(Selected from Smith's Leetures on the Nature and End of the Sacred Office.} While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. Jesus Christ. Paul. PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED FOR, AND PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM W. WOODWARD Corner of Second and Chesnut Streets. 1810. Page, Sec. I. Introduction. General remarks II. On the nature and defination of faith Ill. Reply to Mr. B.'s V. and V1. letters, on faith being IV. Reply to VII. letter, on the obligations of men to embrace whatever God reveals-liis charge of illibe. rality, &c. V. Reply to VIII. letter, on the causes to which the want VI. Reply to IX. letter, on punishments being threaten. ed and inflicted for not believing VII. Reply to X. letter, on spiritual dispositions 64 VIII. Reply to XI. letter, on the state of man in inno. X. Reply to XII, letter, on divine decrees, the use of means, particular redemption, &c. XI. Reply to XIII. letter, on the tendency of these prin- ciples to establish the doctrines of human depravity, divine grace, the work of the Spirit, &c. The whole reduced to four questions, and discussed in Sec. I. Whether regeneration is prior to our coming to Christ—or whether it be owing to the influence of the Holy Spirit and that alone, that one sinner believes in II. Whether moral inability is or is not excusable 146 On our moral inability being insuperable On grace being provided to deliver men from it 162 III. Whether faith is required by the moral law 176 IV. Whether an obligation upon all those to whom the gospel is preached to believe in Christ, and the en. couragements held out tu them so to do, is inconsist. ent with a limitation of design in his death This sub-divided into four lesser sections. § 1. Our Lord Jesus Christ had an absolute determina- tion in his death to save some of the human race 193 § 2. The arguments of P. considered $ 3. The consistency of the limited extent of Christ's PREFACE. The prevalence of truth and righteousness is doubtless an object of great importance; nor is the former any less necessary to the latter, than both are to the welfare of mankind. If controversy is of any use, it is because it tends to bring truth to light. li too often unhappily falls out, however, that the parties themselves are not the first who are convinced by each others reasonings; but on the contrary, are as far, and perhaps farther asunder, when they leave off, than when they began: this is not very difficult to be accounted for, though it is much to be lamented. Perhaps there are very few controversies wherein there is not room for mutual concessions. The backwardness so generally discovered to this by writers, and the determination that too commonly appears on both sides to maintain at all events their own principles, have given much disgust to many readers, and made them almost ready to despair of edification by reading controversy. But though it must be granted that such conduct affords a just ground of disgust towards a writer, yet there is not the same reason for being digusted with controversial writing. Whatever be the prejudices of the parties, and their rigid adherence to their own opinions; if a controversy is carried on with any good |