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34

COD'S ELI4GT1ON OF MEN

;

IN

CHRIST

JE8trs:

(sERM

2Ia

think.it

proper

sometimes to

mention it

on

special occa-

sions,,

as

:part,

of

tl)e

counsel

of God

toward

our

salva-

tion.

Remark

II.

However

this

doctrine

may

be

opposed

by the

reasonings

of

men,

and even ridiculed

ley

a

bold

jest,

yet..

it

t

aetn

appear

to

be

a

divine

truth,

as

the

scriptures

now

:

fieein

to

teach

us,

the

blessed.

God

will

not

be

ashamed

of

it

in

the_

last

great

day

;

then

shall he

unfold

all

the scheme

of

his

original counsels,

and spread

abroad

his

iyansactions.

toward mankind, before

the face

of

all

his

intelligent

creatures.. Rev.

xx.

12.

"

When

the

judgmentshall

be set,

acid

the

books shall be

opened,"

that

is,

the

hook

of divine

laws,

and

the

several dispen-

sations

of

grace,

as well

as

the book

of

divine records,

wherein the

lives

and

actions

of

men were

written

down,

there

shall,

also.,aEl

they,

book

be

openerk even the book

of

life

:

And as

those former

books

compared together,

viz.

the

records

of

the

behaviour

of

men,

whether

good

or

evil,

compared

with

the

laws

and

dispensations

of

God,

shall

shew

the equity

of

the

great Judge

in his

re,

wards

and

punishments;

so the Lamb's book

of

life,

wherein the names

of

his

people

were written down as

elected

in

Christ, before the world began, shall discover

the

blessed

correspondence

between

the

final

sentence

of

happiness pronounced

on holy believers,

and the ori-

ginal

grace

of God

which

chose

them in

Christ

Jesus

unto faith and

holiness,

and secured this happiness for

them.

A

glorious harmony

of

divine wisdom, grace,

and

providence

!

I

cannot

think,

that

any

of

the

cavils

of wit

against

this doctrine

will

stand before the light

of the

great

tri-

bunal. Banter

and ridicule

of

electing

love,

and

of

the

names

written

in the book

of

life,

'however they

may be

applauded

in

a

degenerate

age, will

meet

with

no

applause

before that trelner

dous

appearance.. Every mouth

shall

be

stopped,

the righteousness

of

God

shall

be

cleared

from

every

imputation, the

grace

of

Godshall

be glori-

fied

in

all

his

chosen ones in

that

day,

and Christ shall

be admired

in

all

his

saints.

But

this

leads

me to the

third remark:

Remark

III.

The

whole chain

and.

current

of our sal-

vation, from the beginning to

the

end,

arises

and

proceeds

all

the

way

from

the

:free

grace

of

God, through

the

1