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ness, that effectually prevailed upon them to act as they did; and this conduct, arising from such principles, deserves praise, and will be rewarded in the saint, with "Well done, good and faithful servant."

proper object of praise and adoration. The reverse of this inability, (namely, a nature or will to do evil,) is the proper object of blame and censure in the creatures. Sinners cnnnot do good, or believe in Christ, because it is opposite to their carnal minds; they have no in- It is the everlasting disgrace of some clination, will, or disposition to do so. persons, that they cannot do good. It This inability or unwillingness is their is the eternal dishonour of Satan and wickedness, and their criminality is his angels, that they cannot do good. proportioned exactly to the degree of But why can they not? Do they not their inability. If devils are more possess angelic powers? Yes and the wicked than men, it is because they are reason of their disgrace is, that they more unable to do good; that is, more have no wish or desire to employ their unwilling, or more averse to goodness. abilities to the glory of God. The carIf this sense of the word (cannot) pre- nal mind of man is not subject to the cluded choice, and left its subjects un- law of God; neither, indeed, can be. able, or without power, to act differently, So, then, they that are in the flesh, canit would totally annihilate the existence not please God. But why can they not? of virtue and vice, and put an eternal Are they weak, or only wicked? Some period to praise and blame, and place men have eyes full of adultery, and canthe angels in heaven, and the devils in not cease from sin. But will the man, hell, upon the same level, as respects whose wife or daughter has been deobedience or disobedience: Where filed by them, allow they could not do there is no choice, there can be neither otherwise. The natural man cannot retransgression nor righteousness. God's ceive the things of the Spirit of God. impotence to evil is his love to holi- A corrupt tree, that is, a wicked man, ness; and it is, moreovers, his eter- cannot bring forth good fruit. The pronal excellency, not because, strictly phet says, concerning some persons, speaking, he has no power to do evil," They cannot hearken." Jer. vi. 10. but because he has no inclination. All" Ye cannot hear my word," says the intelligent, moral existences, angels and men, are the proper subjects of praise and blame, in exact proportion to their inability; that is, their inclination to do good or evil.

Saviour, John viii. 33, 34. Now, what reasons are assigned by the prophet, and by the Redeemer, why they could not hearken or hear? Did they want power, or will; a hand, or a heart? If It is the high praise of some persons, they really could not for want of power, that they cannot do evil. It is the glory they were objects of pity, and not of of God that he cannot lie, or be tempted blame; but if it was solely for want of to evil. Paul said, "We can do nothing will or inclination, then they could not against the truth, but for the truth." be too severely censured. The prophet He that is born of God cannot sin. The assigns the reason:-" They cannot apostles said, "We cannot but speak hearken," says he, because" the word of the things which we have seen and the Lord is unto them a reproach;" they heard." "A good tree, that is, a good have no delight in it. Another prophet man, cannot bring forth evil fruit. But expresses himself thus upon the same is it not the foundation of all excellency subject: "They refused to hearken, in God, that he cannot do iniquity? and pulled away the shoulder, and stopWas it not the excellency of the charac-ped their ears, that they should not ter of Paul, and of the apostles, that they could not do any thing against the truth? and is it not the honour of every child of God, that he cannot sin? But do we perceive any real weakness, or impotence, in Jehovah, in Paul, or in the apostles, or the child of God, that rendered it naturally impossible for them to have acted differently? The sole reason was, they were not disposed to act a different part. They were governed by an inward principle of holi

hear: yea, they made their hearts as an adamant-stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent by the former prophet." Their cannot proves thus to be an obstinate criminal will not; and, "therefore there came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts," Zach. vii. 11, 14. The Jews could not hear the words of Jesus, because they were of their father the devil, and his lust they were determined to do. Let these instances

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suffice to show why a good man cannot do evil, and why a wicked man cannot do good. The former hates sin, and loves the law of God; and, therefore, sin hath not the dominion over him. The latter hates God and holiness, and loves iniquity; and, therefore, is the servant of sin, and free from righteousness. He does not like to retain God in his knowledge; he hates the light, and loves darkness; and, seeking the honour of his fellow men, he cannot believe in Christ. If this inability in

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CHRIST.

By a late venerable Deacon of a Baptist

Church at Frome.

cluded a natural and physical impossi- THOUGHTS ON THE DIVINITY OF bility to believe, though ever so desirous and willing to do so, it would not be the sinner's crime, but his calamity. This, however, is far from being the case. His impotence is nothing but an aversion to Christ, and his method of salvation; and the greater his inability is in this respect, the greater must be his guilt, sin, and consequent punish

ment.

When I say the sinner cannot believe, I mean to express only the sentiment contained in the words of Jesus, "Ye will not come to me that ye may have life." But when I affirm, that the sinner can believe, I wish to convey the idea, that there is nothing in heaven or earth to hinder or prevent him, but his own wicked disposition; that in the strict and proper sense of the word, he wants no more power or strength than he has, but only a will or inclination. He has a price in his hand to get wisdom, but, fool as he is, he has not heart to it. Prov. xvii. 16.

From the clear, full, and undeniable testimony of God-from the perfections of the divine Being-from the nature of man, and his relation to, and dependence on, his Creator-from observation-and from my own experience, I conclude, without any manner of hesitation, that God requires every man, to whom his word is sent, to believe it, and that man's present strength is equal to the performance of the duty thus imperiously required of him.

I might have availed myself of the distinction between natural and moral inability; but these terms having been ridiculed by some, and being a stumbling-block to others, I refrain, as much as possible, from the use of them; though I know not any distinction more clear and important, nor any other terms by which the idea can be more fully or forcibly expressed.

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A SUPREME and subordinate Deity is contrary to reason and revelation; every being in existence must be either God or a creature-the Creator, or created. Could we conceive of a being, as far exceeding an angel, as the latter does a worm, in power and greatness, still if he began to exist, and derived his being from another, he could be no more than a creature, as dependent, every moment, on his Maker, as the most feeble creature. There are innumerable gradations in the scale of animated existence, from the minutest animalcule, to the tallest archangel; but here the chain breaks; there is no medium between finite and infinite. What are all crea tures, the inhabitants of all worlds, when compared with God in any moral excellency; and they must be totally destitute of every natural perfection of Deity-such as eternity, self-existence, immensity, and the like. If our Saviour then, be not God in the highest sense of the word, he can be no more than a creature. The Arian hypothesis represents him too high for a creature, and too low to be God. But the Bible represents him as both the one and the other. The Arian Saviour is only an ideal one-a notional being that never did, and never can exist.—An ideal one, did I say?—I must recal that expression, because I can form no idea of communicated infinity, and a derived selfexistence. The Scripture account is a mystery: the Arian notion involves an absolute impossibility; and the Socinian hypothesis is so gross, so palpable a denial of so many express passages of Scripture, that I think it would be more honest to embrace Deism, and roundly deny the whole at once. The Bible

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ascribes every perfection of Deity to the | blessed Jesus, as fully as ever it does to God the Father; and I see no reason why we may not believe that he is (without any diminution of language) over all, God blessed for ever." The doxology of heaven runs thus: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." When Christ was manifest in the flesh, the divine Father said, "Let all the angels of God worship him." What! has God, who so solemnly prohibited men-"Thou shalt have none other Gods before me," commanded angels to worship a creature? did he so severely punish his ancient people, the Israelites, for idolatry, and introduce it himself among the angels? After having said he would not give his glory to another, did he teach angels the distinction between supreme and subordinate worship? The blessed Redeemer is represented in the Bible as the grand object of the Christian's faith, hope, and love-obedience, prayer, and praise the author of his eternal salvation in all its parts. Has he ever a doubt how far he is to honour his Saviour? The Saviour informs him, "That all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father," he need not fear giving his Saviour more honour than is his due, or of offending the Father in so doing; "for every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." The obedience and death of Jesus Christ derive all their efficacy from his Deity -here God can be just while he justifies him that believeth in Jesus-here is a foundation for our faith, more firm than the fundamental laws of nature -here our hope may expand itself to millions of future ages, and view an eternal weight of glory, as the fruit of the infinitely precious obedience and sufferings of a divine Redeemer-here love kindles, devotion glows and increases till it rises into a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. Our faith in the proper divinity of Christ is the life and soul of all internal religion. Without it we have nothing to trust to for our eternal happiness, but the mercy of an absolute Deity, who has declared he will by no means clear the guilty; our faith has nothing to support it; our hope expires; a gloomy horror, dark as night, would seize us, we must give

up ourselves to despair, and consign our Bible to oblivion, not as a martyr once did, with a "farewell thou precious book of God," but, "farewell thou most unmeaning book in existence." If Jesus be not Jehovah, I cannot see why a Jew has not as good ground to glory in Moses, as a Christian has to glory in Jesus. Christianity would be no more than a system of morality, and that important question must for ever remain unanswered-"How can man be just with God."

Frome.

MR. EDITOR,

S. T.

In your number for the present month I observe that I am called upon, both by you and your correspondent, for an explanation of an expression which occurs in the "Essay on Justification." Your correspondent, it appears too, writes on behalf of some few of your constant readers; and as there appears to be such a stumblingblock in their way, I am willing to remove it; at the same time, I do think that the scope of the paper is, of itself, fully sufficient to satisfy all concerned, as to the writer's opinion on the subject of human merit-it is from the scope of an author's writing that we collect his sentiments, and not from any one particular expression of which he may make use. The subject itself, it must be allowed, is of immense magnitude; and for the sake of the very pleasure which it would afford me, I would, if I could command time for it, send you an essay on it of greater length than that which your correspondent seems to think so likely to be useful to many; but you must be satisfied with a few brief remarks.

First, then, I would observe that, al though there are many passages of Scripture which would seem to intimate, that good works ought to be done with a view to reward, yet the very nature of these works would be destroyed by their being performed from such a motive. The passages to which I refer, are such as the following: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life." yourselves, that we lose not the things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward." "For he (Moses) had respect to the recompence of reward.”

"Look to

"Cast

not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward." But who that knows and believes that there is only one Being in the universe who hath life IN HIMSELF-who that believes that the soul of man is merely a receptacle of the DIVINE LIFE, and must, to eternity, be every moment dependent on that Life, could suppose that these, or any passage of similar import, support the absurd doctrine of human merit in matters of religion? But again: In all those passages of Scripture, the co-operation of man is clearly stated as being necessary in the great work of salvation; every thing like boasting is excluded by the consideration, that it is God who worketh in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Jesus reminds his disciples of this, when he exhorts them to abide in Him, because without Him they can do nothing. Independent of Him, there is no such thing as salvation; hence it is said: "Neither is there salvation IN any other :" and hence again it is said: “IN THE LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." Thus, he who glorieth, must glory IN The Lord; and his glorying must have respect, not to the works of righteousness which he has done, but to this that he knoweth the Lord, who exerciseth loving-kindness, judgment and mercy in the earth.

vants we are to whom we obey, it is in vain that we talk of salvation, while we ourselves are not delivered from the dominion of sin. And as this line of conduct will tend most effectually to cure us of all pride and selfishness, so the very circumstance of persevering in it will lead us to look forward to our future state of existence with all its felicity, not as the reward of service we have done to the Lord, but rather as perfecting our bliss by affording us an opportunity of casting our crowns at the feet of Him who hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, that He might redeem us unto Himself, a peculiar people, not having spot or blemish.

I might pursue these considerations to a much greater extent, and show that every man who understands any thing of the nature of the happiness of heaven, must be aware that it will consist solely in admiring and enjoying the MERITS OF THE LORD:-that they who attach merit to their own good deeds, do them from a principle of evil:—that heaven, to such persons, would appear an absolute blank of the most bitter disappointment: nay, that if thieves are to be excluded from it, it is impossible that those can ever enter it, who appropriate to themselves the glory that belongeth to God only; but enough, I trust, has been said to convince your correpondent, and his friends also, that the writer of the "Essay on Justification" is an admirer of that charity which vaunteth not itself, and which is not puffed up; and that, for himself, he desires to rank with those who Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.”, Sept. 10, 1822.

"The grace of God" is a phrase of frequent occurrence in most writings of a religious nature; but it is to be feared that it is often used in a very vague sense; and, indeed, in a sense diametrically opposed to its use in Scripture. The grace of God there spoken of, is" said to bring salvation. But the salvation that is IN CHRIST consists in putting off the works of darkness, and putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. These are expressions of immense mag- So far our correspondent, whose aponitude, and plainly intimate that we are logy will, we trust, be found satisfacto strip OURSELVES of all those evil tory. But, in addition to the passages of lusts which cleave to us as a garment Scripture which he has referred to, we does to the body; and, like the disci-think there are many others of equal ciples and the multitude, when our weight, which he might have adduced. Lord ascended to Jerusalem, cast them Such as, "Him that honoureth me, I down to be trodden under foot, while will honour"-" How can ye believe we hail Him as the only Saviour, and which receive honour one of another, receive Him to reign in our hearts with and seek not the honour that cometh undivided sway. It is only in as far from God alone?" What does this imas we thus act, that we experience the ply, but that it is our duty so to demean grace of God, and can become fit habi- ourselves as to endeavour to secure the tations of God through the Spirit; for approbation of God? Again: “Whereso long as it remains a fact that his ser-fore, we labour, the margin says, en

deavour," that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him." It were easy to extend these remarks, but it is not necessary. The truth is, that though when we have done all those things which Christ has enjoined, we are unprofitable servants as to any benefit which he can receive from our works, or as to any proportion between our best works and the reward, yet Christ has assured us, that he will approve of the works of faith and love; that they are pleasing to him; that the very least of them shall not lose its reward, but that he will make an honourable mention of them in the day of judgment, and recompense them at the resurrection of the just. For God is not unrighteous to forget his people's work and labour of love, which they have shewed to his name, nor unfaithful to his promise of rewarding them. In a word, we cannot but think that there is quite as much danger of our losing sight of this doctrine, which is certainly the doctrine of the scriptures, as there is of a real | Christian perverting it to a self-righteous purpose.-EDITOR.

A

copy of the following letter has been

readily solved or reconciled; since on the authority of the New Testament, and by the universal consent of the Christian world, the baptism of an adult heathen, being supposed to follow a voluntary, conscientious, renunciation of his former idolatrous principles; and a cordial embracing of, and a credible profession of attachment to, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; it follows that it should at once introduce him into all the privileges and ordinances of that gospel; and that nothing can exist to bar his immediate admission to the table of his newly acknowledged Master, in conformity with his own divine command, but what would be an equally valid objection to his being admitted to the initiatory ordinance of baptism.

On these points I earnestly desire satisfaction; since they appear to me to involve a departure from that gospel simplicity for which Christians are bound constantly and zealously to contend. I am Sir, yours,

AN ENQUIRER.

sent to the Editor of the Old Evangelical To the Editor of the New Evangelical Magazine, for insertion in that Journal. We are a little curious to see whether it be deemed admissible, and if so, what answer will be returned to it.-Editor.

To the Editor of the Evangelical Magazine.

SIR,

Through the medium of your Magazine, I should be glad to obtain a solution of some difficulties, which have arisen in my mind, from a perusal of the accounts given, relative to the South Sea Missions, under the patronage of the London Missionary Society. On reference to the Report of the Stations, (Quart. Chron.-Vol. ii. page 155) it appears that a broad line of distinction drawn by the Missionaries, between baptized adults and communicants, the number of the former, far exceeding the latter, at every station; and in some almost in a tenfold degree; and in a recent private communication from one of the Deputation, I have noticed the fact, that the late king Pomaré-though he had been baptized more than two years, yet was never admitted to the Lord's table. Now these circumstances seem to possess a mystery and inconsistency, not

VOL. VIII.

SIR,

Magazine.

I should feel obliged if any of your intelligent correspondents would inform me, through the medium of your miscel

lany, whether the ministers of the established church are enjoined by law to register the births of the children of Dissenters, in the parish books, without the ceremony of sprinkling being used.

I have heard it hinted, that by some recent decision in our courts of law, the legality of Dr. Williams's registry to establish the age of a child has been called in question. Probably some of your readers may be acquainted with the circumstance; if so,

should think it would be highly important to the Dissenters as a body, to have the matter settled, to obviate all difficulty. Yours, very truly,

Watling Street.

2 R

B. C.

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