because Man has natural Powers, 'tis his _own_ Fault, if he does not
employ them aright; but how does it appear, that such a Power
_only_, can render _Man_ a whit better, or _more_ a _moral Agent_,
than he is, or would be, without it? If Inclination to _Virtue_,
must _precede_ every truly virtuous Action; and Man's Depravity
under the Fall, be _such_ as prevents his ever having such good
Inclinations, his natural Ability to do Good, must needs be a mere
_Joke_ and a _Cypher_. Just the same as, on the other hand, would
be, the strongest Inclinations to Virtue, and _no_ natural Power of
complying with them in Practice. As nothing short of _Knowledge_ and
_Power_, Power of both kinds, _natural_ and _moral_, can constitute
Man a _moral Agent_, or proper Subject of _Law_, of Rewards and
Punishments, either here, or hereafter; one would wonder to see this
insignificant Distinction urged at all in this Controversy: for it
is, at the best, a mere _Parade of Words;_ which prove nothing,
except it be the Want of Truth and Righteousness, in this Doctrine
of _Original Sin;_ or great _Bigotry_, and Defect of Understanding,
in its most accomplished Patrons. And after all that is, or can be
said, concerning _natural_ and _moral_ Powers; it is doubtful, if
such a depraved miserable Wretch, as Man under the Fall is said by
the _Assemblies Catechism_ to be, can (strictly speaking) have any
Power at all over his own Thoughts and Actions; The immediate Cause
and Spring of Action _is_ the _Soul_, to which the _Body_ is
subservient only as an _Instrument_, but has in itself, according to
the best Philosophy, no Power to produce _voluntary_ or _self
Motion_. What is called _natural_ Power in Man, as opposed to
_moral_, is at least, a Power lodged in the Soul, to give Motion to
the Body. But these _Volitions_ of the Mind, and the immediate Act
of the Soul upon the Body, in order to produce _Virtue_, depending
on the Mind's being in a State of _Freedom_, able to chuse and
prefer Virtue, as better than Vice; it is evident, that in a Mind,
totally abandoned to Evil, _moral_ Motives have not their due Power
over the Man; and what we call his _natural_ Power to be virtuous,
is either suspended, or quite overpowered, by an evil and
irresistable Turn of Inclination, arising from the _Act_ of another;
I mean, _Adam_. Man then, considered as a _moral_ Agent, has Power
to _do_, or _not_ to _do_, the very same Thing; be it good or evil.
But this Liberty of Choice and Action in the Creature, as the _Soul_
is but one, and also _the_ immediate Source of all Action in Man,
cannot properly, I think, be called _two_ distinct Powers, but
rather _different Applications_ of _one_ and the _same Power_ lodged
in the Soul. On the other hand, in such a _depraved Creature_, as
Man under the Fall is said to be, the Power of _choosing_ and
_refusing_, of being virtuous or vicious, which he _pleases_, is
altogether lost and destroyed; and such a Man, so far from having
_natural_ and _moral_ Powers, has (properly speaking) _no Power_ at
all remaining: all his Thoughts and Actions, like those of a
Machine, are merely involuntary; he is constantly impelled by
something mightier than himself, and ever necessitated to think and
act as he does: his being an intelligent Creature, doth not alter
the State of the Case, or render him more an Agent than a Stock or a
Stone. In this sad Condition, Man can have no Power at all to love
and pursue Virtue, untill the overruling Principle, which determines
all his Thoughts and Actions to the contrary, be removed, or he
receive Superaddition of Understanding and Strength agreeable
thereto. My natural Strength of Body may be equal to four hundred
Weight; but what can this avail, while I am continually pressed down
by four thousand? and all Mr. _J--s_'s Skill and Criticism (_Pages_
71, 72) will not evade this Reasoning. The Distinction between
immediate and remote Causes of Sin, is as trifling and inconclusive,
as the 'forementioned Distinction of _moral_ and _natural_ Powers.
Those indeed, who can fancy themselves to be God's own dear and
elect Children, may reject all Opposition with _Scorn_, and without
_Examination_, and acquiesce readily in the most rigid and
tyrannical System of Religion, that renders the Bulk of Mankind
miserable, while the Elect may think themselves secure in the Divine
Decree, _with an humble Assent, and awful_ (it should be
superstitious) _Reverence of the Majesty and Sovereignty of the
great God_. But what Reason or Recompence will that be to _him_, who
under proper Means and Motives would have kept the Commandments, and
so have entered into Life; who would have loved the Lord his God,
with all his Heart, Soul, and Strength; and his Neighbour as
himself? Or how can such a partial and tyrannical Doctrine, be
reconciled to the Voice of Reason in Man, to our common Notions of
_Right_ and _Wrong_, to the General Scope and Tenour of the _Holy
Scriptures_, or to that Text in particular, which assures us, that
_the Almighty doth not grieve nor afflict the Children of Men
willingly?_
_FINIS._