S90 DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS' PERSEVERANCE. [CIIAP.
from him, no prayer of Christ that my faith may not fail, but I am rolled upon mine own hands ; and what will be the end of this whole undertaking of mine in the ways of God I know not." Let, I say, a man be exercised with such thoughts as these, and then try if any thing under heaven can bring his soul to any possible composure, until it be " cast into the mould of that doctrine which hath been delivered." But of this more directly afterward, when we come to treat of the consolation which from the breasts of it doth flow.
(2.) It is exceedingly suited to the deliverance of the souls of the saints from all such hard thoughts of God as are apt to impair and weaken their love towards him and delight in him ; so setting the two principles of all their obedience, faith and love, at liberty, and free from their entanglements, to act in the duties they are called unto. He that had hard thoughts of his absent lord as an austere man, though he was not excused in his disobedience by it, yet was evidently discouraged as to his obedience. When men shall be taught that God takes no more care of his children in his family, but that the devil may enter in among them and take them away, making them children of hell, when he might with the greatest ad- vantage of glory and honour to himself imaginable prevent it; that the Lord Jesus Christ, " the great shepherd of the sheep," takes no more care of his flock and fold, but that the lion, bears, and wolves, may enter in, and make havoc, and spoil at their pleasure; — may they not think that God is little concerned in the salvation of his, and that all that which is so gloriously expressed of his peculiar and special love carries nothing but an empty noise, the burden of their preservation being thrown solely upon their own shoulders? And are not such thoughts fit only to cast water upon their flames of love to God, and insensibly to weaken that delight which they ought always to take in the riches of his grace and love? Is there any thing possible more endearing to the heart of a creature than to hear such a testimony as that, Zeph. iii. 17, concerning the stability of the love of God, and its excellency, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing?" God's resting in his love towards his saints fixes their souls in their love to him.
2. It puts high and unspeakable obligations on the saints to live to God, and to " perfect holiness in the fear of God." Saints we suppose to have their birth from above, to be begotten of the Avill of God, through the immortal seed of the word, and to be quickened with a noble, child-like ingenuity, befitting the family of God; neither is there any thing more injurious to the work of God's grace than to suppose that those whom God calls " children, friends, heirs of heaven and glory, his crown, his diadem, brethren of his only Son," are to be dealt witlial, or that God deals with them, as if they were
X.] THE IMPllOVEMENT OF THE DOCTiilNE. 391
wholly acted by a servile, slavish principle, and were wholly under the power of such an unworthy disposition.
There are two things usually spoken to the prejudice and disad- vantage of the truth we have under consideration, much insisted on by Mr Goodwin, chap. ix. ; as, —
(1.) " That a persuasion of the certain continuance of the love of God to any one is a ready way to make them careless, negligent, and to give up themselves to all manner of abominations."
But what vipers, snakes, and adders, do such men suppose the saints of God to be, that their new nature, their heavenly principles (for what the flesh in them is prone unto we now consider not), .should conclude that it is good to sin "that grace may abound ;" that because God " loves them with an everlasting love," therefore they will hate him with a perpetual hatred ; that because he will assuredly give them " grace to serve him with reverence and godly fear," therefore they will despise him and trample on all his goodness ; that because he will "never forsake them," they will no more abide with him? What is in the inner man, what is in the new creature, what is in the nature of any grace wherewith they are endowed, that is apt or inclinable to make such hellish conclusions? If we hear of any such thing among the sons of men, — if we see a child or a servant resolving to be profligate, wicked, stubborn, prodigal, because his father or master is kind, loving, and will not disinherit him or put him away, — we look upon him as a monster in nature, and think that it would be good service to the interest of mankind to take him off from the face of earth; and yet such monsters are all the saints of God sup- posed to be, who, if their Father once give them the least assurance of the continuance of his love, they presently resolve to do him all the dishonour, despite, and mischief they can 1 I appeal to all the experience of all the saints in the world whether, if any such thought at any time arise in them, that they may " continue in sin because grace hath abounded," that they may live in all filth and folly be- cause God hath promised never to forsake them nor turn away his love from them, they do not look upon it as a hellish abuse of the love of God, which they labour to crucify no less than any other work of the flesh whatsoever. Presuppose, indeed, the saints of God to be dogs and swine, wholly sensual and unregenerate, that is, no saints, and our doctrine to be such, that God will love them and save them continuing in that state wherein they are, and you make a bed for iniquity to stretch itself upon ; but suppose that we teach that the "wrath of God" will certainly come upon the "children of disobedience," that "he that believeth not shall be damned," and that God will keep his own "by his power through faith unto salva- tion," and that, in and by the use of means, they shall certainly be preserved to the end, and the mouth of iniquity will be stopped.