you, As the Lord requireth a right facrifice in the path of (revealed) duty, thofe, who like Cain, bring a wrong offering, the fruit of the ground, instead of the firtling of the flock like Abel, must expect, like Cain, to be rejected, (Gen. 4. 7.) for God faith, behold I have fet life and death before choose you this day, whom you will ferve, &c. Joh. 24. 15. one thing is needful, and Mary hath chofen the good part. We don't read, God chofe it for her, even as we read in John 3. 19. that this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, &c. Oh! reader, prepare to meet thy God! Obj. Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the fame lump, to make one veffel to honour, and another to dishonour. Ans. A potter never makes any veffel on purpose to deftroy it, for the moft difhonourable one in family fickness is as ufeful as the honorable tea-cup in time of health. Neither doth God make any on purpose for deftruction, but all mankind are useful, if they get the spirit of their flation and fill up that sphere which they are qualified for. For without fervants there can be no mafters; without fubjects, no rulers; without commonality, no quality; and any one may observe that David was elected or fet apart to be king; Jeremiah and Samuel Prophets, &c. and any difcerning eye may easily discover, that Paul's election, Rom. 9. was not an election to future happinefs, but of temporal advantages. And yet those not so pofitive, but what the privileges might be forfeited and loft by fin, as you may find Chron. 28. 9, 10. if thou ferve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind, he will be found of thee; but if thou forfake him, he will caft thee off forever: Deut. 30. 15, 19. Mofes' dying declaration was, that the children of Ifrael muft obey, and if they would, all needful bleffings they should have, but if rebellious, should be curfed and fcattered, &c. This is the truth, and you cannot deny it. And obferve Paul, when talking about the clay and potter, alludes to Jer. 18. where the prophet was commanded to fee the potter work, &c. And then God fays, v. 6. cannot I do with you as this potter, O house of Ifrael, &c. Again, v. 7. at what inftant I fhall fpeak concerning a nation or kingdom, to pluck up, pull down, or deftroy it. If that nation against whom I have pronounced "turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil I thought to do unto them." "At what inftant I fhall (peak concerning a nation or kingdom, to build or plant it, if it do evil in my fight, that it obey not my voice, then will I repent of the good wherewith I faid I would benefit them." Now observe, if God be unchangeable, as Paul faith, God cannot lie, then he is bound by his immutability or the law of his nature, to perform his promifes to the obedient, and his threatnings against the difobedient. Objection.Bible language is, I will and you fhall, and the promifes are yea and amen, without any if's or and's. Anfwer. To take the promifes with out the condition, is a practice of Satan, Luke 4. 10, 12, which he made ufe of to our Lord to get him to fall down from the battlement of the temple, and thereby tempt God, and prefume on Ged, because of the promile which the Devil intended he fhould think to be unconditional; and fo bear him up in the way of disobedience.-Whereas, our Saviour, knowing the path of duty to be the way of fafety, replied, tis written thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. For in the way of obedience there is a promise of preservation, and in the way of difobedience a threatning of deftruction Therefore, to cut those two little letters IF out of the bible, which makes fuch a great fignificant word, is wrong, feeing it is fo frequent in fcripture; and frequently there are conditions implied in the Bible, though not expreffed; for inftance, David, when at Keilah, (1 Sam. 23. &c.) enquired of the Lord whether Saul would come down, and the men of the city deliver him up, and the Lord anfwered in the affirmative. Here is no condition expreffed, yet there is one implied, for David left the city and fled to the wildernefs, fo Saul came not down, neither did the people deliver him up. Again, God faid to the Ninevites, by Jonah, yet forty days and Ninevah fhall be overthrown. Now if you fay all threatnings are without conditions, you give 群 God the lie, for the city was fpared in confequence of their believing God, and turning from their evil way. Jonah 3. 15, 10. This is the truth and you cannot deny it. Again, Ezek. 33, &c. There is a condition implied and explained undeniably, though not fo fully expreffed at the firft, concerning the righteous and wicked man, which you may read at your leifure: Objection, Says one, God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, &c.-Anfwer :GOD will have mercy on whom he will, Come think you whom they be; 'Tis every one that loves his fon, And from their fins do flee. 'Tis every one that doth repent, And truly hates his fin ; 'Tis every one that is content, To turn to God again. And whom he will he hardeneth, : 'Tis every one that in fin perfift, |