Spirit of God; but this influence of the Spirit is not irresistible; it does not solely of itself produce good works; it does not necessarily cause men to perform good works. A man may resist the influence of the Holy Spirit, and do despite to the Spirit of grace, by turning to sin and wickedness in opposition to its dictates. And if we do listen to its dictates, it must be an active obedience, and not an indolent acquiescence, to produce the fruit of good works pleasant and acceptable to God. The Holy Spirit points out the way to health and truth and life, but it rests with ourselves whether we will follow its directions. Indeed, irresistible power, actually exerted over the minds of men in the work of salvation, is repugnant to the acknowledged principles of the Gospel. Every Christian must admit, that the Gospel requires duty towards God and duty towards his neighbour; and the very idea of duty implies something to be done by man, which he may or may not do; and this free-agency cannot exist where the mind is under the influence of a resistless power. Men have the capacity of weighing the duty, expediency, and consequences of their actions, before they determine, and of acting according to the determination of their will. This determination of the will constitutes the morality of an action, which rarely depends upon any nice distinction. Men in general do not sin, because they are ignorant of their duty; but

because

because they do not choose to do what they know. to be right. The adulterer, the murderer, the thief, are all fully aware that their conduct is sinful, and that they expose themselves to future as well as to present punishment; and under this conviction they yield to the temptation, and go on in the paths. of habitual wickedness; "knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them (u).”

In the 16th Article it is said, that, "After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin; and by the grace of God we may rise again, and amend our lives: And therefore they are to be condemned, which say, they can no more sin :" This declaration is irreconcileable with the doctrine of irresistible and indefectible grace granted exclusively to a few chosen persons. If grace were irresistible, men could not depart from it, and fall into sin. And if our Reformers had intended to maintain the doctrine of indefectible grace (r) in the elect,

(u) Rom. c. I. V. 32. (x) Breviter refutandi sunt duo errores fanaticorum hominun, qui finxerunt, renatos non posse labi, et quamvis labantur contra conscientiam, tamen justos esse. Hæc amentia damnanda est, et opponenda exempla et dicta Scripturæ ut Saul et David placuerunt Deo, fuerunt justi, et donati Spiritu Sancto, tamen postea lapsi sunt,

elect, in the Calvinistic sense of the word, they would have described such persons, and have said, that though for a time they may fall away, yet afterwards they must rise again and amend their lives. The expression in the Article is ge neral, and signifies, that all Christians may act in opposition to the suggestions of grace, that amend→ ment is always in their power, and that a relapse into sin is always possible, while they continue in this world of temptation and trial. The Puritans were so convinced that the doctrine of the defec tibility of grace, contrary to their own tenets, was taught in this Article, that in the Hampton Court conference they desired that the words, " yet neither totally nor finally (y)," might be added to the words, "we may depart from grace given;" but this addition was not allowed, and the Article and the doctrine of the Church of England remained unaltered. God gives to every man, through the means of his grace, a power to perform the conditions of the Gospel-a power, the efficacy of which depends upon the exertion of the human will. To deny this power to any individual, would be inconsistent with the attributes of God; to make this power irresistible, would destroy the free-agency of man. This

power,

ita ut alter perierit, alter rursus ad Deum conversus sit. Melancthon, Loc. Com.

(y) Collier's Eccles. Hist. & Heylin's Hist. Quinq.

power, though proceeding from an Omnipotent Being, is, as exercised upon men, always finite. The limited strength of the human body is derived from a God of infinite might, and the exertion of that strength is left to the will of man: in like manner the pure and holy gifts of the Spirit, which are imparted to the human mind.

The

by measure," are derived from a God of infinite purity and holiness, and the use of these limited gifts is also left to the will of man. analogy holds, perhaps, still farther; were men to continue in a perfectly inactive state for any considerable time, the bodily strength would be weakened, and at length lost; and in like manner, the spiritual strength, if neglected and not exerted, will also be weakened and lost. We know and feel that temporal enjoyments of the highest value and importance, are, under the blessing of God, the result of our own industry and prudence; and Scripture assures us, that the attainment of eternal happiness is made to depend upon our own choice and exertions. The slothful servant gains no credit with his earthly master-the indolent Christian will receive no reward from his heavenly Lord. We find the most perfect consistency in all the dispensations of God, the closest analogy between what we experience

in this world, and what we are taught to expect in that which is to come.

The Baptismal Service in the Liturgy is exactly conformable to our interpretation of the 9th and 10th Articles. It declares, that "all men are conceived and born in sin;" it represents baptism as washing away the sin of children, as the means of delivering them from the wrath of God, and of sanctifying them with the Holy Ghost; and it describes the Christian religion as a covenant between God and man, and asserts that Christ," for his part, will most surely keep and perform the promise he has made in his Gospel," and that the infant, by his sureties, must, "for his part, promise to renounce the devil and all his works, and constantly believe God's holy word, and obediently keep his commandments." The form, therefore, by which persons are admitted members of our Church, while it acknowledges the corruption of human nature and the communication of supernatural aid, implies, that faith and obedience are in some degree in our own power.

It cannot escape the observation of an attentive reader, that the Morning and Evening Services of our Church scarcely allude to the corruption of man by the fall of Adam; and it is remarkable, that in several of the prayers, which are translated

from