illuminated by an almighty work of the Spirit so that none but the Doctor and his enlightned ones can possibly either give or receive a rational account of the workings of the Spirit and then if we reject his talk 't is because we want that spiritual Power without which the minde cannot receive it If you ask yet further what this spiritual Power is he gives you an admirable description of it The spiritual power of the Minde consists in a spiritual light and ability to discern spiritual things in a spiritual manner So that spiritual Light is spiritual Power and spiritual Power is spiritual Light This men in the state of Nature are utterly void of but any one that is truely sanctified hath light enough to understand the spiritual things of the Gospel in a spiritual manner for we have received the Spirit of God that we may know the things that are freely given us of God What others may think of this I know not but methinks it would grieve any Christian heart to observe the Gospel of our Saviour that Divine means of making men truely wise and good thus debased and dishonoured by such a senseless use of Scripture-phrases as this man makes of them who writes himself D. D. For that which sets off all this wilde and confused talk of his which is enough to puzzle any man at the first blush is his perverting the true use of these Phrases viz. the Natural man and the state of Grace spiritual things and discerning them spiritually with which he rings the changes so often in his Book leaving a noise of the words in the fancies of his Readers instead of the true i. e. the Scriptural notion belonging to them imprinted on their Mindes That I may therefore reconcile the Reader to an opinion that I may possibly write of the operation of the Holy Spirit with more truth than this man hath done I shall prepare my way by enquiring into the sense of this Text of St. Paul The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned For it is chiefly upon this place as far as I can understand that the Doctor builds his confidence that we cannot spiritually discern Spiritual things and as by expounding thereof the use of those Phrases and such as are equivalent to them will be understood so the understanding of them will be conducible also to the main designe of this Book I shall first examine the Doctor 's interpretation of this place of Scripture and then offer that sense of it which I take to be truer than his Before I attempt either of which things I must beg his pardon if I do not think it fit to follow him as oft as he is pleased to leave the Argument and fall a railing against those that have other thoughts of the Text than he has especially where he spends almost two whole Pages upon nothing else charging his Adversaries with the want of those Vertues particularly enumerated by him which they greatly praise and extol and accusing them of Pride Ambition Covetousness Vanity and Profaneness and I know not how many Vices more Now what is all this and a great deal more of the like stuff which he hath swelled his Discourse withal to the explanation of St. Paul's Text which he was endeavouring Suppose I had a minde to retaliate having so large a Subject as Dr. Owen's Pranks from the year 1648 to this present time to expatiate upon what goodly work were here for the Reader Therefore all I shall say to this matter is that whereas his lewd and notorious practices against the Church and State have been exposed in Print and these charged upon him not from Tales pickt up in the Streets and at Gossiping-meetings but from his own publick Actions and Writings He hath no way to be revenged upon the Gentleman that hath done him this kindeness but by letting fly upon his whole Order with all sorts of Calumnies and Reproaches though 't is very likely he is not able to fasten his Accusations upon any one of those whom he thus bespatters since his plentiful Rage against them might satisfie any man that his Will was not wanting Wherefore it being to as little purpose to attempt the confutation of such loose and general Calumnies as it had been to have answered the Doctor if he could have satisfied his implacable malice with being at a word and calling us once for all Rogues and Villains I shall leave him in the quiet possession of his Talent at Lying and Defamation and shall now onely try whether his Reasonings be as unanswerable as his Railings SECT III. I Often finde it very difficult to fasten any meaning upon so slippery a Writer as this but to my best understanding he thus explains the phrases of the Text. 1. By the Natural man he means one that hath the use of all his rational faculties or every one that is so and that is no more than so that is every one who is not a spiritual man is not one who hath received the spirit of Christ one that hath the spirit of a man enabling him to know things Natural Civil or Political but not the Spirit of Christ to know things Spiritual So that the Natural man is one who is not a Spiritual man but a Natural man onely as the Spiritual man is one who is not onely a Natural man or thus the Natural man concerning whom the Apostle saith that he cannot know the things of the Spirit of God is one who hath not the Spirit and cannot know the things of the Spirit of God And if the Doctor had rested in this Explication I think he had been safe enough for ever being confuted But he hath a further meaning which discovers not it self till we come towards the end of his Comment For he tells us the reason why the Natural man hath no ability to discern spiritual things is because the Light it self whereby alone spiritual things can be spiritually discerned is created in us by an Almighty Act of the Power of God so that at last this is his notion of a Natural man which agrees with the rest of his Book that he is one in whose minde spiritual Light is not created by the Almighty Power of God 2. By the things of the Spirit of God he understands the mysteries of the Gospel which depend wholly on supernatural Revelation and I think this is the onely Phrase he understands right If he means honestly by supernatural Revelation viz. that Revelation which was communicated to the World by Christ and his Apostles and not any particular Revelation made to himself and his Party by an irresistible work of the Spirit upon their mindes But such a custom he has gotten to confound every thing that within two Pages he understands by it all the Commands of God whatsoever for through
A DISCOURSE Concerning The OPERATIONS OF The HOLY SPIRIT TOGETHER WITH A Confutation of some part of Dr. OWEN'S Book Upon that Subject Imprimatur May 4th 1677. Guil. Jane R.P.D. Hen. Episc. Lond. Ã sacris domest LONDON Printed by J. C. for Hen. Brome at the Gun at the West-end of St. Pauls 1678. THE PREFACE AMongst other things which are usually aimed at in a Preface one is to invite the Reader to the Book The Author of this Book does not think it worthy of every man's perusal into whose hands it may chance to come and therefore does not commend it to All. It was written principally for their sake who have been made to believe that the Ministers of the Church of England have departed from the Scriptures in their Doctrine concerning the Operations and Grace of the Holy Spirit which is one of those prejudices that have been instill'd into the dissenting party by their Leaders to confirm them in their Separation The Author thinks he has made it plain that they do not onely accuse us very wrongfully but that they themselves are guilty of that Crime which they lay to our charge And he hopes their Followers cannot think it an unreasonable request that they would impartially consider what is said on both sides and judge accordingly But if he should be mistaken in that he has this satisfaction however that he has done his Part by giving them a fair occasion so to do If some of them should be inclined by the weightiness of the subject to read the Discourse and yet be tempted on the other hand to throw it aside merely because it pretends to be a Confutation of some of Dr. Owen's Principles Dr. Owen himself will help to cure them of so unreasonable a prejudice For he has told you long since in a Book of his called The duty of Pastors and People distinguished that you are not to take any Doctrine of Religion on the credit of his Authority Alas says he you are in a miserable condition if you have all this while relied upon the Authority of men in Heavenly things He that builds his Faith upon Preachers though they preach nothing but truth and he pretend to believe it hath indeed no Faith at all but a wavering opinion built upon a rotten Foundation Now you know the Authority of the Doctor is no more than the Authority of a Man and therefore you have his own word for it that to build your Faith upon his Authority is to build it upon a rotten Foundation Whether you have so done all this while I cannot say but if you have he tells you that you are in a miserable condition And if you have not you will easily be perswaded to take this opportunity now offered to you of examining his Doctrine by the Word of God to which the Author does appeal as heartily as the Doctor himself can do I confess I am not altogether of his minde in the fore-mentioned passage for it seems to imply that all men are in a state of Damnation who rely upon the honesty and wisdom of their Spiritual Guides in matters of Faith But I doubt there are some persons incapable of inquiring much further and I hope some of these do so firmly believe the truth upon the testimony of God's Ministers as to live according to it which if they do God forbid that I should say they are in a damnable condition But you see in what strict terms the Doctor admonishes every one of you not to rely upon the Authority of men but to examine their Doctrines by the Word of God Possibly he means no more than that this is a duty to be discharged by all Christians according to the measure of those Means Abilities and Opportunities which God has been pleased to give them and this surely is a great truth But then I desire you to consider that every one of you are more concerned to look to it that you omit not this duty than many other Christians are and that for this reason because you have withdrawn your selves from the communion of the Lawful Guides of this Church to follow those that take upon them to lead you without any known Authority by which they do so For if you follow these your Leaders into errour it will be no excuse for you to say they led you into errour because you set them up to your selves against the will of your rightful Superiours both in Church and State Whereas if the Christians of our Communion should be led into some great mistake as I am perswaded they are not by relying upon the Authority and Wisdom of their Pastors though it would not totally excuse them yet it would be some mitigation of their fault that they were misled by those Guides and Ministers which God had set over them The Doctor himself tells you in that Book that the people are bound to hear those who possess the place of teaching in the Church And that if the Law accounts onely such Assemblies to be Conventicles where the Assemblers contemn and despise the service of God in publick he had not spoken one word in favour of them You do not wonder I suppose at these passages for you know this Book was written by him above thirty years since when he was a Presbyterian as he there solemnly declares himself to be and engaged by the Interest of his Party to contend for some Church-decency and Order as he there does after his manner Indeed since that time he turned Independant But however you have no reason to conclude from thence that he has changed his minde in that other point also of the peoples being bound to examine by the Word of God the Doctrines of those Teachers whom they are bound to hear or that he believes that all that is said in Conventicles or written by those Assemblers that despise the service of God in publick may be taken upon trust No though he has chang'd his party he may still be of this minde that unless Ministers as he tells you will answer for all those souls they shall mislead and excuse them before God at the day of Tryal they ought not to debar them from trying their Doctrine Now this they cannot do for if the blinde lead the blinde both shall fall into the pit of destruction Now unless he excepts himself from a possibility of misleading you thus far I would not desire a fairer Adversary and if you think he ought not to except himself I cannot wish more equal Judges than your selves Sure I am the Doctor must either explain himself further or he must not debar you from trying his Doctrine and enquiring whether he himself be not a blinde Guide whom you may follow into the Pit of destruction For what he saith in general may be applied to him in particular that if he should mislead you he cannot excuse you before God at the day of Tryal Now the truth is although he
does not say in plain terms that he is infallible yet in that Book which I have taken the pains to consider he lays claim as you will see to such an Illumination of minde by the Holy Spirit as differs very little from that kinde of Inspiration which the Apostles had But this will not hinder you from trying the Doctor 's Spirit and way of Teaching if you consider what he very well observed in the fore-mentioned Book viz. that the Bereans were highly extoll'd for searching whether the Doctrine concerning our Saviour preached by St. Paul were so or no For he must not desire to be believed more hastily than St. Paul did who we are sure spake by an infallible Spirit The more highly any man pretends to the divine Spirit the better Testimonies he had need to produce for the truth of his pretence No wise man will lightly take up that belief of another which if he once gives way to he must believe him in all things else The brighter those Illuminations are which any Teacher boasts of the less reason you have to take his bare word for it and if he be not willing that you should examine his Doctrines he gives you great cause of suspition that they will not abide the Tryal Besides the Doctor takes notice that what was praised in the Bereans is commended in the Scripture Beloved believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they be of God because many false spirits are gone out into the world 1 Joh. 4.1 Prophets then as he goes on must be tried before they be trusted now the reason of this holds still there are many false Teachers abroad in the world wherefore try every one try his spirit his spiritual gift of Teaching and that by the Word of God I will onely adde that the reason holds more strongly now for if false Teachers pretended to an infallible Spirit even whilst the Apostles were alive to contradict them and discover them much more likely are they to do so now when they think they may do it more securely and therefore we had need to use the more diligence in trying those Teachers that pretend loftily by that Word of God which the Apostles have left us in their Writings Now if the Doctor would have you to shut your own Eyes and then trust to that New saving Light by which he pretends to explain Gospel-Truths this were enough to make you suspect that the Light that is in him is Darkness Or if he meant to except himself from being tried when he bad you try the Spirits for that reason he is least of all to be excepted I have obeyed the Apostles advice and tried him as you may see in the following Book which I was willing to make publick because those Reasons which satisfie me that he is very much out of the way in discoursing upon spiritual things after this manner may possibly seem as clear to you as they do to my self If there be any Sophistry in them or carnal Reasoning or perverting of Holy Writ 't is more than I know and I shall thank the Doctor for making the discovery which I think he is bound to do if he can not onely for your sake but for mine too For so far as I understand my self I am not less desirous to retract any errour of my own than I am to convince you of his And therefore if he be as willing as I am I shall in all probability hear further from him In the mean time I desire you to believe neither of us but to try us both If the Doctor 's friends should be troubled to find him charg'd with Nonsence in the following Book the Author has this to say for himself that he knew no other name so fit as Nonsence to call Nonsence by And he believes that he has not onely said but prov'd also that the Doctor is guilty of Nonsence where he has charged him with it He hopes also that they will not be offended with him for taking occasion sometimes to rebuke this man for those rude Words and unjust Reproaches which he has poured forth for whole Pages together upon his Adversaries of the Church of England For if it be possible he should be taught at last to manage controversies in Religion in a more Christian manner than he has done hitherto And now the Author will onely say in behalf of himself that his designe in this Book was to clear the Truth of that Question which he has undertaken to every ordinary understanding and thereby to promote the power of Godliness And the best thing he can say of the Book it self is that it hath been thought by men of far better judgement than he can pretend to not to be altogether improper for that end And if they are not mistaken may the All-wise and good God prosper the designe of it with his Blessing The CONTENTS Of the Introduction SECT I. THat the promise of the Holy Spirit is according to the Scriptures a great motive to diligence in Religion Page 1. That according to Dr. Owen's principles it seems to be none at all p. 3. The Author's designe p. 4. SECT II. The advantage which the Doctor makes by pretending that onely the Regenerate understand spiritual things spiritually p. 5. while he proves himself to be regenerate by his spiritual understanding of spiritual things p. 6. This Artifice of his discovered in some instances p. 7. That he allows onely himself and his party to be competent Judges of his Doctrine concerning the Operations of the Holy Spirit p. 11. SECT III. His interpretation of 1 Cor. 2.14 explained p. 15. SECT IV. That his meaning of the natural man is groundless p. 20. Of his not receiving the things of the Spirit absurd p. 21. And of their being foolishness to him blasphemous p. 25. The odde account he gives of the reasonableness of the Gospel in his Preface p. 27. Other reflections upon his sence of the fore-mentioned Text p. 30. That the Doctor 's pretended Gospel-mysteries need his interpretation of that Text but the real mysteries of the Gospel need it not p. 31. The pernicious consequence of his interpretation p. 32. SECT V. Another sence of the Text offered according to St. Chrysostome whose Authority the Doctor pretends in favour of his own p. 33. The scope of the Apostle in that and the former Chapter largely shewn p. 34. From whence it plainly appears what he meant by the natural man p. 40. The Scriptural notion of the state of nature p. 42. What is meant by the things of the Spirit of God and their being spiritually discerned p. 43. and by the spiritual man p. 45. The incoherence of the Doctor 's sence with the Context p. 46. Dr. Hammond's Paraphrase upon the Text vindicated from the exceptions of Dr. Owen p. 47. And shewn to agree with those passages of St. Chrysostome which Dr. Owen himself produceth p. 51. That the following Book is not to be
from this charge of contradicting the Apostle but that his meaning is not that the carnal man can mortifie the deeds of the body by the Spirit and that he can walk after the Spirit i. e. that he reforms himself thus universally as he is supposed to do by the Spirit but onely that he may be such a reformed man that he may mortifie the deeds of the body that he may walk according to the rules of the Gospel and yet all this proceeds from the Old Nature and this work belongs but to the old Creation And this I finde indeed to be his sence for he tells us Whatever is in the Soul of Power Disposition or Ability or Inclination unto God or for any moral action by nature i. e. before regenerating Grace comes it belongs unto the old Creation it is no new Creature Now by comparing these words with his 17 Section we may now discern that by the inherent habitual righteousness which the moral man wants as he saith he does not mean an internal disposition and inclination to Virtue correspondent to that righteousness which he practiseth in his life for he supposeth that in the state of Nature or Vnregeneracy such a disposition and inclination such a power and ability he may have But he means by it a principle of spiritual life and holiness infused by the Holy Spirit as he explains himself afterward So that this is the defence he must make for himself out of his Book when I charge him with contradicting St. Paul viz. that he onely saith the carnal man may mortifie the deeds of the body may be universally righteous and obedient in his life but this is no more than a natural work all this while all his actual righteousness and his internal disposition to it belongs unto the old Creation it is no new Creature whereas the spiritually-minded man of whom St. Paul saith that he walks after the Gospel walks after the Spirit too and when he mortifies the deeds of the body does mortifie them by the Spirit This pretence so derogatory from the grace of the Holy Spirit contradicts the Scripture which saith He that doth righteousness is born of God I shall now onely observe that our Author whatever he pretends to the contrary is discovered to be a rank Pelagian I speak it with great seriousness for the thing is plain and he cannot with any modesty now deny it He makes it possible for a man to mortifie the deeds of the body without the Spirit and to walk after the Gospel though he be not led by the Spirit to keep the commands of God by the mere abilities of Nature to be universally righteous in his life and to be disposed and inclined thereunto in his Soul without an infusion as his phrase is of a new principle of spiritual life and holiness And he plainly supposeth that all that righteousness which the Gospel requires viz. an universal performance of God's commands proceeding from the belief of the Gospel may belong unto the old Creation and be no new Creature nor the work of the Spirit Now Pelagius his great Heresie was this That a man by his natural Faculties might do that which God required without any further help from God than that of declaring his will For setting that aside he thought our willing and doing needed no divine assistance as St. Austin reports him and that God gave us the power of choice in vain if we cannot do his will unless he always helpeth us as St. Hierom saith concerning him It is the same which the Doctor saith while he makes all the righteousness and disposition thereunto which we have been considering even that of the faith and obedience of the Gospel to be the effect of nature and to belong unto the old Creation so that a man may believe the Gospel and keep the Commandments of God without the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit If the Doctor saith that however in all the Regenerate he ascribes that righteousness to the Holy Spirit and his Grace this will not bring him off For Pelagius himself was brought to confess though not the same thing yet what would serve his turn as well as this can the Doctor 's For at length he said Therefore is the Grace of God given that what we are able to do by Nature we may more easily do by Grace But the Doctrine of the Catholick Church was that Grace is necessary to our doing the Will of God and if that be true it does equally conclude both him and Pelagius to be the same Hereticks though he saith doing the Will of God is sometimes the effect of the gracious Aids of the Spirit and Pelagius said doing it more easily was always so Our Author I confess speaks divers things in this Book which destroy this Pelagian Doctrine for he is sometimes in the humour of a Manichee which is an Heresie of the other extream and will not allow that a man can do any good action whatsoever without an irresistible determination of his Will thereunto as in due place I shall put him in minde again How he came by the knack of believing such inconsistent things if he believes them I know not but he makes great use of his Talent that way as I shall have further occasion to shew him hereafter But whether he believes these Contradictions or not as long as he asserts Pelagian Doctrines he is to be judged from his own words and to go for a Pelagian I grant that the sence of what a man saith in one part of a Book is to be judged of by what he saith in another but that always is upon supposition that his words are capable of that sence which is that way endeavoured to be put upon them But our Author 's arguing in Sect. 17. compared with Sect. 20. is in my judgement so notoriously for the Pelagian Heresie that if Pelagius himself were here we could not discern the least difference between them in the point of man's natural ability to keep the Commandments of God Indeed he gives the Pelagians ill words enough in many places of his Book and he would perswade his Reader that his Adversaries are a kinde of Pelagian Hereticks but for ought I see he is more angry at the name of Pelagius than at his errour or he hopes that he may unsuspectedly broach the opinions of Pelagius while he falls foul upon other men as if they were his followers And truely this insincerity he might happily learn from Pelagius himself who was wont to say and unsay to contradict his own Concessions one while and his Assertions another when he was to save himself now against the Catholicks and then against his own Party as St. Augustin tells us which being considered I leave it to others to judge whether our Author is not to be esteemed a Pelagian though he elsewhere affirms things inconsistent with Pelagianism I believe he has but one way to come off and
to all that shall hear that it will be possible for them to believe Which is so clear a consequence that the very mention of it would have been sufficient had not some men gotten a custom of imputing the want of Faith and indeed of all other Christian vertues to a defect on God's part as if he had not given them Grace enough to believe and repent c. The meaning of which Phrase and the like if it be this that the Grace of God hath not put it into their power to believe is so highly dishonourable to the divine Goodness that I have thought fit to shew wherein it is so and thereby to prove the untruth of it Finally this implicite promise of that Grace which is necessary to put them that hear the Gospel into the way of obtaining Salvation by it is not properly a part of the New Covenant such as the promises made to Believers and good men are because there is no condition annexed to it Thus that promise of God that he would send his Son into the world to be the Mediator between God and Man could be no part of that Covenant whereof Christ is the Mediator and which he was to seal with his Blood But it was an absolute promise of an act of Grace that was antecedent to the Covenant it self and which depended not upon any condition required by it The promise of a Saviour was indeed part of the Gospel or of the revelation of God's Will to Mankinde in order to our recovery and salvation but it cannot be affirmed to be a part of the Covenant between God and Man with any more propriety than it can be said that God's entring into Covenant with Man is an Article of the Covenant In like manner that Grace by which we are first put into a capacity of believing and consequently of obeying the Gospel after it is revealed is supposed in the Gospel otherwise the conditions of the Covenant were impossible which is to take away the very foundation of a Covenant of Grace such as that is whereof our Lord Jesus is the Mediator But although the promise of this Grace is implied in the Gospel yet 't is not properly any part of the Covenant because 't is a promise without condition SECT 4. 4. From what hath been already proved it may be inferred That the promises of special Grace are made to us all under possible conditions For since a Believer may by his prayers obtain that special Grace of God which is needful for sincere obedience since an obedient Christian may obtain that further Grace which is needful for perseverance seeing also that Grace which is necessary to a good beginning i. e. to excite good desires in us and to bring us to Faith is given absolutely to all that live under the means of Grace It follows plainly that the promises of special Grace are made to all such under possible conditions Wherefore we may conclude that God will give his Holy Spirit to all that live under the ministration of the Gospel that they may learn and believe and pray for his further Grace that to all who are thus qualified he will give his Spirit that they may overcome the World and obey the Gospel And that to all such sincere Christians he will give his Spirit that they may perfect holiness in the fear of God and persevere to the end which is a plain and satisfactory Answer to the second Question CHAP. VII Concerning the Manner and Measure of the Holy Spirit 's Operations SECT 1. THis Question may easily be multiplied into a great many more according as men are led by their curiosity That which has been still most debated under this Head is this How far or in what measure the Operations of the Holy Spirit upon our mindes conduce to those effects which are designed to be produced by them Now concerning this and all other Questions of this kinde I observe that the Scriptures are very silent in comparison to that clear and full account which they have given us of the former God having thought it sufficient for our encouragement in the search of Truth and the study of Godliness and Virtue to let us know assuredly that he will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him for necessary and profitable purposes without satisfying our curiosity about the manner of his Operations and the measure of their power Wherefore in treating upon this Subject a man should not venture to affirm many things or to conclude very particularly much less to obtrude his Opinions upon other men For in matters that are not knowable but onely by Revelation and concerning which there is but little revealed he that is most ready to affirm boldly and particularly is still most likely to miscarry and that if there were no other reason for it because it argues an immodest temper to define peremptorily in things which God hath reserved from our knowledge and this to be sure is none of those Qualifications which he hath promised to reward with the discovery of truth But yet I observe that some men have been as dogmatical and particular in determining the manner and measure of the Holy Spirit 's Operations as if their Conclusions were as clearly grounded upon Revelation as the plainest truth in the Gospel and have thrust them upon the world with more fierceness and zeal than would have become a much better Cause For an instance hereof we may take Dr. Owen's Book where he does not onely assert for himself and his Brethren that the efficiency as he calls it of the Holy Spirit on the mindes of men is irresistible and that Grace is always prevalent or effectual and cannot be resisted as to that end whereunto of God it is designed and much more to the same purpose but falls upon his Adversaries in this point with such insolent language and immodest reproaches that they could hardly deserve to be worse used by him if they had affirmed divine Grace was not necessary to Regeneration as resolutely as they maintain the contrary This is the Doctrine which he pretends to stand up for against the New Pelagians and a crew of Socinianized Arminians they are his own words as if to deny the personality of the Holy Ghost and the assistances of divine Grace and to contradict his opinion that the Holy Spirit does irresistibly produce the effects of Grace upon the mindes of men were the same thing But this you will less wonder at when you consider that he makes nothing to compare those that oppose his opinion to Cain and Ishmael For he saith The Enmity of Cain against Abel was but a branch of this proud inclination The instance of Ishmael in the Scripture is a representative of all such as under an outward profession of the true Religion do scoff at those who being as Isaac Children of the Promise do profess and evidence an interest in the internal power of it which they are
was with me 1 Cor. 15.10 But because they are our own free acts therefore He is not the onely cause of them The Holy Spirit doth not regenerate us in that manner as to do all himself and leave nothing for us to do in order to our regeneration but we are as much concerned to use all proper means of Regeneration as if the whole matter depended upon our single endeavours as I shewed Sect. 4. and that which I say of Regeneration is equally true of every particular Grace of the Holy Ghost It is this Supposition viz. that the Operations of the Spirit are Aids and Helps to our natural Faculties which makes the ascribing of all Christian Virtues to his Grace consistent with leaving the use of our Reason and those duties which depend thereupon necessary to the attainment of them Which our Author understood so well that in his Preface where he complains so tragically of the Reproaches that are cast upon those that dare take upon them to defend the work of the Spirit he pretends to plead for nothing else but the Aids and Assistances of the Spirit very well knowing that they do not impugn the use of reason in Religion as his Phrase is and withal that this Objection is produced by his Adversaries against nothing but his opinion of the irresistible manner of the Spirit 's Operations which very wisely he says not one word of through his whole Preface The onely inconvenience saith he wherewith our Doctrine is pressed is the pretended difficulty in reconciling the nature and necessity of our Duty with the efficacy of the Grace of the Spirit and I have been so far from waving the consideration of it as that I have embraced every opportunity to examine it in all particular instances wherein it may be urged with most appearance of probability And it is I hope at length made to appear that not onely the necessity of our duty is consistent with the efficacy of God's Grace but also that as on the one hand we can perform no duty to God as we ought without its AID and ASSISTANCE nor have any encouragement to attempt a course of obedience without a just expectation thereof So on the other that the work of Grace it self is no way effectual but in our compliance with it in a way of duty onely with the leave of some persons or whether they will or no we give the Preeminence in all unto Grace and not unto our selves And now who would not believe that there are some amongst us who do not give the Pre-eminence in all unto Grace nay and think that if we cannot perform our duty as we ought without the Aid and Assistance of the Spirit that the nature of Duty and the use of Reason in it is destroyed and withal that this man has spent a Folio of railing upon us because we denied the Aids of Grace and the internal Operations of the Holy Ghost Why any man saith he should be discouraged from the exercise of that industry which God requires of him by the consideration of the AID and ASSISTANCE which he hath promised unto him I cannot understand No truely nor I neither nor any man that has common sense For is it possible that a man should be discouraged from industry because he is promised that help without which his industry would not prevail But what is the reason that we hear nothing at all now but of Aids and Assistances when the Operations of the Spirit are mentioned Did the Doctor 's Adversaries ever urge any Objections against them Was the inconvenience wherewith his Doctrine of irresistible Grace is pressed ever charged by them upon the Aids of the Spirit When and where did any of them with or without whose leave he was resolved to write his Book pretend that the Supposition of the Aids of Grace was liable to the inconvenience he promiseth to remove Or rather what can this man say to palliate so foul an Imposture Let others as he goes on do what they please I shall endeavour to comply with the Apostles advice upon the enforcement which he gives unto it Work out your own salvation c. for it is God which worketh c. By all means Sir endeavour it but do not endeavour to perswade the World that the reason why you persecute us with bitter words is because we are not like to be pleased with you for taking the Apostles reason to follow his advice Or if you continue to insinuate this belief of us and to make folks think that the principal cause and occasion of your present undertaking was the open and horrible Opposition that is made unto the Spirit of God and his work in the World since as you go on there is no concernment of his that is not by many derided exploded and blasphemed and that your Adversaries of the Church of England whom you are so angry with for saying that you make a Buz and a Noise and trouble the mindes of men with unintelligible notions are such Scoffers that if any one shall plead the necessity of the Assistance of the Spirit for the due performance of Duties he shall hardly escape from being notably derided by them I say if you go on in this manner surely you must forget all the while that there is a day coming when you must appear before the Tribunal of the Great God to give an account of your Writings But as for our selves to use your own words I shall not trouble my self about an accusation which is laden with as many Convictions of Forgery as there are persons against whom you level these your uncharitable and malicious suggestions Let any indifferent man read your Preface where you pretend to give a Summary Account of your Book and say if the principal designe of it were not to possess your Readers with an opinion that it is our blaspheming the Doctrine of the Aids of the Holy Spirit which enkindled your zeal against us and that you have bestirred your self in the Book principally to make it good against all our opposition that we cannot do the Will of God without them But now if you light upon a Reader so unfortunate to your self as will take the pains to compare you and your self together your Preface with the greatest part of your Book he will soon finde that your Preface was but the Copy of your Countenance and not of your Heart For when you come to give us your opinion concerning the Operations of Grace in good earnest it plainly appears that 't is you that deny them to be Assistances and Helps and that your true quarrel against us is because we say they are Assistances not the onely Causes of Regeneration For you labour as I shall shew you further in the second Part with abundance of words and with all your might to prove that mere Assistance how great soever is utterly insufficient to the conversion of a Sinner and that Conversion is impossible to