Section 3.

SECTION 3.

Containing, (1.) The golden beam of the Scripture Scales.

(2.) The chains by which they are suspended. And, (3.) A rational account of the origin of evil.

SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES, MAKING THE BEAM OF THE SCRIPTURAL SCALES.

I.

There is a God, that is, a wise, good, and just Governor of his creatures.

It was a design highly worthy of a wise Creator to place mankind in a state of earthly bliss, and to put their loyalty to the trial, that he might graciously reward the obedient, and justly punish the rebellious.

The Lord is LOVING to every man, and his mercy is over all his works, Psalm 145:9.

Grace superabounded, when God, in the midst of wrath remembering mercy, promised a SAVIOUR to Adam personally, and to us seminally, Romans 5:20; Genesis 3:15.

Not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead; much more the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto MANY, Romans 5:15.

By man came the resurrection of the dead — for in Christ shall all be made alive.

By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous, Romans 5:19.

That grace might reign, through righteousness, unto eternal life by II.

There are men, that is, rational creatures, capable of being morally governed.

Our wise Creator has actually executed that design. To have done otherwise would have been inconsistent with his distributive justice, an attribute as essential to him as goodness, knowledge, or power.

The Lord is RIGHTEOUS to every man, and his justice is over all his works.

Sin abounded, when the first man personally fell by the wrong use of his free will, and caused us to FALL in him seminally, Romans 5:20; Genesis 3:6.

Death reigned from Adam. By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon ALL MEN, for that ALL have sinned, Romans 5:12, 14.

By man came death — for in Adam all die, 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22.

By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, Romans 5:19.

As sin hath reigned [through righteousness] unto death, [by Adam,] Romans 5:21.

Even so, by the offence of one, Jesus Christ our Lord, Romans 5:21.

Therefore, &c, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to justification of life, Romans 5:21.

The Lord is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, 2 Peter 3:9.

Hence it follows, that, 1. God’s free grace gave Christ to atone for man, and initially gives the Spirit of grace to sanctify man.

To guard the doctrine of grace, Divine justice appointed that a certain sin, called “a doing despite to the Spirit of grace,” and “a sinning against the Holy Ghost,” or a wilful persisting in disobedient unbelief to the end of the day of salvation, should be emphatically the sin unto eternal death; and that those who commit it, should be the sons of perdition: see Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10; 1 John 5:16; John 17:12.

judgment came upon all men to condemnation. (Ibid.)

Why will ye die, O house of Israel?

For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth; wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye, Ezekiel 18:31, 32.

Hence it follows, that, 2. Man’s free will, helped by the Spirit of grace, may receive Christ implicitly as “the light of men,” or explicitly as “the Saviour of the world.”

Some men commit that sin. For some men “tread under foot the Son of God, count the blood of the covenant, wherewith they were sanctified, an unholy thing, do despite to the Spirit of grace, — and draw back unto perdition,” Hebrews 10:29, 39.

“Falling from their own steadfastness, and even denying the Lord that bought them, they bring upon themselves swift destruction, (2 Peter 2:1,) and perish in the gainsaying of Core,” Jude 1:11.

THREE PAIR OF GOSPEL AXIOMS, Which may be considered as GOLDEN CHAINS, by which the Scripture Scales hang on their beam.

I.

I. Every obedient believer’s salvation is originally of God’s free grace.

II. God’s free grace is always II.

I. Every unbeliever’s damnation is originally of his own personal free will.

II. Man’s free will is always the the first cause of what is good.

III. When God’s free grace has begun to work moral GOOD, man may faithfully follow him by believing, ceasing to do evil, and working righteousness, according to his light and talent.

Thus is God the WISE rewarder of them that diligently seek him, according to these words of the apostle: — “God, at the revelation of his righteous judgment, will render to every man according to his deeds; eternal life to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompose rest to them who are troubled” for his sake, to give them “a crown of righteousness” as a righteous Judge, and to make them “walk with Christ in white, because they are worthy,” (in a gracious and evangelical sense.

first cause of what is evil.

III. When man’s free will has begun to work moral EVIL, God may justly follow him by withdrawing his slighted grace, revealing his deserved wrath, and working natural evil.

Thus is God the RIGHTEOUS punisher of them that obstinately neglect him, according to such scriptures as these: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal: hear now, O ye house of Israel, Is not my way equal? I will judge you every one after his way. Is God unrighteous, who taketh vengeance? God forbid!

How then shall God judge the world? Thou art righteous, O Lord, &c, because thou hast judged thus. Thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy,” (in a strict and legal sense.)

Hence it appears, that God’s design in the three grand economies of man’s creation, redemption, and sanctification, is to display the riches of his FREE GRACE AND DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE, by showing himself the bounteous Author of every good gift, and by graciously rewarding the worthy: while he justly punishes the unworthy according to their works, agreeably to these awful words of Christ and his prophets: “For judgment I am come into this world. The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea, even the [men who to the last will remain] wicked, for the day of evil. Because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness;” and to all the wicked that day will be evil, and terrible: “For behold, the day cometh,” says the Lord, “that shall burn as an oven; and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts. But the righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: so that a man shall say, Verily there is a REWARD for the righteous/ Doubtless there is a God that JUDGETH THE EARTH!”

Upon this rational and Scriptural plan, may we not solve a difficulty that has perplexed all the philosophers in the world? “How can you,” say they, “reasonably account for the origin of evil, without bearing hard upon God’s infinite goodness, power, or knowledge? How can you make appear, not only that a good God could create a world, where evil now exists in ten thousand forms; but also, that it was highly expedient he should create such a world rather than any other?”

ANSWER. — When it pleased God to create a world, his wisdom obliged him to create upon the plan that was most worthy of him. Such a plan was undoubtedly that which agreed best with all the Divine perfections taken together. Wisdom and power absolutely required that it should be a world of rational, as well as of irrational creatures; of free, as well as of necessary agents; such a world displaying far better what St. Paul calls wolupoikilov sofia, “the multifarious, variegated wisdom of God,” as well as his infinite power in making, ruling, and overruling various orders of beings.

It could not be. expected that myriads of free agents, who necessarily fell short of absolute perfection, would all behave alike. Here God’s goodness demanded that those who behaved well should be rewarded; his sovereignty insisted that those who behaved ill should be punished; and his distributive justice and equity required that those who made the best use of their talents should be entitled to the highest rewards; while those who abused Divine favours most should have the severest punishments; mercy reserving to itself the right of raising rewards and of alleviating punishments, in a way suited to the honour of all the other Divine attributes.

This being granted, (and I do not see how any man of reason and piety can deny it,) it evidently follows, (1.) That a world, in which various orders of free, as well as of necessary agents are admitted, is most perfect.

(2.) That this world, having been formed upon such a wise plan, was the most perfect that could possibly be created.

(3.) That, in the very nature of things, evil may, although there is no necessity it should, enter into such a world; else it could not be a world of free agents who are candidates for rewards offered by distributive justice.

(4.) That the blemishes and disorders of the natural world are only penal consequences of the disobedience of free agents. And (5.) That, from such penal disorders we may indeed conclude that man has abused free will, but not that God deals in free wrath. Only admit, therefore, the free will of rationals, and you cannot but fall in love with our Creator’s plan; dark and horrid as it appears when it is viewed through the smoked glass of the fatalist, the Manichee, or the rigid Predestinarian.