himself into a claim to the divine favour, by any power or ability of his own. I fhall not run into the fcholaftick controverfies and fubtile distinctions, with which this doctrine has been clouded by many of our wrangling difputers: but shall endeavour to fet it in the most plain, eafy, and practical light, that I am able.

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I think, you must readily grant, that you cannot make an atonement for your fins, by any performances within your power. You are, Sir, to confider yourfelf as a finner, as a criminal and delinquent in the fight of God. Your nature is corrupt and defiled. Your actual tranfgreffions of the law of God have been very numerous; and perhaps fome of them attended with special aggravations. All your fins are directly repugnant to the perfections of the divine nature; and confequently of fenfive to a pure and holy God. And what greatly increases the difficulty and danger of your cafe, is, that you are still continuing to act contrary to God in all you do, while your nature is unrenewed; and while are without a principle of love to God. (I am fure, you will pardon this freedom; for it is neceffary you should know the disease, in order to the care) Judge then your felf, whether it can be fuppofed, that an omniscient heart-fearching God can be pleased with any, even the most devout of your overt actions, when he knows that your heart is eftranged from him, and your nature has no conformity to him; but your affections are glewed to your feveral idols. How then can you be reconciled to God, by virtue of your performances and attainments? Can you pay ten thou fand talents, with less than nothing? Can you please. God by offending him, as you do by the obliquity of all your duties, the defects of your beft devotions, and the finful affections from whence they all flow? Or can you have those unworthy thoughts of an infinite, unchangeable God, as to hope you can make fuch impreffions upon his affections, by acknowledging your offences, and imploring his mercy, as to excite his compaflion and fympathy; and to make your impure and unholy nature agreeable to his infinite purity and holinefs? Can your infincere. and hypocritical duties (for fuch they are all at beft, while they proceed from unfanctified heart) bring the glorious God to take

complacency in what is directly contrary to his own nature? You cannot but fee, that these proposals are most unreasonable and abfurd. One of these things must certainly be true; either first, that you have naturally, whilst in an unrenewed state, a principle of holiness and love to God: or fecondly, that works flowing from an impure fountain, and from a principle of opposition and alienation to God, are yet pleafing to God, will ferve to appease him, and will entitle you to his favour: or thirdly, that you cannot, by any thing vou do, have a claim to God's favour, until your nature is renewed, and you can act from a principle of holiness and love to God. I think every man's experience will confute the first of thefe, who gives any attention at all to the natural dis• pofitions of his own foul: the fecond is altogether inconfiftent both with the nature of things and with the nature of an infinitely pure and holy God: and therefore the third is neceffarily true. It won't at all help the cafe, to alledge in bar of what is here faid, that Christ Jesus has made an atonement for us. For what is that to you, while you remain without an interest in him? Did Chrift purchase for you a capacity to make an atonement for yourself? Did he die, that God might be pleaffed with what is contrary to his own nature; and paci. fied with such duties as can be no better than impure ftreams from a corrupt fountain?.

Let reafon fit judge in the cafe before us; and you must allow your cafe to be as I have described it. And it is equally evident, that you have no power to change your own heart, and to produce in yourself a new principle of love to God and conformity to him, by any endeavours of your own. It is visible from what has been already faid, that our hearts and affections must be re. newed and fanctified, before either our perfons or fervices can be acceptable in the fight of God. And which way can this be compaffed? If you take up refolutions, thefe will no longer ftand you in ftead than the principle of fear, from which they proceed, is kept in action. If you execute these refolutions in fome external reforma. tions, this is but lopping off the branches, while the stock and the root of the tree are still alive; the affections and dispositions of the soul being still the fame. If by

fear, or other selfish motives, you something reftrain the prefent more fenfible exercise of your finful appetites or paffions, this is but damming up the stream, and forcing it into another channel; pull down the dam, and it will run where it did before. Certain it is, that every man naturally loves the world, and the things of the world, the objects of his fenfual appetites; and loves his lufts and idols, more than God: and it is equally certain, that whatever restraints he may fometimes put upon these difpofitions, an omnifcient eye beholds the fame principle in him notwithstanding and confequently he can never please God, till there be in this refpect a real and thorough change wrought in all the powers of his foul; fuch a change as the fcriptures defcribe by a tranflation from darkness unto light, from death to life, and from the power of Satan unto God. And to fuppofe, that any but he who firft gave being to our fouls, can give them a new being in all fpiritual and moral refpects; and make their difpofitions, appetites, paffions, contemplations, defires, and delights, not only differing from, but directly and laftingly contrary to what they were, is to afcribe to the creature what is the peculiar property and prerogative of the glorious God himself. Do you (Sir) but make the trial, and you will find, after all your endeavours, that the violation of your promifes and refolutions, the deadness and hypocrify of your ties, the prevalence of your fins, and the continued. eftrangement of your affections from God and godliness, will give you more fenfible conviction, than any methods of reasoning can do, that there is a greater power needful than your own, to make you a new creature.

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It must therefore neceffarily follow, that there is nothing you are able to do, can give you a claim to the renewing influences of the Holy Spirit. If any thing you can do, can give you a claim to the renewing and fanc tifying influences of the divine grace, your claim must be either from merit or promife.-Not of merit; when you can't of yourself so much as leave off finning, and thereby running further into debt to the juftice of God; and this, even in and by the best of your duties. Your highest attainments therefore can, merit nothing but the divine difpleasure. Not of promife; for where I be

feech you, has God promifed to reward your infincerity, with his faving mercy? and how vain are all pretences to serve God fincerely, where there is not one grain of true holiness in the heart? whatever moral honesty men in a state of nature may boaft of, 'tis all but fpiritual hypocrify in the fight of a heart-searching God: and can bring none under the promife; which is made to faith unfeigned, the only fimplicity and godly fincerity, in the account of the gofpel.

But I return to confider your objection more distinctly. The fcriptures (you tell me) promise, that he who feeks fball find. But, Sir, do not the fcriptures alfo inform us, that many shall seek to enter in at the firait gate, and fball not be able: that fome afk, and receive not, because they afk amifs: And that he who does not afk in faith, nothing wavering, muft not think he shall receive any thing of the Lord? There is indeed a promife to him who seeks in faith and fincerity: but what claim can he have to that promise, who has neither true faith nor fincerity? Will mocking God, and flattering him with your lips, while your heart is estranged from him, intitle you to the promife?

But you fay, All our divines tell us, that the most finful and unworthy may have access to God through Chrift; and this is the purport of all my reafoning ́ ́ with you.' True, by faith in Chrift they may: but God is a confuming fire to unbelievers. He that believeth not, is condemned already. What claim therefore can they have to the favour of God upon Christ's account, whe have never received him by faith; and confequently have no interest in him, nor in any of his faving benefits? Can they claim the benefits of the covenant of grace, who are themselves under the covenant of works, which curfes them, for their not continuing in all things written in the book of the law to do them? I entreat you, Sir, to confider this cafe; it is of vaft importance to you. If you have not good evidence of an intereft in Chrift, how can you pretend to the privileges purchafed with his precious blood? How can you pretend to access to God through him; and a claim to the bleffed influences of his holy Spirit? How can unbelievers have a claim

to the favour of God by Chrift, when he himself affures, us, that the wrath of God abideth on them?

But Will not God have compaffion on his creatures, when they do what they can to ferve him? What anfwer would a prince make to a condemned rebel in his fhackles and dungeon, that should make this plea for pardon? Would the criminal's doing what he can to ferve his prince (which in his present state, is nothing at all to any good purpofe) atone for his paft rebellion? Or would this qualify him for his prince's favour, while he yet retains the fame enmity in his heart against him, and wont fo much as fubmit to his fovereign good plea fure and meer mercy? The application is easy. And it belongs to you, Sir, to confider feriously, whether a finner who is dead in trespasses and fins, who is in a state of rebellion against God, and therefore under the condemning fentence of the law, can any more atone for his fins, or make a reasonable plea for grace and pardon, than the traitor aforefaid? But were your reafoning ever so just, it would afford you no grounds of comfort. For there never was, nor ever fhall be any man, that can fairly make this plea in his own favour; and truly fay, he has done all he can, in the mortifying his lufts, and in his endeavours to ferve God. There will, after all his attempts, remain enough neglected, even of the external part of his duty, that was most in his own power, to condemn both his person and his services.

You complain, that the arguments in the book I fent you, don't give you fatisfaction.' Well, I have here added fome further evidence, to what was there offered; and would now call upon you to confider, whether all these things put together don't make it evident, that you lie at mercy, and convince you of those fcripture truths, that it is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God that fheweth mercy. God giveth his faving grace only because it hath fo feemed good in his fight. Confider, whether you can atone for past fins by prefent duties, by duties that are fo polluted by the principle from which they flow; and which have fo much carnality, felfifhnefs, hypocrify, and finful defects cleaving to them, that if the iniquity of your most holy things be imputed, it must greatly increase the mo