Mr. Hume's Second Speech on the Second Proposition.
GENTLEMEN MODERATORS -- LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
When my time expired in my last speech, we were discoursing on the subject of the divine sovereignty of Him who holds in his hands the keys of hell and of death: who opens and none can shut, and shuts and none can open. Which sovereignty is presented in the language of the apostle recorded in the 9th of Romans, where the apostle says, "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth." Now we maintain, that if Jehovah hardened none, then the language here employed would be unmeaning; and not only so, but it would impress the mind with an idea that in itself would be untrue, which the inspired writers have never done, for they never used language that was unmeaning in itself. Moreover, the apostle says in the 22nd, 23rd verses, "What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy which He had afore prepared unto glory." Now here are two classes of vessels, the one fitted to destruction, the other afore prepared unto glory. We now ask, are these both the same? If so, then we have language again that impresses the mind falsely, which cannot be the case. What then are the facts in the case? Simply these -- there are some characters fitted to destruction. Who fitted them, it matters not. We ask the gentleman, are these the people that CAN repent, believe, and turn to God? It must be evident they are not. We have now proceeded by this connection that God hardeneth some, that some are fitted to destruction. Now if any of these are of adult years and sane mind, then the gentleman's proposition is not true, and this he dare not deny.
We will now notice the gentleman's speech. He is determined to try to make the audience believe that we believe God has foreordained and decreed the damnation of a part of the race, let them do what they will. If the gentleman's false accusations against us were to be taken as evidence in this discussion, we would have long since surrendered the point, for surely he abounds in them. But every one here knows that we have made no such statements. We have not so much as hinted, that God had reprobated any one of the race. We have in most positive terms denied believing any such thing; and we now state for the special information of the gentleman, that sin is the cause why men are lost. Jehovah manifests his displeasure against sin, in the punishment of all such as sin is found upon. This is the reason why men are lost, and not because God has decreed it. Let it therefore be distinctly understood, that sin is the cause why any of the race are finally lost.
But the gentleman has referred us to 1st Timothy 2nd chapter, and the first six verses. Truly a fatal reference it will be to him indeed. Let us now read it: "I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth; for there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time." Now we most positively believe all that is said in this connection to be true; we dare our friend to acknowledge the same. It is said here that Jesus gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time; and why? Because God will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now we substantially believe that the will of God, as expressed in this text, will be accomplished. Well, what is that will. The text says he will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Does my friend, Mr. Franklin, believe the all men in this text will be saved. He does not acknowledge it, for if he does, then his whole system falls to the ground. Well, we believe it, and why? because the text says God will have it so, and if he will have all men to be saved, who shall prevent it? None.
We will here remark, that the word ALL, like the word world, is very indefinite, as we will show from the sacred Scriptures. It is said in the Bible, "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Now you know, my audience, the word all in this text does not embrace all the race, because Herod and his men of war were so enraged at the announcement of the birth of the Savior, that they killed all the children from two years old and under. Now had the news of the birth of Messiah been good to them, surely they would not have acted thus wickedly.
But again, it is said in the Scriptures, the law and the prophets were until John, since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. Now we ask, has all the race pressed into the kingdom of God. Every one here knows they have not; hence, my audience, it is evident that the terms all and even every man, do not mean the whole human race. How then are we to understand such terms? We understand them simply to embrace all and every one that the speaker has in view when he employs the language, and no more. If the gentleman is disposed to deny our position here, we will give him more of the same kind, for we assure you that the Bible abounds with similar passages, all of which go to prove that the terms all, all men, and every man, do not mean all the race of men.
The gentleman, in the next place, introduces, we suppose, a favorite theory of his, which we intend to show this audience is, like the rest of his arguments, without foundation in truth. It is this: he declared when last up, that sinners are damned for rejecting the gospel. We wonder how many systems of condemnation the gentleman will introduce, before he is done? He told us also, in his last speech, that thousands were sent to hell because they withhold from the poor, and do not bestow upon them such things as they need. Now, my friends, with regard to his first cause of condemnation, what have you to say if sinners are to be damned for rejecting the gospel? Would it not be decidedly better for them never to hear the gospel; for we see a vast number who do not receive and profit by the gospel, consequently, if my friend's theory be true, it would have been far better for them never to have heard the gospel. Now what a contemptible view of the character of a holy God! Sinners are not yet condemned. God knows they must be condemned, or he will have to save them. He also knows who will reject the gospel. He wants an excuse to damn them, and as such he sends the gospel to them (knowing they will reject it), on purpose to have an excuse to damn them. What think you, my friends, of such a God as this? If Elder Franklin chooses to bow to such a one, he is welcome to do so; for my part, I would as soon worship a god made of a frozen pumpkin. Surely the gentleman has forgotten the language of the dear Savior upon the subject. He says, sinners are condemned already; and we say, this condemnation grows out of the violation of the law, without which there could be no condemnation, for the law condemns all who violate its holy precepts, and poor sinners only need justification from the claims of the law, which justification is revealed or brought to view by or through the gospel. Hence the gospel is a proclamation of peace and pardon through the merits of Christ, and not a system of condemnation and death. We fear the gentleman's whole theory is built upon law, and has no gospel in it.
But the gentleman's other system of condemnation is entirely new and unheard of, until this wise man from the Queen City has this day revealed it. And we can not, for one moment, believe that this revelation is from the spirit of inspiration. We hope, friends, that you have not forgotten it. He declared to us, that thousands would go down to hell because they would not give to the poor. We wonder whose logic this is. Is it found in Hedge's, or in some other work of the same kind, or is it taught in some one of the many translations of the holy Scriptures the gentleman has read. We venture to assert that it is not to be found in either, or any where else in the wide world, but in the vain imagination of my friend, Mr. Franklin, whose mind appears remarkably fruitful in ideas, never before thought of. Now, my audience, will you examine this new theory one moment. The gentleman has told us that the great God loves the race; that Jesus Christ has died for the race; that both the Father and the Son desired to save the race; and for that purpose, God has enlightened the race, Christ has restored the race; that the Bible and the gospel is given to instruct the race; and after all, there are thousands of the race go down to eternal pain simply because they have failed to give a few dimes to the poor. Now we believe it to be perfectly right to administer to the necessities of the poor, but we do not believe that a few dimes given to the poor will accomplish that which the love of God, the power of God, the sufferings and death of Christ, the Bible and the gospel will all fail to accomplish. And we are sure this audience does not believe any such God-dishonoring doctrine as this. Mr. Franklin himself does not believe it; but he must fill up his time, he must say something, and we are disposed to believe this is the best he can do; and if so, bad is the best, most assuredly.
You can now see, my friends, what means a man will resort to, who undertakes to advocate a system wholly at war with the sacred doctrine of the Bible. O, friends, just think of the idea of a little money doing for you what the Lord Jesus Christ cannot do without it, and we feel confident you will spurn it from your minds with horror and utter contempt. So much for the gentleman's two systems of condemnation. We now pass on to notice the next item in the gentleman's speech, worthy of note. He referred us to Matthew, 25th chapter, 35th and 36th verses: "For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and ye took me in; naked and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me; I was in prison and he came unto me." Here the gentleman thinks he will surely triumph; that this quotation clearly proves that saints are to be admitted into Heaven itself, upon the ground of their good works. But if the gentleman will read the next three verses, he will there learn that those saints did not acknowledge the doctrine for which he is here contending; for they say, "Lord, when saw we thee an hungered and fed thee, or thirsty and gave thee drink? or a stranger and took thee in? or naked and clothed thee, sick or in prison and came unto thee." Here you see, my friends, these people could not believe their good works had recommended them to the favor of God. We suppose our friend could tell when he had performed a great many good works; but those who were saved alone by grace did not arrive there in that way. But if you, my audience, will read the 34th verse, you will there learn that the kingdom was prepared for these very people from the foundation of the world. Now, can any person of sane mind believe that they were admitted into heaven for what they had done, when the kingdom was prepared for them from the foundation of the world? Here we have a kingdom prepared, and a people prepared to enjoy that kingdom. Hence the language of the Savior to the woman who was so very solicitous about the welfare of her two sons. She desired that they should set upon either hand of the Savior, when he came in his kingdom. Jesus said unto her, "to set on my right hand and on my left hand, is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared." We ask could language be plainer. Here the Savior positively declares that there was a people for whom his kingdom was prepared, and that it should be given to them and none others. Here is also a death blow to the doctrine of free moral agency, for Christ himself could not give the kingdom to any but those for whom it was prepared, for said he, it is not mine to give.
So much, then, for the gentleman's plan of getting to heaven by works. Indeed, if he gets there upon his plan, he will have to occupy a different apartment from those who are saved by grace alone. We here remark, dear friends, that none ever has been or will be saved upon the gentleman's work plan; no, unless saved alone by the merits of Christ, they are forever gone.
The next item in my friend's speech that we shall notice, is this. He tells us that the wicked actions of men constitute them sinners. Now this is a palpable contradiction to every principle of sound philosophy and common sense; for if men were not sinners, they would not act wickedly. Every act of men flows from some preceding cause; remove the cause, and the effect will cease. What then is the cause of men acting wickedly? We answer, because they are sinners. Hence, the man who defrauds his neighbor is dishonest in heart; the man who profanes the name of the Lord, does it because he is wicked in heart; the man who steals his neighbor's horse, does it because he is a thief in heart -- had he not been a thief he would not have stolen the horse. This is so plain, that it admits of no argument. This is cause producing effect, but my friend has an effect without any cause; but this is like many other things introduced by the gentleman. It is, however, one thing to make broad assertions, but a very different thing to make the people believe them. So much for my friend's logic upon this subject. Well, what next? Listen: the gentleman comes up again in broad terms, and denies the agency of the Holy Spirit in the work of regeneration. This perfectly harmonizes with what he said in his speech this morning, that men had the power to be regenerated, at pleasure. We have shown you, in a former speech, that regenerate means reproduce, renew, born again. Then, according to the gentleman's theory, there is no influence of the Holy Spirit in reproducing, renewing, being born again. How then is it done? We must reproduce ourselves, or some other person must do it for us, or it will not be done at all. We have shown you, in a former speech, the utter impossibility of a man's reproducing himself, and if my friend thinks he possesses the power of reproducing, we must have some further evidence of his power upon this subject, before we can believe it. Such stuff is too foolish for men to talk about; but men sometimes involve themselves in just such absurdities, rather than acknowledge themselves defeated. Now, my friend, Mr. Franklin, may exhaust his whole stock of wisdom, and display all the talents he possesses, call to his aid all the logic he has read, and after all he will forever fail to make this audience believe a theory so completely at war with the principles of truth and common sense.
We frankly confess that Elder Franklin comes out the most bold and independent on the system of works, of any man we have ever heard. He seems to be so perfectly ignorant with regard to the great system of salvation by grace, treasured in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to have no hope of future happiness only what is founded upon the principle of his own works, by which none ever were, or can, be saved. We now call upon Mr. Franklin to tell this people in his next speech, if the Holy Spirit is not concerned in the important work of regeneration, how is it performed? Does the sinner perform it himself, or does some other person do it for him? Now we will venture to prophesy, that the gentleman will not attempt to answer those interrogatories, but will pass them by in silence, for surely this is the best he can do. But he has presented another strange idea to our minds, and that is, that none are under the influence of the Holy Spirit but the apostles. Now is it not passingly strange, that the gentleman will attempt to make us believe that the apostles were saved in a different way from what sinners are now saved. He admits that the apostles were under the influence of the Holy Spirit, but denies that sinners are now regenerated in that way. This is more of the gentleman's strange logic and inconsistencies. He has the apostles saved in one way, and modern sinners in a different way. we suppose the idea would be about this: that the apostles were so much worse than sinners are in this age, and consequently, nothing short of Almighty power could reach their case; but we re so much better by nature, and possess so many superior advantages, that we can get along by the use of our own powers, without the aid of the Holy Spirit. Now, my audience, the inconsistency of such an idea as this must be apparent to all candid minds, for surely sinners of every age, are saved precisely in the same way. But the gentleman says we can resist the Holy Ghost, and sinners do resist it, and this is the reason why they are not saved. Here we have a third system of condemnation introduced. We have been told that sinners were condemned for rejecting the gospel; that they were condemned for not giving to the poor, and how we are informed that they are condemned for resisting the Holy Ghost. How many more systems of condemnation the gentleman will discover, before this debate closes, we cannot tell; one thing we do know, and that is, he has introduced more now than he can prove from the Bible. Indeed he seems to have but little use for the Bible, supposing that we will take his assertions as proof; but we have not yet agreed to do so.
We have now answered all the gentleman's arguments, and will proceed to let loose upon him another heavy discharge of the artillery of Heaven, as recorded in 1st Corinthians, chapter 1, 26th and 27th verses, which read as follows; "For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men, after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty," &c. Now, my audience what becomes of the gentleman's universal calling? You know he has done his best to make you believe that all the race had a chance for Heaven; that they were all redeemed, all restored, and all called. Now the apostle says in plain terms, in the passage above quoted, that not many wise men, after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. Here the apostle positively contradicts Mr. Franklin. He says, all are called; the apostle says, not many of a certain class are called. We know there are a vast number of wise men, after the flesh, in the world; there are also a great many mighty men - and the inspired writer says, positively, that not many of this class are called. Well, if you will read the 29th verse, you will there learn the reason why they are not, which reads: "that no flesh should glory in his presence." Now you see, my friends, that the great God acts entirely different from what men do. Men choose the great, the learned, the wise, to transact their business; God chooses the poor, the unlearned, the foolish, and even the base and despised to bring to nought the things that are. Hence you see that all the gentleman has said about his universal calling is untrue, according to the sacred Scriptures. But again, chapter 2, 14th verse: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Now here is a positive testimony, that the natural man can not understand the things of the spirit. We hope the gentleman will be kind enough, in his next speech, to tell us if his CAN embraces the natural man; if so, he and Paul are at war again, for Paul says they CAN NOT - and we feel assured this audience will believe the apostle.
Time expired.
