consistent, righteous moral Governour, and the merciful Father; and that the sinner's opposition was most unreasonable, and his ruin selfinduced. This publick display of character is all the end that can be answered where Regeneration does not follow; and this end will be answered where it does follow. But in the latter case a further purpose is accomplished 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 sanctification it is God's usual method, by discoveries of truth to prepare the way for stronger exercises of repentance and gratitude before He excites these affections. The only difference 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 difficulty which has been raised about His commanding, urging, and entreating sinners to act before He disposes them, will vanish when the nature and sources of the necessary antecedent knowledge are considered. What sinners want is a just view of their sin, and ruin, and need of a Saviour, drawn, (as it necessarily must be,) from a discovery of God, His law, and the claims which the moral Governour has upon them. Now these claims are not weakened by their dependance on Him for holiness, that is, by their incorrigible indisposition to obey: for if their indisposition impaired 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 therefore as moral Governour, and treating with moral agents, He makes no account of Himself as the main-spring of motion, but addresses them, whatever be their character, as distinct and complete agents, and holds the same language with them that one man would with another whom he wished to reclaim. There is no correct display, nor even exercise, of a moral government upon any other principle. Now if the foundation of all just ideas of guilt lies in a right understanding of the claims of the moral Governour, it is necessary for the conviction of sinners that their relation to Him should be laid open and this can be done only by His coming out with all His authority and claims and 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 of this course is practically denied, the claims of the moral Governour are withdrawn from view, and the foundation of all just conviction is removed. Further, the essential instruments by which the moral Governour works in the management of a rational kingdom, are reason and motives. Acting then in this character, it becomes : Him 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 required, 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 rebel, lious 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 submission which you could produce. It was only pursuing 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 character and government, and the way of restoration, with all the circumstances of their case, (made by a course of conduct adapted to them as subjects of moral government,) furnishes the very knowledge they need to fit them for deep repentance and admiring views of Christ, and to bring them to ascribe 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 salvation 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 inveteracy 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 stranger, but with the sensations of the prisoner himself, and while entertaining little or no hope of escape, to view his native misery, not with the ken of an angel, but in some measure with the experienced 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 perform the great work of restoration full in their view, and lead them to see the whole wondrous process step by step; that however others may deny His agency in this work, there may be as many witnesses as there are converted sinners. Thus sinners 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 guilt, 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 Gospel, and with minds sufficiently enlightened to ascribe all the glory of their salvation to Christ. The necessity of some knowledge before Regeneration will be set in a strong light by adverting to the case of a heathen. Were a pagan to receive a new heart, except so far as regards his feelings and conduct, (very imperfectly regulated,) towards his fellow-men, it could be of no manner of use. 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 new life is imparted a body of truth must be formed in the understanding, to prepare the way for Christian 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 * Ezek. xxxvii. 1-10. |