" Ask, and ye shall have ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you :" and, " Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out :" and, " When said I ever to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain ? " Know then, that to found any such sentiment on the words of the Apostle, is a gross perversion of the word of God, and an impious plea for antinomian licentiousness. But, that you may have a just view of this assertion,]
Its plain import is, that God's free grace and mercy are the true and only sources of all good —
[Whatever be our success in the divine life, we must not refer it to our own volitions, or our own exertions. For, what inclination has the natural man to that which is truly good ? None at all : there is not one good thought or desire in the heart of an unregenerate man : his will is altogether towards what is evilf: and if a good inclination be manifested by any one of us, it has been previously put into our hearts by Him who " giveth us to will and to do, of his own good pleasure8." Nor can any exertions of ours in our natural state be of them- selves effectual ; for our blessed Lord expressly says, "Without me, or separate from me, ye can do nothing." We must there- fore "never sacrifice to our own net, or burn incense to our own drag." God must have all the glory: it is " he who worketh all our works in us :" " Of him is our fruit found :" and to all eternity our song must be, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be the praise." It is impos- sible for us ever to be too jealous upon this head. We are told, that " o/him are all things, and for him are all things :" and therefore to him we must look for every thing that we need ; and to him, even to his sovereign grace and mercy, must we ascribe every thing that we have received. If we differ, either from others, or from our former selves, we must never forget, one moment, " who it is that hath made us to differ :" and if we be able to say with the Apostle, " I have laboured more abundantly than others," we must instantly correct our- selves, and add, " Yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me11."] It remains only now that we shew you,
f Gen. vi. 5. s Phil. ii. 13.
h There are some who put a totally different construction on our text, and interpret it as though the Apostle had said, " It is not of him only that willeth, &c." Thus, by their interpolation, they ex- pressly contradict the Apostle, and subvert the whole train of his rea- soning. If this were the meaning of the Apostle, what occasion would there be for the objections of his adversaries in ver. 14. and ver. 19.? Alas ! that ever such liberties should be taken with the word of God !
1885.1 god's mercy the source of blessings. 3.57
1. How these sentiments are to he maintained — [We confess with grief and shame that many carry these sentiments too far, and maintain them in a very unhallowed way. But, whilst we maintain what God has so plainly taught, we would lift our voice without ceasing against every abuse of these doctrines. To those who accord with these views of divine truth, we most affectionately suggest the following cautions. Take heed to the manner in which you maintain these truths. Let none of you maintain them presumptuously , as though you could fathom the depths contained in them, or as though they gave you any licence for sloth and supineness. They contain mysteries, which God alone can fully comprehend, and difficulties which he alone can fully reconcile: but be it remembered, that there are far more and greater difficulties involved in a denial of them : and that our wisdom is, to receive every word of God with child-like simplicity, and to say, " What I know not now, I shall know hereafter."