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the marks of infinite wisdom, holiness, and sovereignty, impressed upon it, it is evident that these properties, or perfections, belong to all his purposes. If all his works are performed in wisdom, as the Psalmist observes, Psal. civ. 24. then we have reason to admire that wisdom which appears, from hence, to be contained in all his purposes relating thereunto, as the apostle doth, Rom. xi. 33. 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! If he be righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works, Psal. cxlv. 17. and therein demonstrates a divine sovereignty, as acting without any obligation, or constraint laid upon him to bestow the favours he confers on mankind; then we must certainly conclude, that his eternal purpose which is executed hereby, is free and sovereign. This leads us to consider,

III, That intelligent creatures, such as angels and men, with respect to their present or future state, are the objects of God's eternal decree, or purpose, which is generally called predestination. And this, as it relates to the happiness of some, or misery of others, is distinguished into election or reprobation, which is a very awful subject, and ought never to be thought of, or mentioned, but with the utmost caution and reverence, lest we speak those things that are not right concerning God, and thereby dishonour him, or give just occasion to any to deny or reproach this doctrine, as though it were not founded on scripture.

Hitherto we have considered the purpose of God, as including in it all things future, as the objects thereof; and now we are to speak of it in particular, as it relates to angels and men. When we confine the objects of God's purpose to those things that come to pass, which have no dependence on the free-will of angels or men, we do not meet with much opposition from those, who are in other respects, in the contrary scheme of doctrine; for most of them, who are masters of their own argument, and consider what may be allowed without weakening their cause, do not deny that God fore-ordained whatever comes to pass, nor that he did this from all eternity, if we except what respects the actions of free agents. Thus they will grant that God, from all eternity, determined to create the world, and then to govern it, and to give laws to men, as the rule of government, and a free-will, or power to yield obedience thereunto: but when we consider men's free actions, as the objects of a divine decree, and the final state of men, as being determined by it, here we are like to meet with the greatest opposition, and therefore must endeavour to maintain our ground in the following part of this argument. 3 I

VOL. I.

The decree of God, respecting intelligent creatures, is to be considered as containing in it two branches, namely, election and reprobation: the former of which is contained in those words, that God, out of his mere love, for the praise of his glorious grace, hath elected some to glory in Christ, and also to the means thereof; and as for reprobation, that is described in the following words; that according to his sovereign power, and the unsearchable counsel of his own will, he hath passed by, and fore-ordained the rest to dishonour and wrath, to be, for their sin, inflicted, to the praise of the glory of his justice. Both these are to be considered; and,

First, What respects the doctrine of election. To elect, or choose, according to the common use, or acceptation of the word, signifies the taking a small number out of a greater, or a part out of the whole; and this is applied, either to things or persons.

(1.) To things. As when a person has a great many things to choose out of, he sets aside some of them for his own use, and rejects the others, as refuse, that he will have nothing to do with.

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(2.) To persons. As when a king chooses, out of his subjects, some whom he will advance to great honours; or when a master chooses, out of a number of servants offered to him, one, or more, whom he will employ in his service; this from the nature of the thing, implies, that all are not chosen, but only a part, in which there is a discrimination, or a difference put between one and another.

But we are more particularly to consider the meaning of the word election, as we find it in scripture, wherein it is used in several senses.

To elect or choose, according to the acceptation of the word, does not connote the particular thing that a person is chosen to, but that is to be understood by what is farther added to determine the sense thereof; as sometimes we read of persons being chosen to partake of some privileges, short of salvation; at other times, of their being chosen to salvation; sometimes it is to be understood as signifying their being chosen to things of a lower nature, at other times their being chosen to perform those duties, and exercise those graces that accompany salvation; and we may, very easily, understand the sense of it by the context.

Again, it is sometimes taken for the execution of God's purpose, or for his actual providence, making choice of persons to fulfil his pleasure, in their various capacities; at other times, as we are here to understand it, for his fixing his love upon his people, and purposing to bring them to glory, making choice of some out of the rest of mankind, as the monuments of his

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discriminating grace; we have instances of all these senses of the word in scripture; and,

1. It is sometimes taken for God's actual separation of persons, for some peculiar instances of service, which is a branch of his providential dispensation, in time: thus we sometimes read in scripture, of persons being chosen, or set apart, by God, to an office, and that either civil or sacred: thus, upon the occasion of Saul's being made king, by God's special appointSamuel him whom the Lord hath chosen, ment, 1 Sam. x. 24. so it is said elsewhere, He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheep-fold; from following the ewes great with young, he brought him to feed Jacob, his people, and Israel his inheritance. Psal. lxxviii. 70, 71.

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It also signifies his actual appointment of persons to perform some sacred office: thus it is said, concerning the Levites, that the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark, and to minister unto him, 1 Chron. xv. 2. and our Saviour says, to his disciples, Have not I chosen you, namely, to be my disciples, and as such to be employed in preaching the gospel, and one of you is a devil, John vi. 70.

2. It is sometimes taken for God's providential designation of a people, to be made partakers of those external privileges of the covenant of grace, which belong to them as a church, which, as such, is the peculiar object of the divine regard: thus the people of Israel are said to have been chosen, or separated, from the world, to enjoy the external blessings of the covenant of grace, as Moses tells them, Because the Lord loved your fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, Deut. iv. 37. and elsewhere, Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth, chap. vii. 6, 7. And, in many other places in the Old Testament, the word election is taken in this sense, though something more than this seems to be included in some particular scriptures in the prophetic writings, in which the Jews are described, as God's chosen people, as we shall endeavour to shew under a following head.

3. It also signifies God's bestowing special grace on some, who are highly favoured by him, above others, as having called, or set them apart for himself, to have communion with him, to bear a testimony to him, and to be employed in eminent service, for his name and glory in the world. Thus it seems to be taken, in 1 Cor. i. 26, 27. where the apostle speaks of their calling, which imports some special privileges, that they were made partakers of, as the objects of divine power, and grace, to whom Christ was made wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; which therefore signifies the powerful, internal,

effectual call, and not barely the external call of the Gospel, as appears, by the foregoing and following verses, ver. 24. compared with 30. and they, whose calling he speaks of, are said to be chosen: You see your calling, how that not many wise men, &c. are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of this world, &c. so that to be chosen, and effectually called there, seem to import the same thing.

And sometimes it is taken, for some peculiar excellency, which one Christian has above another; as that hospitable, or public-spirited person, to whom the apostle John directs his second epistle, is called by him, The elect lady, ver. 1. as an excellent person is sometimes styled a choice person.

But, though the word is taken, in scripture, in these various senses above mentioned, yet it is not confined to any, or all of them; for we shall endeavour to make it appear, that it is often taken, in scripture, as it is expressed in this answer; for God's having fore-ordained particular persons, as monuments of his special love, to be made partakers of grace here, and glory hereafter, as it is styled, their being chosen to eternal life, and the means thereof. This is what we shall endeavour to prove, and accordingly shall consider the objects thereof, namely, angels and men, and that it is only a part of mankind that is chosen to salvation, to wit, that remnant which shall be eventually saved; and that these are chosen to the means thereof, as well as the end; and how this is said to be in Christ.

The objects of election are angels and men. A few words may be said concerning the election of angels, as being particularly mentioned in this answer; we have not, indeed, much delivered concerning this matter in scripture, though the apostle calls those who remain in their state of holiness and happiness, in which they were created, elect angels, 1 Tim. v. 21. But, had we no mention of their election in scripture, their being confirmed in their present state of blessedness, must, from the foregoing method of reasoning, be supposed to be the result of a divine purpose, or the execution of a decree relating thereunto; though there is this difference between their election, and that of men, in that the latter are chosen unto salvation, which the angels are not subjects capable of, inasmuch as they were never in a lost, undone state; neither are they said to be chosen in Christ, as men are.

But we shall proceed, to that which more immediately concerns us, to consider men as the objects of election. This is variously expressed in scripture; sometimes it is called their being appointed to attain salvation, or being ordained to eternal life or their names being written in the book of life; and it is also called, the purpose of God, according to election, or his having

loved them before the foundation of the world, or his having predestinated them, (who have been blessed with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places in Christ) unto the adoption of children, by him, according to the good pleasure of his will. That the scriptures speak of persons as elect, and that this is always represented as a great instance of divine favour and goodness, is not denied: But the main thing in controversy is, whether this relates to the purpose of God, or his providence; and whether it respects particular persons, or the church of God in general, as distinguished from the world; and, if it be supposed to relate to particular persons, how these are considered in God's purpose, or what is the order and reason of his determination to save them.

That election sometimes respects the disposing providence of God, in time, has been already considered, and some particular instances thereof, in scripture, referred to; but when they, on the other side of the question, maintain, that this is the only, or principal sense in which it is used therein, we must take leave to differ from them. There is a late writer *, who sometimes misrepresents, and at other times, opposes this doctrine, with more assurance and insult, than the strength of his reasoning will well allow of; and his performance on this head, and others, that have some affinity with it, is concluded, by many of his admirers, to be unanswerable; and the sense that he has given of several scriptures therein, as well as in his paraphrase on the New Testament, in which he studiously endeavours to explain every text, in conformity to his own scheme, has tended to prejudice many in favour thereof; and therefore we shall take occasion sometimes to consider what he advances against the doctrine that we are maintaining; and particularly, as to this head of election, he supposes, "1. That the election, men"tioned, in scripture, is not of particular persons, but only that "of churches and nations, or their being chosen to the enjoy"ment of the means of grace, rather than a certainty of their "being saved by those means; that it does not contain any ab"solute assurance of their salvation, or of any such grace, as "shall infallibly, and without any possibility of frustration, pro66 cure their salvation. 2. That the election to salvation, men"tioned in scripture, is only conditional, upon our perseve"rance in a life of holiness t; and he attempts to prove, that "election, in the Old Testament, belongs not to the righteous "and obedient persons only, but the whole nation of the Jews, "good and bad; and that, in the New Testament, it is applied "to those who embrace the Christian faith, without any regard "had to their eternal happiness." These things ought to be * Dr. Whitby, in his discourse of election, &c.

See his discourse concerning election, page 36. 37. &c.

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