66

in his human capacity is ascribed to his holiness, that he should regard as his BRETHREN those who should be so opposed to him in this character? To what effect would He have spoken from heaven, saying, "this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him," and declared, " because thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows," if this love was not also to be confined to those real followers of Christ, who should be conformed to the image of his Son, that so he might be indeed the first-born among many brethren?' But to omit numberless illustrations and passages of Scripture to this effect, I would also add, that the declarations of God's displeasure at wilful sin, and hatred of wilful sinners, are so repeated and numerous, that it seems not a little extraordinary any persons living in such a state could thus " speak peace to their souls, when there is no peace." Hear the Apostle: "behold therefore the goodness and severity of God, on them which fell, severity: but towards thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."

To set the matter, however, completely at rest, I would observe, that the Apostle shows the impossibility of the doctrine against which I contend. Rom. vi. 16. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." Compare this with our Lord's assertion, "ye cannot serve two masters," and then say whether those living in WILFUL SIN (for of such only we speak) are at that time still servants of righteousness, children of grace, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, and chosen in the beloved to immortal glory-let us rather believe with the same Apostle, "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God!” Rom. viii. 14; and with the Redeemer, “ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you." John xiv. 14.

Romans ix. 15.—The entire argument affecting the question of absolute predestination, derived from the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and especially the example of God's dealings with respect to Esau, Jacob, and Pharaoh, I have considered in Discourse V. from page 229 to page 235, and in Discourse IX, from, page 312 to 328, where I trust it has been shewn, as stated in page 327, that the Apostle's arguments and examples apply to the rejection of the Jews from the Church of Christ, and the election of the Gentiles into it; not at all to the election or reprobation of individuals, as to their salvation in a future world.

I will here remark, that no ideas seem to be more repugnant than those conveyed in the quotation from Rom. ix. 18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth :" understood as predestinarians understand this last, of God's hardening men's hearts in sin, in order to ensure their final damnation and the next quotation, from James i. 13, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.' Surely this requires that the hardening ascribed to God should be understood, not to be influential, leading to the perpetration of crime, which, without such hardening, would not have taken place; but merely judicial, after all the ordinary means of grace had been rejected and abused, and guilt obstinately persisted in.

On the quotation from James i. 17, I would only remark, that while I humbly acknowledge the great truth it teaches, "that every good and every perfect gift is from above, even from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning;" and while I acknowledge with the next quotation, from the Apostle John, "that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all;" I am entirely unable to reconcile these truths with the opinion stated in the first article of the Synod of Dort, (supra Introduction, page 166,) "that all of mankind, except the elect, are appointed to eternal damnation, without any regard to their infidelity or impenitency;" or with the third, (supra Introduction, page 166,) "that whatever men do, evil as well as good, they do by an unavoidable necessity: being thereunto predestinated by the eternal and effectual secret decree of God." Surely this ascribes

i Matt. xvii. 5.

2 Heb. i. 9, Ps. xlv. 7.

3 Rom. viii. 29.

darkness as well as light to God,—it describes him as the author of evil as well as of good. I cannot admit doctrines so repugnant: vid. also, Calvin's opinions, as quoted Introduction, pages 169 to 171, and Mr. Vaughan's, page 181, "that to the counselled will of God, as its ultimate source, is to be traced, that inflexible adherence to sin and apostacy, which is found in the justly condemned unbeliever."

The passages quoted from Acts ii. 23.-Matt. xvii. 12.-Acts iv. 27.-John xix. 11, declaring, that the sufferings of our Saviour took place by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, in the very manner which had been distinctly prophesied, and that the human agents, who inflicted these sufferings, "did whatsoever the divine hand and counsel determined to be done;" all this is most certain ; in all cases I maintain, as decidedly as any Calvinist, the prescience of God, and the truth of prophecy; in the particular instance before us, they must be more, if possible, than in any other, self-evident and unquestionable, where one person of the Godhead condescended to appear in human nature, all he chose to do or to suffer must surely be "according to his own determinate counsel and foreknowledge;" yet even here, Scripture has taken care to assure us, that as far as the actions of men were concerned, they were voluntary, not necessary; merely permitted, not predestined-vid. our Lord's remarkable declaration, Luke xiii. 34 and 35, illustrated in the sixth of the preceding Discourses, particularly from page 262 to 267, to which I refer, to shew that the scriptural account of our Lord's sufferings does not support the doctrine of absolute predestination.

On the quotation from Prov. xvi. 33, I would remark, it is obviously and certainly true, and at the same time seems to suggest a distinction, important in the present discussion, between the design of the free agent in his action, combined with the motive on which he forms that design, (both of which, depending on himself, he is for both distinctly answerable,) and the effect or event of that action, which is entirely in the power of God, directing the operation of secondary and external causes, which the immediate human agent cannot foresee or control. Thus, here the free agent chooses to cast the lot into the lap ;" the design of doing this may be innocent or criminal, but when permitted by God to be done, "the disposal thereof must be of the Lord." Is not this true of every human action? and does it not go far towards reconciling the freedom and the responsibility of man, with the universal control of Providence, and the truth of prophecy?

SECTION II.-Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions ;d yet hath he not decreed any thing because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.

d Acts xv. 18. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. 1 Sam. xxiii. 11. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee tell thy servant: and the Lord said, He will come down. Ver. 12. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? and the Lord said, They will deliver thee up. Matt. xi. 21.- Woe unto thee Chorazin, woe unto thee Bethsaida; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Verse 23.-And thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto

1 To which also corresponds, Prov. xvi. 9. "A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps."

heaven, shalt be brought to hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Rom. ix. 11. For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand; not of works, but of him that calleth. Ver. 13.- As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Ver. 16.--So then it is not of him that willeth nor of him that

runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Ver. 18.-Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

I confess, I am not sure, I rightly understand the exact purport of this article; but it appears to teach, that the decrees of God are not at all influenced by his foreknowledge of what would happen on certain supposed conditions, but absolutely that certain events shall take place, and that every thing shall be arranged to produce them by an incontrollable necessity. If so, it seems to render the fore-knowledge it ascribes to God, as it were resistless and imperative, and to describe the moral government of free and moral agents, as conducted exactly in the same manner and on the same principles as the physical government of mere corporeal beings, who possess not the powers of thought, sensation, self-motion or free-will--an opinion which seems greatly to obscure the glory of God as moral governor of the world. It happens that the scriptural proofs adduced in support of this opinion have been already considered in the preceding work. The instance of David's escape from Keilah, from page 249 to 251, and the general principle in the entire of Discourse V. "On the Conditionality of the Divine Decrees;" and certainly the received from the Divine oracle as to the business of David's escape from Keilah, cannot be quoted as examples of Divine decrees in any sense of the word decrees, because the event was the reverse of that pointed out; but they prove that what God declares would take place if a certain condition be fulfilled, which it depends on man's free choice to fulfil or not, does not take place when that condition is not fulfilled; and this seems clearly repugnant to the system of absolute predestination.

answers

The quotation from Matt. xi. 21, &c. as to Chorazin and Bethsaida, has been examined in page 199, and in the entire of Discourse II. "on Absolute Predestination, compared with the mercy of God as described in the New Testament." And all the quotations from the epistle to the Romans have been previously considered, as to Esau, Jacob, and Pharaoh, in the entire of the ninth Discourse on the real nature of election as described in the New Testament, particularly from page 317 to page 321, as to Esau and Jacob; from page 321 to page 327 as to Pharaoh. To these passages I must again refer the reader, and to the comment on the preceding article, and its scripture proofs. I would beg also to refer to the Lectures on the Pentateuch, where my opinion of the nature of God's moral government is illustrated and confirmed by the authorities and arguments of Bishop Butler, Archbishop King, and Dr. Collier a passage which, I apprehend, helped to bring upon me the very strong censure of the very respectable Dr. Scott, "as to my being wholly ignorant of the essential principles of the Gospel:"——a censure in which I trust the candid reader will not join, until he shall have considered the passage now referred to, and the entire of the present volume. My anxiety not to be deemed deserving such a censure by any sincere Christian, will, I hope, excuse the apparent egotism of this request.

Vide Fifth Edition, part iii. lect. i. p. 199, et seq.

SECTION III.-By the decree of God for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angelsf are predestined unto everlasting life, and others fore-ordained to everlasting death.

f 1 Tim. v. 21. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Matt. xxv. 41-Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

Rom. ix. 22. What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endureth with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. Ver. 23.And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of his mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory. Eph. i. 5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. Ver. 6.-To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Prov. xvi. 4.-The Lord hath made all things for himself, yea even the wicked for the day of evil.

On the quotation from 1 Tim. v. 21, I observe, that it affords not the slightest proof, or even suggestion, that the ANGELS here called ELECT, were ELECT in the predestinarian sense of the word elect, that is, that they were unconditionally elected to eternal happiness before they underwent probation. Vid. to shew the contrary, the statement supra page 362, from Jude, ver. 6, where the reprobate angels are described as actively offending, "not having kept their first estate," or principality, but 66 having left their own habitation," and therefore we must believe, that the Elect were those who had preserved their original pre-eminence, and had not quitted their own habitation, and having thus passed through that probation common to all, without sin, were, therefore, elected.

In truth, this quotation from 1 Tim. v. establishes a principle, which subverts the entire doctrine of absolute predestination: St. Paul charges Timothy, as his delegated ruler, or bishop of the church at Ephesus, to enforce the practical observance of piety and virtue in every class of his converts with the strictest attention to every rule of equity:' "against an elder," says he, (v. 19,) "receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses." Men of long tried character in the church were not to be exposed to anonymous or secret slander; they were to be openly accused, and fairly tried; but, if really guilty, they were to be fearlessly and openly condemned. Ver. 20." Them that sin, (says the Apostle,) rebuke before all, that others also may fear."--He thus enforces this rule of conduct, "I charge thee, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things, without preferring one before another; DOING NOTHING BY PARTIALITY.” Is this the rule God requires man to follow? and can it be believed, that God himself acts towards his creatures on a directly opposite principle, predestinating some unto everlasting life, and fore-ordaining others to everlasting death; and that those thus predestined unto life, are thus chosen of God, before the foundation of the world, according to his eternal and immutable purpose, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions or causes moving him thereto;" while the rest of mankind he is pleased, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by, and ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin." Is it credible that such conduct should be ascribed to God, as moral ruler of the world? nay more, that it should be said to be" to the praise of his glorious justice;" while the inspired Apostle solemnly charges the moral ruler of the Church, not to prefer one to another, and

11 Tim. v. 10, 20, 21. 2 Westminster Confession, chap. iii. section 5.

3 Ibid. section 7.

to Do NOTHING BY PARTIALITY? reprobation Decretum horribile!! The next quotation, from Matt. xxv. 41, is perhaps still more subversive than that now noticed, of the opinions it is brought to support. Vid. supra, Discourse II, particularly pages 196, 197, where the entire 24th and 25th chapters of St. Matthew are appealed to, as supplying a full proof, that the elect and reprobate are distinguished, not according to the principle of unconditional predestination, but of retributive justice. Those on the left hand, who neglected every work of mercy to their fellow-creatures, to them our Lord declares, " inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me: and these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal," Is this unconditional predestination? Can it be, that the word elect angels, occurring in 1 Tim. v. 21, joined with God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels, occurring in Matt. xxv. 41, was thought enough to establish, that these angels were unconditionally predestined, the former to election, the latter to reprobation, though the Scripture in both cases directly opposes ascribing any such system of conduct to God. In Matthew, the very actions being enumerated, which discriminated the accepted from the condemned; and in Timothy, it being declared, "some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment, and some men they follow after; likewise, also, the good works of men are manifested beforehand, and they that are otherwise cannot be hid."

No wonder Calvin should designate the decree of

As to the quotation from Rom. ix. 22, 23, it may perhaps be sufficient to refer to the ninth of the preceding Discourses on Rom. ix. 13, 14, where, I trust, it has been proved, that the Apostle, throughout his entire epistle, employs election and reprobation to denote admission to religious privileges, or exclusion from them, in the present life; Vid. page 318, not election to future happiness, or reprobation to future misery; and that he also applies predestination to express the predestination, or the providential appointment of nations, to execute the Divine purposes in the present world, not the predestination of individuals to eternal happiness or misery in a future state, vid. supra page 319, and this would have clearly appeared, if to verses 22 and 23 had been added verses 24 and 25, for they would then stand," the vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory, even (says the Apostle,) us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles; as he saith in Hosea, I will call them my people which were not my people, and her beloved which was not beloved." Thus the Apostle meant every thing he had said, not of individuals but of collective bodies of men, distinguished, not by their being raised to heaven, but by being admitted into the church, or people of God on earth, as the 26th verse proves; "And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God." Surely the place where it was said, "Ye are not my people," must have been earth, not heaven; and it is in the same place, where they, the Gentiles, of whom this had been said, "shall be called the children of the living God;" it is most evident this calling, therefore, is into the visible church of Christ on earth, not the assembly of the blessed in heaven: thus, the being before prepared, relates solely to the providential arrangements regulating the selection of the Jews, as the peculiar people of God; and, on their obstinate rejection of the Gospel, the admission of the Gentiles in their room into the church of Christ.

If the reader wishes to see this view of the Apostle's meaning most clearly illustrated, I refer him to the Rev. Thomas Young's synopsis of the argument of the Epistle to the Romans, and the three discourses annexed; which I did not meet with until this work was nearly ready for the press; but which has most highly gratified me, by exhibiting with great clearness and conciseness the views which, following the best commentators, I had adopted. Vid. synopsis, p. 90-91.

The Jews, after long despising the riches of God's goodness, and forbearance, and long suffering, are now become vessels of wrath fitted (doubtless by their own misconduct) for destruction, which came upon them to the full about ten or eleven years after the writing of this epistle. The Gentiles on the other hand, by attending to God's call in the Gospel, are, from vessels of wrath, become, together with the