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 The Divine purpose 
 
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DIVINE PURPOSE: 
 
 DISPLAYED 
 
 IN THE 
 
 WORKS OF PROVIDENCE AND GRACE; 
 
 IN A SERIES OF 
 
 LETTERS TO AN INQUIRING FRIEND. 
 
 BY 
 v 
 
 y, 
 REV. JOHN MATTHEWS, D. D. 
 
 Prof. Theology in Theol. Sem’y, Indiana. 
 8) y> 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 
 WILLIAM S. MARTIEN, PUBLISHING AGENTS 
 
 1840. Si 
 
 Sy 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Pernicious effects of party spirit in the Chureh, othe : 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Difference between truth and error always important, . ‘ 
 
 - LETTER III. 
 
 The influence of prejudice—answer to the question what are 
 the Decrees of God? 3 : ; A : 6 ° é 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 God never acts without design—Providence, what--extends to 
 
 the preservation of life—and to all inanimate matter, . 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Death, with all its causes, under the government of provi- 
 
 dence—the care of God extends to the whole universe, . 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 The divine purpose neither suspends, nor violates the free 
 
 agency of man, . . : . : . ° : 3 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 The divine purpose perfectly consistent with the free agency 
 ofman, . : . . ° . . . ‘ . . 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 A method of ascertaining the extent of Divine Providence— 
 Great events necessarily include all the less ones, of which 
 they aremadeup, . ° ° . . . 
 
 LETTER IX, 
 
 Events, similar to those contained in the prophecies and pro- 
 mises of God, are all included in his purpose, : 
 
 18 
 
 30 
 
 36 
 
 50 
 
 77 
 
 87 
 
 100 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 The purposes of God not inconsistent with the moralagency of 
 man, . : 2 = . c . A - a bate “ 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 This consistency incomprehensible to us—but so are many 
 other things which yet we believe, . - . . : . 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 Moral Government—Salvation by Grace, . A . . . 
 
 LETTER XIIit. 
 
 The favours of God, bestowed according to his own design. 
 Purpose, decree, intention, foreordination, &e. . = . 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 The number to be saved depends entirely on the will of God, 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 The means of salvation suited to each individual, embraced in 
 the divine purpose, : ° . : . . : F 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 The providence of God subservient to the designs of merey— 
 
 Great events made up of smaller—Our duty and interest to 
 meditate on all his works, 4 & ‘ : i ’ é 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Man is a Predestinarian—the Commander of an army—the 
 Architect—the Farmer—elect, foreordain, &e. . . . 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 The final Perseverance of Christians, i : . . 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Same subject continued, . : . . : : . 
 
 LETTER XxX, 
 
 ‘This doctrine gives such views of the character of God as are 
 ealenlated to excite devotion,—Conclusion, . ; q : 
 
 Page 
 
 126 
 
 139 
 
 150 
 
 166 
 
 179 
 
 192 
 
 213 
 
 227 
 
 240 
 
 257 
 
 Oe 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 AuTuouGH the subject, introduced to the at- 
 tention of the reader in these Letters, is ab- 
 struse and difficult, it is here treated in a 
 very intelligible and familiar manner. The 
 chief excellency of these Letters is, that they 
 present the subject of “ divine decrees,”’ with- 
 out that forbidding aspect, which it is apt to 
 assume in the view of many persons. One 
 thing the reader may be assured of, that whe- 
 ther he should coincide in opinion with the 
 author or not, he will find nothing in the 
 volume calculated to wound the most delicate 
 feelings. A spirit of meekness and kindness, 
 eminently characteristic of the writer, per- 
 
 ve 
 
 vades the whole. 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 The first letter describes and exposes the 
 evils of party spirit; the second, shows the 
 importance of truth; so that, while on the one 
 hand, we are warned against sectarian bigotry; 
 on the other, we are guarded against indiffe- 
 
 rence to truth, and spurious liberality. 
 
 The doctrine explained and defended, is 
 undoubtedly scriptural; and we should all, 
 without prejudice, cordially embrace it; and 
 where we meet with points which we cannot 
 comprehend, we should bow with humble sub- 
 mission to the dictates of heaven; sensible that 
 our understandings are feeble, and our know- 
 
 ledge small. 
 
 At the close of the volume, there are two 
 Letters, replete with solid argument and inge- 
 nious illustration, on “ the perseverance of the 
 saints.”? It will be here seen, that the repre- 
 sentations commonly given of this comfortable 
 doctrine, by its enemies, are exceedingly dis- 
 
 torted, and altogether unjust. When rightly 
 
PREFACE. Fi 
 
 understood it is the very thing which the 
 Christian needs not only to comfort his heart, 
 but to encourage his efforts. It ought surely 
 to be a pleasing thought that no member of 
 Christ’s mystical body shall be broken off; no 
 sheep of his flock be finally lost; for, “we are 
 kept by the power of God through faith unto 
 
 salvation.’ 
 A. ALEXANDER. 
 
 Princeton, N. J. 
 
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LETTERS 
 
 ON 
 
 THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 PERNICIOUS EFFECTS OF PARTY SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 Dear Str—Your letter has been received, in 
 which you request my opinion on various re- 
 ligious topics, for the purpose of aiding you in 
 forming a correct decision, respecting that de- 
 nomination of Christians with which it would 
 be most expedient to connect yourself. I will 
 endeavour to appreciate, but not abuse, the 
 opinion you are pleased to express respecting 
 my candour and my ability for the perform- 
 ance of such a task. I feel encouraged in this 
 undertaking by the serious intention you ex- 
 press of connecting yourself with that deno- 
 mination, which, after due deliberation and 
 prayer, shall appear to you most conformable 
 to the sacred Scripture, in its doctrines and 
 
 2 
 
 lad 
 
10 LETTERS ON 
 
 form of government. When a person is al- 
 ready determined, it is absurd to ask, and vain 
 {o give advice. 
 
 It is my duty, and my pleasure, to explain 
 publicly, and from house to house, that sys- 
 tem of doctrines held by the Church to which 
 I belong. If it pleases God to render these 
 instructions effectual in awakening the care- 
 less; in directing the serious inquirer; or in 
 comforting the believer, to his name be the 
 praise. But I sincerely pray, that God, in 
 his mercy, may preserve me from that party 
 spirit, which would lead me to view it as a 
 primary object to make prosely tes. 
 
 Indeed, the man who cherishes party spirit 
 is worthy of compassion, if suffering can ren- 
 der him such: for he must feel no ordinary 
 degree of torture, on whose vitals such a vul- 
 ture is continually preying. When this spirit 
 takes full possession of the heart, like the 
 jaundiced eye, it will pervert, distort, or mis- 
 represent every object presented to the mind. 
 The importance of every measure will be cal- 
 culated according to its tendency to answer 
 this paramount purpose of adding names to 
 the catalogue of his party. Every feeling of 
 the soul must bow to this sectarian spirit. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 1] 
 
 Provided the end can be accomplished, there 
 is reason to fear but few scruples will be felt 
 respecting the means. It will be his policy, 
 indeed, not to give offence where there is the 
 most distant prospect of success. He will 
 study the disposition of those upon whom he 
 means to try his art. If you intimate that re- 
 ligion is something more than mere formality, 
 then he will be the zealous advocate of vital 
 piety. If you express your opinion in favour 
 of what some call rational religion, and that it 
 is not necessary to be precise; then he will in- 
 sinuate, that there is great danger of enthu- 
 siasm; and meet your wishes by alleging, in a 
 sense accommodated to your views, that the 
 commandments of God are not grievous. If 
 you discover a disposition to reason on the 
 subject, then he will enter into grave discus- 
 sions to prove that his own is the best, if not 
 the only true church. If he should perceive 
 in your mind any latent prejudice, this he 
 will endeavour to rouse into action. If your 
 ancestors have been attached to the church to 
 which he would make you a proselyte, then, 
 whether this attachment was right or wrong, 
 you must imitate their example; you must 
 worship the God of- your fathers. But if, 
 
12 LETTERS ON 
 
 unfortunately, your ancestors have belong- 
 ed to another denomination; then, he will 
 insist, that every man, in these things, has a 
 right to choose for himself. Does any mem- 
 ber of another church differ with you in opin- 
 ion, on subjects which have no connexion 
 with religion; he will endeavour to shape this 
 difference into a reason why you should not 
 belong to the same church. If you object to 
 any doctrine which he professes to hold, he 
 will, if possible, explain this doctrine in such 
 a manner as to suit your views. If direct 
 attempts would awaken your suspicion, and 
 thus disappoint his design, he will then have 
 recourse to distant hints and sly insinuations: 
 and, if these should not escape your suspicion, 
 then the subject will be dismissed; he will 
 become your intimate friend, and thus watch 
 the first opportunity for renewing the attack. 
 If he should be a preacher of the Gospel, 
 which is too often the case, he will mingle, 
 perhaps, with the pure doctrines of the Bible, 
 the peculiarities of his sect, so frequently, and 
 with such emphasis, that an entire stranger 
 would soon perceive to what denomination he 
 belonged. Thus, in a sense peculiar to him- 
 self, and very different from that of the apos- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 13 
 
 tle Paul, he would become all things to all 
 men, that he might, by all means, gain some. 
 No difficulties are too great to be encountered; 
 no disappointments are permitted to discour- 
 age him. He will compass sea and land to 
 gain one proselyte, though when gained, he 
 feels, perhaps, too little concerned whether he 
 be a child of God or a child of the devil. His 
 chief gratification is derived from the number, 
 not the piety of his flock. Such were the 
 teachers who laboured to supplant the apostle 
 Paul, in the church at Corinth; such have 
 been a scourge and disgrace to the church in 
 every age; and such are too numerous at the 
 present day. 
 
 How soon will every pious feeling of the 
 soul languish under the blasting touch ef such 
 a spirit? What baleful and tormenting pas- 
 sions will it not generate in the heart? If 
 others, through the divine blessing, should be 
 made instrumental in turning sinners from 
 darkness to light, this will awaken his jea- 
 lousy and envy. He will secretly grieve at 
 their success, though it is connected with the 
 salvation of immortal souls. He will derive 
 a secret pleasure from every circumstance 
 which will diminish that success. He will 
 
14 LETTERS ON 
 
 rejoice in those disappointments which excite 
 their grief. Their success he considers his 
 loss; of course, he will view them, not merely 
 as rivals, but as enemies to his interest. He 
 will give himself up the credulous dupe of 
 every idle or malicious tale which may ope- 
 rate to their disadvantage. Such tales, with 
 perhaps expressions of regret, but with real 
 satisfaction, he will circulate; careful that, by 
 passing through his hands, they shall lose 
 nothing of their tendency to injure the cha- 
 racter of those whom he considers his oppo- 
 nents. If the report respecting them be fa- 
 vourable, then he becomes incredulous; at 
 least, he does not choose to become a tale- 
 bearer. With uneasiness he hears of the zeal- 
 ous and honest efforts of others, in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord; and feels the corrodings of 
 a secret fear lest'a merciful God should bless 
 those efforts to the conversion of careless sin- 
 ners. This fear will be in proportion to the 
 probability or certainty that the new converts 
 will not range under his banner, but connect 
 themselves with another church. Although 
 under the pastoral care of other ministers, they 
 may give sufficient evidence of vital piety, yet 
 this does not remove his uneasiness; him they 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 15 
 
 do not follow; the shibboleth of his party, 
 they do not use. To counteract these efforts, 
 and prevent these effects, he will also manifest 
 great zeal; but it will be, to use the language 
 of the apostle James, the bitter zeal of party 
 spirit. He will preack Christ, even of envy, 
 strife, and contention; not sincerely, Lut for 
 the affliction of others. It is possible, that 
 under the torment of this jealousy and envy, 
 he may cherish the wish that sinners should 
 remain ignorant, under sentence of condem- 
 nation, and finally perish, rather than be in- 
 structed, and brought to repentance through 
 the instrumentality of others. This may ap- 
 pear a heavy charge; and so, indeed, it is. 
 But is it therefore groundless? If he is grieved 
 that the labours of others should be crowned 
 with success, will he not, very naturally, de- 
 sire the cause of that grief to be removed? 
 
 He will not dare to avow these desires and 
 intentions: much ingenuity may be employed 
 to conceal them. You may hear from him, on 
 suitable occasions, very plausible professions 
 of liberality, and of the purity of his motives. 
 But the general tenor of his conduct will dis- 
 close the secrets of his heart; will declare, to 
 the world, what are his real intentions and 
 
16 LETTERS ON 
 
 desires. Mark his conduct, and listen to his 
 language in private. How frequently will 
 those, whom he expects to enlist in his party, 
 receive his attention; while others, who en- 
 courage no such expectation, will be much 
 neglected. While those who are known to be 
 fixed in their opinions, on these subjects, will 
 receive nothing but the compliment of cold 
 formality; with what inviting and caressing 
 smiles will he greet others, of whom he hopes 
 better things? 
 
 You will readily perceive how miserable 
 must be the bosom where such a spirit resides. 
 Like the troubled sea, it cannot rest. Its 
 peace will be corroded by the incessant gnaw- 
 ings of jealousy, of envy, and of other passions 
 of a similar kind. How different is this from 
 that charity which envieth not; because it 
 thinketh no evil; from that brotherly love, by 
 which we should be knit together. How 
 unlike is such a heart to that compassionate 
 and merciful Saviour, who prayed, and even 
 died for his enemies? How unlike to the 
 apostle Paul, who rejoiced that Christ was 
 preached, though with a design to increase his 
 afflictions? How happy, compared with such 
 a mind, is the galley-slave, whose hasom is. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 17 
 
 undisturbed by such a legion of passions. If 
 you could cherish the feeling of revenge; if it 
 were lawful for you to wish evil on your bit- 
 terest enemy; your wishes would be gratified 
 by seeing him under the influence of party 
 spirit. Often has the church of Christ been 
 disgraced and afflicted by this spirit of intol- 
 erant bigotry and misguided zeal. Its fury 
 has driven from the altars of God thousands of 
 worshippers; its toil has prepared the dun- 
 geons of the inquisition; its heat has kindled 
 the flames of persecution. And it is still the 
 same. It may exist in different degrees, and 
 under different circumstances; but in all its 
 degrees, and under all circumstances, its nature 
 is still the same. He who is now secretly 
 grieved because others, not of his party, preach 
 the gospel with success, would silence them, if 
 he could; and if no threatenings, no fines, no 
 penalties would answer this purpose, under a 
 sufficient degree of this party zeal, he would 
 lead them to the stake. But, thanks to a gra- 
 cious Providence, in this happy country it 
 wields no such power. Here, it can shut no 
 churches, disperse no worshippers, silence no 
 ministers, kindle no flames. For this reason 
 it is the more tormenting to the heart in which 
 
 me he SS 
 
18 LETTERS ON 
 
 it lives. When anger can burst on its object 
 some relief is gained; but when restrained, it 
 spends its force on him who feels it. If this 
 spirit could vent itself on others, this would 
 afford some relief to its unhappy possessor; 
 but the laws of our country, and the influence 
 of public opinion, deny him this relief—and 
 long may this happy state of things remain. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRUTH AND ERROR ALWAYS 
 IMPORTANT. 
 Tue preceding remarks do not imply that 
 there is no difference between truth and error; 
 or that error is not always pernicious, and 
 truth always useful. Nor do they imply that 
 one system of doctrines is not better calcu- 
 lated to excite devout affections in the heart, 
 or that one form of church government does 
 not furnish happier inducements to a religious 
 life, than another. Because we should guard 
 against the influence of party spirit, that is no 
 reason why we should remain the victims of 
 error and delusion; or why we should nof, 
 with patience and diligence, inquire after truth. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 19 
 
 Ignorance and error are the most prolific 
 sources of intolerant bigotry. The history of 
 the church will prove, if I mistake not, that 
 in proportion to the general diffusion of reli- 
 gious knowledge, less of this spirit is per- 
 ceived, and when the knowledge of the Lord 
 shall cover the earth, as the waters do the 
 sea, this spirit shall be driven from the king- 
 dom of Christ: it shall not hurt, or destroy, 
 in all the holy mountain. This conside- 
 ration furnishes additional inducements for 
 inquiring after truth. If we would escape the 
 mortal fangs of this serpent, of this destroyer 
 of Christian peace, let us as much as possible 
 he filled with all knowledge; \et us know 
 the truth, and the truth will make us free. 
 This inquiry should be pursued with an ear- 
 nest desire for instruction, with humility, with 
 prayer, and with a firm purpose of embrac- 
 ing the truth when discovered: this firmness 
 should be tempered with meekness, forbear- 
 ance and charity. 
 
 fam very far from admitting, that it is a 
 matter of indifference, what system of religi- 
 ous doctrines we receive. It is impossible 
 that opposite doctrines can both be true; and 
 equally impossible that error should answer 
 
20 LETTERS ON 
 
 the purpose, or produce the effects of truth. 
 Error may sometimes mingle, and be received 
 with truth; but still it is error; and still it is 
 pernicious. In proportion to its degree, it 
 will retard the progress of the Christian, and 
 mar the beauty of the divine image on his 
 heart. Truth may be blended with error; but 
 still it is truth; and still it is useful. The dis- 
 proportion may be so great; error may so far 
 exceed truth, and may relate to such funda- 
 mental points, as to prevent altogether the 
 existence of vital piety. The Holy Spirit is 
 a spirit of truth: He never has made, and 
 never will make error and falsehood instru- 
 mental in regenerating and purifying the 
 heart. Truth alone is honoured with this 
 instrumentality. 
 
 The human countenance is composed of a 
 certain number of features. If these features 
 are regular, and in just proportion, animated 
 with intelligence, beaming with generosity, 
 mildness and love, we call it an interesting 
 and beautiful countenance; we are charmed 
 with its attraction, and prepossessed, at first 
 sight, in its favour. In another, we recognise 
 all the features; but without that regularity 
 and due proportion which would permit us to 
 
 —_—- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. PAI 
 
 eall it beautiful; and without that sweetness 
 which awakens our complacency. In another, 
 we discover so little of these properties, that 
 we pronounce it the reverse of beautiful and 
 amiable. In some instances a part of the fea- 
 tures may be handsome, and others the reverse; 
 in others, some of the features may be entirely 
 wanting, still we call it a human countenance. 
 It is possible to conceive of such an assemblage 
 of parts, though called by the same name by 
 which the human features are, yet so dispro- 
 portionate, and distorted, as to be frightful; 
 we deny it the character of human; if attached 
 to a human body, we call it a monster; if to 
 a different body, we call it a brute. 
 
 In the moral character of man, a similar va- 
 riety prevails; some are beautiful with, at least, 
 a distant resemblance of their Saviour; others 
 are deformed with sin. The features of the 
 divine image are drawn on the heart through 
 sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of 
 the truth. The word of God is truth. The 
 doctrines of the Bible possess an intrinsic fit- 
 ness to impress the mind. Each of them, so 
 far as it is understood and _ believed, will, 
 through the spirit of grace, produce its appro- 
 priate effect, awaken its correspondent affec- 
 
22 LETTERS ON 
 
 tion in the soul. These doctrines, taken col- 
 lectively, constitute that form, or mould, 
 (Rom. vi. 17.) into which the heart 1s deliver- 
 ed, by the Great Artificer, that it may receive, 
 and retain all the features and lineaments of 
 his own image. That this form of sound, or 
 health-giving* (2 Tim. i. 13.) words may 
 have this effect, we must hold it fast, must 
 cling to it, by faith and love, which is in 
 Christ Jesus. In proportion to the accuracy 
 and extent of our knowledge, and the sinceri- 
 ty of our faith in these doctrines, will be the 
 beauty and perfection of the divine image; we 
 shall possess all those affections and disposi- 
 tions which belong to the character of Christ; 
 of his fulness we shall receive, and grace 
 for grace. Mf that system of doctrines, which 
 we profess to hold, is but imperfectly under- 
 stood, then its effects can be but faintly traced 
 on the mind. If it be only some of these doc- 
 trines with which we are acquainted, or can 
 be said to know, while of others we are entire- 
 ly ignorant, then correspondent deficiencies 
 will remain in the character—The mould is 
 complete, but the metal does not come in con- 
 
 * See M‘Knight. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 93 
 
 tact with it. If the system which we receive 
 be mixed with error, then the character will 
 exhibit, not merely deficiencies, but deformi- 
 ties, answering to, and produced by these 
 errors; for the metal will bear the impression 
 of the mould into which it is cast. Error, 
 when believed, will as certainly as truth, pro- 
 duce its effect. While Christians of all denom- 
 inations, in proportion as they receive the 
 sincere mitk of the word, manifest their like- 
 ness to the Saviour, and are growing in a 
 meetness for the inheritance of the saints in 
 light; the man, who has never been born again, 
 who receives not the Lord Jesus Christ 
 by faith, whose heart has never melted with 
 evangelical repentance, is destitute of every 
 feature of the divine image. He is led astray 
 by an evil heart of unbelief; and is complete- 
 ly under the government of falsehood. No 
 saving truth mingles with that system of error, 
 which is habitually strengthening its grasp, 
 and deepening its impression on his soul. 
 While a divine Agent is imparting his own 
 likeness to the character of Christians, a very 
 different agent, wielding different instruments, 
 is actively employed in imparting his likeness 
 to the charaeter of the sinner. His affections 
 
94 LETTERS ON 
 
 are all fixed on improper objects, or, in an 
 improper degree, on right objects; his dispo- 
 sitions all tend the wrong way. All the fea- 
 tures of his moral character are so completely 
 distorted, and so disproportionate, as to exhi- 
 bit nothing but a frightful and hideous picture 
 of deformity: He isa monster in the moral 
 world. 
 
 Such is our nature, that the objects, with 
 which the heart is habitually conversant, and 
 most intimately acquainted, will, as certainly 
 form its character and habits of feeling, as the 
 company, which we keep, will form our man- 
 ners. By familiar and habitual intercourse 
 with one grade in society, our manners will 
 acquire all that ease and gracefulness which 
 will fit us for the politest circles. In another 
 grade they will acquire nothing but simplicity ; 
 which, although not offensive nor disagreeable, 
 yet does not include that artificial polish, 
 which would secure us from embarrassment, if 
 introduced into the higher classes, where 
 greater refinement characterises the manners. 
 From a still lower grade in society, our man- 
 ners will acquire a rudeness and vulgarity, un- 
 adorned with that simplicity which would ex- 
 empt such deportment from censure. While 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 2Q5 
 
 surrounded with those of our own grade, whose 
 manners resemble our own, we feel perfectly 
 at ease; of course, most happy. But if acci- 
 dent or business should place us in the midst 
 of those whose manners are polished and re- 
 fined, their politeness and gracefulness would 
 be distressing to us: the contrast would force 
 upon us a sense of our own deficiencies; and 
 the moment of escape from such society to 
 that of our own level, would be anticipated 
 with real satisfaction. And yet, if our hearts 
 are not as destitute of sensibility, as our 
 manners are of refinement, we shall feel and 
 acknowledge the propriety of accommodating 
 ourselves to the company present. Hence 
 attempts are often made to assume a style of 
 manners with which we are not familiar. 
 Such attempts are generally fruitless; they 
 discover our embarrassment, and set our awk- 
 wardness in a more striking point of view. 
 The preceding remarks may illustrate the 
 effects to be expected from the different sy s- 
 tems of doctrine, now received in the Chris- 
 tian world. These systems represent our own 
 character, and the character of God, with 
 very considerable shades of difference. This 
 difference will operate in forming, if I may 
 3 
 
26 LETTERS ON 
 
 speak so, the manners of the heart; that is, its 
 affections, dispositions, tempers and feelings. 
 Some of these systems diminish very much 
 the distance between us and our Maker. By 
 representing our character as less depraved 
 than it really is; our guilt as less atrocious, 
 and dangerous, than truth requires: they pro- 
 portion the displeasure of God towards us, by 
 that degree of depravity and guilt, with which 
 we are chargeable; our reconciliation, of 
 course, can be the more easily effected; the 
 price of our pardon, if any such he required, 
 need be the less valuable and precious. 
 
 In the ordinances of the gospel, we are em- 
 phatically said to draw near to God. In one 
 sense we are always, independently of our 
 own intentions, in his presence; he is not far 
 from every one of us; for in him we live, and 
 move, and have our being. But in these 
 ordinances, we draw near to him, in a religi- 
 ous sense, and under the most important rela- 
 tion of worshippers, for the express purpose 
 of offering to him the devout affections of our 
 hearts. These affections cannot be produced 
 by any mechanical operation; they must be 
 excited, and will be graduated by the views 
 we entertain of ourselves, and of the object 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. aid 
 
 of our worship. Our confessions of sin will 
 never exceed the degree of guilt, with which 
 we suppose ourselves to be chargeable; our 
 gratitude will correspond with our estimation 
 of the blessings we receive; our love will 
 glow with no greater warmth than suits our 
 views of the divine benevolence; our sorrow 
 for sin cannot, in the nature of things, exceed 
 our belief of its baseness and hatefulness; our 
 fear of sin, and our watchfulness to guard 
 against it, will be in proportion to our views 
 of the danger to which it exposes us. In pro- 
 portion as those doctrines which we believe, 
 diminish the guilt of sin, the Saviour will be 
 the less precious to us; because we shall be 
 the less indebted to him, we shall have the less 
 need of his assistance, he will have the less to 
 do, and to suffer for us; we shall feel the less 
 thankful to him. Heaven, which is a state of 
 complete deliverance from sin, will be the less 
 desirable to us; and hell, which is a state of 
 punishment for sin, will be the less dreaded; 
 our exertions to secure the one, and escape the 
 other, will be the less frequent and vigorous. 
 Now these are the affections indispensably 
 necessary in all who worship God, in spirit 
 and in truth; and these are the affections 
 
28 LETTERS ON 
 
 “ 
 
 which operate as motives of action; which 
 exercise a commanding influence over our 
 daily deportment. Without them, we may 
 go through all the forms of worship; but it 
 will be a body, without the spirit; the form 
 without the power of godliness. Without 
 them our conduct may be so regular as to 
 escape the censure of man; but, in the sight 
 of God, it will be considered as deficient, and 
 even condemned as criminal, just so far as it 
 flows from any other principle than supreme 
 and sincere love to his character. 
 
 It cannot, therefore, be a matter of indif- 
 ference, what system of doctrines we believe. 
 These doctrines have a connexion with our 
 everlasting happiness, too intimate and too ne- 
 cessary, to admit the supposition. They are 
 the means, used by the Spirit, in exciting our 
 affections, in forming our moral character, and 
 in regulating our life. It cannot be doubted 
 that some of these systems, now held by the 
 disciples of Christ, are better calculated than 
 others to produce these effects; of course, it is 
 the duty of every man, as opportunity permits, 
 to investigate this subject; to compare these 
 systems with the word of God, and firmly to 
 believe that one, which he finds to be nearest 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 29 
 
 the truth. This is the duty, and this the 
 manner of performing it, enjoined by an in- 
 spired apostle, prove all things, hold fast 
 that which is good. Every man is required 
 to be useful in judicious and persevering efforts 
 to promote the cause of vital piety; but the 
 zeal with which he employs the means within 
 his power, will be in proportion to the sincer- 
 ity and fervour of his religious affections; these 
 again, have an intimate and necessary con- 
 nexion with the doctrines which he believes. 
 One system of doctrine is better calculated to 
 excite these affections, to prompt to these exer- 
 tions than another, because nearer the truth. 
 The man, who satisfies himself with the reflec- 
 tion, that the system which he holds is, upon 
 the whole, good, and in some degree useful, 
 when by making the proper inquiry, he might 
 discover that another is evidently better, pos- 
 sessing a still greater tendency to be useful, is 
 certainly inexcusable, and of course, culpable, 
 if he fails to make that inquiry. 
 
 I, therefore, cordially approve of your in- 
 tention of examining for yourself, by the only 
 infallible standard—the word of God, those 
 different, and often conflicting systems, now 
 abroad in the world. If you prosecute this 
 
30 LETTERS ON 
 
 inquiry with meekness and humility, and espe- 
 cially with prayer for the divine blessing, I 
 have no doubt, the Holy Spirit will guide you 
 into the knowledge and belief of all truth, as it 
 is in Jesus Christ. I will cheerfully give you 
 my sentiments on the two important doctrines, 
 mentioned in your request—the divine de- 
 erees, and the perseverance of the saints. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF FREJUDICE—ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, 
 WHAT ARE THE DECREES OF Gop ? 
 
 No person can have been so long conversant 
 with the world as you have been, without 
 often observing the effects of prejudice. It 
 implies the belief of a statement, or opinion, 
 without examination; of course, without a 
 knowledge of the evidence on which the truth 
 of that opinion is founded. A judgment is 
 formed, for which no good reason ean be 
 given. In this way, either truth or error may, 
 and often is, received. It is peculiarly unfor- 
 tunate when its influence operates in favour of 
 error; for it renders the mind almost, if not 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 3l 
 
 quite inaccessible to truth. It is. a hopeless 
 undertaking, to reason with men under its 
 influence. You state a case to them, differ- 
 ently from their opinion, and invite them to 
 a fair and candid inquiry; but they have prre- 
 judged the case; they have no doubts on the 
 subject. They formed their opinion without 
 deliberation, of course, without difficulty, and 
 why should they doubt? Perfectly satisfied 
 with their present views, troubled with no 
 doubts respecting their correctness, they can 
 see no reason for investigation. In the same 
 manner, without inquiry, and without any 
 doubt, they believe that all opinions, differing 
 from their own, are unfounded and erroneous; 
 they, of course, consider all examination as use- 
 less and unnecessary. Your proposal, there- 
 fore, to inquire, can only excite their passions; 
 which either pervert, or repel, the force of 
 your reasonings; and, in fact, disqualify their 
 minds for any thing like useful investigation. 
 Their opposition to your statements, is that of 
 feeling, and not of the understanding. They 
 consider it as necessary to reject and oppose 
 error, as to hold and defend the truth. Such 
 men are apt to make a convenience of certain 
 vague and general terms, which they consider 
 
we LETTERS ON 
 
 rather as the signals of a party, than as the 
 signs of definite ideas. If the term is used by 
 the party to which they belong, without con- 
 veying one distinct perception to the mind, it 
 awakens all the feelings of approbation; and 
 they are determined to defend it. But if the 
 term is generally used by those whom they 
 consider their opponents, then it awakens all 
 the feelings of disapprobation and hostility; 
 the mind almost instinctively assumes the atti- 
 tude of resistance; they are determined to 
 oppose it. Their passions are excited, but 
 their understanding is not enlightened. 
 
 These remarks, as you have no doubt ob- 
 served, have been often verified, during the 
 prevalence among us of party spirit on the 
 subject of politics. But the effects of preju- 
 dice appear on no subject more frequently 
 than on that of religion; and especially re- 
 specting the divine decrees. There are mul- 
 titudes in whose minds the very term, decree, 
 is sufficient to excite the liveliest feelings of 
 dislike and opposition. 
 
 I am to offer you my sentiments on the sub- 
 ject of the divine decrees. May God, in mer- 
 cy, grant that spirit of meekness, humility, 
 and wisdom, without which the inquiry will 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 33 
 
 be prosecuted to no advantage! I am not un- 
 dertaking to clear this doctrine of all diffi- 
 culties; or to render it, in all its bearings and 
 connexions, comprehensible to your mind. 
 What I chiefly intend is to furnish you with 
 that mode of reasoning, and with that train of 
 refiection, which has led my own mind to 
 believe in this doctrine, as taught in the word 
 of God. 
 
 About the middle of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, an assembly of Divines, convened at 
 Westminster, in England; composed two cate- 
 chisms, the one called the larger, and the 
 other, the shorter catechism; both of which 
 are received by the Presbyterian Church, as 
 excellent compends of Christian doctrine. A 
 question in the shorter catechism brings the 
 subject, now under consideration, fully and 
 distinctly to view: What are the decrees of 
 God? Nor do I know of any thing, within 
 the same compass, more to the point or more 
 satisfactory, than the answer to this question: 
 The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, 
 according to the counsel of his own will, 
 whereby, for his own glory, he hath fore- 
 ordained whatsoever comes to pass. 
 
 In this answer, the decrees of God and his 
 
 4 
 
34 LETTERS ON 
 
 purpose, are considered the same: the one is 
 explained by the other, and both are again ex- 
 pressed in the term, fore-ordained. To de- 
 cree, to purpose, to fore-ordain, to predestinate, 
 to predetermine, when used to express the in- 
 tentions, designs, and plans of God, are so 
 nearly, if not altogether the same in their 
 meaning, that they will be considered as such, 
 and will be used as synonymous terms. The 
 words, decree, purpose, fore-ordination, &c., 
 will be considered and used also as meaning 
 the same thing. Those events, or actions, to 
 which the divine purpose relates, may be ex- 
 pressed, with equal propriety, either by the 
 term decreed, or purposed, or fore-ordained, 
 or predestinated, or designed, or predeter- 
 mined. These purposes of the Almighty are 
 neither capricious nor arbitrary: they are not 
 _ capricious; because they are formed, or more 
 properly, they exist in the divine mind, ac- 
 cording to a perfect rule, which is his own 
 will. From this they derive both stability 
 and unity. They are not arbitrary; since he 
 does not ordain an event merely because he 
 has power to accomplish it; they are accord- 
 ing to the counse/ of his own will. Ofall the 
 
 works of God, it is said, in wisdom hast thou 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 35 
 
 made them all. All things, and all events 
 are embraced in these decrees; for his king- 
 dom ruleth over all; and by him all things 
 do consist, or hang together. All these de- 
 terminations have respect to his own glory, as 
 their chief and ultimate end; and will all ter- 
 minate in that glory—the highest and best 
 end which ean be proposed.y-According to 
 the conceptions of our finite capacities, these 
 purposes must exist in the divine mind before 
 the events to which they relate are brought to 
 pass. If they exist one day, or one hour be- 
 fore, as it respects God himself, to whom one 
 day is as a thousand years, and a thousand 
 years as one day, it is precisely the same as if 
 they existed from all eternity. These pur- 
 poses are, therefore, eternal. Now, each part 
 of this answer appears to be worthy of all ac- 
 ceptation; because the whole of it is founded 
 on Scripture, and agrees perfectly with all we 
 know of the character of God, and of the go- 
 vernment which he exercises over the world. 
 I, therefore, receive it, not only because it is 
 true, but also because it is useful and comfort- 
 able. 
 
 If, however, you feel any difficulty in re- 
 ceiving, as true, the above statements, you 
 
36 LETTERS ON 
 
 will admit the truth of the two following pro- 
 positions, viz.: That the government of the 
 universe is in the hands of Jehovah: or that 
 his kingdom ruleth over all; and that, by 
 grace ye are saved. If you receive these two 
 propositions, then, in my opinion, you are a 
 genuine Calvinist; for they embrace the very 
 essence of that system. The former of these 
 may be understood as including the works of 
 creation and providence; the latter as refer- 
 ring to the work of redemption. But all who 
 profess to believe the Bible, believe these pro- 
 positions, for they are parts of that volume; 
 and yet all are not Calvinists. Our only dif- 
 ference, therefore, is respecting the meaning 
 of these, and similar passages of Scripture. 
 The first of these will be considered in my 
 next letter. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 GOD NEVER ACTS WITHOUT DESIGN—PROVIDENCE, WHAT— 
 EXTENDS TO THE PRESERVATION OF LIFE—AND TO ALL INAN- 
 IMATE MATTER. 
 
 In your evening walk you tread on a worm, 
 and crush it to death; presently you observe a 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 37 
 
 venomous serpent near your path, which you 
 also kill. In the first case, the effect, as it 
 respected yourself, was accidental; that is, it 
 happened without your intention; you had no 
 design to injure the worm. But in the latter, 
 the effect, or event, was according to your 
 intention; your killing the serpent was in con- 
 sequence of a design, previously and delibe- 
 rately formed, in your mind. And yet, in 
 both cases you were the cause of death. Ina_ 
 thousand instances, the exertions of men pro- 
 duce effects, not only without design, but 
 contrary to their deliberate intentions. But 
 nothing like this can possibly happen with God. 
 It would be the height of absurdity, and man- 
 ifest the greatest ignorance of his character to 
 suppose, that his power was exerted in blind 
 efforts, and was producing effects, which he 
 had not previously designed. Every effect 
 which his power produces, is according to the 
 predetermination of his own wisdom. 
 
 It is probable, if not certain, that the whole 
 system to which this earth belongs was created 
 at the same time. The sun, which is the 
 common centre, and the moon are expressly 
 mentioned. The supposition is very much 
 strengthened by the Mosaic account, in whieh, 
 
38 LETTERS ON 
 
 besides mentioning the sun and moon, it is 
 distinctly stated he made the stars also ; that 
 is, at the same time. | Not the fixed stars; but 
 those planets, commonly called stars, which 
 are, known to revolve round the sun, with this 
 earth. In the beginning, God created the 
 heavens and the earth; not by accident, but 
 from design. In that plan, which guided his 
 creative power, was embraced all the parts of 
 these heavens, and this earth. The number of 
 planets, belonging to the system; their dis- 
 tance from each other; their revolution; their 
 figure and dimensions; were all decreed with 
 absolute certainty. If then this purpose ex- 
 isted in the divine mind previously to creation, 
 there is no alternative, but to believe that it is 
 an eternal purpose. ‘l’o suppose any thing else, 
 involves an absurdity too great to impute to 
 any man. 
 
 No objection, however, will be made, I 
 presume, to the creation of the world, accord- 
 ing to an eternal purpose of God, but chiefly 
 to his governing the world, in the same man- 
 ner; and yet this, if I mistake not, is included 
 in the preposition, which you will readily ad- 
 mit, that the government of the universe is in 
 the hands of Jehovah, or that his kingdom 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 39 
 
 ruleth over all. This government and _ his 
 providence are the same. Every effect, and 
 every event, to which his providence extends, 
 are so many particulars included in his goy- 
 ernment. Now, consider for a moment, what 
 a vast variety of events are in Scripture most 
 explicitly ascribed to God; and which, of 
 course, are under the control of his guardian 
 care, But in what sense can an event be + 
 ascribed to God, unless it is brought to pass by 
 
 his agency? It is true, divine providence is 
 carried on by the instrumentality of second 
 causes: but this fact cannot alter the case. 
 These second causes, whether they be rational 
 or irrational creatures, with or without life, are 
 completely dependent on the Almighty, and 
 could neither exist nor act without his power- 
 ful and constant support. Their preservation, 
 and the employment of their instrumentality, 
 are important parts in the plan of his provi- 
 dence. Hence the propriety of using the term 
 ProvipENcE, which means foresight, or care 
 respecting future events, so as to secure their 
 occurrence at a particular time, and under par- 
 ticular circumstances. Thus when one effect 
 is produced, care is taken that it may answer 
 the purpose of a second cause, or be instru- 
 
AO LETTERS ON 
 
 mental in producing a second effect, and this 
 again a third, &c. throughout a series of causes 
 and effects, which may terminate only with 
 the end of the world. In producing the first 
 effect, provision was made for the second, in 
 the second, for the third, &c. That effect, 
 which is here considered the first, was itself 
 produced by another which preceded it, and 
 this also by another; and thus the unbroken 
 chain may be traced up, through all the inter- 
 mediate links, to the First Cause. In the first 
 effect, produced immediately by the hand of 
 God, provision was made for all that were to 
 flow from it, down to the last. Thus, the 
 first and the last event, of any given series, are 
 connected together; the last is dependent on 
 the first, as the first is on God. A second 
 cause necessarily implies a first, on which the 
 whole connexion, in all its parts, and in every 
 stage of its progress, is dependent. Every 
 intervening effect was, from the beginning, as 
 distinctly in his view, and as certainly em- 
 braced in his purpose, as the first. One view, 
 and one purpose, pervades the whole. The 
 - Providence of God is, therefore, his unerring 
 and perfect foresight, his wise and guardian 
 care, extending through a yast concatenation 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. . ge 
 
 of causes and effects, from the first to the last 
 moment of time—a_successive flow of events, 
 which none can arrest, but He who first set it 
 in motion. 
 
 For the sake of illustration, let some particu- 
 lar case be selected. The preservation of human 
 life is known to depend on the concurrence of 
 a great variety of means, or second causes; 
 man’s own exertion and prudence, food, water, 
 air, clothing, medicine, &c., and yet, in Scrip- 
 ture, this preservation is ascribed in the most 
 explicit and unequivocal language to God. “O, 
 thou preserver of men; O Lord thou presery- 
 est man and beast; in him we live, and move, 
 and have our being.”’ Job vii. 20; Ps. xxxvi. 
 6; Acts xvii. 28. Creation is not ascribed to 
 God in language more intelligible and more 
 explicit than this. The life of man, however, is 
 preserved, generally, not by miracle, but by 
 providence; that is, by the use of means, pos- 
 sessing, in themselves, a fitness to answer the 
 intended purpose. The preservation of human 
 life necessarily implies the provision of all 
 those means on which that life depends. 
 
 The preservation of the apostle Paul’s life, 
 as far as we can judge, at one time, depended 
 on his nephew, who, accidentally, as we call 
 
42 - LETTERS ON 
 
 it, but providentially, in the purposes of God, 
 heard the bloody intentions of the Jews; of 
 which he gave immediate information to the 
 chief captain. (Acts xxiii. 16, et seq.) Had 
 this captain been a Gallio, still the effect 
 would have taken place. But he was not; 
 provision was made in his character, and in 
 the dispositions of his heart for acting prompt- 
 ly on this information; and thus securing Paul 
 from these murderous designs.. Had this 
 young man been at a distance, he could not 
 have heard this conversation; of course, could 
 not have given the information. But He 
 who had determined to prolong the life of 
 the distinguished apostle, determined also to 
 secure the presence of his nephew, at the 
 proper place and at the proper moment. At 
 another time, his life, and the life of the 
 whole company, depended on the continuance 
 of the sailors in the ship. “ Except these 
 abide in the ship ye cannot be saved.” And 
 yet he had been previously assured that his 
 life should not be lost. The intention to pre- 
 serve him, included the exertions of the sea- 
 men, as the means of that preservation. 
 
 The preservation of life often depends on 
 circumstances too trivial to excite the least 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 43 
 
 attention at the moment; yet such occurrences 
 are sometimes the shield by which man is 
 secure from death. _ While the Rev. Dr. Rod- 
 gers, late of New York, lived at St. Georges’, 
 in Maryland, one of his neighbours deter- 
 mined to murder him. “ Accordingly the 
 miserable wretch made every preparation for 
 executing his nefarious purpose. He watched 
 the motions of Mr. R. with a loaded musket, 
 day after day, for a considerable time, and 
 eagerly sought for a favourable opportunity 
 to destroy his life. He waylaid him when he 
 rode abroad. He hovered about his door, at 
 intervals, by day and night. But something 
 always occurred to carry the object of his pur- 
 suit in a different direction from that which 
 was expected, and thus to avert the intended 
 mischief.””* The Doctor knew nothing of 
 these attempts; and, therefore, could have no 
 design to avoid the danger. But the great 
 Head of the church intended to employ him 
 still longer in his vineyard; and, therefore, at 
 the proper moment, and in due proportion, all 
 the motives and all the circumstances neces- 
 sary to his preservation, were ready and 
 brought into operation. A very slight change 
 
 * Miller’s Life of Rodgers, page 111. 
 
44. LETTERS ON 
 
 in these occurrences might have carried him 
 on to instant death. 
 
 This wise and gracious care of the Almighty 
 Father extends to all the human family, every 
 individual of which, is equally, and at all times 
 dependent on him. Whatever God performs 
 in the course of his providence, we ought to 
 believe that from the beginning it was his 
 intention to do. If that intention preceded 
 the event, as it must have done, then we can- 
 not avoid the conviction that, in the divine 
 mind, it existed from all eternity. In this 
 eternal purpose is included the preservation of 
 every human being; and, of course, all the 
 means necessary for the support of life. If 
 the means should fail, life also must fail, un- 
 less it be preserved by miracle, which we are 
 not to expect. If, in the divine purpose, the 
 end is rendered certain, so also are the means. 
 No human being can long subsist without food. 
 If God has determined to preserve, for a given 
 time, the life of any particular man, he must. 
 also have determined to provide that food 
 without which he cannot live. Nor is this 
 food produced by miracle; its production de- 
 pends on other causes; on the fertility and 
 cultivation of the soil; on the influence of the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 45 
 
 sun, the rain, &c. If, then, he determined to 
 provide the necessary food, he determined also 
 to secure the operation of all those causes on 
 which the production of that food depends. 
 The causes which are instrumental in furnish- 
 ing bread, are themselves the effects of other 
 causes which preceded them, and these again 
 of others, till we are led up to the great First 
 Cause. Thus we are taught to pray to our 
 Father in Heaven for our daily bread. But 
 why pray to him for it? unless its provision 
 depends on his wisdom and his care. The 
 causes on which the provision of this bread 
 depends, are also ascribed to him. “ And 
 God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the 
 herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding 
 fruit, after his kind.”? Gen. i. 11. “He 
 maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the 
 good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the 
 unjust.”? Matt. v.45. If the preservation of 
 our life requires bread, for this bread we are 
 taught to pray, and thus to acknowledge it as 
 one of his blessings. If this bread is produced 
 by other means, these means are instruments 
 in the hand of Omnipotence, employed for 
 this special purpose. All second causes are 
 
46 LETTERS ON 
 
 the servants of the Supreme Ruler, waiting on 
 him in readiness to perform his will. 
 
 In the same manner, all living creatures 
 depend on God for their preservation. “O 
 Lord,” said the Psalmist, ‘‘thou preservest, 
 not only man, but beast also. These wait all 
 upon thee, that thou mayest give them their 
 meat in due season.”? Psal. civ. 27, 28.) All 
 the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, the 
 fishes of the sea, together with every living 
 thing, by whatever name it is called—all are 
 sustained by the providential care of the great 
 Creator. “God feedeth the ravens. Thou 
 openest thy hand, they are filled with good; 
 thou hidest thy face, they are troubled. Thou 
 satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”’ 
 Psal. cxiv. 16. Not one of them is forgotten 
 before God. -If this language means any thing, 
 it means that this whole department of ani- 
 mated nature, from the greatest to the very 
 least, is sustained in being by divine power, 
 wisdom and goodness. Food is as necessary 
 for the support of their life, as for the life of 
 man. This food must be suited to their nature; 
 and their natures are very different from each 
 other. Some are carnivorous; some are gra- 
 minivorous. That which is received by one, 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 47 
 
 is rejected by another. This food must not 
 only be suited to their nature, but must be 
 given in due season.’ The purpose of God, 
 to preserve the life of all these myriads of 
 living creatures, certainly implies his purpose 
 of securing for them all the various kinds of 
 food, from which the nourishment of life may 
 be derived. It also renders certain the con- 
 current instrumentality of all those means, or 
 second causes, on which the provision of this 
 food depends.. Here again, in attempting to 
 trace the succession of causes and effects, we 
 are carried up, and lost in the counsels of infi- 
 nite wisdom, which must for ever exceed our 
 limited comprehension. 
 
 In Scripture, we are taught to believe that 
 the providence of God extends to the whole 
 vegetable kingdom; and indeed to every part 
 of inanimate nature. The fruitful earth is 
 still, and has been in every age, obedient to 
 the mandate of Jehovah. “He causeth the 
 grass to grow for the cattle, and the herb for 
 the service of man; he hath planted the cedars 
 of Lebanon.” He not only causes the grass 
 and all kinds of herbage to grow; but he also 
 clothes that grass, and this herbage. Neither 
 their number, their shape, nor their colour, 
 
48 LETTERS ON 
 
 are either uncertain or contingent, but deter- 
 mined by the wise and eternal purposes of 
 Him who causes them to spring from the 
 earth. He gives the grass its form and its 
 verdure; to his pencil, the lily, the rose, the 
 pink, &c. are indebted for all their discrimina- 
 tive tints, and their brilliancy of colour. If 
 he plants the cedars of Lebanon, so, by fair 
 and undeniable consequence, does he plant 
 the trees of every other kind, over the whole 
 earth. The oak, the pine, the willow, &c. are 
 as much dependent on his care as the dign- 
 aloes and the cedar. 
 
 Inanimate matter, in all its combinations 
 and forms, in all its movements and opera- 
 tions, is completely subject to the controlling 
 hand of Omnipotence. The wind bloweth 
 where it listeth, as to any power in man, to 
 direct its course, or stop its progress, but not 
 without the command of God; for “ He bring- 
 eth the wind out of his treasuries; it is his 
 wind; he causeth it to blow.”? When Jonah 
 fled from his duty, the Lord sent out a great 
 wind into the sea after him, and he was soon 
 brought to repentance. When it has answer- 
 ed the purpose for which it is sent out, then 
 “He stayeth his rough wind, and gathereth it 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 49 
 
 in his fist. He scattereth the hoar frost like 
 ashes. Fire and hail, snow and vapour,”’’ 
 whether they sweep over the earth with deso- 
 lating fury, or minister to the comfort and 
 convenience of man, are only fulfilling his 
 word. liven the resistless thunder-bolt, shiv- 
 ering with equal ease the palaces of kings, and 
 the trees of the forest, is launched and guided 
 by his hand; for “ He directeth his lightnings 
 to the ends of the earth.’ See him at one 
 time measuring the waters in the hollow of 
 his hand; at another, meteing out the heavens 
 with a span; now, comprehending the dust of 
 the earth in a measure; again, weighing the 
 mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance; 
 and who can suppress the devout exclamation: 
 O, Lord! how manifold are thy works; how 
 vast, how boundless the extent of thy provi- 
 dence! Matter, it is true, is governed by 
 what we usually call the laws of nature; but 
 what are these laws, but the power, the wis- 
 dom, and the goodness of God, producing, 
 with regularity and certainty, all the diversi- 
 fied phenomena which strike our attention? 
 
5O LETTERS ON 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 DEATH, WITH ALL ITS CAUSES, UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF 
 PROVIDENCE—THE CARE OF GOD EXTENDS TO THE WHOLE 
 UNIVERSE. 
 
 Iv the great Jehovah is continually employed 
 in preserving the life of man, must not the ter- 
 mination of that life be ascribed also to him? 
 Have we the consolation of believing, that 
 divine wisdom presides over all the changes 
 which diversify our life, regulating the minu- 
 test events connected with our safety, num- 
 bering even the hairs of our head; but that, in 
 the hour of death, we shall be cast off, and be 
 altogether deserted by our merciful Father? 
 Reason, and the word of God, unite in forbid- 
 ding us to admit the gloomy conclusion; and 
 in authorizing us to cherish the belief that the 
 last hour, the last moment of life, is+as cer- 
 tainly embraced in the designs of his provi- 
 dence, as any of those hours or moments that 
 are past. The divine purpose to preserve our 
 life is not vague and indefinite as to time. 
 We have abundant reason to believe that the 
 length of our life, as well as its preservation, 
 is determined by the wisdom of Him who 
 
 ie 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. Al 
 
 cannot err. He alone has the right, and he 
 alone is competent to decide when it is most 
 proper to withdraw from us his supporting 
 hand. 
 
 In Scripture, we find this event is ascribed 
 to God. “I know,” said the pious and af- 
 flicted Job, that “thou wilt bring me to death. 
 The Lord killeth; he bringeth down to the 
 grave.’ 1 Sam. ii. 6. “Is there not an ap- 
 pointed time for man uponearth? Yes, verily, 
 his days are determined, the number of his 
 months is with thee; thou hast appointed his 
 bounds, that he cannot pass.’? Job vii. 1, and 
 SIV 5s 
 
 If this event should for a moment be sup- 
 posed to depend not on the will of God, but of 
 man; that each individual should possess the 
 power to prolong his life according te his own 
 pleasure; this would also imply the power to 
 command all those means by which life is sus- 
 tained. If he cannot by his own power secure 
 those means, neither can he preserve his life; 
 for it cannot be preserved without them. He 
 must have it in his power to provide food: 
 for without it, he cannot long subsist. This 
 requires an absolute control over all those 
 causes on which the provision of food depends. 
 
5 LETTERS ON 
 
 He must impart fertility to the earth, must 
 command the sun to shine and the rain to fall; 
 for without these the earth will not yield her 
 increase. These causes are the effects of 
 others which preceded them; and these again 
 of others; and thus the connexion may be 
 traced back hundreds of years, before any 
 man now living was born. This supposition 
 would require him to act hundreds or even 
 thousands of years before he existed. No- 
 thing, therefore, can be more absurd than to 
 suppose man capable of performing all this; 
 and yet if he cannot do all this and much 
 more, neither can he prolong his own life; 
 and if he cannot prolong his own life, neither 
 can he determine, independently of the divine 
 will, his own death. Life and death are in 
 the hands of the same being; and that being 
 must exercise the most absolute control over 
 all those causes which contribute to the sup- 
 port of life. That being can be none other 
 than Jehovah. 
 
 If it depended on our own choice, how few 
 of us would ever leave this world? Even 
 under accumulated evils, we generally cling to 
 life with the most eager endearment. Topro- . 
 duce in the human mind a desire to depart, is 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 53 
 
 among the sublimest effects of genuine piety. 
 The language of this desire, however, is, “all 
 the days of my appointed time will I wait, till 
 my change come;”’ for it is always connected 
 with perfect submission to the will of God. 
 Death itself is not only ascribed to the great 
 Disposer of all events, but also all those causes 
 which generally issue in the termination of 
 life. Thousands of the human family are 
 annually swept off by diseases of various 
 kinds, all of which may be included in the 
 term pestilence. This. is so frequently, and 
 under such a variety of circumstances ascribed 
 to God, that it is almost needless to mention 
 particular passages. “I will smite them with 
 the pestilence; he gave their life over to the 
 pestilence; I have sent among you the pesti- 
 lence.’? Numbers xiv. 12. Psalm Ixxvili. 50. 
 Amos. iv. 10. This pestilence, walking in 
 darkness, and wasting at noonday, is but the 
 servant of the Almighty, and cannot move or 
 affect the life of a single creature without his 
 command. If, however, it should not be ad- 
 mitted that the pestilence includes all diseases, 
 still we find in Scripture that, collectively and 
 singly, they are subject. to the regulations of 
 divine power and wisdom. * The Lord will 
 
54 LETTERS ON 
 
 make thy plague wonderful, and sore sickness, 
 and of long continuance; also every sickness, 
 and every plague, which is not written in the 
 book of his law, them will the Lord bring 
 upon thee, until thou be destroyed.’ Deut. 
 xxvill. 60, 61. The truth here asserted is, 
 that all kinds of diseases are sent by the Ruler 
 of the world, and are subject to the guidance 
 of his providence. Of this truth the Divine 
 Redeemer furnished, while on earth, the most 
 conclusive proof, by healing all manner of 
 diseases, which he could not have done, if they 
 were not obedient to his will. 
 
 Disease itself is the effect of other causes, 
 which are also ascribed to God. The cause 
 of disease is often generated in the atmosphere. 
 Noxious qualities exhaled from the earth, com- 
 bine with the air which we breathe; and when 
 thus impregnated, the wind has only to pass 
 over us and we are gone. Shall we suppose 
 that these exhalations rise by chance, and are 
 not included in the divine purpose? Such, no 
 doubt, is the opinion of some. The spirit of 
 inspiration, however, has taught us otherwise, 
 ascribing their rise te the same wisdom which 
 presides over the rise and fall of empires. 
 This vapour, eventually the cause of death, 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 55 
 
 does but fulfil his word. “He causeth the 
 vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth.’’ 
 Psal. exxxv. 7. If their ascent is regulated 
 by his will, so are all their subsequent move- 
 ments and effects. 
 
 Thousands of mankind have been destroy- 
 ed by famine; another of those means some- 
 times used by the Most High in accomplish- 
 ing his designs. “ Arise and go,” said Elisha 
 to the woman, “for the Lord hath called for 
 famine,’ which accordingly came. That sore 
 and grievous famine which prevailed in Egypt, 
 was established by the purpose of God, and 
 came, because he called for it.: Gen. xli. 32. 
 Psal. cv. 16. Famine is also produced by 
 second causes, all of which are embraced in the 
 divine plan. If it be occasioned by drought, 
 it is He who “ stayeth the bottles: of heaven, 
 and bindeth up the waters in his thick cloud.’’ 
 If it be occasioned by storms, these, while 
 desolating the fields, are only fulfilling his word, 
 who has only to speak, and it is done. If it 
 be the consequence of locusts or other devour- 
 ing insects, he need only issue his proclama- 
 tion, and “the locusts come, and caterpillars 
 without number;”’ let him but hiss for the fly, 
 and it is ready to perform the work of ravage. 
 
56 LETTERS ON 
 
 Whenever it pleases God to visit a nation with 
 famine, all the causes by which it is usually 
 produced, are in obedience to his will. The 
 time, the degree, and the result of their ope- 
 ration, are all detailed in those plans of wis- 
 dom by which he governs the world. 
 
 War is another engine often employed to 
 bring man to his end. While we are bound 
 to believe, on the authority of Scripture, that 
 pestilence, disease and famine, perform their 
 work in obedience to the divine command, 
 can we, with equal clearness and satisfaction, 
 perceive that the rise, the progress and desola- 
 tions of war are subject to the same control? 
 If there was to be “war with Amalek from 
 generation to generation,” it is because “ the 
 Lord hath sworn that he will have it.” If 
 many of the Hagarites fell down slain, it was 
 “ because the war was of God.”? Exod. xvi. 
 16. 1 Chron. v. 22. When David was to be 
 chastised for his criminal imprudence in num- 
 bering the people, war was one of the scourges 
 offered to his choice. Had war been his pre- 
 ference, we have the same reasons to believe, 
 that this would have been sent, as that the pes- 
 tilence was actually sent from the Lord. 
 have, therefore, the same reasons for believing 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 57 
 
 that the rage of war is as certainly directed 
 and limited by an Almighty arm, that we 
 have for believing that pestilence and famine 
 are thus directed and limited. When his pur- 
 poses are accomplished, then “he maketh 
 war to cease unto the end of the earth.’’? The 
 death of those who fall by the sword, is em- 
 braced in the providence of God equally with 
 those who die by disease. 
 
 Nor are we destitute of authority for ascrib- 
 ing to the Arbiter of nations even the causes 
 of war. He must, of course, exercise his 
 power over these causes, as well as over that 
 war which is their effect. “Blessed be the 
 Lord my strength,” saith the Psalmist, “ who 
 teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to 
 fight.” If it originates in the wrath of man, 
 “surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, 
 the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain.” 
 “The king’s heart,’’ that is, his passions, dis- 
 positions, designs, &c., “is in the hand of the 
 Lord, as rivers of water: he turneth it whither- 
 soever he will.’? Psal. exliv. 1.—xlvi. 10. 
 Prov: xxi: 
 
 It appears, from this induction of particu- 
 lars, that we are justified in believing that 
 death, with all the means by which it is pro- 
 
 6 
 
58 LETTERS ON 
 
 duced, are constantly under the direction of an 
 overruling providence, which controls, with 
 unerring certainty, all their movements and 
 effects; not with respect to a few only, but to 
 every individual of the human family. Any 
 other supposition, as it appears to me, must, 
 and will involve us in absurdities. If one sin- 
 gle circumstance, contributing to the death of 
 any person should not be under the control of 
 heaven, under whose shall we place it Mat- 
 ter has no intelligence, can exercise no thought, 
 and is, therefore, incapable of forming a de- 
 sign to move, or produce any effect whatever. 
 Noxious vapours have no intention of rising 
 from the earth, mingling their unhealthy qual- 
 ities with the air, and thus producing disease 
 and death. The earth, the sun, and the clouds, 
 hold no consultation, in order to produce a 
 famine for the destruction of man. To sup- 
 pose that man, independently of divine aid, 
 has any commanding influence over the causes 
 of his own death, has already appeared impos- 
 sible. Shall we, then, ascribe such an agency 
 to angels? They are expressly said to be 
 ministering spirits, under the government of 
 God, sent forth for the execution of his plans. 
 They possess no independent agency. They, 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 59 
 
 with all the powers they possess, are as com- 
 pletely dependent on God, as the worm that 
 crawls on the earth. Why, then, should they 
 be supposed capable of dividing the govern- 
 ment of the world with their Creator? For 
 if men or angels, by an independent power of 
 their own, determine one single event, over 
 that event they would govern; of course, it 
 could not be under, nor even belong to the 
 government of God. Then his kingdom 
 would not he all: here would be one 
 event, together with its governor, completely 
 independent of his power. There is no being 
 in existence capable of exercising an independ- 
 ent power but one, that is God. 
 
 The death of all other animals is included 
 in the wise and comprehensive designs of the 
 Almighty. They are all his creatures, and 
 share in his fatherly regard. Man, for his 
 own amusement, may destroy the life of a 
 sparrow; the hawk may seize and devour it: 
 the serpent may crush it in his coil; but each 
 of these are but instruments in the hand of 
 God,employed in accomplishing his purposes; 
 “for one sparrow shall not fall on the ground,”’ 
 that is, die, “ without your Father.’’ If this 
 be true, respecting the sparrow, by the fairest 
 
60 LETTERS ON 
 
 inference, it is also true of all the fowls of the 
 air; and, indeed, of every living creature: all 
 are equally under the notice of his eye, and 
 surrounded by his providence. If they are 
 troubled, according to the beautiful language 
 of the Psalmist, it is because “ thou hidest thy 
 face; if they die, and return to their dust, it 
 is because “ thou takest away their breath.” | 
 I hope, before this time, you have seen that 
 in Scripture, a wider range 1s given to the 
 providence of God, than woul eadily be ad- 
 stomed to reflect 
 
 that range. An all-wise and Almighty being 
 created, sustains, and governs the whole for 
 his own glory. Those who deny, as some do, 
 that God has any thing to do with some events 
 which take place among men, must, of course, 
 deny that the providence of God extends to 
 these events; for his providence necessarily 
 implies the exercise of his power, in some 
 way or other, in bringing these events to pass. 
 Providence is not an attribute of Deity, but 
 the manner in which his attributes, especially 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 61 
 
 his wisdom, power, and goodness, are em- 
 ployed in governing the world. 
 
 Although the above remarks relate chiefly 
 to this world, yet there can be no doubt but 
 the great Sovereign exercises the same pater- 
 nal care over every other part of the universe. 
 If those planets, which make a part of that 
 system to which our earth belongs, be inhabit- 
 ed, as modern philosophy supposes, over all 
 their inhabitants, over all their actions, and 
 over all their changes, which in any manner 
 affect their existence, the eternal Jehovah 
 watches with a sleepless eye, and guides 
 them with an unwearied and invincible hand. 
 To each individual, and to each event, his 
 guardian providence extends, with as much ac- 
 curacy and ease, as if that individual, and that 
 event were the only objects which engaged his 
 attention. Modern astronomers consider it 
 probable that all those lucid points, called 
 fixed stars, are, in reality, so many suns, like 
 the one which enlightens our globe, and 
 makes our day; that these suns are centres, 
 around which systems of worlds revolve; and 
 that these worlds are all inhabited, by crea- 
 tures of various orders. If this be admitted 
 as probable, the Bible teaches us to view the 
 
62 LETTERS ON 
 
 Almighty Parent as watching over, sustaining, 
 and governing all these worlds, and all-their 
 inhabitants, and all their actions, and all the 
 circumstances which diversify their existence. 
 Not only these worlds and their inhabitants, 
 but a detail of events, from the greatest to the 
 least, is embraced by his plan, in the execu- 
 tion of which his hand is continually employ- 
 ed. “Great and marvellous are thy works, 
 Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy 
 ways, thou King of saints.”’ 
 
 & 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 THE DIVINE PURPOSE NEITHER SUSPENDS NOR VIOLATES THE 
 FREE AGENCY OF MAN. 
 
 Ir has not escaped my recollection that there 
 are many objections advanced against the sen- 
 timents contained in the preceding remarks; 
 some of which are founded on misapprehen- 
 sion, others relate to what is really incompre- 
 hensible to our limited capacities. ‘There are 
 many who believe, without hesitation, that the 
 world was created by the power of God. Here 
 they understand the general term, world, in 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 63 
 
 its proper sense, as including each and every 
 particular belonging to the world. In the 
 meaning of this complex term, they include 
 each man, animal, or living creature, each tree 
 and plant, and atom of matter. As it regards 
 creation, they do not object to the minutest 
 detail of particulars. Probably they will not 
 object to the statement that God is the Gover- 
 nor of the world; but they will not understand 
 the term, world, in the same sense as in the 
 former case; but in a vague, indefinite sense, 
 of which the mind can form no distinct idea. 
 If you mention particulars, for instance, certain 
 events brought to pass by the agency of men, 
 objections will soon be made. Now, what we 
 ask, and have a right to claim, is, that they 
 will understand the term in the same sense in 
 this case as in the former; as including all the 
 particulars belonging to this complex term, 
 when used in relation to the divine govern- 
 ment. If we admit that the world is governed 
 by the Almighty, if we understand the word 
 correctly, we admit that all the particulars, 
 that is, that each individual, and each event 
 belonging to the world, is governed by him; 
 for the world is made up of these particulars. 
 For the sake of illustration, let us take an- 
 
64 LETTERS ON 
 
 other term, also complex; that is, including a 
 number of particulars, in its meaning; but of 
 less extent than the term world. “Art thou 
 not God in heaven, and rulest not thou over 
 all the kingdoms of the heathen; and in thine 
 hand is there not power and might so that 
 none is able to withstand thee?’? 2 Chron. 
 xx. 6. In the meaning of the term kingdom, 
 is necessarily included a numberof men, divi- 
 ded into rulers and subjects, living under a 
 system of laws. Abstract men from the idea 
 of a kingdom, and what will remain? nothing; 
 for without men there can be no kingdom. 
 When therefore it is stated, that God rules 
 over a kingdom, the meaning is that he rules 
 over the men who compose that kingdom. 
 Again; what idea does the term, man, con- 
 vey? Does it not include his thoughts, his 
 passions, and his actions? If these be separated 
 from man, what will be left as the subject 
 of government? A soul indeed, but without 
 thoughts or passions; 2 body, indeed, but 
 without actions. If these are not included in 
 the idea of man, there is nothing left which 
 can ke governed. Therefore when we say the 
 government of God is exercised over man, we 
 mean, or at least we ought to mean, that it is 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 65 
 
 exercised over his thoughts, his passions, and 
 his actions. If it be not exercised over his 
 thoughts, &c., it cannot be exercised over 
 man; and if not over each individual man, it 
 cannot be over a kingdom; for without men, 
 there can be no kingdom. To govern in any 
 sense, is to secure a conformity, in the subject 
 of government, to some law, or rule. . The 
 government of a father, over his family, means 
 his inducing them to conform themselves to 
 his will, which is the rule. If they disobey 
 this law, they are no longer governed by him; 
 for they cannot be governed by a law which 
 they transgress. He, of course, can be said to 
 govern them no further than he can secure, in 
 their conduct, a conformity to his will. So 
 the divine government means the exercise of 
 power sufficient to secure, in the subjects of 
 his government, a conformity to his will. But 
 the government of God is exercised over the 
 thoughts, passions, and actions of men. ‘The 
 result is, that the thoughts, &c., of men, are 
 subject to the influence of such decisive con- 
 trol, as to secure a conformity to his provi- 
 dential purposes. Nor is it possible for any 
 creature to disobey this government, which, to 
 distinguish it from that which is moral, I will 
 
66 LETTERS ON 
 
 call the Government of his Providence. Part 
 of the passage of Scripture last quoted will 
 abundantly support this declaration. Such 
 also, if I mistake not, is the meaning of Isaiah; 
 “¢ My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my 
 pleasure: yea, I have spoken it, I will also 
 bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will 
 also do it.’? Isa. xlvi. 10. The meaning of 
 these, and many similar passages, is, I confess 
 to my mind, not very obvious when under: 
 stood as relating to the moral government, the 
 laws of which are shamefully and repeatedly 
 transgressed; but clear, forcible, and undeni- 
 able, when understood as relating to those wise 
 and eternal purposes, according to which the 
 providence of God is uniformly conducted. 
 Other objections against the doctrine arise 
 from the difficulty of reconciling it with the 
 free agency of man; and you have more than 
 intimated that this was your own case. Many 
 others have felt the same difficulty, who have 
 acted very differently from what you have, 
 or, I trust ever will do: for this reason, they 
 have rejected the doctrine altogether. They 
 are capable, at least in a certain degree, of 
 commanding their own thoughts; which com- 
 mand they find may be considerably increased 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 67 
 
 by practice: or if their thoughts are not 
 always the result of such command, they are 
 naturally produced by the impression of exter- 
 nal objects. Perhaps, “to make assurance 
 doubly sure,’? they have purposely turned 
 their thoughts from object to object, to prove 
 that they were free. ‘They can reason on any 
 subject, form their designs, and put ‘these 
 designs in execution ; they can rise or sit still ; 
 can move either the right or the left hand, at 
 their own pleasure. How then, they ask, can 
 they believe, that there is a divine power, 
 reigning over these thoughts, designs, and 
 actions, directing the whole, in such a manner 
 as to secure a complete conformity to the pur- 
 pose of God? ‘They are sure of their own 
 free agency; and because they cannot recon- 
 cile this doctrine with it, they reject the doc- 
 trine. 
 
 I believe in the free agency of manas firmly 
 as they can do ; but I do not believe this more” 
 firmly than I do that the eternal purpose of 
 Jehovah, embracing the thoughts, designs, and 
 actions of men, will take effect, at the precise 
 moment to which it relates, with absolute cer- 
 tainty. Yet I neither comprehend, nor will 
 I attempt to explain to you, the connexion 
 
68 LETTERS ON 
 
 between these two doctrines. Each of them 
 is supported by its own appropriate evidence ; 
 evidence fully sufficient to produce the most 
 genuine conviction of its truth, in every can- 
 did mind. And surely we ought to believe 
 every doctrine which is supported by sufficient 
 evidence ; for this is according to reason and 
 _ Seripture; but to comprehend that doctrine is 
 avery different thing. We believe that soul 
 and body are united, but we do not compre- 
 hend this union; shall we on this account 
 reject this belief? We believe that most of 
 our bodily actions are the result of our own 
 volition, but cannot explain the influence of 
 the mind over the body; shall we therefore 
 renounce our belief of the fact! In short, 
 there is nothing which our limited minds can 
 fully comprehend. We do not understand 
 even that free agency of which we are con- 
 scious, still less can we comprehend the coun- 
 sels of infinite wisdom. If then we can com- 
 prehend neither of these subjects, we cannot 
 affirm that they are irreconcilable, or incon- 
 sistent with each other. In that part of their 
 nature which is beyond the reach of our 
 minds, and of which we can form no clearand 
 definite conceptions, they may reign together 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 69 
 
 and harmonize in perfect consistency. To 
 affirm, as many do, that they cannot agree, 
 presupposes, what no man ever possessed, a 
 perfect comprehension of their nature. No 
 man, I venture to say, would expose his own 
 ignorance so far as to deny the prescience of 
 God. This knowledge extends to all things; 
 to every thought, word, and action of all man- 
 kind, to every event in the whole world; for 
 “known unto God are all his works from the 
 beginning;”? “and all things are naked and 
 opened unto the eyes of him, with whom we 
 have to do.” If one single thought were sup- 
 posed to be unknown to him, from eternity, 
 then his knowledge might be increased; but 
 this it cannot be; for He is “ perfect in know- 
 ledge.”’ Here then is a case presenting the 
 same difficulty which the other does; for it is 
 just as impossible for us to comprehend the 
 connexion between the foreknowledge of 
 God, and the free agency of man, as between 
 his decrees and this free agency: and yet no 
 person denies the prescience of God on this 
 .account. The foreknowledge of God implies 
 the absolute certainty of all events; yet no 
 person ever supposed that it imposes any 
 physical restraint, or necessity on the thoughts 
 
710 LETTERS ON 
 
 or actions of men; every one pursues that 
 course to which his inclination leads him, as 
 freely as if there was no prescience in the 
 Deity. We find no difficulty in believing that 
 divine justice and mercy are united, with per- 
 fect harmony, in the salvation of sinners 
 through Jesus Christ; yet, in all probability, 
 before the sublime and wonderful scheme was 
 made kaown, angels considered this union 
 impossible; because they could not compre- 
 hend it. The condemnation of a sinner would 
 entirely exclude the exercise of mercy; his 
 pardon would as effectually deny the claims of 
 justice. How groundless and how presump- 
 tuous would have been the conclusion, that 
 they could not be reconciled; and that, there- 
 fore, there was no such attribute as mercy 
 belonging to Deity. Thanks be to God, we 
 are taught, and so are the angels, to believe in 
 this union; because it is demonstrated in the 
 redemption of fallen man. So we now believe 
 that, from all eternity, they were united; 
 though the precious fact is only known through 
 the cross of a divine Saviour. In a state of 
 clearer vision, at some period of their endless 
 progress in knowledge, the saints may yet 
 comprehend the connexion between the high 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 71 
 
 and holy purposes of God, and the free agency 
 of intelligent creatures. This may be one 
 grade of their boundless elevation; this may be 
 part of the happiness reserved for them in hea- 
 ven. With a devout expansion of thought, 
 inconceivable to them at present, from some 
 future exaltation, they may look back on the 
 difficulties which now attend this subject, with 
 the same feeling with which the man of science 
 looks back on the faint, the dark, and imper- 
 fect conceptions of infancy and childhood. 
 
 It does not appear to me, that those act con- 
 sistently who deny the doctrine respecting the 
 divine decrees, because they cannot reconcile 
 that doctrine with the free agency of man, 
 when similar difficulties, in other cases, do not 
 prevent their belief. If they believe in the 
 union of soul and body, and in the influence 
 of the mind over the body; if they believe in 
 the prescience of God, and yet acknowledge 
 that in each of these cases, there are difficul- 
 ties which they cannot comprehend, why 
 should they not also believe in the fore-ordi- 
 nation of God, though they cannot reconcile 
 it, or rather cannot compreliend its reconcilia- 
 tion with the free agency of men? Especially 
 when the truth of this doctrine is supported 
 
Te LETTERS ON 
 
 by authority as abundant, and as amply suffi- 
 cient to produce conviction, as in either of the 
 other cases. They, no doubt, and perhaps 
 yourself also, will reply, let us have this autho- 
 rity. You shall have what I conceive amounts 
 to such authority. 
 
 In the Bible many occurrences were fore- 
 told by the prophets long before they hap- 
 pened. These prophecies rendered the events 
 to which they related undeniably certain; so 
 much so, that they are often spoken of in the 
 present tense, or as having already taken 
 place; when in reality several hundred years 
 were to intervene. In many instances where 
 the prophecy was delivered, there appeared to 
 human view little or no probability that it 
 would ever be verified: still it was not the 
 less certain; for it was the language of eternal 
 and immutable truth. Its accomplishment 
 often required the instrumentality of man, 
 whose free agency is not to be suspended; 
 still it is certain, “ for the mouth of the Lord 
 hath spoken it.”’ 
 
 By the voice of prophecy God was pleased 
 to make known to man various events which 
 he intended to accomplish; one of which was 
 the destruction of Babylon, and the subversion 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 73 
 
 of the Chaldean empire. Isaiah appears to 
 have been the first prophet by whom the 
 divine purpose respecting this city was de- 
 clared. It is found in the 13th chapter of his 
 Prophecies, and is entitled, The burden of 
 Babylon. This prediction is, by chronolo- 
 gers, supposed to have been delivered about 
 two hundred years before the event took place. 
 In the judgment of human wisdom, many cir- 
 cumstances appeared to render this occurrence 
 very improbable. The Jews were residing in 
 quietness in their own land; and yet one de- 
 sign of this calamity was to release them from — 
 captivity; of which they had not at this time 
 the least expectation. Indeed, it is supposed 
 that the Jews had as yet but little acquain- 
 tance with the Chaldeans. The Medes, who 
 are particularly mentioned as the executors of 
 the divine decrees, were at this time but an 
 inconsiderable people. Babylon for many 
 years subsequent to this prophecy, continued 
 to increase in population, in opulence and 
 power, until it reached its zenith, during the 
 reign of Nebuchadnezzar, when it fully an- 
 swered the description of the prophets, who 
 called it “great Babylon; the beauty of the 
 Chaldee’s excellency; the golden city,’’ &c. 
 7, 
 
74. LETTERS ON 
 
 Yet powerful and splendid as it was, the pro- 
 phet saw it, in the volume of the divine coun- 
 sels, prostrate in ruin, swept with the besom 
 of destruction. 
 
 The downfall of this proud metropolis of 
 the east was predicted, not merely in general 
 terms, but with considerable minuteness. The 
 city was to be invaded; her monarch and her 
 nobles slain; her treasures carried off; her 
 once crowded population to be dispersed; wild 
 beasts were to become her inhabitants; her 
 walls, her palaces, and temples either demolish- 
 ed by the hand of man, or gradually consumed 
 by the ravages of time; her very surface was 
 destined to become a desert, no longer afford- 
 ing sustenance even to the wild beasts, which 
 were then to be succeeded by serpents and 
 scorpions, lurking beneath the fragments of 
 her ruins, and threatening death to man; so 
 that even the roving and adventurous Arab 
 will be deterred from pitching his tent there. 
 
 The agents to be employed in fulfilling 
 these prophecies were particularly mentioned. 
 The Medes were named for this purpose; and 
 for this reason the Lord calls them Azs sanc- 
 tified ones, whom he had appointed and set 
 apart for this service. About thirty years 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 1) 
 
 after, the commander-in-chief of these victo- 
 rious armies is called by name, upwards of 
 one hundred years before he was born. Cyrus 
 is the man chosen to triumph over Babylon; 
 and thus to commence the fulfilment of those 
 prophecies relating to that devoted city. For 
 this reason the Lord calls him Ads anointed; 
 as one set apart and qualified for this work. 
 His success was certain; for the King of kings 
 promised to go before him, and hold his right 
 hand. 
 
 Many circumstances respecting the manner 
 in which Cyrus would enter the city, are par- 
 ticularly mentioned. Babylon, when subju- 
 gated by the Medes, was surrounded by a 
 wall, as historians inform us, séxty miles in 
 compass, erghty feet thick, and three hundred 
 and fifty feet high; forming an exact square, 
 eacn side of which was fiyteen miles long, 
 built of brick, cemented with bitumen, which 
 in a short time becomes harder than the brick. 
 In each of the four sides were éwenty-five 
 gates, formed of solid brass, opening into the 
 same number of streets which crossed each 
 other at right angles. A branch of the river 
 Euphrates passed through the city, dividing it 
 into two equal parts. The banks of the river 
 
wee) LETTERS ON 
 
 were faced with strong brick walls, to keep it 
 within its channel, and were extended several 
 miles beyond the city. Opposite to each street, 
 on either side of the river, was a brazen gate 
 in the wall, with stairs leading down from it 
 to the river; which gates were open in the day 
 and shut in the night. The river passing 
 through the city was more than a quarter of a 
 mile broad, and ten or twelve feet deep. It 
 - was explicitly foretold that this 7zver should 
 be dried up; also that these ¢wo-leaved bra- 
 zen gates should be opened before Cyrus, and 
 not be shut. It was predicted that the city 
 should be taken by surprise, and during a 
 drunken feast; and that the king should be 
 instantaneously seized with the greatest horror 
 and dismay. No time was yet specified for the 
 accomplishment of these purposes. At length 
 this also is given. Seventy years before these 
 events actually commenced, the prophet was 
 inspired to declare, that at the end of that 
 period, the king of Babylon should be pun- 
 ished with these calamities. Jer. xxv. 12. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. TF 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 THE DIVINE PURPOSE PERFECTLY CONSISTENT WITH THE FREE 
 AGENCY OF MAN. 
 
 Tne page of prophecy has informed us what 
 God intended to do respecting Babylon; the 
 same page in part, but chiefly the page of pro- 
 fane history will inform us of the exact accom- 
 plishment of all these pre-ordinations. As 
 the time approaches for the divine purpose to 
 take effect, we see every agent and every cir- 
 cumstance mentioned in the prediction appear- 
 ing, and assuming a state of preparation for 
 the grand catastrophe. Evil-merodach, son 
 and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, took one 
 important step in that preparation, by making 
 an unprovoked attack on the Medes. WNeri- 
 glisser, his successor, hastens this preparation. 
 Jealous of the growing power of the Medes, 
 he excites against them a general confederacy 
 of the neighbouring nations. Thus the Medes 
 were fired with a spirit of irreconcilable en- 
 mity and revenge against Babylon. At the 
 proper moment, the commander-in-chief of 
 the invading army is born and is called Cyrus; 
 a name given him by the prophet an hundred 
 
78 LETTERS ON 
 
 years before his birth. The first twelve years 
 of his life were spent with his father; and he 
 was educated after the Persian manner, in 
 hardship and toil, and all such laborious exer- 
 cises as would tend to fit him for the fatigues 
 of war. At this early period, he surpassed all 
 of his age, not only in his aptness to learn, but 
 in the courage and address with which he ex- 
 ecuted whatever he undertook. The next five 
 years were spent at the court of Media, with 
 his grandfather. Here he was generally be- 
 loved on account of his generous and amiable 
 disposition, and especially for the military 
 prowess which he displayed. He engaged par- 
 ticularly the affections of the king and the 
 nobility, and thus laid the foundation for that 
 attachment to his person which enabled him 
 to act an important part in that great drama 
 just opening on the world. — He then returned 
 to the Persian court, and resided with his 
 father till he attained the age of forty. By 
 this time so many preparatory events had taken 
 place as pointed out the period for some deci- 
 sivemovement. The last sand, measuring the 
 glory of Babylon, is now ready to fall. Ac- 
 cordingly Cyrus is appointed generalissimo of 
 an army composed of Medes and Persians. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 79 
 
 This army approaches the devoted city; for 
 where the carcass is, there will the eagles be 
 gathered together. Belshazzar, who then 
 reigned at Babylon, hearing that Cyrus was 
 approaching his metropolis, marched out to 
 give him battle: but being easily routed, he 
 retreated into the city where he was closely 
 besieged. But the great height and strength 
 of the walls, environed with ditches, and im- 
 pregnable to every mode of attack then known; 
 the numerous troops employed in their de- 
 fence; immense magazines of provisions, suf- 
 ficient for the consumption of many years, 
 with the great extent of fertile land within the 
 city, capable of furnishing continual supplies; 
 ail concurred in rendering the siege of Baby- 
 Jos an arduous and almost hopeless enterprise. 
 This extraordinary combination of difficulties 
 did not discourage Cyrus, nor did length of 
 time overcome his perseverance. Despairing 
 of taking the city by storm, he drew round its 
 immense circuit a line of circumvallation, 
 with a large and deep ditch, to cut off its com- 
 munication with the country. But the Baby- 
 lonians, trusting in the strength of their walls, 
 their vast magazines and fruitful gardens, in- 
 sulted Cyrus from the ramparts, and seemed 
 
80 LETTERS ON 
 
 to defy all his efforts, and thus resigned them~- 
 selves to a fatal security. Cyrus, having spent 
 two whole years before Babylon without mak- 
 ing any impression, adopted the following 
 stratagem, which proved successful. There 
 was, on the west side of the city, a vast lake, 
 dug to receive the waters of the river, while 
 the brick walls which faced its banks were 
 building, and also to receive the redundant 
 waters in time of great floods, and thus to pre- 
 serve the plain country from inundation, In- 
 formed that a great annual festival was about 
 to be kept in the city, and that it was custom- 
 ary to spend the whole night on these occa- 
 sions in drunkenness and debauchery, he 
 determined to embrace this opportunity for 
 surprising them. Acccrdingly he sent a strong 
 detachment to the head of the great canal, 
 leading from the river to the lake, with orders, 
 at a particular hour, to break down the bank 
 which separated between the lake and the 
 canal, and thus to turn the whole current of 
 the river into the lake. At the same time he 
 stationed one body of troops where the river 
 entered the city, and another below where it 
 eame out, with orders to march in by the bed 
 of the river as soon as they should find it ford- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 8] 
 
 able. The same evening he caused the head 
 of his trenches on both sides of the river above 
 the city to be cut, that the water might dis- 
 charge itself into them; so that by means of 
 these different outlets,.the channel was soon 
 low enough to admit the entrance of the 
 troops. The two bodies of troops above men- 
 tioned, conducted by Babylonian deserters, 
 entered by the bed of the river, and finding 
 the brazen gates at the end of the streets left 
 open in consequence of the riot and disorder 
 of the night, they penetrated into the heart of 
 the city without opposition. According to 
 the concerted plan of operation, they met at 
 the royal palace, where the king was giving a 
 grand licentious entertainment to a@ thousand 
 of his nobles. Dan. v. 1. The supposition 
 of some writers, that these troops had already 
 entered the city, when the hand-writing ap- 
 peared on the wail, is extremely probable. 
 Having surprised and cut off the guards, they 
 rushed into the palace and slew the king and 
 his dissolute courtiers. The people being ap-: 
 prized of this event, submitted, and the vic- 
 tory was complete without further opposition. 
 The reduction of Babylon put an end to the 
 Babylonian empire, and finally fulfilled in the 
 8 
 
82 LETTERS ON 
 
 name and character of the conqueror, and in 
 the various circumstances which attended this 
 event, the prophecies which Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
 and Daniel had uttered against this proud me- 
 tropolis. 
 
 Here we may remark with what accuracy 
 the predictions of the prophets were verified 
 in this victory, and in the consequences which 
 flowed from it. While the prophecies are 
 receiving their accomplishment, there is no 
 violence done to the free agency of man; and 
 yet men are the principal agents in producing 
 these effects. Every person concerned is in- 
 fluenced, in the ordinary way, by the circum- 
 stances with which they were surrounded. 
 It is highly probable, if not certain, that Cyrus 
 knew nothing of these prophecies, and of 
 course could not act with a design to fulfil 
 them; and yet had this been the fact, had he 
 been acquainted with them from his youth, 
 and had he intended their accomplishment, he 
 could not possibly have done it more accu- 
 rately than he did. His parents gave him the 
 very name mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, 
 an hundred years before he was born. He 
 received precisely that education, possessed 
 that temper of mind, and that constitution of 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 83 
 
 body, which qualified him to act the part 
 assigned him. He grew up with an increasing 
 thirst for military fame, without which he 
 would not have undertaken, or been fitted for 
 the enterprise. Every circumstance attended, 
 every event occurred, at the proper moment 
 necessary to verify the emphatic language of 
 the prophet, “I girded thee.” The girding 
 implies all that was requisite to fit him for 
 this memorable campaign. The martial spirit 
 which he by: nature possessed; the active em- 
 ployments, the toils and fatigues in which he 
 was from his infancy trained; that noble dis- 
 position, and those pleasing manners, by which 
 he gained the favour and confidence of the 
 kings and nobles both of Persia and Media, 
 were all essential parts of this preparation. 
 Had he possessed a timid spirit, had his dispo- 
 sition been grovelling and mean, his manners 
 uncouth and forbidding, he would not have 
 been girded for this purpose. Without the 
 lake, into which Cyrus turned the waters of 
 the Euphrates, he could not have gained the 
 
 victory; because there was no other way in | 
 which he could enter the city... This: lake, ay 
 
 intended by those who dug it for a very dif- 
 ferent purpose, was designed by providence 
 
84. LETTERS ON 
 
 to enable Cyrus to dry up the river, and thus 
 to enter. Had the brazen gates, placed at the 
 end of the streets leading to the river, been 
 securely shut, he could not, even from the 
 river, have entered the city or reached the 
 palace. But this was one circumstance par- 
 ticularly mentioned by the prophet; “I will 
 loose the loins of kings, to open before him 
 the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not 
 be shut.”? Isaiah xlv. 1. We are informed 
 that it was the constant practice to close these 
 gates every night, yet on this night they were 
 not shut. 
 
 Other kings, and other causes, through suc- 
 cessive ages, have contributed to the complete 
 accomplishment of all the particulars, pre- 
 dicted by the prophets, respecting the ruin of 
 the splendid city. At this day, the place where 
 it stood cannot with certainty be ascertained. 
 
 Nothing can be more undeniably certain 
 than that God had determined the capture and 
 desolation of Babylon long before the event 
 took place; for the prophets were inspired to 
 announce this determination to the world. 
 This determination must necessarily include 
 and secure the existence and co-operation of 
 all the agents, means, and circumstances on 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 85 
 
 which the event depended. Had one of these 
 agents been wanting, one of these causes failed 
 to operate, one of these circumstances been 
 different, the event, without a miracle, would 
 not have taken place. God, however, who 
 decreed the event, decreed also the means 
 necessary for the accomplishment of his pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Men were the principal agents in execu- 
 ting the divine plan. Cyrus was his anointed; 
 the Medes were his sanctified ones; the loins 
 of the kings of Babylon were loosed. These 
 men were all free agents, who willingly per- 
 form their respective parts, without being 
 conscious of the slightest compulsion. They 
 knew not the Lord, nor his designs. Of 
 Cyrus particularly, one of the principal agents, 
 it is affirmed, that he knew him not. Their 
 thoughts were employed as freely about the 
 objects which engaged their attention as ours 
 are. They deliberated, formed their own 
 plans, provided their means, selected their 
 own time, and proceeded to bring these means 
 into operation, for the execution of these plans 
 according to their own intentions and views 
 of propriety. And yet all this was_per- 
 fectly according to the foreordination of God 
 
86 LETTERS ON 
 
 respecting Babylon. Every object which 
 interested their attention, the dispositions and 
 passions by which they were impelled, the 
 means they provided, the time they selected, 
 the plans they formed, the end they proposed, 
 were all subservient to the designs of Jehovah, 
 and contributed with perfect accuracy to the 
 execution of his plans. Had no such purpose 
 existed in the divine mind, they could not 
 have deliberated and acted with greater free- 
 dom than they did; and yet had they been as 
 destitute of reason and free agency as the hail, 
 snow, or stormy wind, they could not better 
 have fulfilled the word of God, or better an- 
 swered his purpose. 
 
 We have, then, as it appears to me, the very 
 best authority for believing that the divine 
 purposes are accomplished with absolute cer- 
 tainty, through the agency of men, while these 
 men think, deliberate, and act, with the great- 
 est freedom. Their free agency is not sus- 
 pended; nor does it, for a moment, suffer the 
 least violence. No man can deny either of 
 these propositions without involving himself 
 in contradiction and absurdity. Both are un- 
 deniably true; and, therefore, do not imply 
 the least inconsistency; for truth is always 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 87 
 
 consistent. But while this is my firm belief, 
 I repeat that I cannot comprehend this con- 
 sistency. Neither can I comprehend the 
 manner of the divine operations in any case, 
 er on any subject. How the universe was 
 created, how it is sustained and governed, I 
 cannot: comprehend; and yet, if I believe any 
 thing, I believe that it was created, that it is 
 sustained and governed by the wisdom and 
 power of God. I cannot comprehend the in- 
 fluence of my own mind on my body; and 
 yet the pen, which writes these words, is 
 moving in consequence of that influence. 
 
 Se ee: oan 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 A METHOD OF ASCERTAINING THE EXTENT OF DIVINE PRO- 
 VIDENCE—GREAT EVENTS NATURALLY INCLUDE ALL THE 
 LESS ONES, OF WHICH THEY ARE MADE UP. 
 
 You will admit, no doubt, that the subjugation 
 of Babylon was decreed by the Ruler of the 
 universe, long before the event took place; for 
 so it was predicted by the prophets. Now, 
 this is the nature of all prophecy: certain 
 parts of the divine plan, according to. the 
 counsels of his own wisdom, respecting na- 
 
88 LETTERS ON 
 
 tions, cities, or individuals are made known to 
 man. As soon as the prophecy is delivered, 
 the decree of God is thus known. Many of 
 these prophecies have been, others still remain 
 to be fulfilled. Of those which have been ac- 
 complished, relating to cities, none are more 
 remarkable than those respecting Jerusalem, 
 delivered by our Saviour. Josephus records 
 the exact and dreadful accomplishment of 
 these predictions, Of those relating to indi- 
 viduals, none are more remarkable than those 
 which foretold the birth, the life, the charac- 
 ter, the sufferings, and death of Jesus Christ; 
 the accomplishment of all which, even to the 
 minutest circumstance, is contained in the 
 New Testament. I need not tell you that 
 the Bible, from the ake to the end, is 
 filled with prophecies; all of which are de- 
 clarations from God, making known to man, 
 , his intentions and purposes. 
 
 That these purposes existed in the divine 
 
 | mind, before they were communicated to the 
 prophet, is undeniable. It is equally undeni- 
 _ able, in my view, that they existed from all 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 eternity. To suppose any thing else, is to 
 , make God imperfect and mutable like our- 
 
 j . 
 selves. As our knowledge increases, and our 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 89 
 
 views enlarge, we form new plans, propose 
 new ends. Not so, however, with Ged. His 
 knowledge and wisdom are infinite, and can 
 receive no. addition; and his purposes are as 
 eternal as his wisdom; the reasons on which 
 they were founded, always. existed. There 
 never was a period, in time or eternity, if the 
 expression be allowed, when the purposes 
 relating to Babylon and Jerusalem did not 
 exist In the divine mind; and exist, too, in all 
 that detail, in which they were made known 
 through the prophets, and have long since 
 been verified in the history of those cities. 
 This may be affirmed of all the prophecies 
 contained in the Bible; from all eternity, it 
 was the unalterable’ purpose of God, that all 
 those events should take place which the pro- 
 phets had predicted. 
 
 Although, I doubt not, but you read the 
 Bible with care and profit, yet let me request 
 you to read it for the special purpose of ascer- 
 taining all the prophecies which it contains, 
 from the first to the last. Note down, in one 
 column, those which relate to nations, including 
 all their population; in another, those relating 
 to cities, with their inhabitants; in another, 
 those respecting individuals, &c. In connexion 
 
90 LETTERS ON 
 
 with each of these, as far as practicable, note 
 the events predicted. Then go somewhat 
 more into detail; consider all the agents, with 
 their qualifications; all the means, with their 
 operation; the existence of all the circum- 
 stances, indispensably necessary to the occur- 
 rence of these events. From a review of the 
 whole, although you may not be convinced 
 that “all things, whatsoever come to pass,” 
 are embraced, yet, I rather think, you will be 
 surprised to find what a great number, and 
 vast variety of events will be included in this 
 plan; all of which were, of course, embraced 
 in the purpose of God, and thus rendered 
 certain. 
 
 The promises of God, especially those called 
 unconditional promises, are of the same nature; 
 the fulfilment of them is undeniably certain. 
 All the agents, means, and circumstances, 
 necessary for their fulfilment, are equally cer- 
 tain. Such was the promise of God, to Abra- 
 ham, respecting Ishmael: “ Of the son of the 
 bond-woman will I make a nation, because 
 he is thy seed.”? Gen. xxi. 13. Go through 
 your Bible a second time, and note all such 
 promises; consider all the agents, means, and 
 circumstances implied in verifying these words 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 9] 
 
 of the Lord, and you will find it will very 
 much increase the number and variety of those 
 events, thus rendered certain, long before they 
 take place. These promises, like the prophe- 
 cies, rest on the faithfulness of God, which 
 cannot fail; his character is pledged for the 
 accomplishment of both. 
 
 " Note also, all those events, which although 
 neither predicted nor promised, are yet expli- 
 citly ascribed to God; such as the preservation 
 of human life, feeding the ravens, clothing the 
 grass, &c., consider all the means and second 
 causes on which these events depend. All 
 these works of the Lord are performed accord- 
 ing to an intention previously existing in the 
 Divine mind; which intention secures the 
 occurrence of the events, with all the second 
 causes on which they depend. After casting 
 your eye over the whole scheme, thus arrang- 
 ed, permit me to ask you, what event is there, 
 belonging to this world, which is not included, 
 either in the prophecies, the promises, or the 
 works plainly ascribed to God? Nor can I 
 perceive the least exaggeration, or unfairness 
 in this process, which you may pursue with 
 both pleasure and profit; the whole of it rests 
 on the firm basis of Scripture, which cannot 
 be shaken. 
 
99 LETTERS ON 
 
 Some, I am aware, will readily admit that 
 certain great events, such as the capture of 
 Babylon, and the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 were foreordained, in the counsels of eternal 
 wisdom, but they hesitate in admitting all the 
 details, without which these events could not 
 take place. In my view, however, the latter 
 are necessarily implied and embraced in the 
 former. Babylon is to fall; not by an earth- 
 quake, nor by the lightning of heaven;. but by 
 an army of men. This army must have a 
 commander; the existence, therefore, of this 
 commander is certain; equally certain is the 
 existence of his parents before him; these also 
 were born of parents, who preceded them, and 
 so on through all the line of their ancestors 
 up to Noah, and from Noah to Adam, who 
 came immediately from the hand of God. But 
 this commander, distinguished as he was for 
 military powers, could not have achieved the 
 victory alone: an army was necessary. This 
 army was composed of individuals; of course, 
 the existence of these individuals was certain; 
 for without them there could be no army; 
 and without an army, Babylon could not be 
 taken; and thus the prophecy could not have 
 been fulfilled. Two-leaved gates were to be 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 93 
 
 opened before Cyrus. “Will any person ven- 
 ture to say that this does not render certain 
 the existence of such gates? Yet these gates 
 were formed by men who were influenced by 
 their own motives, and ‘without the least 
 knowledge {of the purpose of God.~ In the 
 same manner they were left. open. ‘Similar 
 remarks may be made respecting the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem. This devoted city was to 
 be surrounded and destroyed by an army; 
 this army must have a commander; this ren- 
 dered certain, therefore, the existence both of 
 the commander, and of the individuals who 
 composed that army. 
 
 Many prophecies in the Old Testament 
 relate exclusively to the divine Saviour. He 
 was to be a descendant of David. Does not 
 this necessarily secure the existence of some, 
 at least of David’s descendants until this won- 
 derful child should be born? The place of 
 his birth is mentioned. But Bethlehem is 
 not the residence of his parents. Their pre- 
 sence there, however, at the appointed time, 
 is rendered certain by the prediction. I need 
 not mention to you, the reasons which induced 
 them to visit this village. In short, how often 
 do the Evangelists, in narrating the events of 
 
94. LETTERS ON 
 
 his life and of his death remark, “This was 
 done that it mignt be fulfilled which was spo- 
 ken by the prophet.” 
 
 It has already appeared what an extensive 
 influence, over the world of nature, divine 
 providence must employ in preserving the life 
 of one individual: the promise of God, that 
 he would make of Ishmael a nation, was made 
 with a perfect knowledge of all that was neces- 
 sary to secure its accomplishment, and with a 
 real intention to provide all the means neces- - 
 sary for that purpose. Ishmael of course was 
 preserved through many dangers, and from 
 him has descended a nation which exists to 
 this day. This is only one of a great number 
 of promises, involving a divine control over a 
 vast variety of events, all of which were neces- 
 sary to ‘the fulfilment of these promises, and 
 the occurrence of which was unalterably fixed. 
 
 To admit that some great events are decreed, 
 and thus rendered certain, and yet not to ad- 
 mit, in like manner, that all the details, all 
 the particular parts, on which the great event 
 depends, manifests, it appears to me, a want 
 of reflection, an ignorance of the Bible, and of 
 the character and providence of God, with 
 which no consistent and intelligent Christian 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 95 
 
 should be chargeable. The truth is, that all 
 great events are made up of smaller ones com- 
 bined together. That purpose of God which 
 renders certain the occurrence of great events, 
 renders equally certain, in their own time 
 and order, the occurrence of all those smaller 
 events, of which the great one is made up. 
 The ocean is made up of single drops; the 
 earth is composed of small atoms. Without 
 drops, there could be no ocean; without atoms, 
 no earth. To suppose that God determined 
 to create the earth, without determining to 
 ereate the atoms of which it is composed, is 
 not more inconsistent with truth, or more 
 unworthy the wisdom and character of God, 
 than to suppose that he determined the occur- 
 rence of a great event, without including in 
 his determination, all the subordinate events 
 even down to the minutest cirtumstance, on 
 which the great one depends. The conquest 
 of Babylon was a great event. This was 
 gained by an army composed of individuals, 
 whose concurrent and united exertions result- 
 ed in this conquest. Without a certain degree 
 of muscular strength and military skill, these 
 exertions could not have been made; without 
 regular and suitable nourishment, this strength 
 
96 _ LETTERS ON 
 
 could not be secured; without previous train- 
 ing, this skill could not be acquired. Had this 
 training, and this nourishment not been receiv- 
 ed, this strength and this skill would not have 
 been possessed; of course, these exertions could 
 not have been made; without these, the vic- 
 tory could not have been gained; and thus the 
 divine prediction would have failed; the word 
 of the Lord would have returned to him void. 
 
 The man who makes a promise to his neigh- 
 bour, without having in view the probable 
 means of fulfilling it, is chargeable with im- 
 prudence, dishonesty, or wickedness, perhaps 
 all together. If your neighbour, labouring 
 under pecuniary embarrassments, should apply 
 to you for the loan of a particular sum which 
 would relieve him, and promise to repay it at 
 the end of twelve months, you would no 
 doubt wish to be informed of the means that 
 would secure a compliance with his promise. 
 If he could satisfy you on this point, you 
 would consider this promise reasonable, and 
 grant him relief. But if he failed in giving 
 this satisfaction; if he possessed no probable 
 means of complying with his promise; you 
 would not only refuse to trust him, but would 
 consider him a dishonest man, who intended 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 97 
 
 to deceive you. Let us beware, then, of 
 ascribing to God our Maker, a procedure 
 which would disgrace a human being, even in 
 the view of such sinful creatures as we are. 
 Let God be true, though every man should be 
 a liar. When he promises the occurrence of 
 any event or state of things, it is with an 
 immutable intention of accomplishing that pro- 
 mise. The means of this accomplishment are 
 as distinctly in his view, and as much the 
 objects of his care, and the subjects of his con- 
 trol, as the event itself. Suppose him to leave 
 these out of view, or to possess no power to 
 secure their existence, and you Suppose him 
 to resemble a weak and imprudent man. 
 Long before the event occurred, the pro- 
 phets declared the intention of God, that Baby- 
 lon should be taken. This intention, as we 
 have seen, existed in the divine mind from all 
 eternity. But unless Babylon exists it cannot 
 be taken. This intention, therefore, rendered 
 unalterably certain, before the foundation of 
 the world, the existence of Babylon. When 
 the earth received its form, the site of this city 
 was marked out on its surface. This spot, 
 destined to be the theatre of such memorable 
 events, may, through successive ages, be 
 9 
 
98 LETTERS ON 
 
 covered by the trees of the forest, may be 
 the resort of wild beasts, be untrodden by the 
 foot of man; but at the appointed hour the 
 forest shall disappear, the wild beasts shall 
 seek another resort, the architect shall stretch 
 his line and execute his plans—here the walls 
 shall run, here the temple and the palace shall 
 stand, and Babylon shall rear her head to the 
 skies. When or by whom this city was found- 
 ed is uncertain. ‘Some say it was founded 
 by Semiramis, and according to others by 
 Belus, who is thought by many to be the 
 same with Nimrod; but whoever was the 
 founder, it was, in process of time, much 
 improved; and Nebuchadnezzar in particular 
 repaired, enlarged, and beautified it to such a 
 degree, that he may be said to have built it 
 according to his own vain-glorious boast: ‘ Is 
 not this great Babylon, which J have built for 
 the house of the kingdom, by the might of my 
 power, and for the honour of my majesty?? ”’ 
 Dan. iy. 30. Babylon is not only to exist, but 
 to exist in a style of splendour that would 
 verify the descriptive language of Scripture 
 respecting it. It is there represented as “ great 
 Babylon—the golden city—the lady of king- 
 doms—abundant in treasures—the praise of 
 
a 
 
 THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 99 
 
 the whole earth.’ Profane historians inform 
 us that such was the extent, the strength, the 
 wealth and splendour of Babylon, as to answer 
 these prophetic descriptions: it was for ages 
 considered one of the wonders of the world. 
 Now, unless Babylon exists, it cannot be 
 taken; unless it is built it cannot exist; it was 
 not built by miracle, but by human agents, by 
 men; these men were rational, were free 
 agents like ourselves. They would not have 
 acted their respective parts without motives, 
 leading them to act; these motives must have 
 been derived from their own dispositions, and 
 the circumstances in which they were placed. 
 Had these dispositions and these circumstances 
 been different, these motives would not haye 
 existed; without them, these men would not 
 have acted; without their agency the city 
 could not have been built; of course could not 
 have been taken; by consequence, the pro- 
 phets who foretold this event, would have 
 been found false prophets. But they were 
 not false, but true prophets. The divine pur- 
 pose which they were commissioned to reveal, 
 secured the existence of the city; of course, 
 rendered certain the existence of every agent, 
 circumstance and motive, in their proper time 
 
100 LETTERS ON 
 
 and degree, necessary to complete his designs. 
 These men, marked cut by divine wisdom for 
 these purposes, knew not the Lord nor his 
 intentions. Nebuchadnezzar knew not that 
 the Most High ruled in the kingdom of men. 
 He tells us what was his object, in all that he 
 did: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have 
 built for the honour of my majesty??? He 
 laid his own plans, proposed his own ends; 
 yet over these plans and these ends, the high 
 purposes of Jehovah reigned with perfect ease 
 and certainty, rendering them subservient to 
 the existence and unparalleled magnificence 
 of this renowned city, as it was found and 
 conquered by Cyrus. 
 
 ae 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 EVENTS, SIMILAR TO THOSE CONTAINED IN THE PROPHE- 
 CIES AND PROMISES OF GOD, ARE ALL INCLUDED IN HIS 
 PURPOSE. 
 
 Is your patience so far exhausted, or is your 
 mind so well satisfied, that you wish for no- 
 thing more on this subject? I wish to offer a 
 few additional remarks; you can read or omit » 
 them as you think proper. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. LOL 
 
 It was the intention of God that Babylon 
 should exist, and that it should be captured by 
 Cyrus. For purposes of his own glory, he 
 was pleased to make known this intention to 
 the world long before the events occurred. 
 These events did not occur because this reve- 
 lation was made, though in perfect accordance 
 with it. The design existed before the reve- 
 lation was made. The occurrence of these 
 events was not in the least degree more cer- 
 tain after this revelation than they were before. 
 It was the intention of God, and not the com- 
 munication of that intention to man which 
 rendered certain this great series of events. If 
 it had been according to the* counsels of his 
 wisdom, to have withheld from man all know- 
 ledge of this intention, these events would 
 have taken place precisely at the time and in 
 the same order in which they did. Our igno- 
 rance of the divine purpose can neither alter 
 the nature, nor hasten or retard the accom- 
 plishment of that purpose. After the events 
 had taken place, we might then have been as 
 certain that they were embraced in the divine 
 plan, as if they had been predicted by the pro- 
 phets. Hence, according to my view, we are 
 authorised to infer, that all events similar to 
 
102 LETTERS ON 
 
 those that have been foretold, and similar to 
 those which God has promised to accomplish, 
 are equally embraced in the divine purpose, 
 with those which he has revealed to man. 
 We infer this, not from prophecies or promi- 
 ses, but from the occurrence of the events 
 themselves. Whatever is accomplished by 
 the agency of God, is accomplished according 
 to an intention, previously existing in his 
 mind; our knowledge, or our ignorance of this 
 intention, can have no influence on its execu- 
 tion. The Jews, at least the prophets, knew 
 that Babylon was to be taken; yet we do not 
 find that they had any agency in bringing the 
 event to pass: Cyrus was ignorant of the 
 divine intention, and yet accomplished the 
 will of God. Suppose there had lived a pious 
 Jew, who had never seen the predictions 
 respecting the capture of Babylon, but who 
 had witnessed the occurrence of the event, 
 might he not, with the greatest certainty, from 
 his knowledge of the divine character and 
 government, have inferred, that such had been 
 the intention of God from all eternity? If 
 these very prophecies had been afterwards 
 submitted to his inspection, it could not. have 
 increased the certainty of his conclusion. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 103 
 
 With equal certainty we may infer that all 
 similar events, accomplished in the providence 
 of God, were fixed before-the foundation of 
 the world, in his wise and holy purpose. 
 
 The existence, the magnificence, and down- 
 fal of Babylon, were predicted; this prediction 
 was the divine intention made known to man. 
 In the book of God, no prediction is found 
 respecting London, Paris, New. York, or 
 Philadelphia. We know however, that these 
 cities do exist. Their rise, progress, and pre- 
 sent state, were all determined in the divine 
 purpose; for similar circumstances were thus 
 determined respecting Babylon. From all 
 eternity, it was as certain that these modern 
 cities should exist in their present state, as 
 that the famed metropolis of the east should 
 exist in the state in which Cyrus found it. 
 What the future destiny of these cities is to 
 be, we cannot tell; the purpose of God re- 
 specting them is not made knowntous. Our 
 ignorance, however, eannot alter it, in the 
 least. That purpose as certainly exists, and 
 will as certainly take effect, as if we knew it 
 in all its details. . Whether they shall remain 
 to feed the flames of the general conflagration, 
 or be demolished by an’ earthquake, or moul- 
 
104 LETTERS ON 
 
 der under the ravages of time, or be razed 
 from their foundations by some victorious 
 enemy, we cannot tell; it is known, however, 
 to God as distinctly as it will be at the last 
 moment of time; and the progress of divine 
 providence will disclose it to the world. The 
 same remarks may be made, with equal truth, 
 respecting every city, town or village, which 
 ever has existed, which does now, or ever 
 shall exist on this earth. Their beginning, 
 their progress and their end, were all fixed in 
 the counsels of Him who views, with one 
 intuitive glance, the past, the present, and 
 what is to come. | 
 
 It is but a few years ago when Moscow, 
 one of the ancient cities of Russia, became the 
 theatre of events which filled the civilized 
 world with astonishment. A mighty chief, the 
 late Emperor of France, with his victorious 
 army, approached its walls. The Governor 
 formed and executed the desperate resolution 
 of laying the city in ashes, and thus leaving 
 the enemy nothing but a mass of smouldering 
 ruins to shelter him from the inclemencies of 
 winter. The flight of that chief, and the 
 almost unparalleled sufferings and carnage of 
 his army, soon followed as the result of that 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 105 
 
 daring measure of defence. Now, in my opin- 
 ion, there are sufficient reasons to believe that 
 this whole series of events was predetermined, 
 from the beginning of the world, in the divine 
 plan; and that this plan embraced all the 
 agents and causes, and even the minutest cir- 
 cumstances which in any manner or degree 
 contributed to the grand result. 
 
 Still more recently, a series of events occur- 
 red, more deeply interesting to our feelings 
 than even the flames of Moscow. During the 
 late war, the enemy invaded the metropolis of 
 our beloved country, and laid our Capitol and 
 other public buildings in ashes. Shall we 
 suppose that these events were not embraced 
 in the purpose of Him who ruleth among the 
 nations? Or did they happen unexpectedly 
 to him? Was it not the hand of Providence 
 that guided the march of General Ross, as 
 well as the march of Cyrus? It will, perhaps, 
 be replied, that he was prompted by his own 
 ambition. This is readily admitted; and yet 
 the admission does not in the least affect the 
 conclusion, that this whole transaction, with 
 all its details, was embraced in the divine de- 
 termination. Cyrus, in his operations against 
 Babylon, was prompted by his own motives; 
 
 10 
 
106 LETTERS ON 
 
 and yet his motives, with the conduct to which 
 they led, were the very means of accomplish- 
 ing the purposes of God. General Ross could 
 not have been influenced by his own inten- 
 tions, nor have acted as a free agent more 
 than Cyrus did; and yet Cyrus “executed the 
 counsel, and performed all the pleasure of the 
 Lord.” For this purpose the Lord “ girded 
 him, went before him, directed all his ways, 
 and held his right hand. To my mind, there 
 can be no reasons for supposing that General 
 Ross, with his limited and momentary vic- 
 tory, was not as certainly and as distinctly 
 embraced in the divine purpose, as Cyrus and 
 his victory were. The only difference is this: 
 the name, character, and conquest of Cyrus 
 had been predicted; no prophet had given 
 similar information respecting General Ross 
 and his operations. And yet had this been 
 the fact; had it pleased God, two hundred 
 years ago, to make known that a man by the 
 name of Ross, at the head of an army, should 
 come from the kingdom of Great Britain, and 
 in the year 1814, in the month of August, 
 enter the city of Washington in triumph, burn 
 the Capitol and other public buildings, and 
 then hastily retire; this revelation would not 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 107 
 
 have rendered the events in the least more 
 certain than they were. From the time of 
 such revelation down to the hour when the 
 smoke of the buildings ascended, those who 
 had access to that revelation, might have 
 known that such an event would certainly 
 take place. Had he known that this oecur- 
 rence was fixed in the purpose of the Al- 
 mighty, our exertions could not have pre- 
 vented it. The prophecies of God have often 
 been accomplished by those who knew no- 
 thing of them; and generally, I believe, by 
 those who, whether they knew them or not, 
 had no such intention at the time. No efforts 
 made with a design to frustrate them can ever 
 be. successful. The mighty hand that rolls 
 along the dispensations of Providence, will 
 crush the impious wretch who dares: to make 
 opposition. ‘ My word shall not return to me 
 void; I will do all my pleasure, saith the 
 Lord.” | 
 
 If it was certain from the beginning, that 
 Moscow should become a heap of ruins, then 
 it was equally certain that Moscow should be 
 built, and remain till the very hour when the 
 ‘torch was applied to it. This secured the 
 existence and exertions of those who built and 
 
108 LETTERS ON 
 
 preserved it. The city of Washington was to 
 be invaded, and must, therefore, exist. But 
 its existence was impossible without the agen- 
 cy of men, under the influence of such motives 
 as led to this result. These agents, and their 
 motives, together with the circumstances from 
 which they were derived, were all guided and 
 limited in their operations by the divine pur- 
 pose. But why was Moscow laid in ashes? 
 Nothing but the most urgent necessity could 
 have dictated such a measure. A powerful 
 enemy approached; the flames were to snatch 
 the city from his grasp; and deprive him of 
 the comfort which its provisions and _ its 
 palaces might afford. Without this necessity, 
 this fire would not have been kindled; with- 
 out the approach of such any enemy, this 
 necessity would not have existed; the counsels 
 of infinite wisdom, therefore, which determin- 
 ed that Moscow should be burnt, determined 
 all the circumstances also which led to this 
 catastrophe—that a man, impelled by bound- 
 less ambition, commanding a numerous and 
 victorious army, should approach the city; 
 also, as the result has proved, that these ruins 
 should be the barrier to his success, should, 
 like the shores of the ocean, beat back the tide 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 109 
 
 of his ambitious projects, and occasion the 
 ebbing of his glory to commence. In like 
 manner, the Capitol of our country was not 
 consumed by a friend; the hand of an enemy 
 alone could perform a deed like this. The 
 same unalterable counsel which determined the 
 conflagration of that distinguished building, 
 determined to provide a hand prepared for the 
 task. From the moment of his birth, from the 
 foundation of the world, this was to be the work 
 of General Ross; none could deprive him of the 
 distinction which he gained by its performance. 
 
 Might it not be a pleasing and edifying 
 employment of your leisure hours to meditate 
 on the designs of Jehovah respecting the Ame- 
 rican continent, and especially respecting these 
 United States? designs which are eternal as 
 the mind in which they exist. The know- 
 ledge of them is not obtained from prophetic 
 records, but from the page of history, and from 
 observation; not from inspiration, but from 
 the occurrence of those events, embraced in 
 these designs. Passing over those successive 
 centuries, during which the very existence of 
 this country was known to Europe, begin 
 with Columbus, in the deliberations and con- 
 clusions of whose masterly genius, and in the 
 
110 LETTERS ON 
 
 execution of whose plans, the divine purpose 
 began to develope itself, The steps taken ir 
 consequence of his important discoveries, fur- 
 nish a still further development of that pur- 
 pose. Come down to the period when the 
 first permanent settlements were made on 
 these shores. Think of all the causes which 
 induced the first emigrants to leave their native 
 country, and plant themselves in the new 
 world. When this handful of men first set 
 foot on the banks of the James River, what 
 man, or angel, without the inspiration of God, 
 would have predicted that this was the begin- 
 ning of a mighty empire? Trace them through 
 all their hardships and their perils; consider 
 the annual accessions which they received 
 from the mother country, till you come to the 
 causes of the revolution. This is an epoch 
 requiring a more than usual pause. What an 
 enlargement | has your views of the divine pur- 
 
 pose now acquired ? Over what a varied and 
 interesting chain of events have you now 
 passed? giving birth to a new series, not less 
 varied, and if possible, still more important. 
 If, just now, you contemplated this empire in 
 its small beginning, in the wilds of Virginia; 
 now you must search for the liberty and inde- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 111 
 
 pendence of the United States in the bosom of 
 a few individuals. Perhaps in the mind of 
 some one individual the thought first occurred, 
 which under the fostering care of Providence, 
 has matured into that noble tree, under the 
 wide spread branches of which this empire 
 now reposes. Hinter the legislative hall, and 
 listen to the grave and animated debates of 
 our Fathers involving liberty or death; hover 
 over the fieid of battle, and with the sympa- 
 thies of a brother, listen to the groans of the 
 wounded and the dying; station yourself on 
 the plains of Little York, and witness, with 
 exultation, the last scene of this bloody and 
 protracted drama; with thankfulness to the 
 Lord of hosts, hear the proclamation of peace 
 and independence; see this land of freedom 
 assuming a dignified rank among the nations 
 of this earth. From that memorable era down 
 to the present day you descend and dwell with 
 grateful delight on the varied and multiplied 
 blessings now enjoyed by these United States. 
 These blessings you can easily trace back to 
 the conclusions and discoveries of Columbus, 
 through a chain of events which we must con- 
 template in detached parts, a link at a time, 
 but which, as it is viewed, and as it exists 
 
112 LETTERS ON 
 
 in the divine mind, is one unbroken whole. 
 Little did Columbus know the consequences 
 which were to flow from the first faint and 
 obscure conceptions of his mind. In the pur- 
 pose of God, however, they were then as cer- 
 tain as they are now. In the counsels of his 
 eternal wisdom, neither more nor less was 
 intended than has been accomplished in his 
 providence. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 THE PURFOSES OF GOD NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THE MORAL 
 AGENCY OF MAN. 
 
 I rrust it has been made to appear that men 
 who were employed in accomplishing the pur- 
 poses of God, were free agents; and that there- 
 fore there is no inconsistency between them: 
 the divine decree neither destroys nor sus- 
 pends the free agency of man. Against this 
 doctrine, however what is considered a more 
 serious objection, is sometimes urged; that it 
 is Inconsistent with the moral agency of man. 
 If, according to the purpose of God, a man is 
 to act a particular part, pursue a certain course 
 of conduct, is he, or can he be accountable for 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 113 
 
 his conduct: or can he be criminal in acting 
 this part? This objection merits and shall 
 receive consideration. 
 
 In my own view, the free agency, and the 
 moral agency of man, are substantially the 
 same, and may be used as synonymous terms: 
 what is generally called reason is the basis of 
 both. When reason is wanting, neither free 
 agency, nor moral agency can be predicated of 
 any creature. According to the general opin- 
 ion, brutes do not possess the faculty of rea- 
 son; what they do is the result of instinct, not 
 of free agency; of course they are not sup- 
 posed to be moral agents, or to be accountable 
 for their conduct. When it pleases God to 
 deprive a man of his reason—a case which 
 often occurs—we no longer consider him a 
 moral agent. If he should even take the life 
 of a fellow creature, the laws of our country 
 do not consider him worthy of punishment. 
 His conclusions and his conduct are the result 
 of necessity; that is, of morbid impressions, 
 made, as is generally believed, on his animal 
 system. These conclusions, sometimes so dis- 
 astrous in their consequences, govern his con- 
 duct; the shattered remains of reason being 
 too feeble to correct or counteract them. If 
 
114 LETTERS ON 
 
 then the free agency and the moral agency of 
 man are substantially the same, every argu- 
 ment which proves the consistency of the 
 divine purposes with the free agency, proves 
 with equal force and clearness, their consis- 
 tency with the moral agency of man. For 
 the purpose of proving and illustrating this 
 consistency, the case of Cyrus, out of many 
 others, equally pertinent, contained in the 
 Bible, has been adduced. Profane historians 
 inform us that in all his operations, he was 
 influenced by his own motives, formed his 
 plans, provided his means, pursued his ends, 
 and in all respects, manifested a free agency 
 as perfect as can be possessed or exercised by 
 man. The Bible declares that he executed 
 the counsel, and performed all the pleasure of 
 God. The man, therefore, who can deny, or 
 even doubt this consistency, can deny and 
 doubt declarations of the Bible as explicit and 
 as unequivocal as it is possible for words to 
 be. With such a man, it is vain to think of | 
 reasoning. If, while Cyrus was executing the 
 counsel, and performing the pleasure of the 
 Almighty, he remained a free agent, he was 
 also a moral agent; for they are substantially 
 the same. That which may, according to the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 115 
 
 Scripture, be affirmed of Cyrus, may, with 
 equal truth, be affirmed of every other man 
 whose agency has, or ever shall be employed | 
 in fulfilling the prophecies, or accomplishing 
 the purposes of God. If the objection now 
 under consideration, is removed; if it can be 
 proved to have no weight in the case of one 
 man, it is removed, and proved to have no 
 weight in the case of every other man. If 
 one has accomplished the designs of Jehovah 
 and yet retained his moral agency, so may, 
 and so does every son and daughter of Adam. 
 God is no respecter of persons; as it regards 
 their moral agency, they are all alike. 
 
 Cyrus was two whole years before the walls 
 of Babylon before his efforts were crowned 
 with success. During this time the prophecies 
 and purposes of God were accomplished 
 through his agency. When he stands before 
 the judgment seat of Christ, will this period 
 be omitted? will the thoughts, intentions, and 
 conduct of these two years be left out of the 
 account, and not appear in the books then to 
 be opened? I think the most determined 
 opponent of the doctrine which I defend, 
 would not hazard an assertion to this effect. 
 If, then, these years will not be omitted; if 
 
116 LETTERS ON 
 
 his thoughts, intentions, and conduct will ap- 
 pear, it unavoidably follows that, during this 
 period, he was a moral agent; that he was 
 accountable for those thoughts and that con- 
 duct which, with perfect accuracy, accom- 
 plished the divine purpose. If we have the 
 highest authority for believing this respect- 
 ing Cyrus, we have the same authority for 
 believing it respecting every other human 
 being. 
 
 Those who advance the objection above 
 stated, conceive it difficult and even impos- 
 sible to believe that God should determine to 
 employ the agency of wicked men in fulfilling 
 his designs. They seem to suppose this im- 
 plies his approbation of that conduct, or at 
 least furnishes some excuse for their wicked- 
 ness. While I feel the most affectionate con- 
 cern for pious Christians perplexed with 
 scruples and difficulties, I cannot but suppose 
 they have passed over many passages of the 
 Bible without due consideration. Whatever 
 is contained in the records of truth, we are 
 bound to believe, whether we can comprehend 
 its consistency and connexion with other parts 
 or not. If I mistake not, there are many 
 passages which show most clearly that such is 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 117 
 
 the fact; that the wicked actions of man have 
 fulfilled the purpose of divine providence. 
 The conduct of Joseph’s brethren towards 
 him was unquestionably cruel and very wick- 
 ed; such they themselves acknowledged it to 
 be, when the hand of adversity was pressing 
 upon them. When cast into prison they say, 
 “We are verily guilty concerning our brother; 
 behold, said Reuben, his blood is required.” 
 Hear the language of Joseph, when he disco- 
 vered himself to them, respecting this conduct: 
 “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry 
 with yourselves that ye sold me hither; for 
 God did send me before you to preserve life. 
 God sent me before you to preserve you a 
 posterity in the earth, and to save your lives 
 by a great deliverance. So now it was not 
 you sent me hither, but God.’’ Gen. xlv. 5, 7. 
 Here Joseph ascribes his being brought to 
 Egypt, in the most explicit language, to God. 
 If his brethren had done nothing in this busi- 
 ness, if he had been caught up and conveyed 
 by miraculous power, through the air, his 
 language could not be more plain and forcible. 
 We cannot avoid the conclusion, that he was 
 sent into Egypt according to the purposes of 
 God; and yet his brethren were the agents in 
 
118 LETTERS ON 
 
 sending him there. That they were not high- 
 ly criminal in doing so, no man will pretend 
 to affirm. Here, then, is a plain instance in 
 which the designs of providence were accom- 
 plished by the wicked actions of men, without 
 the slightest approbation of God to their con- 
 duct, or any excuse for their criminality. 
 
 The cursing of Shimei against David was 
 no doubt sinful; yet David will not permit 
 his friends to revenge the insult. “ Let him 
 curse, said the king, because the Lord hath 
 said unto him, curse David; let him alone, 
 and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden 
 him.”? 2 Sam. xvi. 10, 11. David does not 
 mean that the Lord approved of this cursing; 
 but that it was a part of the affliction, appoint- 
 ed for him, during this hour of banishment 
 and sorrow. 
 
 “ts The death of Jesus Christ is a remarkable 
 Vinstance of this kind. None will deny that 
 this event was fixed, was absolutely certain, 
 in the counsels of infinite wisdom from all 
 eternity. If ever the wisdom of Deity pro- 
 posed an end worthy of a high and holy de- 
 cree, it was this; that a Saviour should die. 
 The first penitent sinner was pardoned and 
 accepted of God, on the ground of this cer- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSR. 119 
 
 tainty. Thousands and tens of thousands were 
 accepted on the same ground. The atone- 
 ment, except in the divine purpose, was not 
 yet made; but sinners are forgiven, which 
 they could not have been without an absolute 
 certainty that the great sacrifice for sin, would, 
 at the appointed time, be offered up. They 
 could not have been forgiven on uncertainty. 
 The slightest uncertainty attaching to this 
 subject would have shaken, would have blast- 
 ed for ever their hopes of acceptance, and have 
 thrown them back to the gulf of despair. 
 Every sin that was pardoned, necessarily im- 
 plied the certainty of this event. The pardon 
 of sinners previous to the death of Christ, 
 furnishes a view of this certainty, perhaps, 
 better adapted than the divine decree to our 
 comprehension. The Jewish sacrifices pro- 
 claimed the same truth. Every victim that 
 bled at the altar pointed forward to the great 
 antetype, one day to bleed for sin. The pro- 
 phets announced to the world this merciful 
 purpose of God. They dwell on the subject, 
 in a variety of details which have more the 
 appearance of history than of prophecy. They 
 not only predict the death of the Saviour, but 
 also the manner of that death. He was to die. 
 
120 LETTERS ON 
 
 a violent death, under an unjust sentence, 
 amidst the reproaches, calumnies, and deri- 
 sionsof men. That his blood should be shed, 
 was just as certain as that he should die. This 
 death was, therefore, certain in the divine 
 purpose; this certainty was made known to 
 the world, through the pardon of sinners, the 
 Jewish sacrifices, and the predictions of the 
 prophets. The New Testament contains the 
 narrative of all these events; of all that was 
 foretold by the prophets, prefigured by the 
 Jewish types, implied in the pardon of sinners, 
 and determined in the counsels of heaven. 
 This purpose was executed by men, by his 
 own countrymen, by the Jews, who annually 
 witnessed the sacrifices bleeding at their altar, 
 who had in their possession the prophecies, 
 and heard them: read every Sabbath-day. 
 These were the men who, with malicious 
 eyes, watched the conduct of the Saviour; 
 who denied and rejected him; who extorted 
 from Pilate, the sentence of his death; who 
 purchased his blood; who apprehended and 
 bound him; who nailed him to the cross, 
 accompanying the whole with the most cruel 
 abuse, insults, and mockeries. That in all this 
 they accomplished the divine purpose, is, in 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 12] 
 
 my view, undeniable; that in all. this they 
 manifested a degree of wickedness, literally 
 without a parallel, even in this guilty world, 
 is also undeniable. 
 
 That they fulfilled the divine purpose, is if 
 I mistake not, affirmed in explicit terms in 
 Seripture—* Him being delivered by the de- 
 terminate counsel and foreknowledge of God: 
 For of a truth against thy holy Child Jesus, 
 whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and 
 Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peo- 
 ple of Israel, were gathered together, to do 
 whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel deter- 
 mined before to be done.’? Acts ii. 23, and 
 Iv. 27, 28, also Acts iii. 18, and xili. 27. Pas- 
 sages boldly and directly charging the Jews 
 with the most diabolical wickedness in cruci- 
 fying the Lord of glory, are numerous, and 
 need not be quoted, especially as this point is 
 undisputed. In all that they did, they were 
 moral agents, and were as much accountable 
 for their conduct as if no divine purpose had 
 existed; and yet they fulfilled this counsel 
 with as great accuracy as if they had not been 
 moral agents. They were influenced entirely 
 by their own motives. Their consultations, 
 their stratagems and their plans, are often 
 1] 
 
122 LETTERS ON 
 
 mentioned in the New Testament. I cannot, 
 therefore, see how to avoid the conclusion, 
 that the purpose of God is sometimes accom- 
 plished by wicked men, without furnishing the 
 least excuse for that wickedness; and is not 
 inconsistent with their moral agency. 
 
 If the purpose and providence of God have 
 no control over the sinful thoughts, intentions, 
 and conduct of men, then how great a portion 
 of the human family are excluded from the 
 wise and holy providence of Jehovah? All 
 men are sinful by nature. In the judgment of 
 Him who searcheth the heart, there is “none 
 that doeth good; no, not one.’? Such have 
 constituted a vast majority of the human race, 
 in every past age of the world; at this day 
 they are an overwhelming majority. This 
 is the state and character of every pious man, 
 till the moment of his conversion. When the 
 finally impenitent transgressor shall stand be- 
 fore his Judge, not one thought, intention or 
 desire of his heart, nor one single action of his 
 life, will be pronounced good: all will be con- 
 demned as sinful and wicked. Those who 
 advance the objection above to the doctrine for 
 which I contend, cannot believe, if they will 
 be consistent, that the wise and mighty Ruler 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 193 
 
 of the universe can ever employ the agency of 
 such men in the execution of his designs. He 
 cannot employ their agency without control- 
 ling, in some way or other, their thoughts, in- 
 tentions and conduct. But these are all sinful; 
 he cannot therefore cause his holy determina- 
 tions to be answered by any thing that is sin- 
 ful; for this, according to their opinion, would 
 imply his approbation of that sin, and be incon- 
 sistent with the moral agency of man. Hence, 
 in their view, it is a fact, for which it behooves 
 them to account, if they can, that none but sin- 
 cerely pious men, and these only so far as they 
 are pious, have ever been employed in pro- 
 moting the dispensations of providence, or in 
 executing the counsels of infinite wisdom, 
 which is the same thing; and that no sinful 
 man ever has, or ever will answer this purpose. 
 Was Cyrus and his army; was Titus and his 
 army, sincerely pious? The brethren who 
 oppose us on this subject, must. either maintain 
 that they were, or deny that they ever fulfilled 
 the prophecies, or executed the counsel of God. 
 If they will do neither of these, their objection 
 has no weight, even in their own view; and 
 they ought, for the sake of consistency, to ad- 
 mit that the purposes of God are sometimes 
 
124 LETTERS ON 
 
 answered by sinful men; and that these pur- 
 poses are not inconsistent with moral agency. 
 
 Affliction, we are told, ‘cometh not forth - 
 of the dust; neither doth trouble spring out of 
 the ground.”’ Afflictions are uniformly con- 
 sidered, in Scripture, as dispensations of Provi- 
 dence, sent for our improvement; that we 
 may be partakers of his holiness. “ They 
 work together for good, to those who love 
 God; they work out for us a far more exceed- 
 ing and eternal weight of glory’? than we 
 could ever attain without them. But some of 
 the heaviest afflictions we are ever called to 
 bear, are occasioned by the wickedness of 
 men. <A pious father may witness the pro- 
 fligacy of a graceless son, or be called to weep 
 over his untimely. grave, to which he is 
 brought by the hand of the duellist. An 
 affectionate mother may have continually be- 
 fore her eyes a daughter, disgraced and ruined 
 by the infernal art of some vile seducer. These 
 are sore afflictions; severe trials. Are they 
 sent fer the good of those who are visited by 
 them? Ought they to be improved in a 
 religious manner? They were sent for good; 
 and they ought to be improved. But who 
 sent them? and who gave them a tendency 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 125 
 
 to work for good, to produce the peaceful 
 fruits of righteousness? Satan, if he had the 
 power, has not the disposition to do any thing 
 to promote the spiritual interest of men. 
 Wicked men have neither the power nor 
 disposition to do this. If they have a ten- 
 dency to work for good, this must have been 
 imparted to them by a being of infinite good- 
 ness, who designed and sent them for this 
 purpose. Without this tendency, it cannot 
 be a duty to improve them. But it is a duty 
 to improve these and all other afflictions; and, 
 therefore, they do possess this tendency. If 
 they possess it, they must have derived it 
 from God; for none else could impart it to 
 them. If they were designed and sent by 
 him, then his providence must extend to the 
 cause from which they spring: and his pur- 
 pose and his providence are co-extensive and 
 co-eternal. 
 
 Hence we reach the same conclusion; that 
 the purposes of God are not inconsistent with 
 the moral agency of man; and that the control 
 of his wise and holy providence is exercised 
 over the wicked actions of men, without im-. 
 plying his approbation of that wickedness, or 
 furnishing for it the least shadow of excuse. 
 
126 LETTERS ON 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 THIS CONSISTENCY INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO US—-BUT SO ARE 
 MANY OTHER THINGS WHICH YET WE BELIEVE, 
 
 Prosasuxy before this time you are anxious to 
 propose the question of Nicodemus—* How 
 can these things be?”’ Could you receive the 
 answer from Him who taught Nicodemus, it 
 would, no doubt, be satisfactory. Without 
 claiming, or desiring to be any thing but an 
 humble disciple at the feet of that teacher, 
 may I not reply, in his language, adapted to 
 this case—Art thou a student of the Bible, of 
 the character and government of God, and 
 knowest not these things? Do you not read 
 of many undoubted instances of the divine 
 purpose being accomplished through the agen- 
 cy of men, without in the least impairing or 
 suspending their moral agency? If you find 
 but even one such instance, this proves the 
 fact and solves the difficulty. For if the de- 
 terminations of God are consistent with the 
 moral agency of man, in the case of one indi- 
 vidual, they may be, and are consistent with 
 the moral agency of all the human family. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 127 
 
 That ‘Teacher has already given us all that he 
 considered useful, and, therefore, all that is 
 necessary, on the subject. This ought to 
 satisfy every candid mind. When on earth, 
 he never gratified the idle curiosity of any 
 man; were he to converse again with men, 
 he would act, no doubt, in the same manner. 
 The power of human language may be utter- 
 ly insufficient to convey, to our minds, definite 
 ideas any further than to teach the fact. This, 
 I conceive is done, both in the Bible, and in 
 the providence of God. The use of words 
 which convey no definite ideas, is altogether 
 vain. Our minds may be far too limited to 
 comprehend this consistency. The attempt, 
 therefore, to make us comprehend it would be 
 fruitless: and God makes no fruitless attempts. 
 If our capacities were sufficiently enlarged to 
 grasp the magnitude of this subject, we should 
 cease to he men; or if the subject was brought 
 down to the present limits of our capacities, 
 then it would cease to be the subject which | 
 itis. All that can be done is, to make us 
 acquainted with so much, with such parts of 
 the subject, as are comprehensible, and of 
 course, useful to us. This, in my opinion, has 
 been done. With this we ought to be satis- 
 
128 LETTERS ON 
 
 fied; for this we ought to be grateful. That 
 curiosity which pushes its inquiries further, 
 is, in my opinion, of at least a suspicious cha- 
 racter.» We are not satisfied with the informa- 
 tion which God has given us, unless it were 
 extended further than divine wisdom has 
 deemed proper and useful for us. We will 
 not admit the existence of facts, unless we can 
 comprehend the consistency and harmony of 
 these facts. We will not receive truths suited 
 to our own comprehension, unless we can 
 receive those suited to superior intelligences: 
 that is, unless we are raised to a higher grade 
 in the scale of being. We will not be con- 
 tented and thankful that we are men; we must 
 be angels. Well, suppose we were elevated 
 to the rank of angels: there are perfections in 
 the character of Deity which even they can- 
 not comprehend. “Can they by searching 
 find out God? Can they find out the Almighty 
 to perfection??? The same curiosity might 
 lead them to desire capacities sufficiently en- 
 larged to comprehend these perfections; that 
 is, tobe gods. If this curiosity were not gra- 
 tified, they might be discontented; and all dis- 
 content of this kind is rebellion against the 
 Most High. Ifit be wrong in them to indulge 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 129 
 
 this curiosity, it must, at least, be suspicious 
 inus. If they ought to be thankful for what 
 they can comprehend of the works and cha- 
 racter of God, so ought we; if they ought to 
 be thankful and contented that they are angels, 
 so ought we, that we are men. 
 
 I am far from charging with these conse- 
 quences all who make this and similar inqui- 
 ries; and because they do not receive answers, 
 satisfactory to their view, reject the doctrine 
 which I maintain: but I candidly think they 
 have not duly considered the tendency of that 
 eurlosity, or of that spirit, from which this 
 inguiry proceeds. 
 
 If, however, they will urge the inquiry; 
 how can the purpose of God be consistent 
 with the moral agency of men? I freely con- 
 fess that I do not know: nor do I ever expect, 
 in this life, to comprehend this subject. . Men 
 of greater research, of greater talents, and of 
 much greater piety than I possess, have left 
 the world, making the same confession. The 
 man, therefore, who can seriously make the 
 inquiry, must wait for the. clearer light of 
 futurity. 
 
 There are many other subjects respecting 
 which the same inquiry might be made, to 
 
 12 
 
130 LETTERS ON 
 
 which the same confession of ignorance could 
 only be given. How did God create the 
 world?) By his Almighty power, it might be 
 answered. But should the inquirer renew the 
 attack, and ask, how could divine power ope- 
 rate, when there was nothing to operate on, 
 nothing on which this power could terminate: 
 I confess as freely as in the other case, I do 
 not know. How can, or how does God gov- 
 ern the world? I do not know. Shall we, 
 therefore, refuse to believe that the world was 
 created, and is governed by Jehovah: We 
 may, it appears to me, just with the same con- 
 sistency and truth with which we refuse to 
 believe in the wise and holy purpose of God, 
 according to which he created and governs the 
 world. 
 
 The love of Jesus Christ to guilty sinners, 
 which surrounds the divine character with its 
 brightest and mildest splendours, which ani- 
 mate the universe with new joys and new 
 glories, is perfectly incomprehensible to us. 
 Its height we cannot reach; its depth we can- 
 not fathom; its length and breadth we cannot 
 grasp. Of this love it is said with perfect 
 truth, that it passeth knowledge. Thanks 
 to the Divine Saviour! his love is infinitely 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 13] 
 
 greater than our comprehension. Shall we 
 then ask how can this love exist; or how can 
 it be exercised? and until we have this diffi- 
 culty removed; until it is brought down to 
 our capacity, or our capacity is enlarged to its 
 dimensions, shall we hesitate to rejoice in it? 
 Because this explanation cannot be given; or 
 if given, cannot be comprehended by us; shall 
 we refuse to believe the reality of this love; 
 that. angels ever beheld and adored its exhibi- 
 tion; that the heart of a sinner ever felt its 
 life giving touch; shall we drive from our 
 hearts the hopes which it inspires, and shut 
 against ourselves the heaven to which it in- 
 vites, and for which it prepares us? The man 
 who would act thus would declare his own 
 incorrigible wickedness, stamp his own cha- 
 racter with the basest ingratitude, and fix on 
 his own soul the seal of perdition. We have 
 abundant evidence to support our belief in the 
 reality and greatness of this love; yet this evi- 
 dence does not render it comprehensible to us. 
 The more we know of it, the more deeply are 
 we convinced that it passeth our knowledge. 
 Yet no man ever thought of alleging this as a 
 reason why he would not receive and rejoice 
 in it. Its greatness, on the contrary, is the 
 
132 LETTERS ON 
 
 ground of his joys and his hopes. Why we 
 should not feel and act, in the same manner, 
 respecting other truths of the Bible, I cannot 
 tell. 
 
 That God is not the author of sin, I most 
 firmly believe... Nothing in his character, in 
 his word, or in his works, will justify such a 
 belief. On the contrary, he declares that it is 
 odious in his sight, and dangerous to us. As 
 the righteous Governor of the universe he has 
 most plainly, and positively, forbidden and 
 condemned it; as our affectionate Father, he 
 has warned us of its deceitful and ruinous ten- 
 dency, and furnished us with the very strong- 
 est inducements to avoid it. And yet, that 
 this is a sinful world, is a melancholy fact, 
 which none, or very few at least, have been 
 disposed to question. That we are sinners, 1s 
 a plain proof that we are subjects of the moral 
 government of God: for sin is a transgression 
 of those laws, by which we ought to be go- 
 verned. In the Bible those laws are con- 
 tained, which show us what we ought to be. 
 But the Bible is adapted to us as sinners; 
 miserable, helpless sinners. Therefore, in ad- 
 dition to the moral law, it contains a revela- 
 tion of mercy; a glorious plan of redemption, 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 133 
 
 through the atoning blood of a crucified Sa- 
 viour. It contains all that is necessary for us 
 to know, in order to escape the consequences 
 of sin, and regain the favour of God. ‘That 
 we are also under the government of divine 
 providence is, in my opinion, as certain, as 
 that we are under the moral government of 
 God. That these two governments are per- 
 fectly consistent with each other is evident; 
 because they are both conducted by the same 
 wise, good, and almighty Being, whose per- 
 fections and designs perfectly harmonize. But 
 although they are connected, and in harmony 
 with each other, yet there is, in many respects, 
 a difference. The government of providence 
 is subservient to the moral government: the 
 one is administered for the sake of the other, 
 In proof of this it may be observed, that the 
 laws of providence, or as, they are generally 
 called, the laws of nature, have frequently 
 been suspended to promote the designs of the 
 moral government; but no instance occurs of 
 a moral law being suspended, to promote the 
 designs of providence. The life of man is 
 preserved by providence, that he may, as a 
 moral agent, enjoy and glorify God. They 
 differ also in this; none but intelligent crea- 
 
134 LETTERS ON 
 
 tures are subjects of the moral government; 
 but all creatures, animate and inanimate, ra- 
 tional and irrational, are subject to the control 
 of providence. They differ also in this: the 
 laws of the moral government, as far, at least, 
 as we are concerned, are fully made known; 
 but the laws by which the government of pro- 
 vidence is conducted, never have been, except 
 in a few instances, made known to man. The 
 exceptions to which I refer, are those events 
 which have been predicted by the prophets, 
 or secured in the promises of God. In both 
 cases the laws of providence, respecting the 
 events to which they relate, were made known 
 to man before they occurred. Respecting all 
 other events, we have neo such certainty; “ we 
 know not what will be on the morrow: 
 “we know not what a day will bring forth.’’ 
 In this difference both the wisdom and good- 
 ness of God appear. It is all important that 
 we should know the moral law, according to 
 which, our eternal state is soon to be unalter- 
 ably fixed; but a full and perfect knowledge 
 of future events could do us no good; and in 
 most cases would add to our misery. It is 
 enough for us to know that a life of sin, of 
 impenitence and unbelief, will lead to eternal 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 135 
 
 misery and disgrace; that a life of holiness and 
 faith in the Son of God, will conduct to hap- 
 piness and glory. Whether our life is to be 
 long or short, spent in sickness or in health, 
 in affluence, or in indigence, we do not know: 
 we may cheerfully leave the dispensatiens of 
 providence to Him who worketh all things 
 after the counsel of his own wisdom. The 
 laws of providence being unknown to us, can- 
 not, for this reason, be the rule of our conduct. 
 There is no reward promised to those who 
 fulfil these designs; nor any threatenings ut- 
 fered against those who, if they could, would. 
 disobey those laws, and frustrate these designs. 
 Things inanimate, of course, incapable of re- 
 wards or punishments, obey the will of God 
 in the great work of providence. When the 
 agency of man is employed, no reward is 
 bestowed for this agency. In this respect 
 man is like the hail, the snow, and the vapour. 
 The only difference is, that man, being a 
 rational creature, of course a moral agent, the 
 wisdom of God has to secure his instrumenta- 
 lity, without impairing or suspending this rea- 
 son, or this moral agency. ‘To accomplish 
 this with certainty, and to any considerable 
 degree, would be difficult and even impossible 
 
136 LETTERS ON 
 
 to man. And yet something like it is often 
 attempted, and in some degree effected, by 
 judicious and affectionate parents, in the ma- 
 nagement of their children; withcut positive 
 restraint or coercion, by observing their dis- 
 position, by skilful arrangements, children are 
 often induced to act that part which is agree- 
 able to the will of their parent. In such in- 
 stances, children are not sensible of the influ- 
 ence of parental authority; to themselves they 
 appear to act, and in fact do act, according toe 
 their own choice; when it is certain that with- 
 out this parental influence, they would have 
 acted a different part. Now, that which pa- 
 rents can effect, in some degree in their chil- 
 dren, we think is neither impossible or even 
 dificult for the wisdom of God to effect in 
 men, with absolute certainty, and in any de- 
 gree which the designs of his providence may 
 require. He who formed the rational soul, 
 knows how to reach and influence that soul, 
 without destroying its rationality, and without 
 ts being sensible of that influence; and yet 
 without this it would have thought, and de- 
 signed, and acted differently. ‘That this was 
 the case with Cyrus, is undeniable; and I 
 repeat, what has been effected in one indivi- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 137 
 
 dual may be, and no doubt is, effected in all 
 others. } 
 
 The great laws of the moral government are 
 all certain, fixed, and immutable. They are, 
 with propriety, said to be a transcript of the 
 moral perfections of the Lawgiver. Man, 
 whose knowledge is very limited, and who 
 may become wiser by experience, may, and 
 ought to change his laws when he discovers 
 their imperfection: but the wisdom and good- 
 ness of God are no greater now than they 
 were from the beginning. The conduct of 
 his moral subjects has not taught him to make 
 the slightest change. It was from all eter- 
 nity, immutably certain, that sin of every kind 
 and degree would be condemned; and that 
 holiness would be approved. The finally 
 impenitent transgressor has no more reason to 
 expect that he will escape the righteous judg- 
 ments of God, nor the sincere penitent any 
 more reason to fear that his hopes will be dis- 
 appointed, than that the divine perfections 
 will change. These laws are the wise and 
 holy decrees, according to which the great 
 Sovereign will express his approbation and 
 condemnation, and distribute rewards and 
 
138 LETTERS ON 
 
 punishments:to his moral subjects. If these 
 laws are thus certain and immutable, shall we 
 not conclude that the laws of providence are 
 equally. so? The providence of God is sub- 
 servient to his moral designs; the one is the 
 end, the other is, in part, the means. Is all 
 that relates to the end unalterably fixed, and 
 yet the means for the accomplishment of that 
 end left vague, uncertain, and mutable? As 
 the events of providence take place, or ap- 
 proach their birth, does he receive new ideas? 
 does he become wiser, and therefore more 
 competent to decide what will be expedient 
 in future? Before he determines the events 
 of one century, year, er day, does he wait to 
 observe the success of his plans during the 
 century, year, or day immediately preceding? 
 Is he merely making experiments for his own 
 improvement in wisdom, to ascertain the best 
 manner of conducting his providence? In 
 short, is he a man? or is he the Allwise and 
 Almighty God? If he is God, and not man, 
 who manages the vast concerns of providence, 
 then the laws of that providence, equally with 
 those of the moral government, are eternal, 
 fixed, and immutable. These laws are the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 139 
 
 wise and holy decrees, according to which all 
 events, without one single mistake or failure, 
 ever have been, and ever will be regulated. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 MORAL GOVERNMENT.—SALVATION BY GRACE, 
 
 A FEw remarks will now be offered respect- 
 ing the moral government of God; or rather 
 respecting the redemption of man through a 
 divine Saviour; the renovation of his heart: 
 his restoration to the favour of God; and his 
 preparation for eternal glory. May the Holy 
 Spirit enlighten and assist both the writer and 
 the reader! 
 
 “ By grace ye are saved,’’ may be the basis 
 of these remarks. Grace, in this passage, 
 means the free, unmerited favour of God. 
 Salvation is an unmerited favour. Not one of 
 the human race either does, or can deserve it; 
 nor can they, by all that they can do, or suf- 
 fer, have the shadow of a claim to it. If they 
 could, it would then be merited; if merited it 
 _would be a just debt; and if a debt, it could be 
 no more grace; and if not of grace, then the 
 
140 LETTERS ON 
 
 passage just quoted, together with many others, 
 should be stricken from the sacred pages. . If 
 it were a debt, then the sinner need no longer 
 assume the attitude of a humble suppliant, 
 humbly begging for salvation as a favour; he 
 might approach his Judge with all the confi- 
 dence of a claimant, and boldly demand what 
 was his right; he need no longer apply to the 
 mercy of God, but to his justice. If it were a 
 debt, or deserved, then God is bound to pay 
 it; for “the Judge of all the earth will do 
 right;”’? then it would be no longer free, but 
 the result of obligation. He who brings an- 
 other under obligation, must confer some 
 favour, or in some way or other, be profitable 
 to him who is laid under obligation: but what 
 favour can a sinner bestow; in what way ean 
 he be profitable to his Maker? He who 
 induces another to act differently from what 
 was intended, must present reasons of greater 
 wisdom, and greater weight, than those pos- 
 sessed by him whose intention is changed: 
 who then can induce the Almighty to act dif- 
 ferently from his own free and sovereign 
 pleasure? The truth is, which we shall soon 
 feel and acknowledge, in the sincere penitence 
 of our hearts, or in the anguish and despair of 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 141 
 
 our eternal existence, that so far from deserv- 
 ing salvation, we deserve the righteous indig- 
 nation of God, just in proportion to our guilt: 
 for “the wages of sin is death.”” “Every sin 
 deserves God’s wrath and curse, both in this 
 world and that which is to come.’? Now, as 
 we have all sinned, we all deserve to perish. 
 This is the miserable and helpless state in 
 which all mankind are by nature. Were it 
 otherwise, we should not need a Saviour; sal- 
 vation, in the evangelical sense, would be 
 impossible. Eivery sin, therefore, that is for- 
 given, must be forgiven through grace; every 
 sinner that is saved, must be saved by grace: 
 not one of them does or can deserve it. 
 
 Of the same import is another declaration 
 of the apostle Paul: «Eternal life is the gift 
 of God.”” The disciples of Christ are now in 
 possession of this gift; for “he who believeth 
 on the Son hath everlasting life.”? Therefore 
 this gift includes every thing pertaining to our 
 salvation, the means and the agency by which 
 we are united to Christ, and reconciled to 
 God; the character, the dispositions and affee- 
 tions, and all the qualifications which fit us for 
 the service of God here, and for the enjoy- 
 ment of him hereafter—all are the gift of 
 
142 LETTERS ON 
 
 God. Accordingly we find from Scripture 
 that all these things, in detail, are explicitly 
 ascribed to God as his gift. The Saviour him- 
 self is the gift of God; and in him are includ- 
 ed all things else necessary to salvation. The 
 Holy Spirit, including all his influences, is 
 given of God, to those who ask him. ‘The 
 Bible itself, with all its threatenings, admoni- 
 tions, and warnings; with all its promises and 
 invitations, its doctrines and _ precepts, its 
 examples of obedience and rebellion, of holi- 
 ness and sin; by which we are enlightened, 
 impressed, and governed; by which we are 
 wounded and healed, alarmed and comfort- 
 ed—the Bible is the gift of God to an igno- 
 rant, sinful, and perishing world. The holy 
 Sabbath, so conducive to the existence and 
 progress of vital godliness, is the ordinance of 
 heaven. Public worship, family and private 
 devotion, are institutions of infinite wisdom, 
 for the perfecting of his saints. Prayer is not 
 only an important duty, but a precious privi- 
 lege, granted to us by the Father of mercies 
 Are we convinced of sin? it is by the Spirit, 
 the Comforter, who is the gift of God; it is 
 by the law which God has given us. Are we 
 enabled to exercise faith in Christ? that faith 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 143 
 
 is a divine gift. Do we love God? that love 
 ‘is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy 
 Spirit, who is given unto us. Do we sincere- 
 ly repent? that repentance is given by our 
 exalted Prince and Saviour. Are we pardon- 
 ed and accepted of God? that righteousness, 
 on account of which we are accepted, is a gift. 
 Are we adopted into the family of heaven? 
 that spirit of adoption we have received. Do 
 we enjoy peace? that peace is the legacy of 
 Christ. Have we good hope? it is given us 
 through grace. Do we gain the victory? 
 thanks be unto God, who giveth us the vie- 
 tory. All the means of grace, as they are 
 generally called, together with all the effects 
 which these means are made instrumental in 
 producing on our hearts, and on our lives, are 
 distinctly ascribed to God as his gift. 
 Gratitude is a sentiment awakened in the 
 mind by the reception of favours which we 
 esteem valuable, and which we do not deserve. 
 Unless some favour is received, or expected, 
 the human heart cannot feel grateful. Grati- 
 tude cannot be called into exercise by a mere 
 act of volition, as we can raise our hand; it 
 must have its appropriate cause. According- 
 ly, wherever you witness a heart expanding 
 
144 LETTERS ON 
 
 with its delightful emotions, you may be sure 
 some valuable favour is either expected, or 
 has been received. Now where is the Chris- 
 tian who does not feel thankful to God for 
 causing him to differ from others; for those 
 convictions of guilt and danger which led him 
 to inquire what he must do to be saved; for 
 that heavenly light which guided him safely 
 through his perplexities and distresses, and 
 taught him how to believe; for that gracious 
 aid, by which he was enabled, guilty, helpless 
 and polluted as he was, to cast himself on the 
 merits of Jesus Christ; for that joy and peace 
 which he found in believing; for that new 
 heart which habitually inclines him to repent 
 of sin, to abhor himself on account of it, to 
 watch against and avoid it; for that relish for 
 spiritual things, by which he is enabled to 
 delight in communion with God, and in cheer- 
 ful obedience to his will? Who is not thank- 
 ful for those spiritual and devout affections 
 which adorn the character, give the thoughts 
 an heavenly direction, warm, elevate, and 
 purify the soul; for that power by which he 
 is kept through faith unto salvation? The 
 man who is not thankful for these blessings 
 proclaims his own ignorance of them, and 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 145 
 
 proves himself unworthy the name of Chris- 
 tian. The grateful heart believes and acknow- 
 ledges that all these are good and perfect gifts 
 from the Father of lights. 
 
 All the blessings for which we are directed 
 and permitted to pray, are bestowed accord- 
 ing to the good pleasure of God. The very 
 petitions which we offer up, imply that we 
 have no right to claim them; and that when 
 received, they must be received as free and 
 unmerited favours. Careless sinners should 
 pray that they might be impressed and awaken- 
 ed; the awakened should pray that they might 
 be preserved from all the errors and delusions 
 which beset their path, and enabled to believe 
 in Christ with a heart unto righteousness; 
 Christians should pray for a clean heart and a 
 right spirit, for strength to persevere and 
 increase in the ways of holiness; or rather, 
 every person should pray without ceasing, for 
 these and all other blessings. Now prayer 
 has no meaning, it is mockery, unless it flows 
 from a deep and thorough conviction that we 
 do not possess that for which we pray; that 
 we need it; and that we do not deserve it. I 
 can conceive of no motive to pray for that 
 
 13 
 
146 LETTERS ON 
 
 which we already possess, or that which we 
 do not need, or that which we deserve; for 
 this we would not ask as a suppliant; we 
 would. demand it as our right. If we pray 
 with the understanding, we know and feel at 
 the moment, that we do not merit the bless- 
 ings for which we pray, that God is under no 
 obligation, of course, to bestow them. Was 
 this conviction more deeply wrought in our 
 hearts, our prayers would be mingled with 
 more reverence, more humility, and more 
 earnestness than they sometimes are. When 
 God bestows the blessing, it is not as the pay- 
 ment of a debt, or a compensation for services 
 which we have rendered, but freely and gra- 
 ciously. 
 
 These remarks are forcibly and affectingly 
 exemplified in the case of the publican. His 
 consciousness of misery, guilt, and unwor- 
 thiness are clearly indicated by the distance at 
 which he stands; by his downeast eye; and 
 by smiting on his breast. He mentions no 
 debt that is due him; no services, on account 
 of which he ought to be heard, and rewarded. 
 He confesses himself to be a sinner. Know- 
 ing that mercy was his only plea, though even 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 147 
 
 this he did not deserve, with reverence, humi- 
 lity, and earnestness, he prays—G'od be mer- 
 ciful to me a sinner! 
 
 Again; the whole work of regenerating and - 
 purifying the heart of man, from the first 
 quickening touch, through every intervening 
 stage of its progress, to the most triumphant 
 assurance of faith, ever attained in this world, 
 is directly ascribed to God, as his peculiar 
 work. When “dead in trespasses and in sins; 
 when children of wrath, it is God who quick- 
 eneth us.’”’ From the context it would appear 
 that this quickening marks the first impres- 
 sion which changes the heart from a state of 
 death-like insensibility, to serious reflection 
 and feeling. Of the same import is the lan- 
 guage of the Apostle James; “ Of his own will 
 begat he us with the word of truth.’ Regen- 
 eration, with all that it implies, is ascribed to 
 God; we are his workmanship. Those who 
 believe in Christ, are Lorn of God. Those 
 who are called, are called of God. It is 
 “God who works in the hearts of his people 
 the work of faith with power; who makes a 
 way for their escape when tempted; who com- 
 forts, strengthens, and upholds them. If they 
 work out their own salvation “it is God, of 
 
148 LETTERS ON 
 
 his good pleasure, who worketh in them, both 
 to will and to do.’’? Other passages to the 
 same effect, need not be mentioned; for no 
 Christian, I presume, is disposed to deny that 
 all that is good, in the heart of man, is the 
 work of the Spirit. 
 
 Let me ask you now, are these things so? 
 Are we, indeed, saved by grace? Is our salva- 
 tion, with all that it includes, a free, unmerited 
 favour? Is our regeneration, and progress in 
 holiness, from the first serious thought, to the 
 Jast exercise of faith in this world, the peculiar 
 work of the Spirit? I cannot deny myself the 
 pleasure of believing that you reply in the 
 affirmative. You not only admit that these 
 things may be true, as you would admit 
 respecting things with which you were not 
 acquainted, or which you had not carefully 
 examined; but on the testimony of your own 
 experience, and of the word of God, exainined 
 with prayerful attention, you affirm that they 
 are true. Then, my friend, you are a genuine 
 Calvinist. This is the very essence of that 
 system of doctrines called, sometimes by its 
 advocates, and sometimes by its opponents, 
 Calvinism. It isa matter of little importance, 
 however, by what name any system of doc- 
 
 > 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 149 
 
 trine is called; if it is according to Scripture, 
 it ought to be received; if it is not, it ought to 
 be rejected. It ought to be neither defended 
 nor opposed merely on account of the name 
 which men have given it; but solely on ac- 
 _ count of its truth or its falsehood. Had this 
 been kept habitually in view, half the disputes 
 in the religious world would never have taken 
 place; and the greater part of the other half 
 would have been much shorter, been con- 
 ducted with more meekness of wisdom, of 
 course, been more profitable than they have 
 been, By those who keep this rule in view, 
 the Bible, understood in its plain and obvious 
 meaning, is revered as the highest authority; 
 as the only infallible guide. They imitate 
 the noble Bereans, f searching the Scriptures 
 daily, whether nee things are so;” if so, if 
 found in the Scriptures, they are ‘received 
 with all readiness of mind.’’ 
 
 However, as I have mentioned the conclu- 
 sion which, in my opinion, follows unavoid- 
 ably from the above premises, I will give you 
 permission, and even request you to review 
 this letter, with great attention, and with a 
 reference, if you please to this very conclu- 
 sion. What the result of such a review may 
 
150 LETTERS ON 
 
 be on your mind, I cannot tell; on my own 
 mind it only strengthens the conviction that 
 the preceding statements are abundantly sup- 
 ported by Scripture; that they are the plain 
 doctrines of the Bible. Until I know to the 
 contrary, 1 will suppose this is also your 
 deliberate conviction. Then I repeat it, you 
 are a Calvinist; you believe as they do. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 THE FAVOURS OF GOD, BESTOWED ACCORDING TO HIS OWN 
 DESIGN.—-PURPOSE, DECREE, INTENTION, FORE-ORDINATION, 
 &c., MEAN THE SAME, 
 
 PERHAPS you are not quite satisfied to be 
 called a Calvinist ; and do not feel altogether 
 certain that you are justly entitled to this dis- 
 tinctive appellation. It is not my wish to 
 induce you to adopt this, or any similar name; 
 my heart’s desire and prayer to God, for you 
 and for all men, is, that you may be saved; 
 and in order to this, that you may clearly 
 understand, and cordially embrace the truth, 
 as it is in Jesus. Of one thing, however, I 
 am certain; if you believe, as above supposed, 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 15] 
 
 you are as justly entitled to this appellation 
 as I am, and as thousands of others are, to 
 whom it is uniformly applied. 
 
 The salvation of sinners is the unmerited 
 favour, the gracious gift of God. When he - 
 bestows this gift, he either has an intention, a 
 design to bestow it, or he has not. If he has 
 no intention, then the bestowment of it must 
 be what we call accidental. The efforts of 
 man are frequently producing effects in this 
 way; that is, accidentally. His efforts are 
 intended to produce different effects; these 
 which are produced are neither foreseen nor 
 intended by him. That the salvation of a sin- 
 ner should be an eccidental effect of the divine 
 operations; that while he was aiming to ac- 
 complish some other purpose, say, the crea- 
 tion of an angel, this took place unexpectedly 
 to him, is plainly too absurd to charge on any 
 man. Nor can I admit that the man or angel 
 ever existed, who could believe this respecting 
 his Maker. If he has en intention, then the 
 gift is bestowed according to this purpose, and 
 in consequence of it. The very reason why 
 the gift is conferred is the existence of this 
 design. The intention is neither capricious 
 nor arbitrary. It is not like what, in men, is 
 
152 LETTERS ON 
 
 called a mere fancy: it is deliberate; it is 
 wise; it is holy. It is not formed and exe- 
 cuted merely because he possesses the requisite 
 power, and is not accountable to any creature 
 for the exercise of that power. There is an 
 end in view; an end infinitely worthy of his 
 own character; an end which will justify this 
 exercise of his power, wisdom, and goodness, 
 in the view of all holy beings, This intention 
 is according to the counsels of infinite wisdom; 
 it is founded on reasons of infinite weight. It 
 must, therefore, have been formed as soon as 
 all the reasons, on which it is founded, were 
 perceived and felt by the divine mind; as 
 soon as the counsels, the deliberations of wis- 
 dom were concluded. Any other inference is 
 altogether unreasonable. But this wisdom is 
 not increased by experience, nor are these 
 reasons discovered by investigation. This 
 was perfect; these reasons existed from all 
 eternity, with precisely the same weight 
 which they now have. Therefore this inten- 
 tion existed from all eternity. The bestow- 
 ment of this gift, of this divine life, is in con- 
 sequence of an immutable, wise, benevolent, 
 merciful, and eternal intention. All this, it 
 appears to me, is plain and undeniable. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 153 
 
 Now this intention is the decree of God. 
 To say that God intended, and that he decreed, 
 from all eternity, to bestow a favour, is, in my 
 view, the same thing. It is the same also 
 with foreordination. This means the deter- 
 mining to bestow a gift before the time arrives, 
 when the gift is actually bestowed. This term 
 is used in accommodation to our weakness; 
 for with God there is neither fore nor after 
 ordination. What we call past, present, and 
 future, are equally present to his infinite mind. 
 The word election means substantially the 
 same thing. At first view, it may appear 
 more forcibly to suggest to our mind, in con- 
 nexion with the intention, an idea either of the 
 gift, or the person on whom it is conferred. 
 This, however, is more owing to our inatten- 
 tion, than to any real difference in the mean- 
 ing of these terms. If God intends to bestow 
 a gift, that gift must as certainly be in his: 
 intention as the bestowment of it; and the 
 person on whom it is to be conferred, as cer- 
 tainly as the gift and its bestowment. To say 
 that a thing is intended, purposed, or design- 
 ed by the Almighty, is the same thing as to 
 say, that it is decreed, or foreordained. To 
 say that God intends to confer a favour on 
 
 14 
 
154 LETTERS ON 
 
 any particular persons, is the same as to say, 
 that this person is elected for that purpose. 
 Of course, to say that there is neither decree 
 nor foreordination of God, is the same as to 
 say, that he has no intention; and that the 
 gifts which he bestows, are given without in- 
 tention. To say that there is nothing decreed 
 or foreordained, is the same as to say, that he 
 never intended to do any thing. To say that 
 no person was ever elected, is the same as to 
 say, that Ged never intended any person to 
 receive his gift. The same remarks are true 
 respecting the terms, predestination, predesti- 
 nate, and predestinated; they mean the inten- 
 tion of God to bestow a favour, or to bring an 
 event to pass: the favour bestowed, and the 
 person on whom it is conferred, are predesti- 
 nated for these purposes. 
 
 Any person who reads the Bible with at- 
 tention, may easily perceive that the above 
 terms mean the same thing, when applied to 
 God and his designs. In proof of this, permit 
 me to refer you to a few words, in the origi- 
 nal of the New Testament:—Bovay, according 
 to Parkhurst, signifies design, purpose, decree, 
 counsel. Luke vii. 30; “The Pharisees and 
 lawyers rejected the counsel (qv Bovanv) of 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 155 
 
 God against themselves.” Acts ii. 23; “Him, 
 being delivered by the determinate counsel 
 (Sovry) and foreknowledge of God,”? &c. Bov- 
 rower signifies, to will, to design, to will with 
 authority, to decree, to ordain; Acts xii. 4; 
 “intending (Sovropevos) after Easter,” &c. 
 1 Cor. xii. 11; “the Spirit dividing to every 
 man severally as he will (xadas Bovrerar,”’) 
 Jas. 1. 18; “of his own will (Bovreders) begat 
 he us,” &c.  Aoyua, derived from Aoxew, to 
 think, judge, to think proper, to determine— 
 signifies a decree, ordinance, whether human 
 or divine. It means the ordinance of the cere- 
 monial law, as in Eph. ii. 5; Col. ii. 14; also 
 the decree of Cesar, Luke ii. 1, and Acts 
 Xvil. 7; also the decrees ordained by the 
 Apostles and Elders, Acts xvi. 4; we are told, 
 Acts xil. 4, that Herod having apprehended 
 Peter, put him in prison, ‘intending (Sov- 
 aouevos) alter Kaster to bring him forth to the 
 people.” Acts v. 28; “Behold,” said the 
 high priest to the Apostles, “ye have filled 
 Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend 
 (Sovaeede) to bring this man’s blood upon us.”? 
 The word used in both these passages, to 
 express the intention of man,*is the same 
 which is used respecting the Spirit, in the dis- 
 
156 LETTERS ON 
 
 tribution of his gifts. 1 Cor. xii. 11; “divi- 
 ding to every man severally as he will (Sov- 
 aerav’’) translated by M‘Knight and Thomp- 
 son, “as he pleaseth.”” Or with equal pro- 
 priety it might be rendered, “as he intends, 
 purposes, or decrees;’’ that is, according to 
 his own intention or decree. Jamesi. 18; a 
 participle of the same verb is applied to God: 
 “ Of his own will (Govazdecs) begat he us with 
 the word of truth.’ M‘Knight renders it 
 thus; “Having willed it, he hath begotten _ 
 us,’ &c. that is, having intended, decreed or 
 designed it; either of which would convey 
 the same idea. Dr. M‘Knight’s note on these 
 words, is worthy of remark: “ The regene- 
 ration of men is not a necessary act in God, 
 but proceeds from his own free will. All the 
 actions of God are perfectly free.”? This will, 
 this pleasure of God, according to which his 
 own favours are bestowed, and his own works 
 are performed, is not expressed in the common 
 translation, by the term intention, or design; 
 but the same word as we have seen, in the 
 original, respecting the will of man, translated 
 intending and zntend, is applied to the Spirit, 
 and to God. . The word decree is not so often 
 used with ‘this view as some others. The 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. [59 
 
 terms counsel, purpose, and ordinance are 
 those mast frequently used to express the will 
 or purpose of Jehovah. Psalm xxxili. 11; 
 “The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever.’” 
 The same meaning would be conveyed if the 
 word zntention or design was used for coun- 
 sel. Isa. xlvi. 10; ‘‘ My counsel shall stand, 
 and I will do all my pleasure.” My design 
 or my decree shall stand, conveys the same 
 idea. Acts xx. 27; “For I have not shunned 
 to declare unto you the whcle counsel of God.” 
 The Apostle means that he had faithfully ex- 
 plained all the great and immutable principles 
 of the Gospel, the whole gracious plan of 
 redemption through a divine Saviour. The 
 same term is employed to express the result 
 of those deliberations in which men are often 
 engaged. Jer. li. 29; ‘“‘ Every purpose of the 
 Lord shall be performed against Babylon.’’ 
 We have already seen with what accuracy 
 this intention, this decree of God was accom- 
 plished in the destruction of Babylon. 1 Tim. 
 1.9; “ Who hath saved us, and called us, ac- 
 cording to his own purpose and grace.”? “ In 
 accomplishment of his own purpose and gift.”? 
 The sense would be the same if the word 
 intention or design, were used, instead of 
 purpose. 
 
L58 LETTERS ON 
 
 The terms predestinate, predestinated, and 
 predestination, are peculiarly objectionable to 
 many pious people. I say the terms; for | 
 hope they do not object to the meaning of 
 these terms, when expressed in other words. 
 Predestinate and predestinated are both used 
 in Scripture, though predestination is not. It 
 is, however, a word of creditable parentage, 
 being as regularly derived from its verb, to 
 predestinate, as intention is from the verb, to 
 intend. If these words were correctly under- 
 stood, they would cease to excite those unplea- 
 sant feelings with which, in some minds, they 
 are uniformly associated. Permit me to intro- 
 duce them to your acquaintance, not in the 
 garb which prejudice has lent them, but in 
 that plain and dignified dress which they wear 
 in the sacred volume. ‘The passages in which 
 the word is used, are but few. Romans vii. 
 29, 30; “ For whom he did foreknow, he also 
 did predestinate to be conformed to the image 
 of his Son. Moreover, whom he did predes- 
 tinate, them he also called,’ &c. Eph. 1. 5; 
 “ Having predestinated us to the adoption of 
 children by Jesus Christ to himself, according 
 to the good pleasure of his will.” Verse 11; 
 ‘In whom also we have obtained an inheri- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 159 
 
 tance, being predestinated according to the 
 pleasure of him who worketh all things after 
 the counsel of his own will.”? The word trans- 
 lated predestinate, is, in the original xpoopifa. 
 This verb is compounded of xpo, which signi- 
 fies before; and opcG, which signifies to bound, 
 limit, to determine, decree, appoint. There- 
 fore xpooptSw, signifies to determine, appoint, 
 or decree any thing before hand; that is, be- 
 fore it comes to pass, or, as our translators 
 believed, to predestinate. This translation is 
 retained also by Dr. M‘Knight. That the word, 
 in the passages just quoted, is used in connex- 
 ion with the great subject of man’s redemption, 
 is unquestionable. Those whom God predes- 
 tinated he predestinated to be. conformed to 
 the image of his Son: that is, that they should 
 resemble the divine Saviour in their moral 
 character; in opposition and hatred to sin; in 
 love to God and man; in faith, zeal, and self- 
 denial, meekness, humility, heavenly minded- 
 ness, devotion, and holiness. The grand object 
 of this predestination is, that sinners should be 
 regenerated, made holy, and enjoy everlasting 
 happiness. ‘That they might attain this con- 
 formity, he also called them; that is, by the 
 preaching of the gospel, which the Holy Spirit 
 
160 LETTERS ON 
 
 rendered effectual in “ turning them from dark- 
 ness to light, that they might be sanctified 
 through the truth.””? In Ephesians, the object 
 of predestination is substantially the same; 
 “To the adoption of sons.””? ‘Those who bear 
 the image of Christ, are children of God, and 
 those are children of God, who bear the image 
 of their Saviour. In the latter passages we 
 are informed that this is in consequence of the 
 mediation of Christ, “ by Jesus Christ.” We 
 have also the origin of the whole gracious plan, 
 stated for our contemplation. It is “according 
 to the good pleasure of his will.” 
 
 In all this can see nothing objectionable. 
 None will deem it objectionable that sinners 
 should be saved; for it is a work in all res- 
 pects worthy of God. Satan, indeed, with all 
 his malice, subtlety, and power, is opposed te 
 this work; but all the holy angels rejoice tn it, 
 and labour to promote it. If sinners are to 
 be saved, in what manner shall this be done? 
 Can it be objectionable that in order to their 
 admisston to heaven, they should first be 
 made holy; that their hearts should be so 
 completely changed as to resemble the lovely 
 and heavenly character of Jesus, the Son of 
 God; that they should be adopted into the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 161 
 
 family of their Father in heaven, and trained 
 up in the exercise of every filial affection, in 
 habits of humble submission, and cheerful obe- 
 dience to the divine will? If they are to be 
 made holy, by what means is this holiness to 
 _ be produced? Can there be any objection 
 to the Gospel, as the means of this happy 
 change? Never were means better adapted to 
 an end, than the Gospel is to this. By the 
 word of truth they are begotten, born again, 
 sanctified, saved. By the Gospel they are 
 called, warned, impressed, invited, enlighten- 
 ed, comforted, animated, governed. The Gos- 
 pel is the “ wisdom of God,” and the “ power 
 of God unto salvation to every one who 
 believeth.””, Through whose friendship shall 
 these means be provided; this “ way of holi- 
 ness’? be marked out; this access to the Father 
 be opened for sinners? Can there be any 
 objection to the mediation of Christ? Before 
 we object, let us see that our objections be 
 well founded. Let us first be convinced that 
 he neglects his disciples; that his ear is too 
 heavy to hear their cries, his arm too short to 
 deliver them, his righteousness too scanty to 
 cover them, his blood without virtue to cleanse 
 them. If no deficiency can be discovered, 
 
162 LETTERS ON 
 
 then, no objection can be made to his media- 
 tion. He was chosen of God to bring many 
 sons unto glory.. With whom is this plan to 
 originate, that it may be unobjectionable to 
 us? Would we be better pleased if it were a 
 plan of our own devising? We are, indeed, 
 generally fond of our own opinions, and the 
 productions of-our own efforts. But are we, 
 with the angels for our assistants, competent 
 to this task? Could we grasp the mighty sub- 
 ject? Could we arrange in all its parts and its 
 provisions, a system which is to embrace the 
 world, to purify and govern the sinful, pol- 
 luted heart of man, to triumph over Satan, to 
 save the soul, reconcile the pardon of sin with 
 the rights of the divine government, kindle in 
 heaven its brightest glories, diffuse through 
 the universe the sublimest joy, and operate 
 through an endless duration? If we could not 
 devise such a plan, let us thankfully receive 
 it from the wisdom of Him who alone could 
 be the author of it. If he is its author, then 
 the whole plan must be according to his own 
 pleasure. It cannot possibly have any other 
 origin. It is ascheme of his own wisdom, 
 goodness, and mercy. It is, therefore, free, 
 in the strictest sense. As he alone could 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 163 
 
 devise this plan, so he alone can execute it. 
 Men and angels are as absolutely unable to 
 accomplish this merciful design as they are to 
 devise it. If it is accomplished, it must be 
 done by divine power. If sinners are saved, 
 they must be saved by grace. The whole, 
 from first to last, is according to his good plea- 
 sure, to the counsel of his will. If he saves 
 sinners, it must be according to his own inten- 
 tion or according to the intention of others, or 
 it must be without intention. The absurdity 
 of this last supposition we have already seen. 
 It is equally absurd to suppose that in saving 
 sinners he works according to the plan, the 
 intention or pleasure of others, who of course, 
 must be his creatures, and who can exercise 
 no wisdom but what he was pleased to give 
 them. There is no escaping therefore, from 
 the conclusion that in the salvation of sinners, 
 he works according to his own design; and 
 that this design existed from all eternity. 
 This is the predestination of the New Testa- 
 ment. ternal life is the gift of God. He 
 could not bestow this gift without an inten- 
 tion to do so. If such was his intention, he 
 must also have intended some person or per- 
 sons to receive this gift. Now, as far as I can 
 
164 LETTERS ON 
 
 see, it will convey precisely the same idea, to 
 say that these persons were destinaéed to this 
 end. The verb, to destinate, according to Dr. 
 Johnson,-signifies to design for any particular 
 end. And if the destination of these persons 
 existed in the divine mind, before they receiv- 
 ed this gift, as it most unquestionably did; 
 then no word in the English language can 
 express more clearly that act of God, by 
 which they were marked out, than the word, 
 predestinate. Like the word in the original, 
 of which this is a correct translation, it is 
 compounded of pre, which, though not used 
 separately in our language, signifies, before— 
 generally adding to the word to which it is 
 prefixed the idea of priority of time, and des- 
 tinate, which is to design to a particular end. 
 Predestinate, therefore, signifies to design 
 before hand, any person or thing to a particu- 
 lar end. Can we suppose that the intention to 
 bestow eternal life, was fixed in the divine 
 mind from all eternity, but that the persons 
 who were to receive this gift were left un- 
 determined, till the very moment when the 
 gift was bestowed? Could his wisdom or 
 knowledge be greater at that moment than 
 they were before? If not, he could be no 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 165 
 
 better qualified to make the most proper deter- 
 mination, than he was before; of course, he 
 could have no reasons for doing it, at this 
 moment, which were not present to his mind 
 before the foundation of the world. And nei- 
 ther men nor angels can conceive a motive 
 for delaying this determination after all the 
 reasons on which it is founded are fully pos- 
 sessed. 
 
 Such are my views of truth, clearly taught 
 in the Bible, respecting the salvation of sin- 
 ners. All who believe that God bestows his 
 favours in consequence of an intention, previ- 
 ously existing in his mind; and that this 
 intention embraces not only the gifts bestow- 
 ed, but also the persons on whom they are 
 conferred, are Predestinarians and Calvinists. 
 Those who deny the doctrine of predestina- 
 tion, of course, deny, in my opinion, that God 
 ever bestowed any favours on the human race; 
 or affirm that, if he has conferred any favours, 
 he has done it without an intention of doing - 
 so. ‘To say that God has bestowed no favours, 
 is to deny that any of the human race have 
 been, or will be saved; for if saved, it must 
 be by grace, which is unmerited favour. To 
 say that this grace is given without design, is 
 
166 LETTERS ON 
 
 to say that when God saves sinners, he does 
 not intend to do it; of course, it must be, what 
 is generally called, accidental. From such a 
 work, effected without design, could he either 
 expect or derive glory, honour, and praise? / 
 But the Lord Jesus Christ did not come into 
 this world, did not suffer and die, did not rise 
 from the dead and ascend to heaven; the Holy 
 Spirit does not enlighten, impress and change 
 the heart; the Bible was not given and is not 
 preserved; God does not pardon, preserve, 
 and glorify his people—by accident. The 
 whole is from design; and that design is eter- 
 nal. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 THE NUMBER TO BE SAVED DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON THE WILL 
 OF GOD. 
 Ler me, for the sake of further illustration, 
 suppose that the whole human race consisted 
 of one thousand individuals. They are all 
 sinners against God; are under sentence of 
 condemnation, and deserve to perish. They 
 are naturally and strongly inclined to sin; 
 their hearts being governed by an active 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 167 
 
 opposition to the moral character and govern- 
 ment of God, which prompts them to trans- 
 gress his law. According to their view, the 
 law of God is contrary to their interest ; 
 because it forbids those pleasures which they 
 Jove, and are endeavouring to enjoy. They 
 delight in those things which this law con- 
 demns, and hate those which it enjoins. They 
 therefore hate, not only this law itself, but also 
 the government to which it belongs, and the 
 perfections of God from which it flows. They 
 desire not the knowledge of his ways; they 
 forget and rebel against him habitually. This 
 is their nature, their employment, and their 
 delight. Now, to my mind, it is as clear as 
 mathematical demonstration, that the scheme 
 of redemption never could have originated 
 with them; not only because they are utterly 
 incapable of devising the plan, but also because 
 they are utterly and decidedly opposed to it. 
 The very thing from which the gospel pro- 
 poses to save them, is the very thing which 
 they love; of course, if they could, they 
 would not devise any means of deliverance 
 from it. In proportion to their love of sin, 
 which is very sincere, they will object to such 
 a plan being devised and brought into opera- 
 
168 LETTERS ON 
 
 tion by another. It is undeniable, therefore, 
 that if they are saved, the plan must originate 
 with God. But he cannot be under any 
 obligation to devise this plan; it must, there- 
 fore, be free; all the motives leading to it, 
 and all the reasons on which it is founded, 
 must exist in his own nature. Unless it is 
 according to his own pleasure, it cannot be at 
 all. Whether he will save or destroy them, 
 depends solely on his own decision; no crea- 
 ture has a right to interfere. They deserve 
 every one of them to he consigned to-endless 
 misery. Thanks be to his holy name, he has 
 decided in favour of mercy and salvation. 
 His wisdom has devised a plan which will 
 bring more glory to his name than all his 
 other works. All that pertains to this plan, 
 its provisions, its measures, its means, as well 
 as the plan itself, must be according to his 
 own decision: his will, his sovereign plea- 
 sure, reigns over and throughout the whole. 
 It is undeserved; it is unsolicited; nay, it 
 is even opposed by those for whom it is in- 
 tended. 
 
 The number to be saved, whether the 
 whole, or only a part, depends entirely on his 
 own will: no creature has a right to interfere 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 169 
 
 with this decision. Nor can I possibly suppose 
 that this point is left undecided in the counsels 
 of infinite wisdom. That God alone has the 
 right, and that he is competent to decide, is 
 evident. If, however, it should be supposed that 
 this point is not decided; that the great Jehovah 
 thought proper to determine every thing else 
 belonging to this wonderful and gracious plan, 
 except the number to be saved; then, permit 
 me to ask, by whom is this important point to 
 be decided? to whom shall it be referred? Shall 
 God, by his own wisdom determine, every 
 thing else, and refer this matter to the holy 
 angels; leave it with them to decide? There 
 is not an angel in heaven who would not 
 shudder at the idea; they know too much of 
 the infinite wisdom of their Sovereign to 
 think of undertaking a task like this; of dic- 
 tating, or even offering advice to him. What 
 he does they approve and adore. Shall it be 
 left with sinners themselves to decide? Let 
 the question, then, be proposed, in succession, 
 to each individual to answer for himself: Are 
 you willing to be saved? Are you willing 
 to cease from sin, and to become holy? The 
 whole thousand would be unanimous in an- 
 swering, No! They would answer according 
 15 
 
170 LETTERS ON 
 
 to their own nature, their own inclinations, 
 desires, and affections, which are all sinful; 
 each one would, therefore, without hesitation, 
 say, No! That this is not a slanderous exag- 
 geration, but a sober and solemn truth, the 
 unequivocal language of Scripture and all 
 accurate observation of human life, do abund- 
 antly prove. ‘To suppose that a different 
 answer would be given, is to suppose that he 
 who gives it is not a sinner; of course, that 
 he is not one of this thousand; or, that he 
 does not belong to the human race. Such, 
 then, would be the result, if this decision were 
 left to man; for if this were the answer of 
 each individual respecting himself, it would 
 be the answer of the whole thousand collect- 
 ively. The whole plan of salvation would 
 fail. The sufferings of the Saviour, the pro- 
 elamations of mercy, the offers of pardon, 
 would all be in vain! Not one of the whole 
 thousand are willing to cease from sin, or 
 cherish one devout sentiment. They unani- 
 mously prefer the practice and. the pleasures 
 of sin; of course, reject these offers. Such is 
 the reception with which the Gospel univer- 
 sally meets from man, under the influence of 
 depraved nature. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 171 
 
 But why should we suppose that God has 
 not determined this point, whether the whole, 
 or only a part of the guilty, shall be saved? 
 Is it because he is incompetent to the task? 
 Who then are more competent than he? Cer- 
 tainly it is a decision of great importance in 
 the divine government, and ought to be made 
 in such a manner as would best promote the 
 divine glory. To whom is this glory more 
 important, and more precious than to God 
 himself? Who understands more clearly than 
 he does, the means of securing and promoting 
 it? Wisdom is displayed in proposing the 
 best end, and in devising means best calculated 
 to accomplish that end. What end can sur- 
 pass the glory of God? For this purpose the 
 universe was created; for this purpose the plan 
 of redemption was devised; for this purpose 
 sinners are saved: they are vessels of mercy 
 which he prepares to make known the riches 
 of his glory. If then it is a decision so inti- 
 mately connected with the divine glory, and 
 requires the exercise of wisdom, of the greatest 
 wisdom, where is the creature, or where are 
 the creatures who possess greater wisdom than 
 God; and who could decide this point ina 
 manner better calculated than he, to promote 
 
172 LETTERS ON 
 
 this glory? The collected wisdom of the uni- 
 verse, when compared with that of Jehovah, 
 is less than the taper compared with the sun. 
 Whatever others may think and say, to my 
 mind it is perfectly clear, not only that God is 
 competent, but that he alone is competent to 
 decide this question. 
 
 Or shall we suppose he declines this decision 
 because he has not the right to make it. Who 
 then possesses this right; and from whence do 
 they derive it? Creatures derive their exis- 
 tence, and all that they possess from God. If 
 they possess this right, they must have derived 
 it from the Creator. If he conferred it on 
 them, he must have previously possessed it 
 himself; and as all that he does is according 
 to the ccunsels of infinite wisdem, he must 
 have had reasons for this transfer which infi- 
 nite wisdom approves. What are these rea- 
 sons? Will creatures exercise this right, and 
 decide this point, with greater safety to the 
 divine government, and more to the glory of 
 God, than he himself could do? Unless they 
 could make a better decision than he could, 
 there would be no reason for transferring this 
 right to them; and without a reason, such as 
 infinite wisdom will approve, the transfer can- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 173 
 
 not be made. A better decision they could 
 not form unless they possessed greater wisdom 
 than he does. This is impossible; for his 
 wisdom is infinite. It requires, therefore, but 
 a little sober reflection to see that this supposi- 
 tion leads to the grossest absurdity. 
 
 If then creatures ‘attempt to exercise this 
 right, they must have usurped it. They must 
 arrogate to themselves the high prerogative of 
 God, and thus undertake to prescribe to their 
 Maker and their Judge, what he must do. 
 For those who exercise a right, do not merely 
 offer advice, but pronounce an authoritative 
 sentence. Now we are perfectly sure that 
 the holy angels will not usurp this high prerog- 
 ative of God; they will not undertake to leg- 
 isiate for their Sovereign. If it be usurped 
 and exercised, it must be done by men: by 
 the very criminals whose case is involved in 
 the decision. That they are capable of attempt- 
 ing such a daring outrage, is a melancholy 
 fact. In amanner as unequivocal and as in- 
 telligible as words could be, by their confirmed 
 disposition, and their uniform practice, they 
 are daily and hourly declaring their disappro- 
 bation of the divine law. By their love of 
 sin, they reproach this law as neither just nor 
 
174 LETTERS ON 
 
 good. Such is the madness and folly of sia- 
 ners that they are capable of arrogating the 
 right of deciding this momentous case. But 
 what would be their decision? We have 
 already seen that they would decide against 
 that part of salvation which implies and re- 
 quires deliverance from sin. That they would 
 object to regeneration and holiness of heart 
 and life, is just as certain as that, by nature, 
 they love and practise sin. Their sentence 
 would be according to their own character, 
 and what they conceived to be their own inte- 
 rest. For it is impossible for men, or angels, 
 or even for God himself, to love and choose, 
 at the same time, two things so diametrically 
 opposite as sin and holiness. Let us suppose 
 then, that each individual gives his decision of 
 this case, and it will be this: “I am not to be 
 finally condemned. I am to walk according 
 to my own lusts; to gratify my own desires; 
 to live according to my own pleasure, without 
 control, and without punishment.” This 
 wotld be the unanimous voice of the whole 
 thousand; for their natures are all the same. 
 This is the decision of a criminal respecting 
 himself, whose crimes are deeper than erim- 
 son, and more numerous than the stars in the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 175 
 
 sky; whose guilt is established by testimony 
 clearer than the sun. It is the decision of one 
 whose character is folly, dictating to infinite 
 wisdom. It is a weak, selfish, wicked, con- 
 demned rebel, spurning the clemency of his 
 sovereign; claiming the privilege of prostra- 
 ting the best of laws under his feet with impu- 
 nity; pronouncing an authoritative sentence, 
 which through an endless duration, is to have 
 an important influence on the government of 
 the universe. Now, I question very much, 
 whether the ingenuity of man, or even the 
 talent of an angel, could conceive a more pal- 
 pable absurdity than this consummate folly 
 and daring wickedness, usurping the reins of 
 government from the hands of infinite wisdom 
 and perfect goodness. The conclusion, in my 
 view, is unavoidable, that God alone has the 
 right to decide this point. 
 
 Let us, however, take another view of the 
 subject. The government of moral agents is 
 exclusively in the hands of God; from him 
 they have received those laws by which they 
 ought to be regulated; to him alone they are 
 accountable. The infliction of punishment, 
 and the exercise of mercy, are among the 
 most important measures of all governments, 
 
176 LETTERS ON 
 
 both human and divine. Now, according to. 
 supposition, there are under this moral go- 
 vernment, one thousand criminals, justly con- 
 demned, who deserve to perish. The ques- 
 tion to be decided is, whether the whole 
 number, or only a part of them shall be pu- 
 nished as they deserve, whether the whole or 
 only a part shall be saved. Admit, for a ro- 
 ment, that there is neither folly, presumption, 
 nor wickedness, in creatures deciding this 
 case; suppose they determine the number to 
 be saved: yet they could not possibly execute 
 their own sentence. This can be done by 
 God alone. Salvation is the gracious gift of 
 God; and it is not even supposable that crea- 
 tures can bestow the favour of God their Sove- 
 reign, on whomsoever they please. In exe- 
 cuting this sentence he would not work after 
 the counsel of his own will, but according to 
 the will of another. While inflicting deserved 
 punishment, or dispensing unmerited pardon, 
 he would only fill the subordinate office of 
 executor of the will and pleasure of others. 
 He could not, then, with propriety, be called 
 the Supreme Ruler; in as much as there are 
 others, by whose decision, in these important 
 measures, he is governed. ‘This part of the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 177 
 
 government, so important, and so difficult, at 
 least with man, to be administered with safety, 
 would not be his, but would belong to those 
 whose will he obeys. You will, at once, per- 
 ceive that this violates all our ideas of propri- 
 ety, and is directly contrary to the whole 
 tenor of Scripture. Those who suppose that 
 God himself does not decide this question, 
 must suppose that he does not sustain the high 
 and august character of Supreme Ruler of the 
 Universe; that in some important measures, 
 he is only the’ subordinate agent of others. 
 Those who believe that he is the Supreme 
 Ruler, believe, of course, that he decides re- 
 specting this and every other measure of his 
 own government. 
 
 That the Lord Jehovah, and he alone, is 
 competent to decide this question; that he 
 alone has the right; that as Supreme Ruler he 
 must decide it; appears to be the unavoidable 
 conclusion, flowing from premises clearly es- 
 tablished. 
 
 Another point of great importance in the 
 scheme of redemption, is, when shall this deci- 
 sion be made; or when has it been made? 
 The whole scheme will soon come to a close; 
 the last pardon will soon be given; “the Son 
 
 16 
 
178 LETTERS ON 
 
 will soon deliver up the kingdom to the Fa- 
 ther, that God may be all in all.” The deci- 
 sion* must be made before that day arrives. 
 The number of those who shall “enter into 
 the joy of their Lord,” will then be com- 
 pleted, neither to be increased nor diminished 
 for ever. If it should be supposed that God 
 has not determined this matter before, he must 
 determine it then. His determination, let it 
 be formed when it may, must rest upon such 
 reasons as infinite wisdom will approve; for 
 this is the character of all his works. He 
 does nothing in an arbitrary manner, but all 
 things according to the counsels of his wis- 
 dom. ‘These reasons are not discovered by 
 investigation, nor his wisdom increased by 
 experience. He is, then, as competent to 
 make the decision now, as he will be at the 
 last moment of time. But those reasons were 
 as well known to him, were as clearly per- 
 ceived, before the foundation of the world, as 
 they are now. I cannot, then, conceive, nor 
 do I suppose that any man can conceive, why 
 the decision should be delayed after all the 
 reasons on which it is founded are clearly per- 
 ceived. And as itis certain that these reasons 
 were thus clearly verceived from all eternity, 
 
 ca 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. ' ee 
 
 it is equally certain, at least in my view, 
 that from all eternity, this decision has. been 
 made. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 THE MEANS OF SALVATION, SUITED TO EACH, INDIVIDUAL, 
 EMBRACED IN THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 
 
 Tuar God has appointed the means as well 
 as the end, is a truth which ought not to 
 escape our attention. If the salvation of sin- 
 ners is an end, determined in the councils of 
 heaven, the means for accomplishing this end, 
 are also appointed by the same. councils. 
 These means are wisely adapted to the neces- 
 sities and character of sinners. They are 
 guilty and need pardon; they are depraved, 
 and need regeneration and holiness; they are 
 ignorant, and need instruction. 
 
 That mankind are ignorant, by nature, of 
 the plan of salvation, through a divine Saviour, 
 is an undeniable truth. That they are igno- 
 rant of the true character of God, is equally 
 evident. Some idea of a Supreme Being 
 may, indeed, be found in most nations: but 
 
180 LETTERS ON 
 
 this knowledge is so blended with error and 
 absurdity as to be utterly insufficient to an- 
 swer the purpose of a safe guide. ‘That this is 
 a dangerous ignorance, destructive to the soul, 
 is confirmed by observation and by Scripture. 
 “My people perish for lack of knowledge. 
 Having the understanding darkened, being 
 alienated from the life of God through the 
 ignorance that is in them, because of the 
 blindness of their hearts.”? In order to sal- 
 vation it is evident that this ignorance must 
 be removed. And as nothing but light can 
 remove darkness, so nothing but knowledge 
 can dispel ignorance. Without the knowledge 
 of the Gospel, there can be no salvation; for 
 “this is life eternal, that they might know 
 thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, 
 whom thou hast sent.”?> This knowledge is 
 not, now at least, acquired by miracle, but in 
 the same way in which the knowledge of 
 other things is obtained; by the application 
 of the understanding; by attention and dili- 
 gence in study. In order to this, the means of 
 information must be placed within the reach 
 of every individual. The Bible, either direct- 
 ly or indirectly, is the only source from 
 whence this information can be obtained. All 
 
o “ie 
 
 THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 181 
 
 who are saved, must either read and under- 
 stand the Bible personally themselves, or they 
 must receive instruction from those who are 
 acquainted with it. The determination, there- 
 fore, to save sinners, includes the means on 
 which that salvation depends. And as there 
 is no regeneration without the word of God; 
 no eternal life without the knowledge of the 
 true God, and of Jesus Christ; and as this 
 knowledge can only be’ obtained from the 
 Bible; the divine purpose iscludes, of course, 
 the presentment of the sacred pages to their 
 attention. The design of God to call, to jus- 
 tify, to glorify sinners, secures the existence 
 and concurrence of all the numerous and 
 various circumstances and events on which 
 their acquaintance with the Bible depends. 
 There is almost an endless variety in the 
 circumstances and events which bring different 
 individuals to this acquaintance; all arranged 
 and brought into operation at the proper time, 
 and in their proper order by the wisdom of 
 Him, to whom “all his works are known from 
 the beginning.”?” Some cannot remember the 
 time, when the care of pious parents began to 
 store their minds with religious instruction; 
 others arrive at maturity, and even old age, 
 
ailing 
 
 182 LETTERS ON 
 
 before the knowledge of a Saviour shines into 
 their hearts. 
 
 It is not, however, the mere possession of 
 this knowledge that will save the soul, though 
 it cannot be saved without it. Thousands 
 possess it in various cegrees who furnish the 
 most afflictive proof that they are “ children 
 of wrath.”? No degree of knowledge without 
 a change of heart, will prepare sinners for the 
 joy of their Lord. This change is effected by 
 divine power; it is the peculiar and exclusive 
 work of the divine Spirit; yet this divine 
 Agent generally works by the use of means, 
 and chiefly by the instrumentality of trath. 
 That some are savingly enlightened by read- 
 ing the Bible, without the opportunity of 
 attending public worship, I am ready to admit; 
 still it is a fact, that “it pleases God, by the 
 foolishness of preaching, to save those who 
 believe.’? By this, sinners are generally im- 
 pressed and awakened, and Christians are 
 edified. But how often has every minister of 
 the Gospel occasion to observe and lament, 
 that his preaching fails to awaken the careless! 
 His most solemn warnings; his most plain 
 and forcible representations; his most earnest 
 and affectionate entreaties, so far as he can 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 183 
 
 observe, are in vain! Sabbath after Sabbath, 
 and year after year, many of his hearers attend 
 and return from the house of God, in the same 
 state of insensibility to spiritual things. That 
 preacher who is unwilling to acknowledge 
 the necessity of divine agency to the success 
 of the Gospel, might almost as well acknow- 
 ledge, that it is not Christ Jesus, but himself, 
 he is preaching; that he is not making full 
 proof of his ministry; that he only wishes to 
 secure the unhallowed applause, not the salva- 
 tion of his hearers. The belief of this doctrine 
 is their only refuge, their only hope of success; 
 this, in the midst of surrounding discourage- 
 ments, animates them to persevere. His in- 
 fluences they cannot command; but they can 
 use those means, which, through his aid, are 
 successful. Sometimes the hearer is more 
 attentive and serious; good and lasting im- 
 pressions are made. ‘This is often, if not in 
 all cases, owing to a different state of mind in 
 the hearer. Some event has occurred which 
 has brought the mind into a more serious 
 mood; which has drawn off the thoughts a 
 little more than usual from the world; and 
 thus, without changing the heart has prepared 
 it to receive the word. Some narrow escape 
 
184 LETTERS ON 
 
 from danger; some afflictive dispensation of 
 providence; something in the conversation, or 
 example of a Christian; or some daring wick- 
 edness in a profligate sinner, may, in the hands 
 of the Spirit, have been the means of leading 
 to such a train of reflection as to open the 
 heart for the reception of the Gospel. At the 
 same time, without supposing that the preach- 
 ing which he hears is, upon the whole, better 
 than he has formerly heard, yet there may be 
 something in the manner of the preacher, or 
 in the sermon itself, peculiarly adapted to his 
 present state of mind, which renders it more 
 interesting and more impressive. | Under 
 the impulse of these impressions, though very 
 slight compared to what they ought to be, yet 
 the mind is excited to further reflections, and 
 further inquiries respecting spiritual things ; 
 and is thus prepared to observe more eareful- 
 ly the events of providence, and to hear with 
 more interest and more profit, the preaching 
 of the word. ‘Thus that insensibility of heart, 
 and that blindness of mind which characterize 
 impenitent sinners, is gradually, and to him- 
 self, perhaps, imperceptibly changed. At 
 length the truth, respecting his own guilt and 
 danger, is admitted, which, formerly, without 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 185 
 
 this preparation, this opening of the heart, 
 would have been heard with inattention, or 
 have been rejected through unbelief. Thus 
 he becomes the subject of those genuine con- 
 victions of sin which extort from his heart the 
 inquiry, what must I do to be saved? an in- 
 quiry which indicates a preparation of mind 
 to welcome the Saviour, and his salvation. 
 By the dispensations of providence, and chief. _ 
 ly by the Gospel and its holy ordinances, he is 
 brought, “labouring and heavy laden,”’ to the 
 “ Tamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the 
 world,” in whom he trusts with an humble 
 confidence; and finds “joy and peace in be- 
 lieving.”? He does not now, with cold indif- 
 ference, merely admit that the gospel is true; 
 he rejoices to believe and feel that it is true; 
 he embraces, he loves, he clings to it as his 
 only refuge, his only ground of hope. His 
 heart is radically changed; he is a new crea- 
 ture; he is a Christian. 
 
 Without affirming that the Holy Spirit ob- 
 serves this method, in the case of every one 
 brought to Christ; yet I am inclined to think 
 it more generally the method, than Christians 
 are aware of. In giving a narrative of their 
 religious experience, they very frequently 
 
186 LETTERS ON 
 
 omit those occurrences and those events which 
 produced those slight impressions, those first 
 thoughts and reflections, which prepared the 
 mind to receive those deeper and more per- 
 ceptible impressions, with which they usually 
 begin their narrative. The very first reflec- 
 tion, with the cause which produced it, ought 
 not to be omitted, any more than those more 
 decisive effects which flowed from it. That 
 circumstance, or that event which proved the 
 cause of such reflection, however trivial and 
 unimportant it might appear, in the view of 
 men, was appointed, in the counsels of infinite 
 wisdom, as an important part of the means of 
 turning the sinner from darkness to light. 
 Without this occurrence, the reflection to 
 which it gave rise, would not have been ex- 
 cited; and without this reflection, the mind 
 would not have been disposed to hear the 
 Gospel with the same profit; and thus it 
 would not have been prepared to receive 
 those deeper impressions and those genuine 
 convictions for sin, which may be traced back, 
 in unbroken connexion, to the first serious 
 thought, and the cause which produced it. If 
 that event had not occurred precisely when it 
 did, this reflection would not have been excl- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 187 
 
 ted; the mind would have remained the vic- 
 tim of that insensibility, which would have 
 resisted the truth. Had the Gospel not been 
 heard while the mind was in this state; or had 
 there been nothing in the manner of the 
 preacher, or in his sermon, adapted to this 
 state of mind, the effect would not have taken 
 place. Under other circumstances, and with 
 a different disposition, the sinner might have 
 heard, as he had often done before, and as 
 thousands are habitually hearing, with the 
 most stupid indifference. But the intention 
 of God to give eternal life, secures the means 
 of accomplishing that intention. These means 
 wisely adapted to each individual, in all their 
 endless variety, in their minutest details are 
 as much according to his holy and sovereign 
 pleasure, as the plan of salvation itself. The 
 Holy Spirit, with unerring and effectual con- 
 trol, directs that series of events, that succes- 
 sion of means which, through his agency, 
 becomes instrumental in promoting the moral 
 improvement of the mind, from the very first 
 serious reflection, to the highest exultation of 
 faith and hope. Uncertainty respecting one 
 circumstance, or one single event, would mark 
 with imperfection the plan and the work of 
 
188 LETTERS ON 
 
 the Spirit; all the subsequent events, which 
 flow from this as their cause, would be equally 
 uncertain; all the impressions, all the effects, 
 which these events are the means of produ- 
 cing, would also be involved in the same un- 
 certainty. The whole work, and of course, 
 the salvation of the soul, might, in this way, 
 be uncertain. But it is impossible that uncer- 
 tainty can belong to the designs of God: with 
 Him there is nothing vague, indefinite or un- 
 certain. 
 
 This conclusion I do not see how to avoid, 
 unless we suppose that, by the grace of God, 
 the sinner is turned into a mere machine. 
 This, indeed, is a charge often brought against 
 Calvinism: but it is like all other charges 
 brought against it—perfectly groundless. It 
 has its origin in prejudice, or in ignorance; 
 perhaps in both. It would not be a whit more 
 remote from truth to say, that the food which 
 man receives, and the air which he breathes, 
 turn his body into a statue of marble, than to 
 say, that the doctrines of grace, usually called 
 Calvinistic, turn his mind into a machine, 
 without intelligence, without thought or reflec- 
 tion; and which can be moved only by phy- 
 sical force. The doctrines of grace produce 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 189 
 
 their effect by calling into action, the most 
 vigorous action, every faculty of the soul; 
 instead of destroying or suspending, they 
 awaken into lively exercise, all the virtuous 
 sensibilities of the heart. They furnish the 
 mind with useful materials for thought and 
 reflection, while they present to the heart, 
 objects most worthy of its affections. Whole- 
 some food, water, and air, do not more natu- 
 rally, nor more certainly, nourish the body, 
 tnan the doctrines of grace improve, expand, 
 and elevate the mind. According to these 
 doctrines, the sinner is not driven, blindfolded, 
 into the kingdom of heaven, nor is he bound 
 to it, like the sacrifice with cords to the altar; 
 in the day of divine power he is willing; he 
 is led, not driven, by the Holy Spirit; he is 
 drawn by loving kindness, which employs his 
 serious and devout consideration. 
 
 For the purpose of illustrating the preceding 
 remarks, permit me to call your attention to 
 the case of Lydia; Acts xvi. 14. Paul, the 
 first Sabbath after he arrived at Philippi, went 
 out of the city, by a river side, where prayer 
 was wont to be made, and there spake unto 
 the women who resorted thither. “And a 
 certain woman, named Lydia, a seller of pur- 
 
190 LETTERS ON 
 
 ple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped 
 God, heard; whose heart the Lord opened, 
 that she attended to the things which were 
 spoken of Paul.’? This is a short, but satis- 
 factory account of Lydia’s first acquaintance 
 with the Gospel, and of her cleaving to the 
 Lord with purpose of heart. The preaching 
 of Paul was blessed by the Holy Spirit, as 
 the means of her salvation. Her presence, at 
 this time, by the river side, was secured by 
 the purpose of God, in the ordinary course 
 of providence. Her reasons for leaving her 
 native city, Thyatira, in Asia Minor, we do 
 not know: probably they grew out of the 
 trade in which she was employed. No doubt 
 she came voluntarily, and without any. expec- 
 tation of what happened. The only wise 
 God overruled the motives, by which she was 
 induced to change her residence, to his own 
 glory in her salvation. Her residence in Phi- 
 lippi, and her attendance at the place of prayer, 
 are not only secured, but her mind also was 
 prepared. Whose heart the Lord opened, &e. 
 Thomson translates this, more correctly, ‘“ the 
 Lord had opened her heart.”? This opening 
 of the heart, this preparation of the mind, was 
 a work already performed, previously to her 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 191 
 
 attendance on this occasion. He who ealled 
 Paul to come over into Macedonia, and who 
 called Lydia, though in a different way, from 
 Thyatira to Philippi, had arranged all those 
 circumstances, and brought about all those 
 events, which were made instrumental in 
 giving her thoughts and reflections. that par- 
 ticular direction which left her mind in a state 
 most favourable to receive and welcome the 
 messages of mercy. Under the same unerring 
 coutrol, Paul was led to make those remarks, 
 to give those views of the Gospel which 
 exactly suited her case, and which, being 
 received by faith, sprung up, like seed in good 
 ground, and brought forth the peaceable fruits 
 of righteousness, the end of which is everlast- 
 ing life. “The preparation of the heart in 
 man, and the answer of the tongue, is from 
 the Lord.”’ 
 
 As Lydia was a free agent, she must have 
 left her native city under the influence of 
 motives presented to her in the ordinary way, 
 arising out of the events of her life. Had 
 these events been different, they would not 
 have presented the same motives; and with- 
 out motives, or reasons, she would not have 
 changed her residence. Nor was her heart 
 
192 LETTERS ON 
 
 opened by any miraculous interposition, but 
 by the blessing of God on the ordinary, per- 
 haps, casual occurrences of life. Had these 
 occurrences been different, they would not 
 have answered the purpose of preparing her 
 mind to receive the truth. Had Paul spoken 
 on a different subject, or in a different manner, 
 not adapted to the state of her mind, the effect, 
 without a miracle, would not have taken place. 
 But God, who, from the beginning, had chosen 
 her to salvation, had chosen also the means 
 which were instrumental in bringing her, with 
 suitable preparation of heart, to the place 
 where she heard the words, by which she was 
 saved. Similar attention is paid to every one 
 who is brought to the Saviour, by Him who 
 is wonderful in counsel. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD SUBSERVIENT TO THE DESIGNS OF 
 MERCY—GREAT EVENTS MADE UP OF SMALLER—-OUR DUTY 
 AND INTEREST TO MEDITATE ON ALL HIS WORKS. 
 
 As Iam not writing a system of theology, 
 nor attempting to express my thoughts on a 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSR. 193 
 
 particular subject in systematic order, you 
 must not be disappointed if you do not find 
 every sentence and paragraph in what you 
 may suppose to be its proper place. There 
 are several considerations which I wish to 
 suggest at present. Some of them might as 
 well have occupied any other place: at the 
 same time, they may be here, as well as any 
 where else. 
 
 The subserviency of providence to the de- 
 signs of mercy, has been already mentioned; 
 and as it follows as a consequence, from the 
 remarks of the preceding letter, I wish to 
 offer a few further reflections on the subject. 
 This subserviency is not only perceivable to 
 all attentive readers of the Bible, but is fre- 
 quently mentioned in plain terms. If the 
 Lord girded Cyrus, held his right hand, sub- 
 dued nations before him, it was all “ for Jacob 
 his servant’s sake; and for Israel his elect.”? 
 The Jews, as a correction for their idolatrous 
 practices, are suffering in a state of bondage; 
 the correction has, at length, produced the 
 desired effect; and they are now to be restored 
 to their native land, to rebuild the temple; to 
 solemnize their annual festivals; and to rein- 
 state the worship of the true God. In subser- 
 
 MY) 
 
194 LETTERS ON 
 
 viency to these designs Cyrus achieves his 
 victories; releases the Jews from their capti- 
 vity; restores them to their beloved country; 
 even aids them in rearing the temple from its 
 ruins; and encourages and protects them in 
 the worship of Jehovah. 
 
 What a long train of events was rendered 
 subservient to the removal of Joseph into 
 Egypt! These events can be traced back to 
 his father’s partiality; to his own dream; to 
 the envy, and unfeeling cruelty of his brethren. 
 «They thought evil against him; but God 
 “meant it unto good—-to save much people 
 alive.’ Gen. 1. 20. In this the Egyptians, 
 the most learned and refined people then on 
 earth, had an opportunity of becoming ac- 
 quainted with the character and worship of 
 the true God. We are not informed that they 
 improved the privilege; most probably they 
 did not. Both nations and individuals, how- 
 ever, are accountable for the opportunities of 
 improvement which are presented to them. 
 If the means of salvation are placed fairly 
 within their reach, they are left without 
 excuse, though they should neglect, and even 
 resist those means. Yet who will venture to 
 say that none of them were enlightened by 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 195 
 
 the illustrious and pious example of Joseph 
 and his father; by the messages and miracles 
 of Moses? The migration and bondage of the 
 Hebrews in Egypt was rendered subservient 
 to other great and important purposes. They 
 were rescued from this bondage, conducted 
 through the wilderness, and planted in the 
 promised land, by an astonishing and constant 
 succession of miracles. ‘Their departure from 
 Kigypt; their passage through the Red Sea; 
 the giving of the law, at Mount Sinai; the 
 manna from heaven; the water from the rock; 
 the pillar of a cloud, and of fire; are among 
 the most astonishing and terrible displays of 
 the divine power and glory; and continue to 
 warn and instruct the world to this day. 
 Wherever the Bible goes, the thunders of 
 Sinai are heard, and its lightnings are seen. 
 In a certain sense, the pillar of cloud by day, 
 and of fire by night, continue to guide the peo- 
 ple of God, through the wilderness, towards — 
 the promised land. These were, at least, to 
 the Jews, very instructive and impressive les- 
 sons; memorials of which were continued 
 among them by divine appointment. For 
 this purpose they are often referred to, by 
 their religious teachers. The worship of 
 
196 LETTERS ON 
 
 Jehovah is often enforced, by reminding them, 
 that He whom they are required to love and 
 obey, is “the Lord their God, who brought 
 them out of the land of Egypt, and from the 
 house of bondage.”’ 
 
 Had these miracles not been performed and 
 recorded, the Jews, and the world, would not 
 have received this instruction: had they not 
 been in bondage in Egypt, the occasion of 
 these miracles would not have existed: had 
 the famine not prevailed, they would not have 
 been there; for this was the cause of their 
 going: had Joseph not been in Egypt, previ- 
 ous to this time, bread would not have been 
 found, even there; for he was the means of its 
 preservation, and thus the cause of their going 
 would not have existed: had Joseph not been 
 sold, and carried into Egypt, he would not 
 have been there: had his brethren loved him 
 as they ought; had they not envied, and hated 
 him, they would not have sold him: had not 
 his father loved him more than all his other 
 children, they would not have hated him. 
 Little did that venerable patriarch know the 
 long train of consequences which were to flow 
 from his fond partiality! ‘They were perfect- 
 ly known, however, to Jacob’s. God, who 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 197 
 
 rendered this partiality, with all the conse- 
 quences which flowed from it, subservient to 
 the manifestation of his own power, his good- 
 ness and his mercy; who, in the counsels of 
 eternal wisdom made this partiality an indis- 
 pensable link in that chain of events which 
 enlightened, and will continue to enlighten 
 the world, till the last hour of its existence. 
 The first settlers of New England were 
 induced to leave their native country by 
 religious intolerance. At home they could 
 not enjoy the privilege of worshipping God, 
 according to the dictates of their own con- 
 science. This privilege they sought, and 
 found, in the new world. They brought 
 with them the Gospel, with all its blessings; 
 where it has continued to produce its heaven- 
 ly effects to this hour. Those who employed 
 this intolerance had certainly no design of 
 spreading the Gospel to distant countries; and 
 yet such was the effect which they were made 
 instrumental in producing. The Most High, 
 while he condemned their persecuting bigotry, 
 rendered it subservient in carrying the word 
 of life to that part of our country, where thou- 
 sands have been, through its sacred influence, 
 prepared for the mansions of glory. While 
 
198 LETTERS ON 
 
 man is deterred at the peril of his soul, from 
 doing evil that good may come, it is the high 
 prerogative of Jehovah to bring good out of 
 evil. 
 
 The Bible Society, the greatest institution 
 the world ever witnessed, except those orga- 
 nized by special direction from heaven, may 
 be traced back to the pious thoughts and deli- 
 berations of one single man. The Rev. Mr. 
 Charles, while preaching in Wales, found a 
 number of families without the Bible. He 
 revolved in his mind, some means of supply- 
 ing this want. He expressed his wishes, and 
 his views to others; who immediately entered 
 into his feelings, matured his suggestions, and 
 were the honoured instruments of bringing 
 into operation the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society. Had those families visited by this 
 missionary of the cross, been supplied with 
 Bibles, his feelings would not have been 
 excited; for there would have been: nothing 
 to awaken them; his thoughts would not have 
 taken this direction; for there would have 
 been nothing to lead them. Had he not felt 
 and thought as he did, he would not have 
 made the suggestions which he did to his 
 friends; without these suggestions, they would 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 199 
 
 neither have matured, nor brought into ope- 
 ration the plan which they did; the Bible 
 Society would not have existed; of course 
 millions of the human family, now possessing 
 the means of instruction, would have been sit- 
 ting in darkness. But it was the purpose of 
 eternal mercy to dispel this darkness; and 
 with this view to bring into operation the 
 Bible Society; not by miracle, but by human 
 agents, influenced by their own thoughts, and 
 their own motives; which, had attention been 
 paid to the subject, at the proper time, could 
 all have been traced to some dispensation of 
 providence as their cause. Those dispensa- 
 tions, or that state of things, which awakened 
 the thoughts and reflections of Mr. Charles, 
 have been related, are now on record, and 
 will descend to posterity in the History of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. All those 
 events which furnished the motives by which 
 these numerous agents were induced to act 
 their part, were embraced in the plan of infi- 
 nite wisdom, and rendered subservient to the 
 purpose of divine benevolence in diffusing, 
 through the world, the light of life. 
 
 Think, for a moment, of this sublime insti- 
 tution in embryo; when all the existence it 
 
200 LETTERS ON 
 
 had, except in the, divine purpose, was one 
 single thought in the mind of Mr. Charles! 
 See this thought expanding, and producing 
 correspondent feelings and desires; these again 
 communicated, awakening similar feelings in 
 other bosoms, and ripening into a plan; this 
 plan coming into active operation, moving for- 
 ward with a majesty, benevolence, and power 
 which indicate its heavenly origin; and now, 
 behold, the extent, the usefulness and glory of 
 this institution, and will you not, while anti- 
 cipating its complete and final success, be con- 
 strained to exclaim in the language of pious 
 admiration, “ This is the Lord’s doing; and it 
 is wondrous in our eyes!”’ 
 
 Mr. R. Raikes beheld a number of chil- 
 dren, neglected by their parents, profaning the 
 Lord’s day, growing up in ignorance, acquir- 
 ing habits of idleness and vice. ‘This affect- 
 ing spectacle was rendered subservient, in 
 divine providence, to the commencement of 
 Sunday Schools; which promise, through the 
 blessing of God, unspeakable usefulness to the 
 church of Christ. The state of the heathen, 
 buried in ignorance, superstition, and vice, 
 perishing for lack of knowledge, has given 
 rise to Missionary Societies, through which 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 201 
 
 the spirit of primitive piety seems, in some 
 degree, to be reviving. Those numerous bene- 
 volent institutions which distinguish the pre- 
 sent age, owe their origin to the miseries of 
 man, which they are intended to relieve; and 
 but for which, they would not have existed. 
 These miseries are permitted to afflict one 
 part of the human family, that the other part 
 may have strong and rational inducements to 
 afford relief; and thus to glorify God, by the 
 exercise of active benevolence. 
 
 In reading the life of the Rev. John New- 
 ton, written by himself, you will find many 
 incidents, which, at the time they happened, 
 appeared altogether casual, and promising no 
 very important results, yet were afterwards 
 found to have an important influence in deter- 
 mining the course of his subsequent life. Had 
 these events not happened at the very moment 
 when they did, or had they been but a little 
 different from what they were, they would not 
 have produced that train of causes and effects, 
 which flowed from them. Had the events of 
 his life been different, his character in all hu- 
 man probability, would have also been differ- 
 ent. The great Head of the Church, however, 
 who intended him for distinguished usefulness, 
 
 18 
 
902 LETTERS ON 
 
 knew when, and in what manner, to employ 
 the decisive control of his providence, so as to 
 secure the occurrence of all those events fur- 
 nishing all those opportunities and means of 
 serious reflection, which, through the Holy 
 Spirit, issued in that piety and zeal which 
 rendered him useful to the church and to the 
 world. So remarkable were some of these 
 incidents, that he himself has acknowledged 
 the hand of God in them, making them instru- 
 mental in bringing him to the knowledge of 
 himself and of his Saviour. With this view 
 he has pointed them out to the particular 
 attention of his readers. 
 
 Though few men have lived a life so event- 
 ful and diversified as the former part of Mr. 
 Newton’s was, yet the providence of God 
 extends alike to every man. Every pious 
 man will delight to meditate on that guardian 
 care which furnished him with the means of 
 instruction, as well as on that divine power 
 which rendered these instructions effectual to 
 his salvation. 
 
 - Let me recommend to you, as an employ- 
 ment of your thoughts both pleasing and use- 
 ful, frequently and seriously to meditate on 
 that train of eyents which are connected with 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 203 
 
 ww 
 
 that seriousness of mind which you now feel. 
 According to the statement which you have 
 given me on this subject, you need go no fur- 
 ther back than the day on which you received 
 the first serious impression, slight indeed in 
 itself, but very important as it led to further 
 inquiries on spiritual things. You have stated 
 that you were not in the habit of attending 
 public worship, though quite convenient to 
 you; that on that day you had no such inten- 
 tion; but a neighbour, contrary to his usual 
 custom, called, and invited you to accompany 
 him; that there was something in the manner 
 of this invitation which induced you to accept 
 of it; that you returned with impressions, not 
 very deep, but which led to further inquiries, 
 and were increased by those inquiries. Here, 
 with propriety, in my opinion, you date the 
 commencement of that change of heart which 
 you have experienced, and which, I hope, is 
 the work of the Spirit—a radical change o¢ 
 character. I suppose every person will admit 
 the correctness of your own opinion, that the 
 public worship which you attended that day , 
 
 was blessed as the means of producing that 
 thoughtfulness with which you returned home. 
 On how many events did your attendance on 
 
204. LETTERS ON 
 
 public worship that day depend ? It evidently 
 depended. on the health of your neighbour. 
 Had he been confined by sickness he would 
 not have gone, and would not, of course, have 
 given you the invitation which induced you 
 to go. The sickness of his family might also 
 have prevented him. Your own sickness, or 
 that of some of your family, might have pre- 
 vented your attending, though you had receiv- 
 ed the invitation. After you reached the 
 place of worship, the service in which you 
 engaged, depended on the health of the minis- 
 ter who conducted it. Your impressions, no 
 doubt, depended on the sermon which you 
 heard. Another sermon might not have had 
 the same effect; or the same sermon from 
 another person, might have been heard in 
 vain. Health is evidently preserved by the 
 providence of God; not by miracle, but by 
 the instrumentality of second causes; by the 
 air we breathe, the clothing we wear, the food 
 we receive, the exercise and medicine we take, 
 &e. These causes depend in like manner, on 
 others which preceded them. Health, in the 
 above instances, was preserved, not merely 
 for its own sake, but with ulterior and more 
 important views, that it might be subservient 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 205 
 
 to the exercise of mercy. The health of your 
 neighbour was preserved, that he might give 
 you the invitation; your own, that you might 
 accept of it; that of the clergyman that he 
 might deliver those sentiments which were 
 made effectual in awakening serious reflec 
 tions in your mind. Such was the case with 
 every individual who attended with you on 
 that day. Such, indeed, is the case with all 
 who, at any time, attend public worship: they 
 are entirely dependent on the providence of 
 God for the privilege. Our health is preserv- 
 ed, or life is prolonged, that we might live, 
 “not to ourselves, but to him who died for 
 us, and rose again.”?” The government of 
 providence is subservient to the work of 
 grace ; and is carried on with an evident 
 design to promote that work. 
 
 I know that there are many pious people, 
 and even some who hold the doctrines gene- 
 rally called Calvinism, who are startled at the 
 idea of extending their inquiries into a detail 
 of particulars. They firmly believe in the 
 general truth, but are afraid of tracing too 
 minutely the necessary and even scriptural 
 inferences from that truth. Without hesita- 
 tion they ascribe to the providence of God 
 
206 LETTERS ON 
 
 those great events which take place in the 
 world;. but they hesitate when it is proposed 
 to investigate those minor events on which 
 the great one depends. The life of man, they 
 admit, is preserved by the providence of God; 
 and yet it is with great reluctance they think 
 of inquiring into all those second causes, all 
 those means which Providence employs in 
 effecting that preservation. As an excuse for 
 themselves, and a warning, if not a reproof to 
 others, they repeat, what, from the frequent 
 use made of it, by respectable speakers and 
 writers, too, they honestly believe to be 
 Scripture, “ Be not wise above what is writ- 
 ten.””? Now;, admitting for a moment, that 
 this caution was found in the Scripture, I 
 cannot perceive that it justifies this fear; that 
 it prohibits our inquiries into those ‘things 
 which are written confessedly for our instruc- 
 tion. I know, indeed, that there are limits; 
 very narrow limits, too, beyond which the 
 human mind cannot extend its inquiries with 
 any advantage. With these good people I 
 will unite most cordially in abhorring that 
 rash and impious curiosity, which seeks a 
 paltry distinction by agitating questions be- 
 yond these limits. Such discussions are not 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 2OF 
 
 only useless, but often injurious: they may gra- 
 tify the vanity of the vainglorious, but never 
 can enlighten the mind of the sober inquirer 
 after truth. 
 
 The lite of men is preserved by the provi- 
 dence of God. Can it be extending our in- 
 quiries too far to ask, how is it preserved? 
 Is it by miracle, or the use of means? It is 
 certainly safe to affirm, that it is not by mira- 
 cle, but by the use of means; by providing us 
 bread to eat, water to drink, &. May we 
 not, with equal safety, ask, how is this bread 
 provided? Is it possible to avoid the conclu- 
 sion, that it is provided by second causes; by 
 the labour of the husbandman, the fertility of 
 the earth, the influence of the sun and rain. 
 Without the influence of the sun, the rain, &ce. 
 there could be no bread; and without bread, 
 the life of man could not long be preserved. 
 These effects, as has already been stated, are 
 all, in Scripture, ascribed to God; and are 
 they not as much his work, as the preserva- 
 tion of life? Why then should they not be the 
 subject of our inquiries and of our grateful 
 acknowledgments? 
 
 These good people believe that God created 
 the earth. But the earth is composed of hills 
 
208 LETTERS ON 
 
 and valleys, of rocks and mountains, and these 
 again of atoms. Could he create the earth 
 without creating those parts, of which it is 
 composed? Can we go too far when the crea- 
 tion of these particulars is ascribed to him, 
 as well as the earth itself? It is admitted that 
 God ‘‘hath measured the waters,” that is, the 
 ocean, “in the hollow of his hand.” In mea- 
 suring the ocean, must he not measure the 
 drops of which the ocean is composed? A 
 house consists of a great number of parts; 
 each of which was included in the design of 
 the architect; and are as much the product of 
 his ingenuity and labour, as the building itself. 
 These parts were formed and may exist sepa- 
 rately; but in this state they answer no yvalua- 
 ble purpose: it is only when brought together, 
 and arranged in proper order, that they con- 
 stitute a building. When we affirm that this 
 house was planned by the skill, and built by 
 the labour of the architect, may we not affirm, 
 and do we not in fact, affirm, that all the parts, 
 even down to the minutest, were equally the 
 product of his skill and his labour? The build- 
 ing could not exist without the parts; nor could 
 the parts have existed without the design and 
 agency of the builder. When we affirm that the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 209 
 
 life of man is preserved by the care of Provi- 
 dence, we, in like manner, affirm, if we under- 
 stand our own language, that all the means, and 
 all the subordinate causes, even down to the 
 very minutest, are as certainly and as distinctly 
 embraced in the plan, and brought into exist- 
 ence through the agency of God, as that pre- 
 servation itself. These minute parts, these 
 subordinate causes, cannot engage our atten- 
 tion at one and the same time; they may, and 
 in my opinion ought, however in succession. 
 To know that our life is preserved by the 
 constant care of heaven, is indeed calculated 
 to excite our gratitude: but will not our grate- 
 ful emotions be more sincere, more useful, 
 because more acceptable to God, if produced 
 by an accurate knowledge of the various means, 
 the subordinate events combined, which are 
 rendered instrumental in our preservation? A 
 person viewing a building on the outside only, 
 and at some distance, would judge that the 
 builder was a man of skill in his profession; 
 but his idea of that skill would be more cor- 
 rect and enlarged, if he should enter the 
 building and examine each part in succession, 
 view the neatness with which it is fitted to 
 its place, the due proportion which it bears 
 
210 LETTERS ON 
 
 to each other part, and to the whole build- 
 ing. 
 
 Similar remarks are applicable to that work 
 of grace, by which we become new creatures. 
 This renovation is effected by the use of 
 means. The provision, therefore, and em- 
 ployment of these means, by the Holy Spirit, 
 claim our attention as constituent parts of that 
 great work. The more extensively we are 
 acquainted with these means, and the more 
 diligently we use them, the more complete 
 will the image of God bein our hearts. Great 
 indeed should be our grateful acknowledg- 
 ments to God for a new heart: but will they 
 be less, will they not be greater, if our know- 
 ledge extends, as far as humble and judicious 
 inquiries are calculated to extend it, to all 
 those various means which have been made 
 effectual in producing that state of heart; to 
 all those different series of events, which for 
 years, for ages past, under the control of 
 divine wisdom and power, have been con- 
 verging to this point, where a new heart, 
 through the good Spirit of grace, is the result 
 of their combined operation? Undoubtedly 
 this is the way to increase our gratitude. I 
 conclude, therefore, that such investigations, 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. Dib} 
 
 conducted with right views, and with a proper 
 spirit, are, at once our duty and our interest. 
 
 The philosopher who confines his attention 
 exclusively to the planets, and other great 
 objects of creation, may behold sublime dis- 
 plays of the Creator’s wisdom and power; he 
 who views, through a microscope, the wing, 
 the joints, &c. of an insect, has an additional - 
 feast, which the former denies himself. So 
 the Christian, who is satisfied with viewing 
 the great events in the kingdom of providence 
 and grace, may derive from that exhibition of 
 the divine perfections which he perceives, the 
 purest joy; but he who considers the smaller 
 works of God, if the expression be allowed, 
 has, in addition to the joys of the former, pre- 
 sented to his view, numberless other sources 
 of pious delight and grateful admiration. 
 
 This was the practice of pious men whose 
 history we have in the Bible. “I will medi- 
 tate,’’ said the Psalmist, “of all thy works: 
 I muse on the work of thy hand.’’? So pure 
 was the joy derived from this source, that he 
 wished others to drink from the same foun- 
 tain. Hence his invitation: “ Come and see 
 the work of God.”’? Hence his pious desire: 
 “Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his 
 
913 LETTERS ON 
 
 wonderful works to the children of men! The 
 works of the Lord are great; sought out of 
 all that have pleasure therein. His work 
 is honourable and glorious.’? ‘This offers no 
 discouragement, and still less reproof to the 
 pious and humble student of the works of 
 God. 
 
 Many of those disputes which have dis- 
 graced and perplexed the Christian world, 
 would have been prevented, had men been 
 required to be more definite in the meaning 
 of their expressions. Many terms, in current 
 use, are complex. One man includes more 
 than another, in the meaning of such terms; 
 of course, what one affirms, the other denies. 
 Were both to explain their meaning by a 
 statement of particulars, the ground of dispute 
 might be removed. ‘T'wo men will agree that 
 God governs the world, and that we are saved 
 by grace; and yet dispute for want of under- 
 standing the sense in which the words are 
 used. Were they to define their meaning 
 respectively, they would, in many cases at 
 least, find they agreed, when for want of this, 
 they widely differ. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 913 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 MAN IS A PREDESTINARIAN.—THE COMMANDER OF AN AR- 
 MY—THE ARCHITECT—-THE FARMER—ELECT, FOREORDAIN, 
 &c. 
 
 On last week I called to see a worthy neigh- 
 
 bour, Mr. Boading; a pious good man. His 
 
 opinions on some doctrinal subjects, and espe- 
 cially those called Calvinistic, are different 
 from my own. This difference has often 
 given rise to interesting conversations, always 
 conducted, I hope, with the spirit of meekness 
 and humility. It was evident his mind as- 
 sumed the attitude of opposition, the moment 
 he heard the words election, predestination, 
 
 &c. I consider him practically right, but the- 
 
 oretically wrong. On his knees, and in his 
 
 life, he is orthodox, whatever he may be in 
 conversation. 
 
 He had just commenced the execution of a 
 very extensive plan for the improvement of 
 his farm. Of this plan he gave me a long and 
 particular account. For several years he had 
 been collecting information to aid him in its 
 arrangement: had made experiments himself, 
 on a small scale: had carefully observed the 
 
914 LETTERS ON 
 
 success attending experiments made by others; 
 and had read some of the best essays on agri- 
 culture. He had not merely resolved that he 
 would improve his farm, leaving the means of 
 improvement out of view, or to chance. His 
 plan embraced a very minute detail of parti- 
 culars: the implements to be used; the mode 
 of tillage, varying to suit, as far as practicable, 
 a wet or a dry season; the kind of crop in 
 each field; the manner of treating his stock; 
 were all, after mature deliberation, distinctly 
 specified. He had made calculations of great 
 length respecting the advantages of his plan; 
 and his expectation was, that it would render 
 his farm one-fourth more productive than 
 formerly, with about one-fourth less labour. 
 After expressing my approbation of his 
 plan, and my hopes that it would answer his 
 expectations, my friend, said I, you may deny 
 the doctrine of election and predestination, if 
 you please; but you are a predestinarian in 
 practice. According to the best of your 
 knowledge, you have elected or chosen the 
 kind of implements to be used; you have 
 predetermined the kind of crop that is to 
 grow in each part of your farm for ten years 
 to come. You have stated your ebject, the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 915 
 
 increase of your wealth. To the attainment 
 of this ultimate object, these decrees of your 
 mind, and the means and arrangements em- 
 braced in these decrees, are all subservient. 
 Why can you not permit the only wise God 
 to act as you have done? For the attainment 
 of a laudable end, according to the wisdom 
 you possess, you have arranged the plan for 
 the management of your farm, the little world 
 subject to your control; why not permit him 
 to have his plan arranged for the government 
 of the universe? Having to retire, I left 
 these remarks for his reflection. 
 
 The truth is that every man is a predesti- 
 narian in practice. As far as the knowledge 
 he possesses will justify, and sometimes even 
 further, he arranges his plan for the regula- 
 tion of his future efforts. This plan, and 
 these efforts, have a special reference to some 
 ultimate object, for the attainment of which 
 the plan is adopted, and the efforts employed. 
 
 The military chief generally forms the plan 
 of his campaign, before he takes the field. 
 The route by which the different divisions 
 of his army are to move; the places where 
 they are to be stationed; the point, when 
 necessary, of concentration; the sources from 
 
°16 LETTERS ON 
 
 whence supplies are to be obtained, are all 
 predetermined. He elects to the different 
 statidns, all his subordinate officers, and 
 assigns to each one his appropriate part of 
 the plan for execution. Each one is fur- 
 nished with the weapon he is to wield, and is 
 made acquainted with the part he is to act. 
 From the common soldier, up through every 
 intervening grade, to the commander-in-chief, 
 there is complete subordination and concert, 
 an army with banners. No skilful expe- 
 rienced general will take the field, till these 
 arrangements are previously made: if he 
 should, he will probably furnish an easy vic- 
 tory to his enemy, and certainly forfeit his 
 claim to military prowess. 
 
 The architect forms the plan of his building 
 before his mechanical operations are com- 
 menced. In his own mind the building first 
 exists, complete in all its parts. When the 
 foundation stone is laid; when the different 
 materials are prepared, and brought together; 
 as the edifice rises; when it is completed; the 
 whole is in exact conformity to his design. 
 He will select his assistants, or subordinate 
 agents, in performing the work; but they 
 must obey his will, execute his plan, and not 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. oy i 
 
 their own. Were these subordinate agents, 
 each one, to follow a plan of his own, regard- 
 less of that of the chief architect, they would 
 mar the beauty, and probably destroy the- 
 usefulness of the building. If success is to 
 crown their efforts, these agents must act in 
 .complete subordination and concert; one de- 
 sign must regulate all their efforts. Those 
 who are utterly incompetent to form the plan 
 of an elegant building, may yet very well 
 execute certain parts of that plan, when form- 
 ed by another. It is possible that no person 
 but the architect himself may have any know- 
 ledge of this plan; it may be communicated, 
 even to the workmen, no further than is 
 necessary for their daily operation. They 
 may perform work, the use and design of 
 which they do not fully comprehend. Nor 
 is if necessary that they should, as their part 
 is only a subordinate one; if this is well per- 
 formed, it is sufficient. There are many who, 
 for the want of some knowledge of architec- 
 ture, could not comprehend the plan, if an 
 attempt were made to state and explain it to 
 them; and who are yet very sensible of the 
 effect which the execution of it—which a view 
 of the building has on their mind. When the 
 19 ) 
 
218 LETTERS ON 
 
 whole work is completed, then every person 
 may know what this plan was. The building 
 itself is neither more nor less, than the accom- 
 plishment of the design, previously formed, 
 and previously existing in the mind of the 
 architect. 
 
 The farmer, too, practises predestination. 
 He decrees, in his own mind, that one field 
 shall bear one kind of crop, and another field 
 another kind; and that he will bestow upon 
 each the proper cultivation. The labour of 
 every day, and week, and month, is only the 
 execution of that design which he had previ- 
 ously and deliberately formed. When the 
 labour of one day, or of one week is finished, 
 it is not uncertain, is not left to chance, or 
 casualty, what shall be the labour of the next. 
 His plan extends through the whole year, and 
 fixes the operations of each month and week. 
 One week is predestinated to the purpose of 
 planting or sowing, another to the purpose of 
 reaping and gathering in the crop. The 
 labour of one week must necessarily precede 
 that of the following week. To neglect this 
 order, this subordination, would be fatal to his 
 hopes. In vain would he sow, without first 
 preparing the soil; in vain would he expect to 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 219 
 
 reap, without having sowed. His labour must 
 not only be performed in succession, but each 
 part of it at the proper time. If his seed is 
 sown in harvest, it can only disappoint his 
 expectations. No skilful and experienced 
 farmer will neglect this order and this suc- 
 cession. He determines to employ such a 
 number of labourers as are sufficient for the 
 performance of the work. To these he makes 
 known his plan so far as is necessary for their 
 daily operations; further than will answer this 
 purpose, they may know nothing of his inten- 
 tion. He may direct a certain field to be 
 ploughed in a particular manner, without 
 informing the ploughman for what purpose 
 that manner of ploughing is required. His 
 labourers have nothing to do with this plan, 
 but only to execute such parts of it as may be 
 assigned to'them. At the very time they are 
 performing their work, they may not under- 
 stand the purpose which that work is intend- 
 ed to answer. It may have an important con- 
 nexion with purposes which have not been 
 communicated to them. They may conjec- 
 ture what are the designs of their employer; 
 but in these conjectures they may be widely 
 mistaken. They may even censure his plan, 
 
220 LETTERS ON 
 
 as defective and badly arranged; but how 
 absurd would be that censure. Let them 
 wait till the whole plan is executed; then 
 what formerly appeared to be defects, may 
 become, in their view, real excellencies; what 
 appeared badly calculated to promote his inter- 
 est, or even to operate against it, may be the 
 very measures which promoted and secured 
 that interest. Because they are but partially 
 acquainted with his design, they may even 
 deny that he has any plan, extending through ~ 
 the year; let them wait till the end of the 
 year, and they will see and confess that their 
 denial proved nothing but their own igno- 
 rance. | 
 
 It cannot, indeed, be affirmed of any of 
 these designs that they are immutable, or that 
 they will certainly be accomplished. The 
 knowledge of men is very imperfect and very 
 limited. In the prosecution of their designs, 
 events which they could neither foresee nor 
 prevent, may occur, which will render part of 
 the means embraced in their plan, not only 
 useless, but injurious to the attainment of 
 their ultimate object. During their progres- 
 sive operations, they may discover that, 
 although the means employed will answer a 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 22) 
 
 good purpose, yet other means will answer 
 still better. In all such cases it is their wis- 
 dom to change their plan according to this 
 additional knowledge. Such difficulties may 
 eccur as will render certain parts of their 
 plan altogether impracticable, which will, of 
 course, he relinquished. But had this know- 
 ledge been possessed; had these difficulties 
 been foreseen; had those means, better adapt- 
 ed to the end, been known; the plan itself, in 
 its original formation, would have varied, just 
 as it afterwards does when this additional 
 knowledge is acquired. The knowledge of 
 men, though generally progressive, is never 
 perfect. In forming their designs they can- 
 not employ that wisdom which can only be 
 acquired by future experience and observa- 
 tion. Hence their plans often change, and 
 some of them are never accomplished. Was 
 their knowledge greater, their plans would be 
 less mutable; was their power greater, they 
 would more frequently be realized. 
 
 In the same manner, if I am not entirely 
 mistaken, that is, according to a plan, delibe- 
 rately, and previously formed, men employ 
 their influence in attempting to change the 
 moral character of others. The truth that 
 
299 LETTERS ON 
 
 they do, and that they ought, in this manner, 
 to exert themselves, is the basis of some very 
 important religious duties. “Train up a 
 child in the way in which he should go:?’ 
 “ Parents, bring up your children in the nur- 
 ture and admonition of the Lord;’? are some 
 of them. Parents generally wish their child 
 to possess that character which they them- 
 selves most approve: because, in their opinion, 
 this will most probably secure respectability 
 and usefulness in life. After this model they 
 will endeavour to form the character of their 
 child. This opinion and this wish will decide 
 on the plan to be adopted, and the means to 
 be used for accomplishing this purpose. If 
 they most approve the character of boldness 
 and intrepidity, the actions of the brave and 
 courageous will often be recited in the lan- 
 guage calculated to excite, in the youthful 
 bosom, the love and admiration of these qua- 
 lities; while the conduct of the cowardly and 
 timid will be represented in colours the most 
 repulsive and forbidding.. If they wish their 
 child to be industrious and economical, exam- 
 ples of these useful habits will be mentioned 
 with the highest commendation; while the 
 name of the idle and profligate will be asso- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 993 
 
 ciated with disapprobation and reproach. Such 
 will be the case with parents who live under 
 no sense of religious obligation. They will 
 predestinate one child to be a professional cha- 
 racter, another to be a merchant, another to 
 be a mechanic, another a farmer, &c. But if 
 parents themselves are truly pious, it will be 
 the supreme wish of their hearts that their 
 child may possess the character of genuine 
 piety. Their plan of education will be dic- 
 tated by this desire. The child will be taught 
 to lisp the name of Jesus with reverence and 
 delight. Examples of piety will be pointed 
 out in the Bible as worthy of imitation. Reli- 
 gious friends will be received with the most 
 cordial welcome, and spoken of with affection 
 in presence of the child. Vice will be point- 
 ed out as dangerous and hateful. The charac- 
 ter and example of the ungodly and wicked 
 will sometimes be mentioned, not for the sake 
 of invidious comparison, but of caution and 
 warning. All their efforts will be made in 
 consequence of their pious design to form the 
 character of their child according to the prin- 
 ciples of the Gospel, that it may be an active 
 and useful member of the church, and an heir 
 of salvation. ; 
 
224 LETTERS ON 
 
 Ministers of the Gospel act on the same 
 principle. All their efforts to reform and 
 edify their hearers are according to the prede- 
 termination of their own mind. They select 
 a subject which will furnish matter adapted to 
 what they believe to be the general character 
 and state of their hearers. In many instances, 
 not only their ideas, but the words by which 
 these ideas are to be conveyed, are carefully 
 selected, before they enter the desk. Others 
 who pursue a different method, arrange the 
 train of ideas, and depend on their resources, 
 at the moment, for appropriate language. 
 
 Such, as it appears to me, is the very nature 
 of man, that he cannot act, at least, to any 
 valuable purpose, without acting according to 
 a design, previously formed. To act in this 
 manner is one characteristic of intelligence, of 
 rationality; and is characteristic of man, asa 
 rational creature. The man who acts without 
 design, who exerts himself without an object 
 to accomplish by those exertions, is, at once 
 suspected of insanity. A series of exertions, 
 subordinate to, and connected with each other, 
 as necessarily suggests the idea of a design; 
 and, of course, of an intelligent mind which 
 forms that design, as an action does of an 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 995 
 
 agent, who performs that action. Such exer- 
 tions not only suggest the idea of a design, 
 but of a design formed, and existing in the 
 mind, previously to the commencement of 
 these exertions. Whether the time which 
 intervenes between the formation of this de- 
 sign, and the commencement of these exer- 
 tions be long or short, cannot in the smallest 
 degree, alter the principle. If the design 
 existed but one hour, or even one moment 
 before the efforts are made, its priority, in the 
 order of time, is as real, and as certain, as if it 
 had existed one year, or one hundred years. 
 That the exertions are made in consequence 
 of a design; and that this design was formed 
 and existed, previously to the commencement 
 of these exertions, are the points for which I 
 contend; and which, I presume, no man of 
 reflection will venture to deny. Of course, I 
 can see no possible way of escaping the con- 
 clusion that man, in the constitution of his 
 nature, and in practice, is a predestinarian. In 
 his own mind, according to the best of his 
 knowledge, for the accomplishment of what 
 he conceives to be an important purpose, he 
 decrees, he elects, he foreordains, he predes- 
 tinates. He determines to accomplish a spe- 
 20 
 
326 LETTERS ON 
 
 cific purpose; he selects the means, in his 
 opinion, best adapted to this end;. he employs 
 the agency of others, without making them 
 fully acquainted with his design, in the exe- 
 cution of which they are employed. Without 
 suspending, or destroying the free agency of 
 those whose true happiness he earnestly de- 
 sires, he uses means to change and improve 
 their character, without making them ac- 
 quainted with his intention. All the actions 
 of his life flow from these operations of his 
 mind. Were he to act differently, he would 
 furnish melancholy proof that he no longer 
 retained the exercise of reason. Suppose him 
 to act without design, and you reduce him to 
 the grade of idiots or madmen. 
 
 If to act from design be an undeniable proof 
 of intelligence and wisdom; if to act without 
 design proves the want of intelligence and 
 wisdom; then, why should we not believe 
 that God, whose intelligence and wisdom are 
 perfect, acts also from design? that all events, 
 whether great or small, in our estimation; 
 whether they relate to things temporal, or 
 things spiritual; to the rise and fall of em- 
 pires, or to the salvation of sinners; are 
 effected according to the high and holy pur- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. oy 7] 
 
 pose of Jehovah, formed in the counsels of 
 “infinite wisdom, and from all eternity, exist- 
 ing in the divine mind? Till views of the 
 character of God and of the meaning of the 
 Bible, very different from those I now pos- 
 
 sess, shall reach my mind, this will be my 
 belief. 
 
 ——a 
 
 LETTER. XVIII. 
 
 THE FINAL PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 AGREEABLY to your request, a few remarks 
 
 will now be offered eee the perseve- 
 
 rance of the saints. 
 
 All true Christians are ‘*born of God;’’ 
 their moral character is radically changed; 
 they are united to Christ by faith; for his 
 sake, all their sins are pardoned; they are re- 
 conciled to God, and adopted into the family 
 of heaven. That all such will continue in as 
 state of favour with God, and finally be saved, 
 with an everlasting salvation, is, in my view, 
 a doctrine clearly taught in the Bible, and, 
 therefore, “ worthy of all acceptation.”’ 
 
 Two things are essential to every Chris- 
 tian; a change of character and a change of 
 
298 LETTERS ON 
 
 state; or in other words, sanctification, and 
 justification. These two, in the plan of re- 
 demption, are inseparably connected together: 
 all who are sanctified, are also justified; and 
 all who are justified, are also sanctified. Re- 
 generation is the commencement of sancti- 
 fication; and all who are “born again,”’ are 
 at the same time, accepted of God. Sane- 
 tification is a work: of course it admits of 
 degrees, and of progress: justification is an 
 act, and is perfect at once, admitting neither of 
 degrees nor of progress. Sanctification exists 
 in very different degrees in different indivi- 
 duals, and in the same individual, at different 
 periods, and under different circumstances: 
 justification is alike perfect in all. Sanctifiea- 
 tion delivers from the love and practice of sin: 
 justification, from its guilt and condemnation. 
 The one prepares the mind for the happiness 
 of heaven: the other gives a right to that hap- 
 piness. ‘The one is a work, effected in the 
 heart: the other is an act of indemnity, passed 
 in the court of heaven. That faith which 
 “purifieth the heart, overcometh the world, 
 and worketh by love,’ at the same time unites 
 the soul to the Saviour, on whose account par- 
 don is obtained. The best hopes of the Chris- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 999 
 
 tian, that he is pardoned and accepted of God, 
 rest on the evidence of his sanctification. 
 
 Now, it is the opinion of some, that Chris- 
 tians who have been thus regenerated, in part 
 sanctified, united to Christ, pardoned and 
 accepted of God, may, and frequently do, fall 
 from grace, as it is termed; that is, that they 
 may lose every feature of the Christian. cha- 
 racter, be completely divested of every devout 
 sentiment and pious desire; that their hearts 
 may again cherish a supreme love and habitual 
 desire of sin, and be filled with enmity against 
 God; that they may be severed from Christ, 
 cease to enjoy the favour of God, and pass, a 
 second time, into a state of condemnation. I 
 will not affirm that there are no passages of 
 Scripture which seem to support this opinion; 
 but I think the passages which support the 
 doctrine of the final perseverance of Christians 
 in holiness, in union with Christ, and in 
 favour with God, are more numerous, more 
 explicit, and more consistent with all that we 
 know of the character of God, and of the dis- 
 pensation of his grace. 
 
 That some, that many thousands of Chris-. 
 tians do persevere in holiness, to the last mo- 
 ment of life, none will deny. Their perse- 
 
230 LETTERS ON 
 
 verance must depend entirely on themselves, 
 or partly on themselves, and partly on divine 
 aid, or entirely on the help and purpose of 
 God. Does it depend entirely on themselves? 
 This, I am inclined to believe, no person will 
 affirm. Their progress in holiness is as much 
 the work of the divine Spirit, as regeneration 
 itself. If they work out their own salvation, 
 it is God who worketh in them; if they live 
 in a spiritual sense, it is “ Christ who liveth 
 in them;’’ “ without me ye can do nothing.”” 
 Does their perseverance depend partly on 
 themselves, and partly on divine aid? This, 
 at first sight, may appear plausible. But what 
 part of this great and important work is it that 
 depends on themselves? Is it their faith? 
 This is the gift, and the work of God. Their 
 repentance? This is the gift of their exalted 
 Prince and Saviour. Their hope? This is 
 given them through grace. Their love? This 
 is “shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy 
 Ghost.”? Their peace? This is bequeathed 
 to them by their divine Friend. Their know- 
 ledge? The knowledge of God is given them. 
 Is it their hatred and opposition to sin? This 
 is the necessary result of those pious affec- 
 tions, cherished in the heart. All these things 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 931 
 
 are of God; as Christians, they are his work- 
 manship. 
 
 That there is a concurrence of their minds 
 with the Holy Spirit, in this work, is readily 
 admitted. Feeling the exercise of faith, they 
 earnestly pray for its increase. Tasting the 
 bitterness and perceiving the hatefulness of 
 sin, they cry for help to resist its temptations 
 and to escape its pollution. Their minds 
 being, in some degree, savingly enlightened, 
 they desire to grow in the knowledge of their 
 Saviour, to abound in knowledge and wisdom 
 and spiritual understanding. Every faculty 
 of the mind is employed; every affection of 
 the heart is excited. Yet this concurrence is 
 not such as to justify us in saying that their 
 perseverance depends, in any degree, on them- 
 selves. To the acquisition of this knowledge, 
 to the exercise of these devout affections, to 
 this activity and usefulness, to this perseve- 
 rance in holiness, they are “constrained by 
 the love of Christ,’ they are drawn by loving 
 kindness, they are Jed by the Spirit. Their 
 own agency is employed in preserving the 
 life of the body; and yet that preservation is 
 explicitly ascribed to God: so, the agency of 
 Christians is employed in preserving the 
 
232 LETTERS ON 
 
 divine life; and yet this preservation is the 
 peculiar work of the Spirit of God. The 
 conclusion, therefore, is, that the perseverance 
 of Christians, in a life of faith and holiness 
 depends entirely on God. 
 
 This conclusion is amply supported by 
 scriptural authority. The prayer of our Savi- 
 our furnishes this authority. For his disci- 
 ples he prays to God, “ Not that thou shouldst 
 take them out of the world, but that thou 
 shouldst keep them from the evil. Sanctify 
 them through the truth.”? The prayers of 
 men, even of the best of men, may be so 
 mixed with ignorance, unbelief, and imperfec- 
 tion, as to render them unavailing. Paul 
 “thrice besought the Lord,’’ without obtain- 
 ing his request. Not so the prayers of Jeho- 
 vah-Jesus: they are always according to the 
 will of God; and are always heard. The 
 Father has answered, and continues to answer 
 this prayer. Paul affirms of the Corinthians, 
 “ye are sanctified by the Spirit of our God.” 
 Peter declares respecting the Christians to 
 whom he wrote, that they “ were kept by the 
 power of God, through faith, unto salvation.”’ 
 
 If, then, the perseverance of Christians de- 
 pends entirely on God; if any of them, having 
 
 74 
 if 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 933 
 
 been regenerated, united to Christ, freely 
 pardoned, and accepted of God, and adopted 
 into his family, should fail to receive the end 
 of their faith; should fall, and finally perish, 
 it must be, either because God is unable, or 
 unwilling to preserve them in holiness: for 
 if he is both able and willing, then the work 
 will certainly be accomplished; and they will 
 receive the end of their faith, the salvation of 
 their souls. 
 
 Now, I cannot suppose that any man, with 
 that knowledge of the divine character which 
 the Bible furnishes, will say that God is unable 
 to save his people from final perdition. His 
 power can accomplish any thing which does 
 net imply an impossibility; in the perseve- 
 rance of Christians there is no impossibility; 
 for thousands, through divine grace, have 
 persevered. The conversion of men from sin 
 to holiness, is much more difficult, in our 
 view, than their perseverance in that holiness; 
 and yet this great work has been performed, by 
 the Spirit, in the heart of every Christian. If 
 he has performed that which is difficult, can 
 he not perform that which is comparatively 
 easy? ‘The man who has raised a weight of 
 fifty, or an hundred pounds, can he not, with 
 
234 LETTERS ON 
 
 the same strength, raise one of five or of ten 
 pounds? If God has quickened the soul, 
 when dead in sin, changed the heart, when it 
 was in enmity against him, can he not pre- 
 serve that life which he has breathed into the 
 soul, and keep in exercise that love which he 
 has kindled in the heart? Such is the argu- 
 ment of the Apostle Paul; if, when we were 
 without strength, when we were sinners, were 
 enemies, we were made alive, pardoned, jus- 
 tified, reconciled to God: much more, that is, 
 there is much greater reason to believe, that 
 we shall be saved from wrath, through the 
 Saviour; and in order to this, that we shall be 
 preserved in holiness, without which none 
 can be saved? The argument is conclusive, 
 and unanswerable. | 
 
 Besides, who are the enemies, with whom 
 divine power has to contend? ‘They are, 
 indeed, numerous, powerful, malignant, and 
 unwearied in their efforts. Satan and his 
 legions, united with wicked men on earth, 
 constitute a formidable host. But still they 
 are creatures; of course, completely, and at all 
 times, dependent on God for the power they 
 employ against the cause of Christ. Being 
 creatures, their power must be limited, and by 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 235 
 
 consequence, less than the power of God. 
 Will any person believe that the less shall 
 overcome the greater ? that the creature shall 
 vanquish the Almighty ? that the combined 
 efforts of all the wicked agents in the universe, 
 shall pluck the sheep from the grasp of Om- 
 nipotence! If Satan be a strong man armed, 
 there is a stronger than he, to come upon him. 
 If Satan is active and unwearied in his efforts 
 to destroy; the Lord Jehovah is more active 
 and unwearied to protect and to save. And, 
 “if God be for us, who can be against us ?” 
 Therefore, we conclude, respecting Christians, 
 that “God is able to make them stand.” 
 
 The willingness of God to keep his people 
 from falling, is not less doubtful than his 
 power. ‘This is often affirmed, in the plainest 
 terms in Scripture. Those who are called, 
 are cailed according to the “purpose and 
 grace of God. Of his own will begat he us. 
 This is the will of God, even your sanctifica- 
 tion.”? It is not a subject for investigation, 
 but a pleasing and momentous fact, that thou- 
 sands ef Christians have persevered in the 
 exercise of devout affections, and in the prac- 
 tice of religious duties, through all the diffi- 
 culties with which they had to contend, to the 
 
236 LETTERS ON 
 
 moment of death. It is also a fact that this 
 perseverance is ascribed to God, the Spirit. 
 The man who would refuse to join in this 
 ascription, would cast a shade of suspicion 
 over his claims to the Christian character. If 
 God is working in his people to will and to 
 do, it is “according to his good pleasure;”’ 
 that is, most willingly. “Thanks be to God 
 who giveth us the victory,’”’ is the language 
 of their hearts. This, too, is the language of 
 heaven, where nothing but truth is admitted; 
 “to him who washed us in his own blood,” 
 their praises are. continually ascending. If, 
 then, their sufficiency is of God; if, in a 
 spiritual, as well as in a natural sense, “in him 
 they live, and move, and have their being;’? 
 if their perseverance is his work, he must 
 perform it willingly; for there is no power 
 in existence sufficient to compel him. All 
 his works, whether of creation, of providence, 
 or redemption, are performed according to his 
 own pleasure. He does not employ a subor- 
 dinate agency, in executing the purpose of 
 another; but does all things after the counsel 
 of his own will. If he raises the soul from 
 death to life; shields it from temptation, or 
 makes a way for its escape; guides, supports, 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 937 
 
 strengthens, and comforts it, through all the 
 trials and afflictions of life; making all things 
 work together for its good; and receives it 
 finally to the joys of his kingdom; it is all 
 according to his own purpose and_ grace, 
 “which he purposed in Christ Jesus, our 
 Lord.’’ If, then, God is both able and will- 
 ing to preserve his people, they will be pre- 
 served. 
 
 Many passages of Scripture, if I am not 
 entirely mistaken, clearly teach this doctrine. 
 The Saviour, speaking of his people, says: 
 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 
 and they follow me; and I give unto them 
 eternal life, and they shall never perish; nei- 
 ther shall any pluck them out of my hand. 
 My Father who gave them me, is greater than 
 all; and none is able to pluck them out of my 
 Father’s hand.” John x. 27, &e. The life 
 here spoken of, is that spiritual life, obtained 
 from Christ by faith. It is called by him who 
 is the truth, eternal life; that is, it will never 
 end; of course those who receive it, will never 
 perish. Peter, in a passage already quoted, 
 speaking of Christians, affirms, that they are 
 ‘‘kept by the power of God, through faith 
 unto salvyation.”? 1 Pet. i. 5. Dr. M‘Knight, 
 
238 LETTERS ON 
 
 on this passage, observes, that the word here 
 translated kent, “signifies guarded in a gar- 
 rison. The term is very emphatical here. It 
 represents believers as attacked by evil spirits 
 and wicked men, their enemies, put defended 
 against their attacks by the power of God, 
 through the influence of their faith; (1 John 
 vy. 4,) just as those who are in an impregnable 
 fortress, are secured from the attacks of their 
 enemies, by its ramparts and walls.” This 
 passage not only affirms that they are kept, but 
 points out the manner in which this preserva- 
 tion is effected; it is through faith. Now 
 faith implies, not only the knowledge and 
 belief of the truth, but also those pious affec- 
 tions and dispositions, and the practice of those 
 religious duties which constitute true holiness. 
 “Without holiness, no man shall see the 
 Lord;’’? and without faith, no man can attain 
 this holiness; and without the power of God, 
 no man can exercise this faith. Believers are 
 kept, not by miracle, nor by means which 
 operate on them as mere machines, but by 
 faith; by calling into vigorous exercise, every 
 power and faculty of the soul; by exciting 
 their desires and aversions, their joys and 
 their sorrows, their hopes and their fears, their 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 939 
 
 love and their hatred. Hear another witness 
 to the truth of Christian perseverance. “For 
 he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor for- 
 sake thee;”? Heb. xiii. 5., that is, as Dr. Scott 
 observes, “He will not in any wise leave 
 them, nor in any wise, on any account, in any 
 emergency, or at any time will he forsake 
 them. The emphasis of the original words, 
 in which five negatives are used to increase 
 the strength of the negation, according to 
 the Greek idiom, can scarcely be retained in 
 any translation.”? Again; Paul thanked God, 
 upon every remembrance of the Philippians, 
 being confident of this very thing, that “he 
 who hath begun a good work in you, will 
 perform it, until the day of Jesus Christ.” 
 Paraphrased thus, by Dr. M‘Knight; “ And 
 that he will persevere, I have no doubt; 
 ‘being persuaded of this very thing, that God, 
 who hath begun, in you, a good work? of faith 
 and love, ‘ will be completing it till the day of 
 death;? when Christ will release you from all 
 your trials.” Now it is evident that without 
 faith and love, none can be Christians. That 
 he who commences, will be employed in com- 
 pleting this good work, till the day of death, 
 Paul was confident; and wrote by inspiration. 
 
240 LETTERS ON 
 
 Doubtless, had the occasion required it, he 
 would have used the asseveration which he 
 did on another occasion; “I speak the truth 
 in Christ.’ 
 
 We see, then, that the people of God pos- 
 sess eternal life; of course, they shall never 
 perish; for, by the power of God, they are 
 kept, with such. constancy and care, that he 
 will never leave nor forsake them; but be 
 engaged in completing the good work, begun 
 in their hearts, till the day of death. These, 
 with many other passages which might be 
 mentioned, are sufficient to justify the persua- 
 sion, “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
 nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pre- 
 sent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, 
 nor any other creature, shall be able to sepa- 
 rate Christians from the love of God, which is 
 in Christ Jesus, our Lord.’’ 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 
 
 Ir Christians may, and frequently do, fall from 
 grace, in the current sense of this phrase, they 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 94] 
 
 not only Icse every feature of Christian cha- 
 racter, every pious disposition, every trace of 
 holiness, and become again totally depraved 
 and sinful, as they were previously to their con- 
 version; but their religious state must also be 
 changed: from a state of pardon, justification, 
 and peace with God, they must fall, a second 
 time, into a state of condemnation. Their 
 relation to God, as well as their character, 
 must be entirely changed. Instead of sustain- 
 ing to him the relation of children to a father, 
 they must come to sustain no other relation to 
 him than that of criminals to their judge. It 
 has already been stated that the change of cha- 
 racter, and change of state are inseparably con- 
 nected together; and both are of grace. The 
 life which they possess is the gift of God; and 
 they are justified freely, through his grace. 
 Whatever works the forfeiture of the one, does 
 also of the other; and whatever secures the 
 one, secures also the other. I trust it has 
 been made to appear, that as their continuance 
 in holiness depends entirely on God, he is 
 both able and willing to preserve them in the 
 exercise of holiness, so he will preserve them. 
 in a state of pardon: and peace with himself; 
 and that “ there is, therefore, now no condem- 
 21 
 
949 LETTERS ON 
 
 nation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who 
 walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; 
 because sin has not, and never shall have 
 dominion over them.”? The law of the Spirit 
 of life in Christ Jesus has made them free from 
 the law of sin, and by consequence, also of 
 death. I do not know that we are authorized 
 to affirm that God might not, if it appeared 
 good in his sight, revoke his own gifts; yet 
 I know of no authority from Scripture for 
 believing that he ever will. They were 
 bestowed freely, and not by compulsion; and 
 not inconsiderately or rashly, but deliberately, 
 according to the counsel of his own wisdom; 
 with a perfect knowledge of all the difficulties 
 which might arise in the way of their con- 
 tinuance. Therefore we conclude that these 
 “gifts of God,’ holiness and pardon, “are 
 without repentance.’ Every argument which 
 justifies our belief in their perseverance in 
 holiness, proves also their continuance in a 
 state of pardon; and every truth which proves 
 their continuance in a state of pardon, confirms 
 our conviction of their perseverance in holi- 
 ness. So, on the other hand, every difficulty 
 which forbids the supposition of their losing, 
 or falling from the one, forbids it also of the 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 243 
 
 other. Now, to me, it appears that the diffi- 
 culties attending the supposition of their falling 
 from a state of pardon and acceptance with 
 God are very great, if not insuperable. 
 
 For the sake of illustration, let us suppose 
 that a man lives a sinful and wicked life for 
 thirty years, and then, through the power of 
 the Spirit becomes a new creature, a sincere 
 and genuine Christian. All his past offences 
 are, of course, forgiven; for without this he 
 could not be a Christian. Let us further sup- 
 pose that he continues a Christian for one year, 
 and then falls from grace; and that, at the end 
 of another year, he dies, a depraved sinner, 
 in a state of guilt and condemnation, and of 
 course perishes for ever. Will he suffer for 
 all his sins, or only for a part of them? for 
 those of the first thirty years of his life, or 
 only for those of the last year? If only for 
 those of the last year, then his punishment 
 would not be in proportion to his guilt; which 
 is contrar® to the principles of justice. He 
 knew, for thirty years, his Lord’s will, and 
 prepared not himself, neither did according to 
 his will, and yet shall be beaten with few 
 stripes; contrary to the solemn declaration of 
 the Judge himself. Then he will not receive 
 
944 LETTERS ON 
 
 according to the deeds done, that is, the sins 
 committed, in the body, but only according to 
 those of one year; which contradicts another 
 decision of the Judge. For thirty years he 
 treasured up wrath, for which no day of wrath 
 overtakes him. For thirty years he wilfully 
 transgressed the laws, wearied the patience 
 and grieved the Spirit of God, and is brought 
 into judgment and finally condemned for the 
 guilt of only one year. Through an endless 
 duration he will be treated neither according 
 to the mercy nor the justice of God: mercy 
 would save him from punishment altogether; 
 justice would punish him for all his offences. 
 He will neither be a ‘‘ vessel of mercy,” nor 
 a “vessel of wrath.”” ‘Throughout eternity 
 the glory neither of mercy nor of justice will 
 be displayed in his case. In this life, indeed, 
 we behold the goodness and severity, the mer- 
 cies and judgments of God, exercised towards 
 the same individual, because this is a remedial 
 state; but not so hereafter. In @#he eternal 
 state, mercy and justice will display their 
 glories on their own peculiar and exclusive 
 objects; all will be either vessels of mercy, or 
 vessels of wrath. To my mind this suppo- 
 sition appears utterly inadmissible. Every 
 
ww 
 
 THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 945 
 
 reason for the infliction of punishment in any 
 degree, justifies and demands it, in exact pro- 
 portion to the guilt of those on whom it is 
 inflicted. 
 
 Shall we then suppose that he suffers for all 
 his sins? But the guilt of the first thirty 
 years of his life was solemnly and gracicusly 
 forgiven; for, whether he had any comfortable 
 evidence of the fact or not, without the for- 
 giveness of all past offences, he could not be 
 a Christian; and if not a Christian, then he 
 could not fall from grace. He never can suf- 
 fer, therefore, for that guilt which has been 
 forgiven; for pardon is exemption from desery- 
 ed punishment. Exemption and suffering; 
 that is, to suffer and not to suffer, at the same 
 time, and for the same guilt, is clearly impos- 
 sible. Pardon is as much a solemn and offi- 
 cial act of the Judge and Governor of the uni- 
 verse, as condemnation is; and all his acts are 
 perfectly consistent. If God has justified, 
 who is he that will condemn? | For the guilt, 
 therefore, which has been thus forgiven, the 
 man never will come into condemnation, 
 unless we suppose that this act of pardon shall 
 be afterwards repealed; that what God has 
 
246 LETTERS ON 
 
 once solemnly and officially done, he will, in 
 the same manner, undo; having voluntarily 
 and deliberately declared that he will not 
 punish, that he shall afterwards, in the same 
 manner, declare that he will punish for the 
 same crimes. When he made the declaration 
 that he never would punish the man for his 
 past transgressions, he certainly knew that, 
 according to the case now supposed, this man 
 would fall from grace, die in a state of sin, 
 and finally perish; and that he would punish 
 him for the very sins which he forgives. 
 According to our mode of calculating time, a 
 space of two years intervenes between the 
 first and the last of these declarations; between 
 the pardon and the condemnation. If a thou- 
 sand years is with the Lord as one day, much 
 more are two years as one and the same 
 instant. As it regards the Judge himself, it 
 is the same thing as to say that, at the same 
 instant, he declares he will not, and declares 
 he will punish for the same offences; at the 
 same instant he pardons and condemns. If 
 an earthly judge were to act thus, he ought to 
 be instantly divested of his office, and sent to 
 the lunatic hospital. It would grieve me to 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 47 
 
 believe that a single human being, having 
 access to the Bible, could entertain such an 
 opinion of God his Maker. 
 
 Shall we then suppose that the pardon was 
 conditional; and that the condition is, the 
 man’s perseverance in holiness, till the end of 
 life? This cannot relieve us from our diffi- 
 culties; it rather increases them. A condi- 
 tional pardon is no pardon. Those who con- 
 tend for such a pardon, can mean nothing 
 more than the promise of a pardon for a man 
 who will comply with the condition. But 
 who does not see the wide difference between 
 the promise of pardon in future, and the par- 
 don itself which is promised? How ean it 
 produce any beneficial effects until it is pass- 
 ed? If it be future, how can it produce any 
 present benefit? Your indigent neighbour 
 comes to you almost dead with hunger, and 
 asks you for a morsel of bread; you do not 
 give him that which is needful for the body 
 at this moment, but you promise that if he 
 will preserve his life for a week, or a month, 
 then you will give him bread. The physi- 
 cian finds his patient dangerously ill, and 
 gravely promises that if he will only continue 
 to live for a week, or a month, then an infal- 
 
248 LETTERS ON 
 
 lible remedy shall be administered. Such ten- 
 der mercies are cruelties. And I feel confi- 
 dent that you will never mock the miseries of 
 any human being in this manner. Pardon is 
 an act of God. The promise to perform an 
 act in future, necessarily implies that it is not 
 done at present. But if it be not performed 
 at present, the man is not, and cannot be a 
 Christian; and if not a Christian, he can have 
 no holiness in which to persevere. And the 
 supposition is that he possesses holiness, is a 
 Christian, and yet not pardoned. But the dif- 
 ficulties attending this hypothesis are not yet 
 done; they rather thicken upon us as we 
 advance. The heart of the man is radically 
 changed by the truth and Spirit of God: he 
 exercises faith in the merits of a divine Savi- 
 our; feels a sincere love to God and man; is 
 truly thankful for the mercies he receives; 
 grieves for his sins with a godly sorrow; is 
 clothed with humility; cherishes a spirit of 
 gentleness, meekness, forbearance and forgive- 
 ness: renders habitual and cheerful obedience 
 to the Divine will; and perseveres in the exer- 
 cise of these Christian virtues, and in the dis- 
 charge of these duties till the end of life, or at 
 least for a number of years: this is the holi- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 249 
 
 ness in which he is to persevere; and this per- 
 severance is the condition on which his par- 
 don is suspended. And yet this man is not 
 forgiven. He isin a state of condemnation, 
 and the “wrath of God abideth on him.” 
 He is sanctified, at least, in part, but not justi- 
 fied: exercises all the Christian virtues: pos- 
 sesses the Christian character; and yet lacks 
 something essential to a Christian; is not yet 
 authorised to hope for heaven, because he is 
 ‘not yet pardoned; need not, however, fear the 
 bottomless pit, because he is holy—But I for- 
 bear. ) 
 
 If the pardon of sin depends on perseverance 
 in holiness for a time, then it cannot wholly 
 depend on the merits of Christ nor on the free 
 mercy and pleasure of God. But we are 
 assured that we are forgiven for “Christ’s 
 sake;’’ and that for pardon we depend on the 
 mercy of God. Besides a great many passa- 
 ges of Scripture declare in the most positive 
 and explicit manner, that Christians are for- 
 given as soon as they believe in Christ; that 
 is, as soon as they become Christians. 
 
 When this man shall stand before his Judge, 
 he may use this language: I have eaten and 
 drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught 
 
 22 
 
250 LETTERS ON 
 
 me. But the language of the Judge will be, 
 “Depart from me thou worker of iniquity; 
 for I never knew thee,” that is, never acknow- 
 ledged thee to be one of my people. Might 
 not the man reply; Nay, but thou didst once 
 know me. I was changed by the truth and 
 Spirit of God; for one whole year, I trusted 
 in thy merits; felt the life-giving and purify-. 
 ing efficacy of thy blood; was reconciled to 
 God through thy death; enjoyed sweet and 
 holy communion with the Father and with 
 thee. This would be the solemn truth. For 
 the condemnation of this man, therefore, the 
 Judge could not assign this reason—* I never 
 knew thee.’’ 
 
 It is alleged that sin is the cause of this fall 
 from a state of holiness and favour with God, 
 into a state of depravity and condemnation. 
 Whether a state of sinless perfection be attain- 
 able in this life or.not, I do not mean at pre- 
 sent to inguire. I would just observe, how- 
 ever, that when Christians are supposed to 
 reach that state, they cease to be objects of the 
 divine forbearance; and it is evidently impro- 
 per for them to pray for mercy. If they 
 commit no sin, they present nothing to exer- 
 cise the patience of God; they need no mercy, 
 
|THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 251 
 
 as they have no guilt to be forgiven. Those 
 who contend that this state is attainable, admit 
 that there are thousands of Christians who have 
 not yet reached it; of course, until it is gained, 
 they may, and actually do commit sin, and yet 
 do not fall from grace. The advocates for 
 this opinion allow that there may be a certain 
 degree of sin and guilt which does not effect 
 this terrible fall: I. would ask, what is that 
 degree, and how is it ascertained? The nature 
 of all sin is alike, hateful to God, and polluting 
 and dangerous to the soul. That there are 
 degrees in guilt I have no doubt. However 
 diversified, in our view, those opinions, pas- 
 sions, and practices may be which are con- 
 demned as sinful, they all have one and the 
 same quality; and that quality is. expressed 
 by the term guilt. The fall of Christians 
 cannot depend on the kind of sin committed, 
 but on the degree of guilt contracted. Let us 
 suppose that the amount of guilt which pro- 
 duces this fall is twenty degrees. Then it will 
 follow that all degrees below this amount are 
 safe, as it regards this total loss of Christian 
 character, and forfeiture of the divine favour. 
 Christians may commit sin till their guilt 
 amounts to five, ten, fifteen, or even nineteen 
 
959 LETTERS ON 
 
 degrees, and yet they are Christians, children 
 of God, interested in the blood of the cross, 
 and are objects of the peculiar favour and love 
 of God. But if they add one degree more, 
 then they cease to be Christians, become chil- 
 dren of wrath, come into condemnation, and 
 cease to be objects of the divine love and 
 favour. | 
 
 The doctrine which I defend is charged, by 
 its opponents, with a tendency to destroy all 
 motives to Christian watchfulness and dili- 
 gence, and with furnishing inducements to a 
 slothful and even licentious life. Now I think 
 it undeniable that this charge, with equal force, 
 lies against the opinion held by these oppo- 
 nents. According to their opinion Christians 
 may commit sin, may gratify the desires of the 
 flesh, without danger of falling, until their 
 cuilt amounts to nineteen degrees, provided 
 they do not add the twentieth. 
 
 The charge is not well founded. The for- 
 mer does not neglect judicious arrangements 
 and remit his exertions, because he hopes 
 these exertions, through the blessing of heaven, 
 will be successful. This hope has nothing but 
 probability for its foundation. If the proba- 
 bility of success prompts him to industry, then 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 953 
 
 the greater this probability is, the greater will 
 be his inducement to labour; of course, if there 
 was a certainty that his exertions would be 
 crowned with success, this would furnish the 
 greatest possible inducement. And shall we 
 say that the most powerful motive will fail, 
 when a much weaker one will answer the 
 purpose? that a weight of five pounds will 
 turn the scale, when one of ten, or of twenty 
 will not? The two cases are sufficiently simi- 
 lar to justify the illustration of the one by the 
 other. The farmer has not even a probability, 
 much less a certainty, that he will succeed 
 without proper exertions: so he is nota Chris- 
 _ tian but a presumptuous libeller of the Gospel 
 who believes, or pretends to believe, that he 
 will enjoy the happiness of heaven, without 
 holiness, and holiness consists in the exercise 
 of pious affections, and in the discharge of 
 religious duties. If the farmer sows when 
 there is only a probability that he shall reap, 
 will not Christians “sow to the Spirit,” when 
 there is a blessed assurance that “ of the Spirit 
 they shall reap life everlasting??? The pur- 
 pose of God is not to receive impenitent sin- 
 ners to the joys of his kingdom, but to “ save 
 them from their sins,” to ‘‘ work in them the 
 
254. LETTERS ON 
 
 work of faith with power, to make them holy, 
 and then admit them to his kingdom and 
 glory.” 
 
 That Christians do commit sin, is a mourn- 
 ful truth that cannot be denied. That their 
 faith becomes weak, their affections languid, 
 their exertions feeble and irregular; that they 
 sometimes slumber, and even sleep, must be 
 admitted. But I think it probable, that if you 
 could ask every Christian, from the beginning 
 of the world to this day, whether his own 
 declension in vital piety was-the consequence 
 of his understanding and believing the doc- 
 trine of final perseverance, he would answer, 
 No; it was not. IfIam not mistaken, many 
 of those who oppose this doctrine, of course, 
 who do not believe it, and cannot be influenced 
 by it, experience the same chills and slumber- 
 ings in their affections, and feebleness in their 
 exertions, which are so much to be deplored 
 in others. Jf then this sad decline in them- 
 selves is not, and cannot be the consequence 
 of believing this doctrine, I hope they will not 
 bring it as a charge against the doctrine, when 
 believed by others. In both cases, the same 
 effects should be ascribed to the same cause. 
 
 That some have used unguarded expressions 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 955 
 
 in attempting to illustrate and defend this doc- 
 trine, I readily admit; nor will I deny that 
 some professors of religion who live ungodly 
 and wicked lives, may refer to their belief in 
 this doctrine as the ground of their hope, that 
 they will finally be saved. I cannot admit, 
 however, that the doctrine itself is chargeable 
 with the imprudence or absurdity of its pro- 
 fessed advocates. ‘The Scripture is not charge- 
 able with the error of those who wrest it; nor 
 the Gospel with the guilt of those who pervert 
 its pure and wholesome instructions. I do 
 deny that we have sufficient authority for 
 believing that those who live ungodly and 
 irreligious lives are Christians, whatever they 
 may profess. They may have a name that 
 they live, while, in fact, they are dead. This 
 doctrine is no more accountable for their un- 
 godliness, than the Bible which condemns that 
 ungodliness, and which they also profess to 
 believe. If on this account we should re- 
 nounce this doctrine, we have the same reason 
 for rejecting also the sacred volume. | The 
 real tendency of this doctrine is to be ascer- 
 tained from its influence and effects on the 
 heart and life of those who understand, believe, 
 and love it; not from those who neither under- 
 
256 LETTERS ON 
 
 stand, believe, nor love it; and who, thorgh 
 its professed friends, are its secret enemies. 
 
 If it be contended that Christians may fall 
 from grace, I would not strenuously defend 
 the contrary position. We know that Adam 
 fell; and we know that all sin is dangerous. 
 Nor does it appear to me, the correct mode of 
 speaking to say, that Christians are in no dan- 
 ger of falling. The sins of the children of 
 God, as certainly meet his displeasure, as the 
 sins of the unregenerate. Every sin is a de- 
 parture from the rule of duty, according to 
 which the favour of God may be expected. 
 The tendency of all sin is, therefore, to sepa- 
 rate from God. The position which I defend 
 is, that Christians will not totally fall; and 
 though in danger, in imminent danger, they 
 will be shielded from that danger. Adam fell, 
 it is true; but Adam, before his fall, though a 
 pure and holy being, was not a Christian. No 
 Mediator stood between him and his God; his 
 purity was not purchased by the sufferings and 
 the merit of a divine Saviour; no blood of 
 infinite value was the pledge of his continuance 
 in holiness. This, however, is the case with 
 Christians. A divine Mediator, by his obe- 
 dience and sufferings, has procured for them, 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 257 
 
 complete and eternal salvation. But as there 
 can be no salvation without holiness, therefore, 
 holiness itself, is among the invaluable bles- 
 sings, procured by the blood of the cross. 
 The covenant between them and their God, is 
 not only ordered, but sure. The foundation 
 of their hopes is a sure foundation. Their 
 perseverance is secured by the death of Christ. 
 Jehovah is their God and Father; Jesus is 
 their Mediator, their Redeemer, their Inter- 
 cessor; the Holy Spirit is their Monitor, their 
 Comforter. The cautions, the threatenings, 
 the warnings, the admonitions, the entreaties, 
 the promises, the invitations, the doctrines, the 
 
 precepts of the Bible, with all the dispensa- 
 tions of Providence, will be blessed as the 
 means of their progress in the divine life. 
 Not one of them shall perish; every one of 
 them “ will enter into the joy of their Lord.”’ 
 
 neni 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 THIS DOCTRINE GIVES SUCH VIEWS OF THE CHARACTER OF 
 GOD AS ARE CALCULATED TO EXCITE DEVOTION.—CON- 
 CLUSION. 
 
 Tue Bible is our only infalliable guide; no 
 
 system of doctrines, therefore, by what name 
 
258 LETTERS ON 
 
 soever it may be designated, ought to be 
 received, that is not clearly taught in the 
 sacred volume. By giving us correct views 
 of the character of God, and of ourselves, by 
 teaching us the plan of salvation through a 
 divine Saviour, by exciting every pious affec- 
 tion of the heart, the Bible is intended, 
 through the Holy Spirit, to prepare us for 
 the worship and society of heaven, for the 
 joys and glories of eternity. Its doctrines 
 are according to godliness; it makes wise to 
 salvation; it is able, or powerful to save the 
 soul. Those doctrines which have the great- 
 est tendency to promote holiness, are, for that 
 reason, most worthy of our cordial acceptance. 
 What then is the tendency of those views 
 which have been given? In my opinion the 
 sun is not more evidently intended, nor better 
 calculated to warm and enlighten the earth, 
 the eye is not more evidently fitted for the 
 purposes of vision, than are these doctrines to 
 enlighten and purify the mind; to make us, 
 and keep us sincere, humble, devout, intelli- 
 gent, and useful Christians. 
 
 They represent the divine character sur- 
 rounded with that glory and majesty which 
 are calculated to excite the deepest reverence 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 259 
 
 in our minds; and reverence is an indispen- 
 sable feature in the character of all true wor- 
 shippers of God. It isa character of fear and 
 love. While the greatness of God bows the 
 mind in devout awe, a view of his excellence 
 attracts and elevates it by love. The great- 
 ness of his goodness, of his wisdom and his 
 power, is displayed in the most impressive 
 manner. By one single act of his infinite 
 mind he designed the creation and govern- 
 ment of this world, with all its numberless 
 varieties of inhabitants, with all its countless 
 series of events. His high and holy purpose 
 is One! To our ininds it may appear infinite- 
 ly diversified, because it relates to an infinite 
 diversity of objects and events; still, however, 
 it is emphatically one; embracing the world 
 with all its occurrences, through every period 
 of its duration. 
 
 The preservation and safety of one single 
 individual requires the concurrence of-a great 
 variety of causes, which are the effects of other 
 causes which preceded them, still more numer- 
 ous and diversified. Each of these must 
 operate at a particular time, and in a particular 
 order. The food that he eats is produced by 
 the combined influence of the air, the sun, the 
 
260 LETTERS ON 
 
 rain, the earth, and the toil of man. The 
 clothing which defends and comforts him is 
 derived from different sources, and prepared 
 by different hands. The water which he 
 drinks is collected from innumerable veins in 
 the earth, and presented for his use in springs 
 and rivulets. The air which he breathes is 
 prepared in a manner so recondite as to baffle 
 all human discovery. Besides, he walks every 
 day in the midst of threatening dangers, from 
 which he must be continually shielded. All 
 these events were designed by the wisdom, 
 and brought to pass by the power of God, at 
 the proper time and in the proper order. 
 
 Our impressions of greatness are often the 
 result of comparison. Compared with the 
 wisdom and power of God, how does the 
 wisdom and intelligence of man disappear and 
 shrink into nothing, and his power become 
 perfect imbecility ? The mathematical disco- 
 veries of Napier and Newton have surreunded 
 their names with unfading renown. But 
 suppose either of these men, distinguished for 
 their talents, had been required to devise the 
 means of preservation and safety to man for 
 one single year, how utterly insufficient for 
 the task must they have felt themselves to be! 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 261 
 
 Faint, indeed, would have been their glory, 
 compared with what it deservedly is, had it 
 depended on their discovering the manner in 
 which the means, provided by the wisdom 
 and power of God, secure this preservation 
 and safety. If the man who discovers the 
 relation of numbers, who carries his researches 
 a little beyond the mere surface, and discovers 
 a few more properties of matter than were 
 formerly known; while he confesses that 
 there are other relations, and other properties 
 yet undiscovered ; relations and properties 
 too, which really existed before; which he 
 neither devised nor caused; if this man re- 
 ceives the applause of the civilized world; 
 how inexpressible should be our pious admi- 
 ration of the character of God, who designed 
 and brought into existence all these relations 
 and properties! No philosopher can devise 
 the means of his own safety, or even compre- 
 hend how that safety is secured by the means 
 otherwise provided. Either this invention or 
 this discovery would raise him, in our estima- 
 tion, above the grade of human beings. Yet 
 these are the common and daily operations of 
 Jehovah! His wisdom arranged these means, 
 his power secures their concurrence, he per- 
 
262 LETTERS ON 
 
 fectly understands the\manner of this opera- 
 tion, not merely for one year, but for every 
 successive year of life. The same wisdom, 
 power, and goodness, have been employed in 
 preserving all the numerous millions of man- 
 kind who have, who do now, or shall hereafter 
 live upon the earth. The same guardian care 
 is extended to the beasts of the field, to the 
 fowls of the air, to the fishes of the sea, to all 
 creeping things, to insects, to mites, though 
 their existence should be but for a day or an 
 hour. They are all his creatures. Their 
 creation is embraced in his plan; so also is 
 their preservation. Not one of them,. even 
 the smallest, is forgotten before God. The 
 concurrence of all these causes, varied to suit 
 their different natures, is perfectly secured by 
 his immutable purpose. - Add to this his 
 unceasing and decisive control over all inani- 
 mate matter. The winds and the sea obey 
 him: the torrent rushes at his command: the 
 lightnings flash, the thunders roar at his word: 
 the earth trembles and quakes at his touch. 
 There is not a particle, not an atom in air, in. 
 earth, or sea, that is not as distinctly known 
 to him, and as completely under the influence 
 of his government, as the great globe itself. 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 2°63 
 
 The creation, the position and movemients of 
 each atom are his work, and accomplished 
 according to his purpose. Add to this, his 
 influence over the minds of men, using them 
 as instruments in effecting the designs of his 
 providence; an influence explicitly ascribed to 
 him in Scripture. ‘“ He fashioneth their hearts 
 alike.” The king’s heart, and by conse- 
 quence, the hearts of all his subjects, “is in 
 the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water; 
 he turneth it whithersoever he will.?? Psalm 
 XXxll. 15; Jobvi.21. “Blessed be the Lord 
 God of our fathers who hath put such a thing 
 as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the 
 house of the Lord which is at Jerusalem.” 
 Eizra vii. 27. This king was an idolater, not 
 a worshipper of Jehovah; and yet what he did 
 was put into his heart by the God of Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob. The divine influence over 
 the mind of Cyrus has already been consi- 
 dered. ‘To govern our own thoughts, affec- 
 tions, and desires has ever been found, if not 
 impossible at least a very difficult task. It is 
 only through the aid of divine grace that we 
 can succeed in any tolerable degree. How- 
 much more difficult is it to govern the thoughts 
 and desires of another individual. We cannot 
 
264 LETTERS ON 
 
 even know these thoughts and desires, except 
 through the medium of external signs. We 
 may indeed use means for this purpose; and 
 our efforts may be crowned with some partial 
 success; but to exercise a complete control 
 over the mind of another, for one day, or even 
 one hour, is just as impossible as to create that 
 mind. Those things, however, which are im- 
 possible with men, are possible with God. If 
 I have not entirely mistaken the meaning of 
 the passages just quoted, with many others 
 that might be mentioned, this is effected ina 
 manner perfectly consistent with the moral 
 agency of man, by the wisdom and power of 
 God, just so far as the designs of his provi- 
 dence require; over not only one, but over 
 each individual of the human race, not merely 
 for a day, or an hour, but through every day 
 and every hour of his whole life. There is 
 ~ not one thought conceived in the mind, that is 
 not as dintinctly known to God as the mind 
 in which it is conceived. “QO, Lord, thou 
 knowest my thoughts afar off.” “The Lord 
 knoweth the thoughts of man.” If one 
 thought escaped his influence, so would also 
 the consequences flowing from it. Very great 
 events may be traced back to one single 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 265 
 
 thought in the mind of some individual. One 
 may give rise to a long train of other thoughts 
 which, generating correspondent affections and 
 desires, ripen into purposes, and thus lead to 
 important results. The thoughts, desires, and 
 affections of men are incalculably more nume- 
 rous than their words and actions. The body 
 must have rest; the tongue is often silent: but 
 the operations and feelings of the mind are 
 always progressing and always changing. Nu- 
 merous, complicated, and mutable as they are, 
 they are all subject to the control of divine 
 wisdom and power. In like manner over the 
 whole universe Jehovah reigns, with perfect 
 ease and certainty, accomplishing his purpose 
 without a single mistake, or a single failure. 
 This scheme of Providence, so vast, com- 
 plicated, and incomprehensible to the view of 
 man, is, at the same time subservient to ano- 
 ther plan, still more glorious, intended to dis- 
 play more fully the divine character, to give 
 more correct and exalted views to man, and 
 awaken in his heart feelings more sublime and 
 worthy of God; that is, the plan of redemp- 
 tion through the cross of Jesus the Saviour. 
 As food is subservient to the preservation of 
 man, so the whole system of providence is 
 23 
 
266 LETTERS ON 
 
 subservient to the salvation of guilty sinners. 
 In this wonderful work, sovereign mercy, for- 
 bearance, and compassion mingle their rays 
 with those of-divine wisdom, goodness, and 
 power, and display the greatness, the majesty, 
 and loveliness of the Deity in a light more 
 interesting and more attractive not only to 
 man, but to all holy intelligent beings. This 
 subserviency and this connexion, impart. to 
 the events of time a character of greatness 
 which they would not otherwise possess. Over 
 this kingdom of grace, reigns a Divine Re- 
 deemer, to whom all power in heaven and 
 earth is given; for whom, and by whom, all 
 things, visible and invisible, were created; 
 under whose authority all ranks of intelligent 
 creatures are placed. This earth is but the 
 humble theatre on which the Saviour displays 
 and executes the designs of wisdom and mercy, 
 in the salvation of unworthy criminals, All 
 the great revolutions among the nations of this 
 world are the means of promoting the prospe- 
 rity of this kingdom. The commencement, 
 the progress, and the conclusion of this dispen- 
 sation of grace, will all be according to the 
 purpose of God. The birth, the life, the suf- 
 ferings, the death, the resurrection, and ascen- 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 2°67 
 
 sion of the Saviour were all according to 
 the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of 
 God. When sinners are called, regenerated, 
 and sanctified; when they enter on the pos- 
 session of their inheritance in heaven, it is 
 according to his eternal purpose. All the 
 means necessary to produce these gracious and 
 glorious effects, with all the causes on which 
 these means themselves depended, whether, in 
 our estimation, they be great or small, are 
 secured in their proper time, order, and degree, 
 by the same unchangeable design of Jehovah. 
 The day for the last act, in the administration 
 of this kingdom, the most awful, solemn, and 
 sublime scene the universe will ever witness, 
 was fixed from all eternity. “He hath ap- 
 pointed a day in which he will judge the 
 world.” Then shall the purposes of God, 
 requiring the existence and preservation of 
 this earth be accomplished. Then shall all 
 the vast and amazing schemes of Providence 
 come to a close. Then shall the still more 
 astonishing and glorious purposes of grace be 
 completed. Then shall mercy have offered 
 her last pardon, have selected and prepared 
 her last vessel; then shall forbearance have 
 waited her last moment; then shall compassion 
 
968 LETTERS ON 
 
 have shed her last tear. Then “he who is: 
 filthy, shall be filthy for ever; then he who is 
 holy, shall be holy for ever.”’ Then shall the 
 kingdom be delivered up to the Father, that 
 God may be all in all. Then shall the glory 
 of God, the ultimate object of creation, provi- 
 dence, and redemption, shine forth in all its 
 brightness. Inspired with new ardour and 
 delight, with new sentiments of gratitude and 
 love, of reverence and awe, then shall the hea- 
 venly hosts unite in ascribing, “ Blessing, and 
 honour, and glory, and power to Him that 
 sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for 
 ever and ever.”? Then shall the redeemed of 
 the Lord add their chorus, in which even 
 angels cannot join; “ Unto Him who loved us, 
 and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 
 be glory and deminion, for ever and ever, 
 Amen.” 
 
 Now, my friend, permit me to ask you seri- 
 ously, what think you of these doctrines? Are 
 they true; are they scriptural; are they worthy 
 of God; are they consistent with all that we 
 know of his character, and calculated to bring 
 glory to his name; are they suited to the sinful, 
 wretched, and helpless condition of man; are 
 they comforting, strengthening, and cheering 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 269 
 
 to the Christian? If they are, then hold fast 
 the form of sound words, and even contend, 
 not furiously, not with the bitter zeal of party 
 spirit, but with meekness, humility, and bro- 
 therly love, “contend earnestly for the faith, 
 once delivered to the saints.’’ 
 
 You ascribe the preservation of your life, 
 and your hope of salvation to God; and for 
 these blessings you are grateful. By this 
 gratitude, you acknowledge that these are 
 invaluable favours; and favours too, which 
 you do not deserve. Will you be less thank- 
 ful if you believe that they are bestowed 
 according to an intention of your great bene- 
 factor? Will it check, will it diminish, will it 
 not rather increase your grateful emotions to 
 believe that this intention was formed and 
 existed before the foundation of the world ? 
 
 Let me suppose, what is not, and I hope 
 never will be the fact, that you are in a state 
 of indigence, suffering for the want, not only 
 of the comforts, but even the necessaries of 
 life; and that you shall receive something 
 valuable from a man who is a maniac, whose 
 actions, of course, are performed without rea- 
 son and without design. In the enjoyment of 
 what you had received you would feel glad, 
 
270 LETTERS ON 
 
 but not thankful, unless to Providence which 
 controls even the actions of the maniac; but 
 you would feel no gratitude to this man; 
 because you would be convinced that he had 
 no intention to relieve your distress, and felt 
 no benevolence towards you. Even your 
 pleasure would be that of mere animal nature, 
 without awakening one moral sentiment of the 
 heart. Suppose your neighbour should make 
 you a present of such a nature, and at such 
 time, as would justify you in saying, this is 
 the very thing which I wanted; it is exactly 
 suited to my necessities; my neighbour must 
 have known my situation, and intended to re- 
 lieve my sufferings. In the enjoyment of this 
 you would feel not only the gladness of anima! 
 nature, but the most lively sentiments of gra- 
 titude, which would have an immediate object, 
 clearly indicated by this design to relieve your 
 wants. The knowledge of this design would 
 have another happy effect on your mind, it 
 would convince you that, as your benefactor 
 was under no obligation to confer this favour, 
 he was prompted to form and execute this 
 design by pure and active benevolence. The 
 knowledge of this benevolence would awaken 
 your love to the man. This gratitude and 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 271 
 
 this love would increase even the gladness of 
 animal nature, and render doubly valuable and 
 welcome the relief you received. If your 
 neighbour should inform you that this design 
 had been formed a year ago; that during this 
 time he was preparing and selecting the arti- 
 cles, now presented; that he only waited till 
 the proper time should arrive, when you 
 would be in the greatest need, when, of 
 course, his charity would do you the most 
 good, I venture to affirm that this information 
 would not diminish, but very much increase 
 your gratitude and love. If you were also 
 informed that your neighbour was habitually 
 engaged in relieving other sufferers, this would 
 increase, at least, your love to the man; be- 
 cause it would prove that benevolence was a 
 fixed and active principle of his heart; and 
 that he was a worthy object of this love. 
 
 The application of this supposed case to the 
 one under consideration, is plain and easy. 
 God is the preserver of your life; and has 
 given you through grace, good hope and sal- 
 vation. Will not your belief, that these 
 unmerited favours flow from design, increase 
 your gratitude and love to your merciful Be- 
 nefactor? If you could receive those favours 
 
Q72 - LETTERS ON 
 
 without this belief, you could, on their account, 
 feel neither gratitude nor love to God. What- 
 ever gladness you might feel, it would be the 
 gladness of mere animal nature, of the animal 
 man, with which no devout sentiments would 
 mingle. This belief is the main spring, is the 
 exciting cause of your gratitude and love; be- 
 cause this design proves the benevolence of 
 “the Father of lights,’ or as the Apostle John 
 expresses it, that ‘‘God is love.”? You see the 
 boundless exhibitions of this benevolence in 
 the preservation of all mankind, according to 
 the wise and holy purpose of God. Look 
 around, and you will see alas! not all, but 
 thousands and millions of the human race, 
 under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, rejoi- 
 cing in the same hope which cheers your own 
 heart. This will deepen the devout and pleas- 
 ing conviction that benevolence and merey 
 are immutable and active principles in the 
 divine character, and confirm your belief that 
 God is, not only a proper object, but the only 
 proper object of your supreme love. 
 
 If you believe that these favours are con- 
 ferred according to design, you must believe 
 that this design was formed, and existed, in 
 the divine mind, before the blessings were 
 
THE DIVINE PURPOSE. PAY ES 
 
 bestowed, and if you believe that it existed 
 before, though but for one day, or even one 
 hour, you cannot, without the greatest. absur- 
 dity, refuse to believe that it existed from all 
 eternity. Instead of rejecting, you ought to 
 rejoice in this belief; for it exhibits the cha- 
 racter of God, clothed with infinite majesty, 
 loveliness, and attraction. The preservation 
 of your life and your hope of salvation, at this 
 moment, depend on the means which God has 
 employed and blessed for this purpose. These 
 means are the effect of causes which preceded 
 them, and these again of others; and thus, in 
 unbroken connexion, to the beginning of time. 
 The great Parent of the universe, with a per- 
 fect knowledge of all your necessities, looking 
 forward with a benevolent and merciful eye, 
 set in operation a series of events, which, under 
 the constant guidance of his watchful and om- 
 nipotent care, has secured your present safety 
 and happiness. The commencement of this 
 series, with every subsequent movement and 
 stage of its progress, are as much according to 
 design, as are its present effects. Has the doc- 
 trine any thing in it forbidding and repulsive, 
 which represents your Heavenly Father, when 
 the foundation of the earth was laid, according 
 24. 
 
274 LETTERS ON 
 
 to the purpose of his infinite wisdom, setting 
 in operation that chain of causes and effects, 
 intended to issue in your temporal comfort 
 and safety, and in your eternal salvation? If 
 this is forbidden and repulsive, then, what is, 
 or what can be lovely and attractive? If the 
 design is eternal, so also are the benevolence 
 and mercy, displayed in its execution. Can 
 the belief that the goodness which now sus- 
 tains and surrounds you with comforts, and 
 fills you with “ joy and peace in believing,” is 
 eternal, fail to have a most happy and power- 
 ful effect on your mind? Nor can you believe 
 that the divine benevolence is an inactive, dor- 
 mant principle; it is infinitely active and 
 powerful. But how could it act in reference 
 to you, how could it sustain and comfort you, 
 how could it relieve your wants, until you 
 existed and were in need of these blessings? 
 The only way in which it could act towards 
 you, before your life commenced, and before 
 your wants existed, was by forming a design 
 and making provision to watch over and pre- 
 serve that life when it commenced, and to 
 relieve these wants as they occurred. ‘This is 
 the very thing which has been done. This 
 design is wise, as well as good. Divine wis- 
 
ar a 
 t 
 
 THE DIVINE PURPOSRE. 975 
 
 dom selected the particular time and circum- 
 stances when the bestowment of these favours 
 would produce the happiest effect not only on 
 yourself, but on the whole universe. Had 
 they been given either sooner or later than the 
 time which infinite wisdom selected, the good 
 effect, if any at all, must have been less than it 
 is. And as the bestowment of these blessings 
 is intended to impress, to warm, to expand, to 
 elevate, and purify your heart, not only through 
 life, but through an endless duration, it is 
 right, it is to be expected from the character 
 of God, that they will be conferred at the very 
 moment when they will produce the greatest 
 possible effect. Thus, during the current of all 
 preceding ages, provision was making for your 
 safety; causes, and effects were maturing and 
 converging toward the production of that hope 
 which you now cherish; so in the events of 
 time, provision is making for the sublime en- 
 
 joyment and glories of eternity. 
 
 I cannot see how you can escape the conclu- 
 sion, that the benevolence, the mercy and the 
 purpose of God, clearly displayed in your pre- 
 sent safety and comfort, are as eternal as the 
 divine mind in which they exist. In the pos- 
 session of this belief, so honourable and glori- 
 
276 LETTERS ON THE DIVINE PURPOSE. 
 
 ous to God, so well calculated to direct, com- 
 fort, and support you through the trials of this 
 world, and to prepare you for the rewards of 
 grace in the world to come, with my earnest 
 prayers for your prosperity, both in time and 
 eternity, for the present, I bid you adieu. 
 
 THE END. 
 
1 ire S 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 01019 3706