*

and being unchangeable in every respect, he never can regret having come to any determination, or having formed any plan; nor can he wish to reverse, alter, or modify, any determination he has come to, or to change, or act in opposition to, any plan he has formed. God, then, does not regret having formed any part of the plan of salvation revealed in the Bible, or wish to change any part of it, or to act in opposition to any part of it, or to do away with it, or to dispense with any part of it, in any one case. God, then, cannot desire the salvation of any one, through aud in accordance with the Bible scheme of salvation, irrespectively of his being born, or begotten again, or regenerated; this being, according to that plan, an indispensable prerequisite to salvation, inasmuch as it is a part of the plan itself. And it follows that he cannot desire or wish for (according to the common acceptation of those terms) the salvation of any one through, and in accordance with, that scheme, without desiring or wishing for his regeneration. God, then, desires the regeneration of every one whom he desires to save through, and in accordance with, the Bible scheme of salvation; and regeneration being the work of God alone, he desires (himself) to regenerate every one whom he desires to save through, and in accord. ance with, that scheme. Now it would be absurd to say that God actually desires to do that which he knows no one can do but himself, and which he knows that he can do, and yet never sets about doing it. And it would be inconsistent with an admission of his omnipotence, with regard to regeneration, to suppose that he could fail of regenerating any one whom he actually set about regenerating. It must be admitted, then, that God does, in his own good time, regenerate every one whom he desires to save, through, and in accordance with, the Bible scheme; and it follows (as God does not regenerate every one) that he does not desire † (according to the common acceptation of that term) to save every one through, and in accordance with, that scheme; and that being so, the Bible scheme of salvation was not devised or intended for the salvation of every one; unless indeed God devised the said scheme with a view to accomplishing, and intended thereby to accomplish that which, in fact, he did not desire to accomplish; which it would be absurd to suppose.

This conclusion, as to the design and intent of the Bible scheme of salvation, is corroborated by a consideration of its nature and character. It is an arrangement between the persons of the ever-blessed Trinity, called a covenant, and may, perhaps, be properly explained something in this way-The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, before man was created, foreseeing his fall, determined among themselves that certain individuals-viz., those who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. i. 3), should be saved from the punishment due

By salvation, in this tract, is meant the final accomplishment of the purpose of salvation, in the admission, of those interested therein, into heaven at death.

†Those passages which are thought by some to imply desires on the part of God which have failed of their accomplishment, are ably treated by Dr. Gill, in his "Cause of God and Truth."

to their sins, and instead of being consigned to hell at their death, to dwell with the lost angels, should be pardoned and taken at death to heaven, to dwell in the presence of God for ever in the enjoyment of perfect bliss.

But all this was to be brought about in such a manner as should be perfectly consistent with the justice and honour of God. It was not consistent with the justice of God, that any part of the punishment due to sin should he remitted. It was, therefore, necessary, in order to the exemption of any from the punishment due to their sins, that this punishment, as a satisfaction to Divine justice, should be inflicted upon some accepted substitute.

It was not consistent with the honour of God, to admit into his presence, as favoured guests, any, who could not plead that perfect obedience to his holy law, that he had required.

As it was foreseen, that, not only would they break this law in the letter, but, from, the taint produced by sin, and handed down from generation to generation, would be unable to yield a perfect obedience to its spiritual requirements; it was necessary that a perfect obedience, both to the letter and spirit of the law should be worked out by some competent person or persons in their stead.

Moreover, as it was foreseen that man would become entirely corrupt, and, consequently, unfit for the presence of God, and would be quite unable to purify himself, and render himself fit for it, and would be especially unfit for the intimate union that was to exist between those who go to heaven and their God; it was necessary that these obstacles should be done away with; and also, that as their tastes and dispositions would be altogether vitiated by the corruption of sin, and they would thus be unable to appreciate and enjoy the blessedness of heaven, they should have new tastes aud dispositions imparted to them, inspiring them with a wish for the same, and capacitating them for the enjoyment thereof.

All this was provided for, by the following gracious arrangement.
The Father chose those who should be the objects of it.

The Son agreed to suffer in their stead-as their substitute, the punishment due to their sins; and also, to honour, by a perfect obedience, that law which it was forescen they would dishonour by breaking.

The Father agreed to accept the Son as their substitute, with regard to suffering, and to exempt them from punishment, in consequence; and also to place to their account, the perfect obedience yielded by the Son, and to give them the full benefit of it, as if it were a righteousness of their own working out.

The Holy Spirit agreed to bring them to a sense of their unworthiness and vileness by nature and by practice, and of their need of a Saviour, and also to a knowledge of, and reliance upon, Christ as the only Saviour; and to give them new tastes and dispositions, which would lead them to desire, and enable them to appreciate and enjoy the blessedness of heaven; in other words, to renew or regenerate them. Now, in all this, there was a perfect unity of design between the persons of the ever blessed Trinity, in every respect. The Father did not, as his part of this covenant or agreement, undertake to exempt

from punishment, more than the Son undertook to redeem from punishment, by suffering in their stead, and to work out a perfect righteousness for, and in the stead of; and the Holy Ghost to regenerate. The Son did not, as his part of this covenant or agreement, undertake to redeem from punishment, by suffering in their stead, and to work out a perfect righteousness for, and in the stead of, more than the Father undertook, in consideration thereof, to exempt from punishment; and the Holy Ghost, to renew or regenerate. The Holy Ghost, as his part of this covenant or agreement, undertook to renew or regenerate all those (and none other) whom the Son undertook to redeem from punishment; and to work out a perfect righteousness for, and in the stead of; and the Father, in consideration thereof, to exempt from punishment.

Election, then, or preordainment to eternal life, redemption, vicarious law fulfilling, and regeneration, are parts of one grand design, each coextensive with the others, as to the parties interested in, or affected by it, and neither of them independent of the other. If, then, all men are not elected or preordained to eternal life, as the end, through redemption by Christ, as one of the means or prerequisites; neither are all men redeemed by Christ, with a view to eternal life, as the object thereof. And if so, it must be concluded, that those passages in Scripture, which, taken by themselves, and interpreted literally, according to the meanings now usually attached to the words used, seem to convey the notion that Christ's part in the scheme of salvation revealed in the Bible, was intended and performed for the purpose of redeeming all mankind from the punishment due to their sins, are not correctly understood as conveying that notion.*

But perhaps some may say, "We do not believe that Christ's part in the Bible scheme of salvation was planned and performed with the actual purpose of saving all men; but merely that he has thereby given tofall men an opportunity of being saved, or has thereby placed all men in a salvable state."

The answer would be, None are to be saved through and in accord. ance with that scheme, without being born, or rather begotten, again; and this regeneration is not man's own work, but the work of God alone; and therefore none are in a salvable state, as far as relates to salvation through and in accordance with that scheme, but those who are regenerated by God. Moreover, as the Holy Spirit's part of this scheme-viz., regeneration, is co-extensive with, and not independent of, that of the Father, none are in a salvable state, as far as the provisions of that scheme are concerned, but those whom the Father has elected or preordained to salvation, through the ordained prerequisites, redemption and regeneration.

In other words, the scheme of salvation revealed in the Bible was planned and carried out for the salvation of those only who are redeemed by the Son, by what he performed and suffered as their appointed and preaccepted substitute, and regenerated by the Holy

These passages are searchingly examined, and their meaning most ably discussed by Dr. Gill, in his "Cause of God and Truth."

Ghost; and whom the Father preordained to salvation through these appointed means or prerequisites, and undertook to pardon and save in consideration thereof. And of course, as there is no succession of purpose with God, if this scheme was planned and carried out for the sal. vation of those only, none other are actually saved through and in accordance with it. And as all are not preordained to salvation through and in accordance with that scheme (for if so, as God is unchangeable and omnipotent, all would be saved accordingly), those who are so, are, in other words, elected out of the whole mass of mankind to salvation through and in accordance with the same.

Such reasoning as this appears to decide the personality of election. Its unfrustrability is a point questioned by some. It is said that the elect may finally fall away from the state in which they are placed by regeneration, and be lost.

But as there is a perfect unity of design between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as to the Bible scheme of salvation, and the Holy Spirit does not act independently of the Father; he does not, as his part of that scheme, regenerate any whom the Father did not preordain to salvation through that indispensable prerequisite; and as final perseverance in the state in which they are placed by regeneration, is (of course) as entirely indispensable, as being placed in that state; all those whom the Father preordained to salvation, he preordained to final perseverance in that state, as well as to regeneration itself, which placed them in it. And as God is omnipotent and unchangeable, and consequently his purposes cannot fail of their accomplishment, all those whom he has preordained to salvation through regeneration and final perseverance in the state in which regeneration has placed them, shall assuredly be regenerated, shall assuredly finally persevere, and shall assuredly be saved.

The doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, according to any sense or view of it that is worth contending for, may be proved by a simple reference to the essential attributes of deity-omnipotence, and unchangeableness; and may be stated in one incontrovertible proposition, thus:-Those whom an omnipotent, unchangeable Being has actually purposed to save, saved shall be. If God has not formed any actual purpose of salvation, or having formed one, is either not unchangeable with regard to it, or not omnipotent in carrying it out; away with the doctrine at once! it has no foundation. But so far as the doctrine is involved in the above proposition-that is to say, if it be true that God is omnipotent and unchangeable, and has formed any actual purpose of salvation; no one who has sufficient common understanding to comprehend the terms of the proposition, can question the doctrine. There can be no doubt that the devil and his own wicked heart together, will effectually prevent the salvation of any one, whose salvation is not secured by the purpose of an omnipotent and unchangeable God. But at least equally certain is it, that every one shall be saved whose salvation is thus secured.

If it should be said that God has given to all men sufficient sense of sin, light, and knowledge, to lead to salvation, it may be asked whether

salvatiou through and in accordance with the scheme revealed in the Bible is meant; because, if so, regeneration being an indispensable prerequisite thereto, where that is not given, nothing else that is given is sufficient to lead thereto and if salvation otherwise than through and in accordance with that scheme be meant, the remark would be nothing to the purpose, as salvation through and in accordance with that scheme, is alone here spoken of.

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But perhaps it may be asked, "How is this conclusion, as to the limited scope and design of the Bible scheme of salvation, to be reconciled with certain invitations, offers, exhortations, commands, referring to salvation and things connected with salvation through and in accordance with that scheme, which are found in the Bible, which are addressed to all men, and which consequently lead to a different conclusion ?"

In anticipation of such a question, it may be well to examine the nature of invitations, offers, exhortations, commands (properly so called), and to consider what are their essential characteristics.

Invitations and offers (properly so called) imply a power, or, at all events, a supposed power, in the party to whom addressed, or made, to avail himself of them; and where such a power neither exists, nor is supposed to exist, it would be absurd to talk of an invitation or offer (properly so called) having been given or made at all. It would be absurd for a man in London, to talk of having invited a man in Calcutta, to dine with him in London, the day after receiving the (socalled) invitation in Calcutta. It would be absurd for a rich man to talk of having offered to sell a large and valuable estate to a beggar. And for no other reason than that in neither of such cases would the one party have had the power to avail himself of such a (so called) invitation or offer, or could the other party have supposed him to have such a power.

Again, exhortations and commands (properly so called) imply a power, or a supposed power, in the party to whom addressed, to do what he is exhorted or commanded not to do. It would be absurd to exhort a blind man to see, a deaf man to hear, a dead man to walk, a man under a fit of ague not to tremble. It would be absurd for an officer to command a man under him, to march upon his head, or to fly in the air. And for no other reason than that in neither case, would the one party have the power to do what he was exhorted or commanded to do, or to avoid doing what he was exhorted not to do, or could the other party have supposed him to have such power.

Moreover, if the passages be classified according to their respective intended applications, it will be seen that they none of them imply any natural, any self-acting power in man with regard to spiritual thingsany such power, either to procure or possess themselves of any spiritual blessings, especially salvation itself, or to perform any spiritual act. For some of them are addressed to the national Israel only, referring only to temporal things. Obviously these do not imply any power at all as to spiritual things. Some of them are addressed to the spiritual Israel, and refer to spiritual matters. With regard to these,