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And in order to this,

nications out of your mouth." "Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. And above all these things, put on charity which is the bond of perfectness." The Apostle Peter also speaks in nearly the same language to all true believers. "And beside this," says he, "add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound," that is, continue, "they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful." The plain import of all these exhortations is, that if saints were only free from all sinful exercises, they would be perfectly holy; and that the only way to be free from all sinful exercises is, to live in the constant exercise of holy affections. Here then the express declaration of the Apostle Paul comes in with peculiar weight and authority. "This I say then, Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." So long as ye exercise holy affections, sinful ones shall find no place in your hearts. Hence it clearly appears, that all the imperfection of saints consists in positively evil affections, and not in the languor, or defect of their truly holy and gracious exercises.

Though this may be a just and scriptural account of the imperfection of saints, yet since some very plausible objections may be made against it, they shall be treated with all the respect they deserve.

It may be said, that saints are not conscious of such an alternate succession in their good and bad exercises, as has been represented; and, therefore, it is to be presumed, that their good and bad exercises are united and blended together.

It has been observed, in this discourse, that sin and holiness are diametrically opposite affections, and cannot be united in one and the same volition. And it has been further observed, that the Scripture represents them as totally distinct exercises of heart. These considerations afford a much stronger proof, that all holy affections are distinct from all unholy ones, than the mere want of consciousness of this distinction affords to the contrary. We all know, that our thoughts are extremely rapid in their succession. We cannot ascertain how many thoughts we have in one hour, nor even in one minute. And our affections or volitions may be as rapid in their succession as our thoughts; yea, it is very evident, that they are too rapid for observation. For, though we never act without a motive; yet we often act without being able, the next moment after action, to tell the motive from which we acted. This shows, that the succession in our volitions as well as in our thoughts is sometimes too rapid to be distinctly remarked. Let it be ad mitted, therefore, that saints are not always conscious of the alternate succession of holy and unholy exercises in their own minds, this will not prove, that there is no such succession. The plain reason is, the succession is too rapid to be observed. If any are disposed to doubt of the force of this answer, let them try to distinguish the succession of their own thoughts and volitions, and it is presumed, they will be convinced of its being utterly impracticable. Of course, they will be obliged to renounce the objection, arising from experience, against the alternate succession of virtuous and sinful exercises, in the minds of true believers.

It may be said, that according to the tenor of this discourse, saints may be sometimes entirely holy, and sometimes entirely sinful. But this is extremely ab

surd, because if it be true, then saints are sometimes sinners, and just like the rest of the wicked world.

This objection is more ambiguous than pertinent. Saint signifies a holy, and sinner a sinful, character. But a single volition, or a single external action, does not form a character, which is always founded on a course of conduct. One man is called industrious, and another is called idle. But the character of the industrious man is founded on a general habit, and not on a particular instance of industry; and the character of the idle man is founded on a general habit, and not on a particular instance of idleness. These cases will apply to saints and sinners. A saint is one, who habitually obeys, though he sometimes disobeys, the divine commands. A sinner is one, who habitually disobeys God, and never does any thing pleasing in his sight. Though a saint, therefore, may sometimes feel and act just like a sinner; yet he deserves not the character of a sinner, because he habitually feels and acts very differently from a total enmity to God. An industrious man may be idle, and feel and act just like an idle man, for a few moments or a few hours; but it would be extremely absurd to give him the character of an idle man, on account of such particular instances of idleness. He has the habit of industry, and will continue habitually industrious, through the course of his life. So the saint, who is imperfect, and sometimes feels and acts like a sinner, will continue habitually holy and obedient to the end of his days. Now the Scripture characterizes saints and sinners, upon the ground of their habitual feelings and conduct; and, therefore, saints do not forfeit their character by their moral imperfection, though it consists in feeling and acting sometimes like sinners. It is probable, the divine constitution does not admit of any long interval

between one holy exercise and another, in the hearts of saints. Perhaps, they seldom neglect any duty, or commit any transgression, without having some holy exercises, which condemn and oppose their sinful feelings and conduct. It is to be presumed, that they never live months, nor weeks, nor days, destitute of right affections. And very often their holy and unholy exercises are as nearly co-existent as they can be. But though there may be some moments or hours, in which they are totally sinful, as well as some in which they are entirely holy; yet such sinful seasons do not in the least militate against their christian character, but only exhibit painful evidence, that they are really in a state of moral imperfection.

It may be said, that if saints are sometimes totally destitute of gracious affections, then they actually fall from grace; which is contrary to the general tenor of Scripture.

We have, indeed, sufficient evidence in the word of God, that all true believers, who have been regenerated and justified, shall receive the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls. But this may be true, though the imperfection of saints consists in positively evil exercises, which for the time exclude holy affections. It is the constitution of God, that where he has given one holy exercise, he will give another, and another, until the subject of grace is ripened for heaven. But God has no where promised, that such gracious exercises in the heart of the true believer shall never be interrupted by sinful ones. It is, therefore, no more inconsistent with the certainty of the final salvation of saints, that their exercises of grace are sometimes interrupted, than that they are sometimes low and languid. God can as easily renew a train of holy exercises, after it has been interrupted, as he can revive or strengthen

a train of low and languishing affections. The truth is, the final salvation of all true believers depends up on God's working in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure; and therefore their salvation is absolutely certain, whether he constantly produces holy affections in their hearts, or whether he sometimes withdraws his gracious influences from them. It is sufficient for them to be assured, that "He who has begun a good work in them will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

But it may be still further said, that all true believers have a principle of grace, which was implanted in regeneration, and which will not admit of their being totally destitute of holiness, for a single moment.

In answer to this objection, it seems necessary to examine the principal passages of Scripture, upon which it is founded. These are such as the following: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away. the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things."

Here it is natural to remark, in the first place, that these texts cannot mean, that a principle of holiness is implanted in the mind in regeneration. For holiness is love, and love requires no other principles, than those of moral agency, which are common to all moral agents. A sinner has no need of a new natural principle, in order to exercise holy affections; nor is any such principle required. All that the divine law requires of any man is the exercise of true love, or uni

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