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God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy; and whom he will he bardeneth. And the inference the apoftle draws from this doctrine, is, that it is not of him that willeth, of him that defireth, though ever fo earnestly, ever fo fincerely, to please God, nor of him that runneth, though ever fo carefully,ever fo fwiftly, to obtain his favour; but only of God's fovereign pleasure that those obtain it who do obtain that favour. This, I think, is bringing the cafe to a sad ilue. This doctrine, furely, is falfe; tho' taught by that great apoftle St. Paul. From what I have obferved, I think, it plainly appears, that St. Paul, in that part of his epistle to the Romans which I have been examining, favours the Jewish principle of God's acting from meer will in his dealings with mankind; tho', perhaps, he may reafon from other principles in other parts of his writings, it being a difficult thing for men wholly to shake off those principles they have been educated in ; and therefore, they are apt fometimes to reafon from thofe principles, and that feems to have been the cafe of St. Paul here. And this has laid Chriftians under a very great difficulty to find out a way to make St. Paul appear confiftent with himfelf; of which fome have taken one

method,

method, and fome another. What I have made these observations for, my readers may eafily guess, viz. to be a monition to them to read the writings of the apostles with great care and caution; and not to be too bafty in drawing conclufions from their words, in points of fpeculation, left they be drawn into error thereby, which is too often the cafe. What I have now quoted from St. Paul, has been in a great measure the ground-work of those doctrines commonly called Calvinifm: Doctrines greatly dishonourable to God, greatly uncomfortable to the bulk of mankind, and which may be greatly injurious to them. St. Peter has obferved, that in St. Paul's writings are things hard to be understood, which thofe that were unlearned and unstable did wrest to their own deftruction; and if this was the cafe in the apoftolick age, then what may we not expect at this time? The apostles writings, in a great measure, laid a foundation for that great variety and contrariety of opinions that have prevailed in the chriftian world; in which respect they have been so far from answering the falutary purposes of the oracles of truth, that, on the contrary, they have introduced fuch quarrels and contentions

tentions as have been moft fatal to mankind. And this certainly ought to be a reason to us to read those writings with care and caution, and to take great heed what doctrines we build upon them, left we be drawn afide from the truth and our duty thereby.

MOREOVER, the apoftles, like other men, fometimes drew conclufions which the premifes will not fupport; thus 1 Cor. xv. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Chrift,

*

we

*The term [we], I think, is here ufed by St. Paul to exprefs those who were then alive in Christ,in distinction from those who were then fallen asleep or dead in him, as mentioned in the precedent verfe. The chain or order of the apoftle's reasoning, I think, is as follows. If there be no refurrection of the dead, then is not Chrift rifen; and if Chrift be not rifen, then we who have preached Chrift, have preached him in vain; and ye who have beard our preaching, and have been prevailed upon by it to believe in him, have heard and believed in vain alfo. And then they likewife who are fallen afleep in Chrift are perished; and we who are alive in him, if in this life only we have hope, are of all moft miferable. This, I think, plainly appears to be the chain of St. Paul's reafoning; whether that reasoning be conclufive, or not. As to perfecution for Chrift's fake, which may render the lives of those who fuffer it miferable, the apoftle does not feem to have any view to it in this place; nor does the thread of his reafoning require it. Befides, perfecution for Chrift's fake is made a distinct branch of St. Paul's argument, as at verses 29, 30, 31, 32. Elfe what fhall they do which are baptized for the dead, or who fuffer unto death for Chrift's fake, if the dead rife not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? that is, why do they then

fuffer

we are of all men' most miferable. Here the conclufion is fo far from following the premises that it is rather the reverse; and therefore, the apoftle might more justly and truly have expreffed it thus. If in this life only we have hope in Chrift, even then we are moft happy; or at least we may be as happy as any other men, if we are not wanting to ourfelves. For if Chrift lays no commands upon his difciples, but what are fit and proper, and lays them under no restraints, but what are just and reafonable, (which may well be expected to be the cafe, admitting the

fuppo

fuffer unto death, if there be no refurrection of the dead ? that the baptifm here-mentioned is figuratively ufed to exprefs fuffering (like as in Mark x. 38. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptifm that I am baptized with) is most evident from the words that follow. And why ftand we in jeopardy every hour? St. Paul, furely, did not ftand in jeopardy of being baptized for dead people; but he ftood in jeopardy of his life, and therefore added, I proteft by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily; or I daily live under the expectation of fuffering unto death. If, after the manner of men, I have fought with beafts at Ephefus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise

not.

This is the apoftle's argument with regard to perfecution for Chrift's fake, whether it be unto death, or otherwife; all is in vain if there be no refurrection from the dead. And as St. Paul makes perfecution for Chrift's fake a diftinct branch of his argument; therefore, it is not to be fuppofed he referred to perfecution in faying, if in this life only we have hope in Chrift, we are of all men moft miferable.

So

fuppofition that Chrift came to be a real and a true friend to mankind, and not to be a burthenfome talk-mafter to them) then christianity tends to make men most happy in this life, as well as in the life to come. that fuppofing there will be no life after this, then tho' it will follow, as St. Paul faith, that those who are fallen a-fleep in Chrift are perished, or ceafe to be; yet it will not follow, as he also faith, or at least feemeth to fay, that those who are not fallen a-fleep in Chrift, or who are alive in the profeffion of his religion, are of all men most miferable.

ANOTHER inftance of inattention feems to appear in St. Paul's epiftle to the Romans, Chap. xiii. The apoftle introduces his fubject by giving a leffon of inftruction to the believers at Rome, Let every Soul be fubject unto the higher powers. And then he affigns a reafon for fuch subjection, viz. for or because there is no power but of God, the pówers that be are ordained of God. And from these premises he infers, whofoever, therefore, refifteth the power, refifteth the ordinance of God, and they that refift shall receive to themselves damnation. If St. Paul had expreffed himself in the follow

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