them that believe. - Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins-that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Those who are taught of God, see the truth of what the apostle here says of their just condemnation by the law, of the necessity of Christ's atonement, and of the propriety of their coming to him and believing in his atonement, in order to obtain pardon and acceptance in the sight of God. In this view of God, of Christ, and of themselves, they freely and joyfully come to Christ, being heavy laden with guilt, that they may find rest to their souls in the favor of God.

IMPROVEMENT.

1. If God teaches men in the manner which has been described, then his special grace is irresistible.. It is certainly grace in God, to teach sinners what they are unwilling to know, and what they must know in order to be saved. This is teaching them what men and means cannot teach them, and what God teaches some, and not all. It is, therefore, not only grace, but special grace. And the manner in which God teaches some in distinction from others, shows that his special grace is irresistible. When he teaches by men and means only, which is his common way of teaching all without exception, sinners can and do resist his common grace. The old world resisted his grace, which led him to say, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man." Isaiah says of the impenitent Israelites in the wilderness, with whom God used the most powerful external means of instruction, "But they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit." And Stephen says to unbelieving and impenitent sinners, who had been externally taught by Christ and by himself, "Ye stiff necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." Those whom God teaches only by his word and providence, universally resist his common grace. But when he teaches them by operating internally upon their understandings, hearts and consciences, they cannot resist his special grace, which takes away the sole ground and cause of resistance. This special operation slays the enmity of their hearts, and fills them with holy, benevolent affections. It makes them willing, in the day of his power, to be reconciled and submissive to his will, and to the terms of life proposed in the gospel. They are persuaded, not compelled, to come to Christ for salvation. Those who disbelieve and deny the doctrine of special grace

in the conversion of sinners, disbelieve and deny it upon the supposition that it is of the nature of compulsion, and inconsistent with the freedom and choice of the converted. But making men willing, cannot be inconsistent with their freely willing and choosing. The irresistible grace of God is irresistible, only because the subjects of it have no will, no desire, nor inclination to resist it. This irresistible grace, which makes men love and obey God, he continually exercises towards them, from the moment they are converted until they reach the kingdom of glory. Hence says the apostle, "Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." It is entirely owing to the special and irresistible grace of God, that some are saved, while others are lost. God does something different for those that are saved, from what he does for those that are lost. He makes some willing to come to Christ for salvation, but not others; and those whom he does not make willing to come to Christ for salvation, remain unwilling, and freely reject the counsel of God to their own destruction.

2. If men are taught of God in the manner that has been described, then repentance towards God is always previous to faith in Christ. None will come to Christ, until they are taught of God to love him and his law, and to condemn and loathe themselves for their disaffection to his character, and disobedience to his commands. Love to God and repentance of sin not only may be, but must be, before any can or will love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and believe in him for salvation. Repentance cannot be before love, nor faith before love and repentance both. If this were not true, there would be no necessity or occasion of their being taught of the Father, in the manner that has been mentioned, in order to their coming to Christ. Our Saviour supposed that none would come to him, before they had been taught and had learned of the Father his character and their own. And it is impossible to see why any should come to Christ before they have learned, by a divine, special influence on their hearts, what God is and what they are. Before they have seen and loved God, and seen and hated their own conduct, they cannot see their need of Christ, nor the necessity of renouncing self dependence, and relying alone upon Christ for pardon and acceptance with God. Though the views and exercises of sinners before their hearts are changed, are often various; some having a greater sense of danger than of guilt, some having a greater sense of guilt than of danger, and some continuing much longer in this state of bondage than others; yet when their hearts are changed, their exercises are uniform in order, though they may not be sensible

of that order. They love God, hate sin, and believe in Christ. This is the real order of their exercises. But some may be more sensible of love to God at first; some may be more sensible of love to Christ at first; and some may be more sensible of self loathing and self condemnation for sin at first. This is easy to be accounted for, because, before their hearts were changed, they had a speculative knowledge of God, a speculative knowledge of sin, and a speculative knowledge of Christ. As soon, therefore, as their hearts are changed, they may instantly love God, and almost instantly hate sin for being against God whom they love, and almost as instantaneously love Christ for condemning sin in the flesh, and making atonement for it. But their minds may dwell more upon one of these objects than another, and, consequently, they may feel more sensibly affected towards one, than towards another, though really affected by each. It is by no means certain that those who most sensibly exercise love to God at first, do not hate sin before they love Christ. It is not certain that those who most sensibly love Christ at first, do not love God and hate sin before they love Christ. And it is not certain that those who most sensibly hate sin at first, do not love God before they hate sin. Converts may be very sensible of the various exercises of their hearts, without being sensible of the order and immediate connection of their exercises. The experience of christians is no evidence that love is not before repentance, and repentance before faith. This point must be determined by the nature of those exercises, and the representations of scripture. The nature of these exercises evidently requires that love should be before repentance, and repentance before faith. If we look into the Old Testament, we shall find repentance always placed before pardon, through the sacrifices which typified Christ, in whom true penitents virtually believed. And if we look into the New Testament, we shall find repentance placed before faith. Christ taught men to repent, and then believe. And Paul taught repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever repentance and faith are mentioned together, repentance is mentioned before faith. Though some may consider this as a matter of mere speculation, yet it is of great importance to refute Antinomians; who place faith before love and repentance, and, consequently, make all the Christian graces the fruit of an unholy and unrenewed heart.

3. If God teaches men in the manner that has been described, before they come to Christ, then there is more ground to hope that those will be saved who are under his peculiar teaching, than that those will who are not under it. When God himself begins to operate upon the understandings and con

sciences of sinners, there is ground to hope that he will continue to operate, until he changes their hearts. It is true that God can teach partially, and leave those to perish in their obstinacy whose eyes are wide open. He often does enlighten the understanding and awaken the conscience, without changing the heart. But when we see sinners awakened and convinced, there is ground to hope that their awakenings and convictions will terminate in conversion; not indeed on account of any goodness in them, but because God has taken them into his own hand, and is able to subdue their enmity, and reconcile them to himself, and so draw them to Christ. Awakened and convinced sinners often imagine that they really seek and strive to come to Christ; but if this were true, there would be no occasion of the Father's drawing them to Christ. They are so far from seeking and striving to come to Christ, that they are seeking and striving to be saved without him. And this is the reason why they cannot come to Christ without being drawn of the Father. This preparatory work of the Father ought to be distinguished from the preparatory work of sinners. God prepares sinners to come to Christ, but they never prepare themselves to come. Our Saviour himself says, they will not come except they be drawn. And no sinners know, before they are drawn, that they ever shall be drawn; for it depends upon the sovereign pleasure of God, whether he will draw them, or leave them to perish for ever.

4. It appears from the manner of God's teaching sinners, that his special teaching does not throw any difficulty in the way of their coming to Christ. His peculiar teaching does not throw any difficulty in the way of their being saved, but directly tends to remove the difficulty which they throw in their own way, that is, their unwillingness to come to Christ. By his teaching, he brings himself and divine things near to them; opens their understandings to see them in all their weight and importance; and awakens their conscience to feel their obligations, and to feel properly towards himself, towards themselves, towards eternity, and towards him who has brought life and immortality to light and freely offers to save them from the wrath to come. By teaching them these things, he points out the way to eternal life, without throwing any thing in the way of their coming. But you are now ready to ask, Is not this special teaching special grace, without which we cannot come to Christ? It is, indeed, special grace, without which you will not come to Christ, but with which you will come. And can that which makes you willing to come, be any difficulty in the way of your coming? Special grace does not give you any new power, but only a new choice. Special grace shows you

that there is no difficulty in the way of your coming to Christ but what you make; and, at the same time, removes the very difficulty you do make. Your refusing to come to Christ makes the only difficulty in the way of your coming; and special grace makes you willing, which removes that difficulty. You choose to misunderstand and misrepresent special grace, in order to make it a ground of excuse for not coming to Christ. How absurd is it for you to say that you cannot realize the being and perfections of God and the invisible things of the invisible world unless God enlightens you, when you are conscious you do not desire to be enlightened? Or to say you cannot realize your obligation to approve of these divine objects, when you are conscious that you do not desire to realize your obligations? Or to say you cannot come to Christ without being drawn, when you are conscious that you are unwilling to come to him, and even unwilling to be made willing?

5. If those, whom God himself effectually teaches by his special grace, will come to Christ, then those whom he does not thus effectually teach, will not come to Christ. All mere external instructions they can and will resist. They will be of no avail to draw them one step towards Christ. All outward means often fail to make sinners read the Bible, which they have in their hands, and which they have time and opportunity to read. They prefer reading any other book, rather than the Bible; or they choose not to read it at all. Outward means often fail of leading sinners to call upon God in secret or private, or of leading them to the house of God, or disposing them to receive any benefit from it, if they do come. All outward means have always failed of drawing sinners to Christ, so long as God withheld the teachings of his special grace. What a variety of external means was used with the sinners in Zion! They had line upon line, and precept upon precept; but instead of bringing forth grapes, they brought forth wild grapes. What a variety of means are now using with sinners every where! But they produce no salutary effect, only when and where God is pleased to instruct them himself. How easy it is for God to destroy sinners! It is only to afford them external teaching, and deny them internal. And he has a perfect right to deny them internal teaching. He is under no obligation to take them into his own hand, to enlighten their understanding, or awaken their conscience, or to soften their hearts. It is only for him to let them alone, and they will certainly destroy themselves. Has not God long let them alone, and have they not long remained untaught, though they have seen the hand of God in his providence, and heard his voice in his word? Has not a spirit of slumber seized their minds, and do they not grope