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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I - DIVINE FOREORDINATION
Chapter I. The Doctrine of Divine Foreordination proved to be Scriptural by its Fruits.
Chapter II. The Doctrine of Divine Foreordination stated, and the Statement shown to be in Accordance with the Scriptures, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and with Standard Calvinistic Writers.
Chapter III. The Doctrine of Divine Foreordination proved by the Word of God.
Chapter IV. Objections to the Doctrine of Divine Foreordination answered, and the Inconsistencies of Arminianism pointed out.
PART II - DOCTRINE OF ELECTION
Chapter I. The Doctrine of Election stated.
Chapter II. Objections to the Doctrine of Election stated, and the Errors and Inconsistencies of Arminianism exposed.
Chapter III. The Doctrine of Election proved by the Word of God.
Chapter IV. Scriptural Argument continued, and the practical Importance of the Doctrine shown.
Chapter V. The Scriptural Argument continued.
Chapter VI. Practical Bearing of the whole Doctrine of Divine Foreordination.
PREFACE
HAPPY would it be for the Church of Christ and for the world, if Christian ministers and Christian people could be contented to be disciples,-LEARNERS; if, conscious of their limited faculties, their ignorance of divine things, and their proneness to err through depravity and prejudice, they could be induced to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of him. The Church has been corrupted and cursed in almost every age by the undue confidence of men in their reasoning powers. They have undertaken to pronounce upon the reasonableness or unreasonableness of doctrines infinitely above their reason, which are necessarily matters of pure revelation. In their presumption they have sought to comprehend "the deep things of God," and have interpreted the Scriptures, not according to their obvious meaning, but according to the decisions of their finite reason.
On no subject have men affirmed and denied more boldly, than on that of Divine foreordination. Had the question been, as it ought to have been, simply concerning the obvious teaching of the Scriptures, had men been content to interpret the language of Inspiration according to the acknowledged principles of interpretation, the faith of Christians might have been far more harmonious. But before turning to the word of God, they have filled their minds with objections; and then they have exhausted their learning in attempting so to interpret the language of Scripture, as to avoid the difficulties they saw in its obvious meaning. Strange that they who object to this mode of proceeding concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, should yet resort to it in determining the truth of the doctrine of Divine foreordination. For if we cannot comprehend the mode of God's existence, because it is infinitely above us, for the same reason we cannot comprehend the counsels of infinite wisdom. No one has ever studied the works of Nature or the Book of Revelation without finding himself encompassed on every side by difficulties he could not solve. The philosopher is obliged to be satisfied with facts; and the theologian must content himself with God's declarations. The philosopher must not reject facts, because he cannot reconcile them with the perfections of God or the accountability of man; and the theologian must believe the plain teaching of God's word, though he cannot solve the difficulties which seem to him to press upon it.
It is necessary that the doctrine of Divine foreordination be frequently discussed, not only because it has important practical bearings, but because it has been and is more misrepresented and caricatured than almost any other doctrine of the Scriptures. The doctrines of Christianity are not mere abstractions, but great practical truths, designed and adapted, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, to mould the affections of the heart and to give a right direction to the conduct. Both the advocates and the opponents of the doctrine of Divine decrees agree in attributing to it most important practical tendencies. If the doctrine is true, these tendencies must be good; if false, we will acknowledge them to be evil. The subject, then, demands a fair and candid investigation. And if we do not greatly err, those who give it such an investigation, will find the doctrine abundantly sustained by the Scriptures, and not pressed with any difficulty which should weaken our faith in it. Nay, they will see, that they must receive it; or, if consistent in rejecting it, they must reject some of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.
The following volume is designed clearly to state the doctrine, as held by Calvinists, and to prove it true both by its fruits and by the direct testimony of God's word. The first chapter exhibits very briefly the fruits of Calvinism, where it is admitted to have prevailed; and in the following chapters the doctrine of Divine foreordination, in its two great branches, is clearly stated and defended. The author, however, has not been disposed to act simply on the defensive. He has deemed it proper to enter into a careful examination of some of the most serious errors of the opposite system. Without entertaining any other than the kindest feelings toward those who differ from him, he has felt at liberty,-rather he has deemed it his duty,-freely to examine the claims of some of their doctrines.
It is possible that the methods of stating and illustrating this important doctrine, adopted by the author, may strike forcibly the minds of some, and assist them in rightly understanding it. If so, he will not have labored in vain. With a sincere desire to contribute somewhat to the spread of sound doctrine, and thus to promote the glory of the Redeemer and the eternal happiness of men, he ventures, with prayer for the Divine blessing upon it, to throw before the Christian public this volume. Should it be lost amid the multitude of abler works, he will not be disposed to complain; but will rather rejoice, that the cause of truth and righteousness has many advocates more competent than himself.
GOD SOVEREIGN AND MAN FREE.
PART I - DIVINE FOREORDINATION
CHAPTER I.
THE DOCTRINE OF DIVINE FOREORDINATION PROVED TO BE SCRIPTURAL BY ITS FRUITS.
HAS God from eternity foreordained whatsoever comes to pass? If he has, how is this doctrine consistent with the free agency and accountability of angels and men, and with the Divine perfection? These are important questions, which, in the fear of God, and guided by his word, we propose briefly to examine.
As represented by many of its opponents, the doctrine of Divine foreordination is, we admit, unscriptural, absurd and impious. It is represented as making God the efficient author of all the moral feelings and acts of his rational creatures, as thus destroying their free agency, and as striking at the very foundations of morality. Are these representations of the doctrine correct? There are two ways of obtaining a satisfactory answer to this question, viz: first, by inquiring what have been the fruits of this and its kindred doctrines, where they have prevailed; and, secondly, by distinctly stating the doctrine, and comparing it with the teachings of the word of God. We propose briefly to adopt both these methods.
First. What have been the fruits of the doctrine of Divine foreordination, where it has prevailed? This doctrine, let it be observed, stands not alone, but is an essential part of a system of doctrines which has been called Calvinistic, in distinction from a different system called Arminian. Now the principle is admitted by all Christians, that there is an inseparable connection between religious truth and sound morality,-that the uniform effect of Scriptural truth, wherever it is sincerely embraced, is to lead to virtuous feelings and conduct. It is admitted, also, that the moral tendencies of religious error upon the character and conduct of men, are decidedly bad, and bad precisely in proportion to the greatness of the error. To the Jews, who, blinded by religious error, had become slaves of sin, our Saviour said, "Ye shall know the truth,, and the truth shall make you free." [John 8:32] And the inspired Paul triumphantly appealed to the fruits of his doctrines, as exhibited in the lives of his converts, as the best evidence that they were from God. "Do we. begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart." [2 Corinthians 3:1-3] The reflecting mind needs no more conclusive evidence of the falsity of the various systems of Paganism, of Deism, of Mahometanism, and of Popery, than that afforded by their corrupt fruits. Their effects upon the moral character of their zealous defenders, and upon the character of the communities where they have respectively prevailed, have ever been held up by Christians in contrast with the moral effects of Christianity, as conclusive evidence of the truth of the latter. We are prepared to try Calvinism, as it is called, by this admitted principle. If it is what its opposers represent it, its effects upon the morals of those who have held and do hold it, must have been extremely bad. John Wesley said, that it makes "all preaching vain;" that "it directly tends to destroy that holiness, which is the end of all the ordinances of God;" that it "directly tends to destroy our zeal for good works;" that it has "also a direct and manifest tendency to overthrow the whole Christian revelation;" that it represents our Saviour "as a hypocrite, a deceiver of the people, a man void of common sincerity;" that it "destroys all God's attributes at once: it overturns both his justice, mercy and truth: yea, it represents the most holy God as worse than the devil, as both more false, more cruel and more unjust," as "an omnipresent, almighty tyrant." "This," says he, "is the blasphemy clearly contained in the horrible decree of predestination." [Sermon on Free Grace] This is a tolerably full epitome of the charges alleged against the doctrine of Divine foreordination. What must inevitably be the effects of a system of doctrine, of which this constitutes one of the most prominent features, upon the moral character of those who embrace it, and of those communities where it prevails? Immorality, of course, in its various forms must prevail; good works must be wholly disregarded; infidelity must abound; and the people, like the Being whom they worship, must become as bad, as unjust, as cruel, as the devil, and even more so!
Now let us turn from this picture, and inquire what have been the real fruits of Calvinism in all countries and in all ages.
It will not be denied, that Augustine, bishop of Hippo, who lived in the latter part of the fourth and in the beginning of the fifth centuries, held the doctrine of Divine foreordination, and its kindred doctrines now called Calvinistic. That he was an eminently good, as well as great man, and that his labors and writings, more than those of any other man in the age in which he lived, contributed to the promotion of sound doctrine and the revival of true religion, no candid man, acquainted with the history of the Church, will deny. In his day the Pelagian heresy arose, and threatened to spread its withering influence over the Church; "and to him indeed," as the historian Mosheim says, "is principally due the glory of having suppressed this sect in its very birth." It was in the midst of this controversy, as the same historian states, that Augustine delivered his views concerning "the necessity of divine grace in order to our salvation, and the decrees of God with respect to the future condition of men;" and when certain Monks advanced the doctrine so often charged upon Calvinists, "that God not only predestinated the wicked to eternal punishment, but also to the guilt and transgression for which they were punished; and that thus both the good and the bad actions of all men were determined from eternity, and fixed by an invincible necessity;" Augustine made as decided opposition to this doctrine, as to Pelagianism, "and explained his true sentiments with more perspicuity, that it might not be attributed to him."[Vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 372]
Amongst the earlier believers in the system of doctrine called Calvinistic, we may, with great propriety, mention the Waldenses and Albigenses, -those eminent and honored witnesses for the truth, during the long period when the Church and the world were overrun with gross error and immorality. In one of their Creeds, containing a brief summary of their faith, "which," say they, "hath been taught them from the father to the sonne for these many hundred yeares, and taken out of the word of God," the second Article is as follows: "All that have been, or shall be saved, have been chosen of God before all worlds." The fourth Article reads thus: "Whosoever holdeth free-will [i.e. in the Pelagian sense,] denieth wholly the predestination of God. [See Perrin's History] It is difficult with certainty to trace this wonderful people to their origin; but certain it is, that no body of people under the sun have so long and so firmly held an evangelical faith and a sound morality, against the most protracted and cruel persecutions. All evangelical Protestants look to them as the heroic defenders of the faith once delivered to the saints, during long ages of universal corruption. And when the glorious Reformation of the sixteenth century commenced, "these scattered adherents to the faith once delivered to the saints," as Dr. Fisk, an eminent Methodist, writer, remarks, "were prepared to give aid and influence to the first general struggle that was made to reform the impurities of the Church." [Fisk's Travels, p. 122]
The Reformation was a glorious event. The Christian world regard it as a wonderful revival or true religion, wrought by the Spirit of God,-as the dawn of a brighter day in the history of the Church, and in the history of civil and religious liberty. And who were the men chosen of God to be the instruments in accomplishing this mighty work, in elevating once more the cross of Christ, and in staying the overwhelming tide of tyranny, superstition and immorality? They were men who held and preached the Calvinistic doctrines. For, although the doctrine of Divine foreordination and its kindred doctrines have been called by the name of John Calvin, their most illustrious defender, it is well known, that the other reformers, Luther, Melancthon, Zuinglius, Oecolampadius, Knox and Cranmer, all held the same views; and hence all the Creeds drawn up by those men of God are decidedly Calvinistic.
It is truly an instructive fact, that when error and superstition were rapidly overrunning the Church in the close of the fourth and in the beginning of the fifth century, the most effective opposition was made by an eminent minister holding the views afterward so successfully defended by Calvin and the reformers. It is a fact no less instructive, that during the dark ages, sound doctrine and pure morality found a retreat in the fastnesses of the Alps, and were wonderfully defended and preserved by the Calvinistic Waldenses and Albigenses. It is a fact which speaks volumes for Calvinism, that the most glorious revolution recorded in the history of the Church and of the world, since the days of the Apostles, was effected by the blessing of God upon its doctrines. Whatever there is of evangelical doctrine, and of civil and religious liberty in the world, must be traced, under God, to the writings and the preaching of Calvinists.
The thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England are decidedly Calvinistic; and in the days of her greatest purity her Ministry preached most faithfully the doctrines of her Creed. On the other hand, as her vital piety and spirituality declined, and her morality became more and more lax, this unfavorable change was marked by a change as decided from Calvinistic to Arminian sentiments. About the time when the notorious Archbishop Laud flourished, Macaulay says,-"A divine of that age, who was asked by a simple country gentleman what the Arminians held, answered, with as much truth as wit, that they held all the best Bishoprics and Deaneries of England." [Vol. 1, p. 74] Laud and his Clergy were most zealously Arminian in their theology, and at the same time they displayed a spirit of bigotry and persecution which was scarcely exceeded by Rome herself. But in every age, the most evangelical and spiritual Ministers of the Church of England, have been decided Calvinists; and those of an opposite character have been decided Arminians. Dr. Thomas Scott, the celebrated Commentator, whilst an unconverted Minister of that Church, was an Arian, and a bitter opposer of the Calvinistic doctrines. When truly converted, he not only renounced Arianism, but became a firm and consistent Calvinist; and from that day he was an eminently good and useful man. He was confirmed, as he states, in the belief of the Calvinistic doctrines, by the fact, "that they were admitted, at the beginning of the reformation, into the creeds, catechisms, or articles of every one of the Protestant churches; that our [Episcopal,] articles and homilies expressly maintained them: and, consequently, that a vast number of wise and sober-minded men, who, in their days, were burning and shining lights, upon mature deliberation, had agreed, not only that they were true, but that they ought to be admitted as useful, or even as necessary articles of faith by every one, who deemed himself called to take upon him the office of a Christian minister."[Force of Truth] Legh Richmond, whose praise will long be in all the churches, was a Calvinist. But we need not mention particular names. Go and inquire into the theology of the High-church-men and Puseyites of England and America, and you will find not a Calvinist amongst them. Then inquire into that of the most evangelical of the Low-church ministers, and you will find few, if any, Arminians amongst them.
For three centuries past, the character of the Scotch has been moulded by a strictly Calvinistic theology. And what country on the globe has exhibited a purer morality? What Church has embraced a greater number of eminently pious people, or can exhibit a larger list of martyrs for the cause of Christ? What Church has made so firm and uncompromising opposition to tyranny, and done so much for civil and religious liberty? And where is there now a Church of such liberality in giving to the cause of Christ, or doing more for the spread of the Gospel, than the Free Church of Scotland? In that Church, freed from the trammels of civil interference, Calvinism is now exhibiting its real character, and bringing forth its legitimate fruits.
Nor do we hesitate to point the opposers of Calvinism to the Presbyterian church of these United States, to all the different branches of the Presbyterian church in Europe and America, and to the Puritans of Old England and of New England, and to challenge a comparison of their morals, their good works, their efforts to promote the spread of the gospel, their labors in the cause of liberty and of education, with any other denomination or class of denominations holding Arminian sentiments. Even in the victorious army of Oliver Cromwell, a purity of morals unknown in military bodies, was preserved. "But that which chiefly distinguished the army of Cromwell from other armies," says Macaulay, "was the austere morality and the fear of God which pervaded all ranks. It is acknowledged by the most zealous royalists that, in that singular camp, no oath was heard, no drunkenness or gambling was seen, and that, during the long dominion of the soldiery, the property of the peaceable citizen and the honor of woman were held sacred. If outrages were committed, they were outrages of a very different kind from those of which a victorious army is generally guilty. No servant-girl complained of the rough gallantry of the red coats; not an ounce of plate was taken from the shops of the goldsmiths," etc.[Vol. 1, p. 114] That Puritan army were not faultless; far from it; but we may safely challenge the opposers of Calvinism to produce another in the records of history of as pure morality.
There is another fact illustrative of the true character of the Calvinistic doctrines, which we must not pass unnoticed, viz: that those doctrines have never been found associated with fundamental error. The history of the Christian church affords not an instance of a sect holding the doctrines of Divine Decrees and Man's Free Agency, and rejecting any doctrine which is fundamental to Christianity. Some heretics have held the doctrine of Divine Decrees, and denied Man's Free Agency; and some have held the latter and denied the former; but no heretical sect was ever known to hold both Divine Decrees and Free Agency, as these doctrines are held by Calvinists. On the contrary, if any man or class of men professing to be Calvinists, have abandoned the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, they have commenced their downward course by renouncing the doctrines peculiar to Calvinism. The celebrated Dr. Priestley commenced his wanderings by becoming an Arminian, and ended them by embracing a Materialistic Universalism. Out of a multitude of examples which might be given, we select one. In the progress of the great revival which spread rapidly over the Western States, in the beginning of the present century, several Presbyterian ministers of some prominence left the church, and fell into fatal errors. Of these, some united with the Shakers; one became the father of a new Arian sect, called NEW-LIGHTS; and two returned to the church. Amongst the first acts of these men, after leaving the church, was the publication of an "Apology," in which they denied "the positions of the Confession of Faith in regard to the Divine Decrees, the Atonement, and the special influences of the Spirit in the production of faith."[Davidson's History of the Presbyterian Church in Kentucky, p. 195] Never was it known, that any man holding the doctrine of Divine Decrees and Free Agency, embraced fundamental error, without renouncing this doctrine.
Now if the Calvinistic doctrines are of the demoralizing, God-dishonoring character charged by their opponents, how shall we account, in the first place, for their effects upon the moral character of men; and, in the second, for their entire separation, at all times, from all fundamental errors?
1. How shall we account for their fruits, or effects upon moral character? They are said to destroy the truth of revelation; and yet those holding them have stood in the front ranks of the defenders of revelation; and no communities have been more free from scepticism, than those amongst whom these doctrines have been most faithfully preached. They are said to be irreconcilable with human accountability, and thus to destroy the very foundations of morals; and yet no people on earth have manifested a deeper and more abiding sense of their accountability, or maintained a purer morality, than Calvinists. In this respect even their enemies have been constrained to bear a strong testimony in their favor. The Calvinistic doctrines are said to be decidedly unfavorable to good works; and yet no denomination of Christians on earth have manifested a greater zeal for good works, or have endured more self-denial in performing them, than Calvinists. They are said to make preaching useless, and to quiet the consciences of sinners; and yet no class of ministers in the world have preached with more zeal or with more powerful effects, than those holding and preaching these doctrines. Think of the incessant labors of such men as David Brainerd, Henry Martyn, and a multitude like them, for the conversion of the heathen. And then compare the preaching of such men as George Whitfield, Rowland Hill, Richard Baxter, Legh Richmond, President Edwards, Samuel Davies, William Tennant, Dr. Nettleton, and a multitude of others, with that of any similar number of Arminian preachers the world ever produced, and we fear not the verdict of the impartial. The Calvinistic doctrines are said to be very unfavorable to high attainments in piety; and yet a larger proportion of persons eminently pious, and of books calculated to promote spirituality, cannot be found, than the Calvinistic churches present. Read Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, Owen on the Spirit, Baxter's Saint's Everlasting Rest, Bunyan's Pilgrim, John Newton's works, Legh Richmond's Dairyman's Daughter, Guthrie's Christian's Great Interest, Alexander's Religious Experience, Edwards on the Affections, the Biographies of Martyn, Payson, Brainerd, etc., etc.
Now how are we to account for the clear and certain fact, that the effects of the Calvinistic doctrines have been not only widely different from their alleged tendencies, but diametrically opposite to them? How has it happened, if their decided tendency is to produce certain evil effects, that the effects actually produced have been of an entirely opposite character? The opponents of these doctrines must take one of the following positions: First, that the facts stated concerning the moral character of Calvinists, are not true; or, second, that they have not really believed the doctrines taught in their creeds, catechisms, and theological books; or, third, that they hold so much truth as to neutralize the effects of their errors; or, fourth, that blasphemous error may produce as sound morality as truth; or, fifth, that the Calvinistic doctrines are scriptural and true.
Will they deny the facts stated concerning the moral and religious character of Calvinists? They cannot; for faithful history, not written by Calvinists, has recorded the past, and the present speaks for itself. We point to the Calvinistic denominations of the present day, and say; behold the fruits of Calvinism!
Will the opponents of Calvinism deny, that Calvinists have really held the doctrines of their creed? Surely it will be admitted, that they know what they believe. It would be strange, indeed, if they did not believe them, since they are impressed upon their minds from the days of childhood. Who does not know, that the great mass of the children of Scotland, for long generations, have been thoroughly drilled in the Shorter Catechism from infancy? And who does not know, that in this country, that catechism is to be found in the great majority of the families and in the Sabbath-schools of Presbyterians and Congregationalists? Besides, the Calvinist doctrines are preached in all our pulpits, and defended in all our religious papers, from week to week, and from year to year.
Will it be said, that Calvinists hold so much truth, that their errors are neutralized, and therefore produce little or no injurious effects? This will not be pretended; for the opponents of Calvinism do roundly affirm, that these doctrines neutralize or destroy all others; that they subvert man's free agency and accountability; that they discourage the performance of good works; that they destroy the very foundations of morality. Besides, these doctrines have always been very prominent in the Calvinistic system, and have ever given character to it. It is impossible, therefore, that their deleterious effects, if they tended to produce such, should not have become perfectly manifest long ago. Will it be said, that blasphemous error, though it tends to immorality, may yet produce, for centuries together, pure morality and an abundance of good works? No sane man will maintain a position so absurd. The conclusion, then, appears inevitable, that the Calvinistic doctrines, if judged by their fruits, (and there is no safer way of judging,) are scriptural and true.
2. And how shall we account for the indubitable fact, that these doctrines have always been associated with the great doctrines of the cross? False doctrines, it is admitted, are often associated with the true, but more frequently they will be found with the false; just as a bad man may sometimes be found in good company, but will generally seek that which is more congenial to his feelings. But the man who always chooses the company of the good, and who is most disliked by the vicious, must be a good man.It is certainly a very remarkable fact, that the doctrines of Divine Foreordination and Free Agency have never, in a single instance, been associated with heresy in any of its forms. If they were of the world, would not the world love its own? If they were of the devil, would not some of his children admire and embrace them? If they afforded the best excuse for sin, would they not be most agreeable to sinners? We leave the the opposers of these doctrines to answer these questions, whilst we proceed to state and defend, from the direct testimony of God's word, the doctrine of Divine Decrees.
CHAPTER II.
THE DOCTRINE OF DIVINE FOREORDINATION STATED, AND THE STATEMENT SHOWN TO BE
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCRIPTURES, THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH,
AND WITH STANDARD CALVINISTIC WRITERS.
The purposes of God relate to the creation and the government of all things.
1. God created all things. This truth no Christian disputes; nor will any one pretend, that the work of creation was an accidental work. All will readily admit; that God first formed the purpose to create, and then put forth the creative act in fulfilment of that purpose. All Christians will adopt the language of the Psalmist,-"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all." All unite in saying, -"The heavens declare the glory of God,"-the glory of his wisdom, power and benevolence.
2. But God purposed to govern the world which he created. No Christian believes, that the creation of this world was the end of God's purposes concerning it,-that he determined to create the world and place man in it, and then to leave both the world and man to their fortunes. All must agree, (for the Scriptures abundantly declare it,) that in creating the world he had in view some great end or ends worthy of his infinite perfections; and that he is now governing the world so as to accomplish those ends.
Of the purposes of God concerning the affairs of this world, we read in such passages of Scripture as the following: "I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not. yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."[Isa. 46:9, 10] Again,--"The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."[Ps. 33:10, 11] Again,-"There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand."[Prov. 19:21] From these and a multitude of similar passages, it is clear that God has many purposes concerning this world, and concerning men; and that all those purposes will certainly be fulfilled. Indeed the most important prophecies of the Old and New Testaments are not so much predictions of what will come to pass, as revelations of what God has purposed to bring to pass.
But what was the great purpose for which our world was created? The Scriptures teach us, that the great end of creation was the manifestation of the glory of God. "The Lord," says Solomon, "hath made all things for himself."[Prov. 16:4] And holy beings around the throne of God, sing,-" Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."[Rev. 4:11]
But though all the works of God declare his glory, it was by man, created in his moral image, that God designed chiefly to manifest his glory. "The final cause of man's creation," as Rev. Richard Watson, a Methodist writer, well remarks, "was the display of the glory of God, and principally his moral perfections."[Theol. Inst. pt. 2, ch. 18] But how is God to be glorified by men? Before they were created, God foresaw the fall of the human race into sin. He could not have designed, therefore, that they should glorify him by continuing in a state of holiness. Accordingly we are taught in the Scriptures, that Christ "was foreordained before the foundation of the world" to become the Saviour of fallen men. And Paul the Apostle uses the following language on this subject: "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Christ Jesus: to the intent that now unto the princicipalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."[Eph. 3:8-11]
From this language we learn, that God from eternity purposed to; manifest to his rational creatures his manifold wisdom by means of the church redeemed by Christ, and that in fulfilment of this purpose he created all things by Christ.- Even Watson, though a decided Arminian, says,-"The redemption of man by Christ was certainly not an after-thought brought in upon man's apostacy; it was a provision, and when man fell, he found justice hand in hand with mercy."[Theol. Inst. pt. 2, ch. 18] We are warranted, then, in the conclusion, that God from eternity designed this world to be the theatre on which he would display his manifold wisdom by the redemption of fallen men.
For the accomplishment of this glorious design God has governed the world from the beginning, and will govern it to the end. When our Saviour gave his Apostles the great commission to go and teach all nations, he said,-"All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." And Paul teaches us, that Christ is now "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come;" and that God "hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church." And for the salvation of his church, "he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet." We can never understand the providence of God over our world, unless we regard it as a complicated machinery, having ten thousand parts, directed in all its operations to one glorious end,-the display of the manifold wisdom of God in the salvation of the Church of Christ. And even when viewed in this Scriptural light, there are many things too deep for our limited powers; and we are obliged to exclaim, as did Paul concerning the dispersion of the Jews,-"0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out!"
The government of the world is naturally divided into the government of matter and the government of mind. Concerning the former, there is no dispute amongst Christians. Whilst all all agree that God governs matter, in some sense, by fixed laws, all must admit that he so interposes as to send his blessings or his judgments upon his creatures as his infinite wisdom dictates. At one time he sends the early and the latter rain, and blesses the land with fruitful seasons; at another, he curses it with drought and famine. New he commissions the breezes to bear upon their bosoms the blessings of health; then he loads them with pestilential vapors, spreading death and mourning in their course. How he exerts this controlling influence over matter, we know not; but that he does so, no one who believes the Scriptures, can doubt.
But the most important, as well as the most difficult part of this subject, relates to the government of mind. To what extent and by what influences does God govern men and angels? They are divided into two classes,-the righteous and the wicked; and they perform two classes of actions,-the good and the bad.
I. Perhaps most professing Christians will admit, that God is, in an important sense, the author of all pure affections and actions. The holy angels he created in his own image, as he created man; and he has preserved them in holiness. Since the fall, all men are born into the world totally depraved. In this truth the more evangelical class of Arminians agree with us; and as we design not now to argue with those who deny the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, we shall not stop to prove the doctrine of original sin, but shall take it as admitted. Now it is evident, that from a totally depraved heart pure affections and actions cannot proceed. Consequently whatever of holiness there is in any human being, must proceed from the Spirit of God. And so teaches the inspired Paul. He enumerates the Christian virtues, as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, and pronounces them all "the fruit of the Spirit"[Gal. 5:22, 23] And all the good works of men he teaches us to regard as effects of regeneration. "For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them."[Eph. 2:10] And when he exhorts Christians to work out their salvation, he adds,-"for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."[Phil. 2:12, 13]
Besides that influence by which the heart is sanctified, God exerts upon good men a directing influence, by which they are guided through life. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way."[Ps. 37:23] What Solomon says of men generally, is specially true of those over whom the good Shepherd exercises a particular care,-"Man's goings are of the Lord: how can a man then understand his own way?"[Prov. 20:24] How God exerts upon the human mind a sanctifying and controlling influence without interfering with its free agency and accountability, we cannot explain; but that he does so, is too clear to be disputed.
But what shall we say of the government which God exercises over wicked men and their actions? To answer this question satisfactorily, we must inquire into the origin of sin in our world. Our first parents were created in the moral image of God, and were placed on probation in the garden of Eden, "having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it; and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change." They were tempted by Satan; they yielded to the temptation, and fell; and all their posterity were involved in the fall. Consequently all men are now born in total depravity, being entirely destitute of holiness and disposed only to sin.
Now let it be understood, we deny that God exerted, or purposed to exert any influence on the minds of our first parents, inclining them to sin. Our Confession teaches distinctly, that they were "left to the liberty of their own will," and were endowed with power to fulfill the requirements of God.[Westminster Confession, ch. 4] Calvin taught, that man in his primitive state possessed reason, understanding, prudence and judgment, not only for the government of his life on earth, but to enable him to ascend even to God and eternal felicity; that to these was added choice to direct the appetites, and regulate all the organic motions, so that be was entirely conformed to the government of reason- that in this integrity he was endued with free will, by which, it, he had chosen, he might have obtained eternal life; and that Adam could have stood if he would, since he fell merely by his own will.[Inst. Book 1, ch. 15]
As Adam stood in his trial as the representative of his posterity-, the whole race fell in his fall; and the consequences of his sin passed upon them as well as upon him. Richard Watson teaches, that the death threatened as the penalty of Adam's transgression included "corporeal, moral or spiritual, and eternal death;" that "the sentence included also the whole of his posterity;" and consequently all are born in a state of spiritual death or of total depravity.[Theol. Inst., pt. 2, ch. 18] We do not believe, however, that original sin, in which all are born, consists in any depravation of the soul, or the infusion of any positive evil. The Confessions of the Reformed Churches, all of which are decidedly Calvinistic, teach, as Rev. Dr. Hodge states, "that original righteousness, as a punishment of Adam's sin, was lost, and by that defect the tendency to sin, or corrupt disposition, or corruption of nature, is occasioned." And the same able writer agrees with President Edwards, "that the absence of positive good principles, and the withholding of special divine influence, and the leaving of the common principles of self-love, natural appetite, which were in man in innocence, are sufficient to account for all the corruption which appears among men."[Com. on 5th ch. of Rom.]
We have now clearly before us the Calvinistic view of the origin of sin, so far as the human race is concerned, and of the total depravity in which all are born. God created the world, and placed man in it for his own glory. He purposed to display his manifold wisdom by means of the Church redeemed by the blood of Christ. He, therefore, purposed to permit the temptation and the fall of our first parents, and to leave their posterity, deprived of original righteousness, to the workings of their own minds and hearts. All, therefore, are dead in sin.
We are now prepared to inquire into the nature of the government or control which God exercises over wicked men. This is a most important question; for God governs wicked men for the purpose of accomplishing his holy ends; and the influence he now exerts upon them, is precisely the influence which from eternity he purposed to exert. The influence which he exerts upon wicked men, is of four kinds, viz:
1. A restraining influence, by which they are prevented from doing what they are naturally inclined to do. Thus God said to Abimelech, king of Gerar, who took Sarah from Abraham,-"For I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her."[Gen. 20:6] And to encourage the Jews to attend their three annual festivals at Jerusalem, he said,-“Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year."[Exod. 34:24] He promised, during their attendance on their festivals, to restrain the covetous desires of their pagan neighbors.
2. God often exerts an the minds of wicked men what we may call a softening influence, disposing them, contrary to their natural inclination, to do that which will promote his cause. Cyrus, king of Persia, was a pagan and a wicked man; yet in order that the prophecy in Jeremiah might be fulfilled, "the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom," in favor of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.[Ezra 1:1] And when Artaxerxes afforded the Jews aid in the same work, Ezra said,-"Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem: and hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty princes."[Ezra 7:27, 28]
3. God exerts an the minds of wicked men a directing influence, so that good is made to result from their intended evil. The brethren of Joseph hated him, and determined to kill him. This wicked design God prevented through the instrumentality of Reuben, whose heart was softened. In the absence of Reuben, certain Ishmaelitish merchants passed by; and God permitted them to sell Joseph to them. They were wicked men, and were, therefore, willing to enslave a noble youth for the sake of gain; but God in his providence so ordered things, that they were on their way to Egypt, the country to which he purposed to send Joseph; and that they passed by just at the right time. That the hand of God was in this event and in those which, in the same connection, preceded and followed it, we know; for Joseph said to his brethren,-"God sent me before you, to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance."[Gen. 45:7] This directing influence, which God exerts over wicked men, is constantly spoken of in the Scriptures. Of the proud king of Assyria, God said,-"I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, etc. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so."[Isa. 10:6, 7] Solomon says,-"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps."[Prov. 16:9] And again,-"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."[Prov. 21:1] Jeremiah says,-"O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."[Jer. 10:23]
4. There is a sense in which God hardens the hearts of wicked men, and blinds their minds. When God commanded Moses to perform miracles in the presence of Pharaoh, and to require him, in the name of the God of Israel, to let his people go, he said,-"But I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go."[Exod. 4:21] And when Pharoah and his army pursued the Jews to the Red Sea, God bade them go forward, and said,-"Behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them; and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen."[Exod. 14:17] When the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, king of Israel, "an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him."[1 Sam. 16:14] When God would send Ahab to battle to be slain, Micaiah the prophet said, "the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee." Concerning the rebellious Jews who rejected the Saviour, it is said,-"He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”[John 12:40]
By these and similar declarations of the Scriptures, we do not understand, as already stated, that God exerts an influence upon the hearts of men, disposing them to feel and act wickedly. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, as we believe, first, by his being given up of God to his evil dispositions, as were the heathen of whom Paul speaks;[Rom. 1] and, secondly, by the repeated and, to him, irritating command to give up without compensation the enslaved people of God. Saul was given up of God, and left to be tempted and tormented by the devil. Ahab, unwilling to believe the true prophets, was abandoned to be deluded and ruined by false prophets. The unbelieving Jews were left to themselves, and were consequently both hardened and blinded. But in all these cases, God had wise purposes to accomplish, and as the Psalmist had said, the wrath of man was made to praise him; and the remainder of wrath he restrained.[Ps. 76:10]
II. The doctrine of Divine decrees, then, may be briefly summed up as follows: 1. God, from eternity, purposed to govern matter as he is now governing it, in accordance generally with fixed laws. 2. God is properly the author of all true holiness in men, and he produces such holiness according to his eternal purpose. 3. God chose to permit some angels and all the human race to fall into sin, and so to overrule their dispositions, softening, restraining, directing, hardening, as to bring good out of evil, to accomplish his all-wise purposes.
And this is the doctrine, as taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith. "God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably foreordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.”[Westmin. Conf. ch. 3] But how is this? If God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, how is it that he is not the author of sin? The answer to this question may be found in the chapters on the fall of man and on providence. Of the fall of man, the Confession, as we have already seen, says,-"This their sin God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory." Two things only did God purpose to do concerning the fall of man, viz: to permit it, and to overrule it for good. In the chapter on providence we read,-"The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God; who being most holy and righteous, neither is, nor can be, the author or approver of sin." God fulfills his decrees by his providential and gracious influences. With the sinful actions of angels and men, his providential influence only is concerned. He permits their sinful dispositions, but does not produce them. Yet he does more than barely to permit; he bounds, directs, restrains and controls their actions to his own holy ends. And inasmuch as he simply permits and controls the sinful actions of men, he is not the author or approver of sin. There is nothing inconsistent in the idea, that God hated the treachery of Judas and the cruelty of the Jews toward our Saviour, and that he yet so overruled their conduct, that his name was glorified, and the salvation of an innumerable multitude secured. It is certain, that they did only what his hand and his counsel determined before to be done.[Acts 4:27, 28] "And indeed," as Calvin well remarks, "unless the crucifixion of Christ was according to the will of God, what becomes of our redemption?" The doctrine of Divine decrees, as held by the Presbyterian Church and by all enlightened Calvinists, is stated by the late venerable Dr. Green, in his lectures on the Shorter Catechism, in the following language: "All events, of whatever kind, that take place in time, were determined, or foreordained by God from all eternity, thus to take place; and all for the ultimate promotion of his own glory. It ought, however, to be carefully noted here, that all who soundly hold this doctrine, maintain that there is a difference always to be kept up between what have been denominated the efficacious decrees and the permissive decrees of God: His efficacious decrees relate to whatever is morally good; his permissive decrees to whatever is morally evil. In other words, his immediate agency, according to his decree, is concerned in whatever is morally good,-his immediate agency is never concerned in what is morally evil. Evil he permits to take place, and efficaciously overrules it for good, for the promotion of his glory.[Vol. 1, pp. 180, 181] The doctrine is very clearly expressed in the following language of Augustine, quoted with approbation by Calvin: "That they sin, proceeds from themselves; that in sinning they perform this or that particular action, is from the power of God, who divideth the darkness according to his pleasure."[Institutes, B. 2, ch. 4] That is, God permits men to have sinful dispositions and affections; but for his own glory he so directs their course, that he brings good out of their intended evil. The doctrine is perfectly expressed by Solomon, when he says,-"A man's heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps."[Prov. 16:9]
The Westminster Confession teaches further, that "Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions; yet hath he not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass, upon such conditions." God foresaw, that our first parents would yield to the temptation presented by Satan; but he did not purpose to permit the temptation and the fall, because he foresaw it as that which would come to pass. He might have foreseen, that if the temptation were presented, Eve would yield; and he might have purposed to prevent the temptation. But for wise reasons he chose to permit both the temptation and the fall, designing to overrule both to his own holy ends. God did not purpose to send Joseph into Egypt, because he foresaw that his brethren would hate him and sell him, and that the Ishmaelitish merchants would readily buy him. He might have foreseen, that such results would follow under the circumstances; and he might have purposed to deliver Joseph out of their hands. But he had a great and benevolent purpose to accomplish; and, therefore, he so ordered events, that the Ishmaelitish merchants were passing by just when Joseph had been thrown into a pit by his vindictive brethren. God did not decree the crucifixion of his Son, because he foresaw that wicked men would crucify him; but he decreed it because it was necessary to the salvation of men. God has revealed his purpose, on the day of judgment, to pronounce sentence of condemnation upon the wicked "for their sin." He did not form the purpose to condemn them, because he foresaw that he would condemn them; but because he foresaw that they would live and die in sin, and because the ends of justice would require their condemnation.
This explanation of the doctrine will, we are confident, remove the difficulties by which, when incorrectly viewed, it has seemed to many to be pressed. The correct statement of it, it will be perceived, destroys the whole force of the objections most plausibly urged against it.
CHAPTER III.
THE DOCTRINE OF DIVINE FOREORDINATION PROVED BY THE WORD OF GOD.
Having carefully stated the doctrine of Divine decrees, as held by Presbyterians and by Calvinists generally, we now proceed to inquire more particularly, whether it is taught in the Word of God. For the sake of getting a clear view of the doctrine, it has been properly divided into two parts, viz: The general purposes of God, and the particular purposes relating to the salvation of men; or, in brief, Decrees and Election. The most of what we shall say in this chapter, will be on the former branch of the subject; though the providence and the efficacious grace of God do often so meet and mingle, that it may not be possible to keep them entirely distinct.
That, in the sense already explained, God did from all eternity foreordain whatsoever comes to pass, is clearly proved by the following considerations:
I. The providence of God extends to all events, or to whatsoever comes to pass. The infinitely wise Jehovah has created nothing that is worthless, and no creature of his is beneath his regard. Of all his creatures it is said,-"These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them, they gather: thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust."[Ps. 104:27-29] Our Saviour encouraged his disciples to rely for temporal blessings upon the providence of God, by assuring them, that it extends to the fowls of the air, and even to the lilies of the field. "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"[Matt. 6:26] By a similar consideration he encouraged his Apostles to trust confidently in the divine protection, whilst engaged in their difficult and perilous mission. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."[Matt. 10:29-31] Every blessing we enjoy, we are taught to regard as a gift of God,[James 1:17] and every affliction we suffer, as a judgment, or a parental chastisement designed for our good.[Heb. 12:5-11] In the Lord's prayer we are taught to ask for daily bread, thus acknowledging a superintending providence over all the means by which, and the sources from which, it is obtained; and we are taught to pray for deliverance from temptation and evil, thus acknowledging the Divine control of all things and persons whose influence can tempt, and whose power can injure us. Accordingly pious men have ever been accustomed gratefully to acknowledge the goodness of God in their blessings, and humbly to bear their trials as parental chastisements. If Abraham's pious servant had occasion to speak of the greatness and the wealth of his master, he said,-" The Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold,"[Gen. 24:35] etc. If Jacob became wealthy in spite of the dishonesty of his father-in-law, he said,-"God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me."[Gen. 31:9]
The same providential control over the minds and actions of men, which is implied in some of the passages already quoted, is directly taught in many others. When Nehemiah desired permission to leave Babylon, and go and build Jerusalem, being cup-bearer to the king, he must obtain his permission. He, therefore, prayed,-"O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants who desire to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." [Neh. 1:11] And when Artaxerxes rendered the Jews important assistance in rebuilding and beautifying the temple, Ezra thus gave thanks: "Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this into the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem: and hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty princes."[Ezra 7:27, 28] Joseph, whilst a prisoner in Egypt, became a favorite of the keeper; and the inspired historian says,-"The Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison."[Gen. 39:21]
The Scriptures teach us, that the wicked actions of men, no less than the virtuous, are wholly under the Divine control. If Pharaoh, king of Egypt, stubbornly refused to obey the command to let the Israelites go, the Lord hardened his heart.[Exod. 7] When the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, "he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah;" and the desolating pestilence followed.[2 Sam. 24:1] Because of the sin of Solomon, God purposed to separate ten of the tribes of Israel from his kingdom, and give them to Jeroboam, one of his servants. Ahijah the prophet, said to Jeroboam,-"For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee." When Rehoboam his son succeeded to the throne, the people demanded a milder government, and promised allegiance to him, if their request were granted. The integrity of the kingdom now depended upon his decision. He took three days to consider the matter. He consulted the old counsellors, who had stood before his father, and they advised him to grant the request of the people. He took counsel with the young men who were his associates, and, following their advice, he answered the people harshly, refusing their request, and threatening to increase their burdens. The result was, the revolt of the ten tribes. The inspired writer explains this remarkable event in the following language: "So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the Lord might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat."[Comp. 1 Kings 11:29-32, and 2 Chron. 10] We need no better illustration, and no stronger confirmation, than is here afforded, of the language of the Westminster Confession, viz: "God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established." That God had ordained the revolt of the ten tribes, and the reign of Jeroboam over them, is absolutely certain; for he had revealed the purpose before the event occurred. Yet Rehoboam was left free to consider all the motives which might influence his conduct; and his advisers, old and young, were free in the counsel they respectively gave. All the contingencies naturally attending such events, attended this. And yet such was the final decision, that the purpose of God was fulfilled; and the inspired writer could say with truth, “the cause was of God, that he might perform his word." When God would destroy Ahab the wicked king of Israel in battle, Micaiah the prophet said,-"Now, therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee."[2 Chron. 18:22]
These historical facts, to which others will be added in the course of this discussion, do strikingly illustrate and confirm the general truth taught in such passages of Scripture as the following: "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps." "The king's heart is in the hands of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." "There are many devices in a man's heart: nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand."[Prov. 6:9; 21:1; 19:21] “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."[Jer. 10:23] "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee : the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain."[Ps. 76:10] All these passages teach with perfect clearness the free agency and accountability of man, and the sovereignty of God in bringing to pass his vise purposes. Men form their plans, and form them freely; but God bounds, overrules and directs.
The providence of God, then, extends to the wants and the lives of all his creatures, even the most worthless of them; to the lives and wants especially of his rational creatures; and still more especially, of his children; and to the actions, good and bad, of all men. Is it not clear, therefore, that the providence of God extends to all things?-that "He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will?"[Eph. 1:11]
It is the doctrine of a particular providence, that gives to the righteous a feeling of security in the midst of danger; that gives them assurance that the path of duty is the path of safety and of prosperity; and that encourages them to the practice of virtue, even when it exposes them to the greatest reproach and persecution. How often, when clouds and darkness seem to gather over them, do they rejoice in the assurance given by their Saviour, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." How often have they, when overwhelmed with troubles and afflictions, taken fresh courage as they have read the language of Paul,-"We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Where is the Christian who would willingly give up this precious doctrine?
On this subject I am happy to find myself sustained by some of the most eminent Arminians. John Wesley has a sermon on Divine Providence, preached from the text, "Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." He says, "The doctrine of Divine providence has been received by wise men in all ages;" and it is impossible to use stronger language than he does in asserting a particular providence. After asserting and proving, that God created all thing, sustains all things, sees and knows all the properties of the beings He has made, he writes as follows:
"And is the creator and preserver of the world unconcerned in what he sees therein? Does he look upon these things either with a malignant or heedless eye? Is he an Epicurean god? Does he sit at ease in the heavens, without regarding the poor inhabitants of earth? It cannot be. He hath made us; not we ourselves; and he cannot despise the work of his own hands. We are his children: and can a mother forget the children of her womb? Yea, she may forget; yet will not God forget us! On the contrary, he hath expressly declared, that as his ‘eyes are over all the earth,' so he ‘is loving to every man: and his mercy is over all his works.' Consequently he is concerned every moment, for what befalls every creature upon earth; and more especially for everything that befalls any of the children of men. It is hard, indeed, to comprehend this: nay it is hard to believe it; considering the complicated wickedness, and the complicated misery, which we see on every side. But believe it we must, unless we will make God a liar; although it is sure, no man can comprehend it. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before God, and to acknowledge our ignorance. Indeed, how can we expect that a man should be able to comprehend the ways of God! Can a worm comprehend a worm? Howmuch less can it be supposed, that a man can comprehend God: ‘For how can finite measure infinite?' "
Mr. Wesley very forcibly and conclusively exposes the doctrine of a general, but not particular providence. "You say," says he, "you allow a general providence, but deny a particular. And what is a general, of whatever kind it be, that includes not particulars? Is not every general necessarily made up of its several particulars? Can you instance in any general that is not? Tell me any genus, if you can, that contains no species? What is it that constitutes a genus, but so many species added together? What, I pray, is a whole that contains no parts? Mere nonsense and contradiction. Every whole must, in the nature of things, be made up of its several parts; insomuch that if there be no parts, there can be no whole." Again: "Do you mean (for we would fain find out your meaning, if you have any meaning at all,) that the providence of God does, indeed, extend to all parts of the earth, with regard to great and singular events; such as the rise and fall of empires; but that the little concerns of this or that man are beneath the notice of the Almighty? Then you do not consider, that great and little are merely relative terms, which have place only with respect to men. With regard to the Most High, men, and all the concerns of men, are nothing, less than nothing, before him. And nothing is small in his sight, that, in any degree, affects the welfare of any that fear God and work righteousness. What becomes, then, of your general providence, exclusive of a particular? Let it be forever rejected by all rational men, as absurd, self-contradictory nonsense. We may then sum up the whole Scriptural doctrine of providence, in the fine saying of St. Austin,-'Ita praesidet singulis sicut universis, et universis sicut singulis.'"[He rules over particulars as over universals, and over universals as over particulars.]
I am truly gratified to find in the writings of Wesley a statement so clear, and a defense so conclusive and unanswerable, of the doctrine, that the providence of God extends to all things and to all events.
II. God in his providence is simply fulfilling his purposes. This truth is so obvious, and the denial of it so absurd, that it is scarcely necessary to say a word in confirmation of it. The acts of providence, by which individuals are controlled and particular events brought to pass, are either accidental or designed. But no one, it is presumed, could for a moment entertain the belief of an accidental providence. All, therefore, must admit that whatever God does in the 'government of the world, he does designedly. For example, Joseph said to his brethren, "God did send me before you to preserve life."[Gen. 45:5] Now Joseph was sent to Egypt, not by miracle, but by the overruling providence of God. If, then, God in his providence sent him into Egypt, he did it in fulfillment of a previously formed purpose; and therefore it is stated, that the sending of Joseph to Egypt was a means to accomplish a wise and benevolent end, viz: to preserve life. But a wise being first determines upon the end he desires to attain, and then upon the best means of accomplishing it. God determined to preserve the lives of Jacob's family; and he purposed to send Joseph before them to Egypt for the accomplishment of this object. God in his providence sent the Jews into captivity at Babylon; but he did so for their good, that in exile they might consider their ways and repent. In his providence he restored them at the end of seventy years; and he made Cyrus to fulfill his gracious purpose.
But surely I need not argue this point. An accidental providence, is an absurdity; and if it could exist, it would neither be good nor wise; nor could it afford to the righteous any ground of confidence. The Scriptures, therefore, distinctly teach that God "worketh all things according to the counsel of his will;" that although the heart of a man deviseth his way, "the Lord directeth his steps;" that "his tender mercies are over all his works." In this view Mr. Wesley agrees with Calvinists, as we have already seen. He spurns the idea that God looks upon his creatures with indifference, and maintains most earnestly that he wisely and mercifully rules over and cares for them, even the smallest of them.
Now let us pause and determine to what conclusion we are constrained to come, from the preceding argument. The providence of God extends to all things and to all events,-to whatsoever cometh to pass; and God is, in his providence, simply fulfilling his purposes. In both these positions Mr. Wesley agrees with us; but from them the conclusion inevitably follows, that God hath foreordained whatsoever cometh to pass. Look at the premises. If the providence of God extends to whatsoever comes to pass; and if his providence is nothing more nor less than the fulfilling of his purposes; is it not perfectly clear, that his purposes extend to whatever comes to pass? For illustration, you say of an architect, his work extends to every part of the building; and in his work he is simply carrying out his plans or purposes. Does it not follow that his plans extend to every part of the building? And is it not then true, that he did previously plan what he executed? One of three positions we are compelled to take on this subject. 1. We may deny a particular providence; and then, as Wesley demonstrates, we deny a providence altogether. 2. We may hold to an accidental providence,-if such a thing be conceivable,-that God in the government of the world acts without design, and consequently without wisdom or goodness. 3. We may hold that he governs all things according to his wise counsels, for the accomplishment of his own glorious ends; or, in other words, that he hath foreordained whatsoever cometh to pass. Look carefully at the positions, and see whether you are not obliged to take one of the three; and if so, choose between them. Which is Scriptural? Which is most honorable to God? Which is safest and most encouraging to the righteous? I verily believe, that no Christian will long hesitate which of the propositions he must choose.
III. The purposes of God are ETERNAL. To this proposition, if the two preceding are admitted, there can be no objection. For if it be in perfect consistency with the wisdom and goodness of God, that his purposes should extend to all things and events; why should not those purposes have been formed before the creation of the world? Who ever charged it as crime against a man, that he had too soon determined to do a good work? If it was wise and merciful in our Heavenly Father to send Joseph into Egypt, who can say it is inconsistent with his perfections that he always designed to do this wise and good act? And if the fact that God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, either destroys man's free agency or makes him the author of sin, (and these questions will be fully examined in another chapter,) these results follow as certainly if the decrees are formed one hour or one moment before they are executed, as if they were formed before the beginning of time. If the free agency of Cyrus was destroyed by God's foreordaining that he should take Babylon and restore the Jews, it matters not whether that decree was formed at the moment when Isaiah recorded it, or ten thousand ages before.
But that all the purposes of God are eternal, is clear from the following considerations:
l. He is infinitely wise, knowing all things, past, present and future; all things possible, as well as all things real. The declarations of the Scriptures on this subject are as strong as language can make them. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world;" or, as the Rev. Richard Watson, a standard Methodist writer, happily gives the sense of the passage,-"Rather ap aionos, from all eternity, known, before they were made, in their possible, and known, now they are made, in their actual existence." "Great is the Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite."[Theol. Inst. pt. 2, ch. 4] Arminians have no difficulty in admitting that God knows, with infinite accuracy, all things and events that are past or present, and all those yet future, not dependent upon, or immediately connected with the free actions of accountable beings. But they have been accustomed to assert, that the doctrine of Divine decrees is destructive of the free agency and accountability of man; and many of them have felt an equal difficulty in reconciling the Divine foreknowledge with free agency. I am happy to be able, on this point, to call in the aid of the distinguished Methodist writer just now quoted,-especially as his Theological Institutes are considered by the Methodists a standard work. Some Arminians have held, that "it is a matter of choice in God to think of finite ideas." "In substance," says Mr. Watson, "these opinions are, that though the knowledge of God be infinite, as his power is infinite, there is no more reason to conclude that his knowledge should be always exerted to the full extent of its capacity, than that his power should be employed to the extent of his omnipotence; and that if we suppose him to choose not to know some contingencies, the infiniteness of his knowledge is not thereby impugned." To this Mr. Watson gives the following conclusive answer: "1. That the infinite power of God is in Scripture represented, as in the nature of things it must be, as an infinite capacity, and not as infinite in act; but that the knowledge of God is, on the contrary, never represented there to us as a capacity to acquire knowledge, but as actually comprehending all things that are, and all things that can be. 2. That the notion of God's choosing to know some things, and not to know others, supposes a reason why he refuses to know any class of things or events, which reason, it would seem, can only arise out of their nature and circumstances, and therefore supposes at least a partial knowledge of them, from which the reason for his not choosing to know them arises. The doctrine is therefore somewhat contradictory."
A second theory, stated by Watson, is "that the foreknowledge of contingent events, being in its own nature impossible, because it implies a contradiction, it does no dishonor to the Divine Being to affirm that of such events he has and can have no prescience whatever; and thus the prescience of God as to moral actions being wholly denied, the difficulty of reconciling it with human freedom and accountability has no existence." To this and the foregoing theory Mr. Watson gives the following unanswerable refutation: "To this the same answer must be given as to the former. It does not meet the case, so long as the Scriptures are allowed to contain prophecies of rewardable and punishable actions. That man is accountable to God for his conduct, and therefore free, that is, laid under no invincible necessity of acting in a given manner, are doctrines clearly contained in the Bible; and the notion of necessity has here its full and satisfactory reply; but if, a difficulty should be felt in reconciling the freedom of an action with the prescience, of it, it affords not the slightest relief to deny the foreknowledge of God as to actions in general, while the Scriptures contain predictions of the conduct of men whose actions cannot have been determined by invincible necessity, because they were actions for which they received from God a just and marked punishment. Whether the scheme of relief be that the knowledge of God, like his power, is arbitrary, or that the prescience of contingencies is impossible, so long as the Scriptures are allowed to contain predictions of the conduct of men, good or bad, the difficulty remains in all its force. The whole body of prophecy is founded on the prescience of contingent actions, or it is not prediction, but guess and conjecture,-to such fearful results does the denial of the Divine prescience lead."[Theol. Inst., pt. 2, ch. 4]
It is, then, clear from the Scriptures, and Mr. Watson admits and proves it, that God knows all the past, the present, and the future. The conclusion to which we must come, in view of this doctrine, is that the purposes of God are eternal. For intelligent purposes are not formed at random, but are founded upon knowledge. Therefore every new purpose formed by a rational being, and every change of purpose, must be founded on new knowledge gained. A man determines to-day to go on a journey to a distant city, or to enter upon an extensive speculation. Why is this purpose formed to-day and not before? Because he has gained information to-day which he had not yesterday. Or, having last week determined to go to Boston, he this week changes his purpose. Why? Because he has views now, which he had not when the purpose was formed. Every new purpose formed, therefore, and every change of purpose, proclaims the imperfection of him who forms or changes the purpose. His knowledge was imperfect; he has learned something new, and, therefore, has formed a new purpose, or abandoned one previously formed. But God learns nothing new. All the reasons in view of which his purposes were formed, were before the Divine Mind, and were perfectly understood from eternity. There can be nothing, consequently, on which a. new purpose can be founded; and to maintain that he forms new purposes, is to maintain that he is an imperfect Being,-that he does not know all things.
2. When the inspired writers speak of the formation of the Divine purposes, they speak of them as ETERNAL. Is Jesus Christ sent into the world to save men? He "verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world."[1 Pet. 1:20] Does God bless his children with all spiritual blessings? He does so "according as he hath chosen us in him; before the foundation of the world." [Eph. 1:4] Does he call and save them? He does so "according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."[2 Tim. 1:9] Will he display his manifold wisdom by his Church? He will do it "according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ."[Eph. 3:11]
Now let us put these three propositions together, and see to what conclusion we are obliged to come. The providence of God extends to all things and all events. God in his providence is simply fulfilling his purposes. Therefore his purposes extend to all things and all events. His purposes are eternal. Therefore he from eternity purposed to do what in time he is doing. That is, he from eternity foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.
Ten thousand ages ere the skies
Were into motion brought;
All the long years and worlds to come,
Stood present to his thought.
There's not a sparrow nor a worm,
But 's found in his decrees,
He raises monarchs' to their thrones,
And sinks them as he please."
CHAPTER IV.
OBJECTIONS TO THE DOCTRINE OF DIVINE FOREORDINATION ANSWERED, AND THE INCONSISTENCIES OF ARMINIANISM POINTED OUT.
The evidence appears conclusive, that, according to the Scriptures, God hath foreordained whatsoever cometh to pass. Against this doctrine, however, several objections are urged. Let us give them a careful consideration.
1. This doctrine, it is confidently affirmed, is inconsistent with the free agency and accountability of man. Those who press this objection, must, if they are consistent, hold the doctrine of man's free agency, must believe that such is the nature of the human mind, that it is capable of choosing and refusing. Free Agency is nothing more nor less than acting without compulsion, and in accordance with one's desires or inclinations. The mind is free, if it is capable of considering the motives to action which may be placed before it, and of choosing its own course. The word motives is sometimes used to signify the reasons or inducements placed before the mind, tending to lead to certain choices or actions; and sometimes, to designate the feelings under which men make certain choices, or perform certain actions. Used in the former sense, that which would be a powerful motive in the view of one mind, would be no motive at all in the view of another. The offer of a bribe would be a sufficient motive to induce one judge to decide a case contrary to law and evidence; whilst to another, such an offer, so far from being a motive to such a course, would be highly offensive. The temptation presented by Potiphar's wife, which was firmly resisted by Joseph, would have been a motive of sufficient power to have ruined many a youth of less purity of heart. An external motive can have no influence over the choices and conduct of men, except as it makes an appeal to feelings existing in the mind; and all the affections of the human heart are, in their very nature, free. The idea of compelling a man either to love or to hate any object, is perfectly absurd. We hold, then, that man is, from the very nature of his mind, a free moral agent,-that he is capable of looking at all the motives presented before him, and of acting, in view of them all, freely and without compulsion. That every one will choose what, on the whole, he prefers, is certain. To assert the opposite, would be a contradiction in terms. It would be the same as to say, that the mind chooses what, on the whole, it does not prefer, or does not choose. But all the choices of the intelligent mind are free and unconstrained.
Now if man's free agency is destroyed in any case, it must be by some force ab extra,-from without, which is brought to bear upon the mind. This will not be disputed. Suppose, then, the doctrine true, that God has foreordained whatever comes to pass, does this foreordination bring such a force to operate on the mind?
The government of the world, as we remarked in a preceding chapter, is naturally divided into the government of matter and of mind. Amongst men there are two classes,-the righteous and the wicked. As we have proved, God is, in an important sense, the author of all the pure affections and virtuous actions of men. The righteous are declared to be "his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works."[Eph. 2:10] And "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."[Phil. 2:13] And concerning all that is truly good in any man, he must say, with the Apostle Paul,-"But by the grace of God I am what I am."[1 Cor. 15:10] Now, that God can and does exert on the minds of men a supernatural purifying influence, producing virtuous affections and prompting to virtuous actions, the more evangelical class of Arminians admit and teach. In the Articles of Religion adopted by the Methodist Episcopal Church, we find the following language: "The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, -without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us when we have that good will." This influence of Divine grace, as our Methodist brethren believe, results in multitudes of instances in the conversion of men from the service of Sin and Satan to the service of God; and they of course hold, that the free agency of the persons is not thereby destroyed or impaired. They therefore agree with us, that God can and does exert upon the minds of men a supernatural influence, which in a great number of instances results in their regeneration, and that their free agency is left unimpaired. Now, the only question necessary to be decided here is, whether without interfering with the free agency of men, God can exert such an influence as will certainly lead to conversion in all cases where it is put forth; for if he can, he can fulfill all his purposes concerning the salvation of men without interfering with their freedom. Mr. A., for example, under the preaching of the gospel, was convicted of sin, and, in a few days, became a converted man and a happy Christian. Our Methodist brethren will agree with us in ascribing his conviction and his regeneration to the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit. The influence which God graciously exerted on his mind, was sufficient, and God knew it would be sufficient, to lead him to Christ. But here is Mr. B. Can God, without interfering with his free agency, exert upon his mind an influence which will lead to the same result? Who will venture to say, he cannot? Perhaps it will be said, a more powerful influence will be necessary to bring Mr. B. to repentance, than was required in the case of Mr. A. Let us for the present admit that it may be so. Then the matter presents itself to us thus:-that Divine influence which is necessary to bring the mind of Mr. A. to a certain state, is perfectly consistent with his free agency; but that Divine influence, somewhat greater, which is necessary to bring the mind of Mr. B. to the same state, is destructive of his free agency. Now, upon what principle of philosophy or of Scripture can any one make such an assertion? Is it not evident, that if the greater influence on the mind of Mr. B. would destroy his freedom of choice, the lesser influence on the mind of Mr. A. would produce the same effect,-the only difference being, that the freedom of the latter is more easily destroyed than that of the former?
But all that is said about the destruction of man's free agency by Divine influence, is mere assertion without a particle of evidence. No man knows how the Spirit operates on the human heart; and therefore no man can possibly know how far such operation is consistent with freedom of choice. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." The Scriptures nowhere authorize the assertion, that God cannot quicken whom he will; and all assertions of the kind are both unfounded and irreverent. Admitting, as our Methodist friends do, a supernatural influence terminating in many cases in the regeneration of men, it certainly devolves on them to prove that God cannot, without impairing their freedom, exert an influence which will so result in all cases. We might, then, with propriety ask them to tell us precisely what amount or degree of supernatural influence is consistent with free agency. Can any one fix the limit? If not, how can he determine when that limit is passed?
So far, then, as the virtuous affections and actions of men are concerned, the doctrine of Divine Decrees is not liable to the charge of destroying the free agency of man. Indeed the language of the Scriptures is calculated to rebuke all such attempts to limit the power of Divine grace. "We are his workmanship," says Paul, "created in Christ Jesus unto good works." Regeneration is here represented as a new creation. Does the thing created assist in its own creation? Or does it require a greater power to perform one creative act than another? The same Apostle says,-"Even when we were dead in sins, God hath quickened us together with Christ." Does the being who is quickened or made alive, assist in his own quickening? Did Lazarus co-operate in raising himself from the dead? Or does it require greater power to impart life to one being than to another? But as the discussion of this subject comes more properly under the head of Election, the fuller consideration of it will be reserved for the second part of this work.
But it is asserted that the doctrine under consideration destroys the free agency of sinners, and makes God the author of their sins. And in enforcing this objection, the following questions are pressed, viz: Can anything possibly come to pass which God has not foreordained?-and, Can anything which he has foreordained fail to come to pass? These questions we of course answer in the negative; and then we are asked, How can men be free in their choices and actions, when they could do nothing more and nothing less than they in fact do? Men often confuse their own minds, as well as the minds of others, by using, with reference to the exercises of the mind, language which is borrowed from material bodies. If it is said, that nothing can happen which was not foreordained, the idea of compulsory influence is immediately attached to the words can and cannot. But our Arminian brethren, at least many of them, believe that God does with infinite certainty foreknow all the events that will ever come to pass, the free actions of men as well as all others. Now let us ask them the same questions they press upon our attention, viz: Can anything possibly come to pass which God has not foreknown?-and, Can anything fail to come to pass which he has foreknown? They must answer these questions in the negative; and then we may ask them, How then can the choices and actions of men be free, when they do only what was infallibly foreknown, and what, therefore, they could not but do?
But all such reasoning is fallacious. As we have already remarked, if the free agency of men is destroyed, it must be by some external force brought to act upon their minds, which are naturally free. The question then arises,-Does the doctrine of Divine foreordination imply any such force upon the minds of wicked men? Or in other words,-Can God exert upon the minds of wicked men such an influence as to bring to pass by their instrumentality his own wise and holy purposes without interfering with their free agency and just accountability? If any one assert that he cannot, we ask him to prove the truth of his assertion, either from reason or from the Bible.
As we have already stated, God, in order to fulfill his purposes, exerts upon the minds of sinful men a restraining influence, a softening influence, a directing influence, and a hardening influence. Now let us inquire, whether by either of these influences the free agency of men is destroyed or impaired.
God often restrains men from doing that to which their natural appetites or passions strongly incline them. Thrice in the year all the males of the Jews were required to attend the annual festivals in Jerusalem. To encourage them to do this, God said,-"For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year."[Exod. 34:24] On this passage, Matthew Henry has the following note: "All hearts are in God's hands, and under his check; he can lay a restraint not only upon men's actions, but upon their desires. Canaan was a desirable land, and the neighboring nations were greedy enough; and yet God says 'they shall not desire it.'" Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah, Abraham's wife, whilst they sojourned with him. And when he protested that he was not aware of doing what was unlawful, God said," Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her."[Gen. 20:6] On this passage, Henry thus appropriately remarks: "It is God that restrains men from doing the ill they would do; it is not from him that there is sin, but it is from him that there is not more sin, either by his influence upon men's minds, checking their inclination to sin, or by his providence, taking away the opportunity to sin." God purposed that Abraham and his wife should dwell safely in Gerar; and therefore, whilst he permitted the king to send to take Sarah to his palace, he restrained him from proceeding further. Now in what manner God exerted this restraining influence, we cannot comprehend; and, therefore, it is impossible for us to have any evidence that it interfered with Abimelech's freedom of choice. But since the Scriptures clearly teach that such an influence was exerted, the objection that it interferes with free agency would be against the Scriptures themselves, not simply against Calvinism; and therefore it is an objection which cannot be consistently urged by those who believe in the inspiration of the Bible.
2. God often exerts on men what may be called a softening influence, disposing them to do what is according to his will and for the glory of his name. Thus he gave Joseph favor with the keeper of the prison where he was confined. Thus, in order to fulfill his decree concerning the restoration of the Jews and the rebuilding of the temple, he "stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia," that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, in which he used the following remarkable language: "The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem."[Ezra 1:1-3] And at a later period, God put it into the heart of Artaxerxes to beautify the temple, and to favor the labors of Ezra.[Ezra 7:27-28] It matters not, so far as the doctrine of Divine Decrees is concerned, what instrumentalities were employed in affecting the hearts of these sinful men. The fact is clear, that God had certain important purposes to accomplish, and that he brought such influences to bear upon their minds, that they aided in the fulfillment of his purposes. How these influences were exerted, no one can comprehend; and, therefore, no one can have the least evidence that they impaired the free agency of the men upon whom they were exerted. And if any one persist in asserting the incompatibility of such influences with human accountability, his controversy is with the Bible, not with Calvinism.
3. God exerts upon men a directing influence. The same affection or passion in the human mind might lead to the performance of any one of fifty acts, or to any one of several courses of conduct. A man, for example, is ambitious. There are many ways in which he may have the prospect of gratifying his ambition,-as by the accumulation of wealth, by filling important civil offices, by military exploits, by literary attainments, etc. Now the peculiar character of his ambition, and the circumstances in which he may be placed, will determine his course of action; and if God in his providence arrange these circumstances, he will thereby direct his course of conduct. A man is covetous; but there are many ways in which his love of money may be gratified. He may labor industriously; he may speculate boldly; he may gamble; he may become a highway robber. "The love of money," says Paul, "is the root of all evil." It is the prolific source from which crimes of all kinds proceed. Now, what course of conduct a covetous man will pursue, depends upon the influences under which his moral character is formed, and the circumstances that surround him. We hold not that God produces avaricious feelings in the heart of such a man, but that he gives such direction to his conduct that good and not evil shall result. The Ishmaelitish merchants who purchased Joseph and sold him to Potiphar, were avaricious men; but God gave such direction to their conduct, that by their instrumentality he sent Joseph into Egypt, and thus made them instruments in fulfilling a most important purpose.
Now, will any one venture the assertion that God cannot exert a directing influence over the conduct of wicked men without destroying or impairing their free agency? Without understanding the nature of that influence, no one can assert or deny in the matter; and no one can understand it. If, however, any one persist in the objection, his quarrel is with the Word of God, which teaches abundantly that such influence is exerted. Of this we have given some evidence, and will furnish more before closing this chapter.
4. God is said sometimes to harden the hearts of men, and thus to accomplish his purposes. Concerning Pharaoh, king of Egypt, God said: "Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth."[Exod. 9:16] In carrying out this purpose God said: "I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go."[Exod. 4:21] Pharaoh was a wicked man, but was doubtless, like other wicked men, restrained and softened in some degree by divine influence. God chose now to withdraw that influence and leave him to himself, whilst yet he commanded him to let his people go; and thus he hardened his heart. But was Pharaoh's free agency destroyed by his being left to his own will? To say so, would be ridiculous; for if the human mind is naturally free, it of course never enjoys liberty more complete than when left to itself. And equally ridiculous would it be to assert that because he was left to his own will, and God overruled his wicked designs for good, he was not free.
It is, then, perfectly clear, I think, that neither of these four classes of Divine influences interferes in the slightest degree with man's free agency and accountability; and by these are all the decrees of God connected with the agency of wicked men fulfilled. We have abundant evidence in God's word, that he can and does so control wicked men as to bring to pass his purposes. "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."[Prov. 21:1] Now, it will not be pretended either that kings are not free and accountable beings, or that He who can turn the king's heart whithersoever he will, cannot as easily turn the hearts of others. "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps."[Prov. 16:9] If the Lord can direct the steps of men, and yet leave their hearts free to devise their way, it is clear that he can so control their conduct that his purposes will be accomplished without infringing their liberty. We have in the tenth chapter of Isaiah's prophecy, a remarkable proof and illustration of the harmony of the doctrines of Divine Decrees and Free Agency. "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? etc. Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent, etc. Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood." What is the obvious meaning of this language? It does most unequivocally teach, in the first place, that the king of Assyria, though a proud and ungodly man, was an instrument in the hands of God, just as the axe, the saw, or the rod in the hands of a man, to execute his purposes upon the Jews; and that God had perfect control of him. It teaches, in the second place, that the free agency of the king was not destroyed or impaired by this control, but that he was perfectly free to form his own plans and to be governed by his own desires. For it is declared that he did not design to execute God's purposes, but to promote his own ambitious projects. "Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few." It consequently teaches, thirdly, that the king was justly held accountable for his pride and wickedness, although God so overruled him that he fulfilled his wise purposes. God decreed to chastise the Jews for their sin. He chose to employ the king of Assyria to execute his purpose, and therefore sent him against them. He would afterwards punish the king for his wicked plans. Is it not evident, then, beyond all cavil, that the Scriptures teach that God can and does so control men, even wicked men, as to bring to pass his wise purposes without interfering with their free agency? The objection we are considering is, therefore, wholly without force.
Again: The Scriptures contain many examples both confirmatory and illustrative of the truth that God can and does fulfill his purposes by the instrumentality of even wicked men; and consequently of the consistency of Divine Decrees and Free Agency. One of the most remarkable of these examples is found in the history of Jacob's family, already referred to. Let us look, first, at the decree, and then at its fulfillment. God said to Abram,-"Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance."[Gen. 15:13, 14] Here is the decree. The descendants of Abraham were to go and sojourn, and be afflicted in Egypt. How was this decree fulfilled? There are a number of links in the chain of its fulfillment. The first is the partiality manifested by Jacob for Joseph, the son of his old age. The second link is the consequent hatred of Joseph's brethren. The third is his dreams, which increased their hatred. The fourth is his being sent by his father to see how they were doing, and his following them to the place to which they had removed their flocks. When they saw him coming, they conspired to murder him, but were prevented by Reuben. He was placed in a pit; and just then came along Ishmaelitish merchants going to Egypt. Joseph is sold to them, and by them to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. He is slandered and thrown into prison, where, the Lord giving him favor with the keeper, he meets with Pharaoh's two servants, and interprets their dreams; and thus ultimately he becomes known to Pharaoh, and becomes the second man in authority in Egypt.
Now Joseph said, that God sent him to Egypt to preserve many lives.[Gen. 45:7] He sent him in fulfillment of a benevolent purpose. How did he send him? By the instrumentality of a number of persons, good and bad. God permitted his brethren to hate him. He so ordered things, that the merchants passed along just at the proper time, and were going to the country to which he purposed to send Joseph; and he permitted them to sell him. Link after link of the chain of events is formed, and everything is overruled to the entire fulfillment of God's purpose. And yet it will not be pretended, that Joseph's brethren, and the others who were actors in this chain of events, were deprived of their freedom, nor that their guilt was at all diminished by the fact that God brought great good out of their intended evil. Joseph said to them,-"But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."[Gen. 50:20] In the exercise of their free agency they formed their purposes, and they were evil; but God also had his purposes, and they were good. They deserved condemnation, and they condemned themselves for their sin; but God was to be praised for his merciful designs. Throughout this interesting history, we have the most striking illustrations of the perfect harmony of divine sovereignty and free agency. It is truly astonishing that any one who has ever read it with attention, should urge the objection we are now considering.
Mr. Watson says, "it was predicted that Babylon should be taken by Cyrus in the midst of a midnight revel, in which the gates should be left unguarded and open;" and he argues, that "all the actions which arose out of the warlike disposition and ambition of Cyrus," were foreknown, "because the result of them was predicted."[Theol. Inst., pt. 2, ch. 4] Now it is rather singular, that it did not occur to Mr. Watson, that the taking of Babylon by Cyrus was not predicted simply as an event which God foresaw, but as an event which he had foreordained. Of the destruction of Babylon, Isaiah employs the following language:-“The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land."[Isa. 13:1-5] Again:-"For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts. The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?"[Isa. 14:22-27] Jeremiah, describing the same terrible event, says:-" For every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant."[Jer. 51:29] Not only the destruction of Babylon, but the instruments by which, and the manner in which, it should be accomplished, were foreordained. "Behold," saith God, "I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver." "Go up, O Elam : besiege, O Media," etc.[Isa. 13:17; 21:2] Of Cyrus, God said:-"He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." But before Cyrus could restore the Jews, and cause the city of Jerusalem and the temple to be rebuilt, he must conquer Babylon, and take possession of it. And therefore God said:-"Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me."[Isa. 44:28; 45:1-4] From these and other explicit declarations of prophecy, it is evident beyond all controversy, that the taking of Babylon by an army of Medes and Persians, commanded by Cyrus, and the return of the Jews to Jerusalem by permission and decree of Cyrus, were foreordained; and so, of course, were all the counsels and acts which led to these results. It is certain that these events were foreordained; and consequently we are obliged to conclude, either that the doctrines of Divine Decrees and Free Agency are perfectly consistent, or that all the persons by whose instrumentality these events were brought to pass, were deprived of their free agency and accountability. Indeed; Mr. Watson himself, forgetting surely what he had elsewhere written, admits that "Cyrus was elected to rebuild the temple."[Theol. Inst. pt. 2, ch. 26] In making such an admission, he has unwittingly overthrown the most plausible argument urged by Arminians against the doctrine of Divine foreordination. For if God's election of Cyrus to fulfill his purposes relative to the Jews did not interfere with the free agency of Cyrus, the election of any other man or number of men to fulfill any other of the Divine purposes would leave them as free as Cyrus. Our Arminian opponents must either deny that God ever foreordained any one event brought about by a free agent, or abandon the objection we are considering.
The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified by wicked men; and yet no one, it would seem, can doubt that his crucifixion was foreordained. Upon that event hung the hopes of a lost world. Every bleeding victim on the Jewish altar foretold the sufferings of the great Antitype, and all the prophets predicted the great event. Peter declares that he "verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world" to this work;[1 Pet. 1:20] and to the Jews he said:-"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."[Acts 2:23] And the apostles, in their prayer for protection against their persecutors, use this remarkable language: "For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."[Acts 4:27, 28] Precisely in accordance with these declarations, is the language of Isaiah: "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief"[Isa. 53:10] It is absolutely certain that the crucifixion of Christ was foreordained, and that in his crucifixion the Jews and Romans did but fulfill the Divine purpose; and yet it is certain that they were in the perfect exercise of their free agency. The crucifixion of Christ was, therefore, charged upon them as a crime; and they were commanded to repent of it. They meant evil against him; but God intended good. He made the wrath of man to praise him; and the remainder of wrath he restrained.
I might multiply, to any extent, examples of events certainly foreordained, yet brought to pass by the free and accountable agency of men; but it is unnecessary. One example is as good as ten thousand; for if, in one single instance, men have fulfilled the decree of God, and were yet free and accountable, it is certain that the decrees of God are not inconsistent with man's free agency. The objection we are considering, is consequently without the least force. Let it be distinctly understood, that they who urge this objection must deny that any one event brought to pass by the free agency of man, was foreordained! Is any Christian prepared for this? Mr. Watson asserts, that the whole body of prophecy is founded upon the prescience of the free or contingent acts of men. With more truth he might have said, that the whole body of prophecy was founded on the foreordination of the free acts of men; for prophecy is, for the most part, but the revelation of God's purposes concerning individuals and nations.
Here we might let the argument rest; but the objection under consideration has been so often and so plausibly urged, that we are determined to sift it to the bottom and expose its weakness.
If God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, it is maintained, man is not a free agent, but acts from necessity. As we have more than once remarked, if the freedom of the human mind is destroyed or impaired, it must be by some force from without; because it is naturally free. Now what is there in a purpose or decree of God, which brings such a force to bear? Let us, if you please, analyze a Divine decree, and see if we can find in it such a force. In a decree of God we may find three things, viz: the decree or purpose itself, as it exists in the Divine Mind; the certainty of the event decreed; and the manner in which, or the influence by which, it is brought to pass.
Let us first consider the decree or purpose itself. A Divine Decree, as already explained. so far as rational creatures are concerned, is a determination by God to dispose them to do something good, or to permit and overrule their evil acts to his own holy ends. Such a purpose, we will say, God has formed. It exists in the Divine Mind; but it has not been revealed, nor has any single act in accordance with it been put forth. Now is it not self-evident, that so long as that purpose remains in the Divine Mind, not revealed nor acted upon, it cannot bring a force to bear upon the mind of any man? If God had even determined to influence or dispose Pharaoh to hate and oppress the Israelites, still that purpose could not have affected his free agency, until some act was put forth. The purpose itself effects nothing, just as the purpose of a man to build a house effects nothing until some act is put forth in accordance with the purpose. This is too plain to require illustration, or to admit of proof.
But it may be said, if God has decreed an event, it will certainly come to pass; and if it is certain and cannot be otherwise, how can man be free to act or not to act in reference to it? To this objection we have two answers to make: 1. There is no force in mere certainty; and therefore the simple fact that an event will certainly happen, cannot put a force upon the mind which will destroy or impair its liberty. 2. If the certainty of a future event is inconsistent with the free agency of those employed in bringing it to pass, then the foreknowledge of God destroys that free agency; for whatever actions or events are foreknown, will certainly come to pass. The Saviour foreknew that Judas would betray him; for "as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me."[Matt. 26:21] And he foreknew that Peter would deny him; for he said to him, "Verily, I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice."[Matt. 26:34] Both these events were absolutely certain. The former, indeed, was foretold a thousand years before Judas was born.[Acts 1:16] Was the free agency of Judas and Peter destroyed? They certainly did not think so, for Judas said: "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood."[Matt. 27:4] "And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly."[Matt. 26:75] The crucifixion of Christ was foreknown and foretold; and Paul says: -“They that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath-day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre."[Acts 13:27, 29] Did the certainty of his crucifixion destroy or impair the freedom of those who fulfilled, though they knew it not, all that was written of him? It is clear as the shining light, that the certainty of a future event interferes not with the free agency of those by whose instrumentality it will be brought to pass.
Here again we are happy to call to our aid Rev. Richard Watson, who, as we have seen, contends earnestly and conclusively for the doctrine, that God does certainly foreknow all the free actions of his creatures, and unanswerably refutes the absurd and mischievous theories of Dr. Adam Clarke and others, who deny such prescience. "The whole body of prophecy," he remarks, "is founded on the certain prescience of contingent actions, or it is not prediction, but guess and conjecture,-to such fearful results does the denial of the Divine prescience lead! No one can deny that the Bible contains predictions of the rise and fall of several kingdoms; that Daniel, for instance, prophesied of the rise, the various fortune, and the fall of the celebrated monarchies of antiquity. But empires do not rise and fall wholly by immediate acts of God; they are not thrown up like new islands in the ocean, they do not fall like cities in an earthquake, by the direct exertion of Divine power. They are carried through their various stages of advance and decline, by the virtues and vices of men, which God makes the instruments of their prosperity or destruction. Counsels, wars, science, revolutions, all crowd in their agency; and the predictions are of the combined and ultimate results of all these circumstances, which, as arising out of the vices and virtues of men, out of innumerable acts of choice, are contingent. Seen they must have been through all their stages, and seen in their results, for prophecy has registered those results. The prescience of them cannot be denied, for that is on record; and if certain prescience involves necessity, then are the daily virtues and vices of men not contingent. It was predicted that Babylon should be taken by Cyrus in the midst of a midnight revel, in which the gates should be left unguarded and open. Now, if all the actions which arose out of the warlike disposition and ambition of Cyrus were contingent, what becomes of the principle that it is impossible to foreknow contingencies? Our Lord predicts most circumstantially, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. If this be allowed, then the contingencies involved in the conduct of the Jews who provoked that fatal war, in the Roman Senate who decreed it,-in the Roman Generals who carried it on, in the Roman and Jewish soldiers who were engaged in it,-were all foreseen, and the result of them predicted; if they were not contingencies, that is, if they were not free actions, then the virtues and vices of both parties, and all the acts of skill, and courage, and enterprise, and all the cruelties and sufferings of the besieged and the besiegers, arising out of innumerable volitions, and giving rise to the events so circumstantially marked in the prophecy, were determined by an irreversible necessity." Mr. Watson concludes, that "though an uncertain action cannot be foreseen as certain, a free, unnecessitated action may; for there is nothing in the knowledge of the action, in the least, to affect its nature."[Theol. Inst., pt. 2, ch. 4] The certainty of a future event, then, as Mr. Watson agrees with Calvinists, cannot interfere with the freedom of those by whose agency it is brought to pass.
The only other thing in a Divine decree is the manner in which, or the agency by which the event decreed is brought to pass. And if the doctrine of Divine Decrees is destructive of free agency, this is the point where the difficulty occurs. Here, if anywhere, a compulsory force is brought to bear upon the mind. Indeed it is only the certainty that the necessary means will, in due time, be employed, that makes any foreordained event certain. All the purposes of God concerning men are fulfilled either by his providence or by his regenerating and sanctifying grace. Christ Jesus is "head over all things to the Church;" and the Holy Spirit is sent to convince and convert men, that they may enter the Church. All God's purposes, therefore, are fulfilled by that particular providence which, as we have seen, extends to all things and to all events, or by that blessed Spirit who works in his people to will and do.
The whole matter, therefore, resolves itself into the two questions: 1. Can God exercise over men a particular providence, so as to bring to pass his wise purposes, without destroying or impairing their free agency? 2. Can God exert upon the minds of men, providentially and by his Spirit, a Divine influence that will certainly lead them to Christ, and induce them to persevere in his service, without interfering with their liberty? These questions have already been answered. We have seen, that the providence of God extends to all things and events, and that he can so govern even wicked men as to fulfill his purposes without interfering with their freedom of choice. We have seen, too, that he does exert on the minds of men a supernatural sanctifying influence, "working in them to will and to do of his good pleasure," yet leaving their free agency unimpaired. It is clear, therefore, that the decrees of God do not interfere with the free agency of men.
It has been too generally admitted, I cannot but think, by Calvinists, that we cannot reconcile the doctrines of Divine Decrees and Free Agency. It has been common to insist, that since both these doctrines are taught in the Scriptures, they are certainly true, and therefore consistent, and ought to be received, though we, with our limited powers and knowledge, cannot see how they harmonize. This position is certainly tenable; for there evidently are many things presented in nature and in revelation, which, as to the mode of their being, and as to their consistency with other things equally clear, are above human comprehension. But it is not wise to admit even an apparent inconsistency in the doctrines under consideration, unless truth and candor require it.
Now I cheerfully admit, that there is in this general subject something to us incomprehensible; but I insist, and am prepared to prove, that the difficulty lies, not against the points on which Arminians differ from us, but against those in reference to which they agree with us. That a mere purpose existing in the Divine Mind, not yet revealed or acted out, cannot interfere with the free agency of any one, is self-evident; for it brings no force of any kind to bear upon the mind. It is equally clear, that the mere certainty of a future event does not impair the freedom of those by whose agency it will be brought to pass. The certainty that Cyrus would take Babylon, did not interfere with his free agency in planning and executing his wars. The certainty that Peter would deny his Lord, did not interfere with his liberty and accountability in that act. On this point, as we have seen, Rev. Richard Watson precisely agrees with us. If, then, the free agency of men is destroyed, this is done not by the Divine purposes abstractly considered, nor by the certainty of the events decreed, but by the influences by which those purposes are fulfilled. But all the purposes of God concerning men, are fulfilled either by his particular providence or by the renewing and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. The question; therefore, concerning the consistency of Divine Decrees and Free Agency, as already remarked, resolves itself into the two following questions, viz: 1. Can God exercise over men a particular providence without interfering with their freedom? 2. Can he renew and sanctify the hearts of men without impairing their liberty? The first of these questions Rev. John Wesley, the father of Methodism, answers in the affirmative, as we have already shown, strongly insisting upon the doctrine of a particular providence over all men and things. And Rev. Richard Watson contends for the renewing influence of the Holy Spirit. Precisely at this point the difficulty occurs. Let any one explain to