2. " The security for which our Saviour engageth the greatness of his Father's power unto his sheep is promised unto them, not in order to the effecting or procuring their final perseverance, but rather by way of reward to it."
Ans. But what tittle is there, I pray you, in the whole context to intimate any such thing? what insinuation of any such condition? " They hear my voice, and they follow me;" that is, " They believe in me, and bring forth the fruits of their believing in suitable obe- dience," as these words of "hearing" and "following" do imply. Saith our Saviour, " These shall not perish, the power of my Father shall preserve them." " That is," saith our author, " in case they persevere to the end, then God will jjreserve them." Clearly our Saviour under- taketh that believers shall not perish, and that his power and his
286 DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS' PERSEVERA^'CE. [CHAP.
Father's are engaged for that end; which is all we assert or have need to do.
2. " That this promise of safety made to his sheep by Christ doth not relate to their state or condition in this present world, but to that of the world to come. ' My sheep hear my voice, and follow me;' in which Avords of ' hearing ' and 'following' him he intimateth or in- cludeth their perseverance, as appeareth by the words immediately following, ' And I give them eternal life.'"
Ans. This, I confess, is to the purpose, if it be true; but being so contrary to what hath been (I had almost said universally) received concerning the mind of Christ in this place, we had need of evident concluding reasons to enforce the truth of this gloss or interpreta- tion. For the present, I shall give you some few inducements or persuasions why it seemeth altogether unsuitable to the mind of our blessed Saviour, that this engagement of his Father's power and his own should be shut out from taking any place in the kingdom of grace: —
1. Observe that there is a great opposition to be made against the saints in that condition wherein they are promised to be pre- served. This is supposed in the words themselves: " None shall pluck them out of my hand. My Father is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand;" — as if he should have said, " It is true, many enemies they have, great opposition will there be and aiise against them on all hands, but preserved they shall be in the midst of them all." But now, what enemies, what opposition, will there be and arise against the saints in heaven? The Holy Ghost telleth us, " The last enemy is death," and that at the resur- rection that shall be " utterly swallowed up in victory," that it shall never lift up the head; there they rest from their labours who die in the Lord. Yea, it is exceeding ridiculous to suppose that the saints need assurance of the engagement of the omnipotency of God for their safeguarding in heaven against all oj^position, when they are assured of nothing more than that there they shall not be hable to the least opposition or obstruction in their enjoyment of God unto all eternity.
2. Our Saviour here describeth the present condition of his sheep in a way of opposition to them that are not his sheep : his hear his voice, the others do not; and his shall be preserved when the others perish. The Pharisees believed not, and, as he told them, " they died in their sins;" his sheep heard him, and were preserved in their obedience. It is, then, evidently the deportment of Christ towards, and his care of, his sheep in this world, in a contradistinction to them who are not his sheep, among whom they live, that is here set forth.
3. The very context of the words enforceth this sense : " They follow me, and I give unto them eternal life;" — " I do it; that is the work I
VI.j PARTICULxiR PROMISES ILLUSTRATED. 287
have in band." Take "eternal life" in the most comprehensive sense, for that which is to be enjoyed in heaven (though, doubtless, it com- priseth also the life of grace which here we enjoy, John xvii. 3), what is that which our Saviour undertaketh to give believers, and that they may be sure that they shall be preserved to the eujoyment of? When he telleth them they shall not perish, is that not joerish- ing not to be cast out of heaven when they come thither, — not to be deprived of eternal life after they have entered into the fulness of it? or rather, that they shall not fail or come short of it, and so perish? And this is that which the power of Father and Son is engaged to accomplish, — namely, that believers perish not by coming short of that eternal life which is the business of Christ to give unto them. If any one reason of weight or importance that hath the least pregnancy with truth be offered to the contrary^ we shall re- nounce and shake off the power of the former reasons which we have insisted on ; though without offering the greatest violence imaginable to truth itself it cannot be done. It is said that " by these words, ' They hear my voice, and follow me,' Christ doth intimate or in- clude their perseverance." To say a thing is "intimated or included" is of small power against so many express reasons as we have in- duced to the contrary. But will this be granted, that wherever the saints are said to hear the voice of Christ, perseverance is included? — we shall quickly have a fresh supply of Scripture proofs for the de- monstration of the truth in hand. But what attempt is made for the proof hereof? " It is so because the words imm.ediately following are, ' I give unto them eternal life,' Avhich presuppose their final per- severance;" and this must be so, because it is so said. " I give unto them eternal life," is either an intimation of what he doth for the present, by giving them a sj^iritual life in himself, or a promise he will do so with respect to eternal life consummated in heaven, which promise is everywhere made upon believing; and it is a promise of •perseverance, not given wpon perseverance. Neither is there any thing added in the words following to confirm this uncouth wresting of the mind of our Saviour, but only the assertion is repeated, " that God will defend them in heaven against all opposition." Here, where their opjDositions are innumerable, they may shift for them- selves; but when they come to heaven, where they shall be sure to meet with no opposition at all, there the Lord hath engaged his almighty power for their safety against all that shall rise up against them. And this is, as is said, the " natural and clear disposition of the context in this place;" but "Nobis non licet," etc.