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I of Christ, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth; and accordingly they are sanctified by the Spirit, and do believe in Christ, who is the truth, and shall be glorified; for between their predestination and glorification, there is an inseparable connection; Ilhom he did predestinate them he also glorified, Rom. ix. 12, 13.

111. The argument in favour of the saints' final perseverance, receives great strength from the promises of God, which are sure, and are all yea and amen in Christ, and are always fulfilled; not one of the good things God has promised has ever failed; and many are his promises, as has been observed, concerning the perseverance of his people; as that they shall hold on their way, and be stronger and stronger; that he will not turn away from them, and they shall never depart from him; with a multitude of others; and, in general, he has promised, he will never leave nor forsake them: and therefore it is impossible they should perish; for then his promises and his faithfulness in them would be of none effect; which ought not to be said.

IV. This truth may be farther confirmed from the gracious acts of God, flowing from his everlasting and unchangeable love. The love of God to his people is an everlasting love, which it would not be should they perish; for none can perish and remain the objects of his love: but his love always remains, it is never taken away, nor does it ever depart, nor can there be any separation from it; and consequently those interested in it can never be finally and totally lost: and there are many acts of grace arising from this love, which shew it; not to take notice of the act of election before observed, which secures their salvation; nor the covenant of grace, from the perpetuity of which this point has been argued; nor the act of putting the elect into Christ's hands, from whence they can never be plucked; there are several others which ascertain the same thing; two or three of which I shall mention. — 1. The adoption of the children of God into his family; by which he takes them for his sons and daughters; which is a wonderful instance of his love, 1 John iii. 1. now to this they are predestinated according to the good pleasure of his will; and this predestination and appointment of them to adoption, is his will to adopt them; and his will to adopt them, is the adoption of them; this is what is called a putting thein among the children, and whom God puts among the children, and accounts as such, it is not in the power of men or devils to put them out; nor can they put out themselves, should they even desire it, or express their contentment to be no longer sons but servants; it is impracticable and not to be admitted, as the case of the prodigal shews, Luke xv. 19, 21. the blessing is bestowed in the covenant of grace, and is irreversi ble; Christ by his redemption has made way for the reception of it, which makes his redemption a plenteous one, this, with other blessings of grace, being included in it; and to them that reccive him, and believe in him, he gives a' power to become the sons of God; his Spirit witnesses to theirs, that they are so; and by faith it becomes manifest. Now between sonship and heirship there is a close connection: if a son, no more a servant of sin and Satan, and

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the world, but an heir of God through Christ; if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, Gal, iv. 7. and can a child of God become a child of the devil? shall an heir of heaven be seen in the flames of hell? or shall one that is a joint-heir with Christ, come short of the incorruptible inheritance? no, that is reserved for them, and they are kept to that by the power of God. 2. Justification is another act of God's free grace, and the fruit of his ancient love, Rom. iii. 24. and v. 17. the sentence is pronounced in the mind of God by himself, and none can reverse it; it is God that justifies, and who shall condemn? such as are justified by him can never come into condemnation, and everlastingly perish; otherwise how could he be just, and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus; if after all, notwithstanding his imputation of the righteousness of his Son to them, and the justification of them by it, and their reception of it by faith, they should be condemned? or how would Christ's righteousness be an everlasting righteousness, and answer for his people in a time to come, should they be condemned with the world, and excluded from the kingdom of heaven? or how would this righteousness of his be unto justification of life? or what would signify their being made heirs of eter nal life through it? or of what avail would their title to it by it be unto them, if after all they perish eternally? But the connection between justification and glorification is inseparable; Whom he justified, them he also glorified, Rom. viii 30. and most certain it is, that the righteous, who are justified by Christ's righteousness, shail go into everlasting life, when the wicked will go into eterna punishment, Matt. xxv. 46, 3. Pardon of sin is another act of the riches oi divine grace, and flows from unmerited and distinguished love. Those whon God forgives for Christ's sake, on account of his blood shed for the remission of their sins, and upon the foot of satisfaction made for them by him, he for gives all their iniquities; not one sin is left unforgiven; and if so, how can they be destroyed or perish everlastingly? is it possible that a man should go to hell with a full and free pardon of all his sins in his hands? was ever any man executed, having received the king's pardon? and especially can it be thought that any whom the King of kings has pardoned, whose acts can never be made void, should yet suffer everlasting punishment for sin? no, when the iniquities of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none, to be laid to their charge, being cleared of all; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found, nor any bill on account of them be found against them, and that for this reason for I will pardon them whom I reserve, that is, for himself; and if reserved for himself, being fully pardoned by his grace, they shall be preserved from everlasting destruction.

v. The saints' final perseverance in grace to glory, and security from ruin and destruction, may be concluded from the love of Christ to them, his interest in them, and theirs in him. Christ's love to them was from everlasting, his delights were with those sons of men before the world was, and from it nothing. can separate them: Having loved his own, which were in the world, he loves

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them to the end, John xiii. 1. to the end of their lives, and to all eternity; and therefore they can never perish. And they are not only the objects of his love, dear unto him, but they are his care and charge, who are committed to him to be kept by him; and he has undertook the care of them, has eternal life to give them, and does give it to them, and they shall never perish, but have it; yea they have it already, a right unto it and earnest of it; and as they are his Father's gift to him, to be preserved by him, so they are the purchase of his blood, the flock he has purchased with it, and he will not lose one of them; should he, so far his blood would be shed for nought, and his death be in vain. They are members of his body, and can never be separated from it; should they, even the least member of them, his body, the church, would not be the fulness of him that filleth all in all; if any one member in a natural body should be wanting, even the least, it would not be a complete body; and this would be the case of Christ's mystical body, should any member in it perish; but as sure as Christ the head lives, so sure shall every member of his body live also, and never die. They are his children, his spiritual seed and offspring, to whom he stands in the relation of an everlasting Father; these are a seed that it is promised he shall see, and enjoy for ever, and that they shall endure for ever; nor shall any one of them be missing at the great day; but Christ will present them to his Father complete and safe, who gave them to him, saying, Lo, I, and the children thou hast given hast given me! They are his spouse and bride, whom he has betrothed to himself in loving-kindness, and that for ever, to whom he stands in the relation of an husband; and between whom there is a conjugal and indissoluble union; whom he has so loved as to give himself for, to sanctify and cleanse, and make them spotless and glorious in his sight; and after all the cost and pains he has been at to make her so, can it be thought, he will suffer this choice one, and beloved spouse of his, or any of them that make up this spiritual body, to perish eternally? They are his portion, and the lot of his inherit ance, his Father has given him, and he is well-pleased with; they are his jewels, and he will never lose any of them; they are a crown of glory, and a royal diadem in his hand; his Hephzibah, in whom he delights; his Beulah, to whom' he is married; and he will employ all his power in the preservation and security of them. They are on him the foundation laid in Zion, which is sure and everlasting; on which all those who are laid are safe, and from whence they can never be removed, by all the winds and waves, storms and tempests, raised by sin, Satan, and the world; they are built upon a rock immoveable, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail. They are interested in the intercession of Christ, which is always prevalent; for he is always heard; and he ever lives to make intercession for them; not only for all the necessary sup plies of grace, for grace to help them in time of need; but for their eternal glo. rification, John xvii. 24. Lastly, Christ is making preparations in heaven for them; he is gone beforehand, and entered into heaven as their forerunner, and in their name, to take possession for them; he is gone to prepare a place, and

fit up mansions of glory for them; and has promised to come and take them to himself, that where he is, they may be also, John xiv. 2, 3. And are these mansions preparing in vain and shall these seats and dwelling places be empty of those for whom they are designed, or any of them? this would be the case, should any perish for whom Christ is gone to prepare a place.

VI. A further proof of this doctrine may be taken from the work of grace and the nature of it; and from the Spirit's concern in it, as the author of it, in those in whom it is wrought. Grace is an incorruptible seed, that never dies; it always remains, and is the reason why those in whom it is shall not sin unto death, or so sin as to die sternally it is a well of living water, springing up unto eternal life: grace and glory are inseparably conected; to whom God gives the one, he assuredly gives the other. The several particular graces of which the work consists, are abiding ones, as faith, hope, and love, 1 Cor. xiii. 13. Faith ever remains; it is more precious than gold that perisheth; and for that eason, among others, because it perishes not, when gold does: Christ, who is the author, is the finisher of it; though it may sometimes seem as if it would fail, it shall not fail, through his powerful and prevalent mediation; he that truly believes in Christ, shall be most certainly saved by him, if there is any truth in the gospel of Christ. Hope, though a lowly grace, is a lively one; however, is always a living one; and is an anchor sure and ssedfast; and is of great use to the saint under all his trials and afflictions in life, and will continue with him till death; For the righteous hath hope in his death; nor will it ever make ashamed, because it never disappoints, not is disappointed. Love, though it sometimes waxes cold, and the first love may be left, though not lost; it is of such a nature, that all the floods of afflictions, persecution, and temptations, can never quench. The church in darkness, and without the presence of Chrsit, and sight of him, could even then describe him as the Person whom her soul loved. Peter, though he fell so grievously, through the temptations of Satan, yet did not lose his love to Christ; but upon first meeting with him, when asked the question, and that repeated again and again, declared he did love him; yea, he appeals to him, as the omniscient God, that he knew he loved him. The Spirit of God is the author of this work of grace; it is he who begins it, and will perform it, till the day of Christ, and finish what he has begun. He has his residence in the hearts of the Lord's people, and dwells in them, as in his temple; nor does he ever utterly depart from them; he is given to abide with them, and he does. Yea he is given as the earnest and pledge of their glorious inheritance; and having such an earnest, can they doubt, or have any reason to doubt, of their full enjoyment of it, since by him, they are sealed unto the day of redemption? In a word, the glory of the three divine Persons is concerned in the final perseverance of the saints; for should they, or any of them perish, where would be the glory of the Father in choosing them to salvation? and the glory of the Son in redeeming them? and the glory of the Spirit in the sanctification of them? respecting them, their glory would be lost, should they come short of heaven and happiness; but

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but since the doctrine of the saints' final perseverance is bound together with this threefold-cord, which cannot be broken, the certainty of it may be depended up on. I proceed,

III. To answer to, and remove the objections made, to this doctrine.

First, From some passages of scripture which may seen to be contrary unto it; or however, are brought to disprove it.

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1. The first passage of scripture, and which is usually set in the front of those that are brought against the saints' final perseverance, is Ezek. xviii. 24. But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, &c. from whence it is concluded, that a man may be truly just and good, and yet become a very wicked man, and die in his sins, and perish everlastingly. 1. The scope of the chapter should be attended to; which is to vindicate the justice of God, in the dispensa. tions of his providence towards the people of Israel: they had a proveib much in use among them, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge: the meaning of which was, their fathers had sinned, and they their children were punished for their sins; upon which, they charged the ways of God with inequality and injustice. In answer to which, the Lord says, that whereas all souls were his, as the soul of the father, so the soul of the son, it was the soul that sinned that should die, or be punished with one temporal calamity or another: that if a man was a just man, and behaved well, he should live comfortably and happily in the land; if not, he should die, as to civil enjoyment in it, and be removed from it; for,-2. This chapter, and the context of it, only relate to the land of Israel, and to the house of Israel, the inhabitants of it; who, when first put into the possession of it, had a law given them; and according to their obedience, or disobedience to it, they were to live in the land, or be driven out of it; for they held their tenure by their obedience; if they were willing to serve the Lord, and keep his statutes, and be obedient to them, then they should eat the good of the land, and enjoy the benefits of it, Isai. i. 19. but if they were disobedient, they were to be exiled from it, and be captives in another land; which was now their case, and of which they complained. -3. By the righteous man in the text, is not meant one truly righteous; no man is truly righteous by the works of the law in the sight of God, these being imperfect; but he that is made righteous, by the perfect obedience and righteousness of Christ imputed to him, and received by faith. But there is not a word in the text, nor context, of the obedience and righteousness of Christ, which is an everlasting righteousness; from which no man that has it can turn, so as to die and perish eternally; for then it would not be everlasting: nor can a man that has true faith in this righteousness, or that lives by faith upon it, commit iniquity; that is, live a sinful course of life, make a trade-of sinning, addict himself wholly to it; for such a man is a servant of sin, a slave to it, and of the devil; which can never be said of a truly just and good man; though there is not a just man that doth good and simucth not, yet he doth not

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