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METAPHYSICAL INQDIRY Deducing many ^Self-evident Truths from the very nature of things of what God's nature and will require. §g \\t get |, |. #s«nk|ir|k, NATIVE PREACHER, ltti00tonaxa of ^mmtan Boatb OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. ST. FRANCIS, CANADA EAST. November, 1857. I MONTREAL : PRINTED BY J. C. BECKET, 38, GREAT ST. JAMES STREET^ L Entered according to Act of the Provincial Legislature, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and tifty-seven, by the Rev. P. P. OsuNKiiiRHiNB, in the Oftice of the Registrar of the Province of Canada. METAPHYSICAL INQUIRY, &c., &c. *• Behold the man is become as one of ub, to know good and evil." Ail knowledge is of God's requiring nature, to know what not and what to be done, whose nature is no other than self-existence, the knowledge therefore of his knowing the good and evil, cannot be a result of his choosing will, to have chosen either to know or not, one or the other, there could have been no option to choose, whether to know or not the things which he could not but know from all eternity, because they are just as eternal and self-existent as himself, and of course they could never have been of any causing will, otherwise self-existence would not be self-existence. The ways or tendencies of each, differing from one another, of the good and evil known from all eternity, or which have always existed in the knowledge of Grod without being any way chosen so to exist in his knowledge, are the very grounds for the eternal existence of all views, some optional and others without option that his will may act in certain cases with or by choice, and in other cases without choice. Such views exist not by choice, being purely of self-existent directing how, because they are nothing more nor less than what God sees and feels in his own self- existent requiring nature, which is the very self- directing how, directing his will what to love with all his heart and what to dislike also with all his heart. Loving with all the heart to do anything any way is to do it with greatest possible amount of pleasure, and, therefore, it is the whole ground of all counsel that can possibly exist, and, therefore, it fol. lows that God's working all things after the counsel of His own will is no other than working according to or after the good plea- sure of His will in sight of that pleasure to which His will is direct- ed by His nature, because all good and all possible good pleasure are contained and shown in His requiring nature to the exclusion of the will's choosing what must be the requisite pleasure in exist, ence, which always seems good in His sight without any other cause or reason why it seems so to Him , but simply because it is good, and so all question that may take place is at an end ; because what is agreeable to the nature of God cannot be questioned. God's desire supernaturally inclines to reach farther than what His nature requires, while all His power lies and consists in no other but in the requirements of His nature and of His will of desire, because to lie in any other imaginable consistence, it would not be within himself. These two forces of tendencies and requirements united together amount to almighty and unlimited or infinite power, by which God cannot fail to cause and effect all things He desires to effect, in every instance where the requirement of His nature is a party with His will of desire. But where the same will of desire supernaturally extends beyond or above what God's nature requires, the desire is but single-handed tendency, and it is very different from the united requirements of powers ; and although it displays all sincere good desire, good pleasure and good will to all sinners as any way, yet. it being alone, the requirement of God's nature not being a party with such desire, it has no power to effect what is desired, because God's nature does not require to save any without being changed, nor to change any by any forcible or compelling means ; so while part of the human race shall be saved, others will not, although God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. This is simply his supernatural good will to all ; but as none can be saved by any other power but by the Al- mighty Power, the will of desire alone, where it is not seconded and not supported by the requirement of God's nature, does not and cannot amount to Almighty Power to save any. God knowing the good and evil from all eternity with all their ways or tendencies is his knowledge of morality by which his will is capable to exercise moral freedom to like all the good with all his heart, which invariably leads his will to do nothing else but what is perfectly fit and good to be done, and to dislike the evil also with all his heart. And as all this knowledge is of the self existent characteristic things, or of God's self existent image after which he made moral beings in making man after his own image, it is plain that self ex- istent how is the all exclusive antecedent comprising ground, com- prising all possible knowledge, showing and directing the will every possible way how to operate iu all what is liked or loved, and iW" also what is disliked, anrl oi course it comprises all possible motives, plans and counsels. The eternal will is so indissolubly connected with the self ex- istent how and agrees with it so perfectly, it has no tendency to seek to find any other how to design or to purpose otherwise. Its only possible tendency is to act out what self existence shows to be done, acting out every mark of self existent stamp, as a man acts in walking and stepping after another, and stepping on no other places but in the very tracks or marks left by the feet of another. The will then is nothing more than acting agent for self existence with which it is connected and it could not have been to be with- out such connection, because without it, there would have been no knowledge, and of course no will would have existed. The whole amount of moral freedom comprised in self existence is to act in two different ways, and each way is done equally as the will likes or loves with all the heart to do. In the first way, according to the very nanire of efficient moral cause, there was no other possible tendency but to create moral beings without any option or offering tendency to have liberty to choose not to create them. So there was no choice of preference to make man rather than not, because there was no optional debating tendency whether it was best or not to forbear of creating him. It is impossible for moral cause to have any tendency by which it may incline itself to alter its moral quality for to prevent itself from being moral cause so as not to be efficient, because that would be preventing itself trom causing moral effects to come to pass, or incapable to have power to cause moral beings, because if that was the case, if could never have shown out itself as an efficient moral cause. God would not have been known by any moral being, because there would have been none in existence. It this was the case God could never have been able to show out what he is, what power and glory he has, if he did prevent his moral cause to operate. To say then, he might as well have not made man if he choosed not to make him, is not true and cannot be true, because that would be preventing all possible moral purposes of God, and nothing wonid have been done at all, which would have been in fact, forcing tie causing will not to do what the self existence shows to be liked or loved with ail the heart to be done. Not to create moral beings amounts no more than to forbear to do what the nature of God requires, which would be 6 ,#,■■ II making the tendency of the will of God to differ and disagree with the tendency of his nature, while there can be no option whether to love or not his own nature. There was also no option how to create moral being, because there was only one way how to make him, or no other possible way to rnako moral being but to make himafter the image of God. If the -ill should have attempted to make moral man any other way, it would not have been working after the image or likeness of the pattern, and of course man would not have been moral being. There was no tendency of any choice to have any preference in copying the image to have the same or similar moral freedom as the original, because the image leaves but one way how to act, as any full mark of any stamp, which cannot be preferringly choosen to be one way rather than otherwise, either to be wider or narrower mark than the size of the stamp itself. In making man after the image of God there was no comparing and no preferring whether he shall be free or not ireey because he could not have been otherwise but free in copying him after the freedom of God, the creating will could not have been biased one way rather than any other way. It is like making the letter A by printing, which is made by the impression of the type or stamp of A, no will can say I prefer and choose that the type of A will print either A or B by the type of A. It is just so in making moral being, God's freedom is the type to print the freedom of man in making him after the image of God. It could not have been of any preferring choice of God to say, I prefer and choose to print the freedom of man by the type of my freedom, but at the same time lean prefer and choose that he shall or not be free. Hence moral creation is not a preferring act, no preferring choice can exist in the work, for how can man be not free when he is printed by the type of eternal freedom ? The unchangeable moral type could never have printed any other character but its own moral likeness. And as there was no optional view of things whether to make man or not to make him at all, and also no option how to make him, there was no de- termining choice to do one way rather than otherwise, it follows of course that there was no predetermining decree to create, and how to create the moral being. All this truth is self-evident, and the evidence is confirmed by another self-evident truth, that if the first choice of man to love God with all his heart was decreed, it would have been for ever impossible for him to have changed himself from good to evil, he would have remained holy and no change of I; I heart would have been necessary. The very fact then of hit having changed his first love proves plainly that his first choice was not decreed, nor his second, and indeed no second different choice could have taken place If the first was decreed, and this second choice of man by which he fell not being decreed, all He results or consequences are all equally not decreed. The choice is the very original cause and rise of all actual moral evil. Not being decreed there can be no preventing decree to stop its course without preventing and stopping all moral freedom, and therefore tb-. only possible course for decrees is to establish means and influences to contract th3 evil that was never decreed, to effect a change in fallen man. No such thing preventing and stopping the course of freedom of man, because there is no Puch thing decreeing nor permitting what man shall love with all his heart, because if his supreme love depends on decree or on permission it cannot be free. No one can be free unless he has an Independent tendency towards what he loves with all his heart. His love must take place without the hand of any decree, and without permission, even as God's freedom, from which man's freedom is taken, was never decreed and never had any need to be permitted. The second way of acting is furnished with optional view of things, It has not only one way how it can act, but has a chance and liberty to do one thing rather than otherwise as it likes with all the heart to do in opposition or counteraction against the opposite endency to end or limit the contrary tendency. Limiting the opposite tendency that may go on in its own way to greater extent if no stop be applied is the choice of determining or predetermining or de- creemg and so on for all pre.establishments. Such choice that limits by preventing or hindering, not the choice ot men, but the fruits of it, or actions in certain cases and to certain extent, is the decretive power, and it decrees every thing in all its acts, as u does in establishing all the means and influences to change and renew the hearts of sinners, establishing according to, or after the unchangeable self existence, the all comprising and sovereign director of all providential previsions for salvation of man, guiding all moral acts both that are not optional and the optional view of things for the exercise of moral freedom. The necessary existence of changing DOWer nrnvps nlninlw tWof tk^ Aai~~~^ir-i- - 1^- e ^ 3 - c . - ^- J J ,„„^ i„h; ueueiiiiiniug uccrees of ijod 8 were not exercised in the first or original creation of moral beings, they were wholly to be exercised in the work of new creation to change the self ruined einnerH to save them. And as the un- changeable choice has no other object but what is perfectly fit and good to be done, no decree is to takj place where contradiction is implied or involved, because it can never be an object of the almighty power that has no tendency to work contradictions. For instance, it would be a contradiction to prevent or hinder every choice of fallen man, because that would be preventing all possible chance to effect a change in sinners. Man may be prevented or hindered from M'hat his love leads him to choose to do, but that is only hindering certain con- sequences or results come to pass from his choice while that very choice of his love is not hindered, because if it was hindered he could have had no choice at all, no tendency one way or other, and of course he could never have been free to have any act himsell, which proves plainly that there is no such thing decreeing nor permitting what to love or what not. Sinners have always chosen every way in all possible and all imaginable ways against Jesus according to the independent tendency of their love, or in other words, as they like with all their heart, without God's determining or decreeing such love, and without permitting them so to choose. Nothing can be deter- mined except to prevent or hinder certain consequences or results to come to pass from the independent choice of men that have tendency to defeat the plan of salvation. God has always prevented them and determined always to prevent every thing intended by men to be done, until they crioose certain doings or results by which they will certainly defeat their own object and thereby promote the cause of Christ contrary to their independent intention and choice. Such results were not to be prevented ; but not preventing is not decreeing nor permitting man's intentional choice, for it takes place and operates as well and just as independently as when all other intended results of its own are prevented. Not preventing certain results from coming to pass is determining to be done what resulted from the independent choice of man, or which is the same thing determining to be done according to that choice which was never predetermined nor decreed by God to be such independent choice, or independent free love, and what it shall choose, for it must have its own independent free tendency, just as free as the eternal freedom of 9 God from wliicl. it is tuken or copied iii making man alter the image ol God. In Hhort, an God*8 free love never was predetermined nor decreed what he shall love, ho the man's free love is independent of every der.ree, ho is free determiner himself what to love with all hin heart, and of courwe his free love cannot depend on any predetermininp decree. Therefore detnrmining not to prevent certain results arising from the choice of sinners is determining after theii* own intention as they in- tended to persecute Jesus unto death for the very express purpose of their own to effect an unbelief among men, to prevent all mtti from believing him. But instead of eiTectinj; what they intended and expected to accomplish, they effected greater belief in so(l.)in<> as they did, defeating their own object by their own determining. Thus when Centurion saw what was done to Jesus in his crucifixion, he said : « Truly this was the son of God." The thief on the cross was changed to believe when he saw the whole act of men in putting to death the Lord Jesus, and said, " Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom." Many were so touched and influenced by the death of Jesus, were really pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, " Men and brethern, what shall we do ?" Sinners in the case effected the death they intended, but they also effected an influence arising from such death, which they did not intend to eflfect, and it is that very influence by which their purpose was defeated by their own doing, bringing upon themselves a shame. " All they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded." " Persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not pre- vail ; they shall be greatly ashamed ; for they shall not prosper : their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten." Determining then after their own intention for commencing; part of the work is all sufficient determination for all purposes to effect human salvation, and no other can exist because it was never pre- determined nor decreed what man shall love with all his heart. His supreme love is the only possible previous ground for all supposeable and possible determinations to work upon. It was never determined to prefix what he shall determine to love, while it was alway deter- mined that his certain results shall not be prevented but determined to let him do as he pleases, because he has so determined himself, in which he will certainly defeat his own object and promote that of God bw so doin"'- contrar''' to his own intentioni The contrary effect M Is 4i i! 10 is the thing he did not determine, for it was not in his intention, and not in his choice. But God saw that such an effect will certainly- come to pass if sinners be let alone to act out their own ways, and therefore he hath so determined to let them do as they please, and they »>ffected his purposes instead of their own without his determining what they shall love and choose. This explain 1 the passage that says, " Againat thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anionted, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ; for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." Because it was always determined not to prevent or hinrjer sinners to choose as they like or love to do, who were created in Adam not by any preferring choice to be created, and how to be created and also no choice decreed what they shall love and choose with all tlieir heart, but created with all inseparable and concomitant moral qualities without the work of any choice they should be such moral beings, and so they were created without choosing and de- creeing what love is in them. Hence it is easy to understand the meaning of the word of God in saying, "I form the light, and create darkness : I make peace, and create evil : I the Lord do all these things." The evil was created in imparling to beings the inseparable know- ledge of moral evil from what is morally good, when the imparting work was purely of self-existent directing how, directing without giving any capability to choose with preference, because such im- parting work is beyond the reach of all choice to determine whether to impart or not, or whether to separate the knowledge or not, in working according to, or after self-existent image for moral likeness, the sovereign character of which is the supreme directing rule, existing incomparably and above all optional views j and it wholly supersedes all prefering views and all choice in imparting moral freedom to the created beings, who, therefore did not take place after any course of choice, but after the image of God ; when that image stood for pattern or model, the sovereign directing rule to guide the creating act to the only possible way how to make moral beings in- dependently of any work of choice to determine what the effect shall be, when the work could not have been done any other way, but after the guiding pattern or model by which the creating act had to go by ; because if the created moral beings were made by choice any other way, or after something else, it would not have been working 11 after the model, and the choice would have only spoiled the moral creation if the will did not follow to work after the supreme directing rule that supersedes all choice. This superseding rule shows that there is no possible way to separate the moral freedom of man from the knowledge of good and evil, becauce no moral being can exist without such knowledge, and theretore no will or choice could possibly create moral beings any otlier way than as the rule directs. The evil then was created in creating moral beings, without the hand of deter- mining decretivepower of any choice, when all choice was superseded by the supreme directing rule that gave chance to create, but no chance not to create because there is no chance to dislike what the rule shows tc be done. When nothing but what is loved is present, there is no op- tional view of anything or things, no offering choice of two things in view, because there is nothing else in sight but the rule when compar- able object does not exist, and of course there can be no liberty and no possible chance to exercise any choice to choose one way or other, when the rule leaves no possible way, either how to choose, or how not to choose. Neither one preference or other can take place, be- cause it is wholly excluded when there can be no option, no thing can offer itself as an option in view of the will when there is no op- posite view to be disliked. The will, in such case, must of course act without option and without choice, because to create moral beings God acted from his nature without consulting whether to choose or not to choose, in order to act out what his nature essentially and un- changeably required from all eternity. Hence the very excluding all choice by the rules superseding, plainly proves beyond all doubt that the moral creating act is not in any way a choosing act, and of course it cannot be decretive power. Making man after the image of God, is making him after God himself, after his moral knowledge and moral freedom, which were] never choosen, and of course the effect of such assimilating work is produced without any work of choice, because it is beyond the reach of all choice to have or not to have some other kind of moral freedom in existence. So then God's self-existent requiring nature is the supreme directin<r sovereign rule in the moral creating act without any decretive power. But in all other cases where the choice is not superseded, it has optional view of things, when there is offering a choice of two things, there is liberty as well as chance to choose one way and not the other, it of course acts as it likes or loves with all the heart to choose, acting as it loves one thing and not 12 the other, ft appoints and establishes the means and influence by the power of choice, and such power is the only possible decretive power, because there is no other way to decree but by choice, which cannot take place where the independent moral image of God supersedes or percludes all possible work of choice in the act of rendering the created beings to be moral by imparting to them transcriptively the same or similar moral image to the one after which they were made. The imparting work admits no act of choice to determine what the freedom of man shall be, or what he shall choose todo, because he is stamped transcriptively by the indepeodent moral type, which rendered him to have the same or similar mora freedom, and it is the only one he can possibly have, because no will knows any other, but that which is imparted to moral beings by which man chooses morally with all his heart independently of any other choice, or in other words, his choice cannot depend on any predeter- mining or fore-ordaining decree. The omniscient God knew from all eternity that his moral impart- ing image will be the supremo directing rule to guide the moral creating act in such a way that it will supersede all choice in moral creation, and that independent thoughts and ways will rise from the transcribed independent freedom and choice of men that will differ entirely from his own thoughts and ways of his choice ; and he shows that what men have chosen in their own thoughts is not a chosen way of his thoughts in saying, *' My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." It is to show that he does not call, and does not own any way to be of his will, unless it be of his choice. But any other way where he has any thing to do without exercising any choice, as it was the case in his moral creating act, is not his optional way, because it is a way above all choice, purely of self-existent necessity that directed the will to copy the moral nature of God to have relative nature of things in existence, which could not be produced any how but one way, that is, without any act of choice of preference ; and if the creating act did nothing to produce them, there could have b<»en no moral act in existence, God himself would never have acted with a capacity of moral being. Whatever arises from the imparted relative moral nature, in imparting it to the created beings without the creators directinfj choice, it is certainly not of his chosen way, it wholy be- longs to the created moral beings arising from their independent love to do as they like or love with all their heart, without decree- 13 ing and permitting they should have such supreme love of their own way. Hence it is plain that God having caused the moral beings with all their moral evil capacities without his exercising any choice or any permission in causing and working after nothing else but self.existent necessary and sovereign directing rule or image, which supersedes all choice and all permission, he is really but undesignedly the author of all moral evil, and his character in such cause is perfectly consistent and blameless because he is the author of the evil without any design and any purposing choice. — Yet as he is the cause of such moral evil beings by having created them, he owns all doings of men and spirits as his own doings in saying, <' I make peace, and create evil ; I the Lord do all these things." It is only in ihis way the doings of men can be ascribed to God, as he does himself in speaking of deceivings and harden- ings, as well as all other similar doings by men described in the Bible, as his own doings, while the thoughts of such| doings are not of his thoughts, nor are of his ways, because they are not of his choice, and of course they are not of his permission, because noth- ing can be permitted without exercise of choice. It is said by some that the evil is just as necessary as the good itself. If this assertion be true then all evil would be an object o^ God's choice for some purpose. But it is evident that it is not at all n cessary since God in his moral creating act did not choose any evil for any purpose. It is knowledge only of evil is as necessary as the knowledge of good for the existence of the moral creator and his moral created beings. The necessity is not of any choice, it is purely of self-existence, because the knowledge of good and evil always existed in the self.existent moral being from all eternity, Self.existence displaying such knowledge and in consequence the created moral beings become morally bad, none is to blame but themselves. They can not blame God, who exercised no choice to render them to be any way morally bad in creating them, when he followed no directing choice but self-existent sovereign direction that governs all will perfectly and agreeably as much as any will can agree that one and one make two. And surely there is no chance to blame the necessary self-existence when no will is to be directing what things can be and shall be, which are cast after self.existence agreeably to all will. No one has reason to complain on account of casting a shiulow shorter or longer than the thing itself, or because some parts of the shadow are less correct than 14 others. Shall the thing cast say to self-existence by which it is cast, Why has thou cast me thus 1 Hath not tlie self-existent potter power over the clay of the same lump to cast one vessel unto honor, and another to dishonor 1 in the same manner as some parts of he shadow are less correct than others ? Hath not the self-existent sovereign-requiring nature right to cast some with all their freedom to be of good ground hearers unto honor? and others also with all their freedom to be of the way side, as well as to be rocky and thorney hearers unto dishonor ? in the same way as the maker of the world has right to make some parts rocky, and other places free from rocks ? The self-existent direction in the casting is an inde- pendent requiring or tendency of the self-existent independent char- ter, requiring in sovereign manner the existence of different moral characters, showing that perfect sameness or universal equality, as well as to make beings equal to God is altogether impossible in the very nature of self-existence. Man can only be made perfect in his own possible kind, and not in God's kind to be equal to his maker in unchangeable perfection and in ail other attributes. And surely there can be no reason to complain and reply against the direction of self-existent sovereign tendency, which gives no chance to any righteous will to be displeased with its ways. The independent thoughts and ways that arise from the im- parted relative moral nature, which are the thoughts of men of their own choice, their designs vvhat to do against the doings of Christ, are all known to the omniscient being without seeking to know them, who knows and foreknows all things because he is om- nicient in what his self-existent directing sovereign nature re- quires, and shows whatnot and vvhat can be decreed, just as well as if all evil designs were fore-ordained by his choice to come to pass. He well knew and fore-knew all the tendencies of such independent freedom, what thoughts will rise from it, just as well as he knows his own thoughts how to meet and counteract all evil tendencies in order to effect all good he intends to have to come to pass. He does it by choice or fore-ordaining decree, because nothing supersedes his choice when there is no other supreme directing rule but His will in every case where there is offering a choice of two possible moral acts in sight differing from one another. His will in such case is not confined only to one view : it is left to exercise optional determining to do what is fit, and not to do what is not fit and not good to be done, in acting according '4V I tich it is nt potter to hionor) •ts of he ^■existent freedom > with all cky and maker of aces free an inde- )nt char- nt moral lality, as le in the )erfect in a,l to his )s. And linst the 3 chance he im- men of loings of eking to te is om- ,ture re- t as well come to of such t as well t all evil to come because supreme flering a :om one le view : I and not ccording ASa 15 to what he loves from his knowledge of good and evil. The evil is what is disliked, and of course it cannot be decreed, because the very freedom of choice, from which all evil arises, is incapable to be decretively determined, on account of its being the effect, not of chosing power, but of the very moral imparting work that su- persedes, excludes or precludes all decretive determining choice in the act of causing and effecting man's moral freedom; what is imparted to him renders him really independent in his love and in his freedom of choice for his own doings without any chance to permit or not to permit him. The depraved man cannot but misapprehend the decretive posi- tions intended to have the persecuting sinners deceive themselves by the very misapprehension. The aim of these positions is to have sinners driven and caught in a way more or less evil deter- minate doing of their own choice, while their lost condition is always he same, whether they sin more or less one way or other in continuing various ways against Christ; therefore, it is intended that their misapprehension should deceive them and cause them to determine to do what will certainly defeat their own object and promote the cause of Christ in unawares, — so that they will, in fact, destroy their own object and expectations, and set up what will certainly defeat, their own designs, without their intending so to happen by their own doings. It is exactly such self-defeat God intended from all eternity should be done, which He has caused to come to pass by the hand of His decretive positions that compre- hend, whatsoever His hand and council before determined to be done, in which positions sinners are caught, to act without God decreeirtg what they shall love and choose, that they may do all things in their own loving vvay under misapprehension. The doings of sinners are wholly evil in themselves in every respect, the aim of which or intention is nothing but evil in acting against the decretive positions of God. These positions never return evil for any evil treatment ; on the contrary, they invariably return very different influential examples, not overcoming evil with evil, but with good — not recompensing any man evil for evil. " If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he icst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shall heap coals of iire on his head." And so these positions essentially produce morn or less effectual good influences upon sinners, to whom the evil doings are displayed, and these in- fluences check, to providential extent, all persecuting acts. The 16 m ovil acts or doing's take place, but the intontions and expectations of the actors fail, being defeated by the very influences the poditions produced, which the sinners misapprehend ; they did not see what was forthcoming, and, in consequence, they effected a different thing or things from what they expected. The very unexpected thing to them is what God has always designed to have to come to pass, by placing Jesus Christ in the world, in certain designed way for his decretive position, for the very purpose of suiting the mis- taken views of sinners in their drawing up wrong inferences from what Christ and hi^ plans of operation appear to them under mis- apprehension, forming nothing but imaginary appearance by which they tempt themselves, and wrongly conclude what results they will effect if they should act against him ; while it was always fore- known to God that very different results will certainly come to pass from such doings, and that the sinners will only ensnare or entrap themselves within certain enclosure of decretive positions, and be taken in unawares and cornered up within the walls of all good de- signs of God, to heap coals of fire on their heads, and heat their evil hearts so much, that, instead of continuing and prevailing, they are disheartened and checked by the heat of God's influence, and it frustrates their evil designs without fail, and melts and changes, also without fail, all sinners of the good ground, who are called to be of good ground simply because they are free from the way side and from stony bottom, and also from thorns. He hath taken them in their own temptations made by themselves, and for themselves arising from their own imaginary conceivings and self-deceivings, which He saw fit to use for suitable means to secure His own pur- poses for to effect all good results. He decretively designed, and nothing but good, without decreeing or permitting any moral evil to come to pass, because the good itself is all-sufficient in power to overcome the evil designs of men when they are well cornered up within the circle of God's positions, without any necessity to sup- pose that evil occasions any good. The already established and already known good influences of God always effect good more or less, even where much 'ivil is done. The power- ful good, or the established changing influence to melt and change without fail, the hearts of sinners of special sort, whilp the same changing power of the influence is ineffectual to change the hearts of other sinners, is guided by self-existent sovereign direction, containing all natural and moral ways vi'hen and what to be done by the will of God, whose knowledge cannot be improved .*^ 17 nor increased by any contriving design or invention. He is alto- gether incapable to study in order to learn and to find or discover anything new in his nature or in his will, everything with him has always been according to the unalterable or unchangeable self- existent fixed rules, because if he an improve in any degree, it would imply that there was a time when he knew but very little. His knowledge, theretore, is, and always was, already fixed by seli- existentcast in knowing the good unci evil from all eternity, which is knowmg all direction tor all possible counsel, Irom self-existent bent, or tendency ot every essential constituent of his nature that consists in sell-existent printed sovereign rules, according to which all acts must always take place in all cases, to ellect all good with- out fail, for which all good influences were established. The whole amount of the rules is an omniform self-existent characterizing direction that suits the omnicience of God with ail perfect agreeability and pleasure j and certainly no being can find any fault in such sell-existent sovereign-directed establishment, wherein anything faulty cannot possibly exist. But as the evil known from all eternity has also directions and rules in counter position to the others, directing to false good in opposite view, it causes evil beings to find fault in the other rules. The co-existence of rules in opposition to each other, is the ground of choice to love one with all the heart, and dislike the other also with all the heart ; and so it is easy to see why someone finds fault or faults, — his unreasonable disliking what is gooa is the cause. The finite moral beings are all liable to misconception, without any possibility not to be so, because they could not be made to be omnicieni, to be equal to the omniscient being, nor could they be made to be all perfectly equal to one another in all things, while they were made alter an infinite, diversifying moral imparting image. Some misconceive more than others, and more tenaciously obstinate to adhere to their own views, while they misconceive the natural and moral laws or rules. That direction of the self-existent imparting image, from which infinite diversified view of evil was imparted, i" the only ground of all misconceptions, and all dilTerent degrees of hardness of men, and, therefore, the creating will is perfectly faultless and blameless in all respects. Lest any one say, that if contrary directions or rules have al- ways existed in counter position to the good rules, they must, of I i ilM( 18 course, have always displayed opposite optional views to the moral creation, and, consequently, prove that to create or not, was a chooseable object, and was chosen. I say that was not the case, because the two different set of directions did not differ in respect of moral imparting, they being inseparable from each other were all equally self-inclined to impart in the same degree of tendency, while they widely differed in all other things. Neither one or the other displayed any optional view in opposition to the moral-creating work, nor was there any consulting between the different sorts of rules, whether to impart or not, and hence thme was no room for any preferring choice to take place. The imparting ^vo^k had chance one way, and no chance any other way. It is like fire that has chance to give heat, but no chance not to give heat while it is fire. It has no other counsel, and of course no other choice than to give heat, because it cannot love any other way but to impart heat. Before creation took place, the nature of the first cause of all ihings always required to keep all her fire and heat ofcreating- power within herself, and not to impart. But as soon as the same nature required to impart, God, who doeth as his nature requireth, said, " Let there be light ; and there was light." The light has chance to give both heat and light, but has no chance not to give light while it is light. By nature of man's own choice he has brought himself into a sinful state or natural field ; no part of which is fit for any seed to grow till it is changed and prepared by cultivation. The plow must first break and turn up the surface to change the wild and natural slate of the ground. iVnd such part of the field where the plow does not touch, as the way aide or road, which cannot be plowed up for sow- ing purposes because it must always remain to be hard trodden road, continually beaten by passengers, is not changed and therefore not prepared. And so is the case in stoney and thorny places, though the plow breaks and turns up the surface, but its work is not to change the stoney bottoms or ledges, nor to strike so deep to take away the roots of the thorns from the ground. The plow will succeed to pre- pare no other but free ground, though it be hard and stoney otherwise but free from stoney bottoms and ledges, and also free from thorns, and though it be equally unfit tor the seed as the others before it is changed and prepared, the plow will change and prepare it by break. the moral ot, was a t the case, in respect iher were ■ tendency, )ne or the ftl-creaiing mt sorts of lO room for work had ke fire that at while it ;hoice than It to impart lauee of all of creating- as the same 5 requireth, le light has not to give into a sinful seed 10 grow )W must first tural state of iow does not I up for sow- ;rodden road, therefore not 3s, though the lot to change ike away the icceed to pre- ley otherwise J from thorns, srs before it is e it by break. 19 ing and turning up its wild and natural surface to make it good ground for the seed, to bear fruit to perfection. Hence it is plain that the whole amount of effectual divine influ- ence of the spirit to change and renew the hearts of sinners, is no less and no mor>i or greater than to conquer irresistibly all sinners other- wise hard hearted than those of ifie way side, otherwise stoney hard hearted than those of the stoney bottoms, and otherwise hardhearted than those of the thorns, and therefore they shall certainly all be changed without fail and forgiven, because they are the only sinners who are internally ignorant ot their guilt in sinning all manner of sip. and blasphemy ignorantly in unbelief. " The soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance it shall be forgiven liim." " Father forgive them for they know not what they do." The powerful changing and renewing influence conquers them irresis- tibly, conquering their very last possible efibrt, being altogether dis- heartened, their wicked heart fails and cannot continue to resist the spirit any longer, as soon as their internal ignorance of their guilt is made known within themselves. The special nature of theif wicked heart is such that it cannot hut be conquered to yield as soon as their ignorant unbelief is uncovered in their own view, they there- fore immediately disapprove what they always have loved, and they are made at once to love a principle of uolines.-: presented by the spirit, giving them a holy relish or taste prior or before any exercise of holy acts can take place, in order to give these acts a holy cha. racter. Their supreme love of evil is changed at once to love holi- ness, or as they liked or loved with all their heart to do evil, now Ihey like or love with all their heart to do good. Specially differ- , ing from ^11 others in hard heartedness while they were in ignorant unbelief, the heat of the suitable influence suited to their case melts their hearts in the day of the power of God, while the same heat does not melt the hearts of fhe way side, of the stoney bottom, and ot the thorns. The speciality then does not lie in the influence, but in the special character of the hearts of the four sorts of hearers, as they have made themselves to differ from one another by their own spe- cial hardening habits. There is no speciality in the plow that pre- pares the ground for the seed, and it does not act specially for any particular part of the field, It goes all alike every where it is intended to be plowed. There is also no sppf'.iality in the seed, one part of the ground does not receive better se^ than another, and the sower does not act specially in any manner in sowing his seed in all part 20 alike. It is the ground that differs specially in its own different ()art8. And as the plow nets equally on every part of the field in- tended to be plowed, so does the oj)eriition of the chan<^ing and re- newing influence ; it is applied not specially but equally upon all sinners, nnd it is all powerlul, .sharjier than any two edged sword, it is like a hammer that break. -th t^e rock in pieces, it cannot but melt the hearts af the weakest as well us the strongest or hardest sinners, but of no other sort but the last special sort of the four sorts of hearers mentioned in the parable of the sower, the only jrround the plow has successfully changed and prepared and made it good ground, not bein«i of the way aide, not of the stoney bottom, and not of the thorns. To hold that salvation depends only on condition that men re- pent and believe is certainly wrong, because their very unwilling- ness to repent and to believe is the very reason why they must be changed to make them repent and believe, the act of making them to change precedes every willing act ol man to do that which is good. No one repents and turns to God before he is changed or renewed, and as the change is -wholly the work of God in inclining the will of the sinner to repent, the change is not conditioned or grounded on repentance, or in other words, man is not changed because he repents, or on account of his repentance, but he repents because he is changed by God in the first place, his repentance is the effect of the change. The free will of man is wakeful and active to what it likes or loves with the heart, and such love is always growing and increasing habitually, and as there is nothing and no tendency in the will itself that would ever prevent the habit, for it is its own supreme pleasure of its own choice always to hold what it loves with all wakeful activity, not to change, it is certain that it will never change itself— it will never awaken itself to be wakeful and active to do good, and so if any awakening will ever take place, it will never be doneby the sinner's own will, but by some acting agent other than himselftoactuponhimin a way which himself would never do. The truth is easy to be seen, for as much as it is true that the sinner has his freedom to do his own pleasure, it is equally or just as true that he will never begin himself to change his own pleasure, on the contrary he will always exercise his freedom not to change his plea- ure,andhewillneverdoit,for he hasunaltertbly fixed his own pleasure by his supreme love of his own way never to change. m. € % t 21 In (his way he makes his freedom as if he was not free to do good and wholly incapable to love and choose any otherwise than to love the evil, while the cause is nothing hut loving his own way with all his heart. It follows that though he is free, yet his freedom In view of what is good will never move in any way till it shall be awakened, conquered by some agent other than himself (or to change. Hence it is evident that the change is not imparted or etTected conditionally to say, that man shall be changed if he will commence first to awaken his own freedom to change his own pleasure, which no sinner will ever do. If it be the case that man has such disposition to commence himself awakening his freedom and actually change his pleasure to have a different pleasure to become so good as to obey God, no other agent or changing power or influence would have been necessary to be employed in the work but himself. But it is quite otherwise, none will ever do so, and therefore the agent or influence of the spirit is the only proper power mercifully chosen for such work to commence and finish the great work of salvation, whose acts are altogether unconditional, not acting on account of any condition what man what would do for his salvation and therefore it is nothing but gracious provision designed indepen- dently of any thing what man would do himself, who, it is certain would never commence to do any good. He has no disposition to change his love of evil, or iti other words, as he likes or loves with all his heart to do evil, he will never accept, concur, consent or comply with the requirements of the Gospel till after he is changed, and so in not accepting, concurring, consenting and complying before the change takes place, the change is altogether unconditional, every acceptance, concurrence, consent and compliance are all as much eflects of the change as faith and repentance, and therefore there is no such condition to say that man is changed or saved because he accepts, concurs, consents or complies ; for what he never had pre- vious to the change is no condition at all on his part. To cause a pers')a io be what he never was, the effect had never existed in himseK before it is produced, and of course nothing can be forseen in him as his own good tendency in the case to be a condition or reason why the producer brings it to co ue to pass. To say that if the sinner is so indisposed to obey Go.l and so incapable to perform the duties required of him, so that he cannot have liberty either to accent or refuse, why should he be commanded to make himself a new 22 neart ? The answer is, he Ih ho commamied not because it is seen that ho has or will ever have rlJHpositiou in himHelf to obey the com- mand, but because thp word of (Jod is the very instrument in which the Holy Spirit is embodied for the new creating and changing power to change (he very unwillingneMSof the Hinner to accept, without any tendency of his own so to accept, whose inward disposition is always not to accept any tendency that diflers from his own, ami he will never be willing to accept unless his unwillingness be changed by that which he does not know from whence it cometh and where it goeth. And not knowing from whence it is, it is certain that it never consisted and t^xisted in himself, and of course it cannot come from himself. All means and influencns used, are instrumentally established to suit and effectually to change no others, but those of the good ground. Having already proved in this little work that God draws effectually to save no other sinners but those whose hearts his influence melts and of no oiher sort but the last special sort of the four sorts of hearers mentioned in the parable of the sower, without any condition of man's own tendency or inclination whether any would draw himself to Christ, because none can have such tendency before the change takes place, as Christ says, « No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him," it is evident that God's in- fluence is adapted to draw and melt the hearts of these alone, the only elect and chosen, on whom he will have mercy, and not on thestoney bottom and thorny hearers, nor on those c he way side, because his effectual and saving mercy takes up only those his influence has drawn and no others. As the self-existence is unconditional existence and the tendency of the will of God is equal to it from which he acts with all love in his establishing the means and influences to change the hea.. . ■ gin. ner3,itis further evident that the whole work" is altogrdter ua- conditional, and the change effected in sinners is unconditionally secured for ever, and just as unchangeably as God is unchangeable in all his works, none can finally fall from grace to perish, of those who are prepared and made to be good ground to receive the seed and to bear fruJr u perfection. They are continually perfected by ^M influence whic .^ Iim changed them. « The inward man is re- newed day by day.- « The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Jesus Christ « hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." it is seen lie com- in which ig power hout any 8 always he will inged by where it n that it lot come mentally those of Tectually :e melts, f hearers of man's mself to change :;ept the rod's in- the only lestoney sause his nee has 28 Falling from grace to be finally lost belongs to the three sorts of hearers mentioned in the parable of the sower. All those who have received the word of God by the way side, and on the stoney bottom, and also on the thorns, do really receive the word with joy and believe, but last only for a while, having no root in themselves, their faith fails, withered and choked. They are believers and righteous men because they are partly changed, but an entire change has not taken place with them and of course there is no perfection with them, and they cannot bear fru't to perfection as others. — All this truth is expressly declared by the Saviour himself in plain langungf. Whom he knows for certainty that they will not be en- tirely changed and will not bear fruit to perfection ; he knows for certainty that they will not bo saved. It is just so on the other hand, whom he knows that they will be entirely changed and that they will bear fruit to perfection, he knows for certainty that they will be saved, and there is no need to use the word if in the case, because the holy change is not conditioned on any tendency of the fallen man. endency love in Ls of sin- her iia- litionally angeable of those he seed ected by m is re- ng light, s Christ