blessings and privileges here enumerated, as distinguishing the Jews, apply to them nationally, not personally—that they belong to all in common, not to a selected number; that they mark out the religious advantages which all, as members of the Jewish church, enjoyed in this life, not the peculiar election of certain favoured individuals to eternal happiness in a future state. May we not, then, conclude, that with respect to the Christians also, the apostle throughout his entire reasoning had in view, not the peculiar privileges of a few peculiarly elected, but the blessings and privileges belonging to the whole collective church of Christ, which the Gentiles were now invited to share, but from which the Jews as a nation, by their obstinate rejection of the Gospel, were shut out. This appears to confirm the conclusion, that mere personal election or reprobation were not, in this passage at least, in the contemplation of the apostle.

Another passage in the eleventh chapter of this epistle has been adduced, to prove the doctrine of irrespective election. The apostle, in the tenth chapter, had distinctly stated the unrestricted nature of the Gospel offers of salvation, declaring, the Scripture saith, "whosoever believeth on him (Christ) shall not be ashamed; for there is no difference between the Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." He had also declared, that the method employed by God to produce this saving faith, was the preaching of the Gospel; "how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed, and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent; as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things." Now surely this implies, that the preaching of the Gospel might have been to all who heard it,

Tucker, Parkhurst, "The apostle in this passage (says Mr. T. Edwards) does not wish himself subject to the eternal wrath of God, which is utterly impossible and absurd, but that he would (if it was possible) bear himself the temporal judgments which he saw coming upon them from their being accursed from Christ, in consequence of their own obstinacy and incredulity, if he might so restore them again to the favour of God. The persons for whom St. Paul could find it in his heart to suffer thus, are the Jewish nation. Now, nations can be punished only in this world, and therefore as the curse here spoken of is national, it must be temporal.

really and equally "glad tidings of good things." It implies, that none were excluded from enjoying its benefits by a decree of that God in whose mercy the Gospel originated a decree fixed before the individuals existed to whom that Gospel was preached, and withholding from the reprobated such assisting grace as was vouchsafed to the elected hearers alone, and without which it was impossible any should hear or believe. Surely if to make any difference between Jew and Greek was inconsistent with the extended mercy of the Gospel call to salvation, to make such a difference between the elect and reprobate, can scarcely be reconciled with it; though we can on the other hand easily believe, that many of its hearers might abuse their liberty of choice, so as to resist that ever-present grace and reject that blessed Gospel.

Having thus stated the universality of the Gospel call, by the preaching of the apostles and evangelists to both Jews and Gentiles, the apostle proceeds to answer an objection, which might be urged against the efficacy of this procedure in the divine economy from its ill success amongst the Jews. This he does by showing, that this seeming failure had been foreseen and foretold by the prophets, and therefore did not invalidate but confirm the divine authority of the Gospel scheme. And he accounts for the conduct of the Jews from their jealousy and envy at the admission of the Gentiles into the church of Christ; according to the prophetic declaration, first of Moses, “I will provoke you to jealousy by them that (as yet in a religious view as it were) are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you;" and again of Esaias, who (says the apostle) "is very bold, (very clear and strong in denouncing and condemning the criminal obstinacy of the Jews,) "and saith, I was found of them (the Gentiles) who sought me not: I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gain-saying people."* This entire statement seems most repugnant to the character of Calvinistic predestination; which excludes and admits without any reference to the obedience or disobedience of the parties interested. Yet in the very next

Rom. x. 19, 20, 21.

VOL. III.

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words the apostle is supposed to teach a directly contrary doctrine; where he proceeds as it seems, to remove an objection which might arise, impeaching the faithfulness and mercy of God in rejecting his chosen people and treating them with so much severity. "I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."* Now one plain meaning appears to belong to this comparison. As in the time of Elias, the great majority of the Jews killed the prophets of God, digged down his altars, and sought the life of Elias, and therefore deserved rejection and punishment: so now the great majority of their descendants have persecuted the messengers of God, the apostles of Christ, and pursue Christ himself, (of whom Elias was a type,) even unto death. They are now for this malignity and unbelief rejected of God, excluded from the church of Christ, and their church and nation will be rejected and visited with the severest punishment. But this does not extend to all the Jews without exceptions. For as in the time of Elias there were seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal, and whose steady adherence to the faith and worship of the true God he rewarded by reserving them to himself, saving and protecting them: so now also there are many Jews who having attended to the preachers of the Gospel. and yielded to the suggestions of the Holy Spirit, have acknowledged Christ with sincere faith, and are therefore admitted into his church amongst the chosen of God, and exempted from the

*Rom. xi. 1 to 7.

punishment impending over their obstinately unbelieving countrymen. But the acceptance of the Jew and the Christian is not founded on the same grounds or the fulfilment of the same conditions. The Jew was accepted not only by his faith in the divine promise, but on condition of his fulfilling the works of the Mosaic law. The Christian is accepted, not in consequence of fulfilling the works of any law, (whether the law of nature or of Moses,) but by the free mercy of God, granted to faith in Christ alone; it is by grace, not works, that the remnant now elected out of the Jews for their faith in Christ is discri minated and preserved. The unbelieving part of the Jews have not obtained the justification they sought for by the works of the law. But the election (these distinguished by their faith in Christ and therefore admitted into his church) hath obtained justification by their faith, through grace. The rest of the Jews haverejected that saving faith, through that blindness, (a blindness long since predicted by the prophets,) and therefore their rejection of it does not invalidate, but confirm its divine original and authority.

Such seems the clear and unforced meaning of this passage -a meaning consonant to the general tenor of Scripture, and the constant reasoning of the great apostle on this subject. A most judicious divine thus illustrates this meaning.* “ The question then that remains is this, who are the foreknown, what is the nature of their election. We shall soon find reason to conclude, that the apostle uses this word according to the association invariably united with it in his mind, and in the ideas of all the Jews, not in the technical sense which it has derived from theological disputes, but to signify those who enjoy the favour of God

an honour which was formerly common to all the nation of the Jews, as an † ELECT people, a holy nation, but was now due

* Mr. Sumner, in his tract entitled Apostolic Preaching Considered, chap. ii. part 2, on election, p. 64, of the first edition.

+ Note from Mr. Sumner.-Isaiah xliii. 1.-Behold mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth-xlv. 4.-Israel, mine elect, I have called thee by thy name-lxv. 5. I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains, and mine èlect shall inherit, and my servants shall dwell there-St. Peter uses to the whole body of believers the very appellation which had been formerly addressed to the Jews, Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people-1 Peter ii. 11. The idea that his epistles were written to Jewish converts alone, is rejected by the best commentators as inconsistent with the internal evidence.

to those alone who received the faith of Christ, and with them was common to the converted Gentiles. For if we proceed a few verses onward we find him expressing his earnest desire to excite his countrymen to join themselves to this election. I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office, if by any means I may provoke into emulation them that are my flesh, and might save some of them.' Now if the remnant, according to the election of grace were already exclusively elected, and the rest blinded, by God's withholding from them efficacious grace, St. Paul must have been aware that there was no room left to excite others by the example of the Gentile converts, and no hope of any but those already converted being saved; he would have known there was no propriety in the impassioned expression which begins the tenth chapter; Brethren my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved;' it is evident, therefore, that the thing which Israel sought in vain, was the honour of remaining the peculiar church of God; and that by the election,' the whole body of Christians is intended, who had obtained that of which the Israelites through their blindness had been deprived."

It is of this choice, this election of the Gentiles as the chosen people of God into the Christian church, that the apostle of the Gentiles speaks with such rapturous devotion, in his epistle to the Ephesians; who appear to have been eminently sincere and zealous in their Christian profession, and to have peculiarly merited and obtained the affection and confidence of the holy apostle. He addresses them, "as saints and faithful, accepted in the beloved." And speaking of the blessedness attending their conversion, and the glorious prospect of their future exaltation in the strongest terms; "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and without blame before him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise

* Ephes. i. 6.