By faith we receive Christ such as he offers himself to us. He however not only delivers us from sin and death, but also by the divine influence and power of the Holy Ghost, he begets us again, and forms our hearts to the love of innocence and purity, which we term pureness of life. Therefore justification, faith and good works are so connected with each other, that nothing may separate them. He therefore cannot be reckoned a true believer who does not avoid sin, and follow after righteousness to the utmost of his power." Nowell's catechism. True faith then produces

Works.

"Albeit that good works which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet they are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith; in so much that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree discerned by the fruit.”*

the

Thus, "instead of retarding our progress in piety, faith is the principal means of exciting us therein.-There are no good works and merits by which we may procure love and favour of God, and induce him to deal kindly with us. Yet those pious duties which spring from faith working by love are pleasing to God, not for their own merit, but because God graciously deigns to regard them. For although they flow from a divine principle, yet they never fail to contract a pollution from the intermixtion of our carnal affections. It does not follow that good works are of no importance, because they are inefficacious to justification. They conduce to the welfare of our neighbour and the glory of God. They become evidences of God's loving kindness towards us, and on the other hand, of our faith in God, and our love for his name, and thus give us assurance of our salvation; and it is altogether proper that we, who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and loaded with innumerable mercies,

* Article 12,

should live conformably to the will of our Redeemer, never forgetting the obligations under which we are laid of always studying to win others to him by our example. While any one considers these things with himself, he may well rejoice in his works of faith and labour of love." Nowell's catechism.

"The fruit receives its goodness from the tree," says the pious Bishop Horne, "and not the tree from the fruit: which does not make the tree good, but shews it to be so, because men do not gather grapes of thorns. So works receive all their goodness from faith, not faith from works; which do not themselves justify, but shew a prior justification of the soul, that produces them, as it is written, 'We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.””

Scarcely any subject has occasioned more disputes than the question relating to the power of man to work righteousness; it being contended on the one hand, that to suppose man as not having this power, overthrows the idea of his free agency, and on the other, that not to suppose it were to undervalue the sovereignty of grace. And thus, by those who have carried their respective systems to the greatest lengths, it would seem, that either the power of man must supersede the grace of God, or else the grace of God must exclude the power of man. Contradictory as these two suppositions appear to be, St. Paul, who seems to have understood the matter as well as any modern commentator, joins them together, and calls upon Christians to work out their own salvation, for this very reason, that it is God who worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure.

The metaphors under which the affairs of our salvation are represented, are taken from objects which are familiar to our apprehension, and authorize us to prosecute the analogy, which plainly seems to subsist between nature and grace. The word is called the seed, and the human heart the soil: the grace of God, which bring eth salvation, appears to all, and deposits in every heart the seed of life. The instruments which convey this grace, like the husbandman who commits his seed to the

field, can only plant. It is God alone who can give the increase. The dew of heavenly grace, the influences of the Holy Spirit, and the prolific beams of the sun of righteousness must refresh, invigorate and mature, the celestial fruit. In vain man toils, unless the fostering breezes blow, the rain descend, and the reviving sun temper all into the perfect ear.-And yet these great agents would be ineffectual, unless laborious man did his part. The rain descends, the sun pours out his beams in vain, unless the husbandınan cultivate and stir the soil. So in the work of salvation, man has this seed, this talent, this grace, this manifestation of the spirit which is given to every man to profit withal. Herein man may be considered as having no moral power; he cannot change his heart, he cannot make the fruits of holiness to bud forth and blossom. But he has a natural power; his feet can carry him to the house of God; he can read, and meditate and pray; he can in his way lie down at the pool of Siloam, and in due time, if he continue to wait upon God, he shall receive the renewing and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, which worketh all in all. In all the variety of sentiment entertained upon this subject, we cannot well err if, while we labour towards our salvation with as much diligence, as though our salvation depended on our works, we depend no more upon them then if we had done nothing.

CHAPTER X.

On Divine Influences.

As the knowledge of the true religion would never have had an existence in the world without the revelation of God, so neither can it have an existence in the soul without the operation of God. If in Him we live and move, and have our natural being, shall we derive from an inferior source our spiritual life? There must be to us, indeed, from the nature of the subject, a mysteriousness in any agency which relates to Spirit; for in its nature it is necessarily removed from human apprehension. Our Saviour represents it under the figure of the wind, one of the most common phenomena of nature visibly and powerfully sensible in its effects, but far removed in its essence from our apprehension. wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit."* The same power who brought order and harmony out of the primeval chaos, is necessary to quicken the soul which is dead in trespasses and sins. cordingly, we find the sacred writers in the Old and New Testament constantly ascribing the great work of man's regeneration and moral improvement to the influence of that Almighty Agent, whose prerogative it is to infuse his sovereign energy throughout all the works

of his hands.

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The church also directs us to the Holy Spirit as the author of every good and perfect gift. The question proposed to those who are to be ordained, is, "Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this office and ministration to serve God for the promoting of his glory and the edifying of

*John iii. 8.

In the

his people? I trust so," replies the candidate. collects, we pray, that God may "cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit;" that he would grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort."

The office of the Holy Ghost," says Bishop Warburton, "is to enlighten the understanding and rectify

the will."

"To the Spirit enlightening our understanding," says Bishop Hurd, "purifying our wills, and confirming our faith, we impute all that is good in us, all that proficiency in true holiness, which qualifies us for the enjoyment of Heaven. If a ray of light break in upon us; if a new degree of knowledge be imparted to us; if we see the truth of the gospel more clearly, in any respect, than before we had done; we cannot mistake in ascribing the additional information or conviction to the illuminating spirit within us."

"If we perceive our devotions to be quickened, our hopes enlivened, our faith fortified, we shall not mistake in ascribing these consolations of peace and joy to the Comforter; we may regard them as the earnest and pledge of the spirit in our hearts."-Ephes. i. 14.

"I know," continues he, "this will appear strange to natural reason. But so the scripture has prepared us to expect they would do. For the natural man, (says the Apostle,) receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him.' And to the same purpose, our Master himself speaketh of the Spirit of truth; whom,' says he, 'the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye, (addressing his disciples) know him, for he dwelleth in you.""

Seneca says, "no man can be good without divine assistance," and represents the "Deity as residing in the

*Ordination Service.

†Collect for communion service and for Whitsunday.

+Sermon XVIII.

Bonus vir sine Deo nemo est.

Seneca epist.