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his own heart, and discovering with pain the secret workings of evil, gains increasing conviction of the importance of perse vering oppofition in patience, vigilance, faith, and prayer. His applications to the Throne of Grace are daily renewed, and thus, strengthened with power and might from above, he is enabled to maintain the good fight, not prefuming to lay down his arms till the days of his warfare (Job xiv. 14.) are ended.

3. The ordinary struggle in an unrenewed mind originates chiefly in fear, and is stronger in proportion as the apprehenfion of danger is excited. It is, in fact, a struggle between the judgment and the inclination, the one pointing out the consequences; while the other covets the pleasures, of fin; the one preffing the importance and neceffity, while the other shrinks from the performance of acknowledged duties. There is nothing in this struggle, which shews either hatred of fin, or love of the divine law. The truth is, the heart is not divorced from evil habits and attachments, and is therefore secretly offended at the strictness, spirituality, and extent of that law, which condemns them: there is a latent displeasure in the foul, because fin and happiness are not made compatible. Now the conflict in a spiritual mind is ever attended with a hatred of fin, as a thing evil in its nature, as well as pernicious in its consequences. Not only the judgment condemns, but the will opposes, and the affections are withdrawn from it. The law of God, which in the other cafe is matter of offence, is here not only acknowledged as holy and juft, but approved as good: it is the delight of the inward man:

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and the grief of a fincere christian is to find in himself so many way ward tempers and dispositions not duly subjected to its righteous and falutary control. Against these he maintains an habitual and ferious conflict, and not merely to avoid the condemnation, but also the pollution of fin; not simply wishing to secure future happiness, but labouring to perfect holiness in the fear of God. In the ordinary struggle, when the better principle feems for the moment to prevail, and the duty pressed upon the conscience is performed, the obedience is only like that of Saul, when he forced himself to offer a burnt offering. When the folicitation to fin is denied, it is but like the refusal of Balaam to go with the messengers of Balak, when he gladly would have accompanied them had he dared to do it. In short, to borrow a comparison, which I have fomewhere seen, whatever struggles an unrenewed man may have, fin is to him like precious wares in the ship, which are only thrown over board (and that as sparingly as possible) in a storm: but to one of a spiritual mind it is as the stagnant and offenfive water in the vessel, which the good mariner is affiduous to pump out and clear away daily.

4. Where the struggle between right and wrong arises only from the checks of natural confcience, it is conducted, or carried on, by the mere exertion of natural power the subject of it opposes solicitations to evil, with purposes and refolutions formed entirely in his own strength: whereas, in the conflict between the flesh and the spirit, in a renewed mind, the combatant is strong in the grace that is in Chrift Jefus. By the acting of faith, from time to time renewed, on the Saviour to whom he is by that vital

principle united, he derives renewed supplies of that spirit of power. and might, whereby alone he can effectually be strengthened in the inner man, to fight the good fight, and to crucify the flesh with its affections and lufts.

dially hated, and its opposition to the new man more acutely and painfully felt. It is not therefore a fair inference from the complaints alluded to, that sin is not mortified or weakened. The believer may expect the oppofition of the enemy, and count upon the continuance of the conflict, till the happy period shall arrive when he will receive the end of his faith, even the falvation of his foul. Μ. Τ. Η.

Lastly. From the struggles occafioned by the mere checks of natural confcience no extensive or permanent good effects ensue. However temptation may occafionally be refifted with effect, the power of the enemy is not broken or fubFrom the Religious Monitor. dued; nor is there produced in THERE are many in the chrifthe mind any habitual vigilance, tian world, who confine their recircumspection, godly jealousy, flections on religion almost entirefear, or abhorrence of evil. Sin, ly to its moral precepts; while its in fome form or other, till reigns doctrines are difregarded, as comin the mortal body, and is obeyed paratively of little consequence. By fome, these are entirely overlooked, as if they had been intended only for the fstudy of the profeffed Theologian; and as if the belief of them had no connection with the happiness of a future state. By others, difcuffions concerning the

in the lufts thereof. But in the

conflict, which arifes from a principle of grace in the foul, substantial advantage is gained over the adverfary: the malignity and deceitfulness of fin are, in an increafing degree, difscovered, its secret

motions are more clearly traced, real import of particular passages

and its fubtle workings more effectually frustrated. The foul learns more fully the importance of faith and prayer, of the continual ufe of the chriftian armour, and of "looking unto Jesus." By these means they that are Chrift's are enabled to crucify the flesh with its affec. tions and lufts, fo that all things belonging to the old man do gradually die in them, while all things belonging to the new man live and grow in them. This statement is not to be confidered as invalidated by the complaints of eminent chriftians concerning the power of fin within them, by reason whereof they yet groan being burdened. It is to be contidered that, in proportion to a man's real growth in grace and holiness, fin not only will be more clearly feen, but more cor

of fcripture, and the nature of the
doctrines deducible from them, are
little attended to; these being con-
fidered as points, in the decision of
which, the private christian is not
materially interested. According-
ly, if these men form for them-
selves any system of opinions con-
cerning the meaning of the doc-
trines of fcripture, they profess to
have no defire to convert others to
the belief of their peculiar senti-
ments. They leave every man to
be guided by the conviction of his
own mind; and despise, as the big-
ots of a party, those who maintain
the neceflity of believing, as the
only true doctrines, one class of
religious tenets.

It is hardly neceffary to say any
A Periodical Work published at Edinburgh,
thing in refutation of the first of
these opinions. He, who can deny
man's obligation to believe the doc-
trines of the gospel; who can re-
ject, as useless, those truths, which
constitute the very essence of christ-
ianity; and who can deprive its
morals of their only pure and effi-
cient motives, deferves not the
name of chriftian. He despises the
authority of God, andrefuses, with
daring ingratitude, the best bleff-
ingsofrevelation; thecomfortsand
hopes, which its doctrines inspire.
The second opinion however, in
which it is maintained, that every
man may fafely adopt his own
views of the doctrines of scripture,
whether they actually accord with
its real intention or not, deserves
our more ferious confideration.
This is an opinion, common to
many professors of chriftianity. It
has the appearance of much liberal-
ity and candour; and will certain-
ly be approved of by every one, who
takes only a fuperficial view of the
fubject; when attentively examin-wretched condition, God
ed, however, it will appear to be
founded on the following supposi-
tion also. That the language of
scripture on many of the effential
doctrines of christianity is ambigu-
ous, that its import cannot be pofi-
tively ascertained by the candid in-
quirer, and that nointerpretation of
it, and no explanation of the mean
ing of its doctrines can be regarded,
as exclusively true. if, therefore,
we can fhew that this fuppofition is
unfupported, the opinion, built up-
on it, must fall to the ground.

there are some things, which God
hath seen fit to reveal to us only in
part. But we shall endeavour to
prove that all, who allow christian-
ity to be a divine revelation, must
acknowledge that the grand char-
acteristick doctrines of the gospel,
original fin, the divinity andatone-
ment of Christ, justification through
faith, and the other essential points,
connected with these, in as far as
they are necessary for enabling us
to apprehend them, arepromulgat-
ed in clear and unequivocal terms.
Before the gospel was preached,
mankind were involved in the most
deplorable darkness and uncertain-
ty with regard to every particular,
which concerned their present hopes
and future happiness. Every thing
was obfcure, and much was entire-
ly concealed. The placability of
God, the efficacy of repentance,
and the existence of a future state,
were all doubted, even by the wif.
est and most enlightenedheathens.
Compaffionating men in this

By denying fuch assertions, however, we must not be understood to affirm, that the meaning of every part of fcripture is plain and obvious. Many passages are necessarily obfcure, from our imperfect knowledge of the language and manners of the period, in which the facred books were written; and

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pleased to bring life and immortality to light by the gospel; to shew them in a manner which could not be misunderstood, the sources of confolation, and the rule of duty; to point out the way of access to him, and to direct their views to an eternal inheritance beyond the grave. If, however, these essential truths were not plainly discovered; if the language, in which they are expressed, even after all the investigations of the learned, be full of ambiguity; where are the advantages of revelation? What light hath it shed on a benighted world? What sure confolation, what good hope hath it given to the fearful mind of guilty man? It hath declared to us indeed God's willingness to pardon; but hath left us, as before, in total uncertainty about

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the method of obtaining forgiveness. Two opposite opinions on this important fubject cannot be equally acceptable to God; cannot afford the fame firm fatisfaction and confolation to man. If, therefore, christianity be a divine revelation, its doctrines must have been expressed in such a manner, that they may be easily understood by every fincere, unprejudiced inquirThe goodness of God would lead him to adapt his instructions to the circumstances of his creatures; and, though some of the doctrines are, from their own nature, incomprehenfible by our limited faculties; yet our obligation to believe them can be clearly perceived. Christianity is a divine revelation, in which God has given a plain and unequivocal declaration of his commands, and we cannot suppose that it is a matter of indifference, in what sense we receive them; or that he will be fully fatisfied with our obedience, though we pervert his precepts and mifinterpret his laws. In human governments no such perverfion would pass unpunished. The lawgiver may relax his severity in favour of fuch, as are unacquainted with the particular terms of the law: or of such, as are unable, from the want of intellectual faculties, to exercise their judgment concerning it. Every other fubject is supposed capable of understanding, in what sense he should obey the laws of his fovereign; and, if he do not observe them, he is punished accordingly. In like manner the divine threatenings must be fulfilled against those, who, from corrupt paffion, willingly misinterpret the facred oracles. To this it is objected, as matter of fact, that men of fincerity and candour, differ widely with regard to the essential doctrines of the gof

pel; and therefore that the only period, in which the meaning of these doctrines could be infallibly known, was during the lives of the apostles, and their immediate followers. Have then the advantages of that revelation, which professed to be of universal and perpetual use, been confined to the period of its first propagation? or has the certainty, which it was intended to give to the fondest hopes of man, been enjoyed only by those favoured few, who were blessed with the extraordinary illuminations of the spirit of God? It is much more reasonable to suppose that the will of God is intelligible by every one, whose mind is not biassed by sinful prejudice, and who forms his opinions of the doctrines of scripture from a view of the united force and beautiful analogy of all its declarations. Nor do we hefitate to affirm that it is poffible to trace every corruption of the sacred doctrine to some depraved principle in the human heart. This principle indeed is sometimes so concealed from view, that a man, acting under its influence, imagines that he is searching for truth with the utmost fairness and impartiality. Vanity, skepticism, depraved inclinations, and love of novelty have been the parents of innumerable errours. These, nourished by party spirit, and supported, in many cafes, by the firm conviction of those, who adhere to them, have maintained their strength. When men are influenced by such motives, they cannot examine with impartiality. Detached portions of scripture are made the foundation of a new system of doctrines, and other passages are explained with the previous determination of making them accord with it, or perhaps with the firm afsurance, that they would do so. If this be the way, in which men are led, by false principles, to form erroneous opinions in religion, their errours will be laid to their own charge; they have not been occafionedbyany unnecessary obscurity in the divine revelation. But here the question recurs, who are in the right? What is the interpretation of scripture which may be regarded, as exclusively true? Are they not dogmatical and conceited, who maintain that they alone, of all christians, have examined without prejudice, and discovered, with infallible certainty, the true meaning of the oracles of God? To this we reply, that there are systems of doctrine demonstrated to be pure by evidence, which our opponents cannot reasonably refift. These are the articles and confeffions of faith of this and a neighbouringchurch. Whatever may be the errours of either in the form of difcipline or worship, or in other matters not effential; their systems of doctrine are perhaps the purest, which could have been expected in any works of human composition. Nor is this merely a presumption, drawn from the manners of the times, when they are composed, or from the great piety and integrity of the compilers; but it is an afsertion, the truth of which may be proved by an appeal to the coincidence of these doctrines with the sentiments of the immediate followers of the apostles. If this coincidence can be shown, it completely demonstrates the purity of our religious doctrines to every one, who admits the conclusiveness of historical evidence. For, whatever may have been the early corruptions of the christian church, it is not credible, that the contemporaries and immediate successors of the apostles could have ignorantly, or willingly perverted the facred doctrines. This was so far from

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being the cafe, that they manifestedon all occafions the greatest zeal in preserving them inviolate. The rise of every new heresy was observed by them with a mixture of astonishment, indignation, and forrow, which manifested that, till that time, they had been united and firm in the belief of one system of doctrines. Now, it has often been shown (and no one has ever been able to prove the contrary,) that the doctrine of our church* corres, ponds exactly with the faith of the primitive christians; or, in other words, with the faith of the inspired writer. The doctrines, which we hold, are not the inventions of men, nor the perverfions of scripture truth; they are coeval with the first promulgation of the gofpel; for it cannot be shown, that they were introduced at a later period. In the darkness of Popish ignorance some of them were almost extinguished; but whenever learning and reverence for thescriptures began to revive, the pure doctrines of Christ shone forth with renewed lustre. They were received by our venerable reformers, as the great. eft bleffings of Heaven, and worthy of being kept and defended with a fortitude, which tortures and death could not overcome. Shall then their defcendantspermit themselves to be deprived of such blessings, from the unmanly fear, that their firm, though modest defence of them, would be illiberally stiled the effect of a dogmatick and conceited spirit? [To be continued.]

• The Church of Scotland.

THE following anecdote of Cal. vin, while it does much honour to his moral and religious character, is a curious historical fact, which deserves to be generally known, It was related at Geneva, by Deodati, one of Calvin's successors, te

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