nant of Levi," ii,.8: "when Judah dealt treacherously, and an abomination was committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, by pro⚫faning the holiness of the Lord, and marrying the daughter of a strange God," so that he "regarded not their offerings, any more," verses 11, 13: when "they said (profanely) every one that doth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them, and where is the God of judgment?" verse 17: when they were all under a curse for robbing "God in tithes and offerings," iii, 8, 9. Yea, when they atheistically said, "it is vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances?" complaining that "the proud were happy, and they that work wickedness were set up, and they that tempted God were delivered." Verses 14, 15. k i Or could these promises be fulfilled in the times of the Messiah, that is, in those very times when "the axe was laid to the root of the tree, to cut it down;" when they were "given up to a spiritual slumber;"" when "the kingdom of God was to be taken from them;" when they were "broken off from their own olive-tree," and "wrath came upon them to the uttermost?" ANSWER THIRD. The promise made to Israel, Hosea ii, 20, is only made to her returning to her first husband.' Verse 9. The promise, Isaiah liv, of a covenant of peace that should not fail, was made under a like condition, as these words in the following chapter shew; " incline your ear and come unto me, hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you."" The promise, Jer. xxxii, 39, 40, "I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me; I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their heart that they may not depart from me," is not an absolute promise that they should fear him always, but only an indication that his kind providences should be such towards them as should lay upon them the highest obligations to continue stedfast in his fear, (le,) and (Lebilti) being often used, not to signify the certainty of the event, but the design and purpose of God in affording the means: so the Lord requires thee to keep his commandments, and his statutes, (letob lac,) THAT IT MAY Matthew iii, 10. h Romans xi, 8. i Matthew xxi, 43. k Romans xi, 20. m Chapter lv, 3. BE WELL WITH THEE. The king shall read in the book of the law, that he may learn to fear the Lord, that he turn not aside from the commandment, that he may prolong his days. xvii. 19, 20. And I will make them learn my words, that they may fear me. iv. 10. So these things have I spoken to you that you may not be offended,' John xvi. 1; and especially in those, Ezek. xi. 16— 21. viz. I will gather you from the people, and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel, and I will give them one heart, and will put a new Spirit within you, and will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh, (lemmaan) THAT THEY MAY WALK in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them.' And to shew that this signifies not the event, but only God's design, and that these means are proper to produce this end, it follows, verse 21, but as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, (which I said, verse 18, they shall take away,) I will recompense their way upon their heads.' ARGUMENT SECOND. "Our Lord hath promised that he who drinketh of the water that he shall give him, shall never thirst, because that water shall spring up in him to eternal life,' John iv. 14; and that the Comforter given to believers shall abide with them for ever,' John xiv. 16; that he who comes to him shall never hunger, and he that believeth in him shall never thirst, John vi. 35; therefore he that is once a believer, shall be ever so, and he that hath once the Spirit, shall never lose him." ANSWER FIRST. I have already shewed, in answer to the Fifth Objection of the former chapter, that the Holy Spirit may entirely depart from them in whom he once inhabited; whence it must follow that two of these texts cannot bear the sense this argument requires. I have also proved, in answer to the second objection, that the promises made to believers in the Gospel of St. John, respect only such believers as shall continue stedfast in the faith, and so have answered the third text alledged. ANSWER SECOND. To answer to these places in particular, (First) the promise of the abode of the Spirit with any christian, John, xiv. 16, is only made on this condition, that they continue so 'to love Christ as to keep his commandments.'—(ii.) It is a pro Ff mise made to recompense Christ's departure from them, and so seems only to concern Christ's apostles with whom he was then corporally present, or to concern only the Spirit's presence with his church in general, not in the heart of every christian, for so Christ himself abode not with them.-Secondly. The other two texts may be both understood of Christ's doctrine, 'He that 'cometh to learn my doctrine, and believeth it, when he hath learnt it, shall need no farther teaching in order to his future 'happiness, because the observance of what he hath learned from me already, will bring him to eternal life.'—And, Thirdly, if you expound the words, John iv. 14, of the receiving of the Holy Spirit, they can be only meant of him in whom this Spirit still abides. For therefore shall he never thirst,' saith the text, "because the water given shall be in him as fountain water, springing up to life eternal;' whereas it can no longer spring up than it abideth in him. The import of the words seems therefore to be this, that whereas the water which we drink to quench our natural thirst, will neither abide long in us, nor long quench our thirst, this Holy Spirit will abide for ever with them who do not by their sins expel him, and, so abiding, he will for ever quench and satisfy their thirst after eternal life, as being in them the 'Earnest of their future inheritance.' 66 III. ARGUMENT THIRD. "If Christ hath assured his sheep that they shall never perish, and that none shall snatch them out of his hands," then hath he assured them that they shall never fall away finally, seeing they who so fall away will perish; and also that no tempter or temptation shall effectually seduce them from the way of piety, since then they would snatch them from Christ's hands." ANSWER FIRST. The frequent cautions and exhortations directed in the scripture to Christ's sheep not to fall from grace, but continue stedfast in the faith,* are certain demonstrations that they may do so; for if the sheep of Christ can no more cease to be so, than a man, whilst he lives, can cease to be a man, these exhortations to take care they fall not off from being so, must be as vain as a caution to a man would be not to outlive his manhood. To answer therefore directly to this text, I add, * John, x, 28. Secondly. That Christ here only promises his sheep should never penish through any defect on his part, or by the force of any plucking them by violence out of his hands, so the particle na, which is here illative, shews, viz. they therefore shall not perish, 66 FOR none shall pull them out of my hand." And this is still more evident from the reason following, my Father is greater' than all their adversaries; so that none can pull or force them out of his hands, now his power and mine is one and the same. Well therefore said Isidore Pelusiota, "no man can snatch them away by force and tyranny; for then they must perish without and against their wills. But this may be done by deceit and allurements, παρὰ τὴν τῶν αυτεξεσίων ανθρώπων ῥαθυμίαν, through the negligence of men who have the freedom of their wills;' for such men, who by the allurements of the world, the flesh, and the devil, thus cease to obey Christ's laws, are not snatched out of his hands, but chuse to go from him." Thirdly. This text seems only to speak of such sheep who have already persevered so as to receive the reward of their obedience, eternal life, assuring them that their felicity shall be incapable of interruption; for so the whole verse runs, "I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish." And this seems fairly gathered from the former verse, where he describes his sheep as such who "hear his voice and follow him:" and then he adds, to them who do so, "I give eternal life." He therefore cannot reasonably be supposed to promise that which he here affirms they did, that they should hear his voice, and follow him, still unto the end; but rather that which is the sure reward of them who do so. IV. ARGUMENT FOURTH. "If God's fidelity be engaged to "confirm them unblameable to the end" whom he hath called to the communion of his Son, 1 Cor. i, 9, 10; if his faithfulness will not "suffer them to be tempted above what they are able to bear," x, 13; if St. Paul had ground of confidence that "he who had begun the good work in his Philippians, would perfect it unto the day of the Lord Jesus,” Phil. i, 6; if it be part of God's fidelity to sanctify them whom he hath called, wholly in body, soul, and spirit," 1 Thess. v, 23, 24, "and to establish them, and keep them from evil," 2 Thess. iii, 3, then must they persevere to the end; but all these are the express assertions of the holy scripture. Ergo." ANSWER FIRST. Now for a general answer to all these texts, let it be considered, that God in scripture is often said to do a thing, when he does that which hath a proper tendency to the effect, and is sufficient to procure it, and hath done all that was requisite on his part, in order to it; so that if the effect be not wrought in us, it is by reason of some defect in us, or some neglect of doing that which he hath given us sufficient means and motives to perform. Thus is he said to have 'purged Jerusalem though she was not purged,'" because he by his prophets had vouchsafed proper and sufficient means for her purgation, by his frequent admonitions, exhortations, expostulations, promises, and threatenings, and by the strivings of his Holy Spirit with them, though, by their obstinacy in their sinful courses, they obstructed the influence of God's word and Spirit upon them. He caused the whole "house of Israel to cleave to him, as a girdle cleaves to a man's loins," though all that he had said and done in order to it, proved ineffectual, because "she would not hear." He is said "to teach them to profit, and lead them by the way that they should go," who neither were led, nor taught, because "they hearkened not to his commandments;" and saith, "this people have I formed for my praise;" and yet he adds, "but thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob, thou hast been weary of me, O Israel; thou hast not honoured me with thy sacrifices, but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquity;" and of Babylon he saith, NP (ripinu,) "WE HEALED Babylon, and she was not healed." Thus are they said to know God, who had such means to know him imparted by his providence, as rendered their ignorance of him, and their idolatry." without excuse." "The riches of God's goodness, patience and long-suffering," is said "to lead them to repentance" who continued. "in the hardness, and the impenitency of their hearts;"" and God is said to be "in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to them their iniquities," because he had made him "a sacrifice for their sin, that they might be made righteous through faith in him;" and yet that he was doing this for them who were not actually reconciled to him, and so whose sins were not forgiven, appears from the a Ezekiel xxiv, 13. • Verses 22, 23. b Jeremiah xiii, 11. c Isaiah xlviii, 17, 18. d Chapter xliii, 21. h Romans ii, 3, 4 |