impoffible, confidering the great perverseness of mankind, to live always in peace with all men. It was impoffible for the Galatians, to pulck out their own eyes and give them to Paul, that they might beome his, and be of fervice to him. They could not do it, without fuppofing them out of their fenfes, thus with out advantage to any, to exercife fuch an act of cruelty on their own body; and without fuppofing Paul to be out of his mind, who, for his own honour, would permit and commend it. In fine, it was impoffible for that cup to pafs from Chrift, without his drinking it. Impoffible, I fay, not abfolutely, in which fenfe Chrift fays, " O my Father, all things are poffible to thee;" but from the fuppofition of the divine decree, the furetyship he had undertaken, the prophecies and types by which he was foretold and perfigured. For, Chrift was to make fatisfaction to the utmost farthing. Which fatisfaction is represented by his drinking the cup. 2dly, Should we grant our adverfaries, what they ftrenuously contentd for, that impoffible, fometimes denotes what is difficult; and possible, what is easy; yet that fense would not fuit this paffage. For, fhould any transform our Saviour's words, thus: "They will fhew figns and wonders, fo as to deceive (if it might be eafily done), the elect themselves;" he would render that most wife fentence impertinent and foolish. XV. Secondly, the Father gave believers to Chrift, John xvii. 6. for his inheritance, and as the reward and price of his labour, Pfa. ii. 8. But the Father will neither fuffer the inheritance of his only begotten Son to be alienated, nor him to lose his purchase. Christ was fecure as to this, when he said, Ifa. xlix. 4. "Surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God:" and, John x. 29. “ My Father which gave them me, is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hands :" that is, neither Satan, nor the world, nor the flesh, which three are the enemies of Christ's sheep, shall ever have so much power, as to make them unwilling to abide under the faving protection of the Father: for, they cannot be pulled away against their will. This violent taking them away. confifts in the alone change of the will. Whence it appears, that these perfons trifle in a matter of ferious importance, who would have this condition understood, viz. unless they willingly depart from God. For, the tendency of Christ's discourse is to affure believers, that their enemies thall never be able to make them foolishly steal away from God. We are to attend to Christ's manner of arguing, which runs thus: "I give life to my fheep, nor fhall they ever perifh, because none can pluck them out of mine, or my Father's hands." But if our adver

faries

faries anfwer be true, that they may cease to be fheep, and of their own accord, by their fins fly out of his hands, though not plucked out of them; then Chrift's reafoning would be weak and inconclufive. It is the greatest abfurdity to restrict thefe words of Chrift to those who have died in the faith; and that the plucking them out of Chrift's hand, denotes the detaining them under death and condemnation, and preventing their being raifed by Chrift from death to eternal life. For, Ift, Chrift here fpeaks of the fheep, which hear his voice, and follow him; the voice of a ftranger they hear not, but fly from him; all which belong to the ftate of this life. 2dly, It is evident, that Chrift here comforts believers against thofe temptations, by which they are most of all annoyed. But what believer is much difquieted by the thought, that when he is dead in the faith of Chrift, and his foul is received into the heavenly manfions, he fhall be detained under death and condemnation? Who once doubts, but his happiness is then firmly fecured? 3dly, Nothing can be spoken more indigested, than that they, who have died in the faith of Chrift, are detained under, death and condemnation; as the babbling apologift for the Remonftrants is pleafed to fay, What? are those who have died in the faith of Chrift under a condemnation under which they can apprehend they may be detained?

XVI. 3dly, The Father has, by an immutable covenant and teftament, promifed to take care, that the elect should not fall away from him to their eternal deftruction. But to doubt of the faithfulness of God, promifing and bequeathing by teftament is blafphemous. To this purpofe is Ifa. liv. 10. "The mountains fhall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness fhall not depart from thee, neither fhall the covenant of my peace be removed, faith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee. By which words, God not only in general declares, that he will faithfully adhere to what he has promifed in behalf of his children; but intimates the ftability of the covenant of grace, which he calls the covenant of peace, beyond the covenant of works. Certainly, God would have performed what he had promifed in the covenant of works, provided man had perfevered in his obedience; but in the covenant of peace he abfolutely promifes, that his goodness fhall not depart from his covenant-people, because it was that which was to preferve them in holiness, and fo to bring them to happiness. And in this fense alfo, it may be faid of the new covenant, that it " is better and established upon better promifes," Heb. viii. 6, namely, fuch as are abfolute, without depending on any uncertain con

dition

XVII. The fame thing is more fully inculcated, Jer. xxxii. 38, 39, 40." and they fhall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give [put within] them one heart and one way, that they may fear me FOR Ever. And I will make an EVERLASTING COVENANT with them, that I wILL NOT TURN AWAY FROM THEM TO DO THEM GOOD; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that THEY SHALL NOT DEPART FROM ME.” The very fame thing we have Jer. xxxi. 31, 32, 33. On thefe teftimonies we are to obferve, 1ft, That God here, in explaining his gracious covenant, propofes it by way of teftament, while he abfolutely promifes, what he is to do, requiring no conditions to be performed by man. 2dly, That this covenant or teftament is faid to be perpetual, or everlasting, with an exprefs oppofition to another covenant, which depended on a mutable condition, broken by man, and abrogated by God, Jer. xxxi. 32. 3dly, That there is not only a promife of the conftant affection of God towards them, whereby he will ne ver turn away from doing them good, to which promise fome condition might be understood; but also of that fear of God whereby they fhall not depart from him. Which being fuppofed, nothing further can be required: 4thly, That God fays not, he will invite them by his word, by the greatest promises, and by very many benefits to a conftant fear of himself, and thus, by moral fuafion, incline their minds, as much as in him lay; which the remonftrants repeat after the Socinians; but that he would actually and by the invincible efficacy of his Spirit, put his fear in their hearts; the confequence of which would be, that they should not depart from him. Could this almighty conservation of believers be poffibly promised in clearer terms?

XVIII. Almighty, I fay: for what we are fourthly to obferve is, that God exerts his fuper-eminent power in the performance of thofe promifes, for their confervation: that power, by which he is greater than all, as we just heard our Saviour declaring. Of this Peter speaks, 1 Pet. i. 5. " who are kept by the power of God [as a garrifon] through faith unto falvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." There Peter teftifies, ift, That the elect are kept unto falvation by the power of God. It is not therefore poffible, they fhould perifh. 2dly, He compares that power to a strong garrifon, which may not only bravely repulfe all external violence, but alfo eafily quell all commotions of inteftine rebellion; for both thefe are incumbent on foldiers in gårrifon. 3dly, He fhows the means of their confervation, namely, faith, whereby we can

not

not be preferved unless it alfo be preferved in us. the Father.

Thus far of

XIX. Now let us take a view of the Son. And first confider, at what rate he purchased the elect; not with gold or filver, but with his precious blood, with dreadful horrors of foul, and tortures of body, with an accurfed death, accompanied by the pains of fpiritual and eternal death. Can any one think it probable, that Chrift would fuffer those whom he purchased at so dear a rate, to be taken away from him, and to fall into the power of another, and even of him, who is our most enraged enemy? What? Will not Jefus protect them, who are now become his peculiar property? Why was he willing to be at such expence for their purchase? Why are they called haos dis tegitonoir, a people purchased, 1 Pet. ii. 9. and λaoswégiócios, a peculiar people, Tit. ii. 14. For goings and gieria are interpretations of the Hebrew word na Segullah, which fignifies a peculiar treasure, a thing of value, that is, a thing acquired by one's labour and expence, and therefore exempted from all foreign right and power, to be carefully kept by the purchaser, and its lofs to be deemed a great detriment and damage. Elegantly, fays Mofes Gerundenfis, on Exod. xix. 5. " Ye fhall be in my hands a purchase, a beloved thing, which one puts not into the hands of another." See what we have more fully faid on thefe words in the preceding chapter, fect. 7. Or can he not keep them, unless they alfo themselves are willing? But he who could act fo powerfully by his inclining efficacy on their will, when befet on every hand by the devil, as with full bent of foul towards him to reft, by faith and love, upon him; why can he not, by the fame inclining efficacy, cause them, after having fully tafted his incredible sweetness, to abide with him with a fixed purpose of foul? Nay, he is both willing and able to keep them, and actually does fo: "Thofe that thou gavest me, I have kept, and none of them is loft," John xvii. 12. From what our Lord adds, " but the fon of perdition," we are not to conclude that Judas was, in the fame manner, given to Chrift, as the other Apoftels were; namely to be redeemed and faved. For, "Christ knew who were his :" had long before known that Judas was a devil. John xiii. 18. and John vi. 70. It is therefore plain, that we cannot conclude, from the ruin of Judas, the perdition of those who are given to Chrift to be redeemed, and whom he actually has redeemed with his own blood.

XX. Secondly, It is evident, that the Lord Jefus is heard by his Father in all things, especially in thofe things, which he afks

as

as our interceffor, John. xi. 42. But he prays the Father for all believers, that he would keep them from the evil, or the evil one, John xvii. 15, 20. Our adverfaries, by a ridiculous fophiftry endeavour to fubvert this invincible argument, by aflirming, that Chrift has no where prayed for the abfolute perfeverance of believers in the faith? nay, would not have prayed fo earneftly for their perfeverance, had God abfolutely determined it fhould be fo. This affertion, together with the reafon annexed, is very rafh and extremely falfe. It is a rash affertion : for, ft, Where in this petition of our Lord, is there the leaft fign of a conditional prayer? It is not for us to frame conditions at our pleasure. And then, 2dly, What condition is underftood, when Chrift fays, keep them from the evil, or the evil one? Is it this? unless they become willing to join themfelves to that evil one? But their confervation confifts in this very thing, that they fhall be conftantly unwilling to do that. 3dly. The remonftrants themselves deny not, that Chrift prayed for the abfolute perfeverance of Peter, Luke xxii. 32. But that immunity from defection, which he prayed for in behalf of his difciples, he alfo prayed for in behalf of all who were to believe by their miniftry, John xvii. 20. The reafon they gave is most falfe, because it supposes that none earnestly prays for what he knows to be certainly decreed by God. The contrary appears in David, 2 Sam. vii 27. 28, 29. for thou O Lord, haft revealed to thy fervant, faying, I will build thee an houfe; therefore hath thy fervant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And in Daniel; who, when he had found from the phecies of Jeremiah, that the determined period for the Babylonifh captivity was feventy years, immediately fet his face unto the Lord God, to feek by prayer and fupplications, that he would do, what Daniel knew from Jeremiah, was certainly decreed by God, Dan. ix. 3. And laftly, in Chrift himself, who certainly knew, that it was a thing fixed and decreed, that he was to be glorified with the glory, which he had with the Father before the world was and yet with no lefs earnestness does he afk for that in this very prayer, than he did for the confervation of his own people, John xvii. 5.

pro

XXI. Thirdly, We have Paul's authority to affert, that Chrift Jefus built the church for his own house, Heb. iii. 3. But Christ himself speaks of that building in order to fhew, by the ftrongest reafons, its impregnable ftability, Mat. xvi. 18. "upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." From which place we argue these three ways, 1ft, The building or houfe of Chrift confifts Vol. II.

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