ARMINIANISM vs. THE MILLENNIUM.

No impartial man can examine the subject carefully, without being fully convinced, that if the peculiar doctrines of Arminianism be true, there never will be a millennium; and, on the other hand, that if it be true that a millennial day is approaching, then the peculiar doctrines of Arminianism are unquestionably groundless; and when that bright day of Zion's glory arrives, all nations of the earth will look upon those peculiar sentiments for which our Arminian friends now contend so zealously, as nothing better than "wind and confusion."

No Arminian can avoid seeing, that if he admits that God designs to convert the whole world at a "set time," (Ps. cii. 13,) he admits, broadly and fully, what Calvinists have always meant by the "purpose of God according to election;" for the most remarkable instance of God's electing love, is his determination to convert and save all nations in the millennial day.

No Arminian can avoid seeing, that if he admits that the Lord will "make bare his arm" in the latter day, and turn all families of the earth from Satan to God, then he admits the very doctrine of effectual calling, against which Arminians have so long and so violently contended.

No Arminian can avoid seeing, that if he admits

that in the latter day Zion's King will "take to him his great power," and subdue all hearts to the obedience of the gospel, then he admits the doctrine of divine sovereignty; for all acknowledge that God did not subdue the hearts of all men in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, or in any age that has yet passed.

No Arminian can avoid seeing, that if he admits there will be a long millennial day, a thousand prophetic years, in which there shall be "none to hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain," then away goes his favorite doctrine of "falling from grace;" for the inhabitants of the earth will not only be converted at first, but they will remain converted. They will persevere in holiness till the end of life.

Thus it is evident, that when the light of the millennial morning bursts upon our world, the mists and clouds which now obscure the vision of many professing Christians will be rolled away, and divine truth will stand out with "sevenfold" brightness in the view of all nations.

The question may now arise, What will our Arminian friends do, in view of the conclusive evidence which God's promise of a millennium furnishes against their peculiar sentiments? I answer, some of them, when they look at this subject candidly, and see how absolutely inconsistent their doctrines are with the promise of God, that the whole earth shall be converted in the latter day, will doubtless renounce their errors, and embrace the truth. Of this I am persuaded, for,

1. All Christians love truth when it is clearly perceived by the mind; and, although there are many ways in which their minds may be prejudiced, and led

to take a perverted view of certain Scripture doctrines, yet error is not the native element of the renovated heart. And we are assured that, when all hearts are renewed, and all prejudice is put down, and all misrepresentation is done away, then all the inhabitants of the earth shall see eye to eye.

2. We see that, as the Scriptures are examined more and more, many are coming over from error to the side of truth. In the county where I live, I calculate there are now many stanch advocates for the doctrines of sovereign grace, where there was one twenty years ago. Knowledge increases, and truth advances, as the day of the Lord draws nigh.

3. All Christians admit that, in the millennium, the church will be much more enlightened than at the present time. Show any denomination that the peculiarities for which they contend will certainly be rejected by the whole church during the millennium, and at once their faith in those peculiarities is shaken. No good man is willing to make efforts for the propagation of sentiments which he clearly sees the whole church will reject as soon as God's glory fills the earth. For these reasons, I doubt not that many who have hitherto stood up for the peculiarities of Arminianism will give up the contest, and admit they had been mistaken, as soon as they perceive the absolute inconsistency of those doctrines with the promise of God that all nations shall be converted " in his time." But will all renounce these errors? Not immediately. Error will not quit the field without a violent struggle. And although I cannot attempt to point out all the arts that will be employed to prop a tottering cause, yet the principal one will be, to deny absolutely that God will

ever grant to the church a millennium, in which, for many ages, "all shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest." I have no doubt that, so soon as those Arminians who are determined to yield to no array of argument, discover how totally irreconcilable the hope of a millennium is with the leading features of their scheme, they will come out and broadly deny that there will ever be a day of millennial glory enjoyed by the church on earth. Nor let this be thought incredible. We find that the advocates of error have, on former occasions, acted a part altogether as strange, and have denied doctrines as plainly taught in the Scriptures as the doctrine of a millennium is or can be. I will mention one instance. In the days of President Edwards, Arminians in Europe and America had breathed out much complaint against the doctrine of God's decrees, pronouncing it absurd, ridiculous, inconsistent, &c. &c. Edwards took up his pen and showed them, that the doctrine was not only most clearly taught in the Bible, which they professed to believe, but that it was also necessarily connected with the doctrine of God's foreknowledge, which they all maintained; for, said Edwards, if God foreknows all events with absolute certainty, before they take place, then they must be fixed and certain before they take place; for it is absurd to suppose that God knows that to be certain which is uncertain. And if God has foreknown all events from eternity, then they must have been fixed and certain from eternity. But if so, some being must have fixed them, or made them certain; but no being existed from eternity but God. He therefore must have fixed them, in his eternal purpose. Such was Edwards's argument from the admitted doctrine of

foreknowledge an argument too plain to be misunderstood, and too powerful to be encountered. The champions of error were not a little perplexed with this view of the subject. "And one spake after this manner, and another after that manner,” all feeling that something must be done to save their favorite sentiments, yet each at a loss to know what that something was. At length it seems to have been agreed that the plain, unvarnished doctrine of God's foreknowledge is inconsistent with many of the Arminian peculiarities. And consequently, singular methods have been resorted to, either to put down that doctrine entirely, or so to "darken counsel by words without knowledge," that the force of Edwards's argument might not be felt.

One class allege, that the actions of free agents are contingencies in themselves, until they take place; and therefore it is not dishonoring God to say, that he cannot foreknow them with certainty; for how can that be certain in the view of God, which is uncertain in itself? This subterfuge, however plausible in the eyes of those who use it, is unfortunately directly in the teeth of those Scripture passages where the Lord foretells the actions of free agents. He foretold that Solomon should build the temple, that Cyrus should take Babylon, that Herod would slay the children in Bethlehem, and that Peter would deny his master. These, and a thousand other instances, show that the future actions of men are not uncertain in the view of God, for he can foretell them, and of course does foreknow them with absolute certainty.

Another class, conscious that the above scheme of escaping from Edwards's argument would not do, have alleged that, in the view of the Almighty, no events