us the heavenly determination of the Son; "The Father hath given them to me, and they fhall: yea, they fhall come to me." Chrift is as full in his refolution to fave those given to him, as is the Father in giving of them. Chrift prized the gift of his Father, he will lofe nothing of it; he is refolved to fave it every whit by his blood, and to raise it up again at the laft day; And thus he fulfils his Father's will, and accomplisheth his own defires, John vi. 39.

3. These words, fhall come, make thy coming to be alfo the effect of an absolute promife; coming finner, thou art concluded in a promife; thy coming is the fruit of the faithfulness of an abfolute promife. It was this promife, by the virtue of which thou at first receivedft ftrength to come: And this is the promise, by the virtue of which thou fhalt be effectually brought to him. It was faid to Abraham," At this time I will come, and Sarah fhall have a fon." This fon was Ifaac. Mark! Sarah fhall have a fon; there is the promife; And Sarah had a fon; there was the fulfilling of the promife, and therefore was Ifaac called the child of the promife, Gen. xvi. 19. xviii. 10. Rom. ix. 9.

Sarah fhall have a fon; But how if Sarah be past age? Why, ftill the promise continues to fay, Sarah fhall have a fon; But how if Sarah be barren? Why, ftill the promife fays, Sarah fhall have a fon. But Abraham's body is now dead? Why the promise is stil the fame, Sarah fhall have a fon. Thus you

fee what virtue there is in an abfolute promife; it carrieth enough in its own bowels to accomplish the thing promifed, whether there be means or not in us to effect it. Wherefore this promife in the text, being an absolute promise, by virtue of it, not by virtue of ourfelves, or by our own inducements, do we come to Jefus Chrift, for fo are the words of the text; "All that the Father giveth me shall

come to me."

Therefore is every fincere comer to Jesus Chrift called alfo a child of the promife, "Now we, brethren, as Ifaac was, are the children of the promife," Gal. iv. 28. that is, we are the children that God hath promifed to Jefus, and given to him; yea, the children that Jefus Chrift hath promised fhall come to him. "All that the Father giveth me fhall

come."

4. This word, shall come, engageth Chrift to communicate all manner of grace to those thus given him to make them effectually come to him. They fhall come; that is, not if they will, but if grace, all grace, if power, wisdom, a new heart and the holy fpirit, and all joining together can make them come. I fay, this word, fhall come being abfolute hath no dependance upon our own will or power, or goodnefs; but it engageth for us even God himself, Chrift himself, the Spirit himself. When God had made the abfolute promise to Abraham, That Sarah "fhould have a fon," Abraham did not look at all at any qualification in himself, because the promise looked at

none; but as God had by the promise abfolutely promised him a fon; fo he confidered now not his own body now dead, nor yet the barrennefs of Sarah's womb. "He ftaggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was ftrong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully perfuaded that what he had promifed, he was able to perform" Rom. iv. He had promised, and had promifed abfolutely, Sarah fhall have a fon: Therefore Abraham looks, that he, to wit, God, muft fulfil the condition of it. Neither is this expectation of Abraham difapproved by the Holy Ghoft, but accounted good and laudable; it being that by which he gives glory to God. The Father alfo hath given to Chrift a certain number of fouls for him to fave; and he himself hath faid, "They fhall come to him." Let the church of God then live in a joyful expectation of the utmoft accomplishment of this promife; for affuredly it fhall be fulfilled, and not one thousandth part of a tittle thereof fhall fail: "They fhall come to me."

And now, before I go any farther, I will more particularly inquire into the nature of an abfolute promise.

1. We call that an abfolute promife that is made without any condition: or more fully thus: That an abfolute promise of God, or of Chrift, which maketh over to this or that man any faving fpiritual blefling, without a condition to be done on our part for the obtaining thereof. And this we have in hand is fuch an

one.

Let the best mafter of arts on earth fhew

me, if he can, any condition in this text depending upon any qualification in us, which is not by the fame promife concluded, fhall be by the Lord Jefus effected in us.

2. An abfolute promise therefore is, as we fay, without if or and; that is, it requireth nothing of us, that, itself might be accomplished. It faith not, they fhall, if they will; but they fhall; Not they fhall, if they use the means; but, they fhall. You may fay, that I will, and the use of the means is fuppofed, though not expreffed. But I answer, no, by no means; that is as a condition of this promife: if they be all included in the promise, they are included there as the fruit of the abfolute promife, not as if it expected the qualification to arife from us. Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power,' Pfalm cx. 3. That is another abfolute promife: But doth that promife fuppofe a willingness in us, as a condition of God's making us willing? They fhall be willing, if they are willing; or, they fhall be willing, if they fhall be willing. This is ridiculous; there is nothing of this fuppofed. The promise is abfolute as to us; all that it engageth for its own accomplishment is, the mighty power of Chrift, and his faithfulness to accomplish.

The difference therefore betwixt the abfolute and conditional promife is this:

They differ in their terms. The abfolute promifes fay, I will, and you fhall; the other, I will, if you will; or, do this, and thou shalt live, Jer. xxxi. 31, 32, 33. Ezek. xxxvi. 24,

34. Heb. viii. 7,-13. Jer. iv. 1. Ezek. xviii. 30, 31, 32. Matth. xix. 21.

2. They differ in their way of communicating of good things to men; the abfolute one communicates things freely, only of grace; the other, if there be that qualification in us, that the promise calls for, not elfe.

3. The abfolute promises therefore engage God, the other engage us : I mean God only, us only.

4. Abfolute promises must be fulfilled; conditional may, or may not be fulfilled. The abfolute ones must be fulfilled, because of the faithfulness of God, the other may not, because of the unfaithfulness of men.

5. Abfolute promises have therefore a fufficiency in themselves to bring about their own fulfillings, the conditional have not fo. The abfolute promife is therefore a big bellied promife, because it hath in itself a fulness of all defired things for us, and will, when the time of that promife is come, yield to us mortals that which will verily fave us; yea, and make us capable of anfwering of the demands of the promise that is conditional. Wherefore, tho' there be a real, yea, an external difference in these things (with others) betwixt the conditional and abfolute promife; yet again in other refpects, there is a bleffed harmony betwixt them; as may be feen in these particulars.

1. The conditional promife calls for repentance, the abfolute promife gives it, Acts v. 30, 31.

2. The conditional promife calls for faith,