but according to a candid construction very true But this I think may at least be inferred from them That without Revelation we could not have known that the Spirit operates in the mindes of men in order to their Regeneration And consequently that his Operations are imperceptible by us now for if we were sensible that the Holy Spirit moves us we might argue from our own sense as well as from Revelation that the Spirit is given to us Wherefore the best rule we can have to know when we are moved by the Holy Spirit must be taken from the Nature and End of his Operations When we finde our selves inclined to that which is good when we are bent upon the doing of God's Will when we perform our Duty and govern our Actions by the Word of God then we may conclude that we are acted by a divine Spirit and that therefore we have occasion given us of humble and thankful Praises But if we forsake the steady rules of our duty written upon our Hearts in our Creation or in the Bible by the inspired Messengers of God and take every violent impulse that we feel within us for a suggestion of the Holy Spirit we may easily mistake a brutish Inclination or a suggestion of the Devil for divine direction since no sort of men are acted with a more sensible and impetuous zeal than they that are strongly led by the Devil and their own corrupt affections Therefore unless we will expose our selves to Fanatical and Diabolical delusions we must keep close to Reason and Scripture and try the nature of all the impulses and motions of our mindes by them We must not pretend that the Spirit inciteth us to such an action and therefore 't is warranted by the Scripture for the motions of the Spirit are in themselves imperceptible But we must first see what the Scripture would have us do and then if we have a minde to that we may conclude that the Spirit hath moved us to it for the Spirit inclineth us onely to what is good and the Scripture is a steady and unalterable rule of that These are very plain and evident truths and yet we can hardly say too much to possess the mindes of men with the apprehension of them since we can remember what infinite dishonours have been done to God in the late times by men professing Godliness and pretending to the special Guidance of the Spirit how they asked counsel of God whether they should commit Murder and Treason Rebellion and Sacriledge how they thought to justifie the most execrable Parricide as the Doctor knows who did that was ever heard of in these parts of the World and how blasphemously they pretended that the Lord had put these things into their Hearts God does not now give the Spirit to justifie the actions of men but to assist them in those that are good and he hath shewn us what is good partly by the light of Nature which is common to all men and compleatly by the publick revelation of his Will contained in the Scriptures Wherefore since the Operations of the Spirit are imperceptible by us and merely an object of our Faith we have no other way of assuring our selves that we follow the guidance of the Spirit but by following the rule of God's Word To this purpose it is observable that the word Spirit does sometimes signifie the Gospel as several Divines have proved and particularly when St. Paul does oppose the Spirit to the Flesh as in Gal. 3.3 We are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and have no confidence in the flesh i. e. we are the true Children of Abraham who worship God according to the Gospel placing no confidence in the observation of Moses's Law And in Gal. 5.16 Walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh i. e. walk according to that Law of Love vers 14. which the Gospel so strictly prescribes and do not yield to inclinations of Revenge Hatred Variance c. vers 20. But at least in these and the like places 't is indifferent whether by the word Spirit you understand the Gospel or the Holy Ghost because it is in effect the same thing to be led by the Spirit and to obey the Gospel Thus when the Apostle Rom. 8. so often notes the difference between those that walk after the Flesh and those that walk after the Spirit we may easily see that walking after the Spirit may indifferently be interpreted either by living according to the rules of the Gospel or by following the perswasion of a well-instructed Minde or Conscience or by obeying the motions of the Holy Spirit of God For to do one of these things is to do them all since they are the Precepts of the Gospel which the Conscience ought to be directed by and 't is the obedience of the Gospel to which the Holy Spirit doth move and incite us We may observe also that in this Chapter these following expressions are equivalent viz. To walk after the Spirit v. 1. To be freed from the law of sin v. 2. To minde the things of the Spirit v. 5. To be spiritually minded v. 6. To be subject to the law of God v. 7. To please God v. 8. To have the Spirit of Christ v. 9. Christ being in us v. 10. The Spirit of God dwelling in us v. 11. Mortifying the deeds of the body by the Spirit v. 13. And being led by the Spirit v. 14. These several Phrases I say do all express the same state viz. our being the true Disciples of Christ onely they conspire to express the same thing under different respects That of being subject to the Law of God respecting the rule of our Lives as that of minding the things of the Spirit regards that serious consideration of the Doctrines of the Gospel which disposeth us to walk according to that Rule To be freed from the Law of sin notes the same thing with respect to our former condition Not to be carnally but spiritually minded not to live after the flesh but to mortifie the deeds of the body the Spirit are expressions that principally regard the prevalency of our Conscience over our sensual Appetites The Spirit of God dwelling in us is an expression of that constant readiness in good men to do the Will of God which is cherished in them by the Holy Spirit as our having 〈◊〉 the Spirit of Christ seems principally to regard that likeness to him which we gain by becoming such persons Finally to walk after the Spirit or to be led by the Spirit are Phrases which seem to take in all these respects indifferently Now because it is really one and the same state and disposition that is signified by these Phrases there can be no dangerous mistake incurred if a man should understand any one of them under a respect which perhaps was not principally intended as for instance if by the Spirit of God dwelling in us he should
Isai. 42.1 where the words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have given my Spirit upon him which is almost the same expression with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in St. John only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon Him makes the former to allude to the Descent of that visible Glory upon our Saviour when he was consecrated to his Office by the Holy Ghost But the Doctor hath met with an unexpected Secret in the Phrase of putting on for he doth not only pretend that it is the person of the Spirit which God is said to put upon men but he thinks something more is meant by it than by Giving the Spirit He saith God doth not only give and send his Spirit unto them to whom he designes so great a benefit and privilege but he actually collates and bestows him upon them He doth not send him unto them and leave it in their wills and power whether they will receive him or no but he so effectually collates and puts him in them or upon them as that they shall be actually made partakers of him And again As to some Gifts and Graces God doth bestow his Spirit where there is some preparation and cooperation on our part but wherever he designes to put or place him he doth it effectually This is too serious a subject to be pleasant withal otherwise here would be occasion enough The Doctor it seems hath discovered that the person of the Spirit is bestowed upon those that are converted and that their Conversion is by an irresistible work and all this in the Phrase of putting the Spirit upon a man or in him Now what a goodly Argument is here lost if this Phrase should signifie the same thing with that of giving the Spirit as I have shewn that it doth unless our Authour is subtle enough to shew some real difference betwen the meaning of these Phrases in Matth. 12.18 and John 3.34 where they are used concerning Christ. But perhaps the force of his Argument lies in the only word Put and therefore he produces that Text Isai. 63.11 where indeed the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is made use of which properly signifies to Put. The words are Where is he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them i. e. whose Spirit was present with the Israelites to save them from their enemies For the Context plainly shews this to be the meaning Where is he that brought them up out of the Sea where is he that put c. that led them by the right hand of Moses c. vers 12. Now certainly this work of the Spirit in saving the Israelites from the Aegyptians doth not imply that the very person of the Spirit was put upon them and without all question 't is of a very forreign nature from that work for which as he pretends to prove from this place the Spirit is irresistibly put upon men And therefore this Text is every way impertinent to his purpose To conclude The Reason of these and the like expressions may be easily understood by comparing them with that plain Text of St Paul 1 Cor. 12.4 There are diversities of Gifts but the same Spirit for to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom to another c. All these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit dividing to every one severally as he will vers 11. For because it is the person of the Holy Spirit that bestowed these several gifts therefore by an usual Metonymy they who received these gifts were said to receive the Holy Spirit 1 Cor. 2.12 And in like manner the Spirit of God is said to be given and sent and poured forth and administred and put upon those in whom his Operations are and upon whom his Blessings and Benefits his Gifts and Graces are bestowed These are 〈◊〉 significations of this word Spirit in the Holy Scriptures which I have not noted as being too â—â—â—rain to my present purpose of stating the subject of this Discourse to which I now proceed SECT 2. First of all by the Operations of the Holy Ghost I understand those which the Minde of man is the object of and therefore I do not intend to say any thing of the work of the Spirit in the creation of Man in the forming of his Body and his Soul and in enduing him with Intellectual and Moral Abilities much less in the Creation of the World the Heavens and the Earth c. which Dr. Owen hath taken great pains about But I cannot think this needful to the designe which I have of discoursing about the Actions and Operations of the Holy Spirit upon our mindes for they are hereby supposed to have been created and to be what they are Thus the first signification of the word Spirit is proper to the object about which those Operations of the Holy Ghost that I mean are conversant Secondly I intend those Actions of the Holy Ghost upon our mindes which are proper to cause certain Qualities in them whereof they are capable subjects for instance such as are contained under the second signification of the word Spirit viz. Faith and Charity and Meekness and the like But I do not mean nor is it requisite for me to say any thing of the Operation of the Spirit whereby our mindes or any other created beings are sustained in their Natures especially because the Doctor hath taken care not to omit that Subject Thirdly I mean those Operations of the Holy Spirit onely the promise whereof is contained in the Gospel of our Saviour by which limitation of the Subject you see I am not like to trouble you with any enquiry concerning the Operations of the Spirit upon the minde of Man before the Fall for the promise of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel is made to Faln creatures and what his Operations upon our mindes are since the Fall cannot be known but by Revelation because it depended altogether upon God's free Will and Pleasure to bestow the Spirit upon us Neither shall I discourse of the nature and degrees of the Spirit of Prophecy as it was communicated before the coming of the Messias nor shall I at present examine our Author's learning in that point because I intend to confine my self to those promises of the Spirit which may be met withal in the Gospel For the same reason I shall altogether omit to take notice how by the Operations of the Spirit men grow skilful Politicians in which matter if any one hath a minde to be informed he may consult Dr. Owen Nor lastly do I think my self concerned to say any thing of the work of the Holy Spirit in and upon the humane nature of Christ which the Doctor hath likewise spent above a long Chapter upon for that is not the work of the Spirit upon our mindes which Christ hath promised to us and which we can have no other knowledge of than by his Word i. e. by
But so troublesome a thing it is to deal with a Writer that plays fast and loose I must yet go further about to come to the business and begin with making good my charge against our Author that he contends for the proper use of these words For some passages he hath himself that look another way and might perswade a man that he did not understand those Scripture-expressions literally and properly but figuratively Thus he tells us This new creature therefore doth not consist in a new course of actions but in renewed faculties with new Dispositions Power and Ability to them and for them These Dispositions he saith are the Divine Nature spoken of by St. Peter a divine principle of operation and hereunto saith he St. Paul exhorts in these words Be ye renewed in the spirit of your mindes If now the new Creature the state of Regeneration consists in the renewing of our Faculties our Wills and Understandings that is in furnishing them with new Dispositions Power and Ability for a new course of Actions then it is not literally true of that man who is thus fitted for the Kingdom of God that he is a new creature but onely figuratively i. e. that he is the old creature still onely bettered hath the same Will and Understanding that he had before but these renewed and made better than they were before and that God doth not properly give a man another Understanding or another Heart which he had not before when he is said to Regenerate him but that he reforms the old furnishing them with new Abilities and Dispositions Again he saith in the same Section that the New creature consists in the universal Change of the whole Soul as it is the principle of all Moral and Spiritual Actions If that be true then here is the same Soul there was before only it is changed from bad to good and whereas it was hitherto dispos'd to evil Actions it is now byassed by better Principles than it was before and disposed to those Actions that are good and pleasing to God Consequently it is not true in the Literal sence of that man who is fit to see the Kingdom of God that he is Born again and is a New Creature and hath a new Heart Will and Understanding Now these and other such passages in the Doctor 's Book were either inserted by him that he might the more fairly retreat in case he should be forced to quit the Literal and proper sence or else which sometimes happens he spake the truth against his will For whatever he hath said to this purpose he earnestly contends that those expressions of the New Creature and Regeneration are to be understood in their proper sence And even in this very Section he tells us It is called the New man because it is the effect of Gods creating Power and that in a way of a new Creation Now the object of a creating Act is an Instantaneous production whatever preparations there may be for it the Bringing forth of a New Form and Being by creation is in an instant Which words plainly suppose that there is a New being properly created in man when he is said to be Born again and to become a New creature and he argues from the Literal sence of Creation to prove that a man is made a new Creature in an instant for the object of a creating Power is an Instantaneous production Again he saith The new creature is produced in the Souls of men by a creating Act of the Power of God or it is not a Creature and it is superinduced into the essential Faculties of our Souls or it is not a New creature for whatever is in the Soul of Power Disposition and Ability or inclination unto God or for any moral Actions by Nature it belongs unto the old creation it is no New creature And it must be something that hath a being and subsistence of its own in the soul or it can be neither New nor a Creature This passage is strangely perplexed for by what our Author saith concerning the disposition and inclination of the Soul to God one would guess he was for the Metaphorical sence and all the rest carries it clearly for the Literal But that we might know his meaning he falls foul upon them that say the expression is Metaphorical and consequently that the New creature is a Moral man that hath changed his course and way and in a triumphant manner tells us This is good Gospel at once overthrowing Original Sin and the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I may in time convince the Reader that he is neither to trust this Author what those Doctrines are which overthrow these things nor what the Judgment of our Conformable Divines is in these matters At present my business is to fix this man to a certain sence and to make it good that what I charge him with is his opinion He saith plainly that the New creature hath a being and subsistence of its own in the Soul and 't is superinduced into the essential faculties of the Soul otherwise it could not be New nor a Creature that is literally and properly so for it may figuratively so that besides the heart which the Sinner had before he hath now another and then I grant the expression is not Metaphorical He tells us That which is born of the Spirit is a new spiritual being creature nature life as shall be declared Now he declares what his meaning is by these expressions very solemnly where he renounceth at large that opinion which makes them to be Metaphorical and hath these remarkable words among the rest So long as we can obtain an acknowledgment from men that the writings of the New Testament are true and in any sence the word of God we doubt not but to evince that the things intended in them i. e. the things signified by Regeneration New creature c. are properly expressed i. e. by those Phrases so as they ought to be which no body denies and so as they are capable to be expressed i. e. if he be consistent to himself that they cannot be expressed more properly Again Some meaning himself and his Party judge the things of the Gospel to be deep and mysterious the words and expressions of it to be plain and proper Others meaning his Adversaries think the words and expressions of it to be Mystical and Figurative but the things intended to be ordinary and obvious By all which and much more to the same purpose it is plain that this he must stand to as his opinion That the forementioned expressions are not to be understood Metaphorically but literally and properly And now my next work is plain which is this 1. To prove that they are not so to be understood as he saith they are 2. To answer those Arguments which are produced by him to the contrary SECT 2. I shall first prove that these expressions ought not to be understood
Reformatione Vitae a moral Reformation of Life What other Socinians our Author hath found out besides the modern I know not but here he calumniates us and the Socinians too Though the Socinians deserve rebuke yet they are not to have lies told of them for not onely we who are no Socinians but those that are do acknowledge the state of a regenerate man to consist in the spiritual renovation of his Nature Whereas therefore he tells us If they will grant that this moral reformation of Life doth proceed from a spiritual renovation of our Nature this difference will be at an end I answer him that this difference is at an end before 't is begun For we have always granted it and as I shall shew him presently he knew it too Onely our Author was willing to impose the fallacy of Non causa pro causâ upon his Readers and to gain the better opinion of his endeavours in this Chapter he would make them believe that his designe is indeed to prove that there is a change of the Heart as well as of the Life in a regenerate man Now this is not the thing he had to prove against us however he shifts the Question here that to use his own words he might take an opportunity to rail at others for want of better advantage His business was to prove that Regeneration and the new Creation are to be understood properly and as he knows a foundation was hereby to be laid of affirming that we cannot be regenerated without the interposal of an irresistible power like to that whereby the world was made and the dead shall be raised Here lies the difference between him and us not whether Regeneration implies a change of the Soul as well as of the Life And this he confesseth himself in the very next Page Sect. 20 where he saith Some say a new Creature is no more but a changed Man it is true but then this change is internal also yes in the Purposes Designes and Inclinations of the minde But is it by a real infusion of a new Principle of spiritual Life and Holiness No it denotes no more but a new course of Conversation onely the expression is Metaphorical A new Creature is a moral Man that hath changed his course or way Now under that new course of Conversation which he saies some mean by Regeneration either he includes an internal change as their meaning too or not If he does then he confesseth their true meaning and the difference is at an end If not then he either wants a good Conscience or a good Memory for he granted before that they confessed an internal change also As to what he addes that they deny the real infusion of a new Principle of spiritual Life and Holiness I say they do not deny a new Principle of Holiness to be in the Regenerate for they confess the Seed of God that is the Word of God to be in them the Precepts and Motives whereof prevailing in their mindes are properly a principle of Holiness of Life in them Now whether this Principle be really infused into them or not belongs not to this place to consider where we are treating about the state of Regeneration and not the manner whereby the Holy Spirit doth regenerate us Whereas he saith that the new Creature according to them is a moral man that hath changed his course or way he ought not to blame them for it since the change of the Heart is supposed in that of the Life He knows there is no better way to judge of the Tree than by the Fruits of the temper of the Minde than by the constant course of the Life and therefore we should conclude it is a very honest account which they give of the new Creature because it will not suffer a man to reckon himself regenerate who doth not sincerely amend his Life according to God's holy Word which is a good way to keep Hypocrites from pretending too fast to Regeneration who might else be comforting themselves that their hearts are good while their lives and manners are naught I am sure their description of the regenerate state is agreeable to what St. John saith of it He that doth righteousness is born of God But after all I thus far differ from him that I look upon his distinction between Spiritual and Moral to be vain and useless in the description of a regenerate state or of Regeneration which is his own phrase as passively considered For as the moral reformation of Life which he speaks of is spiritual so the spiritual renovation of our Nature is moral For as the state of a regenerate man in both respects may be called spiritual as being caused by the grace of the divine Spirit so in both it may be called moral as consisting in the purity both of Heart and Life and the conformity of our Mindes and Actions to the divine Laws For I suppose he will grant that all sin i. e. all unbelief of God's Word and all disobedience to Gods Commands whether moral or positive is Immorality Therefore faith in God and obedience to his Will is Morality or moral goodness i. e. they are things good in their own nature eternally and unalterably so This man chargeth his Adversaries here with confused notions and Sophistical expressions about Morality where he doth not tell the Reader one of their notions or expressions about it and therein he hath done more like a Sophister himself than a Doctor 'T is in this Latitude which I have told you that they understand moral Righteousness and Virtue who affirm that the state of a regenerate man doth consist therein and that there is no difference between Grace and Virtue between Spiritual and Moral supposing that by Grace and Spiritual you express not the cause but the state of Regeneration If Dr. Owen does not take them in this sence he misunderstands them and makes a wrong report of their judgement concerning the sufficiency of moral Righteousness to qualifie men for Heaven If he does thus understand them and yet is angry because they make no distinction between Grace and Virtue a spiritual and moral state as I finde he is Sect. 19. sure it must be because he thinks all is not moral Virtue which they say is viz. faith in God and universal obedience to his Will and then the contention between us is a mere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a strife about words in which I suppose he has the hardest part unless he can shew that to disbelieve any of the Revelations and to disobey any of the Commands of God are not Immoralities Or else the reason of his displeasure must be because he thinks a regenerate state doth not consist in Faith and Obedience which if I understand him is his opinion and 't is our affirming the contrary which hath made him so fierce against us as I observe him to be Sect. 17. where he hath these strange words Regeneration doth
the Jews would have been much more willing to be had it not been for the meanness of his outward appearance and his ignominious death afterwards This I take to be a probable interpretation of this difficult place but I do not think every body is bound presently to believe it or to yield to it any further than he judges those reasons to be of weight which I have offered for it And if Dr. Owen or any other Divine can shew me a more probable sence of these words or of any difficult passage in this discourse of our Saviour than what I have propounded I shall make no difficulty to forsake my own and come over to his In the mean time we may safely suppose that our Saviour spake to this purpose If I have proved to you by those miracles which you acknowledge that I am the Messias and consequently that you ought to be my Disciples and yet you will not believe me and become my Disciples how much more unlikely is it that you will be so after I tell you that I who am your Messias must be lifted up upon a Cross and die for the sins of the World this will go down more hardly with you than any thing I have told you hitherto And yet this is the purpose of God for the salvation of the world as I know and am come to tell you who have ascended into heaven and am acquainted with these heavenly things these secret Counsels of God which so far transcend all the wisdom of men and this is that too which was prefigured by Moses lifting up the Serpent in the Wilderness c. Our Saviour thereupon proceeds shewing it to be the purpose of God to save Mankinde this way viz. by faith in Christ that there was no salvation to be expected but by becoming his Disciples and that they who would not be so were inexcusible as we have already shewn And now I leave it to the Reader to judge whether the Paraphrase which I have given of the former part of our Saviour's discourse to Nicodemus does not make the connexion between all the parts of it very clear and also whether our understanding the Regenerate man to be a true Disciple of Christ which is the notion this Paraphrase doth proceed upon does not agree with the scope of our Saviour's whole discourse in this place SECT II. I come at last to answer the Doctor 's objection against our notion of Regeneration which as he saith we suppose to be a Metaphorical expression of reformation of Life His objection is this Nicodemus knew the necessity of Reformation of life well enough if he had ever read Moses or the Prophets And to suppose that our Lord Jesus Christ proposed unto him the thing which he knew perfectly well onely under a new name or notion which he had never heard of before so to take an advantage of charging him with being ignorant of what indeed he full well knew and understood is a blasphemous imagination To this I answer 1. That reformation of Life which we say our Saviour meant by Regeneration Nicodemus did not understand so perfectly well as our Author imagines For though he understood well enough that Reformation of Life which was required by Moses and the Prophets he did not yet understand the necessity of that reformation which was required by our Saviour under which is supposed the believing of Jesus to be the Christ the becoming of his Disciple and the keeping of his Laws which were better than the Laws of Moses Now as I have already told the Doctor none of those conformable Divines whom he endeavours to represent as odiously as he can do mean any thing less by that reformation of life which they affirm Regeneration to consist in than such a reformation as supposeth faith in Christ and being his Disciple and a sincere change of the Minde to the love and obedience of God and our Saviour Jesus This is what we mean by that Reformation and it is sufficiently plain out of the Writings of those men whom the Doctor so tragically complains of that they mean nothing less by it And I am confident so well do I know them that there is not one of them who would not with all their Hearts forbear this use of that expression of reformation and amendment of Life if they either thought it dangerous or offensive which hitherto they have not because the state of Regeneration is thus described in the Scriptures themselves He that doth righteousness is born of God and he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven he is my Brother c. Now this is my first answer to the Doctor that that reformation of Life which his Adversaries mean which namely implies being a sincere Disciple of Jesus Nicodemus did not understand the necessity of but was that very thing which our Saviour designed to make him understand 2. So mistaken is the Doctor every way This thing was proposed unto Nicodemus not under a new but under an old name or notion for 1. The name and notion of being born again was not new since the Jews counted their Proselytes Recens Nati New-born men and as such to have quitted their Relation to their former Country Kindred and Parents and become the Children of Abraham 2. To be born of Water was no new notion neither since purifying by Water or Baptism was one of the Ceremonies of this Regeneration by Proselytism 3. Neither was it a new notion to be born of the Spirit it was to be found in the Old Testament and the Doctor himself findes it there in those words where God promiseth to Circumcise the Hearts of his People to take away their Heart of stone and to give them an Heart of flesh with his Law written in it Had Nicodemus therefore talked like himself when our Saviour spake to him of the necessity of being born again of Water and the Spirit then instead of asking that strange Question Can a man when he is old c. and afterward How can these things be he should either have offered himself to be a Proselyte or Disciple of Christ and to submit to his divine Laws which he that observes is born of God hath a new Heart c. or offered some reason to the contrary Thus then I answer the Doctor that supposing Regeneration to be a Metaphorical expression of becoming a true Disciple of Jesus our Saviour did not propose an old thing to Nicodemus under a new name and notion to puzzle him as the Doctor pretends but on the contrary he proposed a new thing to him under old and familiar expressions And thus though the Doctor knew not how we could do it I hope we have freed our selves from the guilt of that Blasphemous Imagination he would fain fasten upon us The sum of what hath been said is this That Regeneration which is an effect of the Holy Spirit consists in being a true Disciple of Christ i. e.
Christian Virtue is ascribed both to the Holy Spirit and to the Word of God in that Prayer of St. Paul for the Colossians that they might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that they might walk worthy of the Lord unto all well-pleasing being fruitful in every good work c. that is by the means of a fuller understanding of the Will of God Col. 1.9 10. And the co-operation of both these Causes for the producing of the same Effect is yet more plainly expressed in those words of our Saviour's Prayer for his Disciples Sanctifie them through thy TRVTH thy WORD is TRVTH where nothing can be more plain than this that the holiness of Believers is ascribed to the Operation of Truth upon their mindes viz. that Truth which is revealed in the Gospel Seing then that the Gospel is not onely in it self a proper means of converting the Unbeliever and the Disobedient of confirming and improving the sincere Convert but as you see the Graces of the Holy Spirit are those effects also which the Scriptures frequently ascribe to the weightiness of those Reasons and Considerations that are offered to our understandings by the Word of God We must be careful not to define the manner whereby the Holy Spirit worketh in the mindes of men to produce these Graces so as to deny them to be the Genuine and proper effects of divine Truths which is done by assigning such a manner of Operation to the Holy Spirit as must needs be inconsistent with ascribing Conversion to the Operation of Truth Wherefore it is too boldly done of Dr. Owen and his Party to affirm that Conversion is an effect of such an Operation of the Holy Spirit upon the minde as makes it impossible for a man not to be converted and withal that Conversion is impossible without such an irresistible Operation For 1. If a man must necessarily resist the whole strength of God's Word till Conversion be wrought in him by an irresistible action of the Spirit as these men teach then 't is plainly absurd to make Conversion to be an effect of God's Word For upon this Hypothesis it contributes no more to a man's conversion than the hurling of a Pebble does to the throwing down of a mighty Wall that is falling by the fury of the Cannon If as the Doctor saith the Will cannot make use of that Grace for conversion which it can refuse if also it can resist all kinde of Perswasions Reasons Arguments and Motives as he himself supposes and by consequence that Operation of the Spirit whereby Conversion is caused be irresistible What can be more evident than that Conversion must upon these terms be onely and wholly the effect of an irresistible power and not at all of Reasons and Motives To say that the Operations of the Spirit produce their effects irresistibly because they are joyned with the Word is to ascribe an irresistible Operation to the Word as well as to the Spirit or rather to make the irresistibleness to arise from the concurrence of both those Causes Now besides that upon this Hypothesis all men to whom the Gospel is made known would be converted seeing we have proved the ministration of the Gospel to be accompanied with the Operations of the Spirit in all that hear it Besides this I say these men do not place the irresistible force by which Conversion as they say is wrought in the concurrence of the Word and the Spirit but in the sole Operation of the Spirit Now that Conversion should at the same time be an effect of God's Word which as they say a man cannot but resist till he is converted and of such an Operation of the Spirit too as is altogether irresistible is to me as unintelligible as Transubstantiation For if it were onely said that 't is possible for a man to resist the Operations of Truth and withal granted that Conversion must as well be an effect of the truth of God's Word as of the Holy Spirit 's Operating in our mindes it would plainly follow that his Operations were resistible The reason is because where an Effect depends upon the concurrence of two Causes he that hath it always in his power to resist the force of one is at any time able to frustrate the other and consequently to hinder the effect Now they themselves grant and it is plain by daily experience that the Word of God may be resisted and heard in vain as it was even when preached in the demonstration of the Spirit and Power Wherefore when the Operations of the Spirit conspire with the power of the Word to convert a sinner if he can be obstinate against the latter he may also quench the former and then they are not irresistible Furthermore it may be said if Conversion be wrought irresistibly by the sole Operation of the Spirit then the Word which may be resisted is unnecessary But if the Word cannot but be resisted till the effect is wrought by another power that is invincible viz. that of the Spirit then 't is plain that the effect is owing onely to that power which is to render the whole Ministry of the Gospel utterly vain and useless and to contradict all those passages of Scripture which attribute our Conversion to the force of divine Truth But 2. It is further evident from the manner of their explaining this irresistible Operation that they exclude all the influence of God's Word from being a means of Conversion Dr. Owen tells us that the Holy Ghost is the immediate Author and cause of Regeneration and he is often putting us in minde that we are converted by an immediate Physical Operation of the Spirit which he endeavours to prove for many Pages together Now a Physical Operation he opposeth to Moral and thereby excludeth from it all use of any Reasons Arguments and Motives whatsoever as he doth industriously more than once Now what is more plain than that to ascribe Conversion to such an Operation as this is wholly to exclude the Word of God from being any way subordinate to that Grace whereby we are converted For although the Doctor tells us sometimes that he grants a Moral Operation of the Spirit and that he onely denies the concurrence of that with the Word to be the total cause of Conversion yet by his leave he does not make it so much as a partial cause For if this Physical Operation onely is that Grace which can remove all obstacles and overcome all oppositions and infallibly produce the effect intended as he speaks if this Operation doth not consist in the use of any motive whatsoever contained in the Word of God Finally if this Operation be the immediate cause of Conversion if nothing intervenes between this Operation and the Effect it is then plain I conceive that the Word of God is wholly excluded from being a means of Conversion for neither is the use of any
motive included in the nature of this Operation nor does the Spirit use any motive when he thus operates for as these men say this Physical Operation is the immediate cause of Conversion And now let any man tell me in what capacity the Word of God can stand to be a means of Grace In the mean time our Author if you will believe him pays a great regard to the Scriptures which he does not onely render thus useless in general but many plain testimonies whereof he contradicts in particular and for instance that passage in our Saviour's Prayer Sanctifie them through thy truth thy Word is truth I desire him at his leisure to consider whether the Grace which our Saviour praied for in his Disciples behalf were an immediate Physical Operation if not whether we are now sanctified by another sort of Operation than that which Christ praied for Now to say in express terms that the Word of God is of no use in the conversion of a Sinner would sound so horridly in any sober Christians Ears that the Doctor himself has not ventured upon it but on the contrary he is often perswading his Reader that he attributes as much to the efficacy of the Word as any of them all For he tells us Whereas some contend that the whole of the Grace of God consists in the effectual application of it unto the mindes and affections of men whereby they are enabled to comply with it and turn unto God by Faith and Repentance they do not ascribe a greater power unto the Word than we do by whom this administration of it is denied to be the Total Cause of Conversion For we assigne the same power to the Word as they do and MORE also onely we affirm that there is an effect to be wrought in this Work which all this Power if alone is insufficient for After a few such sayings as these a man need not be ashamed to say any thing For 1. They who contend that the administration of the Word by the Spirit applying it to the minde is insufficient to cause Conversion and that there is another action of the Spirit wherein no use is made of the Word at all necessary to Conversion do not attribute so much power to the Word as they do who say the former is sufficient 2. Much less do they so if withal they pretend that this other Operation is the immediate cause of Conversion whereby the Word is excluded from intervening as a Means 3. And yet much less if they say this Operation produces the effect irresistibly and till this irresistible act hath taken place the Word is utterly ineffectual 4. Least of all can it be pretended that they assigne more power to the Word than their Adversaries do I wonder at this man's confidence to venture such open falshoods abroad as these are It had been enough in conscience for a modest man to say that those of our Author's opinion ascribe as much power to the Word as we do but to say they assigne more to it is too much in all reason to go for a mere mistake And therefore one may well think he saw clearly enough that he defer'd not so much to the Word as we and that because he affirmed the contrary he resolved to put on a Face for something and say withal that he ascribed more For truely he may e'ne say that as well as the other for this passage of his is but the next Page before he asserts and endeavours to prove for a great while together that till the Soul is changed by his Physical Operation the Word of God hath no more power to make a due impression on it no though the motives thereof be urged by the internal perswasion of the Spirit than you have to stir a Rock by speaking to it or to raise a dead Body from the Grave by a Syllogiâ—â—â— And yet this is the maâ— that just before would make you believe how he yields as much nay more efficacy to the Word than we who say that Mankinde is not so incapable of being converted by the Word but that when it is blessed and used as he well enough expresseth it by the Holy Spirit it is sufficient to convert a man without any such Physical Operation as they talk of But you see this man makes it to be no more than a Dead Letter even when it is quickened by the Spirit too and after all his Flourishes resolves Conversion into an irresistible Operation in which there is no use of the Word at all And this is enough to shew you what an irreverent opinion he has of it whatever he pretends to the contrary And so much for the first Proposition SECT 2. 2. The manner wherein the Holy Spirit acts upon the mindes of men is suitable to the ratioâ—nal nature of Mankinde Which is a truth so fully express'd and liberally granted by Dr. Owen that I shall need to say the less of it For he saith The power which the Holy Ghost puts forth in our Regeneration is such in its acting or exercise as 〈◊〉 Mindes Wills and Affections are suted to be wrought upon and to be affected by it according to their Natures and natural Operations Again he doth not act in them otherwise than they themselves are meet to be acted according to their own Nature Power and Ability He draws us with the Cords of a man And then he tells us the work it self is expressed by perswading and alluring and that it carries no more repugnancy to our Faculties than a prevalent perswasion doth Again that our mindes are not merely passive Instruments as formerly in Prophetical inspirations moved above their own natural Capacity and Activity as to the manner of Operation But he works on the Mindes of men in and by their own natural actings through an immediate influence and impression of his Power Lastly that he offers no violence or compulsion to the Will this he saith that Faculty is not naturally capable to give admission unto if it be compelled it is destroyed These are very fair concessions and â—â—less you have given over wondering at our Author's way of writing you would hardly believe they should drop from his Pen. But they are his own words I assure you though Light and Darkness may be assoon reconciled as they can be to that Opinion concerning the manner of the Holy Spirit 's Operations which he so eagerly contends for For if a Physical Operation immediately and irresistibly producing Faith and Holiness be utterly unsuitable and repugnant to the natural faculties and operations of the minde in which those effects are wrought then is it most evident that those Concessions are inconsistent with the Hypothesis of Conversion by that Physical Work Now let him tell me whether the minde of man is according to its Nature and natural Operations suited to be wrought upon by such a Power as makes not the least use of the Understanding of the least Thought