their obligations, guilt, obstinacy, help- 
 lessness, and perishing need of a Saviour, and then, 
 of the truths relating to the Saviour and the way of 
 acceptance by Him. The first thing, besides exci- 
 ting some degree of attention, is to lay open their 
 obligations. From this results a sense of guilt. 
 From a view of their obligations and reluctance 
 arises a conviction of obstinacy, helplessness, and 
 ruin. From the whole follows a deep apprehen- 
 sion of their need of a Saviour ; and that is sure to 
 produce the highest state of attention. The begin- 
 ning of the whole process, (except a partial exci- 
 tation of the attention,) is to awaken a sense of obli- 
 gation. Now the foundation of all sense of obliga- 
 tion must be laid in a view of the claims of the 
 moral Governour of the world, — claims not at all 
 impaired by the indisposition of man. And what 
 are His claims ? He " now commandeth all men 
 every icJiere to reyent." " Now, saith the Lord, 
 turn ye even to me with all your heart, and 
 
LECT. VIII.] MEANS OF GRACE. $13 
 
 with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourn- 
 ing ; and rend your heart and not your garment, 
 and turn unto the Lord your God." u Submit 
 yourselves — to God; — cleanse your hands, ye sin- 
 ners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded."' 
 If such are the claims of God, and such obligations 
 really lie upon sinners, the readiest way to make 
 them feel their obligations is to urge them to the 
 immediate performance of these duties. If they 
 ought to repent without delay, then the readiest 
 way to make them feel what they owe is to urge 
 them to immediate repentance ; and this will at 
 once show them their reluctance, obstinacy, and 
 ruin. That they will not yield to this requisition 
 is no objection to its being urged. God never sent 
 the Gospel with an expectation that it would of it- 
 self conquer the hearts of men, but by opening to 
 them His character and claims to convince them of 
 their ruin and need of a Saviour. And which, I 
 ask, has the most tendency to produce this convic- 
 tion, to exhort them to a mere use of means, or to 
 press upon them their full obligations to God ? If 
 you would thoroughly convince them of their guilt, 
 hardness, and helplessness, you must not lower down 
 their obligations to a few outward observances, 
 while you leave them ignorant of God's high and 
 holy claims ; you must set the standard high. If 
 you tell them to do the best they can, (in other words, 
 the best that they are disposed to do,) that they 
 will easily perform, and in the trial find no evi- 
 
 * Joel ii. 12, 13. Acts xvii. 30. James iv.. 7, 8, 
 
311 MEANS OF GRACE. [LEG i. Viii, 
 
 dence of (be stubbornness of their hearts. That 
 they will easily perform, and then yield to the 
 strong propensity of nature to sleep upon the pillow' 
 of self- righteousness. This is not the way to bring 
 sinners to the foot of the cross : nor is it the rea- 
 diest way, as abundant experience testifies, to secure 
 even an attention to means. Uncover all their ob- 
 ligations if you would drive them to their knees, — 
 if you would compel them to the sanctuary and their 
 Bibles. But you say, Why exhort sinners to do 
 what you know they will not do without a con- 
 straining impulse ? I answer : if this is not al- 
 lowed, we may not even urge them to a serious 
 use of means. But the fact is that God never 
 sent forth His ministers to exhort sinners to do 
 what they will do of themselves, but to urge upon 
 them what He knew they never would perform 
 without His constraining power. Thus He sent 
 Ezekiel to say, " Dry bones, hear the word of the 
 Lord," when He knew that the bones would never 
 hear without His supernatural interposition. And 
 this command was a sufficient warrant and en- 
 couragement to the prophet. If He should. bid me 
 go and preach to the dead in yonder grave-yard, I 
 would go. With no other encouragement I now 
 stand over this valley of the slain, and say to the 
 dead of my people and kindred, Come out of your 
 graves, ye bones that are ••' very dry." " Awake, 
 thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and 
 Christ shall give thee light." Amen. 
 
LECTURE IX. 
 
 ELECTION. 
 
 EPHESIANS I. 4, 5. 
 
 ACCORDING AS HE HATII CHOSEN US IS HIM BEFOIIE THE FOUNDATION OF 
 THE WORLD, THAT WE SHOULD BE HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME DKFORE 
 kOf IN 1.0 VE ; HATING PREDESTINATED US UNTO THE ADOPTION OF 
 • MILDREN BY JESUS CHRIST TO HIMSELF, ACCORDING TO THE GOOD 
 PJ.EASLUE OF HIS WILL. 
 
 It has been proved in former Lectures that 
 men by nature are destitute of holiness, are su- 
 premely selfish and enemies of God, and so re- 
 main, without any approach toward sanctiflcation, 
 without any abatement of their enmity, without any 
 feelings or actions otherwise than sinful or indif- 
 ferent, without any prayers that God will hear, 
 without any thing that tends to a change of heart, 
 until the very moment of Regeneration ; that the 
 work of conviction in every case is carried on just 
 as far as God pleases, the cooperation of the sin- 
 ner to that extent being secured by the controlling 
 influence of motives ; that Regeneration is produ- 
 ced by the supernatural and immediate power of 
 God, unaided and uninduced by the sinner, and 
 notwithstanding his unabated resistance to t\n\ last; 
 
216 ELECTION*. [LECT. IX. 
 
 tliat in every instance where this power is exerted 
 Regeneration follows ; that of course it is exerted 
 upon some and not upon others, — not because the 
 favoured ones have better improved antecedent 
 grace, or have been more ready to yield, or have 
 induced or aided God, but because He " will have 
 mercy on whom" He "will have mercy;" that He 
 makes one to differ from another according to His 
 sovereign pleasure, for no other assignable reason 
 than "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in 
 thy sight." All this, I must believe, has been pro- 
 ved; audit completely establishes the doctrine of 
 Election, except so far as relates to the eternal 
 decree. 
 
 Now if God performs all His works from de- 
 sign, and is unchangeable, the fact of the eternal 
 decree is readily established. The theory of de- 
 crees is simply this : Whatever God does He 
 always meant to do. Whatever He accom- 
 plishes by positive power, He always meant to ac- 
 complish ; whatever He permits, He always meant 
 to permit. This must be true if He acts from de- 
 sign and is unchangeable. For example, if He 
 creates a world to-day, and does it designedly, He 
 always had the same design, or else He has formed 
 a new purpose, and is changeable. If He produces 
 a new heart to-day, and does it designedly, He al- 
 ways had the same design, or else He has formed 
 a new purpose, and is changeable. If He makes 
 one to differ from another to day, and does it de- 
 signedly, He always intended to make that dis- 
 
l.ECT. IX.] ELECTION. ^17 
 
 crimination, or else He lias formed a new purpose, 
 and is changeable. 
 
 The fact that whatever God does He always 
 meant to do, may be argued also from His fore- 
 knowledge. Hid He eternally foreknow that He 
 should create a world ? How did He foreknow it? 
 He knew that no one could compel Him : if He had 
 not determined to do it, — if the purpose was unset- 
 tled in His mind, — if His resolution was wavering, 
 how did He certainly know that He should cre- 
 ate? Did He eternally foreknow that He should 
 change that heart to-day ? How did He foreknow 
 it ? He knew that no one could compel Him : 
 If He had not determined to produce this change, 
 — if the purpose was unsettled in His mind, — if 
 His resolution was wavering, how did He know 
 that He certainly should do it ? 
 
 Take the subject in another view. He fore- 
 knew that He should of His own accord make 
 a world. On that event He deliberately held 
 His eye from eternity. And could He eternally 
 foresee a voluntary act of His own, and have 
 no choice or design about it ? Could you fore- 
 see that you should voluntarily take a journey 
 at a given time, and yet have no choice or de- 
 sign about the event ? Is it possible to conceive 
 that God should eternally have foreknown, that of 
 His own free consent and choice He should make 
 one to differ from another, should change one heart 
 and leave another unchanged, and yet eternally 
 kave had no purpose or choice about it ? I must 
 38 
 
21S ELECTION. [LECT. IX. 
 
 assume it then as a point about which no doubt can 
 exist, that whatever He foresaw that He Himself 
 should voluntarily do, He always meant to do. 
 
 The only question is, What does God perform ? 
 What does He accomplish by positive power? what 
 does He permit ? If it is a fact that He changes 
 one sinner, and permits another to take his course 
 to ruin, He always intended to do the same. If it 
 is not a fact that He makes these discriminations, 
 then to be sure He never intended to make them. 
 The question wholly turns on what He actually 
 does, — whether in Regeneration He really does 
 more for one than another. If He does not, and 
 the sinner makes himself to differ, the doctrine of 
 Election falls. But if God actually makes these dis- 
 criminations between men, (agreeably to the proofs 
 adduced in the foregoing Lectures,) then the doc- 
 trine of Election, including the eternal decree, fol- 
 lows with mathematical certainty. 
 
 And what special difficulty arises from the de- 
 cree P Is it contrary to human freedom ?, But the 
 decree touches no man till it is executed. No de- 
 cree to make Peter to differ from Judas affected 
 either of them till one was taken and the other left. 
 If while this was done both remained free, certainly 
 their freedom was not impaired by the previous 
 purpose. If liberty is infringed it is not infringed 
 by the decree, but by the discriminating act at the 
 time of Regeneration. But if God can actually 
 change one heart and leave another unchanged 
 without destroying freedom, certainly His eternal 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. 3H) 
 
 purpose to do this could not destroy it. What 
 special difficulty then arises from the decree? ]s 
 it against the divine character P But it cannot he 
 wrong to purpose what it is right to perform. If it 
 is proper to do an act, it is not improper to resolve. 
 to do it. If it is right to change one heart and leave 
 another unchanged, the eternal decree to make this 
 discrimination was right. 
 
 The doctrine of Election, thus necessarily de- 
 duced from that of Regeneration, is abundantly 
 supported by the Word of God. There we are 
 distinctly taught that God eternally elected a part 
 of mankind, not on account of their foreseen holi- 
 ness, \mt to holiness itself. "According as He 
 hath chosen us in Him, [in Christ,] before the 
 foundation of the world, that we should be ho- 
 ly AND WITHOUT BLAME BEFORE HlM IN LOVE; 
 
 having predestinated us unto the adoption of chil- 
 dren by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the 
 good pleasure of His will ; to the praise of the glo- 
 ry of His grace, wherein He hath made us ac- 
 cepted in the Beloved ; — having made known to 
 us the mystery of His will, according to His good 
 pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself; that 
 in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might 
 gather together in one all things in Christ, both 
 which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even 
 in Him : in whom also we have obtained an inhe- 
 ritance, being predestinated according to the pur- 
 pose of Him who worketh all things after the coun- 
 sel of His own tcill ; that we should be to the 
 praise of His glory.— -For we rue [{is workman- 
 
220 ELECTION. [LECT. IX. 
 
 ship, created in Christ Jesus unto good ivories , 
 which God hath before ordained that we 
 should walk in them." " God hath from the 
 beginning chosen us to salvation, through sanc- 
 
 TIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT AND BELIEF OF THE 
 
 truth." " Who hath saved us, and called us 
 with a holy calling, not according to our 
 
 WORKS, BUT ACCORDING TO IIlS OWN PURPOSE AND 
 GRACE, WHICH WAS GIVEN US IN C'HRIST JeSUS 
 
 before the would began." "For the children 
 being not yet born, neither having done any goody 
 or evil, that the purpose of God according to Elec- 
 tion might stand, not of works, but of Him that 
 calleth, it was said unto her, the elder shall serve 
 the younger ; as it is written, Jacob have I loved, 
 bin Esau have I hated." " Whom he did pre- 
 destinate, THEM HE ALSO CALLED." " As MANY 
 AS WERE ORDAINED TO ETERNAL LIFE BELIEVED/" 
 
 " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and 
 ordained you, that you should go and bring 
 
 FORTH FRUIT, AND THAT YOUR FRUIT SHOULD RE- 
 MAIN." 
 
 There are many passages in which Election ib 
 asserted in more general terms, without the ex- 
 press idea of its being au appointment to sanctiji- 
 cation. " God hath not appointed us to wrath, 
 but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ ;" 
 " according to the eternal purpose which He pur- 
 posed in Christ Jesus our Lord/' " Many are call- 
 ed, but few are chosen." " To sit on my right hand 
 and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be 
 given to them for' rchom it is prepared of my Fa- 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. 221 
 
 liter." " Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
 the world." In the commencement of a Christian 
 church at Corinth, God looked on the pagan in- 
 habitants and said to Paul for his encouragement. 
 " I have much people in this city." 
 
 In the ages of eternity a covenant was formed 
 between the Persons of the Sacred Trinity, (com- 
 monly called tiie covenant of Redemption.) in 
 which the Father made over to the Son a definite 
 number of the human race as the reward of His 
 obedience " unto death," and caused their names, 
 (whatever it means,) to be "written" in the Lamb's 
 "book of life." The vail was partly drawn from 
 this transaction in the writings of the prophets, 
 where many promises in the form of an oath were 
 held up as made to Christ; such as that His tin one 
 should be established, that He should have the 
 heathen for His inheritance, that He should see of 
 the travail of His soul and be satisfied, that His seed 
 should endure forever. But in the New Testament 
 this ancient covenant is entirely laid open. There 
 we distinctly learn that the faith and hope of God's 
 elect are founded on a promise of eternal life made 
 before the world began: "Paul, — an apostle of Je- 
 sus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, — 
 in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie 
 promised before the world began." Promised 
 to whom ? Not to creatures, for they were not in 
 existence ; to Christ doubtless. And for the par- 
 ticular portion of the human race who were respec- 
 ted in this covenant, the Mediator in a special sense 
 
2£2 ELECTION. [eECT. IX. 
 
 laid down His life : " I lay clown my life for the 
 ikeep." Who were the sheep? The very seed 
 whom the Father had given Him in the everlasting 
 covenant, including as well those who were pagans 
 or unborn at the time this declaration was made, as 
 those who were believers or had gone to glory ; 
 to the whole of w r hom salvation was absolutely secu- 
 red. " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 
 and they follow me ; and I give unto them eternal 
 life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any 
 pluck them out of my hand. My Father which 
 gave them me is greater than all, and none is able 
 to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Elect 
 Gentiles were counted for sheep before their con- 
 version : " And other sheep I have which are not 
 of this fold ; them also / must bring, and they shall 
 bear my voice." It is explicitly asserted that the 
 identical persons wbo w ere given to Christ shall all 
 come to Him by faith, and shall all persevere to 
 eternal life : " Thou hast given Him power over all 
 flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many 
 
 AS THOU HAST GIVEN HIM." " ALL THAT THE 
 
 Father giveth me shall come to me, and him 
 that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. — And 
 this is the Father's will, — that of all which 
 
 HE HATH GIVEN ME I SHOULD LOSE NOTHING, BUT 
 SHOULD RAISE IT UP AGAIN AT THE LAST DAY.'"* 
 
 * Ps. ii. 7, 3. and Ixxxix. 3, 4, 19—37. Isai. liii. 10—12. Mat. xx. 
 23. and xxii. 14. and xxv. 34. John vi. 37, 39. and x. 1 — 29. and xv. 16. 
 and xvii. 2. Acts xiii. 48. and xviii. 10. Rom.viii. 30, and ix. 11 — 13. 
 Eph. L 4—12. and ii. 10. and iii. 11. 1 Thes. v. 9. 2Thes. ii. 13. 
 .: Tim. i. 9. Tit. i. 1, 2. Rev. xiii. 8. 
 
J.ECT. IX.] ELECTION. 233 
 
 It would be easy to multiply texts ; but if the 
 numerous and explicit declarations which have 
 been quoted are not sufficient to produce conviction, 
 a thousand others would not. Indeed if such per- 
 emptory and often repeated assertions of the Word 
 of God are not believed, what is your faith in divine 
 Revelation ? Here I rest my cause, — and without 
 searching for further proof, shall only attempt, in 
 the remaining part of the Lecture, to explain the 
 doctrine and vindicate it against objections. 
 
 .Suppose ten subjects of an earthly prince are 
 under sentence of death for treason, and are con- 
 lined in two separate cells, five in one and five in 
 the other. They have all forfeited their lives, and 
 if they are all executed no injustice will be done 
 them. The prince, a most wise and benevolent 
 man, sees however that it will promote the happi- 
 ness of his immense empire for five to be pardoned 
 and five executed, and for the whole to be brought 
 about in a way most clearly to illustrate both his 
 justice and mercy. He settles in his mind what he 
 himself will do, and being a prophet foresees the 
 conduct of the prisoners. With every part of the 
 issue full in his view, he collects thousands of his 
 subjects to witness the transaction, and repairs to 
 the prison. He orders the bolts and bars to 
 be removed from the first cell, the door to be 
 thrown wide open, and the chains to be struck off. 
 "Now," says he, " unhappy men, I have put it in 
 your power to come forth. No bars or chains con- 
 fine you. If you will approach and kneel before 
 
324? ELECTION. [LECT. IX. 
 
 me, and confess your crime, and implore forgive- 
 ness, and submit to my government, I will pardon 
 you, and raise you to my throne." "We cannot 
 do it," say they. " Cannot ! the door is open, 
 and the chains are off; what hinders?" " We 
 humble ourselves at your feet as criminals, and 
 sue for pardon ! we will die first. We were op- 
 pressed, and have only made an effort to support 
 our rights." The prince expostulates and pleads 
 with them, but they still refuse. He then appeals 
 to the spectators : "Do /cause the death of these 
 unhappy men?" Every voice firmly answers JV*o. 
 "Are they not free in their refusal?" The whole 
 multitude testify that they are. " Can more be ex- 
 pected from me P" Nothing more, is the universal 
 response. " Will not their blood be upon their 
 own heads?" Upon their own heads forever, says 
 the common sense of a world. He bars their pri- 
 son and orders them to execution. He then goes 
 to the second cell, throws open the door, strikes 
 off the chains, and offers pardon to the other five 
 on the same conditions. They also refuse. He ex- 
 postulates and pleads with them. They still refuse. 
 He then appeals to the spectators, and receives 
 the same answers. Thus far the cases are paral- 
 lel. Now we will suppose that the prince possess- 
 es power by laying his hand on the prisoners to 
 melt them into submission. He lavs his hand on 
 them : they fall at his feet, accept of pardon, and 
 are raised to his throne. No act of their lives was 
 more free, for they submitted willingly and 
 
LKCT. IX.] ELECTION. 225 
 
 with all their heart. Afterwards the prince informs 
 the people that he had foreseen the whole event, 
 and had determined on the course he should pur- 
 sue, before he left the palace ; that in the discri- 
 mination which he had made he had been influen- 
 ced only by a regard for the happiness of his em- 
 pire; and that to have subdued the first five would 
 have marred the publick good. Now I ask, what 
 have you to allege against that prince? If the 
 publick good required just that exhibition of justice 
 and mercy, would you' not have blamed him had 
 he done otherwise ? Who was injured ? Not 
 those who perished ; they only had their deserts : 
 nor were they injured by the mercy shown to the 
 rest. In a case where all had forfeited their lives, 
 had not the prince a right to reclaim and pardon 
 whom he would ? to select that number, and those 
 individuals, whose deliverance would most promote 
 the happiness of his kingdom ? Whose freedom 
 did he impair? Whom did he defraud? Whom 
 did he compel to die ? Nay, as justice to his king- 
 dom would not allow him forolblij to reclaim the 
 whole, the prisoners themselves compelled him 
 either to abandon them all to their fate, or to make 
 the discrimination which he did. Had they yield- 
 ed of their own accord, as they ought to have done, 
 he would have had no occasion to do more for 
 one than another. But as it was, he must discrimi- 
 nate or resign them all to destruction. Now if his 
 conduct at the prison was right, what have you 
 to Allege against his previous jrurjwse P Was it 
 $9 
 
226 ELECTION. [LECT. IX. 
 
 wrong to determine to do a right thing? And how 
 could the prisoners he injured hy the mere design? 
 They were not at all affected hy what was devised in 
 the palace, but only hy Avhat was done at the prison. 
 As I understand the doctrine of Election, this is 
 an exact illustration of it. Mankind received from 
 the hand of God full powers to obey Him. They 
 sinned, and forfeited their lives, and were like pri- 
 soners condemned to die. The atonement opened 
 all their prisons, and struck off all their chains. 
 The invitation is sent to all. All possess natural 
 ability to comply, (as will be distinctly shown in 
 the next Lecture ;) but all refuse. They are en- 
 treated, but they still refuse. At this point Elec- 
 tion comes in. It is their own fault that there is 
 any need of a divine interposition. This necessity 
 they, and not God, created. They ought to com- 
 ply of their own accord, and not wait to be com- 
 pelled. They are able, but " will not." Not a 
 child of Adam will. The whole race will refuse 
 till they die, unless subdued by divine power, — 
 not because they are too feeble, but because they 
 are so had. This universal obstinacy, which alone 
 renders a divine interposition necessary, obliges 
 God to decide — whether to save all, or save none, 
 or subdue such a part as His wisdom sees best. 
 He cannot save all consistently with the good of 
 the universe. His compassion will not allow Him 
 to abandon all to destruction. The only choice 
 left Him is to conquer whom He will. This neces- 
 sity, not He, but the obstinacy of sinners created. 
 
JLFXT. IX.] ELECTION. 227 
 
 It grows, not out of their inability, but out of their 
 desperate wickedness. He forces none to hell, 
 they go of their own accord ; He only forces as 
 it were a part to heaven. And this He does 
 for as many as the interest of the universe will 
 permit. The rest are left untouched, unshack- 
 led, to pursue their own chosen way, — with full 
 power to live, but choosing death rather than 
 life. And now, after salvation is provided for 
 them, and offered to them, and is obstinately re- 
 fused, does it become them to throw the blame on 
 God, and complain that He created them to be. 
 damned P He did not create them to be damned. 
 He created them to be saved; and they have "sold" 
 their " birth-right" for a contemptible mess of 
 " pottage." The truth is, He foresaw them in ex- 
 istence, and actually refusing, before He had an 
 opportunity to decide whether to subdue them or 
 not. In the order of nature the discriminating de- 
 cree followed their refusal, as the two eternally lay 
 in the divine mind. And in its execution the de- 
 cree does not touch them till after they have existed 
 and refused. In both views the discrimination is 
 to be considered as following their refusal, and not 
 as preceding their existence. 
 
 Hitherto 1 have treated the subject in conformi- 
 ty to the common apprehension, that succession and 
 the relations of before and after are predicable of 
 the divine existence. To this apprehension the 
 language of Scripture is also accommodated. But 
 the objection last started, and many other difficulties, 
 
228 ELECTION. [LECT. IX, 
 
 will be more effectually obviated by recurring to 
 the real mode of God's existence. To Him eterni- 
 ty is but one moment. He knows no lapse of time, 
 and except what relates to the order of nature, no 
 before or after. All to Him is eternal now. On the 
 scale of creatures there is indeed a before and after. 
 To them the execution of His decrees is in succes 
 sion. To them an eternal decree is a ^^-deter- 
 mination. Not so with Him. With Him the ex- 
 istence of creatures was as early as the decree. 
 "With Him the purpose and the execution are in 
 the same moment. His eternal decree is nothing 
 but a design existing in one eternal Now, — is no- 
 thing but a present purpose eternally the same.* 
 Were it perfectly easy for us to conceive of this 
 mode of His being, we could readily see that the 
 existence and refusal of men stand before the dis- 
 criminating decree, (I speak of the order of na- 
 
 * " How can this be," says the objector, " that the existence of God 
 is in one eternal Now ? Fifty years ago He did not see me ex- 
 isting at that time, and now He sees me to exist : must not then His 
 views be successive ?" Now this is taking for granted what the ob- 
 jector ought to prove, that the time which to creatures passed fifty 
 years ago, and the present, are two distinct periods with God. He 
 indeed perceives the scale on which creatures reckon time, and sees 
 them lying along on that scale at different points ; but His eternal 
 Now stands equally opposite, if I may so say, to every part of the 
 scale. That this is His real mode of existence, is capable of all the 
 proof that such a subject admits. The idea of an eternal succession 
 of views and exercises, involves all the absurdity of an infinite number. 
 It implies also imperfection of knowledge, as it supposes a constant 
 accession of new ideas, — and mutability, as it supposes a continual 
 change. " But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one 
 day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as 
 one day." (2 Pet. iii. 8.) 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. BS9 
 
 tare, the order of time is excluded,) — stand before 
 the decree, as they are arranged in the divine mind ; 
 that He sees men existing and refusing before He 
 determines, or has an opportunity to determine, 
 whether to subdue them or not ; and that Election 
 amounts only to this, — He finds men in existence 
 and refusing His grace, and then determines 
 whom to conquer, and whom to leave uninflu- 
 enced. But when you talk of His creating them 
 to be damned, you put the discrimination before 
 their existence, as the two lie together in the divine 
 mind. 
 
 That which ^ creatures is p'e-destination, is to 
 God only a present purpose. It comes out then 
 at last, that the decision made in Election is 
 only the decision of Hi\$ present will, existing the 
 same from eternity to eternity. The doctrine of 
 Election, thus disentangled from our crude concep- 
 tions, amounts only to this : it depends on the pre- 
 sent decision of God, not whether salvation shall 
 be provided for sinners, for Christ died for all, — 
 not whether pardon shall be offered to them, for it 
 is offered without money and without price, — not 
 whether they shall have power to accept, for they 
 are abundantly able ; but, when they obstinately 
 refuse, whether He will make them " willing in 
 the day of [His] power." If they will not repent, 
 but lay Him under a necessity to compel them 
 or leave them to perish, pray give Him the 
 common liberty of a man. to choose for Him- 
 self whether to actor not. Allow Him the free- 
 
230 ELECTION. [LECT. IX. 
 
 clom not denied to slaves, to determine whether to 
 bestow or withhold a free gift. What difficulty 
 then remains ? But I hold you to facts. You 
 know, at this moment, that it does depend on His 
 present will whether you shall ever have a new 
 heart. This is a matter of fact which you will not 
 deny. Well Election amounts to nothing more, — 
 with this single addition, that His present will is 
 the will of one eternal now. 
 
 When men are anxious and uncertain about 
 their salvation, they are apt in their approaches to 
 God to conceive of an old constitution which binds 
 His hands, and leaves Him no liberty to follow His 
 present choice, — or of an old catalogue, in which if 
 their names do not happen to be found, He can- 
 not save them if He will. But this is a crude con- 
 ception. There is no constitution, or catalogue, 
 or decree, which to Him is old. The world is now 
 governed by His present will, just as though His 
 purposes were all formed to-day, — just as though 
 He now began to be. If He has now a wish to 
 change your heart, there is no ancient decree to 
 prevent. It is His present will that must decide 
 your fate. On that alone you are cast. 
 
 From this view of the subject I infer that Elec- 
 tion ought not to be regarded as any discourage- 
 ment to prayer. It is only because the vulgar no- 
 tion of succession in God is always intruding, bring- 
 ing with it the phantom of a decree which to Him 
 is old, that this doctrine has ever been thought to 
 interfere with our encouragements to pray. And 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. 231 
 
 indeed if there was on old decree, or constitution, 
 or catalogue, which bound His hands, it would ho 
 in vain to apply to His present will. But no such 
 ancient statute has barred the door of access. The 
 way is now as open to His very heart as though He- 
 began to exist to-day. Nor is it inconsistent with 
 His unchangeableness that He should be really af- 
 fected by prayer. If, agreeably to the literal con- 
 struction of His Word, the prayers which arc now 
 offered really affect His heart, it only proves that 
 as they have eternally lain before Him, they have 
 eternally and unchangeably affected His heart, If 
 then you can now present prayers fit to be regarded 
 on Christ's account by infinite purity and com- 
 passion, there is nothing in the way of His being 
 as readily affected by them as any father is by the 
 cries of his suffering children. He has a heart 
 easily touched with the voice of penitent distress, 
 from whatever quarter it comes. His infinite ten- 
 derness, His readiness to listen to every sigh of a 
 broken heart offered through His Son, is a truth in 
 which all His mercy is involved, — for which all 
 His perfections stand pledged. This blessed truth 
 it is your duty to believe, (without any gloomy ex- 
 ception against yourself,) as firmly as you believe 
 your existence. Your sense of it, your confidence 
 in it, cannot be raised too high. This very confi- 
 dence is the greatest, the most difficult, the most 
 essential effort of faith. Give it full scope, it can- 
 not go too far. Nor is there any thing in Election 
 to depress its flights. Election only touches the 
 
23£ ELECTION. [LECT. IX. 
 
 question whether you shall be constrained to feel 
 this confidence. But if you feel it, there is nothing 
 in the doctrine to discourage its boldest triumphs. 
 If you have never exercised it before, there is no- 
 thing in the doctrine, (unregenerate as you are,) to 
 discourage you from exercising it now. It will 
 only be confiding in an everlasting truth, which the 
 doctrine has no influence to destroy. It is a truth, 
 as unchanging as the perfections of God, that He is 
 ready to hear, at all times, from whatever quarter 
 it comes, the cry of penitent grief and filial confi- 
 dence offered through His dear Son. Go then di- 
 rectly to His present will, to His inmost heart, with 
 the agony and confidence of Jacob. Do you hesi- 
 tate and tremble from a doubt about your election ? 
 But what has this to do ? You know that if you 
 offer such prayers you shall be accepted upon every 
 plan, — that if you do not offer such prayers you 
 cannot be accepted upon any plan. You doubt 
 perhaps whether your prayers are sincere : but this 
 has nothing to do with Election ; for none but 
 sincere prayers can be accepted whether Election 
 is true or false. Do you find the dreadful proof 
 that your prayers are unholy? Even then you are 
 not delivered over to an ancient decree ; you are 
 only cast upon His present will. If that will 
 which, self-moved, let down a hand to raise Abra- 
 ham and David from unregeneracy, is pleased to 
 pluck you from destruction, you live. Upon that 
 will throw yourself in the last resort. Put your 
 life in your hand, cast yourself at His feet, pouring 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. 233 
 
 out this sum of all your hopes, "Lord, if thou wilt, 
 thou canst make me clean." 
 
 " But in case I am not elected He will not re- 
 ceive me if I go." He will receive you if you go, 
 the decree of Election notwithstanding. Election 
 only touches the question whether you shall be con- 
 strained to go. But if you go Election does not 
 .stand in the way. If you go you will certainly be 
 received. It is the wickedness of unbelief that 
 questions this truth, — a truth in which all the 
 mercy and sincerity of God are involved. It is 
 your indispensable duty to believe it; you are com- 
 manded to believe it ; you will be eternally punish- 
 ed for not believing it To doubt it is to charge 
 God with falsehood and perjury to His face. Did 
 you never read that the " faith" without which "it 
 is impossible to please Him," believes " that He is 
 a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" P* 
 Be you elected or not, God is this,— and you ought 
 to believe it with the most unwavering confidence. 
 You cannot entertain too exalted ideas of His rea- 
 diness, His eager desire to receive all who truly 
 apply. If you go to Him in the fulness of this feel- 
 ing, you will find no decree in the way. 
 
 From this view of the subject I infer also that 
 Election is not inconsistent with the sincerity of the 
 invitations to the non-elect. God never decreed 
 that the invitations should be rejected ; but when 
 all men agree to reject them, He only determines 
 
 * Heb. xl 6. 
 
 30 
 
£3$ ELECTION. [lECT* IX. 
 
 whom He will make willing. The discriminating 
 decree comes in after the rejection. It stands in 
 this order in the Eternal Mind; it stands in this 
 order when it is executed. To God the decree and 
 the execution are in the same moment ; to Him no 
 part of the discrimination is before the refusal, even 
 in the order of nature. It is as though a man were 
 to invite you to his house, with no other purpose 
 than to give you a kind reception, and after your 
 refusal should form other designs concerning you. 
 If we could familiarly apprehend the idea of an 
 eternal Now, this would be seen to be an exact ac- 
 count of the overtures to the non- elect. 
 
 But to pass from the mode of God's existence 
 to the scale of creatures, if any thing lies against 
 the sincerity of the invitations, it is merely the fore- 
 knowledge that they will be rejected. But this ob- 
 jection is to be met upon every plan that does not 
 deny the omniscience of God. And it lies equal- 
 ly against the sincerity of the invitations to the elect 
 before they are renewed. This objection points its 
 force, not against Election, but against foreknow- 
 ledge, and equally embarrasses every plan short of 
 downright atheism. The common answer which 
 Arminians give to this objection is, that inasmuch 
 as the sinner is able to accept, and is t not prevented 
 by God ; inasmuch as God is trilling that he should 
 come if he will, and stands ready to receive him if 
 lie comes, the invitation is to be considered sincere 
 notwithstanding the foreknowledge. Precisely the 
 same is my answer ; and if the Armiuian scheme 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. 235 
 
 is thus freed from the difficulty, so is the doctrine* 
 which I am supporting. I only add to their idea, 
 that God is able to conquer the rebel if He will. 
 
 But I have another thins; to say. God is exhi- 
 bitcd in the Scriptures in two distinct characters ; as 
 the great physical agent or main-spring of motion, 
 and as the moral Governour of the world, holding 
 in His hands the rights of the Godhead, and com- 
 manding, threatening, punishing, inviting, promis- 
 ing, and rewarding. These two departments are 
 so distinct as to belong to two different Persons in 
 the Godhead ; the former being the office work of 
 the Spirit, the latter the office work of the Father. 
 Now for the Father to invite those whom the Spi- 
 rit does not sanctify, implies no more inconsistency 
 than for the Son to mediate for those with whom 
 the Father is displeased. There is no more con- 
 trariety in the case than between desire and sub- 
 mission in a saint. As the act of the Spirit leaves 
 the moral agency of men entire, the Father may 
 reasonably address them as complete agents, — a- 
 gents as entirely distinct from Him as from each 
 other. There is no exercise of a moral government 
 upon any other principle. No other principle ac- 
 cords with truth ; for men are complete moral a- 
 gents, and as distinct from God as from each other. 
 And it is no less reasonable for Him to com- 
 mand, invite, promise, and threaten His subjects, 
 than for an earthly prince to do this ; and He is as 
 sincere in His invitations and promises, even to 
 those who reject His rails. a« any earthly prince 
 
236 ELECTION. [LECT. IX. 
 
 could be. In estimating the sincerity of these acft 
 dresses, you are to lay out of account the physical 
 agency of the Spirit, since this in no degree inter- 
 feres with the freedom of sinners, nor with the Fa- 
 ther's readiness to receive as many as apply. Lose 
 yourselves in contemplating Him in the simple light 
 of a moral Governour, full of love and mercy, hav- 
 ing nothing to do with the work of constraining men, 
 sending abroad His invitations to moral agents ful- 
 ly able to comply, and actually receiving all who 
 come : lay aside the relations of before and after, 
 and consider all this, (both the purpose and the act,) 
 as only present ; and then say, are not His invita- 
 tions to all men sincere ? In this light the whole 
 subject appears, (as many can testify,) to a soul 
 possessed of the lively and realizing views of faith. 
 But I have one more objection to meet. I hear 
 some of you say, Does not this doctrine make God 
 a respecter of persons P This depends on what 
 ydU mean by the terms. If to confer unequal fa- 
 vours on His creatures is to be a respecter of per- 
 sons, He is doubtless such. The fact meets you 
 wherever you turn your eye. He gave more ex- 
 alted powers to men than to worms, to angels than 
 to men. He passed by those who fell from heaven 
 and provided a Saviour for the human race. He 
 passed by the pagan tribes and sent the Gospel to 
 you. He brings one into the world the child of 
 prayer, to inherit the blessings of a pious family, 
 while another is neglected by profligate parents to 
 grow up " like a wild ass's colt." To one He gives 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. 237 
 
 "five talents/' to another "two," to another u owe.-' 
 One man is born to disease and unremitting 
 pain, another to vigorous health. One inherits no- 
 thing but poverty and disgrace, another is born to 
 wealth and honour. One is cut down in infancy, 
 another is suffered to reach the utmost limit of hu- 
 man life. One finds uninterrupted success in all 
 the labour of his hands, another seems to live only 
 for disappointment and defeat. Nor is this always 
 the consequence of better or worse management : 
 "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the 
 strong." If then you mean by respect for per- 
 sons the holy sovereignty exercised in these discri- 
 minations, so far from disowning it as derogato- 
 ry to His character, the great Proprietor of heaven 
 and earth claims it as His glory and unalienable 
 right. And instead of taking offence at this, all the 
 holy universe pronounce with one voice, "Amen : 
 let none but Infinite Wisdom and Love decide a 
 single event to eternity." 
 
 What then does the Sovereign of the world 
 mean when He disclaims the character of being a 
 respecter of persons ? He always has reference 
 to Himself in the capacity of a judge, or of a king 
 rewarding and punishing, and means no more than 
 this, that when He sits on the tribunal to pronounce 
 sentence, or when He distributes rewards and 
 punishments, He will treat men according to their 
 naked characters, unbiassed by any other consi- 
 deration, uninfluenced by any private partialities, 
 as for Jews against Gentiles, for apostles against 
 
£38 ELECTION* [LECT. IX, 
 
 common Christians, for members of the Church 
 against infidels, for the learned against the igno- 
 rant, for the rich against the poor, for masters 
 against servants, for kings against peasants. That 
 this is certainly His meaning will appear from a 
 single glance at the passages in which the phrase 
 is used. Jehoshaphat said to the judges, " Take 
 heed what ye do, for ye judge not for men, but for 
 the Lord, who is with you in the judgment: — for 
 there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor re- 
 spect of persons, nor taking of gifts," ( bribes. J 
 Moses said to the people, " Be no more stiff-neck- 
 ed, for the Lord your God is — a great God, a 
 mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not per- 
 sons, nor taketh reward, {bribes:'] He doth execute 
 the judgment of the fatherless and widow." " Shall 
 even he," said Elihu, " that hateth right govern, 
 and wilt thou condemn Him that is most just f Is 
 it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? — How 
 much less to Him that accepteth not the persons of 
 princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor. 
 — He striketh them as wicked men in the open 
 sight of others, because — they cause the cry of the 
 poor to come unto Him. — He respecteth not any 
 that are wise of heart." When Peter beheld the 
 tokens of divine favour to the first Gentile converts, 
 he said, " Of a truth I perceive that God is no re- 
 specter of persons, for in every nation he that fear - 
 eth Him and ivorketh righteousness is accented 
 7vith Him." Paul, looking forward to " the day of 
 wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. 239 
 
 of God," says, "Who will render to every man 
 according to his deeds, — tribulation and anguish 
 upon every soul of man that doth evil, of the Jew 
 first, and also of the Gentile ; but glory, honour, 
 and peace to every man that vvorketh good, to the 
 Jew first, and also to the Gentile ; for there is no 
 respect of persons with God." Speaking of the 
 apostles and Christians in the mother church at 
 Jerusalem, he says, "Whatsoever they were it 
 maketh no matter to me ; God accepteth no man's 
 person." That is, neither membership in the mo- 
 ther church, nor even an apostleship is regarded by 
 Him who looks only at the naked character. To 
 masters and servants he says, "Ye masters, do 
 the same unto them, forbearing threatening, know- 
 ing that your Master also is in heaven, neither is 
 there respect of persons with Him." " Servants, 
 obey in all things your masters, — knowing that of 
 the Lord ye shall receive the reward : — but he 
 that doth wrong shall receive for the wrong which 
 he hath done ; and there is no respect of persons.'* 
 But Peter brings this matter to a point : " If ye 
 call on the Father, who without respect of persons 
 judgeth according to every man's work." So when 
 the Herodians constituted Christ a judge in the 
 question about paying tribute to Cesar, they say, 
 " Neither acceptest thou the person of any, but 
 teachest the way of God truly ;" pretending to say, 
 that He would give a just judgment without parti- 
 ality even to an emperor. 
 
MO ELECTION. [LECT. IX. 
 
 Turn now to the passages in which the phrase 
 is used in reference to men. In every case when 
 thus applied it refers to men appointed to judge for 
 God. "I charged your judges, — saying, hear the 
 cause between your brethren, and judge righteous- 
 ly : — ye shall not respect persons in judgment, but 
 you shall hear the small as well as the great,— for 
 the judgment is God's." " Ye shall do no un- 
 righteousness in judgment ; thou shalt not respect 
 the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the 
 mighty ; but in righteousness shalt tJwu judge thy 
 neighbour." " Thou shalt not wrest judgment ; 
 thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift, 
 [a bribe. ~\ — That which is altogether just shalt 
 thou follow. " " It is not good to have respect of 
 persons in judgment. He that saith unto the wick- 
 ed, Thou art righteous, him shall the people curse." 
 u To have respect of persons is not good, for /or a 
 piece of bread, [a bribe,"] that man will trans- 
 gress." In allusion to church assemblies held to 
 judge of controversies between brethren, James 
 says, "Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 — with respect of persons. For if there come into 
 your assemblies a man with a gold ring in goodly 
 apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile 
 raiment ; and ye have respect to him that weareth 
 the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here 
 in a good place, and say to the poor, Stand thou 
 there, or sit thou here under my footstool ; are ye 
 not then partial in yourselves, and are become 
 
LECT, IX.] SECTION. 241 
 
 judges of evil thoughts? — But if ye have respect 
 *o persons, ye commit sin."* 
 
 These, I believe, are all the instances in which 
 the phrase is found in the Bible, with the excep- 
 tion of a single passage in which it is perhaps im- 
 properly introduced into our translation.! And 
 what do all these passages prove? that when God 
 acts in the character of a, judge, or when He distri- 
 butes rewards and punishments, He will treat men 
 according to tfrek naked character, unbiassed by any 
 other consideration. But they do not deny the dis- 
 criminating influence of His holy sovereignty in 
 farming that character. If He has none of the un- 
 just partialities of a wicked judge that will acquit 
 the wicked and condemn the righteous, yet has He 
 not a right to bestow a free gift on whom He 
 •pleases? It is enough for us to know that the 
 exercise of His sovereignty is not arbitrary, nor ca- 
 pricious, nor influenced by private partialities, but 
 by infinite wisdom and love, aiming at no other 
 object than the general happiness. • We may rest 
 assured that there is a good reason for every dis- 
 crimination which He makes, though that reason 
 Is not explained to u's. And what right has any 
 nam to complain ? After salvation is provided, 
 and offered, and refused, does it become him to 
 eon plain that he is not forced to accept it? Has 
 
 » Lev. si x . 15. prut. i. 16, 17. and x. 16—18. and xvi. 18—20. 
 . I bron. xix. 6, 7. Job xxxiv. 17 — 23. and xxxvii. 24. Prov. xxiv. 23, 
 ami xxviii. 21. I.nkc xx. 21. Acts x. 34,35. Horn. ii. 5 — 11. 
 £ph, vi, p. Col. iii. 22—25. James ii. 1—9. 1 Pet i U 
 J t 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 a j 
 
24£ election. £lect. IX* 
 
 lie merited salvation, and that constraining influ- 
 ence too, that lie thinks himself authorized to com- 
 plain ? Was God under obligation to provide a 
 Saviour ? And was He bound moreover to force 
 that Saviour upon you ? The truth is that all 
 men deserve to die ; none have any claims on God 
 for life ; every part of salvation is a free, unmerit- 
 ed gift. And shall not God have the common 
 liberty of a man, to bestow a free gift on whom He 
 pleases ? Who is injured by it? The least favour- 
 ed of His rational offspring suffer no more than they 
 deserve. If you have your deserts, and others have 
 more, what is that to you ? Has He not a right to 
 do what He will with His own ? 
 
 But after all there is one class of men to whom 
 this doctrine will always present insuperable diffi- 
 culties. They are those who would rather intrust 
 their fate to their own hands than to the hands 
 of God, — who would rather hold the throne than 
 yield it to Him. To people of this description the 
 doctrine can never be cleared up, — for this sub- 
 stantial reason, — it is opposed to their wishes. By 
 this class you may expect to be often admonished 
 that the doctrine, if it is true, ought never to be 
 preached ; because, as they tell you, it is liable to 
 be abused, and may, they fear, discourage men, 
 and tempt them to sit down without an effort. And 
 pray what doctrine is not liable to be abused ? 
 Must we then suppress the whole? Tell me ano- 
 ther thing. Has God revealed this truth ? and has 
 He done it for the benefit of the world? and are 
 
LECT. IX.] ELECTION. 243 
 
 you wiger than God ? Has He any where author- 
 ized His ministers to cover a part of His Revelation? 
 If not, can your advice be a sufficient warrant? 
 Do you think yourself authorized to give advice in 
 a case which God has decided? Take a little 
 more liberty, and advise the Author of the Bible to 
 recall a part of His Revelation. 
 
 But shall I tell you some of the ends that may 
 be answered by preaching this doctrine? One im- 
 portant end is to detect hearts which are unwilling 
 that God should reign, — to lay open those smooth, 
 selfish spirits which, while they cry Hosanna, are 
 hostile to the dominion of Jehovah. The more 
 fully God and the system of His government arc 
 brought out to view, the more clearly are the se- 
 crets of all hearts revealed. Another end is to 
 show the world their real condition, their absolute 
 dependance, and what they owe to the grace of 
 God. If it is a fact that sinners are so obstinate 
 that they must be subdued, ought they not to know 
 it? If it is a fact that God " worketh all things af- 
 ter the counsel of His own will," shall this im- 
 portant part of His character and administration 
 he concealed? If His eternal covenant with His 
 Son, and the whole economy of grace, arc what 
 they have been represented, shall men be kept ig- 
 norant of truths which constitute so large a part of 
 the glory of God, and furnish so vast a proportion 
 of the themes of their everlasting praise ? Shall 
 not sinners be told that every part of their salvation 
 comes from God? and shall not saints be allowed 
 
SM' ELECTION. [LECT. HU 
 
 to know who lias made llicm to differ ? Shall the* 
 Church lose the happiness of seeing God on the 
 throne, and ihe immortal interests of all men in His 
 hands ? Shall not a universal world he taught to 
 ascribe their whole salvation to Him, and to lay 
 their honours at His feet ? Tear not from me — I 
 had almost said, the siceetesi truth of the Christian 
 system ! Deny me not the happiness of knowing my 
 obligations, and blessing my Deliverer ! Hide not 
 from my eyes the only foundation of human hope ? 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 THE PLEA OF INABILITY CONSIDERED, 
 
 MATTHEW XXV. 24— 2?\ 
 
 then he which had received the one talent came and said, loiij); 
 i knew thee that thou aht a hard man, heaping where thou 
 hast not soavn, and gathering where thou hast not strowed ; 
 and i was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth : 
 lo, there thou hast that is thine. his lord answered and s yij> 
 unto him, thou wicked and slothful servant ! thou knewest 
 that i reap where i sowed not, and gather where i have not 
 strowed ! thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to 
 the exchangers, and then at my coming i should have received 
 my own with usury- 
 
 ThERE is a certain plea, often found in the 
 mouths of sinners who hear the Gospel faithfully 
 preached, the falsity and wickedness of which this 
 parable was intended to expose, The plea is, that 
 God requires more than they are able to perform ; 
 that they cannot change their own hearts, — cannot 
 love and submit to Him : and this they urge as an 
 excuse for doing nothing. The parable represents 
 this as the common retreat of every sinner under 
 the Gospel. It divides the Christian world into 
 two parts, those who faithfully improve different 
 
&1G THE plea or [lect. X.' 
 
 talents, and those who call God a hard master. It 
 puts this pretence into the mouth of every cast- 
 away. And where the divine requirements are 
 clearly urged, this is the plea of every unregenerate 
 man. If any thing was wanting to complete the 
 proof of Total Depravity, this universal disposition 
 to accuse God would furnish the supplement. The 
 plea is false, impious, ruinous, insincere, at vari- 
 ance with other things uttered by the same lips, and 
 self condemning if true. These arc the points 
 which I shall attempt to establish. 
 
 (1.) The plea is false. It is not true that God 
 requires of sinners more than they are able to per- 
 form . It is not true that thev cannot love and sub- 
 mit to Him. They have ample power, and nothing 
 prevents but their desperate wickedness. 
 
 But the ability which is ascribed to them ought 
 to be distinctly explained. It is a natural ability, 
 in distinction from a moral. By moral I mean 
 that which hears relation to praise or blame. What- 
 ever impediment is blamable, is a moral difficulty ; 
 every other is natural. Now if there is no difficul- 
 ty in the way of their loving and submitting to God 
 but what they are to blame for, there is no natural 
 inability ; and if there is no natural inability, there 
 is natural power. If nothing hinders but what is a 
 moral evil, for the existence and continuance of 
 which they are to blame, then there is no natural 
 or blameless inability. If the impediment is mo- 
 ral or blameworthy, it cannot be natural or blame- 
 less : and where there is no natural inability, there 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED, 217 
 
 must be natural power. If they could readily obey 
 were there no faulty cause to prevent, then it is pro- 
 per to say that they are able. This is agreeable to 
 the common language of mankind, and consonant 
 with all our ideas of power in the ordinary affairs 
 of life. If nothing but wickedness prevents the 
 performance of an action, common sense pronounces 
 that there is power. If nothing but stubbornness 
 prevents a child from walking, you say he has 
 power to walk. You speak differently if he is 
 tame. Where the difficulty of overcoming an in- 
 clination is very great, you still say there is pow- 
 er. You tell the drunkard that he can abandon 
 his cups ; and if he denies, you have only to drop 
 a little poison into his glass, and it may stand by 
 him untouched for half a century. And in a higher 
 case, where no motive can be found strong enough 
 to relist the inclination, you liave the same reason 
 to speak of the power : for in the case of the 
 drunkard you pronounce him able before the suc- 
 cessful motive is applied. And if you declare 
 him able in the absence of the motive, you may as 
 truly pronounce a sinner able to love God who has 
 no disposition. For the sinner can as easily love 
 without a disposition, as the drunkard can change 
 his habits without a constraining motive, — indeed 
 as easily as a man can stop in a journey while the 
 stronger motive urges him forward. 
 
 The single question is, whether there is any 
 difficulty in the way of loving God but what sinners 
 are to blame for. As they possess understanding. 
 
218 THE PLEA OF [lECT. X. 
 
 will, and affection^ and are capable of loving and 
 hating, it will be allowed that nothing prevents but 
 a wrong temper of heart, — nothing, (as has been 
 proved in former Lectures,) but supreme selfish- 
 ness, producing an implacable opposition, too deep 
 and powerful to be overcome but by the Spirit of 
 God. Now is this opposition a misfortune or a, 
 fault ? A fault surely : for if disinclination excuses 
 from duty, all the sin in the universe is excused, 
 and is no longer sin. If in proportion as the heart 
 is opposed to right it is exonerated from blame, God 
 cannot make a creature capable of sinning. If sin 
 exists any where it must be in the heart. The mo- 
 i ions of the body, considered otherwise than as in- 
 dications of the heart, bear no more relation to 
 praise or blame than the motions of a clock. But 
 if there is sin in the heart, it must consist in the op- 
 jposiiion of the heart to good. If that opposition, 
 (the essence of all possible sin,) is really an ex- 
 cuse, then sin is an excuse for itself, and is no 
 longer sin, — the difference between sin and holi- 
 ness is no more,— both are extinct, and men are 
 machines. If disinclination excuses from obedi- 
 ence, then every law requiring men to cross their 
 inclinations is oppression, and punishment is tyran- 
 ny. Every trace of a moral government; indeed 
 of every other government, ought to be obliterated, 
 and but one law remain to the universe, and that 
 be for every creature to do as he pleases. The 
 malignity of devils is no more sinful than ihe fury 
 of lions, and the love of seraphs no more praise- 
 
lect. x."| inability considered. 249 
 
 worthy than the mildness of lambs. The moral 
 Governour lias lost His throne, and is no more than 
 a shepherd among a floek of sheep and goats. To 
 all this horrid length you are pushed the moment 
 you attempt to hold up the opposition of the heart 
 to God as an excuse instead of a crime, — the mo- 
 ment you deny it to be the very essence of all sin. 
 And consider, I pray you, how it must appear 
 to the Majesty of heaven and earth for you to 
 stand forth and plead, that you cannot discover any 
 u forin" or " comeliness" in Him why you " should 
 desire Him" ! Is He then so unlovely that a ra- 
 tional mind cannot love Him? What, cannot love 
 the infinitely glorious God, your Creator, Preser- 
 ver, and Redeemer ! Have you such a heart as this? 
 And your heart is you yourself. Are you then 
 such a wretch, that all the motives which three 
 worlds present cannot prevail on you to love the 
 blessed God ! It is an everlasting blot on creation 
 that a second word need be uttered to induce men 
 to love that Being whom all heaven adore. And 
 are you such a wretch that all the motives in the 
 universe cannot persuade you, and you must be 
 compelled ? What an eternal reproach to the name 
 of man ! And do you offer this horrid temper as 
 your excuse? Is this your plea? I call heaven 
 and earth to witness that this is pleading guil- 
 ty. "How can I love God?" How can you 
 help it? How is it possible to avoid loving such 
 a Being ? Canuot ! You can love every thing 
 else. You can love sin, the most loathsome of 
 
250 THE PLEA Off [LECT. X. 
 
 objects. And is it harder to love infinite loveli- 
 ness? How think you this plea will appear at 
 the Judgment of the Great Day ? When God shall 
 arraign you, and charge you with being His ene- 
 my, and you shall plead that you were His ene- 
 my, and so much His enemy that you could not 
 love Him, what will He say? Our text tells you 
 what He will say : " Thou wicked and slothful 
 servant !" and will then command you to outer 
 darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of 
 teeth. Have you risen up against God and the 
 universe, and committed sins deserving of eternal 
 *• shame and contempt"? and do you now ask, 
 How can I repent P How can you help dying 
 with shame and self-loathing? What should you 
 think of a man who had murdered his father 
 and mother, and could not be sorry ? Has the 
 Son of God died to redeem you, and then spread 
 before you the most incontestable proofs of His 
 mission and death? and can you not believe? 
 Can you not make one thank-offering to dying 
 love ? Can you not help being His enemy, and 
 trampling His blood in the dust ? Are you such 
 a monster of ingratitude and wickedness ? And 
 do you still ask, How can I repent? 
 
 You admit in general that you are to blame 
 for your opposition to God ; but it has risen to 
 such a pitch that you cannot subdue it, and from 
 this task you think you ought to be excused. 
 And has it come to this, that a man is (o blame 
 for committing murder once, but if he commits 
 
?,ECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. %5i 
 
 it ten times, and forms the habit, he may mur- 
 der with impunity ? Or to confine the view to 
 operations of the mind) will you say that a man 
 is to blame for hating his neighbour a little, 
 but if he hates him much he is excused? Is 
 it not manifest to common sense that the more 
 he hates the more inexcusable he is? And on 
 the same principle if the sinner's opposition to 
 God rises so high as to be unconquerable but 
 by divine power, he is on that account the more 
 abominable and hell-deserving. And does he think 
 to plead in extenuation the very thing that ag- 
 gravates his guilt ? 
 
 But there are no bounds to this plea. If you 
 accept it as an excuse for not loving and submitting 
 to God, and only exhort the sinner to be convicted, 
 the same plea comes up again,— -he cannot convict 
 himself. Press him to be awakened, and he can- 
 not awaken himself. Urge him to a serious and 
 earnest use of means, and he cannot be serious and 
 earnest of himself. Tell him to trv, — to bind his 
 thoughts to divine subjects, and he cannot bind his 
 thoughts himself. Quit the ground of religion, and 
 beseech him only to govern his turbulent passions, 
 and he cannot ; to break his bad habits, he cannot; 
 to resist temptation, he cannot ; to break away 
 from wicked companions, he cannnot : to avoid 
 swearing, drunkenness, uncleanness, still he cannot. 
 There is nothing that lie can do but sin with all his 
 might. This is no picture of the fancy. At all 
 fhcse points men have stood, and arc daily stand- 
 
252 THE PLEA OF [LECT. X. 
 
 ing to protect themselves with the tyrant's plea of 
 necessity. And which of the whole fraternity 
 makes out the best excuse, it would be hard to 
 determine. 
 
 Not one of you would admit this excuse in a 
 plea against yourself. If one should indulge a 
 spirit of unreasonable enmity against you, you 
 would hardly accept it as an apology that he hated 
 you so much that he could not love you, When 
 the plea is against you, you judge one way ; when 
 it is for you, another. How manifest it is that your 
 judgment is perverted and blinded by self-love. 
 From that prejudiced tribunal I appeal to common 
 sense. Does not common sense decide that men 
 are without excuse for hating the greatest and best 
 of beings? And if you would allow the Bible to 
 enter its voice in a question between you and its 
 Author, that would settle every doubt. The Bible 
 uniformly treats the evil propensities of the heart as 
 utterly without excuse. It every where speaks in 
 terms of the most pointed reprobation of those who 
 arc lovers of their own selves, lovers of the world, 
 lovers of pleasure, proud, high-minded, envious, 
 wrathful, hard-hearted, impenitent, unbelieving, 
 without love to God. It men are not to blame for 
 these evils of the heart, we want a new Bible, a 
 new moral government, a new God ! 
 
 Only grant me that it is inexcusable to disobey 
 the positive commands of God, — commands address- 
 ed to you, and issued in full view of all your embar- 
 rassments, and It is settled that you are without 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. 233 
 
 excuse for not instantly loving and submitting to 
 Him. That such an immediate submission is re- 
 quired, I shall presently show, and shall now as- 
 sume. Here then is a state of things which must 
 bring blame on the Lawgiver or on you. If you 
 have a good excuse for not obeying these com- 
 mands, they ought not to have been issued, and 
 then the blame falls on Him ; if you have no excuse, 
 the blame rests on you. I know you are striving 
 by all these self-justifying pleas to fasten it on 
 God ; but I shall deem it no assumption, after all 
 that has been said, if I clear my Maker and lay the 
 blame on vou. 
 
 This brings me to the end of my argument, and 
 shows that there is no difficulty in the way but 
 what you are to blame for, — none therefore but of 
 a moral nature, — therefore no natural inability, — 
 of course you must have natural power. 
 
 Having arrived at this conclusion, I shall pro- 
 ceed to confirm it by other considerations. The Bi- 
 ble, (if you will allow me to quote that authority in 
 a controversy between you and its Author,) repre- 
 sents men as possessed of natural power, and as- 
 cribes all their embarrassment to the depravity of 
 their hearts or wills. " O foolish people, and with- 
 out understanding, which have eyes and see not, 
 which have ears and hear not." " Thou dwellest 
 in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes 
 to see and see not, they have ears to hear and hear 
 
 not, FOR THEY ARE A REBELLIOUS HOUSE.'* "Bring 
 
 forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf 
 
2.34i THE PLEA OF [lECT. X. 
 
 that have ears." " They arc like the deaf adder 
 that stoppeth her ears ; which will not hearken to 
 the voice of the charmers, charming never so wise- 
 ly." "Thus saith the Lord, — In returning and 
 rest shall ye he saved, in quietness and in confi- 
 dence shall be your strength, and ye would not." 
 " Ye will not come to me that ye might have life." 
 " How often would I have gathered thy children 
 together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens un- 
 der her wings, and ye would not" " Those my 
 enemies which would not that I should reign over 
 them, bring hither and slay them before me." 
 u This is the condemnation, that light is come in- 
 to the world, and men loved darkness rather than 
 light, because their deeds were evil. For every 
 one that doth evil hateth the light, neither cometh 
 to the light lest his deeds should he reproved." 
 The moral Governour every where disclaims the 
 principle of requiring men to go beyond their pow- 
 er : " If there be first a willing mind it is accept- 
 ed, according to that a man hath, and not accord- 
 ing to that he hath not."^ 
 
 But is it not said, u JSTo man can come to me 
 except the Father — draw him"? I answer, the 
 Scriptures often use the word cannot to express 
 nothing more than a strong disinclination. " Haste 
 thee, escape thither," said the angel to Lot, " for 
 I cannot do anv thins; till thou be come thither." 
 Joseph's brethren " hated him, and could not speak 
 
 * Ps.lviii. 4, 5. Isai. xxx. 15. and xliii. 3. Jer. v. 21. Ezek. xii. 2. 
 Mat.xxiii. 37. Luke xix. 27. John iii. 19,20. and v. 40. 2Coi\ viii. 12. 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. 2jJ 
 
 peaceably unto him." " The tabernacle of the 
 Lord, — and the altar of the burnt offering, were — 
 at Gibeon ; but David could not go before it to in- 
 quire of God, for he was afraid because of the 
 sword of the angel of the Lord.-' " Can that 
 which is unsavoury be eaten without salt ?" " My 
 iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I 
 am not able to look up." "I am so troubled 
 that I cannot speak." " Then said the Lord 
 unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood be- 
 fore me, yet my mind could not be towards 
 this people." "Can two walk together except 
 they be agreed? — The Lord hath spoken, who 
 can but prophesy?" "How can ye being evil 
 speak good things ? for out of the abundance 
 of t\m heart the mouth speaketh." " Ye can 
 discern the face of the sky, but can ye not dis- 
 cern the signs of the times?" "Having eyes full 
 of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin." 
 " Can the children of the bride-chamber fast while 
 the bridegroom is with them ?" " This is a hard 
 saying, who can hear it ?" In none of these 
 passages does the word denote any thing more 
 than a strong disinclination. So when it is said, 
 "No man can come to me except the Father 
 — draw him," the meaning, as it is explained by 
 the same lips, is only this, " Ye will not come to 
 me that ye might have life."* 
 
 * Gen. xix. 22. and xxxvii. 4. 1 Cliron. xxi. 29, 30. Job vi. 6. Ps, 
 xl. 12. and lxxvii. 4. Jcr. xv. 1. Amos iii. 3, 8. Mat. xii. 34. and xvi. 3. 
 Mark ii. 19. John v. 40. and vi. 44, 60. 2 Pet. ii. 14. 
 
2.M) THE PLEA OF [LECT. X. 
 
 The denial of the sinners power leads directly 
 to the grossest scheme of fatality. This will ap- 
 pear from the three following remarks : 
 
 [1.] Sinners have as much power to change 
 their hearts as they have to alter at once any of 
 their worldly or social dispositions. That earthly 
 objects can offer motives more congenial than the 
 truths of religion to their general tempers, alters 
 not the case ; for it has been proved that no dispo- 
 sition is changed by motives. 
 
 [2.] Sinners have as much power to love 
 God, as they have to exercise feelings opposite to 
 any of their worldly or social dispositions. The 
 numberless changes which take place in their 
 worldly and social feelings while their dispositions 
 remain the same, furnish no proof that their feel- 
 ings and dispositions ever disagree ; for different 
 feelings, under different views and motives, will 
 grow out of the same disposition, and equally ac- 
 cord with it. For example, new views of your 
 neighbour's character may remove prejudice, and 
 excite kinder affections towards him ; or your re- 
 gards may be changed by conduct in him more gra- 
 tifying to your self-love ; but your antipathy and 
 love, in this case, grow out of the same dispo- 
 sition, only under the influence of different motives. 
 
 [3.] Sinners have the same power to obey 
 God, as they have to yield, in the common affairs 
 of life, to any motive which at present, through the 
 badness of their disposition, does not controul 
 them, It has been proved that the strongest mo- 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. 257 
 
 five, (that is, the motive which has most influence 
 with the existing disposition,) absolutely controuls 
 the affections, the will, and the conduct. A man 
 by reflection may bring new motives before him, 
 which may occasion alterations in all these ; but 
 in every stage his feelings, decisions, and actions 
 will be shaped by the motives which have most in- 
 fluence with the disposition. 
 
 Now combine these three ideas in a single case. 
 A man, under the influence of a bad disposition, 
 and wicked feelings thence arising, finds stronger 
 motives to desert his family than to stay at home. 
 Of course he will desert them. On his way he is 
 overtaken by a friend who has come after him to 
 persuade him back. But it happens that all the 
 motives which are urged have less influence than 
 those which hurry the wretch away. I ask now 
 whether that man has power to return ? Can he 
 yield to the motives presented ? He will not yield 
 while his feelings remain the same. Can he alter 
 his feelings ? He will not alter them while his 
 disposition remains the same, and the same motives, 
 with the same degree of clearness, are before him. 
 Can he change his disposition? In a word, can 
 the man, while assailed by no other motives, alter 
 his purpose and return ? If you say he lias not 
 power, you decide that no man can feel or act in 
 any ease differently from what he does : and what 
 is this but establishing a system of the grossest fa- 
 tality ? If you say he has power, precisely in Uiq 
 eainc sense are sinners able to love and obey God. 
 33 
 
258 THE PLEA of [lect. X. 
 
 Accordingly the Bible from first to last treats 
 them as beings possessed of ample power. It 
 invites them : " Look unto me and be ye saved, 
 all the ends of the earth." " The Spirit and the 
 bride say, Come ; and let him that heareth say. 
 Come ; and let him that is athirst come ; and wlw- 
 soever will, let him take the water of life freely." 
 It expostulates with them : "As 1 live, saith the 
 Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wick- 
 ed, but that the wicked turn from his way and live : 
 turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will 
 ye die, O house of Israel ?" It laments over them : 
 Ci O that they w r ere wise ! that they understood this ! 
 that they ivould consider their latter end !" " lie 
 beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If thou 
 hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, 
 the tilings which belong to thy peace ! but now r 
 they are hid from thine eyes."* And after all 
 have men no more power to turn to God than to 
 make a world ? Do these heavenly entreaties only 
 mock their miseries ? Do they only tantalize un- 
 happy prisoners bound with fetters of iron ? 
 
 But this is not the worst. God absolutely com- 
 mands sinners to love and submit to Him, to repent 
 and believe the Gospel. The law, which was 
 '* not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless 
 and disobedient," which " was added because of 
 transgressions," says to every sinner, " Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with 
 
 * Deut. xxxii. 29. IsaL xlv. 22. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Luke xix. 41, 
 4?. Rev. xxli. XT. 
 
I.ECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. 259 
 
 all thy soul, and with all thy might." And what 
 says the Gospel ? God " now commandeth all men 
 every where to repent" " Repent ye and believe." 
 Sinners are even commanded to change their own 
 hearts : u Make you a new heart and a new spirit, 
 for why will ye die?" " Circumcise — the foreskin of 
 your heart." "Let the wicked forsake his way, and 
 the unrighteous man his thoughts." " Rend your 
 heart and not your garments." "Purify your 
 hearts, ye double-minded."* These things God 
 commands : and does He require impossibilities ? 
 Then sinners have got their case in the long dispute 
 which they have been carrying on with their J\Takei\ 
 Nor is this all. God not only commands, He 
 solemnly threatens eternal death in case of dis- 
 obedience. " If any man love not the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, let him he anathema maranatha." "Ex- 
 cept ye repent ye shall all likewise perish." " He 
 that believeth not shall be damned." He not only 
 threatens, but He executes. He actually sends sin- 
 ners to eternal perdition for no other reason than, 
 because they do not obey these commands. And 
 still are they unable ? Are they eternally punished 
 for not doing impossibilities ? What then do you 
 make of God ? Were vou to see a master beating 
 his servant a whole day together for not lifting a 
 mountain, you would say the man was mad. And 
 does God lay upon His creatures eternal punish 
 
 * Deut. vi. 5. and x. 16. Isai. lv. 7. .Tor. iv. 4. Ezek. xviii. 31. 
 Joelii. 13. Mark i. 15. Acts xvii. 30. Gal. iii. 19. 1 Tim. L 9. 
 James iv 8. 
 
260 THE PLEA 0¥ [LECT. Xi 
 
 ment for not doing what is utterly impossible ? Is 
 this the God whom angels love and adore ? Nero 
 was a lamb to this ! 
 
 Some have attempted to justify this supposed 
 conduct of the Most High, by alleging that sinners 
 have destroyed their own power, and may therefore 
 be justly held bound to do all that they originally 
 wore able. " If a servant," say they, " has cut 
 off his hands to avoid labour, may not his mas- 
 ter still require his task, and daily punish him 
 for neglecting it?" I firmly answer, J\To* He 
 may punish him for disabling himself; (that is 
 the whole of his crime :J but if he daily abuses 
 the cripple for not performing his task after 
 it has become impossible, he is a tyrant and 
 a monster. But the case is still stronger when 
 you take into account the entailment of depravi- 
 ty. The servant did not cut off his oavii hands : 
 his mother in a sinful enterprise fell with him be- 
 fore he was born, and he was brought into the 
 world a cripple : and now he must be unmer- 
 cifully punished every day of his life for not em- 
 ploying limbs which he never had. Is this a 
 picture of the moral government of God ! Head 
 any page in the Bible, and then say, — is this the 
 government which that book describes? 
 
 I hear some one say, You may reason me 
 down, but after all it is a matter of fact that I 
 cannot. How do you know this ? Hid you ever 
 try? Hid you ever try with all your heart? 
 Have you ever done as well as you could for • 
 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. S6i 
 
 a single hour ? For a single hour did you ever 
 keep your thoughts as much on God, and ex- 
 ert as much earnestness in prayer, and feel as 
 kindly towards God and man, as you were ahle ? 
 Have you done this for a whole month together ? 
 Have you done it through life? If not, it is 
 not for you to complain that you have no power. 
 No power ! Alas ! as you use power you have 
 too much. You have power to resist, — to resist 
 so vigorously that nothing hut the arm of God 
 can conquer you. This is the only thing that pre- 
 vents you from loving and submitting to Him. 
 Do you not resist ? Why it is as plain as light 
 that you will not even be convicted. What is con- 
 viction? It is a deep sense of being without ex- 
 cuse. And when we attempt to penetrate you 
 with this sense, here you are defending yourself 
 against it with all your might, — and then turn and 
 complain that you have no power! The truth 
 itself would have convicted you long ago if you 
 had not resisted. Like the ever-flowing light of 
 heaven, it would freely have come in at your 
 window if you had not barred the passage. " TJiis 
 is the condemnation, [not that you cannot obtain 
 light, but] that light is come into the world,"' 
 and you have " loved darkness rather than light, 
 because [your] deeds were evil. For every one 
 that doth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to 
 the light lest his deeds should be reproved."* So 
 the nightly thief, for whom you arc searching 
 
 * John iii. 19, 20. 
 
262 THE PLEA 01* [LECT. X. 
 
 in your apartments, will endeavour to strike tho 
 lamp from your hand lest the light should de- 
 tect him. The truth is you cannot hear to 
 take the blame upon yourself. You will cast 
 it upon Adam, upon God, any where but where 
 it ought to lie. And after all these exertions to 
 resist conviction, you will make a long list of 
 excuses for not being convicted, and lament 
 over it as your misfortune and not your fault. 
 But, (to turn the subject over for another view,) 
 pray what prevents that deep sense of divine 
 things which is the conviction itself, but your 
 unbelief ? And is unbelief to be admitted as an 
 excuse for stupidity? Does God regard it in 
 the light of an excuse ? No, He charges it 
 upon you as your own proper crime, a crime of 
 the deepest die. He pronounces it worthy of 
 eternal rebuke, and solemnly declares, " He that 
 believeth not shall be damned." Such is the ene- 
 my which bars your heart against conviction ; and 
 when an attempt is made to dislodge the foe, you 
 stand forward to protect it by your thousand ex- 
 cuses ; and then say, you would give the world 
 to be convicted but have no power. 
 
 (3.) This plea is impious. It casts all the 
 infamy of the sinner- s rebellion on God, and im- 
 putes to Him a character which the veriest tyrant 
 on earth would blush to own, — a character, 1 may 
 say, as black as Satan himself. The language 
 is, " I knew thee that thou art a hard master, 
 requiring more than thy creatures can perform, 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. 263 
 
 and punishing them with eternal torment for not 
 doing impossibilities. By offering life on such con- 
 ditions, thou hast only mocked my misery ; and 
 though I must suffer forever, I still affirm that 
 for missing salvation I am not to blame." The 
 great point in dispute between you and your 
 Maker is, who shall bear the blame. He lays 
 it upon you, you cast it upon Him. On this 
 question the parties are fairly at issue. Blame, ab- 
 solutely infinite, must attach to one or the other ; 
 because endless misery is actually threatened and 
 inflicted. If that misery is not deserved, infinite 
 blame attaches to Him who inflicts it ; if it is de- 
 served, infinite guilt rests on the sufferer. God 
 declares that He will lay all this evil upon you for 
 not making to yourself a new heart, not loving 
 and submitting to Him, not repenting and believ- 
 ing the Gospel. In this He charges infinite guilt 
 on you. You affirm that you cannot perforin 
 these duties, and are not to blame for the neglect. 
 In this you accuse Him of being the greatest ty- 
 rant that ever alarmed a distempered imagination- 
 Here then is perfect war. No two men were ever 
 more earnestly at strife. And yet you say you 
 are not His enemy. I appeal to the universe if 
 this is not enmity and Avar, if this is not high 
 treason against God in its most horrid form. 
 
 (3.) This plea is ruinous. It is only an 
 exertion to steel your conscience against a sense 
 of blame ; and while you succeed, you never can 
 be convicted. While you say you cannot, yau 
 
26k THE PLEA OF [LECT. X. 
 
 never can. The main difficulty in the way of 
 conviction, and of course one grand impediment 
 in the way of conversion, is this very plea. The 
 removal of it is the conviction itself. The re- 
 moval of it is therefore clearing away one of 
 the greatest obstructions to your salvation. This 
 obstruction must be removed. You must take 
 the shame and blame to yourself, and clear your 
 Maker, or nothing can ever be done for you. 
 While you are striving to cover yourself with 
 this excuse, you know not what you do ; you 
 are taking the readiest way to ruin yourself forever. 
 If you would not perpetrate the highest act of 
 suicide, court this conviction, lie down under a. 
 sense that you are without excuse, and draw it 
 upon you with all your might. This is the 
 first step that you can take. If you will not 
 take this, but will stand justifying yourself till 
 you die, you must inevitably perish. 
 
 (4.) The plea is insincere. The worst of it 
 all is, that after so long abusing your Maker 
 with these horrid charges, you do not believe, 
 a word of them yourself. If you did, you 
 would not remain so unmoved ; you would be 
 overwhelmed with terrour and dismay. Were 
 a man locked up in a burning house, and knew 
 the key to be in the hands of a merciless ty- 
 rant, you would not see him folding his arms, 
 and walking at his ease about the apartments. 
 When we see your knees smite like Belshaz- 
 zar ? s, we shall besfui to believe you sincere. 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. 265 
 
 But while you continue sporting along the road 
 of life without one anxious thought of God or 
 eternity, we know that your plea is nothing but 
 a pretence to protect your stupidity. You do 
 not even believe that you are dependant. Would 
 to God you did ! You would not then treat the 
 Sovereign of the universe with all this abuse. 
 You would not then thus boldly cast off fear and 
 restrain prayer. We should hear you crying for 
 mercy with the earnestness of a dying man. — But 
 the insincerity of this plea will be still more evi- 
 dent when we consider, 
 
 (;?.) How much at variance it is with other 
 things uttered by the same lips. At the moment 
 you urge this excuse, you deny the doctrine of 
 Election. Now if what you say is true, that you 
 are as unable to obey the Gospel as a dead man is 
 to rise, certainly your salvation depends on God; 
 and if He is unchangeable, it depends on His eter- 
 nal will or decree : and this is Election. The 
 doctrine of Election follows from your plea in a far 
 more terriiick form than that in which I have pre- 
 sented it. And yet you urge the plea and reject 
 the doctrine. You will neither consent to have 
 power yourself, nor leave your fate with God. If 
 we say you have power, and urge you to act, you 
 deny, and plead your inability as an excuse for do- 
 ing nothing. If we say you are dependant, (though 
 in a far inferior sense,) and speak of Election, 
 (which is an inevitable consequence of your depen- 
 dance,) you again deny and complain. My dear 
 34 
 
-66 THE PLEA Of [LECT. X, 
 
 hearer, what do you want? u We have piped unto 
 you, and ye have not danced ; we have mourned 
 unto you, and ye have not lamented." You will 
 neither have it that you can turn yourself, nor that 
 it depends on the eternal, unchangeable God to 
 turn you. How then would you have it? You 
 plainly know not your own mind, and seem settled 
 in nothing but to resist every truth that happens to 
 displease you. To engage in the divine service, is 
 loathsome, and that you Avill not do ; to bear the 
 blame of refusing, you cannot consent ; and there- 
 fore you take shelter in the plea of inability : to be 
 dependant on God's eternal choice, is insufferable 
 to your feelings, (though this unavoidably follows 
 from your own plea ;) and therefore you oppose 
 Election. The three things which you desire are 
 these 5 to be excused from the divine service, to be 
 exonerated from the blame of neglecting it, and to 
 hold your fate in your own hands. When you 
 would avoid the imputation of blame, you are will- 
 ing to have no power ; but as little power as you 
 have, you insist on deciding your own fate. We 
 may explain Election till we die, and so long as 
 we leave your destiny in the hands of a sovereign 
 God, you are not satisfied. We may heap proof 
 upon proof to establish the point of your ability, 
 and so long as the argument attaches blame to you, 
 you are not convinced. Whenever you are brought 
 to a serious concern about religion, then indeed the 
 case is somewhat altered. Then your sole desire 
 is to be suffered to do something short of Jove and 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. 2G7 
 
 faith, and to induce God by that means to change 
 your heart and save your soul. To be told that 
 you cannot induce Him by such a withered offering, 
 gives you distress ; to be urged to do more, you 
 will not consent. But let me tell you that this hope 
 of moving God by any act that does not rest on 
 Christ, is the very definition of self -righteousness. 
 Yet here you linger, and here you wish ministers to 
 leave you. But if we leave you there, you are un- 
 done. If that self-righteousness is not torn from 
 yon, it will forever keep you from Christ. We 
 must still follow you with loud and repeated warn- 
 ings not to stop short of a full reliance on the Me- 
 diator; and when you refuse, we must show you 
 that your obstinacy casts you dependant on sove- 
 reign grace. And when we do this, you will pro- 
 bably say that we contradict ourselves, and preach 
 that vou can and that vou cannot. 
 
 (6.) This plea, if it were true, ivould only con- 
 demn you. It was a miserable excuse for the 
 slothful servant, that because he expected Iris lord 
 would require exorbitant interest, he had taken 
 care that he should have none. Was this the way 
 to deal with a hard master who had him in his 
 power ? The plea condemned himself. If it were 
 true, he ought to have put his money to the ex- 
 changers, and swelled the amount to the last limit 
 of his power. Sinner, this retort was intended for 
 you. If you have a Master in heaven who re- 
 quires more than you can perform, is tins a good 
 reason why you should do nothing? why you 
 
268 THE PLEA OF [LECT. X. 
 
 should do so much against Iliin ? Is it a good 
 reason why you should never pray in your family, 
 and seldom in your closet ? why you should not 
 look into your Bible once a week ? why you should 
 never attend a religious meeting except on the Sab- 
 bath, and then perhaps but once a day ? If you 
 cannot change your heart, are you therefore obliged 
 to push God out of all your thoughts? to feel so 
 little reverence for Him and His institutions ? to 
 profane His holy day ? to utter so many cavils 
 against His Word? to violate so often, in your deal- 
 ings and conversation, the rule of doing to others 
 as you would have others do to you ? to utter so 
 much slander and profanity ? and to commit in vari- 
 ous ways so many positive sins ? To live altoge- 
 ther to yourself,, and never regard His glory at all, — 
 is this the way to treat a hard master who has you 
 in his power? Out of thine own mouth shalt thou 
 be judged, thou wicked and slothful servant. If 
 your plea is true, your conduct is mad. 
 
 Thus I have finished what was proposed. I have- 
 shown that this allegation against God is false, is 
 impious, is ruinous, is insincere, is at variance with 
 other tilings uttered by the same lips, and is self 
 condemning if true. And now suffer me to be- 
 seech those of you who remain in sin, to renounce 
 this God -provoking plea, and acknowledge your- 
 selves infinitely to blame for not being convicted, 
 for not instantly performing the duties of repentance 
 and faith. Between the full charge contained in 
 ihis horrid plea, and this frank acknowledgment, 
 
LECT. X.] INABILITY CONSIDERED. 269 
 
 there is no middle ground. It is undeniable that 
 for only remaining unconverted, I may say, uncon- 
 victed, this one hour in the house of God, you 
 deserve eternal death. And will you still attempt 
 to justify yourselves and cast the blame on Him ? 
 After He has given you full power to serve Him, 
 and redeemed you from death, and offered you life, 
 and pressed it upon you, and granted you abun- 
 dant light, and you have resisted all, shall He 
 bear the blame, and you be excused ? Ho you in- 
 sist on this ? Then you and your Maker are at 
 open war. And the contest must last forever, or 
 one of the parties must yield. Shall God submit 
 to you ? or will you submit to Him ? If this con- 
 troversy goes to trial at the Last Hay, I forewarn 
 you now that the case will go against you. The 
 sentence of every holy being in the universe will 
 be against you. The conscience of every repro- 
 bate, — your own conscience, — will be against you. 
 agree with your Adversary quickly, while you 
 arc in the way with Him. " As though God did 
 beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's steady 
 be ye reconciled to God !" 
 
 I have told you your duty ; and for neglecting it 
 you have no excuse. But well I know that till the 
 grace of God subdues you, your obstinacy will re- 
 sist all entreaties. This casts you at last, ruined, 
 utterly ruined, se/f-ruined, on the sovereign will of 
 God, — a will which all creation cannot change. 
 At the moment you are supporting this impious 
 warfare with your Maker, mortal man, you are 
 
£/0 THE PLEA, &C. [LECT. X. 
 
 altogether in His hands ! If He hut frown you 
 die. In that condition I leave you, — with these 
 words ringing in your ears, " O Israel, thou hast 
 destroyed thyself, hut in me is thine help." O 
 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself hut in me, in 
 me alone is thine help. Amen. 
 
LECTURE XL 
 
 PERSEVERANCE OF SAINTS. 
 
 ROMANS VIII. 30. 
 
 VTEOM HE DID riiEDESTINATE, THEM HE ALSO CALLED ; AVD WHOM HE 
 CALLED, THEM HE ALSO JUSTIFIED; AND WHOM HE JUSTIFIED, THEJI 
 HE ALSO GLORIFIED. 
 
 After what has been proved in former Lec- 
 tures in regard to Election, the question respecting 
 the Perseverance of the Saints is reduced to this : 
 Are any regenerated besides the elect P For if none 
 but the elect are regenerated, none of the regene- 
 rate can finally apostatize. I presume no good 
 reason can be given why any should be " created 
 in Christ Jesus unto good works," who are not to 
 be "kept by the power of God through faith unto 
 salvation;" — why any should be raised from the 
 dead only to return to their graves. But our text 
 puts this question to rest. Here we are plainly 
 taught that all who are elected are effectually call- 
 ed; that all who are effectually called are justified; 
 that all who are justified are glorified ; therefore 
 that the elect alone are regenerated, and that all 
 
S7S SEVERANCE [r.ECT. XI. 
 
 who arc regenerated are finally saved. The apostle 
 introduces the subject by saying, " We know that 
 all things work together for good, [for salvation, 
 not for destruction,] to them that love God, to them 
 who are the called according to His purpose. For 
 whom He did foreknow, [as His own, not as being 
 holy ; for the predestination which followed ap- 
 pointed them to this character,'] He also did pre- 
 destinate to he conformed to the image of His Son, 
 that He might be the first-born among many breth- 
 ren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them 
 He also called; and whom He called, them He 
 also justified ; and whom He justified, them He 
 also glorified." The apostle then breaks forth in- 
 to this triumphant language, " Who shall separate 
 ns from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or 
 distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, 
 or peril, or sword ? — Nay, in all these things we 
 are more than conquerors through Him that loved 
 us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor 
 life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor 
 depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to se- 
 parate us from the love of God which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord." Here you see joined in one 
 chain four indissoluble links, viz. Election, effec- 
 tual calling, justification, and glorification. The 
 elect only are effectually called, and all that are 
 effectually called are glorified. 
 
 With this passage before us it becomes mani- 
 fest that the doctrine of Perseverance stands inse- 
 
VECT. XI.] OF SAINTS. 2/'3 
 
 parably connected with that of Election. If one 
 has been established, the other follows of course. 
 And since the beginning of the world I know not 
 that any one in his senses ever doubted of the Per- 
 severance of the Saints, who believed in absolute, 
 personal Election. 
 
 In another point of view the foregoing Lectures 
 have prepared the way for a ready belief of this 
 article. They have made it apparent that in every 
 step towards salvation God moves first, and the 
 creature afterwards, — that men advance just as 
 far as they are propelled by divine power, and no 
 further. The most negligent go thus far, because 
 God is stronger than they ; the most vigilant go no 
 further, because in them, that is in their flesh, 
 dwelleih no good thing. The difference between 
 the slothful and the diligent is made entirely by 
 divine influence. If then any of the regenerate 
 apostatize, it is because God changes His conduct 
 towards them, and withdraws His influence. Now 
 they who have maintained the hypothesis of falling 
 from grace, have always told you that the Chris- 
 tian breaks away from God, not God f win him, — 
 that till we first forsake God lie will never forsake 
 tis ; thus placing in the creature the reason that 
 the divine influence does not continue to be effec- 
 tual. But the truth is, that influence does continue 
 to be effectual as long as it is exerted, (as has been 
 proved in former Lectures ;) and it* the Christian 
 apostatizes, it is because that influence first forsakes 
 him. The old nature is so averse to the heavenly 
 
37"t PERSEVERANCE [LECT. XI. 
 
 course, that the host man will not advance a step 
 further than he is propelled ; and so far the worst 
 will certainly go ; for God's propelling hand, if 
 it does any thing, overcomes the resistance, and 
 makes His people willing in the day of His power. 
 As far as His sanctifying influence is exerted, it 
 always produces this effect. None are willing 
 further than God makes them willing ; all are will- 
 ing thus far. If any cease to he willing and apos- 
 tatize, it is hecause He ceases to make them will- 
 ing. The change must commence on His part. 
 No one, I believe, with this view of divine and 
 human agency, ever doubted of the Perseverance 
 of the Saints. 
 
 The question then really comes to this : Does 
 God, after changing the hearts of sinners, relin- 
 quish the work which He lias begun? and that 
 too as the first mover in this process of undo- 
 ing, and without any special cause given Him by 
 the creature? I say, without any special cause 
 given Him by the creature, for such a special cause 
 presupposes the partial withdrawment of His in- 
 fluence. The best man sins iust as far as God 
 leaves him, and opportunity and motives occur ; 
 as fat as God's sanctifying influence is exerted, the 
 worst man is preserved from sin. Any special 
 sinfulness in a Christian, therefore, presupposes the 
 partial withdrawment of that influence. Does God 
 then, as the flrst mover in this retrograde course, 
 and unprovoked by any special offence, withdraw 
 from a work which He has begun ? This is the 
 
TF.CT. XI.] OF SAINTS. Sffl 
 
 fair and precise statement of the question. Not 
 whether He will keep us if ice remain faithful) 
 but whether He will continue to make us faithful. 
 Not whether He will desert us if we provoke Him, 
 but whether He will suffer us to provoke Him thus 
 far. Not what His agency will be as consequent 
 to ours, but what our agency will be as consequent 
 to His. He began the work when there was no- 
 thing in the creature to induce Him, but every thing 
 to dissuade : will He discontinue the work when 
 there is less to dissuade than at first ? In a word, 
 will He begin a work, uninduced by the creature ; 
 and uninduced by the creature, and even less pro- 
 voked, will He desert it? 
 
 This question however cannot be decided by 
 reason ; it must be settled by llcvelation alone. 
 Nor can it be determined by the general benevo- 
 lence of Cod even as set forth in that Revelation ; 
 for in that exhibition of Himself He sustains the 
 character of One who has in fact withdrawn His 
 iniluence and left perfectly holy beings to fall. No 
 instance indeed is known, (if the case under con- 
 sideration is not one,) of His having begun to sanc- 
 tify sinners and withdrawn from the work. But 
 after all the question wholly turns on what He has 
 promised, — on the positive stipulations in His co- 
 venant with His Son and with His people. If He 
 did in fact promise His Son an elect seed, and in- 
 scribed their names in the book of life before the 
 foundation of the world : if He promised Him thai 
 they " should never perish," that none should 
 •"pluck them out of [His] hand.'* " that of all 
 
£/fl PEHSEVERAXCE [LECT. XTI> 
 
 which He"' bad " given" Him He " should lose 
 nothing but sliould raise it up again at the Last 
 Day ;"* if none but the elect are regenerated, as 
 our text expressly declares ; and if the covenant 
 made with Christians engages infallibly to keep 
 them from apostacy ; then the Perseverance of the 
 Saints is secured beyond a possibility of failure. 
 
 That such a covenant was made with Christ in 
 behalf of His elect, was proved in a former Lec- 
 ture,! aiuli is confirmed by the texts just now quo- 
 ted. That compact you may see more largely dis- 
 played in the eighty-ninth Psalm, under the typi- 
 cal form of a covenant with David. "I have 
 made a covenant with my Chosen :— thy seed will 
 I establish forever. — Then thou spokest in vision 
 to thy Holy One, and saidst, I have laid help upon 
 One that is mighty ; I have exalted One chosen out 
 of the people. — His seed also will I make to endure 
 forever : — -if His children fur sake my laic, and 
 walk not in my judgments ; if they break my 
 statutes, and keep not my commandments ; then witt 
 I visit their transgression with the rod, and their 
 iniquity with stripes ; nevertheless my loving kind- 
 ness will I not utterly take from Him, nor suffer 
 my faithfulness to fail " Such was the everlasting 
 covenant : and One of the contracting Parties, when 
 He was on earth, (that Beloved Son who never 
 asked in vain,) did, in the most solemn and formal 
 manner, in His official character, lodge in heaven a 
 
 * John vi. 39. and x. 3—5, 11, 14—16, 26—29. 
 f Page 231, 222. 
 
LECT. XT.] OF SAINTS. '■]'} 
 
 prayer for the safe keeping of all this elect seed to 
 the end of the world : u Glorify thy Son, that thy 
 Son also may glorify thee. As thou hast given 
 him power over all flesh, that he should give eter- 
 nal life to as many as thou hast given him. — 1 pray 
 for them ; I pray not for the world, but for them 
 which thou hast given me. — Holy Father, keep 
 through thine own name those whom thou hast given, 
 me, that they may he one as ice are. — I pray not 
 that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but" 
 that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. — Sayic- 
 tify them through thy truth. — Neither pray I for 
 these alone, but for them also which shall believe on 
 me through their word; that they all may be one, 
 as thou Father art in me, and J in thee, that they 
 also may be one in us. — And the glory which thou 
 gavest me I have given them, that they may be one 
 even as we are one ; I in them, and thou in me, 
 that they may be made perfect in one, and that the 
 world may know that thou — hast loved them, as thou 
 hast loved me. Father, I will that they also whom 
 thou hast given me be icith me where I am, that, 
 they may behold my glory which thou hast given 
 me," In accordance with tins prayer He told His 
 disciples, " Ye have not chosen me, but I have 
 chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go 
 and brins: forth fruit, and that your fruit should 
 remain" 
 
 Had not a seed been secured to Christ by such 
 an absolute covenant, He might have entirely lost 
 the reward of His death. He had no security for 
 
278 PERSEVERANCE [lECT. XI. 
 
 a single soul unless the covenant secured the whole. 
 Remove now the immutable purpose and promise 
 of God, and what binders the whole body of be- 
 lievers on earth from apostatizing at once ? The 
 Church may become extinct in a single day. But 
 if tilings are left thus uncertain, what mean all the 
 promises and oaths of God respecting the future 
 glory of Zion ? 
 
 In virtue of this everlasting covenant with the 
 Redeemer, as soon as a soul is united to Him by 
 faith, it receives a sentence of justification which 
 forever frees it from the condemning sentence of 
 the law: "Ye — are become dead to the law by the 
 body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, 
 even to Him that is raised from the dead, that we 
 should bring forth fruit unto God. — Now we are de- 
 livered from the law, (that being dead wherein we 
 were held.) that Ave should serve in newness of 
 spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. — There 
 A tS therefore now no condemnation to them which are, 
 in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but 
 after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life 
 In Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of 
 sin and death. — Who shall lay any thing to the 
 charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 
 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, 
 yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the 
 right band of God, who also maketh intercession 
 for us. Who shall separate us from the love of 
 Christ?" "The law having a shadow of good things 
 to come, and not the very image of the things, can 
 never, with those sacrifices which they offered year 
 
LECT. XI.] OF SAINTS. 279 
 
 by year continually, make the comers thereunto 
 perfect. For then would they not have ceased to 
 be offered? because that the worshippers, once 
 purged, should have had no more conscience of 
 sins. — Then said He, Lo I come to do thy will, O 
 God. — By the which will ice are sanctified through 
 the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for 
 all. — For by one offering He hath perfected forever 
 them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost 
 also is a witness to us : for after that He had said 
 before, This is the covenant that I will make with 
 them : After those days, saith the Lord, I will put 
 my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will 
 I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I 
 remember no more. Now where remission of these 
 is, there is no more offering for sin." Though the 
 drift of this passage is to prove that the death of 
 Christ, once endured, was sufficient to take away 
 sin without being repeated, yet the argument is so 
 constructed as strongly to imply, what is explicitly 
 asserted in the text, that all who by a union to 
 Christ are once " justified," are forever delivered 
 from condemnation. Further, by this union men 
 grow to Christ as " members of His body, of His 
 flesh, and of His bones ;" and will He suffer His 
 members to be torn from His bleeding side ? At 
 the time this union is formed, they are u born of 
 God," become " sons" and " heirs of God, and 
 pint heirs with Christ," " to an inheritance incor- 
 ruptible, — and that fadeth not away, reserved in 
 heaven for \Jhem,~] who are kept by the power of 
 
880 PERSEVERANCE [LECT. II. 
 
 God through faith unto salvation." Henceforth 
 their title is, " no more a servant, but.a son." 
 
 YThen ill pursuance of the stipulations with 
 His Son, God came in time to enter into covenant 
 with His people, He bound Himself to them indi- 
 vidually as their everlasting God and portion, and 
 engaged to take upon Himself the whole charge 
 of their salvation. These promises were not con- 
 ditional, but absolute. " For when God made pro- 
 mise to Abraham, because He could swear by no 
 greater He swore by Himself, saying, Surely 
 blessing I tcill bless thee, and multiplying 1 will 
 multiply thee. — For men verily swear by the great- 
 er, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end 
 of all strife. Wherein God willing more abun- 
 dantly to show unto the heirs of promise the im- 
 mutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an 
 oath ; that by two immutable things, in which it was 
 impossible for God to lie, we might have strong 
 consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold up- 
 on the hope set before us ; which hope we have as 
 an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and 
 which entereth into that within the vail." The co- 
 venant which was afterwards made at Sinai, (called 
 '' the law,*' in distinction from the Abrahamick 
 which is called " the promise/') was conditional, 
 and of course was broken. It was conditional or 
 it could not have been broken. This is the cove- 
 nant alluded to in the following remarkable pas- 
 sage : " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, 
 that I will make a new covenant with the house 
 
LECT. XI.] OF SAINTS. 281 
 
 of Israel, — not according' to the [conditional] 
 covenant that I made tenth their fathers in the day 
 1h at I took them by the hand to bring them out of 
 the land of Egypt, which my covenant they broke ; 
 — but this shall be the covenant that I will make 
 with the house of Israel, [an absolute one :] Af- 
 ter those days, saith the Lord, / will put my law 
 in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, 
 and will be their God, and they shall be my 
 people ; — for I will forgive their iniquity, and I 
 will remember their sin no more, — Tliey shall 
 be my people, and I will be their God. And I 
 w r iLL give them one heart and one way that they 
 may fear me forever. And I will make an ever- 
 lasting covenant icilh them that I will not 
 turn away from them to do them good; but /will 
 put my fear in their hearts that they shall 
 not depart from me." This passage is twice 
 quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews as compri- 
 sing the tenour of the covenant established with 
 the Christian Church, which is therefore called by 
 the apostle *• a better covenant [than that of Sinai,] 
 — established upon better promises. r * And from 
 this he infers that u by one offering" Christ has 
 "perfected forever them that are sanctified," and 
 that •• the worshippers, once purged," have "no 
 more conscience of sins." 
 
 The same covenant is detailed in the numerous 
 promises to the Church which are scattered through 
 
 * Chap. viii. and x. 
 
 3(5 
 
282 PERSEVERANCE [LECT. XT, 
 
 the Bible. " The Lord God is a sun and shield ; 
 the Lord will give grace and glory." " The 
 anointing which ye have received of Him abideth 
 in you ; — and even as it hath taught you. ye shall 
 abide in Him" Among these promises may be 
 reckoned those which inseparably connect salva- 
 tion with the first exercise of grace. " When thou 
 hast found" wisdom, [once,] " then there shall be 
 a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off" 
 " For whoso [once] findeth me findeth life, and 
 shall obtain favour of the Lord." "Whosoever 
 [once] drinketh of the water that I shall give him, 
 shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give 
 him shall be in him a well of water springing up 
 into everlasting life" " He that comcth to me, 
 [once,] shall never hunger ; and he that believeih 
 on me, [once,] shall never thirst." " He that be- 
 lieveth [once] on the Son, hath everlasting life." 
 " He that [once] belie veth on him that sent me, 
 hath everlasting life, and shall not come into 
 condemnation, but is passed from death untq 
 life." " This is the will of Him that sent me, 
 that every one which seeth the Son and [once] be- 
 lieveth on Him, may have everlasting life, and I 
 will raise him up at the Last Day" " Whoso- 
 ever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones 
 a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disci- 
 ple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose 
 his reward." Among these promises may be reck- 
 oned those which absolutely r^cure to every be- 
 liever growth in grace. "The righteous — shall 
 
LECT. XI.] OF SAINTS. 283 
 
 hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall 
 be stronger and stronger." " The path of the just 
 is as the shining light, that shineth more and more 
 unto the perfect day." " They go from strength 
 to strength : — blessed is the man whose strength is 
 in thee.' 7 " Every branch that beareth fruit, He 
 jjurgeth it that it may bring forth more fruity 
 Grace in the heart, as well as in the world at large, 
 is compared to a little leaven gradually leavening 
 the whole lump ; — to a grain of mustard seed which 
 grows up into the largest of herbs ; — to seed which 
 a man cast into the ground, which sprung up and 
 grew night and day, he knew not how, bringing 
 forth, " first the blade, then the ear, after that the 
 full corn in the ear." " The righteous shall flourish 
 like a palm-tree, lie shall grow like a cedar in Le- 
 banon." u He shall be like a tree planted by the 
 rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in 
 his season ; his leaf also shall not ivither." " He 
 shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that 
 spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not 
 see when heat eometh, but her leaf shall be green, 
 and shall not be careful in the year of drought, 
 neither shall cease from yielding fruit" Among 
 these promises may be reckoned those which in 
 particular cases assured good men of their final sal- 
 vation long before their death. To Simon Peter 
 it was said, " Whither I go thou canst not follow 
 me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards." 
 To the eleven, "I go to prepare a place for you : 
 and if 1 go and prepare a place for you. I will 
 
284 PERSEVERANCE [LECT. XI. 
 
 come again and receive you unto myself, thai 
 where I am there ye may he ako" To the church 
 in Sardis, "Thou hast a few names even in Sar- 
 dis which have not defiled their garments ; and 
 they shall walk with me in ivhite, for they are 
 worthy." 
 
 Such being the promises of the " everlasting 
 covenant," both to Christ and the Church, it be- 
 comes a mark of God's covenant faithfulness to 
 carry on the sanctification of His people to the 
 end. " Who shall — confirm you unto the end, 
 that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ : God is faithful by whom ye were 
 called unto the fellowship of His Son. — There 
 hath no temptation taken you but such as is com- 
 mon to man ; but God is faithful who will not 
 suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able* 
 but will with the temptation also make a way to 
 escape, that ye may be able to bear it." "The 
 Lord is faithful who shall establish you, and 
 keep you from evil. And we have confidence 
 in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and 
 will do the things which we command vou." "The 
 very God of peace sanctify you wholly : and I 
 pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be 
 preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth 
 you, who also will do it." 
 
 To impress us with a deeper sense of the sta- 
 bility of this covenant faithfulness, it is expressly 
 founded on the unchangeable n ess of the divine na- 
 
fcECT". XI.] OF SAINJS. 28;> 
 
 tare : " I am the Lord, I change not, there fore ye 
 sons of Jacob are not consumed" On this hasis 
 rest of course the immutable love and purpose so 
 often revealed in passages like these : " Having 
 loved His own which were in the world, He loved 
 them unto the end." " As touching the election 
 they are beloved for the fathers' sokes; for the gifts 
 and calling of God are without repentance." 
 
 In this unchanging faithfulness of God the 
 most enlightened saints have always confided, for 
 the completion both of their own salvation and that 
 of others. For the completion of their own sal- 
 vation : " Thou shall guide me with thy counsel" 
 said Asaph, " and afterwards receive me to glory. 
 — My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the 
 strength of my heart, and my portion forever." 
 u I know whom I have believed," said Paul, " and 
 I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which 
 I have committed unto Him against that day. — 
 The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, 
 and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom. 
 — Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 
 righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
 shall give me at that day." — For the completion of 
 the salvation of others : 6i I thank my God upon 
 every remembrance of you," said Paul to the Phi- 
 lippians; " being confident of this very thing, 
 that He which hath begun a good work in 
 
 YOU, WILL PERFORM IT UNTIL THE DAY OF JeSUS 
 
 Christ." David had the same confidence in God 
 respecting the salvation of all the saints : " The 
 
SSG persevehaxce [lect. xi» 
 
 steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: — 
 though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down, 
 for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand." " The 
 Lord — forsaketk not His saints ; they are preser- 
 ved forever." 
 
 There are many passages, too numerous to be 
 quoted, which assert the doctrine without so dis- 
 tinctly bringing into view the divine agency. For 
 a specimen take the following : " A just man fall- 
 etli seven times, \_ever so often,"] and riseth up 
 again/' " The fear of the Lord is clean, endu- 
 ring forever." " Blessed is the man that feareth 
 the Lord ; — his righteousness endureth forever. — 
 Surely he shall not be moved forever.— His heart 
 is fixed, trusting in the Lord.— His righteousness 
 endureth forever ; his horn shall be exalted witli 
 honour." "Mary hath chosen that good part which 
 shall not be taken away from her." 
 
 If the saints may finally apostatize, what can 
 be meant by " the full assurance of hope" which 
 all are exhorted to acquire? and by the "sure and 
 steadfast" hope which rests on the covenant of 
 (rod ? Is it merely a hope that they may happen 
 to be in a gracious state when they die ? But this 
 is the common hope of the wicked, who nevertheless 
 are said to possess " no hope." What less can it 
 mean than that triumphant confidence, involving 
 the certainty of persevering, which Job expressed 
 when he said, " I know that my Redeemer liveth, 
 and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the 
 earth : and though after my skin worms destroy 
 
LFXT. XI.] OF SAINTS. 287 
 
 this body, yet in my flesli shall I see God ; whom 
 I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, 
 and not another, though my reins be consumed 
 within me. ?? * 
 
 It cannot however be denied that there are many 
 passages of Scripture which warn Christians a- 
 gainst apostacy, which urge the necessity of en- 
 during to the end, and some which, taken by them- 
 selves, seem even to speak as though a truly right- 
 eous man might finally fall. These passages may 
 all be reduced to two classes : 
 
 (1.) Those which press upon real Christians 
 the necessity of enduring to the end. These, so 
 far from proving that they may fall away, are the 
 very means by which their perseverance is secured. 
 This may be illustrated by an occurrence in Paul's 
 voyage to Rome. The angel of the Lord had as- 
 sured him that not one of the company should 
 perish ; and yet when the sailors were deserting 
 the wreck, Paul said to the centurion, u Except 
 these abide in the ship ye cannot be saved. ?? f It 
 
 * Job xvii. 9. and xix. 25 — 27. Ps. i. 3. and six. 9. and xxxvii. 23, 
 24, 28. and lxxiii. 24, 26. and lxxxiv. 5, 7, 11. and Ixxxix. 3, 4, 19, 
 29 — 33. and xcii. 12. and cxii. 1, 3, 6, 7, 9. Prov. iv. 18. and viii. 35. 
 and xxiv. 14. Jer. xvii. 8. and xxxi. 31 — 34. and xxxii. 38 — 40. Mai. 
 iii. 6. Mat. x. 42. and xiii. 31—33. Mark iv. 26—29. Luke x. 42. 
 John iii. 36. and iv. 14. and v. 24. and vi. 35, 40. and xiii. 1, 36. and 
 xiv. 2, 3. and xv. 2, 16. and xvii. 1, 2, 9, 11, 15, 17, 20—24. Pom. vii. 4, 
 6. and viii. 1, 2, 14, 15, 17, 33—35. and xi. 28, 29. 1 Cor. i. 8, 9. and 
 x. 13. Gal. iii. 16, 17. and iv. 7. F.ph. ii. 12. Phil. i. 3, 6. 1 Thes. v. 
 23, 24. 2Thcs. iii. 3, 4, 2 Tim. i. 12. and iv. 8,18. Heb. vi. 11, 
 13—20. and viii. 6—13. and x. 1, 2, 9, 10, 14—18. 1 Pet i. i, 5. 
 1 John ii, 27. and iii. 9. Rev. iii. 4. 
 
 f Acts xxvii. 21—24, 30—32. 
 
288 PERSEVERANCE [LECT. XI, 
 
 was certain that all tke company would be pre- 
 served ; and it was certain that the sailors would 
 continue in the ship ; and this threat was the very 
 means by which the whole was secured. Now if 
 you can find texts which peremptorily threaten 
 real Christians with destruction in case of apos- 
 tacy, they furnish an instance exactly parallel, 
 and no more prove that real Christians will apos- 
 tatize, than Paul's threat proved that the words of 
 the angel would fail. 
 
 (2.) The other class speak of apostacy, not 
 from real godliness, but from a profession, from 
 external righteousness, or from a mere conviction 
 of truth. Several of the strongest passages are 
 expressly limited to some such meaning by their 
 own context. Take for instance that memorable 
 one in the sixth of Hebrews : " It is impossible for 
 those who were once enlightened, and have tasted 
 of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the 
 Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, 
 and the powers of the world to come, if they shall 
 fall away, to renew them again unto repentance/' 
 This is probably the strongest passage to be found 
 in the Bible. Now does this speak of real Chris- 
 tians ? Certainly not; for to guard against such a 
 construction it is immediately added, "But, be- 
 loved, we are persuaded better things of you, and 
 things that accompany salvation, though we thus 
 speak ; [we are persuaded that you arc real Chris- 
 tians, and of course will not be suffered to aposta- 
 tize ;] for God is not unrighteous to forget your 
 
JLECT. XT,] OF SAINTS. 28{) 
 
 work and labour of love :" He is not so unfaithful 
 to His promise as to sutler those who have given 
 undoubted proofs of sincerity to perish. Take 
 another instance from the 10th chapter 'of the same 
 Epistle : " If we sin wilfully after that we have 
 received the knowledge of the truth, there remain 
 eth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fear- 
 ful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation 
 which shall devour the adversaries. He that 
 despised Moses' law died without mercy under 
 two or three witnesses : of how much sorer pu- 
 nishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought wor- 
 thy who hath trodden under foot the Son of 
 God, and hath counted tne blood of the cove- 
 nant wherewith He was sanctified an unholy thing, 
 and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. 
 — The just shall live by faith ; but if any man 
 draw back my soul shall have no pleasure in 
 him." Now does all this prove that real Chris- 
 tians may apostatize? Certainly not; for it is im- 
 mediately added, 'f But we are not of them 
 
 WIIO DRAW BACK UNTO PERDITION, BUT OF THElt 
 THAT BELIEVE TO THE SAVING OF THE SOUL." 
 
 But every question respecting the previous sanc- 
 tiueation of apostates, is settled once for all by a 
 single verse in the First Epistle of John. There 
 were in those days hereticks and profligates who 
 had withdrawn from the communion of the Church. 
 The question is, had any of them been real Chris- 
 tians ? John tells you, in language applicable to 
 apostates in every age, and that sweeps off all these 
 37 
 
£90 PERSEVERANCE [LECT. XT, 
 
 objections at a stroke : " They went out from 
 us, but they were not of us ; for if they had been 
 of us, they would no doubt have continued with 
 its ; but thev went out from us that they might 
 
 BE MADE MANIFEST THAT THEY WERE NOT AEL OF 
 
 us.""* In other words, had they been veal Chris- 
 tians they certainly would not have apostatized. 
 This settles the previous character of all apostates 
 to the end of the world. Whatever number of texts 
 then you may find that speak of apostacy, it is now 
 ascertained that the apostates never were sanctified. 
 It has been said that this doctrine tends to 
 licentiousness. Though after showing that it is a 
 doctrine of the Bible JL am under no obligation to 
 answer objections, I cannot refrain from saying, 
 that such a use can never be made of it by any but 
 hypocrites. I appeal to a million witnesses that a 
 holy heart feels no temptation thus to abuse this 
 heavenly truth. I appeal to the history of the 
 Church if the holiest of men have not believed it 
 without becoming licentious, — if the principal part 
 of the piety of past ages, especially since the He- 
 formation, has not been connected with this belief. 
 I appeal to that venerable saint whose aged eye 
 daily looks towards heaven with "the full assurance 
 of hope," and with full confidence in this blessed 
 truth, whether his assurance checks his hungerings 
 after righteousness, — whether the " perfect love" 
 which "casteth out fear," is ready to return to 
 
 * 1 John ii. 19, 
 
LECT. XI. j OF SAINTS* -'.<! 
 
 sin, — whether "the spirit of adoption*' which con- 
 fidently cries, "Abba Father/' is less purifying 
 than the dread of the slave. I appeal to Paul on 
 his throne, whether the full assurance of eternal 
 glory prompts a wish to return to pollution, or 
 abates the ardour of his love. 
 
 Such an abuse of the doctrine is indeed charge- 
 able upon Jiyjiocrites : and to guard them, (and all 
 that is wicked in Christians,) against this abuse, 
 those very warnings against apostacy were issued 
 which you have brought forward to disprove the 
 doctrine. Mark your inconsistency here. You 
 say the doctrine tends to licentiousness ; and as 
 soon as the Bible issues warnings to guard it against 
 this abuse, and to silence this complaint, you fling 
 those very warnings against the doctriue. What 
 was done by the divine Spirit to protect it against 
 your own objection, you convert into a new wea- 
 pon of attack. 
 
 This subject, my Christian brethren, opens to 
 view the astonishing grace of God, and traces back 
 your salvation to its proper source, the counsels of 
 the adorable Trinity. It shows you where your 
 strength lies, and whence your hope springs. The 
 Father, who eternally gave you to His Son, pro- 
 mised Him to take the tendercst care of you for 
 His sake, and to see Himself to every part of your 
 salvation. He promised Him to suffer no real evil 
 to befall you, to supply you with every needed 
 good, and to make you the happier for every 
 event. He promised Him to defend you againsl 
 
392 
 
 PERSEVERANCE, &C. 
 
 [LECT. XL 
 
 every enemy, to suffer neither Satan nor your own 
 heart to prevail against yon, and to bear you in 
 His arms to the heavenly rest. Your strength, 
 your hope, your salvation, depend on counsels set- 
 tied in heaven infinite years before you were born. 
 As sure as God is faithful, everlasting ages of 
 glory are before you. When you have shed a few 
 more tears in a strange land, your feet shall stand 
 on Mount Zion, and you shall sing to your golden 
 harps the endless song of grace. Already you 
 touch the sacred threshold. Why go ye mourn- 
 ing all the day ? Is it for an heir of glory to be 
 sad ? Lift up your heads and rejoice in God your 
 Saviour, and in the everlasting covenant. Throw 
 away these comfortless hopes which you draw from 
 yourselves, and behold in the infinite resources of 
 the ever-blessed Trinity the origin and completion 
 of your salvation. When you get home to glory, 
 how will then appear a Father's care ! how the 
 everlasting covenant that drew you from the pit ! 
 Then will you begin the song of grace. While you 
 cast your crowns at His feet, as everlasting ages 
 roll, you will swell the song of grace. Let us even 
 begin it here, and say, "Unto Him that loved us, 
 and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and 
 hath made us kings and priests unto God and His 
 Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and 
 ever. Amen." 
 
LECTURE XII. 
 
 THE SYSTEM CONFIRMED AND APPLIED, 
 
 GALATIANS I. 8, 9. 
 
 RUT THOUGH WE, OR AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN, PREACH ANT OTHER GOS- 
 TEL UNTO YOU THAN THAT WHICH WE HAVE PREACHED UNTO YOU, 
 LET HIM BE ACCURSED. AS WE SAID BEFORE, SO SAT I NOW AGAIN, 
 IF ANY MAN PREACH ANY OTHER GOSPEL UNTO YOU THAN THAT YK 
 HAVE RECEIVED, LET HIM BE ACCURSED, 
 
 The truths which have been supported in this 
 Course of Lectures, are far from constituting the 
 whole Gospel. Besides the Trinity, the atone- 
 ment, justification by faith, the retributions of eter- 
 nity, and several other cardinal doctrines not taken 
 up in the Course, most of the precepts of the Bible, 
 and all the invitations and promises, belong to the 
 Gospel. But I have selected four articles of faith, 
 viz. Total Depravity, Regeneration, Election, and 
 Perseverance, not only because they form an indis- 
 soluble chain, but because if these truths are be^ 
 lieved and understood we shall not be likely to en 
 in regard to the rest. As I passed along I touch- 
 ed also upon the Means of Grace, and the powers 
 of man, on account of their relation to the other to- 
 
£94 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII. 
 
 picks; but the great hinges of the system, and what 
 I had principally in view, were these four. To 
 support these, I laid in the outset a foundation for 
 the whole system by establishing on independent 
 ground the doctrine of Total Depravity. I next 
 showed you that from this truth followed the ana- 
 voidable inference that God must change the heart, 
 iminduccd and unaided by man, and must make 
 one to differ from another according to His sove- 
 reign pleasure ; all which could not be true if men 
 were not totally depraved. I then proceeded to 
 support this view of Regeneration by plain and 
 positive declarations of Scripture. I next showed 
 you that from this truth inevitably followed the 
 doctrine of absolute, personal Election ; Which 
 could not be true if Regeneration was not what it 
 had been represented. I then proceeded to sup- 
 port this view of Election by a great number of 
 texts of the most explicit and decisive cast. I next 
 opened the Bible and showed you that none but 
 the elect are regenerated. This being settled, it 
 was apparent that from Election unavoidably fol- 
 lowed the Perseverance of the Saints ; which could 
 not be accounted for on any oilier principle. I then 
 proceeded to establish the doctrine of Perseverance 
 by a large array of scriptural proofs ; a part of 
 which supported the point independently, and a 
 part showed its indissoluble connexion with the 
 preceding article. 
 
 There still remain some arguments in confir- 
 mation of the whole svstem, to be drawn from the 
 
LEGT. Xll.] CONFIRMED. 890 
 
 analogy of faith, and some remarks illustrative of 
 the practical importance of the truths established; 
 That I may glean up what remains, I will attempt, 
 
 I. To show, from some additional considera- 
 tions, that these four articles, as they have been 
 explained, really belong to the true Gospel. 
 
 II. To prove that every system which rejects 
 these four doctrines, is " another gospel." 
 
 III. To urge the infinite importance of ascer- 
 taining, by deep and careful examination, what the 
 true Gospel is. 
 
 I. I am to show, from some additional consi- 
 derations, that these four articles, as they have been 
 explained, really belong to the true Gospel. I say, 
 as they have been explained, for the reasonings 
 which follow must be understood as applicable to 
 the doctrines in no other than the precise shape in 
 which they have been exhibited. 
 
 (1.) It is apparent to reason that these four 
 doctrines must stand or fall together. They sup- 
 port each other like the different parts of an arch, 
 and you cannot tear one away without demolishing 
 the whole structure. Or to use a more exact illus- 
 tration, they are inseparable links of a chain, of 
 which if one is supported the whole are supported. 
 The entire system must stand, or every vestige of 
 it must be destroyed. There is as much evidence 
 that the whole is true, as that the whole is not false. 
 To you who have attentively followed the train of 
 reasonings in the foregoing Lectures, it must be ap- 
 parent that the man who would overthrow one of 
 
S96 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII. 
 
 these articles, must demolish the four, and leave 
 not a wreck of the system behind. Till one is 
 prepared to perform the whole of this mighty task, 
 he ought to beware how he undertakes. 
 
 (3.) These doctrines, thus indissoluble, are 
 separately supported by four distinct and strong 
 classes of texts. This shows you the whole chain 
 supported by a column under each link, yielding 
 to each a fourfold support. The literal meaning 
 of four numerous classes of texts must be swept 
 away before one of the articles can fall. To bring 
 either of them into doubt, a man must march 
 through the Scriptures, and twist into a forced 
 construction the great body of the Sacred Writings. 
 
 That there are four classes of texts which speak 
 severally of the moral deadness of man, the new 
 'birth, election, and God's preserving care of His 
 saints, cannot be denied. The only question is, 
 what do they mean ? What are the four doctrines 
 which they support? In their plain, obvious mean- 
 ing they unquestionably support such doctrines as 
 have been set before you. Is the plain, obvious 
 meaning the true one ? This is the only question 
 that remains to be tried ; and this, if I mistake 
 not, may be settled, if any thing can be settled, 
 beyond the power of controversy. At any rate I 
 will try. 
 
 The general remark which I have to make is, 
 that if you would get rid of the plain interpreta- 
 tion, you must set aside the obvious meaning, not 
 of one, but of four distinct classes of texts, rela- 
 
LECT. XII.] CONFIRMED. 297 
 
 ting to four distinct subjects, — subjects connected 
 by reason just as they are by the obvious meaning 
 of the texts. To display this argument in a fair 
 and perspicuous form, I observe, 
 
 [1.] That the four doctrines, in the shape in 
 which they have been exhibited, appear to the eye 
 of reason, (if you will suffer the expression,) like 
 four timbers dovetailed into each other. Now to 
 support the construction which gives them this 
 form, the Scriptures join the doctrines contained in 
 the four elasses of texts, in the same order, and in 
 each case show you plainly the mortise and the 
 joint. The junction of Total Depravity and Re- 
 generation is exhibited in this text : " You hath 
 He quickened who were dead in trespasses and 
 sins." The junction of Regeneration and Elec- 
 tion, in this : " Whom He did predestinate, them 
 He also called." Or this : " As many as were or- 
 dained to eternal life, believed." The junction of 
 Election and Perseverance, in this : " Whom He 
 did predestinate, them He also called ; and whom 
 He called, them He also— glorified." But because 
 this is the most important joint of the whole, I will 
 make it a little more visible by the following quo- 
 tations : " This is the Father's will,— that of all 
 which He hath given me I should lose nothing, 
 but should raise it up again at the Last Day" 
 " I lay down my life for the sheep. And other 
 sheep I have which are not of this fold : them also 
 I must bring, and they shall hear my voice. — But 
 ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep. — 
 38 
 
CUS THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII. 
 
 My sheep hear my voice, — and I give unto them 
 eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither 
 shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father 
 which gave them me is greater than all, and none 
 is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." 
 u Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that 
 he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast 
 given him. — Father, I will that they also whom 
 thou hast given me he with me where I am, that 
 they may behold my glory which thou hast given 
 me." " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen, 
 you, and ordained yon, that you should go and 
 bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should re- 
 main."* 
 
 Perseverance, thus jointed in upon Election, is 
 of course indissolubly connected with Regenera- 
 tion ; and this connexion is sometimes displayed 
 without bringing Election into view: "Whosoever 
 is horn of God doth not commit sin, for His seed 
 remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is 
 born of God."f 
 
 Here then are the four doctrines as they stand 
 in the Scriptures, joined together in the same or- 
 der in which they are connected in these Lectures. 
 This alone would co far towards confirming the 
 construction which I have given ; but there is one 
 circumstance which establishes it, I should think, 
 beyond the reach of doubt. Upon no other possi- 
 ble plan of construction can the doctrines contain- 
 
 * John vi. 39. and x. 15, 16, 26—29. and xv. 16. and xvii. 2, 24, 
 Acts xiii. 48. Rom. viii. 30. Eph. ii. 1. f 1 John ill. 9, 
 
LECT. XII.] CONFIRMED. 299 
 
 ed in the four classes of texts be strung together 
 in one indissoluble chain. If you say for instance, 
 that the moral deadness ascribed to man means a 
 pagan state, that Regeneration is only a conversion 
 from paganism to the knowledge and profession of 
 Christianity, and that Election is nothing more 
 than a selection of the nations to be visited with 
 the light of the Gospel ; here are three links, but 
 where is the fourth P Perseverance is altogether 
 excluded. But this is plainly connected with the 
 rest as they stand in the Bible. Try any other 
 plan of construction, and the result will be the 
 same. The more deeply this argument is consi- 
 dered, the more plain it will appear that this con- 
 struction must certainly be right. But in confirma- 
 tion of it I have something still more decisive to 
 offer. I add, 
 
 [2.] That the doctrines supported by the most 
 obvious meaning of these four classes of texts, 
 growing together as they do by the inviolable con- 
 nexion of premiss and consequence, lend each 
 other an influence to settle the construction abun- 
 dantly more than fourfold. That a book in its ob- 
 vious meaning should distinctly support a premiss, 
 (say Total Depravity, as it has been explained :) 
 and then by a literal construction as plainly sup- 
 port an inference deducible only from that premiss, 
 (say Regeneration, as it has been explained ;) and 
 then in its literal import as decidedly support ano- 
 ther inference deductive only from the former, (say 
 Election, as it has been explained :) and then by 
 
300 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII. 
 
 a plain construction as clearly support a third in- 
 ference deducible only from the second, (say Per- 
 severance as it has been explained :) and after all 
 mean neither, but .something entirely different ; is 
 vastly more incredible than that it should speak 
 unintelligibly on a single point in instances equally 
 numerous. There is indeed one case which must 
 be considered an exception. Where the writer is 
 labouring to support a figure of speech, and carries 
 out the iigurc through the several inferences, nei- 
 ther the premiss nor any of the consequences re- 
 quire or admit a literal construction. But no- 
 thing of this kind occurs in the present case. You 
 find the texts belonging to each class detached, and 
 scattered through the Old Testament and the New, 
 incorporated with artless narratives, with proverbs, 
 with sacred songs, with plain didactick discourses, 
 with familiar epistles, and with every species of 
 composition. You might as well say that the whole 
 Bible is one figure of speech. 
 
 The strength of this argument may he faintly 
 illustrated by the following case. You find it as- 
 serted twenty times in a history of Modern Europe, 
 that a spark was communicated to a magazine in 
 the neighbourhood of Rome. The meaning of the 
 historian is called in question. I examine and 
 find, in different parts of «the book, twenty distinct 
 assertions that a dreadful explosion was produced 
 by the means. Here is a necessary consequence 
 from the premiss as first understood. You still 
 doubt the author's meaning. 1 examine again and 
 
LECT. XIT.] CONFIRMED. 301 
 
 finely in detached parts of the narrative, twenty pos- 
 itive assertions that the explosion shook the whole 
 city of Home. Here is another necessary conse- 
 quence from the latter. You still doubt whether 
 the meaning in either case is understood. I search 
 further and find, dispersed through the history in 
 different forms, twenty plain declarations that the 
 whole city was filled with consternation, and pre- 
 sently after with loud inquiries how the magazine 
 took fire. Here is another necessary consequence 
 from the last. I now ask whether the author's 
 meaning is not more indubitably fixed than though 
 he had repeated the first assertion eighty times, 
 without noticing this string of effects? 
 
 But even this case does not express the full 
 force of the argument, for want of a closer mutu- 
 al connexion of the parts : for the explosion, the 
 shock, and the consternation, might have followed 
 from a volcano or an earthquake. Let us look 
 upon the case as it really stands. I bring a nu- 
 merous class of texts which plainly, and forcibly, 
 and in all the varieties of language, assert the doc- 
 trine of Total Depravity, in the sense in which it 
 has been explained. I fortify this proof with col- 
 lateral points, that press upon the doctrine and 
 force it into this precise shape; such as the nature 
 of holiness and sin, the exclusive nature of love of 
 the world, aud several other things expressly taught 
 in the Scriptures. You still doubt the correctness 
 of my construction. I tell you that if 1 am right, 
 you may expect to find in the Bible a doctrine that 
 
302 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII. 
 
 is an unavoidable inference from this, but which 
 cannot be true if this is false ; and that is Regene- 
 ration, in the sense in which it has been explained. 
 To test my* construction we go on to search for 
 the doctrine of Regeneration, and find it sup- 
 ported, precisely in this shape, by the obvious 
 meaning of thirty or forty plain and forcible 
 texts. You doubt my construction of these 
 texts. I tell you that if I am right, you may 
 expect to find in the Bible a doctrine that is 
 an unavoidable inference from the latter, but 
 which cannot be true if the latter is false ; and 
 that is absolute, personal Election. To test my 
 construction we go on to search for the doctrine 
 of absolute, personal Election, and find it sup- 
 ported by the testimony of a long catalogue of 
 texts, in terms as precise and explicit as any lan- 
 guage can furnish. After all you doubt my con- 
 struction of these texts. I tell you that I have 
 learned from the Bible that none but the elect are 
 regenerated : if then I am rigid in the foregoing 
 interpretations, you may expect to find in the Bi- 
 ble a doctrine which, after this information, be- 
 comes an unavoidable inference from absolute, per- 
 sonal Election, but which cannot be accounted 
 for on any other principle ; and that is the Perse- 
 verance of the Saints. To test my construction 
 still further, we go on to search for the doctrine of 
 Perseverance, and find it supported by explicit de- 
 clarations on almost every page of the Bible, many 
 of which indissolublv connect it with absolute, 
 
LECT. XII.] CONFIRMED. 303 
 
 personal Election. Now I ask, is not this vastly 
 snore than a fourfold proof in favour of the con- 
 struction given to each of the four classes? Had 
 the whole number of texts been exclusively appro- 
 priated to support any one of these doctrines, they 
 certainly would have yielded it far less support 
 than they now do ; for then they might have been 
 more easily explained away. There would have 
 been but one check to such an attempt, now there 
 are four, and placed in such a relation to eac*h 
 other as to have incomparably more than four 
 times the influence of one. 
 
 Suffer me to make another illustration of this 
 argument, which comes a little nearer the truth 
 than the one before attempted. A man appears in 
 America, by the name of Luke, claiming to be a 
 prophet, and gives many decisive proofs of a di- 
 vine mission. You doubt the correctness of his 
 claims. He says, " By this you shall know : if I 
 am a prophet there is a child born to-day at such 
 a place in Europe, by the name of John, who is a 
 prophet too." You hasten to the place, and find 
 the child giving abundant proof of miraculous 
 powers, and constantly declaring, " If Luke had 
 not been a prophet I should not have been bom." 
 You doubt the inspiration of John. He says, 
 u By this you shall know : if I am a prophet 
 there is a child born to-day at such a place in 
 Africa, by the name of Mark, who is a prophet 
 too." You hasten to the place, and find the child 
 giving abundant proof 0/ miraculous powers, and 
 
3(M? THE SYSTEM [lECT. XII. 
 
 constantly declaring, u If John had not been born 
 a prophet, neither should I." You doubt the in- 
 spiration of Mark. He says, " By this you shall 
 know : if I am a prophet there is a child born to- 
 day at such a place in Asia, who is a prophet 
 too." You hasten to the place, and find the child 
 giving abundant proof of miraculous powers, and 
 frequently saying, " If Mark had not been born 
 a prophet, neither should I." I ask now whether 
 you have not incomparably more evidence of the 
 inspiration of Luke, than though you had staid at 
 home and seen him perform four times as many 
 miracles as he did ? Have you not incomparably 
 more evidence of the inspiration of each of the 
 four, than though you had seen him stand alone 
 and perform four times as many miracles as he 
 did ? 
 
 Let us now see the result of the whole. Each 
 doctrine stands supported by the whole body of 
 texts contained in the four classes, and cannot be 
 shaken while either class is allowed to have a lite- 
 ral meaning. And being strung together, both by 
 Scripture and reason, in an indissoluble chain, as 
 premises and consequences, they lend each other 
 an iniluence to fix the construction almost beyond 
 calculation. How prodigious then is the proof in 
 favour of the whole ! — in favour of each ! And 
 now I ask, who can bring as much evidence to 
 support the opposite tenets ? The task to be per- 
 formed by the man who would overthrow one of 
 these truths, is to sweep away the whole of this im- 
 
I K«T, XII.] APPLIED. 30i* 
 
 mense body of texts, with the incalculable influ- 
 ence they lend each other to settle the construction, 
 and leave not a trace of the system behind* He 
 who is not prepared for this herculean labour, with 
 half the Bible meeting him at the threshold, should 
 beware how he undertakes. 
 
 I cannot quit this head without reminding you 
 that these are the truths which have been revered 
 and loved by the great body of the Christian Church 
 in every age. They stand conspicuous among what 
 have been so often and justly styled " the glorious 
 doctrines of the Reformation." To cherish and 
 «njoy these blessed truths, our fathers left their na- 
 tive land, and planted churches in this howling 
 wilderness. For these the New-England churches, 
 during the first century and a half, would have shed 
 their blood. And however unfashionable and pro- 
 scribed they may now have become in a small dis- 
 trict, these are still the doctrines which are ardent- 
 ly loved by four-fifths of the churches of New- 
 England ; which are held as corner-stones by the 
 great body of Christians in the United States, and 
 by millions and millions of the best instructed and 
 most heavenly minded men throughout the world. 
 
 II. Every system which rejects these four doc- 
 trines, is "another gospel." 
 
 Far be it from me to question the piety of all 
 who on some of these points have confused ideas, 
 and may in words deny them. I doubt not that 
 many of the excellent of the earth, through the 
 defect of light, have erroneous conceptions of Elec- 
 39 
 
306 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XI!, 
 
 tion and Perseverance, and under these names op- 
 pose real errours. From not understanding theo- 
 logical terms, they deny in words what in fact they 
 believe. Others have better hearts than heads, and 
 possessing little power of discrimination, are un- 
 able, though light is spread before them, to distin- 
 guish so far as to dissolve wrong associations of 
 ideas formed by early prejudice ; and while they 
 sincerely love some of these doctrines, continue 
 very inconsistently to deny the rest. I have no 
 reference to the mistakes of such ; but to systems 
 which, with a dreadful consistency, reject this 
 whole chain ; which soften down the representations 
 of human depravity; which cast away Regeneration 
 and experimental piety, and place all religion in 
 external duties, performed with natural and selfish 
 feelings, and teach men to hope for heaven by 
 only cleansing " the outside of the cup and — plat- 
 ter ;" which deny that " the salvation of the right- 
 eous is of the Lord," and set aside that eternal 
 transaction between the Father and the Son which 
 is the only foundation of the Church ; which c in- 
 stitute every man his own keeper, and give him a 
 claim to say when he arrives at heaven, " See, I 
 have made myself to differ*" Such systems do 
 not stop at a perversion of the four great classes of 
 texts which stand directly under the four doctrines, 
 but give a iiqw interpretation to a vast many pas- 
 sages which lend a collateral influence to support 
 these ; and in their attempts to accommodate the 
 Bible to the opposite errours. twist a large por- 
 
LECT. XII.] APPLIED. 307 
 
 lion of (he Scriptures, and the most vital part of 
 them, to a new and false construction. And when 
 they have gone this length in flittering away man's 
 depeudance on grace, they are just prepared to 
 place him completely upon his own works, to deny 
 justification by faith, and of course thvt proper in- 
 fluence of the atonement. Short of this these sys- 
 tems never stop. And when they have gone thus 
 far, there is but one step to a denial of the divinity 
 of Christ, and the infinite demerit of sin. The 
 next step is universalism, and the next, infidelity. 
 But without pushing them to these extremes, it is 
 evident enough that they are "another gospeP 
 from that which comprehends the four doctrines. 
 They have scarcely any thing in common with it. 
 The God which they present is not the same. 
 (This they allow and maintain when they are not 
 under trial, and often allege that the God of Calvin- 
 ists is a tyrant.) The administration of His go- 
 vernment is not the same ; the work of the Saviour 
 is not the same ; the work of the Spirit is not the 
 same ; the character and condition of man are not 
 the same ; the terms of salvation are not the same ; 
 holiness, the vital principle of all religion, is not 
 the same. The whole plan of salvation, from the 
 first counsels in heaven to the completion of the 
 work in glory, is altogether changed, — changed so 
 as to be exactly accommodated to a proud and 
 selfish heart, and fitted to form the religion 
 
 OF A GAY AND DISSIPATED WORLD. This UCW 
 
 gospel leaves "the carnal mind" undisturbed, and 
 
308 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XIT. 
 
 even conceals and denies iis existence. No won- 
 der indeed that it finds no carnal mind rising up ii? 
 its way, for it is exactly such a religion as the car- 
 nal heart loves. No wonder that it detects no " en- 
 mity against God," for the god which it exhibits is 
 precisely such a one as the selfish heart approves. 
 No wonder that it calls for no radical change of 
 heart, for the natural feelings of man, tutored by a 
 few moral precepts, are precisely what pleases it 
 best. 
 
 All this time this new gospel is nothing but a 
 system of enmity against the true God. It violent- 
 ly resists all those truths in which the real cha- 
 racter of God is chiefly expressed. It shows 
 more rancour against these than against any other 
 set of reputed errours. Were there no other proof 
 of its being " another gospel/' this alone would 
 forever settle the point. A Jew may establish his 
 synagogue by its side, and it looks on unmoved. 
 A Roman Catholick, a Quaker, a Universal is t, an 
 infidel, may carry on his worship before its eye, 
 and it tolerates them all. But let these doctrines 
 and their kindred truths be brought forward, and 
 there is a louder outcry than at all the rest. I 
 wish to speak with candour and tenderness, for I 
 know in whose name and cause I am speaking ; 
 but I should belie the steady voice of experience if 
 I did not say, that this other gospel shows more 
 rancour against the truths supported in these Lec- 
 tures, than against any set of errours on earth, 
 whether infidel, Jewish, Mahometan, or pagan, 
 
LECT. XII.] APPLIED. 309 
 
 It would rather the heathen nations should remain 
 at the temple of Juggernaut, than be enlightened 
 by truths like these ; and hence it opposes Mis- 
 sions. It regards with greater displeasure a re- 
 vival of religion upon these principles, than any 
 of the dissipations of the theatre. It treats with 
 more kindness and cordiality any of the men of 
 the world, than the professors of this religion ; 
 even while, for certain ends, it stands by the tombs 
 of our Calvinistick fathers, and sings hosannas over 
 their dust ! And is not this " another gospel" ? 
 
 III. Allow me to press the infinite importance 
 of ascertaining, by deep and careful examination, 
 what the true Gospel is. 
 
 You have often read in your Bible, " He that 
 ielieveth — shall be saved, but he that believeth not 
 shall be damned." It is then a settled point that 
 salvation is suspended on a belief of the Gospel. 
 But what is a belief of the Gospel ? Not a belief of 
 the proposition, that on the pages bound up in a 
 certain volume divine truths are inscribed, without; 
 any specifick ideas of the truths themselves. Much 
 less is it a rejection of the essential parts of those 
 truths, and a belief of u another gospel." On the 
 belief of the true Gospel salvation is suspended, 
 not on the belief a false one ; on the acceptance 
 of the true Saviour, not on the acceptance of a sa- 
 viour as different from the true as a creature is 
 from God ; on the worship of the t^ue God, not 
 on the worship of a being decked out witfc attri- 
 butes, and invested with a dominion, as different 
 
310 rfce system [lect. xx£ 
 
 from the perfections and government of Jehovah, as 
 the supreme deity of the Brahmins is from the God 
 of the Bible. It is capable of the most unquestiona- 
 ble proof that every cardinal errour in religion is a 
 misapprehension and misrepresentation of the cha- 
 racter or government of God, and that every system 
 of errour actually supports & false god. It is equal- 
 ly certain that enmity to the essential truths in 
 which the character of God is expressed, is enmi- 
 ty to God Himself If then idolatry and hatred 
 of the true God arc not the faith on which salva- 
 tion is suspended, a system of cardinal errours, per- 
 sisted in after light is displayed, must debar from 
 the kingdom of heaven. If he who merely be- 
 lieves not " shall be damned," what will become 
 of those who not only disbelieve the true Gospel, 
 but build a false gospel on its ruins ? 
 
 It becomes then as important as your eternal 
 salvation to betake yourselves to the most solemn 
 and diligent examination to discover what the true 
 Gospel is. If the doctrines supported in these 
 Lectures, and their kindred truths, really constitute 
 the true Gospel, it is infinitely important for you to 
 know it. But I fear that some of you will say, 
 " i These articles may be true, but my religion will 
 do as well : no matter which is right if we arc 
 only good. v Here comes out that dreadful dogma, 
 the invention and trick of modern infidelity, — - 
 soaked and drenched in infidelity to the very 
 
 Core, THAT IT IS NO MATTER WHAT A MAN BE- 
 LIEVES, PKOVIDED HIS CONDUCT IS BIGHT. This 
 
l.ECT. XII.] APPLIED) 311 
 
 bantling of infidelity has been foisted into the 
 Christian Church, and profanely baptised by the 
 name of Charity. But though it wear a Soci- 
 niau face, it has an infidel heart. It has nothing 
 to do with charity but the name ; for " charity/' if 
 yon will credit an apostle, " believeth all things," 
 and " rejoiceth in the truth. "* If this coun- 
 terfeit, hollow thing, which dares to take the sa- 
 cred name of Charity, had not renounced the Bi- 
 ble, it would have known that erroiirs in faith are. 
 the offspring of a wicked heart, and are criminal, 
 and as decisive a proof of irreligion as immoral 
 practice. What else can be the meaning of a hun- 
 dred such passages as these? "He — upbraided 
 them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, be- 
 cause they believed not." " O fools and sloiv of 
 heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken/' 
 " He that believeth not is condemned already, be- 
 cause he hath not believed in the name of the only 
 begotten Son of God. And this is the condemna- 
 tion, that light is come into the world, and men lov- 
 ed darkness rather than light, because their deeds 
 were evil. For every one that doth evil hateth 
 the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds 
 should be reproved." " For this they willingly 
 are ignorant of." ? "'They — became vain in their 
 imaginations, and their foolish heart was darken- 
 ed." "Even unto this day when Moses is read, 
 the vail is upon their hearty nevertheless when if, 
 
 * 1 Cor. xiiJ. 6. T. 
 
313 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII. 
 
 [the heart ? ] shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be 
 taken away," " Having the understanding dark- 
 ened, — through the ignorance that is in them, be- 
 cause of the blindness of their heart." u Why do 
 ye not understand my speech ? even because ye 
 cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the 
 devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do : he 
 was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not 
 in the truth, because there is no truth in him : 
 when he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own, 
 for he is a liar and the father of it. And because 
 I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. — He that is 
 of God heareth God's words : ye therefore hear 
 them not because ye are not of God." u A deceived 
 heart hath turned him aside that he cannot de- 
 liver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my 
 light hand ?" " If — thine eye be single, thy whole 
 body shall be full of light ; but if thine eye be 
 evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness." 
 " God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 
 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and 
 walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth : 
 but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, 
 we have fellowship one with another. — As ye have 
 heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are 
 many antichrists. — They went out from us, but they 
 were not of us ; for if they had been of us, they 
 would no doubt have continued with us; but they 
 icent out that they might be made manifest that they 
 were not all of us. But ye have an unction from 
 the Holy One. and ye knoiv all things, I have not 
 
7.ECT. XII.] APPLIED. 813 
 
 written unto you because ye know not the truth, but 
 because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. — 
 Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard 
 from the beginning. If that which ye have heard 
 from the beginning remain in you, ye also shall 
 continue in the Son arid in the Father. — These 
 tilings have I written unto you concerning them 
 that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have 
 received of Him abideth in you; and ye need not 
 that any man teach you, but as the same anointing 
 tcacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no 
 lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide 
 in Him. — "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but 
 try the spirits whether they are of God; because 
 many false prophets are gone out into the world. 
 — They are of the world ; therefore speak they 
 of the world, and the world heareth them: we are 
 of God ; he that know eth God heareth us; he that 
 is not of God, heareth not us : hereby know we 
 the spirit of truth and the spirit of errour." " I re- 
 joiced greatly that I found of thy children walking 
 in the truth, as ice have received a commandment 
 from the Father ; — whom I love in the truth, and 
 not I only, but all they that have known the truth; 
 for the truth's sake which dwelleth in us, and 
 shall be with us forever/ 7 u I rejoiced greatly 
 when the brethren came and testified of the truth 
 Jhat is in thee, even as thou walkest m the truth. 
 I have no greater joy than to hear that ray chil- 
 dren walk in truth.' 1 ••'lie that believeth on the 
 Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that 
 10 
 
314, THE SYSTEM [lECT. ill. 
 
 believeth not God hath made Him a liar.- " This 
 is His commandment, that you should believe on 
 the name of His Son Jesus Christ." " If any 
 man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine 
 whether it be of God, or whether I speak of my- 
 self." " Therefore speak I to them in parables. 
 because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear 
 not, neither do they understand. And in them is 
 fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saitb, By 
 hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, 
 and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive ; 
 for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their 
 ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they 
 closed, lest at any time they should see with their 
 eyes, and hear with their ears, and should under ^ 
 
 STAND WITH THEIR HEART, aild should he con- 
 verted. — When any one heareth the word and 
 under 'standeth it not, — this is he which receiv- 
 ed seed by the way-side. — But he that received 
 seed into the good ground, is he that heareth the 
 word and under standeth it." " Perceive ye not 
 yet? neither understand? have ye your heart yet 
 hardened?" ''Be ye not unwise, but understand- 
 ing what the will of the Lord is." " God gave 
 them over to a reprobate mind, — being filled 
 with all unrighteousness,— without understanding." 
 "The Son of God is come, and hath given us an 
 understanding that we may know Him." " If our 
 Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost ; 
 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the 
 minds of them which believe not." "In which 
 
LJECT. XII.] APPLIED. 315 
 
 are some things hard to be understood, which they 
 (hat are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they 
 do the other Scriptures, unto their own destruc- 
 tion. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these 
 things before, beware lest ye also, being led away 
 by the err our of the wicked, Ml from your own 
 steadfastness." "For this cause God shall send 
 them strong delusion that they should believe a 
 lie, that they all might be damned who believed 
 not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteous- 
 ness." "The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, 
 and addeth learning to his lips. — There is a way 
 that seemeth right unto a man, but the end there- 
 of arc the ways of death." " Whosoever transgres- 
 seth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath 
 not God ; he that abideth in the doctrine of Christy 
 he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come 
 any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive 
 him not into your house, neither bid him God 
 speed ; for he that biddeth him God speed is jmr- 
 taJcer of his evil deeds." " Henceforth be no more 
 children tossed to and fro and carried about with 
 every wind of doctrine, by the ..[eight of men, and 
 cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to de- 
 ceive." "Be not carried about with divers and 
 strange doctrines, for it is a good thing that 
 
 THE HEART BE ESTABLISHED WITH GRACE." 
 
 "For the time will come when they will not endure 
 sound doctrine ; but after their own lusts shall 
 they heap to themselves teachers, baving itching 
 ears : and they shall turn away their cars from 
 
316 
 
 THE system: 
 
 [lect. fcn* 
 
 the truth, and shall be turned unto fables J 3 "The 
 works of the flesh — arc heresies." "A man that 
 is a heretick, after the fifst and second admonition 
 reject ; knowing that he that is such is subverted 
 and sinneth, being condemned of himself." " There 
 iriust he — heresies among you, that they which arc 
 approved may be made manifest." " There were 
 false prophets also among the people, even as there 
 shall I)e false teachers among you, who privily 
 shall bring. in damnable heresies, even denying 
 the Lord that bought them, and bring upon 
 themselves swift destruction. And many shall 
 follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom 
 the iv •ay of i ruth shall be evil spoken of; — whose 
 judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and 
 their damnation slumbereth not."* 
 
 If these and many more similar texts do not 
 decide the point that errours are both hlamable and 
 destructive, it is in vain to attempt to prove any 
 thing from the Bible. Indeed if a denial of one 
 half of the truths of Christianity is not criminal, no 
 reason can be given Why downright infidelity is. 
 And if infidelity is not, why did our Saviour say 
 to the Jews, " If ve believe not that I am lie. ve 
 shall die in your sins'* ? And why were the Jews 
 
 * Prov. XvL 23, 25. Isai. xliv. 20. Mat vi. 22, 23. avid xiii. 13—1.), 
 19, 23. Mark viii. 17. and xvi. 14. 1/ike xxiv. 25. John iii. 18—20. 
 and vii. 17. and viii. 43—45, 47. Bom. i. 21, 28, 29, 31. 1 Cor. xi. 19>. 
 2 Cor. iii. 15, 16. and iv. 3, 4. Gal. v. 19, 20. Eph. iv. 14, 13. and v. 
 17. 2 ties. ii. 11, 12. 2 Tim. iv. 3, 4. Tit. iii. W, 11. Heb. xiii. 9. 
 2 Pet. ii. 1—3. and iii. 5, 16, IT. 1 .John i. 5—7. and ii. 18—27. and iii, 
 23. aud iv. H 5, 6. and v. 10, 20. 2 John 1, 2, 4, 9—11. 3 JclHi 3, ^ 
 
LECT. XII.] AI'PLIED. 317 
 
 " : broken off*' and so dreadfully punished for "tta- 
 belief"? And why is it said to all nations, " He 
 that belie vcth not shall be damned''' ? And will you 
 after all say that a man is not answerable for his 
 faith ? 
 
 This point being settled, it is manifest that if 
 the four doctrines which have been supported do 
 in truth belong to the Gospel, the opposite crrours, 
 to say the least, must endanger your salvation. 
 What language then can express the infinite im- 
 portance of entering without delay on a deep and 
 solemn examination into these matters? It is truly 
 distressing to observe the dreadful indifference 
 which prevails on the question, What is truth ? 
 Hence the lamentable ignorance of people who 
 have been brought up under the light of the Gos- 
 pel. Such indifference had not Paul when he 
 said, and with an emphasis repeated, <• : Though we. 
 or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel. 
 — let him be accursed." This baleful indiffer- 
 ence, couched under the imposing name of Charity. 
 threatens to yield up the last fragment of truth 
 which we received as a legacy from our fathers, 
 and to leave our poor children without inheritance, 
 — except those delusions which will drown them 
 in perdition. If any thing is likely to cut off our 
 children from hope, it is this cruel indifference : 
 for if you can once be brought to feel the impor- 
 tance of examining with earnestness and prayer, 
 there is no fear for the issue. If then you have 
 any compassion for your children, throw off (Li- 
 
318 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII; 
 
 apathy, and like the noble Bereans arise and 
 search the Scriptures. In them you will find a 
 confirmation of the faith of our fathers, and will 
 hear them say, " Stand ye in the ways and see, 
 and ask for the old paths, where is the good 
 way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for 
 your souls. "* Every friend of the Church, every 
 friend of society, every friend of the rising genera- 
 tion, ought to give no sleep to his eyes nor slumber 
 to his eye-lids till he lias examined these first prin- 
 ciples to the bottom, and become well grounded 
 and settled in the truth. Drop every other con- 
 cern, forget your business, forget your sleep, for- 
 get your food, till these questions are decided. O 
 that there were a voice to send this heavenly man- 
 date through every heart, " Search the Scrip- 
 tures." If you find not there the doctrines which 
 I have set forth, reject them : I charge you upon 
 your peril, reject them. God forbid that I should 
 wish to impose my creed upon you. Call no man 
 master ; but examine the Scriptures for yourselves. 
 It is they who by business and amusements are 
 detained from their Bibles, that drink in the poi- 
 sonous errours of the day. With all the boast that 
 is made of Biblical learning, it is a thing perfect- 
 ly understood in the churches that there is little 
 knowledge of the Word of God among the cor- 
 rupters of the Gospel. How should it be other- 
 wise? The way is there so plainly drawn that he 
 who runs may read, and " the way-faring men, 
 
 * Jr»3\ V). 1(\ 
 
.LECT. XII.] APPLIED. 3 1 V) 
 
 though fools, [need] not err therein;"* Any plain, 
 unlettered Christian who uses his Bible faithfully, 
 may be led into all truth, without the aid of learn- 
 ed sophistry or boasting ignorance. 
 
 Were there but one chance in a thousand that 
 these doctrines will prove true at last, no man, 
 bound to the eternal Judgment, ought to rest till 
 lie has explored them to the bottom. For if they 
 do prove true, and you venture forward into eter- 
 nity upon the ground of a heartless morality, you 
 are as certainly lost as though you were infidels. 
 While you have the sure testimony of God in your 
 hands, rest not, — I conjure you by all that is sa- 
 cred, rest not your eternal all upon a doubtful 
 basis. 
 
 One evil, never enough to be deplored, is that 
 people do not and will not distinguish. They are 
 pleased with different preachers who bring as dif- 
 ferent gospels as the koran is different from the 
 Bible. They are as ready to put themselves in 
 the way of hearing errour as truth, and swallow 
 down whatever comes, provided only it is grace- 
 fully administered. Such people are like children 
 rushing into an apothecary's shop, and tasting at 
 random of every vial, without the power of dis 
 tinguishing medicines from poisons. It requires 
 no spirit of prophecy to perceive that such a course 
 is likely to prove fatal. If the doctrines supported 
 in these Lectures are the truths of God, then those 
 ministrations which soften down the represented 
 
 * fori, xxxr 8. Hub ii. 2. 
 
320 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII. 
 
 tions of human depravity, which reject the Scrip- 
 tural idea of Regeneration, and place all religion 
 in external duties, performed with natural feelings 
 a little improved, are certainly leading men to 
 'perdition, and ought to he shunned as one of the 
 severest scourges ever inflicted hy heaven on a de- 
 generate people. I feel myself bound to oiler this 
 solemn testimony, and I do it without personal 
 disrespect to any man ;— whoever preaches " ano- 
 ther gospel" ought not to be heard a moment. 
 By hearing you countenance errour, and hold up 
 hands stretched out, (however unintentionally,) to 
 scatter death ; you expose yourselves to contagion, 
 and hy a fatal example lead your undiscerning 
 children in the road to eternal ruin. Parents who 
 do this must answer it to God. Would Paul have 
 done this when he fervently pronounced, "Though 
 we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other 
 gospel, — let him be accursed"? Would John have 
 done this when he said, "If there come any unto 
 you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not 
 into your house, neither bid him God speed; for 
 he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of 
 his evil deeds" P The blessed martyr Irenseus, 
 who lived in the age immediately after the apos- 
 tles, has preserved the following anecdotes of the 
 beloved disciple, and of Polycarp, 6i the angel of 
 the church of Smyrna," who is so highly com- 
 mended in the Revelation : " There are some 
 now living," says he, "who heard [Polycarp] 
 relate this fact; that John, the disciple of our 
 
LECT. XII.] APPLIED. 321 
 
 Lord, going to bathe at Ephcsus, and seeing Ce- 
 rinthus within, [who among other things held, 
 with modern Socinians, that Jesus was only the 
 son of Joseph and Mary,*~\ leaped from the bath 
 unwashed, saying that he was afraid the batli 
 would fall, as Cerinthus the enemy of truth was 
 in it. And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion. 
 who met him one day and said, Do you know 
 me ? I know you to be the first-born of Satan. 
 So much fear," continues Irenseus, " had the apos- 
 tles and their disciples of communicating even in 
 word with any of those who corrupted the truth ; 
 as Paul also said, A heretick after one admoni- 
 tion avoid, knowing that he that is such is sub- 
 verted, and is condemned of himself, "f The ge- 
 nuineness of this record is fully confirmed by its 
 being not only found in the Works of Irenseus, but 
 quoted also by Eusebius.J Polycarp, you must 
 know, was the disciple of John, and was, as Irenseus 
 himself remarks, " not only taught by the apostles, 
 and conversant with many of those who had seen 
 our Lord, but constituted by the apostles in Asia 
 bishop of the church of Smyrna," and in extreme 
 old age gloriously suffered martyrdom. J Irenseus 
 himself was the disciple of Polycarp. He was 
 born in Asia, near where John lived and died, and 
 afterwards became bishop of Lyons in France. In 
 
 * Irenxi lib. 1. contra Haereses, cap. 26. 
 f Idem lib. 3. cap. 3. 
 
 7 Ecch Hist. lib. 3. cap. 23. & lib. 4. cap. 14 
 naei lib 3. :oi tra fferests, cap. 3. 
 
 H 
 
332 THE svstem [lect. XII. 
 
 his Epistle to Florinus, written in liis old age, he 
 says, " I saw you when I was yet a boy in the 
 lesser Asia with Poly carp. — For the things which 
 were then done I remember better than those which 
 have happened lately ; — insomuch that I could 
 even describe the place where the blessed Poly- 
 carp used to sit and reason, and his going out and 
 coming in, and his manner of life, and bodily ap- 
 pearance, and finally the discourses which he de- 
 livered to the multitude, and how he told them of 
 his familiar intimacy with John, and with the rest 
 who had seen the Lord, as also how he rehearsed 
 their sayings, and related the things which he had 
 heard of them respecting the Lord, and His mira- 
 cles, and doctrine, which Polycarp had received 
 from those who had themselves seen the Word of 
 Life. — These tilings which happened at that time, 
 through the goodness of God I eagerly heard, wri- 
 ting them not on paper, but in my heart, and con- 
 tinually, through the grace of God, am revolving 
 them with exactness in my mind. And in the pre- 
 sence of God I can make the solemn protestation, 
 that that blessed and apostolick presbyter, had he 
 heard any such thing, would certainly have ex- 
 claimed, and with his ears stopped would have 
 said, as his manner was, Good God ! to what times 
 hast thou reserved me that I should endure these 
 things ! and would have fled from the place itself, 
 in which sitting or standing he should have heard 
 discourses of this sort."* 
 
 * Irensci opera p. 339, 340. Paris. Ed. 1710, 
 
LECT. XII.] APPLIES. 323 
 
 Such was the spirit of the primitive Church, — 
 of apostles and martyrs. But we are fallen on 
 other times, — on times when it has become an 
 unpardonable offence to frown at heresy, much 
 more to separate from those who preach " another 
 gospel.*' They who have no wish to give offence 
 or pain, but dare not for their lives place them- 
 selves and their dear children under the sound of 
 u another gospel" /or a single day, must be hunted 
 out of the world because they do not grow to 
 seats which resound with nothing else. They hear 
 a voice from heaven, " Come out from among them 
 and be ye separate, — and touch not the unclean 
 thing ;" and they fear to disobey. Let this be 
 their apology and justification with all who have 
 not renounced the Christian name. Indeed this 
 separation had become indispensable. Were all 
 the people to go on together a few years longer, 
 the whole mass would be carried down the stream, 
 and all the rising generation inevitably plunged 
 into the gulph beneath. They have already kept 
 together so long, under a false notion of charity, 
 that even good people have almost lost the power 
 of discrimination. This alliance between light 
 and darkness is just as the enemy of God and man 
 would have it. It is the master-piece of his policy 
 to root out the last remains of the piety and faith 
 of our fathers. 
 
 Before I conclude I must bespeak your most 
 solemn attention to a few Refections, 1 pray you 
 to listen for a moment with no ordinary concern. 
 
324* THE SYSTEM [LECT. XII. 
 
 I have something to lay before you which is of 
 more vital importance to you than any other consi- 
 derations on earth. 
 
 If these four doctrines are eternal truths, what 
 is to become of the greater part of my hearers ? 
 Are half of you upon these principles prepared for 
 Judgment ? If these doctrines are true, every one 
 of you must be born again or lie down in ever- 
 lasting sorrows. Neither your morality nor your 
 indifference will screen you. Have you been bom 
 again ? You are going on to eternity as fast as 
 time can waft you. The interposition of a world 
 could not retard your progress. Presently you 
 will tremble on a dying bed. tire you prepared 
 for Judgment P Those very eyes will see a fall- 
 ing universe. Those very feet will stand before 
 the tribunal of Christ. I see the heavens opening, 
 the Bon of man descending, the dead arising, the 
 world burning, and my dear hearers before the 
 bar ! Where now is that thin morality that co- 
 vered an infidel heart ? The omniscient eve has 
 dissolved it by a look. I stretch forward my 
 thoughts through the revolutions of a thousand 
 ages, and find my hearers still fixed in heaven or 
 hell. I wander through oilier periods as nume- 
 rous as the moments in the first, and still I find 
 you fixed in heaven or hell. Is such an eternity 
 before you ! and are you asleep ! Arc you not 
 bringing all your powers into one effort " to make 
 your calling and election sure" ? Can you slum- 
 ber with such an eternity before you ? Dreamiiu^f 
 
LECT. XII.] APPLIED. 355 
 
 the efficacy of your modes and forms ! Dream no 
 more : you must undergo a radical change of heart. 
 "Verily, verily I say unto [you,] except a man be 
 born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
 How could such hearts as some of you possess be 
 happy in heaven if admitted to the place ? hearts 
 that do not love prayer, that do not love the Bible, 
 that do not love Sabbaths, nor the society of God's 
 people. Will cleansing the outside prepare such 
 hearts to relish an eternal illustration of Bible 
 truths? to relish a confinement to religious com- 
 pany, and the devotions of an everlasting Sab- 
 bath ? As well might the languid invalid who 
 loathes his food, think to prepare himself for a 
 feast bv chan^ins; his coat. 
 
 If these four doctrines are everlasting truths, 
 then every one of you who has not been born again, 
 is at this moment an enemy of God, and lying un- 
 der the sentence of eternal death ! — bending under 
 the curse of the Almighty when you go out and 
 when you come in, when you rise up and when 
 you lie down. And can you sport and be merry 
 as though all was well? Is this the time for gaiety 
 and mirth ? Is it not the time to mourn, and weep, 
 and break your hearts ? 
 
 But alas ! you will not weep. You have utter- 
 ly ruined the temper of. your minds, and are so im- 
 placable in your opposition to God, that nothing 
 but His invincible power can break your hearts. 
 This completes your ruin, and casts you wholly 
 dependant on His sovereign will. On that will, 
 
32(5 THE SYSTEM [LECT. XM. 
 
 which all creation cannot change, your salvation 
 absolutely depends. I press this point, because you 
 must feel your ruin and dependance or be forever 
 undone. O that we could see you prostrate at the 
 feet of Him whom you have made your enemy by 
 wicked works, deeply convinced of the justice of 
 your condemnation, and that no other will or arm 
 can save you. There, while crushed under infinite 
 mountains of guilt, and sinking into eternal de- 
 spair, you will see that the only way left you is to 
 cast yourself on the resources of the adorable Tri- 
 nity ; you will see that your last resort is sove- 
 reign grace ; and while trembling and confounded 
 before the uncovered majesty and purity of God, 
 you will see how much you needed a Saviour ab- 
 solutely divine, that the sacrifice of a creature 
 could not have answered for a wretch like you. 
 In that spot I heard a voice ! " Come unto me, 
 poor, trembling, dying sinner, and I will give you 
 rest. My name is Jesus, because I came to save 
 my people from their sins." Trembling, dying 
 sinner, did yon not hear Him ? Why then not arise 
 and ilee into His arms ? Why lie there and die ? 
 He means you. — no child of Adam more than you. 
 Why do you linger ? Why do you tremble ? The 
 arms that are extended are the same that were 
 stretched on the tree. Go, and the Lord God of 
 Israel give you the desires of your heart ! 
 
 Thus the system which lias been supported 
 in these Lectures, brings us at last to Calvary, and 
 points to the cross of Christ, It is a circle the 
 
LECT. XII.] APPLIED. 32/ 
 
 centre of which is Christ crucified. Thus may all 
 my preaching point to Him alone, and honour none 
 but Him ! There would I leave all my glory, 
 thither direct all my praise. Let heaven and earth 
 gather round this beloved name ! Of all creation 
 let this be the song, " Worthy is the Lamb that 
 was slain" ! To Him be the best honours which 
 this redeemed world can rear ! to u Him that loved, 
 us and washed us from our sins in His own 
 blood;" "who is over oJL God blessed forever. 
 Amen." 
 

• 
 
 
r 
 
 i