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i.. 
 
 METAPHYSICAL INQDIRY 
 
 Deducing many ^Self-evident Truths from 
 the very nature of things of what 
 God's nature and will require. 
 
 §g \\t get |, |. #s«nk|ir|k, 
 
 NATIVE PREACHER, 
 
 ltti00tonaxa of ^mmtan Boatb 
 
 OF 
 
 COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 
 
 ST. FRANCIS, CANADA EAST. 
 
 November, 1857. 
 
 I 
 
 MONTREAL : 
 PRINTED BY J. C. BECKET, 38, GREAT ST. JAMES STREET^ 
 
L 
 
 Entered according to Act of the Provincial Legislature, in the year of our 
 Lord, one thousand eight hundred and tifty-seven, by the Rev. P. P. 
 OsuNKiiiRHiNB, in the Oftice of the Registrar of the Province of Canada. 
 
 
METAPHYSICAL INQUIRY, &c., &c. 
 
 *• Behold the man is become as one of ub, to know good and 
 evil." 
 
 Ail knowledge is of God's requiring nature, to know what not and 
 what to be done, whose nature is no other than self-existence, the 
 knowledge therefore of his knowing the good and evil, cannot be a 
 result of his choosing will, to have chosen either to know or not, one 
 or the other, there could have been no option to choose, whether to 
 know or not the things which he could not but know from all eternity, 
 because they are just as eternal and self-existent as himself, and of 
 course they could never have been of any causing will, otherwise 
 self-existence would not be self-existence. The ways or tendencies 
 of each, differing from one another, of the good and evil known from 
 all eternity, or which have always existed in the knowledge of Grod 
 without being any way chosen so to exist in his knowledge, are the 
 very grounds for the eternal existence of all views, some optional and 
 others without option that his will may act in certain cases with or by 
 choice, and in other cases without choice. Such views exist not by 
 choice, being purely of self-existent directing how, because they are 
 nothing more nor less than what God sees and feels in his own self- 
 existent requiring nature, which is the very self- directing how, 
 directing his will what to love with all his heart and what to dislike 
 also with all his heart. 
 
 Loving with all the heart to do anything any way is to do it with 
 greatest possible amount of pleasure, and, therefore, it is the whole 
 ground of all counsel that can possibly exist, and, therefore, it fol. 
 lows that God's working all things after the counsel of His own 
 will is no other than working according to or after the good plea- 
 sure of His will in sight of that pleasure to which His will is direct- 
 ed by His nature, because all good and all possible good pleasure 
 are contained and shown in His requiring nature to the exclusion of 
 the will's choosing what must be the requisite pleasure in exist, 
 ence, which always seems good in His sight without any other 
 
cause or reason why it seems so to Him , but simply because it is good, 
 and so all question that may take place is at an end ; because what 
 is agreeable to the nature of God cannot be questioned. 
 
 God's desire supernaturally inclines to reach farther than what 
 His nature requires, while all His power lies and consists in no 
 other but in the requirements of His nature and of His will of desire, 
 because to lie in any other imaginable consistence, it would not be 
 within himself. These two forces of tendencies and requirements 
 united together amount to almighty and unlimited or infinite power, 
 by which God cannot fail to cause and effect all things He desires 
 to effect, in every instance where the requirement of His nature 
 is a party with His will of desire. But where the same will of 
 desire supernaturally extends beyond or above what God's nature 
 requires, the desire is but single-handed tendency, and it is very 
 different from the united requirements of powers ; and although it 
 displays all sincere good desire, good pleasure and good will to 
 all sinners as any way, yet. it being alone, the requirement of 
 God's nature not being a party with such desire, it has no power to 
 effect what is desired, because God's nature does not require to save 
 any without being changed, nor to change any by any forcible or 
 compelling means ; so while part of the human race shall be saved, 
 others will not, although God has no pleasure in the death of the 
 wicked, and not willing that any should perish, but that all should 
 come to repentance. This is simply his supernatural good will to 
 all ; but as none can be saved by any other power but by the Al- 
 mighty Power, the will of desire alone, where it is not seconded 
 and not supported by the requirement of God's nature, does not and 
 cannot amount to Almighty Power to save any. 
 
 God knowing the good and evil from all eternity with all their 
 ways or tendencies is his knowledge of morality by which his will 
 is capable to exercise moral freedom to like all the good with all his 
 heart, which invariably leads his will to do nothing else but what is 
 perfectly fit and good to be done, and to dislike the evil also with all 
 his heart. 
 
 And as all this knowledge is of the self existent characteristic 
 things, or of God's self existent image after which he made moral 
 beings in making man after his own image, it is plain that self ex- 
 istent how is the all exclusive antecedent comprising ground, com- 
 prising all possible knowledge, showing and directing the will every 
 possible way how to operate iu all what is liked or loved, and 
 
iW" 
 
 also what is disliked, anrl oi course it comprises all possible motives, 
 plans and counsels. 
 
 The eternal will is so indissolubly connected with the self ex- 
 istent how and agrees with it so perfectly, it has no tendency to seek 
 to find any other how to design or to purpose otherwise. 
 
 Its only possible tendency is to act out what self existence shows 
 to be done, acting out every mark of self existent stamp, as a man 
 acts in walking and stepping after another, and stepping on no other 
 places but in the very tracks or marks left by the feet of another. 
 The will then is nothing more than acting agent for self existence 
 with which it is connected and it could not have been to be with- 
 out such connection, because without it, there would have been no 
 knowledge, and of course no will would have existed. The whole 
 amount of moral freedom comprised in self existence is to act in 
 two different ways, and each way is done equally as the will likes or 
 loves with all the heart to do. In the first way, according to the 
 very nanire of efficient moral cause, there was no other possible 
 tendency but to create moral beings without any option or 
 offering tendency to have liberty to choose not to create them. So 
 there was no choice of preference to make man rather than not, 
 because there was no optional debating tendency whether it was 
 best or not to forbear of creating him. 
 
 It is impossible for moral cause to have any tendency by which 
 it may incline itself to alter its moral quality for to prevent itself 
 from being moral cause so as not to be efficient, because that 
 would be preventing itself trom causing moral effects to come to 
 pass, or incapable to have power to cause moral beings, because 
 if that was the case, if could never have shown out itself as an 
 efficient moral cause. God would not have been known by any 
 moral being, because there would have been none in existence. 
 It this was the case God could never have been able to show out 
 what he is, what power and glory he has, if he did prevent his 
 moral cause to operate. To say then, he might as well have not 
 made man if he choosed not to make him, is not true and cannot 
 be true, because that would be preventing all possible moral 
 purposes of God, and nothing wonid have been done at all, which 
 would have been in fact, forcing tie causing will not to do what the 
 self existence shows to be liked or loved with ail the heart to be 
 done. Not to create moral beings amounts no more than to 
 forbear to do what the nature of God requires, which would be 
 
6 
 
 ,#,■■ 
 
 II 
 
 making the tendency of the will of God to differ and disagree with 
 the tendency of his nature, while there can be no option whether to 
 love or not his own nature. There was also no option how to 
 create moral being, because there was only one way how to make 
 him, or no other possible way to rnako moral being but to make 
 himafter the image of God. If the -ill should have attempted to 
 make moral man any other way, it would not have been working 
 after the image or likeness of the pattern, and of course man 
 would not have been moral being. There was no tendency of any 
 choice to have any preference in copying the image to have the 
 same or similar moral freedom as the original, because the image 
 leaves but one way how to act, as any full mark of any stamp, 
 which cannot be preferringly choosen to be one way rather than 
 otherwise, either to be wider or narrower mark than the size of the 
 stamp itself. In making man after the image of God there was no 
 comparing and no preferring whether he shall be free or not ireey 
 because he could not have been otherwise but free in copying 
 him after the freedom of God, the creating will could not have 
 been biased one way rather than any other way. It is like making 
 the letter A by printing, which is made by the impression of the 
 type or stamp of A, no will can say I prefer and choose that the 
 type of A will print either A or B by the type of A. It is just so 
 in making moral being, God's freedom is the type to print the 
 freedom of man in making him after the image of God. It could 
 not have been of any preferring choice of God to say, I prefer and 
 choose to print the freedom of man by the type of my freedom, but 
 at the same time lean prefer and choose that he shall or not be free. 
 Hence moral creation is not a preferring act, no preferring choice 
 can exist in the work, for how can man be not free when he is 
 printed by the type of eternal freedom ? 
 
 The unchangeable moral type could never have printed any 
 other character but its own moral likeness. And as there was 
 no optional view of things whether to make man or not to make 
 him at all, and also no option how to make him, there was no de- 
 termining choice to do one way rather than otherwise, it follows of 
 course that there was no predetermining decree to create, and how 
 to create the moral being. All this truth is self-evident, and the 
 evidence is confirmed by another self-evident truth, that if the first 
 choice of man to love God with all his heart was decreed, it would 
 have been for ever impossible for him to have changed himself 
 from good to evil, he would have remained holy and no change of 
 
 I; 
 I 
 

 heart would have been necessary. The very fact then of hit 
 having changed his first love proves plainly that his first choice 
 was not decreed, nor his second, and indeed no second different 
 choice could have taken place If the first was decreed, and this 
 second choice of man by which he fell not being decreed, all He 
 results or consequences are all equally not decreed. 
 
 The choice is the very original cause and rise of all actual 
 moral evil. Not being decreed there can be no preventing decree 
 to stop its course without preventing and stopping all moral 
 freedom, and therefore tb-. only possible course for decrees is to 
 establish means and influences to contract th3 evil that was never 
 decreed, to effect a change in fallen man. 
 
 No such thing preventing and stopping the course of freedom of 
 man, because there is no Puch thing decreeing nor permitting what 
 man shall love with all his heart, because if his supreme love 
 depends on decree or on permission it cannot be free. No one can 
 be free unless he has an Independent tendency towards what he 
 loves with all his heart. His love must take place without the hand 
 of any decree, and without permission, even as God's freedom, from 
 which man's freedom is taken, was never decreed and never had any 
 need to be permitted. 
 
 The second way of acting is furnished with optional view of things, 
 It has not only one way how it can act, but has a chance and 
 liberty to do one thing rather than otherwise as it likes with all the 
 heart to do in opposition or counteraction against the opposite 
 endency to end or limit the contrary tendency. Limiting the opposite 
 tendency that may go on in its own way to greater extent if no stop 
 be applied is the choice of determining or predetermining or de- 
 creemg and so on for all pre.establishments. 
 
 Such choice that limits by preventing or hindering, not the choice 
 ot men, but the fruits of it, or actions in certain cases and to certain 
 extent, is the decretive power, and it decrees every thing in all its 
 acts, as u does in establishing all the means and influences to change 
 and renew the hearts of sinners, establishing according to, or after 
 the unchangeable self existence, the all comprising and sovereign 
 director of all providential previsions for salvation of man, guiding all 
 moral acts both that are not optional and the optional view of things 
 for the exercise of moral freedom. The necessary existence of 
 
 changing DOWer nrnvps nlninlw tWof tk^ Aai~~~^ir-i- - 1^- e ^ 3 
 
 - c . - ^- J J ,„„^ i„h; ueueiiiiiniug uccrees of ijod 
 
8 
 
 
 were not exercised in the first or original creation of moral beings, 
 they were wholly to be exercised in the work of new creation to 
 change the self ruined einnerH to save them. And as the un- 
 changeable choice has no other object but what is perfectly fit and 
 good to be done, no decree is to takj place where contradiction is 
 implied or involved, because it can never be an object of the almighty 
 power that has no tendency to work contradictions. For instance, 
 it would be a contradiction to prevent or hinder every choice of 
 fallen man, because that would be preventing all possible chance to 
 effect a change in sinners. 
 
 Man may be prevented or hindered from M'hat his love leads him 
 to choose to do, but that is only hindering certain con- 
 sequences or results come to pass from his choice while that very 
 choice of his love is not hindered, because if it was hindered he could 
 have had no choice at all, no tendency one way or other, and of 
 course he could never have been free to have any act himsell, which 
 proves plainly that there is no such thing decreeing nor permitting 
 what to love or what not. Sinners have always chosen every way 
 in all possible and all imaginable ways against Jesus according to 
 the independent tendency of their love, or in other words, as they 
 like with all their heart, without God's determining or decreeing such 
 love, and without permitting them so to choose. Nothing can be deter- 
 mined except to prevent or hinder certain consequences or results to 
 come to pass from the independent choice of men that have tendency 
 to defeat the plan of salvation. God has always prevented them 
 and determined always to prevent every thing intended by men to be 
 done, until they crioose certain doings or results by which they will 
 certainly defeat their own object and thereby promote the cause of 
 Christ contrary to their independent intention and choice. 
 
 Such results were not to be prevented ; but not preventing is not 
 decreeing nor permitting man's intentional choice, for it takes place 
 and operates as well and just as independently as when all other 
 intended results of its own are prevented. Not preventing certain 
 results from coming to pass is determining to be done what resulted 
 from the independent choice of man, or which is the same thing 
 determining to be done according to that choice which was never 
 predetermined nor decreed by God to be such independent choice, or 
 independent free love, and what it shall choose, for it must have its 
 own independent free tendency, just as free as the eternal freedom of 
 
9 
 
 God from wliicl. it is tuken or copied iii making man alter the image ol 
 God. In Hhort, an God*8 free love never was predetermined nor 
 decreed what he shall love, ho the man's free love is independent 
 of every der.ree, ho is free determiner himself what to love with all hin 
 heart, and of courwe his free love cannot depend on any predetermininp 
 decree. 
 
 Therefore detnrmining not to prevent certain results arising from the 
 choice of sinners is determining after theii* own intention as they in- 
 tended to persecute Jesus unto death for the very express purpose of 
 their own to effect an unbelief among men, to prevent all mtti from 
 believing him. But instead of eiTectinj; what they intended and 
 expected to accomplish, they effected greater belief in so(l.)in<> as 
 they did, defeating their own object by their own determining. 
 Thus when Centurion saw what was done to Jesus in his crucifixion, 
 he said : « Truly this was the son of God." The thief on the cross 
 was changed to believe when he saw the whole act of men in putting 
 to death the Lord Jesus, and said, " Lord remember me when thou 
 comest into thy Kingdom." Many were so touched and influenced 
 by the death of Jesus, were really pricked in their heart, and said 
 unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, " Men and brethern, what 
 shall we do ?" Sinners in the case effected the death they intended, but 
 they also effected an influence arising from such death, which they 
 did not intend to eflfect, and it is that very influence by which their 
 purpose was defeated by their own doing, bringing upon themselves a 
 shame. 
 
 " All they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and 
 confounded." " Persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not pre- 
 vail ; they shall be greatly ashamed ; for they shall not prosper : 
 their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten." 
 
 Determining then after their own intention for commencing; part 
 of the work is all sufficient determination for all purposes to effect 
 human salvation, and no other can exist because it was never pre- 
 determined nor decreed what man shall love with all his heart. His 
 supreme love is the only possible previous ground for all supposeable 
 and possible determinations to work upon. It was never determined 
 to prefix what he shall determine to love, while it was alway deter- 
 mined that his certain results shall not be prevented but determined 
 to let him do as he pleases, because he has so determined himself, in 
 which he will certainly defeat his own object and promote that of 
 God bw so doin"'- contrar''' to his own intentioni The contrary effect 
 
M 
 
 Is 
 
 4i 
 
 i! 
 
 10 
 
 is the thing he did not determine, for it was not in his intention, and 
 not in his choice. But God saw that such an effect will certainly- 
 come to pass if sinners be let alone to act out their own ways, and 
 therefore he hath so determined to let them do as they please, and 
 they »>ffected his purposes instead of their own without his determining 
 what they shall love and choose. 
 
 This explain 1 the passage that says, " Againat thy holy child 
 Jesus, whom thou hast anionted, both Herod and Pontius Pilate 
 with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ; 
 for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to 
 be done." Because it was always determined not to prevent or 
 hinrjer sinners to choose as they like or love to do, who were 
 created in Adam not by any preferring choice to be created, and how to 
 be created and also no choice decreed what they shall love and choose 
 with all tlieir heart, but created with all inseparable and concomitant 
 moral qualities without the work of any choice they should be such 
 moral beings, and so they were created without choosing and de- 
 creeing what love is in them. Hence it is easy to understand the 
 meaning of the word of God in saying, "I form the light, and create 
 darkness : I make peace, and create evil : I the Lord do all these 
 things." 
 
 The evil was created in imparling to beings the inseparable know- 
 ledge of moral evil from what is morally good, when the imparting 
 work was purely of self-existent directing how, directing without 
 giving any capability to choose with preference, because such im- 
 parting work is beyond the reach of all choice to determine whether 
 to impart or not, or whether to separate the knowledge or not, in 
 working according to, or after self-existent image for moral likeness, 
 the sovereign character of which is the supreme directing rule, 
 existing incomparably and above all optional views j and it wholly 
 supersedes all prefering views and all choice in imparting moral 
 freedom to the created beings, who, therefore did not take place after 
 any course of choice, but after the image of God ; when that image 
 stood for pattern or model, the sovereign directing rule to guide the 
 creating act to the only possible way how to make moral beings in- 
 dependently of any work of choice to determine what the effect shall 
 be, when the work could not have been done any other way, but 
 after the guiding pattern or model by which the creating act had to 
 go by ; because if the created moral beings were made by choice any 
 other way, or after something else, it would not have been working 
 
11 
 
 after the model, and the choice would have only spoiled the moral 
 creation if the will did not follow to work after the supreme directing 
 rule that supersedes all choice. This superseding rule shows that 
 there is no possible way to separate the moral freedom of man from 
 the knowledge of good and evil, becauce no moral being can exist 
 without such knowledge, and theretore no will or choice could possibly 
 create moral beings any otlier way than as the rule directs. The evil 
 then was created in creating moral beings, without the hand of deter- 
 mining decretivepower of any choice, when all choice was superseded 
 by the supreme directing rule that gave chance to create, but no chance 
 not to create because there is no chance to dislike what the rule shows 
 tc be done. When nothing but what is loved is present, there is no op- 
 tional view of anything or things, no offering choice of two things in 
 view, because there is nothing else in sight but the rule when compar- 
 able object does not exist, and of course there can be no liberty and no 
 possible chance to exercise any choice to choose one way or other, 
 when the rule leaves no possible way, either how to choose, or how 
 not to choose. Neither one preference or other can take place, be- 
 cause it is wholly excluded when there can be no option, no thing 
 can offer itself as an option in view of the will when there is no op- 
 posite view to be disliked. The will, in such case, must of course 
 act without option and without choice, because to create moral beings 
 God acted from his nature without consulting whether to choose or 
 not to choose, in order to act out what his nature essentially and un- 
 changeably required from all eternity. 
 
 Hence the very excluding all choice by the rules superseding, 
 plainly proves beyond all doubt that the moral creating act is not 
 in any way a choosing act, and of course it cannot be decretive 
 power. Making man after the image of God, is making him after 
 God himself, after his moral knowledge and moral freedom, which 
 were] never choosen, and of course the effect of such assimilating 
 work is produced without any work of choice, because it is beyond 
 the reach of all choice to have or not to have some other kind of 
 moral freedom in existence. So then God's self-existent requiring 
 nature is the supreme directin<r sovereign rule in the moral creating 
 act without any decretive power. But in all other cases where the 
 choice is not superseded, it has optional view of things, when there 
 is offering a choice of two things, there is liberty as well as chance 
 to choose one way and not the other, it of course acts as it likes or 
 loves with all the heart to choose, acting as it loves one thing and not 
 
12 
 
 
 the other, ft appoints and establishes the means and influence by the 
 power of choice, and such power is the only possible decretive 
 power, because there is no other way to decree but by choice, which 
 cannot take place where the independent moral image of God 
 supersedes or percludes all possible work of choice in the act of 
 rendering the created beings to be moral by imparting to them 
 transcriptively the same or similar moral image to the one after which 
 they were made. The imparting work admits no act of choice to 
 determine what the freedom of man shall be, or what he shall 
 choose todo, because he is stamped transcriptively by the indepeodent 
 moral type, which rendered him to have the same or similar mora 
 freedom, and it is the only one he can possibly have, because no will 
 knows any other, but that which is imparted to moral beings by which 
 man chooses morally with all his heart independently of any other 
 choice, or in other words, his choice cannot depend on any predeter- 
 mining or fore-ordaining decree. 
 
 The omniscient God knew from all eternity that his moral impart- 
 ing image will be the supremo directing rule to guide the moral 
 creating act in such a way that it will supersede all choice in moral 
 creation, and that independent thoughts and ways will rise from the 
 transcribed independent freedom and choice of men that will differ 
 entirely from his own thoughts and ways of his choice ; and he 
 shows that what men have chosen in their own thoughts is not a 
 chosen way of his thoughts in saying, *' My thoughts are not your 
 thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." It is to show that he 
 does not call, and does not own any way to be of his will, unless it 
 be of his choice. But any other way where he has any thing to 
 do without exercising any choice, as it was the case in his moral 
 creating act, is not his optional way, because it is a way above all 
 choice, purely of self-existent necessity that directed the will to 
 copy the moral nature of God to have relative nature of things in 
 existence, which could not be produced any how but one way, that 
 is, without any act of choice of preference ; and if the creating act 
 did nothing to produce them, there could have b<»en no moral act in 
 existence, God himself would never have acted with a capacity of 
 moral being. Whatever arises from the imparted relative moral 
 nature, in imparting it to the created beings without the creators 
 directinfj choice, it is certainly not of his chosen way, it wholy be- 
 longs to the created moral beings arising from their independent 
 love to do as they like or love with all their heart, without decree- 
 
 
 

 13 
 
 ing and permitting they should have such supreme love of their 
 own way. Hence it is plain that God having caused the moral 
 beings with all their moral evil capacities without his exercising 
 any choice or any permission in causing and working after nothing 
 else but self.existent necessary and sovereign directing rule or 
 image, which supersedes all choice and all permission, he is really 
 but undesignedly the author of all moral evil, and his character in 
 such cause is perfectly consistent and blameless because he is the 
 author of the evil without any design and any purposing choice. — 
 Yet as he is the cause of such moral evil beings by having created 
 them, he owns all doings of men and spirits as his own doings in 
 saying, <' I make peace, and create evil ; I the Lord do all these 
 things." It is only in ihis way the doings of men can be ascribed 
 to God, as he does himself in speaking of deceivings and harden- 
 ings, as well as all other similar doings by men described in the 
 Bible, as his own doings, while the thoughts of such| doings are not 
 of his thoughts, nor are of his ways, because they are not of his 
 choice, and of course they are not of his permission, because noth- 
 ing can be permitted without exercise of choice. 
 
 It is said by some that the evil is just as necessary as the good 
 itself. If this assertion be true then all evil would be an object o^ 
 God's choice for some purpose. But it is evident that it is not at all 
 n cessary since God in his moral creating act did not choose any 
 evil for any purpose. It is knowledge only of evil is as necessary 
 as the knowledge of good for the existence of the moral creator 
 and his moral created beings. The necessity is not of any choice, 
 it is purely of self-existence, because the knowledge of good and 
 evil always existed in the self.existent moral being from all eternity, 
 Self.existence displaying such knowledge and in consequence the 
 created moral beings become morally bad, none is to blame but 
 themselves. They can not blame God, who exercised no choice 
 to render them to be any way morally bad in creating them, when 
 he followed no directing choice but self-existent sovereign direction 
 that governs all will perfectly and agreeably as much as any will 
 can agree that one and one make two. And surely there is no 
 chance to blame the necessary self-existence when no will is to be 
 directing what things can be and shall be, which are cast after 
 self.existence agreeably to all will. No one has reason to complain 
 on account of casting a shiulow shorter or longer than the thing 
 itself, or because some parts of the shadow are less correct than 
 
 
14 
 
 others. Shall the thing cast say to self-existence by which it is 
 cast, Why has thou cast me thus 1 Hath not tlie self-existent potter 
 power over the clay of the same lump to cast one vessel unto honor, 
 and another to dishonor 1 in the same manner as some parts of he 
 shadow are less correct than others ? Hath not the self-existent 
 sovereign-requiring nature right to cast some with all their freedom 
 to be of good ground hearers unto honor? and others also with all 
 their freedom to be of the way side, as well as to be rocky and 
 thorney hearers unto dishonor ? in the same way as the maker of 
 the world has right to make some parts rocky, and other places free 
 from rocks ? The self-existent direction in the casting is an inde- 
 pendent requiring or tendency of the self-existent independent char- 
 ter, requiring in sovereign manner the existence of different moral 
 characters, showing that perfect sameness or universal equality, as 
 well as to make beings equal to God is altogether impossible in the 
 very nature of self-existence. Man can only be made perfect in 
 his own possible kind, and not in God's kind to be equal to his 
 maker in unchangeable perfection and in ail other attributes. And 
 surely there can be no reason to complain and reply against the 
 direction of self-existent sovereign tendency, which gives no chance 
 to any righteous will to be displeased with its ways. 
 
 The independent thoughts and ways that arise from the im- 
 parted relative moral nature, which are the thoughts of men of 
 their own choice, their designs vvhat to do against the doings of 
 Christ, are all known to the omniscient being without seeking to 
 know them, who knows and foreknows all things because he is om- 
 nicient in what his self-existent directing sovereign nature re- 
 quires, and shows whatnot and vvhat can be decreed, just as well 
 as if all evil designs were fore-ordained by his choice to come to 
 pass. He well knew and fore-knew all the tendencies of such 
 independent freedom, what thoughts will rise from it, just as well 
 as he knows his own thoughts how to meet and counteract all evil 
 tendencies in order to effect all good he intends to have to come 
 to pass. He does it by choice or fore-ordaining decree, because 
 nothing supersedes his choice when there is no other supreme 
 directing rule but His will in every case where there is offering a 
 choice of two possible moral acts in sight differing from one 
 another. His will in such case is not confined only to one view : 
 it is left to exercise optional determining to do what is fit, and not 
 to do what is not fit and not good to be done, in acting according 
 
 '4V 
 
 I 
 
 
tich it is 
 nt potter 
 to hionor) 
 •ts of he 
 ^■existent 
 freedom 
 > with all 
 cky and 
 maker of 
 aces free 
 an inde- 
 )nt char- 
 nt moral 
 lality, as 
 le in the 
 )erfect in 
 a,l to his 
 )s. And 
 linst the 
 3 chance 
 
 he im- 
 men of 
 loings of 
 eking to 
 te is om- 
 ,ture re- 
 t as well 
 come to 
 of such 
 t as well 
 t all evil 
 to come 
 because 
 supreme 
 flering a 
 :om one 
 le view : 
 I and not 
 ccording 
 
 
 ASa 
 
 15 
 
 to what he loves from his knowledge of good and evil. The evil 
 is what is disliked, and of course it cannot be decreed, because 
 the very freedom of choice, from which all evil arises, is incapable 
 to be decretively determined, on account of its being the effect, not 
 of chosing power, but of the very moral imparting work that su- 
 persedes, excludes or precludes all decretive determining choice 
 in the act of causing and effecting man's moral freedom; what is 
 imparted to him renders him really independent in his love and 
 in his freedom of choice for his own doings without any chance to 
 permit or not to permit him. 
 
 The depraved man cannot but misapprehend the decretive posi- 
 tions intended to have the persecuting sinners deceive themselves 
 by the very misapprehension. The aim of these positions is to 
 have sinners driven and caught in a way more or less evil deter- 
 minate doing of their own choice, while their lost condition is 
 always he same, whether they sin more or less one way or other 
 in continuing various ways against Christ; therefore, it is intended 
 that their misapprehension should deceive them and cause them 
 to determine to do what will certainly defeat their own object and 
 promote the cause of Christ in unawares, — so that they will, in 
 fact, destroy their own object and expectations, and set up what 
 will certainly defeat, their own designs, without their intending so 
 to happen by their own doings. It is exactly such self-defeat God 
 intended from all eternity should be done, which He has caused to 
 come to pass by the hand of His decretive positions that compre- 
 hend, whatsoever His hand and council before determined to be 
 done, in which positions sinners are caught, to act without God 
 decreeirtg what they shall love and choose, that they may do all 
 things in their own loving vvay under misapprehension. The 
 doings of sinners are wholly evil in themselves in every respect, 
 the aim of which or intention is nothing but evil in acting against 
 the decretive positions of God. These positions never return evil 
 for any evil treatment ; on the contrary, they invariably return very 
 different influential examples, not overcoming evil with evil, but 
 with good — not recompensing any man evil for evil. " If thine 
 enemy hunger, feed him; if he icst, give him drink; for in so 
 doing thou shall heap coals of iire on his head." And so these 
 positions essentially produce morn or less effectual good influences 
 upon sinners, to whom the evil doings are displayed, and these in- 
 fluences check, to providential extent, all persecuting acts. The 
 
16 
 
 m 
 
 ovil acts or doing's take place, but the intontions and expectations 
 of the actors fail, being defeated by the very influences the poditions 
 produced, which the sinners misapprehend ; they did not see what 
 was forthcoming, and, in consequence, they effected a different 
 thing or things from what they expected. The very unexpected 
 thing to them is what God has always designed to have to come to 
 pass, by placing Jesus Christ in the world, in certain designed way 
 for his decretive position, for the very purpose of suiting the mis- 
 taken views of sinners in their drawing up wrong inferences from 
 what Christ and hi^ plans of operation appear to them under mis- 
 apprehension, forming nothing but imaginary appearance by which 
 they tempt themselves, and wrongly conclude what results they 
 will effect if they should act against him ; while it was always fore- 
 known to God that very different results will certainly come to pass 
 from such doings, and that the sinners will only ensnare or entrap 
 themselves within certain enclosure of decretive positions, and be 
 taken in unawares and cornered up within the walls of all good de- 
 signs of God, to heap coals of fire on their heads, and heat their 
 evil hearts so much, that, instead of continuing and prevailing, they 
 are disheartened and checked by the heat of God's influence, and 
 it frustrates their evil designs without fail, and melts and changes, 
 also without fail, all sinners of the good ground, who are called to 
 be of good ground simply because they are free from the way side 
 and from stony bottom, and also from thorns. He hath taken them 
 in their own temptations made by themselves, and for themselves 
 arising from their own imaginary conceivings and self-deceivings, 
 which He saw fit to use for suitable means to secure His own pur- 
 poses for to effect all good results. He decretively designed, and 
 nothing but good, without decreeing or permitting any moral evil to 
 come to pass, because the good itself is all-sufficient in power to 
 overcome the evil designs of men when they are well cornered up 
 within the circle of God's positions, without any necessity to sup- 
 pose that evil occasions any good. The already established and 
 already known good influences of God always effect good 
 more or less, even where much 'ivil is done. The power- 
 ful good, or the established changing influence to melt and 
 change without fail, the hearts of sinners of special sort, whilp 
 the same changing power of the influence is ineffectual to change 
 the hearts of other sinners, is guided by self-existent sovereign 
 direction, containing all natural and moral ways vi'hen and what 
 to be done by the will of God, whose knowledge cannot be improved 
 
.*^ 
 
 17 
 
 nor increased by any contriving design or invention. He is alto- 
 gether incapable to study in order to learn and to find or discover 
 anything new in his nature or in his will, everything with him has 
 always been according to the unalterable or unchangeable self- 
 existent fixed rules, because if he an improve in any degree, it 
 would imply that there was a time when he knew but very little. 
 His knowledge, theretore, is, and always was, already fixed by seli- 
 existentcast in knowing the good unci evil from all eternity, which 
 is knowmg all direction tor all possible counsel, Irom self-existent 
 bent, or tendency ot every essential constituent of his nature that 
 consists in sell-existent printed sovereign rules, according to which 
 all acts must always take place in all cases, to ellect all good with- 
 out fail, for which all good influences were established. The whole 
 amount of the rules is an omniform self-existent characterizing 
 direction that suits the omnicience of God with ail perfect 
 agreeability and pleasure j and certainly no being can find any 
 fault in such sell-existent sovereign-directed establishment, wherein 
 anything faulty cannot possibly exist. But as the evil known 
 from all eternity has also directions and rules in counter position 
 to the others, directing to false good in opposite view, it causes 
 evil beings to find fault in the other rules. The co-existence of rules 
 in opposition to each other, is the ground of choice to love one 
 with all the heart, and dislike the other also with all the heart ; 
 and so it is easy to see why someone finds fault or faults, — his 
 unreasonable disliking what is gooa is the cause. The finite 
 moral beings are all liable to misconception, without any possibility 
 not to be so, because they could not be made to be omnicieni, 
 to be equal to the omniscient being, nor could they be made to be 
 all perfectly equal to one another in all things, while they were 
 made alter an infinite, diversifying moral imparting image. Some 
 misconceive more than others, and more tenaciously obstinate to 
 adhere to their own views, while they misconceive the natural and 
 moral laws or rules. That direction of the self-existent imparting 
 image, from which infinite diversified view of evil was imparted, 
 i" the only ground of all misconceptions, and all dilTerent degrees 
 of hardness of men, and, therefore, the creating will is perfectly 
 faultless and blameless in all respects. 
 
 Lest any one say, that if contrary directions or rules have al- 
 ways existed in counter position to the good rules, they must, of 
 
I i 
 
 ilM( 
 
 18 
 
 course, have always displayed opposite optional views to the moral 
 creation, and, consequently, prove that to create or not, was a 
 chooseable object, and was chosen. I say that was not the case, 
 because the two different set of directions did not differ in respect 
 of moral imparting, they being inseparable from each other were 
 all equally self-inclined to impart in the same degree of tendency, 
 while they widely differed in all other things. Neither one or the 
 other displayed any optional view in opposition to the moral-creating 
 work, nor was there any consulting between the different sorts of 
 rules, whether to impart or not, and hence thme was no room for 
 any preferring choice to take place. The imparting ^vo^k had 
 chance one way, and no chance any other way. It is like fire that 
 has chance to give heat, but no chance not to give heat while it 
 is fire. It has no other counsel, and of course no other choice than 
 to give heat, because it cannot love any other way but to impart 
 heat. 
 
 Before creation took place, the nature of the first cause of all 
 ihings always required to keep all her fire and heat ofcreating- 
 power within herself, and not to impart. But as soon as the same 
 nature required to impart, God, who doeth as his nature requireth, 
 said, " Let there be light ; and there was light." The light has 
 chance to give both heat and light, but has no chance not to give 
 light while it is light. 
 
 By nature of man's own choice he has brought himself into a sinful 
 state or natural field ; no part of which is fit for any seed to grow 
 till it is changed and prepared by cultivation. The plow must first 
 break and turn up the surface to change the wild and natural slate of 
 the ground. iVnd such part of the field where the plow does not 
 touch, as the way aide or road, which cannot be plowed up for sow- 
 ing purposes because it must always remain to be hard trodden road, 
 continually beaten by passengers, is not changed and therefore not 
 prepared. And so is the case in stoney and thorny places, though the 
 plow breaks and turns up the surface, but its work is not to change 
 the stoney bottoms or ledges, nor to strike so deep to take away the 
 roots of the thorns from the ground. The plow will succeed to pre- 
 pare no other but free ground, though it be hard and stoney otherwise 
 but free from stoney bottoms and ledges, and also free from thorns, 
 and though it be equally unfit tor the seed as the others before it is 
 changed and prepared, the plow will change and prepare it by break. 
 
the moral 
 ot, was a 
 t the case, 
 in respect 
 iher were 
 ■ tendency, 
 )ne or the 
 ftl-creaiing 
 mt sorts of 
 lO room for 
 work had 
 ke fire that 
 at while it 
 ;hoice than 
 It to impart 
 
 lauee of all 
 of creating- 
 as the same 
 5 requireth, 
 le light has 
 not to give 
 
 into a sinful 
 seed 10 grow 
 )W must first 
 tural state of 
 iow does not 
 I up for sow- 
 ;rodden road, 
 therefore not 
 3s, though the 
 lot to change 
 ike away the 
 icceed to pre- 
 ley otherwise 
 J from thorns, 
 srs before it is 
 e it by break. 
 
 19 
 
 ing and turning up its wild and natural surface to make it good ground 
 for the seed, to bear fruit to perfection. 
 
 Hence it is plain that the whole amount of effectual divine influ- 
 ence of the spirit to change and renew the hearts of sinners, is no less 
 and no mor>i or greater than to conquer irresistibly all sinners other- 
 wise hard hearted than those of ifie way side, otherwise stoney hard 
 hearted than those of the stoney bottoms, and otherwise hardhearted 
 than those of the thorns, and therefore they shall certainly all be 
 changed without fail and forgiven, because they are the only sinners 
 who are internally ignorant ot their guilt in sinning all manner of sip. 
 and blasphemy ignorantly in unbelief. " The soul that sinneth 
 ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance it shall be forgiven liim." 
 " Father forgive them for they know not what they do." The 
 powerful changing and renewing influence conquers them irresis- 
 tibly, conquering their very last possible efibrt, being altogether dis- 
 heartened, their wicked heart fails and cannot continue to resist the 
 spirit any longer, as soon as their internal ignorance of their guilt 
 is made known within themselves. The special nature of theif 
 wicked heart is such that it cannot hut be conquered to yield as soon 
 as their ignorant unbelief is uncovered in their own view, they there- 
 fore immediately disapprove what they always have loved, and they 
 are made at once to love a principle of uolines.-: presented by the 
 spirit, giving them a holy relish or taste prior or before any exercise 
 of holy acts can take place, in order to give these acts a holy cha. 
 racter. Their supreme love of evil is changed at once to love holi- 
 ness, or as they liked or loved with all their heart to do evil, now 
 Ihey like or love with all their heart to do good. Specially differ- 
 , ing from ^11 others in hard heartedness while they were in ignorant 
 unbelief, the heat of the suitable influence suited to their case melts 
 their hearts in the day of the power of God, while the same heat does 
 not melt the hearts of fhe way side, of the stoney bottom, and ot the 
 thorns. The speciality then does not lie in the influence, but in the 
 special character of the hearts of the four sorts of hearers, as they 
 have made themselves to differ from one another by their own spe- 
 cial hardening habits. There is no speciality in the plow that pre- 
 pares the ground for the seed, and it does not act specially for any 
 particular part of the field, It goes all alike every where it is intended 
 to be plowed. There is also no sppf'.iality in the seed, one part of 
 the ground does not receive better se^ than another, and the sower 
 does not act specially in any manner in sowing his seed in all part 
 

 
 20 
 
 alike. It is the ground that differs specially in its own different 
 ()art8. And as the plow nets equally on every part of the field in- 
 tended to be plowed, so does the oj)eriition of the chan<^ing and re- 
 newing influence ; it is applied not specially but equally upon all 
 sinners, nnd it is all powerlul, .sharjier than any two edged sword, it 
 is like a hammer that break. -th t^e rock in pieces, it cannot but 
 melt the hearts af the weakest as well us the strongest or hardest 
 sinners, but of no other sort but the last special sort of the four sorts 
 of hearers mentioned in the parable of the sower, the only jrround 
 the plow has successfully changed and prepared and made it good 
 ground, not bein«i of the way aide, not of the stoney bottom, and not of 
 the thorns. 
 
 To hold that salvation depends only on condition that men re- 
 pent and believe is certainly wrong, because their very unwilling- 
 ness to repent and to believe is the very reason why they must be 
 changed to make them repent and believe, the act of making them to 
 change precedes every willing act ol man to do that which is good. 
 
 No one repents and turns to God before he is changed or renewed, 
 and as the change is -wholly the work of God in inclining the will 
 of the sinner to repent, the change is not conditioned or grounded 
 on repentance, or in other words, man is not changed because he 
 repents, or on account of his repentance, but he repents because 
 he is changed by God in the first place, his repentance is the effect 
 of the change. The free will of man is wakeful and active to what it 
 likes or loves with the heart, and such love is always growing and 
 increasing habitually, and as there is nothing and no tendency in the 
 will itself that would ever prevent the habit, for it is its own supreme 
 pleasure of its own choice always to hold what it loves with all 
 wakeful activity, not to change, it is certain that it will never change 
 itself— it will never awaken itself to be wakeful and active to do 
 good, and so if any awakening will ever take place, it will never be 
 doneby the sinner's own will, but by some acting agent other than 
 himselftoactuponhimin a way which himself would never do. 
 The truth is easy to be seen, for as much as it is true that the sinner 
 has his freedom to do his own pleasure, it is equally or just as true 
 that he will never begin himself to change his own pleasure, on the 
 contrary he will always exercise his freedom not to change his plea- 
 ure,andhewillneverdoit,for he hasunaltertbly fixed his own 
 pleasure by his supreme love of his own way never to change. 
 
 m. 
 
€ 
 
 % 
 
 
 t 
 
 21 
 
 In (his way he makes his freedom as if he was not free to do good 
 and wholly incapable to love and choose any otherwise than to love 
 the evil, while the cause is nothing hut loving his own way with all 
 his heart. 
 
 It follows that though he is free, yet his freedom In view of what 
 is good will never move in any way till it shall be awakened, conquered 
 by some agent other than himself (or to change. Hence it is evident 
 that the change is not imparted or etTected conditionally to say, that 
 man shall be changed if he will commence first to awaken his own 
 freedom to change his own pleasure, which no sinner will ever do. 
 If it be the case that man has such disposition to commence himself 
 awakening his freedom and actually change his pleasure to have a 
 different pleasure to become so good as to obey God, no other agent 
 or changing power or influence would have been necessary to be 
 employed in the work but himself. 
 
 But it is quite otherwise, none will ever do so, and therefore the 
 agent or influence of the spirit is the only proper power mercifully 
 chosen for such work to commence and finish the great work of 
 salvation, whose acts are altogether unconditional, not acting on 
 account of any condition what man what would do for his salvation 
 and therefore it is nothing but gracious provision designed indepen- 
 dently of any thing what man would do himself, who, it is certain 
 would never commence to do any good. He has no disposition to 
 change his love of evil, or iti other words, as he likes or loves with 
 all his heart to do evil, he will never accept, concur, consent or 
 comply with the requirements of the Gospel till after he is changed, 
 and so in not accepting, concurring, consenting and complying before 
 the change takes place, the change is altogether unconditional, every 
 acceptance, concurrence, consent and compliance are all as much 
 eflects of the change as faith and repentance, and therefore there is 
 no such condition to say that man is changed or saved because he 
 accepts, concurs, consents or complies ; for what he never had pre- 
 vious to the change is no condition at all on his part. To cause a 
 pers')a io be what he never was, the effect had never existed in 
 himseK before it is produced, and of course nothing can be forseen in 
 him as his own good tendency in the case to be a condition or reason 
 why the producer brings it to co ue to pass. To say that if the 
 sinner is so indisposed to obey Go.l and so incapable to perform the 
 duties required of him, so that he cannot have liberty either to accent 
 or refuse, why should he be commanded to make himself a new 
 

 22 
 
 neart ? The answer is, he Ih ho commamied not because it is seen 
 that ho has or will ever have rlJHpositiou in himHelf to obey the com- 
 mand, but because thp word of (Jod is the very instrument in which 
 the Holy Spirit is embodied for the new creating and changing power 
 to change (he very unwillingneMSof the Hinner to accept, without any 
 tendency of his own so to accept, whose inward disposition is always 
 not to accept any tendency that diflers from his own, ami he will 
 never be willing to accept unless his unwillingness be changed by 
 that which he does not know from whence it cometh and where it 
 goeth. And not knowing from whence it is, it is certain that it 
 never consisted and t^xisted in himself, and of course it cannot come 
 from himself. All means and influencns used, are instrumentally 
 established to suit and effectually to change no others, but those of 
 the good ground. 
 
 Having already proved in this little work that God draws effectually 
 to save no other sinners but those whose hearts his influence melts 
 and of no oiher sort but the last special sort of the four sorts of hearers 
 mentioned in the parable of the sower, without any condition of man's 
 own tendency or inclination whether any would draw himself to 
 Christ, because none can have such tendency before the change 
 takes place, as Christ says, « No man can come to me, except the 
 Father which hath sent me draw him," it is evident that God's in- 
 fluence is adapted to draw and melt the hearts of these alone, the only 
 elect and chosen, on whom he will have mercy, and not on thestoney 
 bottom and thorny hearers, nor on those c he way side, because his 
 effectual and saving mercy takes up only those his influence has 
 drawn and no others. 
 
 As the self-existence is unconditional existence and the tendency 
 of the will of God is equal to it from which he acts with all love in 
 his establishing the means and influences to change the hea.. . ■ gin. 
 ner3,itis further evident that the whole work" is altogrdter ua- 
 conditional, and the change effected in sinners is unconditionally 
 secured for ever, and just as unchangeably as God is unchangeable 
 in all his works, none can finally fall from grace to perish, of those 
 
 who are prepared and made to be good ground to receive the seed 
 and to bear fruJr u perfection. They are continually perfected by 
 ^M influence whic .^ Iim changed them. « The inward man is re- 
 newed day by day.- « The path of the just is as the shining light, 
 that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Jesus Christ 
 « hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." 
 
it is seen 
 lie com- 
 in which 
 ig power 
 hout any 
 8 always 
 he will 
 inged by 
 where it 
 n that it 
 lot come 
 mentally 
 those of 
 
 Tectually 
 :e melts, 
 f hearers 
 of man's 
 mself to 
 change 
 :;ept the 
 rod's in- 
 the only 
 lestoney 
 sause his 
 nee has 
 
 28 
 
 Falling from grace to be finally lost belongs to the three sorts of 
 
 hearers mentioned in the parable of the sower. All those who have 
 
 received the word of God by the way side, and on the stoney bottom, 
 
 and also on the thorns, do really receive the word with joy and 
 
 believe, but last only for a while, having no root in themselves, their 
 
 faith fails, withered and choked. They are believers and righteous 
 
 men because they are partly changed, but an entire change has not 
 
 taken place with them and of course there is no perfection 
 
 with them, and they cannot bear fru't to perfection as others. — 
 
 All this truth is expressly declared by the Saviour himself in plain 
 
 langungf. Whom he knows for certainty that they will not be en- 
 
 tirely changed and will not bear fruit to perfection ; he knows for 
 
 certainty that they will not bo saved. It is just so on the other 
 
 hand, whom he knows that they will be entirely changed and that 
 
 they will bear fruit to perfection, he knows for certainty that they 
 
 will be saved, and there is no need to use the word if in the case, 
 
 because the holy change is not conditioned on any tendency of the 
 
 fallen man. 
 
 endency 
 love in 
 Ls of sin- 
 her iia- 
 litionally 
 angeable 
 of those 
 he seed 
 ected by 
 m is re- 
 ng light, 
 s Christ