Wesley Corpus

O that God would give me the desire of my heart | that he would grant the thing which I long for ! even that your mind might now be free and calm, and open to the light of his Spirit ! that you would impartially consider how it is possible to reconcile reprobation with the following Scriptures: “Because thou hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” (Gen. iii. 17.) The curse shall come on thee and thine offspring, not because of any absolute decree of mine, but because of thy sin. “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” (Gen. iv. 7.) Sin only, not the decree of reprobation, hinders thy being accepted. “Know that the Lord thy God, he is the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them. Wherefore, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant which he sware unto thy fathers.” (Deut. vii. 9, 12.) “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God; and a curse, if you will not obey.” (xi. 26, 27, 28.) “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his command ments, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee. But if thou wilt not hear, I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish. I call heaven and earth to record this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” (xxx. 15, &c.) “And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, and he said, The Lord is with you while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” (2 Chron. xv.