lovingly gave Himself, would send the Divine Spirit
mediatorially to reveal and interpret both, who should not operate
in the world on the same principle of impartiality and universality?
What philosophy and theology thus dictate, Scripture confirms.
Christ promised His disciples an interpreting and applying Spirit,
who should convince the _world_. Prophets predicted, and Pentecost
proved, that God was pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. These
influences were, in their largest incidents, soul-saving; through
being moral, they were resistible. Ye do always resist the Holy
Ghost, said Stephen, and the Holy Ghost himself saith to-day, Oh
that ye would hear His voice; which He would not do if faith came by
another sort of influence which He only could give, and which He did
not mean to give till _to-morrow_, or next year, or not at all! In
that last and most gracious of Gospel invitations, which the
incarnate Himself utters in Rev. xxii. 17, among other inviters, the
Spirit says, come! and says it to all; which surely, as He is the
Spirit of truth, He would not do, if not a soul could come till He
himself put forth an influence which He had predetermined to bestow
only on a select and favoured number. The ugly limitation will not
do. The work and heart of the loving Spirit are, and must be, as
large as those of the Father and the Son, whom He came to reveal."
(_Discourses_, Ser. X.)

The objections thus tendered to the Calvinistic theory of election
are sufficient separately, and much more so collectively, to condemn
the dogma. We impute no motives to the honoured men who hold the
doctrine. They are doubtless as sincere in their belief as we are in
ours. It did seem to us, at one time, that God could convert men if
He wished it; but the dictum of Chillingworth--"the Bible and the
Bible alone is the religion of Protestants," overturned that idea.
The words of Jesus, "How often would I have gathered thy children
together, . . . but ye would not," showed that Jesus was wishful to
save the people; but His wish was not realised, because they "would
not." And the Bible and philosophy are in harmony. We could easily
conceive, that were certain individuals to be taken by almighty
effort from one sphere, and placed in another, they would be
converted. Christ confirms this idea. He said, "Woe unto thee,
Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which
have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they woul