though God has ordained the salvation of those that shall be saved, he has ordained it in the way of faith and holiness, and a working out their own salvation with fear and trembling." COOPER on Predestination unto Life, p. 58, 59.

§ 25. "It follows from the infinite perfection of God, that he equally determines within himself all his own works at once. God cannot but be capable of this by his knowledge of all possibilities, and wisdom to judge, at one view, which of them were fittest to be carried into existence through boundless ages. And is it not the wisdom of every agent, before he sets about a work of any compass, to fix in his design, as far as be can, all things that any way relate to it? Now, all God's works, from the beginning of the creation to the consummation of all things, are one whole and entire grand scheme, whose ultimate end lies at a vast distance from the beginning, and all the intermediate operations, as so many parts, conspire to it in a regular connection. How then can it be consistent with his most perfect wisdom, to leave any of them to an after-thought, when he had forethought sufficient to provide for all alike. And since he would not knowingly suffer any thing utterly inconsistent with his own glory, as he had power to hinder it, he has no doubt fixed such bounds and limitations to all his creatures, that nothing shall be produced by any of them, which may not have a proper place and use in the sum of events. He has settled also particular subordinate ends to individual events, and a general good end on the whole, which they shall altogether subserve. Of him,' we are told, and through him, and to him, are all things.' Rom. xi. 36. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, and the thoughts of his heart to all generations.' Psalm xxxiii. 11. Nothing can ever arise to surprise him, or cast any difficulty or perplexity in his way, he having already from eternity settled the proper measures of conduct in every case that shall emerge. How incomprehensible and wonderful in counsel, as well as excellent in working is God! and what reason have we to cry out, O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!' Rom. xi. 33." HUBBARD. Faith and Pract. Sermon 6.

§ 26. As to the decrees of election, see Psalm lxv. 4. "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." Isaiah xli. 9. "Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee,

and not cast thee away." Matth. xx. 16. "So the last shall be first, and the first last for many be called, but few chosen." Chap. xxii. 14. "For many are called, but few are chosen." Chap. xxiv. 24. "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." John yi. 37-46. "All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in nowise cast out," &c. Chap. x. 3, 4, and verse 11, and 14-17, 26-30. "To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. I am the good Shepherd; and know my sheep, and am known of mine. Therefore doth my Father love me; because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. But ye believe not, because ye are not my sheep, as I said unto you," &c. Chap. xvii. 6—20. “I have manifested thy name unto the men thou gavest ine out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word, &c. Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." Acts xviii. 10. " For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee, to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city."-" All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." John vi. 44—46. “ No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day," &c. Chap. xvii. 9-13. "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine," &c. 1 Thess. v. 9. "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."—" What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy, &c. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? for who hath resisted his will? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another to dishonour &c. Even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone, and a rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed," Rom. ix.-" I say then, Hath God cast away his

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people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, &c. 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 is it no more grace: otherwise, work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." Rom. xi.

§ 27. Concerning the Arminian notion, that when the apostles speak of election, they only mean that by which the professing Christians in those days were distinguished from others, as the nation of Israel of old was; this is unreasonable, according to their own principles. For if they were elected, and that was the reason why they so far embraced the gospel, as to become Christians rather than others, then, on Arminian principles, no thanks were due to them for embracing the gospel. Besides, their principles render vain all endeavours to spread the gospel. For the gospel will certainly be spread to all nations that are elected; and all such shall have the offers of the gospel, whether they take any care of the matter or no. Dr. Whitby, to make out his scheme, makes the word election signify two entirely different things; one, election to a common faith of Christianity; another, a conditional election to salvation. But every one must be sensible of the unreasonableness of such shifting and varying, and turning into all shapes, to evade the force of scripture. It is evident the apostle in Rom. ix. has not only respect to God's sovereignty in the election and preterition of nations; because he illustrates his meaning by the instance of a particular person, viz. Pharaoh. The exercise of the sovereignty that he speaks of, appears by the express words of the apostle about vessels of mercy, and vessels of wrath; vessels of honour, and vessels of dishonour. But the vessels of mercy, he speaks of as prepared to glory. They, it is plain, are those that shall be saved; and the vessels of wrath are those that perish. He speaks of those that shall be saved, ver. 27. "A remnant shall be saved." What is there that God doth decree, according to the scheme of the Arminians, so as to make it in any measure consistent with itself? He does not decree any of the great events of the world of mankind, (which are the principal events, and those to which all others are subordinated,) because these depend on men's free will. And if God does not decree and order those events beforehand, then what becomes of the providence of God? and what room is there for prayer, if there be no providence? Prayer is shut out this way also. According

to them, we cannot reasonably pray for the accomplishment of things that are already fixed, before our prayers: for then our prayers alter nothing, and what, say they, signifies it for us to pray?

28. To Dr. Whitby's observation, that the apostle speaks of churches, as though they were all elect; I answer, He speaks from a judgment of charity, as Dr. Whitby himself observes, p. 460. God foreknows the elect, as God is said to know those that are his own sheep from strangers; as Christ is said not to know the workers of iniquity, that is, he owns them not. In the same sense, God is said to know the elect from all eternity; that is, he knew them as a man knows his own things. He acknowledged them from eternity. He owns them as his children. If God ever determined, in the general, that some of mankind should certainly be saved, and did not leave it altogether undetermined whether ever so much as one soul of all mankind should believe in Christ; it must be, that he determined that some particular persons should certainly believe in him. For it is certain, that if he has left it undetermined concerning this and that, and the other person, whether ever he should believe or not, and so of every particular person in the world; then there is no necessity at all, that this or that, or any particular person in the world, should ever be saved by Christ, for matter of any determination of God's. So that, though God sent his Son into the world, yet the matter was left altogether undetermined by God, whether ever any person should be saved by him; and there was all this ado about Christ's birth, death, resurrection, ascension, and sitting at God's right hand, when it was not as yet determined whether he should ever save one soul, or have any mediatorial kingdom at all.

29. It is most absurd, to call such a conditional election as they talk of, by the name of election, seeing there is a necessary connection between faith in Jesus Christ and eternal life. Those that believe in Christ must be saved, according to God's inviolable constitution of things. What nonsense is it, therefore, to talk of choosing such to life from all eternity out of the rest of mankind? A predestination of such to life, is altogether useless and needless. By faith in one that has satisfied for sin, the soul necessarily becomes free from sin. By faith in one that has bought eternal life for them, they have, of unavoidable consequence, a right to eternal life. Now, what sense is it to say, that God from all eternity, of his free grace, chose out those that he foresaw would have no guilt of sin, that they should not be punished for their guilt, as others were, when it is a contradiction to suppose that they

can be punished for their guilt, when they have none? for who can lay any thing to their charge, when it is Christ that has died? And what do they mean by an election of men to that which is, in its own nature, impossible that it should not be, whether they are elected to it or no: or by God's choosing them that had a right to eternal life, that they should possess it? What sense is it to say, that a creditor chooses out those among his debtors to be free from debt, that owe him nothing? But if they say, that election is only God's determination, in the general, that all that believe shall be saved; in what sense can this be called election? They are not persons that are here chosen, but mankind is divided into two sorts, the one believing, and the other unbelieving; and God chooses the believing sort; it is not election of persons, but of qualifica tions. God (say they) does from all eternity, choose to bestow eternal life upon those that have a right to it, rather than upon those who have a right to damnation. Is this all the election we have an account of in God's word ?-Such a thing as election may well be allowed; for that there is such a thing as sovereign love, is certain; that is, love, not for any excellency, but merely God's good pleasure. For whether it is proper to say, that God from all eternity loved the elect or no, it is proper to say, that God loved men after the fall, while sinners and enemies; for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son to die. This was not for any goodness or excellency, but merely God's good pleasure. For he would not love the fallen angels.

§30. Christ is often spoken of in scripture as being, by way of eminency, the Elect, or chosen of God. Isa. xlii. I. "Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine Elect in whom my soul delighteth." Luke xxiii. 35. "If he be the Christ, the chosen of God." 1 Pet. ii. 4. "A living stone, chosen of God, and precious." Psalm lxxxix. 3. "I have made a covenant with my Chosen :" ver. 19. "I have exalted one chosen out of the people." Hence those persons in the Old Testament, that were the most remarkable types of Christ, were the subjects of a very remarkable election of God, by which they were designed to some peculiar honour of the prophetical, priestly, or kingly office. So Moses was called God's chosen in that wherein he was eminently a type of Christ, viz. as a prophet and ruler, and mediator for his people; Psalm cvi. 23. "Had not Moses, his chosen, stood before him in the breach." So Aaron was constituted highpriest by a remarkable election of God, as in Numb. xvi. 5. and xvii. 5. Deut. xxi. 5. And David the king was the subject of a remarkable election; Psalm lxxviii. 67-72. "Moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not