SECTION XI. The Opinions of Bishop Pearson and Doctor Scott, Author of the Chriftian Life, and a warm Advocate for natural Religion. B ISHOP Pearfon is in the highest esteem as a divine. His book on the Creed is recommended to young ftudents, in the course of their reading preparatory to holy orders, by tutors, by bishops' chaplains, and by bishops. It has been moft accurately examined and univerfally approved by the most eminent theologues of our church, as an orthodox expofition of the Chriftian Creed. Let us hear him on the fubject of the SPIRIT'S evidence, which now engages our attention. "As the increafe and perfection, fo the origi"nal or initiation of faith is from the Spirit of "God, not only by an EXTERNAL PROPOSAL IN "THE WORD, but by an INTERNAL ILLUMINATION " in the foul, by which we are inclined to the "obedience of faith, in affenting to thofe truths "which unto a natural and carnal man are fool"ifhnefs. And thus we affirm not only the reve"lation of the will of God, but also the illumina"tion of the foul of man, to be part of the office of "the Spirit of God." Dr. Scott, an orthodox divine, a zealous teacher of morality, celebrated for a book intitled the Chriftian Life, fays, "That without the Holy "Ghost we can do nothing; that he is the AUTHOR AND FINISHER of our faith, who worketh in us "to will and do of his good pleasure. His first * Bishop Pearfon on the Creed, Art. 8. "office "office is the informing of our minds with the light "of heavenly truth. Thus the apostle prays that "the God of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Father "of glory, would give unto them the Spirit of "wifdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, "that THE EYES OF THEIR UNDERSTANDINGS "being enlightened, they might know what is "the hope of Chrift's calling *; and we are told, "that it is by RECEIVING THE SPIRIT OF GOD, "that we KNOW the things that are freely given us "of God t. Now this illumination of the Spirit is two"fold: first, external, by that revelation which "he hath given us of God's mind and will in the "holy fcripture, and that miraculous evidence by "which he fealed and attested it; for all fcripture " is given by inspiration of God; or, as it is "elfewhere expreffed, was delivered by holy men, as they were moved by the Holy Ghoft§; and all "thofe miraculous teftimonies we have to the "truth and divinity of fcripture are from the Holy "Ghoft, and, upon that account, are called the demonftration of the Spirit; fo that all the light 66 we receive from fcripture, and ALL the evidence "we have that that light is divine, we derive ori"ginally from the Holy Spirit. "But befides this external illumination of the "Holy Spirit, there is also an INTERNAL one, "which confifts in impreffing that external light and evidence of fcripture upon our understand"ings, whereby we are enabled more clearly to "apprehend, and more effectually to believe it. "For though the divine Spirit doth not (at leaft in the ordinary courfe of his operation) * Ephef. i. 17, 18. 2 Tim. iii. 16. + 1 Cor. ii. 12. "illuminate "illuminate our minds with any new truths, or "new evidences of truth, but only prefents to "our minds thofe old and primitive truths and " evidences which he at first revealed and gave to "the world; yet there is NO DOUBT but he fill " continues not only to fuggeft them both to our "minds, but to urge and repeat them with that ' importunity, and thereby to imprint them with "that clearness and efficacy, as that if we do not, "through a wicked prejudice against them, wilfully "divert our minds from them to vain or finful objects, we must unavoidably apprehend them 'far more diftinctly, and affent to them far more "cordially and effectually, than otherwife we "fhould or COULD have done; for our minds are "naturally fo vain and stupid, so giddy, liftless, " and inadvertent, especially in fpiritual things, "which are abstract from common fenfe, as that, "did not the Holy Spirit frequently prefent, im portunately urge, and thereby fix thefe on our "minds, our KNOWLEDGE of them would be fo con"fufed, and our belief fo wavering and unstable, as that they would never have any preventing "influence on our wiLLS and AFFECTIONS. So "that our KNOWLEDGE and BELIEF of divine "things, fo far as they are faving and effectual "to our renovation, are the fruits and products "of this INTERNAL ILLUMINATION *." *This teftimony is the more remarkable, as it was given when divines extolled morality and decried all mystery. Our Saviour and Socrates then ranked together, like Plutarch's parallels. Warburton, following their fashion, exprefsly fays, "that Socrates, preaching "moral virtue, and dying to bear witnefs to the unity of the god"head, was made to the Grecian people wisdom and righteousness, "NOT LESS than JESUS." SECTION XII. Bishop Smalridge on the abfolute Neceffity of Grace. AM fenfible that I have now fufficiently defended the doctrine of divine energy, by the authorities of men to whom the world has hitherto paid great refpect and deference. I have fully exempted it from the charge of fingularity, fanaticifm, and folly. But, as the fubject is of unfpeakable importance, I have thought it proper to add a few more teftimonies, in the hope, that fome among the many oppofers of the doctrine, may find reafon to change their 'opinions, or at least think the matter not unworthy their most serious confideration. The following authority is that of Bishop Smalridge, Dean of Chrift-church, a man very eminent as a claffical fcholar, and the intimate friend of Aldrich and Atterbury. Such writers will not be ranked by men of fenfe with the illiterate zealots of Methodism. "He who is not convinced of the abfolute ne"ceffity of God's grace to invigorate his obedience "to the divine laws, must be a perfect ftranger "to himself, as well as to the word of God; and "must have been as careless an observer of what "paffes within his own breast, as of what is write "ten in the holy fcriptures. When one gives himself leisure to take a furvey of his own fa"culties, and obferve how dark fighted he is in "the perception of divine truths; with what re"luctance he fometimes chufes what his under"ftanding plainly reprefents to him as good, and "refufes what his own confcience directly pro66 nounces to be evil; how apt his affections are "to rebel against the dictates of his reafon, and "to hurry him another way than he knows he "should, and, in his fober mind, very fain would go; when he fets before his thoughts the great "variety of duties commanded, and of fins for"bidden, and the perverfeness of his own de<< praved nature, which gives him an antipathy to "thofe duties and a strong inclination to those "fins; when he reflects on the power and cun"ning of his fpiritual enemies, always alluring "him to fin, and feducing him from the practice "of virtue; when he weighs with himself the "neceffity of practifing every duty, and forfaking every kind of wickedness, in order to fecure a "good title to the promises of the gospel; when "he takes a view of thofe particular obftacles "which hinder him in the exercise of several graces, and of the ftrong temptations which prompt him to the commiffion of feveral fins; "when he confiders the aptness of human nature "to grow weary of performing the fame things, "though in themselves never fo pleasant, and its "ftill greater difpofition to grow faint, when the "actions continually to be repeated are burden"fome to flesh and blood; when he compares the "neceffity of perfeverance with the difficulty of "it, the prevalence of things prefent and fenfible "with the weaknefs wherewith those objects "affect us that are absent and spiritual; when, I "fay, a confidering man puts all these things together, he cannot but be convinced, that narrow is the path that leads unto everlasting life, "and that without ILLUMINATION from the SPI"RIT OF GOD, he shall not be able rightly to "difcern it; that frait is the gate which opens an "entry into heaven; and that he cannot, by the "force of his own natural ftrength, without new "6 power |