any nice distinction. Men in general do not sin, because they are ignorant of their duty; but 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

(u) Rom. c. I. v. 32.

(x) Breviter refutandi sunt duo errores fanaticorum hominum, 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

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 general, and signifies, that all Christians may act in opposition to the suggestions of grace, that amendment 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

(y) Collier's Eccles. Hist. & Heylin's Hist. Quinq. justi, et donati Spiritu Sancto, tamen postea lapsi sunt, ita ut alter perierit, altur rursus ad Deum conversus sit. Melancthon, Loc. Com.

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. "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. The 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 hath 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

from prayers in more ancient liturgies, passages are omitted, which relate to this nice and delicate subject (z). In one collect (a), however, we pray thus: "O God! who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright; grant to us such strength and protection, as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations;" which words imply, that though we cannot always avoid sin, yet the frailty of our nature does not cause us invariably and necessarily to fall in every danger, or to yield to every temptation; but that all dangers cannot be escaped, or all temptations resisted, without divine assistance. In a second collect (b) we pray, “O God, . . . . . because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed;" which is nothing more than altering the words of one of our Articles,. already explained, into the form of a prayer; and I have only to observe, that the "good thing" here mentioned, must mean good in the sight of God: such an action our weak and unassisted nature will, unquestionably, not allow us to perform.

(z) Laurence's Sermons, p. 281. (a) 4th of Epiphany. (b) 1st Sunday after Trinity.