TO THE EDITORS OF THE CON- ligious people, and is therefore NECTICUT EVANGELICAL MAG AZINE. On the Special operations of the GENTLEMEN, worthy of notice. Being affured, that the attention of fome, heretofore in confiderate minds, has been lately excited to this fubject by the narratives you have published; and feeling its importance, while I recollect the folemn obfervations a ufefulnes airhor in these words azine exceeds the expecta-Fallen creatures have no better tions of its friends. The narratives of the revival of Religion in principle than depraved felf-love, " and it must be the work of the fundry places, awake the attention of many to the much negHoly Spirit to create them to new lected, tho' all-important truths of "and holy affections. Torefift or the Bible. In thefe narratives, deny the Spirit of God is fhutthe doctrine of a fpecial operation Heaven, and deftroying to our ting the door of the kingdom of of God's fpirit on the human heart, is fully fupported. This is a doc"felves the efficacy of the gofpel. trine greatly difrelished by the car"All those who deny the work mal mind, and through ignorance "of the Spirit make the gofpel as of the nature and extent of moral "inefficacious for their own faldepravity, perfeveringly opposed. "vation as if they were to deny It is faid, that all men have the "Chrift himself :" I fay feeling Spirit of God alike-that there is the importance of this fubject, I no need of his special influence am earnestly folicitious, that in for a holy life, and that all that addition to what appears in the is faid in the narratives concerning exprefsly upon it. I do not feel narratives, something may be faid his extraordinary operations, is mere pretence and delufion.-This is as though I fhould do ample juftice faid, not by open Infidels alone, following obfervations unreferved. to the fubject, but I fubmit the but by fome that are confidered re VOL. II. No. 2. F ly to your inspection and difpo- | of righteousness and of judgment. fal. This is effected in the awakening, renewing and fanctifying of the foul. Hence, unless all are awakened, renewed or fanctified, all have not the spirit, and those who are awakened, &c. are the fubjects of its extraordinary opera tions. This confideration, in conjunction with what has been faid above on depravity, is, if candidly viewed, fufficient to refute all that is objected against the doc But it may be profitable to purfue the matter further. And here may be noticed what St. Paul fays, No man fpeaking by the Spirit calleth Jefus accurfed. But if all men have the Spirit they speak by it, and yet Jews and Deifts are daily calling Jefus accursed; furcly they have not the Spirit. It is admitted that all men have natural powers, sufficient to accept of Chrift, and to lead a holy and religious life; and that all men have the Spirit of God, as he is a Spirit, and every where prefent. Nor will I fay that all men, in a Christian land, have not some particular awakening influences of the Holy Spirit at one time or another. What I aim at is to oppofe the afTertions before mentioned, and torine. fay fomething in fupport of the doctrine of the extraordinary operations of the Spirit in forming the hearts of men to true religion; and in producing all the real holiness there is in any of the fons of men. And here it may be premifed, that the moral depravity of every man, evinces the abfolute need of fuch operations, and proves that if ever God faves a fingle foul, he muft exert fome extraordinary power of his Spirit. The renovation of the foul to the love of that holinefs which it naturally hates, in all its exercises, is indeed a new creation, and can be accomplished only by that power which raifed up Jefus Chrift from the dead. And it is obfervable, that all the circumftances attending the beginning, progrefs, and permanent effects of the late Revival, teftify to the fame purpose. In fupport of my defign, let me call the attention of the reader to the nature of the fin against the Holy Ghoft, which shall never be forgiven. As all fins that arc against God are againft the Holy Spirit as he is one perfon in the facred Trinity, and yet all fuch fins may be forgiven; it must follow that the fin here fpoken of is against the Holy Spirit in his diftinct office or operations. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to convince of fin, Our Saviour once, in a holy rejoicing, faid, I thank thee, O Fath er, Lord of Heaven and earth, that thou haft bid thefe things from the wife and prudent and haft revealed them unto babes. When the things of the Spirit of God are hid from any, it feems to be abfurd to fuppofe that they have the Spirit of God. And the Apoftle intimates the fame thing when he fays, The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto bim; neither can be know them because they are fpiritually difcerned. If they are ever received, it is not through the powers of the natural man, but through the uncommon operation of the Spirit on the heart. But our Saviour exprefsly declares, that fome wife and prudent men have not thefe operations, for thefe things are hidden from them, they difcern not the things of the Spirit of God, and hence it is certain that they have not the Spirit. In the fixth chapter of John, it appears, that the Jews, who were ready to believe that Jefus was an extraordinary perfon, were notwithstanding deftitute of the peculiar teachings of the Spirit. For not only many things which he preached unto them in righteouf nefs, were confidered as hard Jayings, but he exprefsly declares verfe 63d, that it is the Spirit that quickeneth Had they the Spirit that quickeneth, they never would have thought that the words whicß were Spirit and were life were hard fayings. Therefore they had not the Spirit. Chriftians as born of the fpirit; of God's pouring out his fpirit; of his giving the holy Spirit to them that afk him; and of his giving a fpirit of grace and fupplication, which leads any to look on him they have pierced and mourn: if any do not look on him and mourn, they have not the fpirit. St. Paul fays walk in the spirit and ye fball not fulfil the lufts of the flefb. Those therefore who fulfil the lufts of the flesh, have not the fpirit. He fays alfo Rom. viii. 1, 2. that thofe who are freed from condemnation, walk net after the flesh, but after the Spirit, and the law of the Spirit of life in Chrif Jefus has made them free from the law of fin and death. Where this Spirit is, there is true religion. If all men then have this Spirit, all men are truly religious; but this is difficult to believe. We read of being led by the Spir it; that the Spirit witnesses with our Spirits, that we are the chil dren of God; that thro' the Spirit we mortify the deeds of the body, and that the Spirit is life, and yet men are naturally dead in trefpaffes and fins, and many remain fo to the end of life. We read alfo of the In the first chapter of John we are told, that the Lord Jefus came to his own and his own received him not, but as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believed on his name; Which avere born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but of God. His own did not in general receive him, all that did receive him were born of God. How they were born of God is told us in a difcourfe with Nicodemus, in which Jefus declares that except a man be born again, of wa-earneft of the Spirit given of God ter and of the Spirit he cannot fee the kingdom of God. Baptifm itfelf, if baptifm is meant by being born of water, does not fuperfede the neceffity of being born of the Spirit. Confequently, even baptized perfons, though furrounded with the prefence of God fo as to be able to fay with the Pfalmift, whither fball I go from thy Spirit, yet may be deftitute of it, in its peculiar operations towards a holy life, and in need of being born again by it. Here then we find conclufive teftimony that all men have not the Spirit. The fame thing is confirmed by all thofe paffages which fpeak of to Chriftians, that thro' this they look not at the things which are temporal but at those which are eternal: This however is not the cafe of all men.~ The Apoftle tells us, of fanaifuation of the Spirit, of the gof pel's coming to believers in demonftration of the Spirit, and in fuch a manner as that others may no tice it; for the manifeflation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. This laft text has been frequently quoted in proof that ev ery man has the Spirit. But if the word manifeflation be not omitted, it will no more prove that all men have the Spirit, than my hold ing up or manifefting that I have a book in my hand will prove that all who fee it, have it also. Further, Chriftians are known to belong to God by the Spirit which is given them,fee 1 John iii. 24. but this is impoffible if all men have the spirit alike, unless all are Chriftians. Again, let us confider what is told us Rom. viii. 14. As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the fons of God. Upon this we may obferve, if all men have the Spirit of God leading them to a religious and holy life, then are they all the fons of God, and there is no diftinction of state between men. One has the fpirit and privilege of adoption as much as another, and every one in his fouleft crimes, may cry Abba Father by the Spirit of God, without falfehood or mistake, and Jude was mistaken when he faid, thefe are fenfual having not the fpirit. conciled, and the main purpose of the gospel miniftry, which is to befeech finners in Chrift's ftead to be reconciled to God, is at an end; nay it was always unneceffary. Hence alfo the promife, Lo I am with you to the end of the world, is useless. The fense which is put on these paffages of fcripture is confirmed by a variety of others which might be mentioned. The doctrine of the extraordinary operations of the Spirit, in order to a holy life, feems to be interwoven with the whole fyftem of the gofpel religion. But if the texts which have been brought into view, do not afford conviction 'tis ufelefs to examine any more. The application of the foregoing paffages is greatly confirmed by Chriftian experience. Many judicious profeffors of Christianity, whofe lives were irreproachable, and who were confidered fincere Chriftians have teftified to this purpofe. They tell us that in all their former religion, when they thought themselves fincere, and that the defire of being feen of men was not their object, they had not the Spirit of Chrift. Many who oppofed the idea of any extraordinary influences of the Spirit, have been by their own experience, convinced of their error, and induced to acknowledge the doctrines which are fupported in the narratives. It may poffibly be faid, that they are deceived about the matter. The Apoftle likewife in the fame Chapter v. 9. after defcribing the fituation of thofe who walk after the flesh, in which he evidently fuppofes fome do walk, fays but ye are not in the flesh but in the fpirit, if fo be the Spirit of God dwell in you. Some walk in the flesh, but this is not the cafe if the Spirit of God be in them. Can any thing be plainer? And yet he adds, if any man have not the Spirit of Chrift he is none of his. Chriftians know their union to Chrift by the Spirit which he gives them. If all have his Spirit all are united unto him, he dwells in all, none walk in the fefb, and there is no ground for intimating that any do not belong to him. Further, if all have the fpirit there is no room to fay any thing about the enmity of any one, for the Spirit of God is not enmity to God. If all therefore have the Spirit, all are friendly, all are re-tells us that honey is fweet, fhould But how does the objector know it? Is it rational to deny what others fay they have experienced, merely becaufe we have not experienced the fame thing? Efpecially, when in every thing elfe they appear as judicious and upright as any that we are acquainted with. If a man we ac rationally to fuppofe that he is deluded, when we have not tafted it ourfelves? It feems to be much more rational to compare it with fome other thing, the taste of which we had experienced to be fweet. And yet, even then, we might not have the right idea, as we should foon discover by tafting it ourselves. When a man tells us of the operations of the Spirit of God on his heart, we frequently are ready to disbelieve what he fays, or to form fome idea of it according to our preconceived notions: Like the man that has never tafted honey, he difbelieves or does not receive what is told him about it, or compares it with fome other tafte which is fweet. But as in tasting of honey itself he would find a peculiar difference, fo in feeling the operations of the Spirit of God which are faving, we fhall perceive fomething different from any that we had before. This is teftified by our Lord, when he fays, if any man will do his will,he fhall know of the doctrine. . not by almighty power alter their inclinations? " But it is faid that "finners are willing to exert themselves to "the uttermoft, and that they "fincerely wish to use all their ad"vantages aright;" that is, in other words, from a selfish difpofition without any regard to God as God (which is the temper of all the impenitent) the finner wishes to exert himfelf without selfishness and in regard to God as God; or plainer ftill, he felûfhly wishes not be felfish. This is the amount of the objection. But can God who knows the whole truth be imposed on, or fhall we (as alas! finners commonly do) impofe upon ourselves fo far as to believe that in our selfish wifhes not to be felfish, we are not selfish? The finner knows not that God truly, whom he thinks he is willing to ferve with uprightness. His underflanding is darkened and is alienated from the life of God, through the blindness of the heart. The way of finners is darkness, they know not at what they ftumble; a deceived heart has turned them afide. But ftill it is replied, "if God beftows his fpirit in a peculiar "and diftinguishing manner on "fome, and not on others, he is In aufwering this, it may be afk It is frequently objected, that "if every man has not the Spirit "of God which is neceffary for "his converfion or a religious life," "then he is not to blame for re"maining impenitent." To this it may be replied, that the objection" partial." fuppofes that. God is obligated to give his Spirit in its uncommon in-ed was it partial in the husbandman, fluences. This would be making God what all finners with him to be, their fervant. But it must be confidered that the object of thefe operations of the Spirit, is not to give new natural powers to the mind, but to alter the depraved dif.it partial to give fome an opportunipofition of the heart. God has given natural powers enough, but finners will not ufe them aright. And is it reafenable that blame hould lie on him becaufe he does Matt. xx, to give out of his own ftores as much to thofe who labored only one hour-as to those who had borne the heat and burden of the day? Were not the claims of every one anfwered? Is ty fora religious education and not to others? Partiality does not confift in beftowing greater favors on one than on another, but in anfwering the claims of one more |