How, then, are we to understand these apparently opposite and conflicting passages, each uttered by Him "who spake as never man spake," and who declared himself to be "the truth" as well as "the way and the life ?" Let it be premised that as our Saviour could speak nothing but truth, it was impossible for him to contradict himself; and let it be remembered that moral truth is always the same unaltered and unchangeable thing. What we have to do then is, not to attempt to explain away or qualify either of the verses in question; but to endeavour to ascertain in what sense these and similar statements are to be taken, recollecting that scripture is always consistent with itself, that there is the most perfect harmony between all the different parts of divine truth, and that no construction given to a passage can possibly be correct which would disturb that harmony by placing one portion of the word of God in conflict with another, and which does violence to reason and common sense. We conceive, then, that these passages, and all similar ones, admit of a ready and easy explanation-an explanation by which their mutual veracity and consistency are sustained, and the only one by which they can be sustained. When our Saviour affirms that "no man can come to him except the Father draw him," he affirms nothing at variance with his declaration that "they will not come to him." Can and will are, in this instance, interchangeable terms. A distinction, and, as understood, a very important one, has been made between natural and moral ability, natural ability signifying the possession of faculties or powers for the performance of an act, and moral ability signifying the disposition or willingness to perform it. The want of the former, whether corporeal or intellectual, or both, is termed natural inability, because in the very nature of things the want of bodily or mental powers for the performance of an action renders its performance impossible; and the latter, the want of inclination where the faculties are possessed, is termed, by way of contradistinction, moral inability, because it consists simply and only in the indisposition of the mind. The admission of the terms ability and inability into the vocabulary of morals, may perhaps be considered somewhat unfortunate for the interests of truth, for they have been greatly misapprehended, and awfully and even wickedly perverted, and much mischief to the cause of religion, much laxness in piety, and much distraction and contention in the churches, have resulted from such misapprehension and perversion. It is the possession of mental faculties, the endowment of reason and intelligence, that makes man the proper subject of divine command, and amenable for his sentiments and actions at the tribunal of the righteous Judge. Though man lost by his fall the inclination to that which is good, he lost not any one of the natural and intellectual faculties necessary for its performance, and therefore he did not lose his power or ability to do that which is good, unless we understand the word as signifying the loss of inclination. The terms moral ability and moral inability are analogical or figurative, and cannot be taken in a literal and absolute sense without subverting the whole foundation of morals, and annihilating man's responsibility for any of his actions. They are employed by way of accommodation, precisely as coming and looking to Christ, with many others; and it is strange that while, by general consent, these terms have been understood figuratively, there should have been so strong a disposition to put a literal construction upon the other. We affirm, therefore, if not without fear of contradiction, yet without fear of refutation, that man has power to repent and to believe the gospel, -power to come to Christ,-and power to perform any religious act whatever, and that he wants only the inclination-the will. When it is said he cannot come to Christ, nothing more is intended, nothing more can be intended, than that he cannot simply and only because he will not. If man were literally and absolutely without power to obey, it would be as absurd for God to command, as for us to expect brutes to philosophize, or idiots to reason. No man can be under any obligation to perform an action which he has not ability to perform, and no man can be justly punished for not doing what is commanded, when he is destitute of power to obey. But God has commanded men every where, where the gospel goes, to repent of sin, and believe in his Son; and this command is given to a fallen and sinful creature, which would be absurd unless he had power to do it; and those who do not thus believe and repent-in other words, who do not come to Christ -will receive additional condemnation and punishment on that very account, which would be the most awful tyranny, and the most cruel injustice, unless man has power to repent and believe. No man can come to Christ till he is drawn by the Holy Spirit in regeneration, because till then he wants the will to come; in the same sense in which many persons cannot come to chapel, and in which others cannot stay away, because they want sufficient inclination. But it has been sometimes said, "If I cannot come to Christ, I cannot, and it matters not what my inability may be; if I want the will, I might as well want the power,-it amounts to the same thing." "By no means; far from it. Let us be on our guard against such a plausible, but mischievous mode of reasoning as this. It is this which has engendered, or at least fostered, the Antinomian heresy-that pest and curse, that foul leprosy, of the churches. There is a wide and immeasurable difference between the want of power and the want of will. Would you say of a thief, should he steal your property, or of any incendiary, should he fire your premises, that he could not help it, that he was blameless, and had not power to abstain, because he had no desire to do otherwise? Would a jury ever think of giving a verdict, or would any man think of conducting the ordinary affairs of life, upon such a principle as this? Would you deem it a discharge of debt, were your debtor to assert that he was unable to pay you merely because he was unwilling? Or would you excuse the rebellion of your child, under the plea of inability, because he might have no desire to obey you? But if you cannot consent to act on these principles in the ordinary affairs of life, be careful not to carry them into the all-important concerns of the soul. God will not accept, at last, of your want of inclination to attend to salvation as an apology for neglect; you must stand or fall, at last, by your reception or rejection of the bless Our acute brother appears to us to ask this question in one sense, and to answer it in another. Whoever asks it means, "if I am, born by no fault of mine, unable to be inclined to or to will what is good, how am I accountable for not willing what I was born without power to will?" To this our brother answers by cases in which a jury believe the man has the faculty of "willing" differently to what he does. The debtor could "will" to pay his debt, the thief could will not to steal; hence he is required to will according to justice and honesty. If, however, the jury were satisfied, that (as in the case of repentance towards God) he really had not the power to will what justice requires of those who have that power, they would put him in a lunatic asylum, as one having, indeed, all requisite intellectual and bodily powers, but being destitute of a will capable of doing what law and society require. We own that Edwards's distinction between natural and moral inability, appears to us futile on this ground, that inability to will aright in regard to religion, is by him, and others, always represented as a natural inability. It has every property of a natural thing. We were born with it, and natural strictly means that which we have by birth. Wo have no power to alter it more than to get rid of any of our natural appetites and passions. It is common to the whole species: as natural things are to the species they characterize. In every other matter it is allowed we can will to do or not to do; in religion it is denied that we can will to do good. The question we hope our brother will send an answer to, is this, "If it be requisite to my accountableness to human law that I be able to will to obey, as well as to disobey, why is not the same ability requisite to my accountableness to Divine law ?"-ED. ings of salvation. If you do not come to Christ for life, it is not because you cannot, but only because you will not; and this, so far from forming an excuse for you, constitutes your guilt. The destruction of sinners is entirely wilful; it is a voluntary rushing to hell. If you perish, the cause of your destruction will be found neither in God's decrees nor God's sovereignty, but solely in yourself. DIVINE CARE. "He careth for you."-1 Peter v. 7. The christian's life is very much made up of cares and comforts; cares spring from earth, comfort comes from heaven; cares prove him a sinner, holy comforts prove him a believer; cares flow in from a variety of quarters, true comfort from only one; cares come naturally, but comforts supernaturally. We shall be sure to have cares; but shall we have comfort? This depends on God's grace, which gives it; and our faith, which receives it. Cares must be cast on our God, or they will prove a burden too heavy for us; they will depress, bewilder, and make us wretched. But here is our comfort, we have always One to care for us; and the very one which of all others we would wish to do so. "The Lord careth for you." For whom? For you, who are begotten again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; who are born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever. For you, who are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, as all your fathers were. For you, who are placed in humble circumstances, being numbered with the poor of this world. For you, who are compassed about with so many cares, and who enjoy so few comforts; who are surprised at the fiery trials which try you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you. For you, who are worried and harassed by Satan, who as a roaring lion goeth about seeking whom he may devour. For you, who are persecuted by the world, and hated by all men for your Saviour's sake. For you, to whom Christ is precious, as he is to every one who really believes in him. God's care extends to every christian; the young and the aged, the weak and the strong, the poor and the wealthy, the doubting and the confident. Believer, He cares for thee. Who is it that cares for us? It is the Lord, the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy; who is so great, that we have no adequate conception of his greatness; so good, that it is impossible fully to set forth his goodness; and so glorious, that no sinner can see his face and live. It is He who created all things with his word, who governs all by his wisdom, and upholds all by his power. His resources are infinite, his compassion exquisite, and his patience surprisingly great. He enters into all the circumstances of his people, is ever present with them, and rejoices over them to do them good. The angels obey him, the seraphim adore him, and all creation glorifies him; but though he is so exalted, so happy, and so unspeakably great, he careth for you. For you, mean as For you, sinful as you are. For you, depressed and discouraged He careth for you. He cares for you individually, and according to the circumstances in which you are placed. you are. as you are. What does he do? He careth for you. He thinks of you. He watches over you. He sympathises with you. He feels the deepest interest in you. He ever seeks your welfare. He infallibly secures your good. Your misery touches his heart, your wants lie open to his view, and your cries enter into his ears. He cares for you more than for the proudest monarch on his throne, or the mightiest production of his power. He cares for you, and his care is constant; it is not fitful, or occasional, but ever the same. He cares for you, and his care is paternal; it is the care of a father for his child, the child whom he tenderly loves, and for whose welfare he feels the deepest concern. He cares for you, and his care is perpetual; he will never care for you less than he does at present; when age weakens you, when wants pinch you, when death appears just before you, he will care for you as much as he did in youth, or as he does at this moment. He cares for you, and his care is beneficial; it prevents innumerable evils, and secures the greatest possible amount of good. It is more advantageous than the care of the kindest father, though that father were monarch of the mightiest empire, and possessed unbounded wealth. The care of God is of more value than the care of all his creatures combined. He careth for you, but his care is mysteriously exercised; it benefits us certainly, but secretly. It conceals itself behind the blessings it brings, and the evils it prevents. He careth for you, and his care is special; it is not the care which he has for the beasts which perish, or the sinners who die under his frown. It is care that extends to the very hairs of your heads, which are all numbered; and to all the events and occurrences of life, however minute or common-place. Beloved, here is our comfort. We may lose the care of an earthly parent by death, but the Lord ever liveth, and while he lives he cares for us. We We may lose the care of a kind earthly friend, through the malice of a foe, and misrepresentations; but the Lord ever loves us, thoroughly knows us, and never ceases to care for us. Here is the ground of our confidence for the future. We cannot trust in a friend, or put confidence in a guide; we know not where we shall be, nor what we shall be, for we know not what a day may bring forth; but this we know, that God will care for us, and caring for us, will fulfil his promises to us, and make all his goodness pass before us. If God cares for us, then let us cast all our cares upon him; let us live in daily fellowship with him; let us seek all our supplies from him. If God cares for us, let us not dishonour him by nursing our doubts, or encouraging our fears, but let us trust in him at all times, for his word is true, his love is constant, and his knowledge is perfect. Let us "be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. iv. 6, 7). Let us attend to our Saviour's loving admonition, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matt. vi. 34). We shall never be without a friend, however trying our circumstances may be; or without a guide, however perplexing or difficult our path. The care of God is more than the care of all the angelic hosts; and if the care of God is not sufficient to preserve, supply, and satisfy us, then nothing is. The Lord help us to believe this precious truth, to realize it daily, that we may pass through the present world under the impression, "I am the object of God's tender, paternal, and ceaseless care." "To whom should I fly for relief, But Him that hath lov'd me so well; New-Park-Street, London. JAMES SMITH. THE ILLIBERALITY OF THE BAPTISTS. "Thou that judgest another, doest the same things." Independent. What illiberal people you Baptists are! How can you make up your minds to forbid Christians as pious as yourselves to commemorate with you the death of our common Lord. If this be not bigotry and sectarianism, I do not know what is. Baptist. Softly, my brother! You know I am myself a free communionist, and do not object to your communing with us; but I do object to your speaking of Baptists as more illiberal, bigoted, or narrow-minded than other Christians. I. Why, brother, hardly any others reject their fellow-christians from the Lord's table. B. That may be, and yet they may be quite as illiberal as conscientious" strict communion Baptists, and even more so. I. More so! B. The Church of England is. Its communion, you know, is open enough. Yet how intense its bigotry! Its Athanasian Creed assigns all to damnation who do not believe it. It allows no one to minister in it who dares not subscribe heart and soul to its thirty-nine Articles and its Prayer-book; it excludes every Dissenter, from the throne of the realm; it has seized upon nearly all the ecclesiastical property in the land; it allows no one to make a will without dragging him through its courts; it forbids Dissenters the privileges of its Universities; it seizes the goods of such as will not pay church-rates, &c.; and you know the absurd claims of most of its ministers to apostolic succession, and the monopoly of teaching religion. Here, then, we have very open communion, with greater bigotry than that of any Baptist. I. I allow all this; but I must maintain that strict-communion Baptists are the most bigoted of all Dissenters. B. And I must maintain that they are not. There is bigotry enough amongst us, I freely own; but not at all more than amongst our Independent brethren. In a word, I consider bigotry to be a fault of the temper, and I think there are as many amongst you prejudiced against Baptist opinions, as amongst us prejudiced against yours. I. I must acknowledge that Independents are too ready to look with unexamining contempt upon Baptist opinions. B. But, my brother, I go a step further, and affirm not only of temper but of opinions too, that those of all other sects are in principle as strict as those of any Baptist; and that the greater strictness of Baptist sentiments is merely apparent. I. How can you make that out! I am sure Independents are freecommunionists. B. You will allow, in the first place, that there is no more bigotry in holding that only believers should be baptized, than in believing that in fants should also be baptized, especially when no case of Infant Baptism is actually mentioned in the New Testament. I. O yes, I fully agree to that. B. Next, Is there any bigotry in thinking baptism necessary to church membership, and that it ought accordingly to precede the Lord's Supper! I. Certainly not. Whether right or wrong, it has been the universal belief of the church in all ages, and almost all think so now. B. Well, now, if a Baptist may, without bigotry, hold with nearly all christians that baptism should precede church membership and the Lord's Supper, and also hold, without bigotry, that only believers ought to be |