and

In his own

what we may. It lies in the counsel of his own will, God only knows how, when, or on whom the regenerating grace shall descend. If any one share the blessing, his change of character will be as much the sole act of God, as if he had himself been without sense or motion up to the very moment of its occurrence. time God will operate on the soul for its recovery. Till then, existence is a mere blank. We can lose nothing, since all was lost at the beginning; we can gain nothing, because all we do prior to regeneration, is done in vain; we are not made worse by the neglect of moral means, for it is impossible to be more than totally depraved; we are not improved by the use of them, for that would detract from the sovereignty of divine grace to which as the sole unaided cause, all change for the better is attributed. Now, I may ask, if there is any probation where a man is neither made better nor worse, gains nothing, and loses nothing, and is. left just as he was found? It is idle to pretend so; as idle as to call that a race for victory, in which one is compelled to run against another, but is told, at the outset, that it is determined to crown his companion, and not him, be the result what it may.

There are many important facts, which, while they go to establish the doctrine that the present life is probationary, are not to be reconciled with the doctrine that men are born totally depraved. For instance, how various are the actions of mankind. But for this variety of supposition that we are

action, there is no room, on the entirely wicked before we have done any thing. Were this true, we should persist in one unvaried series of sins, with not a virtuous thought or wish intervening. Ask

now your own history for its reports; does it give in only a tale of ceaseless guilt? Do you remember no time when you were comparatively innocent? Do you find far back among your early days, no sincere prayers, no pure desires, no good resolutions, no kindness for man, and no fear of God? Be it that you feel yourself a sinner, yea, one of the deepest die; yet, were you always as bad as you are now?. Would your chance for salvation have been no better, if you had died in infancy, than if you were summoned to day? Admit this, and you give up native depravity; for that teaches that all men are liable to eternal wo as soon as they come into the world; more than that cannot be awarded in any case. But where punishment is equal, the guilt must be presumed so.

The phenomena of Habit, likewise, furnish us with an argument. By slow degrees, and the most gradual advances only, we become established in our moral habits. Here a virtue may be forsaken, and there a vice approached; but such instances must occur often, before the indulgence can become habitual sin, and virtue be wholly renounced. There is a reluctance to be overcome at each stage of vice, as there is an effort to be made at each advance in improvement. But would a being whose nature is totally depraved, require much time to reconcile him to evil practice? Could he shrink from sin in any shape? Could he feel the least reluctance to enter the only appropriate, and therefore, it would seem, the only easy course of action for him?

Look now at Education, Example, and all other great moral instruments; their effects are infinitely diversified,

and incalculably great. But we shall find it hard to account for this, on the supposition that all men begin life with a settled character, and a bias toward evil so strong that divine power alone is sufficient to overcome it. Indeed, when external influence produces pernicious consequences, we know the subject affected, was not as bad before, as he was capable of becoming. And when they cause good results, we know the subject must have had a capacity for virtue.

VI. Lastly, the Scriptures afford us a far different view of human nature from that presented by the doctrine we have attempted to refute. They every where take it for granted, that a man is a sinner only through his own act and choice. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Every tree is known by its own fruit. He that committeth sin, transgresseth the law. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. He that doeth righteousness is righteous."

The sacred volume pointed at offenders.

contains many severe Rebukes But rebuke is unjust where the offence could not be avoided, and is the consequence of something else, and not our own choice.

There are also numerous pathetic Lamentations and Remonstrances addressed in the name of God, to his erring creatures. "Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments. Turn ye, for why will ye die.

What could I have done more for my vineyard that I have not done. How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a bird gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not. O that thou hadst known! My people will not consider." Now such language as this, is mere mockery of human wo, unless it was by their own conduct, the guilt lamented, was incurred, and unless they had power to do otherwise. Why lament an evil which he himself had caused, by bringing them into the world with a depraved nature, and which, none but he, can ever cure? It is impossible to reconcile these expostulations with the idea, that, at any moment, the occasion might instantly have been removed by the divine power, and that without a special interposition on the part of God, there was no possibility of its removal. We ought to consider them as sincere; and if we do, we must conclude that the people concerned in them, had been the authors of their own ruin, and always possessed the ability to prevent it.

The Bible abounds with Precepts. For whom? A being, who, by his nature, is utterly unable to observe them?

The views of future Retribution, exhibited in the same volume, are so many contradictions to native depravity. We are taught that we shall be judged by our deeds. And they only, who have done evil, shall arise to condemnation. But what influence have our deeds upon that sentence, which was passed ages ago on the whole race, and by which we are "liable to the pains of hell?" The judgment is already completed, when we begin the race of life, and cannot be reversed by all we

may perform. Is this being rewarded according to our deeds?

ness.

All men are represented, as alike interested in the blessings of Christianity, and its invitations are accordingly addressed to all with the same earnestness. Jesus knew what was in man, both our strength and our weakHe was without guile. He ever spake the truth. If, then, these calls of divine goodness were not designed for every one's acceptance, or if none had power to comply with them, would he not have said so? If our natural depravity be the origin and cause of all our actual offences, would he not have said so? He might have lamented our blindness, but he could not have asked," "Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" He might have been anxious for our unbelief, but could not have inquired, Why do ye not believe ?" He might have exhorted us to wait patiently for the coming of the Holy Ghost, but could not have upbraided us for a guilt which that coming only could terminate. He might have expatiated on the miseries of our condition, but could not have held up the promises which concerned none but the elect, to a dying world; thus adding fresh anguish to their helpless woes.

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But we are not taught in the New Testament that our nature is depraved. Our Lord once exclaimed, “How can ye believe, who seek honour one of another," but never, "How can ye believe, who were altogether born in sins." He uniformily ascribes the ruin of the wicked to their own immediate fault, and not to any foreign cause, least of all to one prior to their existence. There are

no words in the Bible, by which a bare statement of the