acquainted with the nature of the Christian's privileges, and familiarized with their use, habitually solacing itself with the hopes held out by the Gospel, and animated by the sense of its high endowments, and its glorious reversion.

The doctrine of the sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit, appears to have met with still worse

treatment. It would be to convey a very inHoly Spirit's Operations . adequate idea of the scantiness of

the conceptions on this head, of the bulk of the Christian world, to affirm merely, that they are too little conscious of the inefficacy of their own unas sisted endeavours after holiness of heart and life, and that they are not daily employed in humbly and diligently using the appointed means for the reception and cultivation of the divine assistance. We should hardly go beyond the truth in asserting, that for the most part their notions on this subject are so con” fused and faint, that they can scarcely be said in any fair sense to believe the doctrine at all.

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The writer of these sheets is by no means unapprized of the objections which he

may expect from Language

those whose opinions he has been so freely of one who condemning He is prepared to hear it objects urged, "that often, where there have been against the : « the strongest pretences to the religious religious affections

“ affections, there has been littleor nothing towards our :: "of the reality of them; and that, even omitSaviour.

ting the instances, which however have s been but too frequent, of studied hypocrisy, those " affections which have assumed to themselves the " name of religious, have been merely the flights of "a lively imagination, or the working of a heated “ brain; in particular, that this love of our Saviour, " which has been so warmly recommended, is ono “ better than a vain fervour, which dwells only in the si disordered mind of the enthusiast: that Religion " is of a more steady nature; of a more sobers and

a

“ manly

"manly quality; and that she rejects with scorn, the

support of a mere feeling, so volatile and indeter“minate, so trivial and useless, as that with which we

would associate her; a feeling varying in different men, and even in the same man at different times,

according to the accidental flow of the animal "spirits; a feeling, of which it may perhaps be said,

we are from our very nature, hardly susceptible “ towards an invisible Being."

" As to the Operations of the Holy Spirit,” it may probably be further urged, “it is perhaps scarcely #worth while to spend much time in in

. And quiring into the theory,when, in practice against the "at least, it is manifest, that there is no Operations 'm sure criterion whereby any one can as

of the Holy

Spirit. 1 certain the reality of them, even in his glown case, much less in that of another. All we “knowis, that pretenders to these extraordinary as"sistances, have never been wanting to abuse the " credulity of the vulgar, and to try the patience of “the wise. From the canting hypocrites and wild “ fanatics of the last century, to their less dangerous, 'chiefly because less successful, descendants of the " present day, we hear the same unwarranted claims, " the same idle tales, the same low cant; and we may "discern not seldom the same mean artifices and mercenary ends. The doctrine, to say the best of

it, can only serve to favour the indolence of man; « while professing to furnish him with a compen

dious method of becoming wise and good, it super' sedes the necessity of his own personal labours. Quitting therefore all such slothful and chimerical " speculations, it is true wisdom to attach ourselves 'b to what is more solid and practical; to the work,

which you will not deny to be sufficiently difficult " to find us of itself full employment; the work of 's rectifying the disorders of the passions, and of im'fiplanting and cultivating the virtues of the moral character."-"It is the service of the understand

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ing which God requires of us, which you would "degrade into a mere matter of bodily temperament, "and imaginary impulses. You are contending for "that, which, not only is altogether unworthy of our "Divine Master, but which, with considerate men, " has ever brought his religion into suspicion and disrepute, and, under a show of honouring him, "serves only to injure and discredit his cause." Our Objector, warming as he proceeds, will perhaps assume a more impatient tone. Have not these "doctrines," he may exclaim, " been ever perverted "to purposes the most disgraceful to the Religion "of Jesus? If you want an instance, look to the "standard of the inquisition, and behold the pious "Dominicans torturing their miserable victims for "the love of Christ*. Or would you rather see the "effects of your principles on a larger scale, and by wholesale, if the phrase may be pardoned; cast your eyes across the Atlantic, and let your zeal be edified by the holy activity of Cortez and Pizarro, and their apostles of the western hemisphere. To "what else have been owing the extensive ravages "of national persecutions, and religious wars and "crusades; whereby rapacity, and pride, and cru"elty, sheltering themselves under the mask of this specious principle, have so often afflicted the "world? The Prince of peace has been made to σε assume the port of a ferocious conqueror, and, forgetting the message of good-will to men, has "issued forth, like a second Scourge of the Earth†, "to plague and desolate the human species.".

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leader of an army, to the canting oracle of a congregation, have falsely called themselves Christians, are melancholy and humiliating truths, which (as none so deeply lament them) none will more readily admit than they, who best understand the nature of Christianity, and are most concerned for her honour. We are ready to acknowledge also without dispute, that the religious affections, and the doctrine of divine assistance, have at all times been more or less disgraced by the false pretences and extravagant conduct of wild fanatics and brain-sick enthusiasts. All this, however, is only as it happens in other instances, wherein the depravíty of man perverts the bounty of God. Why is it here only to be made an argument, that there is danger of abuse? So is there also in the case of every operative principle, whether in the natural or moral world. Take for an instance the powers and properties of matter. These were doubtless designed by Providence for our comfort and well-being; yet they are often misapplied to trifling purposes, and still more frequently turned into so many agents of misery and death. On this fact indeed is founded the well-known màxim, not more trite than just, that " the best things when corrupted become the worst;" a maxim which is peculiarly just in the instance of Religion. For in this case it is not merely, as in some others, that a great power, when mischievously applied, must be hurtful in proportion to its strength; but that the very principle, on which in general we depend for restraining and retarding the progress of evil, not only ceases to interpose any kindly check, but is powerfully active in the opposite direction. But will you therefore discard Religion altogether? It is upon this very ground, that the Infidels of a neighbouring country have lately made war against Christianity; with what effects the world has not now to learn. But suppose Religion were discarded, then Liberty remains to plague the world; a power, which though, when well employed, the dispenser of light and happiness, has been often proved, emi

D

nently nently proved, in the instance of a neighbouring country, to be capable, when abused, of becoming infinitely mischievous. Well then, extinguish Liberty. Then what more abused by false pretenders, than Patriotism? Well, extinguish Patriotism. But then the wicked career to which we have adverted, must have been checked but for Courage. Blot out Courage-and so might you proceed to extinguish one by one, Reason, and Speech, and Memory, and all the discriminating prerogatives of man. But perhaps more than enough has been already urged in reply to an objection, which is built on ground so indefensible, as that which would equally warrant our condemning any physical or moral faculty altogether, on account of its being occasionally abused.

As to the position of our opponent, that there is no way whereby the validity of any pretensions to the religious affections may be ascertained; it must partly be admitted. Doubtless we are not able always to read the hearts of men, and to discover their real characters; and hence it is, that we in some measure lie open to the false and hypocritical pretences which are brought forward against us so triumphantly. But then these pretences no more prove all similar claims to be founded in falsehood and hypocrisy, than there having been many false and interested pretenders to wisdom and honesty, would prove that there can be no such thing as a wise or an honest man. We do not argue thus but where our reason is under a corrupt bias. Why should we be so much surprised and scandalised, when these impostors are detected in the church of Christ? It is no more than our blessed Master himself taught us to expect; and when the old difficulty is stated, “ Didst thou not sow good seed in thy field, whence & then hath it tares ? " his own answer furnishes the best solution—"an enemy hath done this."-Hypocrisy is indeed detestable, and enthusiasm sufficiently mischievous to justify our guarding against its approaches with jealous care. Yet it may not be

improper