the grace of his Holy Spirit; who worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure; and thus verifies and fulfils the promises, made by Christ to those who ask in his name, of succour and strength from on high. Christ therefore is his beloved Son, by whom we are redeemed, and in whom we are accepted. The religion which he hath taught us, so worthy of God in the theory, and so favoured by him in the practice of its laws, proves its heavenly origin by the fruit it produces; and brings its divinity home to the breast of the devout professor by experience of its power unto salvation.

"It is natural to conclude, that he who has this conviction of its certainty will be desirous of persuading others to the belief and practice of it; and will be of an apt and fit disposition to instruct them in it."

There is scarcely any recent divines, whose opinions ought to have more weight than those of Dr. Townson. He lived, as he wrote, according to the true gospel. He is universally esteemed by the most learned and judicious theologists of the present day; and his opinions alone carry with them sufficient authority to justify me fully in recommending that evidence of the gospel truth which arises from divine influence, consequent on obedience to its precepts. An orthodox life, I am convinced, is the best preparative to the entertainment of orthodox opinions; and I rejoice to find such men as Townson enforcing the doctrine, 'that if any man will do the will of Christ, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God.' He does not refer us to systematical or philosophical works, but to the teaching of the Holy Ghost,

for the attainment of this knowledge; a knowledge, compared to which all other is to man-condemned as he is shortly to die-but puerile amusement, a house of cards, a bubble blown up into the air, and displaying deceitful colours in a momentary sunshine.

SECTION XVII.

Dr. Doddridge on the doctrine of Divine Influence.

"ANY degree of Divine influence on the mind, inclining it to believe in Christ, and to practise virtue, is called grace. All those who do indeed believe in Christ, and in the main practise virtue, are to ascribe it not merely or chiefly to their own wisdom and goodness, but to the special operation of Divine grace upon their souls, as the original cause of it. None can deny, that God has such an access to the minds of men that he can work upon them in what manner he pleases: and there is great reason to believe that his secret influence on the mind gives a turn to many of the most important events relating to particular persons and societies,' as it is evident many of the public revolutions, mentioned in the Old Testament, are ascribed to this cause. Though the mind of man be not in

Prov. xxi. 1.

2 Ezra, i. 1. Religion of Nature Delineated, p. 105-107.

vincibly determined by motives, yet in matters of great importance it is not determined without them and it is reasonable to believe, that where a person goes through those difficulties which attend faith and obedience, he must have a very lively view of the great engagements to them, and probably, upon the whole, a more lively view than another, who in the same circumstances, in all other respects acts in a different manner. Whatever instruments are made use of as the means of making such powerful impressions on the mind, the efficacy of them is to be ascribed to the continual agency of the first cause. The prevalence of virtue and piety in the church is to be ascribed to God, as the great original Author, even upon the principles of natural religion. Good men in Scripture, who appear best to have understood the nature of God, and his conduct towards men, and who wrote under the influence and inspiration of his Spirit, frequently offer up such petitions to God, as show that they believed the reality and importance of his gracious agency upon the heart to promote piety and virtue.' God promises to produce such a change in the hearts of those to whom the other valuable blessings of his word are promised, as plainly implies that the alteration made in their temper and character is to be looked upon as his work.2

"The Scripture expressly declares, in many places, that the work of faith in the soul is to be

1 Psal. li. 10-12; xxxix. 4; xc. 12; cxix. 12, 18, 27, 33 -37, 73, 80, 133. 1 Chron. xxix. 18, 19. Eph. i. 16, &c. Col. i. 9-11, &c. sim.

2 Deut. xxx. 6. P'sal. cx. 3. Ezek. xi. 19, 20; xxxvi. 26, 27.

Jer. xxxi. 33; xxxii. 39, 40.
Compare Heb viii. 8—13.

ascribed to God, and describes the change made in a man's heart, when it becomes truly religious, in such language as must lead the mind to some strength superior to our own by which it is effected.' The increase of Christians in faith and piety, is spoken of as the work of God; which must more strongly imply, that the first beginnings of it are to be ascribed to him. The Scripture does expressly assert the absolute necessity of such Divine influences on the mind, in order to faith and holiness, and speaks of God's giving them to one, while he withholds them from another, as the great reason of the difference to be found in the characters of different men in this important respect.3

"It appears probable from the light of nature, and certain from the word of God, that faith and repentance are ultimately to be ascribed to the work of special grace upon the hearts of men. As

John i. 13; iii. 3, 5, 6. Acts, xi. 18; xvi. 14. 2 Cor. iii. 3. Eph i. 19, 20; ii. 1, 10; iv. 24. Phil. i. 29. Col. i. 11, 12; ii. 12, 13. Vid. James, i. 18. 2. Tim. ii. 25. To this catatalogue we scruple not to add Eph. ii. 8, though some have objected that T870 cannot refer to SEC; since the like change of genders is often to be found in the New Testament: compare Acts xxiv. 16; xxvi. 17. Phil. i. 28. 1 John, ii. 8. iii. 16; iv. 19. Matt. vi. ult. xxviii. 19. Rom. ii. 14. Elsner's Observ. vol. i. p. 128. Raphel. Observ. ex. Herod. in Matt. xxviii. 19. Glassii Op. 1. iii. Tract. ii. de pr. Can. xvi. p.

524-526.

Gal.

2 Psal. cxix. 32. Phil. i. 6; ii. 13. 1 Cor. vii. 25; iii. 7; iv. 7; xv. 10. 2 Cor. v. 5. Heb. xiii. 20, 21. 1. Pet. v. 10.

Jude, ver. 24, 25.

* Deut. xxiv. 4.

Matt. xi. 25, 26. John, vi. 44, 45, 46; xii. 39, 40. Rom. ix. 18-23.

4 Lime-street Lect. vol. ii. p. 242-245. Tillotson's Works, vol. ii. p. 80, 81. Limb. Theol. 1. iv. c. 14. § 4. 21. Brandt's Hist. of the Ref. vol. ii. p. 75. Doddridge on Regen. Serm. vii. p. 221-233. Jortin's Six Dissertations, No. 1. Warburton's Doctrine of Grace. Fost. Sermons, vol. ii. No. 5. præs. p. 104, 105.

to the manner in which divine grace operates upon the mind, considering how little it is we know of the nature and constitution of our own souls, and of the frame of nature around us, it is no wonder that it should be unaccountable to us.' Perhaps it may often be, by impelling the animal spirits or nerves, in such a manner as is proper to excite certain ideas in the mind with a degree of vivacity, which they would not otherwise have had by this means various passions are excited; but the great motives addressed to gratitude and love seem generally, if not always, to operate upon the will more powerfully than any other, which many divines have therefore chosen to express by the phrase of delectatio victrix."2

SECTION XVIII.

The Opinion of Soame Jenyns on the fundamental Principles of Christianity.

"IF Christianity is to be learned out of the New Testament, and words have any meaning affixed to them, the fundamental principles of it are these:

John, iii. 8.

* Compare Deut. xxx. 6. Psal. cxix. 16, 20, 32, 47, 48, 97, 103. Psal. xix. 10, 11. Rom. vii. 22. 1 John, iv. 18, 19. Rom. v. 5. Le Blanc's Thes. p. 527, § 53. Burn. Life of Roch. p. 43-51. Barclay's Apol. p. 148. Burn. on Art. p.