es of
Paul and Peter--in the Revelations, and so in all the called and
chosen, and faithful, who are written in the Lamb's book of life, and
have been from the foundation of the world, from the beginning to the
end, I see a constant reference made, and the warmest and most
enlarged attachment of the affections demanded, on the ground of
peculiar, especial, and personal choice on the part of God. That all
this is consistent with every perfection of God's character, and,
therefore, with his equal justice and mercy, I have the fullest
assurance, but that we are in possession of the means of shewing it,
or that the Lord requires it at our hands, I feel fully assured of the
contrary. And the danger Mr. E. seems to apprehend from stating the
doctrines of election as they are usually stated, are more imaginary
than real. For God, who by his Holy Spirit begets the soul again in
the likeness of the divine nature, gives to that nature thus begotten
the power of discriminating in its food between night-shade and sweet
pasture.--When he has created in the soul of any human being the love
of himself, he gives him, with this love, the privilege to rejoice
that his name is written in heaven, and the minister of Christ is by
no means embarrassed by all these apparent difficulties, for he has to
display all the beauty of Christ, all the love of the Father, all the
graces of the Spirit before the assembled world, knowing that all the
sheep will hear, and feed, and grow, and that the goats will cavil and
stamp down the pasture with their feet. But, ye believe not, because
ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you, My sheep hear my voice and
I know them, and they follow me. Again, he that is of God hath God's
words, ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. How and
why this is we are not able nor willing to try to answer: all we can
say is, hath not the Lord right to do what he will with his own. Shall
the thing formed say to Him that formed it, "What makest thou?" And
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right." And many, many more
like it.

_April 4._--We were last night alarmed by the voices of apparently
thousands of persons on the other side of the river; by degrees the
discharges of guns were mingled with the cries, which gradually
extended also to this side the river. We concluded it must be from a
tribe of Arabs having broken into the city, the noise being exactly
similar, only much more violent, to that of the t