Welchman on Article X: Of Free-Will

The Condition, &c.] God created Man perfect in his Kind, and with a will which was free to chuse either Guod or Evil. But he fell from that Liberty when he committed Sin, he broke that Power which he had of Election or Choice, he ceased to be free with relation to Good, and became the Servant of Sin, From thence pro- ceeds such a Blindness of his Understanding, such a Per- verscness of his Will, and such an Impetuousness of his Passions and Appetites, that, when left to himself, he is not able either to discern or chuse those Things which are truly good, but is hurried into the Chotce of such l hings as arc contrary thereto. And therefore the Apostle says, That they that are in the Flisb carn; t please ( God, Rom. viii. 8. Hence we have Need oi the Affiltance of the Holy Spirit, to enable us to chuse and perform whatever is good. When, as it is the molt excellent Gift of God, and as it is freely given, is by Way of Eminence called Grace. And indeed, it seems to be wanting to no one, who fs not wanting to himself,

See OF xv. 4, 5. Abide in Me, and I in Hu. *

e Branch cannot bear Fruit of ige, cccept it abide in the ine;

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NorTEs en the XXXIX Articles

Vine; no more can Ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, Ye are the Branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much Fruit : For without Me ye can do nothing. And John vi. 44. No HMHan can come to Me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him. And 1 Cor. tle 14. The natural Man receiveth not the Things of the Spirit of God fer they are Fealifhness unto him + neither can he know them, because they are 1 discerned. And I Cor. xii. 3. No Man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Hely 657 I See also Clement of Alexandria.“ Whilst a Man strives Jato. c. 21. & and labours by himselt to subdue his vicious Affections, & he is able to perform nothing: But, if he shew himself to be very earnestly and vehemently desirous of it, he & becomes able, thro’ the Addition of the Divine Power, to accomplish what he desired: For God favours, and Adv. Har. co-operates with willing Minds.” — And [renens. “No . 4. c. 27. © Man, who does not partake of the Blessing and Assist- ance of the Lord, can procure to himself the Means De Oratiere, of Salvation.“ And Tertullian. * Our Saviour himself 6. 4. c declared, that he did not his own, but his Father’s Will, & Doubtless the Things which he did were the Will of his Father, and the Patterns which we are now called & forth to imitate, that we may both preach, and work, and bear them even unto Death: Which that we may „ accompiish, we have Need of the Will of God.“

Good TYorks) Works done before the Grace of Christ may have some specious Appearance of Good, from whence they are called g294, but improperly : For in Reality they are not good. See Article XIII.

IV ithout the Grace of Gad, &c.] For neither can we be- eve, unless God open our Hearts (Acts xvi. 14.) neither can ve will or de, unless He of his good Pleasure work in ns for those Ends. Phil. ii. 17. See Mibelli Catech. p. 104. Hemmyond’s Pract. Cat. B. V. Sect. 4. //alls Hist, of Inf. Bapt. Part I. Ch. 19. Prideaux’s F alc. Contr, C. 3.0. 4. Hull’s Roma Irreconcil. Sect. g. Field of the Church, p. 281, Pearson on the Creed, p. 327.

By Christ] All the Spiritual benefits, which God ever conterred upon Men, he conferred by and for the Sake of Christ alone. And therefore as many as under the First Covenant pleased God, (and that fome of them pleased him, appears from Heb. xi.) did it not by the Strength of their own Free-will, but by the Affistancæ of God’s Grace,

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which was then also conferred through Christ. For His Merits extended to all Ages of the World ; and therefore he is called the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the Morid, Rev. xiii. 8. I his Article is allo levelled against the Pelagians, who asserted that Men were sufficiently enabled by their own natural Strength to do good Works, and that the Grace of God, by which we may the more easily observe his Commands, is given us according to our Merits. See St. Augustine de Hr. c. 88,

See allo Irencus. The Lord himself gave a Sign of our Atv. Her, &« Salvation, Behold a Virgin sball concerve EMMANUEL ; . 3+ . 23.

because it was the Lord himself who taved Them, Who were able to do nothing towards saving Themselves. And therefore St. Paul, speaking of Man’s lufirmity, says, I . know that in my Flesb duwelleth no good Thing. And again, O wresbed Man that I am! Mo shall deliver me from the

„ Body of this Death? And then he comes to mention his « Deliverer ; / thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

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