“For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion’” (Romans 9:15)

With these words, the Lord in the plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold His mercy according to His sovereign will. As the prerogative of life and death is vested in a king, so the Judge of all the Earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as may seem best in His sight.

Men by their sins have forfeited all claim upon God; they deserve to perish for their sins - and if they do so, they have no ground for complaint. If the Lord steps in to save any, He may do so if the ends of justice are not thwarted; but if He judges it best to leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may arraign the Judge for His decision.

Foolish and impudent are all those discourses about the rights of men to be placed on the same footing; ignorant, if not worse, are those contentions against selective grace, which are but the rebellions of proud human nature against the authority of God.

When we see our own utter ruin, and the justice of the divine verdict against sin, we no longer question the truth that the Lord isn’t required to save us; we don’t complain if He chooses to save others, as though He were doing us an injury, but feel that if He decides to pardon us, it will be His own free act of undeserved goodness, for which we shall forever bless His name.

How should we who are saved see our salvation? We have no room for boasting, because grace prevents it. The Lord alone is glorified, and the very notion of human merit is contemptable. The doctrine of election humbles the believer, while promoting gratitude, and cooperation with the Holy Spirit in pursuing holiness during our stay on Earth.

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