conftancy and perfeverance very much upon our forecasting the worst that may fall out, Luke xiv. 28. "Put on the whole armour of God, "that ye may able to ftand," Eph. vi. He that hath first severed Christ in his thoughts from all worldly advantages, and puts the cafe thus to his own foul, O my foul, canft thou embrace or love a naked Christ? Canft thou be content to be impoverished, imprisoned, and suffer the loss of all for him? He is most likely to cleave faithfully to him, when the cafe is really prefented to him indeed. And can it feem a light thing in your eyes, to be enabled to stand in fuch an evil day? If you fall away from Chrift, then all you have wrought is loft, Ezek. xxxiii. 13. Gideon's one baftard deftroyed all his feventy fons. This act renders all former actions and profeffions vain. If you fall, you fhall thereby be brought into a more perfect bondage to the devil than ever, Matth. xii. 23. Yea, ordinarily, apoftates are judicially given up to be perfecutors, Hofea v. 12. 1 Tim. i. 20. and are feldom or never recovered again by grace, Heb. vi. 4, 6. They that lick up their vomit, feldom caft it up any more. It is a fall within a little as low as the unpardonable fin, whence never any rife again. In fome cafes the judge will not allow the offender his book. And is it not then a choice and desirable mercy to escape and prevent fuch a fall as this? O good fouls, ply your preparation-work close then; prepare, or you perifh.

3. • Motive. This will beft answer the grace of God, in affording you fuch choice helps and advantages as you have enjoyed. How long have you enjoyed the free liberty of the gospel, fhining in its luftre among you? This fun, which to fome other nations hath not rifen, and to divers on whom it hath shined, yet it is but as a winter's fun, remote, and its beams but feeble; but you have lived, as it were, under the line, it hath been over your heads, and fhed its richest influences upon you. Yea, God's ministers, who are not only appointed to be watchmen, Ezek. iii. 16. but trumpeters to difcover danger, Num. x. 8. These have faithfully warned you of a day of trouble, and given you their best affiftance to make you ready for it. And is not their joy, yea, life, bound up in your ftability in fuch a day of trial? Doth not every one call upon you in the words of the apostle, Phil. iv. 1. "Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, and longed for, "my joy and crown, fo ftand faft in the Lord, my dearly beloved." Will it not cut them to the very heart, if after all their spending labours among you, they ftill leave you unready? enemies ftill to the crofs of Chrift, impoffible to be reconciled and perfuaded to fufferingwork for Chrift.

I remember I have read of the Athenian Codrus, who being informed by the oracle, that the people whofe king fhould be flain in battle fhould be conquerors: he thereupon difrobed himself, and in a disguise went into the enemies quarters, that he might steal a death to make his people victorious.

Oh! how glad would your minifters be, if you might conquer and

overcome in the day of temptation, whatever become of their lives and liberties! Yea, and if they be offered up upon the facrifice and fervice of your faith, they can rejoice, and joy with you all. Such is their zeal and longing after your fecurity and welfare. But if ftill you remain an unready people, and do become a prey to temptation, Oh how inexcufable will you be !

4. Motive. Remember how ready the Lord Jefus was to fuffer the hardest and vileft things for you. He had a bitter cup put into his hands to drink for you, into which the wrath both of God and man was fqueezed out. Never had man fuch fufferings to undergo as Chrift, whether you confider, (1.) The dignity of his person, who was in the form of God, and might have ftood upon his peerage and and equality with him; he is the parkling diamond of heaven, Acts vii. 56. the darling of the Father's foul, Ifa. xlii. 1. glorious as the only begotten of the Father, John i. 14. yea, glory itself, James ii. 1. yea, the very brightness of glory, Heb. i. 3. He is the delicia Chriftiani orbis, fairer than the fons of men: And for him to be fo debased, below fo many thousands of his own creatures, become a worm, and no man; this was a wonderful humiliation. It was Jeremiah's lamentation, that fuch as were brought up in fcarlet, embraced dunghills; that princes were hanged up by the hands, and the faces of elders were not reverenced: But what was that to the humiliation of the Lord of glory? Or, (2.) That he fuffered in the prime and flower of his years; when full of life and fenfe, and more capable of exquifite fenfe of pain than others: for he was optime complexionatus,† of a fingular conftitution; and all the while he hanged on the tree, his fenfe of pain not at all blunted or decayed, Mark xv. 37, 39. Or, (3.) The manner of his death. It was the death of the crofs, which was a rack to Chrift: for in reference to the diftention of his members upon the crofs is that spoken, Pfal. xxii. 17. "I may tell all my bones." Or, (4.) That all this while God hid his face from him. When Stephen fuffered, he faw the heavens opened. The martyrs were many of them ravished and tranfported with extafies of joy in their fafferings; but Christ in the dark. He fuffered in his foul as well as in his body; and the fufferings of his foul were the very foul of his fufferings. It was the Father's wrath that lay fo heavy on him, as to put him into fuch an agony, that an inftance was never given of the like nature: for he fweat Sopo, great drops, or clodders of blood, which fell from his body to the ground, Luke xxii. 44. "It amazed him, and "made him very heavy;" fee Mark xiv. 33 yea "forrowful even to "death," Matth. xxvi. 38.

And yet, as bitter as the cup was, he freely and willingly drank it up, John xviii. 11. prepared himfelf to be offered up a facrifice, Pfal. x. 6,7" gave his back to the fmiters," Ifa. 1. 6. yea, longed exceedingly for the time till it came, Luke xii. 50,

Dolor Chrifti fuit major omnibus doloribus. Aquin.

+ Aquinas.

Now, if Chrift fo cheerfully prepared and addressed himself to such fufferings as thefe for you, fhould you not prepare yourselves to encounter any difficulty or hardships for him? O my brethren, doth not this feem a juft and fair inference to you, from the fufferings of Chrift for you? Pet. iv. 1. "Forafmuch then as Chrift hath fuffered "for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewife with the fame mind." Ob, trifle no longer, feed not yourselves with fancies and groundlefs prefumptions of immunity and peace, but forefee difficulties, and fit yourselves to bear them.

CHAP. XVI.

Containing the laft ufe of the point, by way of fupport and comfort to poor trembling fouls, who do take pains to make themselves ready for fufferings; but yet finding fuch frength in Satan's temptations, and their own corruptions, fear that all their labour is vain, and that they fhall faint, and utterly apoftatize, when their troubles and trials come to an height.

IN

"N the laft place, if it be fuch a blessed thing to be ready for bonds, or death for Chrift, this may minifter much comfort to fuch fouls, who though they cannot fay as Paul here did, that they are ready; yet are at work daily upon their own hearts to make them ready, and ftrive, in the use of all means, to conquer thofe corruptions that hinder it, and improve thofe graces in which it mainly confifteth. O poor foul, whatever prefent unreadinefs or indifpofition thou findest, and complaineft of in thine heart, yet thy condition is fafe.

Objection, Oh! but I cannot be fatisfied in that: I fear I fhall be over-borne by temptations when they come to an height. I have fuch experience of the deceits and treacherousness of my own heart, that it feems impoffible to me to do as these bleffed fouls did, when I come to the like trials.

Solution. It is well thou fufpecteft thine own heart, and trembleft in thyfelf; this fear will keep thee waking, when others are fecurely

fleeping. It was a good faying of a reverend minifter, Mr. A. H. now with God, He that fears to flinch, fhall never flinch for fear.' It is true, feeming grace may be totally loft, Luke vii. 18. Heb. vi. 4, 5. 2 Pet. ii. 20. It is granted alfo, that the fins of believers deferve that God should forfake them, and that he may fuffer grace in them to be fadly abated, and they may fall before a temptation, as Peter, and all the difciples did: but that thou fhalt never be separated from Chrift, or fall totus a toto, in totum, utterly away from God, thou mayeft be abundantly satisfied, upon these five or fix grounds.

1. From God's eternal electing love, wherewithal gracious fouls are beloved and embraced, be their graces never so weak, or their cor

ruptions never fo ftrong. This is immutable, Heb. vi. 18. and hence it is faid, Mark xiii. 22. "They fhall deceive " (if it were poffible) "the very elect." Now, this immutable purpofe of God, is not founded upon any mutable ground or reafon in thee, Rom. ix. II. Yea, when he, Rom. viii. 29. elected thee, he faw what thou wouldst be, and yet that hindered him not.

2. From the covenant of grace, in the bofom of which thou art wrapped up: this is all thy falvation, and all thy hope; it will afford thee abundant fatisfaction, if thou do but weigh particularly these three things about it. 1. That the Author of this covenant is not a fickle creature, but a faithful God, with whom there is not yea and nay; with whom there is no variableness, nor fhadow of turning; whofe gifts and callings are without repentance; fo that once within this bleffed covenant, and in it for ever. 2. That God hath established the covenant with you in the blood of Chrift; therefore the facramental cup, is called "the cup of the New Teftament in his blood," Luke xxii. 20. The everlasting merit and efficacy whereof gives the foul of a believer the highest fatisfaction imaginable. Laftly, Add to this, that in this covenant God hath undertaken for us, as well as for himfelf: so that what is a condition in one fcripture, is the matter of a promife in another, Jer. xxxii. 40.

3. From that ftrict and intimate union that is betwixt Chrift and thee. And hence it is impoffible thou shouldeft be loft. For, 1. Thy union with his perfon brings intereft in his properties along with it. Whatever he is, or hath, it is for thee: his eye of knowledge, arm of power, bowels of pity, it is all for thee.

2. This union with his perfon, fecures thy feeble graces from perifhing. John iv. 14. Thy graces have an everlafting fpring. Whilft there is fap in this root, it will afcend into the branches.

3. It implies thy perfeverance, becaufe by this union thou becomest an integral part of Chrift's body, which would be mutilated and defective, fhould thou be cut off and lost.

4. From the prevalent interceffion of Jefus Chrift in the heavens, for all his faints, in all their trials here on earth. From hence the apostle infers the certainty of our perfeverance, Rom. viii. 34. and a pregnant inftance of it you have in Peter's cafe, Luke xxii. 32. So Heb. vii. 25. fpeaks fully to the cafe. To ftrengthen this, confider, I. Who it is that intercedes: It is Chrift, whofe perfon is most dear and ingratiated with the Father, John xi. 42 2. What he intercedes for: Surely for nothing but what is moft fuitable to his Father's will. The will of Chrift, and his Father's do not clash, John xvi. 26, 27. yea, what he prays for, he prays not for gratis, or asks upon any difhonourable terms to the justice of his Father; but they are all mercies purchased and paid for ; and therefore fear not the failing of your graces.

5. From the Spirit of Chrift which dwelleth and abideth in thee, and hath begun his faving work upon thee. I fay, faving, for else it

would afford no argument. His common works on hypocrites comě to nothing, but in thee they cannot fail. For, 1. His honour is pledged and engaged to perfect it. That reproach of the foolish builder fhall never lie upon him, that he began to build, but could not finish. Befides, this would make void all that the Father and the Son have done for thee; both their works are complete and perfect in their kinds, and the Spirit is the laft efficient in order of working. 2. Befides, the grace he hath already wrought in thee, may give thee yet further and fuller affurance of its prefervation, inasmuch as it hath the nature of a feal, pledge, and earnest of the whole, Rom. viii. 23. 2. Cor. i. 22. So that it cannot fail.

6. From thofe multitudes of affertory, promissory, and comparative fcriptures, the rich veins whereof run through the book of God, as fo many streams to refresh thy foul. Of affertory fcriptures, fee John vi. 39. John 10. 28. 1 John ii. 19. Of promiffory fcriptures, fee Ifa. liv. 10. Jer. xxxiv. 40. 1 Cor. i. 8. &c. Of comparative scriptures, fee Pfal. i. 3. Pfal. cxxv. 1 John iv. 14. &c. The principal fcope of all which is to fhew the indefectible nature of true grace in the faints. And now, how should this refresh thy drooping foul, make thee gird up the loins of thy mind, fince thou doft "not run as one uncer"tain, neither fightest as one that beats the air," I Cor. ix. 26. but art fo fecured from total apoftacy, as thou feeft thou art by all these things. O blefs ye the Lord.

Obj. 2. But the Lord feems to be departed from my foul; God is afar off from me, and troubles are near. I feem to be in fuch a cafe as Saul was when the Philistines made war upon him, and God was departed from him; and therefore I fhail fall.

Sol. Not fo; for there are two forts of Divine desertions; the one is abfolute, when the Lord utterly forfakes his creatures, fo that they fhall never behold his face more: The other is limited and refpective, and fo he forfook his own Son, and often does his own elect: and of this kind, fome are only cautional, to prevent fin; fome are merely probational, to try grace; and others caftigatory, to chaftife our negligence and careleffnefs. Now, though I have not a word of comfort. to speak in the cafe of total and abfolute defertions; yet of the latter (which doubtlefs is thy cafe) much may be faid by way of fupport, be it of which of the three forts it will, or in what degree it will For, 1. This hath been the cafe of many precious fouls, Pfal. xxii. 1, 2. Pfal. Ixxvii. 2. Pfal. lxxxviii. 9. Job xiii. 24, 25, 26. This was poor Mr Glover's cafe, as you will find in his ftory, and it continued till he came within fight of the stake; therefore no new or strange thing bath happened to you.

2. The Lord by this will advantage thee for perfeverance, not only as they are cautioned against fin, but as they make thee hold Chrift the fafter, and prize his prefence at an higher rate, when he shall pleafe graciously to manifeft himself to thee again. Cant. iii. 4.