"laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep." Cheerfulness, contentment, thankfulness, hope and joy in the Lord, are our duty and privilege; and melancholy and despondency are effects of seriousness of mind, which may not be altogether avoidable, but which should never be indulged, but always watched against with persevering prayer; not only as the bane of our comfort, but as tending greatly to prejudice those around us against our holy religion itself.

"The obnoxious and unfounded doctrine of hu'man merit, held by the church of Rome, fosters pride and presumption. The equally erroneous ' and baneful doctrine of moral incapacity, in the ' extent unhappily adopted by Calvin, tends to produce hopeless melancholy, or hardened profli

gacy. The former exalts too high, the latter de1 presses too low, the powers of man.' 1

Are then the supposed errors of Calvin, as to the degree of human depravity, equally' obnoxious with the doctrine of human merit held by the church of Rome? Is this the deliberate judgment of any among the pastors and rulers in our protestant Church? If this be the case, what is become of our reformation from popery, and our protestations against it?

1 1 Ref. 78.

SECTION XV.

Sudden Conversions.

The real orthodox divine-rejects all preten'sions to instantaneous and forcible conversion.'1 It is here implied, that these pretensions to 'instantaneous conversion' arise especially from the tenets of Calvinists. Yet if they, who call themselves The Arminians,' and entitle their Magazine, 'The Arminian Magazine,' be not Calvinists, narrations of sudden conversions will not be found even chiefly among either the modern Calvinists or their predecessors. But, however that may be, some remarks on the subject may not be improper.

'The new proselytes amounted to three thousand souls,2 whom St. Luke represents, as by degrees converted before they received the Holy 'Ghost. The astonishment of these men was at 'first excited, and their attention fixed, by observing that the apostles were instantaneously enabled to speak a great variety of languages: ' and their belief was more fully established by listening to the discourse of Peter, in which he 'called to their recollection the mighty works of 'Jesus, and appealed, in a strain of persuasive 'reasoning, to those very scriptures which they ' acknowledged to be divinely inspired. This 'miracle, and these arguments, by their united

'Ref. 73.

2

Acts ii. 37-41.

'force, gradually removed all prejudice and hesi'tation, and at length convinced them that the same Jesus, whom their countrymen1 had crucified, was "both Lord and Christ," that is the ex'pected Messiah. The faith therefore of these 'men was not suddenly communicated, by the 'supernatural operation of the Holy Ghost, but 'was the natural and progressive effect of what they saw and heard, upon their understandings.' 2 The subject of supernatural operation of the 'Holy Ghost' has been considered but, if this was the natural effect of what they saw and 'heard,' it does not appear that the Holy Spirit did any thing towards their conversion, either in convincing them of sin, or in glorifying Christ, in their minds and hearts.3

6

6

It is not requisite to enlarge on this point: but, if the above be a proper description of a gradual and progressive conversion; the whole of which was completed in a few hours, and at one season of assembling; I have scarcely read, in modern journals, of any conversions which can be called 'sudden.' The conversion of these Jews was indeed effected in a manner suited to awaken, alarm, convince, and instruct rational creatures; and, though the several steps in the process may seldom be so distinctly discernible, yet the same may be said of many sudden' conversions in later ages. Sudden conversions, however, if no rational account can be given of the way in which the

'Peter said, "Ye have taken and with wicked hands have "crucified and slain." Acts ii. 23.

2 Ref. 22, 23.

* John xvi. 8. 15.

VOL. VII.

R

change of mind, judgment, and heart, has been produced, should always be suspected for the Holy Spirit, by whose preventing and adjuvant influences we suppose the change to be effected, is "the Spirit of wisdom;" his work in the mind, conscience, and heart, always accords to the holy scriptures; and they who have a well grounded hope are able to give " a reason of that hope" to those who ask it from them. Let it only be granted that, when conversion appears real and scriptural in all other respects, it shall not be judged enthusiastical or hypocritical, because at first effected even in as short a time as these primitive conversions were; and many of us shall be satisfied.

The history of this event is recorded in the following words. "When they heard this, they "were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, " and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, "what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of the Jesus Christ, for the remission of "sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy "Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your "children, and to all that are afar off, even as

many as the Lord our God shall call. And with

many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward genera"tion. Then they that gladly received the word "were baptized: and the same day there were added "unto them about three thousand souls." Did these converts then "gladly receive the word "

'Acts ii. 37-41.

which called them to repentance and faith in Christ; and were they admitted into the church by the apostles, on a profession of repentance and faith, before they were in any sense partakers of the Holy Spirit? Surely their repentance, and faith, and gladness in receiving the word of God, were things' good in the sight of God;' and therefore beyond doubt performed by the influence of the Holy Spirit.'1

Their subsequent conduct also is recorded in the strongest terms of approbation; yet, while much is spoken of that love and peace and joy which are "the fruits of the Spirit," nothing is spoken of the Holy Spirit being conferred on them after they had been baptized. It may be supposed, however, that, by "the laying on of the hands of "the apostles," they received also those miraculous powers which Peter more especially meant.

The historian does not say 'by degrees,'' gra'dually,' 'progressively and a Calvinist would justly be censured as biassed by an attachment to his own creed, who should make such additions to any part of the sacred narrative. Averse, however, as our opponents are to sudden conversions, it might have been supposed, that some concession or exception would have been admitted on this extraordinary occasion; however needful it might be to caution the reader not to consider it as a general rule of conversions in ordinary circumstances. "These new proselytes were by degrees 'converted.' At what hour, or moment, did they from proselytes become converts? Did they

Ref 61.