5. The sinner must be regenerated, "whereby he is renewed after the image of God through the Holy Ghost, of the seed of the word, and obtains a new divine light and life, the power of sin is broken in bim, and he thus receives a new ability to do the will of God." See Titus iii. 5. 2 Cor. iv. 6. Eph. ii. 5, 10. Jer. xxxi. 33, 34. xxxii.' 40. Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. It will not be proper to say more of regeneration here, for we have introduced it only to explain the misery and inability of man. Must the sinner be regenerated, as Jesus saith, John iii. 3, 5, he is then, without regeneration, incapable of doing good; for he should not otherwise have need of it. Regeneration furnisheth him with new powers, which would not be necessary, if he had them before regeneration. The sinner would also be able to regenerate himself. for regeneration is the principle of every good, that is acceptable to God; but man cannot effect his regeneration : for regeneration is a "renewing by the Holy Ghost," Titus iii. 5. a new creation,” 2 Cor. v. 17. Eph. ii. 10, "a resurrection from the dead," Eph. ii. 5. 6, "a taking away the stony heart, and giving an heart of flesh," Ezek. xxxvi. 26, and "a drawing," John vi. 44. Coll. i. 13.

II. The creature, though ever so corrupt, will through his pride not know it, will not see his abominableness, nor be ashamed of it: but seeks every cloak of shame, and saith therefore by the mouth of our adversaries, that "God would do injustice to man, if he required of him in his law, that which he could not perform." The adver. saries of the light think that God ought to establish a new covenant with the sinner, and grant him a sufficient grace, that he may be able to incline his will to keep the law of God, before he requires aught of him in his law. (a) But this mind of the flesh is enmity against God, it disputes unrighteously against God's right with respect to man, and accuseth him falsely of iniquity. For God's right is not founded upon man's ability, but upon his own incomparable glory and absolute sovereignty over all ; "For-asmuch as there is none like unto the Lord, therefore he is great, and his name is great in might, and therefore it appertaineth to him that men should fear him," Jer. x. 6, 7. Man could not deprive him of that right by his sinful inability; for if he could, he would be able by his sin to dissolve his obligation to obey God, to set himself free from his Maker, and to excuse his impenitent and obstinate rebellion. (b) God doth not demand in his law of the impotent sinner that which is absolutely and always impossible for him; for instance, that he should “measure the waters in the hollow of his hand, and mete out the heavens with a span," &c. Isaiah xl. 12. This would be unjust, since God

hath not given him power to do it; but God demands in his law of the sinner that which was once possible for him, and for which he gave him an ability, when he created him after his image: "God made man capable of performing it," saith the instructor. This hath been shown before; now God may surely demand that of man with usury, which he had given him, that he might gain by it for his Lord. See Matt. xxiv. 19, 30. (c) Is the sinner now unable, he is himself the cause of it: "Man by the instigation of the devil, and his own wilful disobedience, deprived himself and all his posterity of those divine gifts." It is not therefore unrighteous in God to demand of the waster of his gifts that which through his own default he can now neither give nor do. "The master justly demands of his servant the ten thousand talents, which he oweth him, although he hath not wherewith to pay," Matt. xviii. 24, 25. See also Luke xvi. 1, 2.

It is not proper to object here, that it was sinful in man to deprive himself of that gift, even the image of God, and an ability to do good, but that God deprived him of it as a punishment: for God deprived him of it on account of his sin, in order to punish him, and man deprived himself of it, because he deserved such a punishment by his sin, and also actually defaced and destroyed the image of God in himself by his sin. It happens in other cases, as well as in this, that a man's sin is also a punishment inflicted by God, who often punisheth one sin with another, Rom. i. 21-28.

Doth the instructor say, that man deprived himself of those gifts "by his wilful disobedience," we need not say instead of this by "his voluntary apostacy," in order to gratify the Remonstrants, seeing Paul calls Adam's sin "his disobedience." Was it not sufficiently great? was it not committed without necessity? had man need of aught, that he was forced to eat of the forbidden tree? did he not commit that sin against his better knowledge? Eve certainly knew that God had forbidden her to eat of that tree, Gen. iii. 3. Why should we not then call that sin, wilful disobedience?

God, say they, did not give Adam power to believe in Christ, and so he could not deprive himself and his posterity of that gift; therefore God cannot demand faith in Christ of the sinner, unless he give him power to exercise that faith. But this is a vain objection: for Adam was able to believe all that God declared and revealed to him: but inasmuch as the Son of God had no manner of relation to Adam, as Mediator and Saviour, before the fall, and was therefore not revealed to him as such, we may therefore say, that Adam had no revelation nor opportunity to believe in Christ, but not that he had

no power to believe in him. Our adversaries, not satisfied yet, conceive that it would not become God, and that it would not be wise in him to demand of man that which he cannot perform, because it would be to no purpose.

But although the sinner be ever so impotent, God's demand in his law is not to no purpose: the forty fourth Lord's day will inform us of what service the strict preaching of the law is to the regenerate, although they cannot keep the law perfectly. But we speak here of unregenerate sinners, who are either elect sinners, or reprobates. God's demand in his law is not to no purpose with respect to reprobates, inasmuch as that demand restrains them from enormous outbreakings in wickedness, which would destroy human society. God's demand serves also to condemn them, and teach them to justify God, when he destroys them. God's demand would appear to be to no purpose, if he could not indemnify himself upon them: but God can now punish them for the satisfaction of his justice, according to his demand, enforced by threatenings: as "the lord demanded payment of his servant, who owed him ten thousand talents: and when he had nothing wherewith to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made," Matt. xviii. 24, 25 With regard to the elect, the demand of God serves to convince them, and drive them to the Mediator, that they may be regenerated and converted; "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth," Rom. x. 4. Therefore God accompanieth his demand in the law with the offer and promise of the gospel, which is "the power of God to salvation," Rom. i. 16, yea, also with his Spirit, John xvi. 8-11. 1 Thess. i. 5. Dead Lazarus was unable to arise from the dead, but the command of Christ was not therefore to no purpose, since his calling with a loud voice was the mean of raising Lazarus from the dead, when he added his lifegiving power to his voice, John xi. 41, 42, 43, 44.

The total inability of the sinner to do good doth not however destroy the freedom of his will. The freedom of the will is essential to man, and belongs to the essence of the will, therefore he cannot lose his freedom, unless he also lose his humanity: but he hath by in lost the virtuousness and holiness of his will; and hence he wills nothing but evil, and is unable to will that which is good. Our adversaries hold that the freedom of the will consists in indifference, ability to incline, like a balance, to good or evil: but if the freedom of the will consists therein, we will then confess that the inability of the sinner destroys the freedom of his will; for the will

or an

is in this respect a slave, "a servant of sin," and must "be made free," John viii. 34, 36. But the freedom of the will consists not in indifference; for it is certain, that the will cannot will aught, but what the understanding representeth to it as good, and that which is represented to it by the understanding as evil, it cannot embrace. Since now the understanding is darkened, and "calls evil good, and good evil," Isaiah v. 20, how can the will then be indifferent, and desire the good, as well as the evil? God, the angels and glorified men have a perfect free will, and yet they are not indifferent, nor can they will evil as well as good but the freedom of the will consists in being able to will something with inclination and pleasure, in a reasonable manner, after a previous consideration, and without constraint; and in this manner the sinner wills evil freely, and not good: "He hath pleasure in unrighteousness," 2 Thess ii. 12. Have not the devils a free will? do they not delight in every kind of wickedness? surely they do and they are still unable to do good. See John viii. 44. Free will consists not therefore in indifference, but in doing something with inclination and pleasure; and so it is not destroyed by an inability to do good.

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Is man then like a stock or a stone, with respect to that which is good? thus ask our adversaries. We answer that the sinner, though wholly unable to do good, is not so unfit and incapable of being converted and regenerated as a stock or stone for as a stock or stone are wholly incapable of forming an image of themselves, and are nevertheless more capable of being formed into an image than water, so impotent man is more capable of being renewed after the image of God, of being converted and regenerated, than a stock or a stone; as dead Lazarus was more capable and fit to be raised to life by the voice of the Saviour, than the grave-stone, John xi. 43, 44. The sinner, though dead in trespasses and sins, retains still his natural powers of understanding and will, which are capable of being endued with light and life; he hath also certain remains of God's image, (al.hough he hath lost the holy and virtuous part of it) and he hath thus also a certain obscure knowledge of God and his law, Rom. i. 32. ii. 14, 15, and this renders him fit to be influenced to conversion. Paul endeavoured to convince the Athenians by their natural knowledge and service of God, Acts xvii. 22-29.

APPLICATION.

The doctrine of human inability remains then irrefragable. And therefore those do exceedingly ill, who say that man retains yet in his fallen condition an ability to preserve himself continually from errours. This according to our opinion cannot and ought not to be said it is indeed contrary to the word of God, which saith that "the carnal mind is enmity against God," Rom. viii. 7, and that we are not sufficient of ourselves, to think any thing as of ourselves," 2 Cor. iii. 5. This assertion seems also to contradict the fourteenth article of our Netherland confession, which saith that, "the light which is in us is changed into darkness," &c. yea, it is meeting our adversaries half way.

The instructor saith "that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness, except we be regenerated by the Spirit of God." Is the regenerated man then perfectly restored, and hath he a perfect ability to do that which is good? no, but he is still in a great measure unable, as Jesus and Paul say, John vi. 5. 2 Cor. iii. 5. This will also be shown more fully on the forty fourth Lord's day. There is nevertheless a great difference between the inability of a regenerate, and an unregenerate man. For (a) the natural man is altogether dead in sins, and must be made alive, if he shall be capable of receiving the influence of God, in order to per. forin living actions: but the regenerate hath only need that his habitual life should be awakened. enkindled and promoted by the influence of God in order that he may do that which is pleasing to God. (b) A regenerate man is workingly and actively employed with and on account of the influence of God in endeavouring to do that which is good: "He can do all things through Christ strengthening him," Philip. iv. 13, and he is thus himself a secondary cause of his good actions: but an unregenerate man is altogether passive in receiving the grace of regeneration and conversion, as a dead man, who doth not co-operate to bis resurrection. (c) A believer enjoys always a greater or less influence of divine grace, and doth good in proportion to it: "The Lord doth not turn away from him to do him good, but puts his fear into his heart, that he may not depart from him," Jer. xxxii. 40. But the unregenerate is wholly left to himself, and is without the influence of divine grace," like a branch, which is separated from the vine, and is withered," John xv. 6.

What think ye now, hearers? are ye also so incapable of doing good, and inclined to all wickedness? do ye see it experimentally