ing in town) concerning me, and the doctrines by which I hold it my indispensable duty to abide. I deem myself, therefore, happy, in having one more opportunity to testify the little that I know concerning that "mystery of the gospel which God ordained before the world for our glory.” And I desire in the most public manner to thank the great Author of all consolation, for a very particular instance of his favour, and which I look upon as one of the most felicitating circumstances of my whole life: I mean my early acquaintance with the doctrines of grace. Many great and good men who were converted late in life, have had the whole web of their preceding ministry to unravel, and been under a necessity of reversing all they had been delivering for years before. But it is not the smallest of my distinguishing mercies, that, from the very commencement of my unworthy ministrations I have not had a single doctrine to retract, nor a single word to unsay. I have subscribed to the articles, homilies, and liturgy, five separate times, and that from principle; nor do I believe those forms of sound words because I have subscribed to them, but I therefore subscribed them because I believed them. I set out with the gospel from the very first and having obtained help from God, I continue to this day witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than Moses and the prophets,"* Jesus, and his apostles, have said before me. And, in an absolute dependence on the divine power and faithfulness, I trust that I shall to the end be enabled to count neither health, wealth, reputation, nor life itself, dear to me, so I may finish my course with joy, * Acts xxvi. 22. and fulfil the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."* "Careless (myself a dying man) Happy if thou, O God, approve, If the most accomplished and respectable per son of all heathen antiquity could declare, that he "would rather obtain the single approbation of Cato than have a triumph voted to him by the senate," much more will a christian minister prefer the approbation of God to all the evanid eclats of an applauding universe. I shall arm myself this afternoon with a twofold weapon with the bible in one hand, and our church articles in the other. I shall appeal at once for all I have to say to the authority of God's unerring oracles, and to their faithful epi tome, the decisions of the church of England. They who perhaps set light by the scriptures, may yet pay some decent deference to the church and they who it may be pay little atten tion to church determinations, will render impli cit credit to the scriptures. So that, between the bible and the thirty-nine articles I hope I shali be able to carry my point, and, as far as my subject leads me, enter a successful caveat against whatever things are contrary to sound doctrine. In attempting this I shall fix my foot upon Arminianism; which, in its several branches, is the gangrene of the protestant churches, and the predominant evil of the day. What think you, *Acts xx. 24 I. Of conditional election? We have indeed, some who deny there is any such thing as election at all. They start at the very word, as if it were a spectre just come from the shades and never seen before. I shall waste no time on these men. They are out of the pale, to which my allotted plan confines me at present. They cannot be church of England men who proscribe a term that occurs so frequently in her offices and standards of faith; nor can they even be Christians at large who cashier with affected horror, a word which, under one form or other, is to be met with between forty and fifty times at least in the New Testament only. My business now is with those who endeavour to save appearances by admitting the word, while in reality they anathematize the thing. These profess to hold an election; but then it is a conditional one, and founded, as they suppose, on some good quality or qualities foreseen in the objects of it. Thus bottoming the purposes of God on the precarious will of apostate men ; and making that which is temporal, the cause of that which was eternal. "The Deity," say persons of this cast, "foreknowing how you and I would behave, and foreseeing our improvements and our faithfulness, and what a proper use we should make of our free will, ordained us, and all such good sort of people, to everlasting life.". Nothing can be more contrary to sound doctrine, and even to sound reason than this. It proceeds on a supposition that man is beforehand with God in the business of salvation; and that the resolutions of God's will are absolutely dependent on the will of his creatures: That he has in short created a set of sovereign beings, from whom he receives law; and that his own purpose and conduct are shaped and regulated according to the prior self-determinations of independent man What is this but atheism in a, mask? for where is the difference between the denial of a first cause, and the assignation of a false one? Quite opposite is the decision of inspiration, Romans xi. 6. where the apostle terms God's choice of his people, an election of grace, or a gratuitous election; and observes that "If it be of grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace were no more grace: but if it be of works, then is it no more grace; otherwise work were no more work." Conditional grace is a most palpable contradiction in terms. Grace is no longer grace than while it is absolute and free. You might with far greater ease bring the two poles together, than effect a coalition between grace and works in the affair of election. far, and as high as the heavens are above the earth, are the immanent acts of God superior to a dependence on any thing wrought by sinful, perishable man. As Consult our seventeenth article, and you will clearly see whether conditional election be the doctrine of the church of England. "Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby before the foundations of the world were laid, he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation as vessels made to honour." Is there a word about conditionality here? On the contrary, is not election or predestination unto life peremptorily declared to be God's own everlasting purpose, decree, counsel and choice? The elect are said to be brought to salvation, not as persons of foreseen virtue and pliableness; 3 but simply and merely "as vessels made to honour." Add to this that the article goes on to style election a benefit, or gift; Wherefore, they that be endued with so excellent a benefit."But how could predestination or blessedness be so termed, if it were suspended on the foresight of something to be wrought by the person predestinated? For a condition in matters of spiritual concern, is analogous to a price in matters of commerce; and a purchased gift is just as good sense as conditional grace. Our venerable reformers were two well acquainted with the scriptures and with the power of God to err on a subject of such unutterable moment. Whence, in the article now cited they took care to lay God's absolute and sovereign election as the basis of sanctification: so far were they from representing sanctification as the ground-work of election. Our modern inverters of Christianity, the Arminians, by endeavouring to found election upon human qualifications, resemble an insane architect, who, in attempting to raise an edifice, should make tiles and laths the foundation, and reserve his bricks and stones for the roof. Quot sunt hominum virtutes, totidem sunt dei dona, said the learned and excellent Du Moulin and if sanctification be God's gift, men's goodness could not possibly be a motive to their election; unless we can digest this enormous absurdity, viz. that God's gifts may be conditional and meritorious one of another. Do you imagine that God could foresee any holiness in men, which himself did not decree to give them? You cannot suppose it, without believing at the same time, that God is not the author of all good; and that there are, or may be, some good and perfect gifts, which do not descend from the Father of lights; and that the |