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    They must have perceived , too , the propriety qf calling it a . n election , because they were as yet a small community ) selected put of the great mass to enjoy peculiar privileges . Through the undeserved goodness of God , they had been admitted to the enjoyment of the greatest blessing that could be communicated to rational creatures ; namely , a clear and certain knowledge of God ' s will and intentions concerning them , and an assurance of his free pardon upon repentance and amendment through faith in the gospel message .

    JSTor could they ascribe this distinction to any thing in themselves entitling fbe-m-frh-e-Feto-f *—there- ™ was-no ^ previous ~ difference-between-them "" an'd- 'their neighbours , by virtue of which they were called , while others were passed by . Their election could be ascribed-to nothing but the good will and pleasure of God , with a view no doubt to his excellent and gracious purpose for the final salvation of all men ; but it had no reference to any previous merit or qualification on their part ;—so that no man could glory in his presence . That this is the most common , if not the- universal import of such terms

    as these , wen applied in the New Testament to the community of disciples , appears to me quite evident . They were elected , not to the exclusive benefit of the death , sacrifice , and atonement of Christ in another world , but to the enjoyment of gospel privileges in this . As another example to the same purport , let us consider what the apostle says to the Corinthians , ( 1 Cor . i . 26 . ) 'For ye see your calling , brethren * how that not many wise , not many mighty , not many noble are called ; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things

    of the world to confound the mighty , and base things of the world , and things which are despised , hath God chosen ; yea , and things which are not , hath God chosen to bring to naught things that are . '—Is it not obvious that the-apostle is here describing the circumstances which attended the first promulgation of the gospel among the heathens ? In the primitive age of the church , the great body of the disciples , with a very few exceptions , were

    a despised and obscure race , whom the philosophers , priding themselves in the wisdom that was of this world , seldom condescended to notice at all ; or if they did , it was to tax them with their poverty , with their impiety for rejecting the gods , or their shame in becoming the followers of a man that had been crucified . Nor was the disposition with which the g £ w religion was received by the noble , the wealthy , or the powerful , in any respect more favourable .

    These words are , therefore , a most suitable description of the condition of the primitive church ; - —but if we must needs apply them to the world at large , or to the state of the gospel cause in every age , they require to be at least considerably modified before we can admit their propriety . It is true , indeed , that the profession of the gospel has not even yet prevailed universally ;—nor is its character and spirit diffused as it ought to be among those who in word and outward profession are nominal Christians . But it cannot now be said that the weak things of the world are chosen to confound the mighty ; on the contrary , it will , I think , be admitted by all . who attentively

    consider the present state of things , not only that all really useful and valu able knowledge is in itself favourable to the advancement of the truth as it is in Jesus , and that the cultivation of those powers of reason and understanding in respect of which our race is more especially said to be created in the image of God , is above all things * fitted to promote a due discernment of his perfections and submission to his will , —but that in fact a very large proportion of those who have actually made the greatest attainments in human learning , and have extended the bounds of science and philosophy , have also been distinguished for the profession of true religion , and for the ability and zeal with which they have not hesitated to defend it ,

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    UNITARIAN CHflONlCtti . 77

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 1, 1833, page 77, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2609/page/13/