declares, Mat. xxi. 31, 32. For although the strivings of an awakened sinner, with the law of perfection in his view, may be useful to promote conviction of sin; yet the strivings of a sinner, with a law in view which requires him to do as he does, instead of being useful to promote conviction of sins,' tends to establish him in his own righteousness. For in doing as he does, he does all known duty,' and so is blameless and so is righteous, and so needs no repentance, no atonement, no pardon, no Christ, no grace; and if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. So this scheme issues at last in infidelity.

:

But

Our author says, (p. 52.) God has repeatedly commanded sinners to consider their ways:' very true, so he has. has God ever once commanded them to consider their ways in an impenitent, self-righteous, self-justifying, Christ-rejecting manner? In which manner sinners always do consider their ways, so long as they remain under the reigning power of an impenitent, self-righteous, self-justifying, Christ-rejecting spirit: i. e. so long as they remain unregenerate. For in this spirit unregeneracy consists. But as soon as ever sinners begin to consider their ways in a penitent, self-condemning, God-justifying, Christ-prizing manner, they really begin to comply with the repeated commands to consider their ways,' which God has given to sinners. And these sinners are now not unregenerate, but regenerate. Thus holy David did. Psalm cxix. 56. I thought upon my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. And these are they, (Mat. xi, 12.) who take the kingdom of heaven by force. For the great truth of the Gospels, viewed as such sinners view them, will always be attended with answerable effects. Mat. xiii, 23. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit. But stony and thorny ground hearers bring forth no fruit,

s'But this is, I think, a great mistake,' saith a late writer, they were not Pharisees that these words were spoken to, but Sadducees.' Referring to Mat. xxi. 31. But, it is plain, from ver. 45. that the Pharisees thought themselves to be the men, and that they were not mistaken. For the Evangelist saith, and when the chief Priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. Read from ver. 28-45,

While the vail is on the heart, the Gospel produces no fruit, but when the vail is taken away, then divine truths are seen in their GLORY, and then every answerable affection is BEGOTTEN. 2 Cor. iii. 15-18. But every unregenerate sinner is blind to the holy beauty of Christ's holy religion. For as Mr. Stoddard says, as man is an enemy to the law of God, so to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.' Therefore, as St. Paul says, 2 Cor. ii. 14. 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 spiritually discerned. Therefore Christ told Nicodemus, (John iii.) Except a man be born again he CANNOT SEE the kingdom of God: i. e. cannot understand and embrace Christianity. These, then, are the men who take the kingdom of heaven by force, and not they whom Mr. M. describes, as going about to establish their own righteousness which is of the law,' who, as he rightly observes,' never do accomplish what they aim at.' See p. 54, 55.

But is it not indeed surprising, that Mr. M. should, (p. 52.) urge those words of the apostle, as an exhortation to impenitent, Christ-rejecting strivings, such as are all the strivings of impenitent Christless sinners, in 2 Cor. v. 20. As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God? For the apostle's exhortation is, be ye reconciled to God: and his argument is, God is now ready through Christ to be reconciled to you. Now, supposing this exhortation was given to the unregenerate, as Mr. M. would have it; if they believed that God was ready to be reconciled through Christ: i. e. if they believed the Gospel to be true, why should they not return home to God immediately as the prodigal son did to his father, as soon as ever he came to himself? But Mr. M. would have them, instead of returning to God now, in compliance with the apostle's exhortation, rather put it off a while, and strive to obtain those discoveries of God through Christ, by which they would be reconciled to God.' p. 53. Nay, but the apostle had just made all those discoveries' to them, which are contained in the Gospel on that subject. And adds, behold now is the accepted time! now is the day of salvation! And if

they had no prejudice against the truth, why should they not receive it at first hearing? And if they believed him, what could hinder their immediate return to God, unless they were at heart utterly disinclined to a reconciliation to him, let him be ever so willing on his part? And if they were utterly disinclined to a reconciliation to God in their hearts, none of their strivings could be considered as being of the nature of a compliance with that exhortation, be ye reconciled to God. But if they were so prejudiced against the truth as not to receive it, when clearly held forth before them by an inspired apostle, how could they be said to strive to discover' it? For a man does not strive to discover what he shuts his eyes against, when held up clearly before him. And so long as this disinclination to God and the truth remains total in a sinner, it is of the nature of a total rejection of the divine exhortation, be ye reconciled to God. And as soon as the least degree of love to God takes place in the heart, the sinner can no longer be considered as unregenerate, if the unregenerate are totally depraved,' as Mr. M. says they are $.

But Mr. M. supposes, p. 54. that Acts viii. 9. will be to his purpose. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing und seeing the miracles which he did. True, they did so, and what was the consequence? Our blessed Saviour, who knows all things, tells us, viz. that every one who with a good and honest heart heard the word, did understand it, and bring forth fruit, while stony and thorny ground hearers fell away. Luke viii. Now the question is this, was it not the duty of every one of them to have a good and honest heart, and so to hear, with a good and honest heart the first time? Yes, says Mr. M. for I assert that whatever God commands to be done, he requires the performance to be in a perfect manner.' But what then are these texts to his purpose, and a thousand more such like? For there are a thousand in the bible as much to his purpose as these.

See the nature of spiritual blindness considered. Essay on the nature and glory of the Gospel, Sec. x.

3. But the bottom of the business with Mr. M. is this, that although in words he says that the unregenerate are totally depraved;' yet he does not seem rightly to understand the Scripture doctrine of total depravity, as held forth in our confession of faith: but really to suppose, that unregenerate sinners are naturally inclined, while unregenerate, to love God, even God's true and real character, as revealed in the Gospel; so that, as soon as ever they discover' what that character is, they will love it, even without any new principle of grace, even as naturally as Jacob loved Rachel the first time he saw her. But as to that character of God which is revealed in the law, he that sinners never can, and supposes never will love it: because, ' to love it is the same thing as to love their own misery.' But as to the character of God which is revealed in the Gospel, they need no new principle of grace in order to love it, any more than Jacob needed a new principle, in order to love Rachel. p. 43-48. And this being supposed, awakened sinners may from natural principles, long and most earnestly desire to discover' this new character of God which is exhibited in the Gospel; and so seek after this discovery' with proper, direct desires after it, for itself. And these desires he therefore considers as being in nature, kind, and tendency, the same with what he calls. the gracious desire of those whom he esteems regenerate. These seekings and strivings he therefore supposes to be required in the same sense, and for the same purpose, as the seekings and strivings of the true saint. p. 33, 34. To establish these sentiments, is one chief design of his book. And thus far I fully agree with him, that there is no difference in kind between the religious exercises of the unregenerate, and the religious exercises of his regenerate man. And in this view,

I wonder not at his zeal against this fundamental sentiment of a specific difference, as clearly held forth in president Edwards' treatise concerning religious affections. p. 36, 37, 38, 39, 40. For his regenerate man has professedly no new principle of grace. And accordingly he appears in fact to have no more grace than his unregenerate man has. For he is as great an enemy to God's law, and to the holy nature of God, therein exhibited, as the unregenerate.

p. 41, 42, 43. And the God he loves is professedly of a different character, even of a character so different, that the unregenerate will naturally love it, as soon as they discover' it, and its favourable aspect towards them, without any new principle of grace. p. 43, 44-48. And this is the true reason, ninety-nine in a hundred' of his regene rate men are so at a loss about their good estate, that they cannot see their way clear to make a profession of godliness. p. 79, 80. Which renders his external covenant as necessary for them as for the unregenerate; for if the door is not opened wide enough to take in the unregenerate, as such, his regenerate man cannot with a good conscience come into the visible church. For, as Mr. Stoddard, in order to prove the doctrine of the specific difference between common and saving grace, rightly observes, in his Nature of saving conversion, (p. 8.) If the difference between saving grace and common, lay in the degree, no man could judge that his grace is saving.' And thus he goes on to reason; men may know that they have saving grace, 1 John iii. 14. 2. Cor. vii. 10. But if the difference lay in the degree, how should man go about to determine that their grace was saving? The man may know that he has a greater degree of confidence, sorrow, and zeal, than formerly he had; he may have reason to think that he goeth beyond some other professors in these things; but upon what foundation can he determine that he hath them in such a degree as to secure his salvation? Where has God revealed what degree is saving, and what is not saving? What warrant has any man to judge himself in a safe condition, if there be several degrees of grace that are not saving? What rule can any minister lay down to guide men in this matter? Men must needs be left in a perpetual uncertainty, and remain in the dark about their eternal state. Thus far Mr. Stoddard. But of these things more hereafter, when we come to consider the new scheme of religion which Mr. M. has advanced, in order to support his external covenant.