By many, it is supposed, that, to speak of an interest in God's electing love, must necessarily be an indication of the most insufferable pride. But who, I would ask, are lifted up with pride ; those who acknowledge every blessing to be the unmerited gift of God ; or those who imagine that God has had respect to some goodness in them, as the ground on which he has been constrained to distinguish them from others? Who, I say, are obnoxious to the charge of pride, they who give all the glory to God's free and sovereign grace ; or they who arrogate to themselves some good qualities, as deter- mining God in his selection of them in preference to others ? If, of two stones lying in a quarry, a builder take one, and polish it with care for a conspicuous ornament to his edifice, and leave the other without so much as giving it any place in his building; has that favoured stone any ground for glorying? Or, if a potter take of one lump of clay a portion, to make it a vessel of honour, whilst of another portion, equally good in itself, he makes a vessel into dishonour ; has the one any rea- son to glory, or the other any reason to complain ? This is St. Paul's own application of our texte. One distinction indeed he makes ; and it is of great importance that we should make it also ; namely, that the vessels of honour are made so by Him; whereas the vessels of dishonour are made so by them- selves*': but this is clear, beyond a possibility of doubt, that it is not the person who refers every thing to God as its Author, and acknowledges his obligation to His free and sovereign grace ; it is not he, I say, that is to be accused of pride ; but he who founds his hopes on some past or future good within his own bosom, as the determining cause with God for the bestowment of his blessings, and the procuring cause of them to his own soul.
Those, therefore, who, in the language of my text, deny the exercise of God's sovereign grace, are justly obnoxious to his heaviest displeasure.]
2. By others they are received with sad indiffe- rence—
[This is the least that the question in my text can pos- sibly import: "You speak of God's love to me; but I need to be informed what evidence you have of it : for, if any in- stances of it have occurred, I have quite forgotten them.'
Now, it is in this way that God's mercies are, for the most part, received by us. How little do we reflect on the blessings of a free government, which, as Britons, we possess in rich abun- dance ! And how sadly are our personal and domestic comforts overlooked ! But, not to dwell on matters of subordinate
e Rom. ix. 19 — 21. f Rom. ix. 22. See the Greek.
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importance, how little are we sensible of the blessings of a preached Gospel? How many refuse to avail themselves of the advantages they enjoy ! and how many make no better use of them than to lull their consciences asleep in sin ! Even of those who, in the judgment of charity, are partakers of sal- vation, how few are impressed with this privilege as they ought to be ! Little do they think of the awful state of the Esaus that are around them, and of the obligations they owe to God for his distinguishing love and mercy. My dear brethren, if our minds were in a proper state, we should scarcely find time to think of any thing else but of the won- ders of God's love to us in Christ Jesus, and of the privileges we enjoy as his redeemed people. Suppose an angel were sent down from heaven to occupy our post, would he ever have occasion to put the question, " Wherein has thou loved me?" No: he would never for a moment be insensible of God's love towards him. And, though we cannot hope to attain to the perfection of angels, this should, on the whole, be our state ; more especially because our calls for gratitude infinitely exceed all that angels have ever experienced.]