"fruit of God's Spirit working in us. That is to "fay, they do not proceed originally from any ftrength of nature, or any inherent power in "man's free-will; nor are they acquired by the "culture of philofophy, the advantages of education, "or any improvement whatsoever of natural abili"ties by the helps of art or induftry: but are in "truth the proper effects of that supernatural ་ grace which is given unto us by the good plea"fure of God the Father, merited for us by the "precious blood of God the Son, and conveyed "into our hearts by the sweet and fecret infpira"tions of God the Holy Ghoft. Love, joy, and "peace are fruits, not at all of the flesh, but "merely of the Spirit. "All thofe very many paffages in the New "Teftament which either fet forth the unframe❝ableness of our nature to the doing of any thing "that is good, (not that we are fufficient of ourselves "to think a good thought; in me, that is in my flesh, "there dwelleth no good thing; and the like,) or "else ascribe our best performances to the glory "of the grace of God, (without me you can do no"thing. All our fufficiency is of God. Not of your"felves; it is the gift of God. It is God that "worketh in you both the will and deed+; and the "like,) are fo many clear confirmations of the "truth. Upon the evidence of which truth it is "that our mother the church hath taught us in "the public service to beg at the hands of almighty "God that he would endue us with the grace of his "Holy Spirit, to amend our lives according to his holy "word and again, (confonantly to the matter we "are in hand with, almoft in terminis,) that he : * 2 Cor. iii. 5. + John, xv. 7. Romans, vii. 18. 2 Cor. iii. 5. Eph. ii. 8. Phil. ii. 15. "would "would give to all men increase of grace to hear "meekly his word, and to receive it with pure affec"tion, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. "As without which grace it were not poffible for "us to amend our lives, or to bring forth fuch "fruits, according as God requireth in his holy "word. "And the reafon is clear: because as the tree "is, fuch muft the fruit be. Do men look to "gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles*? Or "can they expect from a falt fountain other than "brackish water? Certainly, what is born of flesh (6 can be no better than flefh. Who can bring a "clean thing out of that which is unclean +? Or "how can any thing that is good proceed from a "heart, all the imaginations of the thoughts whereof "are only and continually evil? If we would have "the fruit good, reafon will (and our Saviour "prefcribeth the fame method) that order be taken, "first to make the tree good §. "But you will fay, it is impoffible fo to alter "the nature of the flesh as to make it bring forth, good fpiritual fruit; as it is to alter the nature "of a crab or thorn, so as to make it bring forth a pleasant apple. Truly, and fo it is: if you "fhall endeavour to mend the fruit by altering "the stock, you shall find the labour altogether "fruitless ;—a crab will be a crab ftill, when you "have done what you can and you may as well "hope to wash an Ethiopian white, as to purge "the flesh from finful pollution. "The work therefore must be done quite an"other way: not by alteration, but ADDITION. That "is, leaving the old principle to remain as it was, * Mat. vii. 16. + Job, xiv. 4. " by D 2 "by fuper-inducing ab extra a new principle, of a "different and more kindly quality. We fee the "experiment of it daily in the grafting of trees; 66 a crabftock, if it have a cion of fome delicate "apple artfully grafted in it; look what branches "are fuffered to grow out of the stock itself, they "will all follow the nature of the ftock, and if "they bring forth any fruit at all, it will be four "and ftiptic. But the fruit that groweth from "the graft will be pleasant to the taste, because "it followeth the nature of the graft. We read "of λoyos εupulos, an engrafted word. Our carnal "hearts are the old ftock; which, before the word "of God be grafted in it, cannot bring forth any "fpiritual fruit acceptable to God: but when, by "the powerful operation of his Holy Spirit, the "word which we hear with our outward ears is "inwardly grafted therein, it then bringeth forth "the fruit of good living. So that all the bad "fruits that appear in our lives come from the old "ftock, the flesh: and if there be any good fruit "of the Spirit in us, it is from the virtue of that "word of grace that is grafted in us." What modern philofopher or divine can rival Bishop Sanderson? His Prælectiones rank him with Ariftotle; his piety, with the chief of the apostles. Yet there is little doubt but that many a critic, whose attainments would not qualify him even to read his Latin works, would condemn his divinity, if it were now first published, as weak and fanatical. But let us beware of being misled in the most important matters, by the arrogant decifions of fuperficial men filling up the mighty void of fenfe and folid learning, with felf-conceit and a malignant spirit of detraction. SECTION IX. Dr. Ifaac Barrow's Opinion of the Evidence of Chriftianity, afforded by the illuminating Operation of the Holy Spirit; and on the Holy Spirit in general. Ο UR country has produced many divines equally admirable for their doctrine and their eloquence, and, I believe, all competent judges will allow that Barrow ftands among them pre-eminently distinguished. One of the firft mathematicians and philofophers of his age, he thought it no derogation from his character as an acute reafoner, to maintain the doctrine of supernatural influence; that doctrine which fome very inferior writers of the prefent day wish to ftigmatize as fanatical and ridiculous. "Our reafon," fays Dr. Barrow, "is fhut up, "and barred with various appetites, humours, and "paffions against gofpel truths; nor can we ad"mit them into our hearts, except God, by his "fpirit, do fet open our mind, and work a free "paffage for them into us. It is he who com"manded the light to fhine out of darkness, that "muft, as St. Paul fpeaketh, illuftrate our hearts "with the knowledge of these things. An UNCTION* "from the Holy One, clearing our eyes, foftening our hearts, healing our diftempered faculties, This word, though used in scripture, and by the most learned divines, has been the fubject of laughter among many; and the ufe of it has fubjected this treatife of mine to the fcoffs of thofe who fit in the feat of the fcorner. In defence of it, I appeal to the apostle St. John; and, as Dr. Barrow was not afhamed to adopt it, I think I may venture to use it without fcruple. "muft, as St. John informeth us, TEACH and "perfuade us this fort of truths. A hearty belief "of these feemingly incredible propofitions must "indeed be, as St. Paul calleth it, the GIFt of "God, proceeding from that Spirit of faith whereof "the fame apoftle fpeaketh; fuch faith is not, as "St. Bafil faith, engendered by geometrical necef"fities, but by the effectual operations of the Holy "Ghoft. Flesh and blood will not reveal to us, "nor can any man with clear confidence fay that "Jefus is the Lord (the MESSIAS, the infallible "Prophet, the univerfal Lawgiver, the Son of the "living God) but by the Holy Ghoft. Every Ipi"rit which fincerely confeffeth him to be the "Chrift, we may, with St. John, fafely conclude "to be of God; for of ourselves we are not fuffi"cient, as the apoftle fays, 20yCerai Ti, to rea"fon out or collect any of these things. We "NEVER, of our own accord, without DIVINE AT"TRACTION, Should come unto Chrift; that is, "fhould effectually confent unto and embrace his "inftitution, confifting of fuch unplaufible propo"fitions and precepts. Hardly would his own "difciples, who had fo long enjoyed the light of "his converfation and inftruction, have admitted "it, if he had not granted them that Spirit of truth, "whose work it was odry, to lead them in this "unknown and uncouth way; avaylɛnnɛ v, to tell "them again and again, that is, to inftill and in"culcate thefe crabbed truths upon them; UπO them μ μvnoxɛv, to admonish, excite, and urge "to the marking and minding them: hardly, I "fay, without the guidance of this Spirit, would "our Lord's difciples have admitted divers evange"lical truths, as our Lord himself told them. "have, faid he, many things befide to say to you, I "but |