' Ps. xxiii. 6 ; Jer. xxxi. 33 ; 1 Cor. x. 13, 1 Pet. i. 5. « Eph. ii. 10; 2 Cor. iii. 5.
102 DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS' PERSEVERANCE. [CHAP.
use or abuse that the flesh is apt to make of them? or rather by their suitableness to the divine nature, whereof the saints are made partakers, and serviceableness to their carrying on to loerfection in that attainment? Or is this an argument of validity against an evan- gelical tiTith, that the carnal, unbelieving heart is apt to turn it into wantonness? And whether believers walking after the Spirit,^ — in which frame the truths of God in the gospel are savour}' and sweet to them, — do experience such atteudancies of the doctrine under con- sideration as are here intimated, I am persuaded Mr Goodwin will one day find that he hath not a little grieved the Holy Spirit of God by these reproaches cast upon the work of his grace.
Farther; doth this persuasion assure men that " they shall enjoy the love and favour of God under the practices of all manner of sin?'"' or can this be wrested by any racks or wheels from this assertion, that none indeed enjoy the love and favour of God but only they towards whom it is efifectual to turn them from the practices of all manner of sin and wickedness, to translate them from darkness into marvellous light, and from the power of Satan into the kingdom of Jesus Christ; whom the grace that appears unto them teacheth to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world ; whom that love constrains not to live unto themselves, but unto him that died for them? Doth it " promise the love and favour of God to dogs returning to their vomit, and swine wallowing in the mire," when the very discriminating difference of it from that doctrine which advauceth itself into com- petition Avith it is, that such returning dogs and wallowing swine did indeed, in their best estate and condition, never truly and properly partake of the love and favour of God, but notwithstanding their disgorging and washing of themselves, they were dogs and swine still? But to what end should I longer insist on these things? I am fully i^ersuaded Mr Goodwin himself cannot make room in his understanding to apprehend that this is indeed the true notion of the doctrine which he doth oppose. Something hath been spoken of it already, and more, the Lord assisting, will be discu.ssed in the progress of our discourse, abundantly sufficient to manifest to the consciences of men not possessed with prejudice against the truth that it is (|uite of another nature and consistency, of another com- plexion and usefulness, than what is here represented. I cannot but add, that this way of handling conti'oversies in religion, — namely, in proposing consequences and inferences of our own framing (wire- drawn with violence and subtilty from principles far distant from them, disowned, disavowed, and disclaimed by them on whom they are imposed) as the judgment of our adversaries, and loading them with all manner of reproaches, — is such as (being of all men in the world
' Rom. viii. 1,1}.
I.] MR Goodwin's ground of perseverance examined, 103
most walked in by the Arminians) I desire not to be competitor with any in, "' Hand defensoribus istis/' etc.
Let us now a little, in the next place, consider what Mr Goodwin gives in for that persuasion which, in opposition to the other, before by him displayed, he contendeth with all his strength to advance. I do not doubt but all that are acquainted with his way of expression (" elato cothurno ") will, as they may reasonably, expect to have it brought forth (j^ira itoXkrig (pav-adiag, adorned with all the gallantry and ornaments that words can contribute thereunto; for of them there is with him store to be used on all occasions. YloXitg vofxlg hSa xai h&a.
The sum of the doctrine he is so enamoured of he gives us, chap. ix. sect. 21, p. 115. "Longa est fabula, longse ambages;" this is " Caput rei." " It is not any danger of falling away in them that are saints and believers, or probability of it, that he maintains, but only possi- bility of it; such as there is that sober and careful men may volun- tarily throw themselves down from the tops of houses or steeples (though, perhaps, they never come there), or run into the fire or water, and be burned or drowned, having the use of their reason and understanding to preserve them from such unusual and dismal acci- dents:"^ which seems to be an instance of as remote and infirm a possibility as can likely be imagined. Yea, he tells you farther, sect. 22, " That the saints have as good security of their persever- ance as he could have of his life to whom God should grant a lease of it for so long, upon condition that he did not thrust a sword through his bowels, or cast himself headlong down from a tower; so that his doctrine indulgeth to the saints as much assurance as that of perseverance, but only it grants them not a liberty of sinning : " which^ I presume, his own conscience told him that neither the other doth.