ipture system of Christiin in acknowledging to be in it is, that scripture declares great mystery, founded on the ine of a trinity of persons in one in particular in God (one of these anifested in the flesh, and so become Tom whom this mysterious system has reits appellation.* It declares, further, that salvation of man is a pre-concerted scheme of ve and mercy,t by the eternal covenant in and of Jehovah, not with, but for man; and it expresses, in terms sufficiently adequate to our weak capacities, the several parts which the Three Great Ones, and man too, as the happy object of all, have to act in this blessed scheme, as it is compendiously delineated by a venerable father of the primitive Church, good old Iræneus, of Lyons:-" The Spirit operating, the Son administering, the Father approving, man consummating unto salvation." And again "The Father well pleased, the Son administering and forming, the Spirit nourishing and increasing, man himself gradually profiting and attaining towards perfection."‡ Such is the scripture representation of this beautiful plan.

No Christian, it is presumed, denies either the omniscience or omnipotence of the Divine Being, or that all things both in heaven and earth are under his controul and direction. But, allowing that God does in some sense decree things, will it follow from thence that his decrees are of that absolute kind, as to exclude all contingency of human *Acts xi. 26. † Titus i. 2. Book iv. cap. 37, and 75.

contradiction between his language and that of St. Paul is to be attributed.

The deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt has been called redemption; and has been thought not only analagous to, but typical of, the great re demption wrought by the death of Christ, upon the footing of the Apostle's application ; where, after telling those he wrote to, that all our fathers were baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ—he immediately adds, “but with many of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness." Now here is an exact parallel of the case before us. Here is universal redemption, and but partial salvation; the causes of which are specified (verse 7, 8, 9, 10) And to bring all home to our Christian case, the Apostle twice (verse 6, 11) calls these things types to us; and says "they were written for our admonition," with this particular view among others, that he who "thinketh he standeth, might take heed least he fall." Can any one desire a clearer illustration of the subject in hand, or wish for a more satisfactory solution of this difficulty, so artfully raised about universal redemption, than the draught which the Apostle has here laid before us? But the misfortune is, that a prevailing attachment to systems of modern composition has brought on, I shall not say a total rejection, but at least a strange *Exod. vi. 6; Deut. vii. 8. +1 Cor. x. 1, et seq.

forgetfulness of the scripture system of Christianity, which yet all join in acknowledging to he the true one. Certain it is, that scripture declares Christianity to be a great mystery, founded on the mysterious doctrine of a trinity of persons in one Jehovah; and in particular in God (one of these persons) manifested in the flesh, and so become Christ, from whom this mysterious system has received its appellation.* It declares, further, that the salvation of man is a pre-concerted scheme of love and mercy,t by the eternal covenant in and of Jehovah, not with, but for man; and it expresses, in terms sufficiently adequate to our weak capacities, the several parts which the Three Great Ones, and man too, as the happy object of all, have to act in this blessed scheme, as it is compendiously delineated by a venerable father of the primitive Church, good old Iræneus, of Lyons:-" The Spirit operating, the Son administering, the Father approving, man consummating unto salvation." And again: The Father well pleased, the Son administering and forming, the Spirit nourishing and increasing, man himself gradually profiting and attaining towards perfection." Such is the scripture representation of this beautiful plan.

No Christian, it is presumed, denies either the omniscience or omnipotence of the Divine Being, or that all things both in heaven and earth are under his controul and direction. But, allowing that God does in some sense decree things, will it follow from thence that his decrees are of that absolute kind, as to exclude all contingency of human *Acts xi. 26. + Titus i. 2. Book iv. cap. 37, and 75.

events? Your decided positions on this subject are drawn from a conception, formed on a mysterious subject, beyond the reach of a finite understanding, and upon which man can know no more than God has been pleased to reveal. The only idea presented to my mind upon this subject is drawn from those facts recorded in sacred story, which authorise the conclusion, that some of God's decrees at least, are in a degree of subserviency to human actions. Striking facts of this kind occur in the case of Ahab,* in that of Hezekiah,† and in that of Nineveh; in all which cases the Divine decree was altered by the subsequent conduct of the party concerned in it. The case of Benhadad king of Syria, furnishes a striking specimen of the consistency of the foreknowledge of God with the contingency of human events. The prophet's answer to Hazael's enquiry respecting Benhadad's recovery, was this: "Go, and say unto him, thou mayest certainly recover; howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die." Means there were, which, had they been made use of, would certainly have effected the cure: God saw they would not be employed. In the case of St. Paul's shipwreck, which has been already mentioned, the certainty of escaping from it was connected with the possibility of the proper means not being made use of for that purpose; otherwise St. Paul's address to the sailors on the subject had been unnecessary; the means were made use of, and the crew consequently saved. If, Sir, from facts recorded in * 1 Kings xxi. 29, Jonah iii, 10,

Isaiah xxxviii. 5.

2 Kings viii. 10.

sacred story, we are authorised to say, that in some instances God has thought fit to make his decrees subservient to the actions of men, do we, as you suggest, thereby deny Him the right of a sovereign? Should not poor short-sighted mortals rather leave God to govern the world in his own way, without presuming to form any judgment upon his proceedings, further than He has been pleased to furnish documents for the purpose? So long as we keep to the letter of scripture, we tread on safe ground; when we speculate beyond it, we plunge into a depth which man has no line to fathom.

It is not denied, that when God pleases, He can direct the actions of wicked men to some particular purpose. We know that he both can and does. But as God has not been pleased to make man his counsellor, we therefore leave this business in his hands, confident, that a time will come when God will be justified in all his ways. We bow to what we cannot understand. In the words of the late Dr. Ogden, "silence suits with ignorance.”

But when, in page 73, you go further, and give the reader to understand, that God's positive decree so overrules human agency in the use of the means, as to render man a mere machine, I am bound to oppose such doctrine; because such doctrine is contrary to the whole tenor of scripture, where rewards are constantly promised to those who obey, and punishments denounced against those who do not. To bring forward proofs on this subject would be an endless undertaking; at the same time that it must be an unnecessary one for