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lieve the Gospel, and give up their whole inner and outer man to be regulated by its influence-it is that, taught by "the grace of God, which brings salvation," they may "deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

Still farther, they are "elect-to the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." When Israel were chosen to be God's people, and externally set apart for this purpose, it was not only that they might be subject to his law, but that they might share in the effects of that law's expiatory offerings-that, being sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifices by which that covenant was ratified, their ceremonial guilt might be pardoned, their ceremonial pollution removed, and that they might be fitted for external fellowship with Jehovah as their God and King. When God, in accordance with his sovereign purpose of mercy, selects individuals, and sets them spiritually apart for his people, it is that, through the faith of the Gospel, they may be personally interested in the blessings procured by the death of Jesus Christ as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of men-that their sins may be forgiven them, that the jealousies of guilt may be removed, that they may be enabled and disposed with a true heart to approach to God, as rich in mercy, ready to forgive, "God in Christ reconciling the world to himself;" and in spiritual fellowship with him, with minds conformed to his mind, and wills conformed to his will, serve him with their souls and bodies, which are his, not only because they are made by him, but because they have been "redeemed" to him, "not by corruptible things as silver and gold, but by precious blood, the blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 2

Such is the apostle's description of the spiritual state, character, and circumstances of those whom he addresses. They are selected by God according to his own sovereign purpose, and spiritually set apart for him, that believing the Gospel, they may enjoy all the blissful results of the death of Jesus Christ the just one, in the room of the unjust.3

III-THE SALUTATION OF THE EPISTLE.

The benevolent wish or solemn prayer which the apostle presents for those to whom he writes, now calls for our consideration : "Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."

"Grace" is free favor-sovereign kindness-the principle in the divine mind from which all blessings to sinful men flow. The word is often used as a general name for those blessings which flow from this sovereign kindness. Grace here plainly is the grace of God. The prayer, "Grace be multiplied unto you," implied that they were already objects of the grace of God, and is equivalent to-'God loves you, and has given you proofs of his love. Had he not loved you, would he have selected you-would he have spiritually set you apart

1 Tit. ii. 11-14.

21 Pet. i. 18, 19.

• See note K.

for himself-would he have brought you to the obedience of the truth -would he have sprinkled you with the blood of Jesus? May you have continued, increasing, and multiplied proofs that God loves you, in the continuance, and increase, and multiplication of all heavenly and spiritual blessings!'

"Peace" is not so much a different thing from "grace,” as a different view of the same thing. We call spiritual blessings "grace," as springing from God's sovereign kindness. We call them "peace," as calculated to tranquillize our minds and make us happy. The prayer, "Peace be multiplied to you," is equivalent to-You already enjoy peace and happiness.' For "they who believe, do enter into rest." May your happiness be continued-may it increase! May "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!"

Having thus, very cursorily, considered the interesting topics suggested by this passage of Scripture, let us, my brethren, endeavor to turn them to practical account. A great majority of us are professors of Christianity. Does the description given in the text suit us? Have we any satisfactory evidence that we have been selected by God-called by his grace-spiritually separated to his service-that we have believed the truth, and are enjoying the happy consequence of the belief of the truth, in having the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood of Christ? Do we feel that here we are "strangers of the dispersion," and are waiting for "the gathering together," at the period when all the citizens of heaven shall be assembled in the New Jerusalem, where all the children of God shall be brought home to their Father's house? If this is the case with you, brethren, then let your conduct correspond with your privileges; and "may grace and peace be multiplied to you, and to all the Israel of God."

If it be otherwise, we call on you now to obey the truth, and, through the obedience of the truth, to submit your hearts and consciences to the pacifying and purifying influence of the atoning blood of Jesus. We know nothing about the purpose of God in reference to individuals till that purpose is manifested in its execution; but we do know the purpose of God in reference to lost men generally, and we proclaim it as the appointed means of gathering from among men the elect of God. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." "Be it known unto you, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all who believe are justified from all things, from which they could not have been justified by the law of Moses."1

1 John iii. 16, 17. Acts xiii. 38, 39.

NOTE A. p. 29.

The following are the principal references to the Old Testament in the epistle:-Chap. i. 16; Lev. xi. 44. Ch. i. 24, 25; Isa. xl. 6, &c.-Ch. ii. 3; Psal. xxxiv. 9. Ch. ii. 4; Psal. cxviii. 16. Ch. ii. 6; Isa. xxviii. 16. Ch. ii. 7; Psal. cxviii. 22. Ch. ii. 9; Exod. xix. 5. 6; Isa. xliii. 20, 21. Ch. ii, 10; Hos. ii. 23. Ch. ii. 17; Prov. xxiv. 21. Ch. ii. 22; Isa. liii. 4, 6, 7, 9.-Chap. iii. 6; Gen. xviii. 12. Ch. iii. 10-12; Psal. xxxiv. 13, &c. Ch. iii. 14, 15; Isa. viii. 12, &c. Ch. iii. 20; Gen. vi. 3, 12.-Chap. iv. 8; Prow. x. 12; comp. xvii. 9. Ch. iv. 18; Prov. xi. 31.-Chap. v. 5; Prov. v. 34. Ch. v. 7; Psal. Iv. 23.

NOTE B. p. 29.

Of the assertion in the text the reader will be furnished with ample evidence, in comparing the passages here noted:-1 Pet. i. 3. Eph. i. 3. 1 Pet. i. 20. Rom. iv. 24; xvi. 25. Col. i. 26. 1 Pet. ii. 13. Rom. xiii. 1-5. 1 Pet. ii. 16, &c. Gal. v. 13. 1 Pet. ii. 18; iii. 1. Eph. vi. 5. Col. iii. 18. 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4. 1 Tim. ii. 9. 1 Pet. iii. 22. Eph. i. 20, &c. 1 Pet. iv. 10. Rom. xii. 6, &c. 1 Pet. v. 1. Rom. viii. 18. 1 Pet. v. 8. 1 Thess. v. 6. 1 Pet. v. 14. 1 Cor. xvi. 20. Rom. xvi. 16. 1 Thess. v. 26. WETSTEIN notices a very remarkable character of style which Peter has, in common with Paul. "Ita sermonem suum ordinat ut membrum sequens ex precedentis fine inchoet et cum eo connectat. I. 4.—εἰς ὑμᾶς. 5.- φρουρουμένους—ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ, 6.—ἐν φ. 7.—Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, 8.—ὁν εἰδότες. 9.—σωτηρίαν ψυχῶν. 10.—περὶ ἧς σωτηρίας προφητεύσαντες. 11.—ἐρευνῶντες. The same peculiarity strongly marks the first paragraphs of Rom. v. and Eph. i., and also the proem of the Gospel of John.

NOTE C. p. 29.

The following similarities between Peter and James are remarkable :—1 Pet. i. 6, 7; James i. 2, 3. 1 Pet. i. 24; James i. 10, 11. 1 Pet. i. 3, 23; James i. 18. 1 Pet. ii. 1, 2; James i 21. 1 Pet. iv. 8; James v. 20. "Videtur omnino vel Jacobo Petri prior vel Petro Jacobi Epistola ob oculos versata fuisse; maxime si utraque Epistola ad easdem ecclesias pertinuerit."-STORR, Opuscula, ii. 52.

Luke v. 3-11.

NOTE D. p. 34.
John i. 40-42.

Matt. xvi. 16-23; xiv. 6. Matt. xxvi. 36, 37. Mark xvi. 7. John xxi.

Matt. iv. 18, 19. Mark v. 37. 28-31; xvii. 1-4, 24-27; xiii. 3, 4. Luke xxii. 8. John xiii. John xviii. 10, 11. Matt. xxvi. 31-35, 69-75. John xx. 2-7. Acts i.; xii. 17; xv. 6-11, 14. Gal. i. 18; ii. 7-9, 11-14. Vide NEANDER'S Planting and Training of the Christian Church-Vol. ii. p. 23-41.

NOTE E. p. 37.

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"There is an election to sanctification, as performed by the power of the Gospel, separating the fore-ordained from the mass of forlorn men unto holiness of life. This is nothing else than effectual vocation."-BYFIELD. Hic non proprie æterna electio significatur, sed electio in tempore e communi turba hominum ac imprimis Judæorum, quæ electio in Scriptura, alio modo, etiam vocatio, sive vocatio secundum Dei propositum appellatur."BELG ANNOT. "Exλroí; vocati secundum electionem."-SCHOTANUS.

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NOTE F. P. 37.

I think it right to mention that Ecumenius and a number both of ancient and modern interpreters, have connected κατὰ πρόγνωσιν κ. τ. λ. with 'Απόστολος, and not with έκλεκτοῖς. referring to Rom. i. 1, and especially to Acts xv. 7. This exegesis is so unnatural as not to require to be refuted. Пodywos hic non præscientiam, sed antecedens decretum significat ut et Act. ii. 23: idem sensus qui Eph. i. 4."-GROTIUS. There is no exegetical ground for explaining apoy yoke, and its derivatives of "love," as has often been done to serve a purpose.

NOTE G. p. 38.

'Aycasus segregatio illa sive credentium consecratio, separatio a reliquis hominibus extra Christum perituris-BEZA. "Il vous a séparés effectivement d'avec eux, non pas en vous sanctifiant comme il fit le peuple d'Israel au désert, d'une sanctification externe et corporelle seulement, lorsqu'il le fit arroser du sang de la victime, qui ratifia par sa mort l'alliance de la loy; mais en vous consacrant d'une sanctification intérieure et spirit

uelle lorsque par la vertu de sa vocation il vous a amenés à l'obéissance de son Evangile et à recevoir l'aspersion du sang de Jesus Christ épandu pour l'establissement de l'alliance de grâce en rémission des pêchés."-AMYRAUT. SEMLER, usually no safe guide, seems right here ; he considers the phrase as equivalent to ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνευματικῷ,

NOTE H. p. 38.

In the Enron pos Atoyvnтov, incorrectly attributed to Justin Martyr-written probably in the earlier part of the second century-the nature of the separation of Christians from mankind generally is thus described:-"The Christians are not separated from other men by earthly abode, by language, or by customs. They dwell nowhere in cities by themselves; they do not use a different language, nor affect a singular mode of life. They dwell in the cities of the Greeks and of the barbarians, each as his lot has been cast; and, while they conform to the usages of the country in respect to dress, food, and other things pertaining to the outward life, they yet show a peculiarity of conduct wonderful and striking to all. They dwell in their own country but as sojourners; they abide on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. In a word, they are in the world what the soul is in the body. The soul is diffused through all the members of the body, and Christians through the cities of the world. But the soul, though dwelling in the body, is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world."

NOTE I. p. 38.

It would be difficult to find an instance in which attachment to an artificial system of Christian doctrine has been carried farther into the interpretation of Scripture, than the explaining, as NISBET does, "election into obedience, aud sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ," of election to a participation in the active and passive righteousness of Christ,— obedience standing for the first, and blood for the second. In this instance of appμnveía, our worthy countryman is not original. SCHOTANUS had given the same sense before him. His note is "Ea est obedientia de qua Apostolus, Rom. v. 19."

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NOTE K. p. 39.

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The exposition given of this passage is that which the principles of a strict exegesis seem to require; and it is free from many difficulties which attend interpreting the passage according to our received translation. Elect," in the sense of eternally chosen, "according to the foreknowledge of God," is language which seems to suit a conditional better than a sovereign choice. "Elect, according to the foreknowledge of God through sanctification of the Spirit," presents a very strange arrangement of ideas. Is "the foreknowledge of God," or election" according to that foreknowledge, through sanctification of the Spirit? Surely "sanctification of the Spirit," meaning by that, sanctification by the Spirit, is the result of the divine decree, the object of the divine foreknowledge,-the cause or means of neither. Then, what is to be made of "obedience," as placed before sprinkling of the blood of Jesus?" Is not all obedience, which deserves the name, tho consequence of being justified through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, and being sanctified by the Spirit? and does the Spirit sanctify any who are not sprinkled with the blood of Jesus? All these difficulties, which I confess I cannot solve, are got rid of in the exegesis proposed. "Selected according to the divine foreknowledge," which is just equivalent to the divine purpose (Acts ii. 23; 1 Pet. i. 20), "by a spiritual separation unto obedience," that they "might obey the truth," i. e. believe the Gospel-“ and," through that "obedience" to the truth, "be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus,"-enjoy all the saving results of the death of Christ-in pardon, sanctification, and eternal life. In the only other passage (2 Thess. ii. 13) where the phrase άyiacμòs пvcúμaros occurs, it must be interpreted in the same way. The "choice" there seems plainly selection: by a. 7. spiritual separation and "belief of the truth."

DISCOURSE II

THE CHRISTIAN SALVATION DESCRIBED AND ACKNOWLEDGED.

1 PET. i. 3-5.-Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

Ir has been finely remarked by a pious writer, that "it is a cold and lifeless thing to speak of spiritual things on mere report: but when men can speak of them as their own-as having share and interest in them, and some experience of their sweetness-their discourse of them is enlivened with firm belief and ardent affection: they cannot mention them, but straight their hearts are taken with such gladness as they are forced to vent in praises." 1

1

Thus the apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Ephesian Church, when about to unfold the numerous, and varied, and invaluable benefits of the Christian salvation, instead of commencing with a mere formal statement of them, bursts forth into a hymn of thanksgiving, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; 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; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved : In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 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; in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will; that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom YE also trusted (or rather have obtained an inheritance), after that ye heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." 2

:

1 Leighton.

Eph. i. 3-14.

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