ON REGENERATION. IN TEN SERMONS. ON THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS: I. The Character of the Un- S VIII. The various Meth- *ON THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION ET GRACE THrough faith. By PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D. D. BALLSTON SPA: J. COMSTOCK, PRINTER, IT is undoubtedly the duty of every wise and good man to be forming schemes for the service of God and his fellow-creatures in future years, if he be continued to them; and it will be his prudence to do it early in life, that he may be gradually preparing to execute them in the most advantageous manner he can. But while a man's heart is thus devising his way, the Lord directeih his steps. And as many such schemes will probably be left unfinished at death, which will quickly come to break off our pur poses and the thoughts of our hearts; so it is not improbable that they who humbly and obediently follow the leadings of Divine Providence and grace, may often find themselves called out on a sudden to services which, but a little before, were quite un thought of by them. This has been the case with me in most of the Sermons I have published, of which very few were composed with any view to the press; and it is most remarkably so with respect to these on Regeneration. Besides many other excellent persons, my much honored friend, Dr. Wright, has handled the subject in so judicious and lively a manner, and through the great goodness of God to us, so many thousands of his treatise upon it are dispersed in all parts of our land, that I could hardly have believed any one who had told me I should thus have resum ed it; nor had I the least intention of doing it, when I began that course of Lectures which I now offer to my reader's perusal. I did indeed think it necessary last year to treat the subject more largely than I had ever done before, knowing in the general how important it is, and observing, that several controversies had about that time been raised concerning it, which, though I do not judge it necessary to mention the particulars of them, I was ready to fear, might have had an ill influence to unsettle men's minds, and either to lead them into some particular errors, or into a general apprehension that it was a mere point of speculation, about which it was not necessary to form any judgment at all.* That these discourses might be more generally useful, I determined to preach them on Lord's-day evenings, that those of my neighbors who were not my stated hearers might, if they thought proper, have an opportunity of attending them: and accordingly they were attended to the last with uncommon diligence; a great many such persons, of differ ent persuasions and communions, making up a part of the auditory. As practical instruction and improvement was the main thing I had in view, I knew it was necessary to make my discourses as plain, as free, and as serious as I could. But before I had finished near half of my scheme, several of my hearers earnestly requested that the sermons might be pub * See Mr. Hebden's Appendix to his late Discourse on REGENERATION. |