imprinted there more perfectly Yet the word turned Laws signifies in the Hebrew Doctrines And these are the Doctrines of the Gospel concerning Christ's Person Nature Offices and the Work of Redemption the Doctrines of Repentance Faith Justification Resurrection and eternal Life and these either presuppose or include the Moral Law For they must be such Truths as are necessary and effectual to Man's Salvation without the Knowledge and practice whereof sinful Man cannot attain eternal Life Further they are Doctrines concerning Christ as already exhibited glorified reigning and officiating in Heaven 2. The Book or Tables wherein they must be written are the mind and heart of Man By Mind some conceive is meant the Understanding and by Heart the Will and rational Appetite But by both words are meant the immortal Soul endued with a Power to understand and will or nill that which is understood The word in the Hebrew turned by the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Mind and intellective Faculty signifieth the inward parts because as the heart and reins are the inmost parts of the Body so the mind thoughts and rational Appetite are intima Anime the inmost parts if we may so speak of the Soul They are as it were the Center of that immortal Substance where all the active vigour and powers of the Soul are united There is the Spring and Original of all rational and moral Operations of all thoughts affections and inward Motions There is the directive Counsel and imperial commanding Power There is the prime Mover of all humane Actions as such This is the Subject fit to receive not only natural but supernatural Truths and Doctrines and all Laws There divine Characters may be imprinted and made legible to the Soul it self This is the most noble and excellent Book that any can write in This is an Allusion to the Tables of Stone wherein the Law was written for the Law was not written in the heart but in stone upon Phylacteries Frontlets Posts and Walls of their Houses And now the Scriptures and divine Revelations are written in Books so as that they are legible by the Eye they may be spoken and so uttered by Man as to be perceived by the Ear and from these be conveyed to the common sense and fancy and by degree be transmitted to the Soul which by them receives some imperfect representations not informations This immortal Soul is the Book or Table wherein these Laws and divine Doctrines must be written 3. The Scribe or Pen-man is God for it 's said I will give or put I will write He that said so was the Lord And it must be He because the Work is so curious and excellent that it 's far above the Sphere of created activity He alone can immediately work upon the immortal Soul to inform it move it alter it and mould it anew so as neither Man or Angel can do They may by the outward senses and the fancy come near the Soul but immediately prepare it and make lively Impressions and write clear Characters of divine Truth upon it they cannot They may move it and affect or disaffect it yet to take away the stony heart and make an heart of Flesh is far above their Power Therefore God doth alwayes ascribe this great Work unto himself 4. The Act and Work of this Pen-man is to write and write these Laws and write them in the heart How he doth it we know not That he doth it is clear enough His preparations illuminations impulsions inspirations are strange and wonderful of great and mighty force For in this Work he doth not onely represent divine Objects in a clearer light and propose high Motives to incline and turn the heart but also gives a divine perceptive and appetitive Power whereby the Soul more easily and clearly apprehends and more effectually affects heavenly things The Effect of this Writing is a divine Knowledge of God's Laws and a ready and willing heart to obey them and conform unto them a Power to know and do the Word of God This is that Work of the Spirit which is called Vocation Renovation Regeneration Conversion actively taken without which Man cannot repent believe obey and turn to God It 's said to be a quickning of Man dead in sin a putting God's fear in Man's heart a putting God's Spirit within Man to cause him to obey his Laws a calling out of Darkness into Light a writing upon the fleshy Tables of Man's heart By this writing Man is said to have a new Heart and Spirit not that God creates in Man a new Soul or new Faculties but because he gives new Power new Light new Life new Qualifications so that Man is made partaker of a divine Nature and moulded anew with so much alteration that he is another Man though not for Substance yet for Qualities and Operations All this tends to an imperfect explication of this Promise wherein this new Covenant differs from and is more excellent than the former For that had no Promise of God's writing his Laws and Doctrines in Man's heart or of giving any sanctifying or renewing Power to enable them to observe and keep his Judgments Yet lest we mistake this excellent and most comfortable part of Scripture many things are to be observed 1. Concerning the Laws 2. Concerning the heart 3. Concerning God's writing in the heart 1. The Laws the Laws of God are written in the heart not the inventions fancies of men nor natural nor mathematical nor moral Philosophy much less the Errors and Blasphemies of Seducers and false Prophets It 's true that humane Learning and Languages are excellent means to find out the sense of the Scriptures and are great Blessings ordained of God for that end and being used with Prayer and sanctified may do much Yet we must know that these Doctrines are not only those of the Moral Law but these high Mysteries concerning Christ the Redemption Repentance Faith Justification Resurrection and the eternal Punishments and Rewards in the World to come as they are revealed in the Gospel For the matter and subject of them is God's Kingdom and the Government of God-Redeemer ordering Man to his final and eternal estate as I have manifested in another Treatise 2. The heart of Man is by Nature a very untoward and indisposed Subject and not capable of these heavenly Doctrines It 's blind and perverse and there is an Antipathy between it and these Laws It hath some little parcels of the Law of Nature written in it but not any thing of these heavenly and evangelical Truths it neither knows them nor can relish them And when they are represented unto it yet it hath no intellective Power to understand them nor any Will or Desire to seek them or inclination to obey the Laws of God which direct unto everlasting life It 's not only ignorant but filthily blotted and blurred with Errours both in matters of Religion and humane Conversation And this is the condition not only of Heathens
compass God's Altar was to draw nigh to God and to worship him to wash his hands in innocency was to cleanse his Heart and Body from sin before he did approach unto that God who requires holiness in all them that draw nigh unto him for they must be holy as he is holy This seems to be the reason why in our Liturgy the Confession of Sin was premised and began the Worship of God § 20. The second duty exhorted unto follows in these words Ver. 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering for he is faithful that promised THe first Exhortation is to the exercise of Divine and religious Worship upon which both our perseverance and eternal happiness depend and if the parties drawing nigh be prepared and the Worship duly performed there will be greater hope of Salvation In these words we are exhorted to perseverance in the profession of our Christian Faith and Hope which is necessary to the attainment and actuall enjoyment of the great Reward In the words two things are observable 1. The Duty Perseverance 2. The reason why the Duty should be performed This is the principal Duty and both the former and the two latter are means and helps which will enable us to perform it In the Duty we may take notice 1. Of Faith 2. Of the Confession of Faith 3. The holding of this Confession without wavering 1. We must have Faith that divine and fundamental vertue in our hearts Most Copies make no mention of Faith but of Hope and so do most of the Translations so that we may wonder what Copy our Translatours followed Yet this doth not vary the sense For where there is Hope there must be Faith and where there is true Faith there is certainly Hope for Faith is the ground of Hope and Hope depends upon Faith and these two are inseparable Besides Faith as a confidence hath great affinity with Hope and though they may be distinguished so as that confidence may look at the party promising and Hope at the thing promised yet both are taken often for the same I need not here inform you of the Nature of Hope for that I have done already Chap. 3. ver 6. 6. 11. Both Faith and Hope with Charity are by the School-men called Theological vertues 2. If there be Hope there must be a Confession of it Hope is inward and invisible as Faith is and must be manifested to others by our Confession This Confession may be made by Works or Words When our Works are holy and just and agreeable to our Faith we thereby signify that we believe in Christ and expect eternal Glory by him When in Words we signify to men that we believe that God raised up Jesus Christ from the dead and testify our Hope of the Resurrection unto everlasting Life then we confess both our Faith and Hope This Confession is solemnly made in Baptism and also in the Eucharist and by our Communion with God's People in our publick Assemblies This Confession is necessary without it such as are at Age are not capable of Baptism neither can they without it be justly admitted to the Lord's Supper To deny Christ before men as Peter did is contrary to this Confession and a grievous Sin For with the Heart Man believeth unto Righteousness and with the Mouth Confession is made unto Salvation Rom. 10. 10. So that as without Faith there is no Righteousness so without Confession there is no Salvation 3. A man may confess his Hope for a time yet as his mind may alter so his Confession may waver therefore the Duty is to hold fast this Confession without wavering The more sincere Faith and Hope shall be and the more deeply they shall be rooted in the heart the more likely they are to persevere yet perseverance doth chiefly depend upon God's support and assistance For if temptation be violent and he desert us but for a little time we shall be in danger to waver if not to fall yet this divine assistance cannot be expected but in the diligent use of the means therefore saith the Apostle Let us hold fast And this will be the more easy in time of Peace when we shall meet with no Opposition But when the subtle Arguments of Seducers shall begin to delude the Understanding and the fear of cruel Persecution of bloody Enemies on the one hand and the desire of temporal Life Peace Happiness on the other hand shall work upon the Will then it will be a difficult thing to hold fast and not be shaken § 21. The Reason to perswade stir up and encourage is God's Promise and Fidelity For 1. We have a Promise 2. It 's God's Promise 3. God promising is faithful 1. We have a Promise We are secure when one that is able hath passed his word and by Promise bound himself unto us then we make sure thus far of the thing promised The thing which we desire and which is promised unto us is not onely the Reward of eternal Glory which is the Object of our Hope but power and ability with assistance to do all things necessary for the attainment thereof for in the Gospel not only the Reward but Power to perform our Duty are promised Therefore Paul prayes that the Ephesians may be enlightned that they may more fully know not only the excellency of the Reward of Glory but also the exceeding greatness of that Power which must not only strengthen but support and assist them in the seeking of the full possession and enjoyment Eph. 1. 16 17 18 19. 2. This Promise is not the Promise of any Man or Angel but of God this is more than if all the best men and all the holy Angels had bound themselvs unto us and given us all security which possibly they could The Reason hereof is that his Power is absolute and almighty and nothing can resist or hinder it if once it begin to work The Power of Men and Angels is great yet nothing unto this Besides God's Mercy is like his Power and as he is able so he is willing to do what he hath promised and he hath signified his Will and Purpose through Faith by his Power to preserve us unto Salvation 3. Yet one may be able and for a time willing and yet upon several Reasons and Motives change his mind for the Mind and Will of Man or Angel is not absolutely immutable and so though perhaps they will not yet it 's possible they may fail us But God will not God cannot for God who hath promised is faithful For as he cannot forget or be hindred by any contrary Power so he cannot change his Will If he say the word it must be done if he pass his Promise he will perform This faithfulness presupposeth his Power and his Promise and it 's the immutability of his Will for as he is unchangeable in his Being so he is in his Promise For the strength in Israel will not lye nor repent
may observe 1. An Effect To perfect the sanctified for ever 2. A Cause of that Effect Christ's one Offering I will begin for Explication's sake with the Effect though it be after the Cause in the Order of Nature In it we may consider 1. An Act. 2. A Subject 3. The Perpetuity of the force of this Act in the Subject 1. The Act is to perfect which may be to consummate or make a thing perfect and seeing the end of Christ's Sacrifice is Man's full Happiness therefore to perfect is to make us perfectly and fully happy and this certainly is intended in this place Yet we must further examine the force of the Greek Verb as it is used in this Epistle and other places of the Holy Scriptures and we find it signifies To consecrate and make one a perfect complete Priest so as that he may minister before God And though some understand the perfecting of the sanctified to be nothing else but to sanctify perfectly yet we find in several places of this Epistle that it signifies to make a Priest and is applyed by the Septuagint to the Consecration of Aaron and his Sons For though they were chosen and designed formerly to be Priests yet they could not act as Priests minister in the Tabernacle offer Sacrifice and officiate before they were consecrated and upon their Consecration finished they were actually constituted Priests and might perform any Acts of Service essential and proper to a Priest so as to please God and be accepted This Work of Consecration was finished in seven dayes and one Sacrifice used in this Consecsation was that of a Ram which was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Ram of Consecration And as they so we must be consecrated and made Priests to God and that by the Blood of Christ and this life is the time of our Consecration which goes on by degrees and will be made complete for Body and Soul upon the Resurrection when we shall be fit to approach the Throne of Glory and serve our God in a perfect manner in the eternal Temple of Heaven That Christ doth consecrate and make us Kings and Priests is express Scripture He hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father Rev. 1. 6. And this is the acknowledgment of all his redeemed Saints Thou hast made us to our God Kings and Priests Rev. 5. 10. In this respect we are said to be a Royal Priest-hood an Holy Nation 1 Pet. 2. 9. There in this life though our Consecration be not finished we are styled An holy Priest-hood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable unto God by Jesus Christ ibid. 5. This perfection and Consecration we find attributed to his Blood and Offering 2. The Subject of this Consecration are the Sanctified for Sanctification must go before Consecration and the more sanctified the more consecrated and when our Sanctification is finished then our Consecration is consummate By Sanctification some understand Baptism as it 's a solemn Rite of our Initiation Others say it is Election whereby we are separated and set apart to this Perfection Yet it is that whereby we are freed not only from Infirmities Defects Depravations Inclinations to evil and so made inherently holy and righteous but also from the guilt of Sin The former is an act of the Spirit regenerating us and renuing the Image of God in us the other is the work of the same Spirit sprinkling our Consciences with the Blood of Christ and by the same frees us from God's vindicative Justice and the punishments due unto us for our Sins The former is usually called Sanctification the latter Justification That only the sanctified can be thus consecrated and come so near to God it 's plain out of the former places as Revel 1. 5 6. we are said first to be washed from our Sins in Christ's Blood which is Sanctification before we are be made Kings and Priests And Chap. 5. 9 10. to be redeemed with his Blood before we are Crowned and Consecrated And the persecuted Saints who came out of great Tribulation had their Garments first washed in the Blood of the Lamb before they were admitted to be as Priests before the Throne of God to serve him Day and Night in his Temple Chap. 7. 14 15. Where we learn that upon this Sanctification and Consecration we have near access to the Throne of Glory full communion with our God a clear vision of his eternal beauty and as great a fiuition of his God-head as we shall be capable thereof And upon all this follows our eternal bliss joy and full content when we shall be freed from all evil and enjoy the fountain of eternal life This Sanctification and Consecration is said in the third place to be for ever because they are perpetually continued of endless date and of everlasting continuance § 13. This effect is glorious and most excellent and includes Regeneration Justification Reconciliation Adoption with the inferiour degrees of them all and also the Resurrection and eternal Glorification And surely so rare an effect must have some excellent cause and so it hath and that is that one offering of Christ For Christ is the cause and he isthe cause as offering himself not often but only once For by one Offering he consecrated the sanctified for ever Meer Man or Angel though most excellent was insufficient had no power to undertake and finish this glorious Work For man's Salvation and his eternal blisse must needs be ascribed to the highest first and universal cause and issuing from the fountain of eternal Love was contrived by infinite Wisdom and effected by Almighty Power and no way was thought so fit to accomplish it as this one Offering of this one Priest For this end the eternal Word of God which was God must be made Flesh But neither God as God nor the Word nor Flesh severally were the cause but God by the Word made Flesh yet this is not all this Word made Flesh must be a Priest and as a Priest he must suffer dye and offer himself for the Sin of Man He must be the Priest and Sacrifice too and offer himself without spot unto God the Supream and Universal Lord and Judge that so his Justice being satisfied his mercy might freely and aboundantly issue out upon sinful Man as it did when once this Sacrifice was offered and accepted and being offered once it was so accepted that a second offering was needless For this was of eternal virtue in respect of all Sins and Sinners and was the most noble and highest piece of Service that ever was performed by Men or Angels in Heaven or Earth and was an Ilastical and propitiatory Sacrifice The Priest offering it was the the Head and Representative of Mankind and the second Adam and was made such by God and his own voluntary submission as willing to suffer Death for those whom he did represent By this representation and substitution he became the Surety and Hostage of Mankind
1 Sam. 15. 29. And these are his words I am the Lord I change not therefore the Sons of Jacob are not consumed Malach. 3. 6. So that all is sure on God's part and Man hath no cause to waver except he neglect his Duty and if he perish his destruction must be of himself O therefore let us give all diligence to make our Calling and Election sure and persevere unto the end And shall we who have so great advantage so many helps so blessed an Opportunity and the Promise of a faithful God neglect and injure our selves so much as to lose this glorious and incomparable prize Shall we come out of Aegypt and come so near the borders of the heavenly Canaan and turn back or refuse to go forward Let us detest and eternally abhor to waver let us go on whatsoever it may cost us § 22. The third Duty is to further and set forward one another in this blessed Work This is the Exhortation of the Apostle Ver. 24. Let us consider one another to provoke unto Love and good Works THE first Duty exhorted unto seems to be principally Faith in the full assurance whereof we must draw nigh to God The second Hope in the Profession whereof we must persevere The third Charity to which we must provoke one another The words have little difficulty in them and so need not much Explication In them we are exhorted 1. To consider one another 2. To provocation upon consideration 3. To provocation unto Love and good Works 1. This consideration is a Work and Duty of every Christian as he is a Member of the Church and it is universal all are bound unto it The Object is every Christian and Fellow-Member The thing to be considered is not their temporal but their spiritual Carriage and Conversation so far as it shall be manifested and made intelligible unto us The immediate End thereof to know their Life Carriage and Conversation which cannot be so well done as by a serious view and animadversion The Duty is to be performed mutually so as that every Christian may be the person considering another and the person considered by another In this Act though we may make use of our Eyes and outward senses yet we most of all must exercise the apprehensive and judicative faculty of our Understanding 2. We must consider to Provocation This word is but used twice in the New Testament and the Verb no oftner yet we find the Verb frequently taken up by the Septuagint under several Hebrew words It may be taken here either actively to provoke others or passively to be provoked our selves We provoke or stir up others when we see them ignorant forgetful negligent cold backward and that by Information minding them of their Duty perswading moving quickning them unto performance Or if we see our Brethren persecuted we stir up such as are able to pity them and by Works of Mercy to relieve them We are passively provoked our selvs by considering the good Example of others to do the like and follow them 3. The thing which we must provoke others or be provoked our selves unto is Charity for we must be provoked and provoke 1. To Love 2. To good Works which are the fruits of Love and amongst these good Works the principal are Works of Mercy whereby God's poor and persecuted Saints are relieved and comforted And that is no true real Love which is without good Works as that is no true Faith which can be separated either from the Love of Christ or from the Love of Christian Brethren From the words considered in the Context and explained in this Latitude many practical Conclusions are deducible 1. From the Context we are informed that Confession without Practice Love and good Works is defective imperfect and to little purpose Confession of the Mouth Love in the Heart and Works issuing from Love must go together and must never be separated in true and sincere Christians 2. From the word provoking taken passively we may learn this lesson to give good Example unto our Brethren and so let that heavenly Light which is in us shine forth that others may see our good Works and glorify our Father which is in Heaven For we should be the Light of the World and our Lives should be a Mirrour of all divine vertues 3. We must consides and take special notice of such as are eminent in Piety Righteousness and true Holness and follow closely their good Example they give us and tread in their paths which lead to the eternal Rest of Heaven 4. Take provoking actively and the Text informs of another Duty and that is to have care not only of our own Souls but the Souls of others and to use all means to promote their Salvation as well as our own Love teacheth us this Lession for we must Love our Neighbour as our self and the greatest Love we can shew unto him is to endeavour his spiritual and eternal good And we must remember that Love especially Christian Love is diffusive and communicative and in imitation of God doth good unto many Non solum nobis nati aâ—t â—eâ—iati sumus We are neither born nor born again for our selvs The End both of our natural and spiritual Birth is to benefit others as well as our selvs we should sharpen quicken and mightily stir up others to the best things especially to Love and good Works And this is the Duty not only of Ministers in relation to their People or of Parents in relation to their Children or of Masters in relation to their Servants but it 's general and so extensive that no Christian is exempted from the performance And the neglect of this Duty hath been the Cause why there is so little Piety so much Iniquity amongst us and why most men are profane or bare Professor and so few are zealous in the best things 5. From hence we may infer the Excellency of Christian Society Civil Society tends much to the temporal good of person civilly associated but spiritual Society in Religion and Christianity is far more excellent and beneficial Yet this presupposeth the Persons associated with whom we live and must converse to be good for otherwise ill Company is most pestiferous Therefore the Apostle commanded the Corinthians to purge out the old Leaven and scandalous Persons which like a contagion infect others And this doth imply that Christian Assemblies should be kept pure and consist of Orthodox and pious Members and to live amongst such must needs be a great advantage unto poor Souls seeking Salvation § 23. There was a fourth Duty exhorted unto For Ver. 25. They mustnot not for sake the assembling of themselves together as the manner of some was but they must exhort one another and so much the more as they saw the day approaching IN which we have 1. A Duty 2. A Reason to enforce the performance The Duty is expressed 1. Negatively They must not for sake the assembling of themselves
Sufferings shall speedily determine their Joys shall never end For when life is ended all these Conflicts and cruel Fights are ended and they are instantly at rest cease from all their Labours and are secured of their eternal full Glory 3. A thousand years with Man are but as one day with God and in this â—espect his stay till the last Saint shall be perfected and finally Victorious is not much 4. When the day appointed is once come he will not stay an hour no not a minute He will rend the Heavens and come down and do glorious things And is his coming so certain and so speedy and hath God said so why should we be impatient and complain of delay The Saints of God sometimes will cry out Oh when shall these Labours these Difficulties these Sufferings of ours have an end How long will my Saviour delay his Coming When will he come in the Clouds of Heaven with all his holy Angels Shall I never see an end of this Battel and obtain a final Victory and so triumph for ever And the Church is alwayes praying Come Lord Jesu come quickly To all this his answer is Surely I come quickly And Behold I come quickly and again Behold I come quickly and my Reward is with me to render to every one according to his Works Revel 22. 7 12 20. And if we will not be patient strive suffer and fight a little while and that for a great and glorious Reward which we shall receive certainly and without all doubt we shall render our selvs unworthy altogether of so blessed a Victory and so joyful a Triumph as God hath of his free and unspeakable mercy promised us § 39. Further to encourage them he proves the certainty of their Reward to such as persevere and his displeasure against all such as draw back out of the next words of the Prophet which he renders thus Ver. 38. Now the Just shall live by Faith but if â—â—y man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him IN the handling of these words we must consider 1. How they come in upon the former 2. To what end the Apostle doth alledge them 3. What the matter therein contained is 4. For particular and more distinct Explication reduce then to Propositions 1. They come in upon the former as agreeing with them in the matter which is the great Reward Yet they have more immediate Connexion with the words immediately aâ—tecedent 1. As being taking out of the same place of the Prophets 2. As signifying that when Christ shall come he will accept and reward those that persevere and reject the rest 2. The End Scope is to encourage them from God's own words and Promise for they are the words of God to persevere and not draw back 3. The material parts are two 1. The final Acceptation of such as persevere 2. The Rejection of such as do not but draw back The Propositions are two 1. The just shall live by Faith 2. If any Man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him In the first Proposition we have 1. Faith 2. Righteousness 3. Life These three are subordinate for by Faith we attain Righteousness by Righteousness Life and by what we are justified by that we live No Faith no Righteousness no Righteousness no Life these three go together In the words we have two Propositions at least implied 1. We are justified or just by Faith 2. We are glorified and live by Faith According to the former Proposition the Apostle made use of this Text in the Prophet Rom. 1. 17. Gal. 3. 11. to prove Justification by Faith in Christ without Works For because Man is sinful and guilty his Justification is Remission of Sin which presupposing the party penitent and believing depends upon the Satisfaction Merits and Intercession of Christ and the Mercy of God expressed in the Promise As there he makes use of this Text to prove gratuitous Justification so here he takes it up again to assure them that if they continue in this justifying Faith to the End in the End they shall live and be glorified and that Faith which is first justifying shall be Faith glorifying 1. We have Faith which is a divine practical Assent unto the saving Truths of the Gospel and a reliance upon the Promises of God And here it 's taken for this Faith continued to the End even in the midst of all Persecutions and Afflictions and includes the former continued Boldness of Profession with Patience and other heavenly Vertues with which it hath an inseparable Connexion and is the foundation of all 2. Upon Faith followeth Righteousness for the just have Faith and are just and justified by Faith For by just are here meant the justified by Faith according to the Tenour of the new Covenant For Man being sinful and guilty cannot be justified by his own Innocency Purity inherent Righteousness and perfect Obedience He is condemnable by Reason of his Guilt and is freed from Condemnation by deprecating the Wrath of the Supream Judg and pleading Christ's Sacrifice and God's Promise according to his penitent Faith God in justifying is merciful because the Person justified is a Sinner yet just because Christ hath suffered God hath promised and Man guilty doth believe This Justification doth not leave a Man under the Power and Dominion of Sin but in freeing from Guilt he renews and sanctifies him by his Spirit so that he is inherently righteous So that he is justified and inherently just yet the place is to be understood of such as are finally just as they are finally believing For he that hath Faith is just he that continueth in Faith continueth just and he that is finally believing is finally just 3. As guilty Man is just by Faith so being just he shall live by Faith By Life in this place is meant a spiritual happy and eternal Life the Life of Glory which is the great Reward which will certainly follow upon final Faith For it 's Faith which by vertue of Christ's Merit and God's Promise gives a Right to Life and upon a finall Faith the Possession and full Enjoyment of this blessed Life doth certainly follow The Duty therefore which the Apostle urgeth is final Perseverance in Faith and the Motive whereby he seeks to stir them up to Performance is the certain full Possession of the great Rewards for which he alledgeth God's own Word and Promise recorded in the Prophet And if they will hearken unto God speaking by the Prophet and take his Word and Promise there is great Reason why they should persevere § 40. As the former Reason is taken from God's Promise of Life so the latter is drawn from the Punishment and Displeasure of God which if they fall away they must suffer as certainly threatned by God For if any Man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him The Proposition is hypothetical or compound and connex the Nature whereof is to deduce a Consequent from an