some who avowedly profess it, and many more who are secretly, perhaps unconsciously influenced by it; a brief notice of it may not be unnecessary. I allude to those who finding the doctrine of free and sovereign grace very fully and strongly set forth in St. Paul's epistles, seem in all their arguments on the subject to abate somewhat of the divine authority of these epistles, and confine themselves to a few isolated statements from the gospels, &c. which they deem more consonant to their own views and feelings. To such I would say, St. Paul is no more responsible for the matter contained in his epistles, than you or I are. These are not, in fact, St. Paul's epistles: they are the epistles of God the Holy Ghost, faithfully transcribed and delivered to us by His servant Paul. The Holy Ghost speaking through the medium of Paul, cannot but speak in perfect unison with what He has declared through the medium of Peter or John, or any other of His inspired He may take up one instrument, and lay down another, but the Spirit which speaks in them is the same. He may open the mouth of one of His mystery of His gospel; more fully to dwell .mystery: for He messengers. servants to explain one upon severally as He will. But still the Spirit of the Lord is One. He cannot contradict himself, cannot speak contrary to the truth, for he is the Spirit of Truth, and is given to lead us into all truth. And of the inspired penmen, one and all we may say; "Have they any power at all to say any thing? The word that God put into their mouths, that have they spoken. They could not go beyond the word of the Lord their God, to say less or more." We shall never become perfectly reconciled to all parts of the word of God until He Himself bestows on us the spirit and temper of a little child, to receive without murmuring, or disputings, or carnal reasonings, whatsoever JEHOVAH the Spirit is pleased to say to us. That Spirit alone can take away the evil heart of unbelief, which prevents us from embracing the whole counsel of God, as revealed in his word. It is he that must open our hearts to attend to all the things written in his law. Then we shall perceive a connection and a harmony between every part and every doctrine of the Scriptures, which will fill us with everincreasing wonder and delight. May he thus open our understandings, to understand the scriptures, and to know the things that are freely given to us of God. CHAPTER III. ON ELECTING GRACE. THE 17th Article gives so much better an account of the doctrine of Election or Predestination, than could be expressed by any words of mine, that I beg leave to place it at the head of this chapter. • 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. Wherefore they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God be called, according to God's purpose by his Spirit working in due season; they through Grace obey the calling; they be justified freely, they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity. As the godly consideration of Predestination and our Election in Christ is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the workings of the Spirit of Christ mortifying the works of the flesh, and their earthly members, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ, as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God; so for curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God's Predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into recklessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation. 'Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in such wise as they be generally set forth to us in holy Scripture; and in our doings, that will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared to us in the word of God.' The latter part of this article is awfully true, and the warning conveyed by it, should sink into every heart. But what then? Must godly persons renounce or suppress a doctrine clearly revealed in Scripture; strongly enforced by the articles of a church of which they are professed members; and full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort, merely because curious and carnal persons will "wrest it, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction?" At this rate we must renounce every scripture truth; for there is not one, which, while it is a savour of life unto life unto them that are saved, is not also a savour of death unto death, to them that perish. Therefore we must not be afraid to receive with humility and simplicity all that the scriptures have revealed to us on this subject. Let us then as in a former chapter search this sacred word and see what testimony we can bring from the Three that bear record in Heaven. God the Father saith of himself by Moses, "that he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy," and "will have compassion on whom he will have compassion." 3 God the Son has told us "that none can know the Father, save he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." "That to some it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to others it is 1 2 Peter iii. 16. 3 Exod. xxxiii. 19. Rom. ix. 5. 2 2 Cor. ii. 15, 16. 4 Matt. x. 27. |