by that also it must be maintain'd What then would become of it if built on that goodness which is as the Morning cloud and early dew Mos 6. 4. The Creature 's will even whiles in a state of perfection was too slight and fickle a thing to build this eternal weight upon And if Man at his best estate was vanity how much more afterwards when so strong a Bent to vanity came upon his will VI. Lastly To derive Election from any Root besides the Good pleasure of God is to frustrate the principal End of Man's Salvation viz. the Glory of God's Grace Ephes 1. 6. and Chap. 2. 7. This Attribute of all the Rest He will not have ecclipsed nor intrench'd upon 'T is so Divinely sacred as not to admit the least humane touch For which very cause the Lord hath so contrived that blessed design and Plot of His Glory that all boasting is excluded And no flesh shall Glory in His preseuce But if any thing in the Creature be intitled to the Causality of Election Flesh will Glory and instead of excluding Man's Boasting Grace it self will be excluded which is far from a Glorifying of it as is plain from Rom. 11. 6. I would here Resolve a Quere or two which some have urged from the Scripture As 1. How can this Doctrine stand with the General love and good will of God towards Men who 't is said will have all to be saved 1. Tim. 2. 4. In General the literal sense of words is not to be rested on when the like phrase of speech elsewhere used or evident scope of the same or other Scripture agrees not to it The design and current of the whole must guide the construction of particular parts More particularly 1. Though the Doctrine of General Love will not stand with that of Special Election yet the Doctrine of Special Election will stand without That and against it For there is nothing more plain than that there is an Election of men to Salvation as also That the natural Import of Election is To Choose One or more out of Many Now this necessarily implyes the Leaving of Some and consequently The Not-willing of Salvation to All For 2. The Will of God cannot be resisted What He wills shall come to pass because with His willing the End He Wills also the Means and that such as shall compass His End Isa 46. 10 My councel shall stand I will do all my pleasure i. e. What I please to will That I will have done 3. If the word All be here taken universally it takes in Vnbelievers as well as Others as if God would have them to be Saved And if you will explain this by other Scriptures as namely If they do believe These also must be considered with those that shew How and by Whom that Faith must be wrought and who they are it belongs unto and they tell us That Faith is the Gift and operation of God Coll. 2. 12. Eph. 2. 8. And That Election is that which intitles to Faith Rom. 11. 7. 4. The Apostle is not here discoursing the Extent of God's special love Whether All Men universally are concern'd in it but exhorting Believers to a General duty viz. To give thanks for Kings and all in Authority because of the benefits we have by Government And to pray for them Not onely for their peaceable governing of us but if otherwise that God would turn their hearts and make them Nursing Fathers to His Church And to enforce the Duty There is no degree nor state of Men exempted from Salvation God hath chosen some of every sort and therefore we ought not to shut any out of our prayers 5. The word All is often used when but a part and sometimes the lesser part of the thing spoken of is intended by it As on the contrary when the Vniversality of the subject is intended it is expressed by Singulars As He that believeth shall be Saved and Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out It sometimes signifies All of such a sort so Eve is said to be the Mother of All Living Not of all Living Creatures but all of her own kind It other times intends Some of all Sorts as where it is said All the Cattle of Aegypt died Exod. 9. 6. And the hail smote every tree and every herb ver 25. And yet other Cattle are mentioned after and a Residue of Trees are said to be escaped ver 19 25. and Chap. 10. 5. So here God will have all Men to be saved That is some of every Sort and degree Gentiles as well as Jews Kings and Men in authority as well as those of a meaner Rank The same in Joel I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh Joel 2. 28. that is upon some of every Age Sex and Degree without distinction Young Old Masters Servants Sons Daughters c. as it follows there 6. To these Universal terms do belong divers Restrictions which must be gather'd from the Scope Col. 1. 23 The Gospel is said to be preached to every Creature under Heaven and yet Men only are intended and not All of them neither For the Gospel had reached but a small part of the World at that time and not the whole of it yet Acts 15. 21 Moses hath in every City them that preach him It must be understood only of Cities where the Jews dwelt and had Synagogues which were but few in comparison Acts 8. 4 They that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the Word i. e. They balked no place nor person but preached where ever they came At first it was confin'd to the Jews but now without limits 1 Cor. 4. 5 Every Man shall have praise of God It can be meant only of Good and Faithful Servants which are but a Remnant to the whole piece Eph. 4. 5 God is said to be the Father of all and yet Satan we know is the Father of the far greater part of the World Col. 1. 20 Christ is said to Reconcile all things and yet all the Angels which are Things and of the Chiefest of Things must be exempted The Good Angels because they never were at enmity and the evil Angels because Not Reconcilable Eph. 1. 10 That He might gather together in One all things in Christ This All things seems plainly to intend the Elect for they are the subject discoursed of in the whole Chapter and in Matthew Those gathered together are stiled The Elect Mat. 24. 31. In Heb. 12. 8 All are said to be partakers of Chastisement and yet it can be meant only of Sons for Bastards are not partakers of it as it follows there So also John 6. 4â— They shall be all taught of God It respects only the Sons of the Church i. e. such as are Elected whose iniquities are forgiven them and their sins remembred no more It is the tenour of the New Covenant which is made with the House of Israel that is Jews
Peradventure they will save us a live So do ye although ye have but a May be we shall be hid Zeph 2. 3. Minde your Duty and leave the issue to God Believe above hope and against hope Follow God in the dark as your father Abraham did Not knowing whether He would lead him Thus to do is To give Glory to God Therefore Fear the Lord and Obey the voice of His Servant even then when ye are in Darkness and have noe light Namely of His special Favour and love to you in perticular And though never so great discouragements are afore you from the Guilt of sins Committed the power of Indwelling Corruption and your present Aversness to Beleiveing and hear withall That Faith is the Great Commandment let your heart answer Is it my Duty my Duty to believe Nay then I must Remember His Greatness His absolute Dominion The â—ncontrollableness of His Matters That He hath concluded All in unbelief That He might have mercy upon All Rom. 11. 32. that is That the Salvation of Those who shall be saved might appear to be of Mercy and be so acknowledged To him therefore Commit your Cause and Commit it to Him as your Sovereign Lord and so leave it with Him And see that you take it not out of His hand again by your doubting the issue of it And know that then is your Soul nearest to Peace and settle ment when brought to this Submission Be in subjection unto the Father of Spirits Heb 12. 9. and live But let not the Word be misconstrued I do not mean by Submission That you should be satisfied under a denial of Mercy on the accompt of God's Absolute Dominion I cannot think That a Necessary term or qualification in your â—reating with God for Salvation For 1. I do not find That God requires such a Submission as the Condition of obtaining Mercy Nor that He hath made any Promise to give such a Submission in order to that end Nor any Instance in scripture of Mens having or indeavouring such a frame of spirit in that business Nor yet That Men are any where tax'd for-Not attâ—ning to it They are blamed indeed and that worthily For not submitting to the Righteousness of God that is For not Renouncing their own and flying to That of Christ And this blame-worthiness you cannot escape if finding your self lost and undone you will not presently run to Christ without first finding in your self Something that may seem to commend you to him 2. Such a Submission seems Repugnant to God's revealed Will For if this be the Will of God even our sanctification That we should believe in His Son and love Him with our whole heart Then it cannot be his Will That we should be willing to Remain in an unsanctified estate in unbelief and enmity against Him which are the inseperable Conjux of Willingness to be Seperated from God 3. Because the promise of Ease and Rest is made to the Weary and Laden coming to Christ Not to a Contentedness to be divided from him And the promise of Satisfaction is to your bungring and thirsting after Righteousness Not to the Câ—ssation of your desire without the Thing which onely can satisfie 4. Because To be satisfied without obtaining Mercy is to be satisfied with an utter incapacity to Glorify the Grace of God and to enjoy Communion with Him which are the principal End and Duty of Men. 5. It is Crosse to the Genius and Concreated Principle of the Reasonable Creature which is to seek its own happiness In any thing short of which it ought not to acquiesce 6. Such a submission cannot be Requisite in Preparatory work because That would suppose the highest pitch of Grace attain'd if yet it be a Grace and attainable before you beleive and consequently That it is not a Grace out of Christ's fullness for ye are supposed to have it before ye go to Him And therefore when I say ye must submit without Capitulating or making terms my meaning is ye are not to Treat upon terms of your own Making Nor propound any thing to God but What Sovereign Mercy propounds to you as the Way and Means of obtaining your Great End And great Reason ye have for this Submission for herein lies your Interest Those being in truth the onely Terms by which a lost and sinfull Creature can be rendred salvable or capable of being saved as may further appear in the Sequel of this discourse I think with humble Submission That if any Point of time may be supposed before the Decree It was Then that Absolute Dominion borâ— sway But ever since Election came in It is Grace that Reignes Not That Sovereignty is Ceased but Transferr'd Before it was in Power but Now in Grace In Grace as touching the Elect and in Justice as touching the Rest Grace is the Attribute God delights to honour And all the Other are if I may so speak Subjects of This Even Christ Himself was made a Servant to perform the pleasure of His Grace So then That you are to Submit unto is the good pleasure of God's will as held forth in the Covenant of Grace undertaking for and perfectly able to save you and as having His Sovereign Power engaged to make it good Which seems the scope of that passage in Moses his prayer for the people Numb 14 17 18 19. when they had highly provoked God Let the power of my Lord be Great according as Thou â—ast spoken c. It was to pardon and still Own them for His people And to this agree all those Scriptures which hold forth the Power of God as the ground of Faith as that by which He is Able to pardon sin Isa 27. 5. To subdue miquity and to hold your Souls in life you are therefore directed If ye will have peace with God to take hold of His strength Which cannot be meant of Contentedneâ—sâ— in having that strength put forth to destroy but as being perfectly Able and engaged by His Covenant to Save you As to the time When He will manifest His love to you As also touching the manner and measure of His dispensing it the good pleasure of God's Will is expressly and with all quietness of spirit to be Submitted unto But as to the Thing it self You ought not to be said Nay but as he who had power with God and prevail'd Hos 12. 14. Gen. 32. 26. He wept and made supplication but still resolv'd I will not let thee 〈◊〉 except thou bless me 2. As for the other nearest Concernment touching your Children deal in like manner for them by submitting them to the same Mercy It is true That next to your own personal salvation there cannot be a greater evidence of God's love to you than to Choose your Children after you Nor any thing more desireable to you Therefore Command them Gen. 18. 19. and Instruct them to keep the way of the Lord That He may bring on them the
he puts the Lord in mind of His promise to their Fathers Of His Mercy in pardoning them â—forâ—time what reflection it would have on His honour among the Egyptians If He should now destroy them c. Not a word of Complaint That first to promise and then to threaten is a senseless thing It had been senseless in Moses thus to do and in no wise consistent with His duty But more directly It were no senseless part in a Father to purchase an Office for his Son and so to settle it on him that it sâ—all not be in his own power to Reverse it And yet keeping to himself the knowledge of that Settlement propose the injoyment thereof conditionally viz. upon terms of obedience to his fathers Commands The tendency of all which is but to prove himself the Son of such a father and to Meeteâ— him for his place And the more to oblige his Son to a studious preparing himself for it to lay before him the evil and danger of a Negligent course by which if persisted in he might render himself uncapable But surely supposing this Father to have the same power over his Son as God hath over the heart and Spirit of His people He will so order him by Instruction discipline and good principles that he shall not run into a Forfeiture Besides Threatnings of Damnation are not properly appliable to Believers who know themselves so to be For he that believeth Joh. 5. 24. is passed from death to life and shall not come into Condemnation However at times for want of a thorow knowing their State unthankfulness for it or some other miscarriage they bring themselves under doubtings of it But for such as have Compleat assurance under God's hand and seal as the Objection speaks They are sealed up to the Day of Redemption Eph. 4. 30. Rom. 8. 15. with a Seal that never shall be loosed In case any person were so adjudged to Eternal life from Eternity that there is no possibility of miscarrying then there was no necessity of Christs dying for him The Assertors of Absolute Election do hold with the Scriptures That Election is in and through Christ The same Decree that ordained to Salvation ordained also the death of Christ in order thereto That God might be Just in Justifying He hath appointed us to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thes 5. 9 10. It might be inferr'd with as much shew of Reason That if such an End be appointed to be wrought by such a Means then that Means is unnecessary to that end That if God hath Chosen Men to salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth then holiness and faith are Needless things These are absurd reasonings which the Truth never Owns We judge such an Election to be an open Enemy to Godliness For who will strain and toil himself for that which he knows he shall obtain by an easie pace The Doctrine of Conditional Election can be no friend to Godliness whatever it may pretend since all that a Man doth on that account ultimately ends in self Godliness is to Aim at God as our Chief End in all that we do Now One that holds the Elect sure of Salvation and believes himself to be one of them and yet goes on to fear God and obey Him Glorifies God more than he that performs the same duties for kind and perhaps greater in bulk in expectation of life thereby The Pharisees fasted oftner than Christ's Disciples but were not such real friends to Godliness as they Long prayers fastings and Alms-deeds are all Nothing without Love and who do you think will Love God more he that believes himself sure of God's Love unchangeably or One that holds That after all his toiling and straining he may possibly have Run in vain and lose all at last And who would think that a Master in Israel should Reason so absurdly who counts it a toil to eat his Meat when Nature requires it especially when 't is most agreeable both to his palate and constitution All the wayes of God are pleasantness to them that walk in them And these would not leave them again although their future happiness were not concerned in it If they be grievous to any it is from their unacquaintedness with His Love 1. John 5. 3. It must needs make men very remiss and loâ—se in the Service of God Christ knew that the Angels had charge over Him and that He should not dash His foot against a stone yet ne'r the less careful of His own preservation Paul was sure of the Crown of Righteousness and yet as diligent in beating down his body andâ— strain'd as hard in Running his Race as any of those who lay the stress of Salvation upon their works Such a Notion of Election layes the honour and necessity of that great Ordinance of Preaching the Gospel in the dust For if the Elect so called shall as certainly be saved by a weak simple or Corrupt Ministry and this it may be enjoyed but a day or two in all a Mans life or loosely attended upon wherein is the Ministry of the Gospel to be esteemed That peremptory Decree That Summer and Winter Day and Night shall not cease takes not away the Necessity of the Sun 's being in the World Gen 8. 22. Nor of its daily Risings Settings and various Revolutions For by these as the Necessary Means thereof must the Decree be made good So The Absoluteness of that other part of the promise That Seed time and Harvest shall not cease doth no whit discharge the Husbandman either of his ufefulness or duty but evinceth the One and inforceth the Other Giving also Encouragement to him in his Work The force of this Answer will not be evaded by alledging That God affords them Means proper and sufficient for seed time and harvest that is they have fitting Seasons with Seed-corn horses plows and other Utensils of husbandry and that 's all the Promise intends and if they improve them not the fault 's their own True it is so and they shall smart for their Neglect But what will become of the Promise and Sureness of the Covenant Therefore this is not All that God doth for Men in this point He that Decreed How long the Earth shall endure and what number of Men He will raise up upon it Did also Decree His own upholding thereof during that time and by what Means those Men should be propagated and kept alive and did accordingly put into Mankind the Principles of Self-preservation by which they are Naturally prompted to the use of them as they are to Eat Drink and Sleep He hath set the World in their heart Eccles 3. 11. As the Elect shall certainly be saved and also prepared for that Salvation so hath the Lord appointed them such a Ministry and for so long a time and their attendance thereon in such manner as best agreeth to His Own intent and which He will bless and
make effectual for that End As is seen in His sending Paul to certain places where he must preach and not hold his peace Why because God had much People in that City i. e. Many of His Elect Ones were there who must be brought in by Paul's Ministry Bythinia and other places he is not suffered to go into though he would God had not yet any Work for him there Those that are to be taken the Lord will bring under the Means as He did that Shoal of Fishes under Peters Net Witness the Eunuch Joh 21. 6. Cornelius the Jailour and others And this Means whether Powerful or Simple in Men's esteem â—tis all one to God His word shall accomplish That He sends it for and the weaker the Means are the more is the Power of God magnified Act. 2. 9 10 11 41 47. See Acts 2. How by Illiterate Mens Ministry He took them by thousands and added to His Church daily such as should be saved So then the Ministry of the Gospel is in no wise made useless or disesteemable by the doctrine of Absolute Election but is rather Greatened thereby as being the Power of God to that Salvation He hath Chosen us to Of what great consequence to the World are the Richest Gifts of Wisedom Knowledg Vtterance c. if all thâ—se who are in any possibility of being saved by them may and shall as certainly be saved without them That the Richest gifts of Wisdom Knowledge Utterance are of no great consequence to the World is no Consequent of the Doctrine of Absolute Election For They are given for the Perfecting of the Saints and edifying the Body of Christ that is The Elect And all the diversities of Gifts Manifestations and Operations do concur to the same End Since it is the same God who Worketh all in all that is He appoints Men to Salvation These Gifts as a Means to prepare them for it and Makes them Effectual thereto But that those richest Gifts of Wisedom Knowledge and Utterance are of no great use or consequence to the World is a very 〈◊〉 Consequent of that Doctrine which tells the World that the Sun Moon and Stars do preach the Gospel sufficiently for Salvation Which if they do wherein indeed are those Richest Gifts to be esteemed And to what end is this waste Why should the best of Men suffer Stripes Imprisonments and Death for doing That which might be done by those above the reach of danger And withal 't is too well known and obvious That Men of greatest Knowledge Utterance and depth of Reason such as are stiled the Princes of this World They are not alwaies Nay very rarely the fastest Friends of Truth and Godlinâ—ss And those Few that are are not alwayes most successeful in their Work Eccles 9. 11. When as Some others meanly furnished in comparison 2 Cor. 10. 10. with Acts 17. 6. have Turned the World upside-down The Lord oft-times rejects the Wise and Prudent and reveals himself by Babes To take from men occasion of boasting and to make it appear that the Faith of His People doth not stand in the Wisdom of Men 1 Cor. 2. 5. but Power of God Vpon what account can Men be pressed to a frequent diligent conscientious attendance on the Ministry if Salvation and consequently Preparation and Meetness for Salvation shall as certainly be had by a broken careless superficial attendance in this kind On what account did the Lord so frequently admonish that People To keep the Law without turning aside To Circumcise their hearts and to be no more stiff-necked and this as the Condition of their obtaining Canaan if all their unworthyness could not deprive them of Canaan which the Author of this Objection elsewhere affirms it could not But further As Men are Creatures it is their duty to serve and honour God and in order thereto to wait upon Him in His Ordinances and that with all diligence although the business of their Salvation were not concerned in it but much more since it is if any thing of Self-Concern may enforce a Duty And truly the present sweetness that is in the wayes of God is Argument sufficient to induce our most serious attendance thereon But that Salvation or Meetness for Salvation may as certainly be had by a careless Attendance is far from the Doctrine of Absolute Election to Assert For it presseth it still as an important duty to give all diligence to make our Calling and Election sure But really Remisness in duty is the natural result of that Doctrine which teacheth That a Man possibly may lose all he hath run-for at the last step For who will strain and toil himself as they term it for an uncertainty And if there be any such who neglect their duty because if Elected they are sure to be saved they give but a sorry evidence of their state And they are commonly such as most eagerly oppose the Doctrine of Election and not of those who hold for it Such an Election as we contend against we judge to be most unworthy the most excellent Nature of God and to be at manifest defiance with His Wisdom Holiness Mercy Justice c. If the Election contended against be such as the Objectors Arguments are pointed at It is such as I suppose was never held by any And then 't is ill-spent time to set up Counterfeit Notions and make a great business of confuting them But it is Absolute Election without respect to Mens Works that is striven against And for this we say 1. Absolute Election is no way contrary to the wisdom of God but most consonant thereto For how can it stand with His Wisdom to determine the death of His Son for the Salvation of Men and leave it undetermin'd and consequently uncertain whether any one person shall have Salvation by it 2. It is so far from being at manifest defiance with the Mercy of God that it is most congruous and suitable to the very nature of it To shew Mercy is To open the heart to one in distress To love and do good to Enemies whom he might as justly have destroyed and was no way oblig'd to spare much less to advance them Nay perhaps they were deeplier involv'd in guilt than other Men even the Chief of sinners which is sure the highest illustration of Mercy and farr from a manifest defiance with it 3. It doth not oppose the Justice of God For to whom is He Debtor or can be All had a stock in Adam and having lost it by their own default God is not obliged to Restore it Therefore no Injustice to Repair One and not Another Doth it argue any Sovereign or high strain of Grace when Ten Thousand have equally offended to pardon oâ—e or two and implacably resolve to punish and torment all the Rest to the utmost extremity And this against all possible interveniency of Sorrow and Repentance for their fault It were very desirable that men whiles they suppose to
But the difference lyes in this That the New Covenant consists of better Promises And this Betterness stands in the Free Absolute Independent engagement of God Himself to Invest His Covenanted Ones with all things conducing to the Blessedness held forth And that as well what is to be done on their part as on His Own upon their doing of it That is plainly To Give to them and Work in them Whatever in this Covenant He requires of them The law shews matter of Duty but gives not where-with to perform it The Covenant of Grace does both by writing the law in the heart And without this it would still have been but a Covenant of works be the Duties enjoined whatever you will It therefore runs not upon Conditional or Failable terms I will If ye will but Absolute and Sovereign I will and ye shall This Covenant does not only give life upon terms of Believing but Faith also and Holiness as the necessary means of attaining that life And this not upon your ingenuous complyance as some term it or better improvement of what you have in common with other Men such allegations the Lord disallows and often Cautions against but of Grace It 's a Covenant made-up of Promises and Promise by Scripture intendment is alwayes Free both freely made and freely perform'd without the desert or procurement of Men. Take Isaac for instance Abraham's body was now dead Gen. 18. 11. ver 14. and Sarah besides her natural barrenness it ceased to be with her after the manner of Women and yet Sarah shall have a Son But How The Promise had in it though Abraham and Sarah had not whatever might tend to Isaac's conception and birth Gal. 4. 23 28. and for this cause He was called The Son of the Promise as also Believers are Rom. 9. 8. Gal. 3. 29. They are also termed Heirs of Promise Heb. 6. 17. And on this account Christ is called The Promised Seed and the Holy Ghost The Spirit of Promise viz To shew the Independent freeness of those Divine Gifts The Promise of sending them Their actual Coming and Effectual operations are all free and free in all respects This Dew from the Lord waiteth not for Men. Mic. 5. 7. For further illustration the Jews are a pertinent Instance as ye read in Jer. 32. from v. 30. to the 36. They had done nothing but evil from their youth up and were a continual provocation And when scattered among the Nations they were no-whit bettered but caused even the Heathen to blaspheme And yet notwithstanding all this the Lord will Gather them and give them an heart to fear Him for ever v. 37. to v. 44. And this even whiles they were not moved neither could they blush chap. 8. 12. See also with what inexpressible freeness of Grace the Lord deals with them in Isa 43. v. 25. I even I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions and will not remember thy sins But what 's the Introduction to this so great a Promise See it and wonder at it Thou hast not called upon Me O Jacob Miâ— v. 22. ver 23. ver 24. but thou hast been weary of Me O Israel Thou hast not brought Me the small Cattel of thy burnt Offerings Thou hast bought Me no sweet Cane with thy money but hast made Me to serve with thy sins and wearied Me with thine iniquities I even I whom thou hast dealt so ingratefully with Isa 64. 3. and disingenuously even I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake And this was a Great thing they looked not for As indeed considering themselves and what their demeanour had been they had no Reason to look for it Hence 't is cleer That Grace respects not the worthiness of Men in what It does for them Nay it must respect their Vnworthiness rather as that by which Grace is more illustrated and the glory thereof more advanced according to Rom. 5. 20. Where sin abounded Grace did much more abound And Paul proclaims it as verified on himself 1 Tim. 1. 13. I was a Blasphemer and a Persecutour and Injurious But I obtained Mercy and the Grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant v. 14 and hereupon he falls to Adoring that Grace Now to the King Eternal Immortal Invisible the only wise God be honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen v. 17. The Richeâ— of Mercy is made-out by Saving the Chief of sinners and in quickening us when dead Ephes 2. 1 4. And it is very observable That the Apostles when ever they mention the Grace of God in Saving Quickening c. do not give the least intimation of Mens Worthiness Preparedness Compliance or any such thing but Dead in Sins and Quickening come one in the neck of the other as light does upon darkness which in no sort induces the light or prepares the dark Earth or Ayr for it as is abundantly evident in all their Epistles And how oft and in good earnest does the Lord declare against all the pretensions of Men as to their activeness in this Matter in Isaiah Jeremy Ezekiel Hosea c. And as a barr to those pretensions The Holy People He calls A People sought-out and that He is found of them that sought Him not with many others This I shall end with a very observable Instance within my own Memory and I bring it not in for proof but Illustration I knew a Man who when he came under convictions endeavoured with all his might to stifle them His Convictions grew stronger and he hardned himself against them He saw their tendency but so opposite to it that he resolv'd in express terms He would not be a Puritan what-ever came of it To the Church he must go His Master would have it so But this was his wont To loll oâ—r the seat with his fingers in both his ears Here General or Conditional Grace was surely non-plus'd But a Chosen Vessel must not so be lost Now steps-in Electing Grace and by a casual slip of his Elbows drew-out the stoppers and sent-in a Word from the Pulpit which like fire from Heaven melted his heart and cast it in a New Mould Surely in this the Lord did not wait for the Man's complyance or improvements His work was not Originated thence nor dependent thereon II. II. If all that pertains to Salvation were not given freely Salvation it self should not be of Grace For to him that worketh is the Reward not reckoned of Grace Rom. 4. 4. but of Debt But Salvation is of Grace Ephes 2. 5. By Grace ye are saved And agen v. 8. By Grace ye are saved through Faith Where also lest the adding of Faith should occasion in their esteem a lessening of this Grace or seem to detract from the Freeness of it he cautiously subjoyns That this Faith is the work of that Grace Not of your selves It is the Gift of God For if Grace be perfectly free in Choosing it must be answerably
walked the more humbly and warily all his dayes He was also the more intent on that great duty of Teaching sinners the way of God Psal 51. 13. Peter he also got ground by denying his Master Thereby he came to see his own weakness the need he had of Christ's support and continuall prayer for him and we hear no more of his carnal confidence after that But What a clamour and out-cry does he make against our adversary the Devil 1 Pet. 5. 8. to warn others by his own example what danger they are in And doubtless what the Tempter got by Peter's fall he lost the double of it by the after-watchfulness of Others For that 's the designed end Luke 2â— 32. viz. To strengthen stablish settle them ver 10. Paul had a Messenger of Satan let looss upon him to buffet him The end of which was to humble him and To shew him the sufficiency of the Grace of Christ 'T is likely also That he got as much by that thorn in his flesh as by his Rapture and Revelations To be sure they did well together and poized him the better for his work Job 23. 10 with ch 40. 4. ch 42. 6. The like effect upon Job Mary Magdalen the remembrance of the seven devils that once possess'd her and of that love which cast them out How did it heighten her love to Christ and keep her heart in a melting frame She loved much because much was forgiven her The People's fourty years travel thro' that great and terrible wilderness Deut. 8. 15 16. among fiery Serpents and scorpions It was To prove them and to doe them good in the latter end They were also sent into captivity for their good Jer. 24. 5. Isa 27. 9. This was all the fruit intended To take away their sin and to make them partakers of His holiness Heb. 12. 10. I grant indeed These things are Physick which Nature desires not Yet let me say They are as needfull in their season as our food and in very Faithfullness we must have them which also appears by the scope of the new Covenant Of which more afterwards Upon all which It is safely inferred That all these things worketh God with Man Not to destroy him but To bring-back his soul from the pit Job 33. 29. 30. They are all made to turn to their Salvation They have alwaies triumphed over them Rom. 8. 37. and been more than Conquerors through Him that loved them And if this be the fruit and Result of all that doth or can befall a Believer whiles in this World and ther 's no more of evil or danger when this is done then welcom let them be as another Demonstration of their INVINCIBLE PERSEVERANCE Ps 107. 43. Who so is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. IV. A fourth Argument for the Saints Perseverance Arg. IV. is built on their Union with Christ Which is of that Intimateness that the Scripture sets it forth by terms of nearest Relation as Foundation and Building Vine and Branches Father and Children Husband and Spouse Head and Members Yea They are both called interchangeably by the same Name He is called Jacob Psal 24. 6. And they are called Christ 1 Cor. 12. 12. And which is more if more can be He communicates to them that title which one would think Incommunicable viz. The Lord our Righteousness Jer. 23. 6. with chap. 33. 16. And this Union is such as can never be broken It is no more possible than for the Union which is between God and Christ to be dissolv'd For the same Oneness for kinde is between Christ and them as between the Father and Christ which is plain by that passage of His prayer in the 17 John ver 21. That they all may be One How one as thou Father art in Me and I in Thee That they may be One in Vs They are so near to Him that they are said to be Of His flesh and of His bones Eph. 5. 30. as also That they are one Spirit i. e. 1 Cor. 6. 17. He and They are Actuated by the same Spirit as the head and members of the same Body are by One Soul And this is the true reason why Believers cannot walk after the flesh because The Spirit of life which is in Christ Iesus as their root rules in them Rom. 8. 2. Jude ver 2. They are preserved in Christ as Noah was in the Ark or as branches in their own stock For this difference is still to be Noted That Believers have not this life in themselves as Christ hath but they have it in him which is better for them than if in their own keeping For being in Him as in a Root It is natural to Him to Communicate and as natural to them by virtue of the Divine Nature communicated to them to Derive from Him And so Because and whiles He lives Joh. 14. 19. 1 Joh 5. 12. They shall live also He that hath the Son hath life and they have it in a way of Right as he that is possest of the soil has right to all that grows upon it All that is Christ's is theirs There is a happy Commutation of Interests Their debts with the consequences thereof are devolv'd upon Him and all that was His in imputed to them And His care of them is such that He will be able to say at the latter day Of All that Thou hast given Me I have lost nothing Joh. 18. 9. 17. 12. Jer. 22. 24. He will not leave an hoof behind The signet on his right hand Men of shineing outsides may possibly be plucked thence but the least joint of His finger shall not No man who is Compos mentis will suffer the meanest part of himself to Gangrene and perish if it be in his power to help it How then should our Lord Christ Eph. 5. 25. Who besides the naturall affection He hath to those of His own Body hath also received a Commandment from the Father Joh. 6. 40. to keep them safe and is perfectly qualified in all respects to make it good On this account Col. 2. 10. as well as others they are complete in Him Believers are so One with Christ that whatsoever he did they are said to doe it with Him vers 11. Rom. 6. 6. ver 4. 5. Eph. 4. v. 8. Chap. 2. 6. Gal. 2 20. Circumcised with Him Crucified with Him Buried with Him Rose with Him Ascended with him And they sit in Heaven with him It is no more possible for Believers to miscrary finally than for Christ Himself to be held under the power of the grave There is one law for them both It 's a faithfull saying 2 Tim. 2. 11. If we be dead with Him Rom. 8. 17. Chap 6. 9. we shall also live with him If we suffer with him