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to a noble object, and would not have been in vain. But for him to say, or imply, that orthodox ministers have not believed and taught this truth,-why, he might as well say, they have not believed and taught the divine authority of the Bible. The fact is, the more devoutly ministers and Christians have studied the word of God, the more they have known of themselves, and the more earnestly they have sought the teachings of the Holy Spirit, the better have they understood the provisions of the gospel, and the more entirely have they relied upon the allsufficient grace of Christ. I am glad to see, that, as Mr. Mahan has come to entertain more exalted views of the gracious provisions of the gospel for the sanctification of believers, he has ceased to give such prominence, as he formerly did, to the ability or free-will of man, and has expressly renounced it, as furnishing any ground of hope for sinners, or any spring of holiness to Christians, and has been brought to rely wholly on the grace of Christ, and to look to him for the whole of salvation. Luther did this, when he first emerged from the darkness of popery. William Cowper did this, at his first conversion. Devout Christians have all done this, though with different degrees of clearness; and multitudes of them have done it in as high a degree and with as much comfort, as Mr. Mahan. I have recently become acquainted with the biography of Mrs. Hawkes, a humble Christian in the common walks of life, who derived special benefit from the instructions of Cecil. And I shall here make a single quotation from one of her letters, showing her cordial reliance on the grace of Christ for the whole of sanctification. She says to her correspondent: "You want to know how I have been conquering self. Alas! I have only been fighting against self, but am still very far from being a conqueror; and I am thankful to say, as you do, Jesus shows me my strength is in him; and my desire is, to be as a little child. When I want to act, I go to him for wisdom and strength. If I feel anger, I run to him, and show it to him. When I feel pride rising upon any occasion, I go to him, and confess it. To him I take every sin, as it arises every want, every desponding thought. To him I go for every good thought, every good desire, every good word and work, crying, Lord, help me in this,-Lord, help me in the other. It is thy grace alone, that can produce any thing good in me. What else is meant by Christ's living in me, and I in him? It is by this simple faith, that we must bring forth good fruits; and to obtain it,

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we must plead the promises. How are we to be transformed in the spirit of our minds, and to be changed into his image, from glory to glory? Not by looking within, but by looking to Jesus." Now how does this differ from the views exhibited by Mr. Mahan in the following passage (Discourses, pp. 153—4). He says, just as thousands have said before: "The promises are adapted to every possible condition. They descend to the sinner in the lowest depths of guilt and depravity, for the purpose of lifting him out of the horrible pit, and rendering him a partaker of the divine nature. They meet the Christian, in a state of partial holiness, for the purpose of raising him to a state of perfect love. Now, to use the promises so as to become possessed of the blessings they proffer to us, four things are necessary: that we know our need; that we apprehend the particular promise of Christ which was designed to meet that particular necessity; that we repose full confidence in the ability and faithfulness of Christ to fulfil the promise; and that we cast our whole being upon him, for the specific purpose of securing a fulfilment of the particular promise before us. example; the sinner is brought to feel himself to be in a lost condition. Here he is met with the declaration of Christ: I came to seek and to save that which was lost;—and whosoever cometh unto me, I will in nowise cast out. Let the sinner cast himself directly upon Christ, for the definite purpose of securing a fulfilment of this promise. Are you in darkness? Go directly to Christ for the fulfilment of the promise: I will lead the blind by a way which they knew not. Is your heart hard and unfeeling? Go to Christ and cast yourself upon his faithfulness for the fulfilment of the promise: I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and will give you a heart of flesh. Do temptations beset you? Go to Christ with the promise: who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Are you about to enter into new scenes, or spheres of action? Go to Christ with the promises: lo, I am with you always; and, my grace is sufficient for thee. In short, whatever your condition, remember that you are addressed by your Saviour with some specific promise, perfectly adapted to your case; and your life depends upon your casting yourself at once upon the faithfulness of Christ, for the fulfilment of that promise.'

Now all this, which I have quoted from Mr. Mahan, is just and scriptural, exhibiting the true spirit. of the gospel. And

all that is wanted is, that he should have frankly said: this is nothing new. It is the good old way, in which evangelical writers and Christians have always understood and applied the provisions and promises of the gospel. I could easily cite many passages of the same import, and still more striking, from Bunyan's Jerusalem-Sinner Saved, M'Laurin's Sermons, Good's Better Covenant, and the writings of John Newton. And I have hoped that orthodox ministers were about to give up what remains among them of a cold, abstruse, philosophical way of preaching, and to adopt more fully the determination of Paul, to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified, and to make him all in all. May the day soon come when this shall be the case universally. And let us, who differ from Mr. Mahan in other respects, be careful to profit by his remarks on this subject; and let us copy his earnestness in holding forth the allsufficient provisions of the gospel for the entire sanctification of believers.

My aim has been to do full justice to Mr. Mahan, in holding the great principle above considered; and at the same time to show, that orthodox writers and preachers have generally held the same principle, and that, in this respect, Mr. Mahan has made no advance upon the common faith of the Christian church. Of course it must be wrong for him or any others to suppose, that holding this principle can be turned to the advantage of his system in distinction from the system commonly received by the orthodox.

But Mr. Mahan thinks that his peculiar doctrine is inseparably connected with the fact, that provision is made for the entire sanctification of believers. He believes that his doctrine certainly follows from this, and is involved in it. This, then, shall be my next point of inquiry. From the fact that provision is made in the gospel for the complete sanctification of believers, does it follow that they will be completely sanctified in the present life? Let us dismiss all other points till we have disposed of this. It is a matter of reasoning. And those who are accustomed to reasoning know how important it is to give a fixed attention to the point under consideration, and to be careful not to wander from it.

The question at issue may be taken up in two ways. First: Do the provisions of the gospel, taken by themselves, certainly prove that believers will ever be completely sanctified?

Now, if the actual and complete sanctification of believers

certainly follows from the mere provisions of the gospel for that purpose, it must be on this principle,-that if God has made provision in the sense intended, for the accomplishment of a particular end, that end will actually be accomplished. This is clear. For if such provision may be made, and yet the end fail of being accomplished, then we can no longer infer such accomplishment from such provision; and in order to make out a conclusive proof that the end will be accomplished, we must argue from some other premises besides the simple fact that provision is made for it.

Our question then is: Do the provisions of the gospel for the complete sanctification of God's people prove that they will in fact be completely sanctified?

Now, Mr. Mahan is no stranger to reasoning; and he will, I am persuaded, bring to the consideration of this subject an active, discerning intellect, and a kind, candid heart. I shall then make my appeal directly to him. And I ask my dear brother: Has not God, in this favored land, made full provision for the comfortable support of all the inhabitants ?-such provision, that all who enjoy the other common blessings of life in an ordinary degree may, by suitable exertions, obtain such a support? But does it follow, from such provision, that all the inhabitants will actually obtain a comfortable support? I ask again: Is not provision made in the gospel for the salvation of all sinners to whom the gospel is published? This, my brother, in common with others, is accustomed to teach, as a matter of great moment. But does it follow from this, that all who hear the gospel will be saved? May not something else come in to prevent that salvation for which provision is made? If so, then the general question returns: Can we infer from the simple fact that provision is made for the accomplishment of a particular object, that the object will actually be accomplished?

But, my brother, who is fond of argument, will bear with me, while I take up the question in the other way alluded to. He often asserts that God has made provision for the complete sanctification of believers during the present life. This I admit; and I ask him whether God has not made provision for the complete sanctification of believers during the present day, and the present hour, yea, the present minute? I should think it strange if he should hesitate a moment to answer in the affirmative. A mind like his will, I am sure, quickly see what astounding consequences would follow from the denial. How,

then, does he dispose of this matter? From the fact, that provision is made in the gospel for the complete sanctification of believers the present hour and minute, does he draw the conclusion that they do all in reality obtain complete sanctification the present hour and minute? And if not, how can he draw the other conclusion, namely, that they are completely sanctified during the present life, because provision is made for it in the gospel? May not some other cause intervene to prevent the accomplishment of the object, for which such provision is made? And may it not hinder the accomplishment for a longer as well as for a shorter time ?-for a few years as well as for an hour or a minute?

The other circumstances, such as promises, prayers, etc., which may be combined with the simple provision of the gospel, and which may be supposed to insure the accomplishment of the object, will be considered in another place. Our present inquiry is, whether, from the simple fact that provision is made for the entire sanctification of believers in this life, we can infer that such sanctification will actually take place? And I think I may regard it as a point agreed to on all hands, and certainly by the brother with whom I am arguing the case, that such an inference cannot be drawn.

THE ATTAINABLENESS OF PERFECTION IN THE PRESENT LIFE.

Mr. Mahan brings it forward as a question on which his opinion differs from the one commonly entertained: "whether we may now, during the progress of the present life, attain to entire perfection in holiness." (Discourses, p. 15.) And in his second Discourse he makes it his particular inquiry, whether a state of complete holiness is attainable in the present life. He informs us that he does not use the words attainable and practicable with reference merely or chiefly to our natural powers as intelligent, accountable agents, but with reference to the provisions of divine grace. And he lays it down as a truth, which distinguishes his system from the one generally held, that complete holiness is, in the highest and most common acceptation of the term, attainable." And in the last number of the Repository (p. 409) he states it as a point peculiar to him and his party, "that we may render to God the perfect obedience which he requires." But we hold to this as much as he

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