him so, if they should believe. I numerous and full, that I shall

only refer to a few of them, without rehearsing the words, John iii. 14, 15. Rom. iii. 25, 26. and x. 4:

There is, therefore, no way to make the scriptures consistent, and to discover a ground or warrant for every one to believe, but by admitting that all are to be saved that God doth really intend, and hath absolutely determined or decreed, and will certainly effect, the salvation of all mankind. After this manner is the salvation of all men attempt-pliance, Mark xvi. 15, 16. Acts ed to be proved.

2. It is equally plain from the scriptures, that all, wherever the gospel is preached, are called upon to believe in Christ-to be reconciled to God, with a promise of salvation, in case of com

iii. 19. and xvi. 31. and xx. 21. 2 Cor. v. 20, 21. But,

3. The faith called for from every one, and to which the promise of salvation is annexed, consists not in believing that we in particular shall certainly be saved, but in believing with the heart, that God hath raised Christ from the dead. Rom. x.

But is this indeed the case, that there is no ground or warrant for any one to believe in Christ, unless he knows that he in particular is chosen to salvation; or, which amounts to the same, that all mankind are so chosen, and will be saved? Do not the scriptures exhibit a sufficient foundation and good war-9, 10. "If thou shalt confess rant for any and every one to believe on the Son of God, even though they teach, that many will die in their sins? This, surely, is an enquiry worthy of our most careful and serious atten-eth unto righteousness." tion. Wherefore, let it be observed,

1. It is plainly revealed that Christ has, by the Father's appointment and his own consent, been lifted up on the cross, an atoning sacrifice for the sins of men to the end that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but have eternal life. He hath also been raised from the dead, as a proof that he hath made an atonement for sin, and brought in a righteousness, to the acceptance and entire satisfaction of the Father; and that God, therefore, can consistently forgive and save every one that believeth in him, whoever and how many soever they be.

The scripture proofs of this and the next proposition are so VOL. V. No. 10.

with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.` For with the heart man believ

The fact, that God hath raised Christ from the dead, with what is implied in it and proved by it, is the object of a true saving gospel faith. He who, with the heart, believes this fact in its full import, or gives full credit to and cordially entertains the truths imported in this fact, be lieveth unto righteousness, and will be saved.

He who, in the scriptural sense, believes the resurrection of Christ, gives full credit to the scripture account of the fact in its connections. He, therefore, believes that although Jesus was put to death by the hands of men, yet that he was delivered by the determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God that his death was designed both by the X X

in the sight of God, and submitting to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and returning to God through him.

Here, then, is exhibited an ample ground for faith in the Son of God-a sufficient warrant for any and every one, to whom the gospel is published, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is presented to view as hav

for sin and wrought a perfect righteousness; so that God can be just and justify all who believe in him; and of which he hath given the most unexceptionable evidence by raising him from the dead. He, therefore, now commandeth all men every where to repent-to believe on his Son Jesus Christ-to be reconciled to him. And the faith required essentially consists in believing this fact, that God hath

Father and by himself, and designed to make an atonement for the sins of men; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Of course, believing, in the scriptural sense of the terms, that God hath raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, implies a firm belief of the principal things imported or signified, declared and proved, by his resurrection;ing made a complete atonement particularly, that God owned and approved him in the character in which he professed to act-that as he professed to be, so he in fact is the Christ, the Son of the living God that whatever he said, is divinely true-that he hath answered the end, for which he obeyed and suffered that he hath wrought a complete righteousness for the justification of all who believe, and made a full atonement for all their sins, to the acceptance and entire satis-raised Christ from the dead, with faction of God the Father-that a hearty concurrence in its plain he is the end of the law for right- and obvious import, according eousness to every one that believ- to the scripture account of it. eth-that God is ready and willing, for his sake, to pardon and save all who come unto him by Jesus Christ. And believing these truths with the heart implies believing them with a heart corresponding, consenting and agreeing to them. Hence, believing with the heart the resurrection of Christ, implies, or is inseparably connected with, believing the great truths import- Christ spake of himself as the ed in his resurrection, with pen- antitype of the serpent which itent acknowledgment of sin- Moses lifted up. What if God, with cordial approbation of God's when he ordered Moses to make character and law-renouncing and place on a pole the brazen all dependence on any thing dis-serpent, and declared that every tinct from the righteousness of bitten Israelite, when he looked Christ for acceptance with God, on it, should live, had perfectly and trusting only in the virtue of known, that they would hold the that divine righteousness, as am- idea of obtaining a cure in that ply sufficient for our justification way, in such scorn and con

Where, or on what account, then, is there any difficulty in the way of any one's believing to the saving of his soul? Certainly, there is none, on account of any deficiency in the revealed object of faith; nor on account of any defect in the ground or warrant for such faith; but simply, in the blindness and perverseness of the sinner's heart.

tempt, that no one would, of his own accord, or unless secretly influenced by his Spirit, ever cast his eyes upon the serpent of brass? Would that have made any alteration as to the ground and warrant, which there really was, for any and every one of them to look upon it in expectation of receiving a cure? None at all.

Perhaps it will be said, The record which we are required to believe is this, viz. "That God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son." Very true. Therefore the apostle immediately adds, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." So it might be said, The record which God gave the Israelites was, that he had pro

but if any beheld it not they died. God's providing them a remedy in the brazen serpent did not make them personally partakers of a cure, unless they beheld it. And his giving us eternal life in his Son don't make us personal

partakers of eternal life, unless we believe on his Son, or receive him by faith.

REFLECTIONS.

What if, in that case, God had determined effectually to in-vided them a remedy for the bite cline a number of them to be- of the fiery serpents; and this hold the serpent and live, and to remedy was in the serpent of leave the rest to take their own brass. Therefore, he that beway, and abide the consequen-held the serpent of brass lived; ces? Would that have made any alteration as to the reality of a sufficient warrant for every one to behold and live? None at all. Further: what if God had plainly revealed his determination effectually to dispose some to look and live, and told them explicitly ly that a number of them would derive no benefit from the brazen serpent, but would die of their wounds by the fiery serpents, through their own folly and perverseness? Would that have altered the case, as to the ground and warrant for every one to look on the serpent of brass in full confidence of a cure? Was it not a great mercy to Evidently, not at all. So in the the bitten Israelites, that such a case before us. Neither the in- remedy was provided for them, disposition of sinful men to be- as the brazen serpent proved? lieve on the Son of God, to look May we not well presume that unto him and be saved; nor they esteemed it so? And had God's purpose to remove the every Israelite been stung by the indisposition of some, and to in-fiery serpents, and seen no way cline their hearts to believe, and to avoid that death which the to leave others to their own cho-mortal poison would soon prosen way; nor the revelation of this his purpose; neither of these makes any alteration, as to the reality of sufficient ground and good warrant for every one to whom the gospel is revealed, to believe and be saved.

1. What an infinite mercy is it, that Christ has been lifted up on the cross, and is now exalted in heaven, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life?

duce, unless some powerful remedy, of which they were ignorant, was speedily applied, how great and general may we presume the joy would have been, upon the erection of the serpent of brass, at the sight of which

they were informed by God, that they should live ?

But we are all infected with the more dreadful poison of sin. This would have inevitably issued in our death, our eternal misery, if Christ had not been lifted up. But now, whosoever believ eth in him will not perish, but shall have eternal life. The connection between seeing the serpent of brass and living, was not more certain than is the connection between believing on Christ and enjoying eternal life. How great then, how infinite, is the mercy displayed towards us! How great the cause for joy and praise to God!

ness and salvation proposed to them. Wherefore, let all take warning, and flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us.

PAREPIDEMOS.

Thoughts on Genesis iii. 24.

"So he drove out the man ; and he placed, at the east of the garden of Eden, Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

HE direct, literal meaning

TH

of the words is, That God drove Adam with his wife out of the garden of Eden, in which he had placed them before their fall, and set at the east of the garden a guard of angels with a flaming sword which turned ev

2. What folly and madness, and aggravated wickedness is it, to make light of Christ-to slight and neglect him to refuse to come unto him for life! How foolish and wicked would it have been for the bitten Israelites, to have slighted the remedy provi-ery way, to render it impossible ded for them, and to have refus- for them to return into the gared or neglected to look on the den, and obtain access to the tree brazen serpent? Thus, and more of life. so, is it for us, to slight and neglect the crucified Saviour, or to expect salvation by him without believing on him. For we have no more reason to expect salvation by Christ without believing on him, than the bitten Israelites had, to expect a cure by the brazen serpent without looking upon it.

This transaction of the Deity was very significant and expressive, and doubtless recorded for our instruction. And to contribute a little towards explaining its import, it may be observed,

1. God's transactions, with Adam, when he put him in the garden, contained, at least, an implicit promise of life upon condition of perfect obedience. Gen. ii. 16, 17. " And the Lord God commanded the man, say

3. If sinners perish from under the light of the gospel, how evident will it be, that their perdition will be owing to their owning, Of every tree of the garden voluntary neglect or contempt thou mayest freely eat; but of of the sovereign remedy which the tree of the knowledge of good God hath provided and revealed? and evil thou shalt not eat of it: That they will perish through for in, the day that thou eatest their own fault, committed after thereof thou shalt surely die." they were in a state of condemnation and had a way of forgive-]

By these words death was presented to Adam's view, as the

penalty of his disobedience, in case he should transgress the divine command by eating of the forbidden fruit. And from this, if nothing more was or had been said, he might justly infer, that in case he did not eat of the forbidden tree, but was perfectly obedient, he should not die, but should surely live. For if he was liable to die in case he did not transgress, he was liable to the same evil in case he was obedient, as he would be in case he proved disobedient. And upon this supposition, there was no penalty annexed to disobedience

no evil threatened to which he was not liable, though he should prove perfectly obedient. It is clear, then, that a sure promise of life if he should not transgress, was implied in the express threatening of death as the penalty of disobedience.

he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live for ever," appear in their connection, to suggest at least so much as this, viz. that, from what had been said respecting that tree, Adam would prob ably think he could lay claim to eternal life; provided he took and eat of its fruit. Again, In Rev. ii. 7. Christ says, " To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." These words are indisputably a promise to those who are faithful unto death, and prove victorious in the Christian course and warfare, of the confirmed, everlasting enjoyment of the life, glory and happiness of the heavenly state. The paradise of God is the place where the redeemed church will dwell and reign with Christ in happiness and glory for ever. This glori

allusion to the earthly paradise, the garden of delight, which God formed for the place of man's abode in his original state of innocence and rectitude. In the

to the tree of life in the earthly. He is the life of Christians-the author, purchaser and giver of it.

2. There were two trees in the garden particularly distin-ous place is called paradise, in guished from the rest, viz. The tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Gen. ii. 9. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil might perhaps be so called, because it was design-heavenly paradise Christ answers ed to be the medium of trial and proof, whereby it would appear whether man was good or evil, obedient or disobedient. And the tree of life, on the other hand, was probably so called, because it was to man the appointed pledge or token of life so long as he should have access to it and eat of its fruit, or rather, of confirmation in endless life and happiness, upon his eating of its fruit when he should have finished his probationary course of obedience. This appears probable from several passages of scripture. God's words in Gen. iii. 22. "And now, lest

From him their life is derived, and in union with him only do they possess and enjoy it, with a sure and irreversible confirmation.

To eat of the tree of life is to eat of the fruit which that tree produces. Hence the promise, that professing Christians, in consequence of overcoming, shall eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God, is a promise that they, in consequence of finishing successfully their Christian course and warfare, shall in