All Scripture, including the doctrine of election, is written for us, not to be driven to despair, but to have hope...

This eternal election or ordination of God to eternal life must not be considered in God's secret, mysterious counsel in a simple-minded way.  It is not as though election included nothing further, or nothing more belonged to it, or nothing more were to be considered in it, that that God foresaw who and how many were to be saved and who and how many were to be damned.  Nor should we think that He only held a sort of military muster, such as, "This one shall be saved, that one shall be damned; this one shall remain steadfast in faith to the end, that one shall not remain steadfast."

From this notion many get and imagine strange, dangerous, and deadly thoughts.  These cause and strengthen either self-confidence and lack of repentance or hopelessness and despair.  So people fall into troublesome thoughts, and say, "Before the foundation of the world was laid" (Ephesians 1:4), God has foreknown His elect to salvation.  And God's foreknowledge cannot fail or be hindered or changed by anyone.  In view of this, if I am elected to salvation, nothing can hurt me, even if I perform all sorts of shameful sins without repentance, have no regard for the Word and Sacraments, concern myself neither with repentance, faith, prayer, or godliness.  I will and must still be saved, because God's foreknowledge must come to pass. If, however, I am not foreknown, nothing helps me anyway, even though I busy myself with the Word, repent, believe, and so on.  For I cannot hinder or change God's foreknowledge."

In fact, even when godly hearts have repentance, faith, and good intentions to live by God's grace in a godly way, thoughts like these arise:  "If you are not foreknown from eternity to salvation, your every effort and entire labor is no help."  This happens especially when they see their weakness and the examples of those who have not persevered, but have fallen away again.

Against this false delusion and thought we should set up the following clear argument, which is sure and cannot fail:  All Scripture is inspired by God.  It is not for self-confidence and lack of repentance, but "for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).  Also, everything in God's Word has been written for us, not so that we should be driven to despair by it, but so that "through the encouragement of Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).  Therefore, there is no question that lack of repentance or despair should not in any way be caused or strengthened by the sound sense or right use of this teaching about God's eternal foreknowledge.  The Scriptures teach this doctrine only to direct us to the Word to encourage repentance and godliness, and to strengthen faith and assure us of our salvation.
~BOC, FSD, XI, 9-12

The beginning and cause of evil is the wicked perverse will of the devil and of people, not God's foreknowledge...

God's foreknowledge foresees and foreknows what is evil, yet not in the sense that it is God's gracious will that evil should happen.  Everything that the perverse, wicked will of the devil and of people wants and desires to try and do, God sees and knows before it happens.  His foreknowledge sees its order also in wicked acts or works, since a time and measure is fixed by God for the evil that God does not will.  He limits how far it should go, how long it should last, and when and how He will hinder and punish it.  God the Lord rules over all of this so that it must flow to the glory of the divine name and to the salvation of His elect, and for that reason the godless must be astonished.

The beginning and cause of evil is not God's foreknowledge.  (For God does not create and do evil, neither does He help or promote it.)  The cause of this evil is the wicked, perverse will of the devil and of people, as it is written in Hosea 13:9, " He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against Me, against your helper."  Also, "For You are not a God who delights in wickedness" (Psalm 5:4).
~BOC, FSD, XI, 6-7

The distinction between God's eternal foreknowledge and the eternal election of His children to eternal salvation...

First, the distinction between God's eternal foreknowledge and the eternal election of His children to eternal salvation is to be made carefully.  Foreknowledge or prevision means that God sees and knows everything before it happens.  This is called God's foreknowledge, which extends over all creatures, good and bad.  In other words, He foresees and foreknows everything that is or will be, that is happening or will happen, whether it is good or bad.  For all things, whether they are past or future, are clear and present before God.  This is written in Matthew 10:29:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

You eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:16)

I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me. (Isaiah 37:28)

God's eternal election, or predestination, means God's preordaining to salvation. It does not include both the godly and the wicked, but only God's children, who were elected and ordained to eternal life before the world's foundation was laid.  As Paul says in Ephesians 1:4-5, "He chose us in Him ... He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ."
~BOC, FSD, XI, 4-5

On speculating about God's eternal foreknowledge and election...

Our curiosity always has greater pleasure in giving itself to these matters than with what God has revealed to us about this matter in His Word.  We cannot harmonize God's revelation with our reason, which we have not been commanded to do anyway.

There is no doubt that God foresaw before the time of the world, and still knows, exactly, which people who are called will believe and which will not believe.  He also knows which of the converted will persevere and which will not persevere.  He knows which will return after a fall and which will fall into stubbornness.  He also knows the number of how many there are on either side.  Beyond all doubt this is perfectly known to God.  However, God has reserved this mystery for His wisdom.  He has revealed nothing to us about it in His Word, much less commanded us to investigate it with our thoughts.  Instead, He has seriously discouraged us from that.  Therefore, we should not reason in our thoughts, draw conclusions, or inquire curiously into these matters, but we should cling to His revealed Word, to which He points us.

~BOC, FSD, XI, 53-55