YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE
PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE
O P
ELECTION; OR
AN HISTORICAL INQUIRY
INTO THE
IDEALITY AND CAUSATION OF SCRIPTURAL ELECTION,
AS RECEIVED AND MAINTAINED IN
THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH OF CHRIST.

BY GEORGE STANLEY FABER, B. D.
in
MA3TER OF SHERBURN HOSPITAL AND PREBENDARY OF SALISBURY.
AUTHOR OP "DIFFICULTIES KOMANISM," " DIFFICULTIES OF INFIDELITY," ETC.

SM^

Id esse dominicum etyferugf; quo.d-ait.-pyu*HrafKt,iT" • id\autem extraneum et falsum,.
quod sit posterius immnmim^.Tertull. de PrrescripX^alflv. tyfr. § 11. Oper. p. 107.

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION.

NEW- YORK :
PUBLISHED BY CHARLES HENRY,
No. 124 Fulton Street.

1840.

PRINTED BV J. P. WRIGHT,
IS New street, N. T.

TO THE MEMORY OF
THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD,
WILLIAM VAN MILDERT, S. T. P.,
LATE LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM :
A MAN, WHOM TO KNOW WAS TO LOVE;
A DIVINE, WHOM TO CONVERSE WITH WAS TO BE INSTRUCTED;
A PRELATE, WHOM TO CONSULT WAS TO BE PRIVILEGED:
THIS WORK,
A LAST TOKEN OF GRATEFUL VENERATION,
MOURNFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY, IS INSCRIBED AND DEDICATED,
BY ITS AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

The reading with an eye to any one particular subject can
rarely be conducted, without its incidentally throwing a
light upon other subjects also. This, at least in Theology,
has certainly happened to be my own experience.
I. During a term of several years, circumstances, which
it is needless to specify, led. me to peruse pretty extensively
the Works of the early Antenicene Fathers, with the object
of ascertaining, through the medium of my own eye-sight :
Whether the doctrine of the Trinity and the allied doctrine
qf Christ's Essential Godhead could he clearly traced, as
the received and inculcated doctrines of the Catholic Church,
up to the very age qf the Apostles., For it struck me: that
those doctrines, if exhibiting the real mind of Scripture,
must have been held by Catholic Christians from the very
beginning ; and, conversely, that those doctrines, if not held
by Catholic Christians from the very beginning, could not
be reasonably viewed as exhibiting the real mind of Scrip
ture. II. My reading- for this purpose incidentally made me
better qualified, than I should otherwise have been, for
an historical examination of the Doctrinal Claims of Po-

PREFACE.

pery : and, when, by a respectable Anglican Laic, I was
called upon to perform that task with a special reference
to the garbled plausibilities of the Bishop of Strasburg, I
felt the less inclination to a refusal, because it had been
impossible for me not to observe ; that the peculiarities of
the Romish Church were mere comparatively modern inno
vations, and that they could not only not be traced up to the
apostolic age and the apostolic sanction, but that in numerous
instances they were even directly contradicted by the an
cient documents, of the Church Catholic.
III. The examination, here specified, led to the produc
tion of two Works, severally entitled The Difficulties qf
Romanism and The Apostolicity qf Trinitarianism.
1. Yet, while an examination of the early Fathers, for
the purpose of tracing the doctrines of Christ's Godhead and
the Holy Trinity up to the time and authority of the Apos
tles, thus led me to perceive the utter futility of the claims
of Popery : the same examination could not fail also to
shew me the insecure foundation, so far as historical testi
mony is concerned, upon which the three most commonly
received Systems of interpreting the language of Scrip
ture, respecting the doctrine of Election, have been by
their several votaries constructed.
• (1.) As I advanced in my researches, though for quite
a different purpose, Fwas struck with perceiving: that, in
the early writings of the Church, neither Calvinism nor
Arminianism nor Nationalism (if, for want of a better
name, I may so designate the System of Mr. Locke)
could, as Systems combining severally a well-defined

PREFACE. Vll
Scheme of causation with a well-defined Scheme of ideal
ity, be any where discovered*
We find, indeed, the Scheme of causation, which is com
mon alike to Calvinism and to Nationalism, occurring
in the oldest ecclesiastical documents that have come
down to us : and we also find the Scheme of causation,
which specially characterises Arminianism, prominent in
various writings subsequent to the time of Clement of Alex
andria, with whom that Scheme appears to have originated.
But, for the Scheme of ideality which is common alike
to Calvinism and to Arminianism, and for the Scheme of
ideality which is peculiar to Nationalism, we shall vainly
search the records of proper Antiquity : they were equally
unknown to that Church, which, either in a more or in a
less restricted sense, may justly be denominated Primitive.
Hence, I believe, it may be truly said : that, as Systems,
the three Systems in question were altogether unknown
to the Ancients.
(2.) Such, in brief, is the negative evidence afforded by
Ecclesiastical History.
But this negative evidence by no means constitutes the
whole amount of the testimony 'which has descended to us.
Positive evidence, as equally preserved by Ecclesiastical
History, is even still more, than negative evidence, decidedly
adverse t<5 each of the three Systems of Locke and of Cal
vin and. of Arminius. «
While, in the course of my researches, I was struck with
perceiving negatively, that, in the early writings of the
Church, not a vestige of those three Systems, as Systems,

vm .<* preface.
could be discovered: I was also struck with perceiving
positively, that yet a fourth ?System, essentially different
from all the three, in point either of ideality or of causa
tion or of both ideality and causation, was, by the ear
liest Church Catholic, received and delivered, as exhibiting
the true sense and manner in which the scriptural terms
Elect and Predestinate or Election and Predestination ought
to be explained and understood.
2. A statement of this description, of course, implies the
comparative modernness, and therefore real novelty, of any
System, except that, which, on competent evidence, can
legitimately claim to be primeval.
Hence, in reference to such modernness and such no
velty, I may perhaps be permitted to subjoin a few remarks
on the chronological origination of the three Systems at
present before us.
(1.) At what precise time, the System, now denominated
Arminianism, commenced, I am unable to say. It was re
ceived among the schoolmen, anterior to the age of the
Reformation : but, in point both of ideality and of causa
tion, it was utterly unknown to the strictly earliest
Church or the Church down to about the end of the second
century. (2.) As little am I able to specify the commencement of
the System which I have distinguished by the appellation of
Nationalism, if Locke were not its original author. Some
specious passages in its favour, by which I mean in favour
of its ideality, may doubtless be produced from -the
writings of the ancient Fathers, though Locke does not pro-

PREFACE. IX
fess to avail himself of their evidence : but, when these pas
sages are carefully examined, they will prove to give no
support to the System in question.
(3.) Calvinism, on the contrary, as that System is now
usually termed, has its commencement marked with an un
common degree of precision.
Wishing fairly to come to the bottom of the matter, and
well aware that Augustine had taught the System long be
fore the days of the celebrated Calvin, I employed my
first season of leisure in carefully perusing the whole Pela
gian Controversy of that eminent Father : during the course
of which, and specially toward the conclusion of which,
he is known to have copiously stated and to have vigour-
ously maintained the System now under consideration.
The result was precisely what I had anticipated from
my previous reading of the earlier Fathers.
When Augustine fully propounded his own views of Elec
tion and Predestination, he was immediately charged with
innovating upon the ancient doctrine of the Church, he was
assured by the complainants that they had never before
heard of such speculations, he was referred to the current
System of the existing Catholic Church, and he was chal
lenged to produce evidence that his new opinions had ever
been advanced as the mind of Scripture by any of his ec
clesiastical predecessors.
Nor was the matter thus taken up merely by the Pelagian
adversaries of Augustine : though, even if it had, since it
purely related to a question of fact, small was the real
consequence by whom it was taken up. The charge of un-
B

PREFACE.

authorised innovation was respectfully brought by persons,
who concurred with Augustine in his opposition to Pela-
gianism, and whose doctrine in regard to Original Sin and
Human Insufficiency and Divine Grace he himself acknow
ledged to be sound and correct.
Such, then, was the charge : and, as the charge rested
upon the allegation of a fact, it clearly could not be set
aside save by the process of shewing the allegation of the
fact to be altogether false and unfounded.
Of this, Augustine was conscious : and, being driven to-
a, reply, out of the whole mass of earlier ecclesiastical
writers he ventured only even to attempt to produce three.
These were Cyprian and Gregory-Nazianzen and Ambrose :
all, far too modern, even if they had been to his purpose ;
but all, either useless, or worse than useless, to him, in the
way of evidence, even comparatively modern as they were.
As for Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch, (adduced,
as they have recently been by Mr. Milner, in the capacity
of witnesses,) he does not appear so much as for a moment
to have imagined, that they could in any wise be made useful
to him in the way of testimony. Most important as they
doubtless would have been in the character of witnesses,
could they have been cogently and availably brought for
ward : Augustine passes them over, in total, though perfect-1,
ly intelligible, silence.
The charge, therefore, we may pronounce to be fully
established. In- point of fact, the System, now denominated Cal
vinism, was unheard of, until, at the beginning of the fifth

PREFACE. XI
century, it was first promulgated and defended by Au
gustine. Consequently, still in point of fact, the mere unauthori
tative private judgment of a single individual, who was
flourishing at the commencement of the fifth century, is the
sole ultimate basis upon which the System reposes.
3. What I have thus stated are mere historical facts,
negative or positive.
Negatively, the earliest Church knew nothing, systemati
cally, either of Arminianism, or of Calvinism, or of Nation
alism. Positively, the earliest Church recognised a System
essentially, in point of ideality, different from all three :
and this fourth System, by the very act of her recognition,
she viewed as exhibiting the true sense of Holy Writ.
But, while these facts, as facts, must in themselves
forever remain unaltered and unalterable, totally indepen
dent upon any Systems which man's private judgment may
excogitate : still, in the way of a necessary result from
established principles, we cannot avoid feeling that they
draw after them very important consequences.
In its application to the case of a Divine Revelation, the
canon of Tertullian propounds an eternal and necessary
verity. Whatever is first, is true : whatever is later, is adulterate.*
For, according to the explanation of his canon, as given
by Tertullian himself: That, which has been first delivered
* Id esse verum, quodcunque primum : id esse adulterum, quod-
cunque posterius. Tertull. adv. Prax. § 2. Oper. p. 405.

PREFACE.

or revealed to mankind, must be received as true and as
proceeding from the Lord: while that, which has been intro
duced at a later period, must inevitably, as such, be deemed
false and extraneous.*
In the matter of a Divine Revelation, it cannot be other
wise. Any new doctrine, unknown through the first com
munication from heaven, and introduced by some expositorial
speculatist subsequent to the day of that first communication,
cannot possibly rest upon authority higher than that of mere
human uninspired authority. It has, as Tertullian speaks,
been immitted, or let in, or introduced at a later period:
while yet it has been altogether unknown to those who
first received the very Revelation out of which it now at
length purports to have been extracted. Clearly, therefore,
it can be neither part nor parcel of the Divine Revelation
itself: because, if it had, it must have been familiarly known
and universally received from the beginning. Hence,
obviously, on sound principles of evidence, unless we be
magnanimously resolved to dogmatise against all evidence,
we stand compelled to reject the three several Systems of
Arminianism and Calvinism and Nationalism; inasmuch
as they were respectively unknown from the beginning,
and inasmuch as they were respectively the mere later
inventions of unauthorised theological speculatists.
Three Systems being thus disposed of, there remains
only a fourth for our consideration: I mean that which
* Id esse dominicum et verum, quod sit prius traditum : id autem
extraneum et falsum, quod sit posterius immissum. Tertull. de Pra?-
scription. advers. haeretic. §11. Oper. p. 107.

PREFACE. Xlll

History testifies to have been adopted by the Catholic
Church, in point both of ideality and of causation, from
the time of the Apostles down to the time of Clement of Al
exandria at the end of the second century.
Now, respecting this, on the same sound principles of
evidence, little, I think, needs to be said. If we receive
Christianity as a Divine Revelation, I see not how, consist
ently at least, we can reject that most ancient System which
synchronises with the authoritative delivery of the acknow
ledged Divine Revelation itself.
IV. I may, in conclusion, add yet a further matter, which
deserves the attentive notice both of those sound Protestants
who reject the fables of Popery, and of those sound
Trinitarians who reject the impieties of Socinianism,
severally on the rational score, that Such fables and such
impieties were unknown to, and unrecognised by, the Primitive
Church Catholic.
All who take this line of argument, must honestly carry
it throughout, or else altogether relinquish it as inefficient
and unsatisfactory : for, on no just principle, can a man be
allowed to pick and choose according to his own arbitrary
humour. 1. The Calvinist, for instance, who thus, that is to say,
from primitive antiquity, argues against Popery, while yet
he himself, regardless of primitive antiquity, retains his
Calvinism, must, from -any acute and well-informed Papist,
expect the speedy retort courteous.
If you, replies the Papist, object to my peculiarities, be
cause they are invisible and (as you say) sometimes even

XIV PREFACE.
contradicted in the. ancient documents of the Church
Catholic: what, on your own principle of reasoning, be
comes of your own Calvinism; inasmuch as it was un
known and unheard of before the time of Augustine ?
2. In like manner, the Arminian, who thus argues against
the impieties of .Socinianism, must be even content to hear
the same retort from the modern Humanitarian who re
nounces the doctrine of the Trinity.
If the Primitive Church, replies the Socinian, knew nothing
of my doctrine ; and if that be a solid reason for rejecting
it : truly the Primitive Church knew just as little of your
System of Election; and, therefore, that System must.be
rejected also.
3. But, on the contrary, let us take the solid ground of
Antiquity, as directed by the admirable canon of Tertullian ;
and we shall have taken a ground, rendered impregnable
by the inevitable deduction from historical testimony. I
say inevitable, not because some wrong-headed individuals
may not refuse to draw such a deduction, but because,
according to the dictates of right reason, such a deduction
cannot but be drawn from such premises.
Hence the general result will be: that The System of
Election, received and taught by the earliest Church of the
two first centuries, cannot fail to set forth the real sense of
Divine Revelation.
V. To prevent any misapprehension as to the nature and
object of the present Work, it may be proper, once for all,
to state : that, agreeably to its title, I wish it to be consid
ered, not as controversial according to the usual import II

PREFACE. XV
of the term controversial, but altogether as historically
inquisitorial. Doctrinal Accuracy is, at all times and in all cases, de
sirable : and, even on points which are so far open that they
involve not, either by their admission or by their rejection,
our eternal welfare, it is better to theologise correctly, than
to theologise incorrectly.
With a sole view, then, to Doctrinal Accuracy, and not
for the purpose pf what is called writing against any particu
lar class of opinions, I have instituted this Inquiry (and I
would have it deemed only an Inquiry) into the sentiments
of the Primitive Church, and, through the medium of those
sentiments, into the real mind of the holy revealed word of
God. Yet, in prosecuting such an Inquiry, it is obvious that the
Truth could not be ascertained without a collateral exhibition
and rejection of Error.
Nevertheless, since my researches lead me to esteem both
Arminianism and Nationalism and Calvinism, as alike,
though in different degrees, erroneous ; because they have
alike, though in different degrees, departed from the apostolic
judgment of the earliest Christian Antiquity : I may per
haps, if I can claim nothing else, at least hope fairly to
claim the praise of rigid and honest impartiality.
Sherburn-House, Dec. 6, 1834.

BOOK I.

THE NEGATIVE TESTIMONY OF HISTORY IN REGARD TO
THE TRUE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF ELECTION AND
PREDESTINATION.

Sicut Apostoli inter se diversa non docuerunt, ita et Apostolici non con.
traria Apostolis ediderunt. Quinimo impium esset, asseverare Apostolos viva
voce contraria scriptis suis tradidisse. Paulus diserte dicit, eadem se in om.
nibus Ecclesiis docuisse. Confess. Helvet. sect. ii. in Syllog. Confess, p. 19.

c

THE

PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION.

CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
That some Doctrine of Election is taught in Holy Scripture,
can be doubted, I think, by no one, who, with even moderate
attention, peruses the sacred volume.
But, as to what Doctrine of Election is inculcated in
Holy Scripture, much diversity of opinion may easily
prevail : for this matter can, in no wise, be deemed a point
equally evident.
Accordingly, while the bare fact of The scriptural incul
cation of -some Predestinarian Doctrine has never been
denied : great difference of sentiment has subsisted, and
indeed still subsists, in regard to the important question of
what Predestinarian Doctrine ought to be received as the
mind of Divine Revelation.
I. Three several Schemes of Exposition have been
advanced and maintained, as respectively setting forth what
ought to be esteemed the genuineness of Scriptural Verity.
1. By the Remonstrants or Arminians, the idea of Election
is pronounced to be The Election of certain individuals, out
of the great mass of mankind, directly and immediately, to
eternal life : and its moving cause is asserted to be God's
eternal Prevision of the future persevering holiness and

20 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [iSOOK I.
consequent moral fitness of the individuals themselves, who
thence have been thus elected.
2. By the Nationalists (if, for the convenience of brief
nomenclature, I may employ the term,) the idea of Election
is determined to be The Election of certain whole nations into
the pale of the visible Church Catholic, which Election, how
ever, relates purely to their privileged condition in this
world, extending not to their collective eternal state in another
world : and its moving cause is pronounced to be That same
absolute Good Pleasure of God, which, through the exercise of
his sovereign power, led him to choose the posterity of Jacob,
rather than the posterity of Esau, that upon earth they should
become his peculiar people and be made the depositories and
preservers of the true religion.
3. By the Calvinists or Austinists, the idea of Election is
judged to be The Election of certain individuals, out of the
great mass of mankind, directly and immediately, to eternal
life, while all other individuals are either passively left or
actively doomed to a certainty of eternal death : and its moving
cause is defined to be God's unconditional and irrespective
Will and Pleasure, inherent in, and exercised in consequence
of, his absolute and uncontroulable Sovereignty.
II. It is quite evident, that, even if scriptural truth is to
be found correctly stated in some one of these several
Schemes, two, out of the three, must inevitably be erroneous.
Yet the defenders of each Scheme are usually just as
positive in maintaining the clear Scripturality of their re
spective favourites, as if no reasonable doubt could be
severally entertained of the strict accuracy of those Schemes.
If we ask the ground of this positiveness, the text of Holy
Writ, with an accompanying commentary, and often with
an accompanying avowal likewise of a resolution to abide
solely by the decision of Scripture, is usually produced in

CHAP. I.J OF ELECTION. 21
reply : and each jarring speculatist marvels at the blindness,
which either can not or will not read the Bible through the
glasses employed and recommended by the speculatist
himself. Now such an answer, whatever appeals may professedly
be made to the Bible and to the Bible alone, virtually
admits : that, In the case of each Scheme alike, the whole
question is really a question of interpretation.
Admit the interpretation of Arminius to be correct ; and
then, no doubt, you must embrace, as genuine biblical truth,
the Scheme of Arminianism.
Admit the interpretation of Locke to be correct : and
then, evidently, as exhibiting the real mind of Scripture,
you stand pledged to the Scheme of Nationalism.
Admit the interpretation of Calvin to be correct : and
then, indisputably, as setting forth the very essence of divine
revelation, you are bound to advocate the Scheme of
Calvinism. But where is the proof, that the interpretation, which
brings out any one of these three Systems, is correct ?
If, in every case, the proof of scriptural correctness must
finally be resolved into the mere self-satisfied Private Judg
ment of each conflicting religionist : such a collection of
mutually warring proofs, like the negative and positive
quantities in Algebra, will but serve mutually to destroy one
another. Or, if one of the speculatists should maintain that his
Private Judgment is worthy of all acceptation, while the
Private Judgment of each of his opponents severally
furnishes but a lamentable specimen of embodied weakness :
as, of course, he will lie open to, so, indisputably, he will
receive, the speedy retort courteous.
In short, on any such plan of settling the matter by the

22 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [_BO0K I.
authoritative dogmatism of an individual's Private Judgment,
the dispute must obviously be endless: and the general
determination of an Article of Faith must, no less obviously,
be impossible.
When each dogmatist alike assures us, that his interpreta
tion must be correct ; and when he assigns as a reason, that
he himself, the dogmatist to wit, in the independent exercise
of his naked Private Judgment, is quite satisfied of its
correctness : we may be allowed, with all due impartiatliy,
to hope, that the interpretation may be better than the
logic. III. Before, then, we receive any one of these three inter
pretations ; if, indeed, by force of some intelligible evidence,
we should be finally compelled to receive some one of them ;
we must, I apprehend, have proof much more tangible and
much more satisfactory, than a self-destroying claim of the
right to exercise an insulated Private Judgment in the
matter of scriptural exposition.
,, It will be asked : Where are we to seek this proof ?
I readily answer : In the yet existing documents of primitive
Christian Antiquity.
• If either Arminianism or Nationalism or Calvinism exhibit
the truth, as the truth is meant to be conveyed in Scripture :
certainly we may expect to find the System thus honourably
distinguished, whichever of the three that System may be,
conspicuously at least, if not controversially, drawn out and
familiarly employed in the documents of the early Church
Catholic. The primitive Christians must have annexed some ideas
"Hir to the scriptural terms Election and Predestination : and,
when we recollect, that, by the necessity of chronology,
they received their doctrinal instruction, either quite imme
diately, or very closely mediately, from the Apostles them-

CHAP. I.J OF ELECTION. 23
selves ; it is difficult to believe, that they could have
universally annexed to them any other ideas than those
which were annexed to them by their inspired and therefore
infallible teachers*.
* That the Apostles were in the habit of personally and orally
explaining, to the primitive Christians, the true import of the doctrines,
which in the volume of the New Testament have been committed
to imperishable writing; we could scarcely doubt, even from the
very reason of the thing. But the matter, I apprehend, is fully
established, as a fact, by St. Paul's frequent reference to this very mode
of teaching. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and
keep the traditions as I delivered them to you. 1 Corinth, xi. 2.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast : and hold the traditions, which ye
have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. 2 Thess. ii. 15.
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother, that walketh disorderly
and not after the tradition which ye received of us. 2 Thess. iii. 6.
We beseech you, brethren, — that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that
the day of Christ is at hand. 2 Thess. ii. 2.
I have received of the Lord that, which also I delivered unto you. 1
Corinth, xi. 23.
Now it is perfectly true, that we, who never heard the oral explana
tory discourses of the Apostles, cannot, from our own personal knowledge,
determine, as to what interpretations they gave of such or such now
written doctrines ; but those, who heard them, could by no possibility
have been ignorant, as to what matters the Apostles really delivered, in
this explanatory form, under the aspect of inspired revelations from
heaven. Hence, I conceive, the primitive Christians, who heard and conversed
with the Apostles, must have well known, what the Apostles meant by
the terms Election and Predestination ; and, knowing this, they must
have maintained the same doctrinal System as the Apostles did.
Such being the case, if, from yet extant documents, we can ascertain
the doctrinal System of the primitive Christians in regard to Election
and Predestination, we shall ascertain the doctrinal System of the
Apostles themselves.
I need scarcely remark, that this early written tradition of the Church,
as contained in Works which have actually come down to us, is widely

24 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK I.
This view of the question makes the test of an alleged
scriptural truth to be Primeval Antiquity.
In matters physical, new discoveries may perpetually be
made: in matters mechanical, perhaps no limits can be
assigned to the expansiveness of human ingenuity: in
matters critical, new illustrations of ancient writings may
frequently be brought out with considerable advantage :
in matters prophetical, the latest commentator, as the sealed
volume is gradually opened by the hand of time, ought, if he
have really and soberly studied his subject, to be the most
valuable. But, in matters theologically doctrinal, novelty
is the synonymn of falsehood. The very notion and
nature of a divine revelation, as such, is absoluteness
and perfection. Nothing can be added to it, beyond what
it originally -declared : nothing can be detracted from it, of
what it originally propounded. It sets forth certain well-
defined doctrines, which jointly constitute a System : and,
beyond that, it is silent. Whatever doctrine, therefore, at a
subsequent period, is started for the first time : the doctrine,
thus circumstanced, being, by the very terms of the state
ment, uncommunicated and unknown from the beginning,
must inevitably, by the mere fact of its newness, be a con
fessedly unrevealed, and thence an indisputably unauthorita
tive, doctrine. It may claim, indeed, to be deduced from
Scripture : but, if it was never heard of till a period
subsequent to the original divine revelation, and if it cannot
be traced up to the original divine revelation itself as its
universally received sense from the beginning, it is nothing
different from that vague unauthenticated cnal tradition, which the
Romish Church pretends to have received from Antiquity, and which
(through the Council of Trent) she would place upon an equal footing
of authority with Holy Scripture itself. Concil. Trident. Sess. iv. p.
7, 8. Antverp. A. D. 1644.

CHAP. I.J OF ELECTION. 25
more respectable than a mere human invention or specu
lation*. On this obvious principle, I would bring the three Schemes
of Arminianism and Nationalism and Calvinism to the test
of Primitive Antiquity.
If the disciples of the Apostles, and from them the disci
ples of what are called Apostolic Men in regular succession
downward, universally received one of the three Schemes,
rejecting the two others : then, as reasonable inquirers, on
the sure ground of historical testimony, we stand bound to
adopt the Scheme thus sanctioned by the hermeneutic voice
of Primeval Christianity.
But, if the disciples of the Apostles, and after them the
disciples of Apostolic men in regular succession downward,
were equally ignorant of them all ; and, still more, if they
should be found to have universally received and communi
cated a Scheme totally different from every one of them:
then, plainly, as reasonable inquirers, on the sure ground of
historical testimony, we stand bound impartially to reject
alike all the three Schemes in question.
IV. The principle, for which I contend, is so thoroughly
rational and so perfectly intelligible, that, to every honestly
investigating mind, it cannot fail most amply to approve
itself. Yet a member of the Anglican Church may be
* Such was the rationale of the excellent prescriptive canon of Ter
tullian, the sound good sense of which may well recommend it to every
doctrinal inquirer who wishes rationally to satisfy either himself or
others. Adversus universas hsreses jam hinc prajudicatum sit : id esse verum
quodcunque primum ; id esse adulterum, quodcunque posterius. Ter-
tull. adv. Prax. § 2. Oper. p. 405.
Ita, ex ipso ordine, manifestatur : id esse dominie um et verum, quod
sit prius traditum ; id autem extraneum et falsum, quod sit posterius
immissum. Tertull. de prescript, adv. hasr. § 11. Oper. p. 107.
D

26

THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK

additionally satisfied, when he learns, that the principle
before us is the very principle adopted by that truly
Apostolic Community.
Renouncing the self-sufficient licentiousness of that mis
called and misapprehended right of Private Judgment,
which dogmatically pronounces upon the meaning of Scrip
ture from a mere insulated inspection of Scripture, and
which rapidly decides that such must be the sense of Scrip
ture because an individual thinks that such is the sense of
Scripture : renouncing this self-sufficient and strangely un
satisfactory licentiousness, the Church of England, with her
usual sober and modest judiciousness, has always professed
to build her code of doctrine, authoritatively indeed upon
scripture alone, but hermeneutically upon scripture as un
derstood AND EXPLAINED BY PRIMITIVE ANTIQUITY*.
Herein, she has judged well and wisely.
* Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation : so
that, whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not
to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an Article of
the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. Art. vi.
Ista nos didicimus a Christo, ab Apostolis, et Sanctis Patribus : et
eadem bona fide docemus populum Dei. Juell. Apol. Eccles. Angli
can, apud Enchirid. Theolog. vol. i. p. 228.
A primitiva Ecclesia, ab Apostolis, a Christo, non discessimus. Ibid.
p. 295.
Nos, et ex Sacris Libris, quos scimus non posse fallere, certam quan-
dam Religionis formam quaesivisse ; et ad veterum Patrum atque Apos-
tolorum primitivam Ecclesiam, hoc est, ad primordia atque initia,
tanquam ad fontes, rediisse. Ibid. p. 340.
Opto, cum Melancthone et Ecclesia Anglicana, per canalem Anti-
quitatis deduci ad nos dogmata Fidei e fonte Sacrae Scriptures derivata.
Alioquin, quis futurus est novandi finis? Casaub. Epist. 744.
Quod si me conjectura non fallit, totius Reformationis pars integerri-
ma est in Anglia : ubi, cum studio Veritatis, viget studium Antiquitatis.
Casaub. Epist. 837.
Rex cum Ecclesia Anglicana pronunciat, earn demum se doctrinam

CHAP. I.] OF ELECTION. 27
Scripture and antiquity are the two pillars, upon which
all rationally established Faith must ultimately repose.
If we reject scripture, we reject the very basis of theo
logical belief: if we reject antiquity, we reject all historical
evidence to soundness of interpretation.
When, in our inquiries after revealed truth, the two are
combined, we attain to moral certainty : and, in matters
which by their very nature admit not of mathematical proof,
moral certainty is the highest point to which we can pos
sibly attain.
pro vera simul et necessaria ad salutem agnoscere, quae, e fonte Sacra
Scripturse manans, per consensum veteris Ecclesia, ceu per canalem
ad haec tempora fuerit derivata. Casaub. Epist. 838.

28 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK

CHAPTER II.
ARMINIANISM.
By the Arminians or Remonstrants, as we have recently
seen, the idea of Scriptural Election is pronounced to be
Tlie Election of certain individuals, out of the great mass of
mankind, directly and immediately, to eternal life : and the
moving cause of that Election is asserted to be God's eternal
Prevision of the future persevering holiness and consequent
moral fitness of the individuals themselves, who thence have
been thus elected.
I. Respecting Predestination and Grace, the sentiments of
the Remonstrants, as they propounded them anterior to the
Synod of Dort in the year 1618, were summed up in the
five following Articles.
1. God, from all eternity, determined, to bestow salvation
on those whom he foresaw to be about to persevere unto
the end in their faith in Christ Jesus, and to inflict ever
lasting punishments on those who should continue in their
unbelief and should resist unto the end his divine succours.
2. Jesus Christ, by his death and sufferings, made an
atonement for the sins of all mankind in general and of every
individual in particular. None, however, but those who
believe in him, can be partakers of their divine benefit.
3. True faith cannot proceed, from the exercise of our
natural faculties and powers, nor from the force and opera
tion of Free Will ; since man, in consequence of his natural
corruption, is incapable either of thinking or doing any good
thing. Therefore it is necessary to his conversion and sal-

CHAP. II. J OF ELECTION. 29
vation, that he be regenerated and renewed by the operation
of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God through Jesus
Christ. 4. This divine Grace or Energy of the Holy Ghost, which
heals the disorder of a corrupt nature, begins and advances
and brings to perfection every thing that can be called good
in man ; and, consequently, all good works, without excep
tion, are to be attributed to God alone and to the operation
of his Grace. Nevertheless, this Grace does not force the
man to act against his inclination, but may be resisted and
rendered ineffectual by the perverse will of the impenitent
sinner. 5. They, who are united to Christ by faith, are thereby
furnished with abundant strength and with succours suffi
cient to enable them to triumph over the seduction of Satan
and the allurements of sin and temptation. But the question,
Whether such may fall from their faith and forfeit finally
this state of grace, has not been yet resolved with sufficient
perspicuity : and, therefore, it must be yet more carefully
examined by an attentive study of what the Holy Scriptures
have declared in relation to this important point*.
II. Such, with the exception, that the last of these five
Articles, which, in its original construction, hesitated (we
see) in respect to the point of Final Perseverance, had its
hesitation subsequently removed by the introduction of a
positive affirmation that The Saints might fall away finally
from a State of Grace\ : such was the exposition given by
Arminius and the Remonstrants ; and, though at first it
encountered a somewhat fierce opposition, it has, to a very
* Mosheim's Eccles. "Hist. cent. xvn. sect. ii. part 2. chap. 3. § iv.
vol. v. p. 444, 445.
f Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. Ibid. p. 445.

30 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
wide extent, I believe, been received and adopted with
much approbation.
1. Doubtless, it is abundantly plausible : because, through
ihe causation of God's indisputable , prevision of future
actions whether good or bad, it undertakes to reconcile
God's decrees of Election and Reprobation with Man's no
tions of God's attribute of justice. How it disposes of various
texts which seem hard of agreement with its avowe"d theory
of causation, I stop not now to inquire*. My present
business is purely with the question of Historical Testimony
to Primeval Antiquity.
If, then, the system, which usually bears the name of
arminianism, do indeed set forth the sincere doctrine of
Divine Revelation : in that case, we may expect to find it
universally held and familiarly inculcated by the early
Church. But, if no such System can be detected as universally
held and familiarly inculcated by the early Church ; and,
a fortiori, still more, if, in hereafter prosecuting the investi
gation, the early Church should be found to have held, as
being apostolically received, a widely different System : in
that case, agreeably to our proposed test, the Scheme of
Arminianism must be rejected, as a mere human invention,

* Arminianism makes The divinely foreseen holiness of particular
individuals to be the cause of Their Election.
But the texts, to which I refer, exactly invert this process: for they
make The Election of particular individuals to be the cause of Their
holiness. See Rpm. viii. 29. Ephes. i. 4, 5. 1 Peter i. 2.
That Augustine should insist upon the order so plainly marked out in
these texts, might naturally be expected : but Jerome, who, in modern
nomenclature, was certainly no Calvinist, does the very same. See
August, cont. Julian, lib. v. c. 4. Oper. vol. vii. p. 374. and Hieron.
Comment, in Epist. ad Ephes. i. Oper. vol. vi. p. 162. Hieron. Apol.
adv. Ruffin. lib. i. c. 6. Oper. vol. ii. p. 189.

CHAP. II.] OF ELECTION. 31
which, having been introduced subsequent to the original
delivery of the Gospel, can only be deemed an unauthorita
tive adulteration.
2. With a view to the solution of this question, I have
examined the documents of the early Church as exten
sively and as attentively as I have been able : and I cer
tainly must say, that, as a System, I have altogether failed
to discover the Scheme proposed by Arminius and the Re
monstrants. (1.) Its theory of causation, namely God's Prescience of
an individual's future perseverance in holiness, may indeed
boast of a very considerable degree of antiquity : for,
though it cannot be traced higher than Clement of Alexan
dria, who flourished at the latter end of the second century,
and though his predecessors maintained a very different and
(I think) a much more scriptural theory ; yet, if an Armin-
ian can be satisfied with relative instead of positive antiquity,
from the time of Clement downward to the time of Augus
tine, it appears, with some exceptions, to have been gener
ally adopted*.
(2.) But its theory of ideality, namely God's Election of
certain individuals, directly and immediately, to eternal life, I
find not in the expositions of the early ecclesiastical writers.
Nor, on this point, is it mere silence which we encounter.
The idea of Election, which they set forth as the sense uni
versally received by the Primitive Church, is, as we shall
* Clement of Alexandria is full and express, as to what he maintained
to be the moving cause of Election.
ToOg ySui xa/rasrera.yii.£vovs, ovg tfpoupitfsv 6 Osog, Sixaiavg itfo^ivovg irpo
xaraf3okr]£ xodjiov lyuuxug. Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. vii. Oper. p. 765.
As an exception to the general subsequent adoption of this theory," I
have noticed Jerome, who flourished in the fourth and fifth centuries.
See below, book ii. chap. 3. § n. 2.

32 the primitive doctrine [book I.
hereafter learn, essentially different from the idea of Elec
tion entertained by the Arminians*. ;
III. Hence, if the mode of reasoning, which I have
adopted, be valid : historical testimony forbids us to receive
Arminianism as the genuine mind of the Gospel ; because
that System was not acknowledged, as scriptural truth, by
the early Christians, who, either immediately or almost im
mediately, derived their theology from the Apostles them
selves. * See below, book ii. chap. 2.

chap. iii.J of election. 33

CHAPTER III,
NATIONALISM.
By the Nationalists, the idea of Election is determined to be
The Election of certain whole nations into the pale of the
visible Church Catholic, which Election, however, relates
purely to their privileged condition in this world, extending
not to their collective eternal state in another world : and the
moving cause of that Election is pronounced to be That
same absolute Good Pleasure of God, which, through the ex
ercise of his sovereign power, led him to choose the posterity
of Jacob, rather than the posterity of Esau, that upon earth
they should become his peculiar people and be made the depos
itories and preservers of the true religion.
I. I have stated, to the best of my apprehension, the points
and bearings of the System now before us : lest, however, I
should have mistaken its character, I subjoin, as a corrective,
the evolution of it which has been given by Mr. Locke.
There was nothing more grating and offensive to the Jews,
than the thoughts of having the Gentiles joined with them and
partake equally in the privileges and advantages of the King
dom of the Messiah : and, which was yet worse, to be told,
that those aliens should be admitted, and that they, who pre
sumed themselves children of that Kingdom, should be shut
out. St. Paul, who had insisted much on this doctrine in all the
foregoing chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, to shew, that
he had not done it out of any aversion or unkindness to his
nation and brethren the Jews, does here, in the ninth chapter,
E

34 the primitive doctrine [book i.
express his great affection to them, and declares an extreme
concern for their salvation. But, withal, he shews, that,
whatever privileges they had received from God above other
nations, whatever expectation the promises made to their fore
fathers might raise in them; they had yet no just reason of
complaining of God's dealing with them now under the Gospel,
since it was according to his promise to Abraham and his
frequent declarations in Sacred Scripture. Nor loas it any
injustice to the Jewish Nation : if God, by the same sovereign
power, had preferred Jacob (the younger brother, without any
merit of his) and his posterity to be his people, before Esau
and his posterity whom he rejected. The earth is all his :
nor have the nations, that-possess it, any title of their own, but
what he gives them, to the countries they inhabit or to the good
things they enjoy ; and he may dispossess or exterminate them,
when he pleaseth.
As he destroyed the Egyptians for the glory of his name, in
the deliverance of the Israelites : so he may, according to his
Good Pleasure, raise or depress, take into favour or -reject, the
several nations of this world. And, particularly as to the
nation of the Jews, all but a small remnant were rejected, and
the Gentiles taken in in their room to be the People and Church
of God, because they were a gainsaying and disobedient people
that would not receive the Messiah whom he had promised
and in the appointed time sent to them.
He, that will with moderate attention and indifferency of
mind read this ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans,
will see, that, what is said of God's exercising of an absolute
power according to the good pleasure of his will, relates only
to Nations or Bodies Politic of men incorporated in civil
Societies, which feel the effects of it only in the prosperity or
calamity they meet with in this world, but extends not to their
eternal state in another world, considered as particular persons,

CHAP. III. J OF ELECTION. 35
wherein they stand each man by himself upon his own bottom,
and shall so answer separately at the day of judgment. They
may be punished here with their fellow-citizens, as part qf a
sinful Nation ; and that be but temporal chastisement for their
good: and yet be advanced to eternal life and bliss in the
world to come*.
II. Following the plan which has been laid down, I shall
now proceed to inquire : Whether the Scheme, which has
received the sanction of Mr. Locke, was that, which, from the
beginning, was universally adopted, by the Church Catholic,
as the genuine sense of Scripture.
Now, respecting this matter, there undoubtedly occur
passages, even in the very earliest writers, which, with suffi
cient plausibility, might be adduced in evidence. That the
question, therefore, may be fairly examined, these passages
shall be duly recited.
1. Clement of Rome, that friend of St. Paul, whose name
the inspired Apostle declares to be written in the book of
life, expresses himself in manner following.
Let us approach unto the Lord in holiness of soul, lifting
up to him holy and unpolluted hands, loving our clement and
merciful Father, who hath made us unto himself a part of the
* Locke's Paraph, on the Epist. to the Rom. sect. viii. Works, vol.
iii. p. 308, 309. To the same effect runs the paraphrase of Rom. viii.
28-30. We certainly know, that all things work together for good to those that
love God, who are the Called according to his purpose qf calling the Gen
tiles. In which purpose, the Gentiles, whom he foreknew, as he did the
Jews, with an intention of kindness and of making them his people, he
preordained to be conformable to the image of his Son, that he might be
the first-born, the chief, among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did
thus preordain to be his people, them he also called, by sending preachers
of the Gospel to them : and, whom he called, if they obeyed the truth,
those he also justified by counting their faith for righteousness : and,
whom he justified, them he also glorified ; namely, in his purpose.

36 the primitive doctrine [book i.
Election. For thus it is written : When the Most High di
vided the nations ; as he scattered the sons of Adam, he ap
pointed the boundaries of the nations according to the number
of the angels. Then his people Jacob became the portion of
the Lord: Israel, the lot of his inheritance. And, in another
place, he says : Behold, the Lord taketh unto himself a nation
from the midst of the nations, as a man taketh the first-fruits
of his threshing-floor : and, out of that nation, shall come the
holy of holies*.
2. The testimony oflreneus, who stood in the second
succession from the Apostles, having been the disciple of Po-
iycarp the disciple of St. John, may fitly be added to that
of the Roman Clement
By the tower of Election every where exalted and beautiful,
the Lord God delivered, to other husbandmen paying fruits in
their season, the figurative vineyard, now no longer hedged
round, but expanded to the whole world. For, every where,
the Church is illustrious ; and, every where, is the wine
press dug round ; because those, who receive the Spirit, are
every where. The former husbandmen reprobated the Son of
God : and, when they had killed him, they cast him out of the
vineyard. Therefore God also has justly reprobated them :
and has given the fructification of the culture to nations, which
were without the vineyard*.
* UpogikAu^sv ouv axiru sv otfior^Ti ^uyyg, wyvoXg xai , dfjuavroug
Xe^aaS Jtlpovreg ifpog au"rov, dyaifuvrss tov iifisiXTj xa.1 eZdi(\ayyvov
itaripa. ¦Sju.uv, % 'ExXopjs (AEpoff ^tfofoitfsv lauTty. Ovru yap ysypoLifrou'
"Ore 5;£(xspitfev o "T^iflVoff Ifo-i), iig 8e soVEipjv vhug ' Ada.fi,, stfrrjt/iv
Spin. Jdvuv xtx.ro, alpidfAov dyyiXuv iyevrjS-rj pipig Kupi'ou Xaog uvrou
'laxu/3, a^oi'vis^a xX*]povofi,jas aurou 'Irfpa^X. Kcu, iv kripu t6«u,
\iysr 'l6ou, Kvpwg \a.jj.f3a\isi lauTty s6vog ix fjitfou iQvuv wrfirsp Xau,/3avsi
OM^puifog rt)v dirap^v aikou «% aXw xai i%e"keiderut ix rou sdvoug
ixeivov aym ayiuv. Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 29.
* Quapropter et tradidit earn Dominus Deus, non jam circumvallatam,

chap. iii.J of election. 37
3. Ambrose follows these two primitive writers at a very
considerable interval ; for he flourished during the latter part
of the fourth century : yet it may perhaps be thought, that
he also bears witness to the same System, and consequently
that the same System had continued to be received down
even to his time.
There are none, who are rejected by Christ. But there are
some, who are elected by the Lord : since the Lord calleth the
things which are not, as though they were. And the nations
of the Gentiles are elected, that the perfidy of the Jews might
be destroyed*.
III. In the places, which have been recited, there is a sem
blance of evidence in favour of the Scheme of Nationalism :
but, when they are explained by other passages of equal
antiquity, the evidence, which they afford, cannot be deemed
more than a mere semblance.
The idea, which they really convey, is not that of The
Election of certain whole nations into the Church, while, by
the exercise of God's sovereignty, certain other whole nations
are pretermitted or reprobated ; an Election, relating purely
to the privileged condition of the chosen nations in this world,
and not extending to their collective eternal state in another
world.sed expansam in universum mundum, aliis colonis reddentibus fructus
temporibus, suis, turre electionis exaltata ubique et speciosa. Ubique
enim prsclara est Ecclesia ; et ubique circumfossum torcular : ubique
enim sunt, qui suscipiunt Spiritum. Quoniam enim Filium Dei repro-
baverunt, et ejecerunt eum, cum eum occidissent, extra vineam : juste
reprobavit eos Deus ; et, extra vineam existentibus gentibus, dedit fruc-
tificationem culturae. Iren. adv. haer. lib. iv. c. 70. p. 302.
* Non sunt, qui repudiantur a Christo. Sunt autem, qui eliguntur a
Domino : quoniam Dominus vocat quas non sunt, tanquam quas sunt.
Et electa? sunt gentium nationes, ut destrueretur perfidia Judsorum.
Ambros. Enarr. in Psalm, xliii. Oper. p. 1380.

38 THE primitive doctrine [book I.
tr
But the idea, which they convey, is that of The Jews col
lectively being esteemed one people or nation ; while the Gen
tiles, who have been individually brought into the Church, are
collectively, within the pale of the Church, another people or
nation : the benefit of this Election not being confined to certain
privileges in this world only ; but, so far as God's purpose
and intention and generic conditional promises are concerned,
extending to eternal life in another world.
Accordingly, in those other passages to which I have
referred, it is distinctly intimated : that, when the nations are
said to be elected, not Some whole nations, as contradistin
guished from other whole nations, are meant, but Various in
dividuals out of the great body of the Nations or Gentiles, as
contradistinguished from the single Nation of the Jews.
1. To this purpose speaks Clement of Rome.
May the all-seeing God, who elected the Lord Jesus Christ
and us through him to be a peculiar people, grant, to every
soul that calleth upon his great and holy name, faith, fear,
peace, patience, long-suffering, temperance, holiness, and
wisdom*. 2. To the same purpose speaks Justin Martyr.
Inasmuch as he took out of all nations the nation of the Jews,
a nation useless and disobedient and faithless : he hath shewn,
that those, who have been elected out of every nation, are,
through Christ, obedient to his counsel^.
* 'O ita\ioicrr)g Qabg,— a ixXegapavog tov Kupiov 'Irjrfouv XpiffVov xai
ili^ag Si' auTO? s]g Xaov tfepioutfiov, <5u?), ifatfri -\i\i-)rj\ iifixsx\rift,ivri to
fisyaXoifpsirsV xai aywv 6'vofi.a aurov, inVriv, <po/3ov, s/pjjvijv, uirou,ovijv,
j/,axpodi)(/,iav, iyxparaiav, dyvsiav, xai tfwfpporfov^v. Clem. Rom. Epist.
ad Corinth, i. § 58.
t 'Ex tf ixvtwv Se ruv yavuv, yimg £aw^ Xa/3^v to fy/irspov (scil. <ruv
'Iou&wuv), yimg a-xprittrov xai d«a,6ig xai oVnTtov, Saigas nig d*o
ifavrog yivoug a'tpovpivovg ire*e7<t6au aurou t»j /3ouX3j Sid tou XpiaVou.
Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 282.

chap. iii.J of election. 39
3. To the same purpose, again, speaks Ireneus.
The wages of Jacob were variegated sheep : and the wages
of Christ are men collected out of various and different nations
into one cohort of the faith*.
The universal going forth of the People from Egypt was,
from God, a type and image of the future going forth of the
Church from the nations^.
4. To the same purpose, finally, speaks Ambrose.
When the Lord says to his disciples, that is, to the apostles ;
If any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me : he speaks to Levites. Never
theless, the passage ; Ye are an elect race, a royal priest
hood, a holy nation, an adopted people : is addressed to all\.
IV. On the whole, for the general reception, or even for
the bare existence of the Scheme of Nationalism in the Pri
mitive Church, as I understand that Scheme to be developed
by Mr. Locke, I am unable to discover any evidence. What
evidence we have, is, in truth, hostile to it.
Therefore, like the Scheme of Arminianism, I conceive,
that it must be dismissed, as a novelty, and thence (in the
language of .Tertullian) as an adulteration.
* Variae oves, quae fiebant hinc Jacob merces : et Christi merces, ex
variis et differentibus gentibus, in unam cohortem fidei convenientes
fiunt homines. Iren. adv. haer. lib. iv. c. 38. p. 272.
f Universa enim quae ex jEgypto profectio fiebat populi, a Deo typus
et imago fiebat profectionis Ecclesiae qua? erat futura ex gentibus. Iren.
adv. haer. lib. iv. c. 50. p. 286.
X Dominus Levitis dicit, cum, discipulis suis, hoc est, Apostolis dicit :
Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semelipsum, et tollat crucem suam, et
sequatur me. Quanquam ad omnes jam dictum sit : Vos autem genus
electum, regale sacerdotium, gens sancta, populus in adoptionem. Am-
bros. de fug. saecul. c. ii. Oper. p. 198.

40 the primitive doctrine [book *.

CHAPTER IV.
CALVINISM.
By the Calvinists, the idea of Election is judged to be Ther
Election of certain individuals, out of the great mass of man
kind, directly and immediately, to eternal life, while all other
individuals are either passively left or actively doomed to a
certainty of eternal death : and the moving cause of that
Election is defined to be God's unconditional and irrespective
Will and Pleasure, inherent in, and exercised in consequence
qf, his absolute and uncontroulable Sovereignty.
Such, in brief, is the Scheme which usually bears the name
of Calvinism : but, from the circumstance of its very wide
ramification and from its claim of propounding the very es
sentials of the Gospel as taught and delivered by the Apostles
themselves, it will require a much more extended discussion
and examination than either of the two Schemes of Armin
ianism and Nationalism.
At the Synod ofDort which sat in the year 1618, this
peculiar System of Scripture Exposition was conveniently
exhibited under the form of five distinct Articles setting
forth five distinct Points of Doctrine.
I. These five Articles were arranged and summed up in
the following manner and order.
1. According to the fixed predestination of God, which,
as its moving cause, rests, not upon any impulsory prevision
of men's future characters and conduct, but altogether upon
the Divine Pleasure and Sovereignty : some individuals, by
a decree of Election, are, out of the great mass of mankind,

chap. iv.J of election. 41
absolutely chosen to a certainty of eternal happiness ; while,
by a decree of Reprobation, all other individuals are abso
lutely passed over and left to a certainty of eternal misery*.
2. Although, from its infinite value, the death of the Son of
God is abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole
world : yet, according to God's sovereign will, its beneficial
operation is so limited, that, in point of efficacy, it procures)
solely and exclusively, the particular redemption of those
* Quod aliqui in tempore fide a Deo donantur, aliqui non donantur,
id ab aeterno ipsius decreto provenit ; omnia enim opera sua novit ab
ceterno : secundum quod decretum, Electorum corda, quantumvis dura,
gratiose emollit, et ad credendum inflectit ; non electos autem, justo
judicio, suas mahtias et duritias relinquit. Atque hie potissimum sese
nobis aperit profunda, misericors pariter et justa, hominum asqualiter
perditorum discretio : sive decretum illud Electionis et Reprobationis in
verbo Dei revelatum.
Est autem Electio immutabile Dei propositum, quo, ante jacta mundi
fundamenta, ex universo genere humano ex primasva integritate in
peccatum et exitium sua culpa prolapso, secundum liberrimum volun
tatis suas beneplacitum, ex mera gratia, certain quorundam hominum
multitudinem, aliis nee meliorum nee digniorum, sed in communi
miseria cum aliis jacentium, ad salutem elegit in Christo.
Causa vero hujus gratuitae Electionis est solum Dei beneplacitum,
non in eo consistens, quod certas qualitates seu actiones humanas, ex
omnibus possibilibus, in salutis conditionem elegit ; sed in eo, quod
certas quasdam personas ex communi peccatorum multitudine sibi in
peeulium adscivit.
Casterum in asternam et gratuitam hanc Electionis nostras gratiam eo
vel maxime illustrat nobisque commendat Scriptura Sacra, quad porro
testatur, non omnes homines esse electos, sed quosdam non electos sive
in asterna Dei Electione prasteritos, quos scilicet Deus, ex liberrimo,
justissimo, irreprehensibili, et immutabili, beneplacito, decrevit in com
muni miseria, in quam se sua culpa prascipitarunt, relinquere, nee sal-
vifica fide et conversionis gratia donare, sed, in viis suis et sub justo
judicio relictos, tandem, non tantum propter infidelitatem sed etiam
caetera omnia peccata, ad declarationem justitias suae, damnare et
asternum punire. Atque hoc est decretum Reprobationis. Judic. Synod.
Dordrech. c. i. de Divin. Praedest. § 6, 7, 10, 15.
F

42 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK. I.
who from all eternity have been irreversibly elected to sal
vation*. 3. Man's corruption, in consequence of the fall of Adam,
is such, that all are conceived in sin and are born the chil
dren of wrath, unapt to any salutary goodness, propense to
evil, dead in trespasses, and the slaves of iniquity : nor does
this inherent corruption or this original sin arise from a
mere imitation of Adam ; but, by the just judgment of God,
it is conveyed and communicated through the propagation
of a vicious naturef.
4. The Elect, no less than the Reprobate, being unable,
by any inherent strength of their own, to turn themselves
unto God and holiness, receive, in due time, a morally in
vincible effectual calling, which, through the Divine Grace
surely operating upon their hearts, they willingly and cheer
fully obeyj.
* Mors Filii Dei est unica et perfectissima pro peccatis victima et
satisfactio, infiniti valoris et pretii, abunde sufficiens ad totius mundi
peccata expianda.
Fuit hoc Dei Patris liberrimum consilium et gratiosissima voluntas
atque intentio, ut mortis pretiosissimas Filii sui vivifica et salvifica
efficacia sese exereret in omnibus Electis, ad eos solos perducendos :
hoc est, voluit Deus, ut Christus, per sanguinem crucis quo novum
foedus confirmavit, ex omni populo, tribu, gente, et lingua, eos omnes et
solos, qui ab aeterno ad salutem electi et a Patre ipsi dati sunt, efficaciter
redimeret. Judic. Synod. Dordrech. c. ii. de Redemp. § 3, 8.
f Qualis post lapsum fuit homo, tales et liberos procreavit ; nempe
corruptus, corruptos : corruptione ab Adamo in omnes posteros (solo
Christo excepto), non per imitationem (quod Pelagiani olim voluerunt),
sed per vitiosas naturae propagationem, justo Dei judicio, derivata.
Itaque omnes homines in peccato concipiuntur, et filii ires nascuntur,
inepti ad omne bonum salutare, propensi ad malum, in peccatis mortui,
et peceati servi. Judic. Synod. Dordrech. c. iii. de Homin. Corrupt.
§ 2, 3.
% Quotquot per Evangelium vocantur, serio vocantur.
Quod multi, per miriisterium Evangelii vocati, non veniunt et non

chap. iv.J of election. 43
5. Thus being made willing in the day of God's power,
and thus obeying his Efficacious Call, the Elect, though they
may occasionally fall into sin, yet, in consequence of the
immutability of the Divine Decree, are always recovered to
righteousness : and thence, by the grace of final perse
verance, through the appointed medium of general holiness,
they at length obtain that heavenly felicity to which they
had been eternally predestinated*.
II. Such were the five Articles : and they obviously pro
pounded and vindicated the five following Points of Doc
trine :
1. predestination, branching out into Election and Re
probation ;
convertuntur, hujus culpa non est in Evangelio, nee in Christo per
Evangelium oblato, nee in Deo per Evangelium vocante, sed in vocatis
ipsis. Quod autem alii, per ministerium Evangelii vocati, veniunt et con
vertuntur, id non est adscribendum homini, tanquam seipsum per
liberum arbitrium ab aliis pari vel sufficiente gratia ad fidem et con-
versionem instructis discernenti (quod superba Pelagii hasresis statuit),
sed Deo, qui, ut suos ab asterno in Christo elegit, ita eosdem in tempore
erricaeiter vocat, fide et resipiscentia donat, et e potestate tenebrarum
erutos in Filii sui regnum transfert. Judic. Synod. Dordrech. c. iv. de
Con vers. Mod. § 8, 9, 10.
* Deus, qui dives est misericordia, ex immutabili Electionis proposito,
Spiritum Sanctum, etiam in tristibus lapsibus, a suis non prorsus aufert,
nee eousque eos prolabi sinit, ut gratia adoptionis, justificationis statu,
excidant, aut peccatum ad mortem sive in Spiritum Sanctum commit-
tant, et ab eo penitus deserli in exitium asternum sese prascipitent.
Ita, non suis meritis aut viribus, sed ex gratuita Dei misericordia, id
obtinent, ut nee totaliter fide et gratia excidant, nee finaliter in lapsibus
maneant aut pereant. Quod, quoad ipsos, non tantum facile fieri posset,
sed et indabie fieret ; respectu autem Dei, omnino non potest : cum nee
consilium ipsius mutari, promissio excidere, vocatio secundum proposi-
tum revooari, Christi meritum, intercessio, et custodia, irrita reddi, nee
Spiritus Sancti obsignatio frustanea fieri aut deleri, possit. Judic.
Synod. Dordrech. c. v. de Persever. Sanct. § 6, 8.

44 THE primitive doctrine [book I.
2. particular redemption ;
3. original sin ;
4. effectual calling ;
5. final perseverance.
III. But Calvinism admits of yet a further modification,
which the Divines of Dort, agreeing to condemn the Armi-
nians or Remonstrants, and unwilling (I suppose) to exhibit
any dissention among themselves, have not introduced into
their evolution of the five leading Articles : the modifica
tion, I mean, of what are called Supralapsarianism and
Sublapsarianism. 1. According to the Supralapsarian Theory, God not
only foresaw, but likewise actually predestinated, the fall of
man ^/SiaKsi/he might gain glory to himself by the wonder
ful plan of Particular Redemption.
2. But, according to the more moderate Sublapsarian
Theory, God foresaw indeed, but did not absolutely predes
tinate, the fall of man : yet, from his certain and infallible
prevision of man's fall, he equally, from all eternity, con
trived the plan of Particular Redemption to his own endless
honour and glory.
IV. Some persons, I believe, have occasionally described
the high doctrinal successors of Calvin, as more calvinistic
than Calvin himself.
This, however, is a mistake. The great Genevan Re
former, with consistent intrepidity, was, in truth, so far as
doctrine is concerned, the highest of the high. Fearlessly
pushing his principles to their full legitimate extent, he at
once maintained, without any restriction or disguise, both
the dogma of Reprobation and the theory of Supralapsa
rianism*. * The five points, with the appended tenet of Supralapsarianism, are

CHAP. IV.J OF ELECTION. 45
Higher than this, in the scale of God's alleged absolute
decrees, it is, I apprehend, impossible for any person to
advance.distinctly, though not in formal successive enumeration, propounded by
Calvin. Nunquam liquido, ut decet, persuasi erimus, salutem nostram ex fonte
gratuitas misericordia; Dei fluere, donee innotuerit nobis asteraa ejus
electio : quas, hac comparatione, gratiam Dei illustrat, quod non
omnes promiscue adoptat in spem salutis, sed dat aliis, quod aliis
negat. Hujus principii ignorantia quantum ex gloria Dei imminuat,
quantum verss humilitati detrahat, palam est. Calvin. Instit. lib. iii.
c. 21. § 1.
Quod ergo Scriptura clare ostendit, dicimus : aeterno et immutabili
consilio Deum semel constituisse quos olim semel assumere vellet in
salutem, quos rursum exitio devovere. Hoc consilium, quoad electos,
in gratuita ejus misericordia fundatum esse asserimus, nullo humanas
dignitatis respectu : quos vero damnationi addicit, his, justo quidem et
irreprehensibili, sed incomprehensibili, ipsius judicio, vitas aditum prae-
cludi. Ibid. lib. hi. c. 21. § 7.
Quemadmodum voeatione et justificatione electos suos Dominus
signat, ita reprobos vel a notilia sui nominis, vel a Spiritus sui sancti-
ficatione, excludendo, quale maneat eos judicium, istis veluti nobis
aperit. Ibid. lib. iii. u. 21. § 7.
Multi quidem, ac si invidiam a Deo repellere vellent, electionem
ita fatentur, ut negent quenquam reprobari ; sed inscite nimis et
pueriliter : quando ipsa electio, ni reprobationi opposita, non
staret. — Quos ergo Deus prasterit, reprobat ; neque alia de causa, nisi
quod ab haereditate, quam filiis suis praedestinat, illos vult excludere.
Ibid. lib. iii. c. 23. § 1.
Decretum quidem horribile, fateor : inficiari tamen nemo poterit, quin
praesciverit Deus quem exitum esset habiturus homo, antequam ipsum
eonderet ; et ideo praesciverit, quia decreto suo sic ordinat. Ibid. lib.
iii. c. 23. § 7.
Quicunque sunt ex reproborum numero, ut sunt vasa in contu-
meliam formata, ita non desinunt perpetuis fiagitiis iram Dei in se
provocare et evidentibus signis confirmare quod jam in se latum est Dei
judicium : tantum abest, ut cum ipso frustra contendant. Ibid. lib. iii.
c. 23. § 14.
Hie jam se exerit immensa Dei bonitas, sed non omnibus in salutem :
quo reprobos manet gravius judicium, quod testimonium amoris Dei

46 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE . [BOOK I.
repudiant. Atque etiam Deus, illustrandae gloriae suas causa, Spiritus
sui efficaciam ab illis subducit. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 2.
Quemadmodum suas erga Electos vocationis efficacia, salutem, ad
quam eos asterno consilio destinarat, perficit Deus : ita sua habet ad
versus Reprobos judicia, quibus consilium de illis suum exequatur.
Quos ergo in vitas contumeliam et mortis exitium creavit, ut iras suas
organa forent et severitatis exempla, eos, ut in finem suum perveniant,
nunc audiendi verbi sui facultate privat, nunc ejus prsadicatione magis
excascat et obstupefacit. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 12.
Si ad electionis originem revocandi sumus, ut constet non aliunde
quam ex mera Dei liberalitate contingere nbbis salutem, qui hoc ex-
tinctum volunt, maligne, quantum in se est, obscurant quod magnifice
ac plenis buccis celebrandum erat, et ipsam humilitatis radicem evel-
iunt. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 21. § 1.
Si non possumus rationem assignare cur suos misericordia dignatur,
nisi quoniam ita illi placet : neque etiam, in aliis reprobandis, aliud
habebimus quam ejus voluntatem. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 22. § 11.
Proinde, quos Deus sibi filios assumpsit, non in ipsis eos dicitur ele-
gisse, sed in Christo suo. — Quod si in eo sumus electi, non in nobis ipsis
reperiemus Electionis nostras certitudinem: ac ne in Deo quidem Patre,
si nudum ilium absque Filio imaginamur. — Tories repetitur heec doc-
trina : Filio unigenito non pepercit Pater, ut, quisquis credit in eum,
non pereat. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 5.
Jam vero in Electis vocationem statuimus electionis testimonium.
Ibid. lib. iii. c. 21. § 7.
Quum suos eligendo jam in filiorum locum Dominus adoptavit ;
videmus tamen, ut in tanti boni possessionem non veniant nisi dum vo
cantur. — Deus efficaciter Electos suos docet, ut ad finem adducat.
Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 1.
Ipsa quoque vocationis natura et dispensatio perspicue id demon-
strat : quae, non sola verbi praedicatione, sed et Spiritus illuminatione,
¦constat. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 2.
Interior igitur hasc vocatio pignus est salutis, quod fallere non potest.
Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 2.
Nihil erit ambiguum, si tenemus quod debet ex superioribus liquere,
duplicem esse vocationis speciem. Est enim universalis vocatio,
qua per externam verbi prssdicationem omnes pariter ad se invitat Deus:
«tiam quibus, earn, in mortis odorem et gravioris condemnationis ma-
teriam, proponit. Est altera specialis, qua ut plurimum solos fideles
dignatur : dum interiore sui Spiritus illuminatione efficit, ut verbum
prasdicatum eorum cordibus insideat. — Ilia impiorum etiam communis
est : hasc secum affert Spiritum regenerationis, qui est arrhabo et sigil-

CHAP. IV.] OF ELECTION. 47
lum futures haereditatis, quo in diem Domini obsignantur corda nostra.
Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 8.
Enimvero electi, nee statim ab utero, nee eodem omnes tempore,
sed prout visum est Deo suam illis gratiam dispensare, in ovile Christi
per vocationem aggregantur. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 10.
Jam quorsum electio pertinet, nisi ut, in filiorum locum a coelesti
Patre cobptati, ejus favore salutem et immortalitatem obtineamus ?
Quantumlibet revolvas et excudas, ultimum tamen ejus scopum non
ultra tendere intelliges. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 24. § 5.
Accedit, ad stabiliendam fiduciam, alia, quam cum vocatione nostra
conjungi diximus, electionis firmituuo. Quos enim nominis sui
cognitione illuminatos in Ecclesias suas sinum Christus asciseit, eos
dicitur in fidem tutelamque suam recipere. Quoscunque autem recipit,
ei a Patre commissi dicuntur ac concrediti, ut in vitam asternam custo-
diantur. — Denique ipsa experientia satis docemur, parvi esse Vocationem
et Fidem, nisi accedat perseverantia, quas non omnibus contingit.
Ibid. lib. iii. u. 24. § 6.
Nee absurdum videri debet, quod dico : Deum non modo primi hominis
casum, et in eo posterorum ruinam, prasvidisse ; sed, arbitrio quoque
suo, dispensasse. Ibid. lib. iii. c. 23. § 7.

48 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK f"

CHAPTER V.
SEMICALVINISM.
I have now, to the best of my knowledge, without either
disguise or misrepresentation, faithfully exhibited the Sys
tem, which, in the present day, is usually termed Calvinism.
But there is a softened arrangement of the Scheme, to
which the name of Moderate Calvinism is frequently
applied. Perhaps, according to the general analogy of
doctrinal nomenclature, Semicalvinism might be a more
regular appellation. ,
According to this subdued arrangement, Reprobation*
either by a studied silence, or under the modestly cautious
name of Pretention, is kept out of sight : and, for the
scarcely perceptible, and to the individuals concerned really
unimportant, distinction involved in the use of that name,
somewhat of a plea is set up, by a denial of that second
Point which propounds the doctrine of The Particular
Redemption of the Elect only.
The mitigated Scheme, which I would denominate Semi
calvinism, has been very well stated by Mr. Milner, the late
pious historian of The Church of Christ.
God's Predestination and Election of some souls to glory is
so far from narrowing (as is often thought) the way to
heaven, that, remove it really, and the way to heaven is shut
altogether. All 'others have just as good an ability for
obtaining salvation by Christ, as they would have had, were
there no Election of Grace. If the Lord bring some effec
tually to heaven, that, surely, is not excluding others. 

CHAP. V.J OF ELECTION. 49
All men may be saved, if they please. There wants the
will only. But such is our natural enmity against God,
that, though the blood of his Son was freely spilt for all
men without exception, not one soul would return to God
by true repentance, were it not for his blessed and adorable
purpose of Election, which, before the foundation of the
world, determined, that Some souls should be benefited by his
universal redemption and led to repentance toward God
and to faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of his
Son is as well a gift to others, as to them : but, by the special
influence of the Holy Ghost, the Elect People of God are in
clined to receive what the Lord freely gives.
In thus making the work of God the Son universal, and
the work of God the Holy Ghost particular, / speak with our
Church-Reformers, who understood our present subject much
better than many, either Calvinists or Arminians, in our
days. And, if, in speaking with the Church-Reformers, I
seem, to some, to speak inconsistently : I am the more con
firmed thereby, that I state the doctrine aright, and that they
who find fault err themselves in one extreme or other.
One passage, in the Church Catechism, shews their pecu
liar view of the subject.
God the Son, who hath redeemed me and all mankind.
Here is universal redemption.
God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me and all the
ELECT PEOPLE OF GOD.
Here is electing grace. —
For once I have/set forth ihe Scripture doctrine of Election
at large. It is intended, by the Father of mercies, to afford
strong comfort to his tempted, yet sincere, children. Let them
take the comfort from it that is intended : and may the Lord
bless it to them ! Let those, who cannot receive the doctrine,
be quiet and patient at present : saying, What I see not,
G

50 THE primitive doctrine [book I.
teach thou me. This is more proper, than to cavil and
dispute*. * Milner's Practical Sermons, vol. ii. serm. 17. p. 243-247. The
text of this sermon is 2 Tim. ii. 19 : Nevertheless, ihe foundation of God
standeth sure, having this seal : The Lord knoweth them that are his ;
and Let every one, that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity.
Now that text Mr. Milner professedly applies to the doctrine of Election,
according to his own view of such doctrine. Hence I think it right to
state, that, so far as I can judge, he has totally misapprehended the im
port of the passage.
I. In no sense of the word, whether calvinistic or arminian or nation
al, is St . Paul there treating of the scriptural doctrine of Election.
On the contrary, he is opposing the mischievous fancy of Hymeneus
and Philetus : who, by saying that The Resurrection is past already,
overthrew the faith of some unstable and novelty-loving disciples.
1. Probably, these heresiarchs denied A future Resurrection to eternal
life, through the medium of asserting that There is no Resurrection save
a figurative resurrection at Baptism from the death of sin. Be that, how
ever, as it may, the Apostle, in avowed opposition to the present fancy,
elsewhere luminously teaches us : that the doctrine of A future Resur
rection from the dead is the very foundation of Christianity.
How say some among you : that There is no Resurrection of the dead ?
If there be no Resurrection of the dead ; then is Christ not risen : and, if
Christ be not risen ; then is our preaching vain, and tour faith is
also vain. 1 Corinth, xv. 12-14.
2. Now, this foundation, the idle figment of Hymeneus and Philetus
went immediately lo subvert.
Hence, in direct contextual reference to such an attempt, St. Paul
distinctly says : nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure,
having this seal : The Lord knoweth those who are his ; and Let every
one, that nameth the natne of Christ, depart from iniquity. 2 Tim. ii. 1.9.
That is to say : notwithstanding the subversive efforts of Hyme
neus and Philetus, the true foundation of God, or the doctrine of A fu
ture Resurrection from the dead, standeth sure. And this true founda
tion has a two-fold seal : The Lord, knowing his own really sound
preachers of the Gospel, broadly distinguishes them from those false
teachers who would overturn its very basis ; and Let every genuine
Christian renounce the unhallowed speculation of those heresiarchs, which,
by denying A future Resurrection from the dead, has a plain tendency V
encourage a secure perseverance in sinning.

CHAP. V.J OF ELECTION. 51
I. What the present Scheme gains in decent moderation,
it'certainly loses in harmonious concinnity: and, as such, I
can have no scruple in saying, that, on principles of exact
inductive reasoning, it is a deterioration of the more uncom
promising Scheme proposed by Calvin and accepted by the
Synod of Dort.
1. Semicalvinism, like perfect Calvinism, plainly rests
upon the basis : that Election, as propounded and explained
alike by each Scheme, is the undoubted doctrine of Scripture.
Such being the case, on what satisfactory principles
Semicalvinism can be maintained, I own myself unable to
comprehend. Genuine Calvinism, viewed as starting from the dogma of
its own well-defined Election, is a System preeminently
round and compact. Not a stone can be displaced without
shaking the whole edifice. Grant to a true Calvinist his
premises ; namely, The strict correctness of his definition of
the scriptural term election : and his entire Scheme, so far
as I can perceive, will be irrefragable. All the rest, if we
except perhaps the nice distinction of Supralapsarianism or
Sublapsarianism, will follow by a sort of logical necessity.
But, the moment this rotundity is invaded, the chaotic reign
of Doctrinal Inconsistency commences.
2. If some are Elect, the remainder must inevitably be
II. Such, I apprehend, is the true drift and import of the passage.
It is not a mere insulated text, the exposition of which depends upon
itself alone : but, as any person may see who will examine the context,
it is immediately bound, by the force of the word ps'vroi or nevertheless, to
the passage which directly precedes it.
That passage, however, limits its application to the heresy, which
declared that The Resurrection is past already.
Consequently, it forbids us to view it, as treating of what Mr. Milner
denominates The two seals of Election : namely, God's eternal decree,
on the one hand ; and The personal holiness of God's Elect, on the
other hand.

52

the primitive doctrine [book

Non-Elect. Hence, to say, that the Non-Elect are only
passed over by God ; and to deny, that they are formally re
probated by him : is, at least practically to the sufferers, a
distinction without a difference.
Whether the mass are left to inevitable eternal damna
tion, or whether they are specifically doomed to it, may
peradventure enable a disputant to set forth some subtle
distinction between two possible operations of the divine
mind : the operation, to wit, of Simple Prevision ; and the
operation of Active Predestination: though it may- be
doubted, whether even this distinction can be legitimately
sustained. For, to leave a person to inevitable damnation,
when such leaving is altogether spontaneous, is an act of
volition, no less than an act of prevision : and, if once the
idea of volition be introduced or admitted, there can be no
real difference between spontaneously leaving a person to
inevitable damnation, and spontaneously dooming a person
to inevitable damnation. Be this, however, as it may,
still, let us employ what mere terms we most affect, if the
mass of the Non-Elect be either left or doomed to inevitable
destruction (and, I believe, neither Calvinist nor Semical-
vinist denies the destruction of the Non-Elect to be inevita
ble), the result will equally be : that None, save the Elect,
either will or can be saved ; and consequently, that All the
Non-Elect, whether verbally we may choose to describe them
as the Pretermitted or the Reprobated, neither will nor can
escape eternal damnation.
3. So again : to say, as the Semicalvinists say ; that
All men mayjbe saved if they please, and that In order to a
finally beneficial acceptance of the Gospel there wants the will
only : strikes me, I must freely confess, as being little better
than a disingenuous paltering with ambiguous phraseology.
Doubtless, there wants only the will : but, if the good Spirit

chap. v.J of election. 53
of God strives with the Elect exclusively that they may
have the will, and if (as all, save Pelagians, acknowledge) no
person ever can have the will without the prevenient striving
of God's Spirit ; it is mere trifling and absolute mockery
to tell the Non-Elect, that All men may be saved if they
please. I myself greatly prefer the open and undisguised language
of unadulterated Calvinism.
That System, through the mouth of the uncompromising
Reformer of Geneva, fearlessly and distinctly states : that, so
far from the Spirit of God striving with the Reprobate to
give them s; good will, every ordinance designedly works
only to their eternal ruin.
Those persons, vjhom the Lord, in order that they may be
organs of his wrath and examples of his severity, has created
to contumely of life and to destruction of death : those persons,
I say, in order that they may come duly to their end, he, one
while, deprives of the faculty of hearing his word ; and, another
while, even by the very preaching of it, the more blinds and
stupefies*. Lo, he directs, indeed, his voice to them ; but only that they
may be the more deaf : he kindles light before them ; but only
that they may be made the more blind : he propounds doctrine
to them ; but only that, by it, they may be the more stupefied :
he applies the remedy to them ; but only that they may not be
healed^. * Quos ergo in vitas contumeliam et mortis exitium creavit, utiras suae
organa forent et severitatis exempla, eos, ut in finem suum perveniant,
nunc audiendi verbi sui facultate privat, nunc ejus prsedicatione magis
excaecat et obstupefacit. Calvin. Instit. lib. iii. u. 24. § 12.
} Ecce, vocem ad eos dirigit; sed ut magis obsurdescant : lucem ac-
cendit ; sed ut reddantur casciores ; doctrinam profert ; sed qua magis
obstupescant : remedium adhibet ; sed ne sanentur. Calvin. Instit. lib.
iii. c. 24. § 13.

54 the primitive doctrine [book t.
However this may sound in the ears of a Semicalvinist,
his own apparently moderated Scheme, let him in words
disguise it as he may, virtually brings out the very same
result. 3. Furthermore, to say, that All are redeemed, but that A
certain number only are elected to eternal life while the re
mainder are so left as inevitably to perish ; or, in other
words, to maintain conjointly the two doctrines of Universal
Redemption and Particular Election : this, so far as I can
perceive, is to contend for the coexistence of two matters
palpably and necessarily incompatible.
The complete Calvinist will readily tell his semicalvinistic
brother : that Universal Redemption, associated with Par*
ticular Election, is an inconsistent mockery, which, however
speciously disguised, really exhibits the Almighty as even
systematically and predeterminately acting in vain. For
what can be more fruitless and unmeaning, than A Plan of
Universal Redemption, deliberately and advisedly, to a vast
extent, rendered ineffective, by its association with a coor
dinate plan of Particular Election and Particular Preter-
ition ? Such a plan were clearly to pull down with one
hand, what is built up with the other.
If the premises of the complete Calvinist be admitted,
namely, his definition of the scriptural term Election ;
premises, be it observed, fully admitted, or rather indeed
insisted upon, by the Semicalvinist : we must inevitably, as
Calvin himself well argued, either receive his whole System
as the truth, or renounce Christianity as a fable*. But, from
* Multi quidem, ac si invidiam a Deo repellere vellent, Electionem,
ita fatentur, ut negent quenquam reprobari ; sed inscite nimis et puerili-
ter : quando ipsa Electio, ni Reprbbationi opposita, non staret. — Quos
ergo Deus prasterit, reprobat : neque alia de causa, nisi quod ab haeredi-
tate, quam filiis suis prasdestinat, illos vult excludere. Calvin. Instit.
lib. iii.. c. 23. § 1.

CHAP. V.J OF election. It ¦ ¦5£t^ACt ¦*
these same premises, it is impossible, with any decen^
of argument, to deduce legitimately the mutilated System
Semicalvinism. The very idea of Election to eternal life in
volves and supposes the idea of Reprobation to eternal death :
and, to say that Redemption can be viewed as extending to per
sons thus eternally and irrevocably in God's counsels reprobat
ed to misery, is to advance a self-contradictory proposition.
5. In making this remark, I speak of Semicalvinism, as
defined by Mr. Milner, and as now advocated by many very
excellent individuals. Doubtless, there has been a modifi
cation of the mitigated Scheme, which seems to have been
contrived for the purpose of removing the obvious charge of
inconsistency. According to such a modification, some persons, by
special grace and by the sovereign will of God, are par
ticularly elected to eternal life : while the remainder, inas
much as Redemption is Universal, are neither absolutely
elected to salvation, nor absolutely reprobated to damnation.
Hence the individuals, who compose the remainder, either
may, or may not, be saved : though, if they be saved, it will
not be by a formal decree of Absolute Election : and, if
they be damned, it will not be by a formal decree of Abso
lute Reprobation.
The present Scheme, so far as I can understand it, may
be deemed a sort of Theological Hermaphrodite ; one side
of which exhibits the features of Calvinism, while the other
dimly shews the masked form of Pelagianism.
I venture to say Pelagianism : for, on no other principles,
do I see, how it is to extricate the Semicalvinist from his
difficulties. Some individuals, it tells us, are neither elected nor repro
bated : and, as such, these indifferential individuals either
may, or may not, be saved.

66 i the primitive doctrine [book i.
How, except on pelagian principles, can this be ?
By the very terms of the Scheme, the. individuals are left
to themselves, either to sink or to swim, as best they may.
Such being the case, if, on the one hand, they at all
savingly turn to righteousness : then they must so turn by
their own unaided powers ; and thus, with Pelagius, the
need of prevenient Divine Grace will manifestly be dis
pensed with.
While, on the other hand, if the assistance of that Divine
Grace, which is alone granted to the Elect, be withheld
from them ; and if it be admitted, as on sound scriptural
principles it must be admitted, that they cannot turn without
it ; then the inconsistency remains in all its original force ;
and we immediately perceive the gross contradictoriness of
a Scheme, which, to secure the doctrine of Universal
Redemption, vainly alleges, that the mass of the Non-elected
either may, or may not, be saved.
The contriver of this unstable System was, I believe, Mr.
Baxter : and it seems to have been adopted by Milton ;
who, with more confidence than modesty, has ventured to
exhibit the Deity himself as propounding it*.
II. My remarks on Semicalvinism have hitherto been
general. With every feeling of respect for the memory of
Mr. Milner, I may now be permitted to offer a few obser
vations on the preceding passage in particular. So high,
with many pious Christians, is the authority of that excellent
man, that my strictures (if strictures I must call them) will
not, I trust, be deemed either superfluous or impertinent.
1. Mr. Milner professedly indicates his mixed System by
the example of our Anglican Church-Reformers. If he is
inconsistent, in associating Universal Redemption with Par-
* See Paradise Lost, book iii. ver. 168-202-

CHAP. V.J OT ELECTION. 57
ticular Election to eternal life : they, precisely after the same
manner, are inconsistent also.
It may be doubted, whether the vindication of incon
sistency by inconsistency can ever, in the very nature of
things, be deemed valid and satisfactory. The present
vindication, however, plainly goes on the presumption : that
The words Election and Elect are used, in the same sense,
both by himself and by our Church-Reformers.
Now this presumption, I take it, is neither more nor less,
than a palpable begging of the question. Where, I venture
to ask, is the proof, that Such a presumption is well founded ?
Certainly, Mr. Milner has given no proof : and I incline to
think, that even the clause, which he has himself cited from
the Church Catechism, is fatal to his claim of doctrinal
identity. Every catechumen is taught to say, that God the
Holy Ghost sanctifieth me and all the elect people of god.
.Therefore, if the clause proves any thing, it will not prove,
that Our Church-Reformers understood the doctrine of Elec
tion, as Mr. Milner understood it ; b.ut it will prove, that,
In the judgment 'of our Church-Reformers, every baptised
catechumen, according to their views of the doctrine of Elec
tion, is one of God's Elected People.
2. Mr. Milner undoubtingly states : that He has set forth
at large the doctrine qf Election, as it is propounded in
scripture. Here, again, if I mistake not, this excellent man assumes
the very point, which, ere he used it in argument, he ought,
by competent evidence, to have established.
That he honestly sets forth his own view of what he
deemed the true scriptural doctrine of Election, no one, who
was acquainted with his character, will deny : but it does
not of necessity follow, that his interpretation of the
phraseology of Scripture is identical with the real mind of
H

58 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK I.
Scripture. In the abstract, it may, or it may not: and, in
the concrete, while many good men would assent to the
Scheme advocated by Mr. Milner, Calvin himself has, by
anticipation, roundly declared it to be unskilful and puerile*.
But, correct or incorrect in itself, I submit, that no man, let
him be Calvinist or Semicalvinist or Baxterocalvinist or
Anticalvinist, has a right to designate his own private
interpretation of scripture by the imposing name of
scripture doctrine, until, through some tangible evidence,
he shall have morally demonstrated, that his interpretation
is assuredly the true interpretation. No fallacy is more
gross, though, unhappily for the cause of sober inquiry, no
fallacy is more common, than to confound together, as if
they were identical, an appeal to scripture, and an appeal
TO A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL'S OWN GRATUITOUS INTERPRETATION
of scripture. The two are in no wise, of necessity, inden-
tical : though, in discussions of the present nature, they have
often, more rapidly than logically, been assumed to be
such f.
3. Mr. Milner recommends : that Those, who cannot
receive his doctrine of Semicalvinism, should pray, that God
would teach them what at present they see not.
In recommending such a petition for divine teaching in
regard to' the true import of litigated texts, I am fully
aware, that he has the great authority of Augustine : for
that eminent Father tells the Christians of Marseilles, that,
if they unfortunately differ from him in the matter of Pre
destination, God, provided they walk piously in that faith
* Inscite nimis et pueriliter. Calvin. Instit. lib. iii. c. 23. § 1.
f That clear-headed writer, Dr. Waterland, justly observes : It is but
shallow artifice constantly to call interpretations of Scripture, Scrip
ture. Case of Arian Subscrip. plea vi. Works, vol. ii. p. 300.

CHAP. V.J OF ELECTION. 59
to which they have already attained, will, in due time,
reveal it in answer to their prayers*.
But, high as the authority of Augustine is, and extensive
as have been the ecclesiastical researches of Mr. Milner, I
cannot think, that, in this their idea of the proper office of
prayer, they are by any means correct.
(1.) No Christian, who has compared his own heart with
the language of Scripture, will deny his need of the gracious
illumination of the Blessed Spirit. But, from an attentive
and cautious perusal of that same Scripture, many Christians
will perhaps incline to think : that That promised and neces
sary illumination is moral, not intellectual ; that It respects,
if I may use such phraseology, the self-examining religious
understanding, not the externally-investigating critical un
derstanding ; that It teaches' a man, thoroughly to know him
self ab intra, not by any special illapse accurately to decide
upon the truth or falsehood of a litigated doctrine ab extra.
Its object is, I apprehend, to remove the moral darkness
of our fallen nature, to communicate a thorough knowledge
of our own utter weakness and corruption, to dispel the
delusive dreams of our own innate sufficiency and goodness,
to cast down all high imaginations, and to shew us prac
tically and feelingly what we have become through sin
that so we may thankfully and eagerly aspire after a better
state through gracef.
* Retenta ergo ista, in quae pervenerunt, plurimum eos a Pelagiano-
rum errore discernunt. Proinde, si in eis ambulent et orent eum qui
dat intellectum, si quid de Prasdestinatione aliter sapiunt, ipse illis hoc
quoque revelabit. August, de Prasdest. et Persever. lib. i. c. 2. Oper.
vol. vii. p. 485.
f The whole scriptural rationale of Fallen man, morally dark by na
ture and morally illuminated by grace, is briefly propounded by our
Lord himself in his address to the Church of Laodicea.
Because thou sayest, 1 am rich, and increased with goods, and have

60 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
But, unless I greatly mistake, its object is not to convey
to our intellect the alone true meaning of a difficult, passage
in Scripture ; its object is not to enable us to determine,
peremptorily and without appeal, what Scheme of Doctrine
must be received, and what Scheme of Doctrine must be
rejected To settle the import of a litigated text, we must, simply
and with full honesty of purpose and (I will add) with
devout prayer for such moral tempers and dispositions,
collect and weigh all the evidence which lies within our
reach ; not expect any peculiar illuminating descent of the
Spirit into our minds, after the way of a communication
to the intellect. It was, indeed, the office of the Holy
Ghost to guide the Apostles into all truth.: truth intel
lectual, as well as truth moral*. But they, like the
Prophets before them, were the specially inspired delegates
of heaven : and, as the vehicle of God's message to man,
it was plainly necessary, that all possibility of doctrinal
error should, with them, be supernaturally precluded. We,
however, are placed in a very different situation : we must
look only for the ordinary or moral, not the extraordinary
or intellectual, gifts and graces of the Spirit. God forbid,
that any Christian man should deny the moral illumination
of the Holy Ghost : but, to expect his intellectual illumina
tion, in order that we may unerringly decide, whether the
need of nothing ; and knowest not, that thou art wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and naked : I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried
in the fire that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest
be clothed and that the shame qf thy nakedness do not appear ; - and
anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. Rev. iii. 17, 18.
The object, we see, of the illumination of the Spirit, is not to make
men unerring doctrinal critics, but to teach them self-knowledge
through a powerful application of Scripture to their consciences,
* John xvi. 13.

CHAP. V.J OF ELECTION. 61
calvinistic view of Election, or any other view of Election,
be correct or incorrect ; and to make the grant of such .
intellectual illumination a subject of prayer to the throne of
grace ; this, I think, is a plain, and I fear, also a dangerous,
mistake. In effect, to pray for intellectual illumination, after the
mode recommended by Augustine and Mr. Milner ; to pray,
that is to say, that God would reveal to us the certainty of a
particular Scheme of exposition, which, with some varieties,
they pronounce to set forth the undoubted mind of Scripture :
thus to pray is neither more nor less, than to pray for the
lofty prerogative of Personal Infallibility. For, if God, in
answer to prayer, ordinarily teaches the true meaning of a
litigated passage in Scripture, the interpretation, thus by the
Holy Spirit conveyed to the mind of the petitioner, must needs
be infallibly accurate : and it were alike impious and pre
sumptuous to question any further the soundness of the in
terpretation thus authoritatively propounded. Under such an
aspect of the matter, which inevitably results from the plan
before us, we might as reasonably question the message of
an inspired Prophet or Apostle, as impugn the calvinistic or
semicalvinistic exposition of the doctrine of Predestination
when a pious man shall declare that he has made it a subject
of prayer, and that he has risen from his knees internally
convinced by the Spirit of the undoubted correctness of this
System or of that System.
(2.) The grievously delusive unwarrantability, however,
of preferring any such prayer, will readily and (as it were)
practically appear, if we only consider the necessary, and
indeed actually experienced, consequence of the practice.
Two persons, we will say, each with perfect though
mistaken sincerity, supplicate the throne of grace, that the
true interpretation of those texts, which speak of Election

62 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK. 1
and Predestination, may by the Holy Spirit be conveyed to
their divinely illuminated intellect.
The prayer is, by each party, duly put up : and the incon
gruous result is ; that The one person becomes a decided Cal
vinist, and that The other person rises from, his -devotions a
stedfast Arminian.
Now, clearly, the interpretations, which they henceforth
confidently recommend as answers severally vouchsafed to
their prayers for intellectual illumination, cannot both be
correct. How, then, if we admit the fitness of the practice, are
we to determine between the two opposing expositions?
which interpretation are we bound in conscience to receive
as the unerring communication of the infallible Spirit of un
mixed truth ?
Without the very extremity of arrogant assumption, nei
ther individual, I apprehend, can presume to say, that his
interpretation is the genuine dictate of the Spirit, and that
the interpretation of his opponent is advanced purely under
the influence of a strong delusion.
I put not any mere imaginary case : the unseemly incon
gruity, here pointed out, has actually occurred, as the result
of the unauthorised prayers of two very good, though very
mistaken, men.
Mr. Whitfield says : / never read any thing that Calvin
wrote : my doctrines I had from Christ and his Apostles : I
was taught them of god. And he further somewhat more
distinctly states, in regard to the particular doctrine specially
alluded to : Election is a doctrine, which I thought, and do
now believe, was taught me of god*-
Yet Mr. Wesley broadly declares : that he has an imme-
* Whitfield's Lett. 214. Gillie's Life of Whitfield, p. 68. cited in
Nott's Bampton Lectures, p. 247, 248.

CHAP. V.J OF ELECTION. 63
diate call from god to preach and publish to the world, that
Mr. Whitfield's doctrine is highly injurious to Christ*.
From the -very purport of these jarring allegations, I ven
ture to conclude, that Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Wesley had
alike prayed to God for a right understanding of the texts
which are litigated between Calvinists and Arminians : for
neither of them could have well imagined, that he was taught
of God or that he had an immediate call from God, without
the antecedent preparation of much thought on the subject
mingled with much prayerf. Yet, what is the result of
such utterly unscriptural applications to the Deity ? Com
bining the two together, we portentously learn, from the
conjoined declarations of Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Wesley,
that the former was taught of god the doctrine of Election
as expounded by Augustine and Calvin, while the latter had
an immediate call from god to publish to the whole world
that this identical doctrine of Election thus expounded is
totally false and highly injurious to Christ.
The truth of the matter was, that each, by his own private
reasoning and judging upon Scripture, had firmly persuaded
himself, that his own view of Election was undoubtedly
correct ; and an erroneous estimate of the nature and office
of prayer, associated with a strong imagination, readily
effected the remainder.
* Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xi. p. 322. cited in Nott's Bampton
Leet. p. 248.
f We may the more reasonably infer such to have been the case from
Mr. Whitfield's own account of his claims and habits.
The Holy Spirit, from time to time, has led me into the knowledge of
divine things : and I have been directed, by watching and reading the
Scriptures on my knees, even in the minutest circumstances, as plainly as
the Jews were, when consulting ihe Urim and Thummim at ihe High-
Priest's breast. Account of God's Dealings, p. 34. cited in Nott's
Bamp. Leet. p. 247.

64 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
But the mischief of such presumptuous petitions will
appear in even a yet more striking point of view, when it is
stated, that they have actually been preferred both by an
Infidel and (in the language of the early Church) by a God-
denying Apostate, and that the wretched result was a full
confidence on the part of each that his own System had
received the special sanction of heaven.
When Lord Herbert of Cherbury had finished his favour
ite infidel Work, he prayed, that he might be instructed by
some sign from heaven, whether it were for the honour of
God to suppress it or to publish it The answer to his
prayer, he tells us, was a divine sign which authorised him
to print and to circulate the Work *.
The prayers of Socinus were, to himself at least, of an
equally satisfactory description. He claimed to have re
ceived God's instruction and assistance in the interpretations
which he has put upon the various passages of Scripture
litigated between his own followers and the Church Cath-
olicf. I may add, that even the allied expositions of Augustine
and Mr. Milner will but still further serve distinctly to shew
the illegitimacy of the plan now under discussion.
Since these two divines recommended the practice to
others; we may fairly presume, that, respecting the true
scriptural System of Predestination, they themselves alike
prayed for intellectual illumination. Yet, after all, in evolv
ing the Schemes of their several intrepretations, they are
not perfectly agreed. For, if I may be pardoned a phrase
ological anachronism, Augustine was a steady and unflinching

* Lord Herbert's Life, p. 172. Leland's View of Deistic Writers,
vol. i. p. 25.
f Green on Enthusiasm, p. 44. cited in Nott's Bamp. Leet. p. 291.

CHAP. V.J OF ELECTION. 65
Calvinist: while Mr. Milner, according to his own state
ment of his own views, does not adventure to be more than
a Semicalvinist. And now we may well stand aghast at the varied alleged
answers to prayer for divine intellectual illumination: an
swers, which, if really received, would confer the privilege
of Infallibility upon each jarring petitioner.
When these answers are all brought together, the result
will be : that, At different times, and through the instrument
ality of different individuals, God has unerringly decided in
favour, of Calvinism and of Arminianism, of Calvinism and
of Semicalvinism, of Socinianism and of Infidelity.
(3.) To put such a summary into express words, is in no
wise agreeable to my feelings ; for I would not willingly
approach even to the confines of irreverence : but I have
been compelled by the necessity of my argument.
The present delusive and unscriptural opinion I have
thought it the more proper to notice somewhat at large,
because I fear, that, with many truly good persons, it is in
no wise uncommon. Indeed, I may say with truth, that I
have myself heard it maintained and defended. The whole
error springs from a want of accurately distinguishing, be
tween ILLUMINATION MORAL, and ILLUMINATION INTELLEC
TUAL.

66 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.

CHAPTER VI.
INDUCTION AND EVIDENCE.
The peculiar Scheme of interpretation, familiarly denomi
nated Calvinism,, having now, at sufficient length, been
stated: our next business must be to inquire, upon what
foundation that Scheme has been erected.
I. In the enumeration of the five Points, Original Sin,
which is noted as the third of them, cannot justly be laid
down as a speciality of Calvinism. No doubt, it is held by
the Calvinist : but then it is also held by every Anticalvinist)
save those who have embraced the Pelagian and Socinian
Heresies. I conclude, therefore, that it is noted as the third of the
five Points, not on the ground that it is a special doctrine of
Calvinism, but purely in the way of a necessary link of con
nection : and I am the more led to this conclusion, because
I observe, that the Synod of Dort has arranged it in the
same section with the fourth Point or the doctrine of Effect
ual Calling, instead of giving it a distinct section to itself.
Thus viewing the third Point merely in the light of a
necessary link of connection, I may observe : that, as a
System, the several parts of which mutually depend upon
each other, while the subordinate propositions all ultimately
rest upon a primary proposition, nothing, provided only the
primary proposition be well established, can be more per
fectly harmonious and more beautifully compact, than gen
uine unadulterated Calvinism.
When I say beautifully compact, I, of course, speak, not

chap. vi.J of election. 67
of its doctrinal beauty, but of its systematising beauty : for,
whatever may be thought of the former, its sturdiest op
ponents, I suppose, will not deny to it an ample share of the
latter. Calvinism is strictly A System of Induction from a single
well-defined Principle : and this Master-Principle is The ab
solute or sovereign Election of a certain number of individ
uals, out of ihe great corrupt mass of mankind, through the
medium of personal holiness here, to eternal happiness here
after. Such is the Principle or the Primary Proposition : and,
with the Principle at its head, the train of reasoning, deduced
from it, runs, I believe, in manner following.
1. A certain definite number of individuals, which number
can be neither increased nor diminished, are, by the mere
sovereign will of God, out of the great corrupt mass of
mankind, unconditionally elected, through the medium of
holiness here, to eternal glory hereafter.
2. This absolute election of certain individuals being
thus the fixed purpose of God, all those remaining indivi
duals, who are not thus elected, must, of plain necessity, be left
or pretermitted or reprobated (by whichever of these words
we may choose to express the idea), without a possibility of
escape, to perish everlastingly in that state of alienation
from God which equally characterises all the fallen race of
Adam : for absolute reprobation is the inseparable cor
relative to absolute election.
3. Now, since God never acts after a manner which must
inevitably be nugatory, it is certain, that the redemption,
effected by Christ, though in itself sufficient for the sins of
the whole world, cannot, designedly and effectively, extend
to those, who lie under an irreversible decree of Reproba
tion to eternal misery. Therefore, the Redemption, effected

68 the primitive doctrine [book I.
by Christ, can only be the particular redemption of the
elect. 4. But all mankind, the Elect as well as the Reprobate,
are born in original sin. Consequently, since the Elect are
saved only through the medium of personal holiness and
practical devotedness to God, they must, at some appointed
time, receive, from the good Spirit of God, an effectual
CALLING. 5. The Elect, however, are irreversibly elected to eternal
glory. But, since they are also elected to eternal glory
through the alone medium of personal holiness after they
shall have been effectually called : they plainly, with what
ever allowance for human infirmity, and with whatever oc
casional lapses into temporary sin, must, after their effec
tual calling, persevere, in the general disposition and prac
tice of holiness, to the end of their lives. Therefore, re
ceiving the doctrine of irreversible election, we must
also receive the doctrine of the final perseverance of
the elect*.
II. So far as I can perceive, this train of inductive reason
ing, from a well-defined Principle, is altogether unobjectiona-
* I have been particularly careful in the selection of my words ;
because, by many ignorant and prejudiced persons, a very foul, but a
very false, allegation, has occasionally, both before the time of the Synod
of Dort and down also to the present day, been advanced against tbe
Calvinistic System.
That System has been set forth : as offering a premium for gross
immorality ; as inculcating, in the case of the vainly presumptuous, an
unhallowed security; and as advocating, to the certain ruin of the
constitutionally despondent, all the wild recklessness of utter and un-
controuled desperation.
Hence, in the way of summary, we have been gravely assured : that,
According to the Calvinistic Scheme qf Interpretation, ihe Elect, no matter
what may be the obstinate ungodliness of their lives, must be finally
saved even in their impenitence ; while the Reprobate, no matter what

chap. vi.J of election. 69
ble. Grant The doctrine of election as defined by Calvin :
and every other Point will follow of very necessity.
may be the devoted holiness of their conversation, must, even in their
godly penitence, be finally damned.
Nothing can be more unfounded than the present vulgar allegation.
Calvinism really teaches : that The Elect, even though they may be
humbly doubtful of their own individual Election, will always, after their
Effectual Calling, lead, however speckled with the remains of human
corruption, Iwly and devoted and godly lives ; while the Reprobate, even
though they may madly and contemptuously presume upon their own
imagined security, will always shew their true character, either by an
indulgence in habitually unhallowed practice, or by an utter deadness to
every sentiment of vitally influential religion. See Judic. Synod.
Dordrech. conclus. cap. v.
This invariable association of Holiness with Election and of Unholi-
ness with Reprobation is assuredly, as we are informed by those who
should best know their own sentiments, the special badge of C al vinism :
and, for the abuse of the System by the profanely licentious, that
Scheme, in common equity, is no more responsible, than any other
Scheme can justly be made responsible for its own particular and disal
lowed perversion.
The dogma, if such a dogma be held even by the wildest Antinomian ;
that An individual may fearlessly and securely sin, because, without
evidence, or rather indeed against evidence, he has fondly persuaded,
himself that he is one of the Elect : this dogma is a mere perversion of
the Genevan System. A pious Calvinist (and, among doctrinal Cal
vinists, have been numbered some of the best and the wisest and the
most holy men, that have ever adorned the Church Catholic) would
shrink from it with horror and disgust. So far from sanctioning the
blasphemous absurdity, he would, on the real principles of his own
doctrinal Scheme, be the first and foremost to consider its maintenance,
by any pretended Calvinist, as a black mark too surely indicative of the
wretched individual perverter's own reprobation. Whatever may be the
secret ultimate purpose of God in regard to Effectual Calling, he would
say : no man can claim to be of the number of the Elect to glory, unless,
as a clear evidence of his Election, he can shew a life devoted to his
Saviour and instinct with fruit-producing holiness.
As honest men, we are bound, in the measure of our opportunity,
faithfully to investigate doctrinal truth : but then, as honest men also,
we are equally bound to abstain from the offensive shamelessness of
unmerited calumny.

70 the primitive doctrine [book I.
But here arises the important question of Evidence.
As the whole System rests upon the calvinistically defined
doctrine of election: the whole System really depends
upon the scriptural accuracy of a definition.
If Calvin has justly defined the scriptural term election ;
we stand bound, by the laws of right reasoning, to receive
his whole System : if he has not justly defined that term ;
his whole System, being deprived of its foundation, falls
immediately to the ground.
1. How, in matter of fact, he has defined the term, we
well know. But, where his authority is for propounding
such a definition, we are bound to inquire, before we can
rationally or safely receive the definition itself.
If the definition rests merely upon his own private judg
ment: the whole Scheme, in that case, reposes upon no
better foundation, than the simple naked opinion of a very
able and very eminent individual who flourished in the six
teenth century.
The opinion may have satisfied Calvin, and may still
satisfy his followers : nay, even, in the abstract, the opinion
may, peradventure, itself, be well founded : but, after all, an
opinion, without any evidence to demonstrate its truth, is
nothing more than an opinion. When distinctly laid down,
its validity or cogency will amount only to this : The calvin
istic definition of Election must1 be correct ; because an indi
vidual thinks, that it is correct.
2. To allege, in the way of proof of correctness, the
phraseology of Scripture ; and to declare, that Holy Scrip
ture alone, or Holy Scripture independently of all other evi
dence, shall decide the controversy ; which I observe to be
the plan avowedly laid down and insisted upon by the
Synod of Dort : such an allegation and such a declaration
constitute a mere petitio principii, a gross begging of the

chap. vi.J of election. 71
question*. For the matter, to be determined, is : not the
existence of the phraseology, but its import ; not whether
* I subjoin, as a logical curiosity, the precise words of the Synod.
Ista Arminii ejusque sectatorum dogmata, accurate, et ex solo Dei
verbo, dijudicarentur ; vera doctrina stabiliretur ; et falsa rejiceretur. —
Hasc itaque veneranda Synodus, in nomine Domini Dordrechti con-
gregata, divini Numinis et salutis Ecclesias accensa amore, et post in-
vocatum Dei nomen, sancto juramento obstricta, se solam Scripturam
Sacram pro judicii norma habituram, et in caussas hujus cognitione et
judicio bona integraque conscientia versaturam esse, hoc egit sedulo
magnaque patientia, ut prascipuos horum dogmatum patronos, coram se
citatos, induceret ad sententiam suam de Quinque Notis Doctrinae
Capitibus, sententiasque rationes, plenius exponendas. Judic. Synod.
Dordrech. in Praefat.
I. The first Council of Nice, which sat in the year 325, when laying
down its exposition of Scripture in regard to the proper divinity of Christ,
confidently, as its voucher, appealed to Antiquity.
Accordingly, its allegation was : that It taught no new and hitherto
unheard of doctrines ; but that It only propounded those, which had been
held by ihe Catholic Church, from the very beginning, on the authorita
tive teaching of the Apostles.
Here we have a distinct and intelligible reason, why we should re
ceive the exposition of the Nicene Fathers.
II. But the Divines of Dort seem to have acted upon a very different
principle. A professed declaration, that they will admit Holy Scripture alone
to decide the dispute between themselves and the Remonstrants, sounds,
no doubt, in the ears of a superficial inquirer, very reasonable and very
satisfactory and very protestant : but, when stripped of its decent
plausibility, it really means nothing more, than an avowal, that The
sole judge should be Holy Scripture as gratuitously interpreted by
themselves. Such a compendious plan would certainly make very quick work
with controversy. Let the Divines of Dort, by their own mere au
thority, interpret Scripture as they please ; and let them declare, that
An appeal to their own arbitrary interpretation alone is identical with
An appeal to Scripture alone : and the Remonstrants, or indeed any
other class of Anticalvinists, are incontinently beaten out of the field. ¦¦
Gravely to swear, that The Synod will abide by the decision of Holy
Scripture alone ; and then, no less gravely, without a shadow of evi-

72

THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.

Scripture alone is to be received as an authoritative Rule of
Faith, but what System of doctrine is really propounded in
Scripture. We all know, that the word Election is scriptural. This
we require not to be told. What, for a legitimate settlement
of the question, we want to know, is the meaning of the
word as employed by the inspired writers.
So great is my veneration for the Bible, and so full is my
assurance that it is the infallible word of God : that I hold
myself prepared implicitly to believe any doctrine, which it
propounds. But, as for what doctrine it propounds, I must
have some tangible and intelligible evidence : and a mere
gratuitous assertion thrown out by an individual, that It
contains such or such a doctrine, is manifestly no proof to
me, that it really does contain such or such a doctrine.
3. Calvin assures us, that his interpretation of the word
Election is its true interpretation : and the theologians of
Dort strenuously reecho his assurance.
This may, or may not, be the case. But, without some
dence even pretended to be adduced in their favour, gratuitously to
interpret Holy Scripture according to their own fancy : is, surely,
the very perfection of solemn mockery. They seem either to have
quite forgotten or most unaccountably to have overlooked, that the true
question, between themselves and the Remonstrants, was not The sole
authority of the Bible as a binding Rule of Faith, but The correct
interpretation of file phraseology of ihe Bible as the sense to be
received. But it will be said, that, instead of depending upon their own
unaided judgment alone, they did not proceed to give sentence until
after they had solemnly invoked the name of God to guide them to a
true decision.
Here they doubtless followed the advice of their great original master
Augustine. But the delusiveness of prayer for intellectual illumination,
in order that we may rightly interpret disputed texts of Scripture, has
already been abundantly exposed.

CHAP. VI.J OF ELECTION. 73
distinct evidence of the correctness of Calvin's interpretation,
we have clearly nothing better than a mere opinion.
Unless a tangible proof be adduced, the whole System,
resting as it does upon an exposition, will inevitably rest
upon an assumption. Independently of such proof, Calvin
could only have said : My interpretation is true, because I
myself believe it to be true. To which, still independently of
proof on either side, an opponent, with equal cogency, might
readily have answered: Your interpretation is false, because
I myself believe it to be false.
4. The same remark obviously applies to every Calvinist
of the present day.
If he can give no better reason for his interpretation of
Scripture, than his own private individual persuasion of its
accuracy : however he may succeed in persuading himself ;
on no intelligible principle, can he reasonably hope to per
suade another.

74 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.

CHAPTER VII.
AUGUSTINE.
If the System, denominated Calvinism, do indeed faithfully
exhibit the mind of Scripture, it propounds a Scheme of
doctrine far too marked and too prominent and too important
not to have been well and familiarly known to the Catholic
Church from the very beginning.
I mean not to say, that it must have appeared in all the
strict formality of a precise and minutely defined set of
Articles : for scholastic exactness of this description is pro
duced only by controversy. But thus far I will certainly
say, that if the Calvinistic System were the System univer
sally understood, by the primitive Christians, to have been
delivered by the inspired Apostles, as the undoubted and
indisputable sense of the phraseology employed in the wri
tings of the New Testament: we must find it, boldly and
characteristically prominent, though of course only under a
hortatory or practical form, in all the early ecclesiastical
documents. ,#?
• To suppose otherwise, were to suppose, that the Church
in her best and purest day, the Church with the very voice
of the Apostles still sounding in her ears, either deliberately
suppressed, or contemptuously disregarded, a revealed
Scheme of doctrine, which could not but be highly important
even under the simple aspect of its being a revelation, and
which must be viewed as yet additionally and indeed pre
eminently important if (as its advocates contend) it be the
very pith and marrow of scriptural sincerity.

CHAP. VII. J OF ELECTION. 75
I. On the reasonable principle that A System ought to bear
the name of its author, the term Calvinism is certainly im
proper. We cannot justly charge the Genevan Reformer with in
ventive innovation. He did not, in the sixteenth century,
rashly, for the first time, propound any new-fangled results
of his own unchastened and unwarranted private judgment.
Both within the pale of the Latin Church, and among those
who from time to time protested against her growing cor
ruptions, we find, through a long succession of ages, the
same general Scheme of doctrine repeatedly advanced and
maintained and defended.
II. On this fact of perhaps well nigh unbroken evidence,
it is superfluous for me to dwell : I rather hasten to that
great man, from whose mighty authority such speculations
pervaded the West, while they appear to have made scanty
progress in the East.
Calvin, as he does, may justly claim, as his own, Augustine
of Hippo. For, to draw any essential distinction between
Calvinism and Austinism would argue small acquaintance
with the writings of either divine.
1. Respecting what are called The Five Points, Augustine
and Calvin fully and perfectly symbolised : though, by
neither of them, are those Five Points drawn out in that re
gular form of Articles, which has been adopted by the Synod
of Dort.
(1.) As the vindicatory basis of his whole Scheme, Au
gustine laid down two postulates : The Original Sin of
man, derived from the Fall of Adam ; and The just, though
irresponsible, Sovereignty of God.
From these premises, he argued : that An Absolute Elec
tion of certain individuals to eternal life, though resulting

76

THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.

purely from the divine will and pleasure, is not, on the part of
the Supreme Ruler, abstractedly unjust.
For, since, both by Original Sin and by Actual Sin, all
are transgressors of God's Law : it were, assuredly, no in
justice, if all were left to perish.
Therefore, if all might justly be left to perish : clearly,
no breach of justice can be committed, in the free Election
of some to eternal life*.
* Sed cur, inquit, gratia Dei non secundum merita hominum datur ?
Respondeo : Quoniam Deus misericors est.
Cur ergo, inquit, non omnibus ?
Et hie respondeo : Quoniam Deus judex Justus est : acper hoc et gratis
ab eo datur gratia : et justo ejus in aliis judicio demonstratur, quid eis,
quibus datur, conferat gratia. Non itaque simus ingrati, quod, secun
dum placitum voluntatis suae, in laudem glorias gratias suae, tam multos
liberat misericors Deus de tam debita perditione: ut, si inde neminem
liberaret, non esset injustus. Ex uno quippe omnes in condemnationem
non injustam judicati sunt ire, sed jastam. Qui ergo liberatur, gratiam
-diligat : qui non liberatur, debitum agnoscat. —
Quantum ad justitiam spectat et gratiam, potest et de reo qui libera
tur recte dici ; Volo : potest et de eo qui damnatur : Tolle quod tuum
est et vade, huic autem volo quod non debetur 'donare. —
Hie ille si dicat ; Cur non et mihi ? merito audiet ; O homo, tu qui es
qui respondeas Deo ? Quern certe in uno vestrum benignissimum largi-
tm-em, in te vero exactorcm justissimum, in nullo tamen cernis injustum.
Cum enim Justus esset, etiamsi utrumque puniret : qui liberatur, habet
unde gratias agat ; qui damnatur, non habet quod rtprehendat.
Hominibus autem videtur, omnes, qui boni apparent fideles, perseve-
rantiam usque in finem accipere debuisse. Deus autem melius esse
judicavit, miscere quosdam non perseveraturos certo numero sanctorum
suorum: ut, quibus non expedit in hujus vitas tentatione securitas, non
possint esse securi : multos enim a perniciosa elatione reprimit quod ait
Apostolus-, Quapropter, qui videtur stare, videat ne cadai. Voluntate
autem sua cadit, qui cadit : et voluntate Dei stal, qui stat. —
Si duobus itaque parvulis originali peccato pariter obstrictis, cur iste
assumatur, ille relinquatur : et, ex duobus astate jam grandibus impiis,
cur iste ita vocetur ut vocantem sequatur, ille autem aut non vocetur
aut non ita vocetur, inscrutabilia sunt judicia Dei. Ex duobus autem

CHAP. VII.] OF ELECTION. 77
(2.) The ground being thus cleared from probable or pos
sible objection, Augustine thought himself at liberty to teach
the doctrine of Absolute Predestination in both its branches.
Accordingly, on the one hand, he maintained : that, Al
though, in the present state, we cannot certainly know the
Elect from the Reprobate ; for, as the Reprobate may seem
for a time to be leading holy lives, so the Elect, anterior to
their Effectual Calling, may for a time also appear to be in
no wise characterised by godliness : yet a definite number of
individuals, as well from among the members of the visible
Church as from the great mass of the unbelieving world at
large, are, by the mere sovereign pleasure of God, personally
elected to eternal salvation*.
piis, cur huic donetur perseverantia usque in finem, illi autem non do-
netur, inscrutabilia sunt judicia Dei. Illud tamen fidelibus debet esse
certissimum, hunc esse ex prasdestinatis, ilium non esse. August, de
Prasdest. et Persever. lib. ii. c. 8, 9. Oper. vol. vii. p. 497.
The same T)asis of God's just Sovereignty and man's universal cor
ruption is taken by the Synod of Dort.
Cum omnes homines in Adamo peccaverint, et rei sint facti maledic-
tionis et mortis asternas : Deus nemini feeisset injuriam, si universum
genus humanum in peccato et maledictione relinquere, ac propter pec-
catum damnare, voluisset. Judic. Synod. Dordrech. c. i. § 1.
* Erarit in bono : sed, quia in eo non permanserunt, id est, non usque
in finem perseveraverunt, non erant, inquit, ex nobis, et quando erant »
nobiscum ; "hoc est, non erant ex numero filiorum, et quando erant in
fide filiorum-: quoniam, qui vere filii sunt, prassciti et prasdestinati sunt
tonformes imaginis Filii ejus, et secundum propositum vocati ut electi
essent. Non enim perit fiiius promissionis, sed filius perditionis. Fue-
Tunt ergo isti ex multitudine vocatorum : ex electorum autem paucitate
Tion fueruut. — Ipsi sunt illi prasdestinati et secundum propositum vo-
icati, quorum nullus perit. August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 9. Oper.
vol. vii. p. 475.
Quamvis ergo ita se habeat de prasdestinatione definita sententia vo
luntatis Dei, ut alii ex infidelitate, accepta voluntate obediendi, convert-
antur ad fidem, vel perseverant in fide : casteri vero, qui in peccatorum
damnabilium delectatione remorantur, et si ipsi prasdestinati sunt, ideo

78 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
Whence, consistently, on the other hand, without any re
serve or verbal palliation, he asserted : that, Since the num
ber of the Elect can be neither diminished nor increased, all
the rest of mankind, equally by the mere sovereign pleasure
of God, being ultimately given over to the unrestrained exer
cise of their evil Free-Will, are personally reprobated to
eternal damnation*.
nondum surrexerunt, quia nondum eos adjutorium gratias miserantis
erexit. Si qui enim nondum sunt vocati, quos gratia sua prasdestinavit
eligendos, accipient eandem gratiam, qua electi velint esse et sint. Si
qui autem obediunt, sed in regnum ejus et gloriam prasdestinati non
sunt, temporales sunt, neque usque in finem in eadem obedientia per-
manebunt. August, de Prasdest. et Persever. lib. ii. c. 22. Oper. vol.
vii. p. 505.
Proinde, quantum ad nos pertinet, qui prasdestinatos a non praedesti-
natis discernere non valemus, et ob hoc omnes salvos fieri velle debe-
mus. August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 16. Oper. vol. vii. p. 480.
* Numerus ergo sanctorum, per Dei gratiam Dei regno prasdestinatus,
donata sibi etiam usque in finem perseverantia, illuc integer perducetur,
et illic integerrimus jam sine fine Certissimus servabitur, adhaerente sibi
misericordia Salvatoris sui. — Hi vero, qui non pertinent ad istum certis-
simum et felicissimum numerum, pro meritis justissime judicantur: aut
enim jacent sub peccato quod originaliter de generatione traxerunt, et
cum illo haereditario debito hinc exeunt quod non est regeneratione di-
missum; aut per liberum arbitrium alia insuper addiderunt, arbitrium,
inquam, liberum, sed non liberatum; — aut gratiam Dei suscipiunt, sed
temporales sunt, nee perseverant, deserunt, et deseruntur. Dimissi
enim sunt libero arbitrio, non accepto perseverantias dono, judicio Dei
justo et occulto. August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 13. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 479.
Hasc prasdestinatio sanctorum nihil aliud est, quam prasscientia scilicet
<et prasparatio beneficiorum Dei, quibus certissime liberantur, quicunque
liberantur. Casteri autem ubi, nisi in massa perditionis, justo divino
judicio, relinquuntur? August, de Prasdest. et Persever. lib. ii. c. 14.
Oper. vol. vii. p. 500.
Hasc de his loquor, qui prasdestinati sunt in regnum Dei, quorum ita
certus est numerus, ut nee addatur eis quisquam, nee minuatur ex eis.
— Ipsi autem vocati dici possunt, non autem electi, quia non secundum

CHAP. VII.J OF ELECTION. 79
(3.) Such being Augustine's avowed theological princi
ples, though he may not perhaps have used the precise
technical phrase, he advocated, in effect, the doctrine of
Particular Redemption.
For he taught : that, When it is said, that God will have
all men to be saved, though in point of fact all men are not
saved; this language relates exclusively to the Elect, who,
through God's sovereign pleasure, are, out of all classes of
men, predestinated to eternal life*.
(4.) Thus holding the doctrine of Absolute Election to life
from all eternity, he held also the doctrine of The Effectual
Calling of the Elect in time.
Hence he taught : that, In due season, God works by his
Spirit in the hearts of the Electf.
And hence he maintained : that, While, to the Reprobate,
reproof acts only as a penal torment ; to the Elect, that same
reproof is instrumentally blessed as a salutary medicine^.
propositum vocati. Certum vero esse numerum electorum, neque au-
gendum neque minuendum. August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 13. Oper.
vol. vii. p. 478.
* Et quod scriptum est, quod Vult omnes homines salvos fieri, nee ta
men omnes salvi fiunt, multis quidem modis intelligi potest, ex quibus
in aliis opusculis nostris aliquos commemoravimus : sed hie unum dico.
Ita dictum est, Omnes homines vult salvos fieri, ut intelligantur omnes
prasdestinati, quia omne genus 'hominum in eis est. August, de Corrept.
et Grat. c. 14. Oper. vol. vii. p. 479.
f Per Spiritum Sanctum operatur in cordibus electorum suorum
bona, qui operatus est ut ipsa corda essent ex malis bona. August, de
Grat. et Liber. Arbit. c. 21. Oper. vol. vii. p. 467.
Ex his nullus perit, quia omnes electi sunt: electi sunt autem, quia
secundum propositum vocati sunt ; propositum autem, non suum, sed
Dei. — Quicunque enim electi, sine dubio etiam vocati ; non autem qui
cunque vocati, consequenter electi. Illi ergo electi, ut saspe dictum est,
qui secundum propositum vocati, qui etiam prasdestinati atque prassciti.
August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 7. Oper. vol. vii. p. 473.
% Ut, si is, qui corripitur, ad prasdestinatorum numerum pertinet, sit

80 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
(5.) On the same principle, he harmoniously taught the
doctrine of The Final Perseverance of the Elect through the
indefectible grace of God.
According to the necessity of his theory, none of the
Elect can perish everlastingly : for, as from his own premises
he justly argued, those, who have been elected to a certainty
of eternal life, cannot but, as such, persevere to the end.
Those persons, consequently, who, after even some contin
uance in apparent holiness, fall away and perish, never
were included in the number of the Elect. For, though
the Reprobate, to all outward appearance, may live well for
a season : yet, not having, like the Elect, the gift of Final
Perseverance, they invariably, at length, fall away to per
dition*. 2. On one particular only, in short, with respect to any
matters bearing upon the Theological System which they
ei correptio salubre medicamentum : si autem non pertinet, sit correptio
posnale tormentum. August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 14. Oper. vol.
vii. p. 479.
* Quis in asternam vitam poluit ordinari, nisi perseverantias dono 1
August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 6. Oper. vol. vii. p. 473.
Horum si quisquam perit, fallitur Deus : sed nemo eorum perit, quia
non fallitur Deus. Horum si quisquam perit, vitio humano vincitur
Deus : sed nemo eorum perit, qui nulla re vincitur Deus. Electi au
tem sunt ad regendum cum Christo. August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 7.
Oper. vol. vii. p. 473.
Nunc vero Sanctis, in regnum Dei prasdestinatis, non tantum tale ad-
jutorium perseverantias datur ; sed tale, ut eis perseverantia ipsa done-
tur : non solum ut, sine isto dono, perseverantes esse non possint ; ve
rum etiam, ut, per hoc donum, non nisi perseverantes sint. August, de
Corrept. et Grat. c. 12. Oper. vol. vii. p. 477.
Ipse ergo eos facit perseverare in bono, qui facit bonos. Qui autem
cadunt et pereunt, in prasdestinatorum numero non fuerunt. — Ipse itaque
dat perseverantiam, qui statuere potens est eos qui stant ut perseveran-
tissime stent, vel restituere qui ceciderint. August, de Corrept. et Grat-
c. 12. Oper. vol. vii. p. 478.

CHAP. VII.] OF ELECTION. 81
alike adopted, is there a semblance of discrepancy between
Calvin and Augustine.
The particular, to which I refer, is the doctrine of Re
generation. Calvin held : that The grace of Regeneration is granted
solely to the Elect. And, consequently, he held : that The
Regenerate cannot finally fall away to perdition*.
Augustine held : that all infants are regenerated in Bap
tism. And, consequently, since persons baptised in their
infancy may perish everlastingly, he likewise held : that
The Regenerate may finally fall away to perdition^.
This difference, however, is apparent, not real : verbal,
not actual.
The sense, which Calvin universally attached to the term
Regeneration, Augustine did not attach to that term when he
associated Regeneration with Infant-Baptism.
Calvin invariably deemed Regeneration A Moral Change
* Nihil erit ambiguum, si tenemus, quod debet ex superioribus
liquere, duplicem esse vocationis speciem. — Ilia impiorum etiam com
munis est : haec secum affert Spiritum regenerationis, qui est arrhabo et
sigillum futures hasreditatis, quo in diem Domini obsignantur corda nos
tra. Calvin. Instit. lib. iii. u. 24. § 8.
f Mirandum est quidem, multumque mirandum, quod filiis suis Deus
quibusdam, quos regeneravit in Christo ; quibus fidem, spem, dilectio-
nem, dedit; nondat perseverantiam, cum filiisalienis scelera tanta di-
mittat, atque, impertita gratia sua, faciat filios suos. August, de Cor
rept. et Grat. c. 8. Oper. vol. vii. p. 474.
Quos ignibus asternis prasscivit arsuros, creare non desinit : nee ei,
quia eos creat, nisi bonitas imputatur. Et quosdam infantes etiam bap-
tizatos, quos futures prasscivit apostatas, non aufert ex hac vita in aster-
num regnum adoptatos, nee eis confert magnum beneficium. August.
cont. Julian. Pelagian, fib. v. c. 10. Oper. vol. vii. p. 379.
De nullo mortuo baptizato poterit esse securitas, quia, et post baptis-
mum, non qualitercunque peccare, verum etiam apostatare, homines
possunt. August, de Anim. lib. i. c. 12. Oper. vol. vii. p. 429.
K

82 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
of Disposition superadded to A Federal Change of Condition :
and he evidently viewed it, as taking place in the Elect,
and in the Elect only, at the time of their Effectual Calling*-
But Augustine, in the case of infants, viewed Regeneration,
not as A Moral Change of Disposition united to A Federal
Change of Condition, but as A beneficial Federal Change of
Relative Condition only : foi* in the infant subject, he view
ed it, as only removing the Reatus or Imputed Guilt of Orig
inal Sin, and as only bringing him, from out of the wilder
ness of the unbelieving world, into the pale and covenanted
privileges of Christ's Churchf.
* Hasc (vocatio) secum affert Spiritum regenerationis. Calvin. In
stit. lib. iii. c. 24. § 8.
Interior igitur hasc vocatio pignus est salutis quod fallere non potest-
Calvin. Instit. lib. iii. c. 24. §. 2. Vide etiam Confess. Belg. § xxxv-
Syllog. Confess, p. 350.
Quos enim nominis sui cognitione illuminatos in Ecclesia? suas sinum
Christus asciscit, eos dicitur in fidem tutelamque suam recipere. Cal
vin. Instit. lib. iii. c. 24. § 6.
f Restat, ut in nostra natura tanquam vulnus aliquod fateamur esse
sanandum, cujus reatum jam fatemur regeneratione sanatum. August.
cont. Julian, lib. v. c. 16. Oper. vol. vii. p. 383.
Quid conferat gratia, cum reatum ejus absolvit, quo faciebat originali-
ter hominem reum, quando fit in ilia plena remissio peccatorum ; quam-
vis ipsa remaneat, contra quam regenerati spiritus concupiscat ? — Inest
enim sensus hujus mali, dum reluctatur atque cohibetur. Reatus autem
ille, qui sola regeneratione dimittitur, quemadmodum, cum inesset, non
sentiebatur, ita ejus ablatio fide creditur, non carne vel mente sentitur.
August, cont. Julian, lib. vi. c. 6. Oper. vol. vii. p. 385, 386.
Per hoe, non solum peccata omnia, quorum nunc remissio fit in bap-
tismo, quas reos faciunt, dum desideriis vitiosis consentitur atque pecca-
tur ; verum etiam ipsa desideria vitiosa, quibus si non consentitur, nullus
jseccati reatus contrahitur, quas non in ista sed in alia vita nulla erunt,
eodem lavacro baptismatis universa purganlur. Reatus itaque vitii
ejus, de quo loquimur, in regeneratorum prole carnali tamdiu manebit,
donee et illic lavacro regenerationis abluatur. August, cont. Pelag. et
Celest. de Peccat. Original, lib. ii. c. 40. Oper. vol. vii. p. 305.
Ipsa ista carnis concupiscentia in baptismo sic dimittitur, ut, quan-

CHAP. VII.J OF ELECTION. 83
Yet, since, in his opinion, and in necessary accordance
with his train of reasoning when he discusses the topic,
Regeneration, in the case of infants, neither is, nor can be,
A Moral Change of Disposition ; he thence contended : that,
Although all baptised infants must be accounted regene
rate ; still, in order to their salvation, they must, at some
time after their Baptism, experience that Moral Change of
Disposition, which hitherto they have not experienced.
Now this subsequent Moral Change of Disposition,
which, at some period or another, all, who are finally saved,
must experience, Augustine styled Conversion : and, since,
in his view of the matter, infants do not experience this Mo
ral Change of Disposition in their baptismal Regeneration,
and yet since it is itself essential to eternal salvation ; he of
course maintained, that, in his occasional sense of the word,
The Regenerate may fall away irretrievably, and thus finally
perish*.quam tracta sit a nascentibus, nihil noceat renascentibus. Augus. cont.
duas Epist. Pelag. ad Bonifac. lib. i. c. 13. Oper. vol. vii. p. 404.
* Veraciter conjicere possumus, quid valeat in parvulis baptismi sao-
ramentum, ex circumcisione carnis, quam prior populus accepit ; quam
priusquam aeciperet, justificatus est Abraham. — Cur ei prasceptum est,
et omnem deinceps infantem masculum octavo die circumcideret, qui
nondum potuerat corde credere ut ei deputaretur ad justitiam ; nisi quia
et ipsum, per seipsum, sacramentum multum valebat? — Sicut in Isaac,
qui octavo suas nativitatis die circumcisus est, prascessit signaculum jus-
titiae fidei ; et, quoniam patris fidem imitatus est, secuta est in crescente
ipsa justitia, cujus signaculum in infante prascesserat : ita et, in baptiza-
tis infantibus, prascedit regenerationis sacramentum ; et, si christianam
tenuerint pietatem, sequitur etiam in corde conversio, cujus mysterium
prascessit in corpore. — Quibus rebus omnibus ostenditur, aliud esse sac
ramentum baptismi, aliud conversionem cordis ; sed salutem hominis ex
utroque compleri : nee, si unum horum demerit, ideo putare debemus
consequens esse, ut et alterum desk ; quia et illud sine isto potest esse in
infante, et hoc sine illo potuit esse in latrone, complente Deo, sive in illo
sive in isto, quod non ex voluntate defuisset, cum vero ex voluntate alte-

84 the primitive doctrine [book I.
Such, in the matter of Regeneration, was the apparent
difference between Calvin and Augustine : a difference, as I
have already observed, purely verbal, and in no wise actual.
For nothing, I think, is more evident : than that, what
Augustine, in the case of baptised infants, styles Conversion,
is precisely that Moral Change of Disposition which Calvin,
universally and in all cases, denominates Regeneration ; and
thatjthis Conversion (in the phraseology of Augustine) and
this Regeneration (in the phraseology of Calvin), being
strictly identical, are, by those two Divines, alike viewed,
as taking place at the time of the Effectual Calling of the
Elect. The final result of our examination, therefore, is : that,
Even in the particular of Regeneration, there is, between
Calvin and Augustine, no real discrepance* .
rum horum defuerit, reatu hominem involvi. Et baptismus quidem po
test inesse, ubi conversio cordis defuerit : conversio autem cordis potest
quidem inesse, non percepto baptismo ; sed, contempto, non potest. Au
gust, de Baptism, cont. Donat. lib. iv. c. 24, 25. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 52, 53.
* With respect to bare verbal phraseology, the nomenclature of Cal
vin, in possessing the completeness of entire uniformity, has certainly a
decided advantage over the incongruously varying nomenclature of
Augustine. Calvin, in every case, uses the term Regeneration in only one sense : '
that of A Moral Change of Disposition associated with A Federal
Change of Condition.
Augustine, on the contrary, according as he applies the term, to the
adult recipients of baptism on the one hand, or to the infant recipients
of baptism on the other hand, uses it in two senses : that of A Moral
Change of Disposition associated with A Federal Change of Condi
tion, and that of A Federal Change of Condition only.
Hence, when Augustine applies the term to the case of infant recipi
ents, employing it then to denote A Federal Change of Condition only,
he of course makes Baptism and Regeneration inseparable.
But, when he applies it to the case of adult recipients, employing it

chap, vii.] of election. 85
3. Whether Augustine agreed, or disagreed, with Calvin,
on the nice point of Supralapsarianism, we have, so far as I
am aware, no explicit evidence.
then, hke Calvin, to denote A Moral Change of Disposition associated
with A Federal Change of Condition, he makes Baptism and Regene
ration separable : for, with Jerome and Cyril of Jerusalem, contending
that the moral grace of inward spiritual Regeneration accompanies out
ward Baptism only when the adult recipient is worthy ; he thence, with
them also, declares expressly, that The outward sign may be adminis
tered without the concomitancy of the inward grace, adding conversely
(as in the instance of the penitent thief on the cross), that The inward
grace may be granted without ihe concomitancy of the outward sign.
Cum essent omnia communia sacramenta, non communis erat omni
bus gratia quas sacramentorum virtus est. Sicut et nunc, jam revelata
fide quas tunc velabatur, omnibus in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus
Sancti baptizatis commune est lavacrum regenerationis : sed ipsa gra
tia, cujus ipsa sunt sacramenta, qua membra corporis Christi cum suo
capite regenerata sunt, non communis est omnibus. Nam et hasretici
habent eundem baptismum, et falsi fratres in communione catholici
nominis. August. Enarr. in Psalm, lxxvii. Oper. vol. viii. p. 306.
Hasc itaque in omnibus generat, cujus sacramenta retinentur, unde
possit tale aliquid ubicunque generari : quamvis non omnes, quos gene-
rat, ad ejus pertineant unitatem, quas usque in finem perseverantes sal-
vat. Neque enim hi soli ad earn non pertinent, qui separationis aperto
sacrilegio manifesti sunt; sed etiam illi, qui in ejus unitate corporaliter
mixti per vitam pessimam separantur. Etenim Simonem magum, per
baptisma pepererat : cui tamen dictum est, quod non haberet partem in
hcerreditate Christi. Nunquid ei baptismus, nunquid evangelium, nun-
quid sacramenta, defuerunt? Sed, quia ei charitas defuit, frustra natus
est. August, de Baptism, cont. Donat. lib. i. c. 10. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 33.
Horum autem omnium generum, illi primi, qui sic sunt in domo Dei
ut ipsi sint domus Dei, sive jam spiritales sint, sive adhue parvuli lacte
nutriantur; sed tamen ad spiritalem habitum intento corde proficiant:
nemo dubitat, quin baptismum et utiliter habeant, et se imitantibus util-
iter tradent. Fictis autem, quos Spiritus Sanctus fugit, etsi ipsi, quan
tum in eis est, utiliter tradunt, illi tamen inutiliter accipiunt, non imi-
tantes eos per quos accipiunt. Illi vero, qui sic sunt in magna domo
tanquam vasa in contumeliam, et inutiliter habent baptismum, et se imi-

86 THE primitive doctrine [book I.
I do not recollect, that the Bishop of Hippo ever touches
upon the distinction between Supralapsarianism and Sub-
lapsarianism.
tantibus inutiliter tradunt. August, de Baptism, cont. Donat. lib. vii.
c. 52. Oper. vol. vii. p. 74.
Si quis hoc corporeum, et quod oculis carnis inspicitur, aquas tantum
accepit lavacrum, non est indutus Dominum Jesum Christum. Nam et
Simon ille, de Actibus Apostolorum, acceperat lavacrum aquae : verum,
quia Sanctum Spiritum non habebat, indutus non erat Christum. Et has
retici vel hypocrites, et hi qui sordide victitant, videntur quidem accipere
baptismum : sed nescio an Christi habeant indumentum. Hieron Com
ment in Galat. iii. 27. Oper. vol. vi. p. 137.
'H irpo^stfis yvytfia oida xXtjtov da ifoisr xav yap to dujia tI35s
s-yr\g, tiiv Si 5iavoiav \m\ syy\g, ou<5sv u<psX5j. Ilpos'jjXds ifors xai'
2ifAwv toj Xoutogj 6 \i.dyog- i{3aieridbv\, aXX' oux itpuridQri. Kai to
(jiev dd^a I'/Sa-^sv vSarr <rrpi Si xapSiav owe itpiirida Ilvsu^ari. Kai
xarefiri fjtiv to dufia, xai dvifirj- »j Ss ^iV)(fi ou tfuvSTaipii XpioViy,
ou<5£j>'uvws'pB''>i. 'Eyu Si 'kiyu rag iiroypaipdg tuv *Twn,aTwv, i'va
(X)5 du iy.<xedr)g. Cyril. Hieros. Proem, in Catech. p. 1, 2.
Ei <5s i*iji,ivrig xaxr\ itpnaipsdsi, 6 (asv Xiyuv dvaiTioj, dv Ss fif)
•#pofl'<So'xa X^Etfdai Trjv Y_apiv. To fjiiv yap vSwp da Ss 8i%srar to Ss
IIvEufia ou bi^arai. Cyril. Proem, in Catech. p. 3.
OvSi Ty vSari /3aifri^ifi.svog, pj xarafyufaig Si tou IIvEu/j,aTO$,
, TsXsi'av e^si tiiv yjxpiv oiSi xav JvapEToj Tig yivsrai roTg spyoig, u.ij
Xa/3i) Si tiiv Si' 'vSarog dtppayiSa, eiVeXsuVetou sig t^v fiadiksiav tuv
oupavwv. Cyril. Catech. iii. p. 16.
Oig yap eti to Tpa^u ti3v a.(joapTiojv ifSpixairai, outoi Iv to?s dpid-
TEpoiff ruyxavovdi, Sid to u.ii ¦^poo'eX^si'v Tij tou ©sou Y_apiTi tij So-
Dsidri Sid XpioVou iiri tt) tou XouTpou dvaysvvijfl'ei' dvayEvvritfiv Si ou
du^druv Xs'yu, dXXa ^ivyyg rrjv *v£u(^aTixiiv olvays'vvijo'iv. Cyril.
Catech. i. p. 2.
Mud (sacramentum baptismi) sine isto (conversione cordis) potest
esse in infante, et hoc sine illo potuit esse in latrone, complente Deo, sive
in illo sive in isto, quod non ex voluntate defuisset ; cum vero ex volun
tate alteram horum defuerit, reatu hominem involvi. Et baptismus qui
dem potest inesse, ubi conversio cordis defuerit : conversio autem cordis
potest quidem inesse, non percepto baptismo ; sed, contempto, non po-

CHAP. VII.] OF ELECTION. 87
Calvin, as we have seen, unreservedly prefesses his adhe
rence to the higher modification.
test. August, de Baptism, cont. Donat. lib. iv. c. 25. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 53.
This doctrine of the early Church, which, in the case of adults, makes
the conveyance of the inward spiritual grace of baptism to depend upon
the sincerity and worthiness of the recipient, seems (in opposition, I
suppose, to the opus operatum of Popery) to have been adopted by the
Reformers of the Church of England.
In such only as worthily receive the sacraments, they have a wholesome
effect or operation. Art. xxv.
Augustine, as we have seen, contends ; that, in the case of infants,
Regeneration universally accompanies Baptism . but then, in their
case, he confines the sense of Regeneration to A Federal Change oj
Condition ; maintaining, that the inward spiritual grace, which he styles
Conversion of heart, must be looked for at some subsequent period. And
this opinion he holds so rigidly, that, unless I wholly misunderstand
him, he denies altogether the very possibility of the occurrence of any
Moral Change df Disposition in the baptism of an infant : that is to say,
in Calvin's sense of the word Regeneration, he asserts, that Infants
never are, and never can be, spiritually regenerated in Baptism.
Infants, he argues, can neither believe from the heart to righteous
ness, nor confess from the mouth to salvation. Therefore infants are
incapable of any Moral Change of Disposition. Consequently, since
they cannot experience a Moral Change of Disposition at their bap
tism, their inevitable want of this indispensable Moral Change must
hereafter be supplied by a spiritual Conversion of heart. August, de
Baptism, cont. Donat. lib. iv. c. 24, 25. See the last note.
Such a round denial of the very possibility of a Moral Change in
ihe Disposition of infants, on the ground that Infants can neither believe
nor confess, goes, I apprehend, far beyond Calvin himself: for, though,
with Augustine, he fixes what he calls Regeneration and what Augus
tine styles Conversion, to the time of the Effectual Calling of the Elect;
he never, so far as I know, denies that an infant may be effectually
called from the day of his baptism, and thence never denies that an in
fant may be spiritually regenerated in baptism.
In truth, this speculation of Augustine strikes me, as being alike un
warrantable and inconsistent.
If infants, as infants, be capable of The Moral Taint of Original
Sin ; a scriptural doctrine, which Augustine rightly and strongly main-

88 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
tains : there is no very intelligible reason, why, still as infants, they
should not also be capable of a. Moral Regeneration to Holiness. An
admission of the former possibility requires and involves an admission of
the latter possibility : nor, on the just principle of homogeneity, can I see,
why the argument of Augustine, from the acknowledged circumstance
of The physical inability of infants to believe from the heart to righteous
ness and to confess from the mouth to salvation, should forbid our admis
sion, that an infant is capable of being morally, as well as federally, re
generated at the time of his baptism.
Any such moral regeneration would of course be, as the schoolmen
speak, according to the measure of the recipient. But, why a moral re
generation may not commence at the baptism of an infant, and why the
only regeneration of which an infant can be deemed capable is a Fede
ral Change of Condition, I have not sufficient acuteness to understand.
That,* on this point, I have mistaken Augustine, I can scarcely think :
for he expressly argues, that Divine Grace may hereafter supply the in
voluntary moral defectiveness inherent in infant baptism.
Eadem gratia Omnipotentis implere credenda est, quod, non ex impia
voluntate, sed ex ^tatis indigentia, nee corde credere ad justitiam
possunt, nee ore confiteri ad salutem. August, de Baptism, cont. Do
nat. lib. iv. c. 24. Oper. vol. vii. p. 52.

CHAP. VIII.]* OF ELECTION. 89

CHAPTER VIII.
THE HISTORICAL VINDICATION OF HIS SYSTEM,
PREFERRED BY AUGUSTINE, AND REPEATED BY
CALVIN.
For those doctrinal peculiarities, which, collectively as a
System, are now generally denominated Calvinism, the
Genevan Reformer may undoubtedly claim the authority of
Augustine : and thence he may very fairly throw off from
himself the weighty responsibility of rash and unwarranted
innovation. But Augustine wrote on Predestination in the early part
of the fifth century, or somewhat more than three hundred
years after the death of St. John, the last survivor of all
the Apostles.
Hence the important question arises : Whether Augustine
himself was a daring innovator ; or whether he propounded
. nothing else, than what had been the universally familiar
doctrine pf the Church from the very beginning.
I. With respect to this question, simple chronology alone
shews us : that, Antecedent to the time of Augustine's formal
exposition of his Doctrinal System, we have at least three:
whole centuries to account for.
Therefore, unless we can satisfactorily fill up those three
centuries, it is quite clear : that, Even if the peculiarities
before us rest not indeed upon the insulated private judgment
of Calvin, they will still rest solely upon the insulated private
judgment of Augustine.
Consequently, in that supposed case, save only with the
L

90 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
exchange of the sixteenth century for the fifth, an interpre
tation of Scripture, propounded for the first time by the
mere private judgment of an insulated individual, will equally
be the exclusive basis of the Doctrinal System which is now
submitted to the test of historical discussion.
Augustine, however, conscious of the vast evidential im
portance of Primitive Antiquity, vindicates his System on the
score : that He himself set forth no new Scheme of Doctrine ;
but, on the contrary, that He faithfully delivered to posterity
X what had been actually received from priority.
Our business, therefore, is, carefully to examine a vindica
tion thus specially constructed.
1. During some considerable time at the beginning of the
fifth century, Augustine had been usefully employed in con
ducting a dispute, relative to Divine Grace and Human
Nature, with Pelagius and Celestius and Julian and their
followers'. Now, as he himself states even in one of those later con
troversial Works which more fully develop and defend his
peculiarities, the whole question, between the Pelagians and
the Catholics, really turned upon three points.
The first point, asserted by the Church, was : that The
Grace of God is not given according to man's antecedent
merits. The second point, asserted by the Church, was: that,
Whatever may be the comparative righteousness of any one
particular man, no person lives in this corruptible body with
out incurring the actual guilt of a certain degree of positive
sinfulness. The third point, asserted by the Church, was : that We
are all born obnoxious to the sin of the first man ; and, con
sequently, are all subjected to damnation, unless the guilt,

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 91
which is contracted in our generation, be removed by our re
generation*. These three several points were denied by the Pelagians :
and those three several points, with the full approbation
of the entire Catholic Church, were manfully asserted by
Augustine. Nor did he vindicate the affirmative of the question, either
merely by his own private interpretation of Scripture, or
merely by a triumphant appeal to what might have been
nothing better than the fashionable theology of his ecclesi
astical contemporaries.
On the contrary, he boldly stated; that The Catholic
Church had always held the allied doctrines of Original Sin
and Unmerited Grace : while his pelagian opponents, men
but of yesterday, notoriously denied Original Sin ; main
tained, that We sin only by vicious imitation ; and asserted,
that Grace is given according to Antecedent Merit.
Such was his statement : and, in order to demonstrate
that Antiquity was his voucher, he successively called for
ward as his witnesses, a few only out of many, Ireneus of
Lyons who through the single medium of Polycarp had
received his theology from the apostolie authority of St.
John, Cyprian of Carthage, Reticius of Autun, Olympius
* Tria sunt, ut scitis, quas maxime adversus eos Catholica defendit
Ecclesia. Quorum est unum : Gratiam Dei non secundum merita nostra dari ;
quoniam Dei dona sunt, et Dei gratia etiam conferuntur merita universa
justorum. Alterum est : In quantacunque justitia, sine qualibuscunque peccatis,
in hoc corruptibili corpore, neminem vivere.
Tertium est : Obnoxium nasci hominem peccato primi hominis, et
vinculo damnationis obstrictum ; nisi reatus, qui generatione contrahitur,
regeneratione solvatur. August, de Prssdest. et Persever. lib. ii. c. 2.
Oper. vol. vii. p. 495.

92 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
of Spain, Hilary of Poictiers, and the great Ambrose of
Milan*. More witnesses, to the same purpose, he might easily have
produced : but these, as he himself justly says, he deemed
.sufficient. In truth, the testimony of Ireneus alone was quite
competent to settle the matter.
2. Thus far, in regard to the vital points of doctrine now
before us, there was abundant cause for the full approbation
and entire acquiescence of the fa,ithful : but, as the dispute
advanced, Augustine was at length induced to put forth his
Treatise on Correction and Grace.
z. Here, what before he had but briefly and (as it were) almost
' imperceptibly touched upon, he formally drew out into that
System, which has since, by general modern consent, re-
ceived the name of Calvinism^.
* Non quidem omnium de hac re sententias, nee omnes eorum quos
•commemorabo, me congregaturum esse polliceor ; quia nimis longum
est, et necesse esse non arbitror : sed ponam pauca paucorum, quibus
tamen nostri contradictores cogantur erubescere et cedere, si ullus in
eis, vel Dei timor, vel hominum pudor, tantum malum pervicacias
.euperaverit. August, cont. Julian. Pelagian, lib. i. c. 3. Oper. vol.
vii. p. 326.
Una est enim omnium catholica fides, qui, per unum hominem pec-
catum intrasse in mundum in quo omnes peccaverunt, uno corde credunt,
uno ore fatentur, et vestras novitias prassumptiones catholica antiquitate
Bubvertunt. August, cont. Julian. Pelagian, lib. i. c. 3. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 326. Vide etiam August, cont. duas Epist. Pelag. ad Bonifac. lib.
iv.c. 8-12. Oper. vol. vii. p. 422-425.
f For Augustine's earlier brief introduction of his peculiarities, see
August, de Peocat. Merit, et Remiss, lib. ii. c. 27. Oper. vol. vii. p.
270. August, de Nat. et Grat. u. 5. Oper. vol. vii. p. 278. August.
de Grat. et Orig. Pecc. lib. L e. 12. lib. ii. c. 31. Oper. vol. vii. p.
293, 304. August, de Nupt. et Concupis. lib. ii. c. 3, 16, 18, 29. Oper.
vol. vii. p. 315, 319, 320, 323. August, cont. Julian. Pelagian, lib. v.
c. 3, 4. lib. vi. c. 10. Oper. vol. vii. p. 373, 374, 389. August, cont.
duas Epist. Pelagian, ad Bonifac. lib. i. c. 20', 24. lib. ii. c. 7, 10. Oper.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 93
When this most unequivocal Treatise reached Gaul, and
indeed in some measure even when his former Treatises
had reached it, Augustine's declared opinions, respecting
Predestination and its subordinates, were warmly opposed.
Whereupon, Prosper of Aquitaine and Hilary of Aries,
the former of whom had espoused the peculiar sentiments
of the Bishop of Hippo, wrote to him on the subject : and
their Epistles are of no small consequence, because they
distinctly state the professed ground of the opposition.
From those Epistles we learn : that many of The Servants
of Christ, who lived in Marseilles and in other parts of Gaul
(I borrow the description of their character as given in the
words of Prosper himself), expostulated with Augustine,
through the communicative medium of Prosper and Hilary,
to the following effect.
We heartily approve of your general confutation of Pela
gius and his followers. But why do you superfluously mingle
with it a System of Novel Peculiarities, which we cannot re
ceive ? To say nothing of what we, at least, deem the utter
inconsistency qf that System with Scripture : it is, in truth,
quite new to us. We never even so much as heard of it
before : we find it unsanctioned by any one of the preceding
Fathers : and we perceive it to be contrary to the sense of the
whole Catholic Church. Be assured, however, that, this one
matter excepted, we cordially admire your holiness, both in
all your doings and in all your sayings*.
vol. vii. p. 405, 406, 409, 410, 411. August, de Anim. lib. i. c. 8. lib.
iv. c. 11. Oper. vol. vii. p. 428, 445. August, de Grat. et Liber.
Arbit. c. 7, 18, 20. Oper. vol. vii. p. 462, 466.
In one of these places, he enters, even at some length, upon the cor
relative topics of Election and Reprobation. See August, cont. Julian.
Pelagian, lib. v. c. 4. Oper. vol. vii. p. 374.
* Multi ergo servorum Christi, qui in Massiliensi urbe consistunt, in

94 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
Now here, be it observed, there is a broad allegation of
,a naked fact. Plainly, therefore, the sole question is :
Whether the allegation was well founded or ill founded.
We see the case brought within the narrowest possible
limits : and, except through the channel of A satisfactory
Nullification of the alleged fact by the adduction of com
petent opposing historical testimony, it is certain and indis
putable, that no legitimate answer could be preferred by
Augustine. 3. The letters of Prosper and Hilary, which notified to
• Augustine this unreserved allegation of a fact, called forth
from him yet another Treatise : the Treatise, namely, res-
sanctitatis tuae scriptis, quae adversus Pelagianos [hasreticos condidisti,
contrarium putant Palrum opinioni et ecclesiastico sensui, quicquid in
eis de vocatione electorum secundum Dei propositum disputdsti. — Atque,
ut brevius ac plenius, quod opinantur, exponam : quicquid in libro hoc,
ex contradicentium sensu, sanctitas tua sibi opposuit ; quicquid etiam
in libris contra Julianum, ab ipso sub hac quasstione objectum, potentis-
sime debellasti : hoc totum ab ipsis Sanctis intentiosissime conclamatur.
Et, cum contra eos scripta beatitudinis tuae, validissimis et innumeris
testimoniis divinarum Scripturarum instructa, proferimus ; ac, secundum
formam disputationum tuarum, aliquid etiam ipsi, quo concludantur,
astruimus : obstinalionem suam vetustate defendunt ; et ea, quee de
Epistola Apostoli Pauli Romanis scribentis, ad manifestationem divince
gratits prtevenientis electorum merita proferuntur, a nullo unquam Eccle-
siasticorum ita esse intellecta, ut nunc sentiuntur, affirmant. Prosper.
Epist. ad August, in Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 481, 482.
Hasc sunt itaque, quas Massilias, vel aliis etiam locis in Gallia, ven-
tilantur. Novum et inutile esse pradicationi, quod quidam secundum
propositum eligendi dicantur. — Quid opus fuit hujus-cemodi disputationis
ineerto tot minus intelligenlium corda turbari ? Neque enim minus uti
liter, sine hac definitione, aiunt, tot annis a tot tractoribus, tot preeceden-
tibus libris et tuis et aliorum, cum contra alios, turn maximl contra Pela
gianos, catholicam fidem fuisse defensam. — Sed plane illud tacere non
debeo, quod se dicant tuam sanctitatem, hoc excepto, in factis et dictis
omnibus admirari. Hilar. Arelat. Epist. ad August, in Oper. August.
vol. vii. p. 483, 484.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 95
pecting The Predestination of the Saints and the Gift of
Perseverance. In this Treatise, after again going over his ground at con
siderable length, he finally, toward the conclusion, attempts
to meet the fact so confidently and so unequivocally alleged
against him.
How, then, we naturally ask, does he meet it ?
He meets it in manner following.
With respect to the Church, he admits : that She was not
wont to bring forward, in preaching, the doctrine of Predes
tination ; because, formerly, there were no adversaries to
answer. But he claims to establish : that, Notwithstanding
her habitual silence on the topic, she must always have held
the doctrine in question ; because she has always prayed, that
unbelievers may be converted to the faith, and that believers
may persevere to the end*.
* Atque utinam tardi corde et infirmi, qui non possunt, vel nondum
possunt, Scripturas vel earum expositiones intelligere, sic audirent vel
non audirent in hac quasstione disputationes nostras, ut magis intuerentur
orationes suas, quas semper habuit, et habebit Ecclesia, ab exordiis suis,
donee finiatur hoc sasculum.
De hac enim re, quam nunc adversus novos hasretieos, non commem-
orare tantum, sed plane tueri et defendere, compellimur ; nunquam
tacuit in precibus suis, et si aliquando in sermonibus exerendam, nullo
urgente adversario, non putavit.
Quando enim non oratum est in Ecclesia, pro infidelibus atque inimi-
cis ejus, ut crederent ? Quando fidelis quisquam, amicum, proximum,
conjugem, habuit infidelem : et non ei petivit a Domino mentem obe-
dientem et christianam fidem ? Quis autem sibi unquam non oravit,
ut in Domino permaneret ? Aut quis, sacerdotem, super fideles Do-
minum invocantem, si quando dixit, Da illis, Domine, in te perseverare
usque in finem, non solum voce ausus est sed saltern cogitatione repre-
hendere, ac non potius super ejus talem benedictionem, et corde credente
et ore confitente, respondit, Amen : cum aliud in ipsa oratione dominica
non orant fideles, dicentes maxime illud, Ne nos inferos in tentationem ;
nisi ut in sancta obedientia perseVerent ? —
Hasc igitur, quas poscit a Domino, et semper, ex quo esse ccepit, poscit

96 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
With respect to the more ancient Fathers his predeces
sors, he adduces, out of their whole number, precisely three :
Cyprian, Gregory-Nazianzen, and Ambrose. And, on the
strength of certain very brief citations from their writings,
he pronounces : that These all harmoniously teach his own
System of Predestination* ¦
Ecclesia ; ista Deus vocatis suis daturum se esse prasscivit, ut in ipsa
Prasdestinatione jam dederit. —
Quas bona si semper oravit, semper ea Dei dona esse utique credidit :
nee, ab illo esse prascognita, unquam ei negare fas fuit. Ac, per hoc,
Prasdestinationis hujus fidem, quas contra novos hasreticos nova solicitu-
dine nunc defenditur, nunquam Ecclesia Christi non habuit. August.
de Prasdest. et Persever. lib. ii. c. 23. Oper. vol. vii. p. 506.
* Hoc scio neminem, contra istam praedestinationem, quam secundum
Scripturas Sanctas defendimus, nisi errando, disputare posse. —
1. Quid autem amplius de hac re agere Cyprianus, martyr glorfosis-
simus et doctor lucidissimus, potuit, quam ubi nos, in oratione dominica,
Etiam pro inimicis fidei christians orare oportere, commonuit : ubi, de
initio fidei, quod Etiam hoc donum Dei sit, quid sentiret, ostendit : et,
pro perseverantia usque in finem, quia et Ipsam non nisi Deus eis, qui
perseveraverint, donat, Ecclesiam Christi quotidie orare monstravit.
2. Beatus quoque Ambrosius, cum exponeret quod ait Lucas Evan-
gelista, Visum est et mihi :
Potest, inquit, non soli visum esse, quod sibi visum esse declarat ; non
enim voluntate tantum humana visum est, sed sicunt placuit ei qui in me
loquitur Christus, qui, ut id, quod bonum est, nobis quoque videri bonum
possit, operatur : quem enim miseratur, el vocat. Et ideo, qui Christum,
sequitur, potest interrogatus, Cur esse voluerit Christianus, respondere :
Visum est et mihi. Quod cum dicit, non negat Deo visum ; a Deo
enim praparatur voluntas hominum. Ut enim Deus honorificetur sancte, -
Dei gratia est.
Itemque, in eodem opere, hoc est in Expositione ejusdem Evangelii,
cum ad ilium venisset locum, ubi Dominum ad Hierusalem pergentem
Samaritani recipere noluerunt :
Simul disce, inquit, quia recipi noluit ab iis quos sciebat non simplici
mente conversos. Nam, si voluisset, ex indevotis fecisset devotos. Cur
autem non receperint eum, Evangelista ipse monstral, dicens ; Quia facies
ejus erat euntis in Hierusalem: discipuli autem recipi intra Samariam

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 97
I shall consider the several points of his evidence in re
gular order.
(1.) In regard to the asserted theology of the Church
Catholic from the first predication of the Gospel down to
his own time, the reasoning of Augustine, if I rightly under
stand him, is this.
The Church, confessedly, in the case of some persons, has
gestiebant. Sed Deus, quos dignatur, vocat : et, quem vult, religiosum
facit. Quid evidentius, quid illustrius, a verbi Dei tractatoribus quasrimus,
si et ab ipsis, quod in Scripturis clariim est, audire delectat ?
3. Sed his duobus, qui sufficere debuerunt, sanctum Gregorium adda-
mus et tertium : qui, et credere in Deum, et quod credimus confiteri,
Dei donum esse, testatur, dicens :
Unius Deitatis, qumso, vos confitemini Trinitatem. Si vero aliter
vultis, dicite unius esse natures : et Deus vocem dari vobis, a Spiritu
Sancto, deprecabitur ; id est rogabitur Deus, ut permittat vobis dari
vocem, qua, quod creditis, confiteri possitis. Dabit enim, certus sum.
Qui dedit quod primum est, dabit et quod secundum. Quia dedit cre
dere, dabit et confiteri.
Isti tales tantique doctores, dicentes ; Non esse aliquid, de quo tan
quam de nostra, quod Deus non dederit, gloriemur ; nee ipsum cor nos
trum et cogitationes nostras in potestate nostra esse ; et totum dantes
Deo ; atque ab ipso nos accipere confitentes, ut permansuri convertamur
ad Deum ; ut id, quod bonum est, nobis quoque videatur bonum, et
velimus illud, ut honoremus Deum et recipiamus Christum ; ut, ex in-
devotis, efficiamur devoti et religiosi; ut in ipsam Trinitatem credamus,
et confiteamur etiam voce quod credimus : hase utique gratias Dei tri-
buunt ; Dei munera agnoscunt ; ab ipso nobis, non a nobis, esse tes-
tantur. Nunquid autem quisquam eos dicturus est, ita confessos istam Dei
gratiam, ut auderent negare ejus prasscientiam : quam non solum docti,
sed indocti etiam, confitentur ?
Porro, si hasc ita Deum noverant dare, ut non ignorarent eum daturum
se esse prasscisse, et quibus daturus esset non potuisse nescire : procul-
dubio noverant Prasdestinationem, quam per Apostolos prasdicatam,
contra novos hasreticos, operosius diligentiusque defendimus. August.
de Prasdest. et Persever. lib. ii. c. 19. Oper. vol. vii. p. 503, 504.
M

98 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
always held the doctrine of Final Perseverance. There
fore, since she has always held the doctrine of Final Per
severance ; she must likewise have always held the funda
mental doctrine of Predestination, as understood and ex
plained by Augustine : because, upon the doctrine of Pre
destination thus understood and explained, the doctrine of
The Final Perseverance of the Elect is avowedly and neces
sarily constructed.
This argument, if argument it can be called, is built upon
the gross sophism: that, Because Augustine's doctrine of
Predestination inevitably draws after it the dependent doc
trine of The Final Perseverance of the Elect; therefore
the doctrine of The Final Perseverance of some believers
(without which Christianity itself would be nugatory) implies
and involves, as its necessary foundation, Augustine's doc
trine of Predestination.
Doubtless, the Church holds, and has always held, the
doctrine of The Final Perseverance of some individuals :
and, verily, it were passing strange, if she did not hold it ;
for, if none persevered to the end, it is abundantly clear,
that none could be saved.
But, how the thus holding the doctrine of A Final Per
severance of some persons is to prove ; that she also holds
and has always held Augustine's doctrine of the Absolute
Election of a fixed number of persons to assured salvation
with his correlative doctrine of The Absolute Reprobation of
all other persons to assured perdition : it certainly is not
very easy to comprehend.
In truth, from Augustine's premises, the natural conclusion
would be the precise opposite to that which he himself has
drawn from them : the natural conclusion would be, that
The Church did not hold, and likewise never had held, the
peculiar sentiments of Augustine on the points of Election

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 99
and Reprobation. For, when she prays, that her believing
members may persevere to the end ; by the necessary import
of such a prayer she virtually teaches, that, In answer to the
supplications of tlie Church, the grace of Final Perseverance
may be granted to any one of her believing members : whereas
Augustine maintained ; that The number of the Elect can be
neither increased nor diminished, and that Final Persever
ance is exclusively the consequence of Election.
Augustine, in short, fully demonstrates against the Pela
gians : that The Catholic Church always held the doctrines
of Grace. But this, surely, is no proof of what he was chal
lenged to prove : namely, that The Catholic Church had
always held his own peculiar sentiments of Election and Re
probation. (2.) From Augustine's argument in regard to the theology
of the Church, we may proceed to his allegation respecting
the three earlier Fathers whom he professes to adduce in
testimony. These three more ancient authors than himself are, as we
have seen, Cyprian and Gregory-Nazianzen and Ambrose.
Now, as for the writers thus adduced, even had they all
been full to his purpose, still I see not what would have been
the special argumentative emolument of their adduction.
Cyprian, the earliest of the three, flourished about the
middle of the third century : and the two others lived during
the latter part of the fourth century, thus belonging to the
ecclesiastical generation which immediately preceded Augus
tine himself.
Hence, even had their testimony been altogether satisfac
tory, we should still have had only a meagre list of three
witnesses, the very earliest of whom lived no less than a
whole century and a half after the death of St. John : and,
yet, these witnesses, thus chronologically circumstanced, we

-r-

100 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
should have been required to admit, as giving a satisfactory
account of the established doctrine of the Church, during
the whole three hundred years which elapsed between the
death of St. John and the prosecution of the Pelagian Con
troversy, or rather during the full three hundred and seventy
years which elapsed between the first preaching of the
Gospel and the prosecution of the same Pelagian Dispute.
But, in truth, of Augustine's three witnesses, Cyprian and
Gregory-Nazianzen are so utterly irrelevant and so entirely
wide of the mark, that the only wonder is, how they should
ever have been adduced : while Ambrose, in at least one of
the citations which have been made from him, is not a whit
more apposite or pertinent.
Cyprian, it seems, prayed with the Church Catholic : that
Infidels might be converted; and that Believers might perse
vere to the end. Therefore (such is the conclusion drawn
by the Bishop of Hippo, as he similarly draws the same
conclusion, in regard to the Church at large, from the similar
constant practice of the Church) Cyprian must have held
Augustine's sentiments respecting Election and Reproba
tion. Gregory, exhorting his flock to confess the Trinity in
Unity, stated : that He, who gave them, in the first instance,
to believe that doctrine ; would also give them, in the second
instance, to confess it. Therefore (such, again, is the con
clusion) Augustine's views of Election and Reprobation must
clearly have been entertained by Gregory.
Ambrose argued : that, When a man became a Christian,
he might fairly allege his own good pleasure in so doing,
without in any wise denying the good pleasure of God ; for
it is from God, that the will of man is prepared ; and Christ
calls him, whom he pities. Therefore (thus, once more,
runs the conclusion) Ambrose and Augustine must have

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 101
perfectly symbolised in their views of Election and Repro
bation. Another passage, however, has been alleged by Augustine
from Ambrose, which, doubtless, until the real sentiments
of the latter, as they stand forth in his own writings, shall
have been exhibited, is apparently somewhat more prom
ising. Ambrose, commenting upon a remark made incidentally
by St. Luke, expresses himself in manner following.
Learn also, that Christ would not be received by those,
whom he knew to have not been converted in simplicity of
mind. For, if he had so pleased, he might, from being un-
devout, have made them devout. But, why they did not receive
him, the Evangelist himself shews us, when he says : Because
his face was of one going to Jerusalem. For the disciples
were wishing to be received into Samaria. God calleth those,
whom he deigns to call : and him, whom he willeth, he makes
religious. On this insulated passage, associated with that which I
have already noticed as being perfectly inapposite and im
pertinent, rests Augustine's entire proof: that Ambrose fully
agreed with him in his peculiar views of Election and Repro
bation. For let it not be forgotten : that the challenge of
the Massilian Christians to Augustine was, not to demon
strate by evidence the primitive antiquity of the doctrines of
Grace, but to demonstrate by evidence the primitive antiquity
of his own well defined specialities.
Now, even in the place before us, nakedly standing as it
does, I know not, that Ambrose says any thing, to which a
sound maintainer of the vital doctrines of Free Divine Grace
and Corrupt Human Insufficiency would not readily sub
scribe. A Calvinist or an Austinist, no doubt, would of
course assent. But it by no means therefore follows :

102 THE PRIMITIVE. DOCTRINE [BOOK I,
that every one, who does assent, stands thereby pledged to
be a Calvinist or an Austinist.
The propriety of this remark, which obviously involves
the evidential irrelevancy of the present citation, will soon
appear, if, quitting our insulated and doctrinally indefinite
passage, we simply and briefly compare the System of
Augustine with the real sentiments of Ambrose, as, from
his own writings, those sentiments may be readily collected.
Augustine taught The absolute Election of certain indi
viduals to eternal salvation. In other words, Augustine
taught : that God has irrevocably elected certain individuals
to eternal salvation, simply because such a proceedure seemed
good to his sovereign will and pleasure*.
Ambrose taught The conditional Election of the Gentiles
into the pale of the visible Church. In other words,, Ambrose
taught : that God has elected certain individuals, out of the
great mass of the unbelieving Gentiles, into the pale of the
visible Church, because he foresaw the future merits and
fitness of those individuals. Whence he consistently main
tained: that The character of An Elect Race, a Royal
Priesthood, a Holy Nation, an Adopted People, belongs in
common to all the members of the visible Church Catholic].
Such were the respective Systems of Augustine and Am-
* See above, book i. chap. 7. § n. 1.
f Non sunt, qui repudiantur a Christo. Sunt autem, qui eliguntur a
Domino : quoniam Dominus vocat quas non sunt, tanquam quas sunt.
Et electee sunt gentium nationes, ut destrueretur perfidia Judasorum.
Ambros. Enarr. in Psalm, xliii. Oper. p. 1380.
In prasdestinatione fuisse semper Ecclesiam Dei. Ambros. de Abra
ham, patriarch, lib. ii. c. 10. Oper. p. 1027.
Ad omnes jam dictum sit : Vos autem genus electum, regale sacerdo-
tium, gens sancta, populus in adoptionem. Ambros. de fug. sascul. c. 2.
Oper. p. 198.
Quos preescivit, et preedestinavit. Non enim ante prasdestinavit, quam

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 103
brose. No two Theological Schemes, I apprehend, whether
in point of ideality or in point of causation, can well be
praesciret : sed, quorum merita prasscivit, eorum prasmia prasdestinavit.
Ambros. de Fid. lib. v. c. 2.
It may be said : that there is at least one passage, in which Ambrose
unreservedly and unambiguously speaks the very language of Au
gustine. Si vero quasritur, Cur Salvator omnium hominum non omnibus dederit
hunc sensum, ut cognoscerent verum Deum, et essent, id est, permanerent,
in vero Filio ejus : quamvis credamus nullis hominibus spem gratias in
totum fuisse subtractum ; tamen ita forte hoc velatum sit, sicut illud ab-
sconditum est, Cur antea, omnibus gentibus preetermissis, unum populum
sibi, quem ad veritatis cognitionem erudiret, exceperit : de quo judicio
Dei si non est conquerendum, multo minus de hoc, quod cum electione
omnium gentium geritur, murmurandum est. —
Nullis etenim studiis, nullis ingeniis, indagare concessum est, Quo
judicio, quove consilio, Deus, incommutabiliter bonus, incommutabiliter
Justus, semper preescius, semper omnipotens, ideo omnia in incredulitate
concluserit, ut omnium misereatur ; et tamen, illis seculis, quibus unum
Israelem erudiebat, innumerabiles populos impiorum illuminare distulerit,
et nunc eundem Israeleni, donee universitas gentium introeat, obceecatum
esse patitur, pereuntem in tot millibus nascentium atque morientium, et
salvandum in eis quos mundi finis invenerit.
Quo mysterio toto Scripturarum corpore dilatato, innotuit quidem
nobis, Quid factum sit, Quid fiat, Quidve faciendum sit : sed, Quia ita
fieri placueril, ab humanas intelligentias contemplatione subtractum est.
Isti autem, qui nescire aliquid erubescunt et per occasionem obscuri-
tatis tendunt laqueos deceptionis, omnem discretionem, qua Deus alios
eligit, aliosque non elegit (multi enim sunt vocati, pauci autem electi),
ad merita humanas referunt voluntatis : docentes scilicet ; Neminem gra
tis, sed ex retributione, salvari ; quia naturaliter omnibus sit insitum, ut,
si velint, possint veritatis esse participes, eisque affluere gratiam a quibus
fuerit expetita. —
Frustra profunditatem inscrutabilis gratias per liberum arbitrium
conantur aperire, qui causam Electionis in eorum constituunt me
ntis qui eliguntur. Ambros. de Vocat. gent. lib. i. c. 7. Oper. p.
244, 245.
This passage, in the main at least, so agrees with the views of Au
gustine, that we should marvel, why that Father, when challenged on
the score of innovation, did not adduce it in evidence ; unless we knew,

104 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
more different : and I must say, that Augustine's adduction
of Ambrose, as an authority for his own peculiar view of
Election, is, if we be charitably willing to exempt him from
the charge of intentional disingenuousness, at the least,
strangely nugatory and irrelevant.
4. Yet, though, so far as authority is concerned, the pecu
liarities of Augustine rest solely upon the authority of Augus
tine ; because, his pretended witnesses from antiquity being
thus swept away, his System, evidently, and (as it were)
confessedly, originated altogether from himself while zeal
ously engaged in the Pelagian Controversy, and is therefore
no older than the beginning of the fifth century : still, after
his death, it was warmly defended by Prosper, who had
unreservedly adopted it as setting forth the genuine sense
of Holy Scripture.
On this, an appeal was made to the judgment of Pope
Celestine: and that Prelate, in giving his opinion, rightly
approved of Augustine's insisting upon the doctrine of Grace
against the Pelagians ; but he cautiously refrained from
noticing his two Treatises, the one on Correction and Grace,
the other on The Predestination of the Saints and the Gift of
Perseverance. The matter being thus in effect left undecided, it was
finally, by Pope Leo the great (who, after the death of
Sixtus the immediate successor of Celestine, became, in the
year 440, Bishop of Rome), referred to a Council, which, in
the year 441, sat at Orange, in order that, through the ma
te the Treatise on The Calling of ihe Gentiles was never written by
Ambrose. I mean not to admit, that it would have strictly served the
purposes of Augustine : for, in truth, it cannot wholly divest itself of the
better Theology of an earlier age: but still, had it existed, when Au
gustine wrote, it might doubtless have been plausibly cited. It belongs,
however, to a later age : and it was most probably the work of Prosper,
that zealous disciple of Augustine ; though some ascribe it to Pope Leo.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 105
ture deliberation of that Assembly, it might be fully exam
ined and duly settled*.
Now what was the decision of that Council : a decision,
not delivered with the unconvincing offensiveness of preju
diced dogmatism, but built professedly and reasonably on
the ground of Scripture, as Scripture, according to plain
historical testimony, was understood and interpreted by
Ecclesiastical Antiquity ?
The members of the Council of Orange, as any person at
all conversant with the early writings of the Cnurch might
well anticipate, justly condemn Pelagius : and, with much
excellence of sound judgment, distinctly state and vindicate
the doctrines of Grace. But, in all their twenty-five canons,
they never once touch upon the peculiarities of Augustine
as specially propounded in his two last Treatises ; save only
that, in their concluding canon, they define : that All bap
tised Christians may, through grace, if they will only labour
faithfully, accomplish those things which appertain to salva
tion ; and that The doctrine of God's Predestination of some
certain individuals to evil is, not only to be disbelieved, but
also to be anathematised with all detestation].
Augustine, it will be remembered, when challenged by the
Massilian Christians, ventured, on no very satisfactory in
ductive grounds, to allege the Church Catholic from the
beginning, as holding and teaching his own peculiarities,
though this practice of the Church was so unaccountably
imperceptible that it had quite escaped the notice and know
ledge of those Christians.
Now the Church, thus appealed to, puts forth twenty-five
* Prasfat. in August, de Prasdest. et Persever. Oper. vol. vii. p. 481.
f Concil. Arausican. can. xxv. in append, ad Oper. August, vol. vii.
p. 21. See this canon, with all the other canons of that Council, cited at
large below in the Appendix. N

106 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
canons ; in which, on the professed basis (be it observed) of
Scripture as understood and interpreted by Antiquity, she
gives, as her standard of historically accredited doctrine, an
exact definition of the points which she maintains in opposi
tion to the Heresy of Pelagius : but, throughout the whole
of them, she never once mentions Augustine, though his pe
culiar speculations, associated with his opposition to Pelagi
anism, were the very reason of the convoking of the Council
of Orange ; and, throughout the whole of them, she never
once recognises those speculations, as forming any part of
the articles of faith which she had received from Priority
and which she was bound conscientiously to deliver to
Posterity. Nothing, I think, can be a more decisive, though tacit,
condemnation of the peculiarities of Augustine, than this
Studied Pretention. The Church, when appealed to, re
fused to make those peculiarities her own: and, inasmuch
as she laid down, what she did lay down, on the professed
basis of Scripture as understood and interpreted by Antiquity;
her silence on the peculiarities of Augustine, with the excep
tion of her maintaining The Salvability of all baptised Christ
ians and of her rejecting The dogma of Reprobation (if she
alludes to that dogma under the name of Predestination to
evil ; for certainly it is possible, that she may refer to The
Predestinarian Fatalism of the ManicMans), clearly shews,
that she did not consider such to be the basis of those pecu
liarities, and consequently that she deemed them mere
private unauthorised innovations. Augustine's eminent
character, and the great services which he had rendered to
the cause of evangelical truth by maintaining the doctrines
of Grace against Pelagius, seems to have withheld the Coun
cil of Orange from an express and nominal condemnation of
his peculiarities : but a most significant silence, while the
members of that Council were professedly exhibiting the

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 107
received and accredited tenets of the Catholic Church, indi
cates abundantly, that those peculiarities were not acknow
ledged to form any part of the Creed which had been
handed down to her from Christian Antiquity.
II. Calvin, who followed his great master Augustine after
an interval of eleven centuries, was manifestly quite sensible
of the vast importance of Antiquity in the due and legiti
mate settlement of Doctrinal Truth. Yet, as an historical
voucher for the universal primitive inculcation of his opin
ions, he himself, in his own person, ventures not to appeal to
any Father more ancient than Augustine*.
With respect to Augustine's own appeal to the testimony
of three of his predecessors, Calvin, clearly enough perceiv
ing the utter irrelevancy of Cyprian and Gregory-Nazianzen,
totally pretermits them : but, upon the alleged evidence of
Ambrose, he dwells, I am- sorry to say, with more compla
cency than fairness.
Let the testimony of Augustine, says he, avail with those,
who willingly acquiesce in the authority of the Fathers :
although, indeed, Augustine does not suffer himself to be dis
joined from the rest ; but, by clear testimonies, shews, that any
such discrepance from them, as that with the odium of which
the Pelagians attempted to load him, is altogether false. For,
out of Ambrose, he cites : Christ calls him, whom he pities.
And also : If he had pleased, he might, from undevout, have
made them devout : but God calls those, whom he deigns
to call ; and him, whom he wills, he makes religious. This
likewise he cites from the same author].
I have rarely met with a more artful misrepresentation of
* See Calvin. Instit. lib. iii. c. 22. § 8. c. 23. § 1, 5, 7, 11, 13. c. 24.
§ 1, 17.
f Valeat Augustini testimonium apud eos, qui libenter in Patrum
auctoritale acquiescunt : quanquam non patitur Augustinus se a reliquis
disjungi ; sed, claris testimoniis, divortium hoc, cujus invidia gravabant

108 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK I.
the truth, than that which is contained in the present pas
sage. To complete (as it were) the disingenuousness of
Augustine, who, as we have seen, represents Ambrose as
holding opinions which he did not hold : Calvin has hazard
ed two inaccurate statements of his own.
1. If any persons, he tells us, build upon the authority of
the Fathers, let them know, that Augustine does not suffer
himself to be disjoined from the rest.
Now what idea must such language as this inevitably
convey to the mind of a reader, who confidently builds
upon Calvin's supposed scrupulous accuracy, and who
thence had not himself for his own complete satisfaction
examined antiquity ?
Doubtless a reader of this description will conclude : that
all antiquity, quite up to the apostolic age, spoke the lan
guage and advocated the peculiarities of Augustine.
Whereas, in truth, Calvin himself being judge, the only
writer, that Augustine with any decent shew of plausibility
could produce, was Ambrose, who flourished not till the
latter part of the fourth century : and, of this very Ambrose,
the sentiments of Augustine, respecting Election and Repro
bation, were, all the while, not the sentiments.
2. So again, while he intimates that Augustine by dear
testimonies demonstrated the falsehood of the allegation that
He differed from his predecessors, he tells us : that This
allegation was made against him by the Pelagians.
Now, even if the allegation had been made against him
by the Pelagians ; still, since it was the simple allegation of
a fact, let it have been made by whom it may, no real
importance can attach to the doctrinal character of the
eum Pelagiani, ostendit felsum esse. Citat enim, ex Ambrosio : Chris
tus, quem miseratur, vocat. Item : Si voluisset, ex indevotis, fecisset de-
votos. Sed Deus, quos dignatur, vocat : et, quem -vult, religiosum facit.
Calvin. Instit. lib. iii. c. 22. § 8.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 109
allegers as allegers : for the allegation of a fact, by whom
soever it may be made, can only be met and set aside by
distinct and sufficient counter-evidence.
But, in specifically naming the Pelagians as the allegers,
the object of Calvin was, I fear, disingenuously to excite, in
the minds of his readers, a prejudice against the correctness
of the allegation itself.
At all events, his statement is palpably inaccurate.
The persons, who made the allegation, conveyed to
Augustine by Prosper and Hilary, and in the passage
before us referred to by Calvin, were not, as Calvin would
lead us to suppose, the Pelagians with whom Augustine was
then engaged in controversy. On the contrary, the allegers
were those Christians of Marseilles : who, with Hilary
himself at their head, heartily approved of Augustine's
general confutation of Pelagianism ; and who, on the openly
avowed score of novelty, objected only to his System of
Election and Reprobation*- Some, indeed, apparently
because these Gallican Christians rested the divine decree
of Predestination upon God's Prevision of man's future
character and -not upon God's Absolute Will and Pleasure,
* Quibus omnibus enodatis, et multis insuper quae altiore intuitu ad
causam hanc pertinentia magis potes videre discussis, credimus et spe-
ramus, non solum tenuitatem nostram disputationum tuarum prassidio
roborandam, sed etiam ipsos quoque meritis atque honoribus claros
caligo istius opinionis obscurat defecatissimum lumen gratias recepturos.
Nam unum eorum prascipuae authoritatis et spiritalium studiorum
virum, sanctum hilaritjm arelatensem episcopum, sciat beatitudo
tua, admiratorem sectatoremque, in aliis omnibus, tuas esse doctrinae :
et, de hoc quod in querelam trahit, jampridem apud sanetitatem tuam
sensum suum per literas velle conferre. Prosper. Epist. ad August.
in Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 483.
From Hilary's great attainments and high authority in the Gallican
Church, I think it most probable, that he was the person from whom
originated the trying challenge sent by the Massilian Christians to Au
gustine.

110 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
have invidiously charged them with Semipelagianism*.
But, even by the augustinising Prosper, they are honourably
described as The Servants of Christ] : while, by Augustine
himself, they are acknowledged to have been doctrinally
sound on the precise points which were controverted by
Pelagius and his followers ; and, in consequence of their
being thus doctrinally sound, are actually, by the same
Augustine, even in set terms, declared to be so far removed
from the heretical perverseness of the Pelagians.J
Let us, however, attend to the express Words of Hilary,
as, on the present subject, he writes to Augustine.
* Retractatis priorum de hac re opinionibus, pene omnium par inveni-
tur et una sententia, qua propositum et prasdestinationem Dei secundum
prasscientiam receperunt : ut, ob hoc, Deus alios vasa honoris, alios con
tumelies, fecerit, quia finem uniuscujusque pras viderit, et sub ipso gra
tias adjutorio in qua futurus esset voluntate et actione prasseiverit. Pros
per. Epist. ad August, in Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 482, 483.
Cum autem dicitur eis, quare aliis vel alicubi prasdicetur, vel non
prasdicetur, vel nunc prasdicetur quod aliquando pene omnibus sicut
nunc aliquibus gentibus non praedicatum sit : dicunt, id preescienties esse
divines, ut, eo tempore, et ibi, et illis, Veritas annunciaretur, vel annuncie-
lur ; quando et ubi preenoscebatur esse credenda. Et hoc, non solum
aliorum catholicorum testimoniis, sed etiam sanctifatis'tuas disputatione
antiquiore, se probare testantur. Hilar. Arelat. Epist. ad August, in
Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 483.
f Multi ergo servorum christi, qui in Massiliensi urbe consistunt.
Prosper. Epist. ad August, in Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 481.
% Nemo sibi sufficit ad incipiendum vel perficiendum quodcunque opus
bonum: quod jam isti fratres, sicut vestra scripta indicant, verum esse
consentiunt. August, de Prasdest. et Persever. lib. i. c. 2. Oper. Vol.
vii. p. 485.
A Pelagianorum porro hasretica perversitate tantum isti remoti sunt,
propter quos hasc agimus, ut, licet nondum velint fateri Preedestinatos
esse qui per Dei gratiam fiant obedientes atque permaneant, jam tamen
fateantur, quod Eorum preeveniat voluntatem quibus datur Jieec gratia.
Ibid. lib. ii. u. 16. p. 502.
Retenta ergo ista, in quas pervenerunt, plurimum eos a Pelagianorum
errore discernunt. Ibid. lib. i. c. 1. p. 485.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. Ill
/ ought not to refrain from mentioning : that, this single
matter excepted (Augustine's doctrine, to wit, of Election
and Reprobation), they declare themselves to be, in all both
your deeds and your words, the steady admirers of your
holiness]. Let Us also attend to the direct testimony of Augustine
himself, as he writes to Prosper and Hilary, in reply to the
two several letters which he had received from them.
Those our brethren, for whom your pious charity is solici
tous, have, with the Church of Christ, attained to believe :
that The human race is born liable to the sin of the first
man ; and that No one can be liberated from that evil, save
through the righteousness of the second man. They have
also attained to a confession : that The will of man is pre
vented by the grace of God ; and that No one is of himself
sufficient either to begin or to perfect any good work.
Holding, therefore, these doctrines, they are very widely
REMOVED FROM THE ERROR OF THE PELAGIANS. Moreover,
provided they walk in such doctrines and pray to him who
giveth understanding, if they differ from us on the point of
Predestination, he will also reveal this to them. Meanwhile,
let it be our business to bestow upon them both the affection of
love and the ministry of the word, as he, whom we supplicate,
shall grant : that, in these letters, we may say, what to them
may be both apt and useful*.
Such, according to Augustine's own description, are the
persons, whom Calvin would exhibit as the interested pela
gian calumniators of Augustine : such is the character,
given by Hilary, of those, whom, in the unseemly capacity
of conscious false accusers, the Genevan Divine would
*¦ Sed plane illud tacere non debeo, quod se dicant tuam sanctitatem,
hoc excepto, in pactis et dictis omnibus admirari. Hilar. Arelat.
Epist. ad August, in Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 484.
f Pervenerunt autem isti fratres nostri, pro quibus solicita est pia

112 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
apparently hold up to the honest indignation of his unsus
picious readers.
(I.) I may remark : that the very language of Augustine,
in the present passage, distinctly shews the novelty of his
cherished speculations.
If, like the genuine doctrines of Grace, those speculations
had, invariably and notoriously, been held and taught by the
Catholic Church from the beginning : he would have had
small need to recommend prayer, that, to the Massilian
Christians, God would reveal the tenet of Predestination.
On such a supposition, the tenet itself, whether abstract
edly they liked it or disliked it, must, at any rate, have
been familiar to them from their very childhood. They
would have received it, in the course of their catechetical
institution, from the regularly appointed Catechists of the
Church: they would have perpetually encountered it, sys
tematically embodied in the ordinary books of devotional
theology ; they would, again and again, have heard it en
forced from the pulpit, as the very pith and marrow of the
sincere Gospel : and, therefore, in the mere nature and
necessity of things, however they might have subsequently
disliked the doctrine, they never could have alleged against
Augustine the charge of bold and unauthorised private
innovation.
charitas vestra, ut credant, cum Ecclesia Christi : Peccato primi hominis
obnoxium nasci genus humanum ; nee ab isto malo, nisi per justitiam se-
cundi hominis, aliquem liberari. Pervenerunt etiam, ut Preeveniri vo-
luntates hominum Dei gratia fateantur, atque ut Ad nullum opus bonum
vel incipiendum vel perficiendum sibi quenquam sufficere posse consen-
tiant. RETENTA ERGO ISTA, IN QUJE PERVENERUNT, PLURIMUM EOS A
pelagianorum errore discernunt. Proinde, si in eis ambulent et
orent eum qui dat intellectum, si quid de Prasdestinatione aliter sapiunt,
ipse illis hoc quoque revelabit. Tamen etiam nos impendamus eis di-
lectionis affectum ministeriumque sermonis, sicut donat ille quem roga-
mus : ut, in his Uteris, ea, quae illis essent apta et utilia, diceremus.
August, de Prasdest.,et Persever. lib. i. c. 1. Oper. vol. vii. p. 485.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 113
But they declare, that the doctrine was alike new and
disagreeable to them : and, in reply, Augustine recommends
prayer, that God would be pleased to reveal it to them ;
thus incidentally, by the very use of the word reveal, con
fessing that they had never heard of it before.
The allegation of novelty, if I mistake not, is itself a
proof of the matter alleged : and the expressed hope of a
revelation, if I also mistake not, is itself a virtual acknow
ledgment of the justice of the allegation.
(2.) I may yet further remark : that even Augustine, in
his own particular case, incidentally confesses his peculiar
Scheme of Doctrine to be nothing better than the pure
result of his insulated private judgment.
So far from asserting, that his favourite System of Elec
tion had been professedly delivered to him from antiquity
by his catechetical instructors in Christianity : he acknow
ledges, that he had himself diligently searched it out and
discovered it ; for he owns, that there was a time when he
had not thus searched it out and discovered it ; consequently
he owns, that there was a time when he had maintained an
entirely different system*.
Now clearly, this never could have happened,' if, from
the very first, his System had always been the familiarly
recognised System of the Church Catholic.
The obvious conclusion needs not to be drawn out in
mood and form.
* Non elegit Deus opera cujusquam in prasscientia quas ipse daturas
est : sed fidem elegit in prasscientia, ut ut, quem sibi crediturum esse
prasscivit, ipsum elegerit, cui Spiritum Sanctum daret, ut, bona operan-
do, etiam aeternam vitam consequeretur. Nondum diligentius quaesi-
veram, nee adhue inveneram, qualis sit Electio Gratias. August, de
Prasdest, et Persever. lib. i. c. 3. Oper. vol. vii. p. 486.
O

114 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.

CHAPTER IX.
CLEMENT OF ROME AND IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH.
When we consider the mighty advantage, possessed in his
time by Augustine, over any inquirer of the present day,
from the circumstance of numerous early ecclesiastical
writings being then extant which have now perished ; and
when we recollect, that, although urged by a direct and
pointed challenge, he ventured not, in evidence of the apos-
tolicity of his peculiarities, to produce any testimonies more
ancient than those (with whatever emolument) of Cyprian
and Ambrose and Gregory-Nazianzen : when we further
bear in mind, that Calvin, whose extensive theological
learning is Undoubted, makes not an effort himself to carry
back the System, which bears his name, beyond the time of
Augustine ; and when we reflect, that, even of the three
witnesses adduced by Augustine, he tacitly gives up two,
and contents himself with reminding us that Ambrose had
been brought forward in evidence : when all these things
are duly weighed, it may appear not a little extraordinary,
that a modern ecclesiastical historian should claim for
Augustine, what Augustine never claimed for himself, the
testimony, to wit, of those two preeminently early Divines,
Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch ; the one, a de
clared fellow-labourer with St. Paul ; the other, an immedi
ate disciple of St. John. Yet such is the claim put forth by
Mr. Milner : in sincerity, I doubt not ; with what cogency,
it may be desirable to examine.
I. According to Mr. Milner, The strictly Primitive

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 115
Church, which received her Theology immediately from tlie
lips of the Apostles, held the doctrine of Election, as that doc
trine has been subsequently explained by Augustine and
Calvin. As to what might be her views of the allied doctrines of
Reprobation and Particular Redemption, Mr. Milner is
silent ; but, in regard to the specific doctrine of Election,
such is the theory of the historian : and, for its substantia
tion, his authorities are Clement and Ignatius.
1. The evidential passage adduced from Clement, as
given in Mr. Milner's own words, is the following.
Let us go to him in sanctification of heart, lifting up holy
hands to him, influenced by the love of our gracious and com
passionate Father, who, by his election, hath made us his
peculiar people. Since, therefore, we are the elect of
cod, holy and beloved, let us work the works of holiness*.
The passage before us is taken from Clement's first
Epistle to the Corinthians ; and the account, which Mr.
Milner gives of that Epistle, is ; that The doctrine of elec
tion runs remarkably through it in connection with holiness,
as the Scripture always states it],
2. With respect to Ignatius, the following, equally in his
own words, is the evidential passage, which Mr. Milner has
extracted from his writings.
Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the worthily
* I subjoin the original of the passage, intended, I suppose, by Mr.
Milner : for he gives no reference.
npotfs'XdcdfASv oiv auTu s\i bdiorrjri ^M-^g, ayvdg xai au.iavrouj
"/Sipag dipovreg tfpoj airiv, dya<Kdvrsg tov i<K\sixr\ xai svdif'kayxyov
itaripa ^fA&v, og ixkayrjg u,spoj i«oit]dav kavru. Clem. Rom. Epist.
ad Corinth, i. § 29.
f Milner's Hist, of the Church' of Christ, cent. i. chap. 15. vol. i.
p. 148.

116 the primitive doctrine [book I.
happy Church in Ephesus of Asia, blessed in the majesty
and fulness of God the Father, predestinated before the
world to be perpetually permanent in glory, immoveable,
united, and elect, in the genuine suffering for the truth, by
the wiU of the Father and of Jesus Christ our God, much joy
in Jesus Christ and his spotless grace*.
This passage constitutes the introductory salutation of the
Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians : and it may be proper
to subjoin Mr. Milner's accompanying remarks.
The Church of Ephesus appears, from the Epistle of Igna
tius to them, still to have maintained its character of evangel
ical purity. Their zeal, indeed, had decayed, but was re
vived : and the rage of persecution was the hot-bed, which
reanimated their souls, and made them fruitful again in faith
and hope and charity. The very titles, by which he addresses
them, demonstrate, what their faith was in common with that
of the whole Church at that time : and abundantly shew the
vanity of those, whose dislike of the peculiar truths of Christ
ianity induces them to suppose, that the ideas of predestina-
1 tion and election and grace were purely the systematic
inventions of Augustine, and were unknown to the primitive
Christians. We are certain, that St. Paul's Epistles, and
that particularly addressed to this Church, are full of the
same things].
II. Having given Mr. Milner's authorities for his opinion
* I again give the original.
'lyvdnog, o xou ©sotpopoj, tjj si\oyrnj,svr\ iv. (/.syMli ©eou IlaTpog
q(Ki)pufutTi,. t5j ifpoupidji.svr) irpo aiuvuv Sid rfavrog sig Sogav, tfospot-
(iovov, arpsirov, fyupfarpi, xai ix\sksyji,svriv, iv tfadsi d~hr\fav£p, iv
igMnuun tou JJarpog xai 'Iijtfoij Xpidrnv tou ©sou {j(jicjv, rr\ ixxkn-
dia T?j dfiou.axapifl'TW, t»j o'idri iv 'EtpsVw <rr\g 'Adiag, ifKSidra. sv
'Irirfou XpidVy xai iv dfj,wu/J X«.piTi -yuipaiv. Ignat. Epist. ad Ephes. § 1.
f Milner's Hist, of the Church of Christ, cent. ii. chap. 1. vol. L p. 177.

CHAP. IX.] OF election. 117
as he himself has produced them, I shall now proceed to
inquire into the effective amount of their testimony.
1. His first witness, we have seen, is Clement of Rome.
(1.) In regard to this very early Father, Mr. Milner tells
us : that The doctrine of election runs remarkably through
his first Epistle to the Corinthians.
Such a statement can scarcely be deemed accurate. It
would obviously lead a mere English reader to conclude :
that The special subject of that Epistle is the doctrine of
election. Yet that doctrine is, in no wise, its subject. As
any person may satisfy himself by the very simple process
of reading it, the subject of the Epistle is, in truth, not The
doctrine of Election, but The sin and mischief of Schism*.
For the convenience of reference, the Epistle has been
divided into sixty sections : and, instead of the doctrine of
Election running remarkably through the whole of it, the
terms Elect or Election, quite incidentally, occur exactly
nine several timesf.
* Clement's Epistle has been translated into English by Abp. Wake, ,
and more recently by my learned and valued friend Mr. Chevalier.
The latter justly remarks : that The main object of the Epistle is to cor
rect particular disorders in the Church of Corinth. Introd. p. 24.
f Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 1, 2, 6, 29, 46, 49, 50, 52, 58.
The precise term Elect occurs yet a tenth time in the Epistle : but then
it occurs, not in a sentence written by Clement himself, but only in an
inaccurate memoriter citation of our Lord's words, as they are recorded
in Luke xvii. 1, 2. Ouai rCJ dv6puirt?J ixsivu- xaXov ijv ai<ru si oix
iyswij^rj, r] sva tojv ixXsxrSJv fxou dxavSaXidai. Clem. Rom. Epist.
ad Corinth, i. § 46. The word sxXsxruv does not occur in the original
of St. Luke, nor yet in the two parallel passages of Matt, xviii. 6, 7, and
Mark ix. 42. I may also add, that one even of the nine instances of
occurrence consists only in the circumstance of David, with evident re
ference to Psalm Ixxviii. 71, being styled The Elect David : 5 ixXsxrog
Aaf31S. Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 52. Thus I might fairly
say, that, for any available purposes of doctrinal testimony, the term
occurs no more than eight times.

118 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
(2.) Rejecting, then, Mr. Milner's broad allegation, and
readily admitting the naked fact of a ninefold occurrence,
we shall find the real question to be : not Whether Clement
uses the terms, but In what sense he uses them.
Now, that Clement uses the terms Elect and Election in
the augustinian or calvinistic sense of those terms, Mr. Mil
ner has not proved : nor, .indeed, does he even attempt to
prove. On the contrary, he first assumes the very point,
which he ought to have established: and then he brings for
ward his assumption, under the avowed aspect of its being
a sufficient, historical testimony, that The augustinian or
calvinistic doctrine of Election was, from the very beginning,
taught by Clement of Rome, as the familiar and universally
received doctrine of the earliest Church Catholic.
I have carefully perused all the passages, wherein Clement
employs the terms before us ; and, neither from the context
nor yet from the management of the phraseology, can we
legitimately derive the very slightest evidence ; that The
Bishop of Rome in the first century understood them, as they
were interpreted by the Bishop of Hippo in the fifth century.
Clement, the fellow-labourer of St. Paul, taught, no doubt,
the doctrine of Election, as that doctrine was expounded by
st. paul : but to assert, without a shadow of proof, that he
therefore must have taught the doctrine of Election, as that
doctrine was expounded by augustine, is clearly a mere
gratuitous assumption.
Nothing is more delusive, than the building of a theory
upon bare insulated words*.
The same words are, indeed, used, both by Clement and
by Augustine : but the matter, which Mr. Milner ought to
* Le monde se paye de parolles : peu approfondissent les choses.
Pascal. Lettr. Provincial. Lett. ii. p. 18.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 119
have established, is ; that The same words were severally
used by them in the same sense.
Now, in not one of the nine passages where the terms
occur, is there the slightest indication, that Clement employ
ed them as Augustine confessedly employed them*.
Mr. Milner has brought forward what may be deemed
as strong a passage as any of the nine ; though, verily,
in point of evidential cogency, they stand quite upon a level :
let us, therefore, see, what special benefit his System can
derive from it.
Our compassionate Father, by his Election, hath made us
his peculiar people.
Thus speaks Clement, according to Mr. Milner's transla
tion. Our compassionate Father hath made us, unto himself, a
part of the Election,
Thus speaks Clement, according to a more strictly accu
rate version.
In point of import, there is no very material difference
between the two translations : for, though, in the present
passage, Clement uses not the phrase Peculiar People ; yet,
in another place, he actually does employ it precisely as Mr.
Milner makes him employ it here]. We may, therefore, pro
ceed to our inquiry without any further prefatory remark.
Now, in the passage before us, whether according to Mr.
Milner's translation or according to my own translation,
what is there to authorise the assertion, that Clement sym
bolised with Augustine respecting the doctrine of Election ?
* These various passages are all fully cited below, book ii. chap. 2.
§ I. 1. It may be proper to remark, that, in Clement's second Epistle
to the Corinthians, the terms Elect and Election never occur.
f 'O itavoifrrig ©eos, — ° ix\s%dfj,svog tov Kupiov 'Iridouv XpioVov xai
»j(ji,aj Si' auVou sig Xaov tspioudiov. Clem. Rom. Epist. ad. Corinth, i.
§58.

120 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
,In truth, so far from the passage warranting any such
assertion, it is, when closely examined, absolutely irrecon
cilable with the System advocated by Augustine.
The Bishop of Hippo taught The sovereign Election of
certain individuals to eternal life, not only out of the un
believing world at large, but likewise out of the various mem
bers of the visible Church itself.
But Clement, by his use of a pluralising phraseology in
the first person, shews us,: that he considered all the mem
bers collectively both of the Church of Rome and of the
Church of Corinth to be a part of the general Election or
a part of the great body of God's Elect : for the Epistle is
addressed to the whole Church of Corinth in the name of
the whole Church of Rome* ; and the plural terms We and
Us abundantly indicate, that, in his sense of the word Elect,
that word was descriptively appropriate to every member
of the Church Catholic. Such an extension of the word
forbids the supposition, that, by Election, Clement under
stood An Election, directly and immediately and irreversibly,
to eternal life : for, had he so understood it, he must have
believed, what yet he could not have believed, that not a
single member of the Church Catholic would perish. Ac
cordingly, in point of ideality, he makes Election respect,
not An indefeasible admission to the kingdom of heaven, but
An adoption through Christ to be a peculiar people as the
Israelites were adopted collectively to be a peculiar people
under the old dispensation.
This is quite clear from the contextual close of the pas
sage now before us : for Mr. Milner has cited it in a
somewhat mutilated form. That no doubt may be left on
the mind of the cautious inquirer, I subjoin the entire pas
sage with its explanatory conclusion.
* See the salutation or superscription of the Epistle.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 121
Let us, therefore, approach unto the Lord in holiness of
soul, lifting up to him holy and unpolluted hands, loving our
clement and merciful Father, who hath made us, unto him
self, a part of the election. For thus it is written :
When the Most High divided the nations ; as he scattered
the sons of Adam, he appointed the boundaries of the nations
according to the number of the angels. Then his people
Jacob became the portion of the Lord : Israel, the lot of his
inheritance. And, in another place, he says: Behold, the
Lord taketh unto himself a nation from the midst of the
nations, as a man taketh the first fruits of his threshing
floor ; and, out of that nation, shall come the holy of holies.
Wherefore, since we are a part of the Holy One, let us do all
those things that pertain unto holiness* -
From this citation it will be seen, that Mr. Milner, passing
immediately, from Clement's mention of The Election, to
the practical inference that by a life of holiness we should
strive to make our Calling and Election sure, altogether
omits the very important intervening explanatory clause.
Yet does that clause most distinctly teach us : that, in the
estimate of Clement, the friend and fellow-labourer with St.
Paul, Election under the Gospel, as propounded bycthat
Apostle, was strictly homogeneous with the Election of the
Israelites under the Law to be God's peculiar people contra-
distinctively to the various pretermitted nations of the pagan
world. Such, with perfect concinnity, in every one of the nine
places where he mentions Election, is the idea of it con
veyed by Clement : so that, instead of being a witness in
favour of Mr. Milner's theory, he is really a witness in
direct opposition to it.
2. Mr. Milner's second witness is Ignatius of Antioch.
* Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 29, 30.
P

122 the primitive doctrine [book I.
(1.) In the way of Evidence, Mr. Milner adduces only
the introductory superscription of the Epistle of Ignatius to
the Ephesians : he might also, with equal cogency, have
adduced the introductory superscription of the Epistle to
the Trallians*.
Doubtless, in these two several superscriptions, Ignatius
uses the term Predestinate once and the term Elect twice :
but, in no other part of his seven Epistles, either incidentally
or systematically, does any such phraseology again occur.
Here, therefore, the question is precisely the same, as it
was in the case of Clement.
Does Ignatius, or does he not, use those terms in the sense
advocated by Augustine and Calvin ?
Mr. Milner acts in the present case, exactly as he acted
in the previous case. Every thing is rapidly taken for
granted. That Ignatius augustinised, he brings neither
actual proof nor attempted proof. He assumes : that The
phraseology used by Ignatius ought to be understood in the
sense, wherein the same phraseology, when employed by
Augustine, ought confessedly and indisputably to be under
stood. And this mere gratuitous assumption he brings for-
wasd, under the aspect of its being a sufficient testimony :
that The earliest Church, as taught by the Apostles person
ally, and therefore as morally incapable of misunderstanding
the drift of their inspired explanatory communications, held
the doctrine qf Election as that doctrine was subsequently
propounded by Augustine and Calvin.
Such a process as this I cannot but deem historically
illegitimate. The truth of the matter is : that, while we
have not a shadow of proof that Ignatius augustinised, we
have sufficient evidence, from the very texture of his
* Ignat. Epist. ad Tralles. § 1. See the passage cited below, book
ii. chap. 2. § I. 2. (2.)

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 123
phraseology, that his sentiments respecting Election were
the same as those of Clement.
To the worthily happy Church in Ephesus qf Asia, predes
tinated before the world to be perpetually permanent in glory.
Thus speaks Ignatius, according to Mr. Milner's transla
tion. To the Church deserving beatification in Ephesus of Asia,
always predestinated before the worlds to glory, that it should
be permanent. Thus speaks Ignatius, according to a more strictly accu
rate version,
Now what do we learn from such language ? Do£s it
warrant us to conclude, with Mr. Milner, that Ignatius
symbolised with Augustine in his view of Election ? No
thing of the sort. According to Ignatius, the Always predes
tinated before the worlds to glory is not An aggregate of
individuals, elected to indefeasible happiness, both out of the
unbelieving world and out of the visible Church herself also ;
but The entire Church in Ephesus of Asia : and this Predes
tination to glory is not An Irreversible Predestination of every
member of that Church to eternal happiness ; but A Predes
tination to glory, in purpose and intention, or (in other
words) A Predestination, in order that permanent holiness
should in every individual instance be the result, and thence,
so far as God's moral purpose and merciful intention are
concerned, that eternal glory should finally be attained.
The idea, in short, annexed by Ignatius to Election, was
that of An Election of all the individuals, who constituted
any particular Church, into the pale of Christ's Church
Catholic : with an intention on God's part, that, through
permanence in holiness, they might all attain to glory ; but,
with a possibility, through their own perverseness, that some
might fall away and perish.
This is abundantly manifest from the language which he

124 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
himself uses in this very Epistle to the Ephesians. While
he addresses the entire Church of Ephesus, as being always
predestinated before the worlds to glory ; he feelingly asks,
from the knowledge that but too many individuals of that
collectively predestinated Church were not labouring to
make their Election sure : Why are we not all wise ; seeing
we have received the knowledge of God, which is Jesus
Christ? Why do we suffer ourselves foolishly to perish ; not
considering the gift, which the Lord hath truly sent to us* ?
(2.) In connection, Mr. Milner remarks; that The titles,
ascribed by Ignatius to the Ephesians, shew the vanity of
those persons, whose dislike of ihe peculiar truths of Christ
ianity induces them to suppose, that the ideas of predestina
tion and election and grace were purely the systematic
invention of Augustine, and were unknown to the primitive
Christians. I regret, that so estimable a man as Mr. Milner should
have condescended to a style of misrepresentation unhappily
the reverse of infrequent.
All those, who reject his own exhibition of the doctrines
of Election and Predestination, he describes as being hostile
to the peculiar truths of Christianity : and the several ideas
of Predestination and Election and Grace he so links to
gether, as to import, that No persons can hold the doctrine of
Grace, unless they also symbolise with Augustine in his views
of Absolute Election to eternal glory.
That Mr. Milner should have thus written, I sincerely
regret. Such statements serve only to injure the cause of
truth, by exciting, in the minds of the hasty or the intem
perate, the worst kind of prejudice : prejudice, I mean, not
merely childish and uninquiring ; but prejudice, founded
upon a direct inaccuracy of representation.
* Ignat. Epist. ad Ephes. § 17.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 125
I may add, that his writing to this effect is the more un
fair, because he claims for himself a liberty of dijudication (
which he denies to others. Of the genuine Augustinian
Scheme, Mr. Milner unceremoniously rejects about one
half : for, while he retains Augustine's doctrine of Absolute
Election to eternal life ; he rejects, with what consistency I
stop not now to inquire, both Augustine's logically consecu
tive doctrine of Particular Redemption, and Augustine's
logically correlative doctrine of Absolute Preteritive Repro
bation to eternal death*. Yet, if a person ventures to doubt
whether Augustine's doctrine of Absolute Election to eternal
life was not the pure systematising invention of Augustine
himself, Mr. Milner forthwith pronounces him an enemy to
the catholic doctrine of Divine Free Grace.
Whether the Augustinian Scheme be scripturally true or
scripturally false, the question of its soundness or its un
soundness must be settled, not by an alleged liking or dis
liking of the peculiar truths of Christianity, but by a com
prehensive adduction and a sober sifting of evidence.
If it can be proved, that, On the professed personal ex
planatory teaching of the Apostles, the entire earliest Church
held and delivered the augustinian view of Election and
Predestination : then, doubtless, on the very strictest prin
ciples of legitimate testimony, we must all, either embrace
it, or reject Christianity itself. But, if this matter cannot
be proved : then, surely, the honest inquirer, who, purely
from want of evidence, finds that he cannot rationally adopt
it, ought not to be stigmatised, as a vain individual who is
sblely influenced by his dislike of the peculiar truths of
Christianity. * See Milner's Pract. Serm. vol. ii. serm. 17. p. 242-247. The pas
sage is cited above, book i. chap. 5. in ink.

126 the primitive doctrine [book I.

CHAPTER X.
JUSTIN MARTYR.
The theory of Mr. Milner, that The strictly Primitive
Church held the doctrine of Election as that doctrine is de
fined by Augustine and Calvin, drew after it an obvious
difficulty, the necessity of solving which imposed upon him
the construction of yet another and subsidiary theory.
His first theory he claimed to have historically established
by adducing the alleged authorities of Clement and Ignatius :
but, on the very ground of its presumed establishment, the
difficulty, to which I have alluded, forthwith presented itself.
Mr. Milner contended : that The earliest Church, in the
first instance, universally held the doctrine of Augustinian
Election. Yet the fact, that That doctrine, thus alleged to have been
universal in the first century, had totally vanished in the
second century, and did not reappear until Augustine revived
it at the beginning of the fifth century : this fact could be
neither denied nor dissembled*.
How, then, are we to account for the extraordinary cir-
* Such is the fact generally admitted by Mr. Milner. But, after
ward, not quite consistently, he describes, what we now call Calvinism,
as being the religious System of a Party, which still, in the middle of
the third century, continued to exist within the pale of the Church : for
he contrasts the Christian humility of Cyprian in not opposing that
System, with the pelagianising presumption of Origen in arguing against
it. Hist, of the Church of Christ, cent. iii. chap. 15. § 2. vol. i. p.
520, 521.
This statement, I am compelled to say, rests upon a very unfortunate

CHAP. X.] OF election. 127
cumstance, that A doctrine, delivered (we are told) by the
Apostles, and universally held (we are assured) by the
Church of the first century, should, in the course of the second
century and during the very lives of those who were taught
by the disciples of the Apostles, totally disappear ?
I. The attempted solution of this difficulty gave rise to
Mr. Milner's second and subsidiary theory.
As the strictly Primitive Church held the doctrine of Elec
tion, in accordance with that view of it which was subse
quently taken by Augustine : so the doctrine in question
continued to be faithfully maintained, until, with Justin
Martyr, philosophy crept into the fold of Christ. Then the
ancient System began to fall into discredit : while a Pela-
gianising Scheme of Self-determining Free Will gradually
usurped its place.
But let us, in all fairness, hear the precise words, wherein
Mr. Milner sets forth this supposed corruption of primitive
doctrine which originated (he contends) with Justin Martyr*.
In fundamentals, Justin Martyr was unquestionably sound.
misapprehension. Origen is not arguing (as Mr. Milner supposes)
against the Calvinists of the third century ; for no such religionists were
then in existence : but he is arguing against the Fatalising Scheme of
the Manichcans and Gnostics, with a special reference, apparently, to
the followers of Basilides and Majcion. See below, book ii. chap. 1.
§ i. 1. (1.) note.
* Certainly, the fate of Justin, in the hands of those who have criti
cised his conduct, has been not a little hard and infelicitous.
Previous to his conversion to Christianity, he had been a Platonist :
and, after his conversion, he renounced, with the strongest expressions
of contempt, the Philosophy to which he had once addicted himself,
declaring that Christianity is the only sure Philosophy, and professing
that he had received all his doctrinal System within the pale of the Church.
Yet, according to Dr. Priestley, the Church, for the tenet of the Logos,
is indebted to the Philosophy of Justin : and, according to Mr. Milner,
it was this same Philosophy of Justin, which led him, in the second

128 the primitive doctrine [book i.
Yet there seems, however, something in his train of thinking,
which was the effect of his philosophic spirit, and which pro
duced notions not altogether agreeable to the genius of the
Gospel. —
There is a phraseology, in the last page of his Trypho,
extremely suspicious. He speaks of a Self-determining Power
in man : and uses much the same kind of known reasoning
on the obscure subject of Free Will, as that which has been
fashionable since the days of Arminius. He seems to have
been the first of all sincere Christians, who introduced this
foreign plant into Christian ground. I shall venture to call
it foreign, till its right to exist in the soil shall have been
proved from scriptural evidence. It is very plain, that I do
not mistake his meaning, because he never explicitly owns the
doctrine of Election : though, with happy inconsistency, like
many other real Christians, he involved it in his experience,
and implies it in various parts of his writings.
But the stranger, once admitted, was not easily expelled.
The language of the Church was gradually and silently
changed, in this respect, from that more simple and scriptural
mode of speaking used by Clement and Ignatius. Those
Primitive Christians knew the doctrine of the election of
grace, but not that of the self-determining power of the
human will. We shall see, hereafter, the progress of the
evil, and its arrival at full maturity under the fostering hand
of Pelagius*.
century, to disown and smother the pristine doctrine of Augustinian
Election. Surely, it is strange and unaccountable, that a rejected and even des
pised Philosophy should have produced these extraordinary results of
addition and subtraction. See my Apostolicity of Trinitarianism, book
ii. chap. 6. § iv. and book ii. chap. 8. § i. 1.
* Milner's Hist, of the Church of Christ, cent, ii, chap. 3. vol. i. p.
227-229.

CHAP. X.J OF ELECTION. 129
II. Such is the second theory of Mr. Milner, which, in
order to make his Scheme round and consistent, was plainly
rendered necessary by his first theory.
With respect, then, to Justin, Mr. Milner, we see, very
fairly states : that this eminent individual, who flourished in
the ecclesiastical generation next to Ignatius, and who was
catechetically instructed in the truths of the Gospel only
thirty years after the death of St. John, never explicitly owns
the doctrine of Election ; that is to say (for such is Mr.
Milner's real meaning), never explicitly owns the doctrine of
Election as that doctrine is understood and explained by
Augustine. But, for this acknowledged circumstance, he
accounts, on the ground : that His philosophic spirit led to
a train of thinking, which produced notions not altogether
agreeable to the genius of the Gospel.
1. That Justin, as Mr. Milner confesses, never owns the
doctrine of Election as that doctrine was subsequently ex
plained by Augustine and Calvin, is, indeed, most perfectly
true. Yet the undoubted truth of the fact derogates noth
ing from its singularity : for, when we consider the very
early age in which he lived, it surely appears not a little re
markable, on the hypothesis of The scriptural correctness of
the augustinian explanation, that no traces of any such
doctrine should appear in his various writings.
St. John died in the year 100 : and Justin was converted
to Christianity about the year 1 30. Hence the necessity of
Chronology demonstrates : that The catechetical instructors
of Justin^ from whom he distinctly professes himself and his
contemporaries to have received the doctrine and the joint
adoration of the Three Persons in the One Godhead, must
have touched on the age of St. John*.
* See Justin. Apol. i. Oper. p. 43. Commel. 1593.
Q

130 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
If, then, Austinism were the apostolically delivered and
the apostolically received doctrine of the Catholic Church,
down to the death of St. John, or rather (on Mr. Milner's
supposition that Ignatius was a doctrinal Austinist) even
beyond the death of St. John : it clearly must, in the shape
of regular catechetical instruction, have been duly commu
nicated to Justin and his christian contemporaries ; commu
nicated too (be it carefully observed), not with the sort of
doubtful authority on which it might now be communicated,
but notoriously and confessedly on the invincible authority
of the inspired personal explanatory teaching of the Apos
tles ; or, at all events, if it had not been absolutely commu
nicated by the Catechist, it certainly, if it were the universal
doctrine of the Church, must have become well known to
Justin very soon after his baptism.
Yet, while Justin, in various parts of his Works, strongly
insists upon the doctrines of The Trinity and of The god
head and incarnation of Christ and of The Atonement effected
by his most precious blood-shedding and of The illuminating
and strengthening Grace of the Holy Spirit with sundry
other acknowledged catholic doctrines ; he never, as Mr.
Milner says, explicitly owns the doctrine of Augustinian
Election : though, nevertheless, if Augustinian Election were
really an apostolic doctrine, Justin, by Mr. Milner's own
hypothesis, must have received it exactly on the same
authority as he received the other doctrines which have been
specified. In regard to this knotty point, Mr. Milner, not very con
gruously with his subsequent attempted solution, tells us :
that Justin, with happy inconsistency, involved the doctrine
of Election (that is to say, the doctrine of Augustinian Elec*
tion) in his experience, and implies it in various parts of his
writings.

CHAP. X.] OF ELECTION. 131
What particular portions of Justin's writings Mr. Milner
may here allude to, I know not, as he gives neither references
nor citations : and, even if he were correct in the induction
upon which (I suppose) he would found such an opinion ;
still, as matters stand, how are we to account for what the
historian styles his happy inconsistency ? Justin was no
daring and opinionated heretic, prompt, like a Gnostic of a
Cerinthian or an Ebionite, to set up his own private specu
lations against the authority of the Apostles : on the con
trary, as Mr. Milner confesses, in fundamentals he was un
questionably sound. If, then, he had received the doctrine
of Augustinian Election upon undeniable apostolical author
ity ; which, on the hypothesis of Mr. Milner, when we
recollect his place in chronology, he inevitably must have
done : how are we to account, not merely for his extraordi-
dary silence, but for his actual inconsistency ?
In the present day, we may easily conceive a truly pious
and fundamentally sound Christian to be inconsistent on
the point of Augustinian Election, disowning it in words,
but building upon it in that inward operation of the soul
which the historian means by the term Experience ; it is
not, however, quite so easy to imagine an occurrence of the
same inconsistency in the days of Justin.
A man, who had received his Christianity from the con
temporaries and disciples of St. John, must, simply as a
matter of fact, have inevitably known : Whether, in their
personal explanation, the Apostles did, or did not, teach the
doctrine of Election in the same manner as it was subse
quently understood and propounded by Augustine and Calvin.
And, if this man were a truly pious man, which Mr. Milner
admits to have been the case with the martyred Justin ;
and if, in fact, he had received the doctrine of Augustinian
Election as being then notoriously and incontrovertibly the

132 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [.BOOK I.
doctrine taught by the Apostles : it is difficult to com
prehend, how he could have systematically ventured to
refrain from owning it, or how (as Mr. Milner speaks)
he could have been guilty of any inconsistency on the
subject. Circumstanced, therefore, as Justin was, in point both of
admitted personal piety and of infallibly sure transmission of
doctrine : he had literally but a yea and a nay to make his
choice from ; he had literally no alternative, save either to
receive or to contradict the decision of the Apostles.
He never, says Mr. Milner, explicitly owns the doctrine of
Election. In the case of a truly pious and thoroughly well informed
believer, how did this happen, if the doctrine of Augustinian
Election were notoriously taught by the Apostles, and if as
such it were no less notoriously received by that Church
which communicated to Justin the whole of his catechu-
menical and post-catechumenical instruction ?
2. The totaPsilence of so very early a writer as Justin
on the topic of Augustinian Election, Mr. Milner evidently
felt to be a matter, which, with his sentiments and with his
original theory upon his hands, he was bound to account
for. Now the natural reason, which we should be apt to
assign for such a silence, is : that Justin had never heard of
ihe doctrine of Augustinian or Calvinistic Election.
But Mr. Milner, while he allows the piety of the martyr ;
while he admits him to have been unquestionably sound in
fundamentals ; while he cannot deny, that, if the doctrine
of Augustinian Election had been really delivered to the
Church by the Apostles, Justin, in his day, must have infal
libly known such to be the case ; nay while he himself
would fain exhibit Justin as a sort of internally convinced,

CHAP. X.] OF ELECTION. 133
though (on such an hypothesis) a most unaccountably and
most superfluously concealed, Calvinist, who, in various
parts of his writings, implies the doctrine of that species of
Election : Mr. Milner, under all these circumstances, and in
direct inconsistency with the last of them, would solve the
problem of Justin's silence, on the plea ; that He had de
parted from the primitive faith through his love of Philoso
phy. This, then, is Mr. Milner's solution of a known and felt
difficulty. Though Justin involved the doctrine of Calvinistic Elec
tion in his experience, and implied it in various parts of his
writings : yet his love of Philosophy not only forbad him ex-
plicity to own it, but even actually produced notions on the
subject not altogether agreeable to the genius of the Gospel.
Such, in the form of a solution, are the strangely incon
sistent results, which Mr. Milner brings out of Justin's
alleged love of Philosophy. Meanwhile, as if to make con
fusion still worse confounded, Justin himself, after his
conversion to Christianity, actually treats this same Philoso
phy with utter and studied and repeated and systematic
contempt*. Surely, a man must be determined, at all hazards, to
persuade himself, that Augustinian Election was the doctrine
delivered by the Apostles to the strictly Primitive Church, if
he can be satisfied with a solution : which exhibits Justin,
as being so mightily under the influence of a professedly
discarded and despised Philosophy, as to disown, for its
sake, a doctrine then (by the theory) universally and cer
tainly known to be apostolical : and which makes him, at
once, pretermit through philosophical dislike, and yet never-
* Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. p. 172, 173, 174. Cohort, ad. Grasc.
p. 3, 4, 6, 7.

134 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
theless involve and imply, the self-same Scheme of doctrinal
exposition. > ?
The whole of this is an inconsistency, not happy, but, in
the case and age of Justin, I should think, absolutely impos
sible. 3. There is one matter yet to be noticed, before the
present topic is dismissed.
Justin, says Mr. Milner, never explicitly owns the doctrine
of Election.
This assertion, as I have already observed, is perfectly
true ; if, by the term Election, we understand Augustinian
Election : but it is not true ; if, by the term Election, we
understand Election according to Justin's own view of the
doctrine. In such a sense of the word, Justin is so far from never
explicitly owning the doctrine of Election, that he twice, in
his Dialogue with Trypho, both unreservedly acknowledges
it, and distinctly gives its meaning.
We Christians are no mere contemptible mob :-i-but god
hath also elected us ; and hath manifested himself to those,
who inquired not after him. — Through the like calling that
he called Abraham, charging him to go out from the land in
which he dwelt ; through that voice he hath called all of
us : and we have now come out from the polity in which we
lived, living wickedly according to the common practices of
the other inhabitants of the earth*.
* Oixouv oix suxaratppovr/Tog Stji^os itfuiv — dXXd xai rjjj.ag i%s-
Xifcaro 6 @sog, xai iji,tpavrjg iXsvii&rj ro7g fi/i) iifspurudiv auTov. — Aiol
rijs ofioi'aff xXydsus cpuvrj ixdXadsv auVov ('A/3paau,), sWdv JgsXfeiv
d«b <rt\g yr\g iv r) uxsr xai »ju,as Si 'dieavrag, Si' ixsivr\g t% tpuvrig
ixaXsds1 xai £j-rj\(!ofASv rjSrj aito Trig <xoXirsiag iv tj I^wjasv, xard rd
xoivd tuv aXXwv rrjg yrjg oixrjropuv xaxug £uvTSg. Justin. Dial, cum
Tryph. Oper. p. 272.

CHAP. X.] OF ELECTION. 135
Inasmuch as he took out of all nations the nation of
the Jews, a nation useless and disobedient and faithless :
he hath shewn, that those who have been elected out
of every nation are, through Christ, obedient' to his
counsel*. From these two perfectly unambiguous passages, we
learn, with abundant clearness, Justin's view of the scrip
tural doctrine of Election. He evidently understood it,
precisely in the same sense as it was understood by Cle
ment the friend and fellow-labourer of St. Paul ; and, I may
add, in the same sense as it was understood by Ignatius the
martyred disciple of St. Johnf .
Justin, who was taught by the immediate successors of
the Apostles, apprehended God's Elect to be : The whole
body of Christians, called and brought out of all nations into
the pale of the visible Church, so as there to constitute one
Chosen Nation or Polity ; after the same manner, and ac
cording to the same ideality, as the Israelites had been called
and chosen out of all nations to be God's Elect and Peculiar
and Privileged People.
When Mr. Milner stated, that Justin never explicitly owns
the doctrine of Election, he ought, I think, to have also
stated : that Justin does explicitly own the doctrine of Elec
tion, though not as that doctrine was subsequently expounded
by Augustine and Calvin.
* 'Ex ifavruv Si rCiv ysvuv, yivog laurcj) Xaj3uv to ufAsVgpov, ys'vog
d-^prjdrov xai difsi&ig xai diridrov, Ssi%ag tous ol*o itavros ysvovs
aipov^ivoog rfSirsTdtiai auVou <rr\ /3ouX5j S\a tou XpitfTou. Justin. Dial.
cum Tryph. Oper. p. 282.
f See above, book i. chap. 9. § n.

136 the primitive doctrine [book i.

CHAPTER XI.
THE DOCTRINE OF FREE WILL, AS UNDERSTOOD BY
JUSTIN MARTYR AND THE EARLY FATHERS OF
THE CHURCH.
In association with a philosophic spirit, which forbad Justin
explicitly to own the doctrine of Election as it was subse
quently explained by Augustine, though that same philo
sophic spirit did not prevent him from involving it in his
experience and even implying it in various parts of his
writings, Mr. Milner alleges : that He was the first sincere
Christian, who introduced into the Church the foreign plant
of Free Will; using the same kind of reasoning on the sub
ject, as that, which, in modern times, has been fashionable
since the days of Arminius.
The charge, thus brought against Justin, leads us into the
evidential or historical discussion of a very important sub
ject. I say evidential or historical, designedly and ad
visedly : for, as to any abstract or metaphysical discussion
of the much vexed topic of Free Will, I decline such a task
altogether ; both because it is entirely foreign to the plan of
the present Work, and because I deem it alike useless and
unsatisfactory*. I. In the allegation preferred by Mr. Milner, he appears
to me to have totally mistaken the real sentiments of Justin :
which, in truth, were the same as those of Ireneus and
* The difficulties, involved in this discussion, are no way peculiar to
the Protestant Churches : they equally exist among the conflicting di-
vines of the Church of Rome. See Pascal. Lettr. Provincial. Lett. ii.

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 137
Tertullian and Cyprian and Theophilus and Tatian and
Athanasius and Cyril of Jerusalem and even (what, in the
present matter, is of prime importance) Augustine himself
For he intimates, that Justin held Free Will, on the grace-
denying principles of Pelagius: whereas Justin, like the
other ancient Fathers, contended for Free Will, on totally
different principles, and with a totally different object.
I shall first explain these principles and this object : then
proceed to a verifying examination of Justin's own lan
guage : and then, with respect to Divine Grace, exhibit
Justin's own sentiments.
1. In the course of his various writings, Justin enters
upon the topic of Human Free Will exactly five times.
Now, upon all these several occasions, he is arguing, either
against the sophistical perverseness of the Jews, or against
the fatalising dogmatism of the Stoics.
Hence he maintains The Freedom of the Human Will,
not under the pelagian aspect of excluding the necessity of
Divine Grace, but under the totally different aspect of man's
spontaneously preferring the line of conduct which he
adopts as contradistinguished from man's being fatally
compelled to adopt a line of conduct against his will or his
choice or his preference or his inclination.
That is to say, when Justin maintains the existence of A
self-determining Power of preference : he does not take the
part of those who deny the need of Divine Grace ; but he
is merely arguing against the professed advocates of Abso
lute Fatalism.
2. While the five passages in question are successively
exhibited, let this prefatory remark be borne in mind : and
Justin, I trust, will then stand absolved of any tendency to
Pelagianism. (1.) The passage, specially referred to by Mr. Milner as
R

138 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
condemnatory of Justin, occurs toward the close of his
Dialogue with Trypho : but, if we attend to its drift and
context, we shall readily perceive, that, so far from bearing
out the historian in his allegation, it fully establishes the
justice of the general introductory remark, which, by a
simple consideration of facts, I have been induced to pro
pound. Justin's contemporaries, the unbelieving Jews, were in
clined, it appears, to retort upon Christians, in the way of
an argumentum ad hominem, their own palmary doctrine of
The Necessity of Christ's Death in order to the Salvation of
man. Their argument was to the, following effect.
If Christ, as you tell us, must be crucified; and if his
death must be effected through the agency of what you call
the murderous transgression of the Jewish People : why are
we to blame ; seeing that, by your own statement, matters
were so fatally preordained that they could not have hap
pened otherwise ?
To this sophism, Justin has an easy and prompt reply.
Christians hold not the doctrine of a Fatal Necessity,
which exempts from all moral responsibility : but they believe
both men and angels to be endowed with a Self-determining
Power of Free Will ; so that no irresistible, and therefore
morally exonerating, constraint is laid upon their choice of
this action or of that action. Hence, according to the prin
ciples asserted by Christians, though the death of Christ was
necessary to the salvation of man, so that man could not have
been saved without it : yet the Jews acted with perfect freedom
of will, evinced by a deliberate mental preference of their
own selected line of conduct, when they crucified the predicted
Redeemer. Consequently, like the fallen angels, they might
justly be punished : inasmuch as, quite spontaneously and

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 139
without any constraint upon their inclinations, they acted
contrary to justice and right reason*.
Such is the substance and drift of the passage, which Mr.
Milner very briefly refers to, for the purpose of evidentially
proving : that Justin was the first of all sincere Christians,
who introduced into the Church the foreign plant of Pela-
gianising Free Will.
(2.) Another passage, on the human and angelic power of
Self-determination, will be found somewhat earlier in the
same Dialogue ; and, like that which was last noticed, it
simply bears upon the topic of Absolute Unspontaneous
Fatalism. If a person asks ; Why God might not have killed Herod,
rather than permit him to plot against the life of Christ : I
answer, that we might just as well ask ; Why God did not
* AXXa xai oti oux aiVi'a tou ©sou oi ifpoyivudxo^svoi xai ysvr\do-
(J.6V0I dSixoi, sirs dyysXoi s'irs dv6pu<xoi yivovrai (pauXoi, dXXd ttj
lauTGJv sxadrog alria toioutoi siViv oitoTog sxadrog (pavydsrai, drfsSsit-a
xai iv roTg sjj.irpod6sv.
Iva Si ji,-r) tpoopadiv iyr\ra Xsysiv, 'in "~ESsi rov XpiaVov oVaupoj-
OSjvai, % xai iv Tu ysvsi tjjmjv s/vai roug irapa/3aivovrag, xai oux dv
aXXcos J5uvaTo yivsd6a.r tpdddag Sta /3pa-)esoiv SiVov, 'in, /3ouXo|U.evoj
tous dyyiXovg xai roiig dv6piirfovg strsdDai rr) /3ouX5j auVou, 6 ®so£
i/3ovXi)6r) teoiridai rourovg airsgovdiovg irpog Sixaioirpagiav, fj.srd Xoyou
rov iifidrad6ai avrovg u<p' ou ysyovadi xai St' ov cidi irpoVepov oux
'ivrsg, xai jxsrd v6u.ou tou uir' auTou xpivsdHai, iav tfapd rov op6ov Xo'yov
•Updrrudr xai Si' iavrovg '/jjasij oi dvdpuiroi xai oi dyysXoi iXsyy6r\do-
tis&a ifovrjpc\jddii,svoi, iav fx.17 <p6ddavrsg jj.sra6ujj.s6a. Ei Ss 0 Xoyog tou
0£ou *pou,v]vuei itavrug nvdg, xai dyyiXovg xai dv6p£>irovg, xuXad6r)-
dsddai psXXovrag, <5ioVi rtposyivuidxsv avrovg apsrafiXifrovg ysvrylo\j&-
vovg itovr\povg, ifposTirs TauVa, dXX' oux 0V1 auVouj 6 &sog roiovrovg
sVohjtfsv. Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 290.
This quibble seems to have found much acceptation with the Jews in
Justin's time : for we perceive Celsus, who flourished, like Justin, about
the middle of the second century, putting it into the mouth of his person
ated Jew. See Orig. cont. Cels. lib. ii. p. 72, 73. Spencer. 1618.

140 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
annihilate the serpent altogether, rather than place enmity
between him and the Seed of the woman ; or Why he could not
have created the whole race of mankind at once. But, inas
much as he knew it to be good, he created both angels and
men with the power of determining themselves to rectitude of
action ; and he appointed times, so long as he deemed it good
that they should possess this power of Self-determination.
And, because he deemed it ' good, he executed his judgments
both general and particular, Self-determination being never
theless preserved*.
(3.) A third passage, still of the same drift and import'
also occurs in the Dialogue with Trypho.
God created both men and angels with possession of a Self-
determining Freedom of Preference : so that they might either
choose the good, and live eternally ; or choose the evil, and
incur merited punishment].
(4.) A fourth passage, yet again of the same tendency,
will be found in the first of his two Apologies.
* 'Eotv Si rig 5JJAIV Xiyr\, Mr) yap oux rjSvvaro 6 ®sog /xaXXov tov
'HpuSr)v owroxTsIvai ; #poXa/3wv Xiyu, 'Mr) ydp oux r)Svvaro 6 &sbg
rr]v dp-)(f\v xai rov o'tpiv s'fapai tou (jAj sivai, xai u.15 slrrcTv 'in xai
s-)(6pav 6i)du dvafj,idov airov xai tou oVs'pu.aTos avrr)g ; Mr) ydp oux
r)buvaro sv6vg ifXr)6og avOpuqi'wv iroiSjtfai ; 'AXX', ug iyivudxs xaXov
sivai ysvsdd'ai, iifoiridsv avrs^ovdiovg #pos Sixaio#pa£iav, xai dyyiXovg
xai dv6puifovg- xai -/jpovovg &pids, (AS^pis ou iyivudxs xaXov sivai to
auTEfoutfiov I'^siv auTous1 xai\ 6V1 xaXov sTvai opo'iug iyvupi^a, xai xado-
Xixdg xai pspixdg xpidsig sVoi'ei, #s<puXayu,s'vou u,e'vtoi tou auTsj-outfiou.
Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 257.
t BouXou-svos ydp toutous, iv iXsv6spa itpoaipidsi, xai uvregavdiovg
yevopivovg, roiig rs dyyiXovg xai tous av6pu<Kovg, 6 ©Eos ifpdrrsiv,
'ida 'sxadrov ivsSvva,;xuds Suvaddat ifoisTv, iifoirjdav si (/.iv rd svdpsdm
auTy aipoiWo, xai d<pdapTous xai otijagj parous auTous rripfjdar idv Ss
¦Kovripeuduvrai, iig airy SoxsT Bxadrov xoXa^siv. Justin. Dial, euro
Tryph. Oper. p. 247-

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 141
Lest, from what has been said, some should imagine, that
we assert events to occur according to a Fatal Necessity,
because those events have been foreknown and predicted : we
will also solve this difficulty.
Having learned from the prophets, that both punishments
and rewards are assigned according to the deserts of each
person's actions, we assert this to be true : for, if it were not
so, but if all things happened according to Fate, our Free
dom of action would forthwith be destroyed. Thus, if it were
fated, that This man should.be good, and that man bad ; there
would be no room either for approbation or for censure : and,
again, unless the human race, by a Free Preference, had the
power to reject the bad and to choose the good, it would not be
the cause of whatever things were done. But, that, by Free
Preference, man both does right and does wrong, we thus
demonstrate. The same individual we see passing from one set of actions
to their contraries. Now, if it were fated, that he should be,
irrecoverably and constrainedly, either bad or good: he
would plainly be incapable of these frequent transitions.
Consequently, we must either say, that Fate, as the cause of
bad, acts contrary to itself : or we must adopt the opinion,
that there are no such things as virtue and vice ; an opinion,
which, as the true word shews, is the height of impiety*.
As, in the former passages, Justin asserted Man's Free
dom of Preference against the perverse sophistry of the
* "Oifug Si \j.r) rivsg, ix ruv tfpoXsXEyuivwv itp' t)jj,uv, 8o$ddudi xa6'
siuiapu,E'v?is . dvayx-rjv (pddxsiv rnxag rd yiv6jj.sva yivsd6ai ix rov irposiiraTv
tfposyvojo'u.sW • xai touto &aXuou.sv.
Tas Tiu,upi'as xai rag xoXatfsis xai rdg dya6ds dpoifidg, xar' olgi'av
ruv r<pa\suv ixxdrov d«o8iSoi6ai, Sid ruv ifpotpriruv pabovrag, xai
dXr)6ig diffotpaivo^a' iitai, si fi/q touto idriv, dXXd xa6' s\jj,apfhivi\v
rtkvra. yiverai, outs to itp' r)ujv sdnv 'iXug. Ei yap ei'fuapTai, tov Si

142 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
Jews : so, in the present passage, he argues against the
pagan stoical dogma of Fate or of Fixed Uncontroulable
Necessity. Such an opinion, by converting men into mere
irresistibly impelled machines, destroys all moral responsi
bility. Justin, therefore, in opposition to it, contends : that
No man is invincibly forced to act against his will or his
choice or his inclination.
(5.) A fifth passage we read in his second Apology : and
here again he is professedly arguing, not against the need of
Divine Grace in order to willing holiness of life, but simply
against the Absolute Uncontroulable Fatalism of the Stoics.
The Stoics maintain, that All things are according to a
Fatal Necessity. But, because God, in the beginning, created
both angels and men in possession of a Power of Self-deter
mination : if they do evil, they will justly, in eternal fire,
suffer punishment for their misdeeds. Now, of every intel
ligent creature, it is the nature, to be capable both of vice and
<of virtue : for, unless there was d power of spontaneously
turning to either, there would be no room for praise*.
•Tiva dya6ov sivai, xai rov Si (pauXov ov6' ovrog ditoSixrbg, o'iSs ixstvog
[is\j.ifrsos. Kai au, si u.17, tpoaipidsi iXsv6ipa, irpos to cpauysiv rd
aiV^pd, xai aips7d6ai to, xaXa, Suvajt,iv s-yrsi to dvdpowsiov ysvog' dvai-
¦nov idri ruv bi(udSi)i(ors ifparrojj,ivuv. 'AXX', 6V1 iXav6ipa ifpoaipidsi
xai xaTop^oi- xai dcpaXXsrai, ovrug dit'o&ixvuu.Ev.
Tov auTov dv6puirov ruv ivavifiuv rr)v iisriXsvdiv it'oiouu.evov 6pflu,£v.
Ei Ss si'u.apTo i) (pauXov r) ditooSaiov Ei'vai, oux dv #ots tuv ivavriuv
Ssxnxbg tjv, xai itXsidrdxig jj,srsri6sro • 'aXX' ovS' oi jj,sv ¦ndav _ ditovSa'ioi,
oi Ss ipauXoi, eVei rr)v siu.apu.^vrjv aiVi'av apavXuv xai ivavria havrrj itpar-
rovdav d*o<paiv6u,s(!a • i) ixsTvo to #posip»iy.svov 8o%ai dXr]6sg sivai, 'in
ovSiv idnv dpsrr) ovSs xaxia, dXXa S6%r} u,6vov r) dya6d i) xaxd vou.i-
Zsrai \ rjitsp, ug Ssixvvdiv 0 dXr)6r)g Xbyog, i>.syidrr] ddi(3siu xai dSixia
idriv. Justin. Apol. i. Oper. p. 62, 63.
* Oi 'S.ru'ixo), xa6' sifAapuivTis dvdyxr\v, itdvra yivadbai ditsfprpiavro.
'AXX', oti auVegoutfiov to rs ruv dyyiXuv yivog xai tgjv dvdpwirwv rr)v

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 143
3. Thus argues Justin against the dogma of Fatal Un
controulable Necessity, whether sophistically employed by
the Jews, or mischievously advocated by the Stoics. I
have now to shew, that, in thus contending for Man's Free
dom of Choice or Preference, he by no means contended on
the pelagian principle that Divine influential Grace is
unnecessary, but, on the contrary, that he upheld The need
of Divine Grace in order to man's choosing or preferring a
life of holiness rather than a life of unholiness.
The most satisfactory mode of conducting my proof is
simply to adduce Justin's own precise declarations.
It is not my business to pronounce sentence, by antici
pation, upon any one of the race of you Jews. But, so far
as this, I certainly must assert. If any one be saved, he
must be of the number of those who can be saved through the
Grace which is from the Lord of hosts* -
We must all hope in God, the Creator of all things : and,
from him alone, we must seek salvation and assistance. But
we must not, like other men who are ignorant of Christianity,
fancy : that we are saved, on account either of our descent
or of our strength or of our wisdom].
dpyr)v iitoir\dsv 6 ©Eos, Sixaiug, iifip &v dv ifXrnj,fxaXr)dudi, rr)v njiupiav
iv aluviu itvpi xo\jJidovrai- ysvvrjTou hi itavrog r\bs y) tpvdig, xaxiag xai
dpsrrjg Ssxnxbv sivar ou yap dv ¦hv iifaivsrbv ovSiv auTOJv, si oux r)v i«'
ajjupoTEpa. TpsVEa^ai, xai o'uvafuv.si^s. Justin. Apol. ii. Oper. p. 35.
* Ou tp6dvu d<ieotpaivsd6ai tspi ovSsvbg tgjv oWo tou ysvovg uu.cjv, ei
u/>5 tis idriv d<xb ruv xard j^apiv rr)v diro Kup/ou daj3aud dudrivai
Svvau.svog. Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 224.
t 'Eta @sbv tov tfoWa #oir)davra iXtfi^siv <5sr itdvrag, xai itap' ixsivov
fto'vou durrjpiav xai /3o7)0Eiav tr\rsiv dXXd fMj, ug rovg Xoiifoiig ruv
dv6puifuv, Sid ysvog r) irXovrov i) io^uv r) docpiav, vou.i£siv Svvad6ai
duZsd6ai. Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 257.

144 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
Solely from the wonderful foreknowledge of God it has
'happened, that, through the vocation of the new and eternal
covenant, we Christians are found to be more wise and more
pious than you Jews : who imagine yourselves to be both
lovers of God and possessors of wisdom ; but who, in truth,
are neither the one nor the other*.
Wherefore to us it has been given, that we should both
hear and understand and be saved through Christ ].
II. If the character of Justin be not already cleared, we
may bring to his assistance, both Ireneus who was in
structed by Polycarp the disciple of St. John, and Augus-
tine himself whose soundness on the doctrine of Divine
Grace Mr. Milner would have been the last person to
dispute. Both these eminent men were placed in situations similar
to l^iat of Justin : and the natural consequence was, that
they each argued and theologised precisely as Justin argued
and theologised.
1. The "great Work of Ireneus was directed against the
various early modifications of Gnosticism. Now the Gnos
tics held a species of Fatalism, which exonerated even the
most depraved individuals from all moral and religious res
ponsibility : for they taught, that bad men committed wick
edness, not by a free though perverse preference of evil to
good, but by a Fatal Necessity inherent in their very nature,
which left them no room for choice and which compelled
them to unholiness even if it were against their inclination.
* @avfj.adrr) tfpovoia ©sou touto yiyovav, i'va i)u.s7g, uu,gjv tuv vou,i-
^of/iE'vojv, oux ovtojv Ss, outs cpiXo6iuv ovri dvvsruv, dvvsriirspoi xai
6sods/3idrspoi sups0wu.sv, Sid Tijs xXr)dsug rr)g xaivr)g xai aiuviov Sia-
6i)xrig, rovridn, rov XpioVou. Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 271.
t 'Hu.iv ouv iSbdrj, xai dxovdai, xai dvvsTvai. xai du6r)vai, Sid rovrau
rov XpioVou. Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 274.

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 145
(1.) Such being the heretics whom Ireneus had to oppose,
we shall not wonder to find him adopting the precise reason
ing and even the precise phraseology of Justin : not, how
ever, because he was anticipating Pelagius in a denial of the
necessity of Divine Grace ; but merely because he was
condemning a Fatalism, which was plainly destructive of all
religion. Man, being endowed with reason, and in this respect being
similar to God, possesses Freedom of Will and a Self-deter
mining Power. Hence he himself is the cause to himself,
that he becomes, sometimes good corn, and sometimes mere
straw. Wherefore, also, he will be justly condemned : be
cause, being created with the faculty of reason, lie has lost
true reason; and, living unreasonably, he has opposed the
justice of God*-
God made man free from the beginning, having his own
power of Self-determination even as he has his own soul : in
order that he may submit to God's behests voluntarily ; and
not, on the part of God, constrainedly. For God uses force
to no one : though, to man, God's righteous behests are always
present. And, on this account, he infiuentially gives good
counsel to all. In man, as well as in the angels, he placed a
power of choice ].
The Light, with a mighty necessity, will subject no one to
* Homo vero rationabilis, et secundum hoc similis Deo, liber in arbi
trio factus est et suae potestatis (Gr. procul dubio airs^oidiog), ipse sibi
causa est, ut aliquando quidem frumentum, aliquando palea, fiat. Qua-
propter et juste condemnabitur, quoniam, rationabilis factus, amisit
veram ralionem ; et, irrationabililer vivens, adversatus est justitia; Dei.
Iren. adv. hsr. lib. iv. c. 9. p. 238.
f Liberum eum Deus fecit ab initio, habentem suam potestatem (Gr.
auTslouViov) sicut et suam animam, ad utendum sententia Dei volun
taries et non coactum a Deo. Vis enim a Deo non fit : sed bona sen-
S

146 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
its.elfinar.3oes God compel him, who is unwilling to abide in
holiness. Those persons, therefore, who have departed from
the Paternal Light and who have transgressed the law of
liberty, have departed by their own fault, having been created
in the possession of Free Will and of a Self-determining
Power of Preference*.
(2.) Thus argues Ireneus against the Fatalism of the
Gnostics : but, while he thus argues, we must not rapidly
conclude, that, on the topic of Divine Grace, he is anticipa-
tively pelagianising. Like his contemporary Justin, he
maintains the necessity of Divine Grace : though he denies,
that, against their own choice and inclination, the wicked
are fatally compelled to evil.
As the dry earth gives not its produce without the
due watering of the natural rain : so we likewise, being
at first mere dry wood, should never bring forth living
fruit without the free allegorical rain which is from
above ].
Christ it is, who causes us to serve him in righteousness
and holiness all our days : and the Spirit it is, who prepares
us to become the sons of God, that so the Son may conduct us
tentia adest illi semper. Et, propter hoc, consilium quidem bonum d'at
omnibus. Posuit enim in homine potestatem electionis, quemadmodum
et in angelis. Iren. adv. haer. lib. iv. c. 71. p. 305, 306.
* Neque lumen, cum magna necessitate, subjiciet sibi quenquam :
neque Deus cogit eum, qui nolit continere ejus artem. Qui igitur ab-
stiterunt a paterno lumine et transgressi sunt legem libertatis, per suam
abstiterunt culpam, liberi arbitrii et sua? potestatis (Gr. auTEj-outfioi)
facit. Iren. adv. hsr. lib. iv. c. 76. p. 312.
f Sicut arida terra, si non percipiat humorem, non fructificat : sic et
nos, lignum aridum existentes primum, nunquam fructicaremus vi-
tam, sine superna voluntaria pluvia. Iren. adv. hsr. lib. iii. c. 19.
p. 207.

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION.
to the Father, and that so the Spirit may give*
ruptibility to eternal life*. ,
By the Spirit of God, man is both quickened and in
creased]. 2. Equally strong, respecting Free Will, is the language
even of Augustine himself. But then, in his own account
of the design of his several Treatises on Grace and Free
Will and on Correction and Grace and on Nature and
Grace, he fully explains its real drift and purport.
The Treatise on Grace and Free Will he wrote, for the
benefit of those persons, who, when the Grace of God is
defended, fancying that Free Will is thereby denied, so
take up the defence of Free Will as to deny the Grace of
GodJ. The Treatise on Correction and Grace he wrote, because
it had been declared, that No one ought to be punished for
not obeying God's commandments^.
The Treatise on Nature and Grace he wrote against Pe-
* Dominus noster Jesus Christus, — faciens nos servire sibi in sanctitate
et justitia omnes dies nostros : — Spiritu quidem prasparante hominem in
filium Dei, Filio autem adducente ad Patrem, Patre autem ineor-
ruptelam donante in aetemam vitam. Iren. adv. haer. lib. iv. c. 37.
p. 267.
f Spiritus Dei vivificat et auget hominem. Iren. adv. hasr. lib. iv.
c. 37. p. 269.
t Propter eos, qui, cum defenditur Dei gratia, putantes negari liberum
arbitrium, sic ipsi defendunt liberum arbitrium, ut negent Dei gratiam,
asserentes earn secundum merita nostra dari ; scripsi librum, cujus titulus
est De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio. Argum. in August, de Grat. et Liber.
Arbit. ex Retract, lib. ii. c. 66. Oper. vol. vii. p. 459.
§ Rursus ad eosdem scripsi alterum librum, quem De Correptione et
Gratia pranotavi, cum mihi nunciatum esset, dixisse ibi quendam,
Neminem corripiendum, si Dei praecepta non facit, sed, pro illo ut faciat,
tantummodo orandum. Argum. in August, de Corrept. et Grat. ex
Retract, lib. ii. c. 67. Oper. vol. vii. p. 471.

148 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bQOK I.
lagius, who had so asserted the goodness of man's nature
and will, as to deny the necessity of Divine Grace*.
Thus circumstanced, it was obviously the business of
, Augustine to maintain the necessity of Divine Grace, with
out running into the Maniche an- error of Fatalism. In other
words, as Justin and Ireneus had done before him, it was
his business to insist, concurrently with Divine Grace, upon
Man's Freedom of Mental Preference.
With these explanatory remarks before us, we shall hear,
without any alarm for the interests of Christian Truth,
Augustine employing exactly the same language as that, on
the strength of which Mr. Milner has so hastily charged
Justin with pelagianising.
Precepts of charity would vainly be given to man, unless
he possessed Freedom of Will].
We must, in no wise, suppose Free Will to be taken away,
because we read in Scripture : It is God, that worketh in you,
both to will and to do, of his good pleasure]..
God, in Scripture, has plainly revealed to us, that Man
possesses Free Will : for the divine precepts would be nuga
tory, unless man possessed Freedom of Will; so that, by
* Venit etiam tunc in manus meas quidam Pelagii liber, ubi hominis
naturam, contra Dei gratiam qua justificatur impius et qua Christiani
sumus, quanta potuit argumentation e defendit. Librum ergo, quo huic
respondi defendens gratiam, non contra naturam, sed per quam natura
liberatur et regitur ; De Natura et Gratia nuncupavi. Argum. in
August, de Nat. et Grat. ex Retract, lib. ii. c. 42. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 278.
f Haec ergo praecepta charitatis inaniter darentur hominibus, non
habentibus liberum- arbitrium. August, de Grat. et Liber. Arbit. c. 18.
Oper. vol. vii. p. 466.
% Non enim, quia dixit; Deus est enim, qui operatur in vobis et velle
et operari pro bona voluntate : ideo liberum arbitrium abstulisse putan-
dus est. August, de Grat. et Liber. Arbit. c. 9. Opes. vol. vii. p. 463.

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 149
performing the divine precepts, he might attain to the promised
rewards*. We must acknowledge, that we possess Free Will to do
both good and evil : but, in doing evil, each person is free
from righteousness and is the servant of sin ; while, in doing
good, no person can be free, unless he shall have been freed by
him who said, If the Son shall make you free, then shall you
be free indeed].
God created us possessed of Free Will; nor are we, by
any Fatal Necessity, drawn either to virtue or to vice : for,
where there is Fatal Necessity, there is no crown].
III. The key to the whole matter, in short, is simply
this. Like many other persons, Mr. Milner has not sufficiently
distinguished, between The Free Will of Spontaneous Mental
Preference, and The Good Will of freely preferring Virtue
to Vice.
By the ancients, on the contrary, who were frequently
* Revelavit autem nobis, per Scripturas suas sanctas, esse in homine
liberum voluntatis arbitrium : — quia ipsa divina prascepta homini non
prodessent, nisi haberet liberum voluntatis arbitrium, quo ea faciens ad
promissa praemia perveniret. August, de Grat. et Liber. Arbit. c. 2.
Oper. vol. vii. p. 459.
f Liberum itaque arbitrium, et ad malum et ad bonum faciendum,
confitendum est nos habere : sed, in malo faciendo, liber est quisque
justitia servusque peccati ; in bono autem, liber esse nullus potest, nisi
fuerit liberatus ab eo qui dixit, Si vos Filius liberaverit, tunc vere liberi
eritis. August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 1. Oper. vol. vii. p. 471.
X Item quod ait a memorato dictum esse presbytero (scil. Hierony-
mo) ; Liberi arbitrii nos condidit Deus, nee ad virtutem nee ad vitia
necessitate trahimur ; alioquin, ubi necessitas, nee corona est : quis non
agnoscat ? Quis non toto corde suscipiat ? Quis aliter conditam hu-
manam neget esse naturam ? Sed, in recte faciendo, ideo nullum est
vinculum necessitatis, quia libertas est charitatis. August, de Nat. et
Grat. cont. Pelag. c. 65. Oper. vol. vii. p. 289.

150 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK I.
called upon to oppose the mischievous impiety of Fatalism
while yet they stood pledged to maintain the vital doctrine
of Divine Grace, this distinction was well known and care
fully observed.
The Manicheans so denied Free Will, as to hold a Fatal
Necessity of sinning, whether the Choice of the individual
did or did not go along with the action*.
The Pelagians so held Free Will, as to deny the Need of
Divine Grace to make that Free Will a Good Willf.
By the Catholics, each of these Systems was alike rejected.
They held, that Man possesses Free Will: for, otherwise,
he could not be an accountable subject of God's moral go
vernment. But they also held, that, In consequence of the
fall, his Free Will was a Bad Will: whence, with a perfect
conscious freedom of Choice or Preference, and without any
violence put upon his Inclination, he, perpetually, though
quite spontaneously, prefers unholiness to holiness ; and thus
* Dicunt illi Manichai : quia, primi hominis peccato, id est, Adas,
liberum arbitrium perierit ; et nemo jam potestatem habeat bene vi-
vendi, sed omnes in peccatum carnis sus necessitate cogantur. Julian.
Pelag. apud August, cont. Duas Epist. Pelag. lib. iv. c. 2. Oper. vol.
vii. p. 400.
Oux s^pijv ouv tov difoxpivdjj,svov tfpos to xa6' %tas [iiiyidrov xaxov
'iyovra tov Xbyov, tfpos to xard rovg Mavi-yaiovg \iAyidrov xaxov d*o-
-rsivsd6av dyvoiag ydp touto drjjxsTov, xai dtopiag iXiy/ov, xa6d
s'ipr\rai. SvyyupsT Si ijft,dg lipdrrsiv a sxovdlug aipoufise'a xaxd, ou" Sid
rrpi dd6svsiav rr\g auVou <5uvd|WS0JS, dXX' i'va to {ju.uv auOai'pETov, xai
to auYou jiaxpodufAov, Ssi-^rf cjv yupig, ours ij^sTg avAputfoi, ours aUTos,
dya6og ivsSiysro sivai iiri t5)s tfapoidris xaradrddsug. Qusst. et
Respons. ad Grac. in Justin. Oper. p. 127.
| Sunt enim quidam tantum prassumentes de libero' humanas volun
tatis arbitrio, ut, ad non peccandum, nee adjuvandos nos divinitus
opinentur, semel ipsi naturae nostras concesso libera? voluntatis arbitrio.
August, de Peccat. Merit, et Remiss, lib. ii. c. 2. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 263.

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 151
requires the aid of Divine Grace to make his Bad Will a
Good Will.
1. To this purpose, again and again, speaks Augustine :
and to this same purpose, Cyril of Jerusalem and Athanasius
and Cyprian and Tertullian and Tatian and Theophilus of
Antioch had similarly spoken before him.
(1.) Let us hear Augustine.
To live well and to act well, there is in man a freedom of
will: but there are also divine testimonies, that, without the
Grace of God, we can do no good thing*.
Free Will is always in us: but Good Will is not al
ways in us. For either the will is free from righteous
ness, when it serves sin : and then it is bad. Or it is
free from sin, when it serves righteousness : and then it is
good]. We certainly may, if we will, keep God's commandments :
but, because the preparation of the will is from the Lord, we
must beg of him, that we may will so much as suffices us to do
* Sicut superioribus testimoniis Scripturarum probavimus sanctarum,
ad bene vivendum et recte agendum esse in homine liberum voluntatis
arbitrium : sic etiam, de gratia Dei, sine qua nihil boni agere possumus,
quae sint divina testimonia, videamus. — Dictum est libero arbitrio ; Fili,
noli deficere a disciplina Domini : et Dominus dicit ; Ego rogavi pro
te, Petre, ne deficiat fides tua. Homo, ergo, gratia juvatur ; ne, sine
causa, voluntati ejus jubeatur. August, de Grat. et Liber. Arbit. c. 4.
Oper. vol. vii. p. 460, 461.
f Semper est autem in nobis voluntas libera, sed non semper est
bona. Aut enim a justitia libera est, quando servit peccato ; et tunc
est mala : aut a peccato libera est, quando servit justitiae ; et tunc est
bona. Gratia vero Dei semper est bona : et per hanc fit, ut sit homo
bona? voluntatis, qui prius fuit voluntatis mala?. Per hanc etiam fit, ut
ipsa bona voluntas, qua; jam esse coepit, augeatur, et tam magna fiat, ut
possit implere divina mandata quae voluerit, cum valde perfecteque
voluerit. August, de Grat. et Liber. Arbit. c. 15. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 464.

152 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
by willing. Assuredly, we will, when we will : but he causes,
that we should will what is good*.
The human will is not taken away by the Grace of God ;
but it is changed from a Bad Will into a Good Will : and,
when it has become a Good Will, it is assisted],
(2.) Let us hear Cyril of Jerusalem.
Our Self-determining Free Will is evil, though it acts by
a Free Choice : for, when we sin, it is by a deliberate Prefer
ence of evil to good. The Creator is holy : but the creature,
by his own proper Choice, has turned to bitterness J.
(3.) Let us hear Athanasius.
After the fall, man's soul, deeming pleasure to be good,
abuses the very name of goodness by applying it to pleasure.
Henceforth, it no longer moves according to virtue or with
any regard to God : but, highly esteeming worthless things,
it abusively chooses them ; inasmuch as it possesses the Self-
determination of Free Will. For, as it can incline to what
is good, so likewise it can decline from what is good. Yet,
when it declines from what is good, it does so through a Free
Preference and a Distinct Estimation of the contrary^.
* Certum est enim nos mandata servare, si volumus : sed, quia prae-
paratur voluntas a Domino, ab illo petendum est, ut tantum velimus
quantum sufficit ut volendo faciamus. Certum est, nos velle cum
volumus: sed ille facit, ut velimus bonum. August, de Grat. et Liber.
Arbit. c. 16. Oper. vol. vii. p. 465.
f Gratiam Dei, — qua voluntas humana non tollitur, sed ex mala
mutatur in bonam; et, cum bona fuerit, adjuvatur. August, de Grat.
et Liber. Arbit. c. 20. Oper. vol. vii. p. 466.
t Kaxov auTElo^tfiov, /3Xddrrju.a itpoaipsdsug- xai, 'in ys avroirpoaipirug
au,apTavo(j,sv, Xsysi irou daopSig 6 irpotprrTyg. — 'O ft,sv oiv xr!drf]g dya6bg,
iiri spyoig dya&oTg, sxndsv rb Si xrid6iv, i% oixsiag irpoaipidiug, sig
rfixpiav ETparfr]. Cyril. Hieros. Catech. ii. p. 5.
§ 'Aijfodrdda 0) ^u^) t% twv voijtuv fowpias, xai raig xara fiipof

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 153
(4.) Let us hear Cyprian.
Heresies arise from the restlessness of the Perverted Mind.
But the Lord suffers this to occur, Freedom of Choice mean
time remaining*.
(5.) Let us hear Tertullian.
Man is disposed to good, not, by nature, but by institution.
He possesses not, as his own, the faculty of being good : because
he is disposed to good, not by nature, but by institution, ac
cording to his good teacher, ivho of good men is the builder].
(6.) Let us hear Tatian, the pupil of Justin.
Each branch of the intelligent creation, angelic and human,
has been made with a power of Self-determination : yet not
having the nature of goodness, save only from God%.
rov duu.arog ivspysiaig xaraypujj.svi\, xai rjd6sida tjj tou duparog
isupia, xai iSovda xaXov sauTrj sivai tjjv rjSovijv, ifXav-r]6s7da xarsypij-
dafo r^i tou xaXou bvo^an, xai ivofiidsv sivai t?jv $j5ov>jv auVo to 'ivrug
xaXov- — ipad6sTda Si rrjg ?j<5ov5js, iroixiXug auTijv ivspysTv -JjpijaTo. Ovda
•ydp r-rjv tpidiv svxivyrog, si xai rd xaXa dtssdr pdtpr\, dXXd tou xivsib"1-
<!ai ou itavirai. KivsrTai ouv, oux sri ftsv xard dp£rr,v, ou5s udrs tov
©sov opav dXXa, rd pi ovra Xoyi^ofxiv-r], to iavrr/g <5uvaTov u.s.ravoisT,
xaraypuu.ivri TouTy sig as irfsvbrjdlv sVi()uu.ias' irfsl xai auTEgoutfios
yiyovs. Auvarai ydp, iiditsp irpbg rd xaXd vsvsiv, o'iiru xai rd xaXa
difodrpicpsdSai. 'A<ji-odrpsq>oiJ.ivr) Si rb xaXov, tfdvTws rd ivavria Xo-
yi^srai. Athan. cont. Gent. Orat. Oper. vol. p. 3, 4.
* Hinc haareses et factae sunt frequenter, et fiunt, dum perversa mens
non habet pacem, dum perfidia discordans non tenet unitatem. Fieri
vero haec Dominus permittit et patitur, manente propria; libertatis arbi
trio. Cyprian, de Unit. Eccles. Oper. vol. i. p. 111.
f Homo — non natura in bonum dispositus est, sed institutione, non
suum habens Bonus esse, quia non natura in bonum dispositus est, sed
institutione, secundum institutorem bonum, scilicet bonorum conditio-
rem. Tertull. adv. Marcion. lib. ii. ^ 4. Oper. p. 174.
t To Si Ixdrspov rr\g ifaiijdsug slSvg auVsgouViov yiyovs, rdyatlov
op-jdiv jj.rj syov, irX-fjv fiovov irapd rQ ©s^. Tatian. Orat. cont. Grsc. ad
calc. Oper. Justin. Martyr, p. 146. T

154 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK'l.
(7.) Let us, finally, hear Theophilus of Antioch:
God created man, with ihe possession of Freedom, and with
a power of Self-determination. The Freedom, therefore, which
he claimed to himself through neglect and disobedience, God
now, through his own philanthropy and mercy, gives unto
him, that men should thus be obedient*.
2. On the present point, the doctrine, taught by Augustine
and the ancients, is precisely that which is maintained by
the Reformers of our Anglican Church.
Those venerable and well-informed Moderns resolve not
our evil actions into the compulsory Fatal Necessity of Mani-
cheism, on the one hand : nor, on the other hand, according
to the presumptuous Scheme of Pelagianism, do they claim
for us A Spontaneous Choice or Preference of good indepen
dently of the Divine Assistance.
The simple Freedom of Man's Will, so that, whatever he
chooses, he chooses, not against his inclination, but through
a direct and conscious internal preference of the thing chosen
to the thing rejected : this simple Freedom of Man's Will
they deny not.
But, while they acknowledge the simple Freedom of
Man's Will, they assert the quality of its choice or preference
to be so perverted by the fall and to be so distorted by the
influence of original sin, that, in order to his choosing the
good and rejecting the evil, the Grace of God, by Christ,
must both make his 3ad Will a Good Will, and must also
still continue to cooperate with him even when that Good
ness of the Will shall have been happily obtained.
* 'EXsufSspov ydp xai avrs^ovdiov iitoir\dsv 6 ©sos tov dv6puitov. "O
ou"v lauTu iKSpiSiKoiijdaro Si' dpsXsiag xai *apaxo%, touto 6 ©sos airy
vovi SapsTrai, Sid ISiag (piXavrfSputfias xai JXE^u-otfuvris, utfaxouovTas auVcjj
rous dv6puitovg. Theoph. ad Autol. lib. ii. ad calc. Oper. Justin. Mar
tyr, p. 103.

CHAP. XI.] 0P ELECTION. 155
In the tenth Article of the English Church, it is often, I
believe, not sufficiently observed, that our minutely accurate
Reformers do not say : that The Grace of God, in the work
of conversion, gives us free will, as if we were previously
subject to a Fatal Necessity ; but only that The Grace of
God, by Christ, prevents us that we may have a good will,
and codperates with us when we have that sood will.
The doctrine, in short, of the English Church, when she
defines, that Fallen man cannot turn and prepare himself, by
his own natural strength and good works, to Faith and Calling
upon God, is not ; that We really prefer the spiritual life to
the animal life, and are at the same time by a Fatal Necessi
ty prevented from embracing it : but it is ; that We prefer
the animal life to the spiritual life, and through the badness
of our perverse will shall continue to prefer it, until (as the
Article speaks) the Grace of God shall prevent us that we
may have a Good Will, or until (as Holy Scripture speaks)
the people of the Lord shall be willing in the day of his power* -
3. Highly as I respect the memory of Mr. Milner, and
* The same doctrine, which at once rejects Manichean Necessity and
Pelagian Self-Sufficiency, is propounded and discussed at considerable
length, in the ancient Work denominated Hypognostics : a Work
which has been ascribed, though (I believe) erroneously, to Augustine.
See Hypognost. cont. Pelag. lib. iii. ad calc. August. Oper. vol. vii.
p. 24-29.
Some persons would distinguish between Natural Free Will and
Moral Free Will: allowing the former, but denying the latter, to man
after the fall. Part of the reasoning in the Hypognostics looks very
much this way. See Hypog. lib. iii. c. 4.
The difference seems to be immaterial : for it is rather a verbal dif
ference of statement, than an actual difference of sentiment. By Our
not possessing Moral Free Will, is simply, I suppose, meant : that, In
our fallen condition, though we may abstain from an outward act of sin,
such as theft or adultery or murder, we cannot force ourselves cordially to
love and actually to prefer the spiritual life to the animal life. But this
is virtually equivalent' to the definition of our tenth Article : that Fallen

156 THE primitive doctrine [book fc
much as in many points I deem his Ecclesiastical History
valuable ; still I feel it only an act of justice thus to vindicate
man cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and
good works, to Faith and Calling upon God.
I am perfectly aware of the difficulty, on this point, which is often
started by Calvinists : If God offers the privilege of a Good Will equal
ly to all, and if his prevenient Grace equally in all cases attends upon
the offer of this privilege, why, in matter of fact, have not all equally a
Good Will ?
No person, I apprehend, will affect to deny the existence of this diffi
culty : yet those, I think, who start it, as compelling us, by no very
large circle of consequences, to adopt the Calvinistic Theory of Election,
would do well to solve yet another difficulty which forthwith presents
itself. If Adam, at his creation, received a Free Will which was a Good
Will : and if the Grace of God constantly cooperated with him in the
exercise of that Free Good Will: how came he to fall away from a Good
Will to a Bad Will ; a circumstance, which must have occurred, when,
at the time of the fall, he freely preferred the evil to the good ?
¦I merely offer this reply to shew, that A matter may, in itself, be per
fectly true, though we may be unable either to explain or to comprehend
its rationale.
Certainly, in point of fact, the primitive Church held conjointly, the
doctrine of Man's Free though Bad Will, and the doctrine of The Need
¦of God's Grace to make that Bad Free Will a Good Free Will : yet
the doctrine of Election as explained by Augustine and Calvin was to
tally unknown in the primitive Church anterior to the fifth century.
My object, however, is purely An Historical Inquiry, not The
achievement qf a Metaphysical Solution of difficulties. For the former,
industry and accuracy may sufficiently qualify any man : to the latter,
I presume not to deem myself equal.
I subjoin the excellent Helvetic Statement of Free Will, as it exists
in man after the Fall.
Considerandum est qualis fuerit homo post lapsum. Non sublatus
est quidem homini intellectus ; non erepta est ei voluntas ; et prorsus in
lapidem vel tr-uncum est ccmmutatus : caeterum ilia ita sunt immutata
et imminuta in homine, ut non possint amplius quod potuerunt ante lap-
sum. Intellectus enim obscuratus est : voluntas vero, ex libera, facta
est voluntas serva. Nam servit peccato, non nolens, sed volens. Ete-
nim voluntas, non noluntas, dkitur. Ergo, quoad malum sive peccatum,

CHAP. XI.] OF ELECTION. 157
a pious primitive martyr from the charge of having been the
first to introduce into christian ground the foreign plant of
independent pelagianising Free Will : Free Will, that is to say,
so essentially and so inherently good, as to require no com
munication of Divine Grace to make it good, and no con
currence of Divine Grace aidingly to work with it when it is
good. Purely, then, under the aspect of a fact established by
competent evidence, Free Will, in the reprehensible and un-
scriptural form of A denial of our need both of God's Pre
venting Grace and of God's Assisting Grace, Justin, I
believe, held no more than Augustine.
homo non coactus vel a Deo vel a Diabolo, sed sua sponte, malum fa
cit ; et, hac parte, liberrimi est arbitrii. Quod vero non raro cernimus
pessima hominis facinora et consilia impediri a Deo, ne finem suum
consequantur, non tollit homini libertatem in malo ; sed Deus potentia
sua prasvenit, quod homo alias libere instituit. — In regeneratione, intel
lectus illuminatur per Spiritum Sanctum, ut et mysteria et voluntatem
Dei intelligat. Et voluntas ipsa non tantum mutatur per Spiritum,
sed etiam instruitur faeultatibus, ut sponte velit et possit bonum. —
Damnamus in hac causa Manichasos, qui negant homini bono, ex libero
arbitrio, fuisse initium mali. Confess. Helvet. sect. ix. Syllog. Confess.
p. 31, 32, 33.
The whole question of God's Foreknowledge and Man's Free Will is
very well discussed by Augustine in his Work de Civit. Dei. lib. v.
c. 9, 10. Oper. vol. v. p. 53, 54.

i58 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK I.

CHAPTER XII.
GENERAL RESULT AND CONCLUSION.
I have now, purely in the way of historical testimony, come
to the result : that The several doctrinal Systems, usually
denominated Arminianism and Nationalism and Calvinism»
were alike unknown to that earliest Church Catholic, which
conversed either with the Apostles or with the disciples of the
Apostles, and which by them personally was instructed in the
real articles of the Christian Faith.
But,- from this result, unless I greatly mistake, the inevi
table conclusion will be : that Neither the Arminian System
nor the Nationalising System nor the Calvinistic System ex
hibits the mind of the sincere Gospel.
I. In revealed religion, by the very nature and necessity
of things, as Tertullian well teaches us : Whatever is first, is
true ; whatever is later, is adulterate.
If a doctrine, totally unknown to the Primitive Church
which received her Theology immediately from the hands
-of the Apostles and which continued long to receive it from
the hands of the disciples of the Apostles, springs up in a
subsequent age, let that age be the fifth century or let it be
-the tenth century or let it be the sixteenth century : such
•doctrine stands, on its very front, impressed with the brand
of mere human invention.
Hence, in the language of Tertullian, it is adulterate : and
hence, with whatever ingenuity it may be abstractedly de
fended, and with whatever plausibility it may be fetched
out of a particular interpretation of Scripture, and with
whatever practical piety on the part of its advocates it may

chap, xii.] of election. 159
be attended ; we cannot, evidentially, admit it to be part
and parcel of the divine revelation of Christianity.
The bare innocence, or even the eminent holiness, of a
new doctrine, is no proof of its truth. On the contrary, the
very circumstance of its newness stamps it with the repro
bating mark of falsehood. In strictness of speech, a doc
trine, thus delivered, is nothing better, than the mere un
authorised opinion of a certain individual or of certain
individuals. So far from resting upon any tangible evi
dence, the decisive testimony of Ecclesiastical Antiquity is
directly against it. If it were indeed a genuine apostolical
doctrine, it would have been held and maintained and
delivered by the Catholic Church from the very beginning :
nor would it have been left for the late discovery of some
^sulated individual, who flourished at an era long posterior.
But it is convicted of Novelty : and, therefore, it is adul
terate. Those, who advocate it, may, indeed, devoutly
believe it to be true : but some one or other mere uninspired
and thence mere unauthoritative individual is, after all, its
quite unsatisfactory inventor.
II. Among unread or halfread persons of our present
somewhat confident age, it is a not uncommon saying : that
they disregard the early Fathers ; and that they will abide
by nothing save the decision of Scripture alone.
1. If, by A disregard of the early Fathers, they mean,
that they allow them not individually that personal authority
in exposition which the Romanists claim for them ; they
certainly will not have me, at least, for an opponent : and,
accordingly, I have shewn, that, in the interpretation of the
scriptural ^terms Election and Predestination, I regard the
—insulated individual authority of Augustine just as little, as I
regard the insulated individual authority of Calvin*.
* On this point, nothing can be more absurd, than the second of the

160 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
But, if, by A disregard of the early Fathers, they mean,
that they regard them not as evidence to the fact of what
doctrines were or were not received by the Primitive
Church and from her were or were not delivered to pos
terity ; they might just as rationally talk of the surpassing
wisdom of extinguishing the light of History * by way of
more effectually improving and increasing our knowledge
of past events : for, in truth, under the aspect in which they .
are specially important to us, the early Fathers are neither
more nor less than so many historical witnesses.
2. Again : if, by An abiding solely by the decision of
Scripture, they mean, that, as a binding or authoritative
supplementary articles, appended to the Nicene Creed in the Profession
of the Tridentine Faith sanctioned by the Bull of Pope Pius IV.
The unfortunate subscriber is required to declare, that He will never
receive and interpret Scripture, save according to the unanimous consent
of the Fathers.
Now, if, by the term Fathers, we understand, with the Romanists,
those numerous ecclesiastical writers, of whom the Roman Clement
was chronologically the first, and Bernard chronologically the last; the
article before us requires a plain impossibility : for, as corruption gradu
ally crept into the Church, varieties of interpretation attended upon it.
Hence, in erecting the Fathers into a sort of infallible teachers, the
Church of Rome has ridiculously determined the accomplishment of an
impossibility to be an article of faith.
But the folly of intimating, by implication, that All the Fathers, from
Clement down to Bernard, are unanimous in their interpretation of
Scripture, when, even in ihe exposition of the famous text Matt. xvi. 18,
there is a marked and thorough diversity (See my Difficult, of Ro
manism, book 1. chap. 3. § iv. 1.) : this folly does not authorise us to
run, as some apparently have done, into the. contrary extreme, by deny
ing to the early Fathers the character of valuable witnesses to the faith
of the early Church. Here the truth is, that, in all the really catholic
doctrines, so far from there being perpetual discrepance, there is a most
remarkable and satisfactory concord. The reader will find a striking
example of this description, in the interpretation of the texts, now litigat
ed between Catholics and Socinians, by the early Antenicene Fathers.
See my Apostol. of Trinitar. Append, i. numb. 1.

chap, xii.] of1 election. 161
rule of Faith, they will receive nothing save what is con
tained in Scripture ; no person, I suppose, who rejects that
idle supplemental tradition which the Council of Trent in
vites us to receive with the same confidence as Holy Scrip
ture itself, will think of differing from them : for the Bible,
and the Bible alone, is doubtless the Rule of Faith with all
Protestants*. But, if, by An abiding solely by the decision of Scripture,
they mean, that, utterly disregarding the recorded Doc
trinal System of that Primitive Church which conversed
with and was taught by the Apostles, they will abide by
nothing save their own crude and arbitrary private exposi
tions of Scripture ; we certainly may well admire their
intrepidity, whatever we may think of their modesty : for,
in truth, by such a plan, while they call upon us to despise
the sentiments of Christian Antiquity so far as we can learn
them upon distinct historical testimony, they expect us to
receive, without hesitation and as undoubted verities, their
own mere modern upstart speculations upon the sense of
God's holy word ; that is to say, the evidence of the early
Fathers and the hermeneutic decisions of the Primitive
Church we may laudably and profitably contemn, but them
selves we must receive (for they themselves are content to
receive themselves) as well nigh certain and infallible
expositors of Scripturef.
* Traditiones ipsas, turn ad fidem turn ad mores pertinentes, tan
quam vel ore tenus a Christo vel a Spiritu Sancto dictatas et continua
successione in Ecclesia Catholica conservatas, pari pietatis affectu ac
reverentia, suscipit et veneratur. Concil. Trident, sess. iv. p. 7, 8.
f In this statement, I conceive myself to speak the language of plain
common sense ; and I, furthermore, assuredly speak that of the Angli
can Church and her ablest doctors or supporters.
Bishop Bull, after first adducing the explicit decision of the English
U

162 the primitive doctrine [book I.
III. The advocates either of Arminianism or of Nation
alism do not, I believe, attach that vital importance to their
respective Systems, which the advocate of Calvinism is
wont to attach to his own favourite Scheme. Omitting,
therefore, the two former Systems, inasmuch as any such
discussion would in their case be irrelevant, I shall proceed
to point out, both the incongruous result which springs from
the frequently exaggerated importance of Calvinism, and
likewise the practical error of rating that importance so
high as to make the System itself absolutely essential to the
comfort and satisfaction of every real Christian.
1. In regard to the first of these two matters, the very
importance attached to the peculiarities of Calvinism, when
united with the total want of historical evidence that it was
the doctrine of the Primitive Apostolic Church, brings out a
result most strangely wild and incongruous.
The doctrines of Grace, says the late Mr. Romaine in his
commendatory preface to a new edition of A Practical
Discourse of God's Sovereignty by Elisha Coles : The doc
trines of Grace, of which this book treats, are the truths of
God. Our author has defended them in a masterly manner.
He has not only proved them to be plainly revealed in the
Scriptures : but he has also shewn, that they are of such con
stant use to the children of God, that, without the stedfast
belief of them, they cannot go on their way rejoicing. It is
from these doctrines only, that settled peace can rule in the
conscience, the love of God be maintained in the heart, and a
conversation kept up in our walk and warfare as becometh
the Gospel. It is from them, that all good works proceed,
Church, goes on to cite the parallel determinations of a host of our older
divines: and then sums up the matter, by adding the mighty weight
of his own deliberate adhesion. See Apol. pro Harmon, sect i
§ 4, 5, 6.

CHAP. XII.] OF ELECTION. 163
and that all fruits of holiness abound to ihe praise of the
Glory and Grace of God.
In the practical view of these points, Elisha Coles is sin
gularly excellent. He has brought these deep things into
daily use, and has proved them to be absolutely necessary in
daily experience. They are truths, and useful truths. On
these two accounts, his book has been greatly esteemed by real
Christians : and, on these, I would recommend it, as ap-
proved, in my own judgment, to be agreeable to the Orcutles of
God, and as found to be of such constant use, that, until I
received them, I could not enjoy the blessings and comforts of
the precious Gospel.
Opposition to these doctrines will be made, so long as there
are people in the world who place some confidence in the flesh.
Such are pleased with their own works, and are fond of tak
ing merit to themselves. But the word of God is not of
doubtful interpretation to those who rejoice in Christ Jesus.
They are thankful for a free-grace salvation : and, while they
enjoy the things which accompany it, with their lips and lives
they desire to bless the God of all their mercies.
(1.) The common fallacy of calvinistic writers, in gra
tuitously styling the peculiarities of their System The Doc
trines of Grace ; whence obviously it is to be inferred, that
the doctrines of Grace are rejected by those, who receive not
the peculiarities of Calvinism : this common, though some
what invidious, fallacy has not been escaped by Mr. Romaine.
By The Doctrines of Grace, however, Mr. Romaine means
the doctrines inculcated by Mr. Coles in the volume which he
recommends : and the doctrines, there inculcated, are, Cal
vinistic Election with its necessary (though rapidly slurred
over) correlative Calvinistic Pretention, Particular Re
demption, Effectual Calling, and Certain because predesti
nated Final Perseverance in holiness.

164 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
After this explanatory proem which will. prevent any mis
apprehension, we may safely consider, the tendency of the
strong laudatory phraseology employed by Mr. Romaine.
' A Scheme of Doctrine, emphatically characterised, as
being of such constant use to the children of God, that,
without the stedfast belief of it, they cannot go on their
way rejoicing ; as being that alone System, from which
settled peace can rule in the conscience, the love of God be
maintained in the heart, and a conversation becoming the
Gospel kept up in our walk and warfare ; as approved to be
agreeable to the Oracles of God ; as firmly resting upon the
divine word, which, to those who rejoice in Christ Jesus, is
not of doubtful interpretation ; and as found to be of such
constant use, that, until a man receives it, he cannot enjoy
the blessings and comforts of the precious Gospel : a Scheme
of Doctrine, thus emphatically characterised, if indeed it be
true, cannot but have been familiarly known to, and univer
sally received by, the early Church of Christ, which was
long personally taught either by the Apostles themselves or
by the immediate disciples of the Apostles.
I readily admit, that, in the main, Mr. Coles treats his
subject practically. We have a right, therefore, if the
System exhibit the mind of Scripture, to expect the same
distinct, though practical, treatment of it, on the part of the
primitive ecclesiastical writers.
Now, on this point, I do not demand, that they should
arrange their exhortations or insert their consolations, pre
cisely under the same consecutive heads, and precisely with
the same regard to order and method, that distinguish the
Work of Mr. Coles: for, doubtless, the form, which he
adopts, he owes to the exactness introduced by antecedent
controversies. But I do conceive myself entitled to demand :
that, with whatever irregularity of scholastic order, they

CHAP. XII.] OF ELECTION. 165
should unambiguously and delightedly dwell ; upon the
mighty privilege of an Absolute Personal Election to eternal
life ; upon the Assured Indefectibility of Grace in those, who
have been thus absolutely elected ; upon that distinguished
favour of God, which first from all eternity absolutely
elected, and which thence particularly and exclusively re
deemed, those happy individuals who had been thus the
subjects of his Sovereign Predestination ; and upon the deep
gratitude, which, for their own Particular Redemption, while
the great mass of mankind was hopelessly pretermitted and
excluded by an irrevocable decree of Reprobation, the Elect
ought to feel toward God through Christ, and which they
ought to evince by a life of holy devotedness and by a
steadily consistent course of Perseverance in every good
word and work : because we are assured by Mr. Romaine,
both that these doctrines are approved to be agreeable to
the Oracles of God,: and that, without a stedfast belief and
a constant use of them, a man can have no settled peace in
his conscience, no love of God in his heart, no conversation
becoming the Gospel, no enjoyment of scriptural blessings
and comforts.
Nothing can be better, than the hallowed practical deduc
tions of Mr. Coles himself from his own doctrinal principles.
On the part, then, of the early ecclesiastical writers, I ask,
in the way of evidence, no more, than similar practical
deductions from the same avowed doctrinal principles, as
from sacred truths denied in the Primitive Church by
nobody. Or let me take another illustration of my demand, perhaps
still more appropriate.
No one can read the Commentary on the first Epistle of
St. Peter by the excellent Archbishop Leighton, without
perceiving, albeit there is not a grain of controversy through-

166 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK I.
out the whole Work, that the pious and venerable author,
though always theologising practically, yet, as a basis or
as a doctrinal substratum, always theologises calvinistically.
So valuable is Christianity, under whatever more minute
modification it may be made to present itself, that, through
God's mercy and grace, I trust I have derived no small
measure of edification from a repeated perusal of the Arch
bishop's Commentary.
Still, however, the question must be: Whether the re
corded practice of the early ecclesiastical writers, anterior to
the time of Augustine, affords any evidence, that such was
the precise doctrinal mode in which the Primitive Church was
wont practically to theologise.
(2.) Now we have no evidence, that the Primitive Church
did practically theologise in the doctrinal mode, recom
mended by Augustine and Calvin, and adopted by Mr. Coles
and Archbishop Leighton : on the contrary, we have plain
evidence, that of that doctrinal mode the Primitive Church
was altogether ignorant.
By far the most practical writers of the early Church,
whose Works have come down to us, are the Roman Cle
ment, Polycarp, Ignatius, the Pseudo-Barnabas, and Cyprian.
Yet never once do the four first base their exhortations upon
the peculiarities of Calvinism : and, as for the last, whose
productions are remarkably extensive and (to use a modern
technical expression) peculiarly experimental, even Mr. Mil
der himself, notwithstanding Augustine would fain impress
¦him into his service as a witness, fairly gives him up, as a
person who appears not to have understood the doctrine of
the Election of Grace*.
* Milner's Hist, of the Church of Christ, cent. iii. chap. 15. § 2. vol.
i. p. 520.

CHAP. XII.] OF ELECTION. 167
(3.) What, then, is the necessary result, according to that
view of the vital importance and absolute indispensability
of Calvinism, which has been taken by a zealous Calvinist
himself? If the estimate of Mr. Romaine be correct, the primitive
Christians, though they had received, their Theology from
the Apostles, yet lacking the doctrine of Election as subse
quently with its concomitants expounded by Augustine and
Calvin, could not have gone on their way rejoicing, could
have had no settled peace ruling in their conscience, could
have had no love of God maintained in their heart, could
have kept up in their walk and warfare no conversation as
becometh the Gospel, could have enjoyed none of the pre
cious Gospel's blessings and comforts.
Now can any sober person believe, that such universally
was the lamentable condition of the Primitive Church ?
Yet, according to the estimate of Mr. Romaine, such must
inevitably have been its unhappy state until the beginning
of the fifth century : for, so far as historical testimony is
concerned, it is a clear case, that, until the time of Augustine
himself, the Church knew nothing of Augustinian Election ;
and, accordingly, Augustine tells us, that, although he had
duly received the usual catechumenical instructions, there
was a period of his hfe when he had not as yet discovered
that doctrine*.
To say, that The doctrine of Calvinistic Election is con
tained in the Bible ; nay, as Mr. Romaine speaks, that On
that doctrine and its adjuncts the word of God is not of
doubtful interpretation : is to say nothing more, than that A
private individual pronounces such to be the alone proper in-
* Nondum diligentius quaesiveram, nee adhue inveneram, qualis sit
Electio Gratia;. August, de Praedest. et Persever. lib. i. c. 3. Oper.
vol. vii. p. 486.

168 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK I.
terpretation of the Bible. In other words, such an assertion
is a mere resolute begging of the question.
Meanwhile, if this private dogmatical interpretation be
received and retained as the truth, we shall find it impossible
to avoid the consequence : that The Primitive Church, al
though taught by thet Apostles themselves, and although long
conversant with the immediate disciples and successors of the
Apostles, was, until the beginning of the fifth century, pro
foundly ignorant of any such interpretation.
2. Yet, if the value of Calvinism to the truly pious be
liever be such as Mr. Romaine alleges, we cannot but marvel,
that God, in his mercy, should never have revealed it to the
early Church, or, on the supposition of his having actually
revealed it, that the primitive Christians should not be at all
aware of the existence of the revelation.
Surely, under these circumstances, when we are told, that,
without an admission of the peculiarities of that System, no
settled peace can rule in the conscience, no love of God be
' maintained in the heart, and no blessings and comforts of the
Gospel can be enjoyed: we are naturally led to inquire,
whether such a character can be strictly correct.
The principle, I suppose, upon which Mr. Romaine pro
ceeded, is that, which I have not unfrequently heard ad
vanced by good men whom I love and esteem.*
Every real Christian, say they, is a Calvinist in his
heart, whatever he may be in his head. And, for the adop
tion of this sort of real, though well nigh unperceived, Calvin
ism (the very Calvinism, according to Mr. Milner, involved by
Justin, with happy inconsistency, in his experience, though
in words never explicitly acknowledged), the reason assign
ed is : that Except on the plan of an assured and irreversible
Election to eternal glory, no person can feel any solid comfort
or satisfaction in his own state ; because no person can say,

CHAP. XII.] OF ELECTION. 169
whether he attains to the requisite standard of holiness, or
whether after all he may not finally fall away to perdition.
(1.) To the present development of what I conclude to
have been Mr. Romaine's principle, it might be sufficiently
replied : that Such a statement as this can never, in the very
nature of things, be made to bear upon the simple question of
the truth or falsehood of a doctrine.
In other words, it might be sufficiently replied : that No
inward feeling of the comfort qf being irreversibly elected to
eternal happiness can, by any conceivable possibility, establish
the actual existence of such a plan of Election.
(2.) But I would meet this not uncommon language, even
on the very principle which it advances : a principle, the
solidity of which could alone justify Mr. Romaine's exag
gerated account of the spiritual value and benefit of the
Calvinistic System.
Those pious individuals, who employ such language, un
consciously confound together two points, which in them
selves are essentially different and distinct : namely, The
abstract alleged truth of the calvinistic doctrine of Elec
tion; and The concrete assumed certainty, that he, who
maintains the abstract truth of that doctrine, is himself one of
the Elect.
Now the statement before us tacitly reposes upon the
position : that These two points coincide. And, thence, that
is to say from such coincidence, the peculiar spiritual comfort
of the doctrine of Calvinistic Election, on the part of those
who hold it, is confidently insisted upon.
But this is a mere fallacy.
On the supposition, that The doctrine of Calvinistic Elec
tion is scripturally true, it by no means follows, that Every
person, who receives it, is therefore one of the Elect.
Yet it is quite clear : that any comfort, accruing to the
V

170 the primitive doctrine [book I.
individual, must arise, not from His abstractedly holding the
doctrine of Calvinistic Election to be a scriptural truth, but
from His absolute certainty of his own particular election to
eternal life.
How, then, for the purpose of comfort, is this Absolute
Certainty to be obtained ?
Can it be said : that a mere belief in the Abstract Truth
of the doctrine conveys an absolute certainty of the believer's
own irreversible election to eternal glory ?
This question will scarcely, I suppose, be answered in the
affirmative. Again, then, I ask : How is a believer in the doctrine of
Calvinistic Election to know assuredly, that he himself is one
of the Elect ?
It must, I apprehend, be replied : that he can only know
it, from the conformity of his heart and conduct with the
requisitions of God's Holy Word.
But, if we be finally brought to such an answer, it is diffi
cult to comprehend, what greater comfort can be held out
by Calvinism than by Anticalvinism.
For a Calvinist may be just as much racked with doubt,
whether, from his heart and life and conversation, he has
sufficient evidence that he himself is one of the Elect : as
an Anticalvinist may be racked with doubt, whether, from
his heart and life and conversation, he has sufficient evidence,
that he is indeed a genuine child of God.
In short, Calvinism can afford no peculiar comfort to any
individual Calvinist, unless that individual Calvinist be as
sured that he is himself irreversibly elected to eternal salva
tion. And such an assurance must flow, not from a bare
speculative belief of a particular Scheme of Theology, but
from a conscious conformity of his heart and life and con
versation with God's word : the Spirit itself, from such con-

CHAP. XII.] OF ELECTION. 171
formity, bearing witness with his spirit that he is a child of
God*. If, without that conformity, a man deem himself one of the
* Rom. viii. 16. On this point, it may be useful to hear the senti
ments even of a Calvinist himself.
We cannot have a certain knowledge of our Election to eternal life,
before we do believe : it is a thing hidden in the unsearchable counsel of
God, until it be manifest by our effectual calling and believing on Christ.
— It is the ruin of many souls, that they trust in Christ for remission of
sins, wiilwut any regard to holiness : whereas these two benefits are inse
parably joined in Christ, so that none are freed from condemnation by
Christ, but those that are enabled to walk holily, that is, not after the
flesh, but after ihe Spirit. — That faith, which receiveth not holiness as
well as remission of sins from Christ, will never sanctify us : and, there
fore, it will never bring us to heavenly glory. Marshall's Gospel-Mys
tery of Sanctification, direct, xi. p. 178, 183.
Here a pious Calvinist distinctly and sensibly confesses, that he can
have no certain knowledge of his own personal election, save through
the evidence of a faith which worketh by love and which thence pro
duced! holiness.
I may add, that even present holiness can, to the individual himself,
be no sure evidence of his election : because he himself cannot certainly
know, that he will persevere to ihe end. Doubtless, on the Calvinistic
Scheme, God knows, who are his Elect ; and knows also, that, as such,
they will finally persevere. But I perceive not, how any individual
can certainly know, that he is one of God's Elect, save from the evi.
dence oi final perseverance as well as of present holiness. Hence I am
at a loss to discern, how Calvinism can impart, to any individual Cal
vinist, that special comfort which it is said to impart.
The Divines of Dort pronounce, that the Elect, each in due time,
become assured of their Election : but still they determine, that this
assurance must spring from their producing the infallible fruits of Elec
tion, not from a curious prying into God's secret decrees. Thus again
we are brought precisely to the same test, as that which is equally in
sisted upon by their opponents.
De hac astema et immutabili sui ad salutem eleetione, electi suo tem
pore, variis licet gradibus et dispari mensura, certiores redduntur : non
quidem arcana et profunditates Dei curiose scrutando ; sed fructus
electionis infallibiles, in verbo Dei designatos, ut sunt vera in Christum

172 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. [BOOK I.
Elect merely because he has an internal feeling that this is
the case : such an individual may well be a subject of our
hearty intercessory prayer ; but he has placed himself out
of the pale of any reasoning founded upon Scripture.
fides, filialis Dei timor, dolor de peccatis secundum Deum, esuries et
sitis justitia;, in sese, cum spirituali gaudio et sancta voluptate, obser-
vando. Judic. Synocl. Dord. cap. i. §12. Syllog. Confess, p. 408.

BOOK II.

THE POSITIVE TESTIMONY OP HISTORY IN REGARD TO
THE TRUE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF ELECTION AND
PREDESTINATION.

A Primitiva Ecclesia, ab Apostolis, a Christo, non discessimus. Juell.
Apol. Eccles. Anglican, apud Enehir. Theol. vol. i. p. 295.

THE
PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION.
(BOOK II.)

CHAPTER I.
THE HISTORICAL OR EVIDENTIAL VALUE OF
CONTROVERSY.
In the Primitive Church, no feature is more remarkable,
than the jealous accuracy with which she guarded sound
doctrine and noted the rise and progress of error. As
soon as ever a departure from the truth occurred, it was
instantly pointed out and exposed : and, in consequence of
this jealous inspection, we have the early heresies described
and classified with the utmost precision and exactness*-
To a certain extent, this supervision prevails in every age :
and, indeed, it is well nigh impossible, that a marked depart
ure from an universally received System of Doctrine should
occur without exciting both observation and animadversion.
Now, when observation and animadversion are brought
into active operation, the result is Theological Controversy.
Hence, as the occurrence of Theological Controversy, on
any topic, affords sure and certain evidence^ that at least
two clashing Systems of Opinion must then have been in
existence : so the non-occurrence of Theological Contro
versy, on any topic, equally affords sure and certain evi
dence, that only a single System of Opinion was then in
* See my Apostolicity of Trinitarianism, book i. chap. 6. in init.

176 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
existence ; or, at least, that, during the period in question,
provided the great outline of original ideality was pre
served, subordinate or plausible innovations might easily
pass without attracting any special attention.
These remarks may, I think, be profitably employed, both
in estimating the claims of either Calvinism or Arminianism
or Nationalism to genuine apostolicity, and in contrastedly
introducing that Primitive Scheme of the doctrine of Elec
tion, which (so far as I can find) never varied, in point of
ideality, down even to the time of Augustine, though, in
point of causation,, a variety, so plausible as not to excite
controversy, crept in about the end of the second century
under the patronage of the Alexandrian Clement.
I. I shall begin with employing the remarks before us, in
estimating the claims of either Calvinism or Arminianism
or Nationalism to genuine apostolicity.
1. On the alleged testimony of Ignatius and the Roman
Clement, Mr. Milner, we have seen, contends : that Elec
tion, as Election was subsequently explained by Augustine
and Calvin, was the universally received doctrine of the
Primitive Church from the very beginning.
Yet, while, on their alleged testimony, he would lay
down this important position, he is compelled, even as he
himself states the matter, to acknowledge : that Justin
Martyr, who was converted to the Faith and who was in
structed in the doctrines of Christianity only about thirty
years later than the death of St. John, who is full upon all
the leading peculiarities of the Gospel, who duly maintains
the tenet of Divine Grace, who in fundamentals is unques
tionably sound, and who in personal character was a sincere
Christian, never once, throughout all his writings, explicitly
owns the doctrine of Election as that doctrine was subse
quently explained by Augustine and Calvin.

CHAP. I.] OF ELECTION. 177
Precisely the same observation applies to the Works,
both of his contemporaries, and of those who were his im
mediate chronological successors.
Ireneus in Gaul is no less silent, than Justin in Asia. The
Attic Athenagoras, and the Assyrian Tatian, are not a whit
more communicative. Theophilus of Antioch is equally
taciturn. And Clement at Alexandria, and Tertullian in
Africa, evince no consciousness of the existence of any such
doctrine, as that of Augustinian Election.
(1.) On the theory, then, that The doctrine of Augustinian
Election was universally received and maintained by the
earliest Church, how is this extraordinary fact to be ac
counted for 1
Mr. Milner's solution of the difficulty runs to the following
effect. From the more simple and the more scriptural mode of
speaking which was used by Ignatius and the Roman Cle
ment, the language of the Church was gradually and silently
changed : so that, at length, the primitive doctrine of the
Election of Grace became completely obsolete.
Now is such a statement borne out by competent evi
dence ? In the ecclesiastical writings later than the age of
Clement and Ignatius, do we find any marks of a gradual
departure from the asserted Austinism or Calvinism of the
earliest Church Catholic ? Can we trace, step by step, the
slow and lingering extinction of a once universally admitted
System ?
With respect to these inquiries, if Calvinism were the
primitive faith, and if there did occur any gradual departure
from this supposed primitive faith : there certainly are no
recorded indications of that departure.
We pass instantaneously and at once, from what Mr.
Milner would have us deem the distinctness and precision
W

178 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
of Clement and Ignatius, to a total absence of any even bare
allusion to the doctrine of Augustinian Election.
Neither is this remarkable silence at all peculiar to a
single writer like Justin, whose omission of explicitly owning
the doctrine in question Mr. Milner would ascribe to a
remaining taint of long cherished Philosophy. Let us travel
through the Christian World in what direction we please ;
let us visit Ireneus in Gaul or Athenagoras at Athens or
Theophilus at Antioch or Tertullian in Africa or Clement at
Alexandria : still we invariably find the same ominous taci
turnity. There is no struggling attempt to explain away
the alleged primeval dogma of Augustinian Election, no
gradual softening down of its harsher peculiarities by sink
ing or eluding or denying the concomitant dogmata of
Reprobation and Particular Redemption, no comfortless
writhing under an evident dislike of a tenet which yet could
not be decently denied to have been the apostolically incul
cated doctrine of the earliest Church Catholic. All this is
plainly essential to Mr. Milner's hypothesis of graduality :
but nothing of the sort can be detected. The authors,
whom I have mentioned as the contemporaries or immediate
successors of Justin, afford not the slightest evidence, that
any such System, as that which in one word is conveniently
styled Calvinism, ever existed in the Primitive Church.
Nor is the negativeness of mere silence the only difficulty.
Had the Calvinistic Scheme been indeed the genuine doc
trine of the Gospel, as universally received, by the earliest
Church, on the avowed and notorious and then altogether
undeniable inculcation of the inspired Apostles : it never
could have so strangely expired, in the course of the second
century, without a vestige of controversy, without a shadow
of animadversion. A striking departure from a known
apostolical doctrine must immediately have excited notice.

CHAP. I.] OF ELECTION. 179
Such a departure would, at the least, be esteemed a most
dangerous and presumptuous error : and, when I consider
the genius of the early Church, which in no wise resembled
the contemptuous liberalism of modern indifference or in
fidelity, I much mistake, if it would not have appeared, con
spicuously emblazoned, in a catalogue of ancient heresies.
But not a trace of controversy can we discover : not a
vestige of animadversion can we detect. If Calvinism
were the apostolically received doctrine of the first age : it
suddenly, in the second age, expired, without an effort made
in its defence, without an arm raised in its vindication, nay
even without attracting the slightest notice.
Yet this we must admit, if we admit the hypothesis of
Mr. Milner. In other words, we must admit : that The
Church, though universally calvinistic in the first century
and at the beginning of the second century, so suddenly and
so unanimously threw off a known and acknowledged apos
tolical doctrine, that all controversy was precluded by a
miraculously perfect harmony qf sentiment, and that all
notice qf the change was deemed nugatory and superfluous*.
* As Mr. Milner's theory is, that The true doctrine of Election gradu
ally became extinct in the course of the second century : my sole business,
of course, has been to shew, that The writers of that century, so far from
indicating ihe occurrence of any controversy on the occasion, do not even
allude, in the slightest degree, to the alleged circumstance of its ex-,
tinction. Yet, though, from the nature of Mr. Milner's theory, I stood thus con
fined to writers of the second century ; a remarkable allegation of that
historian requires me to follow him to a writer of the third century.
Where a man is deficient In knowledge, says he, yet, if his simplicity
of christian taste be very great, he will be silent on those subjects which he
does not understand, or at least he will be extremely cautious in opposing
any part of divine truth. This was Cyprian's case. He appears not,
for instance, to have understood the doctrine of the Election of Grace.
Since Justin's days, ihe knowledge ofihat article of faith was departing

180 . THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
Will such an admission accord with general and ordinary
experience ?
I think not. Let us,, however, note some few examples.
from the Church. But he opposed it not. Origen, less humble and less
submissive to divine instruction, and feeling more resources in his reason
ing powers, dares to oppose it by a contrary statement. Hist, of the
Church of Christ, cent. iii. chapter 15. § 2. Vol. i. p. 520, 521.
It is quite clear, that this allegation implies and supposes the exist
ence of a party in the Church,' which still held the doctrine of the Elec
tion of Grace in the sense wherein Mr. Milner contends both that it
ought to be held and that it was held from the beginning. For Cy
prian's alleged conscientious abstinence from all opposition to that doc
trine, and Origen's alleged presumption in directly opposing it by a con
trary statement, alike necessarily import, that that doctrine was still so
prominently maintained in the middle of the third century, as either to
excite a cautious reverence on the one hand, or to provoke a polemical
animadversion on the other hand.
The statement, that Cyprian opposed not the doctrine, is perfectly
true: but. the evident implication of Mr. Milner, that he was aware of
its existence though he did not appear to have understood it, is perfectly
gratuitous. At least, it must be deemed perfectly gratuitous ; unless he
has succeeded in establishing the fact, of (he then existence of the doc
trine, from the evidence of Origen's alleged controversial opposition to it.
If Origen formally opposed the doctriue ; there must have been per
sons in his time, who held the doctrine. Yet Augustine, as we have
seen, when directly challenged to produce ancient authorities, never at
tempts lo bring forward the persons in question : though, if any such
persons, asserting their own Scheme of Doctrine to be the real System
of the Primitive Church, had notoriously existed in the middle of the
third century, and had notoriously been opposed by Origen in a Tract
which has descended even to our own age; Augustine could scarcely
have been ignorant, either of their existence, or of Origen's opposition.
Let us, however, in all fairness, examine the evidence, to which Mr.
Milner Tefers, as establishing the fact, that Origen opposed ihe calvinis
tic doctrine of ihe Election of Grace, or the doctrine of Election as under
stood by Augustine and Calvin, through the controversial adduction of a
contrary statement.
The Tract, appealed to by Mr. Milner, constitutes the twenty-first
chapter of Origen's Philocalia. Here, therefore, we must seek for the
testimony, which, through the medium of controversy, will demonstrate

CHAP. I.] OF ELECTION. 181
The Protestant Belgic Churches were founded upon the
very strictest principles of Calvinism. A difference of
opinion, however, soon arose : and this difference shewed
the existence of a party, still, in the middle of the third century, holding
the strictly primitive doctrine of Calvinistic Election.
Now I have carefully perused the entire Tract in question : and cer
tainly, so far from its affording any warrant for Mr. Milner's allegation,
it does not so much as even once mention the doctrine of Election in any
sense of the word. It is a short treatise on Free Will : and, as its very
description of those whom it opposes abundantly shews, it was directed
against the Fatalising System of the Gnostics and the Manicheans.
"Epyov rju,gVspov to (3iudai xaXug idri- xai airsT iijj,cig rovro 6 &sbg,
iig ovx aurou 6'v, oiSi i% iripov nvbg ifapaytvojj,svov, ?), iig oi'ovrai rtvig,
d*b siu,apu.s'v>i5, dXX' 7) ug ?ju,STSpov spyov. Orig. Philocal. c. 21. p. 52.
'Eirij^puvrai rouroig ruv srspoSo%uv nvig, d-)(sSbv xai airol rb av-
rs%ovdtov dvaipovvrsg, did rb tpvdsig sldaysiv difoXXvu.cvag, dvsinSixrovg
rov du^sd6ai, xai irspag du^ou.svag, dSvvarUg iyovdag itpbg rb drto-
XidSar rov rs <J>apaoj cpadi tpi'dsug ovra dvoXXv[j.ivy]g, Sid rovro dxXr\.
pvvsd6ai vitb rov ©sou, iXsovvrog [dv tous <gvsv\J.anxovg, dxXrjpvvovrog Si
rovg xpixovg. Ibid. p. 54.
IIpcOTov toivuv dr\\J.siursov- idri rov rbifov ifpbg roiig §T6po5o|ouff,
Xsjgi6ripovvrag uiv rd di(b ttjj itaXaidg Sia6rpt.r\g raiavra, sv6a ijj,(paivsrai,
uj avroi roXfLUvrsg Xsyovdtv, uu,orr\g tou &r)fj.iovpyov y d\i.vvnxrj xai
dvraifoSorix-rj ruv -ysipbvuv ifpoaipsdig, 7) 6, ti nfors 6sXovdi rb toioutov
bvopdZstv, jaovov i'va Xsyudiv ovx aya66rrjra sivai iv t^ xridavn' ov-%
ou.oiug Si ovSs siyvuu.6vug ivrvyyavovrag rr\ xaivr\, dXXd ifapaifsu^ifofj^i-
vovg rd ifapavXrjdia oig vopityvdiv sivai iifiXijifroig difb rr\g iraXaidg.
Ibid. p. 60.
These passages most abundantly shew the character of those, whom
Origen was opposing. He wrote not against Calvinists by anticipation ;
for no such religionists were either then, or ever had been, in existence :
but he wrote against the various sects of the Gnostics and Manicheans ;
whom Mr. Milner" has singularly mistaken for a still existing party of
advocates of that augustinian doctrine of Election, which he contends to
have been the really apostolic System of the Primitive Church. Ac
cordingly, Tarinus, the annotator upon the Philocalia, justly remarks,
that Origen is castigating the followers of Basilides and Marcion.
As my present Work is purely concerned with facts, it is no part of

182 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
itself in the writings of those, who were then denominated
^Remonstrants, and who have since been generally styled
Arminians. Controversy was the natural, and (as most
my business either to vindicate or to censure the mode, in which Origen
maintains the Freedom of the Human Will, while he inculcates the ne
cessity of Divine Grace to make that Free Will a Good Will. Suffice
it to say, that, be it right or be it wrong, his view of the matter is pre
cisely the same, as that which was adopted by Melancthon after he had
renounced his early adhesion to what he subsequently called the horrible
falsehood of Manichean Imagination. He supposed, that the Grace of
God is necessary to take away our heart of stone and thus to make our
Free Will a Good Will : but then he also supposed, that this Divine
Grace is offered to those who are willing to avail themselves of it, not
forced upon those who refuse to accept it. This was the doctrine taught
by Origen, when opposing the Fatalism of the Gnosticising Sects : and
this same was the doctrine asserted by Melancthon, when he rejected
what he himself describes as his early Manicheism.
'O (SeTog Xoyog itayysXXarai ruv ^podiovruv tijv xaxiav igaipsTv,
ojv Jjvou.as's xapSiav Xi^i'vrjv, ou^; ixsivuv ja»j /3ouXouivuv, dXX' savrovg
tu ia.TpM ruv xau.vbvruv itaptdyyibruv uditsp iv roig svayysXioig
Eupi'rfxovTai o! xdu.vovrsg ifpodsp-^ro^svot tcj 2wT5jpi, xai afiouWsf iddsug
rv^siv, xai dspai*svbp.svor xai idri, tpip' siitsTv, rb rovg rvtpXovg ava-
/3XsVjyai spyov, xard psv to rgiuxivai, ruv itidrsvbvruv Svvadbai 6spa-
itavid6ai • xard Si T»)v ,d«oxarddradiv rrjg bpddsug, rov Surrjpog ij^uv.
Outuj ouv iitayyiXXsrai 6 Xbyog rov ®sov i^itoiridsiv sVio'tjjjjm'jv roTg
irpodiovdtv, i^sXuv ryv XtQivrjv ' xai dxXypdv xapSiav, 'ivrsp idn rrpi
xaxiav u*sp tou Tiva itops\iad6ai roig baiaig ivroXaTg xai cpvXaddatv
•ra 6eTa ifpodray^ara. Ibid. p. 59. Vide etiam p. 62, 63.
Vidi multos non Epicureos, qui, cum essent in aliquo moerore propter
suos lapsus, disputabant, quomodo sperem me recipi, cum non sentiam in
me transfundi novam lucem et novas virtutes 1 Prceterea, si nihil agit
liberum arbitrium, interea, donee sensero fieri illam regenerationem de
qua dicitis, indulgebo diffidenlice et aliis vitiosis affectibus. Hsec Mani-
chsa Imaginatio horribile mendacium est : et, ab hoc errore, mentes
abducendae sunt ; et docendas, agere aliquid liberum arbitrium. Melanc.
Loci Theol. de libero arbitrio, p. 92, 93.
Sciendum est autem, Spiritum Sanctum efficacem esse per vocem
Evangelii auditam seu cogitatam, ut Galat. iii. dicitur, Ut promissionem

CHAP. I.] OP ELECTION. 183
persons will think) the inevitable, consequence. Then fol
lowed the authoritative Synod of Dort, which minutely de
fined and vindicated the Five Points, and which explicitly
condemned the doctrines of the Remonstrants.

Spiritus accipiamus per fidem : ac saepe dictum est, cogitantes de Deo
oportere ordiri a verbo Dei, non quaerere Deum sine suo verbo. Cumque
ordimur a verbo, hie concurrunt tres causa; bonae actionis: Verbum Dei;
Spiritus Sanctus ; et Humana Voluntas, assentiens nee repugnans Verbo
Dei. Posset enim excutere, ut excutit Saul sua sponte. Sed, cum
mens audiens ac sustentans non repugnat, non indulget diffidentias ; sed,
adjuvante etiam Spiritu Sancto, conatur assentiri : in hoc certamine,
voluntas non est otiosa. Ibid. p. 91.
Si tantum expectanda esset ilia infusio qualitatum sine ulla nostra
actione, sicut Enthusiasts et Manichaei finxerunt: nihil opus esset mi-
nisterio evangelico, nulla enim lucta in animis esset. Sed instituit Deus
ministerium, ut vox accipiatur, ut promissionem mens cogitet et am-
plectatur, et, dum repugnamus diffidentias, Spiritus Sanctus simul in
nobis sit efficax. Sic igitur illis, qui cessationem suam excusant, qui
putant nihil agere liberum arbitrium, respondeo : Imo mandatum Dei
sternum et immotum est, ut voci Evangelii obtemperes, ut Filium Dei
audias, ut agnoscas Medialorem. Quam tetra sunt hasc peccata, nolle
aspicere donatum generi humano Mediatorem Filium Dei ! Non pos
sum : inquies. Imo, aliquo modo, potes : et, cum te voce Evangelii
sustentas, adjuvari te a Deo petito ; et scito velle Deum hoc ipso modo
nos convertere, Cum promissione excitati luetamur nobiscum, invoca-
mus, et repugnamus diffidentias nostrse et aliis viliosis affectibus. Ideo
veteres aliqui sic dixerunt : Liberum arbitrium in homine facultatem
esse applicandi se ad gratiam, id est, audit promissionem, et assentiri
conatur, et abjicit peccata contra conscientiam. Talia non fiunt in
diabolis. Discrimen, igitur, inter diabolos et genus humanum, consi-
deretur. Fiunt autem haec illustriora, considerata promissione. Cum
promissio sit universalis, nee sint in Deo contraria; voluntates, necesse
est, in nobis esse aliquam discriminis causam, cur Saul abjiciatur, David
recipiatur : id est, necesse est, aliquam esse actionem dissimilem in his
duobus. PraHerea, si de tota vita piorum loquamur, etsi est ingens im-
becillitas, tamen aliqua est libertas voluntatis, cum quidem jam a Spiritu
Sancto adjuvetur. Ibid. p. 93, 94.
Adversus Manichasos hasc fundamenta tenenda sunt : — omnes homines
posse converti ad Deum ; nee voluntatem se habere pure passive, sed

184 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
The whole of this was just what we should expect : and
the fact of the collision is proof positive, that Calvinism had
been held and taught by the reformed Belgic Churches.
So again : during the reign of our first James, a most
powerful body within the Church of England strenuously
maintained the peculiarities of Geneva : and the extent, to
which they carried their doctrinal system, is evinced by the
official signatures, of the anglican deputies, to all the deci
sions of the Synod of Dort*. A material change of senti
ment, as we well know, took place in the time and under
the auspices of Archbishop Laud. And what was the
result? Did English Calvinism expire in silence and with
out a struggle ? Nothing of the sort. A controversy im
mediately commenced, which has continued down to the
present day.
If, then, Calvinism were assuredly the doctrine of the
earliest Church Catholic, and if the tide of opinion began to
set against it in the age of Justin Martyr : how happened it,
that no Synod was called, that no doctrinal canons were
propounded, that no controversy arose, that no strenuous
Bogerman or Carlton or Scultet or Breytinger or Alsted
or Trigland sprang up to condemn and to confound the
notorious innovators 1
aliquo modo active, ac assentiri posse Deo trahenti. Melanc. Expos.
Symbol. Nic. Oper. vol. i. p. 415.
For these citations from Melancthon, I am indebted to Abp. Lau
rence's Bampton Lectures, p. 308, 315, 316, 317, 318 : a Work, which
contains, in small space, a larger quantity of valuable materials and ori
ginal research, than almost any Work I ever met with.
* The deputies, who thus subscribed, were George Carlton, then
Bishop of Llandaff, John Davenant, afterward Bishop of Salisbury,
Samuel Ward, Master of Sidney College, and Thomas Goad, Precentor
of St. Paul's. Joseph Hall, afterward successively Bishop of Exeter
and Bishop of Norwich, refused to subscribe the decisions of the Synod,
and subsequently published his Via Media.

CHAP. I.] 0F ELECTION. 185
Had the Primitive Church been careless or slow in the
censure and denunciation of heresies, we peradventure
might not have marvelled at her supineness and silence.
But, when we know her zeal and promptitude, and when we
recollect that no heresy appeared without being immediately
classed and controverted : we must needs deem it passing
strange, that the Calvinistic Scheme, if indeed held univer
sally by the earliest Christians on the full and invincible
personal assurance that they had received it direct from
the mouths of the Apostles, should have died in the second
century, and in death should have made no sign.
(2.) The silence of the second century stands curiously
and remarkably contrasted with the disputativeness of the fifth
century : when the doctrine of Calvinistic Election was, as
Mr. Milner would say, after a long sleep, resuscitated ; or,
as I should rather incline to say, and as Augustine himself
incidentally and unwarily says, when it was first discovered
by the diligent scriptural researches of that eminent Father.
No sooner did the Bishop of Hippo propound his System,
than he was, as we have seen, immediately charged with
innovation. Simply as a fact, it was alleged against
him ; that Neither the Church at large, nor the earlier Fa
thers who had preceded him, knew any thing of such a Scheme
of Doctrine : and it was insisted; that, For the purpose of
confuting Pelagianism, there was no need to call in the
hitherto unheard of speculations of Election and Repro'
bation, as they were advanced by Augustine.
This difference, as might naturally be expected, forthwith
produced a controversy : and the controversy finally led to
the convocation of a Synod or Council at Orange.
Now, as the very existence of such a controversy in the
fifth century distinctly proves ; that Austinism was not the
received doctrine of ihe Church, when propounded by Augus-
X

186 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
tine : so the occurrence of a similar controversy in the second
century, had any such controversy then occurred, would,
mutatis mutandis, have similarly proved ; that Austinism
was the received doctrine of the Church, as the Church sub
sisted in the age which touched and mingled with the age of
the Apostles.
But there is no evidence, that any such controversy ex
isted in the second century : and, indeed, Mr. Milner himself
tells us, that the language of the Church, in this respect,
was changed gradually and silently.
Therefore, so far as I can judge, the very absence of such
controversy is itself a proof: that The earliest Church knew
nothing of the doctrine of Election as understood and ex
pounded by Augustine and Calvin.
2. The- observations, which have been made in regard
to the absence of all controversy, anterior to the time of
Augustine, on what may be briefly styled The , Calvinistic
Question, clearly apply, with equal force, to the two other
Schemes of Arminianism and Nationalism.
There is no more evidence of the occurrence of any
controversy on account of the rival claims of those two
Systems, than there is of any controversy on account of the
claims of the Calvinistic System.
Yet, if any one of the three Systems had been apostoli
cally received from the beginning, the other two must inevi
tably be false : and, whenever the primitive Scheme began
to be impugned to make way for either of the two others, a
controversy would assuredly forthwith commence.
But no controversy whatever took place anterior to the
time of Augustine : and, when a controversy did then spring
up, neither Arminianism nor Nationalism was the System
defended, as the ancient System, against nascent Austinism
or Calvinism ; which clearly must have been the case, had

CHAP. I.] OF ELECTION. 187
either of those two Systems been the primitive System re
ceived from the beginning. On the contrary, the System,
alleged against Augustine by the Massilian Christians, on
the professed ground of easily traced antiquity, as the noto
riously primeval System of the Catholic Church, was, in
point of ideality, totally different from either Arminianism
or Nationalism : for it was a System, which respected and
which was built upon the deep mystery ; Why the Gospel
was offered to this individual, rather than to that individual ;
why it was offered at this time, rather than at that time ; why
it was preached in this country, rather than in that country ;
why this individual was elected into the pale of the Church,
rather than that individual*.
* Cum autem dicitur eis ; Quare aliis vel alicubi prcedicetur, vel non
prcedicetur, vel nunc prcedicetur quod aliquando pene omnibus sicut nunc
aliquibus gentibus non prcedicatum sit: dicunt, Id prcescienlice esse
divince, ut, eo tempore, et ibi, et illis, Veritas annunciaretur, vel annun-
cietur, quando et ubi prcenoscebatur 'esse credenda. Et hoc, non solum
aliorum catholicorum testimoniis, sed etiam sanctitatis tuae disputatione
antiquiore, se probare testantur. Hilar. Arelat. Epist. ad August, in
Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 483.
Jerome's opposition to the whimsical private Scheme of Origen, long
after Origen's death, can scarcely, I think, be deemed controversy : it
may serve, however, to shew, that innovations upon the ancient System.
were not suffered to pass unnoticed.
Alius vero (scil. Origenes), qui Deum justum conatur ostendere, quod,
non ex prajudicio scientias suae, sed ex merito electorum, unumquemque
eligat. — Priusquam animas pra;cipitarentur in mundum, et mundus ex
animabus fieret, cum habitatricibus suis in infimum ipse dejectus, elegit
Paulum Deus et ei similes coram se, qui erant sancti et immaculati. —
In ilia dejectione mundi, eos, qui, antequam mundus fieret, electi erant
a Deo, missos esse in eruditionern et magisterium animarum peccatri-
cium, ut, ad praedicationem eorum, reverterentur ad eum locum unde
corruerant. — Ad quod bifariam est respondendum. Non enim ait Pau-
lus : Elegit nos ante constilutionem mundi, cum essemus sancti et im
maculati : sed Elegit nos, ut essemus sancti et immaculati ; hoc est, qui
sancti et immaculati ante non fuimus, ut postea essemus. — Nos, ante-

188 THE primitive doctrine [book il
Such, when controversy at length sprang up from the in
culcation of Austinism, was the System, in point of
Ideality, which was maintained as the aneient System
against a new System. The absence, therefore, of all con
troversy on behalf of either Arminianism or Nationalism,
and the absence of all controversy on behalf of Calvinism
until the time of Augustine when it was confidently alleged
to be a mere unauthorised novelty, certainly demonstrate,
that neither Calvinism nor Nationalism nor Arminianism
could have been the System entertained, as apostolical, by
the Primitive Church.
II. Precisely the same remarks, which have been thus
employed in the case of the three several most popular
modern Systems, will serve to introduce an inquiry into the
nature of the aboriginal Scheme of Doctrine.
That the ancients must have entertained some opinion in
regard to the import of the scriptural terms Election and
Predestination, cannot be doubted : and that this opinion,
whatever in point of ideality and causation it might bet
passed universally current, or at least with no change
beyond what from its plausibility might well escape ani
madversion, down to the time of Augustine, is clear from
the very absence of all controversy on the subject.
Hence, as we have now negatively settled, what was not
the primitive opinion ; the next question will be positively,
what that primitive opinion really was.
If that opinion, to which the Christians of Marseilles not
obscurely allude, can be definitively ascertained, a most im
portant additional inquiry will immediately arise : namely,
quam essemus, prasdestinati sumus, et tunc spiritum adoptionis accepi-
mus, quando credidimus in Filium Dei. Hieron. Comment, in Epist.
ad Ephes. i. Oper. vol. vi. p. 162. Vide etiam Hieron. Apol. adv.
Ruffin. lib. i. c. 6. Oper. vol. ii. p. 199.

CHAP. I.] OP election. 189
Whether the primitive opinion will naturally and easily
accord with the language of Scripture both under the Law
and under the Gospel.
Should the result of such an inquiry be, that The ascer
tained opinion of the Primitive Church readily acts the part
of a key to the language of Scripture ; we shall then, I
apprehend, have attained as near to certainty, as the nature
of moral demonstration will permit.
These matters being settled, yet another inquiry, not
abstractedly necessary in itself, yet abundantly important to
the members of the Anglican Church, will obviously spring
up : namely, Whether the doctrine of the reformed Church of
England be the doctrine of the Primitive Church and of
Holy Scripture.
Finally, for the satisfaction of our own minds, or (if we
may say so without presumption) to vindicate the ways of
God to man, it may be useful, still with the Primitive
Church for our guide and assistant, to inquire into the
rationale or principle of the doctrine of Election, as that
doctrine was received from Scripture and from the Apos
tles by venerable Antiquity.
1. In the case of the writer, an inquiry of this sort must
of necessity, have been conducted by him in the silence of
the closet, before he himself could have arrived at the
result. But, in the case of the reader, the process may be
advantageously inverted : for, to the reader, the inquiry will
be rendered more clear, if the result be first distinctly laid
before him.
Such an arrangement is strictly analogous to the plan
adopted in mathematical research : where the theorem, or
point to be demonstrated, is, so far as the reader is con
cerned, made to precede the demonstration. And its ad
vantage is, that, from the first, the reader is brought

190 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
acquainted with the conclusion : whence, without distrac
tion, he is the more at liberty to watch jealously, whether,
in the course of evolving the evidence, the conclusion is
legitimately drawn out.
The result, then, to which I have been conducted, is this.
As contradistinguished, both from the doctrine of Calvin
istic Election, from the more plausible doctrine of Arminian
Election, and from the present (I believe) somewhat popu
lar doctrine of National Election : the primitive Christians,
anterior to the time of Augustine, held, in point of ideality,
the doctrine of An Election of certain individuals out of all
nations into the pale of the visible Church ; with the merciful
purpose and intention, on God's part, that through faith
and holiness they should attain to everlasting life ; but {since
the immediate notion of theirt Election respected only an
admission into the Church, not an admission into heaven)
with a possibility, through their own perverseness, of their
not making their Calling and Election sure, and of thus
failing to obtain the conditionally promised reward.
This, in point of ideality, was, so far as I can find, the
unvaried doctrine of the Catholic Church, down to the time
of Augustine : but, in point of causation, a very important
variety may easily be traced.
Anterior to the time of Clement of Alexandria, who
flourished about the latter end of the second century, the
impelling cause of Election was believed to be The Absolute
Will and Sovereign Pleasure of God.
But, after the time of Clement, the impelling cause of
Election was commonly, though not quite universally, sup
posed to be God's foreknowledge of man's future fitness.
This change, in point of causation, so far as we can ven
ture to pronounce upon existing.evidence, was first introduced
by Clement of Alexandria himself. Its design was, to re-

CHAP. I.] OP election. 191
move any objections to the older Scheme, which might be
started upon the score of God's justice : and its plausibili
ty, united to some shew of accordance with Scripture,
secured for it a rapid and easy reception*. Such being its
character, it produced no controversy. At all events, the
fact of the change itself is certain : and no controversy, so
far as I know, is recorded.
Since the three other Schemes of Doctrine are severally
* Its attempted proof from Scripture lay in Rom. viii. 29 : Whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate.
Here, it was argued, God's foreknowledge precedes God's predestina
tion. Therefore the one must be the cause of the other.
The conclusion is plausible : but it is warranted, neither by sound
logic, nor by the immediate context.
To make out the conclusion, it is gratuitously assumed in the pre
mises, that God's foreknowledge here imports, not God's general fore
knowledge of the future existence of certain individuals, but God's
specific foreknowledge of the future characters of those individuals
operating in ihe way of causation.
Now this purely gratuitous assumption is forthwith contradicted by the
immediate context, provided only we cite the entire clause, instead of
stopping short in the middle of it.
Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to ihe
image of his Son.
When the clause is thus fully read, the groundlessness of the assump
tion immediately appears. A divinely foreseen conformity to the image
of God's Son is plainly exhibited, not as the cause, but as the conse
quence, of predestination.
More piously, however, than judiciously, anxious to remove those
injurious reflections upon God's justice, which, even in the time of St.
Paul (Rom. ix. 15-24.), were made upon the causation of the ancient
original System : the Christians, at the end of the second century, too
hastily and too readily acquiesced in the solution of the Alexandrian
Clement, which seemed so easily to meet the injurious reflections and
thus at once to free them from their difficulties.
Thus acted not St. Paul, when similarly pressed.
Nay but, O man, who art ihou that repliest against God ? Shall
ihe thing formed say to him that formed it: Why hast thou made me
thus ?

192 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
distinguished by the specific names of Calvinism and Ar
minianism and Nationalism, it will be convenient to give
also the primitive Scheme a descriptive appellation.
Its basis, then, like the basis of Calvinism and Arminian
ism, being Individuality ; and its respect, like the respect of
Nationalism, being The Visible Church : I have not suffi
cient skill to frame a more appropriate^ title of the System,
than that of Ecclesiastical Individualism ; or of the doctrine,
than that of Ecclesiastical Individual Election.
2. Before I enter upon my proposed inquiries, I may be
permitted to offer a few remarks upon that Scheme of Doc
trine, which, in point both of ideality and of causation, is
" strictly the most ancient.
(1.) A System, thus characterised, will naturally have its
own conventional phraseology: and, unless the true drift
and bearing of the System be known, the phraseology will
be very apt to be misunderstood.
Accordingly, its really generic language has often errone
ously been deemed particular.
All, without any individual exceptions, who, agreeably
to the good pleasure of the divine will, have been elected
into the Church, are generically addressed as Heirs of
Glory. But such language does not import particularly, that
every elected individual will infallibly obtain the inheritance.
On the contrary, the promises of God must be received,
as they are generally or generically set forth in Holy
Scripture. The attainment of everlasting life through the medium of
faith and holiness is the object or purpose or intention of
Ecclesiastical Individual Election.
Therefore the eternal happiness of all generically is
viewed as the last link in the chain of electing love : because

chap. i.J of election. 193
it is so in purpose and intention, though not always indivi
dually so in effect and reality.
(2.) While the Gospel was gradually subverting Paganism
and eclipsing Judaism, Individual Ecclesiastical Election
both might, and in the course of God's providence, would,
assume the aspect at least of National Ecclesiastical Elec
tion : because, when Christianity became the universally
adopted religion of a country, what was individual might
coincide with what was national. Still, however, in point
of ideality, the doctrine of the Primitive Church respected,
not nations as such, but individuals as being the accidentally
component parts of nations.
Thus, for instance, the early Christians supposed not the
Greeks collectively to be an elected nation, as contradistin
guished from other nations which were not elected : but
they viewed, as the Elect among the Greeks, those indivi
duals, who, obeying the gospel call, had become members
of the Church of Christ whether seated at Corinth or at
Ephesus or at Colossas or at Philippi or at Thessalonica.
Hence they esteemed the Catholic Church at large to be
the Church of the Election, as comprehending the whole
body or people of the Elect gathered individually out of
every nation upon the face of the earth*.
* I have thought it right to put the case of Individual Election gra
dually becoming equivalent to National Election: though it may be
doubted, whether, in point of fact, any such case has ever yet occurred ;
whatever it may do under the influence of the yet future predicted mil-
lennian period. In strictness of speech, Ecclesiastical Individualism
can never merge in Ecclesiastical Nationalism, until we shall behold a
nation, every individual member of which has been so universally elected
into the Catholic Church of Christ, that not a single person remains
without its pale in the character either of an infidel or a heretic.
For, since An Election into the sound Catholic Church of Christ con
stitutes the true and primitive ideality of Scriptural Election : it is
Y

194 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
(3.) By holding, as they originally held, God's Absolute
Sovereignty and Supreme Will to be the impelling cause of
Individual Election into the Church ; or, in other words, by
making Designed Holiness the consequence, not the cause,
of that Election : the strictly primitive Christians, according
both to the plain declarations and the whole analogy of
Scripture, effectually struck at the root of all fancied human
merit, and amply secured the vital doctrine of the Necessity
of Divine Grace in order first to personal holiness and ulti
mately to everlasting life.
obvious, that neither an infidel nor a heretic can be consistently deemed
to have been thus elected ; or, at least, if, in the first instance, they were
thus elected, they plainly -must -be viewed as having deliberately and
advisedly renounced the privileges of their election. To say, that those,
who professedly belong not to the Church, are yet members of the Church
of the Election, is a palpable contradiction in terms.
This circumstance, by the way, in itself forms an argument to prove :
that the Ecclesiastical Nationalism, advocated by Mr. Locke-, cannot
exhibit the true Idea of Special Election.
£>'

CHAP. II.] OP ELECTION. 195

CHAPTER II.
THE IDEALITY OF ELECTION ACCORDING TO THE
PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
Among the Fathers who chronologically preceded Augus
tine, notices of the doctrine of Election are not so copious
as we might have wishe^, We find them, however, in suf
ficient abundance to determine the real sentiments of the
Primitive Church in regard to, what I am now about to
examine, the point of ideality : and, what is of special im
portance to an inquiry like the present, we find them, not
merely in those somewhat later writers who would be said
by Mr. Milner to have departed from the original apostolic
faith, but also, and that in comparative abundance, in those
of the contemporaries and pupils of the Apostles themselves.
That the investigation may be conducted with all possible
fairness, I shall begin with simply giving the precise words
of the witnesses adduced : and, when that shall have been
done, I may then be allowed to subjoin a few remarks of
my own.
I. The writers, whom I shall summon as witnesses, are
the following : Clement of Rome ; Ignatius ; Hermas ; Po-
lycarp's Church of Smyrna ; Justin Martyr ; Ireneus ; Cle
ment of Alexandria ; Cyprian ; Ambrose ; and Jerome.
It will readily be perceived, that I subjoin the much later
testimonies of Ambrose and Jerome, not as being of any
intrinsic consequence to my main object, but purely to con
nect the chain of evidence with the times of Augustine.
Would we learn the doctrine of the strictly Primitive Church,

196 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
we must resort to the succession of the earliest ecclesiastical
writers. 1. With this view, let us first hear the invaluable testi
mony of the Roman Clement, who, as the friend and fellow-
labourer of St. Paul, must, above all other extant writers,
have the most fully understood the true import of his so
often litigated phraseology.
(1.) On account of the calamities and afflictions which
have befallen, us, beloved brethren, we have been somewhat
slow, in taking into consideration the matters respecting which
you have made inquiry from us, as also in noticing the
wicked and unholy sedition, so foreign and alien to those
who are the elect of god, which some few rash and self-
willed individuals have inflamed to such a pitch of folly, as
to occasion your honourable and celebrated and worthily all-
beloved name to be greatly blasphemed*.
(2.) There was a contest to you, by night and by day, on
behalf of all the brotherhood, that, with mercy and a good
conscience, the number of god's elect misht be sAVEDf .
(3.) To these men, the Apostles, who had lived according
to the rules of a divine polity, there was gathered together a
great multitude of the elect, who, on account of envy, having
* Aia. yevou,ivag jjuXv dvpopopdg xai itspii/rudsig, dSsXopoi, flpaSsiav
Svdoi%ou.sv iicidrpotpriv «sifoir)xivai, ifspi tgjv iirifyrov^ivuv irap' vuav
•Xpa.yu.druv, dyairt)ro), rr\g rs dXXorpiag xai %ivr\g roTg ixXsxroi'g tou
©sou u.iapdg xai avotfiou drddsug, yv bXiya ispbduita, itpoitsrr\ xai aMMi)
vitapyovra, sig too'outov dtfovoiag i%ixavdav, udrs rb ds\j.vbv xai <!rspi/36rt-
tov xai tf&div dv6puifoig d^iayditrfrov 'ivou.a vu.uv u£ydXug /3Xatf(p»|p]-
05jvai. Clem- Rom. Epist; ad Corinth, i. § 1.
t 'Ayuv rpj uu.lv, bipipag ts xai vvxrbg, utfsp itddrig t% dSsXopirrirog,
sig rb du\zd6ai jast' iXiovg xai dvvsibijdsug rov apifyiov ruv sxXsxruv
auTou. Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 2.

CHAP. II.] OF ELECTION. 197
endured many sufferings and torments, became among us
most illustrious examples*.
(4.) Let us, therefore, approach unto the Lord in holiness
of soul, lifting up to him holy and unpolluted hands, loving
our clement and merciful Father, who hath made us unto
himself a part of the election. For thus it is written ;
When the Most High divided the nations ; as he scattered
ihe sons of Adam, he appointed the boundaries of the nations
according to the number of the angels. Then his people
Jacob became the portion of the Lord : Israel, the lot of his
inheritance. And, in another place, he says: Behold, the
Lord taketh unto himself a nation from the midst of the
nations, as a man taketh the first-fruits of his threshing floor ;
and, out of that nation, shall come the holy of holies^.
(5.) Wherefore, to the innocent and the just, let us join
ourselves : for these are the elect of god J.
(6.) In love, all the elect of god are perfected§.
* Tovroig ro~g dvSpddiv dsiug iroXirsvdajj,svoig, dvvr]6poid6ri #oXv
«Xri6ag ixXsxruv, o'irivsg, itoXXaTg aixiaig xai /3addvoig Sid ^SjXov •tt'a66v-
rsg, vitoSsiyu.a xdXXidrov iysvovro iv yuJiv. Clem. Rom. Epist. ad
Corinth, i. § 6.
t XlpodiX6uu.sv ouv aurcy iv bdibri)ri ^,v-)(rig, dyvdg xai dpidvrovg
ysipaff a'lpovrsg ifpbg auVov, dyaifuvrcg tov iinsixrj xai SvdtiXayyyov
irarepa r)U.uv, og ixXoyrjg u.ipog iitoir\dsv iavry. O'vru yap yiyparfrar
"Ors Sisu.ipidsv 6 v^idrog s6w], ug Si sdicsipsv v\ovg 'ASdu,, 'idrr\dsv
opia Mvuv xard dpi6u.bv dyysXuv iysvrj6r\ u.splg Kupi'ou Xabg avrov
'Iaxu/3, dyoivid\J.a xXr\povouJiag avrov '\.dpar\X. Kai, iv iripu roifu,
Xsysr 'iSov, Kupioj Xau.j3dvei sixutw s6vog ix u*idov i6vuv, uditsp
Xau./3avsi dv6pui(og rr\v d-Kap-yfiv avrov rrjg dXu- xai VgsXsvdarai ix
rov %6vovg ixaivov ayia dyiuv. Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 29.
t K.oXXri6uu.sv ouv Toij d6iioig xai oixaioij- sidiv Si outoi ixXsxroi
rov ©sou. Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. §. 46.
§ 'Ev dydifr] irsXsiu6r\dav itdvrsg oi ixXsxroi rov ©sou. Clem.
Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 49.

198 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
(7.) Blessed is ihe man, to whom the Lord shall not impute
sin : neither is there craft in his mouth. This blessing is
upon those who have been elected by God through Jesus
Christ *-
(8.) The elect David saith : I will confess unto the Lord^.
(9.) May the all-seeing God, who elected the lord jesus
CHRIST AND US THROUGH HIM TO BE A PECULIAR PEOPLE, grant,
to every soul that calleth upon his great and holy name, faith,
fear, peace, patience, long-suffering, temperance, holiness, and
wisdom%. 2. Let us next hear the testimony of Ignatius the disciple
of St. John, who suffered martyrdom in the year 107 or (as
some think) in the year 116.
(1.) Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the Church which
is in Ephesus of Asia, deserving beatification, blessed in the
greatness and fulness of God the Father, always predesti
nated before the worlds to glory, that it should be per
manent and unchangeable and united and elected in true
suffering, according to the will of the Father and of Jesus
Christ our God, wisheth most abundant joy in Jesus Christ
and in blameless grace§.
* M.axapiog dvrjp, Si ou p] Xoyidrfrai Kupioj du,apriav ovSs idriv
iv tgj drb\t.an auTou SoXog. Ovrog 6 jj.axapidu.bg iyivero iirl rovg
ixXsXsypivovg i<irb tou ©sou Sid 'lrjdov XpioVou. Clem. Rom. Epist.
ad Corinth, i. ¦§. 50.
t $rjdi yap 6 ixXsxrbg Aaf31S • 'ES;ou,oXoy?ja'ou,ai ru Kupi'u. Clem.
Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 52.
t 'O ifavoirrrig @sbg, — 5 ixXsgdu.Svog tov Kupiov 'IrjffWv XpitfTov xai
v)U.dg Si' auTou sig Xabv ifspiovdiov, Sur], icadr) vJ/U^Sj iifixsxXfijj.svri rb
psypCXorrpstsg xai dyiov 6'vou.a auVou, itidnv, <po/3ov, sipi]v-i)v, iirou.ovrjv,
jiaxpooufwav, JyxpaTEiav, dyvsiav, xai du<ppoduvr)v. Clem. Rom. Epist.
ad Corinth, i. § 58.
§ 'lyvartog, o xai ®ao<popog, rr\ svXoytiuAvr\ h u,syi6n ©eou LTaTpoj

CHAP. II.] OF ELECTION. 199
(2.) Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the holy Church
which is in Tralles of Asia, beloved by God the Father of
Jesus Christ, elect and worthy of God, having peace in the
flesh and blood which is the passion of Jesus Christ our hope,
in the resurrection which is unto him, writeth this epistle*.
3. We may next attend to the language of Hermas :
who, by Origen and Eusebius and Jerome, is identified with
the Hermas mentioned by St. Paul ; and who, from internal
evidence afforded by his writings, is, by Hammond and
Dodwell, pronounced to have at least flourished within forty
years after the crucifixion.
(1.) God, by his powerful virtue, has founded his holy
church which he has blessed. Lo, he will remove the heavens
and the mountains, the hills and the seas : and all things
shall be made plain to his elect ; that he may accomplish
unto them the promise which he hath promised, when, with
much honour and joy, they shall have observed the legal ordi
nances of God, which in great faith they have received].
(2.) Thou canst tell these things to the elect of god J.
itXt)puu,an, rr\ irpoupidu.svji irpo ai'uvwv Sid iravrbg sig i5ofav, tfapajxovov,
ar psirrov, '/)vuu.ivrjv,xai ixXsXayu.svr\v, iv itd6si dXr\6ivy, iv 6sXiju.ari tou
IlaTpog xai 'lr\dov Xpldrov tou ©Sou r^uv, rrj ixxXi]dia rr\ afiofia-
xapidru, rr\ ovdr\ iv 'Etpidu rr^g 'Adiag, irXsTdra iv 'IrjaW XpirfT^
xai iv du.uu.u yapin -yraipaiv. Ignat. Epist. ad. Ephes. § 1.
* 'IyvaTioj, 6 xai' 0so<popo£, y\yatcr\u,ivi\ 0£op IlaTpi Irjrfou XpioVou
ixxXr\dia dyia, t5) outfrj iv TpaXXstfiv rr)g 'Adiag, ixXsxrr] xaT dgioQiu,
slprivsvovd'p iv dapxi xai a'iu.ari rSp is'd6si 'lr\dov XpiaVou rtjg iXifiSog
i)ft,uv, iv rr\ sig avrbv dvadrddsi. Ignat. Epist. ad Tralles. § 1.
f Deus, — virtute sua potenti, condidit sanctam ecclesiam suam,
quam benedixit. Ecce, transferet coelos et montes, colles et maria : et
omnia plana fient electis suis ; ut reddat illis repromissionem quam re-
promisit, cum, multo honore et gaudio, servaverint legitima Dei, quas
acceperunt in magna fide. Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 1. § 3.
% Potes haec electis Dei renunciare. Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 2. § 1.

200 the primitive doctrine [book II.
(3.) For, by his own glory, concerning his elect, that day
being predetermined, the Sovereign Ruler hath sworn : Even
now, if any one shall sin, he shall not have salvation*.
(4.) Those squared and white stones, agreeing in their
joints, are the apostles and bishops and doctors and ministers,
who have ministered holily and modestly to the elect of god,
both those who have now fallen asleep, and those who still
survive], (5.) Beware, my sons, lest peradventure these your dissen-
tions should defraud you of eternal life. How will you in
struct the elect of god, when yo,u yourselves have no dis
cipline]. ?
(6.) Go, and relate to the elect of god his mighty deeds.
— Woe to those doubtful ones who shall hear these words and
despise them ! It were better for them never to have been
born§. (7.) The white part represents the age about to come, in
which shall dwell the elect of god : for the elect of god
shall be pure and immaculate to eternal life. Cease not thou,
therefore, to speak these things in the ears of the saints||.
* Juravit enim dominator ille, per gloriam suam, super electos suos,
praefinita ista die : etiam nunc, si peccaverit aliquis, non habiturum il
ium salutem. Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 2. § 2.
f Lapides quidem illi quadrati et albi, convenientes in commissuris
suis, ii sunt apostoli et ejjiscopi et doctores et. ministri, qui — ministra-
verunt sancte et modeste electis Dei, qui dormierunt, quique adhue sunt.
Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 3. § 5.
t Videte, ergo, filii, ne forte has dissentiones vestrse fraudent vitam
aeternam. Quomodo vos erudire vultis electos Dei, cum ipsi non
habeatis disciplinam ? Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 3. § 9.
Sj Vade ergo, et enarra electis Dei magnalia ipsius. — Vae dubiis illis,
qui audierint verba hasc, et contempserint ! Melius erat illis non nasci.
Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 4. § 2.
|| Alba autem pars superventuri est sasculi, in qno habitabunt electi

chap, il] of election. 201
4. Let us next observe the phraseology adopted by the
Church of Smyrna in the account of the martyrdom of
Polycarp, who had been the disciple of St. John, and who
had been appointed to the Episcopate of that city by the
Apostles themselves.
When the executioner had stabbed him with his sword,
such a vast torrent of blood rushed forth as to extinguish
the very fire : and the whole multitude marvelled, that there
should be such a difference between the unbelievers and
the elect. One of whom was this most admirable apostolic
and prophetic teacher, having been the Bishop of the Catho
lic Church which is in Smyrna*.
5. Next let us proceed to note the language of Justin
Martyr, who was converted to the Christian Faith about
the year 130 or only about thirty years after the death of
St. John.
(1.) We christians are no mere contemptible mob : — but
God hath also elected us ; and hath manifested himself to
those, who inquired not after him. — through the like cal
ling that he called Abraham, charging him to go out from
the land in which he dwelt ; through that voice he hath
called all of us : and we have now come out from the polity
in which we lived, living wickedly according to the common
practices of the other ^inhabitants of the earth].
Dei : quoniam immaculati et puri erunt electi Dei in vitam aeternam.
Tu ergo ne desinas loqui haec auribus sanctorum. Herm. Past. lib. i.
vis. 4. § 3.
* Kai", touto voiijdavrog, igrjX6s irXri&og a'iu.arog, udrs xaradfisdai
rb itvp ¦ xai 6avu,ddai ifdvra tov oyXov, si roda\irr\ rig 5iaipopa u.erajgv-
ruv rs ditidruv xai ruv ixXsxruv uv sig xai ovrog yiyovsv 6 6avu.adiu.
rarog, iv roig xa6' rju.% p^povoij, SiSddxaXog ditodroXixbg xai tfpo<p".]Tixoj,
ysvbu.Svog irfidxotfog rqg iv 2u,upvr) xa(!oXix% ixxXydiag. Epist. Eccles.
Smyrn." apud Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 15. p. 108.
* Ouxouv oux svxaratppbvrirog Sripog idu.iv — dXXa xai ijjmg igsXsjgaro
Z

202 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
(2.) Inasmuch as god took out of all nations the na
tion of the jews, a nation useless and disobedient and faith
less : he hath-shewn, that those who have been elected out
of every nation are, through Christ, obedient to his counsel*.
6. From Justin Martyr, we may pass to his contem
porary Ireneus : who successively dwelt in the East and in.
the West ; and who was the scholar of Poly carp, the dis
ciple of St. John.
(1.) The passage ; God stood in the congregation of the
gods, between the gods he is a discerner : is spoken concern
ing the Father and the Son and those who have obtained the
adoption. But these are the church. For the church is
THE CONGREGATION OF GOD, WHICH GOD, THAT IS THE SON,
HATH HIMSELF COLLECTED THROUGH HIMSELF.  Who, then, are
those gods, to whom he declares : I have said ; Ye are gods,
and ye are all the sons of the Most High ? Those, no doubt,
who have obtained the grace of adoption, through which we
cry ; Abba, Father].
(2.) The matters, which respect Isaac, are not devoid of '
6 ®sbg, xai ifj,tpavrig iysv'i)6r\ roTg u,tj iitspurudiv avrov. — Aid rr\g bu.oiag
xXrfisug tpuvrj ixdXsdsv avrov ('A/Spadu.), situv i£aX6sTv dtl rrjg yr\g iv
¦n uxsi • xai r)U.dg Si difavrag, Si' ixsivag ryg tpuvrjg ixdXsdS' xai i%r\X6o-
l&ev rjSr] difb rrjg itoXirsiag iv r\ ituutv, xard ,rd xoivd ruv dXXuv t5jj
yrjg oixrjTopwv xaxug ^uvrsg. Just. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 272.
* 'Ex itdvruv Si ruv ysvuv, yivog iavry Xa/3wv rb vu^irspov, ysvog
a.'/P'Udrov xai drfSiQig xai difidrov, Ssigag rovg difb ifavrbg ysvovg aipou-
u.svovg ttsitsid6ai avrov rr\ /3ouX5j <5ia. tou XpitfTou. Justin. Dial, cum
Tryph. Oper. p. 282.
f Et iterum, Deus stetit in synagoga deorum, in medio autem deos
discernit, de Patre et Filio et de his qui adoptionem perceperunt, dicit.
Hi autem sunt Ecclesia: haec enim est synagoga Dei, quam Deus, hoc
est Filius, ipse per semetipsum collegit. — Quorum autem deorum, qui
bus dicit : Ego dixi ; Dii estis, et filii Altissimi omnes ? Hi, scilicet,
qui adoptionis gratiam adepti sunt, per quam clamamus : Abba, Pater.
Iren. adv. haer. lib. iii. c. 6. p. 175.

CHAP. II.] OF ELECTION. 203
significance. For, in the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle
says : Rebecca also, having conceived from one, even our
father Isaac, received an answer from the Word, that the
purpose of God should remain according to election ; not
from works, but from him that calleth. It was said unto
her : Two peoples are in thy womb ; and two nations are in
thy belly : and one people shall subdue the other people ;
and the elder shall serve the younger. From which it is
manifest : that not only the prophecies of the patriarchs, but
also the parturition of Rebecca, foretold two peoples : one of
which should be the elder, and the other the younger ; and one
of which should be in servitude, and the other free, though
still of one and the same father. And one and the same God
is both our God and their God: who takes cognizance of
hidden things; who knows all things before they are; and
who therefore says, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated. — The younger people received Christ the first-born,
when the older people rejected him, saying, We have no king,
hut Caesar. But, in Christ, there is universal blessedness :
and, on this account, the later people tacitly snatched away
from the Father the blessings of the former people, as Jacob
stole away the blessing of Esau. For this reason, his own
brother endured ihe snares and persecutions of his brother, as
ihe Church hath endured this same treatment from the Jews. —
The wages of Jacob were variegated sheep : and the wages of
Christ are men collected out of various and different

* Et ea autem, quas circa Isaac, non sine significatiune sunt. In ea
enim Epistola, quas est ad Romanos, ait Apostolus: Sed et Rebecca, ex
uno concubitu habens Isaac patris nostri, a Verbo responsum accepit, ut
secundum electionem propositum Dei permaneat ; non ex operibus, sed ex
vocante. Dictum est ei : Duo enim populi, in utero tuo ; et ducz gentes,
in ventre tuo : et populus populum superabit ; el major serviet minori.
Ex quibus manifestum est, non solum prophetationes patriarcharum, sed

204 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
(3.) By the tower of election every where exalted and
ieautiful, the Lord God delivered, to other husbandmen paying
fruits in their season, the figurative vineyard, now no longer
hedged round, but expanded to the whole world. For, every
where, the church is illustrious : and, every where, is the
wine-press dug round : because those, who receive the
spirit, are e^ery where. The former husbandmen repro
bated the Son of God : and, when they had killed him, they
cast him out of the vineyard. Therefore God also has justly
reprobated them.: and has given, to nations which were
without the vineyard, the fructification of the cul ture*.
(4.) The universal going forth of the people from Egypt
was, of God, appointed to be a type and image of the future
GOING FORTH OF THE CHURCH FROM THE NATIONsf .
et partum Rebeccas, prophetiam fuisse duorum populorum : et unum
quidem esse majorem, alterum vero minorem ; et alterum quidem sub
servitio, alterum autem liberum ; unius autem et ejusdem patris. Unus
et idem Deus noster et illorum ; qui est absconsorum cognitor ; qui scit
omnia, antequam fiant ; et propter hoc dicens, Jacob dilexi, Esau autem
odio hdbui. — Junior populus eum primogenitum Christum accepit : cum
eum repulit populus aetate provectior, dicens, Non habemus regem, nisi
Ccesarem. In Christo autem universa benedictio : et, propter hoc,
benedictiones prioris populi a Patre subripuit posterior populus ; quemad-
modum Jacob abstulit benedictionem hujus Esau. Ob quam causam,
fratris patiebatur insidias et persecutiones frater suus, sicut et Ecclesia
hoc idem a Judaeis patiebatur. — Varias oves, quas fiebanthinc Jacob mer
ces : et Christi merces, ex variis et differentibus gentibus, in unam cohort
em fidei convenientes fiunt homines. Iren. adv. haer. lib. iv. c. 38. p. 272.
* Quapropter et tradidit earn Dominus Deus, non jam circumvallatam,
sed expansam in universum mundum, aliis colonis reddentibus fructus
temporibus suis, turre electionis exaltata ubique et speciosa. Ubique
enim praeclara est Ecclesia ; et ubique circumfossum torcular : ubique
enim sunt, qui suscipiunt Spiritum. Quoniam enim Filium Dei re-
probaverunt, et ejecerunt eum, cum eum occidissent, extra vineam :
juste reprobavit eos Deus ; et, extra vineam existentibus gentibus, dedit
fructificationem cultures. Iren. adv. haer. lib. iv. c. 70. p. 302.
f Universa enim quae ex JEgypto profectio fiebat populi, a Deo, typus

CHAP. LI.] , OF ELECTION. 205
7. We may next exhibit the sentiments of Clement of
Alexandria, who lived about the end of the second century.
(1.) / define the church to be, not the mere place of assem
bling, but the general assembly of the elect*.
(2.) We say : that There is only one ancient and catho
lic church, which, into the unity of one Faith that is accor
ding to its proper covenants or rather according to its single
covenant evolved in different times, collects together, by the
will of one God through one Lord, those already ordained,
WHOM GOD HAS PREDESTINATED"|".
8. Let us next attend to the language of Cyprian, who
flourished about the middle of the third century.
(1.) The Holy Ghost, speaking in the person of the Lord,
points out the one church, when he says : One is my dove,
my perfect one ; one she is to her mother ; elect she is to her
parent^. (2.) If, forsaking the church when he has been a confessor,
and thus rending asunder the concord of unity, any person
shall have exchanged his first faith for later perfidy ; he
cannot, merely by reason of his confession, flatter himself, as
if he was elected to the reward of glory : since, from
et imago fiebat profectionis Ecclesias quas erat futura ex gentibus. Iren.
adv. hasr. lib. iv. c. 50. p. 286.
* Ou ydp vuv tov rotcov, dXXd rb d6poidu.a ruv ixXsxruv, ixxXrjdiav
xaXu. Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. vii. Oper. p. 715.
f Mo'vijv sfvai tpau.iv dp-^aiav xai xa6oXixrpi ixxXr\diav, sig ivbrr\ra
ifidrsug judg r~r)g xard rdg oixsiag SiaArptag, u.aXXov Si xard rrpi Sia6rpcr\v
r-ijv fAi'av Siacpopoig roTg -%povoig, hog rov ©sou r£j /3ouX»)(j.aTi oi' svog tou
Kupi'ou, dvvdyoviav rovg fjSr] xararsrayuAvovg, ovg irpoupidsv 6 ©sog.
Clem. Alex. Strom, lib, vii. Oper. p. 765.
t Quam unam Ecclesiam, etiam in Cantieo canticorum, Spiritus
Sanctus, ex persona Domini, designat et dicit : Una est columba mea,
perfecta mea ; una est matri suce ; electa genetrici suce. Cypfcan. de
unit, eccles. Oper. vol. i. p. 108.

208 the primitive doctrine [book II.
this very conduct, the deservedness of his punishment is only
increased. For the Lord elected Judas also among the
Apostles : and yet Judas afterward betrayed the Lord*.
9. We may now, connecting the chain of earlier testimony
with later testimony, hear Ambrose, who lived during the
latter part of the fourth century, and who (it will be recol
lected) has been, with Calvin's full approbation, adduced by
Augustine, as an authority for his own peculiar Scheme of
interpretation more ancient than himself.
(1.) When the Lord says to his disciples, that is, to the
apostles ; If any one will come after me, let him deny him
self, and take up his cross, and follow me : he speaks to
Levites. Nevertheless, the passage ; ye are an elect race,
a royal Priesthood, a holy Nation, an adopted People: is
addressed to all|.
(2.) Sarah says mystically: The Lord hath shut me up,
that I should not bear ; go in, therefore, unto mine hand
maid, and beget a son for her ; in order that we may acknowl
edge, that the church of god always existed in predesti
nation, and that the fecundity of Faith was prepared when
soever the Lord should command it to break forth ; but yet, that,
by the will of the Lord, it was reserved for a certain time%.
* Si Ecclesiam denique, ubi confessor factus est, derelinquens, et
unitatis concordiam scindens, fidem primam perfidia posteriore muta-
verit, blandiri sibi per confessionem non potest, quasi sit electus ad
glorias prasmium ; quando ex hoc ipso magis creverint merita poenarum :
nam et Judam inter apostolos Dominus elegit ; et tamen Dominum
Judas postmodum tradidit. Cyprian, de unit, eccles. Oper. vol. i.
p. 118.
t Dominus Levitis dicit, cum, discipulis suis, hoc est, apostolis dicit :
Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam, et
sequatur me. Quanquam ad omnes jam dictum sit : Vos autem genus
electum, regale sacerdotium, gens sancta, populus in adoptionem. Am
bros. de fug. saecul. c. 2. Oper. p. 198.
t Mystice ait Sara : Conclusit me Dominus, ut non pariam ; intra

CHAP. II.] OF ELECTION. 207
(3.) There are none, who are repudiated by Christ. But
there are some, who are elected by the Lord: since the Lord
calleth the things which are not, as though they were. And
the nations of the gentiles are elected, that ihe perfidy
of the Jews might be destroyed*.
10. Finally, let us attend to Jerome, the contemporary of
Augustine, who flourished during the latter part of the fourth
and the earlier part of the fifth century.
(1.) The sacred history relates: that, as a type of the
synagogue and the church, many elder brothers were repro
bated by the Lord, and many younger brothers were elec
ted. Thus Cain, the elder, is rejected ; while Abel, the
younger, is chosen : thus Ismael, the elder son of Abraham,
is an alien from his father ; while Isaac, the younger,
receives the inheritance. Of the sons of Isaac, likewise,
Esau, the elder, is a hunter, and wanders in the forests :
while Jacob, the younger, dwells simply at home. Hence it
is written in Malachi : Jacob have I loved ; but Esau have
I hated. And truly, according to the Apostle, while yet in
their mother's womb, they had done neither good nor evil,
nor had they either merit or offence, so that the one should be
elected and the other rejected : "except, as we have said, in
a type of the synagogue and the church, the elder shall be
cast aside, and the younger shall be taken].
ergo ad ancillam meam, et filium fades ex ilia : ut agnoscas in prasdes-
tinatione fuisse semper Eeclesiam Dei, et paratam fidei fcecunditatem,
quando juberet Dominus prorumpere ; sed, voluntate Domini, certo re-
servatam tempori. Ambros. de Abraham, patriarch, lib. ii. c. 10. Oper.
p. 1027.
* Non sunt, qui repudiantur a Christo. Sunt autem, qui eliguntur a
Domino : quoniam Dominus vocat quae non sunt, tanquam quas sunt.
Et electae sunt gentium nationes, ,u.t destrueretur perfidia Judasorum.
Ambros. Enarr. in Psalm, xliii. Oper. p. 1380.
f Sacra narrat historia, seniores plurimos fuisse a Domino reprobates,

208 the primitive doctrine [book 11-
(2.) A person, who is elected, may both be tempted and
perish. Thus Saul was elected to be a king ; and Judas, to
be an apostle: yet, by -their own fault, they afterward fell
away*. II. I have now collected together such early evidence as
I have been able to find, in regard to the sentiments enter
tained by the Primitive Church touching the doctrine of
Election and Reprobation. This necessary task, therefore,
having been performed, I may be allowed to offer a few
remarks on the testimonies which have been produced.
1. On a careful perusal of the cited passages, it is impos-
et juniores electos, in typum Synagogas et Ecclesias.' Senior Cain abji-
citur ; et Abel junior eligitur : Ismael, filius Abraham, alienus a patre
est ; et Isaac junior haereditatem aecepit. Filiorum quoque Isaac, senior
Esau venator est, et vagatur in saltibus : junior Jacob simpliciter habi
tat domi. Unde scriptum est et in Malachia : Jacob dilexi ; Esau
autem odio habui. Et recte, juxta apostolum, nihil, in matris utero
constituti, boni vel maii fecerant; nee habebant meritum aut ofiensam,
ut eligeretur alter, et alter abjiceretur : nisi in typo, ut diximus, Syna-
gogae et Ecclesia?, senior repelletur, et assumitur junior. Hieron. Com
ment, in Ezech. xxvii. Oper. vol. iv. p. 412.
Exactly to the same purpose speaks the Pseudo- Ambrose.
Jacob et Esau duorum populorum habent typum ; id est credentium
et non credentium : ut, cum ex uno sint, diversi sint tamen. 
Nam, cum nati nondum fuissent, aut aliquid egissent bonum vel malum,
ut secundum electionem, propositum Dei maneret, non ex operibus, sed ex
vocante, dictum est; Quia major serviet minori: sicut scriptum est;
Jacob dilexi, Esau autem odio habui. —
Hoc pertinet ad causam Judasorum, qui sibi praerogativa defendunt,
quod filii sunt Abrahas.
Sed, subintrantibus gentibus quae sine Deo prius erant, et salutem
quam illi perdiderunt accipientibus, exsuscitatur dolor : sed iterum, quia
ipsi sibi perditionis causa sunt, sopitur. Comment, in Epist. ad Rom.
ix. in Ambros. Oper. p. 1850.
* Nee statim, qui eligitur, tentari non potest nee perire : quia et Saul
electus in regem, et Judas in apostolum, suo postea vitio corruerunt.
Hieron. Comment, in Ezech. xx. Oper. vol. iv. p. 389.

chap, ii.] of election. 209
sible not to perceive, that the same ruling idea runs, with
strict harmony, through the whole of them.
In the phraseology of these passages, the church and the
elect are perfectly coincident and commensurate*.
* Mr. Coles himself admits : that The Church of Christ consists of
Elect Persons ; or, in other words, that The Church corporately is ihe
Election. Such an admission, we might think, would be a virtual dereliction of
the calvinistic idea, which confines the Elect to a certain number of
special individuals within the Church Catholic, while other individuals
equally within the Church Catholic are not to be deemed the Elect.
But the necessity of that dereliction is avoided by the adoption of the
theory : that The Church of tlie Elect is not the visible Church Catho
lic, but an invisible Church within the visible Church Catholic, the
members of which are known, with an absolutely infallible certainty, to
God alone. See Coles's Disc, on God's Sovereign, p. 103-168.
A theory of this description, it is quite clear, was never thought of by
the primitive Christians : because it is totally inconsistent with their
avowed opinions on the subject. By The Church of the Elect, they
understood, not An invisible and mystical Church every member of which
was irreversibly elected and predestinated, to eternal life, but The visible
Church Catholic, which comprehended a mixture both of good and of
bad, and of which Ihe elect members might fall away to eternal perdition.
As little can such a theory, I think, be reconciled with the plain and
natural language of Scripture.
When St. Paul, speaking plurally of himself and of the whole body
of Ephesian Christians whom he is addressing, says, that God hath
chosen us and predestinated us ; or when, addressing the whole body of
the Colossian Christians, the same Apostle says, Put on, as the Elect of
God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies ; or when St. Peter, addressing
the whole body of the Christian Strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, speaks of them collectively,
as being Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father : it is
difficult, from such language, fairly and reasonably to suppose, that not
The members of the entire visible Churches in Ephesus and Colossee
and Pontus and Galatia and Cappadocia and Asia and Bithynia are
meant by The Elect, but only Certain individuals of those Churches,
who must be viewed, quite apart from their ostensible brethren, as jointly
constituting an invisible Church concealed within these visible Churches.
God's Church and God's Elect are so plainly in Scripture spoken of
Aa

210 the primitive doctrine [book it.
All, who have been gathered into the Church out of the
mass of the unbelieving world, are considered and addressed
as The Elect of God : while The Church herself, viewed
collectively as The Election, is spoken of as A Society or a
People called and chosen out of the nations which had long
remained ignorant of all true religion.
Hence The Elect of God are not, as on the calvinistic and
arminian plans which in point of ideality are identical,
contradistinguished from numerous persons within as well
as without the pale of the visible Church : but those, from
whom they are contradistinguished, are Absolute unbelievers,
who either have never heard the sound of the Gospel, or who
have heard it only to reject the Gospel.
Such a contradistinction springs inevitably from the Doc
trinal System of the primitive Christians. The ideality of
the word Election, with a Calvinist and an Arminian, is An
Election of certain individuals to eternal life : for, widely as
as coincident and identical, that the theory of An invisible Church of
the Elect is absolutely necessary to the Calvinistic System. But, if,
merely to serve a theological turn, we be at liberty, and that too in defi
ance of the testimony of the primitive Christians, thus to interpret Scrip
ture : we may make the apostolical language speak any thing which
best suits our preconceived purposes.
The Epistles are clearly written to certain whole visible and tangible
Churches, accurately defined and specified according to their geogra
phical localities.
Now all the members of those visible and tangible Churches, with
out any exception in favour of particulars, are collectively and gen
erically spoken of as The Elect.
Doubtless, therefore, the term must have been used by the writers in
a sense applicable to whole visible Communities.
Consequently, since we cannot believe that every member of every
visible primitive Church was elect in the calvinistic sense of the word :
the only sense, in which it can be applicable to whole visible Com
munities, is that of An Election into the pale of the visible Church
Catholic.

chap. ii. J of election. 211
they differ in their views of the principle of causation, they
equally make Eternal Life the immediate and direct object
or purpose or business of Election. But, with the primitive
Christians anterior to the time of Augustine, the ideality of
the word Election was An Election of certain individuals
from all nations into ihe Church, with the object and inten
tion indeed of their attaining to eternal life through the pow
erful instrumentality of those means of grace which consti
tuted their high ecclesiastical privileges, but still, through sin
and perverseness, with a possibility of their not attaining to
it : for, with the primitive Christians, the immediate purpose
or business of Election was not Eternal Life itself, but An
Entrance into the visible Church in order to a thus mediate
attainment of Eternal Life.
Accordingly, when a primitive writer speaks of The
Elect, his mind being preoccupied with his own familiar
ideality of the word Election, he constantly uses the terms
We and Us ; plainly employing those terms, as equivalent
to We professed Christians or Us professed Christians :
and, in like manner, when a message is to be delivered to
The Elect as such, the messenger has no difficulty in deter
mining or ascertaining what precise individuals are the
Elect ; on the contrary, he evidently considers himself, as
sent to All who are professed and admitted members of the
visible Church Catholic.
2. In strict agreement with this well-defined and well-
understood ideality, we find our early writers ever con
sidering The Election of the house of Israel collectively to
be God's peculiar people', as a type and shadow and homo
geneous exemplar of The Election of the Christian Church
collectively to be an elect race and a holy nation and apeculia
people specially adopted of God in contradistinction to t
great mass of unbelievers who have not been thus adopted.

212 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
But the Election of Israel was the election of a certain
family, containing certain individuals, out of the great mass
of the unbelieving and idolatrous world, not to an irrever
sible certainty of eternal happiness hereafter > but into a
Society which henceforth should collectively and (as it were)
officially be God's peculium, however its numbers might
hereafter gradually increase, and however some of its indi
vidual members might fail spiritually to profit by their
advantages. Therefore the antitypical and homogeneous Election of
the Christian Church must, as we actually find to be the
case, have been analogously viewed by the early divines,
as an election of various families and individuals, out of the
great mass of reprobated Unbelievers, not to an irreversible
certainty of eternal salvation hereafter, but into a Society,
which, occupying the place of the ancient apostate Levitical
Church, should henceforth, with increasing numbers, consti
tute the officially peculiar people of God, whatever might
be the precise character of certain individuals compre
hended within it.
3. Such a view of the matter produced, of necessity, the
opinion : that, Although all the Elect are chosen into the
Church, in order to their final salvation through the medium
of personal faith and holiness ; yet God's ultimate purpose
and design of Election, inasmuch as he employs only moral
suasion and not physically irresistible coercion, is itself con
ditional, and may through man's perverseness be frustrated.
This being the case, though all within the pale of the
visible Church were deemed the Elect of God ; because,
out of the great mass of the unbelieving world, they had
been chosen into the Church to holiness, in order to their
final attainment of everlasting felicity: yet, as from in
stances perpetually occurring we perceive to be the fact,

CHAP. II.] OF ELECTION. 213
they judged, agreeably to the frequently vituperative lan
guage of St. Paul to the Corinthians notwithstanding they
are collectively described as called to be Saints or Elect ;
that, within the pale of the Elected Church of Christ, there
might be, and actually were, both good and evil.
Go, says the personified Church to Hermas, and relate to
the elect of god his mighty deeds. And thou shalt say
unto them : This beast is the figure of the trial that is about
to come. If, therefore, ye shall have prepared yourselves, ye
may escape it, provided your heart be pure and without spot.
— But woe to those doubtful ones, who shall hear these words
and despise them ! It were better for them never to have been
born*. 4. The general consequence, therefore, of the primitive
ideality of Election, was obviously, as indeed it was de
claredly, the following.
Election into the pale of the visible Church, though God's
moral purpose and design is the attainment of everlasting
happiness, does not irreversibly and infallibly assure eternal
salvation to a person thus elected : or, in other words, TJie
Elect may finally perish, so far as individual members of the
Church of the Election are concerned.
The Sovereign Ruler hath sworn, by his own glory, con
cerning his elect : Even now, if any one shall sin, he shall
not have salvation].
Beware, my sons, lest peradventure these your dissentions
should defraud you of eternal life. How will you instruct
the elect of god, when you yourselves have no discipline],.!
If , forsaking the Church when a man has been a confessor,
* Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 4. § 2.
f Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 2. § 2.
t Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 3. § 9.

214 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
any person shtall have exchanged his first faith for later
perfidy, he cannot, merely by reason of his confession, flatter
himself, as if he was elect to the reward of glory : since,
from this very conduct, the deservedness of his punishment is
only increased. For the Lord elected Judas also among
the Apostles : and yet Judas afterward betrayed the Lord.*
A person, who is elected, may both be tempted and
perish]. * Cyprian, de unit, eccles. Oper. vol. i. p. 118.
f Hieron. Comment, in Ezech. xx. Oper. vol. iv. p. 389.

III-]., OF ELECTION. 215

CHAPTER III.
THE CAUSATION OF ELECTION ACCORDING TO
THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
As, in point of ideality, the doctrine of Ecclesiastical Indi
vidual Election was, from the beginning, held by the early
Christians : so, in point of fact, that doctrine could not
but be even palpably felt to set forth an indisputable truth.
It was only necessary for a man to use his eyes, in order
that he might perceive the naked circumstance of Certain
Individuals, out of the great mass of the unbelieving world,
being elected into the pale of the visible Church Catholic.
But, while this ideality of Election itself was maintained,
some speculation could scarcely fail, ere long, to arise
respecting the causation of such Election.
It was seen, that, in point of bare fact, certain indi
viduals, out of the unbelieving world, whether Jewish or
gentile, were elected into the pale of the visible Christian
Church; just as, heretofore, certain individuals, out of the
midst of the apostatic world of postdiluvian idolatry, had
been elected into the pale of the visible Levitical Church :
and, in each case alike, it was also seen, that, in point of
fact, numerous other individuals were pretermitted or rep
robated by the circumstance of their not being thus elected.
Hence the question would naturally arise : why some
were elected ; and why others were pretermitted?
To this question no satisfactory answer would be afforded
by the remark : that, When the Gospel was openly preached
and freely offered, those, who rejected it, stood, by their own

216 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
voluntary act and by their own free choice, excluded from the
Church. For, to such an answer, the obvious reply would be :
that Many had never heard the sound of the Gospel at all ;
and, consequently, had never had even a simple opportunity
of choice offorded to them.
The difficulty, which I have stated, was probably felt in
the Church from the very beginning : but, however this
may be, it was certainly perceived so early as the latter
end of the second century ; and the solution of it, which
was then attempted, soon, from its plausibility, became
fashionable, and has, in truth, through the pretty extensive
prevalence of Arminianism, continued to be fashionable
down even to the present time.
It was thought : that The difficulty might be satisfactorily
removed, by calling in, as the moving cause of Election,
God's undoubted foreknowledge of man's future actions, and
by thus making Election itself to depend upon the prevision-
ally anticipated goodness or badness of those actions.
I. On this point, both an assertion and an admission, of
far too wide an extent, have unguardedly, and therefore
somewhat incorrectly, been made.
Vossius, and numerous other writers since the age of the
Reformation, have roundly asserted : that all the ancient
Fathers, whether greek or latin, who lived before Augustine,
maintained the impelling cause of God's Election to be his
foreknowledge of the future holiness of certain individuals ;
so that from all eternity he elected such individuals, because
he foreknew that they would be devoted to him, and because
their foreseen holiness thus made them fit subjects for God's
Election*. * Graeci Patres semper, Patrum Latinorum vero illi qui ante au-
gustinum vixerunt, dicere solent: Eos esse praedestinatos ad vitam,

CHAP. III.] OF ELECTION. 217
And Calvin has taken credit to himself for ingenuously
admitting : that, In all ages, the System, which exhibits
God's Foreknowledge of man's future worthiness as the
moving cause of God's Election, has obtained the patronage
of great authors*.
The present statement has been so often made ; and that,
too, by writers of the highest reputation ; that, in the pro
fessedly Arminian School, it seems almost to have acquired
the rights and privileges of prescription. Yet Prosper, who
had much better opportunities of judging than any modern,
because he had access to various ecclesiastical documents
now no longer in existence, admits not the correctness of
any such statement : but, on the contrary, uses phraseology
of a much less comprehensive description.
When the Christians of Marseilles objected to Augustine's
view of Election on the specific ground, that It was con
trary to the opinion of the older Fathers and the received
sense of the Church ; and when they professedly .defended,
what Prosper calls their obstinacy, on the distinct plea of
Antiquity : Prosper wrote to Augustine ; and begged for
his instructions, as to how he should answer this somewhat
quos Deus pie recteque victuros praevidit ; sive, ut alii loquuntur, quos
prasvidit credituros et perseveraturos. Voss. Hist. Pelag. lib. vi. thes.
8. The opinion of the Greeks after Augustine is of no importance to
the present question.
* Vulgo existimant Deum, prout cujusque merita fore prasvidet, ita
inter homines discernere. Quos, ergo, sua gratia fore non indignos pras-
cognoscit, eos in filiorum locum cobptare : quorum ingenia ad malitiam
et impietatem propensura dispicit, eos mortis damnationi devovere.
Sic, interposito Prasscientias velo, Electionem non modo obscurant, sed
originem aliunde habere fingunt. Neque hasc vulgo recepta opinio
solius vulgi est : habuit enim, sasculis omnibus, magnos authores. Quod
ingenue^ fateor, ne quis causae nostras magnopere obfuturum confidat, si
eorum nomina contra opponantur. Calvin. Instit. lib. iii. c. 22. § 1.
Bb

218 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
puzzling objection*. At the same time, he added, on his
own account : that, After a reexamination of the opinions of
their predecessors, almost all were found to agree upon
one point : namely, that God's Predestination is according
to his Prescience, so that he determines some to be vessels of
honour and others to be vessels of dishonour, because he fore
sees what will be the end of each, and because he foreknows
what (through grace in the one case) will be the future will
and conduct of each].
The state of the matter, then, was this.
For their own system of causation, the Massilians, in
reference to the ancients, put in the plea of Universality].
In reply, Prosper admits the general correctness of their
allegation : but, as an act of justice due to the System of
causation espoused by Augustine and himself, he very con
siderably modifies it.
On the strength of his own examination, he states : that
almost all his predecessors held God's Foreknowledge of
men's future actions to be the moving cause of God's Pre
destination. But, when he says almost all : he obviously, by the very
necessity of his language, rejects the plea of Universality.
* See above, book i. chap. 8. § i. 2.
f Retractatis priorum de hac re opinionibus, pene omnium parinveni-
tur et una sententia, qua propositum et prasdestinationem Dei secundum
praescientiam receperunt : ut, ob hoc, Deus alios vasa honoris, alios Gon-
tumeliae, fecerit, quia finem uniuscujusque prasviderit ; et, sub ipso gratias
adjutorio, in qua futurus esset voluntate et actione, prasviderit. Prosper.
Epist. ad August, in Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 482, 483.
% Obstinationem suam vetustate defendunt : et ea, quas de Epistola
Apostoli Pauli Romanis scribentis, ad manifestationem divines gratias
praevenientis electorum merita proferuntur, a nullo unqtjam eccle-
sias tic orum ita esse intellecta, ut nu nc sentiuntur, affirmant. Prosper.
Epist. ad August, in Oper. August, vol. vii. p. 482.

CHAP. III.] OF ELECTION. 219
The great bulk of earlier writers, he fairly admits, ac
quiesced in the solution favoured by the Massilians : l>ut
some, he contends, did not adopt it.
II. Doubtless the language of Prosper is the language of
a partizan of Augustine ; but still, since he asserts a fact, he
invites us to a more full or at least to a more severe exami
nation of the present subject. For it naturally raises the
very important question : Whether the scheme of causation,
advocated by the Massilians, was coeval with the Christian
Church herself; or Whether, for the purpose of meeting a
difficulty which could not but be soon felt and acknowledged,
it was excogitated, from a very ancient period indeed, but
still not from the beginning.
1. Let us, then, regularly commence with inquiring into
the sentiments of the oldest christian writers who happen to
touch upon the doetrine of Election.
(1.) By Clement of Rome, the friend and disciple of St.
Paul, God's Election is, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians,
nine times mentioned*.
Now, in not one of these nine several places, does he ever
represent the moving cause of Election to be God's pre
science of man's future fitness.
Negatively, therefore, Clement must be struck out of a
list which professes the character of Universality.
But this is not all. If I mistake not, Clement must be
arranged positively in opposition to the scheme of causation
maintained, as the aboriginal system of the Church, by the
Christians of Marseilles. This oldest of the Fathers enters
not, indeed, directly and professedly into the question : but
he intimates not obscurely (the whole Roman Church, let it
be remembered, speaking with him) ; that he deemed God's
* Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 1, 2, 6, 29, 46, 49, 50, 52, 58.

220 the primitive doctrine [book II.
clemency and mercy, not God's prescience of man's future
fitness, to be the impelling cause of God's Election*.
(2.) Ignatius, the pupil of St. John, in the course of his
genuine Epistles, thrice mentions either Election or Predes
tination]. Like Clement, this very ancient Father must also be ar
ranged, both negatively and positively, against the univer-
salising claim of the Massilians.
He does not assert: that God elects certain individuals
because he foresees that they will be holy.
He does assert : that Predestination is causally founded
upon The Sovereign Will of the Father and of Jesus Christ
our God]..
(3.) Hermas, the friend of St. Paul, or at least the very
ancient author who writes under the name of Hermas, fre
quently and familiarly speaks of God's Elect§.
Negatively, he never intimates : that the cause of God's
electing certain individuals was His prescience of their fitness.
Positively, he affirms ; that God causally founded the
Church of the Elect by His own powerful or sovereign Vir
tue : and he states, plainly as the conseo.uence, not as the
cause, of their election, that the Elect of God should be pure
and immaculate||.
* 'Ayaituvrsg rov itiaixr) xai a'id<irXay)ryov itaripa rju.uv, hg ixXoyrjg
fiipog i*oi,,dsv iavrSJ. Clem. Rom. Epist. ad Corinth, i. § 29.
f Ignat. Epist. ad Ephes. § 1. Epist. ad Tralles. § 1.
X T5j iKpoupidu,sv'i\ irpo aiuvuv, — iv 6aXijU,ari tou IlaTpoj xai 'irjdov
XpitfTou tou ©rou iju.uv, rr\ ixxXr\dia—rrj ovdf) iv 'Ecpidu. Ignat.
Epist. ad Ephes. § 1.
§ Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 1. § 3. vis. 2. §1.2. vis. 3. § 5. 9. vis. 4.
§2.3. || Deus, — virtute sua potenti, condidit sanctam Ecclesiam suam, quam

CHAP. III.] OF ELECTION. 221
(4.) I know not, that these three very ancient writers,
whose testimony is of such supereminent importance, have
ever been specifically claimed by those, who, like the Mas
silians, urge the plea of Universality : but Justin Martyr,
who stood in the second succession from the Apostles, has
been distinctly alleged as a favourer of the Prescientific
System. He speaks, it appears, of God's foreseeing men's future ac
tions, and of his rewarding them according to their deserts.
Hence, it is urged, he must have taught : that God's pre
science of men's future conduct is the moving cause either of
their Election or of their Reprobation.
I am unable to discern, how such a conclusion legitimate
ly follows from such premises.
The very idea of Predestination involves the idea of Pre
science. God cannot predestinate, unless God foreknows.
As Augustine justly remarks: Predestination cannot exist
without Prescience ; though Prescience may exist without
Predestination*. Accordingly, in point of order, St. Paul
makes God's Prescience precede God's Predestination ; not
God's Predestination precede God's Prescience.]
But what has Justin's language to do with Moving causa
tion in the matter of Election ? The expressions alleged
occur in six several passages of his Works : but, in not one
benedixit. Ecce transferet coslos et montes, colles et maria: et omnia
plana Sent Electis suis. Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. i. § 3.
Alba autem pars superventuri est sasculi, in quo habitabunt Electi
Dei : quoniam immaculati et puri erunt Electi Dei in vitam aeternam.
Herm. Past. lib. i. vis. 4. § 3.
* Prasdestinatio, sine Prasscientia, non potest esse : potest autem esse,
sine Praedestinatione, Prasscientia. August, de Praedest. et Persever.
lib. 1. c. 10. Oper. vol. vii. p. 489.
f Rom. viii. 29.

222 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
t
of these six passages, does he even so much as mention the
term. And, for the establishment of points which (I sup
pose) nobody will ever dream of controverting ; the points,
namely, of God's Prescience and of God's moral retribution :
he never once adduces those texts of the New Testament
which treat of Predestination ; but he always refers, when
he refers at all, to the case of prophecy as exemplified in
the ancient Hebrew Scriptures*-
Negatively, therefore, Justin never asserts: that God's
prescience of the fitness of certain individuals is the moving
cause of their Election.
* I subjoin the six passages ; which, so far as I know, are the only
passages wherein Justin speaks of God's Prescience as connected with
God's Moral Retribution : in order that the reader may judge for
himself. "Oti Xabg, 6 e if auVov itidrsviv •xpoayvudu.ivog, u.sXsri\dsiv <po/3ov
Kupi'ou ifpoiyvudro, avrai al Xigsig rrjg ifpo<pr]rsiag j3oudi. Justin.
Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 231.
Ei os o Xbyog rov ©sou itpou.rpivsi nfdvrug rivdg xai dyysXovg xai
dvbpuitovg xoXad6r\dsd6ai uAXXovrag, Sion rtposyivudxsv avrovg du^sra-
/3X»jTouf ysvr]dou<svovg ifovr\povg, ifposiits ravra- dXX' ouj£ 'in avrovg 6
Gsbg TOiouTOUf iifoirjdsv. Ibid. p. 290.
OvSsig ydp vu,uv, ug vou,i'£w, roXuAjdsi siVsiv, oti u.ri xai rfpoyvudrrig
ruv yivsd6ai u.sXX6vruv i\v xai idnv o ©soj, xai1 rd d$ia ixddru irposroi.
pd^uv. Ibid. p. 180, 181.
LTpoj'ivuff'xsi ydp rivag ix fiSTavoi'af du6r\dsd6ai uAXXovrag, xai rivag
p.riSs#u 'Itug ysvvri6ivrag. Justin. Apol. 1. p. 55.
Tag riujupiag xai rag xoXddsig, xai rdg dya6dg dfj.oi/3df, xar' dlg'iav
ruv rfpdt-suv ixddrov d«oSiSod6ai, Sid ruv tfpoipiiTOJv u,a66vrsg, xai
d.Xrj6ig diro(paiv6u.s6a. Ibid. p. 62.
LTpoyvurfTou Tou ©sou ovtos tojv (JosXXovtuv utfo tfavToov dvc'p6o#6Jv
*gpay6r\dsd6ai • xai Sayu.arog 'ivrog irap' auTWv, xaT' digiav tojv ifpdgsuv
'ixadrov du.si'^sa'^ai u,iXXovra ruv dv/Spwtfuv, xai rd irap' auTou xaT'
dgiav tojv *paTTouj^vwv drtavrr\dsd6ai • Sid tou *po(p*)Tixou itvsvu.arog
•KpoXsysi, — osixvuf, oti xai uAXov idnv avru, xai VpovosTrai auTOJv.
Ibid. p. 64.

CHAP. III.] OF ELECTION. 223
But we may advance a step further.
Justin, in so many words indeed, never says positively ;
that the moving cause of Election is God's Sovereign Will
and Pleasure : but, in the only two places where he men
tions Election, his language is such as inevitably to imply it-
We Christians are no mere contemptible mob : — but God
hath also elected us ; and hath manifested himself to those,
who inquired not after him. — And we have now come out from
the polity in which we lived, living wickedly according to the
common practices of the other inhabitants of the earth*.
Inasmuch as he took out of all nations the nation of the
Jews, a nation useless and disobedient and faithless : he hath
shewn, that those who have been elected out of every
nation are, through Christ, obedient to his counsel].
According to Justin, God elects those, who not only never
inquired after him, but who like the other inhabitants of the
earth were even living in a state of open wickedness : and,
though, in consequence of their Election, they are afterward,
through Christ, obedient to his counsel ; yet the image and
exemplar of their Election was the Election of the Jews, a
nation similarly useless and disobedient and faithless.
Such being the case, in the estimation of Justin, the moving
cause of Election cannot be God's Prevision of man's fitness
and worthiness.
But, if God's Prevision of man's fitness and worthiness
* Ouxouv oux SuxaTa(ppovi)Tof 55ju.of iduAv • — dXXd xai rju,dg i%sXi!garo
6 ©sof, xai ijj,tpavrig iysvrfi-^ Toif u,y\ iirspurudiv avrov. — Keti igijXAoujSv
Z]Sr\ ditb T»|f tfoXiTEi'af iv ij i%uu.sv, xard rd xoiva tojv dXXuv ryg yrjg
o'ixr\ropuv xaxug ^uvrsg. Justin. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 272.
t 'Ex irdvTuv Si ruv ysvuv, ysvog savru Xafiuv rb vu,irspov, ysvog
dyri/r\drov xai dirsi6ig xai difidrov, Ssi^ag rovg difb icavrbg yivovg
aipouu,6vouf ifSifsTddai auTou rr\ /3ouX5j <Sid tou XpitfTou. Justin. Dial.
cum Tryph. Oper. p. 282.

224 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
cannot, in Justin's estimation, be the moving cause of Elec
tion : it is hard to say, what he can have deemed its moving
cause, save, as in the matter of the Election of the Israel
ites, God's Sovereign Will and Pleasure*.
(5.) Like Justin Martyr, his contemporary Ireneus, who
similarly stood in the second succession from the Apostles,
has also been claimed as an advocate of the same Condi
tional Prescientific System: but, in truth, like Justin, he
really maintained a directly opposite Scheme of causation.
Negatively, in no one part of his Works, does Ireneus
ever say : that the moving cause of God's either Election or
Reprobation is God's Prescience of man's future conduct.
The expressions, evidentially referred to, occur in four
several places of his Work against Heresies.
He states : that God, since he foreknows all things, has
delivered up to their infidelity those, who, he knew, would not
believe] ; that God, foreknowing all things, has prepared
suitable habitations both for the good and for the bad% ; that
Scripture demonstrates God's Prescience, by the intimation
that eternal fire is prepared for transgressors^ ; and, finally,
that We were predestinated, when as yet we had no existence,
according to the foreknowledge of the Father^.
* Deut. vii. 6-10. ix. 4-29.
f Quotquot scit non credituros Deus, cum sit omnium praecognitor,
tradidit eos infidelitati eorum. Iren. adv. hasr. lib. iv. c. 48. p. 284.
% Deus autem, omnia prassciens, utrisque aptas prasparavit habita-
tiones. Iren. adv. hasr. lib. iv. c. 76. p. 312.
§ Quoniam autem transgressoribus ignis aeternus praeparatus est ; et
Dominus manifeste dixit, et reliquae demonstrant Scriptures. Et, quo
niam Dens praesciit hocfuturum ; similiter demonstrant Scriptures, quem-
admodum et ignem aeternum bis qui transgressuri sunt praeparavit ab
initio. Iren. adv. hasr. lib. ii. c. 49. p. 150.
|| Prasdestinati quidem ut essemus, qui nondum eramus, secundum

CHAP. III.] OF election. 225
In all these four places, nothing is asserted, save the bare
fact of God's Foreknowledge : a fact, which no one probably
will be disposed to controvert*- Meanwhile, not a syllable
is said, as to God's Prescience of men's future characters
being the moving cause either of their Election or of their
Rejection. But, as, negatively, Ireneus never maintains the Con
ditional Prescientific Scheme : so, positively, he advocates
a System of causation altogether different.
Those, who allege in evidence the four passages which
have been brought under our consideration, ought also, in
fairness, to have made it known : that, when Ireneus is
really speaking of the cause of Election, he distinctly pro
nounces it to be, not God's Prevision of men's future conduct,
but simply God's own inscrutable Purpose and Wisdom.
Thus, while he assigns God's general Prescience as the
reason, why he loved Jacob and hated Esau : he cites, with
unreserved submission, so far as the cause of Election and
Rejection is concerned, St. Paul's explicit declaration ; that
The Election of Jacob and the Rejection of Esau, in the per
sons of their respective descendants, rested alike on the
Sovereign Purpose of God, not of works, but of him that
calleth]. And thus, when he speaks, of the Election of the Gentiles
praescientiam Patris, facti autem initium facturae, accipiemus in prascog-
nitis temporibus secundum ministrationem Verbi. Iren. adv. haer.
lib. v. c. 1. p. 316, 317.
* When these four places have been adduced, every place, in the
Work of Ireneus, which speaks of God's Prescience as connected with
God's Moral Retribution, has, I believe, been adduced.
f Et ea autem, quae circa Isaac, non sine significatione sunt. In ea
enim Epistola, quae est ad Romanos, ait Apostolus: Sed et Rebecca, ex
uno concubitu habens Isaac patris nostri, a Verbo responsum accepit, ut
Cc

226 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
into the Church at one time rather than at another time, and
of their very Election itself at any season rather than their
protracted Preterition through aU seasons: instead of -say
ing, that God elected certain gentile individuals into the
Church rather than certain other gentile individuals, be
cause he foreknew, that the former would be fit, and that
the latter would be unfit ; he plainly alleges God's own in
scrutable Purpose and Wisdom to be the impelling cause
when he devoutly takes up the exclamation of the Apos
tle : O the depth of the riches both of the Wisdom and of the
Knowledge of God : how unsearchable are his Judgments ;
and his Ways, past finding out* !
2. Hitherto, then, in the very earliest age of the Church,
our inquiries after the alleged universal solution, that .GW's
Foreknowledge of men's future fitness is the moving cause of
God's Predestination, have proved fruitless. For, in truth,
five of the most ancient of the Fathers assign, as its moving
secundum Electionem propositum Dei permaneat ; non ex operibus, sed'
exvocante. Dictum est ei: Duo enim. populi in utero tuo ; et dues gentes
in ventre tuo : et populus populum superabit ; et major serviet minori.
Ex quibus manifestum est, non solum prophetationespatriarcharum, sed
et partum Rebeccae, prophetiam fuisse duorum populorum. — Unus et
idem Deus noster et illorum : qui est abscqpsorum cognitor; qui scit
omnia, antequam fiant ; et propter hoc dicens, Jacob dilexi, Esau autem
odio habui. Iren. adv. hasr. lib. iv. c. 38. p. 272.
* Aid ti dvvixXsids itavra sig diisi6siav 6 &sbg, i'va touj ndvrag
iXsijdri, igspsvvdv — xai Std ti eV idyaruv ruv xaipuv i) ifapovdia tou
Tiou tou ©sou, dttayysXXsiv — xai" ti oti rd difsyvudu^iva s6vr\ dvyxXr\.
pbvou.a xai dvdduu,a xai dv\j.u.iroya ruv dyiuv tsiroirixsv 6 ©sof, p)
diuifdv — itug rs ipsi, 6 ou Xabg Xabg, xai Sj oux r)yaitr\u,ivy\ i}ya<ii"r\u.svy,
xai ifug irXsiova.rrjg ipiju,ov rd Ts'xva fJiaXXov 7) t5)s i-^rovdr]g tov dvSpa,
xypv&dsiv ii(i rovruv ydp, xai itfi ruv ou,oiuv avroXg, iitsfioridsv 0
difodroXog, Q' (3d6og ifXovrov xai doopiag xai yvudsug ©sou, ug dvsf-spsu-
v>]Ta Ta xpiu,aTa auTou, xai dvsgijcviatfToi ai bSoi avrov. Iren. adv. hasr.
lib. i. c. 4. p. 38.

CHAP. III.] OF election. 227
cause, not GooVs Foreknowledge of men's future fitness or un
fitness, but God's absolute and inscrutable Will and Sove
reignty : while others of the same antiquity, such as Poly-
carp and Theophilus and Athenagoras, never enter upon
the subject at all under any aspect.
Toward the end, however, of the second century, the
Prescientific Solution makes its appearance, distinctly
enounced, but (so far as I have been able to ascertain) for
the first time enounced, by the speculative Clement of Al
exandria. We say : that There is one only ancient and catholic
Church, which, into the unity of one Faith that is according
to its proper covenants or rather according to its single cove
nant evolved in different periods, collects together, by the will
of one God through one Lord, those already ordained : whom
GOD HATH PREDESTINATED, AS KNOWING, BEFORE THE FOUN
DATION OF THE WORLD, THAT THEY WOULD BE JUST*.
Here we have the Prescientific Solution propounded fully
and unequivocally : and, at a subsequent time, we find it set
forth with equal distinctness by the Pseudo-Ambrose.
Those are called according to God's purpose, who, he
FOREKNEW, WOULD, BY BELIEVING, BE FIT FOR HIM : SO that,
before they believed, they should be knoum. For, whom he
foreknew, those also he predestinated. He elected, to
RECEIVE THE PROMISED REWARDS, THOSE, WHO, HE FOREKNEW,
WOULD BE DEVOTED TO HIMt. 1 ?
* Movijv sivai tpau.iv dpydiav xai' xdOoXix^v kxxXr\diav, sig \vbrt\ra
iddrsug u.icig rrjg xara rdg oixEiaj Sia6i\xag, u.dXXov Si xard rrjv Sia-
(Jtjxtjv T15V fu'av <5ia<po'poif Toif ^povoif, hog tou ©eou t^ /3ovXi]UM,n Si'
bvbg rov Kupi'ou, dvvdyovdav ToOf yjSr\ xararsrayjj,ivovg, oi)f irpoupidsv
0 &sbg, <5ixaiouf idou.ivovg *po xaTa/3oX5jf xodu.ov iyvuxug. Clem.
Alex. Strom, lib. vii. Oper. p. 765.
f Hi autem secundum propositum vocantur, quos credentes prasscivit

228 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE . [BOOK II.
No doubt can be entertained as to the import of this lan
guage : and, after the time of Clement and down to the time
of Augustine, the solution before us may be broadly said to
have met with something very like universal acceptation.
Yet, even during this period, such was the vitality of the
most ancient Scheme of causation, we occasionally encoun
ter an appearance either of hesitation or of inconsistency, by
whatever name we may choose to call it.
I shall exemplify my meaning by the case of the cele
brated Jerome : who was contemporary with, though in part
somewhat prior to, Augustine.
(1.) The language of Jerome, in more than one place, is
such, that we might well .pronounce him to have adopted
unreservedly the Prescientific Solution recommended by
Clement of Alexandria.
To predestinate is the same as to foreknow. Those there
fore, who, God foresaw, would be conformed to the image of
his Son in life, he willed should also be conformed to it in
glory*. Who, he foreknew, would believe, those he called. But
vocation gathers together the willing, not the unwilling. Or,
at least, whatever difference is made, it is made, not in the
persons, but in the time],
Deus futuros sibi idoneos : ut, antequam crederent, scirentur. Nam,
quos prcescivit, et prcedestinavit. Istos, quos prasscivit futuros sibi de-
votos, ipsos elegit ad promissa prasmia capessenda. Comment, in Epist.
ad Rom. viii. in Oper. Ambros. p. 1846.
* Prtedestinare idem est quod preesdre. Ergo, quos praevidit con-
formes futuros in vita, voluit ut fierent conformes in gloria. Hieron.
Comment, in Rom. viii. 29. Oper. vol. viii. p. 177.
f Quos prasscivit credituros, hos vocavit. Vocatio autem volentes
colligit, non invitos. Aut certe discretio, non in personis, sed in tempore,
est. Hieron. Comment, in Rom. viii. 30. Oper. vol. viii. p. 177.

CHAP. III.] OF ELECTION. 229
The goodness and clemency of God hardens the vessels of
wrath which are fitted to destruction, that is to say, the people
of Israel : but the vessels of mercy, which he hath prepared
for glory and which he hath called, that is to say, us, who are
not only of the Jews but also of the Gentiles, he saves, not with
out reason and without truth of judgment, but from preceding
causes ; namely, because some received not the Son of God,
but others willingly received him of their own accord. These
vessels of mercy are, not only the people of the Gentiles, but
likewise those who out of the Jews were willing to believe : for
the two were made one people of believers. Whence it is
shewn : that not the nations, but the wills, of men, are
elected*. The love and hatred of God, as illustrated by the Apostle
in the case of Jacob and Esau, spring, either from his fore
knowledge of things future, or from men's works. Otherwise,
we know : that God loves all things, nor hates any of the
things which he created ; but that he properly claims, for the
exercise of his love, those, who are enemies and opponents of
vice ; and, on the contrary, that he hates those, who wish to
build up again what God has destroyed].
* Bonitas et dementia Dei, vasa iras, quas apta sunt in interitum, id
est, populum Israel, indurat : vasa autem misericordiae, quae praeparavit
in gloriam, quas vocavit, hoc est, nos, qui non solum ex Judaeis sumus
sed etiam ex gentibus, non salvat irrationabiliter et absque judicii veri-
tate, sed causis prascedentibus ; quia alii non susceperunt Filium Dei,
alii autem recipere sua sponte voluerunt. Hasc autem vasa misericor
diae non solum populus gentium est, sed etiam ii qui ex Judaeis credere
voluerunt: et unus credentium effectus est populus. Ex quo ostenditur :
non gentes eligi, sed hominum voluntates. Hieron. ad Hedib. Epist.
cl. quasst. 10. Oper. vol. iii. p. 353.
f Dilectio et odium Dei, vel ex prasscientia nascitur futurorum, vel
ex operibus : alioquin novimus, quod omnia Deus diligat, nee quidquam
eorum oderit quae creavit ; sed proprie eos suae vindicet charitati, qui

230 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK II.
(2.) And yet this very Jerome occasionally theologises in
a directly opposite strain : and, what is very remarkable as
shewing the strong hold which the primitive System of
causation long retained upon the minds and memories of
men, he even specially alleges, that that System exhibits the
ecclesiastical sense of the words of the Apostle Paul.
No one, from the beginning of the world, is elected and
fitted to the celestial edifice, through his own virtue : but he is
rather so elected, through the operation of him, who, appoint
ing all things in weight and measure, distributes to each one,
as he hath willed, the measure of faith and graces*.
The attestation of the Apostle, that We were elected in
order that we might be holy and immaculate before God,
appertains to God's foreknowledge : for, to him, all future
things are already done ; and all things are known, before
ihey come to pass. — But another writer, Origen to wit, at
tempts to prove the justice of God, on the ground : that He
elects each person, not from his simple exercise of inherent
foreknowledge, but from the merit of the individuals elected. —
Paul, however, says not : He elected us before the foundation
of the world, when we were holy and immaculate. But he
says : He elected us, that we might be holy and immaculate.
In other words: God elected us, who were not previously
holy and immaculate, in order that hereafter we might be
come so].
vitiorum hostes sunt et rebelles ; et, e contrario, illos odit, qui a Deo
destructa cupiunt rursum extruere. Hieron. Comment, in Malac. i. 2,
.3. Oper. vol. v. p. 276.
* Nullus igitur, ab initio sasculi, sua virtute electus et ccelesti asdificio
aptus est : sed potius ejus opere, qui, omnia in pondere et mensura et
numero constituens, unicuique, sicut voluit, mensuram fidei et gra-
tiarum distribuit. Hieron. Comment, in Proverb, xvi. 11. Oper. vol.
viii. p. 95.
| Quod autem electos nos, ut essemus sancti et immaculati coram ipso,

CHAP. III.] OF ELECTION. 231
In expounding the testimony of Paul, when he says ; As
God elected us in himself before the foundation of the world,
that we might be holy and immaculate before him : — we did
but follow the ecclesiastical sense of the words. — For the
Apostle says not: God "elected us before the foundation of
the world, when we were holy and immaculate. But he
says : God elected us, in order that we might be holy and
immaculate. 'In other words : God elected us, that we, who
before were not holy and immaculate, might afterward be
come so : language, which applies to the cause of sinners con
verted to better things. Thus that sentence, In thy sight shall
no man living be justified, will stand good*.
Presumptuously dare, then, to object to God that stronger
calumny: Wherefore it was, that, while Esau and Jacob
were still in the womb;>God should have said ; Jacob have I
loved, but Esau have I hated. — -Object, likewise, as your
comrade Porphyry was wont to do : On what ground it was,
hoc est Deo, ante fabricam mundi, testatus est ; ad prascientiam Dei
pertinet: cui omnia futura jam facta sunt; et, antequam fiant, universa
sunt nota. — Alius vero, qui Deum justum conatur ostendere, quod, non
ex praejudicio scientias suas, sed ex merito electorum, unumquemque
eligat. — Non autem ait Paulus : Elegit nos ante constitutionem mundi,
cum essemus sancti et immaculati ; sed Elegit nos, ut essemus sancti et
immaculati ; hoc est, qui sancti et immaculati ante non fuimus, ut
postea essemus. Hieron. Comment, in Epist. ad Ephes. i. Oper. vol.
vi. p. 162.
* Testimonium Pauli, in quo loquitur, Sicut elegit in ipso nos ante
constitutionem mundi, ut essemus sancti et immaculati coram ipso : sic
interpretati sumus, ut — ecclesiasticum sensum secuti simus. — Non enrm
ait apostolus : Elegit nos ante constitutionem mundi, cum essemus sancti
et immaculati ; sed Elegit nos, ut essemus sancti et immaculati : hoc est,
qui sancti et immaculati ante non fuimus, ut postea essemus ; quod et
de peccatoribus, ad meliora conversis, dici potest. Et stabit ilia sen-
tentia : Non justificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis vivens. Hieron. Apol.
adv. Ruffin. lib. i. c. 6. Oper. vol. ii. p. 199.

232 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
that a clement and merciful God, from Adam down to Moses,
and- from Moses down to the coming of Christ, suffered all
nations to perish through ignorance of the Law and Com
mandments of God. For neither Britain, nor the Irish
Tribes, nor all those barbarous nations in a circuit as far as
to the ocean, had known Moses and the Prophets. What
need was there, that he should come in the last time, and no/
before an innumerable multitude of men should have perish
ed? Which question, the blessed Apostle, writing to the
Romans, most prudently discusses : simply confessing his
ignorance of these matters, and humbly submitting to the
wisdom of god. Deign, therefore, thou also, to be ignorant
of the matters into which thou inquirest. Be content to con
cede to God power over his own. He wants not thee for a
defender*. In his exposition of the, words of St. Paul, God elected us
that we might be holy and immaculate, Jerome is opposing
the wild speculation of Origen respecting the preexistence
of souls and his vain attempt to vindicate the justice, of God
on the plea that the moving cause of Election is The merit
* Objice Deo fortiorem calumniam : Quare adhue, cum in utero
essent Esau et Jacob ; dixerit ; Jacob dilexi, Esau autem odio habui,—
Et, ad extremum, quod solet nobis objicere contubernalis vester Por
phyrins : Qua ratione, clemens, et_ misericors Deus, ab Adam usque ad
Moysen, et a Moyse usque ad adventum Christi, passus sit universas
'gentes perire ignorantia Legis et Mandatorum Dei. Neque enim Bri
tannia fertilis provincia tyrannorum, et Stoicee (qu. Scoticas) gentes,
omnesque usque ad oceanum per circuitum barbaree nation'es, Moysen
prophetasque cognoverant. Quid necesse fuit eum in ultimo venire tem
pore, et non priusquam innumerabilis periret hominum multitudo ? Quam
quasstionem beatus apostolus, ad Romanos scribens, prudentissime
veritilat, ignorans hasc, et Dei concedens scientias. Dignare igitar et tu
ista nescire, quas quaeris. Concede Deo potentiam sui : nequaquam te
indiget defensore. Hieron. adv. Pelag. ad Ctesiphon. c. 4. Oper. vol.
ii. p. 223. ,

CHAP. III.] OK ELECTION. 233
of man in a prior state. But this circumstance affects,
neither the force of his argument, nor the drift of his testi
mony. From St. Paul's express words, he rightly insists ;
that Holiness is the consegiuence, not the cause, of Election :
and he distinctly bears witness ; that, Whatever deviations
may have taken place in later times, such is the true Ecclesi
astical Sense annexed to the language of the Apostle.
3. By the mere force of evidence, then, I am led to con
clude ; that the strictly Primitive Church assigned God's
merciful, though inscrutable, Sovereignty, displayed in the
exercise of his Supreme Will and Pleasure, as the alone
moving cause of Election : and my persuasion is collaterally
confirmed, both by what I must needs call the very necessi
ty of the case, and by what might have been well, anticipa
ted as the sure and certain consequence of adopting Cle
ment's new System of causation.
(1.) Let us first attend to the very necessity of the case.
According to the view constantly taken by the early
Church, the ideality of Election was : not An Election of
certain individuals, out of the great mass of mankind, imme
diately and directly, to eternal happiness in the next world ;
but An Election of certain individuals, out of the great mass
both of the Gentiles and of the Jews, into the pale of the visi
ble Church in this world, with the object and intention indeed
of their obtaining eternal happiness hereafter, but still through
their own perverse unholiness with the full moral possibility
of their not attaining it.
Now it is perfectly clear : that an Election of this de
scription cannot rest, as its moving cause, upon God's fore
knowledge of the future fitness of the individuals thus elected.
For, if God's foreknowledge of the fitness of the individuals
were the moving cause of their Election into the Church :
then, by the very necessity of the case, none either would
Dd

234 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
or could be elected into the pale of the visible Church, save
those individuals whose future fitness and holiness God
foreknew. If, however, none were elected into the pale of the visible
Church save those individuals whose fitness and holiness
God foreknew : then, by the actual terms of the proposition,
there neither would nor could, within the pale of the visible
Church, be a single individual, who, at the time of his death,
would be found personally unfit or unholy.
But it is evident, that too many individuals both habitually
live and finally die, personally unfit and unholy, within the
pale of that visible Church, into which, nevertheless, they
have been elected.
Therefore, clearly, the impelling cause of the Election of
such unfit and unholy individuals into the pale of the visible
Church cannot be God' s foreknowledge of their future fitness
and holiness : for a foreknowledge of the fitness of the perma
nently unfit, or a foreknowledge of the holiness of the perma
nently unholy, were a palpable and direct contradiction.
(2.) Let us next attend to what might have been well
anticipated, as the sure and certain consequence of adopting
the novel System of causation.
It is strange, that the obvious result of his proposed solu
tion should not instantly have occurred to Clement himself:
and it is still more strange, that such a result should not
have immediately prevented the very general supplantation
of the more reasonable and more consistent doctrine of the
Church of the two first centuries.
Yet so it was. Nevertheless, as might naturally be ex
pected, the inconsistency of the moving cause of Election as
laid down by Clement, with the primitive ideality of Elec
tion itself, was not always unfelt : and, after a fruitless at
tempt at reconciliation had been made, a final abandonment

CHAP. III.] OF ELECTION. 235
of first principles at length produced the Theory which is
now called Arminianism.
Accordingly, a conscious feeling of this very inconsisten
cy began, as an evident attempt to reconcile irreconcileable
incongruities, with calling forth a still further innovation
upon the primeval System of doctrine : an innovation, which
now respected the point of ideality.
This further innovation was propounded by the writer
under the name of Ambrose : who, as we have seen, main
tained the cause of Election to be God's prevision of man's
future merit or fitness.
Now, that the Pseudo-Ambrose perceived and felt the
inconsistency before us, we may gather not obscurely from
his attempt to evade or to parry it.
The attempt consisted, in an arbitrary modification of the
ancient ideality of the term Elect, and thence in an arbi
trary division of the Elect themselves into two classes.
Though, following Clement, he distinctly states ; that God
elected those, who he foreknew would be devoted to him, or who
he foreknew would possess a fitness for their Election : yet
he tells us, that God has elected some individuals into the
Church permanently, because he foresaw that they would
persevere in holiness and would thus attain eternal life:
while other individuals he has elected indeed into the Church
but not permanently, because he foresaw that through inap
titude they would not persevere in holiness and would thus
fail of attaining eternal life*.
* Hi autem secundum propositum vocantur, quos credentes prasscivit
Deus futuros sibi idoneos; ut, antequam crederent, scirentur. Nam,
quos prasscivit, et pradestinavit. Istos, quos prasscivit futuros sibi devo-
tos, ipsos elegit ad promissa prasmia capessenda : ut hi, qui credere vi-
dentur et non permanent in fide coepta, a Deo electi negentur : quia,
quos Deus elegit, apud se permanent. Est enim, qui ad tempus eligi-

236 THE primitive doctrine [book 11.
Such a gloss, incongruous as it is with the very principle
upon which it proceeds, would never have been devised
had not the utter inconsistency of primitive ideality and
more modern causation, forcibly united together by Clement
in a single sentence, been felt and perceived*.
In truth, the Scheme of causation, struck out by Clement
of Alexandria, can never be coherently adopted, unless the
whole Scheme of primeval ideality be relinquished. This
was, at length, effected, by the introduction of the System
which usually bears the name of Arminianism. Here, the
Scheme of causation, first invented by Clement of Alexan-
- dria, was unreservedly taken up. But then the primeval
Scheme of ideality was entirely discarded : for, instead of
Election being deemed, as of old, An Election of certain
individuals into the pale of the visible Church ; it was now
deemed An Election of certain individuals immediately and
directly to eternal life.
By such a plan, incongruity was, no doubt, avoided : for
a System was contrived, in which the new Clementine
Scheme of causation might be adopted without the ignomi
ny of self-contradiction. But, to effect this purpose, the
tur, sicut Saul et Judas, non de prasscientia, sed de praesenti justitia.
Quos autem preedestinavit, illos et vocavit : — et, quos vocavit, ipsos et justi-
ficavit: quos autem justificavit,hos etmagnificavit. Hoc dicit quod supra,
quia, quos prasscivit Deus aptos sibi, hi credentes permanent, quia aliter
fieri non potest : nisi, quos prasscivit Deus, ipsos et justificavit ; ac, per
hoc, et magnificavit illos, ut similes fiant Filio Dei. De casteris, quos
non prasscivit Deus (scil. futuros sibi aptos), non est illi cura in hanc
gratiam, quia non (scil. ita) prassciit. Ac si credant aut eligantur ad
tempus quia videntur boni, ne justitia contempta videatur, non perma
nent ut magnificentur, sicut et Judas Scarioth, aut illi septuaginta duo,
qui electi, post scandalum passi, recesserunt a Salvatore. Comment.
in Rom. viii. in Oper. Ambros. p. 1846, 1847.
* See the passage above, book ii. chap. 3. § n. 2.

CHAP. HI.] OF ELECTION. 237
whole original System of Doctrine, both in point of ideality
and in point of causation, was altogetlier abandoned : and a
System, in every respect completely novel, was in its place
substituted*. III. The sum of the inquiry, with the necessary conclu'
sion from it, is this.
1. In the apostolically directed judgment of the Church
of the two first centuries, God's decree of Election ought,
as its moving cause, to be referred solely to The good
Pleasure of God's merciful though absolute Sovereignty.
2. But, from a vain though well meant wish to vindicate
God's Justice which apparently was thought to be im
peached by the earliest view of the question, Clement of
Alexandria, toward the end of the second century, first
started the very plausible solution : that God's Prescience of
men's future righteousness is the impelling cause of his
decree of Election.
3. Hence, from the very necessity of chronology, the
solution of Clement, however widely it might afterward be
adopted, is a mere unauthorised private novelty : and hence,
agreeably to the wise canon of Tertullian, it must be re
jected ; while the ancient Scheme, which held forth God's
Sovereign Pleasure as the moving cause of Election and
which exhibited the ideality of Election as An Election of
certain individuals into the pale of the visible church, must,
unless indeed it shall be found hopelessly irreconcileable
with Scripture, be retained.
* Arminianism has rejected both the ideality and the causation
of Election, as that doctrine was understood in the strictly Primitive
Church: Calvinism has retained the causation, but has rejected the
ideality : Nationalism, as propounded by Locke, has distorted the
ideality, but has. retained the causation. Thus, of the three Sys
tems, Arminianism has the most widely departed from aboriginal Chris
tian Antiquity : for, in truth, it has altogether forsaken it.

238 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
IV. Having now evidentially ascertained the System of
Doctrine inculcated by 'the earliest Church, I may proceed
to inquire, how far, both in point of ideality and in point of
causation, it will agree with the System of Doctrine taught
in the inspired Scriptures whether of the Old Testament or
of the New Testament.
Should it, by the too plain construction of language,
hopelessly disagree : we must then admit the canon of Ter
tullian to be nullified.
But, should it, in both points, be found remarkably to
agree : we shall then perceive the admirable soundness of a
canon, which, in the knotty question of Election, has happily
brought us to a moral certainty of having developed the
truth.

CHAP. IV.] OF ELECTION. 239

CHAPTER IV.
THE IDEALITY OF ELECTION AS PROPOUNDED
UNDER THE LAW.
The phraseology of the Gospel greatly depends upon the
phraseology of the Law ; for the ancient Levitical Church
was the appointed type and exemplar of its successor the
Christian Church.
Accordingly, the terms Elect or Chosen are, in no wise,
peculiar to the Gospel : under the Law itself, they occur,
perhaps, quite as frequently ; though, from the circumstance
of our translators generally employing the term Elect in
the New Testament while they generally employ the term
Chosen in the Old Testament, a less vivid impression is, I
believe, made upon the mind of the cursory reader of the
more ancient Scriptures.
I. In order to ascertain the sense, wherein the terms (or
rather, to speak more accurately, the term) Elect or Chosen
must be viewed, as having been used by the sacred writers
under the Law : let us attend to some of the many passages,
in which their ideality, according to the view taken of it
by those writers, is plainly and distinctly set forth.
I shall simply give the passages themselves, before any
remarks are made upon their drift and purport.
1 . The Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of
the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people
of inheritance, as ye are this day. — Because he loved thy
fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought
thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt*.
" Deut. iv. 20, 37.

240 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
2. / am the Lord your God, which have separated you
from other people. — Ye shall be holy unto me : for I the Lord
am holy, and have severed you from other people that ye
should be mine*.
3. Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. ' The
Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto
himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth],
4. The Lord thy God hath avouched thee this day to be
his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou
shouldest keep his commandments ; and to make thee high
above all nations which he hath made, in praise and in name
and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people
unto the Lord thy God]-
5. Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God : and
the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto him
self, above all the nations that are upon the earth§.
6. Thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou
hast chosen : a great people, which cannot be numbered nor
counted for multitude^.
7. The Lord said: I will remove judah also out of my
sight, as I have removed israel : and I will cast off this city
Jerusalem which i have chosen, and the house of which I
said My name shall be there^.
8. Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram,
and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and
gavest him the name of Abraham** -
9. Blessed is the nation, whose God is the Lord; and
the people, whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance]].
10. He remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his
* Levit. xx. 24, 26. f Deut. vii. 6.
t Deut. xxvi. 18, 19. § Deut. xiv. 2.
|| 1 Kings iii. 8. IT 2 Kings xxiii. 27.
** Nehem. ix. 7. ff Psalm xxxiii. 12.

CHAP. IV.] OF ELECTION. 241
servant : and he brought forth his people with joy, and his
chosen with gladness ; — that they might observe his statutes,
and keep his laws*-
11. Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bear
est unto thy people ; O visit me with thy salvation : that I
may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the
gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine
INHERITANCE-]-. 12. The Lord hath chosen unto himself jacob ; even
ISRAEL, for his peculiar treasure J.
13. For the Lord will have mercy on jacob ; and Israel
he yet will choose : and he will set them in their own land ;
and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall
cleave to the house of Jacob§.
14. But thou, israel, art my servant; jacob, whom i have
chosen ; the seed of Abraham my friend : thou, whom I have
taken from the ends of the earth ; and called thee from the
chief men thereof; and said unlo thee : Thou art my servant ;
i have chosen thee, and not cast thee away\\.
15. I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my people, to my chosen. This people have
I formed for myself: they shall shew forth my praise^.
16. Yet now hear, O jacob my servant ; and israel, whom
I have chosen :¦ thus saith the Lord, that made thee and
formed thee from the womb, which will help thee ; Fear not, O
jacob my servant ; and thou, jesurun, whom i have chosen**.
17. For jacob my servants sake, and israel mine elect,
/ have even called thee by thy name : I have surnamed thee,
though thou hast not known me]].
* Psalm cv. 42, 43, 45. f Psalm cvi. 4, 5.
% Psalm cxxxv. 4. § Isaiah xiv. 1.
|| Isaiah xii. 8, 9. H Isaiah xliii. 20, 21.
** Isaiah xliv. 1, 2. ft Isaiah xiv. 4.
Ee

242 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
18. Hear ye this, o house of jacob, which are called by
the name of israel, and are come forth from the waters of
judah ; which swear by ihe name of the Lord, and make men
tion of the God of Israel, but not in truth nor in righteous
ness. — Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver : i have
chosen thee, in the furnace of affliction*.
19. I will bring forth a seed out of jacob, and out of
judah an inheritor of my mountains : and mine elect shall
inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. — They shall
not build ; and another, inhabit : they shall not plant ; and
another, eat. For, as the days of a tree, are the days of my
people : and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their
hands]. 20. Considerest thou not, what this people have spoken,
saying : the two families, which the Lord hath chosen* he
hath even cast them off. Thus have they despised my people,
that they should be no more a nation before them].
21. Thus saith the Lord God: In the day, when i chose
israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house
of jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of
Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am
the Lord your God : — then said I unto them, Cast ye away
every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not your
selves with the idols of Egypt : I am the Lord your GW§.
22. Cry yet, saying : Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; My
cities, through prosperity, shall yet be spread abroad ; and
the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose jeru-
salem||.
23. The Lord said unto Satan : The Lord rebuke thee, O
* Isaiah xlviii. 1, 10. f Isaiah lxv. 9, 22.
% Jerem. xxxiii. 24. § Ezek. xx. 5, 7.
|| Zeehar. i. 17.

chap, iv.] of election. 243
Satan ; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke
thee*. II. These several passages have been taken out of various
books of the Old Testament : and it is, I think, impossible
not to perceive ; that, in all of them, with strict harmony,
the same ideality of Election is invariably exhibited.
The Election, spoken of, is not An Election of certain in
dividuals, directly and immediately, to eternal life : neither
is it An Election of certain nations to the privileges of a
religious Society : but it is An Election of various indivi
duals of one family, commencing with Abraham and the suc
ceeding patriarchs, and finally comprehending the whole
house of Jacob, into a particular Community, which, to the
designed purpose of holiness and thence of happiness, should
be separated from the great mass of the unbelieving nations.
Hence, though the object of this Election is The holiness
and happiness of the elected individuals ; and though its end
is The preservation of the pure worship of the one holy God :
yet the Elect themselves, comprising as they did the whole
Chosen House of Israel, might have many wicked, as well
as many good, persons, among their number.
Hence, also, God's Chosen People who had specially been
brought into covenant with him, notwithstanding their Elec
tion out of the unbelieving world, and notwithstanding their
high privileges in regard to the means of grace, might even
ecclesiastically be rejected so that they should be no more
the people of the Lord.
In short, the ideality of Election, as the term Elect or
Chosen occurs under the Law, is clearly what I have called
Ecclesiastical Individual Election or An Election of certain
individuals into a Church. Zechar. iii. 2.

244 the primitive doctrine [book II.
On the general postdiluvian apostasy of mankind from the
purity of the ancient Patriarchal Church as preserved in the
family of Noah, Abraham and his household were first in
dividually elected to constitute the rudiments of a New
Church, which, upon a limited scale, should occupy the place
of its now effete predecessor. Afterward, from the house
hold of Abraham, still for the same purpose, were indivi
dually elected Isaac and his household : as again, later still,
Jacob and his household were similarly elected individually
from the household of Isaac.
Here, so far as family was concerned, the process of elec
tion stopped : and the rudiments of the New Church were
completed. Henceforth, all the descendants of Israel were
severally elected into the Levitical Church, while the great
mass of mankind was left in the darkness of pagan error :
and the consequence was, that the title of God's Chosen
People became the property, not of a few Israelites only as
contradistinguished from the main body of the Israelites, but
of all the Israelites collectively as contradistinguished from
the great body of the Gentiles who had not been thus
elected*. Nor yet were the Gentiles altogether excluded. Prose
lytes might be admitted into the Congregation or Church of
* This view of the matter, depending simply upon facts, is not at all
affected by those passages, which justly distinguish, in regard to their
individual state and character, between the holy and the unholy of tbe
generically elected House of Israel. With reference to God's general
decree of Election, all the Israelites collectively are, again and again,
denominated God's Chosen People : though, spiritually and with refer
ence to individual character, as the Apostle assures us, and as common
sense itself requires, He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, and They
are not all Israel which are of Israel. Rom. ii. 28. ix. 6. Neverthe
less, the fact still remains unimpeached, that the whole House of
Israel is designated by the title of The Chosen People of the Lord.

chap, iv.] of election. 245
Israel, and thus partake of all the advantages which apper
tained to the House of Jacob. These individuals then be
came a portion of the Elect People of God ; the ideality
of Election itself, meanwhile, thus remaining unaltered*.
For the whole House of Israel, whether natural or adop
tive, was The Church of the Election : and, in regard to the
ideality of the term Election, every individual Israelite and
every individual Proselyte was severally one of the Elect,
inasmuch as every individual Israelite and every individual
Proselyte was severally a chosen member of that Church
or Community or Congregation.
But this ideality of Election is precisely the same, as the
ideality of Election received and propounded by the Pri
mitive Christian Church.
Therefore, so far as our scriptural inquiry has hitherto
extended, the view of Election, taken by the Primitive
Christian Church, perfectly corresponds with the doctrine of
Election as exhibited in the Old Testament.
* See Deut. xxiii. 3-8. and Selden de Jur. Natur. et Gent. lib. ii.
c. 2, 3.

246 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.

CHAPTER V.
THE CAUSATION OF ELECTION AS PROPOUNDED
UNDER THE LAW.
From the ideality of Election as propounded under the
Law, we may next proceed to inquire into the causation of
Election so far as under the same Law it has been authori
tatively explained and declared.
I. Here, again, I shall begin with simply giving the pas
sages which respect the present part of my subject.
1. Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The
Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto
himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you, be
cause ye were more in number than any people ; for ye were
the fewest of all people : but, because the Lord loved you, and
because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto
your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty
hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bond-men, from
the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt*.
2. Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy
God hath cast the nations out from before thee, saying ; for
my righteousness, the Lord hath brought me in to possess this
land : but, for the wickedness of these nations, the Lord doth
drive them out before thee. Not for thy righteousness, or for
the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go in to possess their
land : but, for the wickedness of these nations, the Lord thy
God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may
* Deut. vii. 6-8.

chap, v.] of election. 247
perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Understand, therefore, that
the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it
for thy righteousness : for thou art a stiff-necked people* .
3. And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require
of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways,
. and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy
heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the
Lord and his statutes which I command thee this day for thy
good 1 Behold, the heaven, and the heaven qf heavens, is the
Lord's thy God: the earth also, with all that therein is.
Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them :
and he chose their seed after them even you, above all people,
as it is this day. Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your
heart : and be no more stiff-necked].
4. The Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of
the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people
of inheritance, as ye are this day. — Because he loved thy
fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought
thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt]-
5. Thus saith the Lord God: In the day, when I chose
Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of
Jacob ; — then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the
abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the
idols of Egypt. — But I wrought for my name's sake, that it
should not be polluted before the heathen among whom they
were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them in bring
ing them forth out of the land of Egypt. Wherefore /
caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought
them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes, and
* Deut. ix. 4-6. f Deut. x. 12-16.
t Deut. iv. 20, 37.

248 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
shewed them my judgments: which if a man do, he shall
even live in them*.
6. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name
give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sakeJ".
II. Little needs to be said on the passages, which have
now been cited for the purpose of ascertaining the causation
of Election, as that causation is propounded under the
Law. Clearly, the moving cause, which produced the Election
of the House of Israel, was, not God's Prevision of their
future holiness and uprightness and fitness to be his Chosen
People, but purely God's Sovereign Will and Pleasure and
Regard to his own great name operating upon the love which
he entertained for their patriarchal ancestors.
But the very same sentiments, respecting the causation
of Election into the Christian Church, were entertained by
the strictly primitive believers down to the time of Clement
of Alexandria and doubtless also (as we may gather from
Jerome's opposition to the Scheme of Origen) by many
pious believers after his time.
Therefore, here again, the doctrine of the strictly Primi
tive Christian Church exactly agrees with the doctrine pro
pounded in the Old Testament.
* Ezek. xx. 5-11. f Psalm cxv. 1.

CHAP. VI.J OF ELECTION. 249

CHAPTER VI.
THE IDEALITY OF ELECTION AS PROPOUNDED
UNDER THE GOSPEL.
Having ascertained the ideality of Election as propounded
under the Law, we are naturally led to expect, that the
same ideality of Election will appear also under the Gos
pel. For it seems highly improbable at least, if not well
nigh impossible : that the inspired writers of the New Tes
tament should, without the slightest intimation of the
change, use a most important term, together with its cognate
dependent terms, in a sense totally different from that
wherein it had been previously used by the inspired writers
of the Old Testament.
As I wish not, however, in an inquiry of this nature, to
take any thing for granted ; I shall now proceed to investi
gate the ideality of Election, as it is propounded under the
Gospel. I. I have intimated : that the inspired writers of the New
Testament no where tell us, that they use the term Election,
with its dependent terms Elect and Chosen, in a sense dif
ferent from that wherein it is used by the inspired writers of
the Old Testament. Now this may well be the case, since
we distinctly learn from St. Paul, that the terms, whether
under the Law or under the Gospel, are used in the very
same sense.
1. The present important fact we gather from a remark
able passage in the Epistle to the Romans : which, in the
way of explanation, immediately follows what the Apostle
Ff

250 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [bOOK II.
had been saying on the topic of Christian Predestination
and Election.
They are not all Israel, which are of Israel. Neither, be
cause they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children ;
but, In Isaac, shall thy seed be called. That is : They which
are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God;
but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For
this is the word of promise : At this time will I come ; and
Sarah shall have a son. And not only this : but, when
Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac
{the children being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to Election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth) ; it was
said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger : as it is
written ; Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
What shall we say, then ? Is there unrighteousness with
God ? God forbid. For he saith to Moses : I will have
mercy, on whom I will have mercy ; and I will have compas
sion, on whom I will have compassion. So then it is, not of
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth ; but of God that
sheweth mercy. For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh :
Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be
declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy
on whom he will have mercy : and, whom he will, he hard-
eneth. Thou wilt say, then, unto me : Why doth he yet find fault ;
for who hath resisted his will ?
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God ?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it : Why hast
thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter power over the
clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and
another unto dishonour ? What if God, willing to shew his

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION. 251
wrath and to make his power known, endured, with much
long-suffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : and
that he might make known the riches of his glory on the ves
sels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory, even
us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the
Gentiles ? As he saith also in Osee : I will call them my
people, which were not my people ; and her, beloved, which
was not beloved. And it shall come to pass : that, in the
place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people ;
there shall they be called The children of the living God. —
What shall we say, then ? We will say : that The Gen
tiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to
righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith ; but
Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not
attained to the law of righteousness. —
But I say : Did not Israel know ? First, Moses saith : I
will provoke you to jealousy by them which are no people ;
and, by a foolish nation, I will anger you. But Esaias is
very bold, and saith : I was found of them, that sought me
not ; I was manifested unto them, that asked not after me.
But, to Israel, he saith : All day long, I have stretched forth
my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
I say, then : Hath God cast away his people ? God for
bid. — At this present time also, there is a remnant according
to the Election of Grace. —
What, then ? Israel hath not obtained that which he
¦ seeketh for : but the Election hath obtained it ; and the rest
were blinded*.
2. The point, which I inductively stated as a presumption ;
namely, that The ideality of Election under the Gospel
would be the same as the ideality of Election under the
* Rom. ix. 6-26, 30, 31. x. 19-21. xi. 1, 5, 7.

252 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
Law : St. Paul here lays down authoritatively, as a fact.
And so clear is the Apostle's enunciation of this fact, that,
as we have already seen, the early ecclesiastical writers ,
perpetually and unanimously, adduce the passage before us,
for the purpose of establishing their own well defined doc*
trine of Individual Election into the pale of the visible
Church. Under a somewhat more scholastic form, I draw out the
enunciation in manner following. *
The Election of Jacob rather than the Election of Esau,
St. Paul determines to import The Election of Jacob's pos
terity rather than ihe Election of Esau's posterity.
Now the Apostle, as the whole tenor and context of the
passage distinctly shew, can only be viewed, as alleging
The Election of the Israelites under the Law to be the type
and exemplar and antecedent of The Election qf Christians
under the Gospel : for his avowed subject is The Election of
ihe collective Christian Church into the place and privileges
of the collective Levitical Church : whence the Election of
the one' must, by the very terms of the subject, be homo
geneous with the Election of the other.
But The typical or exemplaric Election of the Israelites
under the Law, commencing with Abraham and the successive
patriarchs, and finally including the whole body of the pos
terity of Jacob, was, as we have seen, An Election of
certain individuals into the pale of the visible Hebrew
Church, or, in other words, An Ecclesiastical Individual
Election. Therefore The antitypical or imitative Election of Chris
tians under the Gospel, commencing with the Apostles, and
finally including the whole body of those who profess the
faith of Christ, whether converted Jews forming the remnant
according to the Election of Grace, or Gentiles constituting

chap, vl] of election. 253
collectively the Society of the Election, must homogeneously
be, An Election of certain individuals into the pale of the
visible Christian Church, or, in other words, An Ecclesias
tical Individual Election, also.
Agreeably to this conclusion, we are told ; that, in
respect of personal holiness, AU are not Israel, which are of
Israel : precisely as, in respect of personal holiness, All are
not faithful Christians, who, in point of privileges and of
name, are of the Christian Church of ihe Election* -
Nevertheless, collectively, just as the whole- body of the
Israelites were esteemed and denominated The Chosen
People of the Lord: so, according to the words of Hosea
proverbially cited (after a manner not unusual with the
sacred writers) in the way of a temporary application,
those Gentiles, who once were not God's People, the Lord
collectively calls His People ; and those, who originally
were not beloved, are- collectively called The children of the
living God.
II. The ideality of Election under the Gospel being thus
specifically explained and set forth *by St. Paul, no interpre
tation of the terms Election and Predestination and Elect
and Chosen, in whatever passages of the New Testament
they occur, can be received, unless it corresponds with this
now ascertained ideality : for Scripture must not be inter
preted, so as to contradict Scripture.
But, in truth, if we read the New Testament with the
present key to its language in our hand : we shall, unless I
greatly mistake, find the whole, without any harshness or
constraint, of sufficiently easy explication. All will be plain,
provided only we bear in our memory the real ideality of
Election as the term occurs under the Gospel Dispensation.
* Compare Rom. ii. 28-29.

254 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
Evangelical Election, then ; if, for the sake of exactness
and to prevent all danger of misapprehension, I may be
permitted to use some degree of repetition: Evangelical
Election, in point of ideality, is An Election of individuals,
whether Jewish or Gentile, into the pale of the visible Chris
tian Church, in order that they may collectively constitute a
Holy People unto the Lord, and with God's moral purpose
and intention that through Faith and Holiness they should
attain everlasting life ; but with a moral possibility also, of
abusing their privileges, and of thus coming short of the
promised reward.
Hence the term Elect is never applied to some certain
members of the visible Christian Church, as contradistin
guished from other certain members of the same Church ;
under the aspect, that these are assuredly elected to eternal
salvation, while those are irrevocably reprobated to eternal
damnation. But the term Elect is invariably applied, to all who are
members, as contradistinguished from all who are not mem
bers, of the one visible Church Catholic*.
1. In strict correspondence with this ideality of Election,
runs universally the tenor of the compellations, which, in the
Apostolic Epistles, are addressed to the various local branch
es of the one Catholic Church of Christ.
If we could ever fondly imagine that all individual
members of the early local Churches were infallibly assured
* In Rev. xvii. 14, the term is used mystically : but the ideality
remains unaltered. ; When a large corrupt branch of the Church is
mystically described as a body of idolatrous Gentiles (see Rev. xi. 2.) ;
the decorum of the poetical imagery forbids the application of the term
Elect to them, and restricts it, as of old in the days of ancient Roman
Paganism, to those who take part with the Lamb against the heathenish
corruptions of the apostates, though in the opposing Churches there may
be many personally unholy individuals.

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION. 255
of salvation, the very censure of the Apostles, as well as the
too evident drift of Ecclesiastical History, would speedily
convince us of our mistake.
Yet, notwithstanding this undeniable circumstance, we
never find one particular set of Christians addressed as being
specially Elect, to the exclusion of all other Christians, who,
together with the unconverted world at large, are thence
exhibited as Reprobates. But we constantly find, that all
the members of the local Church addressed are collectively
saluted, as being, in God's purpose and design, elected,
through holiness, to glory.
Clearly, therefore, in the evangelical sense of the word,
Election by no means denotes An irreversible Predestina
tion, directly and immediately, to eternal happiness*.
2. Nor is the tenor of the apostolic compellations the sole
direct proof of the matter before us ; in three distinct instan
ces as I incline to believe, certainly however in one distinct
instance, a whole Church corporately is distinguished by the
appellation Elect.
(1.) The co-elect Church which is in Babylon saluteth
you]. Whether, by Babylon, we are here to understand the
literal Babylon or (as it seems more probable) the mystical
Babylon, is of no consequence to the present questionj.
* See Rom. i. 1-7. 1 Corinth, i. 1-3, 26-30. Ephes. i. 1-13.
Coloss. i. 1, 2. iii. 12. 1 Thess. i. 1-4. 2 Thess. i. 1. ii. 13, 14. 1 Pe
ter i. 2. ii. 9, 10. To cite these compellations at full length is super
fluous : the attentive reader, by referring to them, will readily perceive
their palpably universalising tenor so far as professing members of the
visible Church CathoUc are concerned. He may specially attend to
Ephes . i. 1-13.
f 1 Peter v. 13.
X That, by Babylon in this passage was figuratively meant Home
from which (according to the old subscription '~Eypd<pr\ dirb 7uu.r\g)

256 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
Sufficient for our purpose it is, that, in reference to the pre
viously mentioned elect strangers of the dispersion, the en
tire Church in Babylon is, we see, styled by St. Peter The
Co-Elect*. (2.) The elder to the elect lady and her children].
St. John, throughout the whole of his second Epistle, uses
language of so large and extensive an import, that, with Dr.
Whitby and Lord Barrington, I believe the Apostle to be
addressing, no mere single individual Christian matron, but
an entire Church, the spiritual parent of an evidently, most
numerous offspring : an entire Church, which we may very
probably deem the Church of Jerusalem, long venerated by
antiquity as the lady-mother of all ChurchesJ. If this per-
St. Peter wrote his first Epistle, seems from Eusebius to'have been the
opinion of the Primitive Church.
Tou Si Mapxou \j,v%u,ovsvsiv rov Il£rpov iv rr\ ifporipot sViflVoXij, fyv xai
tfuvragai cpadiv iit' avry\g j?uu.r\g, dr)(j,aivstv rs tout' auVov rr\v ifbXiv
rpoifixurspov Ba/3vXuva ifpodsitfovra Sid roiruv 'Adifd^srai vu^ag »j
iv j3aj3vXuvi dvvsxXsxrfj, xai Mapxoj 6 uiog /xou. Euseb. Hist.
Eccles. lib. ii. c. 15.
* Compare 1 Peter i. 1, 2, with 1 Peter v. 13.
f 2 John 1.
X See Whitby's Paraph, in )oc. p. 698. Barrington's Miscell. Sacr.
p. 51. Dr. Doddridge is unwilling to receive this exposition; and
thinks, that the tenth verse, in which mention is made of the elect lady's
house, seems a strong objection against it. Famil. Expos, in loe. vol. vi.
p. 326. I marvel, that so excellent a scripturist as Dr. Doddridge should
have hazarded such a remark. The word House is, again and again,
used to denote The Church, whether Levitical or Christian. See Matt.
xxiii. 38. Luke xiii. 25. Rom. xvi. 5. 1 Corinth, xvi. 19. 1 Tim. iii. 15.
2 Tim. ii. 20. Heb. iii. 2, 3, 5, 6. x. 21. 1 Peter iv. 17. Hence, analo
gously to the ordinary language of Scripture, the exhortation, contained
in the tenth verse, is simply an apostolic injunction, that the Church of
Jerusalem should not receive into ecclesiastical communion, or admit
as a member of her spiritual society, any one who should come thither
not abiding in the true doctrine of Christ's nature.

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION. 257
suasion be well-founded, we have here a second instance,
where the title Electis bestowed corporately upon an entire
Church. (3.) The children of thine elect sister salute thee*.
Here yet again, in the same Epistle, another (as I believe)
figurative matron is introduced, who is . equally designated
by the title of Elect. The ecclesiastical sister, whose salu
tation to the Church of Jerusalem is thus conveyed by St.
John, I conceive to be the Church of Ephesus, where the
Apostle had fixed his metropolitan residence, and from the
midst of which he was then writing.
3. The same ideality of Election may be easily traced
in our Lord's two successive parables of The Labourers in
the Vineyard and The Marriage of the King's Son].
These parables contain the passages, where the term
Elect or Chosen first occurs : and, in these parables, the
Chosen or the Elect axe all those, who so far obey the call
of the Gospel as to enter into the pale of the visible Chris
tian Church ; while those, who refuse to obey the call, and
who indignantly plead the higher antiquity of their supposed
prescriptive privileges, are plainly the revolted and stubborn
house of the natural Israel.
Accordingly, so far as personal conduct is concerned, both
good and bad alike are described as having been gathered
to the wedding-supper or as having been elected into the
Church : but, at the same time, lest bare Ecclesiastical Elec
tion should be vainly pleaded by the wicked within the pale
of the visible Christian Church as it had already been plead
ed by the wicked within the pale of the visible Israelitic
Church, our Lord distinctly intimates, that, in order to eter
nal salvation, something more was requisite than mere
* 2 John 13. f Matt. xx. 1-16. xxii. 2-14.
Gg

2 58 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
Election into the Church ; I mean, that Figurative Wedding-
Garment without which no man can enter into glory.
This figurative Wedding-Garment, some have, and others
have not : yet all are equally guests, who have accepted the
invitation to the wedding7feast ; or, in plain language, all
have equally been elected into the visible Church.
The guests, who have thus accepted the invitation, all
remain together, inclosed within the same chamber, and
seated at the same table, until the King comes in to inspect
his visiters. Then the final and irreversible line of distinc
tion is drawn, between those who have and those who have
not wedding-garments, between those who have and those
who have not benefitted by the common privilege of
Election. 4. Agreeably to this established system of phraseology,
we find the Elect repeatedly spoken of in such a manner and
with such a context, that the term cannot be consistently
viewed, as expressing any other persons than those who
have been elected into the Church out of the unbelieving
world. (1.) Thus, for instance, speaks our Lord himself.
Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh
be saved: but, for the elects' sake, those days shall be short
ened. — For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders : insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect*.
(2.) Thus, again, speaks the same Divine Head of the
Catholic Church.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own : but,
because ye are not of the world, but i have chosen you out
of the world, therefore the world hateth you],
* Matt. xxiv. 22, 24. Compare Mark xiii. 20, 22.
j John xv. 19.

chap, vi.] of election. 259
(3.) Thus, likewise, speaks his Apostle Paul to Timothy.
/ endure all things for the elects' sake, that they may
also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal
glory*. (4.) Thus, again, speaks the same Apostle to Titus.
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ,
according to the faith of god's elect, to Titus mine own
son after the common faith, grace, mercy, and peace, from
God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour].
5. On the same principle, and according to the true
ideality of Election as the term occurs in the New Testa
ment, we are, in various texts, either explicitly or virtually,
assured : that The Elect may fall away to eternal ruin.
(1.) / keep under my body, and bring it into subjection :
lest that, by any means, when I have preached to others, I
myself should be a cast-away J.
St. Paul, we see, judged : that he himself might be a cast
away ; though he had preached to others, and though (in
common with those whom he addressed) he repeatedly
claimed to be one of the Elect.
Now, if the Apostle had been irreversibly chosen and pre
destinated to eternal life ; the supposed circumstance of his
ever being a cast-away would be altogether nugatory : for,
in fact, it would be a vain and idle supposition of an absolute
impossibility. Nor will any thing be gained by saying : that St. Paul
puts the case of his not keeping his body under and of his
not bringing it into subjection ; on which hypothesis of a
negligent and unholy walk, he would, no doubt,, be a cast
away. For, both on the Calvinistic Scheme and on the Arminian
* 2 Tim. ii. 10. f Tit. i. 1, 4.
X 1 Corinth, ix. 27.

4 -
260 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
Scheme,' which alike, though on different grounds of causa-
.- ;tion, make the persevering holiness of the Elect no less a part
of God's absolute decree or of God's infallible prevision than.
their very Election itself : the Apostle, in supposing that he
might cease to keep his body under, would, iri truth, no less
propound a nugatory impossibility, than in supposing that he
might be a cast-away from eternal glory.
(2.) Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to
make your calling and election sure. For, if ye do these
things, ye shall never fall : for so an entrance shall be minis
tered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ*.
S t. Peter, when he thus collectively exhorts his christian
brethren to make their calling and election sure, certainly
intimates, that they possessed no assured election to eternal
life either in the full calvinistic or in the full arminian sense
of the word : for it is impossible to comprehend, how we
can make that sure, which, either by the invincible decree
of God or by the infallible prevision of God, is sure already.
Both on the Calvinistic Scheme and on the Arminian
Scheme, we might readily conceive the Apostle to urge the
brethren, that they should lead a holy life as the only sure
evidence to themselves that they were indeed of the number
of the Elect. But, on either of those Schemes, it is difficult
to comprehend, how he could exhort them to make a fixed
decree of God or an infallible prevision of God sure by their
own diligence : thus virtually intimating, that the accom
plishment of such a fixed decree or the completing of such
an infallible prevision might be frustrated through human
neglect or perverseness. God's purpose or intention, acting
morally upon intellectual beings and thence of course bear-
' 2 Peter i. 10.

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION.
ing the character of contingency, may, no doubl
pointed by man's unhallowed obstinacy : but to say,
absolute decree or the infallible prevision of God can be made
void and ineffectual, is to assert, so far as I can perceive, a
direct contradiction. Nothing, in short, is more difficult
than a consistent explanation of the text, according either to
the Calvinistic Schemes; or the Arminian Scheme : though
nothing is more easy than its explanation, according to the
primitive doctrine of Ecclesiastical Individual Election.
St. Peter considers all the brethren whom he addresses,
as Elect in the true scriptural sense of the word: that is to
say, he considers them all, as having been elected into the
pale of the visible .^Church, with the purpose on God's part
of their obtaining eternal salvation, but with a possibility
on their own part of their not obtaining it. Hence we may
readily understand, why he exhorts them to give diligence,
in order that they might thus make their calling and election
sure. To the subjects of Ecclesiastical Individual Election,
the address is strictly and intelligibly appropriate : but, to
the subjects either of Calvinistic Election or of Arminian
Election, it is alike inappropriate and unintelligible. The
very concinnity, indeed, of its application to the former,
makes it one of the strongest evangelical proofs of the scrip-
turality of the doctrine of Ecclesiastical Individual Election.
(3.) It is impossible for those, who were once enlightened,
and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God and
the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to re
new them again unto repentance; seeing, they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to open
shame*. *;Heb. vi. 4-6.

262 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
Notwithstanding the attempts which have been made to
explain away the present awful declaration of the inspired
writer to the Hebrews, its obvious meaning seems to be
this : that not only nominal members of the Christian Church,
who were never spiritually of us, or who were never clothed
in the mystical wedding-garment of real holiness, might
apostatise ; but likewise that even persons, who had been
actually regenerated, and who had actually both known and
loved sincere religion (a description, which exactly corres
ponds with the character of the Elect after their Effectual
Calling or after their Genuine Commencement qf an infalli
bly foreseen Godly Life, in the respective calvinistic and ar
minian senses of the word Elect), might still fall away final
ly, and might thence render themselves incapable of any
further renewal unto repentance.
(4.) If any man shall take away the words of the book of
this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book
of life*.
A person is here spoken of; who is figuratively said to
have his name written in the book of life, or, in other words,
who is pronounced to be one of the Elect People of God.
Yet it is intimated : that God, in his just wrath, may be in
duced to take away his part out of the book of life or to blot
out his name from the roll and catalogue of the Elect.
Now this intimation cannot be made to agree with the
character of the Elect, according to that ideality of Elec
tion in which the Calvinistic Scheme and the Arminian
Scheme perfectly coneur : the opinion, to wit, that Election
itself, whatever may be its impelling cause, is An irreversi
ble Election of certain individuals to everlasting happiness.
But it fully agrees with the character of the Elect, ac-
* Rev. xxii. 19.

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION. 263
cording to that ideality of Election which was held by the
primitive Christians : the opinion, to wit, that Election is
An Election of certain individuals into the pale of the visible
Church, with the purpose indeed of their attaining everlasting
happiness, but with a possibility of their not attaining it*.
Therefore, neither Calvinistic Election nor Arminian
Election, but Ecclesiastical Individual Election, must be the
doctrine really taught in the New Testament.
III. It will be said : that there are places, in which Elec
tion is inseparably connected with future glory, in which the
absolute perpetuity of the Elect in holiness is coupled with the
absolute certainty of eternal life, in which the Church of the
Election is so described as to compel the definition of its being
The inevitable Church of true spiritual believers exclusively.
Here I tnight fairly reply, in general terms : that, if places
of this description ought to be understood according to the
joint calvinistic and arminian ideality of Election, it is
somewhat strange, that no interpretation, constructed upon
that basis, should ever seem to have occurred to the Primi
tive Church, though she received her theology, either im
mediately or by only one or two descents, from the mouth
of the Apostles themselves.
Let us, however, conduct the matter with all possible
* We are brought also to the same result by a remarkable expression
of St. Jude, though he uses not the precise word Elect.
Of certain persons, who had separated themselves from the Catholic
Church, he speaks, as being twice dead, or rather as having twice died.
Jude 12, 19.
Now this phrase inevitably implies : that some, who had really been
renewed by the Spirit of Grace, had afterward fallen away to final
perdition. For the circumstance of having twice died can only refer : first, to the
deadly state of sin, in which all are born ; and, secondly, to an ultimate
falling away into the same deadly state, after an actual experience of
the life-giving influence of the Holy Spirit.

264 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
fairness : and, for this purpose, let us inquire ; Whether the
places, alluded to, bear, of plain and invincible necessity, any
such peculiar construction.
1. All, that the Father giveth to me, shall come to me : and
him, that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. — And this
is the Father's will which hath sent me : that, of all which he
hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up
again at the last day*.
This often-adduced passage falls in so exactly with the
doctrine of Ecclesiastical Individual Election ; the doctrine,
held by the early Christians, and taught'alike both by the
Law and by the Gospel : that none, save those whose minds
were prepossessed either by- the speculations of Augustine
and Calvin or by the theory of causation inculcated by Ar-
minius after Clement of Alexandria, could easily, I think,
interpret it otherwise.
(1.) The persons, who, in the present place, are given
unto Christ of the Father, and who thence are said to come
unto him, are clearly, as all admit, the Elect.
But then, from the whole analogy of Scripture, I contend :
that they are the Elect, not in the calvinistic and arminian
sense of the word, but in the sense received and delivered
by the primitive Christians.
The persons, given unto Christ of the Father, are Indivi
duals out of all nations, who have been elected and brought
into the pale of the visible Church.
Now they are so elected, with God's merciful purpose of
their obtaining eternal salvation, but with a possibility
through their own fault of not obtaining it.
Accordingly, our Saviour declares it to be his Father's
will or intention or design or purpose in thus electing them
* John vi. 37, 39.

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION. 265
into the Church, that he should lose nothing of the whole
Collective Body given unto him, but, on the contrary, should
at the last day raise it up again unto glory*.
Yet, though such is the will or intention or design or pur
pose of the Father in his decree of Ecclesiastical Individual
Election, we know, that it is not always beneficially carried
into effect. For, though men are elected into the Church in
order to salvation, too many members of the Church, through
their own sins, frustrate God's Grace, and thus fail of ob
taining everlasting happiness.
(2.) Here a Calvinist is wont to reply : that This interpre
tation makes the perverseness of man more powerful than the
will of God; and, consequently, that It cannot be received].
Such an answer is a mere solemn trifling with words.
The will of God, in regard to the spiritual improvement
of man, operates morally, not physically : that is to say, it
operates in subjection to those laws of moral government,
which the Deity has been pleased to lay down for his intel
lectual and accountable creatures.
This being the case, unless, according to the plan of
Gnostic and Manichean Fatalism reprobated by Ireneus and
disowned by Augustine himself, all human responsibility
were destroyed by converting men into mere machines ex
ternally wrought upon by physical agency : .the benevolent
* In the original, as the whole Collective Body of the Election is
spoken of, the neuter gender in the singular number is employed.
f This sophism, for I can distinguish it by no better name, was first
invented by Augustine : and, from him, has been duly handed down to
the more modern Calvinistic School.
Horum si quisquam perit, fallitur Deus: sed nemo eorum perit, quia
non fallitur Deus. Horum si quisquam perit, vitio humano vincitur
Deus : sed nemo eorum perit, quia nulla re vincitur Deus ; electi autem
sunt ad regendum cum Christo. August, de Corrept. et Grat. c. 7.
Oper. vol. vii. p. 473.
Hh

•266 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
will and purpose of God, operating only as it does by inter
nal moral suasion, may doubtless be frustrated by man's
obstinate perverseness.
In truth, the calvinistic reply is one of those, which, by
proving too much, effectually destroy themselves.
St. Peter assures us : that The Lord is not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance*.
St. Paul, in like manner, declares : that God our Saviour
will have all men to be saved and to come unto the know
ledge of the truth].
Here, then, on the authority of two inspired Apostles, we
have the declared will of the Lord : and, from the necessa
ry tenor of that declared will, it is impossible, according to
the purport of the present calvinistic reply, but that all must
come to repentance, that none must perish, that all must be
saved. For, on the avowed principle of that reply, if a
single person shall eventually perish through a refusal to
repent, the perverseness of such an individual will clearly be
more powerful than the will of God. Now we know, that
some unholy members of the visible Church, even to say
nothing of those who are without its pale, never do repent :
and, consequently, we know, that some individuals do perish.
Hence, if there be any validity in the principle of the cal
vinistic -reply, the perverseness of every damned soul will
have been more powerful than the will of God.
2. My sheep hear my voice and I know them ; and they
follow me. And I give unto them eternal life : and they
shall never perish ; neither shall any one pluck them out of
my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater
than all: and no one is able to pluck them out of my Father's
hand%. * 2 Peter iii. 9. f 1 Tim. ii. 4. X John x. 27-29.

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION. 267
This second of the often-adduced passages is closely allied
to the first.
In the present place, the Sheep of Christ are doubtless his
Elect : and their very profession of Christianity, within the
pale of the visible Church into which they have been elected,
is, in so far forth, a professed following of him.
To all these, so far as the act of donation is concerned, he
alike gives eternal life : nor can his gift be cancelled, save,
as in the case of every gift, by their own voluntary rejection
of it. For, as to any external force which might violently
pluck them out of his hand and might thus cause them to
perish, the weakest of his flock needs not, on that account,
to labour under the smallest apprehension: because, as he
himself distinctly specifies the reason, his Father, who gave
them unto him by a decree of Election into his visible
Church, is greater than all, and, therefore, no one is able vio
lently to pluck them out of his Father's hand.
In this, as in all other parallel places, God's gifts and
promises to his Church are, as our seventeenth Article well
remarks, to be understood generally or generically, not speci
fically or individually.
3. We know, that all things work together for good, to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to
his purpose. For, whom he foreknew, them also he did pre
destinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he
might be ihe first-born among many brethren. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and, whom he
called, ihern he also justified: and, whom he justified, them he
also glorified*.
The passage now before us is that, which is usually, I
believe, deemed the strongest and the least equivocal in
* Rom. viii. 28-30.

268 THE primitive doctrine [book ii.
favour of the Calvinistic System: and certainly, upon a
hasty and superficial survey, many rapid inquirers, who
consider not that it is immediately followed by St. Paul's
decision' that the ideality of Election under the Gospel is
identical with the ideality of Election under the Law, may
well be staggered by it.
Yet, as we might anticipate, it will prove, I suspect, not a
whit more cogent than its two predecessors.
(1.) Of the calvinistic gloss, the professed basis is the last
word in the passage : that is to say, its professed basis is
the word glorified.
The whole passage, it is urged, is cumulative or progres
sive : advancing, step by step, from a first principle to a
final result.
It commences with God's foreknowledge: and it ends
with Man's glorification.
If, then, The Glorification of the Predestinate or the Elect
be the ultimate result of the whole divine process : the Pre
destinate or the Elect, here spoken of, certainly cannot be
the Entire Body of those, who have been brought into the pale
of the visible Church; because it is admitted, that various
individuals of that Body will, through sin, finally perish, and
therefore will not be finally glorified.
Consequently, on the other hand, since final glorifica
tion is the declared characteristic or distinguishing badge
of the Elect : it is clear, that the Elect, thus characterised
or distinguished, must be Certain persons, who, by God's de
cree of Predestination, have been chosen, through the practi
cal medium of Effectual Calling and Irreversible Justifica
tion, to Eternal Glory in the future Kingdom of Heaven.
(2.) The modern Arminian or Remonstrant, who agrees
with the Calvinist as to the ideality of the term Election
itself; namely, that the term imports Election to everlasting

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION. 269
happiness: the modern Arminian will readily answer this
argument in favour of the Calvinistic System, by insisting
upon that special point of causation which broadly distin
guishes his own System from that of Calvin and Augustine.
With the Calvinist, he will agree in saying : that God pre
destinates certain persons to future eternal glory. But then,
in regard to the moving cause of God's decree of Predesti
nation, he places himself directly at issue with the Calvinist.
As its cause, the Calvinist makes Predestination rest, ab
solutely and unconditionally, upon God's Supreme Will and
Uncontroulable Sovereignty. But the Arminian makes it
rest, as its cause, upon God's foreknowledge of men's future
characters. Hence the Arminian will promptly deny, that the present
passage affords any legitimate demonstration of the truth of
the Calvinistic System. For the Calvinist, he will say, gra
tuitously assumes from it ; that The Elect are those, whom
God has predestinated to eternal glory purely by the exer
cise of his own sovereign will and pleasure : whereas the
real meaning of it is ; that The Elect are those, whom God
has predestinated to eternal glory because he infallibly
FOREKNEW THEIR FUTURE HOLINESS.
Thus does the Arminian answer the Calvinist. But his an
swer is altogether ineffectual : for it stands, even by the very
passage itself to which he appeals, directly contradicted.
The Divine Foreknowledge, of which the Apostle speaks,
is not A causal Foreknowledge of men's future characters,
but simply That general Foreknowledge of Futurity without
which Predestination cannot exist.
This is evident from what he says pf the Predestination
involved in it. He does not, with the Arminian, make Holi
ness the cause of Predestination : but, with the Calvinist, he
makes Predestination the cause of Holiness.

270 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
Whom God did foreknow, says he, them he also did pre
destinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Here, plainly, A conformity to the image of God's Son, or,
in other words, Personal Holiness corresponding with the
Personal Holiness of Christ, is exhibited, not as the cause,
but as the conseciuence, of Predestination.
The Calvinist, therefore, is perfectly correct in his inter
pretation, so far as the groundwork of causation is con
cerned : and the reply of the Arminian, who agrees with
him in the point of ideality, is thence palpably inefficient
and nugatory.
(3.) Matters having been brought to this stage, let us now
see : whether a reply, framed upon the true .primitive and
scriptural idea of Election' (which idea, the present passage,
in the hands either of a Calvinist or of an Arminian, would
equally be made to set aside), may not easily be excogitated.
That the last word in the passage, the word glorified to
wit, is the key to the whole, will be readily allowed : or
rather, to speak more correctly, this is the precise point,
which must be specially insisted upon for the very purpose
of shewing the futility of the calvinistic exposition, and
thence by implication the futility of the arminian exposition
also, in respect to the ideality of the term Election.
The Calvinist and the Arminian, we have seen, alike refer
the last word in the passage to The future eternal Glory of
the Elect.
This reference, however, is erroneous.
If the concluding verb respected The heavenly Glorifica
tion of the Predestinate, it would, as the sense in that case
plainly requires, run in the future tense.
But, in truth, like all the other verbs throughout the whole >
cumulative passage, it runs in the past tense. For the Apos
tle does not say ; Those whom he hath justified, them also he

CHAP. VI.] OF ELECTION. 271
will glorify : but he says ; Those whom he hath justified,
them also he hath glorified*.
The glorification, therefore, spoken of, is, with respect to
the Predestinate while yet alive upon earth, something past,
not something future.
Hence, let the expression mean what it may, it clearly
cannot mean the glorification of the Predestinate in the next
world after their death in this world.
Such being the case, since the entire calvinistic gloss rests
upon a particular interpretation of the word glorified, and
since that particular interpretation is grammatically inad
missible: the entire gloss itself, so far as I can perceive,
falls immediately to the ground.
In short, the whole matter may be thus summed up.
The word glorified does not relate to The future Glori
fication of the Election in heaven. Therefore the word
affords no proof, that the calvinistic definition of the ideality
of Election is its true definition.
Influenced, I suppose, by this plain grammatical reason,
the early commentators never imagine a future glorification
to be intended in the present passage : but they always view
the glorification there spoken of, as somewhat already past
or as somewhat occurring in this world during the life-time
of the Predestinate.
This is the uniform and harmonious interpretation of
Origen and Chrysostom and Ecumenius and Theodoret and
Theophylact and Pseudo-Ambrose and Jerome. They pro
nounce the glorification of the Elect, there mentioned by St.
Paul, to consist in a right to participate in the high privi
leges which Christians, as such, may enjoy, during this
present life, within the pale of the Church Catholic : namely,
* Ovg Si iSixaiuds, toutouj xai iSb^ads.

272 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
the gifts and graces of the Spirit ; the adoption into the
relation of sonship to their heavenly Father ; the gradual
transformation from glory to glory, in the course of their
acquiring a spiritual similitude to the Son of God*.
That such should be the glorification of all the Elect, is
the will and purpose and design of the Father : nor is it
ever frustrated, save by the resolute perverseness of those
who shew themselves unworthy members of the Church
into which they have been called and chosen.
4. Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it:
that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word ; that he might present it to himself a
glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such
thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish].
(1.) To apply such language as this to the whole visible
Church, it may be argued, is little short of so much grave
mockery : mockery, as we are all aware, not borne out by
matter of fact. Therefore it can only relate to the invisible
Church of those, who have been irreversibly elected to
eternal life. Consequently, the calvinistic doctrine of Elec-
* De glorificatione, possumus, in prasenti seculo, illud intelligere,
quod dicit Apostolus : nos omnes, revelata facie, gloriam Domini specu-
lantes, eadem imagine transformamur a gloria in gloriam, tanquam a
Domini Spiritu. Orig. Comment, in loe.
'ESbjgads, Sid ruv -)(apidu.druv, Sid rr\g v\o6sdiag. Chrysost. in loe.
'Eo"oj;ao'£, <5itx tuv yapidu,druv rrjg vh6sdiag. QScum. in. loe.
'ESogadsv, v\ovg bvou.a%ou,svog, xai llvsuu^arog 'Ayiov iupriddu.svog
j^apiv. Theodor. et Theophyl. in loe.
Magnificavit illos, ut similes fiant Filio Dei. Pseudo-Ambros. in
loe. Glorificentur in virtutibus gratiarum. Hieron. Comment, in loe.
For these several authorities, with the exception of the last, I am in
debted to Dr. Whitby. See Whitby's Comment, on Rom. viii. 30.
t Ephes. v. 25-27.

chap, vl] of election. 273
tion is, by this passage, circuitously, though surely, estab
lished. Thus may a modern Calvinist argue : and yet his argu
ment will not stand good, even upon his own principles.
According to the avowed tenor of his reasoning, if the
apostolic description will not apply to the whole visible
Church, on account of the sinfulness of many of her pro
fessed members : then neither will it apply to the whole
invisible Church of the calvinistically deemed Elect, unless
every predestinated member of that supposed Church be
entirely free from sin both in thought and in word and in
deed ; or, as St. Paul speaks, unless every such member be
holy and without blemish, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing.
The description, in short, is palpably inaccurate, whether
it be applied to the Visible Militant Church of the ecclesias
tically Elect or to the supposed Invisible Militant Church of
the calvinistically Elect. Hence, to adduce the present pas
sage as circuitously establishing the calvinistic doctrine of
Election, plainly involves an inconsecutiveness of reasoning
which cannot be tolerated.
(2.) Most wide, then, from the mark, even on his own
argumentative principles, is the modern Calvinist : and I
cannot but think, that Augustine, albeit the great original
parent of Calvinism, bids much more fairly to give us the
true interpretation of the passage.
How, we are prepared to ask, does that eminent Father
solve the difficulty ? Truly, he solves it after a mode, to
which the very difficulty itself conducts us, as it were, by
the hand.
The addition of the word glorious, he tells us, introduced
into the present description of the Church, distinctly shews :
that, from the Church Militant upon earth, we must look
Ii

274 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
forward to the Church Triumphant in heaven. Here, the
Church is largely intermingled with evil: in this world,
therefore, she corresponds not with the apostolic delineation
of her character. But, hereafter, when she is made glorious
by the acquisition of absolute and entire purity, and when
she is thus really fitted for presentation to Christ, the case
will be altogether changed : in the next world, therefore,
the apostolic delineation will, to the minutest touch, be per
fectly accurate and correct*.
IV. It has now, I trust, been sufficiently shewn: that
The ideality of Election under the Gospel is the very same,
as the ideality of Election under the Law.
In other words, Election, under the Gospel, denotes The
Election of various individuals into the pale of the Visible
Church, with God's merciful purpose that through faith and
holiness they should attain everlasting life, but with a pos
sibility {since God governs his intelligent creatures on moral
principles only) that through their own perverseness they
may fail of attaining it.
* Si confiteantur peccata sua, cum se velint esse Christi corporis
membra, quomodo erit illud corpus, id est, Ecclesia in isto adhue tempore
perfecta, sicut isti sapiunt, sine macula et ruga, cujus membra non men-
daciter confitentur se habere peccata ? August, cont. duas epist.
Pelagian, ad Bonifac. lib. iv. c. 7. Oper. vol. vii. p. 421.
Tunc plena atque perfecta erit Ecclesia, non habens maculam aut ru-
gam aut aliquid hujusmodi, quia tunc etiam erit vere gloriosa. Cum
non tantum ait, Ut exhiberet sibi Ecclesiam non habentem maculam aut
rugam, set addidit Gloriosam : satis significavit, quando erit sine macula
aut ruga aut aliquo hujusmodi, tunc utique quando gloriosa. Non, in
tantis malis, in tantis scandalis, in tanta permixtione hominum pessimo-
rum, in tantis opprobriis impiorum, dicendum est, earn esse gloriosam :
— sed tunc potius gloriosa erit, quando fiet quod idem ait Apostolus,
Cum Christus apparuerit vita nostra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum ipso in
gloria. August, de perfect, justit. c. 15. Oper. vol. vii. p. 456.

chap, vii.] of election. 275

CHAPTER VII.
THE CAUSATION OF ELECTION AS PROPOUNDED
UNDER THE GOSPEL.
I now pass on to an inquiry into the causation of Election,
as such causation is propounded in the New Testament.
This inquiry will be best conducted, if we prosecute it, in
part negatively, and in part positively.
I. We may commence, then, with prosecuting it nega
tively, s
Now, on this point, even in limine, we cannot but ob
serve : that the Scheme of causation, adopted from Clement
of Alexandria by the modern Arminians, stands utterly op
posed to the whole analogy of the Gospel.
The very principle of the Gospel, which shines forth eon-(
spicuously in every page, is An abasement of all proud
-notions of human merit, by describing us as sinners before •
God who at his hand deserve nothing but punishment, and by
exhibiting our salvation as a perfectly free gift so far as we
are concerned though purchased for us by the alone meritori
ous death and passion of our Saviour Christ.
With this principle, however, the notion, first started by
the Alexandrian Clement ; that The moving cause of Elec
tion is God's Foreknowledge of man's future righteousness :
is, so far as I can perceive, utterly and hopelessly irrecon-
cileable. For, if God's Foreknowledge of man's future righteousness
be the moving cause of man's Election : then, clearly, man
must possess a sufficiency of merit to recommend himself to
God.

276 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
But such a position contradicts the whole purport and
analogy of the Gospel.
Therefore the moving cause of man's Election cannot be
God's Foreknowledge of his future righteousness.
Accordingly, the sacred writers invariably describe Holi
ness, as being the conseq.uence, not the cause, of man's
Election : and thus effectually destroy the vain and pre
sumptuous Scheme of the Arminians.
1. To this purpose, as I have already observed, writes St.
Paul to the Romans.
Whom God did foreknow, them he did also predestinate to
be conformed to the image of his Son*.
2. To the same purpose, likewise, he, writes to the
Ephesians. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ : according as he hath chosen us in him be
fore the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love].
3. To the same purpose, again, writes St. Peter to the
scattered strangers of Asia.
Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scatter
ed throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithy
nia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
through sanctification of the Spirit,unto obedience and sprink
ling of the blood of Jesus Christ : grace unto you and peace
be multiplied].
II. Thus, negatively, the moving cause of Election, as
propounded under the Gospel, cannot be God's foreknowledge
of man' s future righteousness.
We have next to inquire, positively, what is exhibited
under the Gospel, as its real moving or impelling cause.
* Rom. viii. 29. \ Ephes. i. 3, 4. J Peter i. 1, 2.

CHAP. VII.] OF ELECTION. 277
Now this assuredly is said to be God's Unmerited Grace
and Mercy operating according to God's Sovereign Will and
Absolute Pleasure.
1. To such effect, most distinctly and most unequivocally,
speaks and reasons St. Paul, respecting those Jews, who, in
his days, had embraced Christianity : and thence, of course,
what he says of them, equally applies to all others who had
been elected into the Catholic Church of Christ.
Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant
according to the Election of grace. And, if by grace, then
it is no more of works : otherwise, grace is no more grace.
But, if it be of works, then it is no more grace : otherwise,
work is, no more work*-
It is, I think, not easy to find a more clear enunciation
than the present. St. Paul declares _the moving cause of
Election, specifically to be not Works, and specifically to be
Grace alone. Nor does he merely convey this great truth
in the form of a naked declaration. He also reasons upon
it in such a manner, as one might well think would have
precluded the possibility of any misapprehension. Election
is by grace. But, if it be by grace: then it cannot be by
works ; because, in the matter of causation, it is quite clear
that works and grace stand inevitably opposed to each
other. If The Grace of God be the moving cause of Elec
tion: then God's Foreknowledge of man's Works cannot also
be its moving cAUSEf .
* Rom. xi. 5, 6.
f Electi per Electionem Gratite. Unde dicit idem doctor et de Israel :
Reliquiie per Electionem Gratia factce sunt. Et, ne forte ante constitu
tionem mundi ex Operibus praecognitis putarentur electi, secutus est, et
adjunxit : Si autem Gratia, turn non ex Operibus ; alioquin, Gratia jam
non est Gratia. August, cont. Julian. Pelagian, lib. v. c. 4. Oper. vol.
vii. p. 374.

278 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
2. In a similar manner, and in perfect accordance with
the last-cited passage, St. Paul makes a parallel declaration
to Timothy respecting the whole Body of the Elect.
God hath called us with an holy calling, not according to
OUR WORKS, but ACCORDING TO HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE
which was given in Christ Jesus before the world began* -
3. He again lays down the same System of causation at
the commencement of his Epistle to the Ephesians.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him be
fore the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love : having predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, ac
cording to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of
the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in
the Beloved : in whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace ; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto' us the mystery of
HIS WILL, ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PLEASURE WHICH HE HATH
purposed in himself : that, in the dispensation , of the fulness
of times, he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in him : in whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
BEINS PREDESTINATED ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE OF HIM WHO
WORKETH ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL"f.
The Apostle, with a singular copiousness of repetition,,
seems here to pile words upori words and to heap declara
tions upon declarations, for the purpose of precluding all
possibility of misapprehension. Again and again he pro-
* 2 Tim. i. 9. t Ephes. 1. 3-11.

CHAP-. VII.] OF ELECTION. 279
nounces, that The good pleasure of God's Will according to
the riches of his Grace is the real and only moving cause of
man's Election or Predestination.
4. Lastly, St. Paul, by arguing at considerable length on
the subject and by formally meeting that very objection
which evidently produced the unscriptural Scheme of cau
sation first contrived by Clement of Alexandria, may justly
be viewed as for ever setting at rest, so far at least as in
spired testimony is concerned, the question now before us.
Speaking of the future destinies of the respective descend
ants of Jacob and Esau, as the type and exemplar of Elec
tion and Reprobation under the Gospel, the Apostle de
clares : that, In respect to the point of causation, those desti
nies depended neither upon good nor upon evil ; but, on the
contrary, that The whole divine arrangement, by which the
Israelites were elected into the pale of the Levitical Church
while the Edomites were rejected from becoming members of
it, was settled, in order that the purpose of god according
to election might stand, not of works, but of him that
calleth*. This declaration, as might have been anticipated, forth
with brings up an objection against God's justice.
What shall we say, then ? Is there injustice with God] ?
The objection is briefly stated : and then is briefly set
aside, rather dogmatically than argumentatively, with the
pious exclamation ; God forbid]. Yet still, though the
objection is summarily set aside as inadmissible, the dif
ference, which is made between the descendants of the two
brothers, St. Paul firmly perseveres in referring, not to any
causal Foreknowledge of their respective future actions, but
purely to God's Sovereign Will and Absolute Pleasure.
He saith to Moses ; I will have mercy on whom I will have
* Rom. ix. 11. f Rom. ix. 14. X Rom. ix. 14.

280 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have com
passion. So then it is, not of him that willeth nor of him
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. — Therefore
hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy ; and whom he
will he hardeneth*.
Feeling, however, that such a reply might be deemed no
specific answer to the objection, he again introduces his
opponent as still persisting in the same- line of controversial
argument. Thou wilt say, then, unto me : Why doth he yet find fault ;
for who hath resisted his will-]- ?
Here the matter is brought at once to a direct issue.
You refer, says the objector, the whole difference that has
been made between Jacob and Esau, in the persons of their
descendants, to god's sovereign will and pleasure. But
who is there, that either does or can resist the supreme will
of the deity ? We know God to be omnipotent. We re
quire not to be told, that all creatures must bend to his
sovereign will. But how does this reference to the omni-
potency of god's will settle the present difficult question of
god's justice 1
Now it is evident : that, if, as the solution of Clement and
the Arminians avowedly contends, Scriptural Election and
Scriptural Reprobation were causally founded upon God's
Foreknowledge of the future holiness or the future unholiness
of certain individuals ; no such objection, as that which is
here argumentatively propounded by the Apostle, could
possibly have lain against the arrangement : or, if, through
pure ignorance or misapprehension of the moving cause,
such an objection had been made or might be made to the
scriptural doctrine of Election and Reprobation ; the Apos
tle would readily and easily have answered it, by the very
* Rom. ix. 15, 16, 18. t Rom. «• 19-

chap, vii.] of election. 281
simple and obvious process of merely unfolding, what,
according to Clement and the Arminians, is the true moving
cause of God's decree of Predestination ; for it is quite
clear, that no plea of injustice could lie against the declared
arrangement, if declared it had been, that God elects some
because he foresees their future holiness, and that God
rejects others because he foresees their future unholiness.
But, instead of accounting for Election on the ground,
as the Pseudo-Ambrose speaks, of God's electing those who
he foreknew would be devoted to him; and instead of account
ing for Reprobation on the parallel ground of God's rejecting
those who he foreknew would be the reverse of being devoted
to him : St. Paul warmly rebukes the presumption of the
objector ; and contents himself with resolving the whole im
pelling cause of God's acts of Election and Rejection into
God's bare exercise of his Supreme Will or into God's bare
exercise of his Absolute Sovereignty.
Nay but, O man, who art thou, that repliest against God ?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it : Why hast
thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter power over the
clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and
another unto dishonour* ?
Thus does the wise Apostle shut up the question. He
answers not the objection argumentatively : he sets it not
at rest by any such Scheme, as that devised by Clement
and advocated by the Arminians. But, while he resolves
the whole matter into God's Sovereign Pleasure : he indig
nantly and authoritatively denies, that any injustice can be
ascribed to a God of perfect justice.
III. When such evidence, according to the plain and
conventional acceptation of language, directly meets us in
the face, I cannot but come to the conclusion : that, Under
* Rom. ix. 20, 21.
Jj

282 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
the Gospel as well as under the Law, the impelling cause of
God's Predestination is, not God's Foreknowledge of man's
future fitness or unfitness, but God's Supreme Will and Ab
solute Sovereign Pleasure.
In truth, as I have already observed, this conclusion
inevitably follows from the ideality of Election and Repro
bation as set forth both in the Old Testament and in the
New Testament.
Election being, in point of ideality, An Election of
certain individuals into the pale of the visible Church ; and
Reprobation, in point of ideality, being, conversely, A
Rejection of certain individuals from being members of ihe
visible Church : the clear result is, that such an Election
and such a Reprobation can only, in the very nature and
necessity of things, rest causally upon God's Supreme Will
and Pleasure.
For, if Election into the Church causally rested, as Cle
ment of Alexandria speaks, upon God's Foreknowledge of
man's righteousness : it is obvious, that the existence, or at
least the final continuance, of an unrighteous person, within
the pale of the visible Church, would be an actual impossi
bility ; because the very supposition of such an occurrence,
on the causal principle advocated by Clement, involves a
direct contradiction in terms. We shall, in that case, be
compelled to admit : that God elects a permanently and in
corrigibly unrighteous person from a foreknowledge of that
unrighteous person's righteousness.
Thus we perceive ; that the strictly primitive doctrine of
Election, in point both of ideality and of causation, is the
precise doctrine authoritatively delivered both in the Old
Testament and in the New Testament : and thus we practi
cally see the value of Tertullian's canon ; Whatever is first,
is true ; whatever is later, is adulterate.

chap, viii.] of election. 283

CHAPTER VIII.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, RES
PECTING ELECTION, INVESTIGATED NEGATIVELY.
We have now attained to what I cannot but deem a moral
certainty in regard to the true scriptural doctrine of Elec
tion : for we have found the precise doctrine, which was
held by the strictly Primitive Church, to be distinctly set
forth also both under the law and under the Gospel.
Hence we have a triple testimony, a testimony at once
authoritative and interpretative, that the view, which has
been taken of the doctrine of Election, is the alone correct
view : and, as the wise man says, a threefold cord is not
quickly broken*.
Here, then, we might fairly stop in our inquiry : for the
result, to which we have now been brought, cannot in the
slightest degree be affected by the decision of any Church
of the present day, either favourable or unfavourable.
Discrepance, on the part of such Church, may prove itself
to have erred : but agreement, on its part, cannot make
essential truth to be more than truth.
So far, therefore, as the real subject of our inquiry is
concerned, the Theological System of the Church of Eng
land, having no direct connection with it, cannot be deemed,
argumentatively, of any special moment or importance.
Yet, though an examination of the System of that Church
be, in absolute strictness of ratiocination, irrelevant to our
* Eccles. iv. 12.

284 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
present subject, neither adding anything to nor detracting
- anything from the historical evidence in regard to the main
question : still, as dutiful and attached member's of a venera
ble Communion, which, save in our evil days of schism and
faction, has ever been esteemed a principal bulwark of sound
Christianity ; we may be allowed, even though in argument
superfluously, to inquire, What precise Scheme has been
adopted by the Reformed Church of England.
Following the general plan of the present Work, as the
most advantageous for a satisfactory development of the
truth : I shall begin, then, with investigating, negatively,
What doctrine, on the topic of Election, the Church of Eng
land does not hold.
I. With modern Calvinists, it is not uncommon to claim
the Anglican Church as their own, de jure, if not de facto :
and, so far as Iknow, the proof of the justice of their claim
they rest altogether upon the Seventeenth Article of that
Church. Yet there are various important matters, which certainly
seem to render their claim wholly inadmissible. These
matters shall successively be considered in their order.
1. It is worthy of note, that, even at the very commence
ment of an inquiry into the justice of this claim, chronology
itself presents no trifling obstacle to its admission.
According to' Strype, Cranmer, in the year 1551, received
an order to prepare a Book of Articles. This Book, when
compiled, was, in the same year 1551, communicated to the
Bishops. In the May of the year 1552, the Articles, thus
drawn up, were laid before the Privy Council. And, in the
following September, they were revised, were arranged in
a different order, received titles which had not been pre
viously affixed to them, and were moreover considerably
augmented. Thus improved, they were finally returned to

CHAP, viii.] of election. 285
the Privy Council in November : and, in the early part of
the year 1553, they were ratified and published*-
Now Calvin's first public controversy, on the doctrine of
Predestination, did not commence until the close of the year
1551 : and his earliest Tract upon that subject, entitled De
JEterna Dei Prosdestinatione, was not published, even at
Geneva and in Switzerland, until the January of the year
1552f. Therefore, on mere chronological grounds, it is evident :
that the Seventeenth Article, as originally drawn up and
communicated to the Bishops in the year 1551, can, by no
possibility, have been borrowed from Calvin.
Neither can it, with any shew of probability, be urged :
that, since Calvin's earliest Tract on the subject of Predesti
nation was published in the January of the year 1552, and
since in the course of that same year 1552 the English Arti
cles were revised and augmented ; the Seventeenth Article
might, with reference to Calvin's Tract, have been moulded
into the form in which it was first ratified at the beginning
of the year 1553.
For, though Calvin had written two letters to Cranmer on
the subject of a General Protestant Congress for the settle
ment of doctrine, which are without date, but which Beza
ascribes to the year 1551: yet so little was the weight
* Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, p. 272. For this authority, and
for the succeeding authorities which bear on the present part of my sub
ject, I am indebted to the very valuable Bampton Lectures of Arch
bishop Laurence.
f The controversy commenced with the opposition of Jerome Bolsec,
which led him, on the sixteenth of October in the year 1551, to declaim
openly in the full congregation, after the conclusion of divine worship,
against the doctrine of absolute decrees. For this misdemeanour he
was banished on the twenty-second of December in the same year.
Beza in vit. Calvin, a. d. 1551, 1552. Calvin. Opusc. p. 949. edit. 1576.

286 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
which he carried with the early English Reformers, that,
even in the subsequent reign of Mary, he admitted that they
attached but small credit to his name or importance to his
opinion. Discord existed, among the anglican exiles, on the
subject of the Liturgy. Calvin gave them some very good
advice upon the subject : but he despairingly added ; /, how
ever, vainly address my admonitions to persons, who perhaps
do not attribute to me sufficient importance, that they should
design to receive any counsel which proceeds from such an
author*. 2. Still it may be said : that, if the Seventeenth Article
was not absolutely composed in deference to the authority
of the individual Calvin himself, it faithfully, nevertheless,
exhibits that Scheme of Doctrine which usually bears the
name of Calvinism : and, whether in its actual pedigree it
literally sprang from Calvin or from Augustine, cannot be a
matter of much intrinsic consequence, inasmuch as, in either
case, the result will be precisely the same.
I will readily admit the fairness of this reply, provided the
point, on which it professedly rests, can be established.
But that I much doubt. The real parent of the Seventeenth
Article, if I may so speak, was neither Calvin nor Augus
tine, but Melancthon. To judge, therefore, whether that
* Calvin. Epist. p. 100, 101. Sed ego frustra ad eos sermonem.
converto, qui forte non tantum mihi tribuunt, ut consilium a tali auctore
profectum admittere dignentur. Calvin. Epist. p. 158. So little known
in England was the fame of Calvin about this period, that one of his
Works was translated and published in the year 1549, under the follow
ing title : Of the Life and Conversation of a Christian Man ; a right
godly Treatise, written in the Latin Tongue by Master John Calvin, a
man of right excellent learning and of no less conversation. Ames's
Typographical Antiquities, p. 620. On this it is remarked by Arch
bishop Laurence : Does not this encomium prove, that his name, in conse
quence, if not of its obscurity, at least of its little celebrity, stood in need of
some commendation ? Bampt. Leet. p. 243.

CHAP. VIII.] OF election. 287
Article be designedly calvinistic or augustinian, we must
obviously inquire : What were the sentiments of Melanc*
thon at the time, when, on the subject of Predestination,
he was consulted by Cranmer its actual and immediate
author. This eminent divine was honoured with repeated invita
tions into England during the reigns both of Henry and of
Edward* : and, as he was thus evidently deemed by our
early Reformers the best and safest continental authority ;
so, in the year 1548, when Cranmer's mind was deeply oc
cupied with doctrinal subjects and immediately before he
received formal directions to draw up a Book of Articles, he
was consulted by that Prelate, through the medium of the
younger Justus Jonas then resident with the Archbishop in
England, on some point connected with the compilation of a
Public Creed. What that point was, is abundantly clear
from the reply of Melancthon.
Letters have been brought to me from the younger Jonas,
in which he mentions a discourse of yours, concerning a
question in itself by no means obscure, but yet a question
which has terribly agitated ihe Church and will continue still
worse to agitate it because the governors seek not the true
remedies for so great a matter. — A multifold variety of expli
cations both have been, and are still, excogitated ; merely be
cause simple and sincere Antiquity is neglected. — / beg, there
fore, that you would deliberate with good and really learned
men, what great need there is of caution and moderation in
formally expressing any decision. — At the commencement of
our Reformation, the Stoical Disputations among our people
concerning Fate were too horrible : and they did much mis-
* Mselanc. Epist. p. 717, 732, 915, 930. Seckendorf. Hist. Luther.
lib. iii. § 66. add. 1. Strype's Eccles. Memor. vol. ii. p. 401.

288 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
chief to discipline. Hence I request, that you would think
well respecting any such formula of doctrine*.
Melancthon, when the Reformation began in Germany,
had, in common with others, taken up the harsh dogma of
Absolute Predestinarian Fatalism. But, so early as the
year 1527, he appears to have abandoned it: and, after the
diet of Augsburg in the year 1530, it was no more heard
off. At all events, in the year 1529, he had not only aban
doned, but even strongly reprehended, that doctrine. This
is a matter of certainty: because, in a letter to Stathmio
written shortly before his death, he states the circumstance
as having occurred thirty years previously J. Accordingly,
though he had at first introduced the tenet into his Loci
Theologici, he afterward, in the edition of the year 1535,
wholly expunged it§ : and, thenceforward, in the very strong
est terms, perpetually expressed his rooted aversion||.
* Adferuntur filii Jonse Uteres, in quibus mihi sermonem quendam
tuum narrat de quaestione .non obscura, sed quas duriter concussit Ec-
clesiam, et concutiet durius, quia gubernatores illi tantas rei non quasrunt
vera remedia. — Vides multiplices explicationes, et olim excogitatas esse,
et nunc excogitari, quia negligitur simplex et sincera Vetustas. — Illud
autem te oro, ut deliberes cum viris bonis ac vere doctis, et quod
statuendum et qua moderatione initio in dicendo opus sit. — Nimis hor-
rideefuerunt initio Stoicm Dispulationes apud nostros de Fato, et disci
pline nocuerunt. Quare te rogo, ut de tali aliqua formula doctrinas co-
gites. Melanc. Epist. lib. iii. epist. 44.
f Laurence's Bampton Leet. p. 256.
X Apud Homerum fortissimus bellator optat concordiam his verbis:
'Cl spis sxrs dsuv ixr' dv6puiruv di(6Xoiro. Quanta magis me senem et
infirmum optare pacem consentaneum est. Ante annos triginta, non stu
dio contentionis, sed propter gloriam Dei, et propter disciplinam, repre-
hendi Stoica Paradoxa de Necessitate, quia et contra Deum contume-
liosa sunt, et nocent moribus. Nunc mihi bellum inferunt Stoicorum
phalanges. Epist. Lib. Lond. p. 407. The date of this letter is March
20, 1559.
§ Laurence's Bamp. Leet. p. 258.
|| Palam etiam rejicio et detestor Stoicos et Manichesos furores, qui af-

chap, viii.] o. election. 289
Now it will be recollected, that, in the year 1548, and
consequently long after Melancthon had renounced the dog
ma of Absolute Predestinarian Fatalism, he was consulted
by Cranmer relative to some point connected with the com
pilation of a Public Creed. What that point was, is abun
dantly determined, as we have seen, by the answer of Me
lancthon. Clearly it was no other, than the best and most
scriptural mode of fixing upon A public symbolical definition
of the doctrine of Predestination for the use of the Reformed
Church of England.
Such being the case, Melancthon, having long renounced
the dogma of Predestinarian Fatalism, certainly could not
recommend to Cranmer any System of that description.
Accordingly, as we have seen, while he laments the mis
chief which accrued to the early German Reformation from
what he calls Stoical Disputations concerning Fate: he
strongly dehorts the Archbishop from introducing any such
firmant omnia necessario fieri, bonas et malas actiones, de quibus omitto
hie longiores disputationes. Tantum oro juniores, ut fugiant has mon-
strosas opiniones, qua; sunt contumeliosa; contra Deum et perniciosa?
moribus. Melanc. Oper. vol. i. p. 370.
Alii fingunt Deum, sedere in coelo, et scribere fatales leges, quasi in
tabulis Parcarum, secundum quas velit distribuere virtutes et vitia, sicut
Stoici de Fato suo sentiebant. — Sed nos, abjectis his deliramentis hu-
mancs caliginis, referamus oculos et mentem ad testimonia de Deo pro-
posita. — Removeamus igitur a Paulo Stoicas Disputationes, qua? fidem
et invocationem evertunt. Melanc. Loe. Theolog. de Prasdest.
Non sum Stolzus : et aliquanto fortius dimico cum Zenonis familia de
Fato, quam nostri bellatores ad Danubium et ad Albim prseliati sunt.
Melanc. Epist. p. 370.
Removeamus igitur a Deo Stoicam Torvitatem : et vere nos ab eo
diligi statuamus. Melanc. Epist. p. 557. .
At Stoicce iUte Disputationes execrandee sunt, quas asserunt aliqui ;
disputantes, Omnia peccata paria esse ; Electos semper retinere Spiri
tum Sanctum, etiam cum lapsus atroces admittunt. Melanc. Loe.
Theol. p. 126.
Kk

290 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
speculations into those authorised documents of the Angli
can Church, which were then about to be prepared ; advis
ing him rather, for sound information on the subject, to ad
vert to that simple and sincere Antiquity, which by vain
modern innovators had been grievously too much neglected.
Nor can it be said : that, if Melancthon rejected the Ab
soluteness of Stoical or Manichean Fatalism, he retained
those views of Election and Predestination, which, with an
admission of the freedom of the human will, were held by
Augustine. For, in truth, he, in so many words, reprobates,
to the great annoyance of Calvin (as Beza remarks), Calvin
ism itself, as being precisely the System which he renounced
under the aspect of Stoical or ManicMan Necessity : styling
Calvin the Zeno of Geneva, and reprobating his unhallowed
violence toward his opponent Bolsec*.
Uttder such circumstances, I cannot but deem it impossi
ble, that Cranmer, acting by the advice of Melancthon, could
ever have designedly framed the Seventeenth Article of the
English Church on the principles of Calvin and Augustine.
3. With this conclusion agrees the very texture of the
Article itself.
In the Calvinistic System, the idea of Election is An irre-
* Pungebant ista (scil. Genevenses Stoicum Fatum invehentes no-
tare) gravissime, sicuti par erat, illius animum, et eo quidem acerbius,
quod ea fuit interdum per id tempus erroris efficacia, ut publica etiam
auctoritate alicubi obstructum os veritati videretur. Bez. Vit. Cal
vin, a. d. 1552.
Lelius mihi scribit, tanta esse Genevas certamina de Stoica Necessi
tate, ut carceri inclusus sit quidam a Zenone dissentiens. O rem mise-
ram! Doctrina salutaris obscuratur peregrinis disputationibus. Melanc.
Epist. p. 396.
Ac vide saeculi furores, certamina Allobrogica de Stoica Necessitate
tanta sunt, ut carceri inclusus sit quidam, qui a Zenone dissentit.
Melanc. Epist. p. 923.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 291
versible Election of certain individuals to eternal life : while
its cause is The Absolute Will and Pleasure of the Deity.
If, then, the Seventeenth Article were designedly calvin
istic, and if the idea of Election inculcated by it were that
advocated by the School of Geneva : we may be sure, that
the cause, assigned in the Calvinistic System, would not be
omitted. But, in point of fact, the Article assigns no cause whatever
of Predestination.
Hence, even if it could be shewn to inculcate the calvinistic
idea of Election itself: that idea being identical with the
idea, inculcated by the System, afterward denominated
Arminianism, and widely fashionable at the time of the
commencement of the Reformation*; no valid evidence
would be afforded by the texture of the Article, that it is
intentionally calvinistic. On such an hypothesis, wanting,

* This was the Scheme of Doctrine advocated by Thomas Aquinas
and Bernard de Bustis, who state it with abundance of distinctness.
Thorns Aquinatis de Praedestinatione sententia talis fuit : Deum, cum
universa videat antequam fiant, hominem pradestinare, turn scilicet, cum
per sapientiam viderit qualis futurus sit. Zuing. Oper. vol. i. p. 367.
Magister, in i. dist. 40, dicit : Prcedestinatio est quadam comparatio,
qua Deus elegit, quos voluit, ante mundi constitutionem. Sed dicas :
Ergo est personarum acceptor. Respondeo, quod non sequitur: nam
ipse Deus ex hoc non acceptat personas, sed merita ; et damnat de-
merita. Et ideo non omnes praedestinavit, quia prsevidit quosdam in
peccata duraturos. Unde illos tantum prcedestinavit, quos recte finitu-
ros cognovit. Bern, de Bust. Homil. vol. ii. p. 198.
Such, says Archbishop Laurence, was the popular Creed not long
before the Reformation. That, at the period immediately preceding it
and at its very commencement, the doctrine of the Church remained
the same, is evident from the controversy of Fevre D'Etaples, who was
particularly patronised by Margaret Queen of Navarre, and who was
persecuted for supposed heresy by the Sorbonne of Paris. Bampt.
Leet. p. 398.

292 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
as it does, all definition of the cause, it might be claimed by
an Arminian just as plausibly as by a Calvinist.
Of this deficiency, the Calvinising Party, which, toward
the end of the reign of Elizabeth and the beginning of the
reign of her successor James, had great weight and influence
in the Church of England, were perfectly aware : and thence,
for the furtherance of their own System, laboured hard to
repair it.
Accordingly, in the year 1595, Dr. Whitaker, the very
able leader of the Calvinistic Party at Cambridge, clearly
enough perceiving the deficiency of the Seventeenth Article
of the years 1552 and 1562, drew up, as an explanation of it,
those nine subsidiary Articles, which, from the circumstance
of their having been composed at the archiepiscopal palace,
are usually styled The Lambeth Articles, and which, no
doubt, most abundantly supplied that deficiency : for, of
these nine Articles, the four first were couched in the fol
lowing terms ; which explicitly define both the idea and the
cause of Election, to be the very idea and the very cause
propounded in the Calvinistic System.
From eternity, God predestinated some to life, and repro
bated others to death.
Of Predestination to life, the moving or efficient cause is,
not A Prevision of Faith or of Perseverance or of Good
Works or of Any Thing Inherent in predestinated persons,
but The Sole Will of the Good Pleasure of God.
The number of the predestinated is predefined and cer
tain : which number can be neither increased nor diminished.
They, who are not predestinated to salvation, will necessa
rily be condemned on account of their own sins*.
* The nine Lambeth Articles run, as follows :
1. Deus, ab eetemo, praedestinavit quosdam ad vitam, quosdam re-
probavit ad mortem.
2. Causa movens aut efficiens, praedestinationis ad vitam, non est

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 293
These arbitrary and intemperate Articles were, however,
rejected : though, both in the reign of Elizabeth and in the
reign of James, an attempt was made to engraft them, as
the authoritative explanation of the Seventeenth Article,
upon the Articles of the Church of England. But, still,
even the very attempt abundantly shews : that, By the Cal
vinists of that day, the Seventeenth Article was thought to be
not, either in point of ideality or in point of causation,
sufficiently explicit for their purpose* .
prawisio fidei aut perseverantias aut bonorum operum aut ullius rei quae
insit in personis praedestinatis, sed sola voluntas beneplaciti Dei.
3. Praedestinatorum piasfinitus et certus est numerus, qui nee augeri
nee minui potest.
4. Qui non sunt praedestinati ad salutem, necessario propter peccata
sua damnabuntur.
5. Vera, viva, et justificans, fides, et Spiritus Dei justificantis, non
extinguitur, non excidit, non evanescit, in Electis, aut finaliter aut
totaliter. 6. Homo vere fidelis, id est, fide justificante praeditus, certus est,
plerophoria fidei, de remissione peccatorum suorum, et salute sempiterna
sua per Christum.
7. Gratia salutaris non tribuitur, non communicatur, non conceditur,
universis hominibus, qua servari possint, si velint.
8. Nemo potest venire ad Christum, nisi datum ei fuerit, et nisi
Pater eum traxerit : et omnes homines non trahuntur a Patre, ut veniant
ad Filium.
9. Non est positum in arbitrio aut potestate uniuscujusque hominis
servari. ,
* The seeds of Calvinism had been sown at Cambridge by Cart
wright, while he held the Margaret Professorship of Divinity : and
their growth was afterward so greatly fostered by Whitaker who be
came Regius Professor in the year 1580, that the Heads of Houses
concurred in censuring an anticalvinistic Concio ad Clerum preached by
Barret of Caius College. Yet, nevertheless, Baro, whose principles,
like those of Barret, were anticalvinistic, had previously been Margaret
Professor about the year 1571 : and, without any censure or interrup
tion, had continued for many years to deliver* Theological Lectures
composed in accordance with his own doctrinal sentiments. The great

294 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
4. Thus, if I mistake not, we have no valid evidence, that
the Theological System of Calvin is the Theological System
of the Reformed Church of England.
II. The ideality of Election being precisely the same
both in the Arminian Scheme and in the Calvinistic Scheme,
it is easy to conceive, that the Arminians, no less than the
Calvinists, would claim the Church of England as an ally.
Chronology, indeed, would effectually prevent any allega
tion, that the Seventeenth Article had been borrowed from
Arminius himself: but still no small weight would be given
to the tenets of that Divine, if a case could be decently
made out, that the Anglican Church, adopting the fashiona
ble System of Theology which prevailed down to the com
mencement of the Reformation, had proleptically symbolised
with him in doctrine.
I think it probable, that some such notion had occurred to
Arminius : for his statement of the doctrine of Predestina
tion bears so strong a verbal resemblance to the statement
of the same doctrine in the Seventeenth Article, that it is
difficult to avoid suspecting the intentional mutuation of the
one from the other.
Predestination, says he, is The decree of the Good Pleasure
of God in Christ, by which, within himself, he hath, from all
eternity, determined, to justify, and to adopt, and to gift with
eternal life to the praise of his glorious Grace, those faithful
individuals, whom he hath decreed to endow with faith.
The special kind of Predestination we define to be That
influence and reputation of Whitaker was that, which, for a season,
rendered the Calvinistic Scheme so popular at Cambridge. With res
pect to our Articles, the Calvinists of that time were so little satisfied
with them, that they actually complained of their speaking very danger
ously of falling from grace : an alleged error, which, said they, is to be
reformed.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 295
decree which the Scripture calls The Purpose and Counsel
of the Will of God : that is to say, not The Legal Decree,
according to which it is said, The man, that doeth these
things, shall live in them ; but The Evangelical Decree, the
terms of which are, This is the will of God, that every one,
who seeth the Son and believeth in him, shall have eternal
hfe. Therefore this decree is peremptory and irrevocable:
because the last revelation of the whole counsel of God, con
cerning our salvation, is contained in the Gospel.
The cause of Predestination is God himself, according to
his Good Pleasure or the Benevolent Affection of his Will,
by which being moved, in himself and with himself, he has
made that decree. This Good Pleasure not only excludes
all cause, which he might take from man himself, or which he
might be feigned to take : but it also throws aside whatever
there was in man or from man, which might justly move God
lest he should make that gracious decree.
We pronounce Jesus Christ, who is the Mediator between
God and man, to be, of that decree, the foundation. — He has
been by God constituted the head of all those, who, through
divine Predestination, are about to receive the communion of
all spiritual blessings.
To that decree we ascribe eternity: because, in time, he
hath done nothing, which, from all eternity, he did not decree
to do. For known unto the Lord our God are all his works
from eternity ; and he chose us in Christ, before the founda
tions of the world were laid: otherwise, God would be charged
with mutability. —
The end of Predestination is ihe praise of the glorious
Grace of God : for, since The Grace or the Free Love of
God in Christ is the cause of Predestination, it is just, that
to him should accrue all the glory of that act.
But, as the Apostle speaks, this decree of Predestination is

296 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
/
according to Election : and, inasmuch as Election necessarily
infers Reprobation, this Reprobation, which is also called
Abjection and Dooming to damnation and Constitution to
wrath, is thence, in the way of eontraiiety, opposed to Pre
destination. Now that same Reprobation, by the law of contraries,
we define to be The decree of Wrath or Severe Pleasure of
God, by which, from all eternity, he has determined to con
demn to eternal death, for the purpose of declaring his wrath
and power, those unbelievers, as placed out of union with
Christ, who, by their own fault and by the just judgment of
God, are not about to believe. —
Of this doctrine, thus delivered from Scripture, great is
the use.
It serves, at once : to build up glory to the Grace of God;
to comfort, afflicted consciences ; and to terrify the wicked and
destroy the false security of the ungodly.
The Grace of God it builds up : since, to the mercy of God
alone, it ascribes the whole praise, both of our calling and of
our justification and of our adoption and of our glorification,
entirely separated from all strength and works and merit of
our own.
It comforts consciences struggling with temptation : since
it assures them of the gracious benevolence of God in Christ,
decreed to them from eternity, and granted to them in time, and
about to endure for ever ; and since it shews, that that benevo
lence stands firm, not from works, but from him that calleth.
And it avails to terrify the wicked : because it teaches, that
the decree of God, to adjudge to eternal destruction those who
believe not and "obey not the truth but who are obedient unto a
lie, is irrevocable.
Finally, therefore, this doctrine ought to resound, not only
in private houses and in schools, but also among the assem-

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 297
blages of the Saints in the church of God : yet with the ob
servance of this caution, that nothing be taught respecting it
which is not contained in Scripture, that it be propounded in
the mode usual throughout Scripture, and that it be referred
to that same end which Scripture in delivering it proposes*.
1. The English Church, in her Seventeenth Article, is
* Praedestinatio itaque, ad rem quod attinet ipsam, est decretum
beneplaciti Dei in Christo, quo apud se ab aeterno statuit fideles, quos
fide donare decrevit, justifieare, adoptare, et vita aeterna donare, ad lau-
dem gloriosa? gratiae suae.
Genus Praedestinationis decretum ponimus, quod tp66sdiv et f3ovXrjv
rou 6sXijUM.rog ©sou Scriptura appellat : et decretum non legale, secun
dum quod dicitur, Qui fecerit ea, homo vivet in illis; sed evangelicum,
cujus hie est sermo, Hac est voluntas Dei, ut omnis, qui videt Filium et
credit in ilium, habeat vitam ceternam. Et propterea decretum hoc est
peremptorium et irrevocable, quia Evangelio continetur totius consilii
Dei de salute nostra extrema patefactio.
Causa est Deus, secundum beneplacitum seu benevolum affectum
voluntatis suas, quo, motus in se et apud se, decretum illud fecit. Hoc
beneplacitum non modo excludit omnem causam, quam ab homine su-
mere fingi potuit: verum etiam amolitur quicquid in homine vel ab
homine erat, quod Deum juste permovere poterat, ne decretum illud
gratiosum faceret.
Decreti illius fundamentum ponimus Jesum Christum, mediatorem
Dei et hominum. — Hie etiam caput constitutus est a Deo omnium illo-
rum, qui istorum bonorum communionem sunt divina Praedestinatione
accepturi. Decreto isti aeternitatem tribuimus, quia Deus nihil in tempore facit,
quod ab aeterno facere non decreverit : nota enim sunt Domino Deo nos
tra omnia opera sua ab cevo. Et elegit nos in Christo, antequam jaceren-
tur fundamenta mundi : secus, Deo mutatio impingitur. —
Finis Praedestinationis est laus gloriosae gratiae Dei: quum enim gra
tia seu gratuitus Dei amor in Christo Praedestinationis causa sit, aequum
est, ut illi eidem omnis istius actus gloria cedat.
Hoc autem Praedestinationis decretum est secundum Electionem, ut
inquit Apostolus, quas Electio cum necessario inferat Reprobationem,
hinc Praedestinationi contraria opponitur Reprobatio, quae etiam Abjectio
dicitur, Descriptio ad damnationem, et Constitutio ad iram.
Main autem, ex lege contrariorum, definimus Decretum irte seu se-
Ll

298 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
silent respecting the cause of Predestination. But Arminius
had to deal with a high calvinistic party, which was vehe
mently adverse to him. Hence, though retaining his own
sentiments, he apparently concedes the very distinction which
lies at the bottom between Calvinism and Arminianism. In
this particular, I fear we must praise his ingenuity, rather
than his ingenuousness : for the apparent concession is a
mere using of calvinistic phraseology in a non-calvinistic
sense. When he speaks of the cause of Predestination being God
himself according to the motion of his Good Pleasure in him
self and with himself; which Good Pleasure excludes what
ever there was in man or from man to induce him either to
make or not to make that gracious decree : we might well
imagine, that we heard Calvin himself theologising from his
doctrinal chair at Geneva. Nevertheless, by The Good
vera voluntatis Dei, qua ab aterno statuit infideles, qui culpa sua et justo
Dei judicio credituri non sunt, ut extra unionem Christi positos, condem-
nare ad mortem csternam, ad declarandam iram et potentiam suam. —
Hujus doctrinae, ita ex Scripturis traditae, magnus est usus.
Servit enim gloriae gratias Dei adstruendas, afflictis conscientiis solan-
dis, impiis percellendis et securitati illorum excutiendae.
Adstruit autem gratiam Dei : cum totam laudem vocationis, justifica-
tionis, adoptionis, et glorificationis nostras, solius Dei misericordias trans-
cribit, ademptam viribus, operibus, et meritis nostris.
Consolatur conscientias cum tentatione luctantes : quando illas de
gratiosa Dei in Christo ab aeterno ipsis decreta, et in tempore praestita,
aeternumque duratura benevolentia, certiores reddit, eamque, non ex
operibus sed ex vocante, firmam ostendit.
Valet ad terrendos impios : quia docet, irrevocabile esse decretum
Dei de infidelibus, et qui veritati non obtemperant, obediunt- autem
mendacio, aeterno exitio adjudicandis.
Et propterea, non modo intra privatos parietes et in scholis, sed etiam
in coetibus sanctorum in ecclesia Dei sonare debet haec doctrina : hac
tamen cautione observata, ut extra Scripturas nihil de ilia doceatur, modo
Scripturis usitato proponatur, et ad eundem finem, quem Scriptura illam
tradens propositum habet, referatur. Armin. Disput. xv. p. 283, 284, 285.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 299
Pleasure of God, he really means, not God's Absolute Will
and mere Sovereign Determination, but, as he himself, in the
same passage, explains the phrase, The Benevolent Affection
of God's Will. So that, after all, he simply intimates : that
The salvation of any individual of our fallen race must be
ascribed, not to his own merits, but to the Benevolent Affec
tion of the Will of God ; who might, had it so pleased him,
have left the whole of mankind to perish unredeemed and
unreconciled. Accordingly, when he comes to treat of the correlative de
cree of Reprobation, he distinctly advances the precise lead
ing point, wherein his System differed from that of Calvin.
Reprobation, he tells us, is The decree of God's Wrath or
Severe Pleasure, by which he determines to condemn to eternal
death those unbelievers, who, by their own fault and the just
judgment of God, are not about to believe.
God's Prevision of man's future unbelief is, we find, when
this mist of words is dissipated, made the cause of Reproba
tion to everlasting death. Whence, obviously, on the
Scheme of Arminius, God's Prevision of man's future belief
must analogously be viewed as the cause of Election to
everlasting life.
In short, strong and decisive as may seem the language
of the preceding citation ; insomuch that many, who were
not aware that they had been reading the statement of Ar
minius, might easily have deemed the author a Calvinist,
just as they have rapidly pronounced the Seventeenth Arti
cle to be manifestly calvinistic : the real key to the whole
matter is this ; Arminius held the doctrine of conditionally
previsional Election to eternal happiness, while Calvin held
the doctrine of unconditionally absolute Election to eternal
happiness*. * The Remonstrants roundly asserted, in the very language of their

300 the primitive doctrine [book II.
2. But, whatever claim Arminius and the Arminians may
have made to the countenance of the English Church : nei
ther the Seventeenth Article itself, nor any part of her au
thorised documents, gives the slightest warrant for the valid
ity of such a claim.
The Seventeenth Article, even if we admit its inculcation
of that ideality of Election which is common alike to Ar
minianism and to Calvinism, is wholly silent as to the cause
of Election asserted by the Arminians : and, no where, so
far as I know, is that cause alleged and maintained in any
part either of the English Offices or of the English Homilies.
3. Hence I venture to pronounce : that no evidence exists,
opponents, that neither faith nor want of faith is the impelling cause of
God's decree, but solely the free and sovereign pleasure of God, who ,
wills to pity this man and not to pity that man.
Neque fidem neque infidelitatem causam esse impulsivam de'creti
Dei, sed liberrimam Dei voluntatem, volentis hujus misereri, illius non
misereri: damus tamen fidem et infidelitatem conditiones esse, sine
quibus, nee hunc salvare, nee ilium praeterire, ex puro puto beneplacito
visum fuit Deo. Epist. Remonst. ad Ext. p. 38.
By this, however, they meant only, that Predestination, so far as its
origin is concerned, springs from the sovereign pleasure of God, who
might, had it seemed good to him, have passed no such decree what
soever: in point of operation, they contended, what they here disguise
under the name of conditions, that God's Prevision of man's faith or
of man's want of faith is the active and immediate cause of man's
Election or of man's Reprobation.
From such ambiguous and perhaps somewhat disingenuous phraseol
ogy, the excellent Bishop Hall would attempt to reconcile the parties:
but the attempt, I fear, will always prove ineffectual. When two
polemics use the same phraseology in different senses, a reconciliation,
founded purely upon words, can scarcely be more than a hollow recon
ciliation. See Hall's Via Media, Works, vol. ix. p. 828.
I suspect, that many sciolists of the present day have no other notion
of Arminianism, than a crude idea, that it is J. something, which, op
posing Calvinism, stoutly denies altogether the doctrine of Election and
Reprobation. Never was there a more thorough misapprehension.

CHAP. VIII.] OF ELECTION. 301
as to the Arminianism of the Anglican Church, any more
than as to her Calvinism.
III. I am not aware, that the advocates of Nationalism
have ever directly claimed the suffrage of the Church of
England. Locke, at least, says nothing on the subject : and
Pyle, whose theory is the same, is equally reserved.
In truth, to prefer any such claim were altogether nuga
tory: for, in the authorised Anglican Documents, not a
shadow can be discovered of a Scheme, which, in point of
ideality, makes scriptural Election refer, not to individuals,
but to nations. Let the Seventeenth Article, for instance,
mean what it may : individuals, not nations, clearly consti
tute its subjects.
IV. The general conclusion from this investigation is :
that, negatively, The Church of England upholds not any
one of the three Systems, respectively denominated Calvinism
and Arminianism and Nationalism.

302 THE primitive doctrine [book II.

CHAPTER IX.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, RES-
, PECTING ELECTION, INVESTIGATED POSITIVELY.
Having thus ascertained, negatively, What Scheme of Doc
trine, respecting Election, the Church of England does not
hold: we may now, with some advantage, proceed to in
quire, positively, What Scheme of doctrine, respecting Elec
tion, the Church of England does hold.
Our inquiry into this matter will, of course, divide itself
into two branches : The ideality of Election ; and The
causation of Election.
I. Let us begin with investigating the ideality of Elec
tion, as maintained and taught by the Church of England.
1. In an examination of the present description, we na
turally first advert to a formal and professed enunciation of
doctrine, if any such exist.
Now an enunciation of this precise sort will be found in
the Seventeenth Article of the Anglican Church.
With the Seventeenth Article, therefore, our inquiry will,
both the most regularly and the most legitimately, com
mence. This Article, as it first came out of the hands of its
author Archbishop Cranmer, when, in the year 1553, the
Book of Articles was ratified and published, ran in terms
following. Predestination to life is the everlasting Purpose of God,

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION- 303
whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he
hath constantly decreed, by his counsel secret to us, to deliver
from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen out of
mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation,
as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they, which be endued
with so excellent a benefit of God, be called, according to
God's Purpose, by his Spirit working in due season : they be
justified freely : they be made sons of adoption : they be made
like the image of the only-begotten Jesus Christ : they walk
religiously in good works : and, at length, by God's mercy,
they attain to everlasting felicity.
As the godly consideration of Predestination and our
Election in Christ is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeaka
ble, comfort, to godly persons and such as feel in themselves
the working of the Spirit of Christ mortifying the works of
the flesh and their earthly members and drawing up their
mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth
greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation
to be enjoyed through Christ, as because it doth fervently
kindle their love toward God : so, for curious and carnal
persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually be
fore their eyes the sentence of God's Predestination, is a most
dangerous downfall; whereby the devil doth thrust them, either
into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living
no less perilous than desperation.
Furthermore, though the decrees of Predestination be un
known to us, yet must we receive God's promises in such wise,
as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture : and,
in our doings, that will of God is to be followed, which we
have expressly declared unto us in ihe word of God*.
Such was the original form of the famous Seventeenth
Article. * Burnet's Hist, of the Reform, vol. ii. part. ii. p. 296, 297.

304 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
Now, in order to understand its real drift and purport, we
must obviously begin with ascertaining the .sentiments of the
illustrious individual, under whose influence, and in accor
dance with whose solicited advice, it was composed : and,
when we shall thus have obtained the true key to the Article,
we may then, with some reasonable prospect of advantage,
apply it to the phraseology of the Article itself.
(1.) Melancthon, we have seen, in his reply to Cranmer,
., strongly reprobated that frequent introduction of new-fangled
Schemes of Doctrine relative to Scriptural Election, which,
in the way of mere unauthorised private exposition, sprang
up from a neglect of simple and sincere Christian Anti
quity*. * Vides multiplices explicationes, et olim excogitatas esse, et nunc
excogitari, quia negligitur simplex et sincera Vetustas. Melanc. Epist.
lib. iii. epist. 44.
One of these phantasies was the System excogitated by Zuingle ;
which was received, I believe, only by his own followers ; and which
departs so utterly from the very principle of Election, though apparently
founded upon a speculation of Justin Martyr, that I have not thought
myself bound to notice it in the body of the present Work.
Justin imagined, that those virtuous heathens, such as Socrates and
Heraclitus, who lived with the Word or, according to Reason (the play,
in the original, is untranslateable), might be deemed Christians, though
they must be viewed as ignorant of the true God of revelation.
Tov XpioVov ifpuroroxov tou ®sov sivai iSiSd)(6riu.sv, xai ntposu,r\vv-
dau.ev Aoyov ovra, ov itav yivog dv6puifuv u.srid-/s- xai oi u,eto Abyov
fitudavrsg Xpidnavoi eldi, xdv oMsoi ivou.id6r)dav ofov iv "EXXijifi u.sv
Suxpdrrig xai 'HpaxXsiros xai oi 6'f/,oioi aikoij. Justin. Apol. i. Oper.
p. 65.
Taking the hint probably from this passage, Zuingle maintained, not
only that virtuous heathens might possibly be saved through the merits
of an innocently unknown Redeemer, but also that those heathens are
to be counted in the number of God's Elect.
As Christ died for all men, he argued ; and as God is no respecter of
persons; all, who possess faith or genuine piety, that is, who truly love

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 305
Hence we may be quite sure, that the mode, in which
Melancthon theologised, was the very reverse of that which
he condemned : in other words, we may be quite sure, that
Melancthon, when he renounced what he calls The Stoical
and ManichSan Insanity of Fatalism, would resort to
Christian Antiquity for the purpose of settling the true doc
trine of Scriptural Election and Predestination.
In this wise and rational plan of theologising, Cranmer
perfectly concurred : for, though most happy to solicit and
to profit by the advice of such a Divine as Melancthon, he
did not blindly build upon it ; but, on the contrary, in com
posing the Seventeenth Article, he is stated, by his first pro-
testant successor Parker, to have been most diligent, in
reading the oldest Fathers both greek and latin, and in
examining Ecclesiastical Antiquity quite up to the times of
the Apostles*.
Now, purely in the way of coming at mere matter of fact,
such a process must have convinced both Melancthon and
and fear God, whether they be Christians or Heathens, are indiffer
ently elected.
Nihil vetat, quo minus inter gentes quoque Deus sibi deligat, qui sese
revereantur, qui observent, et post fata illi jungantur : libera est enim
Electio ejus. Zuing. Oper. vol. ii. p. 371.
Bullinger speaks exactly to the same purpose.
Deinde interrogatur : An opera, qucefaciunt Gentiles, ac speciem ha
bent probitatis vel virtutis, peccata sint, an bona opera. Certum est,
Deum et inter Gentiles habuisse suos Electos. Si qui tales fuerunt, non
caruerunt Spiritu Saneto et Fide. Ideirco opera ipsorum facta ex fide
bona fuerunt, non peccata. Bulling. Serm. Decad. Quinque. p. 174.
To such fancies, Melancthon would have promptly answered, that
Sincere Antiquity was altogether ignorant of any such interpretation of
Scriptural Election.
* Quibus perceptis, antiquissimos tam Grascos quam Latinos Patres
evolvit : concilia omnia, et antiquitatem, ad ipsa Apostolorum tem-
pora, investigavit. Parker. Cantuarens. Antiquit. Britann. p. 331.
Mm

306 ' THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
Cranmer : that The doctrine, maintained and taught by
Primitive Antiquity, was, in point qf ideality, the doctrine
of Ecclesiastical Individual Election.
Accordingly, Melancthon, in delivering his sentiments on
this topic, is full and express and unambiguous.
He contended : that The Catholic Church collectively is
the Election or the Elect Church of God; because, as a
body, it is chosen out of the corrupt mass of ihe entire human
race. And thence he maintained : that All the members of
the Elect Catholic Church, inasmuch as they are thus com
ponent parts of the Election, constitute individually ihe Elect
People of God*.
* De effectu Electionis teneamus hanc consolationem : Deum, volen-
tem non perire totum genus humanum, semper, propter Filium, per
misericordiam vocare, trahere, et colligere, Eeclesiam ; et recipere
assentientes ; atque ita velle semper aliquam esse Eeclesiam, quam ad-
juvat et salvat. Melanc. Loe. Theol. de Pradest.
Magna autem consolatio primum haec est, quod certo scimus ex verbo
Dei, Deum immensa misericordia, propter Filium, semper colligere
Eeclesiam in genere humano, et quidem voce Evangelii. — Sed dices !
Hac consolatio eo prodest, quod scio aliis servari Eeclesiam ; fortassis
autem mihi id nihil prodest : et quomodo sciam, qui sunt Electi? Re
spondeo : Tibi quoque hac generalis consolatio prodest, quia credere
debes, tibi quoque servari Eeclesiam : et mandatum Dei aternum et im-
motum est, ut tu quoque audias Filium, agas poenitentiam, et credos te
recipi a Deo propter Mediatorem. . Talis cum es, discedens ex hac vita,
certum est, te in numero Electorum esse : sicut scriptum est ; Quos
justificat, eosdem et glorificat. Melanc. Oper. vol. iv. p. 161.
Vere in Ecclesia recipit infantes : et laetemur in coetu vocatorum elec
tos esse. Melanc. Oper. vol. i. p. 320.
In eo coetu sunt adhue aliqui electi et sancti, ut pueri : et aliqui adulti
recte sentientes, sed infirmi ; qui tamen sunt membra Christi. Melanc.
Epist. in Opusc. Calvin.
Quos elegit, hos et vocavit. Attexit splendidissimam amplificationem
de conservatione Ecclesia, in hac tanta deformitate, et in his confusionibus
et ruinis regnorum : quasi dicat ; Quanquam omnia minantur interitum,
tamen scitote, Eeclesiam cura esse Deo, et non inlerituram esse. Orditur

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 307
This being the view taken by Melancthon, he indisputably
must have held the true ancient ideality of Election to be
An Election of individuals, out of the great corrupt mass of
mankind, into the pale of the visible Church, with God's
morally-acting purpose and intention, that the Elect, profiting
by their privileges of Election, should finally attain everlasting
felicity. Such, as stated by himself, was the Doctrinal System of
Melancthon ; a System, professedly adopted from the pure
source of Primitive Christian Antiquity : such, therefore, was
the System, which Cranmer, acting by the advice of Me
lancthon, and in consequence of his own diligent researches
igitur ab Electione, ut nos commonefaciat de perpetuo consilio Dei et de
conservatione Ecclesia : quasi dicat ; Scitote, esse Eeclesiam electam
propter Filium. — Semper aliqua haereditas erit Filii Dei in genere hu
mano. Et hac electa Ecclesia pradicatione colligitur, et fit justa, et or-
nabitur aterna gloria. Mox igitur monet, ubi Electi quarendi sint ;
scilicet, in coetu Vocatorum. Ideo inquit ; Quos elegit, hos et vocavit.
Melanc. Oper. vol. iv. p. 154.
This, as we have seen, was the precise doctrine of the Primitive
Church : and Melancthon, who studiously professed to defer to Antiqui
ty, and who avowedly censured those new-fangled Schemes which
sprang up from a neglect of Antiquity and from a consequent abuse of
the legitimate right of private judgment, could, by no possibility, on his
sound principles of inquiry, have adopted and maintained any other
doctrine. He states, we may further observe, with the utmost correctness, the
mode, and the only mode, in which the Primitive Church held the
tenet, that afterward, in the hands of Augustine and Calvin, was trans
muted into the dogma of The indefectible Final Perseverance of every
individual, among the Elect. Christ had declared : that He would found
his Church upon a rock ; and that The gates of hell should never prevail
against it. Hence Melancthon, with the early believers, justly main
tained, we see, The Final Perseverance of the collective Church of the
Election, insomuch that Christ should never be without a Church of the
Elect even to the very end of the world, though individually any one of
the Elect might fall away and finally perish.

308 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
into the same Antiquity, embodied in the Seventeenth Arti
cle of the Church of England.
(2.) To the phraseology, then, of that Article, opened by
the key with which we have been furnished by the explicit-
ness of Melancthon, let us now attend : reading the Article
under the impression, that it was the Work of Cranmer :
who had consulted Melancthon on the subject treated of in
it; and who, like Melancthon, rejecting the various unau
thoritative phantasies of mere licentious private judgment^
had resorted to venerable Antiquity for information and
instruction. Election, whether absolute and unconditional, or previ
sional and conditional, is equally, both on the Calvinistic
Scheme and on the Arminian Scheme, An Election of cer
tain individuals, directly and immediately, to eternal life.
But, as this notion agrees not with the ideality of Elec
tion, maintained by the Primitive Church to be the true
sense of Scripture : so, unless I greatly mistake, it agrees as
little with the ideality of Election, maintained, under the
joint influence of Melancthon and Cranmer, by the reformed
Church of England.
In respect to the point of ideality, the Anglican Church,
when, in the Seventeenth Article, she speaks of Predestina
tion to life, teaches not An Election of certain individuals,
either absolute or previsional, directly and immediately, to
eternal happiness. But she teaches An Election of certain
individuals into the Church Catholic, in order that there, ac
cording to the everlasting purpose and morally-operating in
tention of God, they may be delivered from curse and damna
tion, and thus, indirectly and mediately, may be brought
through Christ to everlasting salvation ; agreeably to God's
promises, as they are generically, not specifically, set forth
to us in Holy Scripture.

chap, ix.] of election. 309
That such is the real doctrine of the Church of England ;
in other words, that she teaches A Predestination to life, not
direct and immediate, but indirect and mediate : inevitably
follows from the circumstance ; that, while in her Sixteenth
Article she hints at the possibility of the Elect individually
departing from Grace given, in her Homilies and in her
Burial Service she distinctly states, that the Elect, in her
sense of the word, may, in their individual capacity, fall
away utterly, and thus perish finally*. Now this statement
is palpably incompatible with the tenet of A direct and im
mediate Predestination of individuals to eternal life : for in
dividuals, so predestinated, could not, by the very terms of
their Predestination, fall away utterly and irrecoverably.
Therefore the Predestination to life, mentioned in the Seven
teenth Article, can only mean An indirect and mediate
Predestination of individuals : or, in other words, it can only
mean A Predestination of individuals to eternal life, through
the medium of Election into the Catholic Church, in God's
everlasting purpose and intention indeed ; but still, since God
in executing his purpose and intention operates upon the
minds of his intelligent creatures not physically but morally,
with a possibility of their defeating that merciful purpose
and intention and thence of their finally falling away to ever
lasting destruction.
As the Article, in connection with the other documents of
the Anglican Church, must, unless we place them in irrecon-
cileable collision with each other, be understood to propound
the doctrine of Predestination after the manner and in the
sense which has been specified : so it distinctly enjoins us
to receive God's promises, as they are generally set forth to
us in Holy Scripture.
The import of the word generally is, I suspect, very
* See below, § i. 2. (2.)

310 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE " [bOOK II.
often and very widely misapprehended by the readers of the
Seventeenth Article as it occurs in the English form. The
term is thought to be equivalent to Usually or For the most
part : and thence the clause is supposed to teach ; that, in
the matter of Election, God's promises must be received as
they are most usually set forth in Scripture, so that, in the
interpretation of Holy Writ, we must not set one text in
opposition to another text.
But this, is, in no wise, either the meaning of the term, or
the drift of the clause.
From its ambiguity, the word generally has, no doubt,
been infelicitously selected : but a moment's inspection of
the Article in its latin form will shew us the true import of
the term. Its sense is, not Generally as opposed to Unusu
ally, but Generally as opposed to Particularly*. Had the
word generically been used in the English form of the Ar
ticle, instead of the word generally, all ambiguity would
have been avoided ; and thus the real drift of the clause
would have stood out plain and distinct.
The latter part of the Article is an explanation of its
former part. We must embrace the doctrine of Predesti
nation to life : but then, as that Predestination, through the
medium of Election into the Church Catholic, is, so far as
respects particulars or individuals, only according to
God's everlasting moral purpose and intention ; the promises
of God, in regard to Predestination and Election, must be
received generically, not specifically. That is to say, the
promises of God must be received generically, with a refe
rence to the whole collective Church of the Election ; which
Christ has founded upon a rock, and which (agreeably to his
express prophecy) can never be finally overturned : not re-
* In the latin form of the Seventeenth Article, the word employed is
Generaliter, not Plerumque.

chap, ix.] of election. 311
ceived specifically, with a reference to a certain number of
individuals of that Church ; whose particular Predestination
to life might thence be erroneously pronounced absolute and
irreversible. In this explanation, furnished by the Article itself, we may
plainly, in its very phraseology, detect the assisting hand of
Melancthon : and, where his hand is detected, we can never
doubt the real meaning.
Great is the comfort, says he, that we assuredly know from
the word of God : that, in his immense mercy, on account of
his Son, God is always collecting the church among man
kind, and that he does it by the voice of the Gospel. — But you
will say : This comfort avails, so far as my knowing that the
Church is securely preserved for the benefit of others ; but
perhaps that will not at all profit myself: for how shall I
know, who are the Elect ? I answer : To thee also this gene
ric comfort is profitable ; because thou oughtest to believe, that
the Church is securely preserved for thy benefit also : and the
commandment of God is eternal and immoveable, that thou
also shouldest hear the Son, shouldest repent, and shouldest
believe that thou wilt be received by God for the sake of the
Mediator. Being such as thou art, it is certain, when thou de-
partest from this life, that thou art in the number of the Elect*.
* Magna autem consolatio primum haec est, quod certo scimus ex
verbo Dei, Deum immensa misericordia propter Filium semper colli
gere Eeclesiam in genere humano, et quidem voce Evangelii. — Sed
dices : Haec consolatio eo prodest, quod scio aliis servari Eeclesiam ;
fortassi* autem* mihi id nihil prodest : et quomodo sciam, qui sunt
Electi? Respondeo: Tibi quoque hasc generalis consolatio prodest,
quia credere debes, tibi quoque servari Eeclesiam : et mandatum Dei
aeternum et jmmotum est, ut tu quoque audias Filium, agas poeniten-
tiam, et credas te recipi a Deo propter Mediatorem. Talis cum es, dis-
cedens ex hac vita, certum est, te in numero Electorum esse. Melanc.
Oper. vol. iv. p. 161.
This doctrine of Melancthon and the Church of England, that The

312 the primitive doctrine [book II.
Accordingly, in precise correspondence both with this
language of Melancthon and with its own self-explanation
by the use of the word generically, the Article, throughout
its entire composition, employs a phraseology, not singular
or particular, but plural or generical. It teaches, for in
stance, every member of the Church to speak of the godly
consideration of our Election : and, in the latin form, though
in the English exhibition of the Article the phraseology has
been departed from, it further teaches all the members of
the Church to say ; that this godly consideration doth greatly
confirm our faith of eternal salvation to be enjoyed through
Christ, and doth vehemently kindle our love toward God*.
Now such pluralising language, thus put into the mouth of
every member of the Church, would palpably be improper,
unless the author of the Article, like his friend and adviser
Melancthon, had held and taught, that, in his sense of the
word, every member of the Church Catholic or the Church
of the Election was himself one of the Elect People of God.
Under this aspect, as the language of the Article is studi
ously generical: so, by describing the whole Collegiate
Body of the Ecclesiastically Elect, as in God's moral pur
pose they are intended to be, and as by their profession they
ought to be ; its obvious design is to stir them up, so that they
should make the proper generic character of the Lord's
Elect People their own personal particular character.
scriptural promises of God must be understood generically and not
particularly, stood so directly opposed to the System of Qalvin that
we cannot wonder at his specific opposition to it even in set terms.
Aliquid disserui, eorum errorem refellens, quibus generalitas
promissionum videtur asquare totum genus humanum. Calvin. Instit.
lib. iii. c. 24. § 1.
* Turn quia fidem nostram, de aeterna salute consequenda per Chris
tum, plurimum stabilit atque confirmat : turn quia amorem nostrum in
Deum vehementer accendit.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 313
In justification of such a principle, which remarkably runs
through all the Offices of the English Church, and which in
truth is borrowed from the drift of the pluralising apostolic
phraseology itself, our reformers adduce the practice and
authority of St. Paul.
That we should remember, say they, to be holy, pure, and
free from all uncleanness, the holy Apostle calleth us saints :
because we are sanctified and made holy by the blood of Christ
through the Holy Ghost*.
* Homily against adultery, part ii. Homil. p. 103. The sum of the
matter, in short, is this. The Catholic Church collectively is the
Church of the Election. Whence, according to our Lord's explicit
promise that the gates of hell should never prevail against it, the Catho
lic Church, after her effectual calling, is endowed with the grace and
privilege of final perseverance. But, as the seventeenth Article rightly
teaches, the promises of God to such effect must be understood gen
erically respecting the Catholic Church of the Election, not specifi
cally of every elect member of that Church. For, though the Church
generically must, according to the divine decree, finally persevere,
and thence cannot fail of ultimately becoming the Church triumphant in
heaven : yet individual members of the Church specifically may fi
nally fall away from grace given, and thence may ultimately fail of
obtaining the reward which is promised no otherwise than collectively.
In fine, let the five calvinistic points op Election, Particular Redemption,
Original Sin, Effectual Calling, and Final Perseverance, be predicated
of Christ's Catholic Church generically, agreeably to the doctrine of
Melancthon and Cranmer ; instead of being predicated of certain fa
voured individuals specifically, according to the doctrine of Augus
tine and Calvin : and perhaps we shall not err very widely in our re
ception of those five points. At least, we need only doubt, whether
Redemption ought to be viewed, as universal in regard to the whole
world, or as universal in regard to the whole Church. Should the latter
modification be adopted, we shall have a Redemption, universal so far
as the whole Church is concerned,, but particular to the Church as con
tra-distinguished from the non-elect world at large. Our Anglican Re
formers, however, as we shall presently see, appear to prefer the former
modification ; esteeming Redemption so universal, as to extend, not
merely to all the members of the Church, but even to all mankind
collectively.
Nn

4

314 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
In scriptural language, as it is almost superfluous to re
mark, the term saints is virtually equivalent to the term
ELECT. The great influence, which Melancthon had in the compo
sition of the Seventeenth Article, whence we conclude that
it must he interpreted in accordance with his views on the
topic of Election, is, in short, evident from the remarkable
agreement of the very phraseology of the Article with the
constant language of the German Reformer.
Of this coincidence we have already seen a striking in
stance in Melancthon's use of the word generic, as coupled
with the comfort to be derived from God's promises : it may
not be useless, for our present purpose, to exhibit some other
yet additional instances.
Whatever subtilty of disputation there may be concerning
the doctrine of Election, it will profit the pious to hold : that
the promise is universal. Nor ought we to judge of the
Will of God any otherwise, than according to his revealed
word : and we ought to know, that God has commanded us to
believe. — We, therefore, in all simplicity, interpret this decla
ration universally : God willeth all men to be saved. That
is to say : He wills the salvation of all men, so far as his will
or purpose or intention is concerned*.
Let us hold fast these universal sayings concerning the
promise : and let us oppose all temptation concerning par
ticularity, when our minds incline to dispute, Whether such
and such persons are in the number of the Elect ? From a
* Et si alia subtiliter de Electione disputari fortasse possunt : tamen
prodest piis tenere, quod Promissio sit universalis. Nee debemus de
voluntate Dei aliter judieare, quam juxta verbum revelatum : et scire
debemus, quod Deus praeceperit ut credamus. — Nos igitur simpliciter
interpretarnur hanc sententiam universaliter. Deus vult omnes ho
mines salvos fieri. Scilicet, quod ad ipsius voluntatem attinet. Melanc.
Oper. vol. iv. p. 498, 499.

chap, ix.] of election. 315
disputation of this sort, let us rather pass to the revealed
will of god in the Gospel : and let us believe. God's own ex
press word : and let us include ourselves within f he univer
sal promise. . That this promise appertains to us also, let us
be convinced : and let us know, that the Son of God is a true
messenger ; through whom, from the bosom of the Eternal
Father, the promise is declared: nor, inasmuch as God is
true, let us idly feign contradictory wills concerning the
same matter. This comfort, derived from the express
word, let us hold fast : nor let us entangle ourselves in those
inextricable labyrinths of disputation, which overturn the
faith*. Whom he chose, them also he called. This sentence con
tains a sweet and salutary and manifold comfort-)-.
After such an examination, based upon such grounds, we
can' scarcely, I think, doubt : that the ideality of Election,
propounded in the Seventeenth Article, is that of An Elec
tion or Predestination of individuals into the pale of the
visible Church, in order to their eternal salvation, so
far as God's purpose or intention is concerned, through
* Haec Universalia dicta de promissione teneamus : et opponamus
tentationi de Particularitate, eum disputant mentes, An sint in numero
Electorum ? Ab hac disputatione, ad revelatam Dei voluntatem in
Evangelio deducamur: et credamus expresso verbo Dei : et nos in uni-
versalem promissionem includamus. Sciamus earn ad nos quoque
pertinere : sciamus Filium Dei veracem nuncium esse, per quem; pro-
lata est promissio ex sinu asterni Patris : nee fingamus de eadem re
contradictorias voluntates in Deo, quia Deus verax est. Hanc consola-
tionem, sumptam ex verbo expresso, teneamus : nee ipsos inextricabili-
buslabyrinthis disputationum imphcemus, quae fidem evertunt. Melanc.
Oper. vol. iv. p. 86.
f Item Rom. viii: Quos elegit, hos et vocavit. Dulcem, salutarem,
et multiplicem, consolationem, continet haec sententia. Melanc. Loe,
Theol. de Praedest. p. 475.

316 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
sanctification of ihe Spirit and belief of the truth in Christ
Jesus*. 2. If, however, such be the ideality of Election main-
* It is remarkable, that the phrase, Election to salvation, occurs only
once in Holy Scripture.
God hath, from the beginning, elected you to salvation, s'lkaro iu,dg o
®sig di:' dp-)rr]g sig durripiav, through sanctification of ihe Spirit and
belief of the truth. 2 Thess. ii. 13.
The phrase, as here used by St. Paul, is evidently the basis and au
thority of the equipollent phrase, Predestination to life, as employed in
the Seventeenth Article.
Hence the question is : How we are to understand ihe scriptural phrase
before us.
Arminians and Calvinists equally suppose it to mean, An Election
specially and immediately unto salvation itself, so that all the Elect loill
assuredly be saved.
But the Primitive Church, and after it the reformers of the Church of
England (as I contend), believed it to mean only, A generic Election in
order to the salvation of ihe elected individuals.
The question is decided in favour of the latter, by a parallel phrase
also employed by St. Paul, the grammatical construction of which re
quires the sense of in order to.
In whom also we have received an inheritance, being predestinated, ac
cording to the purpose of him who worketh all things after ihe counsel of
his own will, sig to £ivai iju.dg sig sVaivov rrjg Sb%r\g avrov, in order
to our being to thepraise of his glory. Ephes. i. 11, 12.
Agreeably to this decision, he speaks of Election, as respecting only
a hope of eternal life, not as respecting that absolute irreversible" cer
tainty of it which alike characterises the two Systems of Calvin and
of Arminius. Tit. i. 1, 2.
So far as the promises are generically set forth in Scripture, God, as
the Apostle remarks, cannot lie. But promises of eternal life, made to
the Church collectively, will not, when a wicked course attended with
final impenitence intervenes, be fulfilled individually.
Agreeably to the same decision, he writes to Timothy : I endure all
things on account of the Elect, in order that, SW, they may also ob
tain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
2 Tim. ii. 10.
Here we learn, that, since the People of God are elected in order

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. ' 317
tained by the English Church in her Seventeenth Article,
we may be sure, that a strict correspondence with this ide
ality will be found in her other authorised documents :
while, if such be not the ideality of Election in the judgment
to their salvation, due means must be taken in order to their finally
attaining that salvation.
The propriety of this view of the matter is, in short, confirmed, by
the sense in which the kindred verb dufu is perpetually employed by
the inspired writers of the New Testament.
With them, that verb denotes, not only to save absolutely and finally
in the next world, but also to bring into a state of solvability in this pre
sent world.
Thus the members of Christ's Church, even while still living, are
said to be saved: not that they are all actually saved on this side of the
grave, for we have but too much reason to fear that some perish everlast
ingly ; but that, by their Election into the Church, they are brought
into the high privileges of a solvable condition.
He said unto the woman : Thy faith hath saved thee (that is, hath put
thee in a state of salvation) ; go in peace. Luke vii. 50.
We have been saved (that is, we have been brought into a solvable state)
by hope. Rom. viii. 24.
By which also ye are saved (that is, are brought into a condition of
solvability), if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye-
have believed in vain. 1 Corinth, xv. 2.
By grace ye have been saved (that is, have been brought into a state of
salvation), through faith. Ephes. ii. 8.
Who hath saved us (that is, hath brought us into a solvable condition),
and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but ac
cording to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before ihe world began. 2 Tim. i. 9.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy, he saved us (that is, put us in a state of salvation) by the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Tit. iii. 5.
The like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth also now save us (that
is, doth also, now bring us into a solvable condition) ; not the putting
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward
God. 1 Pet. iii. 21.
Thus also, collectively, the members of Christ's Church, are de
scribed as being The Saved : by which title we must clearly under-

318 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
of the English Church, we may be no less sure, that the
error of interpretation, into which I shall then have fallen,
will, by those other authorised documents, be readily and
effectually corrected,
With this view, then, let us see : Whether the remarks,
which have been made upon the Seventeenth Article, are cor
roborated, or are contradicted, by the language of the other
authorised documents of the Church of England.
The several matters, to be established, are : that The
English Church holds, in point of ideality, the doctrine of
An Election of certain individuals into the pale of the visible
Church, with God's will or purpose or intention, that, profit
ing by their privileges, they should finally be saved ; that She
also holds A moral Possibility of those Elect Persons so fall
ing away from Grace, as finally and irrecoverably, through
stand, not The Saved absolutely and in the next world, but The
Brought into a state of solvability in this world.
The Lord daily added The Saved to the Church. Acts ii. 47.
To The Lost, the preaching of ihe cross is foolishness : but, to us The
Saved, it is the power of God. 1 Corinth, i. 18.
We are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in The Saved and in The
Lost. 2 Corinth, ii. 15.
On the whole, therefore, we cannot reasonably doubt, that the Elec
tion to Salvation, mentioned in 2 Thess. ii. 13, imports An Election in
order to Salvation, or, in other words, An Election to all the privileges
and advantages of a state of solvability.
Perhaps I may be permitted to subjoin, as exhibiting the perfect fa
miliarity of such construction to the early Church, that the Catecheses
of Cyril, addressed to those who were preparing for baptism, but who
had not as yet been baptised, are throughout denominated, Ai ruv ou.
ri^ou.ivuv xarrfffldsig, The Catecheses of ihe Illuminated.
Here the term Illuminated is used precisely in the same construction,
as the term Saved is used by the writers of the New Testament. It is
employed to denote, not Persons actually illuminated by the already past
canonical reception of baptism, but PersQns brought into a capability of
illumination by a due catechetical preparation for that sacrament about to
be received by them.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 319
their own perverseness, to perish ; ¦ and that, in strict accor
dance with God's promises as they are generically set forth
in Holy Scripture, She further holds the doctrine of Univer
sal, as opposed to Particular, Redemption.
If, from the authorised documents of the Church of Eng
land, these three matters can be established : we shall then
have no reasonable doubt, as to the correctness of the pre
ceding interpretation of the Seventeenth Article.
(1.) The first matter to be established is : that, In the
authorised documents of the English Church, the ideality of
Election is described, as being that of An Election of certain
individuals into the pale of the visible Church, with God's
morally-operating will or purpose or intention that they
should be finally saved.
This matter, if I mistake not, is amply established, even
in the commencement of our inquiry, by the peculiar phrase
ology introduced into the Office of Infant-Baptism.
Regard, we beseech thee, the supplications of thy Congrega
tion : sanctify this water to the mystical washing away of
sin : and grant, that this child, now to be baptised therein,
may receive the fulness of thy grace, and ever remain in the
number of thy faithful and elect children, through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Thus, in systematically generalising phraseology, runs the
prayer. Now the same prayer is recited over every child.
Consequently, by the inevitable force of the word remain as
here used, every child, baptismally brought into the pale of
the Church, is declared to be, at that time, one of the num
ber of god's elect.
But the largest charity cannot believe : that every child,
baptismally brought into the pale of the Church, is elect in
the sense of Election as jointly maintained by Calvin and
Arminius.

320 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
Therefore, agreeably to the tenor of her own explicit
phraseology, the idea, which the English Church annexes to
the term Election, can only be that of Ecclesiastical Individ
ual Election.
The matter is yet additionally established by the parallel
phraseology, which occurs in the somewhat more modern
Office of Adult-Baptism.
With the sole requisite alteration of this person for this
child, the prayer is copied verbatim from the older Office.
Every adult, therefore, who is baptismally introduced into
the pale of the Church, is, as such, declared to be one of the
number of god's elect people.
The same matter is still further established by the strictly
homogeneous language of the Catechism.
Each questioned Catechumen, who, as an admitted mem
ber of the Church, has already, in the Baptismal Office, been
declared to be one of the elect, is directed to reply : that,
a,s a chief article of the Faith propounded in the Creed, he
has learned to believe in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth
him and all the elect people of god.
Now such an answer plainly makes every Catechumen
declare himself to be one of the elect.
But, in no conceivable sense which will harmonise with
the general phraseology of the Anglican Church, save in that
of Ecclesiastical Individual Election only, can every Cate
chumen be deemed one of god's elect people.
Therefore, the idea, which, to the scriptural term Election,
is annexed by the Church of England, is that of Ecclesiasti
cal Individual Election*-
* With the Catechism of the English Church, that of the Palatine
Churches may here be usefully compared.
Quid credis de sancta et catholica Christi Ecclesia ?
Credo Filium Dei, ab initio mundi ad finem usque, sibi, ex universo

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 321
The matter is also established by the parallel phraseology
introduced into the Burial Service.
We beseech thee, that it may please thee, of thy gracious
goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect
and to hasten thy kingdom : that we, with all those that are
departed in the true faith of thy holy name, may have our
perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in
thy eternal and everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. In this prayer, the generic term we occurs in immediate
connection with the number of thine elect.
Therefore the evidently studied arrangement of the words
enforces the conclusion : that every member of the Church,
as designated by the term we, must be deemed one of god's
elect people*.
genere humano, coetum ad vitam aeternam eleetum, per Spiritum suum
et verbum, in vera fide consentientem, colligere, tueri, ac servare, meque
vivum ejus coetus membrum esse, et perpetuo mansurum. Catech.
Heidel. in Syllog. Confess, p. 373.
* The prayer, here cited from the Burial-Service, may be usefully
compared with the locally corresponding prayer, which occurs in the
older Burial-Service, as set forth in the reign of King Edward.
Almighty God, we give thee hearty thanks for this thy servant, whom
thou hast delivered from ihe miseries of this wretched world, from the body
of death, and from all temptation ; and, as we trust, hast brought his soul,
which he committed into thy holy hands, into sure consolation and rest.
Grant, we beseech thee, that, at the day of judgment, his soul and all the
souls of thine elect, departed out of this life, may, with us, and we
with them, fully receive thy promises, and be made perfect all together,
through the glorious resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
This prayer was, obviously enough, relinquished, because, in the
spirit of a not yet perfectly abandoned superstition, it contains a petition
for the souls of the dead : but that circumstance does not render it less
valuable as evidence in the matter of our present inquiry. Most plain
ly, both the departed individual, and the whole congregation who attend
him to the grave, are viewed as being in the number of god's elect,
Oo

322 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
Finally, the same matter is established, even in the familiar
course of daily recitation, by the language of the very Litany
itself. Endue thy ministers with righteousness : and make thy
CHOSEN PEOPLE joyful.
O Lord, save thy people : and bless thine inheritance.
Now, who are the chosen people, whom the Lord is here
supplicated to make joyful ?
Can we .reasonably pronounce them, in the judgment of
the Anglican Church, to be Certain individuals of each
actually praying Congregation, who, in contradistinction to
other individuals of the same Congregation, are predestinat
ed, either absolutely or previsionally, to eternal life ?
Assuredly, the whole context forbids so incongruous a
supposition : for, assuredly, the whole context requires us to
pronounce, that thy chosen people are identical with thine
INHERITANCE. But the entire tenor of the Liturgy identifies thine in
heritance With THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Therefore, thy chosen people and the catholic church
are terms, in point of import, identical.
(2.) The second matter to be established is : that The
Church of England holds a moral possibility of the Elect so
falling from grace, as finally and irrecoverably, through their
own perverseness, to perish.
Since the Anglican Church, with the Primitive Church,
made (we have seen) the ideality of Election to respect
An, Admission into the pale of the visible Church Catholic,
not A necessary and infallible Admission into eternal glory :
she obviously could not teach the doctrine of The assured
Final Perseverance of every individual among the Elect;
according to the sense in which the word Election is understood by the
Church of England.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 323
but, annexing a totally different sense to the word Elect
itself from that which is jointly advocated by Calvin and by
Arminius, she consistently pronounced, that the Elect, as she
understood the term, might finally fall away, and thence
might everlastingly perish.
To this moral possibility of Final Apostasy the Anglican
Church, as was felt by the Calvinistic Party in the confer
ence at Hampton Court, alludes, though she does not speci
fically there define the matter, in her Sixteenth Article.
After we have received the Goly Ghost, we may depart
from Grace given and fall into sin : and, by the Grace of
God, we may arise again, and amend our lives.
Here it seems to be not obscurely intimated : that The
Elect, even after they have received the Holy Ghost, may so
depart from Grace given, and may so fall into sin ; that
they either may, or may not, be restored by the influential
Grace of God.
Such, accordingly, was doubtless perceived to be the case
by the Calvinistic Party : for, otherwise, it is impossible to
account for their proposed alteration of the Article, which
would have made it speak the language of Assured Personal-
Final Perseverance.
They moved King James : that, to the original words of
the Article ; After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may
depart from Grace given and fall into sin : might be sub
joined the following explanatory addition ; Yet neither totally
nor finally*.
Had this addition been made, the Article would doubtless
have taught the doctrine of The Final Perseverance of all the
Elect. The wish to make it imported a consciousness, that
the Reformed Anglican Church held no such doctrine.
* See Abp. Laurence's Bampt. Leet. p. 191.

324 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
Nor was this consciousness ill founded : the Homily on
Falling from God, as we might anticipate from its very title,
distinctly asserts, ih both its parts, the moral possibility, in
the Elect, of finally departing from Grace given, and of thus
perishing everlastingly.
By all these examples of Holy Scripture, we may know :
that, as we forsake God, so shall he ever forsake us. And,
what miserable state doth consequently and necessarily follow
thereupon, a man may easily consider by the terrible threat-
enings of God. And, although he consider not all the said
misery to the uttermost, being so great that it passeth any
man's capacity in this life sufficiently to consider the same :
yet he shall soon perceive so much thereof, that, if his heart
be not more than stony or harder than the adamant, he shall
fear, tremble, and quake, to call the same to his remembrance. —
When God withdrawethfrom us his word, the right doctrine
of Christ, his gracious assistance and aid (which is ever joined
to his word) ; and leaveth us to our own wit, our own will
and strength : he declareth then, that he beginneth to for
sake us. For, whereas God hath shewed, to all them that
truly believe his Gospel, his face of mercy in Jesus Christ ;
which doth so lighten their hearts, that they (if they behold it
as they ought to do) be transformed to his image, be made
partakers of the heavenly light and of his Holy Spirit, and
be fashioned to him in all goodness requisite to the children
of God : so, if they do after neglect the same, if they be un
thankful unto him, if they order not their lives according, to
his example and doctrine and to the setting forth qf his glory ;
HE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THEM HIS KINGDOM, his holy Word,
whereby he should reign in them, because they bring not forth
the fruit thereof that he looked for.
Nevertheless, he is so merciful and of so long sufferance,
that he doth not shew upon us that great wrath suddenly.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 325
But, when we begin to shrink from his word, not believing it
or not expressing it in our livings : first, he doth send his
messengers, the true preachers of his word, to admonish and
warn us of our duty : that, as he, for his part, for the great
love he bare unto us, delivered his own Son to suffer death,
that we by his death might be delivered from death, and be
restored to life everlasting, evermore to dwell with him and to
be partakers and inheritors with him of his everlasting glory
and kingdom of heaven : so, again, that we, for our parts,
should walk in a godly life, as becometh his children to do.
And, if this will not serve, but still we remain disobedient
to his word and will, not knowing him, nor loving him, nor
fearing him, nor putting our whole trust and confidence in
him ; and, on the other side, to our neighbours behaving our
selves uncharitably, by disdain, envy, malice, or by commit
ting murder, robbery, adultery, gluttony, deceit, lying, swear
ing, or other like detestable works and ungodly behaviour :
then he threateneth us by terrible comminations, swearing in
great anger, that, whosoever doth these works, shall
NEVER ENTER INTO HIS REST, WHICH IS THE KINGDOM OF
HEAVEN. 
By these threatenings, we are monished and warned : that,
if WE WHICH ARE THE CHOSEN VINEYARD OF GOD bring UOt
forth good grapes, that is to say, good works that may be de
lectable and pleasant in his sight, when he looketh for them,
when he sendeth his messengers to call upon us for them; but
rather bring forth wild grapes, that is to say, sour works,
unsavoury and unfruitful: then will he pluck away all de
fence, and suffer grievous plagues of famine, battle, dearth,
and death, to light upon us.
Finally, if these serve not, he will let us lie waste, he will
give us over, he will turn away from us, he will dig and delve
no more about us, he will let us alone, and suffer us to bring

326 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
forth even such fruit as we will, to bring forth brambles,
bners, and thorns, all naughtiness, all vice, and that so abun
dantly, that they shall clean overgrow us, choke, strangle,
AND UTTERLY DESTROY US.- 
GOD AT LENGTH DOTH SO FORSAKE HIS UNFRUITFUL VINE
YARD, that he will not only suffer it to bring forth weeds,
briers, and thorns ; but also, further to punish the unfruitful-
ness of it, he saith, he will not cut it, he will not delve it, and
he will command the clouds that they shall not rain upon it :
whereby is signified the teaching of his holy word, which St.
Paul, after a like manner, expressed by planting and water
ing ; meaning, that he will take that away from them, so that
THEY SHALL BE NO LONGER OF HIS KINGDOM, they shall be UO
longer governed by his Holy Spirit, they shall be put from
the grace and benefits that they had and ever might have en
joyed through Christ ; they shall be deprived ofithe heavenly
light and life, which they had in Christ while they abode in
him; they shall be, as they were once, as men without
GOD IN THIS WORLD, OR RATHER IN WORSE TAKING.
And, to be short, they shall be given into the power of the
devil,which beareth the rule in all them that be cast away
from god, as he did in saul and judas, and generally in all
such as work after their own wills, the children of mistrust
and unbelief.
Let us beware, therefore, good christian people, lest that
we, rejecting or casting away God's word (by the which we
obtain and retain true faith in God), be not at length cast
OFF SO FAR, THAT WE BECOME AS CHILDREN OF UNBELIEF*.
On this strong and decisive passage, we may observe :
that, with the same ideality of Election itself as that which
pervades the Offices of the English Church, the whole body
* Homil. of Falling from God, part i and ii. Homil. p. 67, 68, 69-
72. Oxon.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. „ 327
of the visible Church Catholic is denominated The Chosen
Vineyard of God; while yet particular Churches may be
rejected as Unfruitful Vineyards, and while yet the indi
vidual Elect Members of the Catholic Church of the Elec
tion are described, notwithstanding their own personal elec
tion, as liable to fall away from Grace given, and thence as
liable to be finally rejected and to perish everlastingly.
It may be proper to remark : that the preceding extract
is taken from the first book of the Homilies ; a book pecu
liarly valuable in the way of evidence, since it is more an
cient than the second book. For the first book was put
forth in the reign of Edward ; while the second was not
published until the reign of Elizabeth. Consequently, the
extract displays the views and sentiments of the earliest
Reformers of the Church of England.
The doctrine of The possibility of the Elect finally falling
away from grace to perdition; a doctrine, which, in truth, is
nothing more than the inevitable and necessary result of that
ideality of Election, which, from primitive Antiquity, has
been adopted by the Anglican Church : is, very distinctly
and very affectingly, propounded also in her admirable and
sublime Burial Service.
Spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty, O holy and
merciful Saviour, thou most worthy judge eternal, suffer us
not, at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from
THEE. The prayer before us is couched in the pluralising form :
and the persons, who are directed concurrently with the of
ficiating Minister to use it, are those identical persons, who,
having been chosen in the course of divine providence and
brought by baptism into the pale of the visible Church, have
thence been declared to be The Elect People of God.
Consequently, those, who, in the judgment of the Church

328 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
of England, are The Elect People of God, are nevertheless
directed to pray : that the Lord would not suffer them, at
their last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from him.
Hence, as the English Church understands the term Elect,
it is possible, from the very necessity of such a prayer, that
those, who are Elect, may not only for a season fall away
from God and be afterward renewed by repentance, but may
even fall away from him at their last hour, which is doubt
less equivalent to their falling away from him totally and
finally. If any thing more were wanting to establish the present
matter, I might adduce the avowed opinion of that Melanc
thon, whose influence and advice were so powerful with
Cranmer in the compilation and construction of the Angli
can Doctrinal Articles.
Let us, says he, meditate upon the two several examples of
Saul and David. Before their respective falls, they enjoyed
the benefits which I have enumerated : and, after their res
pective falls y being stripped of those great blessings, they en
dured the punishments which I have recited. Yet Saul alto
gether perished, oppressed with eternal punishment: while
David was again converted to God*.
Those, who are led by the Holy Spirit, are the Sons of
God : but, when they rush against the dictates of their con
science, they expel and disturb the Holy Spirit. They cease,
THEREFORE, TO BE THE SONS OF GOD"f .
* Exempla cogitemus Saulis et Davidis : qui et beneficia, quae recen-
sui, tenuerunt ante lapsum ; et, post lapsum exuti tantis bonis, poenas
senserunt, quas recitavi. Et Saul prorsus periit, oppressus aeternis
poenis : David vero rursus ad Deum conversus est. Melanc. Loe.
Theol. p. 431.
f Qui aguntur Spiritu Sancto, hi sunt filii Dei. Sed, ruentes contra
conscientiam, effundent et perturbant Spiritum Sanctum. Desinunt
ergo esse filii Dei. Melanc. Loe. Theol. p. 280.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 329
/ affirm, that persons, who fall into such crimes, shake off
the Holy Spirit, and ag'ain become liable to eternal punish
ment. Of these, some, returning to penitence, like Aaron and
David, are again converted to God, and are received to grace:
but MANY, NOT RETURNING, RUSH INTO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT*.
It cannot here be said : that, in the judgment of Melanc
thon, those, who returned, were the Elect in the calvinistic
sense of the word ; while those, who did not return and who
thence finally perished, were only the Reprobate who had
never been subjects of Divine Grace. For such a gloss
would not alone contradict Melancthon's known sentiments
on the topic of Election, but it would likewise make the
passages contradictory to themselves. They who return,
and they who do not return, are alike described, as having,
previous to their lapse, been led by the Holy Spirit, and
thence as having equally been the sons of God. Yet, ac
cording to Melancthon, those very persons, who have once
through the Spirit been the sons of God, may so fall away
as never to be restored: and, thence, may finally rush into
eternal punishmentf.
* Affirmo etiam, labentes in talia scelera, excutere Spiritum Sanctum,
et rursus fieri reos aeternae poenae. Quorum aliqui, redeuntes ad poeni-
tentiam, ut Aaron, David, rursus ad Deum convertuntur, et recipiuntur
in gratiam : multi, non redeuntes, ruunt in aeternas poenas. Melanc.
Oper. vol. i. p. 375.
f Exactly the same doctrine is publicly avowed in the Confesssion of
the Saxon Churches, drawn up by Melancthon, and presented to the
Council of Trent in the year 1551.
Semper in conspectu sic haec necessitas : si effundantur beneficia
Dei, justificatio et regeneratio, amitti vitam aeternam. Confess. Saxon.
sect. ix. Syllog. Confess, p. 266.
Verum est, eos, qui effundunt Spiritum Sanctum, deficientes a fide,
aut ruentes contra conscientiam, nee redeunt ad Deum per poenitentiam,
non esse haeredes. Ibid. sect. x. p. 268.
Manifestum est, aliquos renatos contristare et excutere Spiritum

330 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
(3.) The third matter to be established is : that The
Church of England holds the doctrine of Universal, as op
posed to Particular, Redemption.
With her estimate of the ideality of Election, she finds
no inconsistency in maintaining this doctrine : a doctrine
irreconcileable with the Scheme of Augustinian or Calvin
istic Election, and therefore painfully explained away both
by Augustine and by Calvin, though our modern Semicalvin-
ists profess to hold it.
In reply to a question, as to What Articles of Faith are
chiefly learned in the Creed, the Catechumen is directed to
answer : I believe in God the Son, who hath redeemed me
and all mankind.
Now the doctrine of Calvinistic Election renders it nuga
tory and inconsistent to hold, conjointly with that doctrine,
the tenet of Universal Redemption. Hence, on calvinistic
principles, the doctrine of The Particular Redemption of the
Elect alone is rightly and logically made one of the five
Points, under which, at the Synod of Dort, the entire Scheme
of Augustine and Calvin was arranged.
But the ancient primeval doctrine of Ecclesiastical Indi
vidual Election, as received by the Church of England, pre
sents no impediment. For, though, in her Eighteenth Arti
cle, that Church condemns those who hold ; that Every one
shall be saved by ihe law or sect which he professeth, so that
he be diligent to frame his life according to that law and the
light of nature : yet she no where teaches ; that, Through
the infinite though uncovenanted mercies of God, a man can
not be saved in a state of virtuous Heathenism by the alone
merits of Jesus Christ.
I do not conceive, that we have any special business to
Sanctum, et rursus abjici a Deo, ac fieri reos ira? Dei et asternarum
poenarum. Ibid. sect. xi. p. 269.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 331
pronounce upon the fate of those, who have never heard the
sound of the Gospel, whose reception of it was thence a
physical impossibility, and whose unbelief of it was involun
tary and therefore so far innocent : a condition, certainly
very different from that of persons, who have known the
Gospel only to despise it and to reject it. Yet it is difficult
to hold the doctrine of Universal Redemption, without ad
mitting the possibility at least of salvation through Christ, to
those, who, in the mysterious course of God's providence,
have never been privileged to hear the name of Christ.
Our Reformers, very wisely, do not enter upon this difficult
question ; thus, to the members of the Church of England,
leaving it an open question : and I cannot do better than
follow the example of their prudent moderation.
II. From the ideality of Election as held by the English
Church, I proceed to investigate her doctrine of causation.
1. Here, as before, I shall begin with ascertaining the
sentiments of Melancthon : for those sentiments, I conceive,
furnish the real key to the entire Doctrinal System of the
Church of England in regard to Election and Predestination.
Now the Scheme, which originated with Clement of Alex
andria and which was subsequently taken up by the Armi
nians ; the Scheme, to wit, that the moving cause of Elec
tion is God's Prevision of man's future righteousness : this
Scheme Melancthon expressly rejected, as one which could
only have sprung from a gross ignorance of real evangelical
principles. The more recent Schoolmen, says he, purely by man's
judgment, determined : that The Merits or the Good Works
of Human Free Will are the moving cause of Election.
This imagination arose from an ignorance of the Gospel*.
* Recentiores Scholastici, tantum humano judicio, dixerunt causam
Electionis esse Merita seu Bona Opera Libera Voluntatis humana. El

332 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
In accordance with this his renunciation of the System
which makes Foreseen Human Merit the moving cause of
Election, he defined the true cause of Election to be pre
cisely the same as the true cause of Justification*.
That is to say, as he himself explains his meaning, he pro
nounced the true cause of Election to be God's Mercy, for
Chrisfs sake, operating according to God's Sovereign Will
and Pleasure-f.
2. Such, in regard to causation, was the doctrine of Me
lancthon. In opposition, indeed, to the fatalising Scheme
which denies altogether any exercise of Free Will, he as
serted : that, although, in the strict and higher sense, Man's
Worthiness is not the moving cause of his primary Election ;
yet, in a lower sense, the cause of his secondary or com
pleted Election may be said to be in himself, since Will or
Inclination on the part of the person elected must concur
with the efficacious influence of the Holy Spirit, and since
those alone are elected who by faith apprehend God's
mercy and who do not ultimately cast away that confi-
dencej. But still, in regard to causation, such was the
doctrine of Melancthon. With him, The Free and Sove-
haec imaginatio orta est ex ignoratione Evangelii. Melanc. Oper.
vol. iii. p. 1014.
* Non alia causa Praedestinationis, quam Justificationis, quaerenda
est. Melanc. Loe. Theol. de Praedest.
f Recte dicitur cadsam Electionis esse Misericordiam in Voluntate
Dei, qui non vult perire totum genus humanum, sed propter Filium colli-
git et servat Eeclesiam. Melanc. Loe. Theol. p. 473.
X Turn cum statuendum sit promissionem vere universalem, quod ad
voluntatem Dei attinet, sicut a posteriore in Justificatione dicimus ali
quam in accipiente causam esse ; videlicet, non Dignitatem, sed Quia
promissionem apprehendit cum qua Spiritus Sanctus est efificax : quemad-
modum Paulus inquit, Fides ex audita est : ita et, de Electione, a pos
teriore judicemus ; videlicet, haud dubie electos esse, qui misericordiam

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 333
reign Grace of God in Christ, not Human Merit foreseen as
about to exist in the future subjects of God's conditional
fide apprehendunt nee abjiciunt earn fiduciam ad extremum. Melanc.
Loe. Theol. de Prasdest.
This doctrine, the evident object of which is to guard against the
Scheme of Absolute Manichean Fatalism, and thus to uphold the System
of God's moral government, was, however, pointedly attacked by
Calvin. Quanquam satis jam liquet, Deum, occulto consilio, libere, quos vult,
eligere, aliis rejectis.: nondum tamen, nisi dimidia ex parte, exposita est
gratuita ejus Electio, donee ad singulas personas ventum fuerit, quibus
Deus non modo salutem offert, sed ita assignat, ut suspensa vel dubia
non sit effectus certitudo. Calvin. Instit. lib. iii. c. 21. § 7.
Alii, — nescio qua ratione inducti, Electionem a posteriori suspendunt,
quasi dubia esset atque etiam inefficax, donee fide confirmetur. Ibid.
lib. iii. ,.-. 24. § 3.
Melancthon's doctrine, that the concurrence of the human will, through
grace becoming a good will, must, in an inferior and secondary sense,
be deemed a joint cause of God's Election, was strongly main
tained by Jerome ; even though he warmly and justly contended, that
Man's personal holiness is the consequence, not the cause, of that
Election. Vocatio volentes colligit, non invitos. Hieron. Comment, in Rom.
viii. 30. Oper. vol. viii. p. 177.
Non gentes eligi, sed hominum voluntates. Hieron. ad Hedib. Epist.
cl. quaest. 10. Oper. vol. iii. p. 353.
Non aitPaulus: Elegit nos ante constitutionem mundi, cum essemus
sancti et immaculati ; sed Elegit nos, ut essemus sancti et immaculati ;
hoc est, qui sancti et immaculati ante non fuimus, ut postea essemus.
Hieron. Comment, in Ephes. i. Oper. vol. vi. p. 162.
The Helvetic Confession seems also to insist on much the same
doctrine. Regeneratos in boni electione et operatione, non tantum agere passive,
sed active. Aguntur enim a Deo, ut agant ipsi, quod agunt. Recte
enim Augustinus adducit illud, quod Deus dicitur noster adjutor. Ne-
quit autem adjuvari, nisi is, qui aliquid agit. Manichaei spoliabant ho
minem omni actione, et veluti saxum et truncum faciebant. Confess.
Helvet. sect. ix. Syllog. Confess, p. 32, 33.
That the doctrine is free from all difficulty, no person, I suppose, will
assert. For, if God worketh in us both to will and to do of his good

334 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
Choice, is defined to be the moving cause of Election.
Such, therefore, from Cranmer's known consultation of Me
lancthon upon the subject, we may reasonably infer, is also,
in regard to causation, the intended doctrine of the Angli
can Church.
(1.) The Seventeenth Article, for whatever reason on the
part of its author, is wholly silent on the point : at least, it
is wholly silent in the way of specific definition.
Yet, though wholly silent so far as specific definition is
concerned, it contains an apparent allusion to Melancthon's
views, which may help to throw some light upon the
matter. Melancthon, as we have just seen, maintained the cause
of Election to be identical with the cause of Justification :
so that, if the cause of the one were specified, the cause of
the other would be specified also.
Now, in the Seventeenth Article, it is declared of the
Elect ; that They be justified freely : that is to say, when
the collateral language of the Eleventh Article is taken into
the account, it is declared of the Elect ; that They be justi
fied freely through the alone merits of Christ.
But The Free Grace of God's Will through the alone
merits of Christ is, by Melancthon, defined to be the moving
cause of Election.
If, then, as we are naturally led to suppose, Cranmer held,
pleasure, even our good will itself, or our inclination to accept the di
vine offer of grace, must, in the first instance, proceed from God.
Whence, no doubt, a Calvinist may very plausibly urge : that, if all
had this good will given to them, all would equally accept the divine
offer of grace. I can only say, that to draw the precise line between
Manicheism and Semi-Pelagianism may probably exceed the wit of
man. For my own part, I freely confess my inability, though fully
satisfied that the line really exists. Perhaps Melancthon comes as near
to the mark, as can be accomplished by human intellect.

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 335
with Melancthon, that Election and Justification have each
the same cause : it will be clear, that, in pronouncing the
Elect to be justified freely, the Seventeenth Article also
pronounces them to be elected freely.
But, if, in conformity with the views of Melancthon, the
Seventeenth Article pronounces them to be elected freely ;
it both rejects, in terms, the causation of Human Merit ;
and asserts, in terms, the causation of Free and Sovereign
Grace. (2.) Of course, I admit, that this evidence from the Seven
teenth Article is purely hypothetical ; resting upon the sup
position, that Cranmer, like Melancthon, held the identity of
the cause of Election and the cause of Justification : but
yet I conceive it to be no contemptible evidence ; because,
with the conclusion involved in it, agrees the unvarying
general tenor of the authorised documents of the Church of
England. The entire analogy of the Doctrinal System of that
Church, as alike exhibited in her Articles and in her Homilies
and in her Liturgy, stands directly opposed to the clemen-
tising or arminianising notion : that Men's Foreseen Merit is
the moving cause of his Election.
Hence, altogether and most effectually, we are precluded
from entertaining the thought : that that most unscriptural
notion could ever have been held by Cranmer and the re
forming English Bishops his associates.
(3.) I may add yet another consideration : which, for
other purposes, I have already thought it necessary to insist
upon. The notion, that Man's Foreseen Merit is the moving cause
of his Election, is incompatible with that ideality of Elec
tion, which exhibits it, as being An Election of certain indi-

336 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
viduals, out of the great mass of mankind, into the pale of
the visible Church Catholic.
For the joint adoption of that ideality and of that causa
tion involves a palpable contradiction: because, if none
were elected into the Church, save those whose Merit and
Righteousness were foreseen of God, it is quite clear that
none could have been seen finally existing in the Church
save the Meritorious and the Righteous ; a circumstance, by
every day's matter of fact, unhappily forbidden to be
allowed. Therefore it is scarcely probable, that Cranmer and his
associates, assisted as they were by the wisdom of Melanc
thon, should have jointly adopted a Scheme of ideality and
a Scheme of causation, which, though hastily and incau
tiously taken up by some of the ancients, they could with
difficulty avoid perceiving to be altogether irreconcileable.
(4.) But, though, so far as I am aware, the Church of
England, in so many words, no where explicitly defines the
moving cause of Election : she, nevertheless, employs lan
guage, which essentially disagrees with the fancy ; that
Election causally rests upon God's Prevision qf Human
Merit or Righteousness.
We are monished and warned : that, if we which are
the chosen vineyard of god bring not forth good grapes,
that is to say, good works that may be delectable and pleasant
in his sight, when he looketh for them; but rather bring
forth wild grapes, that is to say, sour works, unsavoury and
unfruitful : then will he pluck away all defence ; and suffer
grievous plagues of famine, battle, dearth, and death, to light
upon us. Finally, if these serve not, he will let us lie waste,
he will give us over, he will turn away from us, he will dig
and delve no more about us, he will let us alone and suffer us

CHAP. IX.] OF ELECTION. 337
to bring forth even such fruit as we will; to bring forth
brambles, briers, and thorns, all naughtiness, all vice, and
that so abundantly, that they shall clean overgrow us, choke,
strangle, and utterly destroy us*.
Here it is presumed : that certain members of God's
Chosen Vineyard, or certain of those individuals who have
been elected into God's visible Church, may very possibly
not bring forth good grapes or good works, but may very
possibly bring forth wild grapes or evil works.
Nor does this presumption, in regard to certain of the
declared Elect, respect merely a temporary continuance in
evil, with an assured final conversion or restoration to that
which is good : the English Church, we see, goes on dis
tinctly to pronounce, that they may incorrigibly persevere
in sin to the very end of their lives, and thus, through their
utter unfitness for the enjoyments and occupations of heaven,
may at length perish everlastingly.
Such being the judgment of the English Church, concern
ing the possibility of character in many of the very Elect
themselves ; it is clear, that she can never have deemed
The Merit or the Righteousness or the Fitness of these avowed
Unworthy and Unrighteous and Unfit Individuals to have
been the moving cause of their Election : for a Scheme of
this description is neither more nor less, than a flat contra
diction in terms.
But, if the English Church thus plainly rejects the notion,
the The Foreseen Merits of the Elect are the moving cause
of their Election : it is difficult to conceive, what other cause
she would be thought to assign, than the primitively received
cause ; namely, God's Sovereign Will and Pleasure ex
pressed in his promises as they be generically set forth in
* Homil. of Falling from God, part. ii. Homil. p. 69, 70.
Qq

^^

^ — "SS8't,<==i~ 4 Jjthe primitive doctrine Tbook II.
or God's Free and Sovereign Grace operat
ing in and through our Saviour Christ.
We may, in short, safely, I think, conclude : that, with
Melancthon, she holds the cause of Justification and the
cause of Election to be one and the same ; or, in other
words, that she holds the moving cause of Election to be,
not Our own Foreseen Merits or Righteousness, but The
Free and Sovereign Grace of God in Christ our Redeemer.

CHAP. X.J OF ELECTION. 339

CHAPTER X.
THE RATIONALE OR PRINCIPLE OF ECCLESIASTICAL
INDIVIDUAL ELECTION.
When St. Paul, as we have seen, very distinctly propounded
both the ideality and the causation of God's decree of
Election : he himself was conscious of the objection, which,
on the score of its exhibiting a process of injustice, would
forthwith be made to the doctrine. Still,*however, he si
lences, rather than answers, the objection. For, with the
awful dogmatism of conscious inspiration, he refers such a
Scheme altogether to the inscrutable Wisdom and Pleasure
of God : and there, with a pointed rebuke of the vain pre-
sumptuousness of the objector, he is humbly and dutifully
content to leave the matter.
Hence, I apprehend, we. are bound to imitate the example
which he has set us.
Doubtless, it may still be asked, as it was asked of old :
why does a just God elect some individuals into the privi
leges and advantages of his Church ; while other individuals
he does not so elect ? Why is one assemblage of individu
als chosen ; while another assemblage of individuals is pre
termitted ? Why was the individual persecutor Paul elect
ed ; and the individual persecutor Caiaphas, not elected ?
Why has God's choice fallen upon the collective individuals
of Britain or of Sweden or of Denmark or of Holland;
rather than upon the collective individuals of China or Japan
or Arabia or Hindostan ?

340 the primitive doctrine [book ii.
The objection, under its present form of catechising, be it
observed, is an objection, not merely to an opinion, but to a
fact. Dissatisfied we may, peradventure, be : but the stubborn
ness of a fact yields not to human dissatisfaction.
The fact we know : the interior mysteries of God's coun
sels we do not know*.
This, at least, is clear. If the Scheme pf An Election of
certain individuals into the Church were, in God's Wisdom
and Pleasure, to be at all adopted: some must be chosen;
and others must be pretermitted. Now, let who might be
chosen, the question would equally, in all cases, arise : why
this individual or this collection of individuals ; rather than
that individual or that collection of individuals ? The objec
tor, who at present asks, why Paul was chosen rather than
Caiaphas, or why the collective members of the British Na
tion rather than the' collective members of the Chinese Na
tion : might, had matters been reversed, have equally asked ;
why Caiaphas was preferred to Paul, and why the individ
uals of China were favoured rather than the individuals of
Britain 1
I give this obvious reply to such a system of idle question
ing, purely to shew its utter mingled vanity and presump
tion. The point of Discrimination itself; for it were folly
to deny the palpable fact of Discrimination : we must, like
the wise Apostle, be content to leave with the Sovereign
Pleasure of an inscrutable, though assuredly all-just, Divinity.
Yet, while from Scripture we thus assign God's Supreme
Will as the sole moving cause of Ecclesiastical Individual
* As our Seventeenth Article, in its original form, well expresses the
id.ea : Though ihe decrees of Predestination be unknown to us, yet must
we receive God's promises in such wise, as they be generically set forth to
us in Holy Scripture.

CHAP. X.] OF ELECTION. 341
Election : we may perhaps, with all fitting humility and with
an honest wish to promote the divine glory, be permitted,
cautiously and reverently, to inquire into the rationale or
principle of the present remarkable, though as a, fact indis
putable, dispensation.
If such language may be allowed me, I venture to think :
that the dispensation before us is, in a manner, forced upon
God, by the wickedness and perverseness of fallen man ;
forced, that is, upon a merciful God, who wills and purposes
the restoration and salvation of our apostate race : so that,
in truth, unless the Deity ceased to be a moral governor of
the universe, and unless he determined to bind his whole in
tellectual creation upon earth in the adamantine chain of a
fatal necessity ; matters could not have been otherwise, thaa
what we actually find them to have been and what indeed
we may still observe them to be.
I. To develop my view of this subject, nothing more is
necessary, than simply to follow the history of man from
the beginning.
1. After the fall, God immediately afforded, to the whole
then existing human race, the opportunity of a recovery, by
forming them into a Church under the prophetic promise,
that The seed of the woman should bruise the head of the ser
pent: and, into this Church, were duly and successively
brought the two brothers Cain and Abel with their respect
ive wives or sisters.
Here, we may observe, there was no election of some out
of others : for the Earliest Church and All Mankind were
exactly commensurate.
2. But this state of things did not long continue : and it
was broken in upon, not by any arbitrary disposition of God,
but by the wickedness of an individual and his descendants.
After the murderous Apostasy of Cain, a Church was, for

342 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
the first time, elected, out of the mass of mankind, in the
persons of Seth and his posterity : and the object of such
Election was, not to exclude all others from salvation, but to
preserve the knowledge and worship of the true God through
the promised mediator Christ, and thus to hold out univer
sally the means of grace to those who should be desirous of
pardon and reconciliation.
3. In the lapse of years, Apostasy so thinned this prime
val Church, and wickedness to so appalling an extent spread
abroad, that, save eight individuals, the whole race of man
kind were destroyed by the waters of the deluge.
The consequence was, that the new world, like the old
world, commenced with a Church, from which (save as res
pected the antediluvian apostates) Election was altogether
excluded, and within which was once more comprehended
the entire human race.
4. But, as time rolled on, the wickedness of man yet again,
if we may so speak, compelled the righteous and merciful
governor of the universe to resort to the process of dis
criminating Election.
The Apostasy at Babel, that germ and nucleus of the
whole harmonising Scheme of Pagan Mythologic Idolatry,
was carried far and wide, over the whole world, by those of
the Dispersion* : and all definite knowledge, both of God
and of a promised Saviour, would soon have been lost in the
midst of a wild though commemorative superstition, had not
the Lord been pleased to elect, into a new Church, first
Abraham and his family both out of the house of his father
Terah and out of the great mass of the apostate Gentiles,
next Isaac and his family out of the house of Abraham,, and
lastly Jacob and his family out of the house of Isaac.
These successively chosen individuals were the rudiments
* See my Origin of Pagan Idolatry, book vi.

chap, x.] of election. 343
of the Levitical Church : and, from the days of Abraham
down to the manifestation of Christ, all the members of that
Church, whether personally they benefitted by this privilege
of Election, or whether personally they abused it, were con
stantly spoken of and collectively described, as A People, by
the Sovereign Pleasure of God, and not for any Merits or
peculiar fitness of their own, chosen out of the great mass of
corrupt mankind.
Yet, though privileged above the other descendants of
Noah, they were so privileged, not for their own advantage
exclusively, but for the advantage of all mankind. As they
were elected of God in Christ, so they preserved the know
ledge of God in Christ : and, from time to time, in the course
of the divine providence, they shed a light, however dim and
imperfect, into the dark recesses and into the gloomy adyta
of Paganism.
5. In the day of the Advent of the Messiah, this Church,
nevertheless, had become effete : and a new Election, into a
better and more efficient Church, was the next step in the
progress of God's counsels.
That Election is the subject of the apostolic phraseology,'
as the parallel Election of the Levitical Church had been
the subject of the Israelitic phraseology. Its object was the
reverse of exclusion ; for, in truth, its object was the most
universal inclusion. Yet, in actuality, though many were
called, few were chosen. First, individuals, out of various
nations, were elected. Next, individual Election virtually
swelled out into national Election. Invariably, the design
Was, that all should come to the knowledge of God and be
saved : but, in practice, while some have been elected into
the Church, others, amounting to whole nations, have been'
pretermitted, and have thus been effectively excluded.
II. Now this process, which has continued from the fall

344 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
of man down to the present hour, and which will continue
until the number of God's Elect shall be accomplished, is,
in reality, nothing more than the inevitable result of a su
preme government, at once moral in its principle of ad
ministration, and merciful in its will and intention and
purpose. '
Certainly, had it suited the nature of a moral government
exercised over intellectual and responsible beings, the Lord
might have forcibly constrained the whole race of mankind
to be his obedient people : but, had such a plan of Fatal
Necessity been adopted, the idea of a moral government
must have been relinquished ; for the idea of Irresistible
Constraint, and the idea of Laudable Obedience, are incom
patible and irreconcileable*.
Mankind, therefore, having corrupted themselves, because,
as the Apostle speaks, they did not like to retain God in
their knowledge ; nothing was morally left, save to choose
a succession of individuals and of communities, who, privi
leged themselves by a providential enjoyment of the light of
God's countenance, should hold up, to the entire world out
of which they had been elected, the beacon of divine truth,
* Ouxouv, si, a^rftfJ rivi xai 6so<ifpSrfSdrdru Svvau,si xai ivSpysia
¦%puu.Svog, UjSrsxojMdS rov kxddrov vovv sig dyaHovpyiag, xai Svds^'frrirov
auVcj xai ov-% sxovri Xowov irihi to dyaAbv, yvuu.r\g fxiv ouv oujcsVi to
j£p5j(ji.a xaprfog, o'irs u,rjv iifaivuv dj-iov, dvdyxtig Si jj.5LXXov xai djSovXijrov
rfXsovs^iag. EiVa Tiva Tpoirov (j.uu>ov xai ypatpyg difaXXd^ouiSv rov
SriUjiovpybv, iopivra u,iv iv dp%aTg roig ruv iSiuv 6sXi]u.druv bpu,dig
hfHoysidbai tov avbpuirov, vttoXsv^avra Si u.srd rovro •ji'SpiTpoireug
dvayxai'aig, xai oiov ridi ifXsovsgiatg dcpvxrotg iyxaraSiovra, tfpog ys to
SsTv DMrotfspaivsiv si u,dXa to dpidxov airy ; — "ESsi Sri ouv, ovx rpayxad-
(livug, ifsi&oT Si u.aXXov, u,sra/3if3adai #poj to eujjviov tous tojv isptov
ditovSad\j,druv oXiyupijdavrag, xai [aovovou^i dxXripov xai dyipu-)rov
dvravidrdvrag ®sfy rov rr\d lauTWv (Jiowoiocg aup^va. Cyril. Alex. cont.
Julian, lib. viii. p. 285, 286.

CHAP. X.] OF ELECTION. 345
in order that the boundaries of the Church might experience
a perpetual enlargement.
Persons, thus happily circumstanced, are a chosen gene
ration and a royal priesthood. They are, if we may so
speak, a sort of Clergy to the entire unbelieving world : and,
as it is their privilege to profit by their own knowledge of
the truth ; so it is their duty to let their light shine before
men, that they may see their good works and glorify their
Father which is in heaven.
Election, in short, as it is specified in Scripture and as it
was understood by the Primitive Church, confers, no doubt,
high and special advantages upon the Chosen People of
God : for, in the course of the divine providence, without
any particular merit or fitness on their own parts, they are
elected into the Church Catholic, in order that, obeying the
heavenly call, they may, through the medium of faith and
holiness, attain to everlasting life. But the ultimate end of
their Election, or the rationale of the whole plan of divine
Grace, is, if I mistake not, the preservation of sound re
ligion AND ITS WIDEST POSSIBLE DIFFUSION TO THE VERY ENDS
of the earth. God will allure ; and, by the reasonable
persuasion of his free Spirit, will influence : but, consistently
with his Scheme of Moral Government, he will not violently
and irresistibly constrain*. The comparatively few are
* Quoniam injuste dominabatur nobis apostasia, et cum natura
essemus Dei Omnipotentis, alienavit nos contra naturam, suos proprios
faciens discipulos, p*ens in omnibus Dei Verbum : et, non deficiens^in
sua justitia, juste etiam adversus ipsam conversus est apostasiam, ea
qua? sunt sua redimens ab eo ; non cum vi, quemadmodum ilia initio
dominabatur nostri, ea quae non erant sua insatiabiliter rapiens : sed se
cundum suadelam, quemadmodum decebat Deum suadentem et non vim
inferentem accipere quas vellet, ut neque quod est justum confringeretur,
neque antiqua plasmatio Dei deperiret. Iren. adv. haer. lib. v. c. 1. p.
317.
Rr

346 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
elected, not in order that the many nlay be fatally excluded,
'but in order that the many, learning righteousness from
God's Chosen People, may gradually and finally be included.
We will go with you, it is foretold of the language of the
last period: for we have heard, that God is with you*.
Consistently with the notion of a moral, government^ it may
be doubted, whether, for the ultimate reclamation of lost
mankind, any other plan, than that of An Ecclesiastical
Election, could, in the very nature of things, have been
adopted. III. As the Primitive Church, in ideality and in causa
tion, taught the doctrine of An Ecclesiastical Individual
Election through Grace according to the Sovereign Will and
Pleasure of God, under the aspect of its being the doctrine
intended by the well known scriptural phraseology employ
ed throughout the New Testament : so we may, I think, in
the writings of more than one of the ancient Fathers, dis
tinctly trace a knowledge of what I deem its true rationale
or principle.
1. Thus, for instance, the venerable Ireneus speaks of a
successive Election of Patriarchs, and of Churches, out of
the great mass of a corrupt and unbelieving world, for their
own spiritual benefit indeed, but .still for the grand and palm
ary purpose of preserving sound religion from utter ex
tinction and of thus finally illuminating all mankindf .
* Zechar. viii. 23.
f Quem igitur illi Dominum praconabant incredulis, hunc Christus
tradidit his qui obediunt sibi : et qui priores, sive primum, per servilem
legis dationem, vocaverat Deus ; hie posteriores, sive postea, per adop-
tionem assumpsit. Plantavit enim Deus Vineam Humani Generis,
primo quidem per plasmationem Adas et Electionem Patrum : tradidit
autem colonis per earn legis dationem quas est per Moysen.. Sepem
autem circumdedit ; id est, circumterminavit eorum culturam : et turrim
asdificavit. Hierusalem elegit: et torcular fodit. Receptaculum pro-

chap. x.J of election. 347
This is precisely my own view of the matter : and, since
he in no wise delivers his sentiments as if they were at all
peculiar to himself, or as if they constituted any new dis
covery of his own ; we may, I think, fairly conclude, that
this eminent pupil of St. John's disciple Polycarp stated
nothing more than the general received doctrine of the early
Church Catholic.
2. Accordingly, the outlines of the same theory may be
traced also in the writings of Justin Martyr.
This eminent person tells us : that the Gentiles, who had
been elected into the Church, were the people promised to
Abraham ; when God called him forth from an unholy
world, and entered into covenant with him, and foretold that
he should be the father of many nations. Whence he views
phetici Spiritus prasparavit : et sic prophetas misit, antequam essej in
Babylonem transmigratio. Et, post transmigrationem, alios iterum
plures quam priores, expetentes fructus. — Non credentibus autem illis,
novissime Filium suum misit Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum :
quem, cum occidissent mali coloni, projecerunt extra vineam. Qua-
propter et tradidit earn Dominus Deus non jam circumvallatam, sed ex-
pansam in universum mundum, aliis colonis reddentibus fructus tem-
poribus suis, turre electionis exaltata ubique et speciosa: ubique enim
praclara est Ecclesia, et ubique circumfossum torcular; ubique enim
sunt, qui suscipiunt Spiritum. Quoniam enim Filium Dei reprobave-
runt, et ejecerunt eum, cum eum occidissent, extra vineam : juste repro-
bavit eos Deus, et extra vineam existentibus gentibus dedit fruetifica-
tionem culture. — Sed, quoniam et, patriarchas qui elegit et nos, idem
est Verbum Dei, et illos semper visitans per propheticum Spiritum, et
nos qui undique eonvocati sumus per suum adventum, super ea quas
dicta sunt, vere hasc dicebat : Multi ab oriente et occasu venient, et re
cumbent cum Abraham et Isaac et Jacob in regno coelorum ; filii autem
regni ibunt in tenebras exteriores, ibi erit fietus et stridor dentium. Si
igitur hi, qui, per praeconium Apostolorum ejus, ab oriente et occidente,
credentes in eum, cum Abraham et Isaac et Jacob in regno coelorum
recumbent, participantes cum eis epulationem : unus et idem Deus
ostenditur, qui elegit quidem patriarchas, visitavit vero populum, gentes
vero advocavit. Iren. adv. hasr. lib. iv. u. 70. p. 301, 302, 305.

348 THE primitive doctrine [book II.
the call of Abraham, as having an immediate reference to
the future vocation of the Gentiles : because it prepares the
way for their imitation of the great spiritual parent of the
faithful, in coming out from the evil polity in which they
originally lived, and in thus being made heirs of the figura
tive land of promise*.
3. A similar estimate of the matter Is taken likewise by
Cyril of Alexandria.
After following at considerable length much the same
train of reasoning as that adopted by Ireneus, he briefly
develops his principle in this assertion.
The Election of the Hebrews is the Calling of the Gentiles^.
4. On the same grounds, Augustine spiritualises the pro
phecy, respecting Jacob and Esau, that the elder should
serve the younger.
The elder brother represents the whole body of the Jews :
the younger brother represents the whole body of the con
verted Gentiles.
* 'Hu.s7g Si ou u.6vov Xabg, dXXd xai Xabg dyiog, idu.iv, ug iSsi%au,sv
rjSry K.ai xaXsdovdiv avrov Xabv ayiov, XsXvrpuu.ivov vitb Kupiou-
Ouxouv ovx svxaratppbvrirog Sr^og idu.iv — dXXd xai ijuidg igsXigaro 6
©sos, xai ijMpavrjg iysvr)&r\ roTg u.rj iitSpurCJdiv ciutov. 'I<5ou, ©605 slfu,
cpridi, Ty sdvsi, oV ovx iitsxaXidavro rb ovou,a u.ou. Touto ydp idnv
ixsTvo to s'Uvog, 0 itdXai r£j 'A/3paau. 6 ©sos vitidysro, xai tfaTs'pa #oX-
Xuv UvSJv 8i)dsiv iici\yys'iXaro. — Ti ouv itXiov hbaSs 6 Xpidrbg ^apl^STai
T<y 'Afipadu, ; "Oti, iJiot rrjg bu,oiag xXydlug, cpuvrj ixdXsdsv auVov, siVuv
ijgskSsiv difb rrjg yr\g iv -r] uxsr xai ¦SjfJt-aj Si aifavrag, Si' ixs\vr\g rrjg
(puvrjg, ixdXsds' xai iJgr)X6ou.sv rjSr\ 6wro rrjg ifoXiriiag iv rj it^ujxsv, xard
rd xoivot ruv dXXuv rrjg yrjg oixijropuv xax&g ^uvrsg ¦ xai, dvv <r£p
'Aj3paduj, rrjv dyiav xXr\povouAjdo\j,sv yrjv, sig rov difipavrov aiuva t^v
xXrjpovofiiav Xi^ou.evoi, rixva tou 'A/3paau, Sid rrjv bu.oiav it'idriv b'vrsg.
Just. Dial, cum Tryph. Oper. p. 272.
r"Cldrs xai IfJvwv xXrjdiv sivai ruv 'E/3pouwv rrjv fpodXtj^iv. Cyril.
cont. Julian, lib. iii. p. 110. See Ibid. p. 109-112.

CHAP. X.] OF ELECTION. 349
Now the elder serves the younger, when he is known to
carry throughout the world the sacred books of God's Law
for the instruction of all the nations*.
5. To a similar effect, speaks also Athanasius.
The Law was not on account of the Jews alone : nor, on
account of them alone, were the prophets sent ; for, truly, to
the Jews were they sent, and by the Jews were they perse
cuted. But, of the whole world, in regard to the knowledge
of God and the due regulation of the soul, they were the
sacred instructors^.
6. Equally distinct and precise is the language of The-
odoret. God appointed the nation of the Jews to be the instructor
of all nations in the knowledge of the Deity. And, as, for
the overcharge of that nation, he one while elected Moses,
* Quod autem dictum est ; Populus populum superabit, et major ser-
viet minori : secundum literam, in Esau vel in Jacob, non videmus im-
pletum. Non enim corporaliter beato Jacobo Esau servisse commemo-
rat Scriptura. Quomodo ergo hoc oporteat intelligi, aut qualiter major
populus minori serviat, spiritaliter debemus intelligere. Nisi enim
fieret, non hie Sancta Scriptura commemoraret. Quomodo ergo popu
lus major serviat minori, qui hoc diligenter attendit, in Christianis vel
in Judaeis agnoscit. Major enim et senior populus Judseorum, juniori,
id est, populo Christiano, servire probatur ; dum, per totum mundum,
libros divinae legis, ad instructionem omnium gentium, portare cognosci-
tur. — Hoc ordine, major populus minori servire cognoscitur; dum etiam,
per illorum libros, ad credendum in Christo gentium populus invitatur.
August, in feria tertia post secund. dominie, in Quadrages. serm. ii.
Oper. vol. x. p. 243.
t Tuv siSuXuv r) 6prjdxsia dUebryg idri, xai irddrjg dds/3siag u,sdrrj.
'E£ov Si fyv avrovg, xai rbv vo'u.ov iyvuxorag, ifavdadQai itddtjg itapavo-
Ujiag, xai rbv xar' dpsrrjv ^dai j3'tov. OvSi ydp, Sid TovSaiovg u.6vovg,
o voUiOg rjv, ovSi, Si' avrovg povovg, oi irpo<p5JTai iifsu.ifovro • dXXa ifpog
'lovSaiovg u.iv i<ifiu.ifovro, xai *apot 'lou5ai'wv iStuxovro. Tlddr\g Si rrjg
olxovu,svr\g rjdav SiSadxaXiov ispov rrjg orspi ©sou yvudsug xai rrjg xara
^u^v rtoXirs'iag. Athan de Incarn. Verb. Oper. vol. i. p. 46.

350 THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE [BOOK II.
another while Joshua, another while Samuel, and another
while one or other of the prophets ; and thence, through the
religious philosophising of one man, benefitted all who were
that single individual's countrymen : so, through the single
nation of Israel, he called, to the joint-fellowship of piety, all
nations, inasmuch as all partake of the same common
nature*. IV. Here, then, we may close our discussion ; assured,
that the moral governor of the earth, in the purpose and in
the accomplishment of his decree of Election, acts both
wisely and righteously.
Meanwhile we must never forget : that the ascertainment
of religious truth is of small profit unless it leads to a holy
religious practice. Whatever may be the destiny of others,
we, at least, have been elected into the pale of Christ's Uni-
* Tuv yap idvtov difavruv touto to s&vog Ssoyvudiag s^sipoTovsi Si-
SadxaXov. Kai, xa&dnsp sig rovSs rov s6vovg sVifis'Xsiav, vvv fjusv i%sX{-
[JaTo tov Mwiiirtjv, vuv Si rbv 'Irjdovv, xai iraXiv rbv Sau^ovrfX, aXXors
Si dXXov ruv tfpo<p?]Toov. xai Si' svbg dvQpuitov qiiXodoapiav ddxovvrog,
dtfavrag svspyirsi rovg bujOtpuXovg' o'vru, Si' ivbg stlvovg tou 'IdpariX,
•sdvra to. Mvt\, rd rrjv avrrjV s-yovra cpvdiv, sig rrjV suds/3s'iag xoivu-
viav ixaXsi. Theodor. de Provid. serm. x. p. 454.
Much the same view of this question is taken in the Confession of the
Saxon Churches, as drawn up by Melancthon to be presented in the
year 1551 to the Council of Trent.
Vult Deus intelligi, genus humanum non casu nasci, sed a Deo con
ditum esse : et conditum, non ad asternum exitium, sed ut colligat sibi
in genere humano Eeclesiam, cui in omni aeternitate communicet suam
sapientiam, bonitatem, et lastitiam. Et vult conspici Filium, propter
quem, et per quem, inenarrabili sapientia et immensa misericordia, hanc
miseram naturam hominum restituit. Ideo semper in genere humano
coetum esse voluit, cui tradidit doctrinam de Filio, et in quo Filius ipse
instituit et conservavit ministerium custodiendas et propagandas ejus
doctrines, per quam et efficax fuit, est, et erit. Et multos ad se conver-
tit, sicut manifeste inquit Paulus : Evangelium estpotentia Dei, ad sa
lutem omni credenti. Confess. Saxon, sect. xii. Syllog. Confess, p. 272.

CHAP. X.] OF ELECTION. 351
versal Church. Our business, therefore, is : to be thankful
for the privileges which we enjoy, to improve through grace
the mercies of grace, to take heed lest we fall away to final
impenitency, to labour in the holy task of making our Calling
and Election sure, and to work out our own salvation with
fear and trembling since it is God who worketh in us both
to will and to do of his good pleasure.
„ The secret things belong unto the Lord our God : but those
things, which are revealed, belong unto us and to our children
for ever ; that we may do all the words of this Law*.
* Deut. xxix. 29.

APPENDIX.

CANONES CONCILII ARAUSICANI, A LEONE PAPA, EJUS
NOMINIS PRIMO, INDICTI. A.D. 441.
I. Si quis, per offensam prasvaricationis Adas, non totum, id est, se
cundum corpus et animam, in deterius dicit hominem commutatum ;
sed, anima libertate illassa durante, corpus tantummodo corruptioni
credit obnoxium, Pelagii errore deceptus, adversatur Scripturas dicenti :
Anima, qua peccaverit, ipsa morietur ; et, Nescitis, quoniam cui exhibetis
vos servos ad obediendum, servi estis ejus cui obeditis 1 et, A quo quis
superatur, ejus et servus addicitur.
II. Si quis soli Adas prasvaricationem suam, non et ejus propagini,
asserit nocuisse, aut certe mortem tantum corporis, quae poena peccati
est, non autem et peccatum, quod mors est animas, per unum hominem
in omne genus humanum transisse testatur, injustitiam Deo dabit, con-
tradicens Apostolo dicenti: Per unum hominem peccatum intravit in
mundum, et per peccatum mors in omnes homines pertransiit, in quo
omnes peccaverunt.
III. Si quis invocatione humana gratiam Dei dicit posse conferri, non
autem ipsam gratiam facere ut invocetur a nobis, contradicit Esaiaspro-
phetae vel Apostolo idem dicenti : Inventus sum a non quterentibus me ?
palam apparui his, qui me non interrogabant.
IV. Si quis, ut a peccato purgemur, voluntatem nostram Deum ex-
pectare contendit, non autem ut etiam purgari velimus per Sancti
Spiritus infusionem et operationem in nobis fieri confitetur, resistit ipsi
Spiritui Sancto, per Salamonem dicenti ; Praparatur voluntas a Do
mino : et Apostolo salubriter prasdicanti ; Deus est, qui operatur in nobis.
et velle et perficere pro bona voluntate.
V. Si quis, sicut augmentum, ita etiam initium, fidei, ipsumque cre-
dulitatis affectum, quo in eum credimus qui justificat impium, et att
Ss,

854 APPENDIX.
regenerationem baptismatis pervenimus, non per gratis donum, id est,
per inspirationem Spiritus Sancti corrigentem voluntatem nostram ab
infidelitate ad fidem, ab impietate ad pietatem, sed naturaliter nobis
inesse dicit, apostolicis dogmatibus adversarius approbatur, beato Paulo
dicente ; Confidimus, quia, qui coepit in vobis bonum opus, perficiet us
que in diem Domini nostri Jesu Christi: et illud; Vobis datum est pro
Christo, non solum ut in eum credatis, sed etiam ut pro illo patiamini :
et ; Gratia salvifacti estis per fidem, non ex vobis, Dei enim donum est.
Qui enim fidem, qua in Deum credimus, dicunt esse naturalem, omnes
eos, qui ab Ecclesia Christi alieni sunt, quodammodo fideles esse de-
finiunt. VI. Si quis, sine gratia Dei, credentibus, volentibus, desiderantibus,
conantibus, laborantibus, vigilantibus, studentibus, petentibus, quasrenti-
bus, pulsantibua, nobis, misericordiam dicit conferri divinitus, non autem
ut credamus, velimus, vel hasc omnia sicut oportet agere valeamus, per
infusionem et inspirationem Sancti Spiritus in nobis fieri, confitetur, et
aut humilitati aut obedientias humanas subjungit gratias adjutorium, nee
ut obedientes et humiles simus ipsius gratias donum esse consentit, re-
sistit Apostolo dicenti : Quid habes, quod non accepisti ? et, Gratia Dei
sum id, quod sum.
VII. Si quis, per naturas vigorem, bonum aliquod, quod ad salutem
pertinet vitas asternas, cogitare ut expedit, aut eligere, sive salutari, id
est, evangelicas prasdicationi, consentire posse confirmat, absque illumi
natione et inspiratione Spiritus Sancti, qui dat omnibus suavitatem in
consentiendo et credendo veritati, hasretico fallitur spiritu, non intelligens
vocem Dei, in Evangelio dicentis; Sine me nihil potestis facere : et illud
Apostoli : Non quod idonei sumus cogitare aliquid a nobis, quasi ex no
bis, sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est.
VIII. Si quis, alios misericordia, alios vero per liberum arbitrium
(quod, in omnibus, qui de prasvaricatione primi hominis nati sunt, con
stat esse vitiatum), ad gratiam baptismi posse venire contendit, a recta
fide probatur alienus. Is enim non omnium liberum arbitrium per
peccatum primi hominis asserit infirmatum, aut certe ita lassum putat,
ut tamen quidam valeant, sine revelatione Dei, mysterium salutis
asternas per semetipsos conquirere. Quod quam sit contrarium, ipse
Dominus probat : qui, non aliquos, sed neminem, ad se posse venire
testatur, nisi quem Pater attraxerit. Sicut et Petro dicit : Beatus es,
Simon Bariona ; quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus

APPENDIX. 355
qui in coelis est. Et Apostolus: Nemo potest dicere Dominum Jesum
Christum, nisi in Spiritu Sancto.
IX. Divini est muneris, cum et recte cogitamus, et pedes nostros a
falsitate et injustitia tenemus. Quoties enim bona agimus, Deus in nobis
atque nobiscum, ut operemur, operatur.
X. Adjutorium Dei etiam renatis ac Sanctis semper est implorandum,
ut, ad finem bonum pervenire, vel in bono, possint, opere perdurare.
XI. Nemo quicquam Domino recte voverit, nisi ab illo acceperit,
sicut legitur : Qua de manu tua accepimus, damus tibi.
XII. Tales nos amat Deus, quales futuri sumus ipsius dono, non
quales sumus nostro merito.
XIII. Arbitrium voluntatis in primo homine infirmatum, nisi per
gratiam baptismi, non potest reparari. Quod amissum, uni, a quo potuit
dari, non potest reddi. Unde ipsa Veritas dicit : Si vos Filius liberaverit,
tunc vere liberi eritis.
XIV. Nullus miser de quantacunque miseria liberatur, nisi qui Dei
misericordia prasvenitur, sicut dicit Psalmista ; Cito anticipet nos mis
ericordia tua, Domine : et illud ; Deus meus, misericordia ejus, prave-
niet me.
XV. Ab eo, quod formavit Deus, mutatur Adam, sed in pejus, per
iniquitatem suam : ab eo, quod operata est iniquitas, mutatur fidelis, sed
in melius, per gratiam Dei. Ilia ergo mutatio fuit prasvaricatoris primi :
hasc, secundum Psalmistam, mutatio dextera Excelsi.
XVI. Nemo ex eo, quod videtur habere, glorietur, tanquam non ac
ceperit, aut ideo se putet accepisse, quia litera extrinsecus, vel ut legere-
tur apparuit, vel ut audiretur insonuit. Nam, sicut Apostolus dicit :
Si per legem justitia, ergo Christus gratis mortuus est: porro autem, si
non gratis mortuus est, ascendens in altum, captivam duxil captivitatem,
dedit dona hominibus. Inde habet, quicunque habet. Quisquis autem hide
se habere negat, aut vere non habet, aut id quod habet auferetur ab eo.
4 XVII. Fortitudinem Gentilium mundana cupiditas, fortitudinem
Christianorum Dei charitas, facit : qua diffusa est in cordibus nostris,
non per voluntatis arbitrium, sed per Spiritum Sanctum, qui datus est
nobis, nullis meritis gratiam prasvenientibus.
XVIII. Debetur merces bonis operibus, si fiant : sed gratia, quas non
debetur, prascedit, ut fiant.
XIX. Natura humana, etiam si in ilia integritate, in qua est condita,
permaneret, nullo modo seipsam, Creatore suo non adjuvante, servaret.

356 APPENDIX.
Unde, cum, sine gratia Dei, salutem non possit custodire quam accepit :
quomodo, sine Dei gratia, poterit reparare quod perdidit ?
XX. Multa in homine bona fiunt, quas non facit homo. Nulla vero
facit homo bona, quae non Deus praestet, ut faciat homo.
XXI. Sicut eis, qui, volentes in Lege justificari, a gratia exciderunt,
verissime dicit Apostolus ; Si ex Lege justitia est, ergo Christus gratis
mortuus est : sic et his, qui gratiam, quam commendat et percipit fides
Christi, putant esse naturam, verissime dicitur ; Si ex natura justitia,
ergo Christus gratis mortuus est, jam hie enim erat Lex et non justifi-
cabat, jam hie erat et natura et non justifieabat. Ideo Christus non
gratis mortuus est : ut et Lex per ilium impleretur, qui dixit, Non veni
Legem solvere, sed adimplere ; et natura, per Adam perdita, per ilium
repararetur, qui dixit, venisse se quasrere et salvare quod perierat.
XXII. Nemo habet de suo, nisi mendacium et peccatum. Si quid
autem habet homo veritatis atque justifies, ab illo fonte est, quem debe
mus sitire in hae eremo, ut, ex eo quasi guttis quibusdam inrorati, non
deficiamus in via.
XXIII. Suam voluntatem homines faciunt, non Dei, quando id agunt
quod Deo displicet. Quando autem ita faciunt quod volunt, ut divinas
serviant voluntati, quamvis volentes agant quod agunt, illis tamen vo
luntas est, a quo prasparatur et jubetur quod volunt.
XXIV. Ita sunt in vite palmites, ut viti nihil conferant, sed inde ac-
cipiant unde vivant. Sie, quippe, vitis est in palmitibus, ut vitale ali-
mentum subministret eis, non sumat ab eis. Ac, per hoc, et manentem
in se habere Christum, et manere in Christo, discipulis prodest, et non
Christo. Nam, prasciso palmite, potest de viva radice alius pullulare.
Qui autem proscisus est, non potest sine radiee vivere.
XXV. Prorsus donum Dei est, diligere Deum. Ipse, ut diligeretur,
dedit, qui non dilectus dilexit. Displieentes, amati sumus, ut fieret in
nobis unde placeremus. Diffandit enim eharitatem in cordibus nostris
Spiritus Patris et Filii, quem cum Patre amamus et Filio. Ac sic,
secundum suprascriptas Sanctarum Scripturarum sententias vel anti-
quorum Patrum definitiones, hoc Deo propitiante, et prasdicare debemus
et credere, quod, per peccatum primi hominis, ita inelinatum et attenu-
atum fuerit liberum arbitrium, ut nullus postea, aut diligere Deum sicut
oportuit, aut credere in Deum, aut operari propter Deum quod bonum
est, possit, nisi gratia eum et misericordia divina praevenerit. Unde,
Abel justo, et Noe, et Abraham, et Isaac, et Jacob, omnique antiquorum

APPENDIX. 357
sanctorum multitudini, ilium praeclaram fidem, quam in ipsorum laudem
prasdicat Apostolus Paulus, non per bonum natures quod prius in Adam
datum fuerat, sed per gratiam Dei, credimus fuisse collatam : quam
gratiam, etiam post adventum Domini, omnibus qui baptizari deside-
rant, non in libero arbitrio habere, sed in Christi (novimus slmul et cre
dimus) largitate conferri, secundum illud quod jam supra dictum est
et proedicat Paulus Apostolus, Vobis donatum est pro Christo, non
solum ut in eum credatis, sed etiam ut pro illo patiamini ; et illud, Deus,
qui coepit in vobis bonum opus, perficiet usque in diem Domini nostri ;
et illud, Gratia salvi facti estis per fidem, et hoc non ex vobis, Dei
enim donum est ; et quod de seipso ait Apostolus, Misericordiam
consecutus sum, ut fidelis essem (Non dixit, Quia eram ; sed, Ut es-
sem) ; et illud, Quid habes, quod non aceepisti ? et illud, Omne datum
bonum, et omne donum perfectum, de sursum est, descendens a Patre
luminum ; et illud, Nemo habet quidquam boni, nisi illud illi datum
fuerit de super. Innumerabilia sunt Sanctarum Scripturarum testi-
monia, quae possint ad probandam gratiam proferri : sed, brevitatis
studio, prastermissa sunt ; quia et revera, cui pauca non sufficiunt,
plura non proderunt.
1. Hoc etiam, secundum fidem catholicam, credimus, quod, accepta
per baptismum gratia, omnes baptizati, Christo auxiliante et cooper-
ante, quae ad salutem pertinent, possint et debeant, si fideliter laborare
voluerint, adimplere.
2. Aliquos vero ad malum divina postestate prasdestinatos esse, non
solum non credimus, sed etiam, si sunt qui tantum malum credere velint,
cum omni detestatione illis anathema dicimus.
3. Hoe etiam salubriter profitemur et credimus, quod, in omni opere
bono, non nos incipimus, et postea per Dei misericordiam adjuvamur :
sed ipse nobis, nullis prascedentibus bonis mentis, et fidem et amorem
sui prius inspirat ; ut et baptismi sacramenta fideliter requiramus, et post
baptismum cum ipsius adjutorio ea quas sibi sunt placita implere pos-
simus. Unde manifestissime credendum est, quod, et illius latronis
quem Dominus ad Paradisi patriam revocavit, et Cornelii centurionis
ad quem angelus Domini missus est, et Zachasi qui ipsum Dominum
suscipere meruit, ilia tam admirabilis fides non fuit de natura, sed di-
vinas largitatis donum.
4. Et, quia definitionem antiquorum Patrum, nostramque quae supra
scripta est, non solum religiosis, sed etiam laicis, medicamentum esse.

358 APPENDIX.
et desideramus et cupimus : placuit ergo, ut etiam illustres ac magnifici
viri, qui nobiscum ad prasfatam festivitatem convenerunt, propria manu
subscriberent. Episcoporum nomina subscribentium.
Cassarius: Julianus: Constantius: Cyprianus: Eucherius: Heraclius:
Principius : Philagrius : Maximus : Prastextatus : Aletius : Lupercia-
nus: Vindemialis.
Laicorum illustrium nomina subscribentium.
Petrus : Mareellinus : Felix : Liberius : Syagrius : Opilio : Panta-
gathus : Deodatus : Cariattho : Marcellus.
Quinto nonas Julii, Decio juniore viro clarissimo consule. A. D. 441 .

CONTENTS.

BOOK I.
THE NEGATIVE TESTIMONY OF HISTORY IN REGARD
TO THE TRUE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF ELEC
TION AND PREDESTINATION.

CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
Since some doctrine of Election is undeniably taught in Scripture, the
question is what doctrine ought to be received as ihe true Scriptural
doctrine, p. 19.
I. Three Schemes of exposition have been variously propounded.
p. 19. — 1. The Ideality and Causation of Election, according to
Arminianism. p. 19. — 2. The Ideality and Causation of Election,
according to Nationalism, p. 20 — 3. The Ideality and Causation
of Election, according to Calvinism, p. 20.
II. In the case of each Scheme alike, the whole question is really a
question of Interpretation, p. 20.
III. The proof of correctness of interpretation must be sought his
torically in the yet existing documents of primitive Christian
Antiquity, p. 22.
IV. Such a mode of investigation is professedly favoured and re
commended by the Church of England, p. 25.
CHAPTER II.
ARMINIANISM.
The Ideality and Causation of Election, according to the System of* Ar
minianism. p. 28.
I. Respecting Predestination and Grace, the sentiments of the Re-

360 CONTENTS. v
monstrants, anterior to the Synod of Dort, were summed up in
five Articles, p. 28.
II. Arminianism, to a wide extent, has been received with appro
bation, p. 29. — 1. If Arminianism really exhibit the mind of
Scripture in regard to the doctrine of Election, we may expect to
find it universally taught and maintained by the Primitive
Church, p. 30. — 2. As a System, no such Scheme can be found
in the documents of Christian Antiquity, p. 31. — (1.) Its theory
of Causation may be traced as high as Clement of Alexandria to
ward the close of the second century : but, before his time, no ves
tiges of it can be detected, p. 31. — (2.) Its theory of Ideality never
appears in the expositions of the early ecclesiastical writers, p. 31.
III. Historical Testimony, therefore, prohibits the adoption of Ar
minianism. p. 32.

CHAPTER III.
NATIONALISM.
The Ideality and Causation of Election, according to the System of
Nationalism, p. 33.
I. The principles of Nationalism, as developed by Mr. Locke, p. 33.
II. Some passages occur in the Works of the earliest ecclesiastical
writers, which might, with sufficient plausibility, be evidentially
adduced in favor of Nationalism, p. 35. — 1. Clement of Rome.
p. 35. — 2. Ireneus. p. 36. — 3. Ambrose, p. 37.
III. But these passages, when explained by other passages which
also occur in the early documents of the Church, are evinced to
afford nothing more than a mere semblance of support, p. 37. —
1. Clement of Rome. p. 38. — 2. Justin Martyr, p. 38.-3. Ire
neus. p. 39. — 4. Ambrose, p. 39.
IV. Since, therefore, the passages afford, in reality, no evidence to
establish the position, that Nationalism was the System received
and delivered by ihe .Primitive Church, Historical Testimony
prohibits the adoptidn'of Nationalism as setting forth the genuine
mind of Scripture, p. 39.

\

CHAPTER IV.
CALVINISM.

The Ideality and Causation of Election, according to the System of
Calvinism, p. 40.

CONTENTS. 361
I. The order of the five Articles, under the form of which, at the
Synod of Dort, the Calvinistic System was exhibited, p. 40 
1. According to God's decree of Predestination, some are elected
to a certainty of eternal happiness, and others are either repro
bated or pretermitted to a certainty of eternal misery, p. 40 
2. The Redemption of man is confined to the Elect, p. 41 
3. Original Sin is conveyed through the propagation of a vicious
nature, p. 42 — 4. The Elect, in God's due time, obediently re
ceive an Effectual Calling, p. 42 — 5. Thus being effectually
called, the Elect are privileged by the grace of Final Perseve
rance, p. 43.
II. The five Points of doctrine propounded by the five Articles, p.
43. — 1. Predestination, branching out into Election and Reproba
tion, p. 43.-2. Particular Redemption, p. 44.— 3. Original Sin. p.
44. — 4. Effectual Calling, p. 44. — 5. Final Perseverance, p. 44.
III. Further modification of Calvinism, p. 44. — 1. Supralapsarian
ism. p. 44. — 2. Sublapsarianism. p. 44.
II. The doctrine of Supralapsarianism was maintained by Calvin.
p. 44.

CHAPTER V.
SEMICALVINISM.
In the mitigated Scheme of Semicalvinism, Reprobation is either studi
ously kept out of sight or is disguised under the name of Preterition :
and the second Point, which propounds the Particular Redemption of
the Elect only, is denied, p. 48.
I. What this Scheme gains in moderation, it loses in concinnity.
p. 51. — 1. When the rotundity of genuine Calvinism is invaded,
the reign of doctrinal chaos commences, p. 51. — 2. Reprobation
is the strict and necessary correlative to Election, p. 51 . — 3. To
say, with the Semicalvinists, that All men may be saved if they
please, and that There wants the will only in those who are not
saved, is mere trifling, p. 52. — 3. To say, that All are redeemed,
but that A certain number only of ihe Redeemed are elected to eter
nal life, is inconsistent, p. 54. — 5. Baxterianism is an attempt,
sorely against the will of the parties, to wed Calvinism to dis
guised Pelagianism. p. 55.
II. Remarks on the Scheme of Semicalvinism, as propounded by
Mr. Milner. p. 56. — 1. His vindication of his doctrine by the
alleged example of our Anglican Church-Reformers, p. 56. —
Tt

362 CONTENTS.
2. His vindication of his doctrine by an asserted appeal to Scrip
ture, p. 57. — 3. His recommendation, that those, who cannot re
ceive the Scheme of Semicalvinism, should pray that God would
teach them what at present they see not. p. 58. — (1.) This
recommendation unhappily confounds the moral illumination of
the Holy Ghost with his intellectual, illumination, p. 59. — (2.)
Practical inconvenience of the plan recommended, exhibited in
cases which have actually occurred, p. 61.— r(3.) Conclusion.
p. 65.

CHAPTER VI.
INDUCTION AND EVIDENCE.
Calvinism cannot be reasonably received without an inquiry, upon what
foundation that Scheme has been erected, p. 66.
I. Calvinism is strictly a System of Induction, p. 66. — 1. Accord
ing to the plan of inductive reasoning adopted by Calvinists, a
certain definite number of individuals is, by the sovereign will of
God, elected, through the medium of holiness here, to eternal glory
hereafter, p. 67. — 2. Such being the case, those who are not
elected to life, must be reprobated or pretermitted to death, p. 67.
— 3. Therefore, as God never intentionally acts in vain, Re
demption can only be the Particular Redemption of the Elect.
p. 67. — 4. But, as all mankind are born in sin, the Elect, in or
der to their predestined salvation, must be, not only particularly
redeemed, but also effectually called, p. 68. — 5. Finally, since
the Elect are chosen to a certainty of eternal life, such an
Election plainly involves and requires the Perseverance of the
Elect to the very end of their lives, p. 68.
II. The whole of this train of reasoning, and consequently the
whole Calvinistic System, depends upon the scriptural accuracy
of a proposed definition of the term Election, p. 68. — 1. Unless
some better reason, for adopting the calvinistic definition of the
term Election, can be given, than the mere opinion of a private
individual, the whole will simply amount to this : The calvinistic
doctrine of Election must be true, because an individual thinks
that it is true. p. 70. — 2. To allege the mere phraseology of Scrip
ture, as any evidence, is nothing better than a gross petitio prin-
cipii. p. 70. — 3. What we require, and what we have a right to
require, is some tangible proof, that Calvin's interpretation of
the word Election is, in point both of Ideality and Causation, its

CONTENTS. 363
true interpretation, p. 72.-4. The same demand may, of course,
be justly made upon every individual Calvinist of the present
day. p. 73.

CHAPTER VII.
AUGUSTINE.
If Calvinism be the mind of Scripture, it must have been well and fa
miliarly known and received by the Catholic Church from the very
beginning, p. 74.
I. In regard to his advocacy of the Scheme now denominated Cal
vinism, we cannqt justly charge the Genevan Reformer with in
ventive innovation, p. 75.
II. The Scheme may be retrogressively traced, in well nigh un
broken succession, from Calvin in the sixteenth century, up to
Augustine in the fifth century, p. 75.— 1. Augustine, like Calvin,
fully maintained the five Points, p. 75.— (1 .) God's Sovereign
ty and Man's Original Sin. p. 75.— (2.) Absolute Predestination.
P- 77.— (3.) Particular Redemption, p. 79.— (4.) Effectual Call
ing, p. 79. — (5.) Final Perseverance, p. 80 — 2. In one particu
lar only, that of Regeneration, there is an apparent difference
between Augustine and Calvin, p. 80 — 3. There is no evidence
to determine, whether Augustine was a Supralapsarian or a Sub-
lapsarian. p. 85.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE HISTORICAL VINDICATION OF HIS SYSTEM, PRE.
FERRED BY AUGUSTINE, AND REPEATED BY CALVIN.
Though Calvinism may be traced up to Augustine in the fifth century,
the question will still remain : Whether Augustine himself was a
daring innovator ; or whether he propounded nothing else, than what
had been ihe universally familiar doctrine of the Church from ihe
very beginning, p. 89.
I. Augustine's vindication of his System, on the score : that He set
forth no new Scheme qf doctrine ; but that He faithfully delivered
to posterity, what had been actually received from antiquity, p. 89.
— 1. Augustine's controversy with Pelagius and the Pelagians.
p. 90. — 2. The allegation made against him by the Christians of
Marseilles : that, In superfluously maintaining his own peculiar
views of Election and Reprobation, he was advancing an entirely

364 CONTENTS.
new System, which had never before been heard of, which had no
evidential sanction from ihe writings of ihe Fathers that preceded
him, and which was notoriously contrary to the received sense of the
Church Catholic, p. 92. — 3. Augustine's reply to the allegation, p.
94. — (1.) His attempt to enlist the Church Catholic in his cause.
p. 97. — (2.) His adduction of Cyprian and Gregory-Nazianzen
and Ambrose, p. 99. — 4. The Council of Orange, a. d. 441. p. 104.
II. Calvin ventures not an appeal to any higher antiquity than that
of Augustine, save in so far as he repeats, after his own fashion,
Augustine's appeal, p. 107. — 1. While, omitting Cyprian and
Gregory-Nazianzen as evidently conscious of their total irrele
vancy, he mentions Ambrose alone ; he unfairly employs lan
guage, which would lead an unguarded reader to suppose, that
Augustine claimed as his own the suffrage of All Christian An
tiquity, p. 108/ — 2. By way, apparently, of exciting prejudice
against the allegation of the Massilian Christians, he most inac
curately intimates : that That allegation was preferred by the
pelagians "with whom Augustine was then engaged in controver
sy, p. 108. — (1.) The very language of Augustine to the Mas
silian Christians shews, that he was proposing to them a novelty.
p. 112. — (2.) He himself elsewhere confesses, that his view of
Election was the result of his own research and discovery :
whence plainly it follows, that he had not received it from his
catechetical instructors under the aspect of the ancient and au
thorised doctrine of the Church, p. 113.

CHAPTER IX.
CLEMENT OF ROME AND IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH.
Mr. Milner, the Historian of the Church of Christ, adduces Clement of
Rome and Ignatius of Antioch, as witnesses for The Doctrinal Cal
vinism of the earliest Primitive Church, p. 114.
I. The theory of Mr. Milner in regard to Primeval Doctrine,
p. 114. — 1. The passage, in substantiation of it, adduced by him
from Clement, p. 115. — 2. The passage, in substantiation of it,
adduced by him from Ignatius, p. 115.
II. An examination of the effective amount of the testimony brought
forward by Mr. Milner. p. 116.— 1. Language of Clement.
p. 117.— (1.) Inacuracy of the character, which Mr. Milner as
cribes to Clement's first Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 117. —
(2.) Mr. Milner assumes, what he ought to have proved: that

CONTENTS. 365
Clement and Augustine use the word Election in ihe same
sense, p. 118.— 2. Language of Ignatius, p. 121.— (1.) Mr.
Milner again assumes, what he ought to have proved, p. 122 
(2.) Unjust allegation preferred by Mr. Milner against those, who
allow no higher origin to Calvinism than the age and authority
of Augustine, p. 124.

CHAPTER X.
JUSTIN MARTYR.
A statement of the difficulty, which inevitably springs out of Mr. Mil
ner's first theory : that The Primitive Church from the beginning
held and taught ihe Scheme of doctrine advocated by Augustine and
Calvin, p. 126.
I. An evident feeling of this difficulty compelled him to frame a
second or subsidiary theory; which, from the admitted fact that
Justin never explicitly owns the doctrine of Augustinian Election,
and from the additional well known fact that Justin was once a
Platonist, lays it down: that, Through Justin's influence and
authority, ihe genuine primitive doctrine of Election gradually
vanished from ihe Church in the course of ihe second century ;
while ihe pelagianising notion of a Self-determining Free Will
gradually usurped its place, p. 127.
II. An examination of this second theory, which the necessity of
his first theory has compelled Mr. Milner to frame and to pro
pose, p. 129. — 1. The palpable inconsistency and moral impos
sibility of Mr. Milner's speculation respecting Justin, p. 129. —
2. Mr. Milner's mode of accounting for Justin's acknowledged
silence in regard to the doctrine of Augustinian Election, on the
plea : that A Spirit of Philosophy produced in him notions not
altogether agreeable to ihe genius of the Gospel, p. 132. — 3. Jus
tin, though he never owns the doctrine of Augustinian Election,
is not, as Mr. Milner's language would lead his readers to sup
pose, silent upon the topic of Election itself. On the contrary,
he twice mentions it: and, what is fatal alike to both of Mr. Mil
ner's theories, while he appears quite unconscious of any exist
ence, either past or present, of the Calvinistic Ideality of Elec
tion ; he familiarly, as if he were speaking the well-known ordi
nary sentiments of the Primitive Church, attaches to Election an
Ideality altogether different from that which is maintained in the
Cadvinistic or Augustinian System, p. 134.

366 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI.
THE DOCTRINE OF FREE WILL, AS UNDERSTOOD BY JUSTIN
MARTYR AND THE EARLY FATHERS OF THE CHURCH.
All abstract or metaphysical discussion of the topic of Free Will is de
clined, both as foreign from the plan of the present Work, and as ap
parently useless and unprofitable in itself. Consequently, the discus
sion entered upon is purely and merely evidential, p. 136.
I. In the allegation, preferred by Mr. Milner against Justin, he
appears to have entirely mistaken his real sentiments, p. 136. —
1. Justin enters upon the subject of Human Free Will or of Hu
man Freedom of Preference exactly five times: and, in all these
various instances, he is arguing, not, with an anticipative Pe
lagianism, against The necessity qf preventing and assisting
Grace ; but, with a just and catholic reprobation, against The
dogma of Absolute Fatalism whether Jewish or Stoical, p. 137.
2. A confirmatory citation and exhibition of the five passages.
p. 137. — 3. Proof, from Justin's own express declarations, that
he held The Necessity of Divine Grace in order to man's accepta
ble holiness, and consequently that he did not pelagianise by
anticipation, p. 143.
II. Respecting Human Free Will or Human Freedom of Prefe
rence, the doctrine of Justin was precisely the same, as that both
of his contemporary Ireneus and of his distant successor even
Augustine himself, p. 144. — 1. The reasoning and doctrinal
principles of Ireneus. p. 144. — (1.) He maintained Human Free
Will against the Fatalism of ihe Gnostics, p. 145. — (2.) But he
also maintained The Necessity qf Divine Grace, p. 146. — 2. The
maintenance of Human Free Will by Augustine, concurrently
with Divine Grace, is at once carried on, against professed Fa
talism on the one hand, and against professed Pelagianism on
the other hand. p. 147.
III. The key to the whole matter is : that, like many other moderns,
Mr. Milner has not sufficiently distinguished between The Free
Will of Spontaneous Preference and The Good Will of freely
preferring Virtue to Vice ; while, by the more accurate ancients,
this distinction was well known and carefully preserved, p. 149. —
1. A collection of passages, exhibiting the sentiments of the early
Fathers, p. 151. — (1.) Augustine, p. 151. — (2.) Cyril of Jeru
salem, p. 152. — (3.) Athanasius. p. 152. — (4.) Cyprian, p. 153.
(5.) Tertullian. p. 153.— (6.) Tatian. p. 153.— (7.) Theophilus

r CONTENTS. 367
of Antioch. p. 154. — 2. The doctrine, taught by Augustine and
the ancients respecting Human Free Will, is precisely that which
is maintained by the Reformers of the Anglican Church, p. 154. —
3. Conclusion, p. 155.

CHAPTER XII.
GENERAL RESULT AND CONCLUSION.
In the way of historical testimony, the general result from the prece
ding inquiry is : that Arminianism and Nationalism and Calvinism,
viewed as compact and well-digested Systems, were alike unknown to
the earliest Church Catholic. Whence the conclusion is: that Not
one of those three Systems exhibits the mind of the sincere Gospel, p. 158.
I. The principle of such a conclusion is: that, In revealed religion,
whatever is first, is true ; whatever is later, is adulterate, p. 158.
II. Remarks on the common somewhat silly profession of A dis
regard of the early Fathers and of An abiding by the decision of
Scripture alone, p. 159. — 1. The Fathers, individually, have no
personal authority in the exposition of Scripture: but, as wit
nesses to the fact of what doctrines the Primitive Church main
tained on the avowed ground that she had received them from the
Apostles, they have and must have, on the legitimate principles
of historical evidence, a great and mighty authority, p. 159. —
2. The childish profession before us, namely, A resolution to
abide by the decision of Scripture alone, is, most unskilfully and
illogically, confounded with A determination to abide solely by
some one individual's own private and arbitrary interpretation of
Scripture. In other words, they, who glory in making such a
profession, really do neither more nor less, than confound The
Bible itself -with. A gratuitous Interpretation of ihe Bible, p. 160.
III. Arminians and Nationalists do not attach that importance to
their respective Systems, which Calvinists are wont to do. But
the very importance thus attached to the peculiarities of Calvin
ism as constituting the essence of the sincere Gospel, when united
with the strange and ominous want of historical testimony to
prove that It was the doctrine of the Primitive Apostolic Church,
serves only to shew the inherent weakness of its foundation.
p. 162. — 1. The incongruous result which springs from the often
exaggerated religious importance of Calvinism, p. 162. — (1.) Un
fairness of so coupling together the doctrines of Grace and the pe
culiarities of Calvinism, as to intimate or insinuate that the for-

368 CONTENTS.
mer cannot be embraced without the latter, p. 163.— (2.) We
have no evidence, that the Primitive Church practically theolo
gised in the doctrinal mode recommended by Augustine and
Calvin, p. 166. — (3.) Hence the incongruous result is: that The
Primitive Church, though taught by the Apostles themselves, was
ignorant of those doctrinal peculiarities, without which, according
to the written decision of a zealous Calvinist, there can be, neither
peace in the conscience, nor love of God, nor a conversation be
coming the Gospel, nor an enjoyment of evangelical blessings and
comforts, p. 167. — 2. The practical error of rating the importance
of Calvinism so high, as to make the System itself absolutely
essential to the happiness and satisfaction of every real Chris
tian, p. 168. — (1.) A statement to this effect can never legiti
mately be made to bear upon the simple question of the truth or
falsehood of a doctrine, p. 169. — (2.) The statement, however,
may be met, even on the very principle which it advances : for
no comfort can be derived from holding the doctrine of Calvinis
tic Election, unless the person, who holds it, can be infallibly
certified that he himself individually is one of the Elect, p. 169.

BOOK II.
THE POSITIVE TESTIMONY OF HISTORY IN REGARD
TO THE TRUE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF ELEC
TION AND PREDESTINATION.

CHAPTER I.
THE HISTORICAL OR EVIDENTIAL VALUE OF
CONTROVERSY.
Theological Controversy, on any topic, affords sure and certain evi
dence : that At least two clashing Systems of opinion must have been
in existence, both during, and before, the time of actual disputation.
p. 175.
I. Application of this species of testimony to the three several sys
tems of Calvinism and Arminianism and Nationalism, p. 176. —

CONTENTS. 363
1. There was no controversy, respecting the alleged Calvinism of
the Primitive Church, at the' time, when, by Mr. Milner's ac--
knowledgment, it gradually became defunct, p. 176. — (1.) Mr.
Milner's attempted solution of the difficulty is unsupported by
any evidence whatsoever, p. 177. — (2.) The silence of the second
century stands curiously contrasted with the disputativeness of
the fifth century, p. 185. — 2. The remarks, made upon the ab
sence of all Controversy with respect to Calvinism in the second
century, equally apply to a similar absence of all Controversy with
respect to Arminianism and Nationalism. If either of these was
the System received by the Primitive Church, it expired without
either producing controversy or even attracting notice, p. 186.
II. The same remarks will serve to introduce an inquiry into the na
ture of the aboriginal Scheme of doctrine in regard to Election, p.
188. — 1. Anticipatory statement of the result of the inquiry, p. 189.
— 2. Remarks on that Scheme of doctrine, which, in point both of
Ideality and of Causation, is the most ancient, p. 192. — (1.) Con
ventional phraseology, p. 192. — (2.) The Church of the Election.
p. 193. — (3.) The strictly primitive Scheme of Causation< p. 194.

CHAPTER II.
THE IDEALITY OF ELECTION ACCORDING TO THE
PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
The writings of the early Fathers contain sufficient notices, by which
we may determine the Ideality of Election according to the Primitive
Church, p. 195.
I. An adduction of passages, from various ancient writers, for the
purpose of satisfactorily determining the present question, p. 195.
— 1. Clement of Rome. p. 196. — 2. Ignatius of Antioch. p. 198.
— 3. Hermas. p. 199. — i. Polycarp's Smyrnean Church, p. 201.
—5. Justin Martyr, p. 201. — 6. Ireneus. p. 202. — 7. Clement
of Alexandria, p. 205. — 8. Cyprian, p. 205. — 9. Ambrose, p.
206.— 10. Jerome, p. 207.
II. Remarks on the adduced passages, p. 208. — 1. The same
Scheme of Ideality runs through the whole of them. p. 208. —
2. The Election of the House of Israel collectively, viewed as a
type and exemplar of The Election of the Christian Church collec
tively, p. 211. — 3. Some members of the Election are holy indi
viduals, while others are unholy, p. 212. — 4. Unholy members of
the Election both may and will perish everlastingly, p. 213.
Uu

370 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.
THE CAUSATION OF ELECTION ACCORDING TO THE
PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
A difficulty, as might be expected, was soon felt in regard to the moving
Cause of Election, in which the Justice of God appeared to be impli
cated : and it was thought that this difficulty might be removed, by
calling in, as its Cause, God's undoubted Foreknowledge of man's
future actions, p. 215.
I. It has been roundly and repeatedly asserted by writers of the
Arminian School : that, According to all the ancient Fathers be
fore Augustine, the moving Cause of God's Election was His
Foreknowledge of the fitness of certain individuals ; so that, from
all eternity, he elected such individuals, because he foreknew that
they would be devoted to him, and because their foreseen holiness
thus made them fit subjects for God's Election. Yet, after a dili
gent examination of the then existing ecclesiastical documents,
Prosper, writing to Augustine, would only admit : that almost
all the preceding Fathers maintained the propriety qf that doc
trinal solution, p. 216.
II. The restrictive language of Prosper naturally provokes an in
quiry : Whether the solution before us was coeval with the Chris
tian Church herself; or Whether it was excogitated, from a very
ancient period indeed, but still not from ihe beginning, p. 219. —
1. An inquiry into the sentiments of the oldest christian writers,
in regard to the moving Cause of Election, p. 219. — (1.) Accord
ing to Clement of Rome and the whole earliest Roman Church
with him, the Cause of Election is God's Clemency and Mercy.
p. 219. — (2.) According to Ignatius, who may be viewed as
speaking the sentiments of the earliest Church of Antioch, the
Cause of Election is The Sovereign Will of the Father and of
Jesus Christ our God. p. 220. — (3.) According to Hermas, the
Cause of Election is God's own Powerful or Sovereign Virtue, p.
220. — (4.) According to Justin Martyr, the Cause of Election is
not God's Prevision of man's fitness and worthiness. Whence
we cannot but infer, that, according to Justin Martyr, the Cause
of Election is God's Sovereign Will and Pleasure, p. 221. — (5.)
According to Ireneus, the Cause of Election is God's own inscru
table Purpose and Wisdom, p. 224. — 2. Thus, of the proposed
arminian solution, there is not only not a vestige to be found
down to the time of Ireneus who wrote in the year 175 : but,

CONTENTS. 371
whenever a Cause is assigned for Election, that Cause invariably
is God's Sovereign Will and Wisdom and Mercy. At the close
of the second century, however, the Cause, now advocated by
the Arminians, was, for the first time, struck out and propounded
by Clement of Alexandria. After the days of Clement, and
down to the days of Augustine, this comparatively novel Scheme
of Causation may be broadly said to have met with something
very like universal acceptation : yet, as may be exemplified
from the case of Jerome, even during this period, such was the
vitality of the most ancient Scheme of Causation, we occasion
ally encounter an appearance either of hesitation or of inconsis
tency, p. 226. — (1.) The language of Jerome, in more than one
place, might well lead us to deem him the unreserved patron of
the Scheme of Causation invented by Clement of Alexandria, p.
228. — (2.) Yet he sometimes approvingly brings forward the
more ancient Scheme : and even specially alleges, that it exhi
bits the ecclesiastical sense of the words of the Apostle Paul. p.
230. — 3. Hence, by the mere force of evidence, I am led to con
clude : that the Cause of Election, received by the strictly Prim
itive Church, was, not God's Foreknowledge of man's future
merit, but God's Sovereign Will and Wisdom mercifully opera
ting through the alone merits of Christ, p. 233. — (1 .) The primitive
Scheme of Causation inevitably follows from the primitive
Scheme of Ideality, p. 233. — (2.) This was soon perceived :
and it produced a vain attempt to reconcile the Primitive Scheme
of Ideality which was still retained, with the novel Scheme of
Causation which after the time of its inventor Clement rapidly
became fashionable, p. 234.
III. The sum of the inquiry, with the conclusion from it. p. 237. —
1. In the judgment of the apostolically instructed Church of the
two first centuries, the Cause of Election was held to be God's
Merciful Sovereignty, p. 237. — 2. From a vain attempt to vindi
cate God's Justice, a new Cause of Election was struck out by
Clement of Alexandria about the end of the second century :
namely, God's Foreknowledge of man's future righteousness, p.
237. — 3. Therefore, according to the wise canon of Tertullian,
we must reject the novel Scheme of Causation, and, with the
earliest Church, retain the ancient Scheme, p. 237.
IV. Introduction to future inquiries into the import of the phrase
ology adopted both in the Old Testament and in the New Testa
ment, p. 238.

372 CONTENTS. .
CHAPTER IV.
- the ideality of election as propounded under
The law.
An examination of the phraseology employed Under the Law, with
respect to the Ideality of Election, p. 239.
I. A collection of passages illustrative of the present subject, p. 239.
II. In all these several passages, the Election, spoken of, is, in point
of Ideality, not An Election, by an irreversible decree, to eternal life,
but An Election into a particular Community, which, to ihe designed^
purpose of holiness, should be separated from the great mass of the
unbelieving nations. But this Ideality of Election is the very same
as that received-and propounded by the Primitive Church : there
fore, in point of Ideality, the view of Election, taken by the Prim
itive Church, perfectly corresponds with the doctrine of Election
as exhibited in the Old Testament, p. 243.
CHAPTER V
THE CAUSATION OF ELECTION AS PROPOUNDED UNDER
THE LAW.
An examination of the phraseology employed under the Law, with
respect to the Causation of Election, p. 246.
I. A collection of passages illustrative of the present subject, p. 246.
II. From these passages it appears, that, under the Law, the
moving Cause of Election was defined to be, not God's Prevision
of the future holiness of ihe collective Israelites, but God's Sove
reign Will and Pleasure and Regard to his own great name.
But such also was held to be the moving Cause of Election, by
the strictly Primitive Church of the two first centuries. There
fore, in point of Causation, the view of Election, taken by the
strictly Primitive Church, perfectly corresponds with the view
of Election as taken in the Old Testament, p. 248.
CHAPTER VI.
THE IDEALITY OF ELECTION AS PROPOUNDED UNDER
THE GOSPEL.
As the phraseology employed under the Gospel is strictly analogous to

CONTENTS. 373
the phraseology employed under the Law, we may anticipate, that the
Ideality of Election will.be the. same under each Dispensation, p. 249.
I. As a general principle, St. Paul teaches us, that, both under the
Law and under the Gospel, the terms Election and Elect are
used in the same sense, p. 249. — 1. This we learn from the
Epistle to the Romans. Rom. ix. 6-26, 30, 31. x. 19-21. xi.
1, 5, 7. p. 249. — 2. What had been anticipated as a presumption,
St. Paul here lays down as a fact. p. 251.
II. The Ideality of Election, under the Gospel, then, is that of An
Election of individuals into Hie pale of the visible Church, with
God's moral Purpose that through Faith and Holiness they
should attain everlasting life, but yet with a moral possibility of
their abusing their privileges even to their own final destruction.
p. 253. — 1. In accordance with this ascertained Ideality, runs
universally the tenor of the compellations as the Apostolic Epis
tle, p. 254. — 2. In accordance with this same Ideality, whole
Churches collectively are styled Elect, p. 255. — 3. In accordance
with this same Ideality are framed the two Parables, in which
the term Elect or Chosen first occurs, p. 257. — 4. In accordance
still with this same Ideality, we find the Elect repeatedly spoken
of in such a manner, that the term can only designate those per
sons who have been elected into the Church out of the unbeliev
ing world, p. 258 — 5. In accordance, again, with this same Ide
ality, we learn, from various passages, that The Elect may fail
away to eternal ruin. p. 259.
III. An examination of certain passages commonly adduced as
favourable to the Calvinistic System, p. 263. — 1. First passage.
John vi. 37, 39. p. 264. — (1.) The passage relates only to God's
moral Purpose or Intention, p. 264. — (2.) Reply to the usual cal
vinistic answer, p. 265. — 2. Second passage. John x. 27-29. p.
266.-3. Third passage. Rom. viii. 28-30. p. 267.— (1.) The
professed basis of the calvinistic gloss upon this passage is the
word Glorified, p. 268. — (2.) The usual arminian reply, being
founded upon doctrinal error, is thence unsatisfactory and insuf
ficient, p. 269. — (3.) The true reply rests upon a detection of
the false view of the word Glorified, which is taken by the Cal
vinist. p. 270. — 4. Fourth passage. Ephes. v. 25-27. p. 272..
(1.) Inconclusiveness of the reasoning of the Calvinist from this
passage, even on his own principles, p. 272. — (2.) The real
meaning of the passage is given well and judiciously even by
Augustine himself, p. 273.
IV. Conclusion, p. 274.

374 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CAUSATION OF ELECTION AS PROPOUNDED UNDER
THE GOSPEL.
An Inquiry, negative and positive, into the Causation of Election, as it
is propounded under the Gospel, p. 275.
I. The Inquiry negative, p. 275.
II. The Inquiry positive, p. 276. — 1. The reasoning of St. Paul.
Rom. xi. 5, 6. p. 277.-2. The declaration of St. Paul. 2 Tim.
i. 9. p. 278. — 3. The doctrinal sentiment of St. Paul. Ephes. i.
3-11. p. 278. — 4. The lengthened reasoning of St. Paul, with
his formal meeting of an objection. Rom. ix. 11-21. p. 279.
III. The general result is : that The strictly primitive doctrine of
Election, in point both of Ideality and of Causation, is ihe precise
doctrine authoritatively delivered both in ihe Old Testament and
in the New Testament, p. 281.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, RESPECTING
ELECTION, INVESTIGATED NEGATIVELY.
A negative investigation of What doctrine, on the topic of Election, ihe
Church of England does not hold. p. 283.
I. On the part of the Calvinists, their claim of the Church of
England is founded upon the Seventeenth Article of that Church.
p. 284. — 1. Chronology forbids the theory, that Cranmer, in
drawing up the Seventeenth Articte, built upon the doctrinal
System propounded and controversially maintained by Calvin.
p. 284. — 2. The doctrine of the Seventeenth Article was bor
rowed, not from Calvin's predecessor Augustine, but from Me
lancthon, who was consulted on the subject by Cranmer and who
expressly rejected the fatalising Scheme of Calvin, p. 286. —
3. With this conclusion agrees the very texture of the Article
itself, p. 290. — 4. We have no valid evidence, that the Theolo
gical System of Calvin is the Theological System of the Re
formed Church of England, p. 294.
II. If we may judge from his apparently studied imitation of the
language of the Seventeenth Article, Arminius also may seem
to have claimed the suffrage of the Anglican Church, p. 294. —
1. The Causation of Election, according to Arminius. p. 297. —

CONTENTS. 375
2. The Seventeenth Article gives no warrant to any claim, on
the part of the Arminians, that the Church of England favours
their System, p. 300.— 3. We have no valid evidence, that the
Theological System of the Anglican Church is the same as the
Theological System of Arminius. p. 300.
III. Of that Scheme of Nationalism, which makes nations and not
individuals the subjects of God's decree of Election, nothing can
be discovered in the authorised documents of the Church of
England, p. 301.
IV. The general conclusion is, negatively: that The Church of
England upholds neither Calvinism nor Arminianism nor Na
tionalism, p. 301.

CHAPTER IX.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, RESPECTING
ELECTION, INVESTIGATED POSITIVELY.
A positive investigation of What doctrine, on the topic of Election, the
Church of England does hold. p. 302.
I. The Ideality of Election, as maintained and taught by the
Church of England, p. 302. — 1. The Seventeenth Article, p.
302. — (1.) The doctrine of Melancthon. p. 304. — (2.) An appli
cation of the doctrine of Melancthon to the Seventeenth Article.
p. 308. — 2. The other authorised documents of the English
Church, p. 316. — (1.) The harmonising Ideality of Election as
inculcated in those other documents, p. 319. — (2.) The Elect, as
the Church of England understands the term, may fall away
finally from Grace given, p. 322. — (3.) With the Ideality of
Election, maintained by the English Church, the doctrine of
Universal Redemption is perfectly compatible, and is thence con
sistently maintained, p. 330.
II. The Causation of Election, as held by the Church of England.
p. 331.— 1. The doctrine of Melancthon. p. 331.— 2.' From the
history of the Seventeenth Article, we may reasonably infer,
that the doctrine of Melancthon is the doctrine of the Church of
England, p. 332. — (1.) The anglican doctrine of Causation may
be gathered from the use of the word freely in the Seventeenth
Article, though the Article itself enters not specifically into the
subject, p. 334. — (2.) It may be gathered also from the general
analogy of the entire doctrinal System of the English Church in
regard to human merit, p. 335.— (3.) It may be yet further

376 CONTENTS.
gathered from the very necessity of the Scheme of Ideality,
which has been adopted by the Church of England, p. 335. —
(4.) It may be finally gathered from the Circumstance of her em
ploying language, which is utterly irreconcileable with the no
tion, that the moving Cause of Election is God's Foreknowledge
qf man's future merit, p. 336.
CHAPTER X.
THE RATIONALE OR PRINCIPLE OF ECCLESIASTICAL
INDIVIDUAL ELECTION,
The Rationale or Principle of Scriptural Election, which must be un
derstood as denoting Ecclesiastical Individual Election, seems most
probably to be the following. The remarkable dispensation in ques
tion is, in a manner, forced upon God, by the wickedness and per
verseness of fallen man : so that, in truth, unless the Deity had ceased
to be a moral governor of the universe, and unless he had determined
to bind his whole intellectual creation upon earth in the adamantine
chain of a Fatal Necessity, matters could not well have been other
wise, than what we actually find them to have been and what indeed
we may observe them still to be. p. 339.
I. In order to develop this view of the subject, nothing more is ne
cessary than simply to follow the history of man from the begin
ning, p. 341.
II. The process, through all these periods, is nothing more than
the inevitable result of a supreme government at once moral and
merciful, p. 343.
III. The same view of the subject was taken of old by several of
the ancient ecclesiastical writers : whence we may infer, that it
was the ordinary accredited view of the Primitive Church, p. 346.
— 1. Ireneus. p. 346. — 2. Justin Martyr, p. 347  3. Cyril of
Alexandria, p. 348. — 4. Augustine, p. 348. — 5. Athanasius.
p. 349 — 6. Theodoret. p. 349.
IV. Conclusion, p. 350.

APPENDIX.
Canones Concilii Arausicani, a Leone Papa, ejus nominis primo,
indicti. a.d. 441. p. 353.