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hand to the feed of the houfe of Jacob, or engaged himself by covenant to be their God. The prophet Zechariah ftyles God, (f) the Lord who hath chofen Jerufalem, and fpeaketh of a time when he fhall yet comfort Zion, and fhall yet choofe Jerufalem; and Daniel of a time when, of ixλexToi gutoũ, (t) his elect fhall not be able to ftand before their enemies.

And to carry on this phrafe through the times of the Old Teftament, in the book of Efther we are told of a time in which to yévos inλentov, (u) the chofen generation fhould have perifhed, i. e. in which the wicked Haman defigned to cut off the Jews. And in the book of Ecclefiafticus we are informed that (x) Joshua was made great, inì owτnpia Twv inλentãy givTou for faving the elect of God, that he might fet Ifrael in their inheritance.

Thus have I traced this phrafe through the Old Testament, and shewed that it belongs not to particular perfons but to the whole Jewish nation; to the bad, as well as to the good among them; to them to whom he threateneth the worst of evils, as well as them to whom he promises the greatest bleffings.

SECTION III.-When in the New Teftament it is applied to chriftians, it plainly doth include as many as were converted to the chriftian faith For,

1. When it is applied to the Jewish converts it plainly fignifies all that had been converted to the chriftian faith; thus when St. Peter writes to thofe of the difperfion (who had obtained like precious faith with them) living in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Afia (minor) and Bithynia: He faith to them all, (y, ye are yέvos inλentov, an elect generation, a royal priefthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye might shew forth the praifes of him that hath called you from darkness into his marvellous light; all which are the very titles given to the whole Jewish nation in the Old Teftament. Now fince St. Peter could not affirm of all these chriftians, without a revelation, that they were elect, according to that fense of the word, which makes it to import, men abfolutely defigned for eternal happiness, he only muft affirm this of them all, because they all profeffed chriflianity, and fo were visible members of the church of Chrift; as will be farther evident if we consider these particulars.

1. That he exhorteth these elect (2) not to fashion them. felves according to the lufts of their former ignorance; (a) to lay afide all wickedness, deceit, envy, hypocrify, and_evil fpeaking; as frangers and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly

(S) Chap. iii. 2.-(t) Dan. xi. 15.; (u) Efth. xvi. 21.—(x) Chap. xivi, 1.~~~ -(y) 1 Pet. ii. 9. —(z) i Pet. i. 14.--(a) Chap.

ii, 1, 11.

And more too. Were not those cleaked to the means of Grace, who rejected the Gospel. All mutions to the Holy Graft feet the Apostles, qualid by th

lufts which war against the foul; (b) not to spend the rest of their time according to the lufts of men ; (c) to be careful that none of them did fuffer as a murderer or thief; which are offences not incident to men elected to falvation, whilst they continue so to be..

2dly. That the apoftle affirmeth the fame thing of the whole church of Babylon, faying (d) the church which is at Babylon, GUVERNEXT, elected together with you, faluteth you. Now that all the members of that great church at Babylon, be it eastern or western, were chofen out of the world to the profeffion of christianity, and in that fenfe elected, he who was with them could not be ignorant, but that they all were abfolutely elected to falvation, was more than he could know.

adly. That whereas this epiftle is infcribed to the elect; the fecond epiftle, fent to the fame perfons, beginneth thus, (e) to them who have obtained like precious faith with us; and it not only speaks of fome who had forfaken the right way, and had gone aftray, turning with the dog to the vomit, but alfo prophefies that thofe falfe teachers who brought in damnable doctrines, even denying the Lord that bought them, fhould make merchandize of fome of them.

Now

Laftly. Thefe words are plainly taken from Ifaiah xliii. 20, 21, where we read thus, I gave waters in the wilderness to water τὸ γένος μοῦ τὸ ἐκλεκτὸν, my cholen generation, my pecul iar people, purchased to fhew forth, ras aperas, my praife, which are the very words mentioned 1 Peter ii. 9. though it be unquestionable that the whole Jewish nation are ftyled God's chofen generation, and his peculiar people, it is as fure they were not all elected to falvation; we then may reafonably conclude, that the fame words applied by St. Peter to all these feveral chriftian churches, do not imply that all their particular members were elected to falvation, but only that they were all members of the church of Chrift,

And thus we read of the elect lady in St. John Ep. i ver. 1. and the elect fifter, ver. 13. that is, the chriftian lady, and fifter; and when St. James faith eλéro Beds, God hath chofen the poor of the world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom; his meaning is, that they were called out of the world to the profeffion of the faith, which, if they lived ac cording to it, would make them heirs of his heavenly king, dom; for the apostles in these epiftles writing to those nations which had been ftill accuftomed to this notion of the word, and were all ftyled the elect, must be fuppofed, when they wrote to them, to use the words of the Old Teftament in the fenfe in which they always understood them.

(b) Chap. iv. 2, 3.(c) Ver. 15.(d)Chap. v. 13.--(e) Chap.

ii. 1. XV. 22,

And in like manner when Chrift faith, (f) many are called but few chofen; these parables plainly relate to the Jews, as Theophylact well notes, and the import of those words is this, that though many of them were called by Chrift and his apof tles to faith in him, both in Judea and in the difperfions, yet few of them did or would accept of him as their Savior, or embrace the faith of Chrift, as hath been fully proved, note on Mat. xx. 16. xxii. 14. fo that here the elect, and the believe ers of the chriftian faith are the fame perfons. When he faith Mat.xxiv. 22, that for the elect fake thofe days fhall be fhortened: He fyles τους πίςες τοῦς ἐν μέσοις ἀπολελειμμένες αὐτοῖς, the faith. ful left in the midst of the unbelieving Jews, the elect faith Chryloftom for the elect fake thefe days fhall be shortened, that is, faith Jerom, ne temporum morâ fides concutiatur credentium, left by the length of thefe tribulations the faith of believers fhould be fhaken. See the note on the fame words, Mark xiii. 20. When he adds, ver. 24. that the falfe Chrifts and falfe proph ets fhould do as much as in them lay by figns and wonders to deceive the elect; there alfo are we to understand the perfevering chriftians. See the note there. And when he faith, ver. 31. that then God fhould fend his angels to gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other; the meaning may be either that he would fend his angels, as Eufe bius and Epiphanius fay he did, to warn the chriftians in all quarters of Judea to gather themselves together, departing from the unbelieving Jews, that they might be preferved from their ruin; or that he would fend his meffengers with the found of the gofpel to gather together as many as did or would believe the gofpel from among the nations of the earth.

The elect, Luke xviii. 7. are alfo the whole body of true be-lievers; for otherwife, God's readinels to hear the prayers of his elect, could be no argument to chriftians in the general to pray always and not faint, ver. 1. moreover, that inquiry, when the fon of man cometh fhall he find faith on the earth, ver. 8. fhews that even the faith of many of these elect would fail.

The election according to grace mentioned Rom. xi. 5. doth in like manner fignify the whole body of the Jewish converts, even all that did embrace the chriftian faith, and were not hardened in, or blinded by their prejudices and infidelity; as is apparent from the following words, ver. 7. de Eudoyǹ inéroxey the election hath obtained but the reft were blinded and as it is not eafy to conceive how the apostle fhould know how all the Jewish converts fhould be abfolutely elected to falvation, fo is it evident from the epiftles that he and others of the apostles knew the contrary; for they contain plain inti,

(f) Matth. xx, 16. xxii. 14,

mations and frequent declarations that a great number of these Jewish converts turned afterwards apoftates and renounced the chriftian faith: That St. Paul was afraid that fome of these elect would afterwards draw back unto perdition, and never doubted but they might do fo, is evident from all thofe exhortations he directeth to them in his epiftle to the Hebrews, not to do so, and from the direful judgments he threateneth to as many of them as fhould apoftatize; for thus he speaks, (g) fee to it brethren, left there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another day by day that none of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of fin; for we are made partakers of Chrift, only on this condi tion that we hold the beginning of our confidence Readfast to the end. Again, (h) Jeeing there remains a reft for the people of God, let us labor to enter into that reft, left any man fall after the fame example of unbelief; for (i) it is impoffible to renew them to repentance who have been once enlightened, and have tafted of the spiritual gift, and have been partakers of the holy ghoft, and have tafted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, and yet fall away; (k) look therefore diligently, left any man fall from the grace of God, left there be any root of bitterness fpringing up among you whereby many be defiled; (1) caft not therefore away your confidence which hath great recompence of reward; for the just Jhall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my foul, faith God, fhall have no pleasure in him. Moreover that many of them would do fo, our Savior prophefied, faying, (m) because iniquity fhall abound, the love of many will wax cold; even that love which was once fervent, and in which, enduring to the end, they would be faved; and that many of them did thus apoftatize, or fall away to perdition, hath been fully proved, note on 2 Theff. ii. 3. From all which things it is extremely evident that the apostle neither did nor could speak of this remnant according to the election of grace, as perfons abfolutely elected to falvation.

The purpose of God according to election, mentioned Rom. ix. 11. refpecteth not the perfons of Jacob and Efau, but their whole nation and pofterity, according to the note of Iræneus, (n) partum Rebecca prophetiam fuisse duorum populorum. This is plain,

ft. From the words of God to Rebecca, two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people Shall be feparated from thy loins, and the one people shall be stronger than the other, and the elder fhall ferve the younger.

-(b) Heb. iv. 9. 11.

-(i) Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6. (k) Heb. xii. 15.—(1) Heb, x. 35, 38, (m) Mark xxiv. 12, 13.

(g) Heb. iii. 12, 13,'14.

—(n) L. 4. c. xxxviii,

adly. From this obfervation, that as to the perfons of Efau and Jacob this was never true, that the elder did ferve the younger, but only as to their pofterity; when the Edomites" became tributaries to David. 2 Sam. viii. 14. And,

3dly. Becaufe what is here offered as a proof or confirmation of this, is cited from the prophet Malachi, who prophefied long after Jacob and Efau were dead perfonally, and fpeaks exprefsly of the nation of the Edomites.

Now hence it clearly follows that the apoftle cannot here difcourfe of any perfonal election of them to eternal life, or any abfolute love or hatred of them with refpect to their eternal interefts; for if fo, feeing he manifeftly fpeaks of the whole nation of Ifrael, they muft, according to this opinion, be all elected to eternal life; whereas the apoftle informs us, that God was not well pleafed with many of them, and the whole Jewish history fhews the contrary. Again, then ufuft the whole pofterity of Efau be the objects of God's hatred and his reprobation; which is fo far from being true, that holy Job and all his friends appear to have been of the pofterity of Efau. It is therefore certain, that the apostle here only fpeaks of the election of one feed and nation before another, to be accounted and treated by him as the feed of Abraham, or owned for his peculiar people.

And whereas the apostle allo speaks of veffels of mercy, prepared for glory; as they were thus prepared by their faith, fo were they veffels of mercy, even both Jews and Gentiles by being called, ver. 24. and by their being made his people, hist beloved, ver. 25.

When then the fame apoftle faith, who fhall lay any thing. to the charge of God's elect; here again the elect and true be . X lievers are the faine; and God having juftified them through faith in him that died for them, who can charge them with guilt in order to their condemnation ? in Baptism

i.c.

And fuitable to this notion of the word election, where it refpects the Jewish nation, or the Jewish converts, is the import of it in thofe epiftles; where whole nations, communities or churches are ftyled the elect.

Thus, v. g. all the faithful brethren in Coloffe, are ftyled the elect of God (o) and yet to thefe elect he promiseth the bleffings of chriftianity, only if they continued (p) rooted and grounded in the faith, and were not moved away from the hope of the gospel; (g) and he expreffeth both his care and fear, left they fhould be deceived and robbed of their reward, and calls upon them to (r) mortify their flefhly lufts, as being things which would pull down the wrath of God upon them.

(a) Chap. iii. 12. -(p). Col. i, 23.--(q) Chap, ii, 4, 8, 18,Chap. iii. 5, 7, 8.

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