ungodly men, before of old ordained to this, “condemnationi;" the expreffion is the fame as the former, in the English verfion ; but not in the Greek : οἱ παλαι προγεγραμμένοι εις τουτο το xpiμa; not made and ordained by God to be punished; much lefs, ordained by God to fin, and fo to punishment; but præfcripti, according to the vulgar Latin, profcribed in fome public record, fome programma, as certain commentators interpret it; or forefhewn, written of, or defcribed beforehand, to be deferving of condemnation for their ungodliness, as it is explained by others'; conformably to the strict import of the original expreffion, and to the illuftration in a fubfequent verfe, that "Enoch prophefied of these." As it may be clearing our way on fome future occafion, I would take the prefent opportunity of remarking, that there are two or three other texts of this defeription, of which a fimilar explanation is requifite. St. Peter defcribes men, "which stumble at the word, being difobedient, whereunto also they were "appointed," so nai etedŋoavTM: an expreffion εις και ετέθησαν: probably of the fame force as that of poyereaμμevo, just quoted from St. Jude; men, whofe ftumbling had been declared and fore ! Jude, ver. 4. προγε * See Parkhurft in voc. porpapar m 1 Pet, ii. 8. told by the Prophets and by Chrift himself; or who had been appointed to stumble at the word, as a punishment for their disobedience : and St. Paul speaks of "God enduring with "much long-fuffering the veffels of wrath, « fitted to deftru&tion ;” κατηρτισμένα εις απώ Av: difpofed perhaps, or fitted, for destruction; as those who were before represented to be TEтayμEVO, prepared or difpofed for eternal life; or as thofe, whom St. Paul elfewhere defcribes as "purging themselves" from falfe doctrines, and fo becoming "veffels unto ho"nour" after the fame manner thefe veffels of wrath are fitted by themfelves for destruction, by their fins and impenitence, "after "their hardness and impenitent hearts trea 66 furing up unto themfelves wrath "," as the Apostle speaks in a former part of the fame epiftle for let it be carefully obferved, that there is not a fhadow of reafon for fuppofing it to be the intention of the text, to afcribe the effect to the agency of the Almighty, and that, as Whitby remarks from Ecumenius, the old ecclefiaftical interpretation of the words was adverse to such a fuppofition. "Rom. ix. 22. Rom. ii. 4, 5. 2 Tim. ii. 21. Whitby on the Five Points, p. 21. Εις ὁ και ετέθησαν. ουκ ώς απο του Θεου εις τουτο αφωρισμένοις ειρηται ουδεμια γαρ αιτια απώλειας παρα του πάντας ανθρωπους θέλοντος σωθήναι Once more:" the Scripture faith unto Pha"raoh, Even for this fame purpose have I " raised thee up, that I might shew my power "in thee, and that my name might be de"clared throughout all the earth':" not raised thee from the birth; not created thee on purpose for thy everlasting destruction, according to the fyftem of Calvin: but raised thee up, ya, from the plagues which would have cut thee off, as the murrain cut off thy cattle; made thee to stand, and preserved thee from the merited punishment, that thou mightest eventually be destroyed by an even more memorable and exemplary difafter. Such a fignification of the word is warranted by feveral paffages in the New Teftament; and accords both with the Hebrew text, as is noticed in the margin of our Bible, and with the Septuagint and other verfions of Exodus'. 4. Without confining ourselves however to a fingle paffage, and at the fame time without ftretching our view over a wide extent of Scripture, an attention to the immediate context will often enable us to convict error, and to discover the truth. If for inftance the folemn affertion of our Saviour, "I fay unto βραβεύεται, αλλα τοις ἑαυτους σκεύη οργης κατηρτίκοσι και ἡ απειθεια επηκολούθησε, και εις ἣν παρεσκευασαν ἑαυτους ταξιν ετέθησαν Ecumen. in 1 Epift. Pet. Comment. vol. ii. p. 496. Rom. ix. 17. D • See Whitby in los. 66 66 66 you, That every idle word that men fhall fpeak, they fhall give account thereof in the day of judgment," were to be understood strictly of uselefs and unneceffary words, it would be impoffible to converfe with innocence. But the context fhows that they are defigned for fuch as, "an evil man brings out "of the evil treasure of his heart;" words, not fimply unprofitable, but wicked and pernicious. If again damnation were the punishment denounced on the unworthy communicant at the Lord's Supper, the apprehenfion of fo dreadful a penalty might operate with reafon on the tender confcience; which may be relieved by learning, what the context evidently points out, that the word, which has been already obferved to mean judgment generally, can in this place only mean judgment of a temporal kind ". "Stand faft in the liberty, wherewith Chrift "hath made us free," fays the Apostle to the Galatians; and be not entangled again with "the yoke of bondage." The fchifmatic catches at the text, and ufes it as a cloke of malicioufnefs, to fkreen him in choosing whatever form of religion is agreeable to his fancy; and in rejecting the legitimate authority of thofe, who have the fpiritual rule over him: Matt. xii. 35, 36. "1 Cor. xi. so. * Gal. v. 1 not confidering, what the few preceding or the two following verfes would be fufficient to show, that the liberty and the bon lage, of which the Apostle speaks, are a freedom from, and a fubjection to, the yoke of circumcifion, and the other ordinances of the Mofaic law. "Be ye perfect," fays our bleffed Lord to his difciples," even as your Father, which is "in heaven, is perfect." Hence the Methodist thinks to derive a fupport to his opinion, that believers may attain to perfection in this life, fo as to be abfolutely freed from the dominion of fin. Upon this opinion I fhall have occafion to defcant, hereafter: I mention it at prefent, in order to exemplify the principle before us, by remarking that the precept, taken in connection with the paffage, which precedes, and from which it is a manifeft conclufion, "Be ye therefore per"fect," is to be understood as referring, not to univerfal perfection, but to a forgiving and merciful difpofition; and in fact appears to be only equivalent to the correfpondent paffage in the narrative of another Evangelift," Be 66 ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is " merciful"." There are feveral infulated paffages, which are often applied in fupport of Calviniftic pre |