18. Therefore hath he mercy, on whom he will have mercy; and whom he will, he hardeneth.

It clearly follows, that God hath a right (which he accordingly exerciseth) as well of justifying, and faving, what manner of perfons he pleaseth, as of rejecting whom he pleaseth; and confequently, that there is no unrighteousness in him, when he doth either.

19. Thou wilt fay then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath refifted his Will?

But if God reje&teth whom he pleaseth, it may be fome will demand, how cometh it to pass that he so frequently reproveth those whom he hath rejected, in as much as that Will of his, by which they are rejected, cannot be refifted by men? Are fuch things meet matter of reproof, which the perfons reproved cannot poffibly amend?

20. Nay but, O man, who art thou that replieft against God? Shall the thing formed fay to him that formed it, Why haft thou made me thus ?

For answer to this demand, I cannot but demand another thing of thee; whether it be meet that thou being a poor, weak, ignorant and finful creature, dwelling in an house of clay, fhouldft enter a contest against the moft holy, most righteous, and only wife God? If he doth find fault with those whom he hath rejected, oughtest not thou to reverence him, and prefume both wifdom and righteousness in this his way, although thou, through thy prefent ignorance, are not able to comprehend them? Is it reasonable that when a workman hath given being to any thing made by him, in fuch or fuch a form, that this thing fhould expoftulate with him about the fhape or form, wherein he hath made it? No more reason is there why finful men, who by fin have for feited their very beings, God fhould contend with or about the terms of that being, which he is graciously pleased to vquchfate unto them.

21. Hath

21. Hath not the Potter power over the clay, of the fame lump to make one veffel unto honour, and another unto dif

honour?

Doft thou, or any man of common understanding, deny unto an ordinary Potter a lawfulness of power over his clay, as if he might not without the violation of juftice, or equity, of the fame lump make one vffel for fervices, comely and honourable; another, for employments lefs honourable ?

22. And, what if God willing to fhew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long fuffering the veffels of wrath, fitted to deftruction?

23. And that he might make known the riches of his glory to the veffels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory? And if God fhall pleafe, for the manifeftation of his avenging power upon men prodigioufly finful, on the one hand, and on the other hand, to fhew how rich his bounty is towards thofe, whom by his long-fuffering he fhall bring to repentance, and fo prepare them beforehand (or before their death) for Salvation,; if he fall for thefe ends, endure with much long-fuffering obdurate finners, who are already, by a long-continued courfe in finning, fitted for deftruction; hath he not a right to do it? Hath any man any colour to blame his difpenfations? For otherwife than by enduring finful men with much long-fuffering, he hardeneth no man; nor is any man by this means fo hardened, but that he both might have prevented his hardening, by repentance; yea and all along the courfe of this hardening, have repented, and fo have prevented his deflruction. Neither is that Will of God, by which men are hardened, in any fuch fenfe irrefiflible, but that, had they been careful of the things of their peace, they might not only have efcaped all hardening, but even have recovered them.elves from under their greatest hardening. For the Will of God concerning the hardening of men, as appears by the manner of his hardening (viz. by enduring them with much tong-fuffering) is not abfolute, but conditional, not forcing,

not

not conftraining any man to become hardened, but only on a fuppofition of his own voluntary neglect of the gracious applications made by God unto him.

24. Even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but alf of the Gentiles.

Amongst thofe veffels of mercy, which God by his grace bringeth to repentance, and fo prepares for the glory of heaven, before he confers the fame upon them, are we, whom he hath effectually called, and prevailed with to believe in Jefus Chrift. Nor are we all, whom God hath thus made veffels of mercy, the children of Abraham by natural defcent, as the Jews, but many of us Gentiles by birth.

25. As he faith alfo in Hofea, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

26. And, it fhall come to pass, that in the place where it was faid unto them, Ye are not my people, there fhall they be called the children of the living God.

And that many of us, who are called into favour with God are Gentiles, is confonant with many prophetical predictions, and particularly that of the Prophet Hofea; where he exhibiteth God himself speaking to this effect, that when time fhould be, he would give the honour of being a people fpecially related to him, unto those who before had neither part nor fellowship therein. And again, that he would shew love to a people, on whom he had frowned before with great indignation. And yet once more, that in the land of Judea where, under the seventy years captivity, the people remaining were, efteemed by the nations round them, as a people forfaken by their God, they with their brethren returning from the captivity, and their pofterities, fhould be a Nation fo profperous and flourishing,that the world fhould acknowledge them for a people highly honoured of God. For though these paffages directly speak of that change which God promifed to make in the condition of the Jews, when it was

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very

very low; yet the fpirit of them import, that God actethr but like unto himfelf, when he makes fuch an alteration in the fpiritual flate of the Gentiles, that whereas they have been formerly a people in whom he took no delight, yet now he fhould look gracioufly upon them, place his holy name. among them, and take of them a people holy to himself.

27. Efaias alfo crieth concerning Ifrael, Though the number of the children of Ifrael be as the fand of the fea, a remnant Shall be faved.

28. For he will finish the work, and cut it fhort in righteouf nefs: becaufe a fhort work will the Lord make upon the earth.

29. And as Ifaias faid before, Except the Lord of Sabbath had left us a feed, we had been as Sodom, and been made like unta Gomorrah.

And if my countrymen object, that from my doctrine of Juftification by Faith, it followeth, that far the greatest part of them who reject this doctrine, must be excluded from the favour of God; they may remember, that neither is this any strange or new thing with God; I mean, to reject and caft out of his fight the main body of their nation. For Ifaias fpake it aloud in the ears of their forefathers, that though they were a nation populous above any other nation, yet God would make fuch havock of them by the Affyrians, that a very small number of them fhould efcape; in as much as he would make quick work with them. Yea, the fame prophet had informed them long before, that unless God, when Rezin King of Syria, and Pekah the fon of Remaliah, raged against them, and again when Shalmanezer made that fearful work among the ten tribes, had interpofed on their behalf, their defolation had been as univerfal as that of Sodom and Gomorrah.

30. What shall we fay then? that the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteoufnefs which is of faith.

31. But Ifrael, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

What

What now may we infer from God's word to Abraham, that in Ifaac his feed fhall be called; and that to Rebecca concerning her two fons, that the elder fhould ferve the younger? Doubtlefs this, that upon the Gentile world, though they little minded how they might be justified, yet this blessedness is come; they are juftified with that Juftification which is obtained by believing in Jefus Chrift. And on the other hand, that the Jews, who zealously pursued their own way of Juftification, were not juftified.

3. Wherefore? because they fought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law; for they ftumbled at the ftumbling Alone.

33. As it is written, Behold I lay in Sion a ftumbling flone, and rock of offence; and whofoever believeth on him fhall not be afhamed.

If you ask how is it that the Jews, who were fo diligent in the pursuit of a juftified state before God, did notwithstanding miscarry? my answer is, because they ran in a bye-way of their own, fancying that an observation of Mofes's law, would justify them. They were offended at the abafement of the Meffiah, upon this account difdaining and rejecting him, concerning whom God himself had given them warning, that he would raise up a person who would be despised and rejected of men; who notwithstanding fhould be a bleffed author of life and glory to all those who should receive him, by believ ing on him.

The LIFE of ARMELLE NICOLAS. (Wrote by her intimate Friend.)

ARMELLE NICOLAS was born the 19th of Septem

ber, 1606, in the parish of Compeneac, near the town of Ploermel, in the province of Bretany, in France. Her father's name was George Nicolas. Though but flen