To accept the doctrine of man having no free will, he must
acknowledge his utter insignificance, for then no one is cleverer
or better than his neighbour; this must be always abhorrent to the
flesh. 'Have not I done this or that?' 'Had I naught to do with
it?' For my part, I can give myself no credit for anything I ever
did; and further, I credit no man with talents, &c. &c., in
anything he may have done. Napoleon, Luther, indeed all men, I
consider, were directly worked on, and directed to work out God's
great scheme. Tell me any doctrine which so humbles man as this, or
which is so contrary to his nature and to his natural pride."

Although writers have often attempted to show that Gordon was an
extreme Calvinist, there is no evidence that he ever stated his views
on the subject in any stronger language than that used in Article XVII.
of the Prayer-Book of the Church of England, which says:--"Predestination
to life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the
foundations of the world were laid) He hath constantly decreed by His
counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom He
hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to
everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour." However it may be
with others, Churchmen at all events have no right to sneer at Gordon's
views on the doctrine of God's Sovereignty, or Fatalism, as he more
frequently used to call it.

Nor did Gordon confine his views on Election merely to the initial
stage of the Christian life; he believed that the same loving Father,
who in the first instance had drawn him into the fold, watched over
him, and ordained for him what was to happen. Some fatalists, seeing
that a certain thing is _likely_ to happen, say that God has ordained
that it shall be, and they fold their hands, and make no effort to
avert a catastrophe. Not so with Gordon; until the thing had actually
happened, he would exert all his powers to prevent it; but when he
failed to avert any impending trouble, he would find comfort in the
thought that it was ordained by God, and would fret no more about it.
In a letter to his sister, he said:--

"It is a delightful thing to be a fatalist, not as that word is
generally employed, but to accept that, _when things happen_ and
_not_ before, God has for some wise reason so ordained them. We
have nothing further to do, when the scroll of events is