and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. As I live faith the Lord God, I have no pleafure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.-As Mofes lifted up the ferpent in the wildernefs, even fo muft the fon of man be lifted up; that whofoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten fon, that who-cifive language of infpiration, foever believeth in him fhould not "Without holinefs no man fhall perish, but have everlafting life. fee the Lord." For God fent not his fon into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be faved.-God was in Chrift, reconciling the world unto himfelf, not imputing their trefpaffes unto them.-As tho' God did befeech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be fin for us who knew no fin; that we might be made the mouth of Chrift himself, and faw many of his mighty works will, in the day of judgment, be con-. demned to a more intolerable punifhment than the people of Sodom. F. Who of all the numerous hearers of the gofpel will be faved? T. They only who repentwho believe on the Lord Jefus Chrift--who receive the love of the truth, and obey the gospel according to the plain and de F. It appears then, that you have no reason to think you fhall be faved, unless you become a true penitent, a fincere believer, a cordial friend to Jefus Chrift, a fubject of real holiness. T. True; I have not the leaft reafon to expect falvation upon any other fuppofition. of your foul? F. But do you expect, that you fhall ever, of your own accord, or by your own exertions, righteoufnefs of God in him.repent and believe, to the faving This is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Chrift Jefus came into the world to fave finners; of whom I am chief. --God our faviour, who will have all men to be faved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." F. Thefe and fuch like paffages of facred writ fhow, that finners may be faved, and indifputably imply, that fome will be fa ved. But do you, fir, confider thefe and fimilar declarations as implying or amounting to a promife of falvation to finners as fuch? Or do you infer from them, that all mankind will be faved, or even all under the light of the gospel? T. By no means. The fcriptures moit clearly and decidedly teach the contrary. Even fome who heard the gofpel from the T. Some appear to think they can and will repent and turn to God, when they find it indifpen fibly neceffary, to escape impending destruction. And I once faw no reason why I might not expect, by my earnest endeavors and more vigorous and pefevering exertions, to accomplish fuch a reformation and change, as would iffue in falvation; but alas, I have hitherto failed, totally failed, and am conftrained to confefs, that from all paft and prefent experience of my own heart, I fee no reason to think I fhall ever of myself come to repentance, or exercife the least degree of true love to God, or gofpel-holinefs, but abundant reason to conclude that I fhall not, without being first moved to it and wrought upon by the fpirit of God; and the fcriptures, I find, confirm this conclufion." Except a man be born again, he cannot fee the kingdom of God. By grace are ye faved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.--Not by works of righteoufnefs which we have done, but according to his mercy he faved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghoft.-Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." Thefe and numerous other paffages plainly teach me to view all the goodness or holiness ever found in men, as being originally not of themselves, but of God. F. Why then do you hope that you fhall yet repent and turn to God? Do you think that he is under any obligation to grant the fpecial influences of his fpirit to all mankind? or that he actually doth fo? or that he hath promifed this infinite favor to any thing that you fhall do, whilft out of Chrift, altogether felfifh, and dead in fin? or that you can lay him under any obligation to do it for you ? T. I must confefs I do not find any evidence that this is the cafe. On the contrary, I find that fo long as I am out of Chrift -fo long as I do not believe on him, in the manner required to intitle to falvation, I am so far from having either a prefent title to life, or a gracious promife of the fpecial, efficacious influences of his fpirit to change my heart, that I am under the curfe, condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on me. Indeed, I find there is a promise, that he who afks fhall receive, and that he who feeks fhall find; but alas, I have afked and fought again and again; and yet do not receive or find. I therefore conclude the afking and feeking, to which the promife is made, is a different thing from any to which I have attained; or implies another kind of defire, and acting from other principles and motives, or for other ends, than I have ever yet done. I likewise find, that God claims it as his right and prerogative, to do as he pleafes, with refpect to the bestowment of his favor and grace. His language is, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will fhew mercy." F. Is it not then a fact, a real truth, that if you are ever converted and faved, it will be by the free grace of God, to which you have no claim, and which he may grant or withhold as he fees fit; fo that it may be truly faid, if God fees fit or is pleased to bestow his grace upon you, to give you an heart to know him, to repent and turn and receive the love of the truth, you will be converted and faved; but otherwife you will certainly perish ? T. This doth indeed appear to be the true state of the cafe. F. What then is the ground of your hope? or what reason have you to hope, that you may yet be converted and faved? T. So far as I can learn from the fcriptures, and from the preaching and instructions which appear to me to correfpond with them, all the reafon I have to hope that I may yet be converted & faved, may be fummarily expreffed in these following particulars, viz. 1. Jefus Chrift, by the one offering of himself for fin and be coming obedient unto death, hath made an atonement for fin and wro't out a righteousness perfectly acceptable and well-pleafing to God, every way fufficient to render it confiftent with his juftice and the best good of his kingdom, to juftify and fave every one who believeth in Jefus ; and alfo to grant the special influences of his Spirit to whomfoever he pleases, for their conviction, quickening and fanctification. Hence, God not only declares that he will be gracious to whom he will be gracious, but hath alfo exprefsly promifed falvation to every one who believeth. 2. God is infinitely gracious and merciful. 3. He hath in fact had mercy on many, and even on fome of the chief of finners. Therefore, it may be that he will have mercy on me. 4. It is plain from the fcrip. tures, that he intends to fave a number of mankind. Therefore, it may be that I fhall yet be faved. 5. His fending the gofpel, the word of falvation, into a place, feems to carry an intimation, that he hath a defign to convert and fave at leaft fome in that place. The gofpel is called the word of faith, and the word of falvation; and Paul fays, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." If I rightly apprehend the fcriptures upon this head, the word of God is the divinely appointed mean of faith and falvation, and neceffary to it, at least, according to God's ordinary method of operation. Although an heart to believe, or to receive the love of the truth, is an effect of the fpecial operation of the fpirit of God; yet in order to the actual exercife of faith in Chrift, it is neceffary that he fhould be revealed or made known, For men, tho' ever fo well difpofed, cannot believe in him of whom they have not heard, or of whom they have no knowl. edge; and the word appears to be the divinely appointed mean of the knowledge neceffary in order to actual believing on the Lord Jefus Chrift. Nor can I difcover, that God doth often, if ever, change the hearts of finners who have come to years of discretion, without fome knowledge of the object of faith derived from the word. It does not appear, that in the days of the apostles falvation was fent to any except where the gospel, the word of falvation, was fent; and wherever this word was fent, there appears to be evidence, that it was made ef fectual to the faith and falvation of fome. Hence there appears to be more reason to hope for the falvation of some among those who have opportunity to hear the word or derive inftruction from it, than among those who have not; and I accordingly entertain more hope of my own falvation, than I fee prefent reafon to have of that of any individual among thofe where the gofpel is, and appears likely to continue, totally unknown And efpecially, if the word hath taken effect upon mẹ fo far, that my attention is greatly engaged to it, and I am exci ted to liften to and fearch it, with ferious and deep concern about my fpiritual ftate and eternal welfare, there feems to be proportionably greater reafon to hope God intends to make it effectual to my falvation. But after all, fo long as I am impenitent and deftitute of all real holinefs, unbelieving and out of Chrift, and do not receive the love of the truth, I am far from having any promise or fure evidence that I fhall be faved. And if I have long fat under the word, and heard the gofpel preached, year after year, without any faving effect, and efpecially, if I am now as careless and ftupid and hard-hearted as ever, or even more fo, it is evident, that I have very great reafon to fear, that I shall die in my fins, and lie down in forrow. There is a may be, a poffibility, that I fhall be faved; but to all appearance, far greater reafon to fear that I fhall perish. ever find mercy; and nothing appears to keep me from finking into defpair, but a perfuafion of the important truths which I have already mentioned, and that God is an infinitely wife, holy and gra cious Sovereign, who can and will have mercy on whom he pleases, and even on fome of the chief of finners. If any reader of the preceding difcourfe fhould be ready to fay, that, according to the statement contained in it, the cafe of finners is very awful and alarming ; it will be readily admitted, that it is indeed fo. Yet if this is in truth the cafe, is it not best that it fhould be known? Is it not evidently of importance, that finners fhould be convinced of the truth with respect to their real character and fituation? If it should be inquired, whether this reprefentation of the cafe of finners will not tend rather to difcourage them, and to drive them into defpair, than to be of any real fervice to them; it may be replied, that it is calculated and defigned to make them defpair of obtaining falvation by their own righteoufnefs, or of bringing God under any obligation to Sir, I have now ftated the fum and substance of what I can fay respecting the grounds or reafon of my hope; from which you will readily perceive, that when I faid, I had fome hope that I fhould be faved, I did not mean to intimate that I thought I had any prefent title to falvation, or any measure of that kind of hope which the real Chriftian experiences; but only, that I confidered my condition as being not altogether hopelessor totally defperate-that I believed there was a poffibility, and, at least, fome degree of probability, that I fhould be faved; fuch, however, as may admit a greater probability that I fhall finally perifh. And I freely acknowledge, that I often appear to myself to be upon the point of concluding my cafe is quite hope-convert and fave them, or of atlefs. Notwithstanding all the awakening and inftructive means which I enjoy, and all the infinitely folemn and weighty arguments and motives which are placed before me, I find myfelf fo extremely blind, ftupid and unfeeling, and my heart fo entirely eftranged from God, fo perfectly dead in fin, fo deceitful and defperately wicked, and apparently growing worfe and worfe, that I am, at times, almoft driven to the conclufion, that God will certainly caft me off forever-that there is no room left to hope that I fhall taining to true happiness in any way except that of meer free grace through the redemption which is in Chrift. And till they are brought to this kind of defpair, it is conceived, they will never rightly apprehend and cordially embrace the gofpel. Great numbers, it is probable, are ruined by prefumption, to one that is loft by defpair. And if the preceding exhibition fhonld prove a means of bringing any unrenewed finners to a realizing conviction that their condition is quite as awfully dangerous and alarming as the exhi muft imply thofe who were nearly connected, by natural relation, friendship, or in fome other way. As the expreffion is rarely used, except in the cafe of thofe who it may be defigned to express the relation which is peculiar to them, The following obfervations are fubmitted. bition fuggefts-and if, as the natural confequence of this, it fhould prove inftrumental of exciting in them the most earnest enquiry how they may efcape impending deftruction, and the deep-were reputed the people of God, eft concern about the event; which again would naturally excite them to cry earnestly to God for mer. cy, whilft every other fource of hope was wholly removed; it is believed, there would be a hopeful profpect of their deriving fpecial benefit from it. God grant that this may be the cafe; and that finners may be not only convinced, but also converted and faved, of his infinite mercy, thro' Jefus Chrift! ASTHENES. 1. The expreffion, "They were gathered to their fathers," points out an event which is con nected with dying and takes place at that time. This is evident from the use of the words, in the paffages already quoted, and in most places where they occur, and in fome places this only is mentioned, when it is evident that death alfo is in. The re-union of faints in the world | cluded.* of Spirits. Judges ii. 10. "All that gen eration were gathered to their fathers." A 2. The fathers to whom they who died before them, and exift are faid to be gathered, are thofe ed in the world of fpirits. This is evidently true, because, at death, they were feparated from their friends and connexions in the prefent world, fo that they could not be faid to be gathered friends had not an existence in the SIMILAR form of expreffion, occurs in various paffages in the holy fcriptures. Thus it is faid of Abraham, that he died and was gathered to his peo-to them. And, if their departed ple-of Ishmael, he died and was gathered to his people-Ifaac died and was gathered to his people and thus God faid to Mofes, die, and be gathered to thy people, as Aaron thy brother died, and was gathered to his people. In thefe and a few other paffages, we find this form of expreffion, differing from our text only in this way, that the word people is used inftead of fathers, meaning no doubt much the fame. If any difference be fuppofed, it is only that people is the most entenfiveinits fignification. Their people or fathers, * Gen. xxv. 8. † Gen. XXV. 17. Gen. xxxv. 29 $ Deut. xxxii. 50. invifible world, it would be ab furd to speak of being gathered to them. The expreffion fuggefts the idea of an affembly, or fociety, collected from different places and ages of the world and united in a happy existence, beyond the grave. 3. This gathering to their fathers is diftinguished from death, though connected with it. Death as it refpects the diffolution of this bodily life; and a feparation of the foul and body, is mentioned, in most places, referred to above as diftinct from this gathering. * Numbers xx. 24. xxvii. 13. and chap. xxxi. 2. |