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about their salvation, is the want of a suitable concern of heart of their sin and danger. When persons have no anxiety about their future state, the fundamental ground of their security is, they have no proper convictions. They have no views of their evil case, or that they are in any danger. Let the Spirit of God, by the application of the law to their hearts, set their iniquities before them, they can no more help being concerned than the poor jailor. Many laugh at religious convictions, who with pale countenances, run first from approaching danger. If they could see hell uncovered before them, how would they stand aghast, and their souls be filled with agonizing fear and horror?This would instantly silence the pipe and tabret, put an end to the dance, scatter the dice, and throw the cards under the table. If real convictions should take place, the midnight revels would cease, and wicked gaming would vanish from every board and every shop.

Secondly, We are here taught what judgment we should form, of persons who acknowledge their state is bad, and yet are perfectly unconcerned about it. The proper conclusion is, they have no true convictions. They have no more concern about their salvation, than the brutes who fancy death to be an ever. lasting sleep. They are in their sins, impending over the pit of destruction, yet, notwithstanding all their confessions, they neither see, hear, feel, nor are they afraid.

Thirdly, We infer from this discourse, till persons are convinced of their sin and danger, they will never be in earnest about salvation. No one will be in earnest about escaping danger, unless he feels an apprehension of his exposedness thereto. Until persons are brought to a seriousness about their salvation, they are never likely to be saved.

But you will here ask to what end and use are convictions, if they do not ensure conversion? I answer as the Apostle did with regard to circumcission, they are profitable every way. Their

ase is not to work in us any real goodness, but to convince us that we have none; not to lay a foundation in us for any thing recommendatory to God, but to show us we are destitute of all recommendations, and that there is nothing in us to induce God to extend mercy to us. Their end is not to dispose us to believe in Christ, but to make us know we have no disposition to this purpose. They are not to adorn and qualify us for the favor of God, but to strip us of all ornaments, qualificatious and worthiness, and reduce us to the feet of a righteous God; to lie at the threshold of sovereign mercy, to be disposed of according to divine pleasure.

Convictions are designed to stain the pride of all flesh, and to give the glory of the salvation of every sinner to God.

Convictions prick the sinner to the heart; he dies to every thing in himself. This is the true sense of St. Paul's experience, when he says, "when the commandment came, sin revived and “I died.”

SERMON XXII.

THE DOCTRINE OF REGENERATION CONSIDERED..

JOHN III. 3.

Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say untothee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the king-dom of God.

WHEN God was pleased to create man, he not only formed him after his natural image, that is, with an immaterial spirit; commonly called the soul, but this was adorned with his moral image, consisting in knowledge, righteousness and holiness. This is the principle of the holy nature of all intelligences. This principle is a distinct thing from the nature or essence of the soul. A spirit may loose it, and be a spirit still. This was the case with the apostate angels; this principle departed from them; yet, by no means, was their essence affected hereby; for they remained spirits still, though their tempers were changed from angels to devils. And such was the unhappy fate of man, when he revolted from his God.. This holy principle ceased in his heart, yet the nature of his soul remained the same. All that took place was a change of its temper, from love to God to a hatred of him, and every thing that was morally good. This is the deplorable state into which man fell. "We are now all become

sinners; shapen in sin and brought forth in iniquity; by nas

"ture children of wrath, and enemies in our minds by wicked "works." And this will remain the condition of man forever, unless this moral image, this holy principle be restored. Now, by the redemption of Christ Jesus, God can, consistent with all his prerogatives, and to the glory of all his perfections, reproduce this principle in the soul of man. Hence the doctrine of the necessity of the reproduction of this holy principle, is so strongly asserted by our Lord in the text, and is what is stiled regeneration, or being born again. A certain great man, a ruler among the Jews, named Nicodemus, applied to our Saviour by night, to learn of him the doctrines which he taught. Our Lord informed him, that a leading doctrine in his whole system was, that man must have a new and holy principle formed in him, in order to his turning to God, and becoming eternally happy, which he terms being "born again."

The phrase astonished and disconcerted this Jewish doctor; hence he cries with unbelieving amazement, "Born again! how "can these things be?" He appears thrown into the utmost perplexity, how such an event could come to pass, or such a mighty change be effected. Our Lord repeats the sentence again with very little variation. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, exσε cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter "into the kingdom of God." By the kingdom of God, and by seeing and entering into it, is plainly meant, becoining the subjects of divine grace here, and the partakers of eternal life hereafter. And no man, without being regenerated, or being born again, can ever enjoy these priviledges, immunities, and blessings.

Regeneration and conversion are terms generally used in the sacred oracles, as expressing the same idea. But when they would be accurately distinguished, the former is used to mark a simple principle, and the latter the motions or actions of this prin ciple. However proper it may be at times, for the sake of theoretic instruction, to go into those distinctions, yet they will al

Aways be found of little use in experience. The word regeneration, is not used in the old Testament, and only twice in the new. Being renewed, begotten by the word of truth, born again, born of the Spirit, created anew, &c. are terms more commonly used to declare the first implantation of grace in the hu

man heart.

I shall endeavor to confine myself in this lecture, to the simple ideas contained in the word as found in the scriptures. Therefore shall endeavor

First, To explain the term itself.

Secondly, Show that the principle intended to be expressed, is implanted in the soul by the immediate power of God.

Thirdly, That without this principle there can be no admittance to divine favor, no acceptance with God, nor obedience to him.

First, We are to attempt an explanation of the word regeneration. Though this is only used twice in the bible, yet terms of similar import are frequently employed, as has been already observed. It would be rather an exhibition of reading, to show the common use of the word regeneration in the primitive church, especially from the second to the fifth century, and the unhappy improvement of it to the present day; and how it was also considered as much different from conversion, faith, and repentance, as a profession is from a reality of religion in the present day. How it came into use, would be improper for a pulpit investigation. But the fact was this, it expressed an acknowledgment of the christian religion, and an initiation into the church of children of believers, of pagan parents and families, and from hence, they who were baptised, were stiled regenerate. Regenerated persons were the same then, that we call baptised persons now. This was the origin of what is called baptismal regeneration. All it meant in early times, was, that persons made a profession of

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