be That for which He would not Pray For the Priest was bound to pray for Those for whom he offered It must then be Another And so it seems there be two Worlds 1 A lesser World which consists of Elect Persons and was taken out of the World Vniversallâ— As the Israelitish Nation was out of the Egyptian Deut. 4. 34. Or as the Christian Church at first was out of the Jewish These our Saviour stiles Joh. 17. 6. v. 9. The Men which His Father gave Him out of the World For These it was that He sanctified Himself And for these He prayed And of These consisteth that World whose Sin He taketh away and for whose Sins even of the whole of it He is the Propitiation These are the Men that shall be counted worthy of the World to come And they are as properly termed a World as that blessed Place and State they shall be in Luke 20. 35. Or as the Dwellers upon earth are denominated a World from the Place of their habitation Ps 9. 8. 2 There is also a World of Vngodly Joh. 15. 19. ch 17. 6. 2 Cor. 4. 4. Rev. 13. 3 4 with v. 8. 1 Joh. 5. 19. from among whom that lesser World are taken and seperated Of whom it is said The Devil is their God And that their Names are not in the Lambs book of life But the whole of it lies in wickedness And This is the World for whom Christ would not vouchsafe to pray Then surely He would not make His Soul an offering for their sins The Reason why all Men are not Saved is not because Christ did not die for all but because they will not Believe Men's Not believing in Christ is not the Onely or first procuring Cause of their Condemnation but their Rebellion and Apostacy from God Albeit the Condemnation of those who reject Christ is greatly aggravated by their Not-receiving Him As One Condemned or Condemnable for an Act of Treason refusing a Pardon His Refusal is indeed the next and immediate cause of his execution and perhaps shall heighten the Rigour of it But his treasonable practise was the first procuring cause of his death which also he should have suffered for if no such pardon had been tendred to him It must always be granted and Maintained That Faith is the one thing necessary on our part in order to our being Saved And as true it is That this Faith adds nothing of virtue or Merit to the Cross of Christ Where Men are said to be Justified or Saved by Faith it is meant of the Object of Faith and not of the Act For the Righteousness of Christ alone is the Matter of our Justification which this Objection seems to deny 2 Christ's Redemption extends to Unbelief For this Purpose was the Son of God Manifested 1 Joh. 3. 8. to destroy the works of the devil Of which Vnbelief is the Chief And He gave Himself to Redeem from all iniquity Tit. 2. 14. And if from All then Unbelief which is the Sum and Sâ—um of all cannot be exempted For Otherwise scil If He had Redeemed from all but this that Redemption would litle avail us It would be as if One should purchase your pardon for pilfering felonies but let the Guilt of your Treasons lye still upon you Or undertake to Cure a Man of his phrensie upon condition he will be Sober What will they do who content themselves with such a Redemption as this 3 Faith it self is a Grace of Christ's own Working It flows from His Fulness Joh. 1. 16. He apprehends us before we do or can apprehend Him The People's Sins under the Law had not been expiated by the Sacrifice without sprinkling the blood And it was not themselves who sprinkled it but the Priest And can we think that Christ shed His Blood for those on whom He will not sprinkle it That He died for Those to whom He will not give a little faith when as without that all that He doth besides will not profit them If any say He would but they will not I ananswer This Will not is their Unbelief which He is to take away by making them Willing A Will to believe is Believing Ps 110 And in the day of His Power they find it And for any to say That a Will to believe is not purchased by Christ Heb. 9. 12. 14. is a great derogation from the virtue and Merit of His sufferings This is further Argued where the Office of Christ in order to Effectual Calling is treated of Inferences From what hath been proved in behalf of Redemption as peculiar to the Elect I infer I. The important necessity of Trying the Spirits Infer 1. and the Doctrines they bring whether they be of God A plaâ—sible outside and fair shew in the flesh are no Argument of Truth in the bottom Takingness with Nature should Render things suspitious to us rather than approved Our best rule of Judgement in this case is that of our Saviour The Tree is known by its fruits And if by this we measure the general point it will be found wanting in what it pretends to and not-a-little Reprovable 1. In stead of Magnifying the Grace of Christ and Merit of His sufferings it does in effect Nullifie both It makes Redemption general as to Persons but not as to Things That is it Redeems the whole of Mankind from part of their bondage but no part of them from the whole of it Or upon such a Condition as no Man in nature is able to perform which sure is too defective to be the Devise of Sovereign Wisdome and Grace That cannot be call'd An Universal Remedy that suffers it self to be Worsted by the disease I doubt not at all That the blood of the Son of God in our Nature is of infinite Merit but withall that is of like Infinite Virtue and Efficacy and will for ever operate accordingly But if the success and saving effects thereof should depend upon something to be done by Men which Redemption it self doth not Invest them with then will Men come in for a share with Christ in the glory of their Salvation yea in this case any addition of humane ability annihilates the Grace of Christ Gal. 5. 2. Whereas to depend upon Christ for Sanctifiction as well as Righteousness To expect from Him a Power to Repent and Believe as well as Acceptance upon your believing gives Him His true honour as intit'ling Him to the whole of your Salvation which is indeed His proper Due and due to Him alone And this may be a main Reason why Men professing the Name of Christ are so generally strangers to Faith and Holiness They do not seek it at the hands of Christ as a part of His purchase according to John 5. 40. 2. In stead of laying a foundation for Faith and an help to believing the General Doctrine nuzzles the Soul in its unbelief upon a presumption of Power in himself to believe
free in Giving and Applying the Means to bring-about the End it hath chosen us to For if the Effect of the Means should depend upon somthing to be done by Men which Grace is not the Doer of then works would put-in for a share in the glory of Mens salvation and so the Grace of God would be dethron'd and be as if it were not Grace is no more Grace as is argued in Rom. 11. 6. III. III. Spiritual blessings must be given freely and of pure Grace because the Natural Man cannot perform any such Act as might be Motive for such a gift Things materially good they may doe as Cain in offering the first fruits but not acceptable because not done in the due manner that is in Faith the want of which makes Incense it self an abomination Isa 1. 13 14. If without Faith it be impossible to please God then it must be impossible to doe ought asore you believe that may move God to give you Faith Salvation is promised to Faith Remission of sins to Repentance The blessed vision to Purity of heart But we find not these Graces promised to any Act or Qualification inferiour to 2 Tim. 1. 9. Tit. 3. 5. or precedeing the Graces themselves Our holy Calling and the washing of Regeneration we are not entit'led-to by works of our own IV. IV. If any of the Requisites to Salvation should be given upon conditions Reason would it should be That which in worth and virtue containeth all the Rest and without which the Rest had never been or been of none effect And that is Our Lord Jesus Christ of whom it is said That all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily Coll. 2 9. Joh. 1. 16. Rom. 5 8. and that Out of His Fullness all Grace is received The giving of whom was the most superlative commendation of God's love to Men and is therefore termed That Gift of God Ioh. 4. 10. And as touching the Free and Vnconditionate giving of Christ we have an authentic Record in Gen. 3. 15. It shall bruise thy head Which words doe contain an Absolute free Promise to send the Son of God in the Nature of Man to be a Redeemer And we evidently know That His actual coming and performance thereof was not suspended upon any good thing to be done by Men How could it when after the Fall they did not nor could doe any thing but what might turn His heart against them For evidence hereof We need not go out of the Context Doe but observe the First Adam's Carriage and the Manner of it just afore the Promise was made First They believe the Serpent rather than God Then they break the Commandment of life when they had neither need nor occasion so to do This done and finding themselves lost they do not so much as seek after God for help but rather to hide themselves from Him so farr from confessing themselves faulty that they charge God foolishly and shift the blame of their miscarriage upon Him The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me she gave me of the Tree And the Serpent which also is a Creature of thy Making he beguiled me c. Here 's nothing in their deportment that looks like the Motive of such a Promise But tho they Run from God He will not so part with them yea He follows them finds them out and for a door of hope freely pronounceth this gracious Promise of sending One to destroy this old serpent the Devil and consequently the Serpentine Nature that had now instill'd and Mingled it self with theirs It is the first promulgation of the Gospel and speaks with as much absoluteness as words can express It Shall bruise thy head This I shall stand the more upon because it is the First that was made in Time and That out of which all following Promises are educed The intent of this Promise was Adam's Recovery and Comfort who doubtless at this time was in a very disconsolate Condition as lying under a fresh sense of the happiness he had lost and the wofull estate he was now plunged into And therefore 't was necessary if Adam shall have Comfort by it that the terms thereof be altogether free and Absolute For suppose them to be Conditional as namely If Adam shall now repent and Convert himself If he shall better improve a second stock or rather the cankered Remnant of that he had at first My Son Then shall come into this lower World to still that Enemy and Avenger His life shall go for thy life I will be friends with thee and restore thee to thy first Estate All this and more of this kind had yielded but little comfort or hope to a guilty and defiled Conscience who found himself not onely naked and wholly bereft of his Primitive Righteousness but at enmity with his Creatour and a bondslave to Satan For such Reasonings as these would have broke-in like a floud to bear-down and stifle all hopes of future success viz. If when I was in so blessed a state and endued with power to keep it upon so slight a temptation I yeilded and fell How should I Rise now I am down and my strength is gon If when I had freedom of Will and stood upright so easily I warp'd into crooked paths How can I hope to Return and do better now my Will is perverted and bent to a contrary course If whilst I had eyes in my head and saw things with cleerness I yet lost my way and wandred How should I think to recover it being now both sadly bewildred and my eyes put-out How should I bring a clean thing out of an unclean who kept not my heart clean when it was so How should I gain more with fewer talents who ran my self out of all when I had abundantly more Grapes will not grow upon Thorns nor Figgs on Thistles Nay were my Primitive'state restored agen on the former terms I could not expect to keep it having this wofull experience of so causless and dreadfull an Apostacy c. It was therefore importantly necessary that this first Promise made upon so great and solemn an occasion and bearing in it all the hopes and comforts of God's People to Eternity should be thorowly free and absolute and not depend in the least upon any good thing to be done by Men as a condition of it And if Christ be given freely there 's good ground of arguing thence the free-giving of lesser things as doth the Apostle in Rom. 8 He that spared not His Son how shall He not with Him freely give us all things Math. 6. 25. Is not the life more than meat Is not Christ more than Faith and all Grace Has God given us the flesh of His Son which is Meat indeed and will He not restore our withered hand to receive it It cannot be especially considering That this may be done with a Word and without This the Other would be lost and as water
1 Chr. 29. 14. sayes he and what is my People that we should be able to offer thus willingly For all things are of Thee He acknowledgeth their Willingness to offer to be as much of God as the Offering it self And Paul having laboured more abundantly than all the Apostles puts from himself the honour of it 1 Cor. 15. 10. Not I but the Grace of God that was with Me. Three or four Things in seeking for spiritual blessings be sure to keep still in your mind 1. That you must be Nothing in your self New Wine is not for old bottles The Bottles must first be Vndone and made-up Anew Math. 9. 17. Or els The Wine will be spilt and the bottles perish All your imaginary Righteousness Wisdom Strength c. must be parted from you And to part with them is as necessary as to leave your Made-ground and build on the firm Rock 2. That Spiritual Blessings are a Gift and will not admit of any Plea which may seem to make them Wages What the Scriptures hold-forth as a Motive with God That you may plead and that is His Name And indeed Nothing els is pleadable at the Throne of Grace Esteem not your self the better for what you may carry with you Think not to be accepted because of your present It is not your Money nor your double money in your hand that Isa 55. 1. will fetch you Corn from Above tho it may from Egypt Silver and Gold Joh. 7. 37. Works and Worthiness are of no value at the Mint of Free-Grace There it is and Thence ye must have whatever may render you welcom at the Court of Heaven 3. Be not over-solicitous how you shall speed Nor think you shall fare the worse for coming in so tatter'd and pittiful a Condition Free Grace is Compassionate Rich Bountiful you are not the less welcom because you bring Nothing The best qualification is to finde your self ill-qualified Empty Hungry Poor Naked Blinde Miserable Electing-love hath provided Enough and More Not bread and water onely though these are very welcom to an hungring and thirsty soul but Wine and Milk Wine on the lees Isa 25. 6. Rev. 19. 8. A feast of fat things Not Aprons made of fig-leaves or Coats of Beasts-skins but Long Robes of Linnen fine and white money made of Leather or base Mettal that would burthen One to carry a Month's provision of it But Gold Rev. 3. 18. and of That the finest and tryed in the fire which hath nothing of Dross or Cankering Rust adhering to it And if thou have but little look on that little as an Earnest of More To him that hath shall be given Is 42. 3. Altho' thou be but smoaking flax He will not quench thee 4. Be sure you leave not Out your Mediatour the Lord Jesus Christ Electing love doth All in Him and so must you Ask all in His Name and then say Lord He is Worthy for whose sake Thou shouldest doe this And withall Take heed of Patching Joyn not Law and Grace together lest the Rend be made worse The Righteousness wherein you must appear before God is not made-up of divers sorts and peeces partly His and partly your own but a Seamless Vesture wrought throughout of one kinde of substance and by One hand In this you may appoach with boldness and touch the top of the Golden Scepter VI. Infer VI. Having so Firm and Impregnable a Rock to found your faith upon why should the Greatest of Difficulties even the power of Innate Corruption Discourage any Soul from Casting it self upon Electing love As that which is perfectly Able and the very design of it is To Subdue iniquity as well as to pardon it It chose us not because we were or would be Holy Eph. 1. 4. but That we might be so And to that End Undertakes the whole of our Work for us It is between us and Sin as it was between Israel and the Canaanites Untill the Lord began to Drive they did not stirr They were Gyants too big for Grass-hoppers to deal with Had iron Charets and Cities walled up to Heaven And yet that Company of Grass-hoppers turn'd them out And this because the Lord who gave them that Land was in the head of them He went before them and cut-out their way for them Whiles He drove they were driven When He ceased Psal 44. 2 3. Exod. 23. 28. the work stood-still Nay His own People were Routed and put to the worse And we shall find both Moses and Joshua still using Arguments fetch'd from the Covenant that God had made with them by which alwayes they were Supported Let us do likewise Make Election our All Our Bread Water Munition of Rocks and what ever els we can suppose to Want Here we are sure of Supply and Safety It 's a Tower that 's really walled up to Heaven A Never-to-be-emptied Cloud of Mannah and a Jacob's Well that is Never dry 'T is deep indeed and you have Nothing to draw-with yet be not disheartned Stay by it and the Well it self will Rise-up to you Numb 21. 17. rather than you shall want VII Infer VII Having done all you can and in the midst of your Doing Walk humbly as living on Another's bounty Assume not to your self but ascribe the whole of your Salvation and of all the Conducements thereto to Electing Grace and hang-on that Root alone Even Faith it self as it is the Believers act is not to be Rested in Nor to share in this Glory We may say of Faith as he to Foelix Acts 24. 2 3. By thee we enjoy much quietness but the honour thereof chiefly belong'd to Caesar who gave them that Governour Give unto Faith its due Accept alwaies and in all places the benefits you have by it with all thankfullness For it does you many good Offices and you cannot live without it Onely in the Throne let Grace be above it For That 's the Potentate which puts Faith in that Capacity and maintains it there And the truth is True Faith is best contented with its proper place To this End the Lord tells His People It was not their Sword nor their Bow that drove out their Enemies But say some It was the Sword and Bow which God put into their hands and which they Manfully employed No God will not have Men arrogate so much to themselves Psal 60. 12. Judges 7. 2. but to acknowledge It is God that subdues our enemies under us The People with Gideon He reckons too many to give the Midianites into their hands Lest they should Vaunt themselves against Him Faith and other Graces are Mighty onely through God As they are His Workmanship so 't is He onely can keep them Going as a Watch or other Engine cannot wind-up it self To frame a Perpetual Motion no Man hath ever attain'd No not in trifling Matters As thou hadst no hand in changing thy heart at first So neither
that this Power belongs to God no other Reason needs be assign'd but that He is God and there is nâ—ne besides him There can be no more because 1 There can be but one Infinite for such a being fils Heaven and Earth and so no place or room for another 2 There can be but one Omnipotent For He that is such hath all others under his feet Besides where One can do all more would be impertinent 3 There can be but one Supream Supream power may reside in Many as in mixt Monarchies and Common-wealths but as Law-makers and Supream they are but One. 4 There can be but one first Cause from which all being else derive their Original and that is this blessed One we are speaking of Of whom and for whom are all things 1 Cor. 8. 6. And if he be the Author of all he needs must have a Sovereign Right and Power to determine all as to their being so also to their Order Efficacy and End It is a Truth so natural and obvious to Reason it self that other proof seems as needless as that the Sun is the fountain of light Nor shall I suppose that any who will read this discourse can so far forget themselves to be Creatures as to seek a proof of their Creators Sovereignty The things that are seen so loudly proclaiming his Eternal power and Godhead But since with our easy admitting the Notion it is none of the smallest difficulties to own it in our practise and bear our selves answerably towards him Since also so huge a weight is born on the shoulders of this Supream Attribute and our souls are so highly concern'd in the interest and influences of it it needs must be our duty and well worthy our time to look or the Instances of it and to mark and consider them well as things greatly importing our Instruction whereby we may know something of the Greatness of that God in whose hands our souls are as also of our infinite distance from him and nothingness to him and so with the more humbleness of mind and self-abasement as also with the more Faith and Creature-like affiance submit unto him and bear our selves upon him To this end the Scriptures have inrolled divers Ensignes of Sovereignty by which as by so many footsteps we are led to the Absolute Will and Power of God as the Cause and Ruler of all The Great Act of Sovereignty was Gods Decree for making the World and of doing or permitting to be done what ever should be in it to the folding of it up The Heavens and the Earth and all the hosts of them as yet had no being It was at his pleasure whether he would make them or not And if he would what being he would give them to what End and how that end should be accomplished And that these were all ascertain'd by the Decree is evident For known unto God were all his works which he would do in time from the beginning of the World Acts 15. 18. The scheme and substance whereof and I hope without intrusion may be drawn to this effect That the Great God being infinitely good and blessed in himself was also infinitely prompt and well-pleased to Communicate of that his blessedness To which end he designed to raise up Creatures Angels and Men That for the manifestation of his Sovereignty He would confirm a certain number of those Angels in their primitive state leaving the rest to themselves Who falling from that state should be cast down and reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day That in this lower World he would set up the first Man to be the head and Representative of all that should come of him That this single person should be created in the Image of God fit to enjoy Communion with him and endued with power to abide therein That to manifest the weakness of Creatures and their perpetual dependence upon God he would thus leave him to his first stock and being so left the fallen Angeâ— tempting him to disobedience and also prevailing both himself and all his posterity by this Revolt should fall under the curse That for the declaration of his Sovereign Grace He would and accordingly did choose a certain number of Adam's posterity and ordain them to eternal life And to make known the power of his wrath and his just displeasure against sin he would leave the Rest in that state of perdition they would bring themselves into That of these Vessels of wrath Satan himself whom they chose to follow should be the Head and Ruler as also over them that were Elected for a time viz. until the Messiah their true and proper Head and into whom he had chosen them should rescue them out of his power That to this end and that he might also be known to be just as well as Merciful in justifying of them the Son of God should take on him the place of a second Adam and come into the world with an humane body In which he should fullfil all Righteousness and by the infinite virtue and merit of his death should satisfy the Law in all its demands destroy the Devil dissolve his works and Reconcile the Elect unto God That he should be raised again from the dead and invested with all power befitting the Captain of their Salvation and so might effectually minister to them whatever should be requisite for bringing those his Sons to glory This I take to be the sum of God's Decree the Great Ensigne or Standard Royal of Sovereignty whereof all the other Ensigns are Effects or consequents and subordinate thereto The first visible Ensign of Sovereignty was Creation or God's giving the World an actual existence in time according to his Decree from everlasting Bringing that huge yet void and formless Mass at first out of Nothing and then this glorious fabrick out of that Confusion His hanging the Earth upon nothing His assigning to every sort of Creatures Job 26. 7. such Form and Station Order Use and Efficacy and impressing on them such Laws and Instincts of nature as seemed him good which also was effected by his word what he would was done with that immediate suddenness as if the things themselves had proceeded with his breath Ps 33. 9. Gen. 1. 3. v. 9. Ps 104. 3. The instant production of light The waters seperating from the other Elements and gathering into a body and their going up and down to the place He had sounded for them with many others of which ye have an Index in the first of Genesis are witnesses of it as also His so fixing this ' stablishment that they continue this day according to his Ordinance Ps 119. 91. Consequent to this as a second Ensign of Sovereignty is that universal Providence by which the Creation is sustained and all inferiour Causes guided to their designed End and this notwithstanding all supposeable accidents which might possibly come between to obstruct or divert them And that
does He does it Freely without respect to Mens desert Nay their Vndesert rather is an expedient Consideration in this Act of Grace By Works I understand All that Self-Righteousness Goodness Conformity to the Law Or what ever else is performable by Men. These viz Grace and Works he proves as inconsistent as Contraries can be and that the least Mixture would vary the kind If but a sâ—ruple of Works be taken in Grace is no more Grace For to him that worketh is the Reward not reckoned of Grace but of Debt Rom. 4. 4. Grace and Faith are well agreed These both have the same scope and end But Rom. 4. 4. Grace and Works have always Clash'd The setting up of the One is the deposing of the other Either the Ark must Out or Dagon down One Temple cannot hold them both Rom. 3. 28. To the same effect is the drift of that discourse in Gal. 5. It appears from Acts 15. 1. That some there were who taught a Necessity of Circumcision as without which they could not be saved Pretty willing they were to admit of Christ so they might joyn Circumcision with Him and keeping the Law of Moses But this dangerous daubing with things unmixable our holy Apostle could not brook both as reflecting on the honour of his Master and undermining their onely Foundation And therefore to keep them from or bring them off that perillous Quick-sand he tells them expresly These two cannot stand together in that matter For if they be Circumcised they are Debtors to the whole Law and Christ is become of none effect to them because they are fallen from Grace It is as if he had said If you take in any part though never so little of Legal Observances as Necessary to your being Justified ye forfeit the whole benefit of Gospel-Grace The Grace of Christ is sufficient for you He is a Saviour Compleat in Himself and if you look though but a squint at any thing else it is a Renouncing of Him He will be Saviour altogether or not at all And therefore he tells them again and that with a kind of vehemency Gall. 5. 2. That if they be Circumcised Christ shall profit them Nothing And as a Man may not put in his Claim for Justification on accompt of his Works so neither of his Faith as if That were Mâ—terially or Influentially Causal of Justification For Faith it self as it is the Believers Act comes under the Notion of a Work Let us therefore Consider What part it is that Faith holds in this Matter least whiles we cast out Works as not standing with Grace we make a Work of Faith It is Faith's Office to make the Soul live wholly on Another and to Renounce Self ability as much as Self desert To apprehend that Righteousness by which Grace Justifies Not onely to be Justified thereby upon your Believing but to work in you even that Faith by which you apprehend it Isa 45. 24. answerable to that of the Prophet In the Lord have I Righteousness and Strength He that will be Saved must come as an ungodly Person to be justified freely by the Grace of God He must reckon himself an Vngodly Man to the very instant of his Justification True it is The Just shall live by Faith but 't is also true That it is not their own Faith or act of believing that they live by though not without it Which also seems the Apostle's meaning where he sayes The life which I now live I live by the Faith of the Son of God Where note That as Faith is the life of a Believer so Christ is the life of his Faith I live saith he yet not I but Christ liveth in Me Christ was his life and he lived on Christ by virtue of Christ's living in him Notwithstanding all which it is evidently true and must constantly be affirm'd That Grace and Works will still be together in the way of Salvation the one doth not extinguish or exclude the other Only not as Collegues or Joint-Causers thereof But rather as a Workman and his Tooles which himself first makes and then workes with them By Grace ye are saved through Faith Eph. 2. 8. and that not of your selves it is the Gift of God Even this believing or Acting faculty is a Creature of Grace's raising up and therefore in the Throne 't is meet that Grace should be above it Works therefore how good soever are not the Cause of Salvation and if so then not the cause of Election for This indeed is the Cause of them both And Works if right and truly Good will alwayes be ready to own their Original and to keep in their own place Where also they will be most considerable and do the best service III. Arg. 3. That the good pleasure of God's Will gives Rise and Foundation to Election is further argued from Men's Incapacity to afford any ground or Motive to God for such a Gift Adam stood not so long as to beget a Son in his first Image It is sâ—en by his first-born Cain what all his natural Sâ—ed would naturally be And though there be some that do Magnifie Man and presume to speak of him at another rate yet evident it is by Scripture-light and experience of those Renewed That Man fallen is poâ—r blind Naked and at enmity with all that is truly good and that he is never more Remote and farr off from God than whiles in high thoughts of himselfe Glorying in his own Understanding Strength Worthyness Freedom of Will Improvement of Common Grace and the like For These make him proud and presumptuous and to have slight thoughts of that special and peculiar Grace by which he must if ever be Renewed and Saved But the Lord Himself who best knows him reports the matter quite otherwise and we know that His witness is true viz. That all the imaginations of their heart are onely evil continually Gen. 6 5. That their inward part is very wickedness Ps 53. 1. That every Man is brutish in his knowledge Jer 10 14 ver 8 21. Altogether brutish and foolish yea even their Pastours that is the very best and most intelligent amongst them Ch 4. 22. Eccles. 91 3. They are wise to do evil but to do good have no understanding And their hearts are full of madness And it was not thus only with the Gentile Nations who were left to walk in their own way but even with the Jews Isa 5. 4. who had all the means of becoming better that could be devised Excepting that of special Electing Grace which took-in but a Remnant They were called Jews Rested in the Law Made their boast of God Knew His Will Approved the things that were excellent Were confident that they were a Guide of the blind and a light to them that were in darkness Instructors of the foolish Teachers of Babes And yet all this while and in the midst of all these high attainments did not
Inference It also imports Matter of Duty from us When Princes conferr titles of honour lands or Immunities They use to reserve some kind of Rent or other acknowledgment To mind their Subjects though Favourites of whom they hold You have no such way of Owning your great Benefactour Nor no such Means of being Considerable in the World as by bearing the badge and impress of Him who gave you this Name of honour Let His Name therefore be Named upon you Carry His Name in your bosom bear it on your Shoulders and the Palms of your hands Let the Choyce of your Affections The Chief of your Strength and the whole of your Activity be employed for His honour Let every thing you do bear an Impression of Him whose Name is Holy Then from the Antiquity of Election I. Inference Let the Ancientness of Electing love draw up our hearts to a very dear and honourable esteem of it Pieces of Antiquity though of base Mettal and otherwise of little use or value how venerable are they with learned Men And ancient Charters how carefull are Men to preserve them although they contain but Temporary priviledges and sometimes but of Trivial Moment How then should the Great Charter of Heaven so much Elder than the World and Containing Matters of Eternal Weight and Glory Which also hath been confirm'd by so many Promises Exemplified by Multitudes of Cases with a Seal affix'd more precious than Heaven it self All which proclaim The Eternal Validity of it How should this I say be had in everlasting Remembrance and the thoughts thereof be very precious to us Lying down Rising up and all the day long Accompanying of us And how carefull should we be Not onely to keep this Charter uncancelled but also to keep it clean from all sorts of Dust and soil by which the legibleness thereof might any way be obscured to our selves or Others II. Inference Let Election's Eternal Origine be an Argument for Its Eternal Duration and so of the Saints Invincible Perseverance to Glory That which is from Everlasting shall be to Everlasting If the Root be Eternal so are the Brancâ—es Surely For this good End among others is it twice recorded in the Revelation Rev. 13. 8 That Their Names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the World Namely Ch 17. 8. To signifie and assure That the Elect shall be safely and surely kept from those dreadful Apostacies which the Rest of the world shall fall into And hence perhaps it is That we read of Nothing done in Eternity but Election and things peculiar thereto as the Promise of Eternal life The Lamb slain The Kingdom prepared c. Election is an Eternal Fountain that never leavs Running whiles a Vessel is empty or capable of holding more and it stands open to all Comers Therefore come and if ye have not sufficient of your own Go and borrow Vessels Empty Vessels not a Few Pay your debts out of it and live on the Rest to Eternity V. From the Doctrine of Choâ—sing in Christ I. Inference It is an high Demonstration of God's love to His Chosen Ones We may say of it as Huram to Solomon Because the Lord loved His People 2 Chr. 2. 11. He set His Son over them It is also an eminent proof of His Manifold Wisdom To Contrive the blessedness of His people in such a Manner as should most Certainly secure their obtainment of it Most signally illustrate His love to them and so most affectionately winn upon their hearts and oblige them to Himself for ever We may hence also discern somthing of that Immense Greatness and Holiness of God That though He so loved His Elect Joh 17. 21. as to make them One in Himself That Union could not be admitted without a Mediatour equal with Himself II. Inference Gather hence your stability and safety What ever streight or difficulty you are Entring upon Drink of this Brook in the way and lift up your head What ever pertains to life and Godliness Grace and Glory This life and That to come is all layed up in Christ As all sorts of Food in the Ark for those who found Grace in His sight All Fullness dwells in him and that for you He is not onely a Root stable in himself but stablishing to you Communicating sap and spirit to all his Branches Whiles there is life in Him you cannot die This is That makes the Saints stand Firm and sacred in the midst of dangers 1 Joh 5. 18. The evil one touchâ—th them not Let all the Rebell-Crew of adversaries Satan the World your own evil hearts associate themselves and take Counsel together it all comes to nought Let their Asaults be Renewed again and again they are still beaten off They gird themselves and are broken in pieces They gird again and again they are broken in pieces Thus it is and thus it shall be Isa 8. 9. to the end of our Warfare For God is with us This was it made David fearless even in the valley of the shadow of death Ps. 23. 4 The Lord was with him And those three Noble Confessors they walked secure in the fiery furnace Dan. 3. 25. 27. because the Son of God was Among them Therefore Do All Suffer All and Expect All as being in Christ and not otherwise But woe to him that is alone who when he falls hath not Christ to help him up III. Inference Let this your Relation to Christ be evidenced by your Likeness to him He that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit The holy Oyl that was poured on your Head runs down to the Skirts of His Garmâ—nâ—s i. e. to the very meanest of His Followers and they carry a-long the precious scent with them where ever they go or should do as Paul did 2 Cor. 2. 14. It is natural to those married to Christ to bring forth fruit unto God and see it be such as will abide the Test Rom 7. 4. Endure all sorts of weather and be bettered by it IV. Inference This Doctrine illustrates That of Justification as shewing Wherein the true Matter of Justfying Righteousness doth consist and How it comes to be Ours Our Faith or Act of Believing cannot be the Matter of it for that it is an imperfect thing and so cannot be Reckoned in the place of perfect Righteousness For It must be a Righteousness perfectly perfect that Justifies as it was a sin sinfully sinfull that Condemn'd This Righteousness also must be our own and is in a way of Right as Adam's sin also was though perform'd in the person of Another Christ and Adam being Paralels in their Head-ship the imputation of the One's Guiltiness and of the other's Righteousness are Righteously applyed to their respective seeds And this was a Main end of the Lord 's Putting Those He would Justifie into Christ That He being made sin and a Curse for them They
His Soul an Offering for sin He should see His seed Or it may be intended of both 2 The Righteousness of Christ is concerned in it two ways 1 As the Meriting or procuring Cause thereof and so this Faith belongs of Right to every one He died for according to Phil. 1. 29. Or 2 As He is that faithful Servant who gives to every One according as He hath received of the Father for them In all which respects it evidently flows from Election To confirm which he says expresly in his former Epistle That they were Elected unto Obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1. 2. So in the 1 to the Ephes The Mystery of His Will is said to be Made known to them Eph. 1. 9. According to His good pleasure which He had purposed in Himself The same Intendment we have in the Corinths The preaching of the Gospel is to them that perish 1 Cor. 1. 18. foolishness but to Vs who are Saved it is the Power of God And in Timothy Who hath Saved us and Called us with an Holy Calling In both places Saving is put afore Calling and then it must be afore Faith And how Men are Saved before they Believe unless by Election or Redemption which is commensurate with Election doth not appear to us To this purpose 't is further Observable that in Rom. 8. the Apostle sets Predestination afore Calling as in Timothy and the Corinths he doth Saving And in Rom. 9. He puts Calling in a tense subsequent to Election or Preparing unto Glory Ro. 9. 23 24. The Apostle Jude his sentence also accords with it He directs his Epistle To them that are Sanctified by God the Father Jude 1. And Preserved in Jesus Christ and Called Where by Sanctified he means Elected separated or set apart In this sense the word is used elsewhere where it will not admit of any other Exod. 31. 13 I am the Lord that doth Sanctifie you And more plainly in Numb 8. 17 All the First-born of the Children of Israel are Mine On the day that I smote every First-born in the Land of Egypt I Sanctified them for my self Here no other thing but Choosing Selecting or Setting apart can be intended And I see no Reason why it should not be so understood in that of Jude And it is termed an Holy Calling Not only as it Calleth us to Holiness but as it is Sacred Peculiar Set apart and appropriated to an Holy People viz. Those whom the Lord hath set apart for Himself Whose Eternal Sanctifying them in His Decree was the Original Cause of their being Sanctified Actually He loved them with an Everlasting love and therefore with loving kindness doth He draw them Jer. 31. 3. And this their Actual Sanctification is so indubitable a Consequent of the Decretive and so Appropriate to the same persons that the same word is used for both as it is also for Redemption For their sakes says Christ I Sanctify my Self Joh. 17. 19. A lightsom Instance of this we have in Numb 11. 26. Eldad and Medad though they came not up to the Tabernacle with their Brethren yet being of them that were Written the Spirit came-upon them and they Propheâ—ied in the Camp Election finds out Men when they think not of it So the Lord first Determines Jeremy to his Office Jer. 1. 9â— Then puts-forth His hand and fits him for his Work Even Christ Himself was first appointed to His Mediatory Office Isa 61. 1. And then the Spirit came upon Him because so appointed Quer. In the 1 John 16. it is said That to them which Received Him He gave power to bâ—come the Sons of God which seems to put their believing before their Sonship Sol. Albeit that Faith goes afore the Manifestation of our Sonship yet not afore our Sonship it self The Adoption of Sons is That we were Predestinated-to before the foundation of the World Eph. 1. 4 and 5. That therefore in John must be understood with that of Moses when he pleads with God for His presence with His People So shall we be separated from all the People that are on the face of the Earth Not Exod. 33. 13. that this Separation was Now to be made It was done afore Deut. 7. 6. Levit. 20. 24. But his meaning is That by the Lord 's going with them this their Separation should be Manifested The same sense of the word ye have in Matthew 5 Matth. 5. 44. Love your Enemies Bless them that Curse you That ye may be that is that ye may appear to be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven v. 45. In like Manner We become the Sons of God by Faith Gall. 3. 26. The budding of Aaron's Rod was not the Cause of God's Choosing him to the Priesthood Numb 17. 5. Acts 1. 24 26. Nor the falling of the Lot upon Saul and afterwards upon Matthias the Reason Why God designed them the One to the Kingdom and the other to the Apostleship They were both appointed before and those Events were but the Effects of that their fore-appointment and Evidences of it So the Giving of the Spirit is that which follows Election Because Sons Gall. 4. 6. God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts Although the Manifestation of our Adoption and our actual enjoyment of its privileges Eph. 1. 4 5 9 11 are in time yet the Thing it self is from Everlasting Pursuant to this our Saviour manifests the Father's name to the Men He had given Him out of the World Joh. 17. 6 8. ch 10. 26 27. And These receive it The Sheep hear his voice and follow Him Of others he saith expresly Ye believe not because ye are not of my Sheep ch 8. 47. He that is of God heareth God's word ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God The same Reason He gives for His different Ministration towards His own Mat. 13. 11. and Others To the One it was given to know the Mysteries of the kingdome of God To the other it was not given And therefore having ended His parables He dismisses the Multitude as having noe more for them but to His Disciples He expoundeth every thing in private and ye see He puts it upon Election as that which had invested them with this prerogative above the Rest To you it is given i. e. It belong'd to them by God's Donation and appointment They are first Saints by Election Then Saints by Calling When Christ appeared to Paul going to Damascus they that were with Him were all in a Maze A voyce they heard but knew not what it spake Why so since they were as likely to yield as he Truly it was not intended for them and therefore their Ears were not boared Nor the speech directed to them but to Paul and to Paul by Name But why to Paul above the Rest since he was the Ringleader and Chief
they are falling Or He so Orders and limits the matter that they fall not into mischief Hos 14. 4. as others do And to be sure He 'l set them on their feet agen The Absolute Promise cannot be Null'd or discertain'd by Cautionary words elsewhere delivered Gal. 3. 17. It cannot therfore by meant of a Total and Final falling away which the Scripture-Current expresly Runs against 2. There are Considerations enough and of great weight Why Believers should take heed of Falling without supposing a Total loss of their Faith The breaking of a Man's bones is ground sufficient for such a Caution altho' he be sure that his Neck shall be safe The dishonour done to his Father The shame that is put upon Christ Grieving the Comforter Scandalizing the good ways of God stumbling the Weak Strengthening the Wicked The unfitting of him for his duty Interrupting his Peace and Communion with God c. Every of which will weigh deep with a soul that is born of God 3. The Lord brings-about His Purposes for most part by Means Of which Cautions are a part and by which as a Means He keeps-off the evill Caution'd-against In the 1 John 2. 28. the Apostle exhorts them to abide in Christ whom certain Professors had relinquished v. 19. And as purposely intending to obviate this objection he tells them That they shall abide in him v. 27. Whereby he strengthens them to their duty For the other place objected viz. Look to your selves that we lose not the things we have wrought It is one thing to lose for a time the Sense and Comfort of Our state as David Heman and Others did and another thing to lose the state it self which a Believer shall never do as is shewn afore Of much like Import is that in 2 Pet. 1. 5 6 7 8 9. verses where he exhorts them To give all diligence to add one Grace to another And to help them in their work he tells them 1. What advantages they shall have by their So-doing They shall not be unfruitfull in the knowledge of Jesus Christ i. e. It shall evidence to them that the knowledge ledge they have is a real knowledge which cannot be known from that which is formal only but by such an effect That also by this Means it shall be increased The using of things well and to their proper End being the readiest way to their Improvement according to john 7. 17. He that will do my Will shall know of my Doctrine 2. He then sets afore them the loss they shall have in case they neglect this great Duty of Adding Grace to Grace They will become blind that is Unable to see afarr off And forget That they were purged from their old sins that is Their Remisness in this duty will bring obscurity upon their Evidences That which was cleer to them afore will Now become Clouded and be as if it were not It may seem to them That they are short of that Rest Heb. 4. 1. which yet is sure to them And so they 'l be put to begin their work Anew Whereas if they do these things they shall never fall i. e. They shall not fall from their stedfastness Nor lose that cleer sight and assurance which now they have touching their good estate viz. as being partakers of the Divine Nature and Purged from their old Sins Which those Neglects might put out of their sight and so lose them the sense and comfort of what they had wrought We read in John 6. 60. That many of Christ's disciples forsook him In Timothy Of some who as concerning the Faith had made Shipwreck And of Simon Magus who once believed and was afterwards found in the bond of Iniquity The Objection has an intire Answer made-ready to its hand 1 Tim. 1. 19. Acts 8. 13 23. in 1 John 2. 19. They went out from us because they were not of us For if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us Seeming Faith may really be lost as theirs was And Real Faith may Seemingly be lost as was the Apostles Luke 24. 21. Heb. 4. 1. Seeming Faith is really lost Phil. 1. 18. Rom. 2. 20. 1 Tim. 6. 5. because it was but Seeming Real Faith cannot be lost because it is Real Yet we shall find That that which is but seeming is frequently call'd by the name of that it seems to be As in Matth. 13. 12. It is said That which he hath In Luke 8. 18 speaking of the same thing it is rendred That which he Seemeth to have So those who forsook Christ they were disciples but in shew They never believed in truth as appeares by the 64 verse of the 6. John Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not And this viz. because it was but a seeming faith they had He gives as the Reason of their Now-forsaking Him As for Simon Magus the Answer is as cleer concerning him where let us consider 1. That a Man may be said to believe and yet not be a Believer As a Rightâ—ous Man To Sin and yet not be a Sinner To be a Believer is to be thorow-paced in faith To believe all that is to be believed and to have the heart united to it Thus Simon believed not and if he had he could not have thought the Holy Ghost vendible for Money 2. His faith seems to be onely such a belief concerning Philip as the Samaritans sometimes had concerning Simon viz. Acts 8. That he was the great power of God For finding himself over-matcht by Philip who cast-out the Spirits which he perhaps had possessed them with he could not now but give the precedency to Philip as having a greater power than himself and therefore he continued with Philip wondring at what he did v. 13. 3. Simon 's believing might be only an outward professional faith taken-up for by-respects which may well be supposed to preserve his interest and repute among the people who now began to fall from him and to follow Philip whose disciple he himself will profess to be rather than be quite cashier'd Besides this profession of his might in his conceit be a step towards his purchasing the gift of the Holy Ghost which if he could obtain he had then been agen in as good a Condition for reputation and profit as before If any would say We read not of this distinction of faith into true and false I answer The Scripture frequently speaks of persons and things according to Vulgar Esteem or what they professâ—d themselves to be 2 Chr. 28. 23. Ahaz is said To Sacrifice to the Gods of Damascus that smote him and yet neither were they Gods nor did they smite him but it 's spoke according to his own superstitious opinion of them So those 400 Men who prophecied afore Ahab 1 King 22. 6. They are called Prophets Not that they were so indeed but because they So professed themselves or because So reputed
fast his Integrity Job 13. 15. This is a Love more Noble and of an higher Extract than those are acquainted with who Conclude That upon their doing This and That which they suppose every Man hath power to do they shall be saved For such kinde of love is Mercenary He will not stirr Nor look towards the Vinyard until he have agreed for his penny which yet he is not Content with when he has it The Other goes in and falls to his Work and leaves to his Master to give him What is meet which also he leaves to his Master's Judgment Mat. 20. 2 7 and 10. and not his Own and truly he speeds ne'r the worse for his so doing But I would not be taken to intend a Contentation or Willingness to be destroyed This I hope is cleared afore under the first general Head 2 Do you Own God's Sovereign Commands without disputing Abraham did thus in the business of Isaac although he could not see how the Promise of God and the killing of his Son could stand together And so will Abraham's Children do They know that their Lord is a Great King hath absolute Dominion and giveth accompt of none of his Matters What He is pleas'd to Command their duty is to obey without asking a Reason Why Or how will these things Consist Such demands they know become not the lips of those who live upon Grace 3 Doth your love towards God hold the same Course that His love hath done towards you All that God hath done or will do for His Chosen it is the Product of Electing love Does all your Obedience Rise from Love And does this love of yours grow out of His Is His Electing love the Root of it Is all that you do towards God in a way of Gratitude and with Designe to Glorifie His Grace And when the Lord seems to go from you Do ye follow the harder after Him As He for a long time followed you waiting That He might be Gracious unto you This is truly a God-like Love The eminency whereof lies in this That He loved us when enemies to Him and loved us into a likeness to Himself Answerable whereto we shall love Him Job 13. 15. even whiles our fears may apprehend Him to be our enemy And through the power of His Love secretly working in our hearts go on to love Him until the Glory of the Lord be Risen upon us You could not thus love God 1 Joh. 2. 19. if He had not loved you first 4 Do you Rejoyce in the thoughts of Electing love What it is and Whence it came What it hath designed you for and will bring you unto at last Is it your delight to Converse with the Book of Life And do you Rejoyce more That your Names are written in Heaven than if Devils were Subject to you When your flesh and your heart fail you do you look to Electing Love as your Strength and Portion and Count it a Goodly heritage Do you aim at That which Electing Love hath defigned you for and because so Designed If by any Means you may attain to it And are you better Satisfied to be at the Good Pleasure of God than at your own And bless his Wisdom and Grace for undertaking the disposure of your Eternal Interest Such fruit could not be but from that Seed of God Let me add a few Tokens more of True love according to the Carriage of it among Men. 1. He that loves Another will delight in his presence and seek Occasions of Conversing with him 2. Being absent he thinks much upon him and gives welcome entertainment to whatever may be a Remembrance of him 3. He will seek the Well-pleasedness of him who is the object of his love 1 By presenting things lovely to him 2 By avoiding whatever may disgust him 3 By a wary preventing or speedy removing what might give the Other occasion to be jealous of his love to him 4. He will Candidly Interpret whatever might seem a declining of the Others love to him And not be satisfied until it be recover'd or better understood II. Inference If you be of this happy Remnant of Election Then look for ill usage from the World Esau you know hated Jacob because of the blessing and so will the World you so soon as it comes to be discern'd Think it not strange John 15. 18 19. but take it as an Appendix of Election As a part of That you were Chosen unto And as That by which partly you must be fitted for the main End Heb 2 10. Your Lord Himself was made perfect through Sufferings And Those Foreknown were Predestinated to be Conformed to their Head Rom. 8. 38. ch 6. 5 in Suffering as well as Glory III. Inference Having trusted Electing love for Eternal Salvation see you distrust it not for things of lesser Moment When the Lord Ordained you to life He Ordained also All those various occurrences Windings and Turnings you should be exercised with in your way thither And 't is sure He does nothing in vain There is need of all sorts of weather for the Earth's good All-Fair would destroy it Know it therefore of a Truth that all your Concerns were Fore-determin'd of God and that so well as all your Prudence and love to your selves could not Mend it Nor can all your Care and Solicitude alter any of them either as to Matter or Form No Not to change the colour of an hair Matth. 6. 25. Therefore Take no thought But whence is it That Believers who have trusted God for their Souls should yet make so difficult of Trusting Him for their Outward Man And so Comber themselves with unprofitable burden Earthly things are nearer our Senses and thence we are more sensible of the Comfort of them as also of their want They also seem more within our line and Compass and so we Reach more earnestly after them and are answerably troubled when we fall shoâ—t Whereas we should carry it for Temporals as we do or should do rather for our Souls and Spiritual portion That is look to our present Duty Be diligent in our place and Content with such things as we have Heb. 13. 5. Bearing our selves as becomes the Children of such a Father so Rich Wise Bountiful Tender and Faithful to us Who always gives the best supply and That in the best Proportion Manner and Time Have therefore your Faith exercised As about the Greatest so also about the Smallest and Commonest Matters Use Grace and have Grace It is want of Vse makes lame of your right hand and Much using renders more useful Faith is the head of your Spiritual senses And if That be Active the Rest cannot be idle Nor much at a loss Faith also is a plain Dealer It represents things as they are Shews them in their true Dimensâ—ons with their use and end See therefore that you never hold a Consultation unless Faith be present yea and President
too Else All will be in disorder at once One Act of Faith shall sooner Remove the Mountain than all the Cattle on a Thousand hills Lastly Inference You that have closed with this Truth and having made diligent search do finde in your selves those Marks of God's Elect sit down and take the Comfort of it Let this Joy of the Lord be your strength Eat your bread and drink your wine or Water either with a Merry heart since God hath accepted you If David's heart was so taken with that love which chose him to be King afore the house of Saul how should our Souls be rapt into the third Heaven That We poor unworthy wretched We should be taken into that peculiar favour in which the generality of Men have nothing to do How should it affect our hearts Art thou of those who are Wise or Noble according to the flesh Be filled with an holy Amazement and exultation Rejoyce with trembling That the Great GOD to whom thou wast no more than others thy Consorts that are left and who commonly Chooses the base and foolish thereby to Magnifie His Grace should thus go out of His way to call in thee And hath also made His Call effectual to thee even then when thou wast inviron'd with a world of temptations to obstruct it And if thou be a Man of low degree poor weak foolish of no account among Men even as one that is Not and hath the Lord regarded thee in thy low estate and Magnified thee by setting His love upon thee Hath He taken thee from the dunghill to set thee among Princes even the Princes of the World to come This is that Exaltation which the poor should always Rejoyce in according to James 1. 9. Were you the head instead of being the tail Were the Necks of your enemies under your feet yea were the Devils themselves made subject to you It could not afford you the thousandth part of that Cause of Rejoycing as that your Names are written in Heaven Are other men prosperous in the world and free from trouble whiles you are reduc'd to a low estate and chastened every Morning Have perhaps but an handful of Meal and a little oyl in a Cruze c. yet think not your Portion Mean or hardly dealt out your good things are to come They are growing in the other World And at the time of harvest the Lord will send his Angels for you yea your Lord Himself will come and fetch you thither And you shall be for ever with Him In whose presence is fulness of joy and at whose Right hand are Rivers of pleasures for evermore And then you will Sing The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places At least say so Now. As Abraham dealt by his Concubines children so doth God by the Ishmaels of the world He gives them portions and sends them away But the Inheritance He reserves for His Isaacs To them He gives all that He hath yea even Himself And what can we have more OF REDEMPTION IN this Point we are equally concern'd with that of Election as the Great Comprehensive Means of bringing-about the Greatest End viz. the Glory of God in the Salvation of His Chosen That our Lord Jesus Christ hath a Body or Church to whom He is Head and Saviour is not supposed a Question But Who they are that do make-up this Body Whether the Whole of Mankind universally or Some particular Persons Whether He had in His death the same respect to All as to Some And whether Any of those he died for may miss of the benefits accruing by His death are questions of great Import and worthy a serious deliberation To Resolve which is the scope of the present Discourse The Substance whereof is in three Positions I. That the Body or Church of Christ consists of Elect Persons II. That for These it was that He laid down His life III. That the intent of His death cannot be frustrate For the I of These By this Body or Church of Christ I understand the Designed Subjects of his Spiritual Kingdom or Members of His Mystical Body to whom He was appointed by the Father to be Head and Saviour and They to stand related to Him as their Prophet Priest and King Which threefold office He bears peculiâ—rly towards the Elect The Church of the First-born and heirs of the World to come And of These doth His Body consist i. e. It is made-up of These exclusive to Others Their number is certain and intire and cannot be broken either by Addition or Diminution Of this the Tabernacle was a figure 1. In respect of its Symmetry or Proportion of parts which induced a singular beauty upon it Towards which Nothing could be added nor any thing abated 2. In that all the parts and Dimensions thereof were predetermined of God and not left in the least to humane Arbitrement or Contingency And these are expresly said to be Patterns of things in the Heavens Heb. 9. 23. ch 12. 23. that is Of the Heavenly Temple or Church of the First-born which are written There This Couclusion is drawn from sueh premises as these 1. In that our Lord and Saviour so manifestly shews Himself concern'd for the Elect as having some peculiar Interest and Propriety in them and charge of them With These his delights were from Everlasting Prov. 8. And as soon as they were actually in being He began His actual Converses with them and therein did even confine Himself to the Elect Seed With what unbelievable Patience and Goodness did He superintend the Church or Elect Nation Aâ—ts 7. 46 48. fourty years together in the Wilderness bearing them as on Eagles wings and tendring them as the Apple of His eye And when he dwelt upon Earth He went not beyond the bounds of the Holy Land where also all His delight was among the Saints Ps 16. 3. These He made his Consorts and Men of His Councel And when ye find Him with others it was for the Elect's sake that were among them How frequently and with what well-pleasedness doth He speak of These Professing His love to them and that according to the highest patern John 15. 9. As the Father bath loved Me so have I loved you And how great things He would do for them Not to the Halfing of His Kingdom Joh. 10. 15 16. ch 6. 40. but the laying down of His life for them Gathering them in Raising them up and giving them to sit with Him in His Throne Rev. 3. 21. But for the World He takes litle notice of them except with a kind of contempt and comination Let them alone Shake off the dust off your feet Joh. 7. 34. Give not that which is holy unto dogs c. Yea though they seek Him they shall not find Him Isa 65. 1. But for His Elect He is found of them even whiles they think not of Him The Instances of Matthew the Woman of Samaria the possessed
Balaam's curse into a blessing to Israel Phil. 1. 19. and Paul's afflictions to his salvation Luke 21. 28. They are to Them a Cause of lifting up the head And if it were not so the Apostle would never exhort us To count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations Jam. 1. 2. In the midst whereof 1 Sam 2. 9. He keepeth the feet of His Saints For surely sayes God They are my People Children that will not lye Isa 63. 8. i. e. They are of Those I have Chosen and set apart for my self and therfore they shall not frustrate my Purpose in Choosing-them which seems implyed in that word So So He was their Saviour q. d. I will Save them because I have made them my People And for further confirmation take Notice That this Sovereign Decree is alwaies Regnant Dan. 2. 44. It is that Kingdom which Ruleth over all and shall never be broken Psal 89. 34. My Covenant will I not break Nor alter the thing that is gon out of my lips and v. 18. My Covenant shall stand fast with him It is meant of the Covenant made with David and his house Or rather with Christ and His Spiritual Seed Of whom David was a Type And that we might have strong Consolation the Lord binds it with an Oath Once i. e. Once for all and Once for ever it was so full and perfect that it needed no Alteration Amendment or Repetition Once have I sworn by my Holiness That I will not lye unto David v. 35. And how Impossible it was That this Covenant should be over-ruled or broken appears also in Jer. 33. 20 21. where speaking in the Name of God he delivers it thus If you can break my Covenant of the Day and my Covenant of the Night that there should not be Day and Night in their Season Then may also my Covenant be broken with David my Servant Here note by the way That Day and Night take their turns but still it is in their Season And David himself sayes of it That it is a Covenant Everlasting â— Sam. 23. 5. Ordered in all things and sure i. e. What ever might possibly fall-in to Interrupt it There was that Order observed in the composition of the Covenant such a Power layd up within it as should certainly over-run and bear-down those Impediments triumph over them all and hold on its way As all the Tempests and tumults that may happen in this lower World can in no wise Obstruct the course of superiour Orbs He therefore declares in high yet humble expressions He desired no other or better security for his Salvation And it is not unlikely That David and Solomon were both of them left to those great backslidings to give a proof of the Sureness of this Covenant which indeed was sufficiently done by them and tryed to the utmost For they both broke the Covenant on their part yet the Covenant was not Null'd No thanks to them but to that Sovereign Grace that had laid-in Provision afore to prevent it by making it Absolute and Vnrepealable Yet the Lord will not Connive at their miscarriages but If his Children forsake my law and break my Statutes I will visit their transgressions with the Rod Ps 89. 31 32. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him Nor suffer my Faithfulness to fail ver 29. It must be granted There was at times a seeming to make-void this Covenant and great complaints are made upon it But it revives again and joy comes in the Morning as is evident by the Close of that 89 Psalm Blessed be the Lord for evermore Amen and Amen It s return was the more welcom for its temporary absence and therefore he meets it with a double Gratulation Amen and Amen! It was but in a litle wrath that He hid His face from them and that but for a Moment too but with everlasting kindness will I have Mercy on thee Isa 54. 8. saith the Lord thy Redeemer The Mountains shall depart and the hills be removed ver 10. But my kindness shall not depart from thee Neither shall the Covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath Mercy on thee In Jer. 31. 37. another Impossibility is instanced in to shew the Eternal Validity of this Covenant Thus saith the Lord If heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the Earth searched out beneath I will also cast off all the seed of Ifrael for all that they have done saith the Lord. The Lord Himself you see is both the Alpha and Omega of this great sentence To shew That both ends of the Covenant are in His own hands By these Scriptures with many others it is apparent that there shall be no Faileur on God's part and if so Then there shall be None at all because He hath taken on Himself the performance of the whole Believers therefore shall invincibly be carried-on Notwithstanding all kind of impediments unto the End of their Faith the Salvation of their Souls Yet doth not this Doctrine go free of Contradiction And truly considering how cleer and pertinent the Scripture is for it It seems to me That if the first Impugners of Perseverance had not found themselves in a Toyl and so Necessitated to oppose it for the maintenance of other principles they had before taken up and espoused and which would not consist with this They would never have set themselves against it But Errours like Truths in that doe hang on a string Or as links in a Chayn The first Mover draws the rest after But I trust thro help from Above all the objections that are laid against this Doctrine shall prove a further confirmation of it by one hand or other The chief that I have met with are these that follow The Doctrine of Absolute Perseverance deprives Men of the sharpest bit which God hath given them to Curb the unregenerate part of the Soul We mean the fear and dread of Eternal fire The Law is good if a Man use it lawfully So is Fear in its time and place Out of which it is as a Bone out of joint The Law works by Fear as a School-Master unto Christ It is ordinarily the first occasion of our motion towards believing The heir whilst a Child may be under the tutorage of fear But when Faith is grown-up then cast-out the Bondwoman and her Son Fear shall not be heir with Faith For tho' it be a good servant 't is an ill Master For Fear to predominate Faith is for servants to ride Eccles 10. 5. 7. whiles Princes walk on the Earth which is an Errour the Earth cannot bear Believers who know themselves so to be receive not the spirit of bondage agen to fear They are acted Now by another principle as a horse that is throughly broke and well-wayed is better Managed by a gentle hand than a biting Curb Faith works by love It is not
henceforth the fear of wrath but the sense of Christ's love in delivering from wrath that both Curbs the unregenerate part and carries to higher acts of obedience than fear is capable of Altho' at times all sorts of Motives may be needful to keep them going 2 Cor. 5. 14. And the Lord for exercise of their Graces and other holy ends may let the dearest of His Children long conflict with their Fears Under which He yet supports them and brings them forth like Gold at last See Ethan's complaint and the Close he makes in the 89 Psam See also that excellent Treatise A Child of light c. But as touching this Fear in the sense objected which supposeth it the best Curb to Sin and promoter of Perseverance it ought to be rejected How far it may influence a Man that is wholly Unregenerate as a Curb to His lusts is not the Question here But if Saul and Judas ran headlong to hell with this bit in their mouths then is not this sharpest bit the most Effectual Curb That which weakens and tends indeed to destroy the Root of Sin must needs be more effectual as to the main end than That which onely Restrains some puttings-of-it-forth Acts 15. 9. But God purifies the heart by Faith 1 Joh. 3. 3. And Every one that hath this hope purifieth himself as He is pure There is no such virtue given to Fear but on the Contrary The spirit of Fear is put in opposition to the Spirit of Power of Faith and of a sound mind 2 Tim. 1. 7. But what ever influence this fear may have upon persons unregenerate they are not deprived of it by the Doctrine of Perseverance for This concerns onely Believers The Objection lyes further open to divers Exceptions As 1. Because it puts an indignity on the Wisdom and Grace of God as if He had taken from Believers some expedient help to Perseverance by his giving them Absolute Promises whereas we should rather suspect our own understandings and Renounce those opinions which Necessitate such unnatural Inferences to support them For do but separate the Promises from their Absoluteness and their strength is gon Rom. 8. 2. They would prove as the law Weak through the weakness of the flesh The Lord knowes that Beleivers have both the difficultest work and deepest sense of their own insufficiency and that nothing more weakens their hands than doubtings and fears And for this cause hath made His Promises absolute Thus we find He Armed Joshua to the battel There shall not any Man be able to stand before thee Josh 1. 5. all the dayes of thy life I will not leave thee nor forsake thee And hence he draws him an Argument to be strong and of a Good Courage ver 6. In like manner Samuel when the People were greatly preplexed because of God's displeasure against them To confirm them in their duty he Comforts them against their Fears Fear not sayes he ye have done all this wickedness yet Turn not aside from following the Lord And what 's the strong Reason by which he fixes them For the Lord will not forsake His People The Objectors and Samuel were not both of a Mind Paul likewise Exhorting Believers to that great duty of keeping-down Sin Rom. 6. 12. that it might not Reign Because the sharpness and heat of the Conflict might otherwise make them Recoyl He gives them as an high Cordial Assurance of Victory tells them in plain and express terms That Sin shall not have Dominion over them ver 14. Here they are at variance with Paul Nor do they better Accord with Peter and John The One directs us To give all diligence to make our Calling and Election sure 2 Pet. 1. 10. And this as a principal means to keep us from falling And the Other makes it the Scope and End of his whole Epistle That Believers may know they have Eternal life 1 Joh. 5. 13. and that they might goon in Believing Which kind of Arguments had been very unduly applyed if Giving them assurance touching the Event had not been a strengthening of them in their Duty and much more if it would have proved an Iudulgence to the Unregenerate part 2. Let Fear be considered in its Ordinary and natural effects and 't will easily appear That Nothing is less pleasing to God or more unapt for the Service of Perseverance As a Man's principle is such will be his obedience Slavish observance is the best that slavish fear can produce which is no way acceptable to an Ingenuous Spirit God loves a Cheerfull Giver not Samaritan-Worship for fear of Lyons Such service wil also be weak and wavering for Nothing so unsettles the Mind as Fear It enervates the Soul and takes away its Strength 1 Sam. 25. 37 Nobal's heart dyed within him for fear of David Matt. 28. 25. and the Soldiers who kept the Sepulchre were as dead Men for fear The obedience therefore which comes from thence can be but a dead obedience The Effect cannot rise higher then the Cause Pharaoh let Israel go because of the plagues Exod. 14. 5. which being a litle removed Isa 33. 14. he Repents his obedience and chides himself for it And those hypocrites though Fearfulness surprized them Remained hypocrites still This Fear also will consist with the greatest impieties Those very Samaritans who thus feared the Lord 2 King 17. 41. did also worship their graven Images 3. Fear puts upon using unlawful Means Gen. 26. 7. 1 Sam. 21. 13. Gal. 2. 12 13. Hos 7. 11. 1 Sam. 28. 7. Isaac to deny his wife David to feign himself mad Peter and other holy Men to dissemble It sends men to Egypt for help as it did the Jews yea to hell as it did Saul Therefore both Satan and wicked Men are still endeavouring to put God's people in fear Neh. 6. 14 19. Zach. 2. 2. as they would Nehemiah whereby his work had ceased And Satan stood at Joshua's right hand to resist him that is to accuse him and so to put him in fear because of his filthy garments Thereby to discourage him in the work of his office 4. Let Fear be compar'd with its Contrary viz. Faith This removes the Mountain whiles fear fixes it yea makes it to be where indeed is no such thing Fear made the unbelieving spies to bring up an evil Report of the good land and to fancy impossibilities of obtaining it Faith made Caleb and Joshua Magnanimous Num. 13. 30. Let us go up at once say they and possess it ch 14. 9. For we are well able to overcome it yea they shall be bread for us These two who feared no Miscarriage under an absolute Promise were Carried-in All that doubted Mat. 14. 29 3â— were shut out Peter whiles confident walked on the Waves when he began to doubt he began to sink Josh 23. 10. It was Faith made those Worthies valiant in