the works of john gill vol2 SAMPLE

Part 3: Chapter 7
misery of a creature, as it is in man, but quoad effectum, as an effect
guided by the sovereign will of God, to whatsoever object he thinks
fit; nor is the will of God to be judged of by the will of man, since he
does according to his will in heaven and in earth, and is accountable to
none of his creatures; there is a βάθος, a depth in the riches of his
wisdom and knowledge, that is unfathomable, his judgments are
unsearchable, and his ways past finding out 31 .
Besides, wise and rational men, whose wills are the most absolute, as
kings and princes, when their subjects have rebelled against them, and
have fallen into their hands, have thought it most advisable to show
both their clemency and justice, by pardoning some, and not others,
who were equally their subjects, equally objects of their pity and
compassion, equally capable of mercy, and no more unworthy of it
than the rest; so that such a method is justified by the conduct of the
wisest and most rational men.
But the most cruel part seems to be thought to lie in “determining
the everlasting fate of the souls he daily doth create after the fall of
Adam, without respect to any good or evil done by them.”
By determining the everlasting fate of souls, I apprehend is meant,
God’s appointing them either to salvation or damnation. Now, God’s
appointment of men to salvation, that is, to eternal glory, is not without
respect to any good thing done by them, but with respect to their faith,
repentance, and perseverance; for God chooses to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth; though not with
respect to these, as causes of his decree, but as means unto the end, or
as graces which ho prepares, determines to bestow, and does bestow
upon them, in order to bring them to glory: so that their everlasting
fate is not determined without respect to any good done by them, nor
without any reason on the part of God, though without conditions on
their parts.
31 Dan. 4:35; Job 33:13; Rom. 11:33.
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