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allo may be one in us. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one. That the love wherewith thou haft loved me, may be in them, and I in

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SECTION II.

On Regeneration.

T has been observed, that mankind being naturally under the power of fin, and total depravity, it is necelfary that they should be the subjects of a renovation by the spirit of God, in order to their union to Chrift, and being redeemed by him. It is propofed now to attend more particularly to this renovation, as it is represented in the holy fcriptures.

Regeneration and converfion are often used only as two words, meaning the fame thing; and it is certain that all that can be properly understood by them, is that change and renovation which is expreffed in fcripture, by being born again, born of the spirit of God, and born of God, created in Chrift Jefus, unto good works, &c. Yet, as there are two diftinct things included in this change, which it is neceffary fhould be distinguished, in order to understand this fubject, these words may be properly used, to make and keep up this distinction, as many divines have done. In this renovation, there is the operation of the cause, which is the work done by the fpirit of God; and there is the effect, which confifts in the exercises of the regenerate, in which they are active, and agents. Though these imply each other, and cannot be separated, more than the caufe can be separated from the effect; yet they must be diftinguifhed, and the former

• John, xvii.

former may properly be called regeneration. In order to explain this, and prevent miftakes concerning it, the following things must be observed.

1. The spirit of God is the only agent and catife by whofe energy the effect takes place; and fo far as the spirit of God,is the cause and agent, the fubject, the heart of man, is paffive, being the fubject on which, or in which, the effect is wrought. Though the effect be activity, or the exercife of the new heart, in which the renewed person is the agent; yet, in the operation which caufes the effect to exift, and therefore, in the order of nature, is antecedent to the effect, the fpirit of God is the only agent, and man is the paffive fubject.

2. This change, of which the fpirit of God is the cause, and in which he is the only agent, is inftantaneous; wrought not gradually, but at once. The human heart is either a heart of ftone, a rebellious heart, or a new heart. The man is either under the dominion of fin, as obftinate and vile as evet, dead in trefpaffes and fins; or his heart is humble and penitent; he is a new creature, and fpiritually alive. There can be no inftant of time, in which the heart is neither a hard heart, nor a new heart, and the man is neither dead in trefpaffes and fins, nor fpiritually alive. The spirit of God finds the heart of man wholly corrupt, and desperately wicked, wholly and strongly, even with all the power he has, opposed to God and his law, and to that renovation which he produces. The enmity of the heart against God, continues as ftrong as ever it was, till it is flain by the inftantaneous energy of the divine fpirit, and from carnal it becomes fpiritual, betwixt which there is no medium, according to fcripture and reafon. All the exercifes of the hard, impenitent, unrenewed heart, are exercises of impenitence and rebellion; of enmity against God, and his law, whatever the external Kk 2

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conduct may be, they are the corrupt fruit of a corrupt, rebellious heart. The exercises and fruit of a heart, dead in trefpaffes and fins, are dead works. If this were not demonftrably certain, from the nature of the cafe, it is abundantly afferted in the fcripture, and our Saviour has decided it in the most exprefs manner. His words are, "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth good things: And an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things."* St. Paul repeatedly allerts the fame thing. By a number of quotations from the Old Teftament, he proves that all men are by nature, altogether, and to a great degree, corrupt; that there is nothing morally good in them, or done by them.t He afferts that antecedent to regeneration, man does nothing morally good; that all of this kind is the confequence of it. "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jefus unto good works." And again he fays, "We ourselves alfo were fometimes foolish, difobedient, deceived, ferving divers lufts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But af ter that, the kindness and love of God our Saviour, appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he faved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghoft." Here he describes their state and moral character, which is the character of all men, antecedent to regeneration. He denies their having done any good works; but, on the contrary, fays, all their works were evil, and gives them a very bad character. He then afcribes all their reformation, and the alteration of their character for the better, to their regeneration, by which alone they were washed from their moral pollutions.

3. The fubject of this operation, in which this change and effect is wrought, is the will of the heart; that is, the

* Math. xii. 33, 35. † Rom. iii, 9, &c. † Eph. ii, 1o. || Tit. iii. 3, 4, 5.

the moral and not the natural powers and faculties of the foul. As moral depravity is wholly in the will or heart, the fource and feal of all moral actions, the divine operation directly refpects the heart; and confists in changing and renewing that. The understanding or intellect, confidered as distinct from the will, is a natural faculty, and is not capable of moral depravity. It may be hurt and weakened, and improved to bad purposes, as other natural faculties may, by the moral corruption or finfulness of the heart: But nothing is neceffary, in order to remove the diforders of the intellect, and all the natural powers of the foul, but the renovation of the heart; fo far as the will is right, the understanding, confidered as a natural faculty, will be rectified, and do its office well. Therefore regeneration is in fcripture reprefented as confifting in giving a new heart, a heart to know the Lord, &c. The fcripture indeed fpeaks of the underflanding being enlightned; and of its being darkened ; and of being without understanding, as criminal; and represents a good understanding, as comprehending all virtue or holiness. But the understanding in these instances is not confidered and spoken of as mere intellect, distinct from the will or heart; but as comprehending and principally intending the heart, which is the feat of all moral perception and exercife. In fcripture the dif tinction between the understanding and the heart is not often made; but the former is generally spoken of as implying the latter, and confifting in that difcerning, which is implied in right exercises of heart; and cannot take place any farther than the heart is renewed, and the will is right. Therefore we read of "a wife and underftanding heart." And wisdom and understanding are words frequently used in scripture as nearly fynonymous, and denoting the fame thing: But wifdom belongs to the heart, and is of a moral nature; and that in which, according to the fcripture, true holiness confifts,

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PART II, All moral, criminal darkness, has its feat in the heart, as all fin has, and the former cannot be diftinguished from the latter; and felfishness is the effence of both. And on the contrary, all true light and understanding, which is of a moral nature, belongs to the heart, and implies real holiness, and cannot be separated, and even dif tinguished from it, as one neceffarily implies and involves erstanding the other. This is afferted by our divine teacher in the which is of a following words: The light of the body is the eye: If moral therefore thine eye be fingle, thy whole body fhail be if my full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body be confined to thall be full of darkness." The fingle and evil eye are the heart? oppofites, and belong to the heart, and confift in the exercifes of that. This is faid by Chrift of the evil eye. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evi! thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetioufnefs, wickednefs, deceit, laciviousness, an evil eye, blafphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come 'from within, and defile the man." Here an evil eye, which fills the mind with darkness, and is darkness itself, is numbered among the evil things which belong to the corrupt heart, and of which that is the fource, and as altogether criminal. And, confequently, the fingle eye, which is oppofite to the evil eye, must also belong to the fully heart, and confifts in that which is real holiness, or which implies it. Where this is, the man is full of light. Therefore, in regeneration, the heart being changed and renewed, light and understanding take place; and there is no need of any operation on the understanding, or intellectual faculty of the mind, as diftinguished from the heart, or any change in that, which does not neceffarily take place, upon the renovation of the will or heart. As the moral diforder and depravity of man, lies wholly in his heart, the cure and renovation muft begin and end there; and when the heart is perfectly right, the man will be wholly recovered to perfect holiness.

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