to things which ought to be done, moves the whole body the church, and every member of them that are of the church, doing nothing without the word." Whatever knowledge men have of God in a spiritual way, fprings from divine grace, according to him. "Thofe words in Matth. xi. 27. he says, manifeftly fhew, that God is known, a Tivi jazili, by a certain divine favour or grace, which is infufed into the foul, not without God, but by a fort of an afflatus or infpiration." And in another place he obferves, that "God opens the mouth, the ears, and eyes, that we may speak, perceive, and hear the things that are God's." He must be a stranger to Origen's writings, who knows not that he frequently fuggefts the neceffity of the grace and affiftance of God to understand the Scriptures. I need not give inftances. The work of fanctification he attributes to the Spirit of God: "Let us endeavour, fays he, that we may not be unworthy of this fo great and fublime an understanding, i. e. of the myftical fenfe of the fhew-bread, but that our foul may first be made an holy place, and in the holy place we may take in holy myfteries, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, ex quo fanctificatur omne quod fanctum eft, by whom is fanctified every thing that is holy." And in another place", "The grace of the Holy Spirit is prefent, that thofe things which are not fubftantially holy may be made holy by the participation of him. Seeing therefore, First, That they may be, they have from God the Father. Secondly, That 2 they may be rational they have from the 3 Word. Thirdly, That they may be holy they have from the Holy Spirit." The change that is made in man in converfion he denies to be the effect of moral fuafion, but afcribes it to the power and efficacy of divine grace. Having mentioned these words in Matth. iii. 9. Think not to say, &c. he observes ", that "they teach us that unbelievers, who are called stones because of their stony hearts, δυνάμει Θες μεταβαλειν οιός τε είναι, may be changed by the power of God from itones to children of Abraham." Celfus, fays he *, may laugh at what is faid, or the Jew, whom he introduces, yet it must be said, that many as if unwilling have come to Christianity, TalQ TQ Tрefav1Q avτων το ηγεμωνικον αιφνίδιον, a certain fpirit fuddenly turning their intellectual faculty, from hating the Logos or word to die for him." And in the fame work he has these words, " Isel acxav, 1. 1. c. 3. fol. 118. A. w Comment. in Joan. p. 115. * Contr. Celf. 1. 1. p. 35. y Ib. 1. 3. p. 152. "The "The doctrine of those who were firft fent and laboured to conftitute churches, and their preaching, were indeed with perfuafion, but not fuch as is among the profeffors of the wisdom of Plato, or any other philofophers, who have nothing more than human nature; but the demonftration of the Apoftles of Jefus, given by God, had a force of perfuading from the spirit and power; wherefore their word, or rather God's, ran fwiftly and fharply, and thereby changed many of them who were by nature and cuftom finners, whom no man could change by any punishment whatsoever; the word transformed them, fhaping and forming them according to his will." Again he obferves", "The divine word fays, that what is faid, though it is in it felf true, and is fit to perfuade; yet is not fufficient to reach the human foul, εαν μη κ δυναμις τις θεοθεν Son, unless a certain power is given from God to him that fpeaks, and grace flourishes in what is faid, and this is not without God in them who speak with energy." To which may be added the following expreffions of his, "Now the word of his preaching is known to all, fo as that it is received by very many almost in all the world, that they may understand what are believed not by z Ib. 1. 6. p. 276. Vid. 1. 1. p. 21. et 1. 5. p. 231. Περι αρχών, 1. 4. 6. 1. fol. 151. D. 2 perfuafory words of wisdom, but by demonstration of the spirit and power; wherefore they may conclude they are brought to faith and credulity, coelefti virtute imo etiam plufquam coelefti, by an heavenly power, yea, by more than an heavenly one. Once more, This, fays he, is a new thing, that those who are ftrangers from the covenants of God, aliens from the promises, and afar off from the truth, duvaμel TV Deiz, by a certain divine power receive it." Yea, fometimes he expreffes himself as though he thought fome fort of force and violence were used with men in the converfion and falvation of them. "The only begotten Son of God is prefent, he fays, he defends, he keeps, he draws us to himself; hear how he fpeaks; And, lo, I am with you unto the end of the world; but neither is it fufficient that he is with us, fed quodam modo vim nobis facit, ut nos pertrahat ad falutem, but in fome fort he forces us that he may draw us unto falvation; for he fays in another place, when I fhall be lifted up, I will draw all unto me. You fee how that he not only invites the willing, but draws thofe that delay." And a little after, "The Lord himself, the Father, does not neglect the dispensation of our falvation, for he not only calls us to Contr. Celf. 1. 8. p. 405. In Num. Homil. 20. fol. 131, 132. I. K. falvation, but he draws; for fo the Lord fays in the Gospel, No man comes to me but whom my heavenly Father draws. But the father of the family, who fent his fervants to invite his friends to the marriage of his fon, after they who were firft invited excufed themselves, fays to the fervants, go forth to the highways and alleys, and whomfoever ye find, compel them to come in; fo therefore we are not only invited by God, fed et trahimur et cogimur ad falutem, but we are drawn and compelled unto falva3tion." Moreover he fignifies, that this call of God to the participation of his grace, entirely arifes from his fovereign will and pleasure. "The God of Gods, he fays, calls from the eaft and weft to partake of himself by Jefus Chrift, 85 Bela, whom he pleafes:" Wherefore there fhould be no boafting in the creature, but all glorying fhould be in God. "There are, he obferves, fome among the Gentiles, of good manners and honeft behaviour, who yet don't refer what they have to God, nor acknowledge the grace given to them by him, but either afcribe it to their own industry or glory in their mafters and inftructors; but the Apostle fhews to us, that all that is good is from God, and given by the Holy Spirit, as d Contr. Celf. 1. 8. p. 381. the X 4 |