AN ESSAY. 501 loved thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, therefore he chose their seed after them: Bot in truth, according to tins doc- trine, he loved them because they were thefittest for his love, and God could not do otherwise ; and he chose them and their seed, because he could make no other choice. Dent. xxi. 5. The priests the sons of Levi, the Lord thy God path chosen to minister unto him; that is, because he saw such a superior fitness in the sous of Levi, that he could not chose any other tribe. 1 Sam. x. 24. *God chose Saul to snake him a king, but lie was de. termined tó it by the superior fitness of this choice. Ps. cxxxii. 13. The Lord bath chosen Sion, he hath desired it for his habitation; that, is, beeause he saw it so fit, that he could not chuse any other dwelling in that age. 1 Cor. i. 27. God bath chosen thefoo/ish things of this world, and the weak things, and things that are despised. It is true, he gives a reason for it, viz. that he might confound the wise, &c. but then it is plain, he could not have chosen the wise, the mighty and the honourable. 1 Thess. ii. 13. God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation ; that is, because it was suprediely fit, that he could not pass you by without chusing you. I-Iow frequent-is the ex- pression in scripture of God's _chusing this or that person or thing, this or that family or nation, for particular purposes in his providence and grace ? And it is represented still as a matter of free favour : But according to this interpretation, there is no true liberty of choiceor free mercy in all these things, since there was such a superior fitness on that side, that it was not pos- sible for God to have determined or chose otherwise. But let us proceed to someother texts. Eph. ii. 4. God who is rich in mercy, for hisgreat love wherewith he loved us, hath quickened us together with Christ : But according to this opinion, he could not possibly have loved the Ephesians less than he did, nor let them go on in their death of trespasses and sins without quickening grace. 1 Tim. i. 10. I was before a blasphemer and a. persecutor, saith St. Paul, but I obtained mercy and the grace of God, was exceeding abundant. But this opinion would interpret the words, that God could not with- hold mercy from me, and therefore I obtained it : and the grace of God was exceeding- abundant to me, because it was not possible it should have been less. Rom. ix. 23', 21. That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy not -of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles: But this opinion obscures these riches of glorious grace, by chewing that God could chuseno other vessels of mercy but the 'Jews of old time, and the Gentiles afterward, and in that proportion in which he chose them. Rout. x. 20. Isaidh grows very bold and saith, Iwasfound of them that sought me. not ; that is, God was ne- cessarily determined by the superior and antecedent fitness of thing s to be found of those who never sought him. t i 3
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