has he not aimed to inflict ! And all this when he had full power to do otherwise; when God had set before him the most moving truths, the consideration of which would have sweetly drawn him to love; but he would not incline his ear, neither would he hearken. Shall God save such a one? Shall not his soul be avenged on such a rebel as this? For such a wretch shall his arm be stretched out, and his Son be slain? This is a miracle of grace indeed. Love which prevails while crimes of the deepest dye provoke eternal wrath, and justice demands the execution of a righteous vengeance,—such love is free; it may be sovereign, and must be glorious. Such love is worthy of the Eternal; and if all earth and heaven be called upon to shout its praise, the theme is infinitely higher than the song.

The writer cannot believe it needful to carry this illustration any further. He will leave it to appeal to every pious mind, only expressing his heartfelt delight that the sentiments he holds do lead him to most admiring views of the grace that bringeth salvation. Oh! if he felt that there were any sentiments which could sink him in deeper shame before the presence of his Maker, or inspire more elevated

apprehensions of his Redeemer's love, were it for this luxury alone, he would instantly embrace them. It is for this reason, in truth, that he binds his present sentiments to his heart. None humble him like these; none like these inspire him with adoration of his Lord.

If a reader of the opposite persuasion should feel any force in the preceding argument, it may perhaps lead him to say- But, after all, the great question is, Is the sentiment true; is it scriptural?' No doubt, this is the great question; and he will have the goodness to recollect how fully it has been treated in the former parts of this volume. It is not that we have examined our opinion in this indirect manner in order to avoid the direct application of scriptural tests: but having first applied them, we use this as a subsidiary means; and as the former justified us, so does the latter. It should be recollected, too, that we are now upon ground which our companions in argument have claimed as peculiarly their own, and from which, as their impregnable bulwark, they have loudly proclaimed our defeat. We wish no triumph, neither let them practise any evasion; but let it be fairly decided which sentiment has the advantage on the ground

now occupied. Nothing is easier than for a man, who is determined to maintain his opinion at all hazards, when baffled at one point, to run to another, and so lead an everlasting chase but if there be any sincerity in the reference so often made to the tendency of the doctrine, we call upon our brethren either to show that it is not such as we have stated, or to abandon, if not their opinion, yet their boast; and to content themselves with being that portion of the christian church who hold sentiments which justify man and annihilate the grace of God.

CHAP. XIV.

Whether the sentiment of man's ability agrees with the actual exercises of his mind: The Argument from Experience.

It can scarcely fail to have occurred to our readers, that the subject before us is by no means one, either of abstract speculation, or of remote inquiry. It relates to matters which lie within our own breasts; to matters, therefore, respecting which our own consciousness should afford us the means of forming a ready and decisive judgment. One can scarcely withhold surprise, that on so home a topic there should have existed any diversity of opinion, or scope for argument; and if it does exist, it is highly natural and just to refer to every man's consciousness of what passes within him for a decision of the question. Whatever may be the value of philosophical disquisitions, whatever may be the force even of divine testimony, they are of no further influence nor truth, than as they accord with the facts

THE ARGUMENT FROM EXPERIENCE. 229

existing in the bosom of men.

The use and end of them is not to produce a fictitious man, but to discover the real one; not to form a picture, but to exhibit a light. Respecting the whole question in the discussion of which we have been engaged, we say most cheerfully, Let experience decide it.

Much is it to be regretted that any circumstance should diminish the value of this appeal. Some readers, perhaps, under the influence of their own consciousness, may be ready to say that, on this ground, there cannot be two opinions, at least among those who are taught of God. The expectation is natural; but the fact does not justify it. There are two opinions, even among those who are taught of God; unless, at least, the parties in this discussion proceed to the extreme length of pronouncing each other not to be christians,anathema which, from angry and defeated disputants, is no way uncommon, but which we have no disposition to hurl at our brethren, and shall find it not difficult to bear, if it be only from them, and not from their Lord. But since those who have alike experienced divine teaching do not come to an instantaneous agreement upon this point, it is manifest that

an