touching of him,) before this virtue can come from him: for the promises being all made to Christ, Gal. 3: 16. cannot descend to us, but as being in him; it is that makes us heirs of promise: the Holy Ghost, in whom all promises are virtually contained, "is shed upon us through Jesus Christ," Tit. 3: 10.

Arg. V. Lastly, By this choosing in Christ, salvation itself is invincibly secured; and could not otherwise be. The first Adam had but a conditional life; it depended on his own personal obedience, and therefore subject to losing: and had he kept it, he could have derived to us but the same that himself had; which still must have been a mutable state (for this Adam, while public person, and as such could not be said to be in Christ; if he had, he should not have fallen:) but the second Adam hath life in himself: "For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself," John 5: 26. and that absolutely: he is the "prince of life," Acts 3: 15. and implantation into him inspires his branches with his own life. And the law of that spirit of life in him, makes free from the law of sin and death," Rom. 8: 2. "He that thus hath the Son, hath life," 1 John 5: 12. " and shall have it more abundantly," John 10: 10. "Because he lives, they shall live also," chap. 14: 19. It is a bottom that cannot miscarry; as they are sanctified in Christ Jesus, so in him they are preserved, Jude 1. To this end," it pleased the Father, that in him all fulness should dwell," Col. 1: 19. and to put those he would save into him as their head; that being incessantly influenced from an immortal root, they might effectually be kept from withering and falling off; and grow up to that state and glory they were designed for by election. This is the grand record, and ground of our safety," that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son," 1 John 5: 11.

Having gone these steps towards the compass and extent of election, it concerns us to know where this broad river hath its head; what rock it is that this immense fabric is built upon; lest we give the honor of it to another; or endanger ourselves by settling on a wrong foundation: to shew which is the scope of the last particular under this general head: namely,

VI. That election is founded upon grace; or, the good pleasure of God's will is the only original cause and motive of election.

very

Election is 66 a promotion that cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, or south," but from God; who, as he puts down one, and sets up another: so some he chooseth, and others he passeth by, as seemeth him good; and none can say to him, What doest thou? or, Why hast thou made me thus? for election, as it always supposeth a greater number out of which the choice is made, so an arbitrary power in him that chooseth, to choose whom he will, without giving account to any for what he doeth. But the ground or motive of divine election is different from the manner of men; for they commonly pitch upon things for some natural aptness of them for their works they will not take a knotty, cross-grained, or wind-shaken piece of timber, to make a pillar of state: but the Lord pitches upon such (and such to choose,) the poor, base, weak, foolish things of the world; the worst of men, and chief of sinners: the instances of Paul, Manassah, Mary Magdalen, and others, make it evident: and of these he is pleased to make lively images of his son, and pillars for the house of God (columns of state indeed!) whereon to write his own name; to manifest thereby his sovereignty, holiness, wisdom, power, righteousness, and free grace to eternity.

The Lord's way and method in bringing his sons to glory, is the best demonstration of the right order of causes; for though there be a concurrence of many things, as causes and effects, one of another, yet, if observed in their order, they will still lead us up to the good pleasure of God, as first and supreme, and perfectly independent. And this I term the only original cause of election, to shut out all works and worthiness of men from being any way causal, influential, or motive thereto; and so from sharing in the glory of God's grace, which he is very jealous of, and will not impart to any. The New Testament current runs evidently this way, making the whole of salvation, both means and end, to depend expressly on the divine will. "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom," Luke

12: 32. “Thou hast hid these things from the wise, and revealed them to babes; for so it seemed good in thy sight," chap. 10: 21. "A remnant according to the election of grace," Rom. 11: 5. "Predestinate to the adoption of children, according to the good pleasure of his will," Eph. 1: 5. "Redemption also, and forgiveness of sins, accord-. ing to the riches of his grace," Eph. 1: 7. (the same grace that elected:) the making known the mystery of his will: this also is according to that [his good pleasure] "which he hath purposed in himself," ver. 9. Yea, all the operations of God, whether for us, upon us, or by us, they all have their rise from the same spring, and are carried by the same rule: "He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will," ver. 11. And for the Old Testament, you have it sufficiently exemplified there in the instances before given, and especially touching the ground of God's love to the people of Israel (who, in that respect, were the archetype of the spiritual election;) namely, that "his own good pleasure" was the only cause of his choosing them above other nations: "He loved them, because he loved them," Deut. 7: 8. and 9: 4. and 10: 15. And, which is yet more, the election of Christ himself was of grace: "It pleased the father, that in him (the man Jesus) should all fulnes dwell," Col. 1: 19.

And good reasons there are, why election should be founded on grace; and why it could not, with respect either to God's glory, or the elect's security, be founded otherwise. And

Arg. I. Is from the sovereignty of God; whose will being the supreme law, admits not a co-ordinacy, much less will it stand with sovereign power to be regulated by the will of another. That would be a contradiction to sovereignty; for that which regulates, must be superior to that which is regulated by it. Sovereign princes, to shew their prerogative, affirm their acts of grace to be of their own mere motion: and their grants are reputed the more authentic, being so expressed. The like we find in scrip ture frequently ascribed to God; that " he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy," Rom. 9: 18. that "he worketh all things," (not by motives from without, but)" after the counsel of his own will," Eph. 1: 11. that "it is not of man's willing or running; but of God, who sheweth

mercy," Rom. 9: 16. and, indeed, his own mere motion was both a nobler and firmer consideration than any desert on the creature's part. When the world had been drowned for their obdurate impenitency, the few that remained were as bad as before; and those that should come after, the law foresaw would be the same. One would think, now, the natural result of this experiment should be, "I will utterly cut them off, and be troubled with them no more;" but the Lord's thoughts are not as our thoughts; he argues and concludes in another mode: "I will not again any more curse the ground for man's sake." And he is pleased to give the same reason here why he will not, as before why he would; as is seen by comparing Gen. 6: 5. and 7. with chap. 8: 21. See also the instance of God's dealing with Ephraim; he was wroth with him, and smote him; and Ephraim, so far from relenting, that "he went on frowardly," (that is, stubbornly, as resolved in his course;) “I hid me (says the Lord,) and was wroth," Isa. 57: 16. this, one would think, if Ephraim had had in him but a spark of ingenuity, or love to himself, should have moved him to alter his course: but what cares Ephraim? he still kept the same way; and it was the way of his heart: not an inconsiderate pet, or sudden temptation, but natural and fixed: all which the Lord sees and considers; and having laid all together, resolves to heal him, and "restore comforts to him," Isa. 57: 18. On the other hand, those good souls" who feared the Lord, and obeyed the voice of his servants, they yet walked in darkness, and had no light," Isa. 50: 10. Ye may be sure, they would gladly have understood their condition, namely, that they were such as "feared the Lord;" their will could not be wanting to a thing so greatly importing their comfort; nor were they idle in seeking for it; they walked, though in the dark, but could not walk themselves out of it; they are still as they were; they had no light. By these different examples it is evident that the sovereignty of God still keeps the throne, and his dispensations of mercy, whether in purpose or in act, are not governed by the wills of men: they are things too low to be counsellors to God. And if it be thus in things of a lower concernment, much more in that great business of eternal election, which is the sublimest act of sovereign power: for non-election is not a punish

ment, but the withholding of a free favor, which God, as a sovereign lord, may justly deny to one sinner, while he gives it to another. And yet this hinders not, but that every man, at last, shall be judged according to his works.

Arg. II. Election must be founded only upon grace, because grace and works are inconsistent in the cause of salvation. The scripture is very cautious of admitting any thing as a concomitant with grace in this matter; yea, although it be a thing that doth always accompany grace, and that without which a man cannot be saved. The apostle puts them in opposition, and is very intent upon the argument, as a thing of great moment, in Romans 11: where, first, he shews, that amidst the general defection of the Jewish nation, there still was a remnant whom God had reserved: these he terms "the foreknown," ver. 2. and in the 7th verse he calls them plainly, "the election;" and then, lest any should ascribe it to a false cause, as in that parallel case he resembles it to, namely, that "they had not bowed the knee to Baal," but stuck to the true religion, when others fell off; he tells us, No; their election was founded upon grace: and as for works, they had no place in the causing of it. By grace, he means the free favor of God, who is not moved by any thing without himself; but what he does he does freely, without respect to men's desert: nay, their undesert rather, is an expedient consideration in this act of grace. By works, I understand all that self-righteousness, goodness, conformity to the law, or whatever else is performable by men. These (namely, grace and works) he proves as inconsistent as contraries can be; and that the least mixture would vary the kind: if but a scruple of works be taken in, grace is no more grace; for," to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt," Rom. 4: 4. Grace and faith are well agreed; these both have the same scope and end: but grace and works have always clashed: the setting up of the one, is the deposing of the other: either the ark must be out, or dagon down; one temple cannot hold them both. To the same effect is the drift of that discourse in Gal. 5. It appears from Acts 15: 1. that some there were who taught a necessity of circumcision; as without which they could not be saved: seemingly willing they were to admit of Christ, so they might join circumcision with him, and keep

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