måde lyke to the image of the Sonne of God, and called, justified, and glorified, by him. God had predestynate, before the making of the world, for to redeme us by the bloud of his Sonne, for to save, and make us his chyldren by adopcyon, accordynge to the purpose öf his wyl. The carnal and sensual people cannot comprehende the eleccyon and predestinacyon of God: because they stryve for to save themselves by their own workes and merites; whych cannot be." Preface to Cranmer's Bible.

Our election standeth in the good pleasure of God; which is the only foundation and cause of our salvation; and is declared to us in Christ; through whom we are justified by faith, and sanctified.

The Bishops' Bible, 1568. Expos. on John xvii, 6. Predestination to life is defined, in the 17th Article, to be the everlasting purpose of God, whereby, before the foundations of the world were laid, he hath constantly decreed by his counsel, secret to us, to deliver from damnation, those whom he hath chosen in Christ, out of mankind, and to bring them, by Christ, to everlasting salvation, (as vessels made to honour.) In which definition there are these things to be observed: 1. That predestination doth preSuppose a curse, or state of damnation, in which all mankind were presented to the sight of God. 2. That it (predestination to life, or the decree of election) is an act of his from everlasting; because, from everlasting, he foresaw that misery into which wretched man would fall. 3. That be founded it, and resolved for it, in the Man and Mediator, Christ Jesus, both for the purpose and performance. 4. That it was of some special ones alone; elect, called forth, and reserved in Christ; and not generally extended unto all mankind. 5. That being thus elected in Christ, they shall be brought, by Christ, to everlasting salvation. And, 6. That this counsel is secret to us; for though there be revealed some hopeful signs of our election and predestination to life, yet the certainty thereof is a secret hidden in God, &c. Heylin's Life of Laud. "Some will say now, Why need we preachers then? God can Bave his elect without preachers? A goodly reason! God can save my life without meat or drink, need I none therefore? God an save me from burning, if I were in the fire, shall I run into it there

fore? No, no. I must keep the way that God hath ordained, and use that ordinary means that God hath assigned."

Latimer-Fox's Book of Martyrs, "God hath chosen you from the beginning. His election is sure for ever. The Lord knoweth who are his. You shall not be de ceived with the power and subtlety of Antichrist. You shall not fall from grace. You shall not perish. This is the comfort which abideth with the faithful, when they behold the fall of the wicked; when they see them forsake the truth and delight in fables; when they see them return to their vomit, and wallow again in the mire, When we see these things in others, we must say, Alas! they are examples for us, and lamentable examples. Let him that standeth take heed that he fall not. But God hath loved me, and hath chosen me to salvation. His mercy shall go before me, and his mercy shall follow in me. His mercy shall guide my feet, and stay me from falling. If I stay by myself, I stay by nothing; I must needs come to ground. He hath loved me; he bath chosen me; he will keep me. Neither the example nor the company of others, nor the enticing of the devil, nor my own sensual imaginations, nor sword, nor fire, is able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is the comfort of the faithful. Whatsoever falleth upon others, though others fall and perish, although they forsake Christ, and follow after Antichrist, yet God hath loved you, and given his Son for you. He hath chosen you, and prepared you unto salvation, and bath written your names in the book of life. But how may we know that God hath chosen us? How may we see this election? or how may we feel it? The Apostle saith, Through sanctification and belief of the truth. These are tokens of God's election. The Holy Spirit comforteth us in all temptations, and beareth witness with our spirit that we be the children of God; that God hath chosen us, and doth love us, and hath prepared us to salvation; that we are the heirs of his glory; that God will keep us as the apple of his eye; that he will defend us, and we shall not perish. Bishop Jewel.

In all ages God hath had his own manner, after his secret and unsearchable wisdom, to use his elect, sometimes to deliver them and

to keep them safe; and sometimes to suffer them to drink of Christ's cup, i. e. to feel the smart, and to feel the whip. And though the flesh smarteth at the one, and feeleth ease at the other, is glad of the one, and sore vexed in the other; yet the Lord is all one toward them in both; and loveth them no less when he suffereth them to be beaten; yea, and to be put to bodily death, than when he worketh wonders for their marvellous delivery. Bishop Ridley.

Mr. Guthrie, in his History of England, observes that Wickliff seems to have been a strong predestinarian." It will presently appear, that he more than seemed to have been such; and that Luther and Calvin themselves were not stronger predestinarians than Wickliff. Toplady.

You have all heard of the doctrine of predestination. It has long been a settled article of our church. And there must be a sad deal of evasion and unfair handling with particular passages, to get free of the evidences which we find for it in the Bible. And independently of Scripture altogether, the denial of this doctrine brings a number of monstrous conceptions along with it. It supposes God to make a world, and not to reserve in his own hand the' management of its concerns. Dr. Chalmers.

Election having once pitched upon a man, it will find him out, and call him home, wherever he be. It called Zaccheus out of accursed Jericho, Abraham out of idolatrous Uz of Chaldea, Nicodemus and Paul from the college of the Pharisees (Christ's sworn enemies,) Dionisius and Damaris out of superstitious Athens. In whatsoever dunghill God's jewels are hid, election will both find them out, and fetch them home. Bishop Cowper.

God made way unto the dispensation of his most holy and secret will, whereby some of his creatures might stand and keep their state, others might possibly fall, and not be restored to their estate, but yet remain in being, though under wrath and corruption; all with respect to the Mediator, which is the great mystery and perfect centre of all God's ways with his creatures, and unto which all his other works do but serve and refer.

He chose, according to his good pleasure, man to be that creature to whose nature the person of the eternal Son of God should be united; and amongst the generations of men elected a small flock, in whom, by the participation of himself, he purposed to express the riches of his glory. Lord Bacon.

We come, now, to consider the meaning of the word predestination, and how it is taken in Scripture. The verb predestinate is of Latin original; and signifies, in that tongue, to deliberate beforehand with one's self, how one shall act; and, in consequence of such deliberation, to constitute, fore-ordain, and predetermine, where, when, how, and by whom, any thing shall be done, and to what end it shall be done. So the Greek verb, which exactly answers to the English word predestinate, and is rendered by it, signifies, to resolve before-hand within one's self, what to do; and, before the thing resolved on is actually effected, to appoint it to some certain use, and direct it to some determinate end. The Hebrew verb habhdel has likewise much the same signification.

Toplady.

Chosen, or elected.—The proper import of the word is, to select, or make choice of, one or more out of a greater number (personally) chosen; i. e. they were singled forth, or pitched upon by name; and chosen in Christ, or into Christ, as their head and mediator; that being in him, all the grace and glory they were chosen unto, might be rightfully theirs, and accordingly applied to them.

To ordain is the same here as to predestinate, appoint, prepare, decree, or fore-determine of things to come, which was in such manner done, that the event always has, does, and ever shall, justly succeed, according to designment.

In this sense, men cannot be said to predestinate; because they cannot (with any certainty) determine of things not yet in being: but all things were present with God from eternity; and his decree is the cause of their after-existence. Elisha Cole.

Such being the final cause of the creation in general, and of mankind in particular, that Sovereign Being, who has an absolute right to do what he will with his own, having determined to create man, and to leave him to the freedom of his own will, foreseeing he would

certainly fall, of his free distinguishing love chose a certain number out of the apostate race of Adam; and ordained them to a partici pation of grace here, and to the enjoyment of glory hereafter. In the execution of which purpose, by means every way becoming the, Deity, he determined to display and to glorify all his infinite excel-. lencies. Such is that eminent act of God, which is commonly called election. Booth's Reign of Grace.

They, therefore, as to right belong'd,

So were created, nor can justly accuse

Their Maker, or their making, or their fate,
As if predestination over-rul'd

Their will, dispos'd by absolute decree,

Or high foreknowledge. They themselves decreed,
Their own revolt, not I: if I foreknew,
Foreknowledge had no influence on their fault,
Which had no less prov'd certain unforeknown.
So without least impulse, or shadow of fate,
Or aught by me immutably foreseen,
They trespass, authors to themselves in all,

Both what they judge and what they choose; for so

I form'd them free, and free they must remain,

Till they enthral themselves; I else must change

Their nature, and revoke the high decree

Unchangeable, eternal, which ordain'd

Their freedom; they themselves ordain'd the fall. MILTON,

Election depends on the mere good pleasure of God, without any motive in us to influence the divine will. No other cause is assigned by Paul, when stating and defending the doctrine; no other reason is given by his Divine Master. The former asserts, that the King immortal "predestinated us according to the good pleasure of his will:" that "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will." (Eph. i. 5.) And the latter with joy declares, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight."