Job xxiii. 5; iv. 18, we must consider them as a proof that absolute perfection belongs to God alone; a truth this, which we inculcate as well as our opponents. Besides, if such passages overthrow the doctrine of perfection, they would principally overthrow the doctrine of angelical perfection, which Mr. Hill holds as well as we.

clude:

To con

IX. When Jah asks, "What is man, that he should be clean? How can he be clean, that is born of a woman ?—Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ?" And when he answers, Not one; he means not one who falls short of infinite power. If he excluded Emmanuel, God with us, I would directly point at him who said, I will, be thou clean; and at the believers who declare, We can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth us, and accordingly cleanse themselves from all filthiness, of the flesh and spirit; that they may be found of him without spot and blameless. Yea, I would point at the poor leper, who has faith enough to say, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. They tell me, that my leprosy must cleave to me till death batter down this tenement of clay; but faith speaks a different language; only say the word, Be thou clean, and I shall be cleansed:-Purge me with hyssop, Sprinkle clean water upon me, and I shall be clean from all my filthiness.”

If these remarks are just, does it not appear, that it is as absurd to stab Christian perfection through the sides of Job, Isaiah, and Solomon; as to set Peter, Paul, James and John, upon cutting it up root and branch?

SECTION XII.

I HAVE hitherto stood chiefly upon the defensive, by showing that Mr. Hill has no ground to insinuate, that our Church, and Peter, Paul, James, and John, are defenders of the twin-doctrines of Christian imperfection and a death-purgatory, I shall now attack these doctrines by a variety of arguments, which, I hope, will recommend themselves to the candid reader's conscience and reason.

If I wanted to encounter Mr. Hill with a broken reed, and not with the weapons of a Protestant, Reason and Scripture, I would retort here the grand argument by which he attempts to cut down our doctrines of free agency and cordial obedience: "The generality of the carnal Clergy are for you, therefore your doctrines are false:" If this argument is good, is not that which follows better still: "The generality of bad men is for your doctrine of Christian imperfection; therefore that doctrine is false; for if it were true, wicked people would not so readily embrace it." But as I see no solidity in an argument by which I could disprove the very being of a God (for the generality of wicked men believe there is a supreme Being) I discard it, and begin with one, which I hope is not unworthy of the reader's attention.

I. Does not St. Paul insinuate that no soul goes to heaven without perfection, where he calls the blessed souls that wait for a happy resurrection, πνευματα δικαιων τετελειωμένων, the spirits of just men madle perfect, and not τετελειωμένα πνεύματα δικαιων, the perfect spirits of just men? Heb. xii. 23. Does not this mode of expression denote a perfection which they attained while they were men, aud before they commenced separate spirits; that is, before death? Can any one

go to a holy and just God, without first being made just and holy? Does not the Apostle say, that the unrighteous, or unjust, shall not inherit the kingdom of God? and that without holiness no man shall see the Lord? Must not this holiness, of whatsoever degree it is, be free from every mixture of unrighteousness? If a man has at death the least degree of any unrighteousness and defiling mixture in his soul, must he not go to some purgatory, or to hell? Can he go to heaven, if nothing that defileth shall enter the new Jerusalem? And if at death his righteous disposition is free from every unrighteous, immoral mixture, is he not a just man perfected on earth, according to the dispensation he is under?

II. If Christ takes away the outward pollution of believers, while he absolutely leaves their hearts full of indwelling sin in this life; why did he find fault with the Pharisees for cleansing the outside of the cup and platter, whilst they left the inside full of all corruption? If God says, My son, give me thy heart;" if he requires truth in the inward parts, and complains, that the Jews drew near to him with their lips, when their hearts were far from him: is it not strange, he should be willing that the heart of his most peculiar people, the heart of christians, should necessarily remain unclean during the term of life?-Besides, Is there any other gospel-way of fully cleansing the lips and hands, but by thoroughly cleansing the heart? And is not a cleansing so far pharisaical, as it is heartless? Once more: if Christ has assured us, that "Blessed are the pure in heart," and that "If the Son shall make us free, we shall be free indeed," does it not behove our opponents to prove, that a believer has a pure heart, who is full of indwelling corruption; and that a man is free indeed, who is still sold under inbred sin?

III. When our Lord has bound the indwelling man of sin, the strong man armed, can he not cast him out?-When he cast out devils, and unclean spirits with a word, did he call Death to his assistance? Did he not radically perform the wonderful cure, to shew his readiness and ability radically to cure those whose hearts are possessed by indwelling iniquity, that cursed sin whose name is Legion ?-When the legion of expelled fiends entered into the swine, the poor brutes were delivered from their infernal guests, by being choaked in the sea. Death therefore cured them, not Christ. can we have no cure but that of the swine? No deliverance from indwelling sin, but in the arms of death ?-If this is the case, go, drown your plaguing corruptions in the first pond you will meet with, ye poor mourners, who are more weary of your life, because of indwelling sin, than Rebecca was because of the daughters of Heth.

And

IV. How does the notion of sin, necessarily dwelling in the heart of the most advanced christians, agree with the full tenor of the new covenant, which runs thus, "I will put my laws in their minds, and write them in their hearts :"-" the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus shall make them free from the law of sin and death?" If the laws of perfect love to God and man are fully put in the heart of a believer, according to the full tenor of Christ's gospel, what room remains for the hellish statutes of Satan? Does not the Lord cleanse the believer's heart, as he writes the law of love there? And when that law is wholly written by the Spirit, the finger of God, which applies the all-cleansing blood, is not the heart wholly cleansed? When God completely gives the heart of flesh, does not he completely take away the heart of stone? Is not the heart of stone the very

rock, in which the serpent, indwelling sin, lurks? And will God take away that cursed rock, and spare the venomous viper that breeds in its clefts?

V. Cannot the little leaven of sincerity and truth, leaven the whole heart? But can this be done without purging out entirely the old leaven of malice and wickedness? May not a father in Christ be as free from sin, as one who is totally given up to a reprobate mind, is free from righteousness?-Is not the glorious liberty of God's children, the very reverse of the total and constant slavery to sin, in which the strongest sons of Belial live and die ?—If a full admittance of Satan's temptation could radically destroy original righteousness, in the hearts of our first parents; why cannot a full admittance of Christ's gospel radically destroy original unrighteousness in the hearts of believers?-Does not the gospel promise us, that where sin has abounded grace shall much more abound? And did not sin so abound once, as entirely to sweep away inward holiness before death? But how does grace abound much more than sin, if it never can entirely sweep away inward sin without the help of death?

VI. Is there not a perfect, cleansing power, as well as a present, atoning efficacy, in the Redeemer's blood? Have we not already taken notice, that the same Scripture which informs us, that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins," deelares also that, upon the same gracious terms, "he is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness?" Now, if the faithful and just God is ready to forgive to-day a poor mourner who sincerely confesses his guilt; and if it would be doing divine faithfulness and justice great dishonour to say, that God will not forgive a weeping penitent before the article of death; is it doing those divine perfections honour to assert, that God will not cleanse before death a believer, who humbly confesses and deeply laments the remains of sin? Why should not God display his faithfulness and justice in cleansing. us now from inbred sin, as well as in forgiving us now our actual iniquities; if we now comply with the gracious terms, to the performance of which, this double blessing is annexed in the gospel-charter?

VII. If our opponents allow, that faith and love may be made perfect two or three minut s before death, they give up the point. Death is no longer absolutely necessary to the destruction of unbelief and sin; for if the evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God may be taken away, and the completely honest and good heart given two or three minutes before death; we desire to know, why this change might not take place two or three hours-two or three weeks -two or three years, before that awful moment?

VIII. It is, I think, allowed on all sides, that we are saved, that is, sanctified as well as justified by faith. Now that particular height of sanctification, that full circumcision of the heart, which centrally purifies the soul, springs from a peculiar degree of having faith, and from a particular operation of the Spirit of burning :-a quick operation this, which is compared to a baptism of fire, and proves sometimes so sharp and searching, that it is as much as a healthy, strong man can do to bear up under it. It seems therefore absurd to suppose, that God's infinite wisdom has tied this powerful operation to the article of death, that is, to a time when people, through delirium or excessive weakness, are frequently unable to think, or to bear the feeble operation of a little wine and water.

IX.

When our Lord says, "Make the tree good, and its fruit good.

-a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things;" does he suppose that the heart of his faithful people must always remain fraught with indwelling sin? Is indwelling sin a good treasure? Or does Christ any where plead for the necessary indwelling of a bad treasure in a good man? When the Spouse is all glorious within; when her eye is single, and her whole body full of light; how can she be still full of darkness, and inbred ini quity? And when St. Paul observes, that established christians are full of goodness, Rom. xv. 14, who can think he means, that they are full of heart-corruption, and (what is worse still) that they must continue so to their dying day?

X. If christian perfection is nothing but the depth of evangelical repentance, the full assurance of faith, and the pure love of God and man, shed abroad in a faithful believer's heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him to cleanse him, and to keep him clean from all the filthiness of the flesh and spirit; and to enable him to fulfil the law of Christ, according to the talents he is entrusted with, and the circumstances in which he is placed in this world :-If this, I say, is christian perfection, nothing can be more absurd than to put off the attaining of it till we die and go to heaven. This is evident from the descriptions of christian perfection which we find in the New Testament. The first is our Lord's account in the beatitudes. For how can holy mourning be perfected in heaven, where there will be nothing but perfect joy?-Will not the loving disposition of Peacemakers ripen too late for the church, if it ripens only in heaven, where there will be no peace-breakers; or in the article of death, when people lose their sense, and are utterly disabled from acting a reconciler's part ?-Ye, that are persecuted for righteousness sake will ye stay till ye are among the blessed, to rejoice in tribulation? Will the blessed revile you, and say all manner of evil of you falsely, to give you an opportunity of being exceeding glad, when you are counted worthy to suffer for Christ's name?-And ye, double-minded christians, will ye tarry for the blessedness of the pure in heart till ye come to heaven? Have ye forgot that heaven is no purgatory; but a glorious reward for those who are pure in heart; for those who have purified themselves, even as God is pure↑

XI. From the beatitudes our Lord passes to precepts descriptive of Christian perfection reduced to practice. "If thy brother hath ought against thee, go thy way, and be reconciled to him.-Agree quickly with thine adversary.-Resist not evil.-Turn the left cheek to him that smites thee on the right.-Give alms so as not to let thy left hand know what thy right hand does.-Fast [evangelically.]— Lay not up treasures upon earth.-Take no [anxious] thought what you shall eat. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you, that ye may be the children of your Father, who is in heaven; for he maketh the sun to shine on the just, and on the unjust. Be ye perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect." What attentive reader does not see, that none of these branches of a Christian's practical perfection can grow in the article of death; and, that to suppose they can flourish in heaven, is to suppose that Christ says, "Be thus and thus perfect, when it will be absolutely impossible for you to be thus and thus perfect? Love your enemies, when all will be your friends: Do good to them that hate you, when all will flame with love towards you? Turn your cheek to the smiters, when the cold hand of death will disable you from moving a finger ;

or when God shall have fixed a great gulf between the smiters and you ?"

XIII. The same observation holds with respect to that important branch of Christian perfection, which we call perfect self-denial. If thine eye offend thee, says our Lord, pluck it out:-If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, &c. Now can any thing be more absurd, than to put off the perfect performance of these severe duties, till we die, and totally lose our power over our eyes and hands? Or, till we arrive at heaven, where nothing that offendeth can possibly be admitted?

XIII. St. Luke give us in the Acts, a sketch of the perfection of Christians living in community. "The multitude of them that believed, says he, were of one heart and of one soul. They continued stedfastly in the Apostle's doctrine, and in prayers. They had all things common; parting their possessions to all, as every man had need;-Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own: and continuing daily in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." When I read this description of the practical perfection of a Christian church, I am tempted to smile at the mistake of our opponents, and to ask them, if we can eat our meat with gladness in the article of death: or sell our possessions for the relief of our brethren upon earth, when we are gone to hearen?

XIV. Consider we some of St. Paul's exhortations to the display of the perfection which we contend for, and we shall see in a still stronger light the absurdity which I point out. He says to the Romans, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice:-and be not conformed to this present world,-that ye may prove what is that perfect will of God,-Having different gifts, [use them all for God :] exhorting with diligence, giving with simplicity, shewing mercy with cheerfulness, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, communicating to the necessities of the saints, given to hospitality, weeping with them that weep, being of the same mind, condescending to men of low estate, providing things honest in the sight of all men; heaping coals of fire,-[coals of burning love and melting kindness,] on the head of your enemy by giving him meat, if he is hungry or drink, if he is thirsty: overcoming thus evil with good." -Again: Exhorting the Corinthians to Christian perfection, he says, "Brethren, the time is short.-I would have you without carefulness. It remaineth that they who have wives, be as if they had none; they that weep, as if they wept not; they that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not; they that buy, as if they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it," &c.-Once more: Stirring up the Philippians to the perfection of humble love, he writes, "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye think the same thing, have the same love; being of one soul, of one mind. Do nothing through vain glory, but in lowliness of mind esteem each the other better than themselves. Look not every one on his own things, but every one also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who humbled himself and became obedient even unto death."-Now all these descriptions of the practical part of Christian perfection, in the very nature of things cannot be confined to the article of death, much less to our arrival at heaven. For when we are dying, or dead, we can not present our bodies a living sacrifice—we cannot use this world