Thus having endeavoured to prove, that this remnant, spoken of in Rom. xi. are such as should be made partakers of eternal salvation, we may now apply this to our present argument. If that salvation, which this remnant was to be made partakers of, be the effect of divine power, as the apostle says, in Rom. ix. 16. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God, that sheweth mercy; and if it be the gift of divine grace, as he says elsewhere, in Eph. ii. 8. By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; then it follows from hence, that God designed, before-hand, to give them these blessings; and if he designed them only for this remnant, then it is not all, but a part of mankind, to wit, those that shall be eventually saved, that were chosen to salvation.
(2.) The doctrine of election may be farther proved, from God’s having foreknown whom he will sanctify and save. It will be allowed, that God knows all things, and consequently that he knows all things that are future, and so not only those whom he has saved, but whom he will save. We need not prove that God fore-knew all things, for that is not denied by those who are on the other side of the question, or, at least, by very few of them; and, indeed, if this were not an undoubted truth, we could not depend on those predictions, which respect things that shall come to pass; and these not only such as are the effects of necessary causes, or things produced according to the common course, or laws of nature, but those which are contingent, or the result of the free-will of man, which have been foretold, and consequently were fore-known by God; and if it be allowed that he fore-knew whatever men would be, and do, let me farther add, that this foreknowledge is not barely an act of the divine mind, taking a fore-view of, or observing what others will be, or do, without determining that his actual providence should interest itself therein; therefore it follows, that if he fore-knew the salvation of those who shall be eventually saved, he fore-knew what he would do for them, as a means conducive thereunto; and if so, then he determined, before-hand, that he would bring them to glory; but this respects only a part of mankind, who were chosen by him to eternal life.
In this sense we are to understand those scriptures that set forth God’s eternal purpose to save his people, as an act of fore-knowledge: thus, in Rom. xi. 2. God hath not cast away his people, whom he fore-knew, that is, he hath not cast them all away, but has reserved to himself a remnant, according to the election of grace. That he either had, or soon designed, to cast away the greatest number of the Jewish nation, seems very plain, from several passages in this chapter: thus, in verses 17, 19. he speaks of some of the branches being broken off, and ver. 22. of God’s severity, by which we are to understand his vindictive justice in this dispensation: But yet we are not to suppose, says the apostle, that God has cast them all away, as in ver. 1. and so he mentions himself, as an instance of the contrary, as though he should say, I am called, and sanctified, and chosen, though I am an Israelite.
Moreover, God’s not casting away his remnant of the Israelites, being the result of his fore-knowledge, does not barely respect his knowing what they should be, or do, whom he had chosen to eternal life, for it is represented as a discriminating act of favour; whereas, in other respects, they, who are rejected by him, are as much the objects of his knowledge, as any others, since the omniscience of God is not the result of his will; but it is a perfection founded in his nature, and therefore not arbitrary, but necessary.
Again, the apostle, in 1 Pet. i. 2. speaks of some who were elected, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, unto obedience, &c. that is, not chosen, because of any obedience performed by them, which God foreknew; for this is considered, as the result of his fore-knowledge, not the cause of it; and this word is yet farther explained in another place, where it is used, when the apostle says, in 2 Tim. ii. 19. The Lord knoweth them that are his. He had before been speaking of the faith of some, who professed the gospel, being overthrown; nevertheless, says he, that foundation of hope, which God has laid in the gospel, is not hereby shaken, but stands sure; the faithful shall not be overthrown, for the Lord knoweth them that are his, that is, he knows who are the objects of his love, who shall be kept by his power, through faith, unto salvation; so that God’s fore-knowledge, considered as a distinguishing privilege, is not to be understood barely of his knowing how men will behave themselves, and so, taking his measures from thence, as though he first knew what they would do, and then resolved to bestow his grace; but he knows whom he has set apart for himself, or designed to save, and, with respect to them, his providence will influence their conduct, and prevent their apostasy.
God’s knowledge, in scripture, is sometimes taken for his approving, or loving, those who are the objects thereof: thus he says unto Moses, in Exod. xxxiii. 17. Thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name, where one expression explains the other, and so it imports a knowledge of approbation; and, on the other hand, when our Saviour says to some, in Matt. vii. 23. I will profess unto you, I never knew you, it is not to be supposed that he did not know they would behave themselves, or what they would do against his name and interest in the world; but I never knew you, that is, I never approved of you, and accordingly, it follows, Depart from me, ye that work iniquity; and when it is said concerning knowledge, as applied to man, in John xvii. 3. This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God; no one supposes that a speculative knowledge of divine truths will give any one ground to conclude his right to eternal life; therefore to know God, is to love, to delight in him: and the same is applied, by the apostle, to God’s loving man, when he says, in 1 Cor. viii. 3. If any man love God, the same is known of him, that is, beloved by him. Now if God’s knowing his people signifies his loving them, then his fore-knowing them must signify his determining to do them good, and to bestow grace and glory upon them, which is the same as to choose them to eternal life: he fore-knew what he designed to confer upon them; for he prepared a kingdom for them, from the foundation of the world, Matt. xxv. 34. which is the same with his having, from the beginning, chosen them to salvation.
Object. As all actions, performed by intelligent creatures, as such, suppose knowledge, so their determinations are the result of fore-knowledge, for the will follows the dictates of the understanding; therefore we must suppose God’s fore-knowledge, to be antecedent to, and the ground and reason of his determinations. This the apostle seems to intimate, when he says, in Rom. viii. 29. Whom he did fore-know, he did predestinate, that is, he had a perfect knowledge of their future conduct, and therefore determined to save them.
Answ. I do not deny that, according to the nature of things, we first consider God as knowing, and then as willing: but this does not hold good, with respect to his knowing all things future; for we are not to suppose that he first knows that a thing shall come to pass, and then wills that it shall. It is true, he first knows what he will do, and then does it; but, to speak of a knowledge in God, as conversant about the future state, or actions of his people, without considering them as connected with his power and providence, (which is the immediate cause thereof) I cannot think consistent with the divine perfections.
As for this scripture, Whom he did fore-know, them he did predestinate, we are not to suppose, that the meaning is, that God fore-knew that they, whom he speaks of, would be conformed to the image of his Son, and then as the result hereof, determined that they should; for their being conformed to Christ’s image, consists in their exercising those graces which are agreeable to the temper and disposition of his children, or brethren, as they are here called; and this conformity to his image is certainly the result of their being called: but their calling as well as justification and glorification, is the consequence of their being fore-known; therefore God’s fore-knowing here, must be taken in the same sense as it is in the scriptures, but now referred to; for his having loved them before the foundation of the world, or chosen them to enjoy those privileges which are here mentioned.
(3.) It farther appears, that there is a number chosen out of the world to eternal life, from the means which God has ordained for the gathering a people out of it, to be made partakers of the blessings which he has reserved for them in heaven. This is what we generally call the means of grace; and from hence it appears, that there is a chosen people, whose advantage is designed hereby. For the making out of this argument, let it be considered,