relates to him as foreseen by that God to whom all things, past, present, and future, are in perfect view, as unpersuadable, not only to law but to gospel. It relates to men as deserving to be consumed; for so are all the instances of election spoken of in the Scriptures, from the affair of the golden calf and onward.

2. It is not an election of judicial partiality, or of a judge having respect of persons in judgment, but an election to show mercy, where all are viewed as having passed the judgment, as being "condemnable already" in the mind of God; for "he that believeth not is condemned already," and deserves to perish. It is "keeping mercy for thousands," when all have forfeited covenant right, and deserve to be consumed, as in the case of Israel, concerning whom Nehemiah says, "Nevertheless, for thy great mercies, thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them, for thou art a gracious and merciful God."

3. It is not an election out of criminals sueing for pardon, showing mercy to this, and not to that; nor is it an election out of persons desiring to be saved, saving this, and leaving that; but it is an election out of those that neither seek mercy nor salvation; so that the non-elect ought not to murmur, for they have still their own will and their own way. When proclamation was made by Cyrus to all Jews, giving them leave to return to their own land, and the Lord chose to stir up the heart of some; could the rest find fault with him that they were suffered to have their choice, choosing, as they did, to settle in Babylon. When "a certain man made a great supper, and

bade many," and " they all with one consent made excuse," could those who thus refused, find fault with the master of the house, that he should take further measures to fill his house with guests, by calling in those who never could have expected it?

4. It is not an election of exclusion, but of reservation, of relief and security. None are excluded from the benefit of the covenant of life upon works: none are excluded from the benefit of the covenant of life upon faith; but these having spent their force, so to speak, and man, through the lust of his own heart, having wilfully and stubbornly refused the benefit, first of the one and then of the other, the scheme of sovereign mercy, and election of its objects, comes in as a blessed relief. Appeal to fact: It was when the world rejected" the promise," God chose Abraham-IsaacJacob-as fathers of the visible church it was when all Israel had broken covenant, that God declared that he would "be gracious to whom he would be gracious, and would show mercy to whom he would show mercy”—that he would "keep mercy for thousands.” When the Lord "caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cleave to him, as a girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, that they might be to him for a praise," &c., and it proved "they would not hear," then it was that he chose a remnant from time to time. Having spread forth his hands all the day long unto them, "a disobedient and gainsaying people," without effect, he then took care to have an "elect" people,

"seed which he would bring out of Jacob." In the time of our Lord the gospel was preached to all, but they refusing it, he had an "elect whom he had chosen,'

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-"a remnant according to the election of grace." Thus we see, then, that none were excluded but such as excluded themselves, and the election was on the consideration of such self-exclusion.

By Christ, ample provision is made for all; the gospel is to be preached to every creature, and all are cordially invited to come. Moreover, by the general administration of the gospel, God has bound himself to give eternal life to as many as receive that gospel; and all this without respect of persons: but, after they have all been viewed as disobedient and unpersuadable, "all, as with one consent, making excuse," it can be no infringement of his justice or goodness in government, if, in adopting some further method of grace, he chooses who shall be the objects of that

grace.

5. It is not an election of arbitrary caprice; for it is according to the counsel of his will, and as in his view the best adapted to promote the best ends.

6. It is not an election to salvation whether the individual live holily or not, thus opening the floodgates of licentiousness; but the salvation itself to which they are chosen is a salvation from sin; it is an election, "by or through sanctification of the Spirit,” "to be holy," "election to obedience." Such is the scriptural statement of it; and as all the elect people of God are sanctified by that Spirit, who is emphatically called the Holy Spirit, they therefore must necessarily "follow after holiness," as well from the love of it, as from a sense of obligation to it.

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7. It is not an election inconsistent with the freedom of the human will; for, as for the non-elect, they

have the will. They do as they please, and after they have done as they pleased, God does as he pleases. And as for God's chosen people, they are made willing, and in a manner suited to their originally constituted rational nature; for their understanding is first enlightened, and the will necessarily follows its dictate. They are first roused to consider; then taught of God; then they are drawn as with the cords of love and the bands of a man; and then coming to Christ as his disciples, they cheerfully learn of him as their teaching "Master," and take his yoke on them as their rightful "Lord."

8. Nor is it an election to salvation without respect to human endeavour, as though it occasioned sloth and negligence; for it is an election to life, which is itself a principle of activity-it is an election to service, a service not of a slave, but of a son, and a service that they love, and that is rewarded too according to the fidelity and diligence of the servant. It is an election to run a race for a prize, which prize they know will not be obtained without running. In fine, the elect are taught of God that it is an election to use the means, as well as to attain the end-that God having "joined these together," they therefore must not "put them asunder,"-and that, although "it is God that worketh" in his people "to will and to do," yet, that they must "work out their own salvation," and that too "with fear and trembling."

9. Nor, finally, can the non-elect, or the "vessels of wrath," complain of being hardly dealt with, because they are not comprehended in the election. For it is

persons

not an election to salvation out of a number of who were willing alike to be saved, but some were refused, while others were chosen; but an election of some to make willing, while others were left to their own perverse unwillingness and choice. They were urged to return, with God's assurance upon oath that he had no pleasure in the death of a sinner, but that he would turn from his wickedness and live; they were cordially invited to the feast, and nothing prevented but their own free refusal-they were "contentious" against God's counsel, both in the word, and in their own minds, and would not "obey the truth,” while they would "obey unrighteousness," "taking pleasure in it, and many of them had been "endured with much long-suffering ;" and in fine, we may say, they are damned because they would not be saved. Nor may it be useless to add, that their "damnation" will be "greater" or lesser, according to their desert; being made only to "eat the fruit of their own doings."

Having cleared the way, by correcting the misconceptions of this doctrine, we now proceed, after making some prefatory remarks, to state the doctrine, as given us in Scripture. We have said, after some prefatory remarks, because these will serve to illustrate and facilitate the reception of the doctrines.

SECTION II.

The true Scripture Doctrine of Election and Predestination.

PREFATORY REMARKS.

1. God, who "sees the end from the beginning," before whom "all things are naked and opened," who