GOD IMPARTIAL IN THE PURPOSE OF ELECTION. IT is objected to the purpose of. election, That it makes God appear partial, and a respecter of persons. Partial is derived from the word part, and implies a selfish regard to a part, in distinction from a disinterested regard to the good of the whole. A part may either be regarded or disregarded, from a desire to promote general good. We may separate a limb from the body, whose continuance would endanger the body; and, on the other hand, all our members may be employed in preserving a single limb, whose continuance, it is judged, will be useful to the body. All the regard which we pay to a part is not partiality. When fire breaks out in a city, they may pull down a certain building, or they may take peculiar pains to preserve a certain building, with a regard to the good of the whole city, and not be chargeable with being partial. Impartiality, or having no respect to persons, requires that all innocent persons should be justified; but it does not require that all guilty persons should be pardoned. Impartiality does not forbid that the guilty should be pardoned, when this can be done in consistency with general safety. If extending pardon to a part of the guilty, is more consistent with general good, than extending it to the whole, then this is not partiality: But on supposition, that extending pardon to the whole of this character, would diminish the happiness of the community at large, it would be a proof of partiality if they were all to be pardoned. It is therefore agreeable to the common sense of mankind, that while a sovereign has no right to put a difference between his obedient subjects, he has a right among his rebellious subjects, to extend his pardons to as many, or to as few, as he shall judge will conduce most to the benefit and prosperity of his kingdom. God is no respecter of persons, because that in every nation, and among all the different classes of society," he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of him." God is not partial, because he saves as many sinners, as will promote the best good of the universe. This we know, because it is said, the Redeemer will see the travail of his soul, and be satisfied. If God were to save one more than would promote the best good of the universe, this would be a partial-thing; it would be a regarding of the good of a part, in opposition to the good of the whole. God is not chargeable with partiality, because that in determining the persons, as well as the number of his elect, both men and angels, he is inflaeuced by the most enlarged benevolence. It was not par tiality to these individuals, but a regard to the greatest good of the universe, which led him to predestinate them to eternal life. If this greatest and most desirable good had required, that satan should have been put among the elect angels, instead of Gabriel, it would no doubt have been so done. If God would have been more glorified, and the kingdom of holiness made more perfect, by saving Judas instead of Peter, then Judas instead of Peter would have been effectually called and prepared unto glory. I thank thee, said Christ, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes; Even so, Father; for so it seemed GOOD in thy sight.-Williston's Sermons. THE EXCEllence of THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. The gods will grant What their unerring wisdom sees thee want: Ah! that we lov'd ourselves but half so well! DRYDEN. IT is owing to pride, and a secret affectation of a certain self-existence, that the noblest motive for action that ever was proposed to man is not acknowledged the glory and happiness of their being. The heart is treacherous to itself, and we do not let our reflections go deep enough to receive religion as the most honorable incentive to good and worthy actions. It is our natural weakness to flatter ourselves into a belief, that if we search into our inmost thoughts, we find ourselves wholly disinterested, and divested of any views arising from self-love and vain-glory. But however spirits of superficial greatness may disdain at first sight to do any thing but from a noble impulse in themselves, without any future regards in this or any other being; upon stricter inquiry they will find, to act worthily, and expect to be rewarded only in another world, is as heroic a pitch of virtue as human nature can arrive at. If the tenor of our actions have any other motive than the desire to be pleasing in the eye of the deity, it will necessarily follow that we must be more than men, if we are not too much exalted in prosperity and depressed in adversity. But the Christian world has a Leader, the contemplation of whose life and sufferings must administer comfort in affiction, while the sense of his power and omnipotence must give them humiliation in prosperity. It is owing to the forbidding and unlovely constraint with which men of low conceptions act when they think they con form themselves to religion, as well as to the more odious conduct of hypocrites, that the word Christian does not carry with it at first view all that is great, worthy, friendly, generous and heroic. The man who suspends his hopes of the reward of worthy actions till after death, who can bestow unseen, who can overlook hatred, do good to his slanderer, who can never be angry at his friend, never revengeful to his enemy, is certainly formed for the benefit of society. Yet these are so far from heroic virtues that they are but the ordinary duties of a Christian, When a man with a steady faith looks back on the great catastrophe of this day, with what bleeding emotions of heart must he contemplate the life and sufferings of his Deliverer! When his agonies occur to him how will he weep to reflect, that he has often forgot them for the glance of a wanton, for the applause of a vain world, for a heap of fleeting past pleasures, which are at present aching sorrows! How pleasing is the contemplation of the lowly steps our Almighty Leader took in conducting us to his heavenly mansions! In plain and apt parable, similitude and allegory, our great Master enforced the doctrine of our salvation; but they of his acquaintance, instead of receiving what they could not oppose, were offended at the presumption of being wiser than they. They could not raise their little ideas above the consideration of him, in those circumstances familiar to them, or conceive that he, who appeared not more terrible or pompous, should have any thing more exalted than themselves; he in that place therefore would no longer ineffectually exert a power which was incapable of conquering the prepossession of their narrow and mean conceptions. Multitudes followed him, and brought him the dumb, the blind, the sick, and maimed; whom when their Creator had touched, with a second life they saw, spoke, leaped, and ran. In affection to him, and admiration of his actions, the crowd could not leave him, but waited near him till they were almost as faint and helpless as others they brought for succor. He had compassion on them, and by a miracle supplied their necessities. Oh, the ecstatic entertainment, when they could behold their food immediately increase to the distributor's hand, and see their God in person feeding and refreshing his creatures! Oh envied happiness! But why do I say envied? as if our God did not still preside over our temperate meals, cheerful hours, and innocent conversations. But though the sacred story is every where full of mira cles not inførior to this, and though in the midst of those * This paper was published on Good Friday 1712. acts of divinity he never gave the least hint of a design to become a secular prince, yet had not hitherto the apostles themselves any other than hopes of worldly power, preferment, riches and pomp; for Peter, upon an accident of ambition among the apostles, hearing his master explain that his kingdom was not of this world. was so scandalized that he whom he had so long followed should suffer the ignominy, shame, and death which he foretold, that he took him aside and said, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee for which he suffered a severe reprehension from his Master, as having in his view the glory of man rather than that of God. The great change of things began to dram near, when the Lord of Nature thought fit, as a Saviour and Deliverer, to make his public entry into Jerusalem, with more than the power and joy, but none of the ostentation and pomp, of a triumph; he came humble, meek, and lowly; with an unfelt new ecstacy, multitudes strewed his way with garments and olive-branches, crying, with loud gladness and acclamations, Hosannah to the son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!' At this great King's accession to his throne, men were not ennobled but saved: crimes were not remitted, but sins forgiven. He did not bestow medals, honors, favors; but health, joy, sight. speech. The first object the blind ever saw was the author of sight; while the lame ran before, and the dumb repeated the hosannah. Thus attended, he entered into his own house, the sacred temple, and by his divine authority expelled traders and worldlings that profaned it; and thus did he for a time use a great and despotic power, to let unbelievers understand that it was not want of, but superiority to, all worldly dominion, that made him not exert it. But is this then the Savior? Is this the Deliverer? Shall this obscure Nazarene command Israel, and sit on the throne of David? Their proud and disdainful hearts, which were petrified with the love and pride of this world, were impregnable to the reception of so mean a benefactor; and were now enough exasperated with benefits to eonspire his death. Our Lord was sensible of their design, and prepared his disciples for it. by recounting to them now more distinctly what should befal him; but Peter, with an ungrounded résolution, and in a flush of temper, made a sanguine protestation, that though all men were offended in him, yet would not he be offended. It was a great article of our Saviour's business in the world to bring us to a sense of our inability, without God's assistance. to do any thing great or good; he therefore told Peter, who thought so well of his courage and fidelity, that they would both fail him, and even he should deny him thrice that very night. • But what heart can conceive, what tongue utter the sequel. Who is that yonder buffetted, mocked, and spurned? Whom do they drag like a felon? Whither do they carry my Lord, my King, my Savior, and my God? And will he die to expiate those very injuries? See where they have nailed the Lord and giver of life! How his wounds blacken, his body writhes, and heart moves with pity and with agony! Oh Almighty sufferer, look down, look down from thy triumphant infamy! Lo, he inclines his head to his sacred besom! Hark, he groans! See, he expires! See, he expires! The earth trembles, the temple rends, the rocks burst, the dead arise! Which are the quick? Which are the dead? Sure nature, all nature is departing with her Creator.' Addison's Spectator. INDIFFERENCE TO RELIGION IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF A GOVERNMENT A GREAT NATIONAL SIN. I AM sensible that I am entering on a very delicate, and with many a very unpopular subject; and that I shall probably not barely incur the odium of the avowed enemies of religion, but the censure of many of its pretended, and of some of its real friends. Perhaps there is no one feature in the constitution of the United States, which has been the subject of more numerous encomiums, of more unqualified praise upon both sides of the Atlantic, than this, that it takes no notice of, and is not at all connected with religion. It is not difficult to point out the quarter from whence these encomiums have, in the first instance originated. The placing of all religions, or of all sentiments on religious subjects, whether for or against religion itself upon an equal footing, has been the popular theme of modern philosophists. By thus degrading christianity to a level with paganism, infidelity and atheism, they doubtless expected to be put in a better situation to overthrow and exterminate it altogether. It is a just matter of lamentation, that so many who are friends at heart to the real interests of religion, should have so greedily swallowed the pernicious bait that was thrown out to them, regardless of the hook which was concealed beneath. This equalizing of all religious opinions; this ranging of atheism, infidelity, and blasphemy, side by side, with the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, has been a popular topic, and as it is much easier to call hard names, than to produce sound arguments, the most approbrious epithets have been liberally bestowed on all who should dare to dispute the orthodoxy of these sentiments. It has been represented as little better than sacrilege for religion and government to have the remotest connection together. This principle was avowed, and the most unlimited toleration of all religious |