Thirdly, The verses pointed to out of Heb. vi. 4-6, 9, do not so directly express the conjunction insisted on as those places already considered do ; only, the discourse there used by the apostle is per- emptory, that men may, without any disparagement to their wisdom or reason, earnestly deal with others and exhort them to avoid fall- ing away from God, though they are fully persuaded that those whom they so exhort, by the help of those exhortations, and upon other considerations, shall abide with God to the end, or be attended with things accompanying salvation. But had Mr Goodwin been pleased to look to the following verses, wherein the apostle gives an account of the ground of this persuasion of his, he might have found some- thing to exercise the best of his skill upon. The words are, " Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end." He tells them, verse 10, it is upon the account of the righteousness of God in carrying on the work of their labour of love, which was begun in them, and which they had shown or manifested, that he had this persuasion concerning them; which, in the ensuing verses, he farther pursues, dealing up the engagement of the righteousness of God in his oath : of which
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466 DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS' PERSEVERANCE. [CHAP.
elsewhere. So that, notwithstanding any thing attempted to the contrary, evident it is that, in carrying on the work of our salvation, the Holy Ghost doth make use of promises of effectual grace for per- severance and eminent exhortations to abide with God, in such a harmony and consistency as is well suited to the tilings themselves, and in a course which takes sanctuary under the shade of his wisdom from all the charges of folly and weakness which poor, weak, and foolish men may, under their temptations and in their darkness, rise up against it withal. Whether there are express promises of perse- verance in the Scripture, some advantage I hope will be given to the pious reader to judge from what hath been spoken, and what, by the Lord's assistance, may yet be insisted on to that purpose.
Unto this debate about the exhortations of the word we find a discourse of the same nature and importance subjoined about the threatenings that are therein ; which, as it is asserted, are rendered useless and ineffectual for the end whereunto they are of God ap- pointed by that doctrine of perseverance which is opposed. We freely acknowledge that if any doctrine whatever do enervate and render vain any ordinance or institution of God, as to the ends and purposes whereunto it is of him appointed, that that doctrine is not of God, whose paths are all plain and equal, and whose commands do not interfere one with another. Now, that the principles of the doctrine of perseverance do destroy the efficiency of threatenings is attempted to be proved by an induction of observations, which, being the sum of all that is spoken to this head, must be transcribed at large, and is as followeth : —
Sect. 12, " If the principles of the doctrine we speak of dissolve the efficiency of the said threatenings towards the end for the ac- complishment whereof they are given, then they render them un- savoury, useless, and vain; but the principles of this doctrine are guilty of this offence: ergo. The terms of the major proposition are sufficient witness of the truth thereof. In order to the proof of the minor, we suppose, 1. That the end intended by God in such threatenings, which threaten those that shall apostatize Avith eternal death, is to prevent apostasy in the saints, and to work or cause them to persevere. 2. That this is one of the principles of the common doctrine of perseverance, ' God liath absolutely promised final perse- verance unto the saints;' and this another, 'God will certainly, unfrust- rably, and infalUbly work this perseverance in the saints.' These two things only supposed, the light of the truth of the said minor propo- sition breaks forth from between them with much evidence and power. For, first, If the said threatenings be intended by God for the prevention of the apostasy of the saints, and consequently to effect their perseverance, the way and manner wherein this end in- tended by God is to be effected by them must needs be by their
1
xil] objections to the doctrine refuted. 467
ingenerating or raising a fear or apprehension in the saints of eternal death, it being the native property of fear, mixed with hope, to awaken and provoke men to the use of such means which are proper to prevent the danger or evil feared. There is no other way imagin- able how or whereby the threatenings we speak of should operate towards the perseverance of the saints, for the preventing of their apostas}'', but that mentioned, — namely, by working in them a fear or dread of the evil threatened. Therefore, secondly. Evident it is that such promises made, and made known unto the saints, by which they are made incapable of any such fear, are absolutely destructive of the efficiency which is proper to the said threatenings to exhibit, towards the prevention of apostasy in the saints, or for the causing of them to persevere. And, lastly, It is every whit as evident that such promises whereby God should assure the saints that they shall not apostatize, but persevere, are apt and proper to render them in- capable of all fear of eternal death ; and, consequently, are apparently obstructive of, and destructive unto, the native tendency of the said threatenings towards and about the perseverance of the saints. These threatenings can do nothing, contribute nothing, towards the perse- verance of the saints, but by the mediation of the fear of evil in them upon their non -persevering ; therefore, whatsoever hardens them against this fear, or renders them incapable of it, supersedes all the virtue and vigour which are to be found in these threatenings for or towards the effecting of their perseverance."