I imagine, that a voluntary agent's making a right use of the power of his nature, is as saluable as his being compelled to act well and wifely by a fupernatural power. To affert, then, fuch experiences or operations, to me feems to misreprefent the nature of a being excellently conftituted to answer the good purposes he was created for. I am likewise, at prefent, of opinion, that depreciating our natural abilities, does not give fo much glory. to God as you imagine.

To this Mrs. Price replied, that by the operation of the Spirit, fhe did not mean that man was purely paffive, and had no part in the working out his falvation, but that God. co-operates with man, and without destroying the faculty of reafon, improves it by convincing and enlightning the understanding, and by moving and inclining the will towards. fuch objects as are acceptable to himself, and from those that are contrary to his gofpel. The mind in this manner enlightned and affected, begins to act, and as the spirit moves upon the foul, the quickened man, under the divine direction, does all the good the fcripture commands him to do, and efchews the evil he is ordered to avoid. By God thro' Chrift, he practices the excellent virtues recommended in the holy books, and for this. reafon, the righteoufnefs which chriftians bring forth, is called in fcripture, the right

eouf

cousness of Chrift, the righteousness of God, and the righteousness of faith. Chrift is the efficient. We thro' him are made able to act. Notwithstanding the weakness and incapacity of our nature, yet, thro' faith in the power of God, which is given to all who believe in him, we are enabled to flee immorality and vice, and by a life of virtue and piety, to enjoy the pleasure of a fweet reflection, and the praises of unpolluted reafon,

That this is the cafe of man, the facred writings declare in a thousand places, and fet forth the exceeding greatnefs of God's power in this refpect. The miniftry of the gospel appears to have been ordained for this end, and the perfection of the chriftian religion, to reft on this particular thing. The Lord died for our fins, and rofe again for our justification, that we through power received from bim, (the power of his refurrection) might be made righteous. And the apoftle adds, I am not afhamed of the gospel of Chrift, for it is the power of God unto falvation, to every one that believeth, to the Fer first, and alfo to the Greek, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. And that the promife of the Holy Ghoft had reference not only to the great effufion of the Spirit at Pentecoft, which was a folemn confirmation of the new and fpiritual difpenfation of the

5

gofpel;

gofpel; but also to that inftruction which Chriftians of every age were to receive from it continually, if they attended to it, is evident from the promife of Chrift,—I will pray the Father, and he fhall give you another comforter, (the fpirit of truth) that he may abide with you for ever. This fpirit was to fupply the place of his perfonal prefence. It was to become a teacher and comforter to his difciples and followers to the end of timeto enlighten and incline their minds to piety and virtue-to enable them to do all things. appertaining to life and godlinefs, and to have a faith in God's power and all-fufficiency. This is the glorious fpecific difference of Chriftianity from all other religions. We have an inward inftructor and fupporter always abiding with us. And what can be a higher honour to mankind, or an act of greater love in God, than for him to interpofe continually, and by his holy Spirit reflore the teachable and attentive to that purity and uprightnefs in which he at firft created man? Glorious difpenfation! Here is a compleat reparation of the lofs fuftained by tranfgreffion. We are created anew in Christ Jefus, and are made partakers of the divine nature. Surely this is the utmost that can be expected from religion. In fhort, (continued Mrs. Price) it is to me a moft amazing thing, to fee men of fenfe disclaim this help, argue for

Self

felf-fufficiency and independency, and receive only the outward appearance of the Son of God, in a literal, hiftorical, and formal profeffion of christianity! This will never do the work. The outward appearance of the Son of God only puts us in a capacity of falvation: it is the inward appearance by the power and virtue of the fpirit that must fave us. The end of the gospel is repentance, forgiveness of fins, and amendment of manners; and the means of obtaining that end, is chriflianity in the life, fpirit, and power of it.

You talk extremely well, Madam, (I faid) upon this fubject, and have almost made me a convert to the notion of an inward appearance of the Son of God: but I must beg leave to obferve to you, that as to what you have added, by way of explication and vindication of the operation of the spirit, to wit, that man has agency, and God co-operates with it, by which means, the man is enabled to apply his agency to the performance of good; this does not feem to me to make the matter quite plain. The virtue or goodness of an agent must certainly arife from a right exercife of his own power, and how then can God's co-operating with him make him a better man? Can fuch co-operation add any thing to my virtue, if my goodness is to be rated in proportion to the exertion of my own will and agency. If I am not able to fave a

man from drowning, though I pity him, and do my best to preserve his life; but God gives me ftrength, or co-operates with me, and so the man is faved; can this add any thing to my virtue or goodness? It would be indeed an inftance of God's goodness to the man; but as to myself, I did no more with the divine co-operation than I did without it. I made all the use I could of what power I had. This feems to me a ftrong objection against the inward appearance: nor is it all there is to object. If I fee a man in a deep wet ditch, in a dangerous and miferable way, and am prompted by a natural affection, and the fitnefs of relieving, to exert a fufficient strength I have, to take the man out of his diftrefs, and put him in a comfortable way; (which is a thing I really did once, and thereby faved a useful life);-in this cafe, there was good done by an agent, without any fupernatural co-operation at all: Many more inftances might be produced: but from what has been faid, is it not plain, that much good may be done without any interpofition ;--and, with it, that no good can be added to the character of the agent?

But you will fay, perhaps, that the good difpofition of the agent in fuch cafes, is fupernatural operation, and without fuch operation, he could not make a right ufe of his ability. To this we reply, that if by difpofition is

meant