to give thanks for their privileges; how criminal must be ingratitude under ours!

It is said, While Paul preached in Ephesus, all they who dwelt in Asia, heard the word of the Lord. What pains must they have taken! For divers of them came from far. Consider Paul as preaching in the Jewish synagogue at Ephesus, as long as he could have admittance; and, when he was driven from thence, remov. ing to a public school, and there reasoning daily in defence of the gospel. See all the country around coming together, from time to time, to hear this inspired teacher. Observe what pains they took to become acquainted with a religion, which condemned their former sentiments and practices. Remark, how they yielded to the conviction of truth, renounced their idolatry, confessed their evil deeds, condemned their pretended intercourse with invisible spirits, and submitted to the pure and rational religion of the gospel; and then say, whether we have not cause to be deeply humbled, that this same gospel, which we enjoy under superior advantages, has so little influence on our own hearts and the hearts of others? Is there not occasion to lament, that the word of God, which then so mightily grew and prevailed, is now treated with so much indifference?

Ye who neglect to attend on the word now brought near to you, What will you say in excuse for yourselves, when you see how all who dwelt in Asia came to Ephesus to hear this same word?-Ye who can relish nothing, but what accords with your own fancies and humors, and who are at once disgusted with the preaching which contradicts your former sentiments and practices, How will you justify this perverse temper, when you see what humility and candor appeared in those Asiatic heathens ?-They could hear Paul disputing daily against their preconceived opinions; could listen with patience to his arguments, which all tended to confound them; and on conviction could give up

their errors and confess their evil deeds.-Ye who treat the worship and ordinances of God with contempt; what will you plead in your vindication, when you ob serve, with how much gratitude and reverence the same were received at Ephesus ?-Ye who attend on God's word in vain-who feel no influence from it—who, though you hear it, yet live in habitual opposition to it, What will you urge in your defence, when you recol lect, how mightily it grew in Ephesus, and how it transformed idolaters, sorcerers, and the grossest transgressors into saints, believers and the worshippers of the true God?

you

Remember, that you must one day answer before God for all the spiritual blessings which he has sent you. It is not a matter of indifference, whether receive or reject them. If you put them from you, you will suffer the loss of them, and be punished with awful severity for your contempt. When God shall bring every work into judgment, he will take into consideration all the privileges which you have enjoyed, as well as all the works which you have done, and according to both will he judge you. They who have never heard of the gospel, will meet a more tolerable doom, than such as have known and despised it. These will perish wonderfully. Their punishment will be such as they would not believe and could not imagine, though one should declare it to them. The men of Sodom, in their days, were sinners of distinguished guilt, and their destruction, in the conflagration of their city, is set forth as an example of God's righteous severity. But justice has not done with them. In the day of judgment they will receive a still sorer condemnation; and after all, it will be more tolerable for them, than for those who despise the gospel."

To us the word of salvation is sent. Let us hear it with care and receive it with joy, accept the blessings which it offers and walk worthy of him who has called us to his kingdom and glory.

SERMON III.

Election.

EPHESIANS 1.4, 5, 6.

According as he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us ac cepted in the beloved

IN the verse preceding the words now read, the Apostle thankfully acknowledges the great mercy of God, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus.-These blessings he proceeds to enumerate; and the first which he mentions is, God's choosing us to be an holy people to himself, and adopting us to the privileges of children.

The Jews, for many ages, had been the peculiar people of God, separated from other nations, and distinguished by special advantages. God had now seen fit to take the Gentiles into covenant with himself, and to abolish the distinction between them and his ancient people.

The Jews believed that God, from the beginning, had chosen them to salvation, and had appointed the Messiah in due time to appear in the world, that none of them might perish. But the Apostle, to remove from the Jews all cause of boasting, and from the Gentiles all ground of discouragement, here declares, that God

from the beginning had chosen the Gentiles in Christ, and predestinated them to a place in his church, that, in the enjoyment of the gospel, they might become holy and be made meet for heaven.

In our text we may observe the following partic

ulars.

That God had chosen and predestinated these Ephe

sians.

That they were chosen to be holy and without blame before him, in love.

That they were predestinated to the adoption of children to himself.

That they were chosen in Christ Jesus.

That the reason of God's choosing them was the good pleasure of his own will.

That the purpose for which they were chosen was the praise of the glory of his grace.

I. We may, first, observe, that God chose and predestinated these Ephesian Christians before the foundation of the world.

Those spiritual privileges and blessings, which they enjoyed or expected, were the result of that glorious plan, which the infinite wisdom and abundant grace of God had formed: For, as it is said, verse 11. they were predestinated according to the purpose of him, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

When we speak of God's foreknowledge or predestination of events, we must always keep in mind this idea, "that his thoughts are not as our thoughts, but as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his thoughts higher than ours."

This Apostle speaks of Christians, as predestinated according to God's purpose. Peter says, They are elected according to the foreknowledge of God. But this mode of speaking rather expresses things according to the imperfect manner in which we apprehend them, than according to the perfect manner in which they exist in the divine mind. God's understanding is infi.

nite. He views things immediately and intuitively as they are. Darkness and light, past and future, are alike to him. "He seeth not as man seeth, nor are his years as man's days. But he inhabiteth eternity; and one day is with him as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Therefore all the phrases, which we meet with in scriptare, concerning God's remembrance of things past, foreknowledge of things to come, and deliberation on things present, are to be understood, not as literally expressive of the real operations of his mind, but as figuratively adapted to the weak conceptions of ours. "His knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is high, we cannot attain to it." We know things past by memory, and our memory we assist by records; so God is often said to remember things, and to keep a book of remembrance. But we are sensible that these expressions only denote God's perfect knowledge of those things, which to us are past

not a laborious recollection of them, or an artificial method of assisting his memory. So, on the other hand, God is said to foreknow things which are future, to foreordain things which shall be done, to write, in the volume of his book, things which his counsel has determined; which phrases do not signify that things are really future and distant to his view-that his mind is reaching forward-that he writes down a plan of operations for his own direction; but they represent the perfect, consummate, unerring wisdom with which he governs the universe.

Viewing the matter in this light, we shall be sensible, that our perplexity concerning God's foreknowledge and decree arises from the mperfection of our minds, and the narrowness of our comprehension; and that there is no more inconsistency between the freedom of moral agents and God's foreknowledge, than there is between this and his present knowledge; for with respect to him, foreknowledge and present knowl