then alive? He shall not live; he shall surely die-Yet say ye, why, doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father?' (Temporally he doth, as in the case of Achan, Korah, and a thousand others: but not eternally.) When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth it shall die, (shall die the second death.) The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The

righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O Israel. Is not my way equal? (equitable, just.) Are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them, for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions. So iniquity shall not be your ruin.'

Through this whole passage God is pleased to appeal to man himself, touching the justice of his proceedings. And well might he appeal to our own conscience, according to the account of them which is here given. But it is an account which all the art of man will never reconcile with unconditional reprobation.

XXIII. Do you think it will cut the knot te

But God
Are you

say, "Why, if God might justly have passed by all men, (speak out, if God might justly have reprobated all men, for it comes to the same point) then he may justly pass by some. might justly have passed by all men.' sure he might? Where is it written? I cannot find it in the word of God. Therefore I reject it as a bold, precarious assertion, utterly unsupported by holy scripture.

*If you say, "But you know in your own conscience, God might justly have passed by you :" I deny it. That God might justly, for my unfaithfulness to his grace, have given me up long ago, I grant: But this concession supposes me to have had that grace, which you say a reprobate never had.

*But besides, in making this supposition, of what God might have justly done, you suppose his justice might have been separated from his other attributes, from his mercy in particular.-But this never was, nor ever will be: nor indeed is it possible it should. All his attributes are inseparably joined they cannot be divided, not for a moment. Therefore this whole argument stands not only on an unscriptural, but on an absurd, impossible supposition.

XXIV. Do you say, "C Nay, but it is just for God to pass by whom he will, because of his sovereignty: for he saith himself, May not I do what I will with my own?' And,' hath not the potter power over his own clay ?"" I answer, the former of these sentences stands in the conclusion of that parable, (Matt. xx.) wherein our Lord reproves the Jews for murmuring at God's

giving the same reward to the Gentiles as to them. To one of these murmurers it is that God says,Friend, I do thee no wrong. Take

that thine is, and go thy way. I will give unto this last even as unto thee.' Then follows, 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?'-— As if he had said, May I not give my own kingdom to whom I please? Art thou angry because I am merciful? It is then undeniably clear, that God does not here assert a right of reprobating every man. Here is nothing spoken of reprobation, bad or good. Here is no kind of reference thereto. This text therefore has nothing to do with the conclusion it was brought to prove.

XXV. But you add, 'hath not the potter power over his own clay? Let us consider the context of these words also. They are found in the ninth chapter of the epistle to the Romans; an epistle, the general scope and intent of which is, to publish the eternal, unchangeable Teolos, purpose or decree of God, He that believeth, shall be saved: he that believeth not, shall be damned.' The justice of God in coademning those that believe not, and the necessity of believing in order to salvation, the apostle proves at large in the three first chapters, which he confirms in the fourth by the example of Abraham. In the former part of the fifth and in the sixth chapter, he describes the happiness and holiness of true believers. (The latter part of the fifth is a digression, concerning the extent of the benefits flowing from the death of Christ.)

In the seventh he shews, in what sense believers in Christ are delivered from the law; and describes the miserable bondage of those who are still under the law; that is, who are truly convinced of sin, but not able to conquer it. In the eighth he again describes the happy liberty of those who truly believe in Christ: and encourages them to suffer for the faith, as by other considerations, so by this in particular, we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, (ver. 28.) to them that are called (by the preaching of his word) according to his purpose,' or decree, unalterably fixed from eternity,' he that believeth shall be saved.'-'For whom he did foreknow' as believing, 'be also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called,' by his word, (so that term is usually taken in St. Paul's epistles) 'And whom he called, them he also justified, (the word is here taken in its widest sense, as including sanctification also) and whom he justified, them he glorified.' Thence to the end of the chapter, he strongly encourages all those who had the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, to have a good hope, that no sufferings should ever be able to separate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.'

XXVI. But as the apostle was aware, how deeply the Jews were offended at the whole tenor of his doctrine, and more especially at his asserting, 1. That the Jews themselves could not be saved without believing in Jesus, and 2. That the heathens by believing in him might

partake of the same salvation: he spends the whole ninth chapter upon them: wherein, 1. He declares the tender love he had for them, ver. 1-3. 2. Allows the great national privileges they enjoyed above any people under heaven, verse 4, 5. 3. Answers their grand objection to his doctrine, taken from the justice of God, to their fathers, ver. 6--13. 4. Removes another objection, taken from the justice of God, inter-weaving all along strong reproofs to the Jews, for priding themselves on those privileges, which were owing merely to the good pleasure of God, not to their fathers' goodness, any more than their own, ver. 14-23. 5. Resumes and proves by scripture his former assertion, that many Jews would be lost, and many heathens saved, ver. 24-29. And lastly, sums up the general drift of this chapter, and indeed of the whole epistle. 'What shall we say then?What is the conclusion from the whole? sum of all which has been spoken? Why, that many Gentiles already partake of the great salvation, and many Jews fall short of it. Wherefore? Because they would not receive it by And whosoever believeth not, cannot be saved: whereas whosoever believeth' in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, shall not be ashamed.'-ver. 30--33.

faith.

The

XXVII. Those words, hath not the potter power over his own clay? Are part of St. Paul's answer to that objection, that it was unjust for God to shew that mercy to the Gentiles, which he withheld from his own people. This he first simply denies, saying, God forbid! And then