,,evangelical ,,union ,,doctrinal ,,series4 7,,fifth ,,issue47 ,,the ,,doctrines ,,of ,,predestination1 ,,reprobation1 ,,and ,,election4 ,,evangelical ,,union ,,doctrinal ,,series4 ,the following ,volumes of the ,series are now ready1 ,price is4 #f;d4 each3-- ,,regeneration3 ,its ,conditions and ,methods4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,robert ,,craig1 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,fatherhood ,,of ,,god4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,robert ,,mitchell4 ,,the ,,holy ,,spirit',s ,,work3 ,its ,nature and ,extent4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,george ,,cron4 ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,the ,,atonement4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,william ,,adamson1 ,d4,d4 ,,others ,,in ,,preparation4 ,,the ,,doctrines ,,of ,,predestination1 ,,reprobation1 ,,and ,,election4 ,,by ,,robert ,,wallace1 ,pastor of ,cathcart ,road ,e4 ,u4 ,church1 ,glasgow4 ,,london3 ,,hamilton1 ,,adams1 ,,co4 ,,glasgow3 ,,thomas ,d4 ,,morison4 #ahhj4 ,,preface4 ,,were a number of shipwrecked mariners cast upon an island1 one of their first inquiries would be1 ,is it inhabited8 ,having observed footmarks upon the sand1 and other tokens of man's presence1 another question would be1 ,what is the character of the people8 ,are they anthropophagi1 or are they of a friendly disposition8 ,the importance of such questions would be realised by all4 ,their lives might depend upon the answer to the latter4 ,we look around upon the universe1 and everywhere observe marks of design1 or the adapation of means to ends4 ,the conviction gathers upon us with deepening power1 that there must have been a supreme intelligence arranging the forces of nature4 ,if ,i throw the dice box twenty times1 and the same numbers always turn up1 ,i cannot resist the conclusion that the dice must have been loaded4 ,the application is simple4 ,but1 as in the case of the mariners1 a second question arises1 viz43--,what is the character of the ,being revealed in nature8 ,is ,he beneficent1 or like the fabled ,chronus1 who devoured his children8 ,it is substantially with this second question that the following work has to do4 ,it is a treatise concerning the character of ,god4 ,the subjects discussed have been for many years the occasion of much controversy and difficulty4 ,whilst to certain minds it were more agreeable to read exposition of ,christian truth1 yet the followers of ,christ may often have to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints4 ,our ,lord's public ministry showed how earnestly ,he contended for the truth4 ,at every corner ,he was met by the men of light and leading amongst the ,jews1 and who did their best to oppose ,him4 ,paul1 too1 when he lived at ,ephesus1 disputed daily in the school of one ,tyrannus1 and this continued by the space of two years4 ,the period of the ,reformation was also one of earnest discussion between the adherents of the old faith and the followers of ,luther4 ,the questions discussed in those days1 both in apostolic and post-apostolic times1 were eminently practical2 but they were not a whit more so than the questions of ,predestination1 ,reprobation1 and ,election4 ,these touch every man to the very centre of his being when he awakes from the sleep of indifference1 and wishes to know the truth about the salvation of his soul4 ,it has been our object1 in the present volume1 to dispel the darkness which has been thrown around those subjects1 and to let every man see that the way back to the bosom of the heavenly ,father is as free to him as the light of heaven4 ,the following treatise consists of an ,introduction bearing on the history of the questions discussed2 ,part ,i4 treats of ,predestination2 ,part ,,ii4 is on ,reprobation1 and ,part ,,iii4 on ,election4 ,,contents4 ,,introduction4 ,,part ,i4--,,predestination4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,word ,,predestination1 ,,and ,,the ,,doctrine ,,as ,,held ,,by ,,calvinists4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,calvinistic ,,predestination ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,divine ,,wisdom4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,predestination ,,considered ,,with ,,reference ,,to ,,almighty ,,power4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,predestination ,,considered ,,with ,,reference ,,to ,,divine ,,foreknowledge4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,proof-,,texts ,,for ,,calvinistic ,,predestination ,,examined4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,objections ,,to ,,calvinistic ,,predestination4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,general ,,summary ,,of ,,the ,,doctrine4 ,,part ,,ii4--,,reprobation4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,calvinistic ,,doctrine ,,of ,,reprobation ,,stated4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,bible ,,usage ,,of ,,the ,,word ,,reprobation4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,proof-,,texts ,,for ,,calvinistic ,,reprobation ,,examined4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,objections ,,to ,,calvinistic ,,reprobation4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,summary ,,of ,,the ,,bible ,,doctrine ,,of ,,reprobation4 ,,part ,,iii4--,,election4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,theories ,,of ,,calvinistic ,,election4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,involves ,,positive ,,refusal ,,to ,,provide ,,saving ,,grace ,,for ,,the ,,lost4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,considered ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,the ,,sovereignty ,,of ,,god4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,judged ,,by ,,the ,,reason4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,bible ,,texts ,,in ,,proof ,,of ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,considered4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,objections ,,to ,,the ,,calvinistic ,,doctrine ,,of ,,election4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,scriptural ,,view ,,of ,,evangelical ,,election4 ,for ,god so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only beloved ,son1 that whosoever believeth in ,him should not perish1 but have everlasting life4--,jesus4 ,i reject the ,calvinistic doctrine of ,predestination1 not because it is incomprehensible1 but because ,i think it irreconcilable with the justice and goodness of ,god4--,bishop ,tomlin4 ,god our ,saviour will have all men to be saved4--,paul4 ,,the ,,doctrines ,,of ,,predestination1 ,,reprobation1 ,,and ,,election4 ,,introduction4 ,,regarding the predestinarian controversy1 it has been said1 ,hardly one among the many ,christian controversies has called forth a greater amount of subtlety and power1 and not one so long and so persistently maintained its vitality4 ,within the twenty-five years which followed its first appearance upwards of thirty councils 7one of them the ,general ,council of ,ephesus7 were held for the purpose of this discussion4 ,it lay at the bottom of all the intellectual activity of the conflicts in the ,mediaeval philosophic schools2 and there is hardly a single subject which has come into discussion under so many different forms in modern controversy 7,ch4 ,encyc47 ,although the controversy between ,pelagius and ,augustine began in the fifth century1 it is an interesting inquiry--,what was the mind of the earlier ,christian writers on the subject8 ,of course their opinion cannot settle the truth of the question in debate1 but it has a very important bearing upon the subject4 ,the late ,dr4 ,eadie claimed the voice of antiquity for the system of the ,confession of ,faith4 ,he says1 ,the doctrine of predestination was held in its leading element by the ancient ,church1 by the ,roman ,clement1 ,ignatius1 ,hermas1 ,justin ,martyr1 and ,irenaeus1 before ,augustine worked it into a system1 and ,jerome armed himself on its behalf 7,ec4 ,cyc47 ,this statement may be fairly questioned1 and1 we think1 successfully challenged4 ,dr4 ,cunningham1 in his ,historical ,theology1 remarks1 ,the doctrine of ,arminius can be traced back as far as the time of ,alexandrinus1 and seems to have been held by many of the ,fathers of the third and fourth centuries4 ,he attributes this to the corrupting influence of ,pagan philosophy 7,hist4 ,theo41 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #cgd74 ,this is not a direct contradiction to ,eadie1 but it shows that truth compelled this sturdy ,calvinist to admit that non-,calvinistic views were held in the earlier and best period of the ,church4 ,the question1 however1 is one that must be decided by historical evidence1 and not by authority4 ,and what is that evidence8 ,mosheim1 in writing of the founders of the ,english ,church1 says1 ,they wished to render their church as similar as possible to that which flourished in the early centuries1 and that ,church1 as no one can deny1 was an entire stranger to the ,dordracene doctrines 7,reid's ,mos41 p4 #hba74 ,the ,synod of ,dort met in ,a4,d4 #afah1 and condemned the ,arminian doctrine1 and decided in favour of ,calvinism2 but1 according to ,mosheim1 this system of ,calvin was unknown to the early ,church4 ,faber maintains the same4 ,he says1 ,the scheme of interpretation now familiarly1 though perhaps 7if a scheme ought to be designated by the name of its original contriver7 not quite correctly1 styled ,calvinism1 may be readily traced back in the ,latin and ,western ,church to the time of ,augustine4 ,but here we find ourselves completely at fault4 ,augustine1 at the beginning of the fifth century1 is the first ecclesiastical writer who annexes to the ,scriptural terms 'elect' and 'predestinate' the peculiar sense which is now usually styled ,calvinistic4 ,with him1 in a form scarcely less round and perfect than that long and subsequently proposed by the celebrated ,genevan reformer himself1 commenced an entirely new system of interpretation previously unknown to the ,church ,catholic4 ,what ,i state is a mere dry historical fact 7,faber's ,apos4 ,trin41 ,cooke's ,theo41 p4 #cje74 ,prosper of ,acquitania was a devoted friend and admirer of ,augustine1 and not wishing to be charged with propagating new views1 wrote to the ,bishop of ,hippo 7,augustine7 desiring to know how he could refute the charge of novelty4 ,for1 saith he1 having had recourse to the opinion of almost all that went before me concerning this matter1 ,i find all of them holding one and the same opinion1 in which they have received the purpose and the predestination of ,god according to ,his prescience2 that for this cause ,god made some vessels of honour and other vessels of dishonour1 because ,he foresaw the end of every man1 and knew before how he would will and act 7,whitby's ,pos41 p4 #ddi74 ,this was a frank acknowledgment on the part of ,prosper1 who was a man of ability1 and ,secretary to ,leo1 and it carried much farther than was intended4 ,the fact1 however1 was patent that the ,christian ,church for some four hundred years was a stranger to what is known as the doctrine of ,calvin4 ,the view thus stated is confirmed by ,neander4 ,when ,prosper and ,hilary appealed to the ,bishop of ,rome1 they doubtless expected that he would favour the system of ,augustine1 and condemn the ,semi-pelagians 7modern ,e4,u4's74 ,if so1 they were mistaken4 ,the bishop was chary1 and whilst speaking contemptuously of those presbyters who raised curious questions1 he left it undecided what the curious questions were4 ,he had said in his letter to the ,gallic bishops1 ,let the spirit of innovation1 if there is such a spirit1 cease to attack the ancient doctrines2 but he did not say what was ancient and what was novel4 ,neander upon this remarks3 ,the ,semi-pelagians1 in fact1 also asserted1 and they could do it with even more justice than their opponents1 that by them the ancient doctrine of the ,church was defended against the false doctrine recently introduced concerning absolute predestination1 and against the denial of free-will tenets1 wholly unknown to the ancient ,church 7,vol4 ,,iv41 p4 #cjf74 ,the concluding words are almost identical with those of ,mosheim1 just quoted4 ,bishop ,tomline1 who gave special attention to this phase of the subject--viz41 the state of opinion in the ,church previous to ,augustine1 says1 ,if ,calvinists pretend that absolute decrees1 the unconditional election and reprobation of individuals1 particular redemption1 irresistible grace1 and the entire destruction of free -will in man in consequence of the fall1 were the doctrines of the primitive ,church1 let them cite their authority1 let them refer to the works in which these doctrines are actually taught4 ,if such opinions were actually held we could not fail to meet with some of them in the various and voluminous works which are still extant4 ,i assert that no such trace is to be found1 and ,i challenge the ,calvinist of the present day to produce an author prior to ,augustine who maintained what are now called ,calvinistic opinions 7,preface ,,vii47 ,the extracts which he gives from the writings of the ,fathers are so many and extended that we can only give a few4 ,clement of ,rome1 a contemporary of the apostles1 says3 ,let us look stedfastly at the blood of ,christ1 and see how precious ,his blood is in the sight of ,god1 which1 being shed for our salvation1 has obtained the grace of repentance for all the world 7p4 #bhh74 ,justin ,martyr1 who lived about the middle of the second century1 says1 ,but lest anyone should imagine that ,i am asserting things that happen according to the necessity of fate1 because ,i have said that things are foreknown1 ,i proceed to refute that opinion also4 ,that punishments and chastisements and good rewards are given according to the worth of the actions of every one1 having learnt it from the prophets1 we declare to be true2 since if it were not so1 but all things happen according to fate1 nothing would be in our own power2 for if it were decreed by fate that one should be good and another bad1 no praise would be due to the former1 nor blame to the other2 and1 again1 if mankind had not the power of free-will to avoid what is disgraceful and to choose what is good1 they would not be responsible for their actions 7,tom41 p4 #bib74 ,irenaeus1 who lived near the end of the second century1 says1 ,the expression ',how often would ,i have gathered thy children together1 and ye would not' 7,matt4 xxiii4 #cg71 manifested the ancient law of human liberty1 because ,god made man free from the beginning1 having his own power as he had also his own soul to use the sentence of ,god voluntarily1 and not by compulsion from ,god4 ,for there is no force with ,god1 but a good intention is always with ,him4 ,and therefore ,he gives good counsel to all4 ,but ,he has placed the power of choice in man1 in that those who should obey might justly possess good1 given indeed by ,god1 but preserved by ourselves 7,tom41 p4 #cjd74 ,tertullian 7,a4,d4 #bjj71 ,therefore1 though we have learned from the commands of ,god both what ,he wills and what ,he forbids1 yet we have a will and power to choose either1 as it is written1 ',behold ,i have set before you good and evil1 for you have tasted of the tree of knowledge' 7,tom41 p4 #cbj74 ,origen 7,a4,d4 #bcj7 says1 ,we have frequently shown1 in all our disputations1 that the nature of rational souls is such as to be capable of good and evil 7,tom41 p4 #cbc74 ,ambrose 7,a4,d4 #cgd7 says1 ,the ,lord ,jesus came to save all sinners 7,tom41 p4 #cgg74 ,chrysostom 7,a4,d4 #cih7 says1 ,hear also how fate speaks1 and how it lays down contrary laws1 and learn how the former are declared by a ,divine spirit1 but the latter by a wicked demon and a savage beast4 ,god has said1 ',if ye be willing and obedient1' making us masters of virtue and wickedness1 and placing them within our own power4 ,but what does the other say8 ,that it is impossible to avoid what is decreed by fate1 whether we will or not4 ,god says1 ',if ye be willing ye shall eat the good of the land2' but fate says1 ',although we be willing1 unless it shall be permitted us1 this will is of no use4' ,god says1 ',if ye will not obey my words1 a sword shall devour you2' fate says1 ',although we be not willing1 if it shall be granted to us1 we are certainly saved4' ,does not fate say this8 ,what1 then1 can be clearer than this opposition8 ,what can be more evident than this war which the diabolical teachers of wickedness have thus shamelessly declared against the ,divine oracles 7,tom41 p4 #deh74 ,besides the names thus given1 ,tomlin appeals to and gives quotations from the following authors of antiquity as confirming his statement --viz41 ,tatian1 ,clement of ,alexandria1 ,cyprian1 ,lactantius1 ,eusebius1 ,athenasius1 ,cyril1 ,hilary1 ,basil1 ,ambrose1 ,jerome1 c4 ,the testimony of the ,fathers is clearly against the ,calvinistic system4 ,we do not1 of course1 claim them as settling the controversy2 this must be done by an appeal to reason and the ,scriptures2 but it is nevertheless deserving of attention1 that for some #djj years the stream of opinion in the ,church ran in a contrary direction to that of ,geneva4 ,the system of ,calvin is1 that ,god wishes only some men to be saved1 and that everything is fixed2 and it was clearly held before ,augustine's time1 that ,god wished all men saved1 and that men were free1 which they could not be if all things were foreordained4 ,besides this1 it is a remarkable fact that the errors of the early heretics bore a close resemblance to those held by the followers of ,calvin4 ,irenaeus1 writing of ,saturnius1 says1 ,he first asserted that there are two sets of men formed by the angels1 the one good and the other bad4 ,and because demons assisted the worst men1 that the ,saviour came to destroy bad men and demons1 but to save good men 7,tom41 p4 #eae74 ,gregory of ,nazianzum1 warning his readers against heresy1 says1 ,for certain persons are so ill-disposed as to imagine that some are of a nature which must absolutely perish1 c4 7,tom41 p4 #ebb74 ,jerome1 commenting on ,eph4 v4 #h1 remarks14 4 4 ,there is not1 as some heretics say1 a nation which perishes and does not admit of salvation 7,tom41 p4 #ebe74 ,do not the heretical opinions denounced by the ,fathers bear a close resemblance to the elect and the reprobate of the ,confession of ,faith8 ,the departure from the ancient creed of the ,church arose out of the controversy with ,pelagius4 ,this monk1 surnamed ,brito 7from being generally believed to be a native of ,britain71 is supposed to have been born about the middle of the fourth century4 ,nothing is now known regarding the place of his birth1 or precise period when he was born4 ,his name is supposed to be a ,greek rendering of 7,pelagios1 of or belonging to the sea7 the ,celtic appellative ,morgan1 or sea-born4 ,he never entered holy orders4 ,if tradition is to be trusted1 he was educated in a monastery at ,bangor1 in ,wales1 of which he ultimately became abbot4 ,in the end of the fourth century he went to ,rome1 having acquired a reputation of sanctity and knowledge of the ,scriptures4 ,whilst here he made the acquaintance of ,coelestius1 a ,roman advocate1 who espoused his views1 and gave up his own profession1 and devoted himself to extend the opinions of his master4 ,about ,a4,d4 #dje1 they began to make themselves known1 but attracted little attention2 and after the sack of the city by the ,goths1 ,a4,d4 #daj1 they left and went to ,africa4 ,the two friends seem to have separated here4 ,pelagius went to ,jerusalem1 whilst ,coelestius remained in ,africa4 ,the latter desired to enter into holy orders1 and sought ordination4 ,his opinions had become known1 however1 and objections were lodged against him4 ,he appealed to ,rome1 but did not prosecute his case4 ,he went to ,ephesus instead4 ,the proceedings at ,carthage in this matter are noteworthy1 as they were the occasion of introducing ,augustine into the controversy4 ,he was determined not to let the subject rest1 and sent ,orosius1 a ,spanish monk1 to ,jerusalem1 and got the question brought before a synod there in ,a4,d4 #dae4 ,this assembly1 however1 refused to condemn ,pelagius4 ,in ,a4,d4 #dah1 the emperor banished the heresiarch2 and after this history fails to give any reliable account of him4 ,he had spoken what he thought1 and had stirred the minds of men in three continents4 ,when the ,council of ,carthage met1 there were twelve charges of heresy laid against him4 ,a summary of his opinions is given by ,buck1 and is as follows3--7#a47 ,that ,adam was by nature mortal1 and whether he had sinned or not1 would certainly have died4 7#b47 ,that the consequences of ,adam's sin were confined to his own person4 7#c47 ,that new-born infants are in the same situation with ,adam before the fall4 7#d47 ,that the law qualified men for the kingdom of heaven1 and was founded on equal promises with the ,gospel4 7#e47 ,that the general resurrection of the dead does not follow in virtue of the ,saviour's resurrection4 7#f47 ,that the grace of ,god is given according to our merits4 7#g47 ,that this grace is not given for the performance of every moral act1 the liberty of the will and information in points of duty being sufficient4 ,if these were the opinions of ,pelagius1 then1 according to our finding1 he had erred from the truth4 ,i say if1 because it is not safe to trust an opponent when professing to give the views of an antagonist4 ,he is apt to confound deductions with principles which are denied4 ,although we do not know where and when ,pelagius was born1 nor the place and time of his death1 we have reliable information on these points regarding ,augustine4 ,he was born at ,tagaste1 a town in north ,africa1 on #acth ,nov41 ,a4,d4 #ced4 ,he was the child of many prayers by his devoted mother ,monica4 ,the early portion of his life was spent in idleness and dissipation1 but he was at last converted in a somewhat remarkable manner4 ,he turned over a new leaf in his moral life1 and became a most devoted ,christian4 ,although considered inferior to ,jerome 7his contemporary7 as regards ,biblical criticism1 he was a man of genius1 and a strong controversialist4 ,he contended against the ,donatists1 the ,manichaeans1 and the ,pelagians4 ,when the ,vandals were besieging ,hippo1 he died on the #bhth of ,august1 ,a4,d4 #dcj1 in the #gfth year of his age4 ,no father of the early ,church has exercised a greater influence upon theological opinion than he has done4 ,the system now known as ,calvinism should be designated ,augustinianism1 ,augustine being1 as remarked1 the real author of the system1 and not the ,genevan divine4 ,regarding the central tenets of his creed1 it is said3 ,he held the corruption of human nature1 and the consequent slavery of the human will4 ,both on metaphysical and religious grounds he asserted the doctrine of predestination1 from which he necessarily deduced the corollary doctrines of election and reprobation2 and1 finally1 he supported against ,pelagius1 not only these opinions1 but also the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints1 7,ch4 ,en41 ,aug47 ,besides introducing a new theological system1 ,augustine put his imprimatur upon the burning of heretics4 ,when the magistrate ,dulcitius had some compunctions about executing a decree of ,honorius1 ,augustine wrote to him and said1 ,it is much better that some should perish by their own fires1 than that the whole body should perish in the everlasting fires of ,gehenna1 through the desert of the impious dissension 7,ch4 ,en41 ,aug47 ,calvin therefore could not only claim the authority of ,augustine for his dogmas1 but he might have claimed him also as justifying the burning of ,servetus4 ,but this by the way4 ,with the voice of the ,fathers against him1 and1 as we think1 unwarranted by the light of philosophy and the true interpretation of ,scripture1 how came it about1 it may be asked1 that ,augustine adopted the system which should be called by his name8 ,the true answer to this will be found1 we apprehend1 in a variety of considerations4 ,his early dissipated life1 his nine years connection with ,manichaeism1 the extreme statements of ,pelagius1 his own strange conversion by hearing1 when weeping and moaning under a fig -tree1 a young voice saying quickly1 ,tolle lege1 tolle lege 7take and read1 take and read71 and which he took as a ,divine admonition2 these1 combined with the commotion of the times1 would lend their influence to the position he came to occupy4 ,his system1 whilst it accords glory to ,god1 is one-sided1 by ignoring the function man has to perform in applying the remedial scheme4 ,although ,pelagius had got many to espouse his opinions1 yet his tenets were again and again condemned by the councils of the ,church4 ,the controversy1 however1 very soon diverged from strictly ,pelagian lines1 and entered upon a new track--viz41 that of ,semi-pelagianism1 to which is closely allied the principles advocated by the ,evangelical ,union of ,scotland4 ,from extremes there is generally a recoil1 and this was the case as regards ,augustinianism4 ,certain monks at ,adrumetum drew conclusions from the system which1 whether they are admitted or not1 are its logical outcome4 ,they said1 ,of what use are all doctrines and precepts8 ,human efforts can avail nothing1 it is ,god that worketh in us to will and to do4 ,nor is it right to reproach or to punish those who are in error1 and who cannot sin1 for it is none of their fault that they act thus4 ,without grace they cannot do otherwise1 nor can they do anything to merit grace2 all we should do1 then1 is to pray for them 7,neander1 ,vol4 ,,iv41 p4 #cgc74 ,augustine endeavoured to neutralise these opinions by writing two books explaining his views4 ,regarding these answers1 ,neander observes1 ,but such persons1 as the monks1 must rather have found in this a further confirmation of their doubts4 ,whilst the monks of ,adrumetum drew natural conclusions from the dogmas of ,augustine1 there came determined opposition to the new creed4 ,it came from the south of ,france4 ,john ,cassian1 who had been a deacon under ,chrysostom1 had established a cloister at ,massila 7,marseilles71 and had become its abbot1 entered the lists against the ,bishop of ,hippo4 ,he departed from the opinions of ,pelagius regarding the corruption of human nature1 and he recognised grace as well as justification in the sense of ,augustine4 ,but he widely differed from him1 as will be seen from the summary of ,semi -pelagianism given by ,buck4 ,it is as follows3 7#a47 ,that ,god did not dispense ,his grace to one man more than another in consequence of an absolute and eternal decree1 but was willing to save all men if they complied with the terms of the ,gospel4 7#b47 ,that ,christ died for all mankind4 7#c47 ,that the grace purchased by ,christ1 and necessary to salvation1 was offered to all men4 7#d47 ,that man before he received this grace was capable of faith and holy desires4 7#e47 ,that man was born free1 and consequently capable of resisting the influence of grace1 or of complying with its suggestions4 ,buck remarks1 ,the ,semi-pelagians were very numerous1 and the doctrine of ,cassian1 though variously explained1 was received in the greatest part of the monastic schools in ,gaul1 from whence it spread itself far and wide through the ,european provinces4 ,as to the ,greeks and other ,eastern ,churches1 they had embraced the ,semi-pelagian doctrine before ,cassian4 ,yet when1 as in #ahdc1 similar opinions were proclaimed in ,scotland1 they were everywhere met with the cry of ,new ,views1 although they had been held so extensively #adjj years before6 ,so much for ignorance4 ,the name ,semi-pelagians was not assumed by the party1 lest they should be held as maintaining the dogmas of ,pelagius2 neither was it given until long after the early heat of the controversy4 ,their opponents still stigmatised them as ,pelagians1 although they had departed from the system advocated by the ,british monk4 ,the controversy continued to occupy the mind of the ,church during the latter part of the fifth and beginning of the sixth centuries4 ,in ,a4,d4 #dge a synod held at ,arles sanctioned the views of the ,semi -pelagians1 and compelled the presbyter ,lucidus1 who was an earnest advocate of ,augustinianism1 to recant4 ,another synod1 held at ,lugdunum in the same year1 put also its imprimatur upon them4 ,but there was not complete agreement1 and the divines who had been banished by the ,vandals from northern ,africa held a council in ,a4,d4 #ebc1 and under their auspices ,fulgentius of ,ruspe composed a defence of ,angustine's views2 7,kurtz1 p4 #bac7 ,for a considerable time after this the controversy may be said to have remained quiet1 but broke forth with great fury in the ninth century4 ,gottschalk1 the son of a ,saxon count1 had been dedicated by his parents to the service of religion1 and in due course entered the monastery of ,fulda4 ,he did not take to cloister life1 and petitioned an assembly held at ,metz to be released from his monastic vows4 ,his request was granted1 but ,rabanus ,maurus1 who was the abbot1 appealed to ,lewis the ,pius1 and endeavoured to show that all oblati 7lay brethren dedicated to the service of the ,church7 were bound to perpetual obligation4 ,lewis revoked the decision of the assembly1 and ,gottschalk had to go back to cloister life1 which he did by entering the monastery of ,orbais4 ,here he became an ardent student of the writings of ,augustine1 and sought to propagate his views4 ,he affirmed a proedestinatio duplex1 by virtue of which ,god decreed eternal life to the elect1 and the elect to eternal life2 and so also everlasting punishment to the reprobate1 and the reprobate to everlasting punishment1 for the two were inseparably connected 7,neander1 ,vol4 ,,vi41 p4 #ahj74 ,on returning from a pilgrimage to ,rome ,gottschalk happened to meet ,noting 7,bishop of ,verona71 and expounded to him his views4 ,sometime after this meeting the bishop had a conversation with ,rabanus 7who was now ,bishop of ,mayence71 and informed him regarding ,gottschalk's opinions4 ,rabanus promised to send a reply1 which shortly afterwards he did1 in two thundering epistles4 ,the controversy now waxed warm1 too much so for the monk4 ,he was condemned1 imprisoned1 and scourged4 ,he threw his treatises into the fire1 but intimated his willingness to go through the ordeal of stepping into cauldrons of boiling water1 oil1 and pitch1 being thoroughly convinced that he had the truth upon his side4 ,his offer was treated by ,hincoma as the boast of a ,simon ,magus4 ,he died in prison4 ,in the ,middle ,ages the schoolmen took sides in this controversy1 but there was no general agitation upon the subject4 ,the ,dark ,ages had set in1 and remained until the ,renaissance and the revival of learning in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries4 ,the ,european countries had been greatly agitated by the ,crusades1 which had collateral issues of an important character4 ,turbulent spirits had been weeded but1 and the royal authority had become better established4 ,independence of thought began to assert itself in ,wickliffe2 and ,huss and ,jerome of ,prague paid the penalty of martyrdom for gainsaying ,rome4 ,but a bright morning was at hand4 ,luther arose4 ,his voice1 like a clarion trumpet among the ,alps1 produced echoes all around4 ,his doctrines spread like wild-fire4 ,amongst the countries which readily received them was ,holland4 ,charles ,v4 was determined to crush the nascent spirit of liberty in that portion of his dominions1 and inaugurated a persecution by which #ej1jjj people lost their lives4 ,the ,dutch maintained their rights1 and in due course the ,protestant religion was that of the land4 ,the opinions of ,calvin were adopted generally4 ,he had adopted the system of ,augustine1 as already intimated1 and he had a great influence upon the ,protestants generally outside ,germany4 ,james ,arminius was born at ,oudewater in #aefj4 ,he lost his father when quite young1 and the merchants of ,amsterdam undertook his education upon condition that he would not preach out of their city unless he got their permission4 ,having gone to ,geneva1 he sat at the feet of ,theodore ,beza1 one of the most rigid of ,calvin's followers4 ,after travelling in ,italy he returned to ,holland1 and was duly appointed a minister of religion in ,amsterdam4 ,about this time certain clergymen of ,delft had become dissatisfied with the doctrine of predestination1 and ,arminius was commissioned to answer them4 ,but in prosecuting his inquiries he began to doubt1 and then to change his views4 ,he saw that he could not defend the system of ,calvin1 and having the courage of his convictions1 he spoke out his mind4 ,he excited intense opposition1 and was visited1 without stint1 with the odium theologicum4 ,all the pulpits began to fulminate against him4 ,in the midst of the controversy he died1 #aith ,october1 #afji4 ,he was admitted by his opponents to have been a good man4 ,in #afaj his followers presented a ,remonstrance to the assembled ,states of the province of ,holland4 ,from this circumstance they have been called ,remonstrants4 ,in this celebrated document the following propositions were stated3--7#a47 ,that ,god had indeed made an eternal decree1 but only on the conditional terms that all who believe in ,christ shall be saved1 while all who refuse to believe must perish2 so that predestination is only conditional4 7#b47 ,that ,christ died for all men1 but that none except believers are really saved by ,his death4 ,the intention1 in other words1 is universal1 but the efficacy may be restricted by unbelief4 7#c47 ,that no man is of himself able to exercise a saving faith1 but must be born again of ,god in ,christ through the ,holy ,spirit4 7#d47 ,that without the grace of ,god man can neither think1 will1 nor do anything good2 yet that grace does not act in men in an irresistible way4 7#e47 ,that believers are able1 by the aid of the ,holy ,spirit1 victoriously to resist sin2 but that the question of the possibility of a fall from grace must be determined by a further examination of the ,scriptures on this point4 ,the last proposition was decided in the affirmative in the following year 7#afaa74 ,a synod was convened at ,dort in #afah1 from which the followers of ,arminius were excluded4 ,it put its approval upon the views of ,calvin4 ,the discussion soon assumed a political aspect1 which ,maurice of ,orange turned to his own account1 put ,oldenbarnveldt to death1 and sent ,grotius to prison4 ,in the ,church of ,england divines may hold either view of this question4 ,the saying has been ascribed to ,pitt3 ,the ,church of ,england hath a ,popish liturgy1 a ,calvinistic creed1 and an ,arminian clergy 7,bartlett74 ,whilst she has had such genuine ,calvinists as ,scott and ,toplady1 she has also produced men who held that the ,saviour died for all--viz41 ,hales1 ,butler1 ,pierce1 ,barrow1 ,cudworth1 ,tillotson1 ,stillingfleet1 ,patrick1 and ,burnet4 ,the ,wesleyan body are decidedly anti-,calvinistic4 ,in #afdc an assembly of divines met at ,westminster1 and although they could not agree about church government1 they came to a finding about doctrines1 and drew up the ,confession of ,faith and the ,catechism1 which are thoroughly ,calvinistic4 ,the ,church of ,scotland adopted these formularies1 and although there have been several secessions from her1 they were not upon the ground of doctrine as expressed in the creed4 ,in #ahdc1 however1 a decided departure took place in this respect1 in one of the offshoots of the ,church--viz41 in that of the ,united ,secession ,church4 ,the ,rev4 ,james ,morison had declared it to be his belief that ,christ died for all men4 ,he was charged with heresy and deposed4 ,other brethren threw in their lot with him1 and in due course the ,evangelical ,union was formed4 ,its primary doctrines are that the ,divine ,father loves all men1 that ,christ died for all men1 and that the ,divine ,spirit gives sufficient grace to all men1 which1 if improved1 would lead to their salvation4 ,such1 then1 is a brief outline of the main historical facts in this controversy1 and it is worthy of note1 as remarked1 that for the first #djj years of the ,christian era the ,calvinistic system of theology was unknown to the ,christian church4 ,it began1 as we have seen1 with ,augustine1 and being adopted by ,calvin was widely spread in those countries which received at the ,reformation ,protestant principles4 ,it comprehends truths of vast value to man1 but which are not peculiar to it4 ,they are held as firmly by opponents as by the followers of ,calvin2 such1 for instance1 as the inspiration of the ,bible1 the doctrine of the ,trinity1 the inability of man to work out a glory meriting righteousness1 justification by faith alone1 and the necessity of the ,spirit's work in regeneration4 ,as in the ,church of ,rome1 there have also been ranged under the banner of the ,genevan divine men of the most varied accomplishments and the most saintly character4 ,but men are often better than their professed creed1 and often worse4 ,as a system it has passed its meridian1 and although ministers and elders are still required to profess their faith in its peculiarities1 it has lost its hold on the popular mind4 ,mr4 ,froude1 in his celebrated address to the ,st4 ,andrew's students1 said1 ,after being accepted for two centuries in all ,protestant countries as the final account of the relations between man and his ,maker1 ,calvinism has come to be regarded by liberal thinkers as a system of belief incredible in itself1 dishonouring to its object1 and as intolerable as it has been itself intolerant4 ,to represent man as sent into the world under a curse1 as incurably wicked--wicked by the constitution of his flesh1 and wicked by eternal decree2 as doomed 7unless exempted by special grace1 which he cannot merit1 or by an effort of his own obtain71 to live in sin while he remains on earth1 and to be eternally miserable when he leaves it2 to represent him as born unable to keep the commandments1 yet as justly liable to everlasting punishment for breaking them1 is alike repugnant to reason and to conscience1 and turns existence into a hideous nightmare4 ,to deny the freedom of the will is to make morality impossible3 to tell men that they cannot help themselves1 is to fling them into recklessness and despair4 ,to what purpose the effort to be virtuous1 when it is an effort which is foredoomed to fail2 when those that are saved are saved by no effort of their own and confess themselves the worst of sinners1 even when rescued from the penalties of sin2 and those that are lost are lost by an everlasting sentence decreed against them before they were born8 ,how are we to call the ,ruler who laid us under this iron code by the name of wise1 and just1 or merciful1 when we ascribe principles of action to ,him which1 as a human father1 we should call preposterous and monstrous8 ,error1 however1 like disease1 is not easily eradicated2 but as men get better acquainted with ,god1 those dark and heathenish conceptions regarding him entertained by ,calvinists1 such as the foredooming of children and men to endless misery1 will give place to nobler thoughts of the ,author of our being4 ,i doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose runs1 ,and the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns4 ,in #ahgi the ,united ,presbyterian ,church adopted what is known as the ,declaratory ,act1 which is a clear departure from the rigid ,calvinism of the ,confession of ,faith4 ,in this declaration ,god's love is said to be world-wide1 and the propitiation of ,christ to be for the sins of the whole world4 ,they hold the ,confession dogmas in harmony with the ,declaratory ,act1 but it is an attempt to put the new cloth on the old garment1 or the new wine into the old bottles4 ,it is impossible that ,god can love the whole world1 and yet foredoom millions to be lost4 ,the two views are destructive of each other4 ,this church1 one of the most intelligent in the country1 cannot stand where it now is4 ,it is bound to go forward4 ,,part ,i4--,,predestination4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,word ,,predestination1 ,,and ,,the ,,doctrine ,,as ,,held ,,by ,,calvinists4 ,,the word predestinate signifies1 according to the ,imperial ,dictionary1 to predetermine or foreordain1 to appoint or ordain beforehand by an unchangeable purpose4 ,the noun1 according to the same authority1 denotes the act of decreeing or foreordaining events2 the act of ,god1 by which ,he hath from eternity unchangeably appointed or determined whatsoever comes to pass4 ,it is used particularly in theology to denote the preordination of men to everlasting happiness or misery4 ,the term is used four times in the ,new ,testament1 and comes from the ,greek word proorizo1 which signifies1 to determine beforehand1 to predetermine 7,liddell and ,scott74 ,robinson gives as its meaning1 to set bounds before1 to predetermine1 spoken of the eternal decrees and counsels of ,god4 ,according to the lexicographers1 the meaning--as far as the word is concerned--is plain enough4 ,it is quite clear from the ,scriptures that ,god predestinates or foreordains4 ,this is admitted on all sides4 ,but here the questions arise--,what is the nature of ,god's predestination8 and does it embrace all events8 ,the ,confession of ,faith gives the following deliverance on the subject--,god from all eternity did1 by the most wise and holy counsel of ,his own will1 freely and unchangeably foreordain whatsoever comes to pass4 ,the ,larger and ,shorter ,catechisms express the same idea4 ,this was the opinion of the ,westminster divines1 and is the professed faith of ,presbyterians in general in ,scotland4 ,one of the most eminent theologians of the school of ,calvin--,dr4 ,c4 ,hodge--vindicates this deliverance of the ,assembly4 ,he says1 ,the reason2 therefore1 why any event occurs1 or that passes from the category of the possible into that of the actual1 is that ,god has so decreed 7,vol4 ,i41 p4 #eca74 ,he says again1 ,the ,scriptures teach that sinful acts1 as well as those which are holy1 are foreordained 7,vol4 ,i41 p4 #edc74 ,and1 again1 ,the acts of the wicked in persecuting the early ,church were ordained of ,god1 as the means of the wider and more speedy proclamation of the ,gospel 7,vol4 ,i41 p4 #edd74 ,he says1 moreover1 ,whatever happens ,god intended should happen1 that to ,him nothing can be unexpected1 and nothing contrary to ,his purposes 7,vol4 ,,ii41 p #cce74 ,the same writer1 in speaking of the usage of the term predestination1 remarks1 ,it may be used first in the general sense of foreordination4 ,in this sense it has equal reference to all events1 for ,god foreordains whatsoever comes to pass3 ,it will thus be seen that the ,confession1 and the ,catechisms1 and ,hodge1 as one of the most eminent expounders of these formularies1 uphold the doctrine1 that everything which happens was foreordained by ,god to happen4 ,the doctrine as thus stated is clearly the foundation of the whole system of ,calvinism4 ,if this is shaken1 the entire structure topples to its base4 ,being so important1 its advocates have sought to strengthen it by appealing to the ,divine attributes and to passages from holy writ4 ,let us then examine their arguments derived from the attributes1 and the texts they have adduced4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,calvinistic ,,predestination ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,divine ,,wisdom4 ,,the wisdom of ,god is held as proving universal foreordination4 ,being infinitely wise--such is the argument--,he will act upon a plan1 as in creation1 and as wise people do in regard to affairs in general4 ,and this is perfectly correct4 ,the question1 however1 is not whether ,god has a plan1 but what that plan comprehends8 ,sin being a factor in the programme of life1 the ,divine wisdom or plan will be exercised in reference to it4 ,there are two ways in which this may be done4 ,it may be foreordained as part of the plan1 as is seen in the above extracts4 ,but another way is this3 ,the ,divine wisdom may be exercised in regard to sin1 not as ordaining it1 but as overruling it1 and in turning it to account4 ,that the evil deeds of men bring into view features of the ,divine character which would not otherwise have been seen1 is no doubt true1 but this does not save the wrong-doers from the severest blame4 ,but what is wisdom8 ,it is the choosing of the best means to effect a good end4 ,the ultimate end of creation is the glory of ,god1 as ,he is the highest and the best of beings4 ,there can be nothing higher than himself ,he desires the confidence and the love of men4 ,love is the root of creation1 ,god's essence4 ,worlds without number ,lie in ,his bosom like children2 ,he made them for this purpose only1-- ,only to love and be loved again4--,,tegner4 ,men are asked to give ,him their trust and love4 ,it is right that they should do so1 for ,he is infinitely worthy of them4 ,but what are sinful actions8 ,essentially they are foolish1 and issue in misery4 ,and if ,god foreordained them1 how can we esteem ,him as wise and good8 ,and if not to our intelligence wise and good1 how can we give ,him our confidence and love8 ,trust and love are based upon the perception of the true and the good4 ,if ,i find a man who is destitute of these qualities of character1 to love him with approval is1 as ,i am constituted1 an impossibility4 ,but to ordain the acts of the wicked1 as ,hodge says that ,god did1 in order to spread ,christianity1 was neither just nor good4 ,it was doing evil that good might come4 ,instead of being wise it was1 if it were so1 an exhibition of unwisdom as regards the very end of creation1 as it was fitted to drive men away from1 instead of bringing them to1 ,god4 ,and yet wisdom1 ,divine wisdom1 was exercised in reference to those very persecutions4 ,it was true1 as ,tertullian said1 that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the ,church4 ,by means of the sufferings of the early ,christians men's minds were directed to that religion which supported its adherents in the midst of their accumulated sorrows4 ,their patience1 their heroic bravery in facing grim death1 threw a halo of moral glory around the martyrs which touched the hearts of true men who lived in the midst of general degeneration4 ,the ,christians were driven from their homes1 but they carried the truth with them4 ,the seeds of truth are bearded1 and adhere we know not when1 we know not where4 ,in the world of nature there are seeds with hooks1 and others have wings to be wafted by the breeze to their proper habitat4 ,and if ,divine wisdom watches over the seeds of the vegetable kingdom1 does it not stand to reason that it will do so in regard to truth8 ,god overrules the evil1 and makes it the occasion of good4 ,joseph was immured in jail1 but from it he ascended to a seat next the throne4 ,christ was crucified1 but from the blessed cross came streams of blessing4 ,paul was incarcerated1 but from his prison came thoughts that breathe and words that burn1 that have kept alive the flame of piety for more than a thousand years4 ,the people of ,god still suffer1 but1 like the asbestos cloth when thrown into the fire1 they1 by these sufferings1 become purified and made meet for the coming glory4 ,in thus overruling evil1 ,god1 we say1 shows the highest wisdom and love fitted to secure our trust and affection2 but to ordain evil would be an illustration of supreme folly1 fitted to lower him in the estimation of angels and of men4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,predestination ,,considered ,,with ,,reference ,,to ,,almighty ,,power4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,god is held as supporting universal foreordination4 ,as in the case of wisdom1 ,god's power must be recognised as infinite4 ,it is true1 indeed1 that creation does not prove this1 since it is limited1 and no conclusion can be more extensive than the premises4 ,but looking at the nature and multitude of ,his works1 we cannot resist the conviction that there is nothing 7which does not imply a contradiction7 that is too hard for the ,lord4 ,he is infinite in power4 ,but the power of ,god is guided by ,his wisdom and ,his love1 just as is the power of a good and a wise king4 ,in governing ,his creation1 it stands to reason that ,he will govern each creature according to its nature--brute matter by physical law1 animals by instinct1 and man in harmony with his rational constitution4 ,god does not reason with a stone1 or plead with a brute2 but ,he does so with man4 ,come1 now1 and let us reason together1 saith the ,lord 7,isa4 i4 #ah74 ,it would be absurd to punish a block of granite because it was not marble1 or to condemn the horse because he could not understand a problem in ,euclid4 ,to do so would be to treat the creatures by a law not germane to their nature4 ,it is1 indeed1 a radical vice in ,calvinistic reasoning that1 because ,god is omnipotent1 ,he can as easily therefore create virtue in a free being as ,he can waft the down of the thistle on the breeze4 ,it is quite true that whatsoever the ,lord pleased that did ,he in heaven and in earth 7,ps4 cxxxv4 #f74 ,but the question is--,what is ,his pleasure in regard to the production of virtue8 ,is it a forced or free thing8 ,every good man will cheerfully ascribe to ,god the praise of his 7the good1 man's7 virtue4 ,god gave him his constitution2 ,god's ,spirit brought to bear on him the motives of a holy life4 ,had there been no ,spirit1 there would have been no holy life4 ,yet there is a sense in which the personal righteousness of the good man is his own righteousness4 ,it consists in right acts1 in right acts as regards ,god and as regards man4 ,god told him what to do1 and when he did it the acts became his acts1 and were not the acts of ,god1 nor of any other4 ,when he does the thing that was right1 he is commended--when he does not1 he is blamed4 ,conversing one day with a ,calvinistic clergyman1 he intimated that a certain person had declared that the only thing stronger than ,god in the world was the human will4 ,we remarked that we did not approve of such a mode of expression4 ,and rightly so4 ,it implies a confusion of ideas1 confounding physical power which is almighty1 and moral power1 which is suasory and resistible4 ,stephen charged the ,jews with resisting the ,spirit4 ,ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears1 ye do always resist the ,holy ,ghost3 as your fathers did1 so do ye 7,acts vii4 #ea74 ,because they resisted him1 would it be right to say that they were physically stronger than ,god8 ,we replied to the clergyman that we supposed that the person who used the expression meant that ,god did not get people to do what ,he wished4 ,the reply was that we were equally wrong4 ,we then asked1 ,do you think that ,god wishes people to keep ,his law8 ,he refused to answer the question4 ,but why would he not8 ,aye1 why8 ,he was in this dilemma3 ,if he said that ,he did wish them to keep ,his law1 he would have been met by the question1 ,why then does ,he not make them do so8 ,everywhere the law is broken4 ,if he said that ,god did not wish them to keep ,his law1 would not this have been to put the ,holy ,one on a level with the great enemy of man8 ,this brings out the idea that whilst ,god is possessed of infinite power1 in the exercise of that power ,he has respect to the constitution of man in the production of virtue4 ,he does not override the constitution1 and treat it as if it were a nullity4 ,to do so would be absurd1 for forced virtue is not virtue at all4 ,god is all-powerful1 but ,he is also ,,all-,,wise4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,predestination ,,considered ,,with ,,reference ,,to ,,divine ,,foreknowledge4 ,,the ,,foreknowledge of ,god is held as evidence that ,he has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass4 ,he foreknows1 so it is argued1 but ,he does so because ,he has foreordained4 ,calvin says1 ,since ,he 7,god7 doth not otherwise foresee the things that shall come to pass than because ,he hath decreed that they should so come to pass1 it is vain to move a controversy about foreknowledge1 when it is certain that all things do happen rather by ordinance and commandment 7,b4 iii47 ,toplady says that ,god foreknows futurities1 because by ,his predestination ,he hath rendered their futurition certain and inevitable4 ,bonar says1 ,god foreknows everything that takes place1 because he ,has fixed it 7,truth and ,error1 p4 #ej74 ,the same doctrine is held by the younger ,hodge--that foreknowledge involves foreordination4 ,there have been some who have denied the infinitude of ,god's knowledge1 notably ,dr4 ,adam ,clarke4 ,he held that ,god1 although possessed of omnipotence1 yet as ,he chooses not to do all things1 so also although ,he possesses the power of knowing all things1 yet ,he chooses to be ignorant of some things4 ,in refuting this notion1 ,dr4 ,hodge remarks1 ,but this is to suppose that ,god wills not to be ,god1 that the ,infinite wills to be finite4 ,knowledge in ,god is not founded on ,his will1 except so far as the knowledge of vision is concerned--i4e41 ,his knowledge of ,his own purposes1 or what ,he has decreed shall come to pass4 ,if not founded on ,his will it cannot be limited by it4 ,infinite knowledge must know all things actual or possible 7,vol4 ,i41 p4 #edf74 ,although the motive underlying ,clarke's argument is good1 yet it is not wise to sacrifice the ,divine intelligence to the ,divine goodness4 ,god is the infinitely perfect one1 but to suppose that ,he is ignorant of what will happen tomorrow is to limit ,his perfections1 and make ,him a dependent being4 ,but neither can we accept the ,calvinistic doctrine1 that ,god foreknows because ,he has foreordained4 ,this1 properly speaking1 is not foreknowledge1 but after knowledge1 since it comes after the decree4 ,it is1 moreover1 simply assertion4 ,it is not a self-evident proposition1 and is neither backed by reason nor ,scripture4 ,the great difficulty1 however1 with our ,calvinistic friends is regarding certainty4 ,if ,god is certain that an event will happen1 then1 so it is argued1 it must happen4 ,if we deny that there is an absolute necessity for the event as an event happening1 then it is replied that ,god in that case was not certain4 ,but this is sophistical reasoning--slipshod philosophy4 ,god was certain that the event would happen1 but ,he was also certain that it need not have happened4 ,the ,divine knowledge is simply a state of the ,divine intelligence1 and never causes any thing4 ,it comprehends all that is past1 all that now is1 and all that will ever be4 ,but it comprises more than this1 and herein lies the key of the mystery4 ,it takes in the possible1 or that which is never realised in the actual4 ,human knowledge does this--and how much more the ,divine6 ,god knows that the thief will steal2 ,he is certain that he will do it1 but ,he is also certain that he need not do it4 ,his being certain that the theft will take place does not necessitate the theft4 ,it 7the certainty7 exercises no controlling agency upon the wrong-doer4 ,dr4 ,w4 ,cooke remarks1 ,what is involved in necessity8 ,it is a resistless impulse exerted for a given end4 ,what is freedom8 ,it involves a self-determining power to will and to act4 ,what is prescience8 ,it is simply knowledge of an event before it happens4 ,such being1 we conceive1 a correct representation of the terms1 we have to inquire1 where lies the alleged incompatibility of prescience and freedom8 ,between freedom and necessity there is1 we admit1 an absolute and irreconcilable discrepancy and opposition2 for the assertion of the one is a direct negation of the other4 ,what is free cannot be necessitated1 and what is necessitated cannot be free4 ,but prescience involves no such opposition4 ,for simple knowledge is not coercive2 it is not impulse2 it is not influence of any kind3 it is merely acquaintance with truth1 or the mind's seeing a thing as it is4 ,if ,i know the truth of a proposition of ,euclid1 it is not my knowledge that makes it true4 ,it was a truth1 and would have remained a truth1 whether ,i knew it or not1 yea1 even1 if ,i had never existed4 ,so of any fact in history2 so of any occurrence around me4 ,my mere knowledge of the fact did not make it fact1 or exercise any influence in causing it to be fact4 ,so in reference to the ,divine prescience2 it is mere knowledge1 and is as distinct from force1 constraint1 or influence as any two things can be distinct one from the other4 ,it is force which constitutes necessity1 and the total absence of force which constitutes liberty2 and as all force is absent from mere knowledge1 it is evident that neither foreknowledge nor afterknowledge involves any necessity1 or interferes in the least degree with human freedom4 ,man could not be more free than he is1 if ,god were totally ignorant of all his volitions and actions 7,deity1 p4 #bic74 ,calvinists sometimes entrench themselves behind ,god's foreknowledge as behind a rampart of granite1 but it gives in reality no support to their system4 ,that ,god knows the possible1 and the contingent1 was illustrated in the case of ,david at ,keilah4 ,he had taken up his temporary residence in this town4 ,saul was out on the war path1 and ,david wished to know if he would visit ,keilah1 and if so1 whether the men of ,keilah would deliver him up4 ,the answer was that ,saul would come1 and the people would deliver him up4 ,receiving this answer from ,god1 he left4 ,this shows that ,god's knowledge does not necessitate an event 7see #a ,sam4 xxiii47 ,he knows what might be1 but which never will be4 ,he saw how men would act in regard to ,david1 but ,his knowledge did not make them do it4 ,and ,he knows how men will act regarding the rejection of salvation1 but this does not necessitate them to ruin their souls4 ,he is certain that they might have been saved4 ,there was a perfect remedy for their need2 they had power to take it1 and refused4 ,the lost might have been saved2 or1 in other words1 every man in hell might have been in heaven4 ,the late ,lord ,kinloch in his ,circle of ,christian ,doctrine1 has several judicious remarks on this subject4 ,in his chapter on predestination he says3--,the choice of free agents cannot have been predestinated in any proper sense of the word1 that is1 cannot have been fixed beforehand so as to fall out in one way1 and no other1 irrespectively of his own will4 ,to say that it has been so1 involves a contradiction in terms1 for it is to say that a man chooses and does not choose at one and the same moment4 ,the choice may be foreseen1 must indeed in every case be foreseen by ,god1 otherwise the government of the universe could not be conducted4 ,but to foresee and foreordain are essentially different things 7p4 #aba74 ,he says again1 ,what ,god appoints2 ,he1 to whom the whole of futurity lies open at a glance1 necessarily appoints beforehand4 ,hence arises the axiomatic distinction which ,i find the key to the subject4 ,all that ,god is himself to do ,he not merely foresees but foreordains4 ,all that ,he does not do himself1 but leaves man to do by the very act of creating him a free agent1 the choice1 namely1 between one course and another1 is foreseen but not predestined 7p4 #abd74 ,the ideas of ,lord ,kinloch are sound1 and we deem them irrefutable4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,proof ,,texts ,,for ,,calvinistic ,,predestination ,,examined4 ,,the ,scriptures are supposed to teach the doctrine that ,god hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass4 ,it were impossible within the compass of this short treatise to consider at large all the passages that have been imported into this controversy4 ,we shall1 however1 consider a few which seem to favour the dogma4 ,,the ,,sons ,,of ,,eli4--,in #a ,sam4 ii4 #be1 it is written regarding the sons of ,eli1 ,notwithstanding they hearkened not to the voice of their father1 because the ,lord would slay them4 ,the whole stress of the argument from this passage lies in the word because4 ,they were not able to hearken to their father1 because ,god had determined to slay them4 ,there are two objections to this view1 the first critical and the second moral4 ,the ,hebrew particle translated because is --ki4 ,it is again and again translated by the word that1 and there is no reason in the world why it should not have been so translated in this passage4 ,by substituting that for because1 there is no support to predestination4 ,it simply denotes1 in such case1 that they would not believe their father1 which doubtless was the case from their depraved habits4 ,the moral objection is that ,god had made their return to good impossible1 whilst ,he declares that ,he is not willing that any should perish4 ,on these grounds we reject the interpretation4 ,,micaiah ,,and ,,ahab4--,the parabolic representation of ,micaiah is held as proving not the bare permission of an event1 but the actual deception of ,ahab4 ,the matter is recorded in #a ,kings xxii4 ,jehoshaphat had paid a visit to his neighbour1 the ,king of ,israel1 ,ahab4 ,the latter proposed that the former should accompany him in an attack upon ,ramoth-gilead4 ,ahab's prophets had promised success to the enterprise4 ,jehoshaphat wished to inquire of the prophet of the ,lord4 ,ahab told them that there was one1 ,micaiah by name1 but that he hated him as he always prophesied evil of him4 ,he was sent for1 however1 and when he came he was asked if they should go up against ,ramoth-gilead4 ,he answered1 ,go and prosper2 for the ,lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king4 ,this was evidently spoken in such a tone and manner1 that ,ahab said1 ,how many times shall ,i adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the ,lord8 ,the prophet then uttered a few words about the dispersion of the army1 which were very unpalatable to the king4 ,he then said1 ,i saw the ,lord sitting on ,his throne1 and all the host of heaven standing by ,him on ,his right hand and on ,his left4 ,a question was asked who would persuade ,ahab to go up1 and at last one answered that he would go and be a lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets1 and that he would persuade him4 ,the narrative proceeds1 and it is added1 ,and ,he 7the ,lord7 said1 ,thou shalt persuade him1 and prevail also3 go forth1 and do so4 ,now therefore1 behold1 the ,lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets 7#a ,kings xxii47 ,it is held that this narrative proves that ,god intended to deceive ,ahab4 ,i could understand an infidel trying to make capital out of such a passage2 but for a professed ,christian to go to it to prove that ,god intended to deceive ,ahab1 appears at first sight to transcend belief4 ,to do so is to sap the foundations of religion4 ,how much reason has the ,bible to say1 ,save me from my friends6 ,no doubt1 the interpretation of the passage given lies on the same lines with the general system of the true ,calvinists1 and is quite of a piece with their declaration that ,god foreordained the ,jews to crucify ,christ4 ,but1 let us look at the passage4 ,if ,god had intended to deceive ,ahab1 as saith ,calvin1 the course taken was the very opposite of what was fitted to secure the end4 ,micaiah was ,his recognised prophet2 ,he spoke through him1 and warned ,ahab against going up4 ,the result1 if he did1 was predicted2 was this deception8 ,the method adopted by the prophet was highly dramatic1 and fitted to impress both the kings with the folly of the enterprise4 ,it was a ,,lying spirit that was to inspire the emissaries of ,baal1 and advise the attack4 ,and if ,god's prophet intimated disaster--which actually occurred--where was there deception8 ,when it is said that ,god told the lying spirit to go and deceive ,ahab1 this is the mere drapery of the parable1 and must be held as denoting sufferance1 and not authoritative command4 ,when the literal meaning of a passage leads to absurdity1 we are required1 to seek for its spirit or other explanation4 ,christ said1 ,give to him that asketh of thee2 and from him that would borrow of thee1 turn not thou away4 ,to carry this out literally would be impossible2 but the spirit of the passage is beautiful1 teaching1 as it does1 the heavenly charity characteristic of the good man4 ,christ demanded of those who would become ,his disciples1 that they should hate their brethren2 but no honest interpreter would take this literally4 ,the passage evidently means that we owe a higher allegiance and love to ,christ than any earthly relationship4 ,the parable of ,micaiah1 taken literally1 makes ,god to take part in the work of ,satan1 whilst ,he also works against himself1 in inspiring ,his own prophet4 ,such a method must be rejected4 ,the great truth brought out in the parable is this--viz41 that a man rejecting heavenly counsel becomes a prey to evil spirits1 which drive him to ruin4 ,,limitation ,,of ,,days4--,job xiv4 #e is appealed to4 ,the words are1 ,seeing his days are determined1 the number of his months are with thee1 thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass4 ,we do not see any bearing the passage has upon the subject under discussion --universal predestination1 ,it brings before us the ,divine ,sovereignty1 by virtue of which ,god has determined the laws of the constitution of man1 and that there is a period in his life beyond which he cannot go4 ,but he may shorten this period1 for bloody and deceitful men do not live half their days1 and many people commit suicide1 and break one of ,god's commands4 ,does ,god determine the number of suicides8 ,yes1 if ,calvinism is true2 for1 according to it1 ,he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass4 ,,restraint ,,on ,,wrath4--,psalm lxxvi4 #aj is appealed to4 ,the words are1 ,surely the wrath of man shall praise thee3 the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain4 ,dying men catch at straws1 and1 to appeal to this passage is as if one were catching at a straw4 ,it brings before us the great truth that ,god overrules evil1 and brings good out of it4 ,the methods by which ,god does this are not stated1 but would be suited to the peculiar circumstances of each case4 ,we see illustrations of the principle in the destruction of the ,egyptians1 the deliverance of the three ,hebrews from the furnace1 and the general history of the ,church4 ,but to bring good out of evil and cut down persecutors1 are very different things from foreordaining whatsoever comes to pass4 ,,the ,,standing ,,of ,,the ,,counsel4--,isaiah xlvi4 #aj is appealed to4 ,it is as follows3--,my counsel shall stand1 and ,i shall do all my pleasure4 ,now there is no doubt that ,god's counsel shall stand1 nor that ,he will do all ,his pleasure2 but the questions are1 what is ,his counsel1 and what is ,his pleasure8 ,to bring the passage forward on behalf of universal foreordination is to assume the point in debate1 and it is therefore inadmissible4 ,god has a definite purpose regarding individuals and nations4 ,it is to make the best out of every man that ,he can in harmony with the freedom of the will2 and it is the same regarding nations4 ,the principle of ,his dealing is stated in these words1--,if ye be willing and obedient1 ye shall eat the good of the land2 but if ye refuse and rebel1 ye shall be devoured by the sword 7,isa4 i4 #ai74 ,this is the ,divine counsel and pleasure regarding man still4 ,,evil ,,in ,,the ,,city4--,amos iii4 #f is appealed to4 ,it is as follows3 --,shall the trumpet be blown in the city1 and the people not be afraid8 ,shall there be evil in a city1 and the ,lord hath not done it8 ,the word rendered evil 7ra7 occurs more than #cjj times in the ,old ,testament1 and has various shades of signification4 ,it is translated as meaning sorrow 7,gen4 xliv4 #bi71 wretchedness 7,neh4 xi4 #ae71 distress 7,neh4 ii4 #ag74 ,it is applied to beasts1 diseases1 adversity1 troubles4 ,it stood as the opposite of good1 and sometimes meant sin4 ,to determine its meaning in any particular instance1 we must consider the context4 ,in the beginning of the third chapter of ,amos1 punishment is threatened against the people3 ,you only have ,i known of all the families of the earth2 therefore will ,i punish you for all your iniquities4 ,when trouble and distress come upon a people1 they may be said to come from ,god as the result of their disobedience4 ,he vexes them in ,his sore displeasure4 ,there are various species of evil--as metaphysical evil1 or the evil of limitation2 physical evil1 or departure from type2 moral evil1 or sin2 and penal evil1 or the punishment of sin4 ,looking at the context1 it is perfectly clear that the prophet has reference to the last-mentioned4 ,the people had broken ,god's laws1 and were punished by ,god for their misdeeds4 ,it might take the form of pestilence or famine1 but whatever was its shape1 it was a messenger from ,god4 ,he sent it because the people had done wrong4 ,this interpretation is in harmony with the usage of the word1 and satisfies the moral conscience4 ,the passage in ,isaiah xlv4 #g1 ,i make peace and create evil1 has obviously the same meaning1 as it stands in contrast to peace4 ,peace is representative of blessings2 evil is the synonym of distress and sorrow4 ,the prophet is supposed to allude to the ,persian religion1 according to which there were two great beings in the universe--viz41 ,oromasden1 from whom comes good1 and ,ahriman1 from whom comes evil4 ,it is very doubtful whether the prophet had any such reference4 ,barnes says1--,the main object here is1 the prosperity which should attend the arms of ,cyrus1 the consequent reverses and calamities of the nations whom he would subdue1 and the proof thence furnished that ,,jehovah was the true ,god2 and the passage should be limited in the interpretation to this design4 ,the statement1 then1 is that all this was under ,his direction4 ,,predestination ,,and ,,the ,,crucifixion ,,of ,,christ4--,acts ii4 #bc is appealed to4 ,it reads thus3 ,having been delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of ,god1 ye have taken1 and by wicked hands have crucified and slain4 ,but how can these words prove universal foreordination8 ,it might be said1 that if ,god foreordained the bad deeds of the crucifiers1 the principle is established4 ,true2 but did ,he foreordain them8 ,the words simply declare that ,god had given up ,christ1 and that in so doing ,he had acted in harmony with a settled plan1 and that the ,jews had wickedly taken the ,saviour and slain ,him4 ,from the throne of ,his excellency ,god saw the character of the people that lived in ,a4,d4 #cc2 that they stood upon religious punctilio1 and as having the form of godliness whilst destitute of its power1 that they would do as the ,scriptures foretold2 and yet ,he determined to send ,his son into their very midst1 and when ,he came1 they took ,him and crucified ,him4 ,in all that they did they acted freely4 ,had it not been so1 had they been acting under an iron necessity1 then the apostle could not have brought against them the charge of having done what they did with wicked hands4 ,that charge1 that homethrust1 explodes the ,calvinistic argument1 as far as the verse is concerned4 ,another passage is ,acts iv4 #bg1 #bh4 ,it reads thus3 ,for of a truth against thy holy child ,jesus1 whom thou hast anointed1 both ,herod and ,pontius ,pilate1 with the ,gentiles1 and the people of ,israel1 were gathered together1 for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before to be done4 ,but the question is simply this1--what was it that ,god had determined to be done8 ,we cannot admit that ,god had fixed unalterably the doings of ,herod1 ,pilate1 and their unholy allies1 for the simple reason given in explaining ,acts ii4 #bc--viz41 that if such were the case1 then there is no foothold upon which to condemn those high-handed sinners4 ,they were verily guilty1 but we cannot find a shadow of fault with them if they were only doing what they were foreordained to do4 ,what1 then1 had ,god determined to be done8 ,he had determined to send ,his son into the world to make an atonement for sin4 ,but this might have been done without the betrayal1 the trial1 and the crucifixion4 ,i may determine to go to a distant city without determining the mode of travel4 ,one way may be pleasant1 another disagreeable in the highest degree1 and yet the latter may be chosen because of certain collateral issues4 ,so ,christ's death might have been determined on1 but not the mode4 ,atonement might have been made in another way than on the cross4 ,it was not the crucifixion that made the atonement1 but its value lay in the death of the ,son of ,god4 ,had ,he expired during the sore agony in the garden1 would not ,his death have been meritorious8 ,the adjuncts1 the trial and crucifixion1 were not therefore necessary to give ,his death atoning power4 ,but ,god saw what the ,jews would do1 --that they would1 in the exercise of their free agency1 and without any decree1 put ,christ to death2 and yet ,he sent ,him at the time ,he did4 ,all the glory of grace1 therefore1 redounds to the praise of the ,lord1 and the ignominy rests upon the ,jews and the ,gentiles4 ,as a proof of universal foreordination1 the passage proves nothing4 ,,god ,,worketh ,,all ,,things4--,ephes4 i4 #aa is adduced as upholding the predestination of all events4 ,it reads thus3 ,in whom also we have obtained an inheritance1 being predestinated according to the purpose of ,him who worketh all things after the counsel of ,his own will4 ,the stress of the passage as a proof rests on the words1 who worketh all things4 ,but according to the canon of interpretation already stated--viz41 that when the literal interpretation of a passage leads to absurdity1 it cannot be the true one4 ,john in his first epistle 7ii4 #bj7 says1 ,but ye have an unction from the ,holy ,one1 and ye know all things4 ,to take these words literally would be to make those ,christians to whom they were addressed to possess all knowledge1 and thus make them equal to ,god1 which is absurd4 ,the words must be limited to the subject matter in which they are found4 ,the apostle is speaking of the anointing of ,christians1 the imparting unto them of the ,holy ,ghost1 and the phrase all things denotes things necessary to salvation1 ,it is said 7,acts ii4 #dd7 that the first ,christians had all things common4 ,but to take the words literally would be to outrage propriety4 ,in ,philippians ii4 #ad1 it is written3 ,do all things without murmurings and disputings4 ,here1 again1 the words must be limited in their application1 otherwise the ,christians were commanded to do all kinds of evil if commanded1 without a murmur or dispute4 ,this could not be1 hence the words must be restricted to the duties devolving on them4 ,so there must1 of necessity1 be restriction upon the passage in ,ephesians quoted in the ,confession of ,faith4 ,it must be restricted1 otherwise it will follow that ,god is the only worker in the universe4 ,and what is done in the world8 ,god's laws are broken2 but if ,he is the only worker1 then ,he is the only breaker of ,his own laws6 ,this is absurd1 hence the literality must be given up4 ,the obvious meaning is1 that in the redemptive scheme ,god has wrought it all out according to the wise plan ,he had formed respecting it1 just as ,he works out all ,his plans in nature and in providence4 ,we know of no stronger passages than those mentioned1 although others have been quoted4 ,it is the easiest thing in the world to quote verses from the ,bible as supporting a dogma2 it is quite a different thing to show that they prove it4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,objections ,,to ,,calvinistic ,,predestination4 ,,there are very grave objection's to this doctrine1 that ,god hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass4 ,they are so formidable1 indeed1 that in view of them the doctrine to our finding must be rejected4 ,on another occasion we stated several of these1 which1 with a few modifications1 were the following3-- 7#a47 ,in the first place1 we object to the doctrine of universal foreordination because1 if adhered to1 it makes science and philosophy impossible4 ,these are all based upon the trustworthiness of consciousness1 and if this is false we have no foundation to build upon4 ,when we interrogate consciousness it testifies to our freedom4 ,but if every volition is fixed1 as it is held it is1 by a power ab extra from the mind exercising the volition1 then consciousness is mendacious2 it lies when it testifies to our freedom1 and1 therefore1 cannot be trusted2 thus1 science1 philosophy1 and religion become impossible4 ,the old ,latin saw falsum in uno1 falsum in omnibus1 which1 when freely translated1 is--one who gives false evidence on one point may be doubted on all points4 ,and where does this lead to8 ,it leads to ,pyrrhonism in science and philosophy1 and indifferentism in religion4 ,the doctrine is thus a foundation for universal scepticism4 7#b47 ,in the second place1 we object to universal foreordination because it leads to ,pantheism1 a phase of ,atheism4 ,pantheism as ,pantheism may be viewed statically or dynamically4 ,the static ,pantheist assumes that all properties are properties of one substance4 ,this was the feature of the vedanta system of ,hindu philosophy1 which holds that nothing exists but ,brahma4 ,he is the clay1 we are the forms2 the eternal spider which spins from its own bosom the tissue of creation2 an immense fire1 from which creatures ray forth in myriads of sparks2 the ocean of being1 on whose surface appear and vanish the waves of existence2 the foam of the waves1 and the globules of the foam1 which appear to be distinct from each other1 but which are the ocean itself4 ,now1 if our consciousness is only a dream1 which this doctrine of foreordination makes it out to be1 what are we all1 in such a case1 but mere simulacra1 ghosts1 shadows8 ,this1 and nothing more4 ,we thus reach the fundamental principle of the ,hindu philosophy1 which is this1 ,brahma only exists1 all else is an illusion4 ,the dynamic ,pantheist holds that all events are produced by one and the same cause4 ,this is precisely the doctrine of the out-and-out ,calvinist4 ,god is said to be the fixer of whatsoever comes to pass2 and ,pantheism says every movement of nature is necessary1 because necessarily caused by the ,divine volition4 ,he is the soul of the world1 or as ,shelley says-- ,spirit of nature1 all-sufficing power1 ,necessity1 thou mother of the world4 ,the only platform from which ,pantheism can be assailed is our consciousness of self1--of our own personality and freedom1--from which we rise to the personality and the freedom of ,god4 ,the tenet of universal foreordination takes from us this coigne of vantage1 and lands us in dynamic ,pantheism4 7#c47 ,in the third place1 we object to universal foreordination because it destroys all moral distinctions4 ,praise has been bestowed upon ,spinoza because he showed that moral distinctions are annihilated by the scheme of necessity4 ,but1 indeed1 it requires very little perception to see that this must be the case4 ,if ,god has1 as is said1 determined every event1 then it is impossible for the creature to act otherwise than he does4 ,a vast moral difference stands between the murderer and the saint4 ,but if the doctrine of universal foreordination is true1 we can neither blame the one nor praise the other4 ,each does as it was determined he should do1 and could not but do1 and to blame or praise anyone is impossible4 ,man fondly dreams that he is free in act2 ,naught is he but the powerless worthless plaything ,of the blind force that in his will itself ,works out for him a dread necessity4 ,there is therefore1 according to this system1 no right1 no wrong1 no sin1 no holiness2 for wherever necessity reigns1 virtue and vice terminate4 ,evil and good1 says the ,pantheist1 are ,god's right hand and left--evil is good in the making4 ,everything being fixed by ,god we can no more keep from doing what we do1 than we can keep the earth from rolling round the sun4 ,since this monstrosity in morals results from the doctrine1 it is evidently false4 7#d47 ,we object1 in the fourth place1 to universal foreordination1 because it makes ,god the author of sin1 the caveat of the ,confession notwithstanding4 ,it is said that ,god's foreknowledge involved foreordination4 ,if so1 the matter may be easily settled thus3--,does ,god foresee that men will sin8 ,of course ,he does4 ,but if foreknowledge involves foreordination1 then by the laws of logic ,he has foreordained sin4 ,syllogistically thus3--,god only foreknows what ,he has fixed2 but ,he foreknows sin1 ergo1 ,he fixed sin4 ,we cannot resist this conclusion if we hold the premises4 ,the ,confession says ,he has foreordained everything1 yet is ,he not the author of sin4 ,but is it not clear as day that the author of a decree is the author of the thing decreed8 ,david was held responsible for his decree regarding ,uriah1 and justly so4 ,had he been as clever as the authors of the ,confession he could have parried that homethrust of ,nathan1 ,thou art the man4 ,if everything that comes to pass was foreordained2 ,david might have said1 ,i beg pardon1 ,nathan2 it is true that ,i made the decree to have ,uriah killed1 but ,i did not kill him4 ,is it not the case that the author of a decree is not responsible for the sin of the decree8 ,would ,nathan have understood this logic8 ,we think not4 ,but if the ,confession had been then in existence 7if the anachronism may be pardoned71 he might have appealed to it against ,nathan2 and we never should have had that awful threnody--the fifty-first ,psalm4 ,there is1 then1 no escape from the conclusion1 that if everything that comes to pass has been foreordained1 so also must it be the case with sin1 for it also comes to pass4 ,i open the page of history1 and find it bloated with tears and blood4 ,it is full of robberies1 massacres1 and murders4 ,as specimens1 look at the ,murder of ,john ,brown by ,claverhouse2 the massacre of ,st4 ,bartholomew2 the sack of ,magdeburg1 when the ,croats amused themselves with throwing children into the flames1 and ,pappenheim's ,walloons with stabbing infants at their mothers' breasts4 ,who ordained these and a thousand such horrid deeds8 ,the ,confession says that ,god ordained them1 for ,he foreordains whatsoever comes to pass4 ,tilly1 the queen-mother1 the infamous ,catherine de ,medici1 ,charles ,,ix41 the bloody ,clavers were mere puppets4 ,the ,confession goes past all these1 and says that ,god fixed them to take place4 ,this is nothing else1 in effect1 than to place an almighty devil on the throne of the universe4 ,this is strong language1 but it is time1 and more than time1 that sickly dilettanteism should be left behind1 and this gross libel on the ,creator should be utterly rejected4 ,he foreordains all ,his own deeds1 but not the deeds of men4 7#e47 ,we object to the doctrine of universal foreordination1 in the fifth place1 because it makes the day of judgment a farce4 ,the books are opened1 and men are about to receive acquittal or condemnation4 ,this is perfectly right if men were free when on earth1 but not so if all their deeds were foreordained by ,god4 ,one of the most interesting sights in ,strasbourg is the clock of the cathedral when it strikes twelve4 ,then the figures move4 ,a man and a boy strike the bell1 the apostles come out1 and ,christ blesses them4 ,it is a wonderful piece of mechanism4 ,but the figures are simply automatic4 ,they move as they are moved4 ,to try them in a court of justice 7should anything go wrong71 would be simply ridiculous--a farce4 ,and if every one of our deeds is fixed1 what better are men than mere automata8 ,to try them1 to judge them1 and to award praise and blame for what was done1 would be to burlesque justice4 ,the judgment day1 therefore1 and foreordination of all things cannot stand in the same category4 ,if we hold by the one we must give up the other4 ,god foreknows all things1 but foreordains only what ,he himself brings to pass4 ,man will be judged1 condemned1 or rewarded1 according as he has acted in life2 which judgment implies his freedom or the non-foreordination of his acts4 ,the objections thus adduced are1 in our judgment1 quite sufficient to condemn the dogma of universal foreordination4 ,yet others of a grave character may be urged against it4 ,it is a sacred duty as well as a privilege of the ,christian1 to defend the ,divine administration when attacked by infidels4 ,but if everything has been fixed how can this be done8 ,look at the fall4 ,god knew that it would occur1 but1 according to ,calvinism1 ,he knew it because ,he had foreordained it4 ,but the actors in the whole transaction were severely blamed and punished4 ,to the serpent it was said1 ,because thou hast done this1 thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field4 ,the woman was told that because she had done what she did1 her sorrow was to be multiplied2 and the man was driven out of ,paradise1 because he had hearkened unto the voice of his wife4 ,can such declarations be justified if the transactions recorded were all foreordained8 ,each of the parties condemned might have asked1 and done so pertinently--,why put this punishment upon me when ,i was simply carrying out the ,divine decrees8 ,and what answer could be given8 ,none that we know of which would satisfy the reason4 ,and what1 then8 ,this--viz41 that in the light of the drama of the fall1 the doctrine of universal foreordination must be given up as a myth which ignores philosophy1 and reflects injuriously upon the ,divine character4 ,in ,jeremiah vii4 #bi-ca it is written3 ,cut off thy hair1 ,o ,jerusalem1 and cast it away1 and take up a lamentation on high places 4 4 4 for the children of ,judah have done evil in my sight1 saith the ,lord3 they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name1 to pollute it4 ,and they have built the high places of ,tophet1 4 4 4 to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire2 which ,i commanded them not1 nor came it into my heart4 ,here the ,lord expressly declares1 that instead of having foreordained these deeds1 such an idea was never in ,his heart4 ,there is here a clear ,thus saith the ,lord against the dogma of universal predestination4 ,in ,mark v4 #f1 it is said of ,jesus that ,he marvelled because of their unbelief4 ,but we only marvel when we are ignorant of the cause of a phenomenon4 ,as soon as we know this the marvel ceases4 ,had ,jesus1 therefore1 known that all was fixed1 ,he never would have marvelled4 ,would you marvel that the fire had gone out when it was decreed not to give additional fuel8 ,would the miller marvel that the mill did not go when he had ordained that the water should be shut off8 ,the prefixing of all events1 and marvelling at anything1 are out of the question4 ,but since ,christ did marvel it shows that ,he believed that they could and ought to have believed1 and that ,he knew of no reason why they did not4 ,it may be said that ,he was a man1 and spake and felt like a man4 ,true1 but will the followers of ,calvin maintain that he knew more of divinity than ,christ8 ,we should think not4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,general ,,summary ,,of ,,the ,,doctrine4 ,,we have thus endeavoured to show that the doctrine of universal predestination--the foundation of the ,calvinistic theology--is not based upon the principle of the ,divine wisdom1 nor upon ,divine power1 nor upon ,divine foreknowledge1 nor proved by the ,scripture texts advanced on its behalf4 ,it is closely allied to ,pantheism and the fate of the ,stoics4 ,it shakes hands with ,socialism1 which maintains that man can have no merit or demerit1 that he could not be otherwise than he has been and is 7,socialism1 by ,owen74 ,it is the creed of the ,mahometans4 ,according to them every action in a man's life has been written down in the preserved tablets1 which have been kept in the seventh heaven from all eternity4 ,no accident1 saith the ,koran1 happeneth on the earth1 or on your persons1 but the same was entered into the book of our decrees before we created it4 ,verily this is easy with ,god3 and this is written lest ye immoderately grieve for the good which escapeth you1 or rejoice for that which happeneth unto you4 ,they might fall in battle1 but it was so decreed1 and at the resurrection they would appear with their wounds brilliant as vermilion1 and odorous as musk4 ,since the primary principle of ,calvinism is a foundation principle of ,pantheism1 ,socialism1 ,stoicism1 and ,mahometanism1 ,calvinists may well question whether they have not been building upon the sand1 instead of the eternal rock of immutable truth4 ,in view of the doctrine we have advocated1 viz41 that ,god has not ordained whatsoever comes to pass1 but has left each man to be the arbiter of his own fate1 we can see the propriety of the exhortation1 ,i call heaven and earth to record this day against you1 that ,i have set before you life and death1 blessing and cursing3 therefore choose life1 that both thou and thy seed may live 7,deut4 xxx4 #ai74 ,it is the same still4 ,god has provided a ,saviour for all1 and1 therefore1 for each4 ,it is the province of the ,holy ,spirit to testify respecting ,christ1--that ,he is able to save the very worst1 and as willing as ,he is able4 ,each may choose to neglect this ,saviour1 or reject ,him by choosing some other ground2 or may choose ,him as his only refuge4 ,this choice has to be made by each man himself4 ,no man can choose for another any more than he can eat or drink for another4 ,it belongs entirely to each to do this4 ,to choose ,him is to choose life4 ,to neglect or reject ,him is to choose --death4 ,which will it be8 ,the principle--viz41 of choice1 runs through life4 ,your happiness here depends on it in numberless instances4 ,it is recognised everywhere in the ,bible4 ,its exhortations summed up are expressed thus--,turn ye1 turn ye1 why will you die8 ,it thus rests with you1 and with you only--after what ,god has done for you--whether you shall live or die4 ,,part ,,ii4--,,reprobation4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,calvinistic ,,doctrine ,,of ,,reprobation ,,stated4 ,,the subjects of reprobation and election are so closely connected that they might be considered in one chapter4 ,indeed1 so close is the connection1 that certain verses supposed to prove one of them1 are also adduced to prove the other1 as--,jacob have ,i loved1 but ,esau have ,i hated4 ,it is1 however1 stoutly maintained that election is scriptural1 whilst reprobation is repudiated4 ,it is important to have clear ideas on the subject4 ,what1 then1 are we to understand by the doctrine of reprobation8 ,the question is not whether those dying in impenitency shall be subjected to suffering2 for this is held by the opponents of ,calvinism as well as by ,calvinists themselves4 ,the question is this1 ,is it true that ,god in a past eternity foreordained millions of men to endless misery1 that to this end they were born1 and to this end they must go8 ,john ,calvin held that it was so4 ,he says1 ,all are not created on equal terms1 but some are foreordained to eternal life1 others to eternal damnation2 and accordingly as each has been created for one or other of these ends1 we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death4 ,he says1 again1 ,if we cannot assign any reason for ,god's bestowing mercy on ,his people1 but just that it so pleases ,him1 neither can we have any reason for ,his reprobating others2 but ,his will4 ,when ,god is said to visit in mercy1 or to harden whom ,he will1 men are reminded that they are not to seek for any cause beyond ,his will4 ,he says1 again1 ,the human mind1 when it hears this doctrine1 cannot restrain its petulance1 but boils and rages1 as if aroused by the sound of a trumpet4 ,many1 professing a desire to defend the ,deity from an invidious charge1 admit the doctrine of election1 but deny that any one is reprobated4 ,this they do ignorantly and childishly1 since there could be no election without its opposite--reprobation4 ,those1 therefore1 whom ,god passes by ,he reprobates1 and that for no other cause but because ,he is pleased to exclude them from the inheritance which ,he predestines to ,his children4 7,inst41 b4 iii474 ,zanchius held--,it was therefore the first thing which ,god determined concerning them from eternity--namely1 the ordination of certain men to everlasting destruction 7,thesis de ,reprob474 ,elnathan ,parr maintained1 ,if a man be reprobated he shall certainly be damned1 do what he can 7,grounds of ,divinity74 ,maccovius says that ,god has indeed decreed to damn some men eternally1 and on this account ,he has ordained them to sin but each sins on his own account1 and freely4 ,to like purpose we might quote ,maloratus1 ,amandus ,pollanus1 ,john ,norton1 ,john ,brown of ,wamphray1 ,piscator1 c4 7,vide ,old ,gospel1 c41 ,young1 ,edin47 ,calvin and his followers did not mince the matter1 as these extracts clearly show4 ,the ,lambeth ,articles expressed the same ideas as above4 ,article ,first says1 ,god hath from eternity predestinated certain persons to life1 and hath reprobated certain persons to death4 ,article ,third runs thus1 ,the predestinate are a predeterminate and certain number1 which can neither be lessened nor increased4 ,article ,ninth has these words1 ,it is not in the will or power of every man to be saved4 ,the ,lambeth ,articles were drawn up as expressing the sense of the ,church of ,england1 or1 rather1 a section of it4 ,they were merely declaratory1 and recommended to the students of ,cambridge1 where a controversy had arisen regarding grace4 ,they received the sanction of the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 the ,bishop of ,london1 and a few others4 ,the ,synod of ,dort1 as intimated1 was held in #afah1 and had divines in it from ,switzerland1 ,hesse1 the ,palatinate1 ,bremen1 ,england1 and ,scotland4 ,its first article runs thus3 ,that ,god by an absolute decree had elected to salvation a very small number of men1 without any regard to their faith or obedience whatsoever2 and secluded from saving grace all the rest of mankind1 and appointed them by the same decree to eternal damnation1 without any regard to their infidelity or impenitency 7,tom41 p4 #efg74 ,the ,synods of ,dort and ,arles declared that if they knew the reprobates1 they would not1 by ,austin's advice1 pray for them any more than they would for the devils 7,old ,gospel1 c47 ,in this they were entirely consistent1 whatever else they might be4 ,the ,westminster ,assembly met in ,london in #afdc4 ,they drew up the ,confession of ,faith and the ,catechisms4 ,in its third chapter the ,confession declares3--,by the decree of ,god1 for the manifestation of ,his glory1 some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life1 and others foreordained to everlasting death4 ,these angels and men thus predestinated and foreordained are particularly and unchangeably designed1 and their number is so certain and definite that it can neither be increased nor diminished4 ,the ,confession of ,faith is the declared standard of doctrine of ,presbyterians in general in this country4 ,it is proper to note this fact1 because it has been denied that whilst election is held reprobation is denied4 ,they are both in the ,confession4 ,from what we have thus brought forward it appears evident that1 according to ,calvin1 reputed ,calvinistic divines1 the ,lambeth ,articles1 the ,synod of ,dort1 and the ,westminster ,assembly1 there is a portion of the human family born under the decree of reprobation --born--we do not like the expression1 but it is the case--born to be damned4 ,it is a harsh expression1 but the blame does not rest with us1 but with those who hold the doctrine4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,bible ,,usage ,,of ,,the ,,word ,,reprobation4 ,,the word reprobation1 according to the ,imperial ,dictionary1 means to disallow1 not enduring proof or trial1 disallowed1 rejected4 ,gesenius says the ,hebrew word 7maas7 primarily means to reject1 and is used 7a47 of ,god rejecting a people or an individual--,jer4 vi4 #cj2 vii4 #bi2 xiv4 #ai2 #a ,samuel xv4 #bc2 7b47 of men as rejecting ,god and ,his precepts--#a ,samuel xv4 #bc4 ,the ,greek word 7adokimos7 denotes1 according to ,robinson1 not approved1 rejected4 ,in ,n4 ,t4 ,metaph41 worthy of condemnation--reprobate --useless--worthless4 ,it occurs seven times in the ,english translation2 once in the ,old ,testament1 and six times in the ,new4 ,in none of the instances1 however1 does it convey the idea of unconditionalism4 ,first passage4--,in ,jer4 vi4 #cj1 it is written3 ,reprobate silver shall men call them1 because the ,lord hath rejected them4 ,but why were they rejected--reprobated8 ,the answer is contained in the context4 ,it is there said1 ,they are all grievous revolters1 walking with slanders3 they are brass and iron2 they are all corrupters4 ,the bellows are burnt1 the lead is consumed of the fire1 the founder melteth in vain2 for the wicked are not plucked away4 ,everything had been done to save them1 and when all remedial agencies had failed1 they were declared to be rejected--reprobated4 ,the second passage is in ,rom4 i4 #bh3 ,and even as they did not like to retain ,god in their knowledge1 ,god gave them over to a reprobate mind1 to do those things which are not convenient4 ,here1 again1 we have reprobation2 but then they were given over to this state on the ground that they did not like to retain ,god in their knowledge4 ,the reprobation was therefore conditional1 and not ,calvinistic4 ,the third passage is in #b ,cor4 xiii4 #e3 ,know ye not your own selves1 how that ,jesus ,christ is in you1 except ye be reprobates4 ,grotius explains adokimoi--reprobates1 thus3 ,christians in name only and not in deed4 ,dr4 ,hamond as steeped and hardened4 ,vorstius1 wicked1 and unfit for the faith4 ,dickson1 as unworthy of the name of ,christian4 ,calvin1 unless you by your crimes have cast off ,christ 7,whitby1 ad loc47 ,doddridge paraphrases the passage thus3 ,are ye not sensible that ,jesus ,christ is dwelling in you by the sanctifying and transforming influences of ,his spirit1 unless ye are mere nominal ,christians1 and such as1 whatever your gifts be1 will finally be disapproved and rejected as reprobate silver that will not stand the touch8 ,the reprobation again implied a condition1 and was non-,calvinistic4 ,the fourth passage is as follows3--,but ,i trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates 7#b ,cor4 xiii4 #f74 ,barnes's paraphrase of the text is this3 ,whatever may be the result of the examination of yourselves1 ,i trust 7,gr41 ,i hope7 you will not find us false1 and to be rejected2 that is1 ,i trust you will find in me evidence that ,i am commissioned by the ,lord ,jesus to be ,his apostle4 ,there is nothing in the verse to favour unconditional reprobation4 ,the fifth passage runs thus3 ,now ,i pray ,god that ye do no evil2 not that we should appear approved1 but that ye should do that which is honest1 though we be as reprobates 7#b ,cor4 xiii4 #g74 ,the meaning is plain enough4 ,paul desired that his readers should live pure and honourable lives1 although he and these associated with him should be rejected as bad silver is rejected--reputed silver that cannot stand the tests4 ,the verse gives no countenance to ,calvinistic reprobation4 ,the sixth passage is this3 ,now as ,jannes and ,jambres withstood ,moses1 so do these also resist the truth3 men of corrupt minds1 reprobate concerning the faith 7#b ,tim4 iii4 #h74 ,but here again we have the moral state of those men brought before us--they resisted the truth1 and were men of corrupt minds4 ,they could not stand the test of examination1 and were rejected or disallowed as members of the ,christian community4 ,there is no unconditionalism here3 ,the seventh text is as follows3 ,they profess that they know ,god2 but in works they deny ,him1 being abominable1 and disobedient1 and unto every good work reprobate 7,titus i4 #af74 ,the passage1 according to all the ancient commentators who write upon it1 refers to the ,jews 7,whitby74 ,its meaning is finely hit off by ,doddridge1 who2 paraphrasing the words1 says1 ,and with respect to every good work disapproved and condemned when brought to the standard of ,god's word1 though they are the first to judge and condemn others4 ,they had been tried in the balance and found wanting4 ,they were so utterly bad that in view of good works they were of no account4 ,the reprobation was conditional4 ,the ,greek word 7adokimos7 is used in ,heb4 vi4 #h1 but is translated rejected4 ,it has reference to ground4 ,but why was the ground rejected1 or reprobated8 ,unconditionally8 ,nay1 but because it yielded1 instead of good fruit1 briers and thorns4 ,the human mind is like a field1 and ,god is the husbandman4 ,he uses various methods to produce the fruits of righteousness1 and when these fail1 judgment is pronounced against the mind4 ,and is not this just8 ,as far1 therefore1 as the word is concerned1 there is not the most distant support given to the doctrine of an eternal decree foredooming millions of men to hopeless misery4 ,it is something gained when we find this to be the case4 ,on what1 then1 does the doctrine rest1 if not upon the use of the word8 ,it is supposed to rest upon the sovereignty of ,god1 and certain passages of ,scripture1 although the word reprobate is not found in them4 ,the term sovereign is from the ,french sovereign1 and that again from the ,latin supernus4 ,it means supreme in power1 supreme to all others4 ,that ,god occupies this position will not be questioned by any one who believes in ,him4 ,the matter1 therefore1 is not one of sovereignty1 or whether ,god is 'the only' absolute ,sovereign in the universe4 ,this is admitted4 ,the question is this--what has ,god1 in the exercise of ,his sovereignty1 chosen to do8 ,to adduce proofs in its support is beside the point1 since we hold it as firmly as our opponents in this controversy4 ,nebuchadnezzar uttered a great truth when he said that ,god doeth according to ,his will in the army of heaven1 and among the inhabitants of the earth4 ,but what is ,his will8 ,is man governed by the law of necessity as storms are1 and as waters are8 ,these creatures do as ,god desires2 is it so as regards man8 ,the condemnation that each passes on himself is the best answer4 ,man may transgress1 but ,god by virtue of ,his absolute sovereignty has appointed the penalty1 and no one can reverse ,his decree4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,proof ,,texts ,,for ,,calvinistic ,,reprobation ,,examined4 ,,passages ,,of ,,scripture4--,there are certain passages of the ,bible supposed to teach the doctrine of ,calvinistic reprobation1 and it may be well to examine their meaning4 ,,reprobation ,,and ,,the ,,evil ,,day4--,in ,proverbs xvi4 #d1 it is written3 ,the ,lord hath made all things for ,himself1 even the wicked for the day of evil4 ,this passage is supposed to teach the doctrine of ,calvin1 that some men have been reprobated from eternity1 and come into existence with the doom of death eternal on their brow4 ,the first part of the verse presents no difficulty4 ,it brings before us the idea that ,god ,himself is the great object of creation4 ,it is proper that this should be so4 ,he is the greatest and the best of beings1 and to have created for a lesser object than ,himself would not have been conformable to the dictate of the reason4 ,it is the second part of the verse which is supposed to teach the doctrine of eternal and unconditional reprobation4 ,calvin's idea of the passage is that the wicked were created for certain death that ,his name 7,god's7 may be glorified in their destruction4 ,let us suppose this to be the meaning--what then8 ,the word glory in ,hebrew means beauty1 honour1 adornment4 ,all around us lies the beautiful --the earth with her carpet of flowers--and the overarching skies --the sun1 the moon1 and the stars1 are all beautiful4 ,oh1 if so much beauty doth reveal ,itself in every vein of life and motion1 ,how beautiful must be the source itself1 ,the ever bright one4--,,tegner4 ,but there is a moral beauty in ,god4 ,it lies in the supreme moral excellence of ,his character2 in ,his holiness1 in ,his love1 in ,his truthfulness1 in ,his patience1 in ,his gentleness1 in ,his mercy4 ,these attributes existing in ,god in the highest perfection1 constitute the glory of the ,most ,high4 ,beauty and kindness go together saith the poet2 but is there any kindness in creating men for the purpose of making them miserable for ever8 ,for ourselves we see no beauty1 no glory in this--but the reverse4 ,we regard it as a libel upon the character of the ever blessed ,god4 ,the meaning of the passage is simple enough4 ,god hath appointed good for the righteous and evil for the wicked4 ,though hand join in hand the wicked shall not go unpunished4 ,one version of the passage is1 ,jehovah hath made all things to answer each other1 even the day of calamities for the wicked 7,davidson's ,commentary74 ,in ,collins' ,critical ,commentary it is explained thus3 ,for ,himself or for its answer or purpose 4 4 4 4 ,sin and suffering answer to each other1 are indissolubly united 7ad loc74 ,thus interpreted1 there is nothing in the passage to create difficulty4 ,john xii4 #cg1 #da1 reads thus3 ,but though ,he had done so many miracles before them1 yet they believed not on ,him3 that the saying of ,esaias the prophet might be fulfilled1 which he spake1 ,lord1 who hath believed our report8 and to whom hath the arm of the ,lord been revealed8 ,therefore they could not believe1 because ,esaias said again1 ,he hath blinded their eyes1 and hardened their heart2 that they should not see with their eyes1 nor understand with their heart1 and be converted1 and ,i should heal them4 ,these things said ,esaias when he saw ,his glory1 and spake of ,him4 ,calvin held that ,john1 citing this prophecy 7of ,isaiah71 declares that the ,jews could not believe because this curse of ,god was upon them4 ,the first portion of the quotation is from ,isaiah liii4 #a1 who hath believed our report8 c4 ,the question would imply that comparatively few had at first responded to the ,gospel invitation4 ,the larger portion of the passage is from ,isaiah vi4 ,it is as follows3 ,go ye1 and tell this people1 ,hear ye indeed1 but understand not2 and see ye indeed1 but perceive not4 ,make the heart of this people fat1 and make their ears heavy1 and shut their eyes2 lest they see with their eyes1 and hear with their ears1 and understand with their hearts1 and convert1 and be healed 7vers4 #i1 #aj74 ,the passage is quoted by ,matthew 7xiii4 #ad1 #ae74 ,dr4 ,randolph1 as quoted by ,horne1 says on this passage1 ,this quotation is taken almost verbatim from the ,septuagint4 ,in the ,hebrew the sense is obscured by false pointing4 ,if instead of reading it in the imperative mood1 we read it in the indicative mood1 the sense will be1 ',ye shall hear1 but not understand2 and ye shall see1 but not perceive4 ,this people hath made their heart fat1 and hath made their ears heavy1 and shut their eyes1' c41 which agrees in sense with the evangelist and with the ,septuagint1 as well as with the ,syriac and ,arabic versions1 but not with the ,latin ,vulgate4 ,we have the same quotation1 word for word1 in ,acts xxviii4 #bf4 ,mark and ,luke refer to the same prophecy1 but quote it only in part4 ,the ,hebrew vowel points which make the passage in ,isaiah to be read in the imperative mood were only introduced some #gjj years after the birth of ,christ 7,gesenius74 ,read in this light the passage gives no support to the doctrine sought to be fastened on it4 ,the oracle was originally applied to the ,jews living in the time of ,isaiah4 ,they were then exceedingly depraved2 and the evangelist found that the words were applicable to the ,jews living in the time of ,christ4 ,horne1 writing on accommodation1 observes1 ,it was a familiar idiom of the ,jews when quoting the writings of the ,old ,testament to say that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by such and such a prophet1 not intending it to be understood that such a particular passage in one of the sacred books was ever designed to be a real prediction of what they were then relating1 but signifying only that the words of the ,old ,testament might be properly adopted to express their meaning and illustrate their ideas 7,intro41 ,vol4 ,,ii47 ,the apostles1 he adds1 who were ,jews by birth1 and spoke in the ,jewish idiom1 frequently thus cite the ,old ,testament1 intending no more by this mode of speaking than that the words of such an ancient writer might with equal propriety be adopted to characterise any similar occurrence which happened in their times4 ,the formula1 ',that it might be fulfilled1' does not therefore differ in signification from the phrase1 'then was fulfilled1' applied in the following citation in ,matt4 ii4 #ag1 #ah1 from ,jer4 xxxi4 #ae1 #ag1 to the massacre of the infants in ,bethlehem4 ,they are a beautiful quotation1 and not a prediction1 of what then happened1 and are therefore applied to the massacre of the infants1 according not to their original and historical meaning1 but according to ,jewish phraseology 7,vide ,kitto1 ,art4 ,accom47 ,the principle of accommodation clears away all difficulty4 ,it is also in harmony with the context1 as applied in ,john4 ,christ exhorted those around ,him to believe in the light1 that they might be the children of the light4 ,but how could ,he exhort them to believe in the light1 if ,he knew that the ,divine ,father had rendered their doing so an impossibility8 ,would you ask a man to walk who had no legs8 to look1 if he had no eyes8 ,underlying the exhortation to walk in the light lay the idea that they were able to perform it4 ,it has been said that although we have lost the power to obey1 ,god has not lost the power to command4 ,dr4 ,thomas ,reid meets this notion thus3 ,suppose a man employed in the navy of his country1 and1 longing for the ease of a public hospital as an invalid1 to cut off his fingers so as to disable him from doing the duty of a sailor2 he is guilty of a great crime1 but after he has been punished according to the demerit of his crime1 will his captain insist that he shall do the duty of a sailor8 ,will he command him to go aloft when it is impossible for him to do it1 and punish him as guilty of disobedience8 ,surely if there be any such thing as justice and injustice1 this would be unjust and wanton cruelty 7,hamilton's ,reid1 p4 #fba74 ,yet whilst there is no decree dooming men to hardness of heart or moral blindness1 this state may be reached4 ,many are progressing towards it1 many are now in it4 ,they have turned a deaf ear to the cry of mercy1 and are like the ground that has been often rained upon1 but brought out only briers and thorns4 ,the difficulty of the return of such does not lie with ,god1 but in the habit of evil contracted and persisted in by the wrong-doers4 ,god desires the salvation of all men1 and has made the way open for all by the propitiation of ,christ4 ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,romans4--,the apostle of the ,gentiles is supposed to have clearly established1 in this epistle1 the doctrine that some are born to be saved1 and others born to be lost4 ,the ninth chapter especially has been the great storehouse of arguments for such as hold this view4 ,the strong-minded and the weak-kneed have all resorted thither4 ,they entrench themselves behind such passages as1 ,jacob have ,i loved1 but ,esau have ,i hated2 ,hath not the potter power over the clay8 and think1 by repeating them1 that they have settled the controversy4 ,,jacob ,,and ,,esau4--,we shall consider the proof texts in this chapter under the form of inquiry1 and answer4 ,inquirer3 ,but does not the passage ',jacob have ,i loved1 but ,esau have ,i hated' 7verse #ac71 prove that the man ,jacob was elected to eternal live1 and the man ,esau reprobated or doomed to eternal death8 ,answer--,far from it1 as we shall soon see4 ,the passage is a quotation from ,malachi i4 #b1 #c4 ,if you look at the context of the quotation you will see that the prophet is speaking of the people ,jacob and the people ,esau1 or the ,edomites4 ,it is of the utmost moment to see this1 as it has a most important bearing upon the controversy4 ,the fourth and fifth verses read thus3--,whereas ,edom saith1 ,we are impoverished1 but we will return and build the desolate places2 thus saith the ,lord of hosts1 ,they shall build1 but ,i will throw down2 and they shall call them1 ,the border of wickedness1 and1 ,the people against whom the ,lord hath indignation for ever4 ,and your eyes shall see1 and ye shall say1 ,the ,lord will be magnified from the border of ,israel4 ,the plural pronouns used1 we1 us1 ye1 they1 and the term people1 prove that the prophet was speaking1 not of the man ,jacob1 nor of the man ,esau1 but of the respective peoples which had descended from them4 ,look now at the word loved4 ,it has been taken to mean ,god's electing love4 ,but if this were so1 then it will follow that all the ,jewish people would be saved4 ,and if so1 why was it that ,paul was so distressed about them1 as he says1 in the first part of the chapter1 that he was8 ,he had great heaviness and continual sorrow regarding the spiritual state of his countrymen2 but if they were unconditionally elected to eternal life1 then ,paul was certainly carrying a useless burden4 ,the love spoken of was representative of ,god's kindness in bestowing upon the people ,jacob the privilege of being the ,messianic people4 ,the word hated will thus signify1 as the opposite of loved1 that the people ,esau might be said 7from a certain standpoint7 to be hated2 that is1 less loved in comparison with the favour bestowed upon the people ,jacob4 ,this meaning is in harmony with ,hebrew idiom4 ,the words loved and hated are used in a relative sense4 ,christ says1 ,if any man come to me1 and hate not his father1 and mother1 and wife1 and children1 and brethren1 and sisters1 yea1 and his own life also1 he cannot be my disciple 7,luke xiv4 #bf74 ,this passage throws an important light on the subject4 ,no one will contend that ,christ meant that we should hate our parents4 ,he simply brings before us this truth1 that we were to love ,him above all relatives2 but the use of the term hate by ,him takes it out of the category of the absolute1 and places it in the relative4 ,and this must be its meaning as used by ,paul4 ,if not1 if it means that the race of ,esau has been reprobated1 then there is no ,gospel for them1 and ,christ's command to preach the ,gospel to every creature must be limited4 ,to send a missionary to the ,arabs would be absurd if this doctrine is true4 ,thank ,god it is not so4 ,the ,jews took up the position that they must be saved2 that they did not need the ,gospel2 that being ,abraham's seed they could not possibly be damned4 ,paul felt deeply grieved with respect to the position they occupied1 and sought to dislodge them from it4 ,as to the fine logic of his argument1 bear in mind that he has been proving in the preceding context that the lineal descent of the ,jews from the patriarch ,abraham did not1 as they fancied it did1 make them curse-proof for eternity4 ,he proves this in the sixth1 seventh1 eighth1 and ninth verses 4 4 4 by showing that the ,ishmaelites could boast of a descent as lineal and patriarchal as theirs1 and yet it did not suffice to instal them in the medium ,messianic privilege of being ,abraham's favoured children for time4 ,by showing this1 he leaves us to draw the natural inference that the lineal descent which could not instal ,ishmaelites in the medium ,messianic privilege of being ,abraham's highly-favoured children for time1 could never be sufficient to instal the infatuated ,christ-rejecting ,jews in the peerless privilege of being ,abraham's glory-inheriting and curse -proof spiritual seed1 his highly-favoured children for eternity4 4 4 4 ,he then proceeds to prove again his already proved position1 and thus to clench his argument4 ,this he does in the third section of the chapter1 which begins with the tenth verse and ends with the thirteenth4 4 4 4 ,his proof consists of the fact that the ,edomites were as purely descended from ,abraham through ,isaac1 as were the ,israelites2 and yet1 as is manifest at once from the declaration made to ,rebecca1 'the greater people shall be inferior to the lesser1' and from the stronger statement made to the ,israelites themselves by ,god in ,malachi1 'the people ,jacob have ,i loved1 but the people ,esau have ,i hated1'--this pure-lineal patriarchal descent of the ,rebecca-born ,edomites was not sufficient to elevate them to the enjoyment of the medium privilege of ,abraham's ,messianic children4 ,this being the case1 it was scarcely short of perfect madness for the ,israelites to suppose that their pure descent from ,abraham would suffice to constitute them his glory-inheriting and curse-proof spiritual children1 his highly-favoured seed for eternity4 ,such is the fine and matchless logic of the apostle's argumentation 7,morison1 ,romans ,,ix474 ,the interpretation thus given makes the apostle to be consistent with himself1 and in harmony with the analogy of faith4 ,the ,calvinistic interpretation makes the apostle inconsistent with himself1 and the command to preach the ,gospel to every creature--a nullity4 ,,mercy ,,on ,,whom ,,he ,,will4--,inquirer1--,but did not ,god claim the right to extend mercy to whom ,he pleased1 and to withhold it from whom ,he pleased8 ,answer1--,it is even so4 ,paul says1 ,for ,he saith to ,moses1 ,i will have mercy on whom ,i will have mercy1 and ,i will have compassion on whom ,i will have compassion 7,rom4 ix4 #ae74 ,the quotation is from ,exodus xxxiii4 #ai4 ,the ,israelites had committed the sin of making the golden calf1 and were threatened with destruction2 but ,god was entreated not to destroy them utterly1 and ,moses was assured that ,god would extend mercy as ,he should see fit4 ,the quotation has a bearing upon the position of the ,jews and ,paul's argument4 ,they were filled with self-sufficiency and pride1 and in great danger4 ,in the reply to ,moses1 ,god claimed the right of extending mercy as ,he pleased1 and would not allow ,moses to interfere with ,his prerogative4 ,the ,jews were reminded by the quotation that ,god had a right to say on what terms ,he would have mercy upon sinners4 ,he does not state the principle after the quotation1 but does so in verses #cj-cc of this chapter4 ,he extends mercy to those who believe in ,jesus3 ,,pharaoh4--,inquirer1--,but what do you make of ,pharaoh8 ,was he not a typical illustration of the unconditionally reprobated8 ,answer1--,it is thought so4 ,the apostle refers to the wicked king in the seventeenth verse4 ,his case was analogous to that occupied by the ,jews4 ,he had been raised up from a sick bed1 treated most graciously1 but became hardened under the influence of mercy1 and was at last destroyed4 ,the ,jews had also been very generously dealt with1 but instead of yielding were becoming indurated1 and unless they repented1 would1 as ,pharaoh was1 be destroyed4 ,it is said that ,god hardened ,pharaoh's heart1 and also that ,he hardened his own heart4 ,both statements are true1 but looked at from different standpoints4 ,god softens or hardens human hearts as they keep the mind in truth or falsehood4 ,,the ,,potter ,,and ,,the ,,clay4--,inquirer1--,but what of the potter and the clay1 verse twenty-one8 ,answer1--,the question discussed in the ninth of the ,romans is a question of ,divine sovereignty1 or ,god's right to appoint the destinies of men after their moral probation is over4 ,the potter claimed the right to say what he should do in respect of the vessels which he had made4 ,should one become marred in his hands1 he makes it into a vessel of dishonour or inferiority4 ,if not1 if it turned out as he wished it1 then it occupied the position of a vessel of honour4 ,the illustration came with crushing power against the ,jews4 ,the attitude of hostility which they then occupied was that of being marred in the hands of ,god1 and ,he claimed the right of appointing them their destiny4 ,if they refused the ,saviour whom ,paul preached1 if they continued morally unregenerated1 then the mere fact of being ,abraham's seed would not save them4 ,as regards their fate hereafter1 they would be as clay in the hands of the potter4 ,we have thus seen that those passages so much relied on have really no bearing upon reprobation or predestination4 ,they refer to another and distinct question--namely1 that of ,,sovereignty4 ,had ,god a ,,right to select the ,jacobites as the ,messianic people instead of the ,edomites8 ,the ,jews would not dispute this4 ,but had ,he a right to extend mercy as ,he saw fit8 ,had ,he a right to destroy ,pharaoh when he refused to yield8 ,had ,he a right to deal with the destinies of men as ,he judged right8 ,if ,he had1 then the ,jews had not a foot to stand upon in their absurd contention1 that because they had descended from ,abraham they must needs be saved4 ,according to ,paul's theology1 ,god1 in the exercise of sovereignty1 had appointed faith as the condition of salvation1 and if they refused to comply with the condition1 then1 as the ,israelites were destroyed in the wilderness for lack of faith1 as ,pharaoh was destroyed in the sea when he refused obedience1 and as the potter assigned an inferior position to the marred vessel1 so would the ,divine ,ruler visit the ,jews with evil if they refused to accept of ,christ4 ,there is nothing in this ninth chapter to frighten any one4 ,the ,jew expected to be saved by works 7see vers4 #cj-cc71 and on the ground of his descent from ,abraham4 ,the apostle sweeps both of these away1 and presents ,christ as the only ground for them4 ,and the ground that was for them is for all4 ,,the ,,stone ,,of ,,stumbling4--,in #a ,peter ii4 #h it is written3 ,and a stone of stumbling1 and a rock of offence1 even to them which stumble at the word1 being disobedient3 whereunto also they were appointed4 ,this text is supposed to teach that the parties spoken of were appointed to be disobedient4 ,at the first glance it would seem to teach this4 ,but the principle of interpretation to which we have referred--namely1 that when the mere grammatical construction of a passage is clearly absurd1 it is clear it cannot be the true one1 and we must look for another meaning4 ,now1 if the whereunto refers to the disobedient1 how could they be charged with disobedience if they were just doing what they were appointed to do8 ,if ,christ was put before those unbelievers for the purpose of making them disobey1 then would not this be to put a stumbling-block in their way8 ,surely such conduct is infinitely the opposite of a good ,god4 ,another translation of the passage1 including verse #g1 is this3 --,unto you1 therefore1 who believe ,he is precious2 but unto those who disbelieve1 the stone which the builders disallowed has become the head of the corner1 and a stone of stumbling1 and a rock of offence4 ,they1 disbelieving the word1 stumble--that is1 fall or perish1 whereunto also they were appointed4 ,that is1 unbelievers are appointed to perish if they continue unbelievers4 ,horne says1 ,hence it is evident that #a ,peter ii4 #h is not that ,god ordained them to disobedience 7for in that case their obedience would have been impossible1 and their disobedience no sin71 but that ,god1 the righteous ,judge of all the earth1 had appointed or decreed that destruction and eternal perdition should be the punishment of such disbelieving persons who willingly reject all the evidences that ,jesus ,christ was the ,messiah1 the ,saviour of the world4 ,the mode of pointing above adopted is that proposed by ,drs4 ,john ,taylor1 ,doddridge1 and ,macknight1 and recognised by ,greisbach in his ,critical ,edition of the ,new ,testament1 and is manifestly required by the context 7,vol4 ,,iv41 p4 #cih74 ,the passage as thus explained has no difficulty4 ,blessings come to those believing1 evil to those disbelieving4 ,,foreordained ,,to ,,condemnation4--,in ,jude1 verse #d1 it is written thus3 ,for there are certain men crept in unawares1 who were of old foreordained to this condemnation1 ungodly men1 turning the grace of our ,god into lasciviousness1 and denying the only ,lord ,god1 and our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,the passage contains the reason why the apostle had urged the ,christians to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints4 ,the term ordained in the passage means to write before1 or aforetime1 to post up publicly in writing4 ,certain men of bad character had got into the church1 but the condemnation of such had been intimated before4 ,macknight says1 ,jude means that these wicked teachers had their punishment before written--that is1 foretold in what is written concerning the wicked ,sodomites and rebellious ,israelites1 whose crimes were the same with theirs4 ,to write regarding certain characters1 and intimating their punishment1 is a widely different thing from unconditional reprobation4 ,the passages thus examined are the principal ones brought forward to prove that some men are foreordained to everlasting ruin4 ,we do not think they prove this1 and we reject the doctrine4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,objections ,,to ,,calvinistic ,,reprobation4 ,in the first place1 we object to it because it impeaches the ,divine ,fatherhood4 ,god sustains to the human family the relation of a ,father4 ,he is the ,creator of the sun and stars1 but not their father4 ,fatherhood carries in it two ideas1--creation and similarity of nature4 ,he is the ,creator of the sun and stars1 but they do not possess a nature like ,his4 ,but in man there is a ,divine likeness1 an epitome of ,god4 ,there is the power of thought1 will1 and feeling4 ,in this broad view every man is a son of ,god4 ,he has been created by ,him1 and1 so far1 is like ,him4 ,it is very true that man has rebelled and ignores the relationship4 ,but denial of relationship does not abolish it4 ,a son may deny his own father1 and claim another to be so2 and men have denied ,god1 and acted as the children of the devil4 ,but although they have rebelled1 ,he earnestly remembers them4 ,they are prodigals1 but they are ,his prodigals4 ,he made them1 and ,he feels for them4 ,a good father feels for all his children4 ,could we call a father a good father who foreordains that one-half of his offspring should be burned8 ,but this is the doctrine of ,calvinistic reprobation6 ,it cannot stand in the light of the parable of the prodigal son4 ,as that father in that parable felt to his prodigal child1 so ,god feels to every one of ,his prodigals4 ,we reject this doctrine of unconditional reprobation1 ,in the second place1 because it impeaches the ,divine sincerity4 ,sincerity is descriptive of the harmony that exists between the feelings of the heart and the utterances of the lips4 ,sincerity1 ,the first of virtues1 let no mortal leave ,thy onward path1 although the earth should gape1 ,and from the gulph of hell destruction cry ,to take dissimulation's winding way4 ,an insincere man1 who professes one thing whilst he feels another1 is universally despised4 ,now1 when ,i take up the ,bible1 what do ,i find8 ,i find it full of invitations to all men to come and be saved4 ,look unto me1 all ye ends of the earth1 and be saved4 ,ho1 every one that thirsteth2 come ye to the waters4 ,turn ye1 turn ye1 why will you die8 ,now1 these invitations are addressed to all alike4 ,their value turns on this--does ,god mean what ,he says8 ,not so if ,calvinistic reprobation be true4 ,but if ,he does mean what ,he says --that ,he really wishes all saved--then these utterances reveal the great heart of ,god as it gathers round every human being2 and the ,calvinistic dogma of unconditional reprobation is a huge lie1 that should be thrown back to the place whence it came4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,summary ,,of ,,the ,,bible ,,doctrine ,,of ,,reprobation4 ,,there is a doctrine of reprobation taught in the ,bible4 ,the word1 as we have seen1 is several times used in the sacred writings4 ,it means1 according to classic ,greek1 not standing the test1 spurious1 base1 properly 7#a47 of coin1 7#b47 of persons1 ignoble1 mean 7,liddell and ,scott74 ,in the ,bible it signifies the same thing1 disapproved1 rejected1 undiscerning1 void of judgment4 ,cruden says1 ,this word among metallists is used to signify any metal that will not undergo the trial1 that betrays itself to be adulterate or reprobate1 and of a coarse alloy4 4 4 4 ,a reprobate mind1 that is1 a mind hardened in wickedness1 and so stupid as not to discern between good and evil4 ,we are quite familiar with the idea in everyday life4 ,ships1 horses1 land1 governments1 individuals1 are being constantly subjected to trial1 and1 being found wanting1 are rejected1 reprobated4 ,and what thus takes place in the lower plane of things1 takes place in the sphere of morals4 ,men are now on trial for eternity4 ,if they act as ,god wishes them1 they shall walk with him in white1 and sit down at the marriage -supper of the ,lamb2 but if not1 then they will be rejected4 ,the great principle is neither more nor less than this--namely1 that men shall reap as they sowed4 ,the principle is just4 ,if men sow nettle -seed or the seed of briers and thorns1 is it not fair that they should reap the fruit8 ,the great principle1 then1 of the ,bible is this3 ,if ye be willing and obedient1 ye shall eat the good of the land2 but if ye refuse and rebel1 ye shall be devoured by the sword 7,isaiah i4 #ai1 #bj74 ,it is a blessed thing1 then1 to know that on your head there is no decree of unconditional reprobation4 ,you may be saved4 ,your heavenly ,father wishes you saved1 for ,he is not willing that you should perish 7#b ,peter iii4 #i72 and ,he wishes all men saved 7#a ,timothy ii4 #d71 and therefore you4 ,he has done all ,he can for you4 ,will you be saved8 ,it rests with you to build only on ,christ1 and conform your life after the pattern ,he has left4 ,,part ,,iii4--,,election4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,theories ,,of ,,calvinistic ,,election4 ,,if the question of ,calvinistic reprobation is fitted to freeze the blood and repel the mind from ,god1 that of election1 as represented by the same school1 is calculated to perplex and disturb the inquirer after truth4 ,at the noonday meeting in ,glasgow1 some time ago1 the prayers of those present were requested on behalf of a lady who was troubled with the doctrine of election6 ,she is1 we believe1 a type of thousands4 ,poor woman6 had she listened to the teachings of ,scripture instead of to those of man1 she need have had no trouble in the matter4 ,heaven's order is--,believe in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be saved4 ,in other words1 believe that ,god loves yourself1 that ,christ made an atonement for thy sin1 and thou shalt enter among the saved ones--or the elect4 ,there are four different theories regarding this subject3-- 7#a47 ,there is1 first1 the supralapsarian theory4 ,those who hold this view are high ,calvinists4 ,according to this theory1 ,god1 without any regard to the good or evil works of men1 resolved by an eternal decree1 supra lapsum1 antecedently to any knowledge of the fall of ,adam1 and independent of it1 to reject some and save others2 or1 in other words1 that ,god intended to glorify ,his justice in the condemnation of some as well as ,his mercy in the salvation of others1 and for that end decreed that ,adam should necessarily fall 7,buck74 7#b47 ,the second theory is designated sublapsarianism4 ,according to this view1 ,god permitted the first man to fall into transgression without absolutely predetermining his fall2 or1 that the decree of predestination regards man as fallen by an abuse of that freedom which ,adam had4 ,in other words1 they regard the decrees of election and reprobation as having reference to man in his fallen condition4 ,but according to this theory ,god loves only a portion of our race --gives ,his ,son to die for this only1 and ,his converting grace to this only4 ,this portion is designated the elect4 7#c47 ,a third view is that ,god loves all men1 has given ,his ,son to die for all men1 but ,his saving grace is not given to all1 but only to some4 ,this is modern ,calvinism4 ,election is then1 says ,dr4 ,payne1 ,god's purpose to exert upon the minds of certain members of the human family that spiritual and holy influence which will secure their ultimate salvation 7,lect4 on ,sovy47 7#d47 ,a fourth view is that ,god loves all men1 that ,christ died for all men1 and that converting grace is given to all men2 and that those of mankind who believe ,god's testimony regarding ,his ,son1 become ,his elect or chosen ones4 ,it is this view which we support4 ,the first three theories have points of difference and agreement1 but in their last analysis they come to this1 that ,god does not wish all men saved1 only some--the elect4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,involves ,,positive ,,refusal ,,to ,,provide ,,saving ,,grace ,,for ,,the ,,lost4 ,dr4 ,,payne1 one of the subtlest and most accomplished of modern ,calvinists1 argues strongly against the notion that the decree of election involves the decree of reprobation4 ,he says ,i may determine to relieve one out of twenty destitute families in my neighbourhood1 without positively determining not to relieve the others2 and if any one should ask me why others are not relieved1 it would be sufficient to reply that the giving of actual relief can only spring from a determination to relieve1 which in reference to them does not exist4 ,i may determine to take a book from the shelf1 without a positive determination not to take the others4 ,there may1 indeed1 be such a determination1 but it is not necessarily implied in the determination to take1 and that is all that ,i am obliged to prove--the other books may not even be thought of 7p4 #dj74 ,dr4 ,payne was a very subtle dialectician1 but we fear he has here imposed upon himself in these illustrations4 ,it is very true that when ,i determine to select book ,a from my library1 that book ,b may not have been before my mind1 and that ,i did not knowingly determine to reject it4 ,but it may have been1 and if it was1 then the selection of ,a only1 carried with it the rejection of ,b4 ,a father sees his two children perishing in the waters4 ,he jumps into a boat1 and reaches the scene of disaster4 ,the children are sinking from sheer exhaustion4 ,he takes one into the boat1 and returns to shore4 ,he could easily have saved the other1 but did not1 and he tells the people this on landing1 and that he must be simply judged by his act of saving the rescued child1 and that he is not to be held as passing a decree of reprobation against the other4 ,this1 we submit1 is ,dr4 ,payne's case4 ,and will it bear looking at8 ,i don't think it4 ,dr4 ,payne adds1 ,this reasoning applies yet with greater force to the great ,eternal4 ,there must exist in the mind of ,god a determination to do what ,he actually does1 because ,his actions are the result of ,his volitions or determinations4 ,but where ,god does not act1 where ,he does nothing1 ,he determines nothing4 ,it is childish to suppose that because when ,he acts1 there must be a determination to act1 when he does not act1 there must be a determination not to act1 since a determination is necessary to a state of action1 but it surely is not necessary to a state of rest4 ,when ,jehovah created the present universe1 is it necessary to suppose that there existed in ,his mind a positive determination not to create any of the other possible universes which were present to ,his views8 ,surely not4 ,but we should say1 ,surely yes4 ,if twenty plans are presented to me1 and ,i select one only1 does not this imply the rejection of the others8 ,to the ,divine mind there must have been present the conception of many different kinds of worlds than the one we are in2 but of the possibles ,he chose the present system as1 all things considered1 the best4 ,had there been a better world and ,god did not make it1 it must have been1 according to the optimists1 either because ,god did not know of it1 or was unable to make it1 or was unwilling1--all of which suppositions are either incompatible with the omniscience1 the omnipotence1 or the goodness of ,god4 ,when the ,creator selected the present system1 ,he rejected the possibles that might have been brought into being4 ,i am surprised that ,dr4 ,payne should say that determination is not necessary to a state of rest1 or non-action4 ,in thousands of instances non-action--rest--is as much the result of volition as is the most determined activity4 ,the old divines used to divide sin into acts of commission and omission4 ,but in every sin of omission there was action implied4 ,if ,i do not help the needy when he crieth1 my non-help--my rest as regards aid--carries action in it --determination4 ,dr4 ,payne again says1 ,when ,god determined to save man1 did that volition necessarily imply a positive determination not to save the angels who kept not their first estate8 ,no one1 it is presumed1 ,will answer in the affirmative4 ,it implies1 indeed1 that fallen angels were not included in the merciful purpose of ,god1 that there was no volition to save them2 but no degree of ingenuity can gather any conclusion beyond this from the facts of the case4 ,why1 then1 should a positive determination1 on the part of ,god1 to save some of the human family be supposed to imply of necessity a counter and positive determination not to save the other members of the family4 ,not to save men is not to act1 it is just doing nothing4 ,but this is a very partial view of the case4 ,what ,god did in the case of the fallen angels we know nothing1 and can affirm nothing4 ,but one may do nothing from one side of things1 and do a great deal from another4 ,the priest and the ,levite just did nothing as far as helping the man was concerned4 ,they rested1 but in this rest there was action which has covered them with obloquy for all time4 ,and if ,god has special influence at ,his disposal1 and determines to give it to some when ,he ,,knew that others needed it as much1 and yet withholds it from them1 ,his withholding it is as much an act as the gift of it4 ,he passed the non-elect over in applying the influence1 and no ingenuity can make it otherwise4 ,but what ,he does in time ,he determined to do in eternity--,he determined to pass them over4 ,the illustration1 therefore1 of the book is worthless4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,considered ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,the ,,sovereignty ,,of ,,god4 ,,the ,divine sovereignty may be said to be the great foundation on which the various shades of ,calvinists take their stand4 ,here they think they are as safe as if they stood on adamant4 ,but assertion is not argument1 and he who asserts must prove4 ,dr4 ,payne1 in his preliminary lecture1 discusses the question of sovereignty1 and endeavours to show that there is a difference between supremacy and sovereignty4 ,by the former punishment is inflicted1 by the latter good4 ,if by sovereingty we mean that ,god has absolute power to do whatsoever ,he pleases1 then it will comprehend the penalty of transgression1 as well as the bestowment of good4 ,and this1 as we apprehend1 is the correct view of the case4 ,the ,divine sovereignty being one of the main pillars of his system1 ,dr4 ,payne gives various illustrations of it4 7#a47 ,he instances the varied mental powers bestowed on men4 ,he says1 ,the mind of one man is marked by infantile weakness1 of another by a giant's strength4 ,nothing can elevate the former1 nothing permanently depress and overpower the latter4 4 4 4 ,in the case of certain persons1 the reasoning powers preponderate2 in that of others1 the imagination4 ,one man has little judgment1 but an exuberant fancy4 ,another has received the gift of a piercing intellect2 but if it be clear as a frosty night1 it is also as cold4 ,a third is all impetuosity and fire1 but it is a fire that scorches and consumes everything that comes in its way4 ,we can account for these diversities by the principle of sovereignty alone4 ,god 'divideth to every man severally as ,he will1' ',he giveth none account of these matters1' ',he has a right to do what ,he will with ,his own4' ,now1 we do not question ,god's right to do what ,he will with ,his own1 but is this difference in mental calibre purely an arbitrary act8 ,has brain1 nerve1 habit1 nothing to do with the case8 and marriage8 and education8 ,look at the biographies of prominent men1 and what do we find8 ,much depends evidently on the mother1 as in the case of ,bacon1 ,erskine1 ,brougham1 ,cromwell1 ,canning1 ,byron4 ,the last-mentioned1 writing of himself1 says1 that his springs of life were poisoned4 ,his mother was a most passionate woman1 and is reported to have died of a fit of ill-nature at the sight of her upholsterer's bills4 ,the possession1 then1 of talent is not purely arbitrary1 but dependent on parentage1 training1 surroundings4 ,there was one question1 indeed1 which would have upset the whole of these illustrations4 ,it was this3--,whence comes insanity8 ,it would never be contended that ,god made some individuals insane and others sane1 by a merely arbitrary act4 ,we find1 in hundreds of instances1 that it is hereditary4 ,one observer considers that six-sevenths of the cases arise from this one cause4 ,when1 then1 ,dr4 ,payne quotes the words1 ,he giveth none account of these things1 we ask1 is it so8 ,has ,he not written ,his mind in the providence around us8 ,let certain habits be encouraged1 certain marriages entered into1 and we require no ghost to rise and tell us what the issue will be4 ,god is telling it to us every day4 ,departure on the part of parents from organic laws entails misery1 even to imbecility1 on the children4 ,we do not1 of course1 deny that there are diversities among men2 but we do deny that these are purely arbitrary1 like the gift of special grace1 and are therefore inept as illustrative of it4 7#b47 ,dr4 ,payne refers to providential blessing as illustrative of sovereignty4 ,he remarks1 ,that inequalities in the external condition and circumstances exist1 is manifest to all4 ,the questions1 then1 which force themselves upon our attention are these3 ,do these inequalities originate with ,god1 or with man8 ,he asks1 ,why one is born rich1 and another poor8 ,how is it to be explained that two persons equal in talent and moral worth1 obtain such unequal measure of success8 4 4 4 ,the facts are entirely to be resolved into ,divine sovereignty4 ,god is here exercising the right of testimony1 the bounties of ,his providence upon men1 as it seems good in ,his sight4 ,it is very true that ,god is the source of all the good in the world1 but does ,he bestow it arbitrarily8 ,if a man neglects being thrifty1 and lives beyond his means1 his offspring will inherit his poverty4 ,there are economic as well as physical laws in the world1 and the non-observance of them descends unto the third and fourth generations4 ,dr4 ,payne appeals to health as illustrating his position4 ,he says1 ,it is impossible to account for the fact that of two individuals equal in point of moral worth1 one is the constant subject of bodily infirmity1 and the other the habitual possessor of health2 but by admitting that the hand of sovereignty confers upon the latter a measure of good to which he has no claim 7p4 #cb74 ,doubtless1 health is a precious blessing2 but is it given arbitrarily1 like special grace8 ,every one knows that its possession depends upon the observance of laws1 both in parents and offspring4 ,it is the result of complying with conditions1 and there is no analogy between it and the gift of special influence1 which is entirely unconditional4 ,the chief illustration which ,dr4 ,payne gives of ,divine sovereignty is1 ,the exertion of that holy influence upon the minds of the chosen to salvation1 by which they are brought to the knowledge and belief of the ,gospel1 together with the ,divine purpose to exert this influence of which it is at once the index and the accomplishment 7p4 #cc74 ,we shall1 however1 endeavour to show that there is no such irresistible influence as that for which the doctor contends4 ,god is a sovereign--the only absolute sovereign in existence2 but ,he is all-wise and all-good1 not willing that any should perish4 ,we have thus examined those illustrations of ,dr4 ,payne4 ,they are a kind of stock in trade of those who build their faith upon the dogmas of ,calvin4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,judged ,,by ,,the ,,reason4 ,,the reason is supposed to affirm the doctrine that ,god has chosen some men to get saving grace1 and some men only4 ,the question is asked1 ,is ,god the cause or author of man's salvation1 or is man the author of his own salvation8 ,it is maintained that ,god being entirely the author of man's salvation1 and that as man is brought into a state of safety by infallible grace1 and as ,god exercises this grace1 ,he must have determined to do it in eternity4 ,the doctrine of election is thus supposed to be affirmed by the reason4 ,but this is a very summary process of settling the question4 ,how stands the case8 ,if by salvation is meant the meritorious ground of salvation1 then the question about its authorship is very single4 ,god is the sole author4 ,he devised the plan1 ,he wrought it out1 and ,he applies it to the hearts of men4 ,to ,him belongs all the glory4 ,but the question of merit being settled1 there is another4 ,it is this--,are there immeritorious grounds of salvation1 and are men required to be active in their moral regeneration8 ,we must distinguish between ,god's action and that of man4 ,to confound them is a grand mistake4 ,in the ,bible we find certain moral conditions insisted upon in order to moral deliverance4 ,there is a human side in the matter4 ,are not men called upon to look8 to hear8 to come8 to eat8 to repent8 to choose8 these terms represent acts which men are called upon to perform4 ,god does not look or choose or repent for men4 ,they must choose or die4 ,the ,spirit comes to them1 points out their sinful state1 and places ,christ before them as their ,saviour4 ,when they give ear unto him1 and put their trust in ,jesus1 they become saved4 ,they have no more merit in the matter than a beggar has when he accepts alms1 or a prisoner when he accepts a pardon4 ,salvation1 then1 as regards merit1 is entirely of ,god1 but men are required to be active in their own deliverance4 ,but why do some yield1 and some not8 ,this question has often been asked1 and it is supposed that it stops all further argument4 ,let us look1 however1 at the saved man4 ,god has wrought out the remedy1 the ,holy ,spirit plies the sinner with motives for accepting the ,saviour1 and under ,his persuasion he yields himself up unto ,god1 and gives ,him all the glory of ,his salvation4 ,both scripturally and philosophically the man's saved condition is accounted for4 ,and can anything be said against it8 ,look now at the unsaved man3 why has he not believed8 ,to press for an answer to this question is just to press for an answer to another--viz41 why do men sin8 ,can any one give a reason for it that will stand scrutiny8 ,no one1 not even ,god2 and to demand an answer in these circumstances is unphilosophical and impertinent4 ,the one believes through grace1 and the other resists and dies4 ,we submit that this is a fair explanation of the case4 ,the believer acts in harmony with the reason1 the unbeliever is guilty of sin2 and no reason can be given for sin4 ,the view thus advocated has been held as a denial of the ,spirit's work4 ,if by the ,spirit's work is understood a faith-necessitating and will-overpowering work1 then certainly the ,spirit's work is thus denied4 ,but this is to cut before the point4 ,there are1 for instance1 different views of inspiration1 as the inspiration of direction1 superintendency1 elevation1 and suggestion4 ,suppose ,i were asked what theory of inspiration ,i held regarding any portion of the ,bible1 and ,i answered that ,i had none1 but took the ,scriptures as ,god's message to men1 would it be fair argument to assert that ,i denied inspiration8 ,manifestly not4 ,but neither is it fair to raise the cry that the ,spirit's work is denied because a particular theory regarding that work is denied1 the theory1 namely1 which makes it to be physical or mechanical4 ,incorrect views of the ,spirit's work have been entertained by theologians in consequence of erroneous conceptions regarding the degeneracy of human nature4 ,augustine held that man can do nothing which will at all contribute to ,his spiritual recovery4 ,he is like a lump of clay1 or a statue without life or activity4 ,in consequence of these views1 he held that grace in its operation on the heart was irresistible1--sometimes through the word1 at other times without it4 ,dr4 ,knapp says1 ,god does not act in such a way as to infringe upon the free will of man1 or to interfere with the use of his powers 7,phil4 ii4 #ab1 #ac74 ,consequently1 ,god does not act on men immediately1 producing ideas in their souls without the preaching or reading of the scriptures1 or influencing their will in any other way than by the understanding4 ,did ,god act in any other way than through the understanding1 he would operate miraculously and irresistibly1 and the practice of virtue under such an influence would have no intrinsic worth2 it would be compelled1 and consequently incapable of reward 7,theo41 p4 #djh74 ,he says again1 ,the doctrine of the ,protestant church has always been that ,god does not act immediately on the heart in conversion1 or1 in other words1 that ,he does not produce ideas in the understanding1 and effects in the will1 by ,his absolute ,divine power without the employment of external means4 ,this would be such an immediate conversion and illumination as fanatics contend for1 who regard their own imaginations and thoughts as effects of the ,spirit 7p4 #djj74 ,if our creed on this subject is to be based on the ,bible1 it leaves us in no doubt upon the matter4 ,in speaking of the new birth it is written1 ,of ,his own will begat ,he us by the word of truth1 that we should be a kind of firstfruits of ,his creatures 7,jas4 i4 #ah74 ,here the truth is used as the medium in conversion1 and not a syllable about irresistible influence4 ,the apostle ,peter states the same thing3 ,being born again1 not of corruptible seed1 but of incorruptible1 by the word of ,god1 which liveth and abideth for ever 7#a ,peter i4 #bc74 ,our ,lord1 in explaining the parable of the sower said--,the seed is the word of ,god1 and seed1 in order to germination1 must have an appropriate soil4 ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,unconditional3--,the followers of ,calvin1 however they differ among themselves regarding certain standpoints1 agree in this1 that evangelical election is unconditional4 ,the ,confession of ,faith declares that election is without any foresight of faith or good works or perseverance in either of them1 or any other thing in the creature as conditions or causes moving ,him 7,god7 thereunto 7,confess41 ,chap4 ,,iii47 ,dr4 ,payne says of the elect1 ,they were not chosen to salvation on account of their foreseen repentance1 and faith1 and obedience1 for faith and repentance are the fruit1 not the root of predestination 7p4 #dg47 ,and again1 ,the electing decree1 which is unconditional 7p4 #ch74 ,the ,bible has been appealed to as supporting this view1 that election is eternal and unconditional1 and we shall consider certain of the passages thus appealed to4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,bible ,,texts ,,in ,,proof ,,of ,,calvinistic ,,election ,,considered4 ,,in ,matthew xx4 #af it is written3 ,for many are called1 but few are chosen4 ,these words occur at the conclusion of the parable of the marriage of the king's son4 ,a great feast had been provided and parties invited4 ,a second invitation was sent out1 in harmony with oriental usage2 but those first invited made excuses1 and refused to come4 ,the servants were then commissioned to go out and give an invitation to all and sundry1 and the wedding was furnished with guests4 ,when the king came in to see the guests1 he found a man without a wedding garment1 and asked him how he had come in not having on one4 ,the man remained speechless4 ,it is then added1 many are called1 but few are chosen4 ,now1 the election which ,calvinists contend for is eternal and unconditional4 ,does the above passage prove this8 ,we think it proves the reverse4 ,there was a rejection and a choosing1 but each was based on state or personal condition4 ,the man was rejected because he had not on the wedding garment2 the others were chosen because they had it on4 ,suppose that there was no robe for the man1 would he or should he have been speechless8 ,might he not have risen up in the midst of the assembly1 and said1 ,sire1 ,i received the invitation in the highway4 ,i was pressed to come to the feast4 ,when ,i came there was no robe for me1 and even if there had been one1 there was no one to help me to put it on2 and by a fatal accident in childhood ,i lost an arm1 and was unable to do it myself4 ,yet ,i received the invitation1 and that is the reason why ,i am here4 ,would not such a speech have been perfectly satisfactory8 ,and where the justice of condemning the man to be cast1 in these circumstance1 into outer darkness8 ,but the punishment meted out to the man1 showed that there was a robe for him1 and that he might have put it on4 ,the choice1 therefore1 of sitting at the marriage feast was conditional1 and not1 as ,calvinists contend1 unconditional4 ,the choice1 moreover1 was after the calling1 and is yet to take place1 and as a consequence the passage does not prove that election is eternal4 ,no doubt1 whatever ,god does in time ,he purposed to do in eternity1 but we should distinguish between a purpose to choose and the choice itself4 ,there is nothing1 then1 in this passage to perplex any one4 ,god1 the infinite ,father and heavenly ,king1 has provided a feast of love for all men1 and therefore for you1 ,o reader1 whosoever you are4 ,christ has wrought out a robe of righteousness for all1 and therefore for you4 ,the ,holy ,spirit prays you to be clothed with it--that is1 to depend on ,christ and ,christ only1 and not upon your doings or upon your feelings4 ,when you cease to depend on self and to rest entirely on ,jesus1 there springs up in the heart an aspiration to be ,christ -like1 and to be wholly ,his4 ,by being clothed with ,christ's righteousness you will have1 by ,god's grace1 a title to sit down at the heavenly feast1 and a moral meetness for heavenly society4 ,,the ,,elect ,,foreknown4--,in ,romans viii4 #bi1 #cj1 it is written3 ,for whom ,he did foreknow1 ,he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of ,his ,son1 that ,he might be the first-born among many brethren4 ,moreover1 whom ,he did predestinate1 them ,he also called2 and whom ,he called1 them ,he also justified2 and whom ,he justified1 them ,he also glorified4 ,this passage is one of the strongholds of the view we contend against2 but if it prove eternal election1 it will also prove much more than this4 ,if the persons spoken of were eternally elected1 then they were also eternally called1 and eternally justified1 and eternally glorified4 ,they would thus be justified before they sinned1 and glorified before they had a being4 ,the verbs are all in the aorist tense1 and what is true of one verb is true of all the others4 ,an interpretation burdened with such consequences cannot be true4 ,dr4 ,payne has very few remarks on the passage1 but they are emphatic enough4 ,the passage is so conclusive1 he says1 that it scarcely seems to require or even to admit of many remarks1 and he does not give many4 ,the simple question is this3 does this passage prove unconditional election8 ,is there anything in the context to prove the reverse8 ,we think that there is4 ,in the twenty-eighth verse the apostle says1 ,and we know that all things work together for good to them that love ,god1 to them that are the called according to ,his purpose4 ,he is thus writing of a certain class of persons1 or of persons in a certain moral state1 that moral state being that they were lovers of ,god1 as he expressly states in verse #bh4 ,he does not say that they were visited by a special and irresistible influence bestowed on them and withheld from others4 ,he simply asserts that those lovers of ,god had all things working for their good2 that they were called or invited to glory1 as 7in #a ,peter v4 #aj7 it is said1 ,but the ,god of all grace1 who hath called us unto ,his eternal glory by ,christ ,jesus4 ,and having intimated their call1 ,paul goes on to show what was the destiny awaiting the believer4 ,he says1 ,for whom ,he did foreknow1 and when he said this he could not mean the mere knowledge of entities1 or of persons1 for this reason1 that ,god knows the finally lost as well as the finally saved4 ,the apostle therefore could only mean that ,god1 knowing beforehand those who would love him1 fore-appointed or decreed in eternity that those who possessed this moral state should be conformed to the image of ,his ,son1 or personal appearance of ,christ 7#a ,john iii4 #b74 ,those lovers of ,god thus predestinated are invited to heavenly bliss1 and will be ultimately justified before the world1 and glorified4 ,the twenty -eighth verse1 then1 lays down the condition upon which the whole passage rests2 and to bring forward the text as a proof of unconditional election1 is simply to ignore the context4 ,as far as this portion of the ,bible is concerned1 there is nothing to perplex the most simple4 ,become a lover of ,god1 and the destiny sketched by the apostle awaits you4 ,we become lovers of ,god by believing in ,his love to us4 ,we love ,him1 says ,john1 because ,he first loved us 7#a ,john iv4 #ai74 ,,the ,,unborn ,,children4--,romans ix4 #aa1 is appealed to4 ,it reads thus3 ,for the children being not yet born1 neither having done any good or evil1 that the purpose of ,god according to election might stand1 not of works1 but of ,him who calleth4 ,this verse is parenthetical1 lying between the tenth and twelfth verses4 ,they read thus1 verse #aj3 ,and not only this1 but when ,rebecca also had conceived by one1 even by our father ,isaac2 verse #ab3 ,it was said unto her1 the elder shall serve the younger4 ,it is the eleventh verse which is taken as proving ,calvinistic election4 ,it is supposed to refer to the spiritual and eternal condition of the respective parties4 ,but how stands the case8 ,the original statement is found in ,genesis xxv4 #bb1 #bc3 ,two nations are in thy womb1 and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels2 and the one people shall be stronger than the other people2 and the elder shall serve the younger4 ,now1 if we take the passage in the ,calvinistic sense1 that it refers to salvation1 what will follow8 ,this1 namely1 that all the descendants of ,jacob would be saved1 and all the descendants of ,esau utterly lost4 ,if this were so1 then why should ,paul have been so troubled about the spiritual state of his countrymen1 as he says he was1 in the preamble of this very chapter8 ,the hypothesis1 makes the apostle to stultify himself as a logician4 ,the ,calvinistic interpretation will not stand looking at1 there being1 in fact1 no reference to salvation in the passage4 ,the apostle quotes the text1 the purport of which is that in a certain respect the people of ,esau would be inferior to the people of ,jacob4 ,the ,jews held that1 being ,abraham's seed1 they were safe for eternity4 ,the apostle's argument1 then1 is this3 ,the people of ,esau were as truly descended from ,abraham as you1 my countrymen1 are1 and yet this descent did not entitle them to be the ,messianic people2 and if mere descent did not entitle to this1 how much less would it entitle to heavenly glory8 ,the text1 then1 has really no bearing upon evangelical election1 but simply to the election of the ,jews to theocratic privileges4 ,,chosen ,,before ,,the ,,foundation ,,of ,,the ,,world4--,ephesians i4 #d1 is appealed to4 ,it reads thus3 ,according as ,he hath chosen us in ,him before the foundation of the world1 that we should be holy and without blame before ,him in love4 ,this is an old favourite text in support of eternal and unconditional election4 ,but does it prove it8 ,those ,christians to whom ,paul wrote were chosen before the foundation of the world4 ,true1 but what does this mean8 ,does it prove eternal election8 ,to elect is to pick out1 to select4 ,but the parties spoken of could not be actually elected or chosen before they existed4 ,before you can take a pebble from an urn1 it must first be in the urn4 ,so before man can be actually picked out of the world1 he must first be in it3 hence election must be a work of time4 ,paul speaks of his kinsmen who were in ,christ before him 7,rom4 xvi4 #g72 but if election is eternal1 then the one could not be in ,christ before the other4 ,the language then in ,eph4 i4 #ad1 can only refer to the purpose of ,god to select certain persons in time--,,believers--to be holy and without blame4 ,the bearing of the passage1 then1 is the same as many others1 and is simply this1 that whatever ,god does in time1 ,he determined to do in eternity4 ,his purpose was formed before the foundation of the world1 or in eternity4 ,neither is there any countenance given to the idea that the election was unconditional4 ,this is clearly shown by the words ,,in ,,him4 ,the ,catechism asks the question1 ,did ,god leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery8 and the answer is1 ,god having out of ,his mere good pleasure from all eternity elected some to everlasting life1 did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery1 and to bring them into a state of salvation by a ,redeemer4 ,if this is a true version of the case1 then the saved were elected first when they were out of ,christ4 ,but the passage in ,ephesians says the reverse of this4 ,they were elected being ,,in ,,christ4 ,to be in ,christ is just to be united to ,him by faith--a believer in ,christ as the great ,high ,priest of humanity4 ,,chosen ,,to ,,salvation4--#b ,thess4 ii4 #ac1 is appealed to4 ,it reads thus3 ,but we are bound to give thanks alway to ,god for you1 brethren beloved of the ,lord1 because ,god hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the ,spirit and belief of the truth4 ,the question then is1 does this passage prove eternal and unconditional election8 ,as to its being eternal1 the only portion of the verse that bears on this is the phrase from the beginning4 ,barnes says the words mean from eternity4 ,but the words themselves do not prove this4 ,when the ,jews asked ,jesus who ,he was1 ,he answered1 ,even the same that ,i said unto you from the beginning4 ,it clearly does not mean eternity here4 ,again1 in #a ,john ii4 #g1 it is written3 ,the old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning4 ,here1 also1 it is evident that the words cannot mean from eternity1 since they did not exist in eternity4 ,but supposing the words did refer to eternity1 then their meaning could only denote the purpose of ,god1 since they had in eternity no real existence4 ,we take the words to signify the commencement of the ,christian cause in ,thessalonica4 ,whedon's paraphrase is3 ,from the first founding of the ,thessalonian church4 ,watson takes them to denote1 ,the very first reception of the ,gospel in ,thessalonica4 ,whatever view is taken of the words1 the idea of an actual eternal election is excluded4 ,dr4 ,payne depends upon the verse as supporting his view of unconditional election4 ,in concluding his criticism of the passage he says1 ,the election1 then1 here spoken of is not an election of future glory founded on foreseen faith and obedience2 but an election to faith and obedience as necessary pre-requisites to the enjoyment of this glory1 or perhaps1 more correctly speaking1 as partly constituting it 7pp4 #hd1 #he47 ,unfortunately for this argument the apostle uses the word through 7en71 not to 7eis74 ,he says that they were chosen to salvation or glory through sanctification of the ,spirit on ,god's part and belief of the truth on theirs2 or1 in other words1 he contemplates the ,christians at ,thessalonica as objects of future glory1 and they had come to occupy this position by ,god's gracious ,spirit dealing with them through the truth1 and by their believing the truth thus brought to them4 ,the passage shows the means by which they had become chosen or elected persons4 ,they believed the ,,truth1 and you may do the same4 ,,election ,,and ,,foreknowledge4--#a ,peter i4 #a1 is appealed to in support of ,calvinistic election4 ,it reads thus3 ,elect according to the foreknowledge of ,god the ,father1 through sanctification of the ,spirit1 unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of ,jesus ,christ4 ,but this cannot prove that the election spoken of was eternal1 because the ,spirit's work takes place in time1 and not in eternity4 ,neither does it prove that it was unconditional4 ,it is through the ,spirit that men are convicted of sin1 and led by ,his gracious influences to trust in ,jesus4 ,the epistle was written to believers1 to those who had been born again 7#a ,peter i4 #bc71 and he says that they were elected1 choice ones1 according to ,god's foreknowledge1 who knew from eternity that they would believe under ,his grace2 and they were1 being believers1 chosen unto obedience1 and also to a justified state1 or the sprinkling of the blood of ,jesus4 ,to contend that if a man believes under what is termed common grace1 this is to make himself to differ1 and to take the praise of salvation to himself1 is in our opinion entirely wrong4 ,does the patient who takes the medicine under the persuasion of a kind physician1 and is cured1 have whereof to boast8 ,because the blind beggar takes an alms1 has he whereof to glory8 ,neither do we see that a poor guilty sinner has any reason for boasting when1 under the persuasion of the ,divine ,spirit1 he accepts a full pardon of all his sins4 ,were a prisoner who has been condemned to be visited by the sovereign1 and a pardon put into his hands1 to go afterwards through the streets shouting1 ,i have saved myself--,i have saved myself1 we should say the man was crazed4 ,why will not theologians look at things from a commonsense point of view8 ,there is nothing in the passage to prevent you at once entering among the elect4 ,,making ,,election ,,sure4--,in #b ,peter i4 #aj1 it is written thus3 ,wherefore the rather1 brethren1 give diligence to make your calling and election sure3 for if ye do these things1 ye shall never fall4 ,but the passage says nothing about the time when they were elected1 nor whether they were elected to get a peculiar influence to necessitate faith4 ,it implies the negative of the ,calvinistic opinion4 ,the ,christians were exhorted to make their election sure4 ,but if they were elected by an infallible decree1 how could they make it sure8 ,it was1 by the theory1 sure1 independent of them4 ,the exhortation shows that ,peter did not know anything of the dogma1 and that he held that men had to do with watching over their spiritual life1 so that their calling to glory and their election might not fail4 ,a ,,remnant ,,according ,,to ,,election4--,in ,romans xi4 #e1 it is written thus3 ,even so at the present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace4 ,it is true that the words election and grace occur in this passage2 but the simple question is1 what is their meaning8 ,the apostle had asked1 in the first verse1 ,hath ,god cast off ,his people8 ,and he repudiates the idea1 and refers to the state of matters in the time of ,elijah4 ,the prophet had thought that he was the solitary worshipper of ,god2 but in this he was mistaken4 ,seven thousand men were yet true to the ,lord1 and had not bowed the knee to ,baal4 ,so at the time the apostle wrote there was a few1 a remnant of the nation who had believed through grace1 and were chosen1 elected1 to receive the blessings of pardon and the indwelling of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,god had not1 therefore1 cast off ,his people1 since ,he was saving all of them who believed4 ,in the exercise of ,his sovereign wisdom ,he has made1 however1 faith to be the condition of salvation both for ,jew and ,gentile4 ,and there is nothing arbitrary in this4 ,in our everyday life we are required to exercise1 and are constantly exercising1 faith4 ,if we wish to cross the ,atlantic1 we must exercise faith in regard to the seaworthiness of the ship4 ,we marry1 lend money1 take medicine1 and a thousand other things1 upon the principle of faith4 ,we will not allow a man into our family circle who holds us to be liars4 ,should he take that position we exclude him from friendly fellowship4 ,if he would get good from us in a certain sphere of things1 faith in us is absolutely requisite4 ,it is the same with ,god4 ,if we would be blessed with the sweet peace of pardon1 we can only have it by believing in the testimony that ,god has given regarding the ,son1 that ,he tasted death for every man--died1 therefore1 for us4 ,the passages of ,scripture we have thus considered are those mainly depended on in support of the ,calvinistic doctrine of election4 ,the doctrine1 like the chameleon1 has different shades1 according to the school4 ,the high predestinarians1 or1 as they are called1 supra -lapsarians1 maintain1 as we have seen1 that ,god created a certain number to be saved1 and a certain number to be lost4 ,the infra- or sublap-sarians1 maintain that ,god contemplated the race as fallen1 and determined to save a given number1 and a given number only1 and to reprobate a given number4 ,regarding the former a ,saviour has been provided for them and irresistible grace4 ,the modern ,calvinists differ1 as we have also seen1 from both of these schools1 and hold that ,god loves all1 and has provided a ,saviour for all1 but that converting grace is given only to some4 ,there is a consistency1 a grim consistency1 in the two former views2 but the latter limps1 it divides the ,trinity4 ,it makes ,god's love to be world-wide1 ,christ's death to be for all1 but the gracious or converting work of the ,spirit is limited4 ,but however these systems differ from each other1 they all agree in this1 that ,god is not earnestly desirous of saving all men4 ,and this1 as we hold1 is the damning fact against them all4 ,there are certain specific objections1 however1 to which we now beg attention4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,objections ,,to ,,the ,,calvinistic ,,doctrine ,,of ,,election4 7#a47 ,,we object1 in the first place1 to the ,calvinistic doctrine of election1 because it is absurd to call it election4 ,the advocates of the three views of election mentioned stoutly maintain that the persons chosen are chosen unconditionally2 in other words1 they are chosen not on account of any mental or moral quality in them4 ,it is on this account designated unconditional4 ,there is nothing whatever in the persons chosen on which to ground the choice4 ,supposing this to be the case1 can there be any choice1 election8 ,mr4 ,robinson has put the case thus3 ,what is election8 ,is it possible to choose one of two things1 excepting for reasons to be found in the things themselves8 ,ask a friend which of a number of oranges he will take4 ,if he sees nothing in them to determine selection1 he says1 ',i have no choice4' ,ask a blind man which of two oranges1 that are out of his reach1 he prefers1 and you mock him by proposing an impossibility4 ,if they are put near him1 that he may feel them or smell them1 or if by any other means he can judge between them1 he can choose1 otherwise he cannot choose4 ,if they lie far from him1 he may say1 ',give me the one that lies to the east1 or the west2' but that is a lottery1 an accident1 chance1 certainly no choice4 ,therefore1 to assert that the cause of election is not in anything in the person chosen1 is really to deny that there is any election4 ,and it is a curious fact that the most vehement predestinarians1 while they flatter themselves that they are the honoured advocates of the ,divine decrees1 by sequence set aside election altogether4 ,their hypothesis annihilates the very doctrine for which they are most zealous1 and1 if it may be said without irreverence1 introduces the dice box into the counsels of heaven 7,bible ,studies1 p4 #aib74 ,if we look into life1 we always find that when we elect or choose1 we do so because of something in the person or thing elected4 ,it is so as regards food1 drink1 dress1 houses1 pictures1 statues1 books2 it is so1 too1 as regards members of ,parliament1 ministers for pastorates1 and in marriage4 ,we are1 indeed1 so constituted that we cannot conceive of choice or election except upon the grounds of freedom in the elector1 and something to differentiate the object chosen from others of like nature4 ,the ,confession of ,faith says1 however1 that those who are predestinated unto life are chosen without any foresight of faith or good works1 or perseverance in either of them1 or any other thing in the creation1 as conditions or causes moving ,him thereunto1 and all to the praise of ,his glorious grace 7,con41 chap4 iii47 ,yet the ,bible says expressly1 ,but know that the ,lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself 7,ps4 iv4 #c72 ,hath not ,god chosen the poor in this world rich in faith8 7,jas4 ii4 #e47 ,there is a setting apart1 or choosing1 but it is not unconditional1 as these verses show4 ,no doubt1 the motive of those who hold unconditional election is good1 arising from a desire to give all the glory of salvation to ,god1 and from the frequency of the term grace in regard to our deliverance4 ,but the great object of giving all the glory to ,god may be1 and is accomplished1 without doing violence to ,scripture1 or trampling upon common sense4 ,the principle or system of ,syenergism does this4 ,it simply means that man is active in his own conversion4 ,it was advocated in his later years by ,melancthon4 ,we have not1 however1 to do with the motive of our friends1 but with the philosophy of the subject2 and to assert that men are chosen to salvation apart from condition1 is only assertion1 and an absurd assertion1 too4 ,try it in regard to anything1 and its folly will be apparent4 ,why1 then1 insist upon it in religion8 ,are we to throw reason to the dogs when we speak on scriptural subjects8 7#b47 ,in the second place1 we object to the ,calvinistic theory of election1 because it ignores and tramples upon a primary principle of philosophy4 ,the principle is this3 ,that a plurality of principles are not to be assumed when the phenomena can possibly be explained by one 7,hamilton's ,reid1 p4 #gea74 ,it is what is known as the law of parsimony4 ,the three views of election referred to have bound up with them1 as an integral portion of the system1 the theory of irresistible grace4 ,take this away1 and they fall to pieces as a rope of sand4 ,a man who has hitherto lived an ungodly life becomes converted1 and the question arises --how are we to account for this moral phenomenon8 ,our friends from whom we differ account for it in this way3 ,in the past eternity ,god saw that the man would come upon the stage of time1 and determined to visit his soul with an irresistible influence1 under the operation of which he became converted4 ,now this is to them a very satisfactory way of accounting for the conversion4 ,but may not this change in the man take place without this tertiam quid1 or third something8 ,if it may1 then to import it into the controversy is to violate the law of parsimony or maxim of philosophy1 that it is wrong to multiply causes beyond what are necessary4 ,but let us look at life3 let us enter the sphere of human experience4 ,we find men1 for instance1 who in politics were at one period pronounced ,radicals1 like ,burdett1 becoming ,conservative in their opinions2 and men1 like the ,peelites1 changing from the ,conservative side to that of the ,liberals4 ,in accounting for this we do not call in a mysterious and occult influence to solve the matter4 ,it is explainable without this4 ,take the case of medicine4 ,we find men educated in the allopathic system changing1 and becoming disciples of ,habnemann4 ,ask them how it came about1 and they answer at once1 that it was by considering the results4 ,take a case of intemperance1 ,an old inebriate attends a temperance lecture1 listens attentively1 becomes persuaded of the value of abstinence1 signs the pledge1 and spends the remainder of his life a sober man4 ,he loved the drink1 and now he hates it4 ,ask him how it came about8 ,he tells you at once that the facts and arguments of the lecture convinced him of the evil of the drink1 and led him to abandon it for ever4 ,a great change has been effected1 but in perfect harmony with the known laws of mind4 ,let us now look at religion4 ,paul arrives at ,corinth1 and preaches the ,gospel to the inhabitants of that degenerate city4 ,they listened to the wondrous story of redeeming love1 and became changed through means of it4 ,was there anything in the nature of the truth preached to them and believed by them fitted to do this8 ,we think that there was4 ,they had sins--were guilty4 ,paul told them of a ,saviour who died for them4 ,this met their case4 ,they were degraded1 foul2 the religion ,paul preached appealed to their sense of right1 to their gratitude1 to their fears and their hopes2 and believing it1 they became regenerated in their moral nature4 ,they had been won to ,god by the ,gospel 7#a ,cor4 iv4 #ae74 ,as temperance truth revolutionises the drunkard1 so does ,gospel truth the sinner 7#a ,peter i4 #bc1 #be74 ,the apostle was the agent employed by the ,holy ,spirit1 and believing the message he brought1 they were believing the ,spirit 7,see #a ,samuel viii4 #g74 ,since1 then1 the truth believed is a sufficient reason for the change1 why introduce the theory of irresistible grace8 ,it may be replied that this kind of grace is used to get the sinner to attend to the message4 ,but attention to any subject is brought about by considering motives4 ,man has the power over his attention4 ,it is the possession of this power which is a main item in constituting him a responsible being4 ,he may or may not attend to the voice of ,god4 ,if he attends to it he lives2 if not1 he dies4 ,if ,god used force in this matter1 why reason with men and appeal to them as ,he does8 ,we appeal to ,christian consciousness4 ,let any ,christian give a reason of the hope that is in him--and it is all perfectly reasonable4 ,all through1 in the great matter of conversion1 he acted freely4 ,he attended to the ,divine message--but there was no compulsion4 ,why1 then1 insist upon irresistibility when it is repudiated by ,christian consciousness8 ,we know no reason for it but the exigencies of the system4 ,if you are waiting for it you are being deceived4 7#c47 ,we object1 in the third place1 to the ,calvinistic view of election1 because it makes ,god a respecter of persons4 ,what is it to be a respecter of persons8 ,literally1 it means an accepter of faces4 ,according to the ,imperial ,dictionary1 it signifies a person who regards the external circumstances of others in his judgment1 and suffers his opinion to be biased by them1 to the prejudice of candour1 justice1 and equity4 ,it is to act with partiality4 ,it is of the utmost moment that respect of persons should not be shown in the domestic circle1 on the bench2 or in the church4 ,if a father shows favouritism to one son less worthy1 say1 than the others1 he lays himself open to the charge of partiality1 unevenness in his procedure1 and it tends to alienate the affections of his other children4 ,to show it on the bench is to sully the ermine1 and bring the administration of justice into disrepute4 ,whoever else may exhibit it1 the church is required to have clean hands in the matter 7,james ii47 ,we are so constituted that we cannot love or hate by a mere fiat of the will4 ,before we can love one another with complacency1 there must be the perception of excellence4 ,and it is the same as regards ,god4 ,hence it is of the last importance that to our mental view ,he should be pure1 holy1 impartial1 good4 ,to love ,him if we thought ,him otherwise1 would be impossible4 ,now ,god has abundantly shown1 both in providence and in the ,bible1 that ,he is not a respecter of persons4 ,he executes ,his laws indiscriminately--upon all alike4 ,fire burns1 poison kills1 water drowns all and sundry4 ,if the laws of health are broken1 the penalty is enforced on each transgressor according to the measure of his transgression4 ,it is the same with moral penalties4 ,if a man lies1 or steals1 or is mean1 or selfish1 he will suffer moral deterioration1 which will pass through his moral being as a leprosy4 ,our physical1 mental1 and moral natures are thus under their respective laws1 and whosoever breaks these laws ,god executes the penalty on the transgressor4 ,there is in this respect no favouritism--no respect of persons4 ,there are1 as a matter of course1 diversities upon earth4 ,all cannot occupy the same place4 ,we have not the brilliancy and luxuriancy of the tropics1 but we have our compensations4 ,and it is the same with life in general4 ,in comparison with the rich the poor have a rough road to travel1 but they are not without their compensations4 ,the moral life is the higher life of man1 and in the stern school of adversity there are developed noble traits of character4 ,though losses and crosses ,be lessons right severe1 ,there's wit there you'll get there1 ,you'll find no other where4 ,the diversities we find in life are not arbitrary acts1 as we have already seen1 but dependent upon adherence or non-adherence to law4 ,the same great principle that regulates the providential government of ,god1 is brought clearly out in the ,scriptures4 ,it is remarked by ,cruden that ,god appointed that the judges should pronounce their sentences without any respect of persons 7,lev4 xix4 #ae2 ,deut i4 #ag72 that they should consider neither the poor nor the rich1 nor the weak nor the powerful1 but only attend to truth and justice1 and give sentence according to the merits of the cause4 ,it is said in ,proverbs that it is not good to have respect of persons in judgment 7,prov4 xxiv4 #bc74 ,peter declared that there is no respect of persons with ,god2 and ,paul said1 ,for there is no respect of persons with ,god 7,romans ii4 #aa74 ,james declared that if the ,christians to whom he wrote showed respect of persons they committed sin 7,james ii4 #i74 ,the ,bible is thus exceedingly careful to guard the ,divine character from the charge of partiality4 ,and obviously so4 ,let but the idea be entertained in the mind for a moment1 and it leaves a slime behind it as if a serpent had passed through the corridor of our dwelling4 ,the simple question then is1 ,does this doctrine of ,calvinistic election exhibit ,god as a respecter of persons8 ,it clearly does so4 ,according to it1 ,god1 irrespective of any conditions in the creature1 appoints a certain number to be saved and leaves the rest to perish4 ,and is not this partiality8 ,is not this favouritism8 ,since the doctrine thus reflects on the ,divine character1 it deserves condemnation4 7#d47 ,in the fourth place1 we object to the ,calvinistic doctrine of election1 because it is opposed to the letter and spirit of many passages of the ,bible4 ,we beg attention to a few4 ,consider the ,,oath ,,of ,,god4 ,as ,i live1 saith the ,lord1 ,i have no pleasure in the death of the wicked1 but that the wicked turn from his way and live4 ,turn ye1 turn ye1 from your evil way1 for why will ye die1 ,o house of ,israel8 7,ezek4 xxxiii4 #aa74 ,would not any one reading these words naturally conclude that ,god really wished all the people to be saved8 ,have they not a ring of genuine sincerity about them8 ,we cannot conceive that such a question would have been asked1 viz41 ,why will ye die8 had their death been inevitable4 ,not only was it not inevitable1 but the earnest entreaty to return showed that ,god intensely desired their salvation4 ,yet1 if ,calvinism is true1 the oath of ,god and ,his earnest entreaty1 as far as millions of the human race are concerned1 are simply as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal4 ,nay1 more1 they are a solemn mockery4 ,i see two men floundering in deep water2 ,i jump into my boat and save one1 and bring him safely to shore4 ,i could easily have saved the other had ,i wished it1 but did not4 ,were ,i then to stand on the bank of the river and ask the sinking man1 ,why will you die8 what would be thought of me1 or any man1 who should act such a part8 ,such conduct would be cruel1 cruel to any poor soul in its death-struggle4 ,yet this is exactly the part ,god is made to perform by the high ,calvinists1 and is endorsed by their more modern brethren4 ,he could easily save every one if ,he wished it1 they say3 ,but this assertion cannot stand in the presence of ,god's oath and ,his earnest entreaty to turn and live4 ,,the ,,vineyard4--,let us look at the case of the vineyard1 as recorded in ,isaiah v4 ,the house of ,israel is there compared to a vineyard which ,god had planted4 ,after detailing what had been done1 the question is asked1 ,what could have been done more to my vineyard that ,i have not done in it8 wherefore1 when ,i looked that it should bring forth grapes1 brought it forth wild grapes8 7verse #d74 ,the moral condition of ,israel was anything but good4 ,god had looked for judgment1 but there was oppression1 and for righteousness1 but behold a cry6 ,yet the question in this fourth verse carries the idea that ,he had done all that ,he wisely could1 in the circumstances1 to reform and save them4 ,but they were not reformed1 they were not saved4 ,it might indeed be affirmed that this was because they had not been visited by special influence1 or converting grace4 ,but if this kind of grace is the only kind that is fructifying1 and was for sovereign reasons withheld1 how could the question be asked1 ,what could have been done more to my vineyard that ,i have not done in it8 ,the one thing needful had not been done1 if this hypothesis is true1 and in view of it the question could not have been put at all4 ,but it was put1 and this shows that ,god had done all that ,he wisely could do to save the people1 and that ,he did not keep back the needed grace1 for which ,calvinists contend4 ,,christ',s ,,tears ,,over ,,jerusalem4--,the tears of our ,lord over the city of ,jerusalem are a clear demonstration against the ,calvinistic doctrine of election4 ,it is said1 ,when ,he was come near1 ,he beheld the city1 and wept over it1 saying1 ,if thou hadst known1 even thou1 at least in this thy day1 the things which belong unto thy peace6 but now they are hid from thine eyes 7,luke xix4 #da1 #db74 ,when a woman weeps it is not an infrequent phenomenon4 ,her nerves are more finely strung than man's1 and a touching tale or sympathetic story brings the tears to her eyes and sobs from her lips4 ,when men weep it indicates deep emotion2 and when ,christ looked upon the city1 ,his soul was moved with compassion1 and ,he wept4 ,he knew what had been done for the guilty inhabitants--how ,god had borne with them--and the doom that1 like the sword of ,damocles1 hung over them1 and ,his tender heart found relief in tears4 ,in the presence of this weeping ,redeemer can we entertain the ,calvinistic notion that ,he could easily have saved the people1 if ,he had only wished it8 ,he wished to gather them as a hen doth her chickens under her wings1 but they would not come4 ,were there not another passage in the ,bible than the one just referred to 7,matthew xxiii4 #cg71 it is sufficient to dispose of the theory that ,god uses irresistible grace in saving men4 ,he had used the most powerful motives to bring them to himself1 but they would not come4 ,john ,wesley1 in writing on ,predestination1 says1--,let it be observed that this doctrine represents our blessed ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the righteous1 the only-begotten ,son of the ,father1 full of grace and truth1 as an hypocrite1 a deceiver of the people1 a man void of common sincerity4 ,for it cannot be denied that ,he everywhere speaks as if ,he was willing that all men should be saved4 ,therefore1 to say that ,he was not willing that all men should be saved1 is to represent ,him as a mere hypocrite and dissembler4 ,it cannot be denied that the gracious words which came out of ,his mouth are full of invitations to all sinners4 ,to say1 then1 ,he did not intend to save all sinners1 is to represent ,him as a gross deceiver of the people4 ,you cannot deny that ,he says1 ',come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden4' ,if1 then1 you say ,he calls those that cannot come1 those whom ,he knows to be unable to come1 those whom ,he can make able to come but will not2 how is it possible to describe greater insincerity8 ,you represent ,him as mocking ,his helpless creatures1 by offering what ,he never intends to give4 ,you describe ,him as saying one thing and meaning another1 as pretending the love which ,he had not4 ,him in whose mouth was no guile1 you make full of deceit1 void of common sincerity2 then1 especially when drawing nigh the city ,he wept over it1 and said1 ',o ,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem1 thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee1 how often would ,i have gathered thy children together1 and ye would not4' ,now1 if ye say they would but ,he would not1 you represent ,him 7which who could hear7 as weeping crocodile's tears2 weeping over the prey which himself had doomed to destruction 7,ser4 #abh74 ,consider the last commission of ,christ4 ,before our ,lord left the world ,he said to ,his apostles1 ,go ye into all the world1 and preach the ,gospel to every creature4 ,good news was thus to be proclaimed to every human being4 ,if the commission meant anything it meant this1 that ,god was honestly and earnestly desirous of saving every one4 ,and this is in beautiful harmony with the exhortation in ,isaiah3 ,look unto me and be ye saved1 all the ends of the earth 7,isa4 xlv4 #bb74 ,it is also in keeping with the words of ,jesus recorded by ,john3 ,for ,god so loved the world1 that ,he gave ,his only-begotten ,son1 that whosoever believeth in ,him should not perish1 but have everlasting life 7,john iii4 #af72 and with what the apostle ,peter says1 that ,god is not willing that any should perish1 but that all should come to repentance 7#b ,peter iii4 #i72 and with what the apostle ,paul says1 that ,god will have all men to be saved 7#a ,tim4 ii4 #d74 ,but whilst the commission to preach the good news is in harmony with these express statements1 it is out of joint and incongruous with the ,calvinistic doctrine of election1 that ,god wishes only a few of the human family saved4 ,consider the ,,holy ,,spirit',s ,,invitation4 ,in ,revelation xxii4 #ag1 it is written3 ,and the ,spirit and the bride say1 come4 ,and let him that heareth say1 come4 ,and let him that is athirst come1 and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely4 ,whilst we are so constituted that we cannot believe a proposition the terms of which we do not understand1 and whilst there is much that is inscrutable in the ,spirit's work1 yet the passage just quoted clearly means1 if it means anything1 that the ,holy ,spirit invites all to come and drink of the life-giving water4 ,we cannot doubt ,his sincerity4 ,when all are invited to drink1 it is implied that there is water for all1 and that it is free to all1 and that they have power to drink4 ,we may not ask one to drink at an empty fountain without being guilty of the sheerest mockery2 and neither may we ask the wounded and disabled man1 who cannot walk a step1 to come and drink1 without being guilty of the same4 ,this invitation of the ,spirit1 then1 is inconsistent with the ,calvinistic notion that ,his converting grace is limited4 ,says the late ,dr4 ,john ,guthrie1 ,was it antecedently to be supposed that a ,divine ,father who loves all1 and so loved as to give ,his own and only-begotten for our ransom1 and that the ,divine ,son1 who as lovingly gave ,himself1 would send the ,divine ,spirit mediatorially to reveal and interpret both1 who should not operate in the world on the same principle of impartiality and universality8 ,what philosophy and theology thus dictate1 ,scripture confirms4 ,christ promised ,his disciples an interpreting and applying ,spirit1 who should convince the world4 ,prophets predicted1 and ,pentecost proved1 that ,god was pouring out ,his ,spirit on all flesh4 ,these influences were1 in their largest incidents1 soul-saving2 through being moral1 they were resistible4 ,ye do always resist the ,holy ,ghost1 said ,stephen1 and the ,holy ,ghost himself saith to-day1 ,oh that ye would hear ,his voice2 which ,he would not do if faith came by another sort of influence which ,he only could give1 and which ,he did not mean to give till to-morrow1 or next year1 or not at all6 ,in that last and most gracious of ,gospel invitations1 which the incarnate ,himself utters in ,rev4 xxii4 #ag1 among other inviters1 the ,spirit says1 come6 and says it to all2 which surely1 as ,he is the ,spirit of truth1 ,he would not do1 if not a soul could come till ,he himself put forth an influence which ,he had predetermined to bestow only on a select and favoured number4 ,the ugly limitation will not do4 ,the work and heart of the loving ,spirit are1 and must be1 as large as those of the ,father and the ,son1 whom ,he came to reveal4 7,discourses1 ,ser4 ,x47 ,the objections thus tendered to the ,calvinistic theory of election are sufficient separately1 and much more so collectively1 to condemn the dogma4 ,we impute no motives to the honoured men who hold the doctrine4 ,they are doubtless as sincere in their belief as we are in ours4 ,it did seem to us1 at one time1 that ,god could convert men if ,he wished it2 but the dictum of ,chillingworth--the ,bible and the ,bible alone is the religion of ,protestants1 overturned that idea4 ,the words of ,jesus1 ,how often would ,i have gathered thy children together1 4 4 4 but ye would not1 showed that ,jesus was wishful to save the people2 but ,his wish was not realised1 because they would not4 ,and the ,bible and philosophy are in harmony4 ,we could easily conceive1 that were certain individuals to be taken by almighty effort from one sphere1 and placed in another1 they would be converted4 ,christ confirms this idea4 ,he said1 ,woe unto thee1 ,chorazin6 woe unto thee1 ,bethsaida6 for if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in ,tyre and ,sidon1 they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes 7,mat4 xi4 #ba74 ,but as ,god loves all equally with the love of compassion1 this exercise of miracle in one case would lead to the exercise of miracle in another4 ,and what would this involve8 ,it would simply lead to the overturning of ,god's moral providence1 which is based upon1 and carried on in conjunction with1 the highest wisdom4 ,parents may often be found sacrificing their wisdom to their love1 but it is not so with ,god4 ,all ,his attributes are in harmony4 ,justice is not sacrificed to love1 nor love to justice4 ,there is thus1 in the ,divine character1 a firm and unchanging basis for the most profound veneration and the most intense affection4 ,regarding the particular illustration of the people of ,sodom1 ,tyre1 and ,sidon1 and why ,christ had not done mighty works there1 ,dr4 ,morison has remarked1 ,it was not befitting our ,saviour to become incarnate at all times1 or even at two different epochs in the history of the world4 ,and when ,he did appear at a particular epoch in time1 'the fulness of the time1' it was absolutely necessary that ,he should live and work miracles1 not everywhere1 but in some one limited area or locality 7,com4 on ,mat41 ad loc47 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,scriptural ,,view ,,of ,,evangelical ,,election4 ,,although there is much confusion of thought regarding election viewing it from a ,calvinistic standpoint1 the word itself is simple enough1 as is the doctrine when viewed in the light of ,scripture4 ,,the ,,word4--,according to ,liddell and ,scott's ,greek ,lexicon1 the verb to elect 7eklego7 means1 ,to pick or single out1 especially as soldiers1 rowers1 c4 ,in the middle voice1 to pick out for one's self1 choose out4 ,robinson says it means to lay out together1 to choose out1 to select4 ,in ,n4 ,t4 ,mid41 to choose out for one's self4 ,parkhurst gives as its signification1 to choose1 choose out4 ,it has a variety of applications in the ,scriptures1 just as it has in our common everyday life4 ,it was applied to the ,jewish nation1 regarding which it was said1 ,the ,lord thy ,god hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself1 above all the nations that are upon the earth 7,deut4 xiv4 #b74 ,the term comprehended the whole nation1 and no one will contend that the choice spoken of indicated that every ,jew was safe for eternity4 ,it was applied to the apostles1 but this did not thereby secure infallibly their salvation4 ,judas fell away1 and hanged himself4 ,paul declared that he had constantly to watch himself1 lest he should become a castaway4 ,it is applied to ,david1 ,but ,i chose ,david to be over my people ,israel 7#a ,kings viii4 #af74 ,it is used also in reference to place3 ,as the place which the ,lord your ,god shall choose 7,deut4 xii4 #e74 ,the prophets of ,baal were asked to choose a bullock1 and call on the name of their gods 7#a ,kings xviii4 #bc74 ,these and other applications of the word are quite sufficient to show that the term is not necessarily connected with the choosing of a few men to eternal salvation1 and implying a faith-necessitating work of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,and something is gained when we have gained this4 ,were we therefore asked whether we denied election8 we should be quite entitled to ask1 to what kind of election did our questioner refer8 since there are several kinds referred to in the ,holy ,scriptures1 and a special kind outside of ,scripture1 entertained by the followers of ,john ,calvin4 ,,evangelical ,,election4 ,a ,,process4--,seeing that the word elect means to pick out1 to choose1 to lay aside for one's self1 it may denote either an act or a process1 according to the object elected4 ,if ,i select a book from the library1 or choose an apple from the tree1 the election thus exercised is simply an act1 ,the book elected and the apple were entirely passive1 having no will in the matter4 ,but suppose ,i want two servants3 ,i go into the market where a number are standing waiting to be employed4 ,i find two1 and explain the nature of the service1 and state the wages and the rules of the house4 ,one of the two accepts1 the other refuses4 ,i go forward on my mission1 and find another4 ,i state to him what ,i stated to the two already mentioned4 ,he agrees1 and is engaged4 ,i have chosen --elected--the servants2 but it was a process1 not a simple act4 ,other wills came into play which differentiated the election in the one case from the other1 and the concurrence of the two wills completed the matter4 ,it is written in the word3 ,wherefore1 come out from among them1 and be ye separate1 saith the ,lord1 and touch not the unclean thing2 and ,i will receive you1 and will be a ,father unto you1 and ye shall be my sons and daughters1 saith the ,lord ,almighty 7#b ,cor4 vi4 #ag1 #ah74 ,this brings the matter plainly before us4 ,there is the ,divine exhortation1 human concurrence1 and the result--adoption4 ,it is an absurd and unreasonable supposition to imagine that ,god deals with rational and responsible creatures as ,he does with vegetable and irrational brutes1 which ,he does if the theory of irresistible grace is maintained4 ,,the ,,author ,,of ,,evangelical ,,election4--,there would not be need for any remark on this subject1 were it not that objection may be urged against the view just stated1 that it makes man the author of his election4 ,in a secondary1 yet important sense1 he has to do with his election4 ,but ,god is the ,prime ,mover and ,author of evangelical election4 ,the scheme of redemption originated with ,him4 ,he tells men that ,he earnestly desires their return1 and upon what terms ,he will graciously receive them4 ,if they consent ,he will take them out from amongst the condemned1 select them1 elect them1 and place them among ,his children4 ,the ,bible confirms this view3 ,god hath from the beginning chosen you 7#b ,thes4 ii4 #ac47 ,god our ,father has chosen us in ,him 7,eph4 i4 #c1 #d47 ,,the ,,objects ,,of ,,evangelical ,,election1--,the people of this country are frequently engaged in elections4 ,we elect men for the ,school ,board1 the ,town ,council1 and for ,parliament4 ,when we record our vote we do so for a definite object4 ,what1 then1 are the objects which ,god has in view in evangelical election8 ,the apostle ,peter states them in his first epistle4 ,he says1 ,elect unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of ,jesus4 7#a ,peter i4 #b47 ,in other words1 they were chosen1 having become believers1 to the blessings of justification and sanctification1--the one having reference to their state1 the other to their character4 ,,how ,,to ,,enter ,,among ,,the ,,elect4--,this has been the great puzzle to those educated under the teaching of ,calvinistic divines4 ,they read in the ,bible that ,god wishes all men to be saved1 but they are told that this means all the elect4 ,at times they are offered a ,saviour1 but they are told that in order to believe in ,him they need the irresistible influence of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,if they are amongst the favoured ones1 it will come to them in due time2 but if they are not1 then no prayers1 no cries1 no tears can alter the ,divine decree4 ,how long will men stand by a system unknown to the ,christian church for #djj years1 and alike repugnant to the reason and the whole spirit of the ,gospel1 and fitted to plunge the honest inquirer into endless perplexity8 ,oh6 how unlike the complex works of man ,heaven's easy1 artless1 unencumber'd plan1 ,no meretricious graces to beguile1 ,no clustering ornaments to clog the pile2 ,from ostentation as from weakness free1 ,it stands like the cerulean arch we see1 ,majestic in its own simplicity4 ,inscribed above the portal from afar1 ,conspicuous as the brightness of a star1 ,legible only by the light they give1 ,stand the soul-quickening words--',,believe ,,and ,,live4' ,paul in the ,second ,epistle to the ,thessalonians tells us how they entered among the elect4 ,his words are3 ,but we are bound to give thanks alway to ,god for you1 brethren beloved of the ,lord1 because ,god hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the ,spirit and belief of the truth 7#b ,thes4 ii4 #ac47 ,they were thus among the elect1 and we are told how it came about4 ,the ,spirit had brought the ,gospel message to ,thessalonica by his accredited agent1 the apostle ,paul4 ,in that message the people were told of ,god's infinite love--that ,he loved them1 and that the ,saviour had died for their sins4 ,he testified to ,jesus as mighty to save1 to save any--to save all--to save to the very uttermost4 ,he convinced them that they stood in need of a ,saviour1 and that ,christ was the very ,saviour they required4 ,these were two great phases of the ,spirit's work--viz41 to produce conviction in the mind of the sinner1 and to point out ,jesus as the ,lamb of ,god which hath taken away the sin of the world4 ,the ,thessalonians1 under ,his gracious testimony1 believed the record1 or1 as it is said1 the truth1 and became the chosen of ,god--,his elected ones4 ,that this is true may be seen from the way in which sinners enter into ,god's adopted family4 ,it will be admitted that all who are in ,god's adopted family are in a saved condition--in the same state1 in short1 as are the elected ones4 ,but how do men enter into this adopted family8 ,it is stated in ,john i4 #ab1 ,but as many as received ,him1 to them gave ,he power to become the sons of ,god1 even to them that believe on ,his name4 ,to believe on ,his name is just to depend upon ,him alone for salvation4 ,the apostle ,paul in writing to the ,galatians says1 ,for ye are all the children of ,god by faith in ,christ ,jesus 7,gal4 iii4 #bf47 ,each one had personally to believe in ,christ1 or to say as ,paul said1 ,he loved me1 and gave himself for me 7,gal4 ii4 #bj47 ,it may be said that this makes the way too easy1 too simple4 ,it is simple to us indeed1 but it cost the ,divine ,father the sacrifice of ,his only-begotten ,son2 it cost the ,divine ,son ,his sore agony in the ,garden of ,gethsemane1 and ,his offering up of himself upon the cross4 ,but the simplicity of the way of salvation is implied in such passages as1 ,look unto me and be ye saved1 all the ends of the earth2 and1 ,hear and your soul shall live4 ,the reason why it is easy is this1--the meritorious work of salvation1 the work upon the ground of which we get into heaven1 is not our feelings1 nor our own works1 but the work1 the finished work of ,christ4 ,the system advocated in this treatise may be objected to on the ground that it makes man the arbiter of his own destiny4 ,there is no doubt that it really does so4 ,but is this a good ground for rejecting it8 ,we think not4 ,let it be remembered that all through life man has to exercise the power of election--choice4 ,he has to do so in regard to a profession or trade1 in regard to securities1 and in respect of marriage1 and it would only be in harmony with what he is constantly doing1 were he called upon to choose1 or decide1 upon matters affecting his spiritual condition4 ,is he not1 moreover1 the maker of his own character8 ,this is his most precious heritage1 more valuable than thousands of gold and silver4 ,but how is it made8 ,by single volitions on the side of the right1 the true1 and the good4 ,and is not the life that is to come a continuance of the life that now is8 ,and if we exercise choice in the making of our characters1 this is the same as being the arbiters of our destination in eternity4 ,and what is thus plain to the intelligence is confirmed by the ,scriptures4 ,their language is1 ,choose ye this day whom ye will serve2 ,wilt thou not from this day say unto me1 ,my father8 ,they thus clearly make the matter to turn on the will4 ,it may be said that the view for which we have been contending1 does not give the ,christian the comfort of heart which the system opposed does4 ,but the primary question with an honest inquirer should not be1 which view of a subject is the most agreeable8 but1 what is the truth upon the point8 ,it is possible in religious life1 as in social1 to live in a fool's paradise4 ,but what more comfort could a man desiderate than is given by the ,holy ,spirit8 ,the ,christian may be poor and deformed1 but ,god loves him all the same as if he were rich as ,croesus1 and in form had the symmetry of the ,apollo ,belvidere4 ,he may be tried as silver is tried in the fire1 but the ,lord will sit as the refiner1 and not suffer him to be tried above what he is able to bear4 ,but what about the security of the believer8 ,the covenant being made between ,christ and the ,father is well ordered in all things and sure1 according to the system of ,predestination4 ,once a saint1 a saint for ever1 it has been said4 ,the ,christian1 it is argued1 may make slips1 even as ,david did1 but he cannot fall finally away1 for every one that ,christ died for will be ultimately saved4 ,now if all this were true1 then doubtless a sense1 or feeling if you will1 of security would be gained4 ,when ,cromwell was dying he is said to have asked his chaplain whether those who once knew the truth could be lost1 and being answered in the negative1 he replied1 ,then ,i am safe4 ,now1 it is not agreeable to be constantly on the watch-tower looking out for the foe1 or to have to tread cautiously among the grass lest you should be bitten by a rattlesnake4 ,but a man may imagine himself to be secure when he is not4 ,many of the shareholders and trustees involved in the late ,bank catastrophy thought they were secure2 but they slept upon a slumbering volcano1 and many lost their all4 ,they thought that they were secure1 but it was a dream from which they were awakened to a terrible reality4 ,so in religion4 ,a man under the shadow of a theory may think himself safe1 whilst his gourd is only the gourd of ,jonah1 a thing that withers under the heat of the sun4 ,the feeling of security is very agreeable2 but how1 if strict ,calvinism is adhered to1 is any man to get intelligently amongst the elect8 ,if ,christ has died only for a few1 and the names of these are kept a profound secret1 how can ,i believe that ,i am among that few8 ,we cannot believe without evidence4 ,if we do1 our faith is the faith of the fool--a dream1 a conceit1 and nothing more4 ,before a man1 upon the theory of strict ,calvinism1 can believe that ,christ died for him1 he would require to get a list of the elect4 ,this not being forthcoming1 many poor men are waiting for the touch of the ,almighty's finger to work faith within them1 and place them among the happy number of the saved4 ,but in so waiting they are under a perfect delusion4 ,as a matter of fact there are many excellent ,christian men who contend earnestly for the creed of ,calvinism4 ,they read in the ,bible that ,god is willing to take sinners back through ,christ1 and they come to ,him1 and consecrate themselves to ,his services1 and then battle for limitation4 ,but in accepting ,christ as their ,saviour they shut their eyes to the doctrine of their creed1 and acted on the declarations of the word of ,god4 ,we rejoice that they are ,christians1 but maintain1 nevertheless1 that in believing they acted illogically4 ,but to return to security4 ,what more security could any one desire than the word of ,christ8--,my sheep hear my voice1 and ,i know them1 and they follow me4 ,and ,i give unto them eternal life2 and they shall never perish1 neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand4 ,my ,father which gave them me is greater than all2 and no man is able to pluck them out of my ,father's hand 7,john x4 #bg1 #bi74 ,our ,lord is here speaking of external foes1 and declares that no enemy is strong enough to take ,his sheep from ,him4 ,but men enter ,his service freely1 and freely they remain4 ,he has no slaves in ,his household4 ,his people are attached to ,him because they see in ,him a concentration of all that is noble and good4 ,his self-sacrifice for them has won their hearts1 and inspired them with devotedness to ,his person4 ,that it is possible to fall away we admit1 from the fact that man is a free being surrounded with temptations2 and also because we find throughout the ,bible earnest exhortations to watchfulness1 which would be quite useless except upon the possibility of letting the truth slip from the mind4 ,hymenaeus and ,alexander made shipwreck of their faith 7#a ,tim4 i472 and ,paul had to keep his body under1 lest he himself should become a castaway4 ,but the possibility of falling away should not disturb the equanimity of any ,christian for a moment4 ,as free creatures we have the power of throwing ourselves into the river1 or the fire1 or in many other ways taking our own life2 yet the possession of this power in nowise disturbs our tranquillity of soul1 or mars our peace of mind4 ,it were1 no doubt1 more pleasing to the flesh to have no fighting1 no struggle1 no watching2 but we must accept the logic of facts1 and they clearly indicate that the ,christian life is a battle all the way to the gates of the ,new ,jerusalem4 ,but in this spiritual contest1 the thews and sinews of the soul are made strong4 ,by failing to realise the ideal of what a ,christian should be1 believers feel the need of ,christ's presence1 and the help of the ,holy ,ghost1 and sympathise with the sentiments of the hymn4 ,i could not do without ,thee1 ,o ,saviour of the lost1 ,whose precious blood redeemed me ,at such tremendous cost2 ,thy righteousness1 ,thy pardon1 ,thy precious blood must be ,my only hope and comfort1 ,my glory and my plea4 ,i could not do without ,thee2 ,i cannot stand alone1 ,i have no strength or goodness1 ,no wisdom of my own2 ,but ,thou1 beloved ,saviour1 ,art all in all to me1 ,and weakness will be power ,if leaning hard on ,thee4 ,i could not do without ,thee ,no other friend can read ,the spirit's strange deep longings1 ,interpreting its need2 ,no human heart could enter ,each dim recess of mine1 ,and soothe1 and hush1 and calm it1 ,o blessed ,lord1 but ,thine4 ,having entered by faith into the family of ,god1 or in other words1 amongst the elect1 it becomes the sacred duty of the believer to be careful to maintain good works4 ,he must remember that the way to heaven is not strewn with roses4 ,he is ,christ's freeman2 but it is with spiritual freedom as with civil1 eternal vigilance is the price of liberty4 ,neither is it an artillery duel1 or firing at long range2 it is ofttimes a grapple in the fosse for victory or death4 ,but the ,christian--the elected one--has not to fight life's battle alone4 ,the ,holy ,spirit having led him to ,jesus carries on the good work in his heart4 ,he tells him that he is dear to ,god2 that he is ,his son1 ,his jewel2 ,his portion2 that ,god will never leave him nor forsake him2 that his strength shall be equal to his day2 that his foot shall never be moved2 and that ,god1 who hath given up for him ,his son1 will with that ,son freely give him all things4 ,by being faithful unto death he shall at last receive the crown of life1 which shall never fade away4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,index4 ,acts ii4 #bc1 iv4 #bg1 #bh ,adrumetum1 ,monks of ,amos iii4 #f ,arles1 ,synod of ,believers1 ,security of ,blinding of men ,byron's mother ,calvin on ,reprobation ,cassian1 ,john ,charles ,v4 ,chosen1 ,the1 few ,christ1 ,marvelling of ,chrysostom ,church of ,england ,clark1 ,dr4 ,a4 ,clement of ,rome #b ,corinthians xiii4 #e1 #b ,corinthians xiii4 #f ,cunningham1 his ,admission ,dort1 ,synod of ,eadie1 ,dr41 ,view of ,elect1 ,the foreknown ,elect1 ,the word ,elect1 the1 ,how to enter amongst ,election1 ,objects in ,eli1 ,sons of ,ephesians i4 #d1 i4 #aa ,evil in the city ,faber1 ,statement by ,fathers1 their testimony ,froude ,gal4 ii4 #bj ,god1 ,his foreknowledge1 ,his oath ,gottschalk ,great men1 ,mothers of ,guthrie1 ,dr4 ,john ,heb4 vi4 #h ,invitations1 ,holy ,spirit's ,irenaeus ,isaiah i4 #ah1 xlv4 #g1 xlvi4 #aj ,jacob and ,esau ,jeremiah vi4 #cj1 vii4 #bi ,job xiv4 #e ,john xii4 #cg ,jude iv ,judgment1 ,the day of ,keilah1 ,david in #a ,kings xxii ,kinloch1 ,lord ,lambeth1 ,articles of ,luke xiv4 #bf ,mark v4 #f ,matthew xi4 #ba1 xx4 #af ,martyr1 ,justin ,mental power ,mercy on whom ,he will ,micaiah ,moral distinctions destroyed ,mosheim1 ,testimony of ,neander ,origen ,pantheism ,pelagianism1 what8 ,persons1 ,respect of #a ,peter i4 #a1 ii4 #h1 #b ,peter i4 #aj ,philosophy ignored ,potter1 ,the1 and the clay ,power1 ,divine ,providential blessings ,psalm lxxvi4 #aj1 cxxv4 #f ,reason1 ,appeal to ,reprobation #a1 #b ,romans i4 #bh1 viii4 #bi1 ix4 #aa1 ix4 #ac1 ix4 #ae1 xi4 #e #a ,samuel ii4 #be ,semipelagianism ,sin1 ,author of ,sovereignty1 ,god's ,sublapsarianism ,supralapsarianism ,tears1 ,christ's ,tertullian #b ,thessalonians ii4 #ac #b ,timothy iii4 #h ,titus i4 #af ,u4 ,p4 ,church ,wesley1 ,john ,westminster1 ,assembly of ,,bell ,,and ,,bain1 ,,printers1 #da ,,mitchell ,,street1 ,,glasgow4