bly say, "He hath fore-ordained ditional. The divine threatenings whatsoever comes to pass." This are conditional; but this is not accords with reason and scripture. In eternity God concerted his great plan of operation, which comprises all things and events that ever did or ever will exist.This must be true, if he is an allperfect being. To say that God has not laid a plan of his own universe, and fixed and arranged all things in it, is virtually to pronounce him imperfect. For to undertake any work without a previous design, demonstrates the imbecility of the undertaker. The man who does this, is charged with folly by his fellow men, and the charge is just. It must, then, be highly arrogant to impute such weakness and folly to the blessed God. It must be blasphemous to maintain that he acts without a plan, or that if he has one, it is not as extensive as his works, but leaves many things to some future arrangement,or rather leaves them buried in the depths of uncertainty. God is the universal designer. His purposes include all his own conduct, all the conduct of all his creatures, and all things and events in the universe. For an inspired apostle saith that "of him, and through him, and to him, are all things ;" and that he ❝ worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." In these passages, the universality of his decrees, as well as of his agency in their execution, is taught with the utmost plainness. true of any of the divine purposes. God threatened to destroy Nineveb, unless its inhabitants should repent. This condition, though not expressed, was implied, and was understood to be, both by Jonah and the Ninevites, as appears from their words and actions. The execution of the threatening depended on the conduct of the people, and in this sense the threatening was conditional. But though God threatened to overthrow the city in forty days, he had not decreed to overthrow it at that time, but to spare it. And this decree contained the means of its preservation, which were the repentance and amendment of the people.Accordingly, they did repent, and the impending evil was averted. Here, both the end and the means necessary for its attainment, were included in the decree, which rendered it unconditional. The same holds true of all the decrees of God. Were he to fix on a certain end, without fixing on the means necessary to be used by others to bring it to pass, the end would be brought to pass, or it would not, according as those means should happen to be used or neglected. This would render the decree conditional, and its execution uncertain. But since the decrees of God are universal, or extend to all events, they include in every case, both the end, and the means necessary to secure it. kes them all uncondi 3. The decrees of God are uncon- And tional. They insure the existence the operations of his hand necessarily harmonize with this his good"He cannot deny himself." ness. He cannot do any thing inconsistent with his moral rectitude. Hence, his decrees, which flow from his holy and benevolent heart, must be holy and benevolent decrees. The perfect, unchanging goodness of God always leads him to do all the good he can in time and eternity. And the same goodness led him from everlasting, to decree to do all this good. He formed all his decrees with an ultimate view to his own glory, which is the most noble and excellent end that he could choose and pursue. And in executing them, he will accomplish this end, he will make the brightest and most perfect displays of all the attributes and perfections of his nature, and thus insure the endless existence of the of all those second causes and instruments, which are requisite to the complete attainment of the great object that God has in view, in all his works. In this connection, it may be remarked, that the divine decrees being unconditional and unchangeable, will all be executed. Of this there is an absolute certainty. For he, who formed them, is both able and willing to execute them all. Although God's enemies mean not to act for him, but for themselves; yet he has them entirely under his control, and makes all their efforts to accomplish their own designs, subserve the accomplishment of his. He employed Pharoah, Sennacherib and Judas, as well as Moses, Isaiah and Paul, to execute his purposes. And he forever causes all his foes, as well as all his friends, to promote their execu- greatest possible sum of good in Nothing can ever defeat the immense empire over which them. Hear what he himself he reigns. tion. saith on this subject, "The Lord The gospel reveals God's ever of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? 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. I will work, and who shall let it? I will do all my pleasure." 1 add, 4. That the decrees of God are benevolent. "God is love." His whole heart is impartial love, is pure disinterested goodness. And all the counsels of his will, and all lasting purposes, and represents him as making, through them, bright and glorious manifestations of himself to his intelligent creatures. To the Ephesians Paul writes, "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 Jesus Christ; to the intent that bly say, "He hath fore-ordained ditional. The divine threatenings The man who does this, is charged with folly by his fellow men, and the charge is just. It must, then, be highly arrogant to impute such weakness and folly to the blessed God. It must be blasphemous to maintain that he acts without a plan, or that if he has one, it is not as extensive as his works, but leaves many things to some future arrangement,or rather leaves them buried in the depths of uncertainty. God is the universal designer. His purposes include all his own conduct, all the conduct of all his creatures, and all things and events in the universe. For an inspired apostle saith that "of him, and through him, and to him, are all things ;" and that he 44 worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." In these passages, the universality of his decrees, as well as of his agency in their execution, is taught with the utmost plainness. are conditional; but this is not true of any of the divine purposes. God threatened to destroy Nineveb, unless its inhabitants should repent. This condition, though not expressed, was implied, and was understood to be, both by Jonah and the Ninevites, as appears from their words and actions. The execution of the threatening depended on the conduct of the people, and in this sense the threatening was conditional. But though God threatened to overthrow the city in forty days, he had not decreed to overthrow it at that time, but to spare it. And this decree contained the means of its preservation, which were the repentance and amendment of the people.— Accordingly, they did repent, and the impending evil was averted. Here, both the end and the means necessary for its attainment, were included in the decree, which rendered it unconditional. The same holds true of all the decrees of God. Were he to fix on a certain end, without fixing on the means necessary to be used by others to bring it to pass, the end would be brought to pass, or it would not, according as those means should happen to be used or neglected. This would render the decree conditional, and its execution uncertain. But since the decrees of God are universal, or extend to all events, they include in every case, both the end, and the means necessary to secure it. 3. The decrees of God are uncon- And this makes them all uncondi tional. They insure the existence the operations of his hand necessarily harmonize with this his goodness. "He cannot deny himself." He cannot do any thing inconsistent with his moral rectitude. Hence, his decrees, which flow from his holy and benevolent heart, must be holy and benevolent decrees. The perfect, unchanging goodness of God always leads him to do all the good he can in time and eternity. And the same goodness led him from everlasting, to decree to do all this good. He formed all his decrees with an ultimate view to his own glory, which is the most noble and excellent end that he could choose and pursue. And in executing them, he will accomplish this end, he will make the brightest and most perfect displays of all the attributes and perfections of his nature, and thus insure the endless existence of the execute of all those second causes and instruments, which are requisite to the complete attainment of the great object that God has in view, in all his works. In this connection, it may be remarked, that the divine decrees being unconditional and unchangeable, will all be executed. Of this there is an absolute certainty. For he, who formed them, is both able and willing to them all. Although God's enemies mean not to act for him, but for themselves; yet he has them entirely under his control, and makes all their efforts to accomplish their own designs, subserve the accomplishment of his. He employed Pharoah, Sennacherib and Judas, as well as Moses, Isaiah and Paul, to execute his purposes. And he forever causes all his foes, as well as all his friends, to promote their execu- greatest possible sum of good in tion. Nothing can ever defeat the immense empire over which them. Hear what he himself he reigns. saith on this subject, "The Lord The gospel reveals God's everof hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? 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. I will work, and who shall let it? I will do all my pleasure." 1 add, 4. That the decrees of God are benevolent. "God is love." His whole heart is impartial love, is pure disinterested goodness. And all the counsels of his will, and all lasting purposes, and represents him as making, through them, bright and glorious manifestations of himself to his intelligent creatures. To the Ephesians Paul writes, "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 Jesus Christ; to the intent that now unto the principalities and from his own experience, that he is a percipient, rational being ?-that he has thoughts and desires, and that he forms designs? that he loves and hates? and in short, that he acts voluntarily or as he chooses to act in view of motives? And does he not know, therefore, that he has as much moral freedom as he could possibly have, if no divine purpose had ever been formed respecting him? The truth is, that the decrees of God, instead of destroying, or in the least impairing men's freedom, do secure it. For to be the proper 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." Upon the whole, it is manifest that the decrees of God are most holy and benevolent; and that in executing them, he will display all his glory, and cause as much good, as much boliness and happiness to exist forever in the creation, as his infinite wisdom and goodness, clothed with omnipotent power, can produce. 1. It appears from the preced- subjects of moral government, ing remarks, that all objections to the decrees of God, are groundless. One grand objection often made to them is, that they deprive men of moral freedom, and turn them into machines. But this is manifestly untrue. Moral freedom consists in acting voluntarily or from choice in the view of motives. Now, mankind are conscious that they do thus act, and hence are conscious that they are free moral agents. A machine is something that neither thinks, nor reasons, nor wills, nor loves, nor hates, nor acts at all. It may, indeed, be moved by the application of external force; but is it self senseless, motionless, lifeless matter. Now, if it can be proved that the decrees of God do turn man into such a thing as this, then it may be proved that they destroy his moral freedom, and turn him into a machine. But what is the fact? Does not every person know and spreads through his holy king men must possess moral freedom. But God has made mankind the subjects of such government, and intends that they shall be the subjects of it as long as they exist.-It is therefore, one of his eternal purposes, that they shall be free forever. How false and absurd, then, is the objection to God's decrees, that they destroy human freedom, when they do in fact establish it and render it permanent and durable as the everlasting pillars of his throne! No less fallacious and absurd are all the objections that are ever brought against his decrees. For it has been shown that they are the genuine expressions of his boundless benevolence; that they are perfectly wise and good; and that they lie at the foundation of all those transcendent displays which he makes of his glory, and of all that blessedness which he creates |