When the pious Chriftian, employed in fervent prayer, finds himself full of holy joy and humble confidence, and feels his heart melt within him, overflowing with love of God and charity to man, is there not more presumption in attributing this ftate to the mere operations of his own mind, than to the God of fpirits, actually difpenfing to believers that grace or favour which he has promised in the gospel?

When temptations to fin affault with violence, and a man feels himself strengthened, fo as to be able to overcome, at the very moment of his intended furrender, fhall he erect the victorious trophies to his own virtue? His own reason and refolution had betrayed him, the operations of his own unaslisted mind tended to conceffion; but God gave him ftrength from his holy place, and to God only is due the praise.

Innumerable are the circumstances and fituations in life, in which comfort, illumination, protection, and strength are afforded in a degree and manner, which it is much more unreasonable to think could be produced by the mere operations of the mind, than that they were fupplied by the author and giver of all good.

In making the diftinction between the operations of the Holy Spirit and thofe of the human mind, the wifeft men will ever be obnoxious to mistake. The weak, wicked, and hypocritical may deceive themselves or others in it, to the injury or offence of many. But still the inconveniences of this perverfion cannot entirely justify divines in their confidential and repeated affertions, that fince the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, fuch as were beftowed on the apoftles, have ceased, the operations of the Holy Ghost on the mind are in no inftance

or

or degree to be diftinguished from the mind's own operations. These affertions approach nearly to an entire denial of the doctrine: a very dangerous and impious blafphemy*.

"Nam fi tota Dei a&tio confiftit in clarâ evangelii propofitione, " opportunè factâ, cur omnipotentia ad id requiritur ? Quorfum adhi bentur a PAULO magnifica illa voces, ad defcribendam, quam exerit "Deus in nobis, omnipotentiam, Eph. i. 18, 19. quum dicit effe unspσε βαλλον μεγέθος δυναμεως et κατά την ενέργειαν του κράτους της "vos."--For if the whole of the interpofition of God confifts in the clear propofal of the Gospel, opportunely made, why is omnipotence required for it? Why are thofe magnificent expreffions applied by St. Pa to defcribe the omnipotence which God exerts in us? "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, "that ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of his pover "to us ward, who believe according to the working of his mighty 66 power."***To affert that the POWER of God working in us, differs not perceptibly from the ordinary powers of man. "Annon hoc "eft actionem omnipotentem Dei obfcurare et in nihilum ferme redigere?"Is not this to extenuate the almighty energy of God, and almoft to reduce it to nothing? TURRETIN

It may here be asked, What man can judge infallibly of that which paffes in the mind of another? Yet many RATIONAL divines dogmatically declare to their difciples, that it is impoffible, in any circumftances, to diftinguish the energy of God's grace on their hearts, from the common and natural workings of the paffions and imagination. This is to affume a power of difcernment which belongs to him only, to "whom all bearts are open, and from whom no fecrets "are hidden."

To what strange abfurdities may even good men and great divines be carried, when they are extolling human REASON, in order, as they pretend, and I believe, think, to difcourage fanaticifm! Thus the great Tillotson fays :

YOU DO NOT FIND IT ANY WHERE REVEALED IN ALL THE SCRIPTURES THAT THERE IS A GOD.

TILLOTSON'S Sermons, quoted by Dr. EDWARDS. Again. "We have not (from the Scriptures) infallible afsurance "that there is a God." See the Quotation in Dr. EDWARDS'S Preacher, . I. p. 150.

This example fhould make the rational divines of the prefent day a little cautious in deriding or defpifing other men's conviction, whencefoever it may arife.

SECTION XXXVI.

Of devotional Feelings or SENTIMENTS.

HE pious devotee has expofed himself to the derifion of the fcorner, by talking of spiritual feelings which he could not accurately describe; and the reality of which can never be proved by external testimony.

But I know not why the word feeling, which, in this age, is applied to all occafions, fhould not be applied to religion *. The lover, the artist, the connoiffeur enlarge upon the acuteness of their feelings in the contemplation of the excellence they admire. The man of delicacy is for ever boafting of his fine feelings, and the beautiful embarraffment which they create. The fpectator in a theatre, the hearer at a concert, expatiates on the effect which the fpectacle and the mufic have produced on his feelings; and fhall not he who contemplates the univerfe, and adores the maker of it, and of those powers by which he both adores

*Why fhould religion be the only subject on which we are not allowed to FEEL? Men are praised for the exercise of ardour, and even of ecstacy in poetry, in politics, and in the endearing connections of focial life; but in religion, we must either go on with cool indifference, or be branded as enthufiafts. Is it becaufe religion is of less importance than other things? Is eternal falvation of lefs confequence than the political or domeftic accommodations of time? It is treated by multitudes as if it were; and the fpirit of Socinianism, so far as it operates, tends to keep them in countenance. Is it not a pity but thofe who call themfelves rational Chriftians, would act more rationally? Nothing can be more irrational, as well as injurious, than to encourage an ardour of mind after the trifles of a moment, and to difcourage it when pursuing objects of infinite magnitude.

"Paffion is reafon, tranfport temper here."

FULLER. and

and contemplates, fhall not he be allowed to feel; and when his bofom glows with love, gratitude, and devotion, fhall his pretenfions to feelings be stigmatized as the delirious language of a wild enthufiafm* ?

The frigid temper of scholaftic theology would deny the reality of every thing which, from its own defect of fenfibility, it never yet experienced.

That the Divine Spirit, operating on the mind, fhould cause in it a SERENITY, a tranquillity, a comfort, which no words can exprefs, is highly credible; when a thousand inferior agents, or causes, are able to produce emotions of various kinds; gentle or violent, painful or pleafing. But well-meaning divines, endeavouring to explode thofe extravagant pretenfions to feeling, which have deluded the vulgar, difturbed fociety, and driven many to madness, have denied the poffibility of fuch SENTIMENTS, and attributed them entirely to the force of fancy, to folly, and to hypocrify. They deferved praife for their endeavour to prevent evil; but by exceeding the bounds of truth in their cenfure, they prevented good at the fame time. For their doctrines unintentionally taught men to neglect the benign feafons of grace, and to confound the holy affiftance of heaven with the mere

* That elegant mathematician, deep philofopher, and excellent man, DANIEL BERNOUILLI, faid, that, when reading the wonderful discoveries of Sir Ifaac Newton, his mind has fometimes "been fo overpowered by THRILLING EMOTIONS, that he has "wished that moment to be the lait, and that it was this which gave him the clearest conception of the happiness of heaven." And cannot the contemplation of the CAUSE OF CAUSES be allowed to excite WARM FEELINGS in the hofom, when the happy conjectures of human fagacity are able to excite in the cold bofom of a mathematician, THRILLING emotions?

operations

operations of the human mind. They allow that the fcripture plainly speaks of heavenly influence; but they boldly affert, that it can NEVER be distinguished from the ordinary actings of natural fentiment, intellect, paffion, and imagination.

The word feelings, in religion, has been treated with fuch contempt and ridicule, that the truth refpecting them, is in danger of fuffering, without a fair examination. Such is the force of words and prepoffeffion. But let the word be changed to the fynonymons term, SENTIMENT, and then let any one object, with folid argument, to giving the name of religious fentiment to that pious, virtuous, pure ftate of mind, which is caufed by the influence of the Holy Ghoft, in the happy hour when God, in his mercy, fhowers it down, more abundantly than ufual, on the human bofom.

But, on this topic, great caution is required; for men, especially the ignorant and paffionate, are prone to attribute their own dreams and emotions to demoniacal or celeftial impreffions. Such a perfuafion leads to spiritual pride*, to a perfeverance in error and vice, to cruelty, and to perfecution. He who is acquainted with ecclefiaftical hiftory, will recollect many dreadful examples of falfe feelings, and pretended inspiration. The deluded and deluding perfons have reprefented themselves as prophets, new Meffiahs, and even as God; and what is more extraordinary, they have perfuaded many to believe them, and have conducted a willing multitude to whatever mischief their zealous hearts erroneously conceived.

*Falfe religion is always oftentatious. Its object is to be noticed, admired, revered. When men talk of their FEELINGS, there is reason to suspect vanity, hypocrify, or knavery. It is justly said,

NON EST RELIGIO, UBI OMNIA PATENT.

While,