Mozley: A Treatise on the Augustinian Doctrine of

172 Augffi&inian
operation of such a grace upon the will ;
CHAP. vr.
or of grace alone
and by itself determining it or causing the particular will
of the man to be the will which it is. What will you
"
oppose to the text I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy
faith fail not ?
" * Will you dare to say that even the prayer
of Christ could not have procured indefectible faith for
Peter, had Peter wished that it should fail ; that is, had
been unwilling to persevere ? As if Peter could possibly
will anything else but what Christ had prayed that he
should will ! True, indeed, Peter s faith would have failed,
if Peter s will to be faithful had failed. But the will is
prepared by the Lord, and therefore Christ s prayer for him
could not be ineffectual. 2
This passage is clear. Peter s
faith would have failed if Peter s will had ; but Peter s will
would not be anything else but what God had determined
it to be, and (rod had determined that it should be faith
ful.
It remains now to inquire whether anything is said of
the nature or quality of this grace in itself itself, I mean,
as distinguished from its effects, by which alone it has
hitherto been described. And to this question the answer
is, that Augustine identifies this grace with the disposi
tion of love.
Christian love is a general affection toward God and
man, productive of all the virtues and the whole of obe
dience. Love is the
fulfilling of the law. 3
If we love
one another, God dwelleth in us and His love is perfected
in us. 4
But this love is, according to the doctrine of free
will, a result, an ultimate habit, gained by the endeavours
of the man himself assisted by Divine grace. But in the
system of Augustine it appears as a primary disposition
imparted to the soul by an act of free grace ; not the reward
and effect of, but a gift preceding and producing, a good
course of life. That which is the infallible root of general
obedience is implanted in the man at the outset. The
grace of love is infused into his heart. In consequence of
the
indwelling of this
gift, he cannot but take pleasure in
1
Luke, xxii. 32. Rom. xiii. 10.
De Corr. et Grat. c. viii. 4 1 John, iv. 12.