much more like the language of one who had long reflected upon, been seriously affected with, and formed inature conclufions from the fad fubject than of one who was but juft now ftruck with a conviction of his fins, and a fense of his miferable ftate.

Secondly, obferve also the clear and confident declaration which he makes concerning Jefus. This man hath done nothing amifs. Can we fuppofe this declaration made by a man who had not known any thing of the perfon to whom he bears this teftimony before this unhappy occafion? Doth it not feem rather the atteftation of one who had had confiderable knowledge of the rectitude of his character and the unblameablenefs of his conduct?

There are, I readily acknowledge, many difficulties attending the hiftory of the penitent thief, which I have no occafion to confider in this place, it being fufficient for my prefent purpose to fhew that the doctrine of the probability of repentance at the article of death proving acceptable will no longer have countenance from it.

John. vi. 44. 65. No man can come to me except it were given him of my Father. Every man therefore that hath heard, and learned of the Father cometh unto No man can come to me, except the Father who bath fent me draw him. Now how is it that God is elsewhere faid to draw men, but by the force of motives and inftructions, which fuppofe that

me.

men

men have a power of attending to them and improving by them. It is alfo to be observed that, in the whole of the discourse, in which the words quoted above are introduced, Jefus is blaming the jews for their infidelity; and it would be very extraordinary. indeed, if for this purpose he fhould make ufe of an argument, which would intirely exculpate them, intimating that it was not in their power to do. otherwise.

Our Lord fufficiently gives us to understand in what fenfe he ufes the word drawing in the paffage quoted above. He explains himself v. 45. It is written in the prophets, (Isaiah liv. 13.) And they Shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the father cometh unto me. This was the way in which God the Father drew fome of the jews to Chrift at that time; viz. fuch of them as, influenced by reverence, love and duty to him, heard attentively, and learned the truths which he had already taught them by Moses and the prophets; but they who were of a different spirit and conduct, with respect to the divine truths already revealed, could not come to Chrift, who conftantly referred them to the teftimonies of Mofes and the prophets în proof of his divine miffion. To them it was not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, Matt. xiii. 11. Agreeably hereto he fays on another occafion, If any man will do his will, he fball know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or

whether

whether I speak of myself, John vii. 17. And he thus remonstrates against the unbelieving jews, chap. v. 39. &c. Search the fcriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you-How can ye believe, who receive honour one of another, and feek not the honour that cometh from God only. This appears plainly to be the language of one who confidered the cause of the unbelief of these jews as arifing, not from natural inability, or the with-holding of the grace of God, but from contracted evil principles and habits, to which they determinedly adhered; as he speaks v. 40. Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.

II. OF ORIGINAL SIN.

THAT mankind are confiderable sufferers in confequence of the fall of Adam, is not denied; but all the evils which Mofes fpecifies as affecting his pofterity on that account, are of a corporeal and temporal nature, viz. labour, forrow, and death. It is poffible, indeed, that the body being more subject to disease, the mind may be more feeble, and therefore more prone to comply with fome temptations; but then it should also be confidered, that a fickly conftitution is favourable to many virtues, and we see that a ftate of confirmed health is often highly dangerous in a moral refpect; so that

арод

upon the whole it is probable that our condition is more favourable to virtue than that of Adam. That the facred writers did not confider it as, upon the whole, worse than his, is evident from their never giving the leaft hint, that any allowance will be made to men for that natural difadvantage. Nay many of the finful pofterity of Adam are blamed more severely than he was for his fin and if we confider his fituation and the circumftances of his fall, we cannot fuppofe that he had greater ftrength of mind to refift temptation that we are now poffeffed of. Since, however, fome particular texts are alledged, to prove that the nature of man is totally depraved by the fall, infomuch that all mankind, without exception, are now altogether incapable of any good thought, word, or action; and, moreover, that we are all subject to the everlasting wrath of God on account of the fin of Adam, I fhall give a brief explication of the principal of those

texts.

Gen. vi. 5. And God faw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth; and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. If we understand this paffage literally, it will be contradicted by the character which is im mediately afterwards given of Noah, of whom it is faid, ver. 9, that he was a juft man, and perfect in his generation, and that he walked with God. But it is plain that this wickedness of mankind was not ow

ing to any natural depravity, which their derivation from Adam rendered neceffary, but that it was a voluntary corruption, and had its rife from themfelves only; for it is faid, ver. 12. that God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. Befides, this ftate of the world is alledged as a juftification of the divine proceedings against them, whereas, if they had been corrupt by the neceffity of nature, it must have operated as a plea in their favour, with that being who confiders our frame, and remembers that we are but duft. If he makes fuitable allowance for the infirmities of our bodies, much more would he confider the natural and neceffary diforders of our minds.

Job xiv. 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. This is a proverbial expreffion, fignifying that nothing can be more perfect than its original; but Job is not fpeaking in this place of the guilt and pollution of man, but of his forrows and mortality.

Pfalm li. 5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in fin did my mother conceive me. This alfo has very much the air of a proverbial expreffion, fignifying great depravity of heart, and very early habits of vice. That it was not intended to express a natural and invincible propenfity to vice, is plain, because that would be inconfiftent with the tenor of the whole pfalm, in which the humble author feems

difpofed