Newton affirms in a favorite story he liked to tell: “As some preachers near Olney dwelt on the doctrine of predestination, an old woman said, ‘Ah! I have long settled that point: for, if God had not chosen me before I was born, I am sure he would have seen nothing in me to have chosen me for afterwards’” (W, 1:105). Charles Spurgeon enjoyed retelling this humorous story in the pulpit.
