maketh rich : He bringeth low, and lifteth up." (1 Sam. ii. 7.) " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job i. 21.) " It is He that giveth thee power to get wealth." (Deut. viii. 18.) " He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding." (Dan. ii. 21.^ " The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giv- eth it to whomsoever He will." (Dan. iv. 17.) This is a truth of natural religion. All men, whether Christians or not, pray for the success of their enterprises. They recognize the providential control of God over all the affairs of men. Nevertheless they are fully aware of the consistency of this control with their own free agency and responsibility. Every man who makes the acquisition of wealth his object in life, is conscious that he does it of his own free choice. He lays his own plans ; adopts his own means ; and acts as freely, and as entirely according to the dictates of his own will, as though there were no such thing as providence. This is not a delusion. He is perfectly free. His character expresses itself in the choice which he makes of the end which he desires to secure. He cannot help recognizing his responsibility for that choice, and for all the means which he adopts to carry it into effect. All this is true in the sphere of religion. God places life and death before every man who hears the gospel. He warns him of the conse- quences of a wrong choice. He presents and urges all the consid- erations which should lead to a right determination. He assures the sinner that if he forsakes his sin, and returns unto the Lord, he shall be pardoned and accepted. He promises that if he asks, he shall receive ; if he seeks he shall find. He assures him that He is more willing to give the Holy Spirit, than parents are to give bread unto their children. If, notwithstanding all this, he delib- erately prefers the world, refuses to seek the salvation of his soul in the appointed way, and finally perishes, he is as completely responsible for his character and conduct, and for the perdition of his soul, as the man of the world is responsible for the pursuit of wealth. In both cases, and equally in both cases, the sovereign disposition of God is consistent with the freedom and responsibility of the agents. It is, therefore, by looking at only one half of the whole truth, that the difficulties in question are magnified into such importance. Men act as freely in religion as they do in any department of life ; and when they perish it is the work of their own hands.
352 PART in. Ch. l — the plan of salvation.
These Ohjeetions vere urged against the Teachings of the Apostles.
Another remark respecting these objections should not be over- looked. They were urged by the Jews against the doctrine of the Apostle. This at least proves that his doctrine is our doctrine. ETad he not taught what all Augustinians hold to be true, there would have been no room for such objections. Had he denied that God dispenses salvation according to his own good pleasure, having mercy on whom He will have mercy, why should the Jews urge that God was unjust and that the responsibility of man was de- stroyed? What appearance of injustice could there have been had Paul taught that God elects those whom He foresees will repent and believe, and because of that foresight? It is only because he clearly asserts the sovereignty of God that the objections have any place. The answers which Paul gives to these difficulties should satisfy us for two reasons ; first, because they are the an- swers dictated by the Spirit of God ; and secondly, because they are in themselves satisfactory to every rightly constituted mind.
The first of these objections is that it is inconsistent with the justice of God to save one and not another, according to his own good pieasure. To this Paul answers, (1.) That God claims this prerogative. (2.) That He actually exercises it. It is useless to deny facts, or to say that what God really does is inconsistent with his nature. (3.) That it is a rightful prerogative, founded not only on the infinite superiority of God and in his proprietorship in all his creatures ; but also in his relation as moral governor to the race of sinful men. If even a human sovereign is entitled to exercise his discretion in pardoning one criminal and not another, surely this prerogative cannot reasonably be denied to God. There can be no injustice in allowing the sentence of a just law to be executed upon an offender. And this is all that God does in regard to sin- ners.
The further difficulty connected with this subject arising from the foreordination of sin, belongs to the subject of decrees, and has already been considered. The same remark applies to the objec- tion that the doctrine in question destroys all motive to exertion and to the use of means of grace ; and reduces the doctrine of the Scriptures to a purely fatalistic system.
The practical tendency of any doctrine is to be decided from its nature, and from its effects. The natural effect of the conviction that we have forfeited all claims on God's justice, that we are at his mercy, and that He may rightfully leave us to perish in our sins,