es, he carries it on until the day of Chrift, and takes care conftantly to grant them that affiftance and those influences by which he thoroughly and effectually worketh in them both to will and to do all those things whereby they work out their own falvation, and are prepared to dwell with Jefus Chrift in his kingdom forever. They receive the Spirit of Chrift when they first become Chriftians, to be in and dwell with them forever, by whom they are led, and who is the author of every holy exercife of heart which they have, and of all the good works they do, by which they go on in the way to heaven, and until they are made perfectly holy. They being interested in the promises of the covenant of grace, their falvation is made fure, and God is engaged by promise never to leave them or forfake them, but to lead them fafely on to glory, and that he will keep them by his mighty power, through their faith, by which they fhall work out their own falvation.

That God thus works in all true Chriftians to will and to do all they will and do in working out their own falvation, and that they are thus wholly dependent on him for every right motion and choice of heart, and for every good thing they do, is not only plainly afferted in the words of the text, which cannot be understood in any other sense than that which has been given of them, without ftraining and forcing them to speak an unnatural sense, but is abundantly confirmed by innumerable other paffages of fcripture, which speak the fame language, and affert the fame thing; too many to be rehearsed here, and of which the careful, intelligent reader of the Bible cannot be ignorant. And this is exprefsly or implicitly acknowledged by all Christians in their prayers, however fome profeffing Chriftians may in their speculations, and even in the feelings and tenor of the exercises of their hearts, contradict it.

4. There appears to be fome intended difference between willing and doing, when it faid, God worketh in Chriftians both to will and to do. Strictly fpeaking, men are active in nothing but in the exercife of their

will, or in willing; and therefore do nothing else: yet the effects and confequences of the exertions of their willing, which by divine conftitution are connected with their acts of will, and their voluntary exertions, they are faid to do or to be done by them, and are confidered as in fome fenfe diftinct from their volitions; fo that when their will is carried into full execution, they may be faid to do what they willed, and fo both to will and to do. And when any thing is willed, determined or chofen, which will cannot be immediately put into execution, but the act or event willed is future, and at a distance, when fuch a choice is executed and effected, the perfon thus willing has both willed and done the action or event. Thus, when a man wills and determines to attend public worship devoutly the next fabbath, or to visit one of his neighbours and to give him fome falutary advice and exhortation, or to give fomething to the poor, he wills thofe things; but they are not yet done, till by a courfe of acts of will they actually take place and are effected; and then he hath both willed and done them. Thefe obfervations may ferve to fhew the propriety of the diftinction in the words before us between willing and doing, and what the distinction imports. The Apoftle makes this fame diftinction more than once. He fays, " To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not:" [Rom. vii. 18.] He found a ftrong defire and inclination to do many good things, and was hearty in willing them: but when he came to put what he willed into actual execution, he failed of coming up fully to what he willed, and felt the neceffity that God fhould work in him both to will and to do; and that when he faithfully executed his own will it was owing to the effectual grace of God, working in him not only to will, but to do it. He, writing to the Corinthians refpecting a collection for the poor, fays to them, "Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, fo there may be a performance alfo': [2 Cor. viii. 11.]

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5. The words which are added, "Of his good pleafure," remain yet to be explained. The meaning appears to be, that God worketh in men to will and to do as it pleases him, in the exercife of his fovereign goodnefs, who hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. In the beginning of this work, he chooses whom he will to be the fubjects of it, not being under obligation to any; who are all wholly gone out of the way, their hearts being fet against God, and every thing which has the nature of holinefs. God waits not to have them turn and will that which is right, for this they would never do, if left to themselves, whatever means are ufed, and motives fet before them, to perfuade them to it. He first begins, and gives them a new heart, and creates them in Chrift Jefus unto good works, and works in them to will and to do. Thus, not by works of righteousness which they had done (for they were dead in trefpaffes and fins, altogether rebellious) but according to his mercy, he faved them, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghoft. And being thus made willing by the powerful operation of God on their hearts, according to his fovereign good pleafure; and having begun the good work, and they being brought into that covenant, according to which he has in his fovereign grace promifed to carry it on till it is completed; he worketh in them to will and to do, fo as to infure and perfect their falvation, in that manner and degree which is according to his fovereign good pleasure.. The next thing propofed is,

IV. To confider the force of the argument by which the foregoing exhortation is urged, or the reafon given why Chriftians fhould work out their own falvation with fear and trembling, introduced and denoted by the particle FoR. "For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure."

In order to fet this in the true and beft light, what has been before obferved must be kept in view, viz. that the defign and force of the exhortation is not mere

ly

ly or chiefly to work out their own falvation, but to do this in a particular way and manner, with fear and trembling. They began to work out their own falvation when the Apoftle was with them, and had made great progrefs in this work, after he had left them; and he now enjoins upon them to go on in this great work, with fear and trembling, with felf diffidence, in a sense of their own infufficiency, and their conftant abfolute dependence on God; with humility and poverty of spirit, and all thofe feelings and exercises which are implied in this.

And he urges this upon them with this good and forcible reafon, "For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure." You have no fufficiency of your own to do or will any thing right, but are always and entirely dependent on God, who is the author of every choice and exertion by which you are enabled to proceed in the Christian life, who is above all controul, and acts as an abfolute fovereign in this matter. And without him you can do nothing.

The fenfe of this paffage of fcripture, as it has been now explained, may be expreffed in the following words.

"My beloved fellow Chriftians, as you gave up yourfelves to Jefus Chrift, to obey and ferve him, when I was prefent with you, and have fince, in my abfence, continued and made great advances in your obedience, I earneftly exhort you to go on in your Chriftian course with that holy fear and trembling which implies a sense of the difficulty, greatness and importance of the work which is before you, keeping in view the eternal happinefs and glory which the gofpel fets before you, and the infinite evil that awaits all who come fhort, together with a conftant conviction of your utter moral weaknefs, and infufficiency for this work, and your entire and conftant dependence on God for his powerful affiftance in every ftep you take; fo that if he fhould leave you to yourselves you would certainly come short and

perish. Be on your conftant guard against the least confidence and truft in yourselves; be not high minded, because you have been thus diftinguifhed, and have continued in your obedience, making advances in the Chriftian life; but fear: be humble, and, in a conftant fenfe of your own utter infufficiency, to do the leaft thing towards your falvation, of yourselves, put your whole truft in God at all times for his conftant influence and help, by which alone you will be able to work out your own falvation.

"This caution and exhortation to go on in your Chriftian courfe with this fear and trembling is proper and important, as it is natural to man to be high minded, and to truft in himfelf; and even Chriftians, through their remaining depravity, are in danger of a criminal degree of this, in a meafure forgetting their own weaknefs and infufficiency and dependence on God, by which they greatly injure themfelves; and becaufe thus to fear and tremble is effential to the life of a Chriftian, and cannot be exercised in too high a degree: for the more a Chriftian has of this, the more beautiful and perfect is his character, and he will work out his own falvation with greater fafety, ftrength and activity. And there is the higheft reafon and the ftrongeft motive for Chrif tians to work out their own falvation with this fear and trembling, to which I am exhorting, because they are in fact thus entirely and always dependent on God for every right motion of their heart, and all they do in this work, as all they will and do is the effect of a divine operation effectually working in them both to will and do, and that of his fovereign good pleasure, and entirely independent of them."

The Apostle exhorts them to maintain a humbling fenfe of their depravity, moral weaknefs, and utter infufficiency to the work in which they were engaged, and had made confiderable progrefs, and their entire dependence on God for every right exercife of heart; to remember and realize that all they had attained to in the Chriftian life was to be afcribed to God working