20. God's pleasure shall surely be accomplished. "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah lv. 11. "I will do all my pleasure." xlvi. 10. Does not this passage show that God's PLEASURE shall certainly be accomplished? His word shall not return unto him void: it shall accomplish what he please, and prosper in the object which he sent it to accomplish. God has no pleasure in the death or suffering of the sinner. not the object of creation. God created men for his pleasure, and his pleasure shall certainly be accomplished.

THE PURPOSE OF GOD.

That was

21. God hath purposed the salvation of all men. "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him." Eph. i. 9, 10. It is evident from this passage, that God hath purposed to gather together all things in Christ. God's purpose agrees with his will or pleasure. He wills to have all men saved; he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; and accordingly he hath purposed to gather together in one, all things, in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth. This is God's purpose; this is what he hath purposed in himself. And this is not the gathering together of those things only which are in Christ, but the gathering together of all things in him. "Unto him shall the

And

gathering of the people be." Gen. xlix. 10. Jesus confirms this: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." John xii. 32. Thus we see all things are to be gathered into Christ. They are all to have his spirit, and partake of his new creation; for "if any man be in Christ, he is a new

creature old things are passed away: behold all things are become new." 2 Cor. v. 17. By the phrase "all things," as Archbishop Newcome says, is meant, "all persons, all intelligent beings. See the neuter for the masculine, John vi. 37, 39." See more on this subject under the 78th section.

22. The purpose of God cannot fail: it must certainly be accomplished. "The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.' Isaiah xiv. 24. "For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" 27. "I have purposed it, I will also do it." xlvi. 11. Now, whatever God purposes must take place. God can have no second thoughts; he cannot see reason to change his own plans. He has the power to work all things according to his purpose; hence, Paul speaks of "the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel [i. e. the previous consultations or deliberations] of his own will." Eph. i. 11. What, then, shall hinder the accomplishment of this purpose? Has God designed a work which he cannot do? Has he formed a plan which he cannot execute? No; the concurrent testimony of the sacred writers is, that whatever God has purposed, SHALL BE DONE. So let it be, O Lord.

THE PROMISES OF GOD.

23. God promised to Abraham, his servant, that he would bless all mankind, in his seed. "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Gen. xii. 3. "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." xxii. 18. All the nations of the earth, all the families of the earth, according to this promise, are to be blessed in the seed of Abraham. The language is absolute it is without any condition. "All the nations of the earth shall be blessed." And who is this "seed of Abraham," in whom all the nations and

families of the earth shall be blessed? I agree with Dr. Adam Clarke on this matter. He says, in his note on Gen. xii. 3, "In thy posterity, in the Messiah, who shall spring from thee, shall all families of the earth be blessed; for as he shall take on him human nature, from the posterity of Abraham, he shall taste death for every man; his gospel shall be preached throughout the world, and innumerable blessings be derived on all mankind, through his death and intercession."

24. God made the same promise to Isaac. "I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father, and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Gen. xxvi. 3, 4. This passage is precisely of the same import with those quoted under section 23. It refers to precisely the same subject, and asserts the same facts. We repeat it here, because God saw fit to repeat the same promise. to Isaac which he had made to his father Abraham; and it forms a distinct argument of itself.

25. The same promise was repeated to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. "And in thee, and in thy seed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Gen. xxviii. 14. The apostle Paul (and higher authority we do not wish) fully settles the question in regard to who is meant by the "seed of Abraham." He says, "Now to Abraham and his seed, were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, WHICH IS CHRIST." Gal. iii. 16. Christ, then, is the seed of Abraham; and in him ALL the nations and families of the earth shall be blessed.

26. Peter, the apostle, understood this promise as referring to the salvation of men from sin, by Jesus Christ. "Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds

of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." Acts iii. 25, 26. Here we have a third term, kindreds. All nations of the earth, all families of the earth, and all kindreds of the earth, must certainly signify all mankind. The import of this absolute, unconditional promise is, they shall all be blessed in Christ Jesus

27. The apostle Paul repeats this promise, and calls it THE GOSPEL. "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed." Gal. iii. 8. This is a further confirmation, that the blessing promised men in the seed of Abraham, is a spiritual, gospel blessing.

28. There is no threatening of any kind whatsoever in the Scriptures, no law, no penalty, no punishment denounced, which when rightly understood does not harmonize with this promise, for the law is not against the promises of God. "Is the law, then, against the promises of God? God forbid." Gal. iii. 21. The law mentioned in this verse was undoubtedly the law given to Moses on Mount Sinai, God was specially careful to frame that law in such a manner, that not a single sentence or particle of it should contradict the promises made by him to Abraham. What those promises were, we have seen. It is equally true, that not a single threatening of punishment for sin, or for unbelief, not a denunciation of hell-fire, or condemnation of any kind for sin, is opposed to the promises of God. Now as those promises most explicitly assert, the final blessing of all the nations, kindreds, and families of the earth with salvation from sin in Jesus Christ, so no portion of God's law, no threatening of punishment, should be so construed, interpreted, or explained, as to contradict this; and as the doctrine of endless condemnation for sin does explicitly contradict those promises, that doctrine we may be sure is not revealed in any portion of God's word.

THE OATH OF GOD.

29. God hath confirmed his promise by an oath. See Gen. xxii. 16-18. Heb. vi. 13. But the most striking passage, perhaps, is this, "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear, surely shall say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength." Isaiah xlv. 23, 24. I think the words of Adam Clarke on the oath of God, are worthy of the deepest consideration. On the words of God, "he sware by himself," Clarke remars, "He pledged his eternal power and Godhead for the fulfilment of the promise; there was no being superior to himself, to whom he could make appeal, or by whom he could be bound; therefore he appeals to and pledges his immutable truth and godhead." Com. on Heb. vi. 13. And again, the same commentator remarks, "The promise pledged his faithfulness and justice; the oath all the infinite perfections of his godhead; for he sware by himself: There is a good saying in Beracoth, on Exodus xxxii. 13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swearedst by thine own self. What is the meaning of by thine own self? Rab Eleazar answered, thus said Moses to the holy blessed God, Lord of all the world, If thou hadst sworn to them by the heavens and the earth, then I should have said, as the heavens and the earth shall pass away, so may thy oath pass away. But now thou hast sworn unto them by thy great Name, which liveth and which endureth forever, and forever, and ever; therefore thy oath shall endure forever and forever and ever." Com. on Heb. vi. 18.

THE POWER OF GOD.

30. God is almighty; nothing can resist his will;

I have here omitted the word one, supplied by the translators, as it evidently annihilates the whole sense of the passage, which is clear and beautiful without it.