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tinue under the government of the one, than to receive the yoke of the other. To chuse the one, is to chuse liberty and property, blessing and life, and every thing that is valuable, in a civil sense; to chuse the other, is to chuse slavery and arbitrary power, curfing and death, and every thing that is miferable and destructive. Now it is allowed, that man has a power of willing and nilling, chusing and refusing, acting or not acting, in things of a civil nature: Therefore these words can be of no service, nor ought they to have a place or concern in the controversy about the power and liberty of the will in things spiritual.

NUMB. VI. Deut. xxxii. 29.

O that they were wife, that they understood this; that they would confider their latter end.

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HESE words are made use of to contradict the doctrines of absolute election, particular redemption and unfruftrable grace in converfion; 'tis intimated', that on supposition of these doctrines, they would represent the God of fincerity and truth as full of guile and hypocrify,

Whitby, p. 181, 222, 223.

when

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when he earnestly wishes and defires the welfare of men, and that they had spiritual wisdom; and yet he himself has decreed to leave them without a Saviour, and without means of being spiritually wise; which is - all one as though he had paffionately wished they had been of the number of his elect, when he himself, by an absolute decree from all eternity, had excluded them out of that number. In answer to which, let it be observ'd,

I. That it ought to be proved, that God does paffionately with the spiritual and eternal welfare of all mankind, or defires that every individual of human nature might have spiritual wisdom to know his spiritual eftate, and confider his latter end; fince it is evident that he does not afford to every fon of Adam the means of being spiritually wife; and it is certain, that these words do not express such an universal wish; for they only regard a part of mankind, either the people of Ifrael, or the adversaries of Ifrael, as will be seen hereafter; and therefore being spoken only of fome, and not of every individual of men, cannot militate againft the election and redemption of fome only.

II. It ought to be proved, that God wishes or defires the spiritual welfare of, or spiritual wisdom for any, but those whom

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Spirit of wilinmeyeratiom'>< ledge of themises Chritis given; r. in other words. Su od wuhes und denres the fpiritual welfare of fuch, and putual wisdom for fuch, wow, in the event, are not eternally saved.

III. It ought to be contider'd, whether these words regard the spiritual welfare of any, or contain in them a wish for windom and understanding in spiritual things; or rather, whether they do not only regard things temporal, and the knowledge of them, as will quickly be made to appear.

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men, it only implies, that such wisdom in them would be well pleasing to him. Befides, such a mode of speaking may be used, either by way of complaint of ignorance, or as expreffing pity for it, or as upbraiding with it, and that in order either to bring to a sense of it, and encourage to apply to him for wisdom, who gives it liberally, or to leave inexcufable. But,

V. The words are not deliver'd in the form of a wish, but are an hypothetical propofition. The Hebrew word 15, fignifies if', and the whole verse should be render'd thus; If they were wife, they would understand this; they would confider their latter end: And fuppofing them to be understood in a spiritual fense, the meaning is; had they been wise to do good, as they are to do evil, they would have understood the things that belong to their spiritual peace and welfare, and would have feriously confider'd the last issue and end of all things, and themselves; but they are not wife in things divine and spiritual, and therefore have no understanding of them; nor do they confider the end of their finful actions, nor the end of their days, how short it is, how nigh at hand, not that awful judgment that will follow after death, nor their final doom, or wh.. ther they shall go to heaven or hell. The,

* The three Targums of Onkelos, Jonathan and Jerusalem, render it by אלו, if ; as do alfo R. Sol. Jarchi, R. Aben Ezra, and R. Levi Ben Gerfom, in loc. So Nolaius in Concord. partic. Ebr. Chald. p 503. translates the words, si faperent, intelligerent ista, so the Arabic and Syriac versions. The Septuagint seems to have read לא for לו fince they render them ἐκ ἐφρίνησαν συνιέναι, they were not wife to understand, so the Samaritan verfion.

them;

VI. After all, the words are to be miet stood of things temporal, and not of wher concerns the spiritual and eternal welfare of any. Instances of God's goodnet to me people of Ifrael, are at large recited is ver. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 After that, ther many fns against God, and great ingrarmuus to him, are mention'd in ver. 15, 16, which arew God's relentmer and tion againft chem, expreffe in of many levere judgments, cer

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ume dl this, ver. 27. for Le serw that fly were a nation voit of cand,

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Shure any understanding in thom, ver. 28. for if they had been wye, they could have understood this, that the deftruction of the

people of Ifrael was of God, and

diem; for otherwile", bow jhonn

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