Upon such hypotheses as these, I say, upon such painted posts, is the whole pageant erected which we are here engaged withal; and these being easily cast down, the whole rushes to the ground, in the room whereof, according to our principles, this following dis- course may be supplied : —
"Ye that are true believers, called, justified, sanctified, by the Spirit and blood of Christ, adopted into my family, ingi-afted in and united unto the Son of my love, I know your weakness, insuffi- ciency, disability, darkness, how that without my Son and continual supply of his Spirit ye can do nothing. The power of your indwell- ing sin is not hid from me, how with violence it leads you captive to the law thereof. And though ye do believe, yet I know ye have also some unhealed unbelief, and on that account are often overwhelmed with fears, sorrows, disconsolations, and troubles, and are ready often to think that your way is passed over from me, and your judgment hidden from your God. And in this condition I know the assaults, temptations, and oppositions of Satan that you are exposed to, how he goes up and down like a roaring lion, seeking to destroy you. His
588 DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS' PERSEVERANCE. [CHAP.
ways, methods, wiles, and baits, that he lays for you, and whereby he seeks to destroy you, are many. He acts against you as a serpent, subtilely and wisely; as a lion, dreadfully and fearfully; and [as a fowler,] with snares not of you, by yourselves, to be resisted. You have principalities and powers to wrestle withal, and the darts of the wicked one to defend yourselves against. Wherefore beware of him, be not ignorant of his devices, stand fast in the faith, take to you the whole armour of God, resist him, overcome him, cast him out by prayer and the blood of the Lamb; watch night and day that ye be not surprised nor seduced (as Eve was) by him, that he turn you not out of the way into paths leading to destruction, and thrust you head- long into such sins as will be a dishonour to me, a grief to my Spirit, a scandal to the church, and bitterness to your own souls. And as for me, who know your disability of yourselves to do any of these things, and so to hold out to the end, because it pleased me to love you, and set my heart upon you, having chosen you before the foun- dation of the world, that ye should be holy and unblamable before me in love; and having given my only Son for you, who is your peace, and through whom ye have received the atonement, with whom I will not deny you or withhold from you any thing that may safeguard your abiding with me unto salvation, — I will, through the riches of my grace, work all your works for you, fulfilling in you all the good pleasure of my goodness and the work of faith with power. I will tread down Satan, this cruel, proud, malicious, bloody, enemy of your souls, under your feet; and though at any time he foil you, yet ye shall not be cast down, for I will take you up, and will cer- tainly preserve you by my power to the end of your hope, the salva- tion of your souls. Whatever betide you or befall you, I will never leave you nor forsake you. The mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall never be removed from you. Comfort ye, be of good courage, and run with patience the race that is set before you." This, I say, is the language which, according to the tenor of the doctrine whose maintenance we are engaged in, God speaks to his saints and believers; and if there be folly and inconsistency found therein, let the Scriptures vindicate and plead for themselves.
For the close of this discourse of our author, charging this course of procedure with folly, — namely, to give admonition to the use of means, when the end is certainly determined to issue upon the use of those means, — he must first evince it, as to the application of it to the business in hand, before I can close with him in the managing thereof For the present, I rather think the folly of this charge, as far as it looks towards the doctrine under consideration, to arise from other things: as, —
First, An impertinent comparison instituted between God and
XVI.] NO CONSOLATION IN THE OPPOSITE DOCTRINE. 589
man in tlieir admonitions and dealings with men, as though nothing might beseem him, in spiritual things of eternal concernment, but what is squared to the rules of our proceedings one towards another in things natural or civil. And, —
Secondly, A. false swpi^osal that the end is promised and assured to any without or beside the use of means, or walking according to the rules, precepts, and instructions, given for that purpose, or for attainment of the end so promised. Now, what folly there is to charge men to use means for the attaining of an end, when they are, although exhorted, also assured that in their so doing they shall attain the end aimed at, is yet under contest, and may pass for the present with those other "ridiculous supposals" formerly mentioned.