afflicted, I went aftray; but now have I kept thy word." Thefe admonitions, promifes, threatenings and the like actions of God towards the elect, are fo far from giving the leaft ground to conclude any thing against their perfeverance; that, on the contrary, they are powerful means for their confervation.

XL. For, when God, by the power of his Spirit, excites the mind attentively to confider these things, a certain holy fear and trembling are produced on man, Phil. ii. 12. which ftir him up to be diligently upon his guard againft the flesh, the world, and the devil, and all their fnares, leaft, by being impofed upon by their deceits, he should do any thing prejudicial to his own falvation. And fhould it happen, that he has departed from God by fome abominable iniquity; the sense of the wound he has given his confcience, and which, unless timely cured, must at last issue in eternal death, does not fuffer him to be easy, till, by renewed repentance, he has returned to God, and obtained with many tears, the pardon of his fin from his infinite mercy. And as every believer is conscious of his own weakness, therefore with humble dependence on the affistance of divine grace, he is earneft in devout prayers, for the continual influences of it, in order to his confervation and corroboration; praying, according to our Lord's direction, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." And in this manner all true believers, being excited and affifted by God, alfo perfevere and preferve themfelves; "we know that whofoever is born of God, finneth not: but he that is begotten of God, keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him' not," 1 John v. 18. And indeed whoever forms a right judgment of the vileness of fin, the torments of hell, and the greatnefs of divine wrath whoever has had but the flightest taste of the beauty of religion, the pleasantnefs of grace, the honour of eternal glory, and the incredible sweetness of the love of God; it is not poffible, he fhould not exclaim; "Lo! they that are far from thee, fhall perish; thou haft destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee: but it is good for me to draw to God," Pfa. Ixxiii. 2, 28. This is "with purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord," Acts xi. 23.

XLI. Hence appears the falfehood of the calumny of our adverfaries, that, by this doctrine concerning the almighty confervation of God, a wide door is opened to profanenefs and carnal fecurity. That it is highly useful and effectual for the confolation of believers, provided it is true, will not be contradicted even by thofe who deny it. But nothing can be effectual for the confolation of the faints, which, at the fame time

is not effectual for the promoting of holinefs. For, in every confolation, there is a demonftration of the beneficent love of God towards the wretched finner, who is folicitous about his falvation; and the clearer that demonftration of divine love is, and the more particular the application, the stronger alfo is the confolation. Befides, nothing is more powerful for inflaming our hearts with love to God, than the knowledge, fenfe and tafte of the divine love shed abroad in them. Whoever therefore moft amplifies the powerful grace of God in his confolation, which impudence itfelf will not deny we do, prefents to the faints the most powerful motives to divine love and the confequences thereof.

XLII. But let us more particularly fhow, that our doctrine is far more adapted to promote piety, than what our adverfaries. maintain concerning the unftable happiness of believers. And firft, Our doctrine doth certainly most of all illuftrate the glory of God, which the oppofite tends to obfcure. We celebrate the infinite POWER of the deity, whereby he can not only reftrain our outward enemies from overthrowing our falvation, but alfo fo fix the wavering difpofition of our will, that it may not depart from the conftant love of holiness: also his TRUTH in the promises of the covenant of grace, on which we fafely and fecurely rely, being affured, that he who hath promised, will alfo perform: and his GOODNESS, whereby he does not altogether reject, or difinherit his children, or cut them off from the communion of Christ, even when they have fallen into fome grievous fin, but by his fatherly chaftifements, graciously recovers them from their fall, and flirs them up to repentance and his HOLINESS, to which it is owing, that he hides his face from his children, when for fome time, they feem to give too much way to fin, fo that he does not grant them familiar accefs to hinfelf, nor the influences of his confolations, but rather fharply ftings, and thoroughly terrifies their confcience with the fenfe of his indignation, leaft he fhould appear to be like the finner, or could bear with fin in his own people without refentment: and the EFFICACY OF THE MERITS AND INTERCESSION OF CHRIST, whereby he has acquired and preferved for himfelf an inheritance never to be alienated. In fine, we celebrate the invincible POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT who fo preferves his myftical temple, that it neither can be deftroyed nor be made an habitation of impure fpirits. But as the sum of our religion confifts in glorifying God, fo that which illuftrates the glory of God in this manner, does moit of all premote godlinefs.

XLIII. But as the oppofite doctrine separates the immutable bent of the free will to good, from the efficacy of divine grace; as it maintains, that God does not always perform what he has promifed; as it will not grant, that God's children, when they fall into fome grievous fin, are chaftifed with rods, but difinherited, and punished by fpiritual death; as it afferts, that the impetration of falvation by Chrift may be perfect, and, in every refpect, complete, though none fhould happen actually to be faved thereby, and that Chrift was not always heard in his prayers; and that the Holy Spirit is fometimes conftrained, by the mutability of the human will, to give up his habitation to the evil fpirit; the oppofite doctrine, I fay muft, in many refpects, be injurious to the power, truth and goodness of God the Father; to the merits and interceffion of God the Son, and to the invincible efficacy of the Holy Spirit.

XLIV. Secondly, Our doctrine is excellently adapted to allure the unconverted, feriously to endeavour after converfion and repentance: for, the more fure and ftable that happens it, which is promised to the penitent, the more effectual is the motive taken from the confideration of it. The fcripture every where diffuades men from fearching after the good things of this world, and encourages them to seek thofe good things, which are spiritual, from this argument, that the former will perish, but the latter endure for ever, John vi. 27. " Labour not for the meat which perifheth: but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life," r John ii. 15, 17. "Love not the world: the world paffeth away, and the luft thereof: but he that doth the will of God, abideth for ever." And indeed, what can be more powerful to excite to repentance than this reflection? "As long as I am diftracted "with the anxious cares of this life, let my fuccefs be ever fo "great, I can only amafs perifhing treafures, of which I may "perhaps be deprived in this very life, and the remembrance "of which fhall certainly torment me in the next. But if I diligently pursue the work of my converfion, I fhall, from "the very first moment of that, obtain that love of God in Christ, from which nothing fhall ever be able to feparate me "again and the fooner I enjoy that, the fooner I acquire that fupreme good, which is poffeffed without any danger of hav"ing my mifery renewed."

XLV. But the oppofite doctrine is adapted to procrastinate endeavours after repentance. For, when it is inculcated on a man, that a child of God by regeneration, after having for fome time been engaged in the practice of holiness, not only may, but actually has often fallen away, and become a child

of

of the devil, been difinherited by his heavenly Father, and is, with greater difficulty renewed to repentance, the further progrefs he had made in holiness: this thought will eafily be entertained by thofe, who hear of exhortations to repentance, that there is no occafion to prefs the matter of their converfion fo ftrenuously in their tender years, leaft perhaps, confidering the great inconftancy of unstable youth, they be overtaken by fome great fin, and their condition be far worse than it was before: that it is more adviseable, to wait for those years (for we generally promise ourselves long life), in which both our judgment is riper, and the mind usually purfues, with more conftancy, what it has once applied to, enjoying in the mean time the delights of this world. Now, nothing can be more pestilential, than this thought, which yet this doctrine fuggefts.

XLVI. Thirdly, Our doctrine is alfo very powerful to confirm the elect, already converted, in the fpiritual life, and to quicken them to the conftant practice of religion. Which may be proved various ways: 1ft, All the arguments, which are raifed from the poffible apoftacy of the faints, are taken from the fear of punishment, and the terror of dreadful threatenings; but those taken from God's most powerful confervation, breathe nothing but his love and the incredible sweetness of divine grace. Moreover, it is certain, that the children of God," who have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear; but the Spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, father," Rom. viii 15. are more powerfully drawn by the cords of love, than driven by the fcourge of terror: for, "the love of Chrift constraineth us," 2 Cor. v. 14. 2dly, All our religion is nothing but gratitude: but it is clear, that that perfon more effectually promotes gratitude, who proves by cogent arguments, that the happiness bestowed from grace fhall be perpetual, by the help of the fame grace, than he who maintains, that though it be truly great, yet it may be loft. 3dly, It is equitable, that the better fecured the reward of our duty is, we fhould be the more diligent in the practice of religion. For, the confideration of the reward is among thofe things which render the commands of God fweet, Pf. xix. 10. But we afiure the faithful worshippers of God, from his own word, that from their very firft entrance on the course of fincere godlinefs, their reward is fure; calling upon them with the Apoftle, 1 Cor. xv. 58. " therefore my beloved brethren, be ye ftedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, FOR AS MUCH AS YE KNOW, that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." But our adverfaries, unhappily difcourage all diligence, while they teach, that we know not, whether our labour

fhall

shall be in vain or not, fince it is poffible, we may fall away, and fo have all along laboured for nothing.

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CHAP. XIV.

Of Glorification.

S all God's works tend to his glory, fo alfo to the GLO RIFICATION of his chofen people. This doubtlefs is the glory of God, to manifeft himself in his elect, to be what he is to himself, the fountain of confummate happinefs. When he does this, he is glorified in his faints, and admired in all them that believe," 2 Theff. i. 10. Believers exult in this hope of their falvation, which is fo connected with the glory of God that it is called by that very name in the holy fcripture: "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God," Rom. v. 2. Our glorification is called the glory of God, not only because it comes from and is freely beftowed on us by God; but also because the magnificence of the divine majefty difplays itself no where more illuftriously than in that glorious happiness, which he makes to fhine in his beloved people.

II. Some would prove, that we are called to this by God, from 2 Pet. i. 3. "who hath called us to glory and virtue :" but the Greek runs, dia dožns xai agers, by glory and virtue; which may be understood either of our glory and virtue, or of the glory and virtue of God, and of Chrift. If we understand it of ours, the meaning will be, that God had called us to communion with himself, by fuch a clear difplay of the glory to be revealed in the faints, and by the propofal of true virtue, which is made in the gospel, that none can be acquainted with it, but must be inflamed with a defire after it. But it will be better to apply them to God, as Peter elsewhere calls them, Tas digitas tõ xadiσartes nuas, the virtues (praifes) of him who hath called us, i Pet. ii. 9. And fome manufcripts have dia dožą nas agst, his own glory and virtue: and then the meaning will be, he hath called us by his own glorious virtue; or, what I take to be fullest, the Lord Jefus hath called us by glory, while he prefents unto us a glory in himself, as of the only begotten of the Father, and by virtue, while he difcovered a life full of every inftance of virtue, which, as they are fet forth in a preached gofpel, clearly thew, that he was the Son of God and Saviour of the world. And thus we keep to the proper fignification of VOL. II. the

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