under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea." But, notwithstanding this, (as he proceeds to point out) "with many of them God was not well-pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted; neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; . . . . neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three-andtwenty thousand; neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents; neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things (he adds) happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come;" and thence he deduces the great general conclusion, "Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." Let not the Christian, that is, though he is one of God's peculiar and favoured people, as the Israelites were of old, flatter himself that he is chosen, any more than

they were, to the absolute attainment of a final blessing, but only to the offer of it, together with the privileges and advantages which will enable him to attain it: let him not doubt that the option is left to him, as it was to them, of securing or forfeiting his ultimate reward: let him learn from the example of the Israelites, that neither his promised inheritance is infallibly secured to him without obedience, nor he himself absolutely secured in the requisite obedience, without any watchfulness on his part; since the far greater portion of those whom God brought out of Egypt never reached the promised land.a

It is worth remembering, that the system just described is the same with that pursued in the ordinary course of God's providence also: a man's being born, for instance, heir to great wealth, to high rank,-or to a kingdom,-of a healthy constitution,-or of superior abilities, does not depend on himself; but it does depend on himself whether such advantages as these

"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterwards destroyed them that believed not."-Jude 5.

shall prove a blessing to him, by his making a right use of them, or shall aggravate his condemnation, through his ill-employment or neglect of them.

He then who diligently looks to the analogy both of God's ordinary dealings with man, and of his former dispensation to the Jews, and who carefully interprets the New Testament by the Old, will be enabled, I think, to clear up the greater part of a difficulty which has furnished matter of dispute among Christians for many centuries. By contemplating the correspondence between the Jewish and the Gospel-schemes, he will clearly perceive that there is no such distinction among Christians as the "Called" and the uncalled, the "Elect" and the non-elect ;that the Gospel itself is a call to all who have heard it; and that those who, instead of obeying it, wait for any further call, are deluded by the father of lies, who is watching for their destruction. He will perceive, that though all born in a Christian country, and initiated into Christ's Church, are arbitrarily elected to this invaluable privilege, their salvation is not arbitrary, but will depend on the use they make

of their privileges; those, namely, to which all Christians are called,-the knowledge of the Gospel, the aids of the Holy Spirit, and the offer of eternal life; privileges of which all are exhorted, but none compelled, to make a right use; and which will prove ultimately either a blessing or a curse to each, according to the use he makes of them.

When it is contended, however, that the term "Elect," or that any other scriptural expression, is to be interpreted in this or in that sense, this must be understood, in reference to the particular passages in question, or to the generality; -not, as implying that no other sense is any where admissible, and that if the explanation given be correct, it must hold good in every passage where the word occurs. For instance, when the Apostles address their converts universally as the " Elect," or "Chosen" of God, (even as the whole nation of Israel were of old his Chosen) this must be understood of their being chosen out of the whole mass of the Gentiles, to certain peculiar privileges, unknown to successive generations of their ancestors, but of which they were called and invited to avail

themselves. But our Lord applies the word differently in the parables of the labourers of the vineyard, and of the marriage-feast. The wedding, He tells us, was furnished with guests by an indiscriminate collection of all that could be found in the highways; but the guest who refused to put on the wedding garment, was "cast into the outer-darkness;"" for many," he adds, " are called, but few chosen;" many, that is, are "called" to the enjoyment of high privileges, but few make such a use of the advantage as to be finally "chosen ;" not, in this instance, (as the word is more commonly employed) chosen to a privilege merely, but to ultimate reward ;—chosen as having rightly availed themselves of that privilege;-selected from among the faithless and disobedient to "enter into the joy of their Lord." Not that in these cases the word "chosen" is used in different meanings, but that its application is different; both parties are, in the same sense, "chosen;" but the things to which they are chosen are different; and there is a corresponding difference in the principles on which the choice is conducted.

e

e See "Elements of Logic." Fallacies, Ch. iii. § 10.