not of the Father." Another queries, "Is there evil in the city and the Lord hath not done it?" Again another, speaking of the corrupt passions and abominable lusts of men, avers, This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish." Jam. iii, 15. Here is a most palpable contradiction among the inspired writers, if moral good and evil are both alike the effect of an inward divine operation on the heart. But by the views of the subject which we recommend, this difficulty is easily avoided.

The first text, and all of a similar complexion, are to be understood of an outward providential disposal. The last, of a direct positive operation on the heart. In the first of these ways, moral evil comes from God; but never in the latter. We conceive this seeming contradiction in the Scriptures can in no other way fairly be disposed of. If so, a point of great interest is gained.

4. We reserve to ourselves a method of explaining this awful dispensation of Jehovah, hardening the hearts of men, sending them strong delusion, &c. by which the judgment and conscience of the sinner is most easily gained and his objections silenced.

The native opposition of the human heart, ever has been, and ever will be, active and ingenious in its reasoning against the most pure and sin-humbling truths of the Gospel. And it ever will be the duty of the friend of Jesus to repel and refute these objections. But there is a right way, and a wrong way, to answer objections, as well as to prove and illustrate evangelical truth. In regard to those, who admit the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, all their cavils are to be met with arguments deducible from this infallible guide.

To quit this ground and to aim to subdue our antagonist by the power of mere abstract reasoning, is as great a folly as for a general of an army unneces

sarily to quit a strong redoubt, and to meet a powerful enemy in the open field.

There is nothing in the divine conduct, that more commonly provokes the cavils of wicked men, than God's being said to harden the heart, to blind the eyes, &c. But if we adhere closely to such Scriptural views of the subject as we contend for, it is comparatively an easy matter to deal with the objector.

This, as we have already observed, is a special dispensation of God. It is, as the Scriptures represent it, a punishment for former disobedience. In this light Calvin, and all the most distinguished protestant divines have considered it.-Calvin, and according to him Augustine considered, the original depravity of all men, as a penal evil. It was the punishment of Adam, for his first act of disobedience. And there is nothing in this more difficult to reconcile to the justice and goodness of God, than that children should now suffer in their moral character, and be exposed to divine judgments for their parent's sins; an event which every moment happens in the Providence of the most High.-It is certain, the children of pagans inherit all their father's ignorance, superstition and impiety. This is as difficult for me to explain, as that the posterity of Adam should be cursed with depraved hearts for his disobedience.

Now that God should harden the heart of those who have hated knowledge and would none of his reproof; that he should give them up to the delusions they have chosen; is so plain an act of justice, that even bold transgressors cannot well object against it. Besides, what according to Scripture and plain fact are the ordinary means by which sinners in the Providence of God are hardened? Are they not such as these: His great love and bounty, in bestowing on men worldly prosperity, riches and honors; deferring the punishment of their sins, and with much Jong-suffering giving them space to repent. quently laying aside the rod, and removing the judgments, with which he had begun to correct them, as

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in the case of Pharoah, who when he saw there was respite, he hardened his heart yet more.-Sending his prophets and ministers to tell them their errors and mistakes in religion, and solemnly and affectionately to call them to repentance, by which their enmity and rage are provoked, as was the case in regard to the leaders of Israel, when Christ preached to them.

But are not all these acts of great mercy and kindness? Shall the sinner's eye be evil, because God is thus good, even to him. If the sinner is hardened by such means, it is perfectly evident he can have no pretence to find fault with his Maker?

He must admit he is under infinite obligation to praise God for those very means by which he is hardened. For they are not only acts of mercy in themselves, but they present the divine character to view in an amiable light, and are powerful arguments to produce repentance. It is true indeed that God hardens men's hearts by giving them up to the enticements of wicked companions, the sophistry of false teachers, and the influence of the devil.-But if this be a judgment upon them for their refusing to be guided by the word and Spirit of God, their love of the company of sinners, and their predilection for error and falsehood, who can with any shadow of reason impeach the justice of it?-But does not he despoil himself of all this armor to silence the caviller and vindicate the ways of God, who lays out of the question the idea of hardening being a special act of providence, and denies the power of all second causes and instruments to excite the wills of men to evil?— This man we conceive quits plain Scripture ground, and goes to meet the enemy in the strength of his own metaphysical armor. All he can do is to talk of the abstract nature of moral agency, human liberty, virtue and vice consisting in mere exercise and not in its cause, &c. The great leader of the darkness of this world was never yet much terrified and driven out of the field by such a mode of attack.

But says one, who is fascinated by the fine polish of this metaphysical panoply, you have not yet done with the objector. If you have, he has not done with you, and you may yet need the aid of the weapons you so lightly esteem? By no means, the cause which cannot be defended on plain Scripture ground, we believe God never intended should be defended. We know very well; the sinner, though foiled by the blow just how given, may rise again and with vehemence urge, Why did God originally give me an heart that should be capable of being hardened in the way you have stated; or why did he not exert his omnipotent power and grace to soften my heart into repentance under these dispensations of love? But do the Scriptures here abandon us, and suggest no reply-If they suggest à reply, it is certainly a true one, and it is the best that can be given, and we can have no occasion to go for help to the most illustrious champion of philosophical warfare. And happily for the Christian, St. Paul was assailed by this very objection, and I conceive I am bound to believe he took the best method to repel it. And what was it? It was indeed a summary one, but none more pungent and powerful could be devised; he pointed the objector to the infinite Jehovah as an absolute and holy sovereign, who hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth! And suggests whether the sovereign Lord and owner of all things, has not as much right to dispose of the objects of his creation, as the potter has to form his clay into such, vessels as pleases him! "Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor?”.

If the caviller is tempted to take the last step of audacious impiety, and impeach the justice of his Maker in the awful retributions of sin, and say, "Why doth he yet find fault, who hath resisted his will," still the Scriptures stand by us and tell us what to say. "Nay, but who art thou, O man, that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say unto him

that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus." If this plain, solemn, appeal to the understanding and conscience does not silence the voice of objection, nothing will do it? He who imagines he can do better by his abstract reasoning than Paul has done, will find himself miserably deceived. It would flatter the pride of a presumptuous opposer of the sovereignty of God, to suggest that Paul treats him with too little ceremony, and to deign to take him on his own ground in a train of labored deduction, but it would probably only confirm him in his impiety.

He that knows that God does a certain thing, and is not satisfied that it is just, is not to be reasoned with any further.-For God's doing it is the highest possible proof of its wisdom and rectitude. So thought the Psalmist, when he exclaimed, "I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou, Lord, didst it." Thus we see that there is nothing which any boasted philosophical theory can do, but the Scriptures can do it a great deal better.

We shall now put a period to our labors in a few words. We cannot pretend that any thing like complete justice is done to the subject. A consciousness of the want of ability, a pressure of family afflictions and cares, and professional duties, forbad every anticipation of that kind.

We are conscious of having aimed at nothing but a correct statement and illucidation of evangelical truth, and to free it from the embraces of a beguiling and injurious philosophy. If any thing we have said, shall tend to produce this effect, and to exalt and magnify the authority of the Holy Scriptures, and to persuade men that the best philosophy, the most precious wisdom, is the sincere milk of the word of God received into a good and honest heart, we shall be amply rewarded.

Should any one object to the metaphysical discussions contained in this volume and attempt by abstract reasonings to prove them incorrect, I shall take no notice of it. I have not introduced them to