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nature, I answer.

er of God, then, indeed, no means are be imagined. I dare say the very perordained. But where things are ef- son, who makes the foregoing objecfected through means, the means as tion, will quickly confess, that, notwell as the end are supposed to be de-withstanding he objects against the decreed; and with respect to cases of this crees of God, he would be satisfied with the doctrine of decrees, if he were Mankind do not esteem decrees, in taught by it, that every thing is degeneral, as implying any less impor-creed by the unchanging, Almighty tance or utility in means. Should a God, which he could wish to have fixperson be persuaded that God had ed and certain? Had God decreed to made a decree, that such a certain do whatever he would choose to have field, if properly tilled and manured, done, and to prevent all he would should produce an hundred fold more choose to have prevented; or, in other than it had ever done before: would words, that his whole pleasure should this person lie under any greater dis-be complied with; all his doubts and couragement in cultivating this field, objections would vanish at once: But than though he had knowledge of no since God neither consults him, nor decree in the case? Why do we plant decrees the things he would choose, he the fertile parts of the earth, rather is in arins against the decrees of God. than the barren rocks? Is it not be- What an insult is here offered to the cause we apprehend the God of Na- holy majesty of heaven? We are not ture has fixed some connexion between willing to submit to his wisdom, and the cultivation and the fertility of the godlike pleasure; but would be very one, and not of the other? The fact is, willing to subject him to our own inwe find ourselves the most encourag-clination! God must give away his ed, where we apprehend there is the throne or we shall complain. most uniform connexion between the means we use, and the end we scek.This is a universal fact, as it respects our pursuit of natural things. Why then should it not be so, with respect to our encouragement in spiritual pursuits? Doth it appear, that the certain connexion God hath been pleased to fix between believing and salvation, is any discouragement to believing? Or rather, doth not great encouragement for believing, arise from this very connexion? which, by the way, is no oth-condition of a moral life, and a coner than a decree of God. Would the encouragement to believing be stronger, if it were, in fact, and in our view, uncertain whether they, who believe, should be saved or not? Far, very far from this. Shall we, then, be discour-|| aged from seeking, because God has decreed, that they who seek shall find; and made a revelation of this decree ?ion of heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. The same may be said of asking— knocking, &c.

It is surprising, that such multitudes of men should object to the decrees of God, and yet as cordially approve of the general notion of decrees, as can

I have said, the objector is not an enemy to the doctrine of decrees, if they might all be directed by him: and perhaps, he would go farther, and agree that he would not object, if they might he altered only in two or three instances. If God would only decree that he might live as he would during this state of probation, and yet be happy forever in some sensual paradise: or, if God would decreed that he should enjoy such an eternal happiness, on

stant round of reading, praying, &c. he might agree to the terms; which he never can do while God determines, that no happiness shall be enjoyed by men, after death, except the holy happiness of an holy heaven; and that none shall be entitled, even to this, by any thing short of an holy un

When we improve the means of salvation in a manner becoming reasonable creatures; that is, in an holy manner, (for a sinful manner is never becoming) then we may properly be said to use the means; but when we

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neglect them, or improve them in a || Let us reason on this subject as Jesus sinful manner, properly speaking, we Christ frequently did on others of a abuse them. The doctrine of God's spiritual nature; that is, by their analdecrees is a strong inducement to use ogy to worldly things. Suppose, then, the means of salvation; both, because some absolute monarch, whose edicts, without doing so, it is certain we nev-like those of the Medes and Persians, er can obtain the end of those means; had confined you in prison for some aand by so doing we shall infallibly se-trocious crime. In this confinement cure the salvation of our souls. Hence he sends you an herald, on whose veit is natural to conclude, that the abuse racity you can rely to address you in of means, whether by neglect, or wrong the following manner: "My master improvement, is much discountenan- has decreed, in an unalterable stile, that ced by the doctrine of the divine de- precisely at noon to-morrow, you shall crees, because this doctrine teaches, be taken from this place, and either that such abuse must be repented of, torn in quarters, and then hung on a or we must be forever ruined. If the gibbet, or else placed with him on the objection lies against the doctrine, un-throne, as an equal partner of his der a notion that it opposes the abuse ernment, riches and glory. He has deof means; its validity must be acknowl-termined too, which of these shall be edged, and ought to be acknowledged ||your lot; but of this he leaves you with joy and thanksgiving, to that God, wholly ignorant. Address yourself, who has ordered every thing in so ho-therefore, for the awful alternative." ly and wise a manner, to put a check Thus saying, he leaves you. You beon every sin, however it may cover it-lieve what he spake. The scene of self with the false cloke of seeming de- to-morrow noon appears real. Now votion. you behold the multitude collecting; Objection 2. Granting the doctrine you are conducted to the fatal spot, of decrees to be true, as it may possi- and survey the dreadful instruments of bly be, I cannot conceive it to be prop-death. Now, in a moment, the scene er to preach it, or inculcate it in any changes, you hear the joyful acclamaother way, because it tends to licen- tions of numerous subjects, and retiousness. Let but this doctrine be be-ceive the cordial welcome of your lieved, and he who believes it, will at brother monarch. Now, will all this once say, Well, according to this, I induce you to say, "I know not but find I am not at my own disposal-my that I may be shut from all good tofate, for eternity, is fixed by another. morrow, I will, therefore, seize on The decree has gone forth, and nothing what pleasure I can to-day. This night that I can do will alter it. Perhaps I shall be a night of mirth. I will call in may be happy after death, and perhaps my jovial companions, for one more, miserable beyond expression. So that and perhaps the last merry meeting?" to secure some happiness at least, IOr, will you more sedately say, "It is will seize the present time, and draw in vain for me to attempt any alteraas much pleasure from it as possible. tion in my sovereign's resolution; I I will therefore cast off fear, restrain will therefore lay myself down to sleep, prayer, pay no respect to God or reli-and take one more quiet night's region, but plunge into vice, as the only pose?" Will it not rather rouse every fountain of pleasure." power of your soul to the most vigerAuswer. If this doctrine, in fact, orous and anxious exercises? Will it produces such effects, it is, indeed, a||be possible for you to forget, or reason melancholy affair, and ought to be lamented. But such a conduct may possibly be found, after due examination, to spring not from a belief of this doctrine, but from some other cause.

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away, the dreadful alternative which awaits you to-morrow, any more than to reason yourself out of the tortures of a cholic? Even should your reason tell you, it is in vain to entertain anxi

Sleep will be driven from the eyes, and slumber from the eyelids. If, therefore, to awaken be the design of the preacher, without any regard to the rage he may excite, in the malicious world, against himself, he has no question to determine, but whether the doctrine be true. If he finds it true, his way is clear.

Objection 3d.

ety, yet your reason can never free point is in a great measure gained.— you from it. Well then, how must The soul will, of consequence, be all the doctrine of God's decrees, con-attention. cerning your eternal state, affect your mind, if once believed? Here the contrast is infinitely stronger than in the other case. There, were wild horses to sever your limbs; here, the powerful and spiteful spirits of hell stand ready to plunge you into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. There, was the gibbet to receive your The doctrine of demangled, but senseless limbs; here, crees has a direct tendency to overthe vengeance of God, who will shew whelm people in despair. Should we his wrath, and make known upon you||grant it to be true, yet we must esteem his power to keep alive eternal burn-it to be strong meat, and fit only for ings in your soul. On the other hand, such, as have arrived to a state of manthere, were temporal, uncertain riches hood, in a spiritual sense; and not for and honor, with which you must quick-babes in Christ, and, much less, for ly part; but here, durable riches and such as are not born again. righteousness; comprehending in them Answer. There is no tendency in all the blessedness of an eternal hea- this doctrine to make any person desven, where sorrow never intrudes.- pair of the power of God to save him; Now, suppose yourself fully satisfied but, on the contrary, there is in it a strong that God has fixed your future state, tendency to confirm us in a belief, that you know not how, only, that you must he is able to save whomsoever he will; live in heaven or hell forever; and nor is there any tendency in it to make you really expect to be called thisus despair of God's knowledge or goodnight to his bar, there to have the aw-nees; because it sets those perfections ful question determined; would this in an august and sovereign point of view render you frolicsome and gay?|view: Nor can any person, while in Would it render you vain and stupid? a state of probation, be led by this docO no! The belief of this doctrine nev-trine to believe he never shall be sayer can. But on the contrary, if the ed in fact; because the doctrine itself belief of any truth in nature can awak-teaches that God can save him if he en your soul, to cry 'What must I do? please. Were we left to ourselves in this is it. The truth is, the objector this matter; we should be led to desdisbelieves the doctrine; and it is the pair of salvation, from a consideration disbelief of it which produces the ef- of the ill success we have with our fects, he charges on the doctrine itself. hearts; but this subject neither conIf, therefore, it is the desire of a preach-tains nor suggests any reason at all for er to awaken the attention of his hear- despair, unless it be, that it teaches us, ers, and fix it upon their condition with we shall never regenerate ourselves, respect to eternity? If he would ban-nor procure our own salvation, indeish every light and idle thought from pendent of God. the mind, and excite the most solemn and interesting views in their place; what subject shall he choose in preference to this? What can he find in nature what in scripture, so likely to alarm the soul, dead in trespasses and sins? If he can but shew the subject, in such a point of light, as will render it real in the view of his hearers; his

Such a despair as

this, it must be confessed, will naturally arise from a thorough belief of the doctrine of divine decrees; and this, we must own, is, to the unregenerate, a painful affair; yet painful as it is, it is absolutely necessary to salvation.— In the salvation of man, God is wisely determined to cast down every high thought and to prepare the mind of the

them; but it must also be granted, that there may be this consistency, and yet, I may not discover it. Should this be the fact, it would be, not at all,

It is unreasonable to expect, that creatures, so prejudiced against the truth, as we are, should comprehend all the consistencies there are among things; and more especially between those things, in which our proud independent spirits are so much concerned. It may be, that God observes a perfect consistency between these, though we do not.

saved to cry forever, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us; but to thy name give glory." He will learn them the force of that exhortation, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trem- || admirable. bling; knowing, it is God who worketh in you, both to will, and to do." He will make us know that we cannot think one thought of ourselves, but that he is all, and in all, It is, therefore, desirable, that this kind of despair should be excited, and that it should reign in every heart. Indeed, this is one professed aim of almost all preaching which claims the character of chris- Moreover, it may be, that in a neartian. If this be true, then the doctrine er and more particular view of this of God's decrees stands fairest to be matter, the objection may disappear. chosen as a mean to produce this ef- Free agency consists in acting voluntafect; because it is, perhaps, the like-rily. Now, does it appear impossible, kest to prove the most speedy, and for God, at once, to decree some parthoroughly effectual, of any that can ticular action, and that we shall do it be used: Yea, more, it has the strong-||voluntarily? We can as easily conest tendency to banish from the mind ceive of this, as of the action itself, that despair which is undesirable; and, apart from the decree. It must be on the contrary, to inspire the highest confessed, that the decree of God doth, possible degree of that confidence in some instances, deprive men of free which is to be wished for by immortal agency; and whenever this is the case creatures; namely, a confidence that, they are not accountable. If, in conin every instance, God will do what is sequence of the divine decree, a man best to be done. There is no truly is necessarily confined to his bed by pious mind too enlarged, none too sickness, or a broken limb, he is not accontracted, to rejoice in this doctrine countable for neglecting to gather in when it is once understood. It has in his harvest with his own hand, though it the essence of spiritual food. It is it should perish in the field. But meat for strong men, and milk for when God decrees, that I shall act, and babes; the sincere milk of the gospel. act voluntarily, in a certain instance, Objection 4. These doctrines are in- it would be very absurd for me to say, consistent with the free agency of man, that I am not accountable. The only and consequently with his accounta- thing which would seem to excuse me, ableness. is the consideration, that the supposed Answer. Perhaps this is a mistake. voluntary action was fixed and deterThey may, indeed, be really inconsis-mined by something besides itself; it tent with my idea of free agency: and it may also be, that my idea of free agency is false. If this be so, the inIf the action be, in fact, consistency of these doctrines with it, determined, it matters not by whom, is so far from proving their absurdity, nor by what. The shew of excuse is that it is an intimation of their truth.- the same. So that, if my action did Again, perhaps these doctrines appear not determine itself to be what it is, I to me, to be inconsistent with that free am not accountable for it. But how agency, of which I am really the sub- could it determine itself? It cannot ject; and yet they may be true. In determine itself after it exists, for then this case, it is confessed, there it is already what it is. It must have must be a real consistency between been fixed and determined, or its be

matters not, whether by God or any other being or thing, either without or within me.

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VI. From what has been said, opposition to God appears to be a very wicked thing. By opposition to God, is here meant, any temper of mind which is in itself, and in its tendency, contrary to those views which influence the divine conduct; or, any dissatisfaction with the dealings of God,

ing what it is ensured before it exist- as being expressive of a disposition in ed; but the action itself could not do God, unreasonably severe, and inflexithis. It could not influence and ope-bly capricious, while at the same time, rate before it had existence. Yet it we indulge ourselves in fancying they will be acknowledged, that it absolute- clothe him in sullen majesty. ly depended on some thing, both for its trines implying this, would be odious existence, and its particular mode of indeed. But the doctrines under conexistence. Now see the sum of the sideration do no other than represent objection, and the answer it affords to the ever blessed God, as being most itself. "I cannot be accountable for carefully, tenderly, zealously and conany action which is absolutely depen-stantly resolved to employ all his powdent on God: Not because it is depen-ers for the best good of the universe. dent on God; but because it is abso- In this view these doctrines are infinlutely dependent. But every action itely endearing and precious. must, of necessity, be as absolutely dedent on some thing or other, as the doctrine, objected against, supposes it to be on God. Of consequence, I can be no more accountable for this action, on any other supposition, than on this, that it is dependent on God. If, therefore, there be any scheme on which I may feel myself to be accountable, I in any instance. If there be any such may on this." thing as wickedness, it will be found Farther, Though this reasoning|| here. For what can be so vile and should not prove satisfactory, yet two hateful, as to oppose so perfectly glorithings are true; first, that we feel our-ous a being, who is worthy of all posselves to be free agents, and account-sible imitation? It matters not whence able creatures, and therefore, nothing this opposition is derived, since its nacan convince us we are not. Second-ture is still the same. Oppose some ly, that God is infinitely wise, good and thing deformed and ugly to an exquipowerful, and, therefore, he certainly sitely beautiful exhibition, and its ugwill take effectual measures to secure liness will appear the more distinctly. the best good, in every instance; espeSo it is in this case. Here the sinfulcially in things of a moral nature, which neзs of sin stands obvious to every are really the most important. There- eye. If I oppose God, by doing things fore, though we may not be able to contrary to his nature, and am dissatsee the consistency of those two max-isfied with his government, it is a sure ims, let us depend on the truth of both, sign that, had I power to frustrate his and leave the reconciling of them with designs, I should do it, that is, I should God. To return. frustrate the best designs, and overIn po

It is desirable that the distinguish-throw the best of all devices. ing doctrines of the gospel should be litical matters, we see an almost untrue; because they lodge the man-paralleled odiousness in such a dispoagement of all things in the hands of sition, though in this case no more that being, who will certainly conduct than the good of some temporal state is them in the best manner; and if these doctrines be true, it is best they should be much insisted on, and pressed home on the mind with great plainness: He who doth it, still taking special care to build, and support them on the divine perfection as the foundation. We are How extremely perverse would a too apt to conceive of those doctrines son appear, who should be always

in question, and shall we, or rather, can we shut our eyes to the infinitely more horrid deformity of opposition to the glorious purposes of God, which comprehend the universe, and are designed for eternity?

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