verted from Judaism to Christianity, whom he calls elect, according to the fore-knowledge of God the Father: notwithstanding they had some in communion with them, concerning whom it might be said, that they had only a name to live, but yet were dead; and he advises them, to lay aside all malice, guile, and hypocrisy, envies, and evil speaking, and, as new born babes, to receive the word, if so be they had tasted that the Lord is gracious, 1 Pet. ii. 1. which makes it more than probable, that there were some among them who had not, in reality, experienced the grace of God; so when he says, that there should be false teachers among them, whose practice should be as vile as their doctrine, and that many amongst them should follow their pernicious ways. 2 Pet. ii. 1, 2. it seems to argue that the whole church he writes to, were not chosen to salvation; therefore their election only signifies their being chosen to enjoy the privileges, which they had, as a professing society of Christians.

Answ. It is certain that there was a very considerable number among them who were not only Christians in name; but they were very eminent for the exercise of those graces, which evinced their election to eternal life; and particularly he says concerning them, Whom having not seen, ye love; and in whom believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls, 1 Pet. i 8, 9. which agrees very well with the other character given them of their being elect, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, ver. 2. Therefore the only thing that seems to affect our argument is, that this character did not belong to every individual. But supposing this should be allowed, might not the church be here described as chosen to salvation, inasmuch as the far greater number of them were so? Nothing is more common, in scripture, than for a whole body of men to be denominated from the greatest part of them, whether their character be good or bad: thus when the greatest part of the Jewish church were revolted from God, and guilty of the most notorious crimes, they are described as though their apostacy had been universal, They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders, Jer. vi. 28, whereas it is certain, there were some who had not apostatized : some of them were slandered and reproached for the sake of God, and therefore were not included in the number of them that walked with slanders, though their number were very small; as God says by the prophet Ezekiel, I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should not destroy it, but I found none, Ezek. xxii. 30. whereas at that time, in which the people were most degenerate, there were found some who sighed and cryed for all the abomination that were done in the

midst of them, chap. ix. 4. So on the other hand, when the greater number of them kept their integrity, and walked before God in holiness of life, the whole church is thus characterized, I remember the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness; Israel was holiness to the Lord, Jer. ii. 2, 3. whereas it is certain, that, at that time, there were a great many who rebelled, murmured, and revolted from God, and were plagued for their iniquities; yet because the greater number of them were upright and sincere, this character is given in general terms, as if there had been no exception. And the prophet looked back to some age of the church, in which a great number of them were faithful; and therefore he speaks of the people in general, at that time, as such, and accordingly calls them, The faithful city, Isa. i. 21. and the prophet Jeremiah calls them, The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, Lam. iv. 2. yet there never was a time when there were none among them that rebelled against God. Therefore may not this be supposed concerning the first gospel churches that were planted by the apostles; and accordingly, when they are styled elect, to whom the apostle Peter writes, 1 Pet. v. 13. as well as the church at Babylon, why may not this be supposed to signify, that the greatest part of them were really sanctified, and therefore chosen to sanctification? And consequently their character, as elect, does not barely signify their being chosen to be made partakers of the external privileges of the gospel. We might also consider, that it is very agreeable to our common mode of speaking, to denominate a city, or a kingdom, from the greater number thereof, whether we call them a rich, or a wise or a valiant people, we never suppose there are no exceptions to this character; therefore why may we not, in this instance, conclude, that the apostle Peter, when he describes this church as elected, intends their election to salvation? Thus we have endeavoured to prove that election, in scripture, is not always taken, in the Old Testament, for the external privileges which the Jewish nation had, as a church; nor in the New Testament for those who belonged to the churches, namely, such as professed the Christian faith. And probably that learned author, before mentioned, was apprehensive that this observation of his would not hold universally truc; and therefore he has another provisionary objection against the doctrine of particular election of persons to eternal life, and says, as Arminius and his contemporaries before did, that all those scriptures, which speak of this doctrine, contain nothing more than God's conditional purpose, that if a person believes, he shall be saved. It is necessary for us to consider what may be said in answer hereunto; but inasmuch as we shall have occasion to speak to this when we consider the properties of

lection, under a following head, we shall rather chuse to reserve it to that place, than be obliged to repeat what might be here said concerning it.

Thus having premised something concerning election in general, and the sense in which it is to be understood, in scripture, we shall briefly mention a matter in dispute, among divines relating to the objects thereof, as they are considered in God's eternal purpose: and here we shall take notice of some different opinions relating thereunto, without making use of those scholastic modes of speaking, which render this subject much more difficult, than otherwise it would be: and shall take occasion to avoid, and fence against those extremes, which have only had a tendency to prejudice persons against the doctrine in general The object of election is variously considered by divines, who treat of this subject.

1. There are some who, though they agree in the most material things in their defence of this doctrine yet they are divided in their sentiments about some nice metaphysical speculations, relating to the manner how man is to be considered, as the object of predestination: accordingly some, who are generally styled Supralapsarians, seem to proceed in this way of explaining it, namely that God from all eternity, designed to glorify his divine perfections, in some objects out of himself, which he could not then be said to have done, inasmuch as they did not exist; and the perfections, which he designed to glorify, were, more especially, his sovereignty and absolute dominion, as having a right to do what he will with the work of his hands; and also his goodness, whereby he would render himself the object of their delight; and, as a means conducive to this end, 'he designed to create man an intelligent creature, in whom he might be glorified; and since a creature, as such, could not be the object of the display of his mercy, or justice, he farther designed to permit man to fall into a state of sin and misery, that so, when fallen, he might recover some out of that state, and leave others to perish in it: the former of which are said to be loved, the other hated; and when some extend the absoluteness of God's purpose, not only to election but reprobation, and do not take care to guard their modes of speaking, as they ought to do, but conclude reprobation, at least predamnation, to be, not an act of justice, but rather of sovereignty; they lay themselves open to exception, and give occasion to those, who oppose this doctrine, to conclude, that they represent God as delighting in the misery of his creatures, and with that view giving being to them. It is true, several, who have given into this way of thinking, have endeavoured to extricate themselves out of this difficulty, and denied this and other consequences of the like nature, which many have thought to be necessary deductions

from this scheme; whether they have done this effectually, or no, may be judged of by those who are conversant in their writings. I cannot but profess myself to set a very high value on them in other respects, yet I am not bound to give into some nice speculations, contained in their method of treating this subject, which renders it exceptionable; particularly, I cannot approve of any thing advanced by them, which seems to represent God as purposing to create man, and then to suffer him to fall, as a means by which he designed to demonstrate the glory of his vindictive justice, which hath given occasion to many to entertain rooted prejudices against the doctrine of predestination, as though it necessarily involved in it this supposition, that God made man to damn him.

There are others, who are generally styled Sublapsarians †, who suppose, that God considered men as made and fallen, and then designed to glorify his grace in the recovery of those who were chosen, by him, to eternal life; and his justice in them, whom he designed to condemn, as a punishment for their sins, which he foreknew that they would commit, and purposed not to hinder; and he designed to glorify his sovereignty, in that one should be an object of grace, rather than another, whereas he might have left the whole world in that state of misery, into which he foresaw they would plunge themselves.

That which is principally objected, by those who are in the other way of thinking, against this scheme, is, that the Sablapsarians suppose that God's creating men, and permitting them to fall, was not the object of his eternal purpose. But this they universally deny, and distinguish between God's purpose to create and suffer men to fall; and his purposes being considered as a means to advance his sovereignty, grace, and justice, in which the principal difference between them consists. We shall enter no farther into this controversy, but shall only add, that whatever may be considered, in God's eternal purpose, as a means to bring about other ends; yet it seems evident, from the nature of the thing, that God cannot be said to choose men to salvation, without herein considering them as fallen; for

* See Twiss. Vind. Grat. & de Prædest. and his riches of God's love, against Hord; and also that part of the writings of some others, in which they treat of predestination, viz. Beza, Gomarus, Piscator, Marcovius, Rutherford, Whitaker, and

Perkins.

Among these were bishop Davenant, and other divines, who met in the synod of Dort; also Calvin, P. Du Moulin, Turrettin, and, indeed, the greater number of those who have defended the doctrine of predestination; and there are many o thers, who, when they treat of it, seem to wave the particular matter in controversy, as thinking it of no great importance or that this doctrine may be as well defended, without confining themselves to certain modes of speaking, which have been the ground of many prejudices against it, whose prudence and conduct herein cannot be

justin claned.

as no one is a subject capable of salvation, but one who is fallen into a state of sin and misery; so when God purposed to save such, they could not be considered as to be created, or created and not fallen, but as sinners.

2. There are others who deny particular election of persons to eternal life, and explain those scriptures, which speak of it, in a very different way: these suppose, that God designed, from all eternity, to create man, and foreknew that he would fall, and, that, pursuant to this eternal foreknowledge, he designed to give him sufficient means for his recovery, which, by the use of his free will, he might improve, or not, to the best purposes; and also, fore-knowing who would improve, and who would reject, the means of grace, which he purposed to bestow, he determined, as the consequence thereof, to save some, and condemn others. This method of explaining God's eternal purpose is exceptionable, as will farther appear, in the method we shall take, in prosecuting this subject, in two re spects.

(1.) As they suppose that the salvation of men depends on their own conduct, or the right use of their free will, without giving the glory which is due to God, for that powerful, efficacious grace, which enables them to improve the means of grace, and brings them into a state of salvation,

(2.) As the result of the former, they suppose that nothing absolute is contained in the decree of God, but his fore-knowledge, which is rather an act of his understanding, than his will; and therefore it seems to militate against his sovereignty, and grace, and, to make his decrees depend on some conditions, founded in the free-will of man, which, according to them, are not the object of a peremptory decree. Thus having considered intelligent creatures, and more particularly men, as the objects of predestination.

IV. We proceed to the farther proof and explication of this doctrine; and, in order thereto, shall insist on the following propositions.

1. That it is only a part of mankind that were chosen to salvation.

2. That they who were chosen to it, as the end, were also chosen to sanctification, as the means thereof, And,

3. That they were chosen in Christ; which propositions are contained in that part of this answer, in which it is said, that God has chosen some men to eternal life, and the means thereof.

1. That some were chosen to salvation; not the whole race of mankind, but only those that shall be eventually saved: that the whole world is not the object of election appears from the known acceptation of the word, both in scripture, and in our