corruption of the nature of every man; if human nature was corrupted, it must have been altered, depraved-a change for the worse must have been made in the nature of man, and not merely a superinduced quality removed. If original righteousness, in the opinion of our Reformers, had consisted in a supernatural gift, and the Fall in the removal of that gift, they would have said, "whereby man has lost original righteousness," and not, "whereby man is

very far gone from original righteousness:" still

less would they have said, that, in consequence of the Fall, "man is of his own nature inclined to evil," because, according to the doctrine of the Schoolmen, man at his original formation inclined to evil, and was only restrained by the influence of a superadded quality. "This infection of nature, continues the Article, doth remain:" there was, then, according to the Church of England, an infection of nature at the Fall, that is, the original nature of man became then actually depraved. There is not a single passage in the Old or new Testament, which, in its plain and obvious sense, favours the idea of a superinduced quality, or adventitious aid conferred on Adam prior to the Fall, over and above what really belonged to his nature; and as this opinion seems to militate against the words of the Article, I do not think it necessary

E 3

necessary to discuss the texts which by a forced construction have been made to apply to it (m)..

In the Article upon Free-will, it is said, "The condition of man after the Fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God;" that is, A man cannot by his own natural faculties and unassisted exertions, so counteract and correct the imperfection and corruption derived from the Fall of Adam, as to be able of himself to acquire that true and lively faith which would secure his salvation, or to

(m) Whoever wishes to see the arguments urged in favour of this opinion, may read Archbishop King's Sermon on the Fall of Man, and Bishop Bull's Discourse concerning the First Covenant and the State of Man before the Fall. These two are, I believe, the only authors of distinction, who have supported this opinion. The subject is also treated very fully by Gerhardus de Pec. Or. cap. 5, and the opposite opinion clearly established. It ought however to be mentioned, that although Bishop Bull maintained "that our First Parents, besides the seeds of natural Virtue and Religion sown in their minds in their very creation, and besides the natural innocence and rectitude wherein also they were created, were endowed with certain Gifts and Powers supernatural," of which they were deprived in consequence of their eating the forbidden fruit, yet he admitted that the natural Powers of man were vitiated by the Fall: defectus illi omnes atque infirmitates, quæ prorsus necessario profluunt a vitioso humani corporis temperamento primum peccatum consecuto. App, ad Exam, Animad. 17. Sect. 13.

call upon God with that sincerity, fervour, and devotion, which can alone give efficacy to our prayers. The human mind is so weakened and vitiated by the sin of our first parents, that we cannot by our own natural strength prepare it, or put it into a proper state, for the reception of a saving faith, or for the performance of the spiritual worship required in the Gospel: this mental purification cannot be effected without divine assistance. The faith here spoken of, is not a bare belief in the divine mission of Christ; nor is it an instantaneous communication, a sudden acquisition. Deliberation and reflection are necessary, but not sufficient, to obtain it. It is the joint result of human exertion and of divine grace. It is indeed the Gift of God, for, without God's assistance, no man can possess it; but it is a gift not bestowed arbitrarily, capriciously, or irrespectively. This is the true sense of the words of the Article; and we can by no means allow the inference attempted to be drawn from them by modern Calvinistic writers, namely, that man has

no

ability or disposition whatever with respect either to faith or good works." Our Reformers were convinced that the Papists exalted the powers of the human mind too high; but, in framing this Article against that error, they were cautious not to fall into the opposite extreme, by denying to

man all exercise of Free-will in the formation of

religious principle, or in the discharge of religious duty (n). They were too well acquainted with Scripture, and entertained too just notions of the character of moral responsible beings, to intend any such degradation of human nature. We have seen, that in the days of the Apostles men were required, when opportunity was offered them, to perform their part towards their conversion, and actually did perform it, although the perfecting of their faith to the purpose of salvation was unquestionably the work of the Spirit. Miracles were performed, to excite notice and belief at the first publication of the Gospel; and the Apostles appealed to the ancient Scriptures, to shew that the prophecies relative to the Messiah were all accomplished in Jesus. Why were these miracles recorded by inspired writers, and these prophecies transmitted through so long a series of years, if men are not to "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" those Holy Scriptures as the only ground of rational belief? Our Church ascribes the composition and preservation of these writings to divine interposition, and evidently considers them as calculated to instruct and improve, to induce men to embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, St. Paul, when

(n) "Neither so preaching the Grace of God, that we take away thereby Free-will; nor on the other side, so extolling Free-will, that injury be done to the Grace of God." Necessary Erudition.

any of his converts feil into errors either of doctrine or of practice, endeavoured to bring them back to the truth as it is in Jesus, by argument, and by referring them either to the written word of God, or to the instructions which they had received from himself. He did not tell them to consult their own internal feelings, whether they were in the way to heaven, but to compare their actions and opinions with the Gospel which he had preached this was with him the only criterion of a saving faith. The corruption and impotence of human nature were the same eighteen hundred years ago, which they are now; and the Jews and Gentiles had far greater prejudices to contend with, than they have who are born and educated in a Christian country; yet the first preachers of the Gospel addressed the understandings of their hearers (n), and enforced the necessity of a

(n) "In the first propagation of religion, God began with the understanding, and rational conviction won the heart. When the Holy Ghost fell on the disciples at the day of Pentecost, the devout men of every nation under heaven heard them speak in their own tongues. But what? Not the jargon of fanatic movements, but the wonderful works of God; that is, they heard them give a rational account of the various parts of God's religious dispensations to mankind. It was just the same on all other occasions; when the Spirit first fell upon believers, they prophesied, that is, they explained the Scriptures of the Prophets. But the dissension amongst the Corinthians sets this matter in the clearest