The saints, then, or believers (of whom alone our discourse is), may be briefly delineated by these few considerable concernments of their saintship : —
1. That whereas "by nature they are children of wrath as well as others," and " dead in trespasses and sins," that faith and holiness which they are in due time invested withal, whereby they are made believers and saints, and distinguished from all others whatever, is an effect and fruit of, and flows from, God's eternal purpose concern- ing their salvation or election ; their faith being, as to the manner of its bestowing, peculiarly of the operation of God, and as to its distinction from every other gift that upon any account whatever is so called, in respect of its fountain, termed " The faith of God's elect."^
2. For the manner of their obtaining of this precious faith, it is by God's giving to them that Holy Spirit of his whereby he raised Jesus from the dead, to raise them from their death in sin, to quicken them unto newness of life, enduing them with a new life, with a spiritual, gracious, supernatural habit, spreading itself upon their whole souls, making them new creatures throughout (in respect of parts), investing them with an abiding principle, being a natural,
' Rom. viii. 28, 29; Acts xiii. 48; Eph. i. 4; 1 Pet. i. 2-5; Tit. i. 1.
I.] OF SAINTS AND PEKSEVERANCE. 95
genuine fountain of all those spiritual acts, works, and duties, which he is pleased to work in them and by them of his own good pleasure.^
3. That the holy and blessed Spirit, which effectually and power- fully works this change in them, is bestowed upon them as a fruit of the purchase and intercession of Jesus Christ, to dwell in them and abide with them for ever : upon the account of which inhabitation of the Spirit of Christ in them they have union with him ; that is, one and the same Spirit dwelling in him the head and them the members.^
4. By all which, as to their actual state and condition, they are really changed from death to life,^ from darkness to light,^ from uni- versal, habitual uncleanness to holiness,® from a state of enmity, stub- bornness, rebellion, etc., into a state of love, obedience, delight, etc. ;® and as to their relative condition, whereas they were children of wrath, under the curse and condemning power of the law, they are, upon the score of Him who was made a curse for them, and is made right- eousness to them, accepted, justified, adopted, and admitted into that family of heaven and earth which is called after the name of God.^
These alone are they of whom we treat, of whose state and condi- tion perseverance is an inseparable adjunct. Wherein and in what particulars they are differenced from and advanced above the most glorious professors whatever, who are liable and obnoxious to an utter and everlasting separation from God, shall be afterward at large insisted upon ; and though Mr Goodwin hath thought good to affirm that that description which we have, Heb. vi. 4-6, of such as ([it] is supposed) may be apostates, is one of the highest and most eminent that is made of believers in the whole Scripture, I shall not doubt but to make it evident that the excellency of all the expressions there used, being extracted and laid together, doth yet come short of the meanest and lowest thing that is spoken of those concerning whom we treat ; as shall be manifest when, through God's assistance, we arrive unto that part of this contest.
That the other term, to wit, " perseverance,'' may be more briefly explicated, I shall take the shortest path. For perseverance in gene- ral, he came near the nature of it who said it was " In ratione bene considerata stabilis ac perpetua permansio."® The words and terms whereby it is expressed in Scripture will afterwards fall in to be
' 2 Pet. i. 1 ; Eom. viii. 11 ; Eph. i. 19, 20, ii. 1, 5, 6, 8, 10; Matt. vii. 17, xii. 33; Gal. ii. 20; 1 John v. 12; 2 Cor. v. 17; 1 Thess. v. 23; Gal. v. 22, 28; 1 John iii. 9; Eph. ii. 10; 1 Pet. i. 22, 23; Phil. ii. 13.
2 John xiv. 16, 26, xv. 26,xvi. 7-11; Eom. viii. 10, 11; 1 Cor. vi. 19; Eom. v. 5; 1 John iv. 4, 13; 2 Tim. i. 14; 1 Cor. vi. 17, xii. 12, 13; Eph. iv. 4.
3 1 John iii. 14; Eph. ii. 1 ; Col. ii. 13; Rom. vi. 11, 13, viii. 2, 10. * Acts xxvi. 18; Eph. v. 8; 1 Thess. v. 4; Col. i. 13; 1 Pet. ii. 9.
5 Ezek. xxxvi. 25; Zech. xiii. 1; Isa. iv. 3, 4; Eph. v.. 25-27; 1 Cor. vi. 11; Tit. iii. 5; Heb. x. 22.
« Rom. vi. 11; Eph. ii. 12-16; Col. i. 21; Heb. xii. 22-24.
^ Eph. ii. 3; Gal. iii. 13, iv. 4-7; Eom. viii. 1; 2 Cor. v. 21; Col. ii. 10; Rom. V. 1, viii. 32, 33; 1 John iii. 1, 2; Eph. iii. 15. s cic. Inv., Ub. ii. 54.
96 DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS' PERSEVERANCE. [CHAP.
considered. The Holy Ghost restrains not himself to any one ex- pression in spiritual things of so great importance, but using that variety which may be suited to the instruction, supportment, and consolation of believers,^ this grace (as is that of faith itself in an eminent manner) is by him variously expressed. To walk in the name of the Lord for ever ; to walk with Christ as we have received him ; to be confirmed or strengthened in the faith as we have been taught; to keep the ways of God's commandments to the end; to run steadfastly the race set before us; to rule with God; to be faithful with the saints ; to be faithful to the death ; to be sound and stead- fast in the precepts of God ; to abide or continue firm with Christ, in Christ, in the Lord, in the word of Christ, in the doctrine of Christ, in the faith, in the love and favour of God, in what we have learned and received from the beginning; to endure; to persist in the truth ; to be rooted in Christ ; to retain or keep faith and a good conscience ; to hold fast our confidence and faith to the end ; to follow God fully; to keep the word of Christ's patience; to be built upon and in Christ; to keep ourselves that the wicked one touch us not; not to commit sin ; to be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation; to stand fast as mount Zion, that can never be re- moved ; to stand by faith ; to stand fast in the faith ; to stand fast in the Lord; to have the good work begun, perfected; to hold our pro- fession that none take our crown ;^ — these, I say, and the like, are some of those expressions whereby the Holy Ghost holds forth that doctrine which we have in hand, which is usually called " The perse- verance of saints," regarding principally their abiding with God, through Christ, in faith and obedience ; which yet is but one part of this truth.