circumftances of his fituation, in fuch a manner as to draw him into the right road of faith and obedience. This is the declaration of Chrift, and the doctrine universally enforced by all the writers of the New Teftament. St. Paul fays, " Not that we are suf"ficient of ourfelves to think any thing as of ❝ourselves, but our fufficiency is of God *.” He fays alfo to the Philipians, "For it " is God which worketh in you both to will " and to do, of his good pleasure t". This is the conftant language of the fcriptures; in which we are every where exhorted to feek, to depend on, to hope for, and to pray for this divine influence on our thoughts and actions, as neceffary to our thinking any thing right, or performing any thing good: and yet we are conftantly confidered, by the whole tenour of thofe writings, as free agents, poffeffed of perfect liberty to do good or evil, and as fuch we are inftructed, admonished, tempted by rewards, and threatened with punishments. How contradic+ Phil. ii. 13.

* 2 Cor. iii. 5.

tory

tory foever these two propofitions may feem, they are both undoubtedly true. Of the first we cannot fail of being convinced by reason, nor of the latter by experience. Reafon affures us, that no creature can think or act independant of his Creator, in whom he lives, and moves, and has his being, and from whom he receives power to think or act at all; and it seems indeed impoffible that a Creator, however omnipotent, fhould beftow on his creatures fuch a degree of freedom as to make them independent of himself: for he must infuse into their original frames fome difpofitions, good or bad; he must give them reason fuperior to their paffions, or paffions uncontrouled by their reason; he must endue them with a greater or lefs degree of wisdom or folly; he muft place them within or beyond the reach of temptations, and within the view of virtuous or vicious examples. All these circumstances must proceed from his difpenfations, and from these their elections

and

and confequent conduct must be derived. Of the latter, which is, that we are poffeffed of full liberty to choose good or evil, to do, or forbear doing, any action; every moment's experience affures us with equal certainty. This is not a matter of argument, but of feeling; and we can no more doubt of our being poffeffed of this power, than of our fight, hearing, or any of our corporeal fenfes.

How these two contradictory propofitions can be reconciled, is above the reach of our comprehenfions, and is but another mark, added to many, of their weakness and imperfection. We have no faculties which are able to folve this difficulty, and therefore ought to leave it to that omniscient Being who framed, and is alone acquainted with the compofition of the human mind. Each of thefe opinions has been fupported by different fects of philofophers, with equal warmth; but it is remarkable, that the Christian is the only religious or

1

moral

moral inftitution which ever ventured to affert the truth of them both; which, as they are both undoubtedly true, feems no inconfiderable proof of the fupernatural information and authority of that dispensa

tion.

JOHN

JOHN VI. 53.

Εἶπεν ἐν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησες ̓Αμην άμην λέγω μιν, έαν μη φαγῆε την σαρκα του διου του άνθρωπε, και πιῆε αὐτε το αἷμα, ἐκ έχετε ζωην ἐν ἑαύλοις.

εν

Then Jefus faid unto them, Verily, verily, I Jay unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in

you.

HESE remarkable words of Chrift,

TH

being the very fame which he afterwards ufed in the inftitution of the facrament of his last supper, we cannot but conclude that they must have the same meaning. Modern expofitors have, indeed, in both places, explained them in fuch a manner, as to leave them no meaning at all; they would perfuade us, that they are merely figurative and metaphorical, and think, by eating the body, and drinking the blood of Christ, nothing more is to be understood,

than