But now what assurance is there that this happy beginning shall be carried on to perfection, that this kindness of God to them shall abide to the end, and that there shall not be a separation between him and his chosen Israel? In the faith hereof the Lord confirms them by that revelation which he makes of himself and his proper- ties, verses 6-8. First, in his sovereignty/, he is the " King." What shall obstruct him? hath not he power to dispose of all things? He is the " Lord and King ; " he will work, and who shall let him ? But hath he kindness and tenderness to carry him out hereunto? There- fore, secondly, he is their "Redeemer ;" and do but consider what he doth for the glory of that title, and Avhat the work of redemption stood him in, and ye will not fear as to this nor be afraid. And all this he, thirdly, closeth with his eternity and unchangeahleness. He is "the first, and he is the last, and beside him there is no God," — the first, that chose them from eternity; and the last, that will preserve them to the end ; and still the same, — he altereth not. I shall not add more instances in this kind. That the Lord often establisheth his saints in the assurance of the unchaugeableness of his love towards them from the immutability of his own nature is very evident. Thence comparing himself and his love with a tender mother and her love, he affirms tliat hers may be altered, but his shall admit of " no vari- ableness, neither shadow of turning," Isa. xlix. l-i-lG
To wind up this discourse, the sum of this first part of our first scriptural demonstration of the truth under debate amounts to this argument: That which God aftirms shall be certainly and infallibly fulfilled upon the account of the immutabiUty of his own nature, and encourageth men to expect it as certainly to be fulfilled as he is unchangeable ; that shall infallibly, notwithstanding all oppositions and difficulties, be wrought and perfected. Now, that such, and so
II.] THE IMMUTABILITY OF THE DIVIKE NATUEE. 131
surely bottomed is the continuance of the love of God unto his saints, and so would he have them to expect, etc., hath been proved by an induction of many particular instances, wherein those engagements from the immutability of God are fully expressed.
One of these testimonies, even that mentioned in the first place, Mai. iii. 6, from whence this argument doth arise, is proposed to be considered and answered by Mr Goodwin, chap. x. sect. 40, 41, pp. 205-207. A brief removal of his exceptions to our inference from hence will leave the whole to its native vigour, and the truth therein contained to its own steadfastness in the hand and power of that demonstration. Thus, then, he proposeth that place of the prophet and our argmnent from thence, whereunto he shapes his answer: " For the words of Malachi, ' I am the Lord, I change not,' from which it is wont to be argued that when God once loves a person, he never ceaseth to love him, because this must needs argue a change- ableness in him in respect of his affection, and consequently the saints cannot fall away finally from his grace," etc. So he.
Ans. It is an easy thing so to frame the argument of an adver- sary as to contribute more to the weakening of it in its proposing than in the answer afterward given thereunto; and that it is no strange thing with Mr Goodwin to make use of this advantage in his disputations in this book is discerned and complained of by all not engaged in the same contest with himself That he hath dealt no otherwise with us in the place under consideration, the ensuing observations will clearly manifest: —
First, all the strength that Mr Goodwin will allow to this argu- ment ariseth from a naked consideration of the immutability of God as it is an essential property of his nature, when our arguing is from his engagement to us by and on the account of that property. That God will do such and such a thing because he is omnipotent, though he shall not at all manifest any purpose of his will to lay forth his omnipotency for the accomplishment of it, is an inference all whose strength is vain presumption ; but when God hath engaged himself for the performance of any thing, thence to conclude to the certain accomplishment of it, from his power whereby he is able to do it, is a deduction that faith will readily close withal. So the apostle as- sures us of the re-implanting of the Jews upon this account. " God/' saith he, " is able to plant them in again," having promised so to do, Rom. xi. 23. There are two considerations upon which the un- changeableness of God hath a more effectual influence into the con- tinuance of his love to his saints than the mere objected thought of it will lead us to an acquaintance withal : —
First, God proposeth his immutahility to the faith of the saints for their establishment and consolation, in this very case of the sta- bility of his love unto them. We dare not draw conclusions in re-