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speaking to you in other language." In the same chapter, to shew them what little reason he had to expect that they would come to this, he puts them in mind of the great profession they had made, and the extraordinary appearances there had formerly been in them of fervent piety. Ver. 15. "Where is the blessedness you spake of? For I bear you record, that if it had been possible ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them unto me." The Apostle James in his epistle, speaks of scandalous persons among the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad; some that were men of unbridled tongues; some that seem to have been a kind of Antinomians in their principles, and of a very bitter and violent spirit, that reproached, condemned, and cursed their brethren, and raised wars and fightings among professing Christians, and were also very unclean in their practice, adulterers and adulteresses, chap. iv. 4. And in the 5th chapter of his epistle, he seems to speak to the unbelieving Jews, who persecuted the Christians, ver. 6. And the apostles are also often speaking of some that had once been admitted into the church, crept in unawares, who had apostatized from Christianity, and finally proved notoriously wicked men. But otherwise, and as to such members of the visible church as continued in the same good standing and visibility of Christianity, wherein they were admitted, it is evident by the epistles of the apostles, they were all in the eye of a Christian judgment truly pious or gracious persons. And here I desire the following things may be particularly observed.

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The apostles continually, in their epistles speak to them and of them, as supposing and judging them to be gracious perThus the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the church of the Romans, chap. i. 7, speaks of the members of that church as beloved of God. In chap. vi. 17, 18, &c. he " thanks God, that they had obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which had been delivered them, and were made free from sin, and become the servants of righteousness," &c. The apostle in giving thanks to God for this, must not only have a kind of negative charity for them, as not knowing but that they were gracious persons, and so charitably hoping (as we say) that it

was so; but he seems to have formed a positive judgment that they were such: His thanksgiving must at least be founded on rational probability; since it would be but mocking of God to give him thanks for bestowing a mercy which at the same time he did not see reason positively to believe was bestowed. In chap. vii. 4, 5, 6, the apostle speaks of them as those that once were in the flesh, and were under the law, but now delivered from the law, and dead to it. In chap. viii. 15, and following verses, he tells them, they had received the Spirit of adoption, and speaks of them as having the witness of the Spirit that they were the children of God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. And the whole of his discourse, to the end of the chapter, implies, that he esteemed them truly gracious persons. In chap. ix. 23, 24, he speaks of the Christian Romans, together with all other Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, as vessels of merey. In chap. xiv. 6, 7, 8, speaking of the difference that then was among professing Christians, in point of regard to the ceremonial institutions of the law, he speaks of both parties as acting from a gracious principle, and as those that lived to the Lord, and should die unto the Lord: "He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord, &c. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man, [i. c. none of us] dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord: Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's." In chap. xv. 14, he says, " I myself also, am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye are full of goodness." His being thus persuaded implies a positive judgment of charity. And the same apostle in his first epistle to the Corinthians, directs it to "the church at Corinth, that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call on the name of the Lord Jesus;" i. e. to all visible Christians through the world, or all the members of Christ's visible church every where: And continuing his speech of these, chap. i. 8, he speaks of them as those "that God would confirm to the end, that they may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ :" Plainly speaking of them all, as persons, in Christian esteem, savingly converted. In the next verse, he speaks of the faithfulness of God as engag

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ed thus to preserve them to salvation, having called them to the fellowship of his Son. And in the 30th verse, he speaks of them as having a saving interest in Christ; " Of him are ye in Christ Jesus; who of God is made unto us wisdom, rightcousness, sanctification and redemption." In chap. iii. 21, 22, 23, he says to the members of the church of Corinth, "All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours, and ye are Christ's." In chapter iv. 15, he tells them, he had begotten them through the gospel. In chap. vi. 1, 2, 3, he speaks of them as, "those who shall judge the world, and shall judge angels :" And in ver. 11, he says to them, "Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of God." And in chap. xv. 49, to the end, he speaks of them as having an interest, with him and other Christians, in the happiness and glory of the resurrection of the just. And in his second epistle, chap. i. 7, he says to them, " Our hope of you is stedfast; knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." This stedfast hope implies a positive judgment. We must here understand the apostle to speak of such members of the church of Corinth, as had not visibly backsliden, as they whom he elsewhere speaks doubtfully of. Again, in the 14th and 15th verses, he speaks of a confidence which he had that they should be his rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus. In all reason, we must conclude, there was a visibility of grace, carrying with it an apparent probability in the eyes of the Apostle, which was the ground of this his confidence. Such an apparent probability, and his confidence as built upon it, are both expressed in chap. iii. 3, 4. " Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us; written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart; and such trust have we through Christ to God ward." And in ver. 18, the apostle speaks of them, with himself and other Christians, as all with open face, beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, and being changed into the same image from glory to glory. And in the epistle to the churches of Galatia,

chap. iv. 26, the apostle speaks of visible Christians, as visibly belonging to heaven, the Jerusalem which is above. And ver. 28, 29, represents them to be the children of the promise as Isaac was; and born after the Spirit. In the 6th verse of the same chapter, he says to the Christian Galatians, because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. And in chap. vi. 1, he speaks of those of them that had not fallen into scandal, as spiritual persons.....In his Epistle to that great church of Ephesus, at the beginning, he blesses God on behalf of the members of that church, as being, together with himself and all the faithful in Christ Jesus, "Chosen in him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blame before him in love, being predestinated to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein God had made them accepted in the beloved; in whom they had redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins." In chap. i. 13, 14, he thus writes to them, "In whom ye also trusted....In whom after ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession." And in chap. ii. at the beginning; "You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins." With much more, shewing that they were in a charitable esteem, regenerated persons, and heirs of salvation. So in the Epistle to the members of the church of Philippi, the apostle saluting them in the beginning of it, tells them, that he " thanks God upon every remembrance of them for their fellowship in the gospel; being confident of this very thing, that he which had begun a good work in them, would perform it until the day of Christ: Even (says he) as it is meet for me to think this of you all." If it was meet for him to think this of them, and to be confident of it, he had at least some appearing rational probability to found his judgment and confidence upon; for surely it is not meet for reasonable creatures to think at random, and be confident without reason. In verses 25, 26, he speaks of his "confidence that he should come to them for their furtherance and joy of faith, that their VOL. I.

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rejoicing might be more abundant in Christ Jesus." Which words certainly suppose that they were persons who had already received Christ and comfort in him; had already obtained faith and joy in Christ, and only needed to have it increased.....In the Epistle to the members of the church of COLOSSE, the apostle, saluting them in the beginning of the epistle, "gives thanks for their faith in Christ Jesus, and love to all saints, and the hope laid up for them in heaven;" and speaks of " the gospel's bringing forth fruit in them, since the day they knew the grace of God in truth ;" i. e. since the day of their saving conversion. In chap. i. 8, he speaks of "their love in the Spirit." Verses 12, 13, 14, he speaks of them as made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; as being delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son; as having redemption through Christ's blood, and the forgiveness of sins." In chap. iii. at the beginning, he speaks of them as "risen with Christ; as being dead [i. e. to the law, to sin,and the world as having their life hid with Christ in God ;" and being such as "when Christ their life should appear, should appear with him in glory." In ver. 7, he speaks of them as "having once walked and lived in lusts, but having now put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." In the first Epistle to the members of the church of Thessalonica, in words annexed to his salutation, chap. i. he declares what kind of visibility there was of their election of God, in the appearance there had been of true and saving conversion, and their consequent holy life, verse 3....7. And in the beginning of the second epistle, he speaks of their faith and love greatly increasing; and in verse 7, expresses his confidence of meeting them in eternal rest, when the Lord Jesus Christ should be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. And in chap. ii. 13, He gives thanks to God, that from the beginning he had chosen them to salvation....In the Epistle to the Christian Hebrews, though the apostle speaks of some that once belonged to their churches, but had apostatized and proved themselves hypocrites; yet concerning the rest that remained in good stand

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