charge of pride,' may be easily made, and easily retorted; but "the day of the Lord" must shew to whom it most properly attaches. That of in'dolence,' has already been fully considered. Instead of an easy substitute' for that " godly "sorrow which worketh repentance unto salva"tion," it is the parent and only source of " repentance and works meet for repentance;" and it can be known to have taken place, by no other evidence, than that real amendment of life, 'which consists in mortifying our carnal lusts, in 'forsaking the sin which doth most easily beset

66

us, and in an active and conscientious endeavour 'to obey the revealed will of God,' springing from faith in Christ, love to his name, and zeal for his glory. Men who fancy they have received this 'second birth, and consider themselves full of 'divine grace,' while they are regardless both of 'the laws of God and man,' are doubtless deluded and dangerous enthusiasts; and it may be boldly said, that no part of the clergy more steadily oppose these enthusiastical delusions, than those who preach the necessity of regeneration to all, baptized or unbaptized, who do not prove that they are already regenerate by the substantial fruits of a holy life. Regeneration is like the grafting of the tree and, if it take place, either before, or at, or after baptism, it will be shewn by its holy fruits. Miraturque novas frondes, et non sua poma. But, if it be fancy and delusion, for a man, on account of some inward feelings, to think himself born again, and new-created unto good works, 'while guilty of the grossest immoralities;' we think it also fancy and delusion, of the most per

-

nicious and fatal kind, to suppose persons regenerate, who are living in the practice of gross wickedness, or an ungodly life, in any form, merely because they were baptized in infancy. If a nurseryman should be introduced into an inclosure planted with crab-trees, covered with their worthless fruit, and having not one apple or pear on any of them; and be told that they had all been grafted, when young plants, and needed no other grafting; he would say, It is plain the graft did not take; and it is evident that they must be grafted in a more efficacious manner, or they will still remain crab-trees. Without this, pruning, and digging, and manuring, will do nothing.The application to our views is obvious. After having been informed by the inspired historian, or rather by the words of Gabriel, that John the Baptist "should be filled with the Holy Ghost even "from his mother's womb;" we should not expect to read, that he lived in a dissipated, sensual, ungodly, and worldly manner during the former years of his life: we should suppose, on the contrary, that even his childhood and youth would be stamped with piety, purity, and love to God and man; and, in short, that as "the child grew he "would wax strong in spirit," and bring forth "the "fruits of the Spirit;" which accordingly he did. Birth introduces life; but if life be speedily extinct the birth seems in vain: and if regeneration always accompanies infant-baptism, but is far more frequently lost than retained, the spiritual life must be restored by the same life-giving Spirit

' Luke i. 15.

who first communicated it, or the persons concerned must continue "dead in sin," and at length "die in their sins," and be lost for ever.

(

'Regeneration then, in its true sense, signifies an inward effect produced by the Holy Ghost, through the means of baptism, whereby the person baptized exchanges his natural state in Adam 'for a spiritual state in Christ. Water applied outwardly to the body, together with the grace "of the Holy Ghost applied inwardly to the soul, regenerates the man; or, in other words, the Holy Ghost, in and by the use of water-baptism, 'causes the new birth. And the words regenera'tion and new birth are never used in the New Testament, or in the writings of our church, as equivalent to conversion or repentance, independent of baptism. The instantaneous conver'sion of persons already baptized, by the resistless ' and perceptible power of the Holy Ghost, and 'their being placed in a state of salvation from 'which it is impossible for them to fall, are un'founded and mischievous tenets, utterly irrecon-. 'cilable with scripture and the doctrines of the 'church of England. The design of Christianity ' is indeed to remedy the corruption and depravity ' of human nature, and to restore it to that image ' of God in which Adam was created, and which by transgression he lost-but this is not done by 'sudden and violent impulses of the Spirit: it 'must be, as I observed in the former chapter, 'the progressive result of calm and serious reflection, firm resolution, zealous exertion, and con'stant vigilance, aided by the co-operation of

divine grace.

The frame and temper of the

mind will thus be gradually improved; the force ' of sinful temptations will grow less and less; we 'shall 'daily proceed in all virtue and godliness of 'living,'" till we come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."'1

The question here occurs, Does the Holy Spirit, uniformly in and by the use of water-baptism, 'work the new birth?' Does he not often, nay generally, work it " by the word of truth," either before, or after, baptism? "Being born again, "not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by "the word of God, which liveth and abideth for "ever." 2-But this has already been discussed. Regeneration is the cause, and repentance and conversion are the effects. Regeneration imparts life; and where life is there will be feeling and activity. Regeneration "takes away the heart of stone, and gives the heart of flesh;" which is susceptible of holy fear, godly sorrow, ingenuous shame, remorse, contrition, hatred of sin, humiliation before God, longing after holiness, love, gratitude, enlarged pure benevolence, and all holy affections: but neither in scripture, nor in the writings of Calvinists in general, are the cause and the effects confounded.-' Almighty and everlasting God, who dost forgive the sins of all 'them that are penitent, create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness, through Jesus

' Ref. 95.

2 James i. 18. 1 Pet. i. 23.

'Christ our Lord.'-Regeneration, as giving spiritual life to the dead, may, indeed, must be instantaneous; though the person regenerated is seldom, perhaps never, at the moment aware of what has taken place: but conversion may be more or less gradual, according to various circumstances and indeed we must be converted more and more, or turned more and more from sin to God and holiness, till we become perfectly holy: and especially if any turn aside they must again be converted from the evil of their 2 Beways. ing placed in a state of salvation, from which it 'is impossible for them to fall, belongs to another part of the work, and will there be fully examined.

I might here close this part of my remarks on regeneration; but, aware of the misconstruction which is often put upon the words of those who maintain that baptism is not regeneration by the Holy Spirit, nor always attended with it, I deem it proper to add, that this sentiment is not accompanied with any hesitation as to the propriety and scriptural authority of infant-baptism. It appears to me, as much the Christian parent's duty to present his child to God in baptism, as it was that of Abraham and his descendents to devote their male offspring to God by circumcision. The blessing of God must be expected in the way of obedience to his commandments, and observance of his ordinances and, when all concerned in the baptism of infants conscientiously attend to their several duties, and unite in their fervent prayers that

'Col. Ash Wednesday.

2 Matt. xviii. 3. Luke xxii. 32. Jam. v.

19, 20.