our felves the fcripture afferts fuch a doctrine, the obfcurity, difficulty, and harshnefs, which feem to attend it, muft not ftumble or offend us. For thefe are things which are to be receiv'd upon the credit of him that reveals them; and we don't yield that obedience of faith which the gofpel requires,unlels our understandings fubmit to a revealed truth, as readily as our wills are to comply with a commanded duty.

It is fcripture and not reason, that is the rule of faith: For we are incompetent judges of revealed truths, not only on acCount of the narrowness of our capacities, but because of that blindness of mind which is the confequent of our fallen ftate.

Nor yet is the unfearchableness of a doctrine reveal'd in fcripture, a fufficient reason why we fhould forbear all inquiry into it, or difcourfe about it. What we may not pretend to fearch out to perfection, or to explain the modus of, we may yet know and speak fo much of, as to fubferve the great ends of religion. And if it is not the object of inquiry, nor a fit fubject of difcourfe, to what end is it reveal'd at all? We are foon loft in the perfections of the divine nature, as well as in the doctrine of the decrees; yet they must not be let alone,

if we would teach people what they are to believe concejning God.

Tho' there are bounds fet about the holy mount,and to break thro' to gaze, is dangerous, and may be fatal; yet, keeping a proper diftance, we may allowably take a view of what is prefented before us; and without affecting to be wife above what is written, we may lafely venture to go into a myfterious fubject as far as the fcripture leads us, compareing Spiritual things with spiritual : And by going into the fanctuary of God, we may gain fome fatisfaction about what is otherwife two painful for us.

Having faid this by way of premife, I come directly to what we propos'd, to vindicate the prefent truth from fome of the mifreprefentations made of it, and to anfwer fome objections made against it.

I. To vindicate it from fome misreprefentations. For a diftinction is always to be made between the objections to which a truth may be liable, and the misrepresen. tations which are ignorantly or maliciously made of it. Some greatly mifrepresent this doctrine, and ftate it in fuch a manner as we are far from allowing, but utterly difown and reject as well as themselves.

Thus

I.

Thus,

Some represent the doctrine of election as God's ordaining to fave some particular perfons let them live how they will.

But no fuch election as this was ever afferted by us. The fcripture knows no fuch election, and we are far from maintaining it. The fame decree that designs any perfons to falvation, afcertains the means for the obtaining that falvation: Thefe are faith and holiness. God hath chofen us to falvation thro' fanctification of the fpirit, and belief of the truth. And the elect of God are predeftinated to be conformed to the image of his fon, which takes in the whole work of fanctification. And therefore we never faid, that if a person was elected he might be faved however he ordered his life; for this wou'd be to separate what God has indiflolubly connected, and to deftroy a part of the decree itself.

2. Another mifreprefentation is, when any speak as if the decree of God was the Reason why men did continue in fin & unbelief.

Give me leave to reply to this in the words of another. "Indeed, the imme

*

* Dr. Ridgley, by way of reply to Dr. Whitby. See his body of divinity, Vol. 1ft p. 230.

"diate reason why any repent and believe to eternal life, is because the exceeding "greatnefs of his power is exercis'd to"wards them, whereby he works repent

ance and faith in them; and the reafon "of his exerting this power to work these "faving graces in them, is because he has "determined to do it; and fo 'tis the "execution of his purpofe. But it does not "follow from hence, that the reason why "others do not repent & believe is, be"cause they were not ordain'd to eternal "life. Tis true, their not being ordain'd CC to eternal life, or God's not having pur

pofed to fave them, is the reason why "he does not exert that power which is "neceflary to work repentance and faith "in them; and impenitence and unbelief "will certainly be the confequent hereof; "but the immediate fpring and caufe of "impenitence and unbelief, is the corrup"tion and perverfeness of human nature, "which is chargable on none but man "himself. We muft certainly diftinguish "between impenitence and unbelief their "being the confequent of God's not work"ing repentance and faith, and its being "the effect hereof. If God withholds his

grace from fome to whom he was not "oblig'd to give it, and they continue in "fin, this is to be affign'd only to that "wicked

"wicked propenfity of nature, which in"clines us to fin, and not to the divine

efficiency; " for the decree enforces no man to fin, as we shall have occafion to fhew hereafter.

3. Another fuch grofs mifrepresentation of this doctrine is, when any fpeak as if the aflertors of it held, that men are damn'd by vertue of the decree, without any confideration of their fin and miscarriages.

But this was never faid by the moft zealous aflertors of election and reprobation. We do indeed affirm that God of his meer fovereignty chofe fome to everlafting life, and pafled by others, without any confideration had to the good works of the former, or the evil deeds of the latter; but then a diftinction is made between bare non-electing, and the decree of condemnation. This, being a thing more pofitive in the nature of it, muft be with a view to fin committed, and from the forefight of it. The objects of the decree of condemnation must be,fome way or other, obnoxious to justice, that the righteousness of God may be intirely clear in the judg ment of intellectual creatures. For, tho' a favour may be placed on one to whom 'tis not due, while it is withheld from

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