seed), he might have seen that it was the per fection of his love to his wife that moved him to eat, so it was the perfection of the love of this seed that moved him to eat of the fruit of their eating, Is. xlii. 19, 20, 21; he might have seen that death was beginning to reign thro' his disobedience, so as he felt life beginning to reign; he might be sure that it was thro' righteousness, for grace reigns thro' righteousness; he might see that the obedience of that seed was already accepted; he might have seen, being his covenant was confirmed by a seal,

on earth. It is said indeed by the Apostle, that God would have all men saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth; i. c. as AUSTIN CONstantly with other scriptures explains the passage; "God will save some out of the whole race of mankind;" that is persons of all nations, kindreds, and tongues. Nay, he will save all men, i. e. as the same farther observes, "every kind of men, or men of every kind," namely, the election of grace, be they bound or free, noble or ignoble, rich or poor, male or female. Add to this, that it evidently militates against the majesty, omnipotence, and supremacy of God, to suppose that he can either will any thing in vain, or that any thing can take effect against his will. Therefore BUCER observes very rightly, add Rom. ix. "God doth not will the salvation of reprobates, seeing he hath not chosen them, neither created

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viz. the tree of life; he might have seen that there was some seal belonging to the seed's covenant also; he might have seen that as all his posterity had never died, had he kept that covenant; so he might have seen that the seed of the woman was secure in that seed; he might have seen, that this seed was before him, and was his creator, for he was made in his image; he might have seen that as he had brought in death, so this seed would bring the resurrection from the dead; he might

Consonant to which

created them to that end." are those words: of LUTHER, "This mightily offends our rational nature, that God should of his own mere, unbiased will, leave some men to themselves, harden them and then condemn them; but he has given abundant demonstration, and does continually, that this is the real case; name ly, that the sole cause why some are saved and others perish, proceeds from his willing the sale vation of the former, and the perdition of the latter, according to that of Paul, He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.

"God may, in some sense, be said to will the being and commission of sin, for was this contrary to his determining will of permission, either he would not be omnipotent, or sin could have no place in the world; which it could not have,

might have seen, that as all his posterity would bear the image of his disobedience, so all the body of that seed should bear the image of his righteousness; he might have seen, that as he and his should be sown in dishonor, the seed would raise it up in glory, in weakness; it should be raised up in power: he might have seen that it should be sown a natural body, it would be raised a spiritual body; he might have seen, that as all his must have been where he was, so all the body of

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if God willed otherwise, for who hath resisted his will, Rom. ix. 19. No one can deny that God permits sin, but he neither permits ignorantly nor unwillingly, therefore knowingly and willingly.

However, it should be carefully noticed,

1st, That God's permission of sin does not arise from his taking delight in it: on the contrary, sin as sin, is the abominable thing that his soul hateth; and his efficacious permission of it is for wise and good purposes. Whence that observation of AUSTIN,-God who is no less omnipotent, than he is supremely and perfectly holy, would never have permitted evil to enter among his works, but that he might do good even with that evil, i. e. overrule it for good in the end.

2d, That God's free and voluntary permission of sin, lays no man under any forcible or compulsive necessity of committing it; consequently,

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the seed should be where he was. I say, all these things he might have seen, and doubtless did in some measure. However, this doth greatly confirm it to us as well as manifest it. Rom. v. 15, For if through the offence of one man many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift of grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many; besides, we find that the same seal of that covenant made with Adam, did amplify and confirm that cove

the Deity can by no means be termed the author of moral evil, to which he is not in the proper sense of the word accessary, but only remotely or negatively so, insomuch as he could, if he pleased, absolutely prevented it.

We should therefore be careful not to give up the omnipotence of God, under a pretence of exalting his holiness; he is infinite in both, therefore neither should be set aside or obscured. To say that God absolutely nills the being and commission of sin, while experience convinces us that sin is committed every day, is to represent the Deity as a weak, impotent being, who would fain have things go otherwise than they do, but cannot accomplish his desire: on the other hand, to say that he willeth sin, doth not in the least detract from the holiness and rectitude of his nature; because, whatever God wills, as well as whatever

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nant of God in Christ to us, (not that it confirmed it in itself.) Rev. xxii. 1, And he shewed me a pute river of water of life, clear as chrystal; like that in Gen. ii. 1o, And a river went out of Eden to water the Garden. Rev. xxii. 23 And of either side of the river was there the tree of life. Gen. ii. 9, The tree of life also in the midst of the garden. As if the Lord should say, Notwithstanding all that the devil can or would do, by bringing in sin and death, the world by

per

he does, cannot be eventually evil; materially evil it may be; but, as was just said, it must ultimately be directed to some wise and just end, otherwise he could not will it, for his will is righteous and good, and the sole rule of right and wrong, &c. &c.

As God knows nothing now which he did not know from all eternity, so he wills nothing now which he did not will from everlasting.

This position needs no explanation nor enforcement, it being self-evident, that if any thing can accede to God de novo, i. e. if he can be at any time wiser than he always was, or will that at one time which he did not will from all eternity, these dreadful consequences must ensue,

1st, That the knowledge of God is not perfect, since what is absolutely perfect, non accipit magis et minus, cannot admit of addition or de

traction.