know that he is very far short of perfection, even in his best actions; but surely it is not necessary for such a person "to be thoroughly convinced of his own exceeding vileness," (p. 72.) nor to "perceive himself to be a miserable, helpless, undone sinner" (p. 74.) nor will even the authority of the pious Beveridge (p. 73.) justify the Christian in calling his best actions sins: because the Holy Scriptures assure us, that such actions are well pleasing in the sight of God (1 John iii. 22.) and therefore cannot be sins. To rely upon Christian good works, as in themselves meriting salvation, is impious presumption; but to sink them to the level of sins, is weakness, or affectation. No good purpose can be answered by such an abuse of language; which may lead carnal men to Antinomianism, and weak minds to despair; and must teach all to look rather to their feelings, than their actions, as the test of their being in a state of salvation.. Having asserted the necessity of some inward and sensible illumination, which will discover to the Christian his own vileness and incapacity; and described it in terms well calculated to sow the seeds of enthusiasm; the author proceeds to water them in the next chapter, which is entitled "A description of two different classes of men, whose understandings are enlightened, while their hearts remain unaffected." We have first a highly coloured picture of the terrible state of certain persons, who are so far enlightened that they know what is the will of God and are fully conscious of their own guilt in disobeying it; though 66 "Sin still reigns triumphant in their hearts, and they inwardly abhor that law, which strikes at the very existence of their idol.❞ (p. 79.) They hate that mode of salvation which requires the dereliction of sin; their understandings are convinced, but their hearts remain untouched. They see the danger of sin, but they love it and cleave to it; they perceive the necessity of a life of holiness, but they detest and abhor it. Like the devils they believe and tremble; but like them also, they fight indignantly against the Lord and his Christ. Even the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but they are dead to every sense of gratitude; they consider God in the light of a tyrant, who seeks to deprive them of their dearest enjoyments." P. 82. It will be unnecessary to produce farther specimens of such language as this: we shall only ask the author two plain questions, and leave the whole passage to the unbiassed judgment of every well informed Christian. First, where does he find such doctrines taught by the Church of England? As he has undertaken to exhibit her sentiments plainly and fairly, it becomes him to state where she has held such language as we have already quoted. Secondly, he has declared in terms as forcible as he could pen, that without the assistance of the Holy Spirit a Christian must remain in "utter ignorance of his own corruption." (p. 59.) He has also told us, that it is to the further aid of the same Spirit that he must be indebted for that change of heart, that renovation of the will and affections, without which he cannot "be reclaimed from the love of sin and converted to the love of God." (p. 97.) Are we then to suppose, that the wretches, who are described above, are enlightened by the Holy Ghost, merely to make them miserable? Are we to impute it to the blessed Spirit of God, that He purposely gives these unhappy persons so much knowledge as will awaken their fears; at the same time that he withholds that farther assistance, which would make their knowledge available to their salvation? Such may have been the opinion of Bishop Reynolds when he taught, that "the power of the word towards wicked men is seen in affrighting them;" that "there is a spirit of bondage, and a savour of death, as well as a spirit of life and liberty which goeth along with the word;" (p. 82.) but such is not the doctrine of the Church of England, nor is she to be charged with the errors of an individual, merely because he has held a distinguished station in the ministry. Mr. Faber diselaims the revolting and horrible dogmas of Calvin; he admits not of an irreversible decree of exclusion; (pref. p. 14.) and teaches us that all who will may be saved: let him then consider the consequences, which necessarily result from his own positions. If a Christian cannot turn and prepare himself for good works and calling upon God without some special grace; and if this grace is in any instance purposely withheld, although at the same time the understanding is so far illuminated as to perceive the necessity of a life of holiness to this it must be owing, that while "the awakened conscience is tremblingly alive to every touch; while it perceives the necessity of repentance, and acknowledges the obligation laid upon all true believers to take up their cross and follow Christ; the will and the affections are wanting." (p. 86.) The wretched state of such a person therefore must be attributed to a purpose, if not a decree of exclusion on the part of him, who, as if to prevent the possibility of an opinion being maintained so derogatory to his honour, has been graciously pleased to declare, that he is not willing that any should perish. And, as if to render such persons more miserable, we are taught by Mr. Faber, that the Holy Spirit will shew them their danger, but will not enable them to avoid it. If there is any real difference between this state, and that of the reprobate, whom Calvin ; would : would have called vials of wrath filled for destruction, let the author shew it to our understandings his system seems to be marked with the errors of Calvinism, without possessing it's consistency. The second class of persons whom he describes are those, who though they know the will of God through the help of the Holy Spirit, yet "derive no pleasure from paying obedience to it, and are not interested in its precepts as they could wish to be." (p. 91.) "Their condition," he adds, " is doubtless uncomfortable, but yet very far (I apprehend) from being dangerous." P. 92. We certainly believe that there are many such persons; and that the uncomfortable state in which they are placed, arises principally, if not entirely, from their having been taught to judge of their spiritual condition from their feelings, rather than their conduct. When they hear others describe rapturous! sensations, to which they are strangers; and are taught by some more zealous than discreet pastor, that when the Holy Spirit really operates upon the human soul, that soul will be as sen.. sible of his presence as the body is of the air which blows upon it; they naturally begin to fear that they are as yet devoid of that spiritual influence which is essential to their salvation; and are thus cut off at once from that source of joy and comfort, which the testimony of a good conscience would otherwise prove to them. Such persons certainly require comfort; and it becomes those, who have unwisely awakened such unprofitable doubts and unfounded alarms in their minds, to allay them as speedily as they may, even though the consistency of their own doctrine may suffer from the attempt. We shall therefore make no objection to the consoling exhortation with which this chapter is concluded. The author doubtless knows whom he is addressing; and we trust that he feels it his duty to pour oil and wine into the wounds, which such a system as he has undertaken to advocate must too often inflict. In the fourth chapter Mr. Faber treats of the influence of the Holy Spirit upon the will" and this gives him an opportunity of discussing the doctrine of regeneration, which, in common with Mr. Simeon and other divines of his persuasion, he considers to be a process separate from and wholly independent. of baptism; a work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, which takes place at an indefinite time, and is evidenced by great internal struggles and emotions, ending at last in the prevalence of good. resolutions over evil desires, and a consequent change both in the disposition and conduct. We would willingly place the author's view of this important doctrine clearly before our readers; but so much confusion and ambiguity prevail throughout the chapter, that we scarcely dare to hope that we have succeeded. He first asserts, in the words of Archbishop Tillotson, that when this good resolution does effectually prevail, aud makes a real change both in the temper of a man's mind, and in the course of his life, then, and not before, he is said to be regenerate." (p. 105.) But after having thus, as it appears, clearly defined the time, at which regeneration may be said to take place; he tells us that there is a never ceasing conflict in the bosom of every tine Christian, between two principles diametrically opposite to each other" (p. 111.) and to illustrate and confirm this position, he appeals to the language of St. Paul, (Rom. vii. 15.) which we have already proved to bear no reference at all to the case of the Christian at any period of his life. Again, in page 120, we are told, that this conflict "affords to every man a very useful test of his regeneracy." First then, regeneration is representated to be the result of the effectual prevalence of the good principle over the evil one; secondly, it is declared that the conflict between these two principles will never cease; in which case, we presume, the good can never effectually prevail, nor regeneration, the result of this prevalence ever take place: thirdly, this never ceasing conflict is to be considered as a cery useful test of regeneracy. Quorsum hæc tam putida? Can the struggle, which must cease before a particular effect be produced, be itself unceasing? Or can its very conţinuance be a test of the existence of an effect, which cannot take place until it ceases? We gladly escape from such endless incon sistencies and contradictions; "Qua signa sequendi "Falleret indeprensus et irremeabilis error." We have already fully proved in our review of Mr. Simeon's pamphlets, that regeneration, in the sense of the Church, takes place at baptism; Mr. Faber's view of it therefore cannot be reconciled with that doctrine which she teaches, and which he is engaged to exhibit. It is unnecessary to dwell upon his quotations either from Tillotson or Hopkins. We are well aware that the term regeneration has been very loosely and unguardedly used by many divines, who were yet as far from holding the opinions of Mr. Faber and Mr. Simeon upon the subject of baptism, as any of those writers, who, with a view of resisting such errors, have endeavoured to confine the word to its precise technical meaning. Whether this was the case with the writers he has referred to, is a question which we are not concerned to an swer, swer, and we should here dismiss the subject, did we not find the author, in a note appended to page 106, attempting in rather a novel manner to prove, that his opinions do not differ from those of the Church. His first argument is drawn from the language used by our reformers in the Homily for Whit-Sunday, where, because he finds the following passage, "Such is the power of the Holy Ghost to regenerate men, and as it were to bring them forth anew, so that they shall be nothing like the men they were before," he rather hastily concludes that they "clearly speak of regeneration as taking place in adult subjects, and therefore do not attach it necessarily and in the way of cause and effect to baptism." To this it might be deemed a sufficient answer, that the reformers were speaking of the first converts to christianity, who were baptised when adults, and therefore regenerated when adults. But when we consult the Homily itself, it appears at once evident, that the author of it here uses regeneration in the strict and proper meaning of the term, as the spiritual grace of baptism. For the whole passage which Mr. Faber.quotes is used by the author of the Homily as an illustration of our Saviour's language to Nicodemus, and forms a part of his reflections upon the hesitation with which this doctrine, concerning the regeneration of man by the inward working of the Holy Ghost at baptism, was received by the Jewish ruler. Having described the effect produced by the introduction of a new principle into the heart when a man is born again of water and the spirit, the Homily proceeds; "Such is the power of the Holy Ghost to regenerate men, and as it were to bring them forth anew, so that they shall be nothing like the men that they were before. Neither doth he think it suff cient inwardly to work the spiritual and new birth of man, uuless he do also dwell and abide in him." Had Mr. Faber added this latter sentence to that with which he has closed his quotation, it might not have answered his purpose so well; but it would have given a clearer view of the doctrine of the Homily, and one reconcileable, without the need of any casuistry, to the language of our Church in her authorized forms. For there is a careful distinction between the first reception of the Holy Ghost by the Christian, when he is born of water and the spirit, and those subsequent effects produced by the continual indwelling of the same spirit in his heart. But whatever seeming support he may derive from detached passages of the Homilies, which, when separated from that chain of reasoning of which they form a part in the original, may easily be made to favour opinions never in the contemplation of their writer; yet, so definite and clear is the language of the Liturgy, that it is not susceptible |