AN ESSAY. 4$ú` agencyand self- determiningpower, yet the light in which God sets the gospel before the eyes of the mind is so great, as will finally and certainly persuade the will, though not necessarily im- pel or constrain it. And the great God, who knows intimately the make and constitutionof our natures, and our present situa- tion, sees clearly that this light will be finally effectual to influence the will freely tocomplywith the proposals of grace. Thus the virtuous andpious actions of men are praise-worthy and reward- able, and approve themselves to their own consciences as well as to God, the righteous Governor and Judge ; because the will had a natural self-determining power to chuse the contrary. And yet these good actions may be effeétually secured as to their performance, by such a powerful representation of divine things to the understanding, as God foreknows will certainly, though not necessarily, be an occasion of the final free determinationof the will to piety and virtue ; and thus also the free favour or grace of God stands entitled to its due and divine honours. It is the opinion of a considerable writer on this subject, that herein lies a great deal of the pleasure of a self-approving con- science, that the good man had a power to chase an evil object or action, but he actually refused it, and chose the good. And herein God, as a Judge and Rewarder, shows his equity, in givinghappiness to the man of virtue. Whereas if the divine power physically and irresistibly moveand determine the will to chose what is good, this would make the divine illumination of the mindneedless, since the will might then be moved to chuse virtue without it : This, say some, would do violence to nature, would quite invert the method of treating free agents ; and many other evil consequences are reckonedup by some authors. Now I would only enquire whether all these are not avoidedby sup-, posing the influenceof the grace of God upon the soul of man to be only illuminative and persuasive, and yet finally efficacious and certain ; which efficacy and certainty seem to be taught us by the express and evident language of several scriptures. Whether these scriptures do certainly imply an immediate and physical influence of divine power on the will, to give it anew general bias and inclination over and above this efficacious illumination of the mind, I leave to be determined by divines, always supposing it to be as effectual on the will, as if it were immediate, and the final event tobe as certain. If any person suggest here, that all the powers of the soul, viz. the will and affections, aregrievously corrupted andpervert- ed by the fall of man, and therefore there is need ofan almighty physical or supernatural influence on then as well as on the un- derstanding, in order to give a new bias, and change them to holiness ; I would also suggest in my turn, and enquire, whether such a transcendent and supernatural illumination of the under-. standing may not be the proper and usual divine method of n h 2
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