be a castaway Intimating that a man may preach to others and may be a means to save others and yet not be saved himself So 1 Cor. 13.1 Ministers in this case may be as Cooks are A Cook may dresse many a dish and let them go through his hands to furnish a large and stately Table yet of all these dishes himself hardly taste one So Ministers they may dresse many a dish for their hearers yet they not lick their fingers or taste of this spiritual food themselves As in the building of the Ark there were many men built Noahs Ark to save others that were drowned themselves so many men may build an Ark by preaching the Word and the waies of God to save other mens souls when they may be drowned themselves Hence it is the Scripture tells us of Stars that fell from heaven many Ministers that seemed godly Ministers like Stars in their Generation yet they fell and became wicked and loose And I remember Doctor Pembleton a famous Minister in the daies of Queen Mary and a man whose Ministry had converted many Christians yet at length he himself turned to be a Papist Now these Christians did never misdoubt or suspect their conversion because the man that converted them was a bad man They might be good people though he was a bad Minister so that this is no ground in the world though I confesse it is not ordinary that God makes wicked men means of conversion but God ordinarily crowns the Word most in the mouth of a godly Minister yet sometimes I say God may use a means to convert souls And I would give you these reasons to prove that a wicked man may convert souls and that God ties not conversion to a godly Minister Because first the efficacy of the word doth not depend upon men but upon Jesus Christ and Christ may make use of whom he pleaseth Secondly If only a good man could convert then this would follow that we could be as well sure of another mans conversion as we are of our own which is a thing most untrue For if only a godly man could convert then if I were sure of my own conversion I were as well sure of his conversion that wrought upon me also which cannot be so that clearly this should lay no block in your way because you discern the Minister that wrought upon you to be no good man seeing conversion is not tied onely to a godly Minister Thirdly a third ground from whence doubts arise in called ones is from some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the concomitants that acompany or in the effects that should follow effectual calling and this makes them fear that sure they are not effectually called I will name to you three or four First saith a doubting Christian I do hear in Scripture what effects will follow and what will accompany a man effectually called and I finde them not wrought in my soul As now first I apprehend that when a man is effectually called he shall be inabled by God to call upon him in prayer I finde in Scripture 1 Cor. 1.2 That all that are called to be Saints they shall call upon the Lord in every place but alas woe is me I do not finde this in my soul I finde I have a dull dead listlesse unpraying heart all the daies of my life and therefore I doubt whether I am effectually called or no. Now to this I shall lay down three things for answer First peradventure you judge that you are not enabled to pray because you want expressions in prayer though you have affections Now if you judge your inability to pray because you want expressions only you judge amisse because prayer is to be judged by the affections not by the expressions Expressions they are but the breath of nature a natural voluble tongue may tumble out expressions whereas affections in prayer they are the breath and fruit of the holy Spirit Therefore do not judge you cannot pray because you have not such fluent expressions as others use for the very essence of a prayer lies in the heart and therefore it is said when the Spirit of God teacheth men to pray it teacheth them not onely in expressions but with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 When the Spirit moves the heart and makes you sigh out your requests and sorrow out your supplications you pray best of all Secondly you that judge your inablity to pray and therefore think you are not called because you cannot call upon God I would say this unto you That the best of Gods children have found a great difference in their spirits in reference to paying duties the best of Gods children do not alwaies pray alike Sometimes the affections of godly men are as swift in prayer as the Chariots of Aminadab otherwhiles they drive as heavily as Pharaohs Chariots when the wheels were off Sometime the people of God are burning in their affections hot as fire otherwhiles they are frozen in their affections cold as ice None of Gods people are in their carriage alwaies alike towards God in prayer Psal 77.4 It is the speech of Asaph O Lord my spirit is overwhelmed within me I am sore troubled I cannot speak The man was so troubled he could not speak yet Asaph spake these words with his mouth but the meaning is though Asaph was a godly man yet he was so overwhelmed with trouble he could not speak to God he could not call upon God with that inward vigor of spirit Though thou mayest sometime call upon God with affection yet when trouble rests upon thee thy heart may be out of frame Thirdly many times Gods people are subject to a state of desertion and abatements in their sâ—iritual affections and then they are out of a praying vein when you loose affections the wheels of prayer are knocked off Many times it falls out with Gods people that they are even brought into a languishing and low condition they are in such a swoune as if they had neither a principle nor the actings of spiritual life Rev. 3.2 Strengthen that which remaines saith the holy Ghost that is ready to die Godly people may be a dying people and then the tongue failes when it is a dying the people of God may be in a dying condition though they never die wholly in grace yet they may be so weakned in their spirits that they cannot pour out their requests to God as in wonted time 2 Chron. 17.3 Jehosophat he walked in the first waies of David his father implying that Davids first waies were better then his last So many men may have their first waies good yet sometime in the end before they die they may have much failing and deadness of spirit upon them Fourthly If a man doth but mourn that he cannot call upon God God looks upon that as calling upon him If you can but sigh out your requests and mourn that you cannot mourn and pray that you
foolish and Christ weak men uncall'd they have low thoughts of Christ but to you that are called Christ is the power and wisdome of God You will have high thoughts of Jesus Christ if you are effectually called 4. That man that is effectually called he shall be inabled by the spirit of Christ to call upon God 1 Cor. 1.2 To all in Corinth called to be Saints with all that call upon the name of the Lord. There the Apostle joynes called to be Saints with this phrase to call upon God to shew that whoever is effectually called to be a Saint that man shall be inabled by the Spirit of Jesus to call upon God Psal 27.8 When thou saidest Seek my face my heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seek Hence ye read Acts 9.11 when Ananias doubted whether Paul was truly call'd or no and Jesus Christ would convince Ananias that he was truly call'd what means doth he use verse 11. do not suspect him but arise saith Christ and go to him into the street called straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus for behold he prayeth If he were not called he would never go to God in such a cordial way and humble his soul before God for his by past failings and beg strength for time to come and labour to have his peace made with me Go to him for behold he prayeth and therefore all you that have not a spirit in any measure to call upon God and to pour forth your requests in a solemn prayer you have just cause of jealousie to suspect your Call 5. If you are effectually called God hath wrought in your souls an utter detestation and loathing of all the evils that in the former part of your lives before your calling you have committed and were guilty of Hos 14.8 Ephraim shall say what have I any more to do with Idols The interogation imports a vehement detestation of them and indignation against them 2 Cor. 7.11 the Apostle speaks there of repentance the same with calling when men come to have the work of grace in their hearts and this is a branch of it that godly sorrow causeth care and causeth feare and causeth indignation that is if any man be a repenting man and a converted man this conversion will cause indignation that is he will be even mad with himselfe and angry with himselfe that he should be so vile a wretch before conversion as he hath been Thus was Paul he speakes with indignation against the sins he was guilty of before his calling I have been a persecutor I have hal'd the Saints into prison Nay saith he I was even mad against the Church Beloved you will count your sins to be madnesse and count them to be greatly aggravated that were committed before God call'd you Anselm said to his body I 'le tame thee O unruly beasâ— with fasting and prayâ—r We read of one that bit off his tongue in indignation that therewith he had denied Jesus Christ Another Martyr put that hand first into the fire with which he had subscribed a recantation saying Burn thou O hand that didst subscribe to that which might have made me burn both body and soul in hell And therefore you that have no loathing thoughts against past deceit and past drunkennesse and past swearing and past evils suspect your calling You that do not abhor the thoughts of your formeâ— evils your wonted pride and wonted covetousnesse if you cannot look with indignation against these you have great cause to suspect your call For if God have called you he will make you even angry with your selves that ever you have been so vile as you have been Hence it is when God speaks of Israels conversion Isa 2.20 't is said they shall cast away their Idols from them they shall cast away their sins as with indignation against themselves because they have sinned And hence in the Prophesie of Ezek. 20.43 the Prophet tels them that for the evils they had done they should loath themselves in their own eyes their indignation should be so great against themselves that ever they should be so vile against God before their call So David with indignation saith after he had recovered himselfe and brought his heart into a repentant frame so foolish was I and Ignorant Psal 73.22 Now Beloved I would hear appeale unto you I will judge no man let your own consciences passe sentence upon you But let me appeale to your selves Have not many of you before these times been opposers of Religion men walking in ungodly lewd and profane courses of living haply now you are moulded into a form of Profession now you hear the Word speak wel of Ministers now you cry up Government many your plausible wayâ—s and actions you can carry on but what is in your hearts Have you indignation against your past persecution and evils If not belieâ—e it though you go far I fear you may comâ— short of heaven your calling is not real if you have not indignation â—nâ— wrath against your former sins commitâ—ed And therefore O what a sad word is this to all â—nsensible sinners that are men that never had their hearts touch'd with remorse for any evil What a sad word is this to you that have been drunk week aâ—â—er week and sworn day after day and dâ—câ—ived hour after hour and been unclean time after time and yet all these evils never touch'd the heart Truly you have grâ—at cause to fear that God hath not yet â—ffâ—ctually called you by Jesus Christ 6. The man that is effâ—ctually callâ—d his spirit is brought into an obediâ—ntial frame to yield obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ if God call you by his Spirit he will not leave you to the exorbitancies of your own wayes and will but he will bring you to a yeeldingnesse of heart to all his commands Rom. 15.6 We have received grace and Apostleship for obedience to the faith among all Nations among whom you are also the called of Jesus Christ The Apostle did not alone receive grace for obedience but the same was among them also You receive grace for the obedience of faith So that now if you are the called of Jesus Christ the Lord hath this work upon you he doth bring you to the obedience of faith that is he doth work in your souls a yeelding frame to obey all the commands of Jesus Christ and therefore any of you that stand out with stoutnesse of heart against Jesus Christ let Christ say what he will you will do what you list let him command what he will you will do what you please you that stand out thus with gainsaying of spirit against Jesus Christ you have great cause to suspect your Call Again 7. A man effectually called by Jesus Christ he will be mis-called and reproach'd by the men of the world John 15.19 If you were of the world the world would love his own but because you are not of
nothing should be irksom to you that God would have you perform in case he would give you your wonted comforts If you finde this temper of spirit in you this is a very ready way to bring on your comforts and restore the joyes of your salvation to you Secondly Set upon humbling work the onely way to gain what you have lost is to mourn over your losses Jer. 31.18 19 20. See how Ephraim comes to have his comforts restored when he wept over his own discomforts I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe saith God and I said Is Ephraim my dear sonne I saw him smitting upon his thigh humbling his soul for his sins and since I saw him I do earnestly remember him and I will shew mercy to him Here you see lamenting Ephraim God in the very time of his bemoaning himselfe restored his comforts to him we hear many lament for their outward losses but who laments for the losse of inward comforts And David after he had lost his comforts by that great sin of adultery makes seven penitential Psalmes Psalmes of lamentation or repentance and he calls one of them A Psalm to call to remembrance And as an Author well notes when David came to renew his comforts he makes a Psalm to call to remembrance those sins that might provoke God to take away his comforts from him So Beloved let it be your work to make such Psalmes in your Closets and make it your practice to call to remembrance those evils that provoke God to eclipse your comforts to you and let that humble you If you cannot finde out the Particular sin labour to humble your soules for every sin and then to be sure you cannot misse that Thirdly Would you restore your wonted comforts then set upon praying work This course you sinde David took Psal 51.8 Make me O Lord to hear the voice of joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken might rejoyce Create in me a new heart and establish me with thy free Spirit verse 12. Here you read of Davids praying work how he poured forth his soul in prayer that God would restore to him the joyes of his salvation And here in your praying work I would onely cast in three directions First pray for a distinct sight of those evils that provoked God to take your comforts from you Secondly After you have got a sight bend the strength of your prayers most against those evils that did so provoke God to cloud your comforts Pray against them as against the deadliest enemy you have in the world Thirdly Pray for attaining those graces that may be inlets to spiritual comfort as the graces before named the grace of godly sorrow the grace of humiliation the grace of faith and of love to Jesus Christ Thus if you set upon searching upon humbling and upon praying work you are in a likely way to have your comforts restored Fourthly Set upon the work of Meditation and in this work I shall commend four meditations you are to take into your thoughts which may be very helpful and useful to you in restoring your comforts As First Let your meditations run upon this that sometimes you are not so competent Judges of your own spiritual estate as others may be As First In a time of desertion when God hath left you and frownes upon you Secondly In times of temptation when the devils temptations are violent against you Thirdly In times of Relapse when you are fallen into some great sin at this time you are not so competent Judges of your own estate but standers by may see more of your own good and your own sincerity then your selves may do as the Proverb is Many timâ—s Lookers on see more then he that playes the game it is true in this A Looker on may see sincerity sparkle in thy practice and thy graces shine in thy conversatioâ— when thou canst not do it thy selfe A childe when it blubbers and cries can see nothing of his book So when Christians are sad and sullen and lumpish they can hardly read any thing of their evidence Mr. Throgmorten got his assurance this way by the Testimony of a company of godly Mâ—nisters that they could lay their soules in his souls stead Let this therefore run in your Meditations that many times standers by and Christians that behold your walkings and see your Actions they may see more ground of comfort in you then your selves can do Secondly Meditate and think upon the comforts God gave you in wonted time and call them to minde Do as David did Psal 77. I called to minde the dayes of old and the years of many generations Call to minde ancient dayes did not God shew thee his face did not God bear thee in the palmes of his hands did not God give thee many a smile of his countenance and many a pledge of his love even by affliction it selfe did not God set many a seal upon thy heart that thy comforts were true thy evidence clear and thy ends sincere towards God Beloved call to minde the former frame of thy spirit how thou waft in wonted times and this Meditation being backed by Gods Spirit may be a great meanes to restore thy comforts to thee past goodnesse should be present encouragement Thirdly Meditate what way it was that you got your former comforts and assurance and the same way God will sanctifie to restore you your comforts again What Physicians say of the body We are nourished of those things of which we are begotten and generated So I say of comforts The very same thing that begot comforts the same will restore your comforts again Now think upon this in your practice and consider What way did I gain my comforts in yeares past did I gain my comforts by godly sorrow and by lamenting after God and by mourning over those abominable failings in my practice now take the same course to restore thy evidences Goe and mourn in thy closet over thy uneven walking before God Goe lament for thy sins mourn after thy Father and tell him thou art grieved at the heart that he is so great a stranger to thy soul Didst thou gain thy assurance in dayes past by humbling thy soul often before God Set upon humbling work again Didst thou gain thy comforts in dayes past by walking closely with thy God Amend thy paths and direct thy waies unto thy Maker for daies to come there is the very same way to restore your comforts that was at first to gain your comforts Fourthly Let your Meditations work upon those comforting Promises in the Gospel that hold forth most comfort to a dejected soule And truly I am perswaded Christians Meditations running more upon their own failings and their own jealousies and upon their own mistakes then upon Gospel-promises hath been the great occasion they have layn so long under a spirit of bondage and under a dark eclipse in the want of the comforts of Gods Spirit Therefore now let
must give you strength to doe what he commands Psal 68.28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength What then can a man therefore put forth his own strength No but the prayer followes Strengthen O God that which thou commandest us Implying that though God did command their strength they could not put it out by their own power but they would make a prayer to back the command Lord thou commandest us to be strong Lord strengthen that which thou commandest So that though God cal for your diligence cal for your strength yet cannot you put forth any strength by your own power Austine upon this consideration hath this passage when I have a will saith he to do good I have not a power and when I have power I have not a wil and herein I see my own weaknesse and that I must be beholding to Christ for strength You can as wel carry on the work of Creation as the work of Conversion by your own strength You can as wel conquer a world of armed men alone as conquer one Suggestion of the Divel by your own power Though God doth cal for your obedience and to put forth your diligence yet this supposeth not as if you could do this by your own strength but that God that Commands you diligence that God must stir it up in you 2. When God calls for your diligence in matters of soul-concernment take this Caution that you do not discharge your duty in expressing a great deal of zeal and diligence in matters of your soul unlesse you do it in a right manner and to a right end People think if they can be diligent in hearing and diligent in reading and diligent in praying and in receiving Sacraments that then they discharge their duty and answer the command of my Text to be diligent No Beloved you do not answer your duty to God in expressing diligence in that which is materially good unlesse you do it in a right manner and to a right end You have an instance in Jehu 2 Kings 10. He was a marvellous industrious man in many good matters concerning the worship of God at one time he killed the worshippers of Baal at another time he pulled downe the houses where they worshipped and broke the graven Images in pieces At another time he cals out to Jehonadab to see his zeal for the Lord of Hosts Wonderful diligent and yet all this was not done in a good manner nor to a right end Not in a good manner because it was done by halfes not throughly for though he dâ—stroyed the Images of Baal yet he worshipt the Idols at Bethel And then not to a right end because he did not shew his zeal and industry out of any supreame reference to Gods glory but only out of a politick end to establish himself in his Kingdome 2 Kingâ— 10.31 So that you may put forth such diligence in reading and hearing and in receiving and the like and yet if not done in a right manner and to a right end you do not performe the duty of my Text. For take this as a rule in Divinity that when God commands a duty all the circumstances included in â—he duty must be observed or els that duty is not done aright As when you pray you must not leave out one circumstance or quality required in a prayer if so God wil not accept your prayer So here God commands your diligence if you are not diligent in a right manner and to a right end your diligence is not right 3. Though you put forth never so much diligence in the maâ—ters of your soul all those acts you do are none of them meâ—iâ—orious you do not get heaven for praying nor get heavâ—n for reading nor get heaven for hearing though haply you get not heaven without it Good works they may be causes of salvation in this sense causes without which you cannot be saved but all your obedience and all your diligence are no causes for which you are saved or which may any way move God to save you So that though you are never so diligent this diligence is not meritorious at all Why Because to make it meritorious say Divines three things must concur First The thing must be done freely not as a debt Secondly it must be done with a mans own native and proper strength and not a borrowed power Thirdly It must be done perfectly and therefore Divines say and that upon good reason too That all our obedience and all our actings in the wayes of grace cannot be meritorious Why Because First We do them not as a free gift but as a due debt we owe God this diligence and owe him this duty and therefore cannot merit because we only pay God his due If you lend a man money wil you thank and reward him to pay you your own No it is your due he ought to repay you All duties in matters of the soul are Gods due of right belonging to him and therefore cannot be meritorious Secondly This diligence could you put it forth by your own strength you had somewhat wherein to boast but all your diligence is put forth by a borrowed strength by a strength derived from Jesuâ— Christ by a strength from the Covenant of grace it is thence you fetch power to perform all acts of obedience and spiritual diligence Thirdly It cannot merit because it is not perfect nay you are so far from meriting by your obedience that you merit nothing but hell for the defects in your obedience and the imperfections that are remaining in your best services 4. Take this Caution That though all the diligence you can put forth cannot be meritorious for God to save you yet take this for truth that the more you abound in spiritual industrie in the matters of the Soul the more likely you are to receive fuller incoms of joy and fuller increase of grace in your souls To him that hath shall be given and it shall be given him much more abundantly That is to him that hath improved his graces and used them well they shall be given more abundantly Thou hast been faithful in a little thou shalt be ruler over much The more you act and the more diligent you are in the matters of your soul the more likely you are to be eminent and increasing in grace above others It is a note that an Auâ—hor hath upon the Apostle Paul Paul was the most eminent of all the Apostles no Apostle like Paul none outstript him Now Divines ask the reason why Paul should be more eminent then the rest of the Apostles who saw Christ in the flesh whereas Paul saw him onely in a vision and no where else yet Paul was more eminent then any other Apostle and they give this reason Paul was in labours more abundant Paul was more industrious putting out his gifts and graces and God did blesse that industry with a fuller increase of the graces of Gods spirit then others had
might pray the Lord hears your prayer This is the most melodious musick you can make in the ears of God Therefore David saith Psal 6.8 The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping There is a voice in Teares as well as in Words If the Lord see thee to weep over thine own streightnesse and mourn over thine own deadnesse the Lord looks upon this with a more pleasing eye then if thou couldst pour out the enlargements of thy tongue with most fluent and voluble expressions SERMON VIII 2. Pet. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren give all diligence to make your Callinâ— and Election sure THE Doctrine I am yet upon is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their soules that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ In the prosecution of which I have gone over many particulars and answered some doubts in reference to godly men who are effectually called As first in regard of some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the manner of their calling Secondly in the means of their calling And thirdly which I am yet upon of some defects they apprehend about the concomitants that accompany those that are effectually called of which I have spoken onely of one in particular to wit that they cannot call upon God in prayer I now passe to the second Secondly They apprehend that those that are effectually called they have this to accompany their calling that they are brought out of a state of ignorance into a state of knowledge out of a state of darknesse into a state of light hence they will urge this against themselves 1 Pet. 2.9 Ye are to shew forth the praises of him who hath calâ—'d you out of darknâ—sse into his marvellous light And Acts 26.18 He sent forth his Word to call them from darkness to light and from the Power of Satan unto God Now saith the poor soul Alas I do not finde this concomitant to be in my heart I do not finde this marvellous light the Scripture here speaks of 2 Cor. 4.6 Alas my heart is like a dungeon of darknesse and like a house that hath no inlets no windows to let in the Sun-shine of the Gospel upon it and many times this gravelleth many a godly minde Now to those that make this doubt I shall onely speak two or three things to take it off Firâ—t to you that make this complaint I would say this that those that know most they know but little in the mysteries of Jesus Christ as you are not perfect in other graces so you are not here perfect in knowledge You know but in part 1 Cor. 13.9 therefore you have no need to be discouraged at this Secondly and more particularly you that complain of ignorance though you are ignorant and cannot finde that marvellous light shine in your souls which you exspect yet if your ignorance have not these three ill qualities you may rest confident your ignorance will never prove a damning sin unto you but it may be consistent with your effectual calling As First If your ignorance be not a stubborn and wilful ignorance Secondly If it be not a sottish and brutish ignorance And thirdly If it be not a fundamental ignorance First If it be not a stubborn and wilful ignorance Though you are ignorant yet if you are willing to learn and know the waies of God revealed in his Word such an ignorance will never damn you But when ignorance comes to be wilful that a man doth not know and he will not learn a man is an ignorant man yet he thinks he knows more then all the Preachers can tell him this is a sad sign you are not effectually called Hence you read Prov. 1.22 How long ye simple ones will you lovâ— simplicity c Godly people may be in a state of ignorancee but they love it not therefore 2 Pet. 3.5 the Scripture tells us of wicked men that they are wilfully ignorant So that if your ignorance have not this bad quality in it to be a stubborn and wilful ignorance it may stand with your effectual calling Secondly Provided that your ignorance be not a sottish and brutish ignorance that is that you do not so lie clouded in a state of darknesse that you are uncapable to discerne the goodnesse of the Word and uncapable to apprehend any thing that is taught you that you are not like those Jer. 4.22 My people have no understanding they are a sottish people wise to do evil but to do good they have no understanding Many men are ignorant men yet not so sottishly ignorant as not to be capable of learning if you will teach him he is willing to be instructed but some men are so ignorant they are not capabâ—e of learning you may as well â—â—ach a block as them Hence it is the Prophet complains Esa 1.4 The Oxe knows his owne and the Asse his Masters Crib but Isâ—ael knows not the Lord his God Thirdly In case your ignorance be not a fundamental ignorance I mean such an ignorance as not to know those necessary and fundamental points in the Word that must be known if ever you be saved as about Jesus Christ and salvation and justification by his blood and faith in his Naâ—e c. though you may be ignorant about circumstantials yet if it be not in fundamentals your ignorance may be consistent with effectual calling But now Thirdly If a godly man be satisfied in these two points and thinks happily I may have the first concomitant to call upon God and so evidence my effectual call and then happily the second may not be wanting in me that I do not lie under the state of a wilful sottish fundamental ignorance But alas saith he I want a third concomitant that accompanies effectually calling and that is I finde in the Word that they that are effectually called they are brought into an Obediential frame of heart to all the wayes of God that what ever God commands them to do their hearts can readily obey and this I finde Rom. 1.5.6 God hath called them by his grace unto the obedience of faith Now alas saith a poore soul I finde a defect in this concomitant likewise I cannot discern that I am called to an obedience flowing from faith as its principle I cannot finde this frame of heart to be in me and therefore I doubt of my effectual calling This I shall labour to take off likewise First When I say that obedience is a concomitant that will accompany one effectually called I do not say nor intend it of obedience in the actings of it but of obediential frame of spirit in the purposes of it Many men may be effectually called when they may not alwayes live in the acting of obedience to Christ but every man effectually called hath an obedient frame of heart that is he hath purposes intentions and resolutions to obey God though he cannot act what he would do he hath
poor some Princes and some beggars And therefore the Apostle bids them pray for all men Pray saith he for Kings and for them in authority for God will have all men to be saved As much as if he should say Pray for Kings because God of his grace may save Kings as well as poorer men that have lesse incumbrances and lesse imployments in the world and lesse withdrawings in their own soul then they have God will save all salvation shall come to all sorts of men and therefore you may lawfully pray for them And so Calvin judiciously expounds this place that God will have all sorts â—f men to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ but it is not to be extended universally as if every individual man and woman should be saved 3. These words are to be taken with those that follow after God will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowleg of the truth Now that God will be willing to save those that come to the knowledge of the truth is unquestionable all that repent Acts 17.30 all opposition to the time of the old Testament Rom. 16.25 Now is this true that election is not universal but that some men are elected and others reprobated Then to wrap up this quere in a short use this should teach you all who are in the Land of the living not to deceive your selves lull not your selves asleep in security for it may be you may be in Gods counsel to save it may be not Peradventure you may be in Gods thoughts for salvation peradventure you may be in his counsel for damnation and this should put you upon the work my text calls upon you for to endeavour to make your calling and election sure 2. A second Queee is this Whether may one that is an elect man fall away from his election and come to be a damned man or no This the Protestant Divines against the Arminians and Papists have had large controversies about but I will not handle it in a controversal way onely as it best becomes a Pulpit shew you those positive Scriptures and reasons that may clear the truth and then answer the strongest objections they produce to the contrary Whether may a man that is elected fall away and afterward perish To this I answer No. A man that is once elected by God can never perish And this I shall give Scripture and reason to plead for it Matth. 24.24 Christ tels us of errour that it came in so easily that if it were possible it would deceive the elect Intimating that it is impossible so to seduce the elect as to make them finally fall away So John 6.37 All that the Father hath given me shall come unto me that is all that God the Father hath decreed to save by Christ shall come unto Christ Vers 39. This is the Fathers will that haâ—h sent me that of all that he hath given me I should lose none This is the Fathers will and Commission to Christ thâ—t of all those that by his decree he had given to Christ to â—ave by râ—demption he should lose none And saith Christ I â—ave lost nothing So John 10 28 29. I gâ—ve unto my sheep â—ternal â—ife and they shall never perish neither shall any man take â—hem out of my handâ— my Father that gave them me is greater then all and no man shall pluk them out of my Fathers hands By his Fathers hands he meâ—ns his decree God by his decree intended to save so many and Christ to vindicate his Father tels us that so many as God The Father had decreed to salvation neither man nor Devil should prevail to pluck them out of his Fathers hand So Rom. 11.1 God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew That is whom God did predestinate he casts none of them away none of them shall perish Many many more Scriptures I might multiply to shew that a man once elected can never perish as 2 Tim. 2.19 1 Cor. 18.9.2 Thes 3.3 But I would name reasons as well as Scriptures And First if election were changeable then God must be changeable which to think there is nothing more absurd If Gods decree be changeable Gods essence and nature were so also election being nothing else but God himself cusing for every thing in God is God And this the Scripture tels us is farre from him for there is no variableness or shadow of change in God Jam. 1.17 Isa 46.10 Mal. 3.6 Secondly if the elect could perish then Jesus Christ should be very unfaithful to his father because God the father hath given this charge to Christ that whomsoever he elected Christ should preserve them safe to bring them to heaven Now should not this be accomplished Christ would be unfaithful to his father John 6.39 This is the fathers will which hath sent me into the world that of all that he hath given me I should lâ—se nothing but that I should raise them up at the last day This is the will of God to save many by Christ Now should not this be made good Christ must needs be unfaithful to the Commission of his father Thirdly should this be true then Pauls golden chain should be broken Pâ—â—â— 8.30 Whom he did predestinate them he calls whom he calls tâ—â—â—â—e justifies whom he justifies them he glorifies Now should this chain break that whom he elects them he calls whom he callâ— them he justifies and there cease as the Papâ—sts hold and mâ—n be after daâ—ned then the great and main links would be lost that whom he justifies them glorifies and so bring an obsuâ—dity upon â—he Scripture thereby Now to answer some texâ—s of Scripture they abuse which at first view you would think very plausible to maintain that a man may be an elect man and brought into Christ yet afterward damned The first is John 6.70 Have not I chosen twelve and one of them is a Devil Now say they there were twelve chosen or elected and one of them is a devil did perish intimating that men may be elected yet perish for all this To which I answer That there is a double Electing First a chusing to some peculiar Office Secondly there is an electing to grace life and glory Now when Christ saith Have I not chosen you twelve it is meant of his chusing of them to an Office to the place of an Apostle to be his disciples Now it is true that a man may be chosen to some peculiar Office in the Church of God and yet be a perishing and damned man but this phrase hath no relation to the decree of God from eternity only to a temporal electing of twelve men to a temporal Office to the Office of an Apostle Another Scripture they abuse is Exod. 32.32 it was Moses prayer If thou wilt not saith Moses to God forgive their sins then blot my name out of the book of life Now say they the book of life is Gods election and here Moses prayed
that God would blot his name out of the book of life Intimating say they a man may be elected and written in that book and yet afterward blotted out and perish To which I answer That this prayer of Moses is onely a wish or supposition as Pauls was when he wisht he were accursed from Christ for his kindred in the flesh Now a man may suppose mountains of Gold and suppose things that never were nor never shall be in being bare suppositions put nothing in being so here that Moses makes a supposition in a pathetical prayer this doth no way argue as if his name could be blotted out of the book of life Secondly Rivet he expounds it thus that there is a double book of life The book of life being sometimes taken for the eternal councel and decree of God as Phil. 4.3 sometimes for the special providence of God over men in preserving them amongst the living So we read Psal 139. In thy book saith David were all my members written meaning not in the book of Gods decree but only in the book of his providence that all the members of Davids body they were all under the providence of God that none could hurt him And so Rivet with others think that by the book of life here is meant that God would blot out Moses from the book of his special protection and let him die as other men rather then this evil should come upon the people of Israel q.d. Destroy my name from among men and do not protect me any longer Again they object that in Psal 69.28 it is said Let them be blotted out of the book of life Now say they That is Gods election and to be blotted out implies that a man may be elected and yet perish To this I answer as formerly that the book of life in that place hath no reference to the decree of Gods Election but onely to his book of providence that God would not protect wicked men as he doth his own people in a way of providence And other phrases in Scripture will somewhat favour this interpretation As Ezek. 13.9 They shall not be written in the writings of the house of Israel What 's that i. e. let them not any more be thought Israelites nor numbred among the people And Ainsworth I remember compares Psal 69.19 with this place in Ezek. 13.9 and he makes the sence to be one and the same that to be blotted out of the book of life is nothing else then to be out of Gods protection to be blotted out of the catalogue of the living and have ones life in danger to be brought to death And this wish David wished for those wicked men But then they object further from Rev. 22.19 If any man shall take away from the words of this book God shall take away his part in the book of life Here say they by book of life is unquestionably meant Gods decree and the Scripture saith They that take any thing from this book God will blot him out of the book of life and will undoubtedly damn him To which I answer I confesse in this place the book of life is taken for Gods decree and that a man may be said to be blotted out of this book and yet this no way follow that a man elected may be damned And here let me give you Austins words upon the place which is a very clear and satisfactory answer That a man may be said to be blotted out of the book of life in two regards First it is equivalent to this phrase that this name shall never be written in the book of Life And you have often such phrases in Scripture As it is said in Matthew He that doth evill himself and teacheth men so to doe he shall be least in the Kingdome of Heaven Intimating not as if he should come to heaven but that he should not come there at all To be least there is never to be there So here to be blotted out is equivalent to this that they were never in Secondly A mans name may be said to be blotted out of the book of life not as if it were there in deed and in truth but in their own opinion they thought they were elected and thought their names were written there they had strong conceits of this and though they are now deluded and mistaken yet God will make them know one day when they are in hell that their names are blotted out of the book of life Again Another Scripture they abuse is 1 Cor. 10.12 Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall Now say they if it were not possible for a man elected to fall and fall finally to what end is this caution of the Apostle it were a needless caution were it not possible to come to passe To which I answer two things First the Apostle doth not say Let him that stands take heed left c. but the Apostle saith Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall Intimating that men that think they are elected and think they are in a good condition they should take heed lest they miscarry to all eternity Secondly Take heed lest they fall This falling here is not meant a falling from grace finally and falling into hell and perishing but the falling here is onely a falling into sinne and so an elect â—an should doe An elect man though he stand firme in Gods decree yet he should take heed all the dayes of his life that he fall not into sinne And if you aske me how I make that appeare I answer from the context This is a conclusion or caution the Apostle gives upon the enumeration of several instances of the people of God that in former ages did sin against God As some that tempted Christ and fell in one day 23000. Others that fell to fornication and provoked him in the Wildernâ—sse With many such sins reckoned up and the summe of all is this that seeing they that were Gods people fell into sinne and were punished therefore you that think you stand and think you are elected you should take heed you fall not into sinne as they did And thus I have done with resolving this second query Thirdly whether doth God elect any man to life and salvation upon foresight of his faith or good works foreseeing that this man will believe therefore I elect him to salvation and the other man will not believe therefore I chuse him to damnation Whether I say doth God in his eternal decree elect any man to life upon foresight of works Here the Papists and Arminians joyn both together in maintaining of this The reason say they why God elects some and not others is because God did foresee from eternity that that man would be holy and would believe in Christ and therefore God elected him to salvation These are the hard imputations they lay to Gods charge And in the resolving of this I shall answer it in the Negative That