only worth its capacity of deception.-A qualification, which no sincere mind would wish to acquire.

But they, who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, can never dispute, that the grace they enjoy can only be from the Lord. Acquainted with the powers of corruption and the strength of sin, they know full well, that none but HE, who is stronger than the strong ONE armed, could have rescued them from the iron bondage, in which they were held. They perceive experimentally, that none but God could plan such a determination of free grace, as the Scripture reveals; that no created being could have either the wisdom, will, or pow-er, to accomplish all that was necessary for their salvation; and that only the infinite and everlasting Jehovab could make it really an everlasting salvation.

When the believer considers himself, he is ready to say: "Here am I, a sinful inhabitant of a wicked world, without any thought of God by nature, and turned away in my affections from all that can be conceived of divine purity and perfection. I feel no natural inclination to goodness; but a strong propensity to all things, which are corrupt and perishing. My soul never sought after its God; and if it has thought of futurity, it considered the eternal state as a dark barren void, the gloomy apprehensions of which inclined me to forget it as fast as I could. My heart was all alive to the pursuits of the world, which, in my sober moments undistracted by the immediate presence of the objects, my heart told me were altogether perishing and vain. Still I ran on the mad career, sure of a precipice which must terminate my course, and sure of nothing beyond it. Thus my whole nature I have constantly found rivetted to the earth, without one aspiring thought or desire of its own to quit it. The very idea indeed of quitting it, has filled me with horror and pain. In this state, always in quest of good without ever finding its satiety, I have heard and read of God, and, with the mere curiosity of a man, have perused his word. I saw nothing in the holiness and omnipotence of my Maker, but which struck me with a sense of my distance from him, and with a terror of his future approach to me. All his attributes, considered in the aggregate, filled me with awe: His mercy alone afforded me some hope, when I thought of it by itself; but attempered with his justice, even mercy increased the dread. The very goodness of God must detach him from all that is sinful and impure, and consequently (as I saw) must detach him from me. The Scripture appeared dark and confused to my understanding. I saw no propriety in many of its precepts," no force in its allegories, no comfort in its promises, no glory in its end. Indeed, its end I did not understand; for it seemed void of sclieine or plan, and only, to my dark mind,

to my

a rude and undigested mass. It was, in all respects, a book sealed to my eyes, a book unaffecting to my heart. Some of its moral precepts alone seemed worthy of attention; and these I viewed distinctly from all the rest; and, thus viewed, I thought that Cicero, Seneca or any of the philosophers, had or might have delivered as good as those. Thus I was left afloat in an immense ccean of uncertainty, without chart or compass to direct my course, or to promise me an harbour of comfort and repose, I found, likewise, that I had no rudder bark to steer it aright by any rule, could I obtain one; and that I lay exposed to the united agitation of winds and waves. To sink, filled me with horror; to swim, afforded me a prospect of continual restlessness and care. I saw others in the same situation of distress, some sensible of it and others stupid or asleep, but this only wounded my humanity, without presenting me with relief. At length, a voice reached my heart; a voice, not of sound but of power, which I had never perceived before. God hath sworn by an oath to his people, that he would grant unto them, that they, being delivered out of the hands of their enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of their life." A sun-beam, darting upon the eyes of a man just recovered to sight from being born blind, could not fill him with so much amazement and wonder at the light, as these important words did my soul at the truths, which they contained, and which, though I had read them an hundred times, I never had perceived before. I saw, I felt an elenchus and a power in them, which no mere words, formed by any kind of art, could possibly have induced. I stood astonished; not at the demonstration of truth alone, though that appeared bright and obvious; but at the force and impression with which it seized my soul. It was quick and pow erful indeed; and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even 10 the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints end marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the beart. The electrical fluid could not pervade the body with more subtilty and surprize; than the heavenly flame affected and seized upon the powers of my mind. I soon found, that to know a truth, is not merely to see it, but to feel and enjoy it too. I tasted, I handled, I felt the Word of Life. I found it was life indeed. Soon my soul, like a new-born babe, casting its eyes around, perceived its situation by nature, and the gracious change, which had passed upon it. By degrees, it could explore the darkness of sin and error, by the light of grace and truth. I saw that through all my past life, I had been in a state of bondage, that I had been a slave in the hands of my most cruel enemies; that, I had feared God only as an angry and inexorable judge; that

so far from walking before him in holiness and righteousness, I had counted it as the best enjoyment of my life to turn away from him; that it had been a part of my misery to reflect upon his transcendent holiness, to the commands of which I neither could yield, nor loved to yield, obedience; and that all his attributes were at war with me a sinner. I now saw, on the other hand, how God could be just, and yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus; and bow all my sins, sufficient as they were to damn a thousand worlds, could be blotted out and forgiven. I perceived, with horror, the deep apostacy of my nature, and my total aversion of heart to God and his holy will. I was covered with shame and contrition, in the view of myself, and with wonder at so much. goodness and beauty, in the consideration of him. My soul was bowed down with the conflict of remorse, hope, love, adoration, and surprize. I saw, I felt, I believed. I wondered, at first, that I had never seen, felt, or believed, before. But I soon found that this wonderful change in the human mind, is indeed a blessing and a gift from God; that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God, who sheweth mercy; in short, that it is not of human might or power, but altogether by God the Spirit. The Scriptures now were unsealed in all those parts which became necessary for my establishment; and they shewed me, that God only could raise the dead-the dead in trespasses and sins, to newness of life; that no human wisdom can impart spiritual instruction; that the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus can only sustain that life, which it is his office to give; and that the same Spirit of grace and truth alone can confer the grace and truth, which are needful for the soul in all its conflicts with its enemies, and for safe conduct to eternity. And, O what a harmony and glory did then appear in all the offices of the everlasting covenant; what a propriety and suitableness in the work of the divine persons; what a lustre in the satisfaction of their unchangeable attributes; what a force and savor in the holy Scriptures; what a hope from the promises; what privileges from communion with God, in his will, and love, and mercy! In short, it was altogether wonderful, and altogether new. It was a life of newness, as well as a newness of life. There was indeed a life and glory in the whole, which those, who have enjoyed them, can better rejoice in than describe. In one word, I felt a hope full of immortality, and found new and earnest desires after immortal life."

liever.

This, more or less, is the growing experience of every beHe is a child of wrath by nature, and has had a transition from this natural state to a state of grace and favor. It is so great a change, that it cannot pass upon a man unknown

to him. He may not know, indeed, the hour, the day, or perhaps the month of this translation; but the translation itself he must know, or he hath found none. He once was darkness; but now he is light in the Lord. And can a man emerge from darkness into light, without perceiving the change? He once was dead in sin; but now is alive to God. Can any creature pass from death unto life, without any perception of the difference? Impossible! Equally impossible also is it for a soul to live unto God, but by the power of God. An angel could not impart life to a y; and can any created being induce a life immortal, and eternal, to man? Can that, which depends for the existence and support of its own being on the will and power of its Creator, act independently of that Creator? Lazarus might, with equal ease, have raised himself from the dead, and come forth. It follows, then, that as spiritual life can only be given from God, it can only be exerted by him. Grace is not a principle given to man to render him independent, but to increase his dependence by increasing his communion with God. He cannot live to God, without God. The strongest believer cannot excite so much as one good thought in his soul, without the agency of the divine Spirit; and much less can he bring that thought into act without the same agency and aid. It is God, which worketh in you (says the apostle) both to will and to do. We are not sufficient of ourselves (he tells us in another place) to THINK any thing as of ourselves. Our sufficiency is of God. Again. The SPIRIT belpeth our infirmities; for we know not what to pray for as we ought. "As thou (says that most excellent collect in the liturgy for Easter-Day) by thy special grace preventing us dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect." To the like purpose is the tenth article of the church of England. To say, that a man is good without communion with the Author of all goodness, is a blasphemous assertion of human independence, and as false in speculation as in fact. An heathen philosopher could teach a better doctrine, and has taught it. Seneca says, Sacer intra nos Spiritus sedet-Bonus vir sine Deo nemo est-Ille dat consilia magnifica et erecta. In unoquoque virorum bonorum babitat Deus. Ep. xli. "An holy Spirit dwells within us-No man can be good without God-He gives exalted and upright instructions, and resides in every good man."-Alas! how many, who are named divines, and who have professed themselves moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them their sacred office, will this ingenious heathen one day condemn? How many condemn even themselves by their subsequent lives and doctrine, both in works and in words. denying the efficacy or the existence of the Spirit of grace? Such persons should remember one text,

which they are often obliged to read-If ANY man have not the SPIRIT of Christ, he is none of his.

All

But to thee, O believer, the mere argument of thy teacher's divinity needs not to be urged': Thou hast been taught the heavenly truth by an heavenly guide. Thou hast been made to see and to feel thyself destitute of all spiritual life and grace and thou knowest, by experience, that none but God himself could ever give thee life, or maintain it when given. Thou art sensible too, that the life of grace from the dead is of far more importance and dignity, than thy mere life of nature as a creature. The unction of God's Spirit, which anointed thy Redeemer for this purpose of salvation, hath descended from him upon thee. The Spirit of Grace hath distilled like the dew upon thy barren heart, and enriched it with the knowledge and the love of God. He hath been and is to thy soul a gracious Spirit, according to the everlasting covenant, both in coming freely, and in working efficaci ously. He came with free grace, because the value of his blessing could not possibly by thee have been purchased; and with efficacious grace, because none but a divine power could remove the opposition of world, flesh and devil, and introduce the divine life within thy soul. O what a debtor art thou already to this almighty Lord! And what an increasing debtor wilt thou be throughout eternity! He is and will be the Spirit of Grace to his people in everlasting glory. the company of the blessed are imbued with his divine anointing; and they enjoy him as their life and their portion, world without end. The spirits of just men are made perfect by God the Spirit. He fills their capacities with his divine inhabitation, and they live in and by him as the great spring of all their bliss. They are there become a perfect unison with this Holy Spirit. And what they are, redeemed soul, thou, even thou, shalt one day be. Corruptible as is thy body, and feeble as thou feelest thy inward man; within a while, and a short while too, thou shait part with corruption and weakness; and all the ene mies of thy peace, which thou hast seen in the days of thy flesh, thou shalt see again no more forever. God will wipe away not only all tears from thine eyes, but the cause of all tears from thy heart. There thou shalt never shed another; unless it be possible to shed one of gratitude, wonder, and joy. O what bath God the Spirit done in thee now ! He hath subdued thy reigning sins, and mastered for thee thy domineering corruptions. He hath released thee from thy bondage, and brought thee into a glorious liberty. And all this he hath done as the earnest only of greater blessings. The mercies, that remain behind, are beyond all human account or conception. The pledge is delightful and full of an