short of destroying his freedom. Does Dr Fisk know, can he prove, that of beings who have thus the power to sin, any moral system could have been formed in which some of these beings would not use that power? Can he prove that the alternative presented to God in creation was not this; no moral system, or a system in which some of his subjects would abuse the high prerogative of freedom and rebel?" This is enough to show his opinion respecting the power of God to control by motives in regeneration. For if by motives God could infallibly bring back the depraved Peter and all other selected sinners, by motives he could in all cases have prevented the fall of spotless spirits.

God's "purpose," continues Dr Fitch, "was to confer on the beings composing his moral kingdom, the power of volition and choice, and to use the best influence God could use on the whole to secure the holiness and prevent the sin of such beings, who themselves, and not he, were to have immediate power over their volitions.-And it is still true that he desires their obedience,-and, without hindering the return of any, uses all the influence he can without sacrificing a greater good, to induce them to return."+ Now if there is any frankness in these expressions, their meaning must be, that God does as much by his Spirit for one as another; for if he does the best he can for all, he can do no more for a part. If there is any reservation made by such expressions as "on the whole," and "without sacrificing a greater good," nothing at all is said. If Dr Fitch means only that God does the best he can for each

says,

"We

consistently with the highest good of the universe, he says no more than the strongest advocate for efficiency would allow. And such a limitation of a universal proposition, designed to assert God's utmost efforts to recover independent beings, would not be fair. But he "Whatgoes on. ever degree or kind of influence is used with them, to favour their return to him, at any given time,—is as strongly favourable to their conversion as it can be made amid the obstacles which a world of guilty and rebellious moral agents oppose to God's works of grace." In a note he do not mean that these influences do not become more powerful at future times, [as knowledge increases, I suppose ;] but at each moment God is able to say, What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done?" Then surely he does as much by his Spirit for one as another according to the knowledge they possess: at all events he cannot absolutely control the mind by motives. The writer proceeds. "Human rebellion and wickedness-oppose obstacles to a work of grace in our world, and hindrances to salvation, which the God of grace cannot wholly overcome; and—the measures of grace now pursued-overcome those obstacles to a further extent than any other system of measures would do."+ He does "every thing to encourage and persuade them to return,— which he can do amid the obstacles opposed by their sins." "He could not effect more as a whole, to recover those who had destroyed themselves."§ God "desires from the heart that all men-comply;-brings all those kinds and all that degree of influence-upon each individual, which * 632. + 633. +634. § 621.

"The purpose of

"to gain whom in the And yet, (with what asks, "Why do given

a system of measures best arranged for the success of grace in a world of rebellion allows."* election" brings God into measures methods of his wisdom he can." consistency let others judge,) he sinners repent?-Does God use no influence and means to induce sinners?-Are these influences and means brought to bear alike on all nations and on all individuals?" If not, with what propriety could it be so often said, he does the best he can for all consistently with the general interest of holiness in our world?

According to Dr Fitch, God foresaw, not what he would do, either by efficiency or the absolute control of motives, but what the self-determining power would do if he created such beings and placed them under such a system of government and grace; and that, antecedent, in the order of nature, to any design on his part even to create ; for this foresight of what the self-determining power would do if created, was the very motive which induced him to create and to bring forward such a system of government and grace; and this decision to create and to enter on such measures when he foresaw the result, was itself the decree of election,-was itself the predestination of all things, not excepting sin itself. Hear Dr Fitch. "God's foreknowledge of what would be the results of his present works of grace, [results proceeding neither from efficiency nor the absolute control of motives,] preceded, in the order of nature, the purpose to pursue those works and presented the grounds of that purpose. [The grounds therefore of † 638.

* 635.

+ 631.

creation; for the whole creation was comprehended in the plan of redemption. "All things were created by him, (Christ,) and FOR him."] Thus Peter, when writing to the brethren,-states-that through the calls of the Gospel-the Holy Spirit induced them to obey ;-and in this very way, according to the foreknowledge of God, were they chosen to this happy state. Thus too Paul-refers to the fact that such persons are the called according to his purpose; and adds, as we should paraphrase the passage, For whom he did foreknow,' as the people who would be gained to his holy kingdom by his present works of grace, (in which result lay the whole objective motive for undertaking these works,) he did also,' by resolving on those works, 'predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son;' and by performing those works he calls, justifies, and glorifies. Foresight then of the good results in sinners redeemed, which the present measures of grace if pursued would secure, is asserted to precede the prospective election of them in the eternal purpose of God, and the accomplished election of them through the influence of the Spirit. The passages therefore, while they fully maintain a personal election made by God, contradict alone that idea of it which considers the selection of particular individuals as the first thing in the order of nature, and not as the foreseen result of God's using with a world of sinners the best means, (including the influence of the Spirit,) for their recovery." Thus their prospective election was only a determination to bring forward such a system of grace and persuasion, when it was foreseen who would be persuaded; * 622, 3.

and their accomplished election was only the bringing forward of the system with such foreknowledge. Hear him again. "God, foreseeing with certainty that Adam would freely act in that manner if created and placed on trial, did still determine to create him and place him on trial; and THUS determined that such an event [as the fall] should take place and in just such a manner. This certainly is predestination according to the counsel and foreknowledge of God.'"'* "In what sense are we to understand the

66

position that" God purposes the existence of sin? Not necessarily in the sense of his preferring its existence to its non-existence.—In affirming the doctrine of predestination, we affirm no more necessarily than that God, with the knowledge that these beings would sin in despite of the best measures of providence and government he could take, purposed to create them and pursue those measures, not for the sake of their sin, but for the good which he nevertheless saw it was possible to secure in his moral kingdom. This would be a purpose-to permit its existence rather than to have no moral system.-Nothing more, touching free agency, is implied in the purpose-than a certainty, foreseen of God, that if he creates and upholds that being, and pursues wise and good measures of providence,-the being will at a given time freely choose in a given manner."t "God then, for any thing that has been shown to the contrary, may have predetermined the existence of the sin which now takes place in his kingdom, not for the reason that he prefers sin-to holiness, but simply for this reason, that he chooses to do the most he can for the good +612, 13.

* 603.