declared that
he had constantly to watch himself, lest he should become "a
castaway." It is applied to David, "But I chose David to be over my
people Israel" (1 Kings viii. 16). It is used also in reference to
"place:" "As the place which the Lord your God shall choose" (Deut.
xii. 5). The prophets of Baal were asked to "choose" a bullock, "and
call on the name of their gods" (1 Kings xviii. 23). These and other
applications of the word are quite sufficient to show that the term
is not necessarily connected with the choosing of a few men to
eternal salvation, and implying a faith-necessitating work of the
Holy Spirit. And something is gained when we have gained this. Were
we therefore asked whether we denied election? we should be quite
entitled to ask, to what kind of election did our questioner refer?
since there are several kinds referred to in the Holy Scriptures,
and a special kind outside of Scripture, entertained by the
followers of John Calvin.

EVANGELICAL ELECTION. A PROCESS.--Seeing that the word "elect" means
to "pick out," "to choose, to lay aside for one's self," it may
denote either an act or a process, according to the object elected.
If I select a book from the library, or choose an apple from the
tree, the election thus exercised is simply an act, The book elected
and the apple were entirely passive, having no will in the matter.
But suppose I want two servants: I go into the market where a number
are standing waiting to be employed. I find two, and explain the
nature of the service, and state the wages and the rules of the
house. One of the two accepts, the other refuses. I go forward on my
mission, and find another. I state to him what I stated to the two
already mentioned. He agrees, and is engaged. I have chosen
--"elected"--the servants; but it was a process, not a simple act.
Other wills came into play which differentiated the election in the
one case from the other, and the concurrence of the two wills
completed the matter. It is written in the word: "Wherefore, come
out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch
not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty" (2 Cor. vi. 17, 18). This brings the matter plainly before
us. There is the Divine exhortation, human concurrence, and the
result--adoption. It is an absurd and unreasonable supposition to
imagine that God deals with rationa