cause it is judged by learned men, not to be his, but either the work of Pelagius himself, or of fome Pelagian writer. I deny not, but that Jerom held election to be according to the prefcience of God, to which he refers it in the paffages cited, by the above writers, out of his Commentaries on the epiftles to the Galatians and Ephefians; and fo do we in a fenfe agreeable to the Scriptures; and it is evident that Jerom had the fame fentiments of the foreknowledge of God as we have; for, fays he', "Non enim ex eo quod Deus fcit futurum aliquid, id circo futurum eft, fed quia futurum eft, Deus novit, Not because God knows fomething to be future, therefore it is future, but because it is future, God knows it, as having a fore-knowledge of things to come." And tho' in the fame place and elsewhere, he obferves, that the prefcience of God does not neceffitate or force men to do this, or not to do that, but notwithstanding it, the will of man is preferved free in all his actions; the fame we alfo fay, and to this we readily affent.

a Vid. Rivet. Critic. Sacr. 1. 4. c. 5. p. 374. & Voff. Hift. Pelag. 1. 1. c. 9. p. 12.

Comment. in Jer. Tom. 5. p. 162. C.

f Comment. in Ezek. Tom. 5. p 177. E. Et in Eccl. Tom. 7. p. 35. F.

CHAP. II.

Of REDEMPTION.

Octor Whitby fays, That the confirmation of the doctrine of universal redemption, from the fuffrage of all antiquity, is fufficiently done by Voffius, in his Hiftoria Pelegiana, where he lays down these two pofitions, 1. That the fenfe of the antient church was, that God wills the converfion and falvation of all. 2. That it was the judgment of the antient church, that Chrift had provided an univerfal remedy for the univerfal fault of men, by paying a ransom of infinite value, left any one should perish through the defect of it. He further obferves, that this is more copiously done by Mr. Dally (he means Monfieur Daille) by producing the teftimonies of the Antients from the first to the twelfth century, and concluding thus, Certainly I don't find one in the first eight ages of Christianity that has faid abfolutely, and in terms, as is commonly faid, that Chrift died only for the elect.

Difcourfe, &c. p. 193. Ed. 2. 195. Postscript, p. 566. Ed. 2. 543.

Here

Here the Doctor refts, and would have his readers trust to, and depend upon the conclufions and affertions of thefe two men. Voffius's Pelagian Hiftory must be allowed to be a very confiderable performance, and is the fund and magazine of antiquity for the Arminians. Dr. Twife intended an answer to it, and in one of his books fays", he had entered upon it, but death, I fuppofe, prevented his defign; at leaft it never was published; fuch a work, by fo learned a hand, might have been of great fervice. But why should we truft to Voffius's account of the judgment of the antient church in this point, fince Dr. Whitby himself would not truft him in another? viz. Original fin, though he was fo very pofitive as to fay, The catholick church always fo judged; and the Doctor tells us ", that " upon an impartial fearch he found that all the paffages he had collected were impertinent, or at least infufficient to prove the point." This gives no encouragement to depend on him. And inafmuch as the feveral paffages cited by Voffius are alfo, with many others, produced by Monfieur Daille, I shall only attend to the latter, and to thofe only of the first four centuries; and though he obferves, that in thefe and the four follow

u Riches of God's Grace againft Hord. par. 1. p. 83. w Preface to Difcourfe, &c. p. 4. Ed. 2. p. 2.

ing ages, none ever faid abfolutely, and in express terms, that Chrift died only for the elect; yet it does not follow, but that fome might fay it, in other terms and words equivalent, of the fame fignification, and which amounted to the fame fenfe. It must be owned, that Monfieur Daille has collected a large number of teftimonies indeed; but when it is confider'd, that multitudes of them are only expreffed in Scripture language, and fo capable of the fame sense the fcriptures are; others regard men of all forts, ranks, and degrees; others Jews and Gentiles; others the fufficiency of Christ's death for all; and others, fome general benefit by it, as the refurrection of the dead, their number will be greatly reduced, and very few left to be of any fervice to the cause for which they are brought; befides, it will be made to appear in the following Numbers, that the Antients often defcribe the persons for whom Chrift died by fuch characters as cannot agree with all men.

NUMB.

NUM B. I.

CLEMENS ROMANUS.

Clement,

A. D. 69.

Lement, as he believed there was a certain number of elect perfons, which has been proved in the preceding chapter, fo he plainly intimates, that these are the perfons for whom Chrift fhed his blood; for having obferved, that all the elect of God are made perfect in love, he adds *, "without love nothing is well pleafing to God; in love the Lord affumed us to himfelf; because of the love which Chrift our Lord hath towards us,-X το αιμα αυτ8 εδωκεν υπερ ημων, he hath given his blood for us, his flesh for our flesh, and his foul for our fouls." The fenfe of which is manifeftly this, that the perfons for whose fake Chrift affumed human nature, and shed his precious blood, are the elect of God, and fuch who have a fpecial and peculiar fhare in the love of Chrift. And befides his faying, that the blood of Chrift was given, Uπeg nμwv, for us, he reftrains redemption to them that have faith and hope in God; for fpeaking of the fpies that came into Rabab's house, ordering her to hang out a scar