Chapter XXIX: Part 29

Having briefly considered this objection, we return to the argument, namely, that God’s loving or hating, in this scripture, as it has a relation to the distinct nations that descended from Jacob and Esau, includes in it his determining to give or deny the external privileges of the covenant of grace, which we generally call the ordinances, or means of grace. These were the spiritual and more distinguishing instances of divine favour, which Jacob was given to expect, when he obtained the blessing. As for the double portion, or the greatest part of the paternal estate, that descended with it, together with the honour of having dominion over their brethren, or a right (as it is probable they had) to act as civil magistrates in their respective families, these were all small things, if compared with those spiritual privileges, wherein God’s love to Jacob, and his posterity, was principally expressed; it was this which is so often signified by God’s being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: In other respects, Esau was blessed as well as Jacob; for the apostle, speaking concerning that part of Isaac’s prediction, which respected the temporal advantage of their posterity, says, that _he blessed Jacob and Esau, concerning things to come_, Heb. xi. 20. yet Esau was rejected, as to what concerns the spiritual part of the blessing, which was his birth-right, that he is said to have _despised_, Gen. xxv. 34. and, for this reason, he is styled, by the apostle, a _profane person_, Heb. xii. 16. If it had been only a temporal privilege that he contemned, it might have been a sin; but it could not then have been properly said to have been an instance of profaneness, for that has respect only to things sacred; therefore it evidently appears, that the blessings which Esau despised, and God had before designed to confer on Jacob, and his seed, as a peculiar instance of his love, were of a spiritual nature.

_Object._ 2. It will be farther objected, that men’s enjoying the external privileges of the covenant of grace, has no immediate reference to their salvation, or election to it.

_Answ._ Since salvation is not to be attained, but by and under these means of grace, we must conclude, that whenever God bestows and continues them, to a church or nation, he has a farther view therein, namely, the calling some, by his grace, to partake of those privileges that accompany salvation. If there were no such blessings to be conferred on the world, there would be no means of grace, and consequently no external dispensation of the covenant of grace; for it is absurd to suppose that any thing can be called a means, where all are excluded from the end which they refer to; therefore the sum of this argument is, that God had a peculiar love to the posterity of Jacob, and accordingly he designed to give them those privileges which were denied to others, namely, the means of grace, which he would not have done, had he not intended to make them effectual to the salvation of some of them; and this purpose, relating hereunto, is what is called election, which, though it be not applicable to all the seed of Jacob; for all, as the apostle says elsewhere, are not Israel who are of Israel; yet, inasmuch as there was a remnant of them, to whom it was applied, they are that happy seed, who are represented, by the apostle, as the objects of God’s compassion, or _vessels unto honour, in whom he designed to make known the riches of his glory, having_, in this respect, _afore prepared them unto glory_, Rom. ix. 15, 21, 23.

Thus having considered that God has chosen a part of mankind to salvation, we may, without being charged with a vain curiosity, enquire whether this privilege belongs to the greater or smaller part of mankind, since the scripture goes before us in this matter. If we judge of the purpose of God by the execution thereof, it must be observed, that hitherto the number of those, who have been made partakers of the special privileges of the gospel, has been comparatively small. If we look back to those ages before our Saviour’s incarnation, what a very inconsiderable proportion did Israel bear to the rest of the world, who were left in darkness and ignorance! And, after this, our Saviour observes, that _many were called_, in his time, _but few were chosen_, Matt. xx. 16. and he advises to _enter in at the strait gate_, chap. vii. 13, 14. by which he means the way to eternal life, concerning which he says, that _there are_, comparatively, _few that find it_. And when the gospel had a greater spread, and wonderful success attended the preaching thereof, by the apostles, and many nations embraced the Christian faith, in the most flourishing ages of the church, the number of Christians, and much more of those who were converted, and effectually called, was comparatively small. Whether the number of true believers shall be greater, when there is a greater spread of the gospel, and a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit, to render it more successful, as we hope and pray for that time, and that not altogether without scripture-warrant; I say, whether then the fewness of those who have hitherto been chosen and sanctified, shall not be compensated, by a far greater number, who shall live in that happy age of the church, it is not for us to be over-curious in our enquiries about: However, we may determine this from scripture, that, in the great day, when all the elect shall be gathered together, their number shall be exceeding great, if what the apostle says refers to this matter, as some suppose it does, when he speaks of a _great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people and tongues, who stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands_, Rev. vii. 9. But these things are no farther to be searched into, than as we may take occasion, from thence, to enquire whether we are of that number; and, if we are, we ought to bless God for his discriminating grace, which he has magnified therein. And this leads us to consider,

2. That they who are chosen to salvation, are also chosen to sanctification, as the means thereof: As the end and means are not to be separated in the execution of God’s decree, so they are not to be separated in our conception of the decree itself; for, since God brings none to glory, but in a way of holiness, the same he determined to do from all eternity, that is, to make his people holy, as well as happy; or first to give them faith and repentance, and then, the end of their faith, the salvation of their souls.

There are many scriptures, in which the purpose of God, relating hereunto, is plainly intended; as when it is said, _He hath chosen us that we should be holy, and without blame, before him in love_, Eph. i. 4. and elsewhere the apostle tells others, that _God had, from the beginning, chosen them unto salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth_, 2 Thes. ii. 13. and the apostle James saith, that _God hath chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom_, James ii. 5. and elsewhere the apostle Paul speaks of persons being _predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son_, which he explains of their being _called_, _justified_, and _glorified_, Rom. viii. 29. and it is also said, speaking of those who were converted under the apostle Paul’s ministry, _as many as were ordained unto eternal life believed_, Acts xiii. 48. accordingly they were ordained to one as well as the other.

The argument, which seems very plainly contained in these, and such-like scriptures, is, that God’s eternal purpose respects the grace that his people are made partakers of here, as well as the glory that they expect hereafter, which are inseparably connected; this cannot reasonably be denied by those who are not willing to give into the doctrine of election: But if the inseparable connexion between faith and salvation be allowed, as having respect to the execution of God’s purpose, it will be no difficult matter to prove that this was determined by him, or that his purpose respects faith, as well as salvation. Therefore the main thing in controversy between us is, whether this grace, that accompanies salvation, is wrought by the power of God, or whether it depends on the free-will of man. That which induces them to deny that God has chosen persons to faith, is this supposition; that that which is the result of man’s free-will, cannot be the object of God’s unchangeable purpose, and consequently that God has not chosen men to it. This is the hinge on which the whole controversy turns, and if the doctrine of special efficacious grace be maintained, all the prejudices against that of election would soon be removed; but this we must refer to its proper place, being obliged to insist on that subject in some following answers;[193] and, what may be farther considered, concerning the absoluteness of election, as one of the properties that belong to it, under a following head, will add some strength to our present argument. All that we shall do, at present, shall be to defend our sense of the scriptures, but now referred to, to prove that election respects sanctification, as well as salvation; and that it does so, is plain from the first of them, in Eph. i. 4. which proves that holiness is the end of election, or the thing that persons are chosen to, as appears from the grammatical construction of the words: It is not said he had chosen us, considered as holy, and without blame, but that we should be holy;[194] that which is plainly intended, as the result of election, cannot be the cause and reason of it.

As to what the apostle says, in 2 Thess. ii. 13. _God hath, from the beginning, chosen you unto salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth_, that plainly intimates, that sanctification is the end of election; and therefore the principal answer that some give to it, which appears to be an evasion, is, that the apostle does not speak of eternal election, because God is said to have done this from the beginning, that is, as one explains the words, from the beginning of the apostle’s preaching to them: But if we can prove that there is such a thing as a purpose to save, it will be no difficult matter to prove the eternity of the divine purpose; and this is not disagreeable to the sense, in which the words, _From the beginning_, are elsewhere used.[195]

As for that other scripture, in James ii. 5. where it is said, _God hath chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom_; here the words, _That they may be_,[196] (which are inserted by the apostle, in the scripture but now mentioned) may, without any strain on the sense thereof, be supplied, and so the meaning is, God hath chosen them, _that they might be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom_: But if it will not be allowed, that these words ought to be supplied, the sense is the same, as though they were these, “God has chosen the poor of this world, who are described as rich in faith, to be heirs of the kingdom;” and so we distinguish between election’s being founded upon faith, and faith’s being a character by which the elect are described; and, if faith be a character by which they are described, then he who enabled them to believe, purposed to give them this grace, that is, he chose them to faith, as well as to be heirs of the kingdom.

As for that other text, in Rom. viii. 29. _He hath predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son_; these words, _to be_, are supplied by our translators, as I apprehend they ought, for the reason but now mentioned, taken from the parallel scripture, in Eph. i. 4. But, to evade the force of the argument, to prove that we are predestinated to grace, as well as to glory, they who deny this doctrine, give a very different turn to the sense of this text, as though the apostle only intended hereby, that the persons, whom he speaks of, were predestinated to an afflicted state in this life, a state of persecution, in which they are said to be conformed to the image of Christ;[197] But though it is true that believers are said to be made partakers of the sufferings of Christ, and, by consequence, are predestinated thereunto, yet that does not appear to be the sense of this text, as not well agreeing with the context; for the apostle had been describing those, whom he speaks of, as loving God, and called according to his purpose, and then considers them as predestinated, to be conformed to the image of his Son, which must be meant of their being made partakers of those graces, in which their conformity to Christ consists, as well as in sufferings; and then he considers them, in the following verse, as _called_, _justified_, and _glorified_; and all this is the result of their being predestinated.

As for that scripture, in Acts xiii. 48. _As many as were ordained to eternal life believed_; their faith is here considered as the result of their being ordained to eternal life, or they are represented as predestinated to the means, as well as the end.

_Object._ 1. But it will be objected by some, that this is not agreeable to the sense of the Greek word here used;[198] partly, because it is not said they were fore-ordained to eternal life, but _ordained_; and the genuine sense thereof is, that they were disposed to eternal life, and consequently to faith, as the means thereof. And this is also taken in a different sense; some suppose that it imports a being disposed, by the providence of God, or set in order, or prepared for eternal life; others, agreeably to the exposition which Socinus, and some of his followers, give of the text, (which sense a late learned writer falls in with[199]) understand the words, as signifying their having an internal disposition, or being well inclined, as having an earnest desire after eternal life, for which reason they believed; or were fitted and prepared for eternal life, by the temper of their minds, and accordingly they believed.

_Answ._ 1. If the word, which we render _ordained_, be justly translated, the thing which they were ordained to, being something that was future, it is, in effect, the same, as though it were said they were fore-ordained to it, as Beza observes.[200]

2. Suppose the word ought rather to be translated, they were disposed unto eternal life; that seems to contain in it a metaphor, taken from a general’s disposing, or ordering his soldiers to their respective posts, or employments, to which he appoints them, and so it is as though he should say, as many as God had, in his providence, or antecedent purpose, intended for salvation, believed, inasmuch as faith is the means and way to attain it; and that amounts to the same thing with our translation. But,

3. As to that other sense given of it, _viz._ their being internally disposed for eternal life, it seems very disagreeable to the import of the Greek word; and those texts, that are generally brought to justify this application thereof, appear to be very much strained and forced by them, to serve their purpose;[201] and, indeed, if the word would bear such a sense, the doctrine contained therein, namely, that there are some internal dispositions in men, antecedent to the grace of God, whereby they are fitted and prepared for it, does not well agree with the sense of those scriptures, which set forth man’s natural opposition to the grace of God, before he is regenerate and converted, and his enmity against him; and others that assert the absolute necessity of the previous work of the Spirit, to prepare for, as well as excite the acts of faith.

_Object._ 2. It is farther objected, that it cannot respect their being ordained, or chosen to eternal life, who believed, inasmuch as none that plead for that doctrine suppose that all, who are elected in one place, believe at the same time; had it been said, that all, who believed at that time, were ordained to eternal life, that would be agreeable to what is maintained by those who defend the doctrine of election; but to say, that all, who are elected to eternal life, in any particular city, are persuaded to believe at the same time, this is what they will not allow of: besides, it is not usual for God to discover this to, or by, the inspired writers, that, in any particular place, there are no more elected than those who are, at any one time, converted; and, indeed, it is contrary to the method of God’s providence, to bring in all his elect at one time, therefore we cannot suppose that this was revealed to the inspired writer, and consequently something else must be intended, and not eternal election, namely, that all those that were prepared for eternal life, or who were disposed to pursue after it, believed.[202]

_Answ._ When the apostle says, as many as were ordained to eternal life believed, we are not hereby led into this hidden mystery of the divine will, so as to be able to judge, whether more than they that then believed, were ordained to it in that place; but the meaning is, that there were many that believed, and that all of them were ordained to eternal life; and so it is as though he should say, that God has a people in this place, whom he has ordained to eternal life, who were to be converted, some at one time, others at another: some of them were converted at this time, to wit, a part of those who were ordained to eternal life, if more were ordained to it; so that the objection supposes that the words, which we render, _as many as_, imports the whole number of the elect in that place; whereas, we think that the meaning is, that there were many who believed, and these were only such who were ordained to eternal life, of which there might be many more, who then did not believe, but hereafter should; but this remained a secret, which the inspired writer was not led into, nor we by him.

_Object._ 3. There is another objection, which the learned author,[203] (whose paraphrase on the New Testament, and discourse on election, I am sometimes obliged to refer to in considering the objections that are made against this doctrine) proposes with a great deal of warmth; and if no reply can be given to it, it will be no wonder to find many prejudiced against it; his words are these: “If the reason why these men believed be only this, that they were men ordained to eternal life, the reason why the rest believed not, can be this only, that they were not ordained by God to eternal life: and, if so, what necessity could there be that the word of God should be first preached to them, as we read, ver. 46. was it only that their damnation might be the greater? This seems to charge that Lover of souls, whose tender mercies are over all his works, with the greatest cruelty, seeing it makes him determine, from all eternity, not only that so many souls as capable of salvation as any other, shall perish everlastingly; but also to determine, that the dispensations of his providence shall be such towards them, as necessarily tends to the aggravation, of their condemnation; and what could, even their most malicious and enraged enemy, do more? What is it the very devil aims at, by all his temptations, but this very end, _viz._ the aggravation of our future punishment? And therefore to assert that God had determined that his word should be spoken to these Jews, for this very end, is to make God as instrumental to their ruin, as the very devil, and seemeth wholly irreconcileable with his declarations, that he would have all men to be saved, and would not that any man should perish.”

_Answ._ According to this author, we must either quit the doctrine we are maintaining, provided it be the same as he represents it to be, or else must be charged by all mankind, with such horrid blasphemy, as is shocking to any one that reads it, as charging the Lover of souls with the greatest cruelty, and with acting in such a way, as their greatest enemy is said to do; determining, that the dispensations of his providence should tend to aggravate their condemnation, and that the gospel should be preached for this end, and no other. But let the blasphemy rest on his misrepresentation, and far be it from us to advance any such doctrine; therefore that which may be considered, in answer to it, is,

1. The immediate reason why men believe to eternal life, is, because God exerts the exceeding greatness of his power, whereby he works faith; and the reason of his exerting this power, is, because he determined to do it, as it is the execution of his purpose.

2. It does not follow, from hence, that the only reason why others do not believe, is, because they were not ordained to eternal life. It is true, indeed, that their not having been ordained to eternal life, or God’s not having purposed to save them, is the reason why he does not exert that power that is necessary to work faith: and unbelief will certainly be the consequence thereof, unless man could believe without the divine energy; yet the immediate spring and cause of unbelief, is the corruption and perverseness of human nature which is chargeable on none else but man himself. We must certainly distinguish between unbelief’s being the consequence of God’s not working faith, whereby corrupt nature takes occasion to exert itself, as being destitute of preventing grace; and its being the effect hereof. Is God’s denying the revengeful person, or the murderer, that grace, which would prevent his executing his bloody designs, the cause thereof? Or his denying to others the necessary supply of their present exigencies, the cause of their making use of unlawful means, by plundering others to subsist themselves? No more is his denying special grace, which he was not obliged to give to any, the cause of men’s unbelief and impenitency; for that is to be assigned only to that wicked propensity of nature, which inclines us to sin, and not to the divine efficiency; and how farsoever this may be the result of God’s determining to deny his grace, it is not to be reckoned the effect of that determination.

3. The design of the word’s being preached, is not to aggravate the damnation of those that shall not believe, according to this vile suggestion; but that men might be hereby led to know their duty and that the sovereignty of God, and the holiness of his law, which requires faith and repentance, as well as man’s obligation hereunto might be made known to the world. I do not deny, but that unbelief, and the condemnation consequent thereupon, is aggravated by the giving of the gospel, for that appears from many scriptures, Matt. xi. 21. Luke x. 13. as when our Saviour upbraids Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and other places, amongst whom he was conversant, with their unbelief, and represents their condemnation as greater than, that of others, who were destitute of those privileges: But yet it is a malicious insinuation, to suppose we conclude that the gospel was given for this end; and we must still distinguish between the greater aggravation of condemnation’s being the result of giving the gospel, or the remote consequence thereof, and its being the effect of it in those that reject the gospel, and much less the design of God in giving it.

4. God’s denying that grace, which would have enabled men to believe, is not to be charged as an instance of cruelty, any more than his denying it to fallen angels, but it is rather a display of his justice. He was not obliged to give grace to any of the apostate race of man; shall therefore his denying the grace of faith be reckoned an instance of cruelty, when we consider the forfeiture that was before made thereof, and man’s propensity to sin, which is chargeable only on himself?

5. God’s purpose to deny the grace of faith to those whom he has not ordained to eternal life, is not inconsistent with that scripture, 1 Tim. ii. 4. in which it is said, that _he will have all men to be saved_; so that, as will be farther observed elsewhere,[204] it respects either God’s determining that salvation should be applied to all sorts of men, or else his declaring by his revealed will, that it is the duty of all men to believe, and to acknowledge the truth, as made known to them in the gospel.

6. They who are elected to salvation, are chosen in Christ: thus it is expressly said, in Eph. i. 4. _He hath chosen us in him, before the foundations of the world._ We are not to suppose that the apostle intends hereby, that we are chosen for the sake of Christ, as though any of his mediatorial acts were the ground and reason thereof; for election is an act of sovereign grace, or is resolved into the good pleasure of the will of God, and is not to be accounted a purchased blessing; therefore when we speak of the concern of the Mediator, with relation hereunto, this is to be considered as a means ordained by God, to bring his elect to salvation rather than the foundation of their election. This proposition necessarily follows from the former; for if they, who are chosen to the end, are chosen to the means, then Christ’s mediatorial acts being the highest and first means of salvation, God’s eternal purpose respects this, as subservient thereunto.

There are some very considerable divines,[205] who distinguish between our being chosen in Christ, as an Head, and being chosen in him as a Redeemer; and accordingly, they conclude, that there are two distinct relations, in which the elect are said to stand to Christ, both which are mentioned by the apostle, when he says, _Christ is the Head of the church, and the Saviour of the body_, Eph. v. 23. and they are also mentioned distinctly elsewhere, _He is the Head of the body, the church_, and then it follows, that he _made peace through the blood of the cross_, Col. i. 18, 19, 20. and they add, that the elect are considered as his members, without any regard had to their fallen state; and that the blessings contained therein, are such as render their condition more honourable and glorious, than otherwise it would have been, had they been only considered as creatures, without any relation to him as their Head; and this Headship of Christ they extend not only to men, but to the holy angels, whom they suppose to be chosen, in this respect, in Christ, as well as men, and that it is owing hereunto that they have the grace of confirmation conferred upon them; and it also follows, from hence, that Christ would have been the Head of the election of grace, though man had not fallen, and that our fallen state rendered that other relation of Christ to his elect necessary; so that as they are chosen to salvation, they are chosen in him as a Redeemer, designed to bring about his great work for them, and, for this end, set up, as it is expressed, _from everlasting_, Prov. viii. 23.

This distinction of Christ’s double relation to the elect, is, doubtless, designed by those who thus explain this doctrine to advance his glory; notwithstanding it remains still a matter of doubt to me, whether Christ’s Headship over his church be not a branch of his Mediatorial glory; and, if so, it will be very difficult to prove that a Mediator respects any other than man, and him more particularly considered as fallen; and accordingly, God did not design hereby to advance him to an higher condition, than what was barely the result of his being a creature, but to deliver him from that state of sin and misery, into which he foresaw that he would plunge himself. Therefore, in considering the order of God’s eternal purpose, relating to the salvation of his people, we must suppose that he first designed to glorify all his perfections in their redemption and salvation; and, in order hereunto, he fore-ordained, or appointed Christ to be their great Mediator, in whom he would be glorified, and by whom this work was to be brought about: He appointed him to be their Head, Surety, and Redeemer; first, to purchase salvation for them; and then, to make them meet for it, in the same order in which it is brought about by him in the execution thereof; so that, as the glory of God, in the salvation of the elect, was the end, Christ’s redemption was the means more immediately conducive thereunto, and, as such, he is said to be fore-ordained, to wit, to perform those offices that he executes as Mediator, 1 Pet. i. 20. and as Christ, when he was manifested in the flesh, did all things for his people, that were necessary to bring them to glory, he is, in God’s purpose, considered as the great Mediator, by whom he designed this work should be brought about: thus he is set forth in the gospel, as a propitiation for sin; and the apostle seems to speak of it, as what was the result of God’s purpose, in Rom. iii. 25. whom God hath _set forth_ to be a propitiation; the Greek word[206] properly signifies, as it is observed in the marginal reference, _fore-ordained_ so to be; and accordingly, we must consider him as from all eternity in God’s purpose, appointed to be the federal Head of those who are said to be chosen in him, and to have all the concerns of the divine glory, relating to their salvation, committed to his management.

V. We shall now consider the properties of election, and how the divine perfections are displayed therein, agreeably to what is said concerning it in scripture.

1. As it is taken for the purpose of God, relating to the sanctification or salvation of men, as distinguished from the execution thereof, it is eternal: This is evident, because God is eternal, his purposes must be concluded to be of equal duration with his existence; for we cannot suppose that an infinitely wise and sovereign Being existed from all eternity, without any fore-thought, or resolution what to do, for that would be to suppose him to have been undetermined, or unresolved, when he first gave being to all things; nor is it to be supposed that there are any new determinations in the divine will, for that would argue him to be imperfect, since this would be an instance of mutability in him, as much as it would be for him to alter his purpose; but neither of these are agreeable to the idea of an infinitely perfect Being.

Moreover, if God’s purpose, with respect to the salvation of men were not eternal, then it must be considered as a new after-thought arising in the divine mind, which, as to its first rise, is but, as it were, of yesterday, and consequently he would have something in him that is finite. If it be contrary to his omniscience to have new ideas of things, it is equally contrary to the sovereignty of his will to have new determinations, therefore all his purposes were eternal.

2. God’s purpose relating to election, is infinitely wise and holy. This appears from the footsteps of infinite wisdom, and holiness, which are visible in the execution thereof, namely, in bringing men to grace and glory; nothing is more conspicuous than the glory of these perfections in the work of redemption, and the application thereof; as hereby the salvation of man is brought about in such a way, that the glory of all the divine perfections is secured, and the means made use of, as conducive thereunto, the most proper that could have been used, therefore it is a work of infinite wisdom. And inasmuch as herein God discovers the infinite opposition of his nature to sin, and thereby advances the glory of his holiness, it follows from hence, that these perfections of the divine nature had their respective concern, if we may so express it, in the purpose relating hereunto; for whatever glory is demonstrated in the execution of his purpose, that was certainly before included in the purpose itself.

3. The purpose of God, relating to the final state of man, is secret, or cannot be known, till he is pleased to discover it. Nothing is more obvious than this; for even the purposes or resolutions of creatures are secret, till they are made known by them: thus the apostle says, _What man knoweth the things of a man_, that is, what he designs to do, _save the spirit of a man, which is in him_? and infers, in the following words, _so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God_, 1 Cor. ii. 12. and elsewhere he says, _Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his councellor?_ Rom. xi. 34. And, for this reason, it is called, _The mystery of his will_, Eph. i. 9. and this also follows from its being eternal, therefore it was hid in God, from before the foundation of the world, and consequently would for ever have been so, had he not, by his works, or word, made some discoveries thereof, to those whom he first brought into being, and then gave some intimations of his purpose to them.

Therefore it could not have been known that God had purposed to save any, had he not revealed this in the gospel: much less have any particular persons ground to conclude themselves to be elected, without first observing those intimations which God has given, whereby they may arrive at the knowledge thereof. This head ought to be duly considered, by those who deny, and are prejudiced against this doctrine, though it be generally neglected in the methods they take to oppose it; for they will not consider the distinction we make between God’s having chosen a person to eternal life, and a person’s having a right to conclude that he is thus chosen; but take it for granted, that if there be such a thing as election, that we must necessarily determine ourselves to be the objects thereof, and ought to regulate our future conduct accordingly. It is from thence they conclude, that the doctrine of election leads men to presumption, or gives them occasion to say, that they may live as they list; whereas we suppose that it is an instance of presumption in any one to determine that he is elected, unless there be some discovery hereof made to him; and this discovery cannot take its rise from God, unless it be accompanied with that holiness, which is, from the nature of the thing, inconsistent with our being led hereby to licentiousness. And here we take occasion to consider, that God does not make known his secret purpose, relating to this matter, to any, by inspiration, especially since that extraordinary dispensation of providence is ceased; and, indeed, it never was his ordinary way to discover it hereby to those, who, in other instances, were favoured with the gift of inspiration. The means therefore by which we come to the knowledge hereof, is, by God’s giving certain marks, or evidences of grace, or by shewing us the effects of the divine power, in calling and sanctifying us, whereby we have a warrant to conclude that we were chosen to eternal life; and, whilst we make a right improvement thereof, and conclude that our judgment, concerning our state, is rightly founded, or not, by the holiness of our lives, we are in no danger of abusing this great and important doctrine, to the dishonour of God, or our own destruction.

This leads us to consider a distinction, which we are often obliged to make use of, when we speak concerning the will of God, as secret or revealed, by which we account for the sense of many scriptures, and take occasion from it to answer several objections that are brought against this doctrine. I am sensible that there is nothing advanced in defence thereof, which they, who are in the other way of thinking, are more prejudiced against, than this distinction, which they suppose to contain a reproachful idea of the divine Majesty, and is the foundation of many popular prejudices against the doctrine we are defending, as though we hereby intended that God has a secret meaning, different from what he reveals; or that we are not to judge of his intentions by those discoveries which he makes thereof, which it would be the highest reproach to charge any creature with, and contrary to that sincerity which he cannot be destitute of, but he is hereby rendered the object of detestation; therefore no one, who conceives of an holy God, in such a way as he ought to do, can entertain a thought, as though the least appearance thereof were applicable to him. However, this is the common misrepresentation that is made of this distinction. Whether it arises from its being not sufficiently explained by some; or a fixed resolution to decry the doctrine of election, and render it odious, as it must certainly be, if supported by a distinction, understood in so vile a sense, I will not determine. However, that we may remove this prejudice, and consider how it is to be understood, in a sense more agreeable to the divine perfections, we shall proceed to explain it; and here we may observe,

_First_, That the will of God is sometimes taken, in scripture, for that which he has, from all eternity, determined, which is unchangeable, and shall certainly come to pass, which is impossible for any creature to disannul, resist, or render ineffectual; and it is such a branch of divine sovereignty, that to deny it, would be, in effect, to deny him to be God. This the apostle intends, when he represents the malicious and obstinate sinner as replying against God, and defending himself in his bold crimes, by saying, _Why doth he yet find fault; for who hath resisted his will?_ Rom. ix. 19, 20, 21, 22. In answer to which, he asserts the sovereignty of God, and that he is not accountable to any for what he does, nor to be controuled by them; and this is also intended in another scripture, in Eph. i. 11. where it is said, that _God worketh all things after the counsel of his own will_; and elsewhere he says, _My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure_, Isa. xlvi. 10. This will of God is the rule of his own acting, and, as it determines the event of things, it is impossible for him to act contrary to it; and it is equally disagreeable to his perfections, to signify to his creatures, that he determines to do one thing, but will do another; therefore, in this sense, we are far from asserting that there is a revealed will of God, which contradicts his secret.

_Secondly_, We often read, in scripture, of the will of God, as taken for what he has prescribed to us, as a rule of duty; and also of our judging concerning the apparent event of things.

(1.) The will of God may be considered as a rule of duty, which is a well-known and proper sense of his revealed will: thus our Saviour teaches us to pray, _Let thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven_; by which he principally intends his revealed will, _or law_. Enable us to yield obedience to thy law, in our measure, as thou art perfectly obeyed in heaven. So our Saviour says, _Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother_, Mark iii. 35. which can be meant of no other than his revealed will, or of his law, in which it is contained; because no one can act contrary to God’s determination, which is that sense of his will, contained in the foregoing head; and, consequently, a doing his will, in that sense, would not have been laid down as a distinguishing character of those whom Christ preferred above all, who were related to him in the bonds of nature.

Again the apostle understands the will of God in this sense, when he says, _Thou knowest his will_, Rom. ii. 18. where he speaks to the Jews, who were instructed out of the law, in which it is contained; and elsewhere, Eph. vi. 6. he speaks of his will, as what is to be obeyed, and therefore gives this description of faithful servants, that they _do the will of God_, namely, what he has commanded, _from the heart_. And there are many other scriptures thus to be understood; and this we call his revealed will, as it is the rule of duty and obedience.

(2.) The revealed will of God may be considered as a rule which he has given us, whereby we are to judge of the apparent event of things. I make this a branch of God’s revealed will, inasmuch as sometimes he condescends to discover future events to his creatures, which otherwise they could never have known; but yet there is a difference, as to the manner of their judging thereof, pursuant to the intimations which he has given them. Accordingly, when God has told us expressly, that this or that particular thing shall come to pass, then we are infallibly sure concerning the event, and need no other rule to judge of it, but by considering it as revealed: As when God has said, that there shall be a general resurrection of the dead, and that Christ shall come to judgment, and receive his redeemed, and sanctified ones, to heaven, to behold his glory, we are infallibly assured of these events, because they are expressly revealed; and, when we speak of the secret and revealed will of God, as applicable to things of this nature, we intend nothing else hereby but what all will allow of, _viz._ that what would have been for ever a secret, had it not been discovered, is now revealed, and therefore ceases to be so; and in that sense, the revealed will of God, in all respects, agrees with his secret; in this case, we suppose that God expressly revealed the event.

But there are other instances, in which the event of things is not expressly revealed; as when God has only discovered to us what is the rule of our duty. Nevertheless, since it is natural for man, when any duty is commanded, to pass some judgment concerning the event thereof; and, inasmuch as we suppose the event not expressly revealed, it follows, that the judgment, which we pass concerning it, is only what appears to us, or what, according to our rule of judging, seems to be the probable event of things. In this case we are not infallibly assured concerning it; and when we pass a judgment relating thereunto, we may conclude that some consequences may attend our present duty, which, perhaps, will never come to pass. As if a general of an army gives forth a command to his soldiers, to march towards the enemy, they will readily conclude, that he designs, by this command, that they should enter on some action, which, had he expressly told them, he must either change his purpose, or else the event must certainly happen; but, inasmuch as he has not discovered this to them, all the judgment that they can form, at present, concerning it, is only such, as is founded on the appearance of things, and the event might probably afterwards shew, without any impeachment of his veracity or conduct herein, that his only design was to try whether his soldiers would obey the word of command, or not. Or if a king should order a number of malefactors to the place of execution, without discovering the event thereof, the apparent event is their immediate death; but if, pursuant to his secret purpose, he resolved, there to give forth a pardon to them, it cannot be supposed that he changed his purpose; but the event makes it appear, that his purpose was not then known; whatever the apparent event might be, his real design was to humble them for their crimes, and afterwards to pardon them.

It is only in such-like instances as these, that we apply this distinction to the doctrine that we are maintaining; and therefore it must be a very great stretch, of malicious insinuation, for any one to suppose, that hereby we charge God with insincerity in those declarations of his revealed will, by which we pass a probable judgment concerning the event of things. But to apply this to particular instances. God commanded Abraham to offer up his son Isaac, Gen. xxii. 2. whereas it is certain, unless we suppose that he altered his purpose, that he intended, not that he should lay his hand upon him, but, when Isaac was upon the altar, to forbid him to do it. Here was a great and a difficult duty, which Abraham was to perform pursuant to God’s revealed will, which was the rule of his obedience; had Abraham known, before this, that God designed to hold his hand, and prevent him from striking the fatal blow, it had been no trial of his faith; for it would have been no difficult matter for him to have done every thing else. The holy patriarch knew well enough that God could prevent him from doing it; but this he had no ground to conclude, because he had no divine intimation concerning it; therefore that which appeared to him to be the event, was the loss of his son, and he reconciled this with the truth of the promise before given him, that _in Isaac his seed should be called_, by supposing that God, at some time or other, would _raise him from the dead_, as the apostle observes, Heb. xi. 19. therefore that which Abraham concluded as judging, not by an express revelation, but by the voice of providence, was, that Isaac must be slain by his hand: But this was contrary to the real event, as is evident, from the account thereof in scripture; and, consequently since the real event was agreeable to the divine determination, as all events are, it follows, that there is a difference between the will of God, determining the event of things, which shall certainly come to pass accordingly; and the revelation of his will, relating to what is the creatures present duty, which may, at the same time, appear to them, when judging only by the command, which is the rule of duty, and some circumstances that attend it, to be contrary to what will afterwards appear to have been the real design of God therein. God’s real design was to try Abraham’s faith, and to prevent him from slaying his son, when he had given a proof of his readiness to obey him; but this remained, at first, a secret to Abraham, and the apparent design was, that he should slay him. Therefore there is a foundation for this distinction, as thus explained, concerning the secret and revealed will of God; the former belongs not to us, nor are we to take our measures from it, as being unknown: and, when the latter appears contrary to it, we must distinguish between two things, that are contrary in the same, and different respects; or between the judgment which we pass concerning events, which are apparent to us, and, at most, are only probable and conjectural, as we judge of the consequence of a duty commanded; and those events, which, though they are infallibly certain, yet are not revealed, nor can be known, till they come to pass. In this sense we understand the distinction between God’s secret and revealed will, when they seem to oppose each other; which it was necessary for us thus to explain, inasmuch as we shall frequently have occasion to mention, and apply it, when we account for the difference that there seems to be, between the purpose of God, relating to the event of things, and our present views thereof, whereby we may understand and account for the difficulties contained in several scriptures, which I would have mentioned in this place, for the farther illustration hereof, had it been necessary. But this is sufficient to explain and vindicate it from the prejudices entertained against it, by those who are disposed to misrepresent what is said in defence of this doctrine.

From what has been said, concerning God’s secret and revealed will, we may infer,

_1st_, That it is a great boldness, and unwarrantable instance of presumption, for any one to enter into, or judge of God’s secret purpose, so as peremptorily to determine, beyond the present appearance of things, that this or that shall certainly come to pass, till he makes them known; for _secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children forever_, Deut. xxiv. 29. Therefore no one ought to determine that he is elected to salvation, before the work of grace is wrought, and, some way or other, made visible to him; or, on the other hand, to determine that he is rejected or reprobated, when he has no other ground to go upon, but uncertain conjecture, which would be a means to drive him to despair: that some are, indeed, elected, and others rejected, is no secret because God has revealed this in his word; so that we may assert it as a proposition, undoubtedly true, when we do not apply it to particular persons; and therefore this doctrine has not that pernicious tendency, which many pretend that it has.

_2dly_, The first act of saving faith does not consist in our believing that we are elected; neither is it the duty of unregenerate persons, as such to apply this privilege to themselves any more than to conclude themselves rejected: But our business, is, so long as the purpose of God remains a secret to us, to attend on the means of grace, hoping and waiting for the display of divine power, in effectually calling us; and afterwards for the Spirit’s testimony, or seal, to be set to it, whereby he discovers his own work; and then it may, in some measure, be reckoned a branch of his revealed will and will afford us matter of thanksgiving and praise to him, and a foundation of peace and comfort in our own souls. But this may be farther insisted on, when we come to consider the improvement we ought to make of this doctrine. We proceed to consider the next property of election.

4. It is free, and sovereign, or absolute, and unconditional; for that which would be a reflection on the divine perfections, if applied to God’s method of working, is, by no means, to be said concerning his purpose to work, or, (which is the same) his decree of election; therefore if there are no obligations laid on him by his creatures, to display or perform any of his works of grace, but they are all free and sovereign, then it follows, that the fore-sight of any thing that shall be done by them, in time, could not be the motive, or reason of his purpose, or decree, to save them, or of his choosing them to salvation.

This may be farther argued, from the independence of the divine nature: if his nature and perfections are independent, his will must be so. But more particularly,