66 word, religion, laws, internal consciousness, society, all verify this doctrine. Consequently, although it may not "be impossible to impugn it by some of our purblind "speculative objections, yet the denial of it can never be "made without great and manifest difficulty, and that "difficulty pressing upon us in the strongest relations of our whole nature and being. But such a difficulty must "be reckoned as equivalent to practical refutation of the "system which includes it. Each, therefore, being sup"posed as distinctly proved, God's prescience, and man's "freedom; if their union and consistency pass our compre"hension, that will be no ground why we should reject "the first things proved by reasons which we do comprehend. "That would be for our ignorance to refute our knowledge." a "For where does the difficulty in this second case originate? "where is it situated? It originates in a province of thought, "wherein our notions confessedly are inadequate and imperfect; " in our estimate of the divine nature and the infinite perfections "of God. Without insisting upon what might be very justly "said, that in many of our speculations concerning the Deity, " and the extent and capacity, if I may so speak, of his "perfections, it is even reasonable to expect great, and per"haps overpowering difficulties; I ask, whether the sense of "such difficulties, when perceived, can be allowed to be a sufficient answer to other conclusions, presented to us in "direct and convincing evidence; or whether it be not wiser "to think that the infinity of the divine Being, and the "vastness of his attributes, are the true reason of the in"tricacy under which we view many questions relating "to him, and to the exercise whether of his knowledge, "or of his power. It CONTRADICTS many axioms of our "most certain knowledge, to deny man to be a Free Agent, "But it contradicts no such axiom, to admit, that of free and "undetermined actions, an infinite being may have an "infallible foresight; how this can be, is a hard and mys terious point: it may be an absolutely insolvable enigma "to our understanding. But it is only an enigma. The "contradiction in it has not been shown. And to use the "strict philosophick distinction of Clarke, applied by him "in another case, absurdities, contradictions, disagreement of ideas, are things just as different from difficult consequences of demonstrative truths, which cannot be perfectly cleared, as light from darkness."-(Davidson on Pro"phecy. 2nd Edn. P. 381.)-" One remark more I shall "offer upon the abstract question under discussion. If we "begin our speculation by saying, since God foresees the "the action, and already beholds it, how can it be free; "we attempt to look through the immensity of the divine mind, " and place ourselves on a height far above the level of our faculties. But if we begin from below, by supposing our "actions to be free, as we have the best reason to suppose, "then the creed of natural piety, and the conviction of "the infinite and unlimited scope of the divine intelligence, "will more readily help us into an apprehension of the "article, and an acquiescence in it. And this is a mode "of consideration which I suggest, partly after an idea of Origin, as deserving to be kept in view, whilst we at"tempt to explain this question." (Ibid. 395.)—" Perhaps "it is not impossible to suggest one cause, which, I think, "contributes its share to some erroneous, but certainly "inconsequent opinions, concerning the divine attributes. It is this; since infinites, taken in their whole nature, " are clearly something above our comprehension, it comes "to be thought, that we may assume almost any, or at "least very arbitrary notions respecting them. But moral infinites, as well as mathematical; moral modes in their cr highest, as well as modes of quantity in its unlimited "extent; are subject to some rules of discourse, when we "discourse of them all; and one rule is, that in passing up "the scale of the finite subject, in order to approach the "properties of the infinite, we must pursue the enlarged "idea taken from the properties of the first, and not adopt "the contradictory, or any alien idea, to make the approx"imation to the infinite in question." "Thus they who have assigned to the divine justice or mercy, qualities, or operations, contradictory to, or alien " from the highest and best notions of human justice or mercy, "have sometimes appealed to the infiniteness of the divine "nature, and sought to defend their opinions by it. But "that appeal is unduly made. The infiniteness of that supreme excellence, which is in God, renders the contra"dictory of the human virtues the less credible in Him. "That infinity of perfection is, indeed, an intense argu"ment against the opinions so defended. And this is the "view which we are taught to take of the divine nature, "by him who best knew its immeasurable perfections, and "how to direct us in our thoughts concerning it. "If ye "then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven, give good gifts to them that ask him."-(Matt. "vii, 9, 10, 11.)-(Ibid. 548.) 66 APPENDIX II. Absolute Predestination, and Necessity, not True WHEN the soul is first awakened, to a sense of its own weakness, wants, and wretchedness; and commences a trembling and anxious search, after "the pearl of "great price:" it becomes naturally and properly desirous, of implicitly submitting itself, to the declarations of divine truth. But often, in the impatience of delay, and in the haste to reach at once the desired conclusions; it is too apt to admit, without careful examination, and almost upon credit, the assertions of those, who are wont to speak boldly and decidedly, on the most mysterious topics. The representations, frequently made by the followers of Calvin, that the doctrines under consideration, are peculiar and essential to genuine Christianity, have obtained from many, in this state of mind, an acquiescence in dogmas, from which their better judgments would have otherwise revolted. A more deliberate examination of the history of religious opinions, might have convinced them, that these tenets have been maintained by numbers, who had no claim to the appellation of Christians. Though this is well known to all those, who have at all studied the subject; it may not perhaps be deemed amiss, to present one or two extracts in proof of it, to the consideration of younger students in Theology. Take, for example, the following reasoning of Chrysippus." This Master of the stoics was pressed "with these inconvenient consequences of his decrees, ❝ that then the sins of men were not to be charged on "their wills, but to be imputed to a necessity and pressing, which arose from fate; and that it must be "unjust to make laws for the punishing of offenders. "To which he had nothing to say but this; that though "if you look upon the first cause, all is fatally decreed “and chained, yet the dispositions of each man's mind, "are only so far subject to fate as is agreeable to their "own properties and qualities: as when a man tumbles “a cylinder or roller down a hill, it is certain that the "man is the violent enforcer of the first revolution of "it, but when it is once a tumbling, the quality and property of the thing itself, continues and consum"mates it." 8 This method of defending fatalism strongly resembles a mode of arguing, adopted by Zanchius, and by many other Calvinists in support of Predestination. * We" (says he) "do not hesitate therefore to confess, that "through this immutable reprobation, an incumbent "necessity of sinning rests on the reprobate, of sin 8 Nichols' Arminiaism and Calvinism compared. Introd1. P. ni. Note. Quoted from Dr. Hammond on Fundamentals; who remarks on this argument, that "neither is the Cy "linder charged with sin by God or man; nor any puni"tive law enacted by either, against its rolling down the "hill; nor are such charges or such laws ever brought in " or enacted against any actions of any other creature, plant, "or beast, till you ascend to man, who is supposed to have a will, and not to be under such inevitable laws.” r |