n 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 H