S. S. "God's election is unchangeable. He will certainly bring in, never finally reject that soul he had taken a liking to -Nothing can fall out, not sin itself, causing God to alter his purpose; he foresaw all," &c. p. 113. Sect. 7.

Answer. His election, and purpose thereof, where made sure and confirmed by his spirit in his sanctified ones, who are established in his grace, is unalterable. But 1. There are degrees and growths in a state of election, before establishment; as those to whom Peter wrote his first epistle, were called "elect, according to the fore-knowledge of God, through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience," &c. 1 Pet. i. 2. These although elected, (so far as they were chosen out of the world, through sanctification and belief of the truth,) yet he both wrote to them, to stir up their pure minds, (2 Pet. iii. 1,) and exhorted them, "to give diligence to make their calling and election sure," that they might never fall." 2 Pet. i. 10. But what need of this, if they were personally elected, from an absolute purpose of God, from eternity; needed they, or could they make that more sure, which God had made so absolute? If so, then the exhortation would more properly have run thus, viz. "Brethren, believe that God hath made your personal election sure from eternity." And then what needed he to warn or admonish them concerning the apostacy of those who denied the Lord that bought them, who had forsaken the right way; or of such, who after they had escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, (which surely was saving grace,) yet were again entangled therein, that their latter end was worse with them than the beginning. 2. Pet. ii. Did not, then, their sin, their falling from grace, and so their disobedience, binder their establishment and security in a state of election, or keep them from that diligence, in the spirit, whereby they should have made their calling and election sure?

2. His saying, “that sin itself cannot cause God to alter his purpose," is not only a gross mistake, (as in this case,) but also gives a great liberty to hypocrites, who believe that they are eternally elect persons, to continue in sin and presumption. But in reproof to such, and confutation of the mistake, see what the prophet Jeremiah saith in the 18th chapter, where having first declared the power that God had over them, by the instance of the potter, (ver. 3, 4, 5, 6,) he further shows his purpose, and the manifestation of his power, both in judgment and mercy, and the condition on which his declared thought or intention may be altered; as where he saith: "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to pull down and destroy 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. And at what instant I shall speak

concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then will I repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." Jer. xviii. 7, to 18th verse.

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If any should object, that these conditional alterations of God's purposes did but concern their temporal conditions, not their eternal," &c. it may be answered, that it is a mistake; they concerned both; except men repent they will perish eternally. Their persisting in evil doing and disobedience to the voice of God, incurs eternal condemnation, as well as temporal punishments. So on the contrary, through true repentance, &c. both have been escaped by many, and godliness is great gain, which hath the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. 1 Tim. iv. 8, and vi. 6.

Again my unanswered objection was and still is, "were it not impertinent and vain, to warn men of destruction, eternal death, or perishing, if from eternity they were secured from any such danger? Or on the other hand, in time to set before them life and death, that they might choose life, and refuse death, &e, as Deut. xxx. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. If God had particularly designed them for death and destruction, how should they then choose life? Were not this to mock them with a dissembling proffer of life, if the contrary be so unalterably designed for them?"

S. S., after his fashion, answers: "God that decrees their salvation, decrees by such warnings to work in them his fear and an holy caution, to keep them in his ways, that they may be saved." Sect. 8. p. 114.

Reply. What fear? A fear of that which there is no danger of, or that from a fear of destruction they may serve him, when they are from eternity unalterably secured from destruction; or of salvation, as is supposed? What nonsense and impertinent preaching and warning is this, to dissemble people into a fear and cautiousness of that which they are out of all danger of incurring; especially, if God's purpose in the case be so unchangeable, as to particular persons, that sin itself cannot alter it? Is this way of Presbyterians warning men of destruction, (being compared with their partial opinion,) any better than frightening children with fond conceits and fancies of things that are not? But we are sure that the warnings that both Moses, the prophets, and apostles gave, were real and serious, both as to their tendency and consequence, and not with such partial and contradictory reserves and opinions, as the Presbyterians' eternal election and reprobation of particular persons.' Obj. "Whom he will he hardeneth.' Rom. ix. Peter deserved hardening as well as Judas; that God hardeneth Judas and not Peter, proceeds from the mere pleasure of his will." Sect. 9. p. 114.

Reply. The man is most egregiously mistaken in placing such a severe act of God's will, as hardening any that are rebellious, upon mere will and pleasure, (in our opposer's sense,) as the cause of such a judgment. It cannot be the mere will and pleasure of God to use such severity, as to harden and destroy his creatures; for he delighteth in mercy, (Micah vii. 18,) and hath no pleasure in the death of him that dieth; and he willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather his return. (Ezek. xviii. 23, and xxxiii. 11.) So that when he will harden, or give persons up to the hardness of their hearts, justice, (as being provoked,) is of necessity the reason of his so acting, and not mere will and pleasure. Neither doth he harden men from eternity, but in time, because of their rebellion, resisting, and gain-saying him in the time of his long suffering and warnings to them; which doubtless he fore-saw in Pharaoh, who was in himself a proud, imperious, cruel rebel against God, and tyrant over his people, as appeared in his saying, when he was warned, "Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice, to let Israel go? I know not the Lord; neither will I let Israel go." * Exod. v. 2. Pharaoh's rebellion also appeared when he hardened his own heart," when he saw there was respite. Exod. viii. 15. So God's giving him up to hardness of heart, was not upon mere will and pleasure; for that is all the reason that the severe actions of such tyrants as Pharaoh, yields, namely, will and pleasure. Their will is their law; they will be cruel and oppress, because they will do so. But all the judgments of the Lord are just and righteous, respecting the merit of the fact or cause, more than mere will and pleasure. It was his will to give Pharaoh, Judas, and many others, up to hardness, because it was just so to do, for that their rebellion and provocation was exceeding great and high against him. Whereas rigorous and cruel tyrants use their power in their cruelties and oppressions, and seek to temporize and draw out their subjects into irreligiousness and debaucheries, only upon will and pleasure, which to affix upon God, as the reason of hardening any, is no small degree of blasphemy, as is this man's accusing God with the "mere pleasure of his will," as the cause or reason of hardening Judas, not Peter. And his accusing Peter with "deserving hardening as well as Judas," is his manifest error, making no difference between Judas's offence and Peter's, nor between their states and conditions-between the state of Peter, who through weakness and fear denied Christ, which he presently repented of; and that of Judas, who wilfully betrayed Christ, and delivered him.

*The hardness and cruelty of Pharaoh, greatly appeared against the Hebrews witness the murderous intention of that king who gave command to kill the male children, (Exod. i. 16,) and their great affliction and bondage, (ver. 11, 14,) until the Lord heard their cry, after much forbearance.

into the hands of murderers. Was not here a vast difference between Peter and Judas? and a great reason for the judgment of God upon that traitor Judas, more than mere will and pleasure? What say you professors to it?

S. S. Argu. "As there are particular angels, whom God suffered to fall, though he could as easily have preserved them as he did the rest, so there are particular men and women whom God endures with much long suffering to fit themselves for destruction. Therefore from all eternity did God decree thus to do concerning them in particular; for known to the Lord are all his works from the foundation of the world." Sect. 10. p. 114.

Answer. God's "suffering" men and angels to fall, or to" fit themselves for destruction," differs much from eternally decreeing them particularly for destruction. For if he had so decreed concerning them, merely as particular persons, what needed he endure them with much long suffering? that being both a testimony of his grace or favour towards them, and of his unwillingness to destroy them. For his long suffering and goodness lead some to repentance, and his judgment is according to truth upon them that despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance. Rom. 2. And concerning the fall of those angels that fell, 1. God did neither particularly design it, nor was he the author of it, any more than of mens' transgressions in general. He hath ordained the punishment of the ungodly, not their ungodliness; for in Jude 6. it is said: "The angels which kept not their first estate, (or principality,) but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness,"&c. To that saying, " God could have preserved them," I answer, they provoked him, which was their great sin and loss to themselves; therefore he saw it not meet to continue his love and favour to them which they had so abused. Neither is it his will to detain or restrain any forceably in his way, whether they will or not; nor to preserve any without their diligence in attending upon him, and keeping their habitations. 2. So likewise concerning those that were ordained of old to this condemnation," (Jude 4,) or as it may be read, "who were of old prescribed to this judgment of the ungodly," they were so ordained for condemnation, as ungodly men, not merely as particular persons, but as such who were so far fallen from the grace of God, as to transfer his favours unto luxury, " denying the only Lord God." They were also "trees whose fruit withered, twice dead." &c. Jude 12. Surely they could not be twice dead, if they had never been quickened. But their ingratitude and abuse of the grace of God that had quickened them, caused their condemnation; as, God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, they having left their own habita

tion; and spared not the old world, nor the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, whom he condemned with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that afterwards should live ungodly. 2 Pet. ii. This sufficiently declares the reason and cause of condemnation, both to angels and men, to be their sin, in forsaking the Lord, and living ungodly.

But whereas S. S. renders God's fore-knowledge of all his works, as the reason or proof, that he from eternity decreed particular angels and men for destruction; this not only appears contradictory to the Confession of his masters of the Assembly, viz. "That God hath not decreed any thing because he foresaw it as future," (Confess. chap. 3,) but the proof is as impertinent as the rest of his shallow arguments. For his fore-knowledge being infinite, it is no proof that he hath absolutely decreed or ordained all things that come to pass, because he foresaw all. He hath not ordained that men should live in sin, though he hath designed their punishment who do so live. Yet known unto the Lord are all his works, both those of his creation, which he wrought according to his absolute pleasure, both in heaven, and in earth, and in the sea, &c. (Psa. cxxxv. 6.) (and man was not capable of resisting his Maker in forming of him; he was as the clay in his hand ;) and those of sanctification and saving man from sin and death, which the Lord also foreknew; but this is not effected without a subjection to his will, and a compliance with his spirit and power in his work within. They are not partakers of salvation from sin, who wilfully gainsay the truth, resist the Holy Ghost, and act despite against the spirit of grace.

But further, I find S. S. so uncertain in the management of his partial proposition for a personal election and reprobation, that he is made sometimes to grant and confess to the truth to his own absolute confutation, and to the breaking the neck of his graceless cause; as by his confessing that "God hath no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, considered barely as his creature; for he is willing to receive to mercy every returning sinner, yet if a person perseveres in wickedness, as such God will laugh at his calamity," &c. Sect. 11. p. 115. Thus far S. S. Whence it follows, 1. That God did not from eternity decree the damnation of particular persons, contrary to his declared pleasure. 2. That persevering in wickedness is the cause of men's calamity. 3. And their perverseness and obstinacy in rejecting wisdom's reproof and counsel, the cause that God will laugh at their calamity, and mock when their fear cometh.

Now the doctrine of election and reprobation, as universally and equally laid down in the scriptures of truth, and as accordingly by us asserted, (for that there can be no repugnancy