follow from the use of the word. We also know, that none of his purposes fail of effect; but whether that be his purpose, must be determined by other considerations than barely the use of that appellation. If we attend to our Saviour's words, we shall be apt to conclude that no such inference can fairly be drawn: Many are called, but few are chosen." 66 It has pleased God in the mysterious ways of his Providence to call only a part of mankind to the knowledge of Christianity, and of course to the peculiar graces of it at present, and the express promises of its rewards hereafter: but this procedure forms no anomaly with respect to the general judgment, if he should call them to account only for what they knew*: and we are led to expect that from what St. Paul says in the second chapter of the Epistle to the Romans ver. 12. 14. 15., and from his acceptance of Abraham; who certainly, from ignorance of the law since given to Christians, in some points failed of that holiness which is now required. So that there is no foundation for that insinuation made by one, who was no friend to our religion, that Christians must consign the heathen of ancient and modern days indiscriminately to perdition for there is no such denunciation made in the Gospelt. Our Saviour says that "The hour is coming, in which all that are in Matt. xxii. 14. See Note 61. + See Note 62. their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation":" but he does not tell us, by what rule he shall judge the good or evil of those, to whom the Gospel was never known; and therefore we can have nothing to say upon the subject. Those, to whom the Gospel has been sufficiently made known, will be judged according to it. An account will be required of those, who have rejected it, concerning the motives' of that rejection; as well as of those who receive it, whether they have passed their lives in a manner conformable to their engagement. In full consonance with which, St. Paul, in preaching to the heathen at Athens, says, "The times of this ignorance God winked at*; but now commandeth all men, every where, to repent; because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained." Again: The word chosen, or elect, denotes choice for an assigned purpose; but does not include the motive of that choice. It supposes à freedom of will in him who chooses; but it does not imply that he chooses for no reason at all, except his own mere will; though he might so John v. 28, 29. 7 Mark xvi. 16. 8 Acts xvii. 30. do, if he pleases. Men in authority usually choose others, in reward of past services, on account of present qualifications, or with a view to future fidelity. And God may choose with the same respects; but it does not follow that he chooses for no reason at all (though if he does so, whatever he does is right) nor is it implied in the appellation, that all whom he chooses for future purposes, shall be made to fulfil those purposes-unless he has any where so declared it. But as past, present and to come, are all one to him, he may beforehand speak of those, whom he foresees will be found at the last day to have fulfilled those purposes and to be fit for glory, as chosen, in the most happy sense of the word and yet that word not imply, that in the grace vouchsafed them he has in their case, more than in others, departed from his rule of rewarding every man according to his works. Again, when Christians are spoken of as saved, either in the present, the past or the future tense, no inference can be drawn, that the sentence of the great day has been already anticipated, and that nothing remains then to be done, but to declare what had been decreed before the party had done either good or bad: for this is to make it no judgment at all. The expression in the present tense, "we who are saved," only means our being in a state of salvation-such 1 Cor. i. 18. being the nature of the present tense passive in the Greek*, which is expressive of continuance and imperfection. In the past 10, "ye are saved," or rather, "have been saved," means that ye have been placed in such a state; for it is evident that the salvation is yet incomplete. In the future", "we shall be saved," by no means takes the case out of that contingency, upon which all the blessings of the Gospel are suspended, that we be then found fit for it. In the last place" by grace are ye saved," is an expression descriptive of the nature of the salvation of Christians in general, and of each individual in particular-inasmuch as the dispensation itself, the knowledge of it, and the means of obtaining the end proposed by the spiritual assistance promised, are entirely to be ascribed to the free mercy of God, without any claim of merit on our parts, either in the beginning, the progress or the consummation of it. But such an act of grace does not imply an exemption from all future inquiry, whether we have abused that grace; it leaves us still in the common condition of all the reasonable creatures of God, liable to render an account at his awful tribunal, how we have used the several talents with which he has intrusted us. In short, in every view of the subject, the disposal of all his creatures in their several final * See Note 64. 10 Ephes. ii. 5. 11 Rom. v. 9. destinations, must be according to his will; and he has declared in words, which cannot be misunderstood by us, that such disposal of every individual of the human race shall be according to the qualifications, which he shall be found to possess at that great day. In him there is no variableness. Whatever the perplexities may be, in which our reasonings entangle us, he has not misled us in the revelation, which he hath made us of the nature of that decree in which we are so deeply interested. We may be sure that he will execute it with that goodness, mercy and justice which characterize all his proceedings with his creatures-and with that freedom from any respect of persons, of which he so frequently declares his abhorrence. Having endeavoured to clear these difficulties respecting the universality of the judgment to come, we proceed to consider the objections urged against the revelation, which makes that judgment known, on the plea that the threats which it contains of punishing men with everlasting misery for a short abuse of this world, is inconsistent with any rational notions of mercy and goodness in the Deity, or of his wisdom in making creatures so soon to fall into misery. Now if there be no life after this, nor any judgment at all in another life, these objections lie equally against the manner in which we are disposed of here. We continually see men suffering incurable evils both of body and mind, which they T |