Such Eden was when her Elysian bowers

The serpent enter'd, on destruction bent;

Smoothly he wound his way through twining flowers,
Beauteous in form and liberal in ostent.

Then with persuasive voice--"Hath GoD indeed,
“To narrow, rigid rules confin'd ye down?
"Hath HE impos'd this dark and gloomy creed?
"And are ye slaves beneath a tyrant's frown?
"No: God is love; this dreaded fruit, he knows,
"Shall make ye, e'en as gods, ascend on high:
"Gainst his own offspring hath he thunder'd woes?
"Tis blasphemy:- Ye shall not surely die."

Thus ERROR enter'd, SIN triumphant came,
Eden was spoil'd, the universe was marr'd,
Man from his Maker's glance recoil'd with shame,
And saw the gates of peace against him barr'd.
Celestial TRUTH, with anguish sore oppress'd,
Stripp'd off her shining robes and laid then by,
And since that fatal hour, in sackcloth dress'd,

Hath roan'd upon the earth with tearful eye.
ERROR beheld, and wrapp'd her hideous shape
In the fair raiment Truth had thrown away,
Her air and accents next essay'd to ape,

And plays the angel to the present day.

While TRUTH with caution spake, and many a fear,
ERROR roll'd out her lore with flippant tongue,
Her's were the laugh, the jest, the idle sneer,
The jovial, merry face that pleas'd the young.

Light was the jest indeed, and wild the song,
But yet it drown'd the voice of sober Truth,
Who walk'd with meek and noiseless step along,
Nor won the eye of age, or ear of youth.

Her words indeed were wise, her ken profound,
Yet could not penetrate the brainless skull,
Her language too was chaste, her logic sound,
And yet by prating fools 'twas counted dull.

At length she rais'd once more her drooping head,
And on her slanderers cast a piercing eye;
"Ye are the people, without doubt," she said-

66

Wisdom, whenever ye expire, shall die."

At the keen irony abash'd and blank,

To their own nothingness e'en fain to creep,
Hordes of licentious witlings backward shrank,
Nor dar'd to move their gosling wings, or peep.
Ye sons of TRUTH, who, set in her defence,
Would urge the warfare with effect and skill,
Follow her footsteps, fearless of offence,

Her sharp and galling weapons wielding still.
For still with subtle wiles the serpent creeps,
With bright and changeful hues, bedeck'd with flow'rs,

7

While TRUTH, unheeded, oft with anguish weeps
The ruins of her fair sequester'd bow'rs.

And still is urg'd the pleasing, liberal plea
'Gainst narrow, bigot creeds and harsh restraints,
While Avarice, Pride and sensual Revelry,

Conspire to swell the chorus of complaints.

And still the faithful few who walk with God,
As weak unhappy maniacs they despise-
Exclusive zealots who in darkness plod,

And loath the fruit which makes mankind so wise.
And on th' obedient still the fault is charg'd,
That God's commands unable to desery,.
They deem him tyrant, nor with "views enlarg'd,"
Receive the cheering truth-"ye shall not die."
Gird then your armour on, ye sons of TRUTH,
Each lawful weapon wielding, burnish'd bright,
Mount up as eagles, run like bounding youth,
And put the hosts of Belial all to flight.

And though ye may not rail at those who rail,
Nor render for ill with angry strife,
Yet Irony may Sophistry assail,

And Satire paint Deception to the life.

The query quaint, the keen yet just retort,
The merited rebuke, the shrewd remark,
E'en sacred prophets made their last resort,
To ferret ERROR from her labyrinths dark.

Yet Kindness must impel, and Judgment guide.
Lest Hate or Levity usurp control,

Integrity and Wisdom must proside,

And Salt must season and preserve the whole.

According to his folly chide a fool,

Lest he aspire the universe to ruleRecording to his folly chide him not,

Lest thou thyselfcontract the same foul blot.'

Thus warn'd, oft pause; at times let satire sleep,
The man may smile ;-the Christian too should weep,

As wept the Saviour:-Oh! ere life doth cease,
'Might they but learn the pleasant ways of peace!"

Gird, gird your armour on, c'en gird it all,

The sword, the shield, the breast-plate, faith and pray'r, The hosts of Amalek at length shall fall,

For Zion still enjoys her Saviour's care.

ERROR shall bend before the coming blast,
Her luscious fallacy-" Ye shall not die"-
Earth's primal, fatal bane-her first, her last-
Like mist before the rising sun shall fly.

TRUTH then on earth her empire shall regain,
And Eden flourish in her early bloom,
Peace, joy and love, and innocence shall reign,
Nor dread the blighting winter of the tomb.

EPHESIANS, I. 4.-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.

[CONCLUDED FROM PAGE 222.]

II. I am to offer a number of reasons why the doctrine of election should be preached.

1. One reason why this doctrine should be plainly and faithfully preached, is, the preachers of the gospel should be faithful to their trust. They are men commissioned and sent out to declare the counsel of God. And they are bound by the most solemn ties to declare his whole counsel, so far as it is revealed. They are bound to speak his words to the people, and to say, Thus saith the Lord, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. Hence they must declare the character, the law and the purposes of God, as they are taught in his word. They must declare the character, the offices and the work of Christ, as they are revealed. And they must declare the character, the duty and prospects of men, as they are taught in the Holy Scriptures. We have no right to propose terms of salvation of our own invention, nor to alter the terms upon which salvation is offered in the gospel. If we do, we offend God, lead our hearers into error, and become guilty of the blood of souls. Great blessings are promis. ed to those who faithfully declare the whole counsel of God. And awful curses are denounced upon those who keep back any part of God's counsel. It was a peculiar consolation to the apostle Paul, when parting with the church and elders at Ephesus, knowing that he should see them no more, in this world, to reflect that he had declared to them the whole counsel of God. His words were these: "I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men; for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." Every preacher of the gospel, who feels that he is only a servant of Christ, who realizes his accountability, and expects, in a short time, to be called from his people to the bar of Christ, will wish to possess himself of this consolation, when the parting scene shall come, and to meet the applause of "Well done, good and faithful servant." If fidelity in a preacher obliges him to declare the whole counsel of God, then he is obliged to preach the doctrine of election. For there is no

doctrine in the revealed will of God more fully or plainly taught. There is no doctrine oftener inculcated, or upon which more of the doctrines of the gospel rest. Indeed, take from the word of God the doctrine of election, and it is wholly uncertain whether Christ will have any seed to serve him, or whether one of the human race will be saved; or, rather, it is certain they will not.

2. Another reason why the doctrine of election should be preached, is, that people may have right ideas of this doctrine. Whether it be preached or not, if people read the Bible, they will find this doctrine, and they may run into hurtful errors concerning it. And it is certain that many have very erroneous ideas concerning this subject from some quarter or other..

Many think and say, that if persons are elected to salvation, it is no matter how they live, or what they do. But this opinion is right contrary to the scripture doctrine of election. The scriptures teach ús that persons are not only chosen to salvation as the end, but to faith and holiness as the necessary means. It is written, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord; and he that believeth not shall be damned." When the purpose of God concerning the salvation of the elect is declared, particular care is taken to connect it with their faith and holiness in this life. Accordingly we read, "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Whom he did predestinate, them he also called. God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." These passages plainly teach us that all the chosen of God must believe and be holy in this life. It must therefore be a very dangerous error to suppose that the elect will be saved, let them live and act as they will. In vain do any expect to find, in the great decisive day, their names written in the Lamb's book of life, unless they are created anew unto good works while here upon earth. Christ will be the author of salvation only to those who obey him.

Equally erroneous, and perhaps equally dangerous, is the idea that election is only conditional. Many hold that God's electing persons to salvation is nothing more than merely determining that all shal be saved, who believe in Christ and obey his commands: Or, in other words, that whenever any person believes he is then chosen to salvation. But this is in direct opposition to the scripture doctrine of election. That informs us that the elcct were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.

Besides, if none were chosen to salvation before they believed, then before saving faith, one sinner would be no more a chosen vessel of mercy, than another. But that Christ has a chosen people before they believe, is expressly declared. “Thy people shall be will. ing in the day of thy power. All that the Father giveth me shall

come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." By these passages we are taught that Christ has a people who are = not yet his willing people; which could not be, if the elect were not chosen until they believe. We are taught that some are given to Christ, who have not yet come to him. It in also promised that they shall be made willing; that they shall come to Christ; and that none of them shall be rejected. This election does not appear to be conditional. It does not appear like this, if they will come to Christ and abide in him, they shall be saved. It really seems to be absolute. They shall be willing; they shall come; they shall abide.

Another error, into which many have fallen upon the subject of election, is their supposing that the foreknowledge of God, concerning the faith and good works of the elect, was the foundation of his choosing them to salvation. They admit that God from all eternity 1 knew who of the human race would believe his word and obey his will. And they say, that in consequence of this foreknowledge, he determined to give eternal life to those, and to no others.

as

But this does not appear to be the Scripture doctrine of election. Though, in point of time, we should place the foreknowledge of God far back as we do his decrees; yet in the order of nature we must consider his decrees as antecedent to his foreknowledge. We can conceive of no way in which the future faith and good works of the elect could be known, only by God's determining that they should be. And this is evidently what the Scriptures teach us. We are nowhere told that God chose some to eternal life, because he foreknew that they would believe and become holy. But we are abundantly told, that he chose the elect and determined to make them holy by a divine operation upon their hearts. "Whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son." Their conformity to Christ was an essential part of their predestination, and pot the reason of their being predestinated. To the same purpose is our text. "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." It does not say, because he foreknew that we should be holy; but, he hath chosen us that we might be holy. In the case of Esau and Jacob, works are expressly excluded. "That the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works." But if the foreknowledge of good works had been the ground of men's being chosen, why should care be taken to inform us that it is not of works, and that the choice was made before the subjects were born? These are errors into which many have fallen on the subject of election. They are dangerous and hurtful errors, and have probably been fatal to many. It is hence important that this doctrine be preached, and set in a scriptural point of light. This is, that God, in eternity, out of mere sovereign mercy, and not out of respect to their