CHAP. XVIII. Of the necessity of the Holy Spirit as implying contrariety of disposition. WE have already seen that the necessity of the Spirit's influence to the conversion of a sinner implies something respecting the condition of a sinner himself; namely, that, without such aid, he would never turn to God. It might be supposed, by many it has been supposed, to imply, that he is destitute of power to do so; a sentiment which we have been examining, and endeavouring to disprove. What then does it imply? To this we have already answered in substance, that it implies contrariety of disposition; a statement which we now proceed more fully to develope and establish. It is the more needful to do this, because, as there is a strong tendency, on the one hand, to maintain that man has not power to do well, so is there a tendency, on the other, to imagine that he has a disposition to do so. Men will much rather confess weakness than wickedness, and cling fondly to the delusive imagination that they would be right if they could: we sorrowfully believe, on the contrary, that the disposition of man is directly, powerfully, and, to use a scriptural expression, “desperately wicked." It is not our business here to enter into the proofs of this at large; but to show merely how it arises out of the doctrine we have already established, namely, that of the absolute necessity of the Spirit's influence in order to conversion. If this doctrine be true, it is but the same thing, in other words, to say that, without the Spirit, repentance will never take place. Now, though there may be an endless diversity of circumstances, there can be only two causes operating to prevent any action: either we have not power, or we have not disposition to perform it. All hindrances may be reduced to these, nor can any other be imagined. If the Holy Spirit, therefore, be necessary to repentance, it must be either because we have not power, or because we have not disposition to repent without him; but we have shown that we have power,-wherefore it must be because we have not disposition. We now take it as proved that we have power to repent; if, in addition to this, we have also a disposition to repent, it is manifest that we shall do so of our own accord, every action being certainly performed when we have both the power and the disposition to perform it. In such a case the Holy Spirit would not be necessary, seeing that we should repent independently of him; but we have seen that his blessed influence is necessary; whence it follows, that, however we may flatter ourselves, we have not a disposition to repent. To conceive that we are of ourselves disposed to repent, and do every thing right if we could, or as far as we can, is directly to deny the need of the Spirit's energy. No doubt there are often arising in the minds of men certain thoughts, or perhaps feelings, on the subject of religion, which may be mistaken for a disposition to repent. These are nothing more than admonitions of conscience, or slight emotions of fear or desire. At their greatest amount they have no prevailing influence, they lead to no determination, to no action. In this way, and to this extent, the heart may be affected by many things at the same time, and inclinations excited towards different, and even opposite objects. It is manifest that such inclinations are of no practical value, and that they indicate nothing respecting a man's character, or what may be expected from it. He may have some inclination to religion, but more to worldliness; and so may be always worldly, in defiance of his inclinations to religion. That which determines character is the prevailing inclination, or what we have strictly defined to be disposition, as distinct from inclination; and it is this we mean, when we say, man has no disposition to repent. He may, and often does feel convicted, alarmed, desirous, but his prevailing feelings are always, nevertheless, earthly and unholy; and what we conclude from the necessity of the Holy Spirit, is, that they always will be so. If such feelings should ever arise to a prevailing degree, in that case, repentance would take place without the Spirit, which, as we have seen, will never be the case. The necessity of the Spirit's influence, therefore, establishes the unwelcome and melancholy fact, that our natural disposition is opposed to God, to our duty, and to our welfare. We love sin, we hate our Maker. This is afflictive; but what follows is far more so. Our disposi tion, it appears, is thus hostile to God and to our duty, in the midst of circumstances most powerfully adapted to render it otherwise. God has exhibited himself to us in colours of the brightest glory, and of the most hearttouching mercy. Every thing just and weighty in obligation; every thing solemn and impressive in prospect; every thing winning and constraining in kindness; every thing powerful and generous in motive; every thing by which every chord in the heart might be touched, has been set before us; and yet our disposition is hostile to God, and reckless of our own ruin. Nor is this all. It is desperately so. So wedded to sin, so bent upon self indulgence, that not all which God has said ever will induce even serious consideration; no patience, no repetition of his calls, no earnestness of importunity, no approach of terrors, will ever change this melancholy mind. His Spirit alone must achieve the transformation. The intensity of evil disposition which this evinces, therefore, is most extreme and astonishing. It can find no parallel. In other cases considerations of duty, of gratitude, of interest, find their way to the heart by which for a time |