nor at all take away his loving-kindnefs. This doctrine in this light is to be held fast, because the everlasting love of God is the bond of union to him, and is the fource and fpring of all the bleffings of grace, which are exhibited and held forth in the feveral doctrines of grace. Thirdly, The doctrine of eternal, perfonal, and particular election, is another part of the form of found words to be held faft; as that election is eternal, was from the beginning, as the apoftle tells the Theffalonians"; not from the beginning of the gospel coning unto them, or from the beginning of their converfion and faith, but from the beginning of time, or before time: for the phrases, from the beginning, and from everlefting, are the fame, as appears from Prov. viii. 2 3. Befides, the apollle exprefsly fays, this choice was made before the foundation of the world, Eph. i. 4. It is also perfonal and particular; not a choice of propofitions and characters, but of perfons, he hath chefen us, as in the fame place; not a choice of whole bodies of men, of nations, and churches, but of particular perfons, known to the Lord by name; the Lord knows them, that are bis"; I know whom I have chofen, fays Chrift: they are as if they were particularly named: hence their names are faid to be written in the Lamb's book of life. This choice is of pure grace; not on the forefight of faith; for faith is the fruit of it, flows from it, and is fecured by it; as many as were ordained unto eternal life, believed: nor on the forefight of holiness, or on account of that; for God chofe his people, not because they were holy, but that they might be fo: he chofe them through fanctification before time, and therefore calls them to holinefs in time: nor because of their good works; for the children not being yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, hight fland, not of works, but of him that calleth". And here it is called the election of grace, and strongly argued not to be of works, but of the pure fovereign grace of God: and it is both to grace and glory, to fpecial bleffings of grace, of faith, and holiness, to conformity to the image of Chrift now, and to eternal glory and happiness hereafter, which is enfured by it; for, whom be predeftinates, he also glorifies. Now, this part of the form of found words is to be held faft, because it stands foremoft in the bleffings of grace, and is the standard and rule according to which God proceeds in difpenfing the reft; for he bleffes his people with all spiritual bleffings in Chrift, according as he hath chofen them in him". Fourthly, The doctrine of the covenant of grace is to be held faft, made between the eternal three, when there were none in being but themfelves; no crea ture, neither an angel, nor a man, nor the foul of a man; none but God, Father, Son and Spirit, between whom and them alone the covenant-tranfactions were; even before the world was, or any creature whatever in being; hence it is called an everlafting covenant, being from everlasting; as well as it will continue to everlafting; which appears from Chrift's being fet up fo early as the mediator of it, from the provifion of bleflings of grace in it fo early, which were given to the elect in Chrift, and they were bleffed with them in him before the world was; and from promifes made in it fo early, particularly the promise of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promifed before the world began. It is abfolute and unconditional; no conditions in it but what were engaged to be performed, and have been and are performed by the Son of God, and by the Spirit of God with refpect to the perfons on whofe account the covenant was made; all the promises run in this ftile, "I will be their God, and they shall be my people; I will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart from "me: I will take away the ftony heart, and give them an heart of flesh; a new "heart and a new fpirit will I give them, and I will put my spirit within them, and cause them to walk in my itatutes; and they shall keep my judgments, and do them." It is a covenant of pure grace to the elect, and is fure, firm, and inviolable: it is ordered in all things and fure; its bleffings are the Jure mercies of David, and its promifes are all yea and amen in Chrift. It is a covenant God will not break, and men cannot: it is immoveable, and more so than rocks and mountains; the mountains fhall depart, and the hills be removed; but the covenant of peace fhall never be removed. Now the doctrine concerning this is to be held faft, because it is the bafis of the works done by the Son and Spirit of God; of the Son's work in redemption, according to his furetyfhip-engagements in this covenant; and of the Spirit's work in fanctification, according to his own agreement in it. ་ Fifthly, The doctrine of original fin, which opens and defcribes the ftate and condition of men by nature, is another part of the form of found words to be held faft, as that all men finned in Adam, in whom they were federally as their covenant-head, in which refpect he was the figure or type of him that was to come; that is, of Chrift. Hence the apoftle gives the parallel between thefe two covenant-heads; the one, as conveying grace, righteousness, and life, to his feed; and the other, as conveying fin, condemnation, and death, to all his pofterity. Befides, all men were in Adam feminally, in like fenfe as Levi was in the loins of Abraham, when he paid tithes to Melchizedek: fo all men were in the loins of their firft father, and when he finned, finned in him, and were made, constituted, reckoned, and accounted finners, by his disobedience. The guilt of his fin is imputed to them, fo as that judgment comes upon them all to condemnation; and death reigns over them, and all die in him, and a corrupt nature is propagated from him to them: they are all, like David, shapen in iniquity, and conceived in fin: and indeed how can it otherwife be? for who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. There never was but one inftance of Adam's race free from his fin, and that was the human nature of Chrift: but then that did not defcend from him by ordinary generation, but was brought into the world in a fupernatural way, and fo efcaped the contagion of fin. Now it is necessary that this doctrine fhould be held faft, fince it accounts for the corruption of human nature; fhews the reafon of mens being fo prone to fin, and biased to it; fo impotent to that which is good, and fo averfe to it: and alfo fhews the neceffity of redemption, regeneration, and fanctification. Sixthly, The doctrine of redemption by Chrift, is another part of the form of found words to be held faft; as that it is fpecial and particular; though Chrift gave his life a ranfom for many, yet not for all: thofe that are redeemed by him are redeemed from among men, out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation they are Chrift's special people he came to fave: his fheep the Father gave him, and he undertook the care of, he laid down his life for: the children of God, that were scattered abroad, he came to gather together by his fufferings and death; and his church he gave himself for, even the general affembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven: and that this redemption is procured by way of fatisfaction to the juftice of God; he redeemed his people by paying a price for it, even his precious blood. Redemption was obtained by Christ through his fufferings, the juft for the unjuft; by his being wounded, bruised, and ftricken, for the tranfgreffions of his people; by bearing their iniquities, and the punishment of them; by his being made fin and a curse for them, thereby redeeming them from fin and the curfes of the law; and this doctrine of redemption by the blood of Chrift, and atonement by his facrifice, should be held fast, it being the foundation of a finner's peace, joy, and comfort. Seventhly, The doctrine of justification by the imputed righteousnefs of Chrift, is another branch of the form of found words to be held faft: this proceeds from the free grace of God, through the redemption that is in Chrift; the matter of it is what is commonly called the active and paffive obedience of Chrift, which, with the holiness of his nature, are imputed for juftification, being what is i Job xiv. 4. is required to it by the holy law of God; and hence fometimes men are said to be made righteous by the obedience of Chrift, and fometimes to be justified by b.s blood, which is put for his whole fufferings and death; by the one Chrift has fulfilled the preceptive part of the law; and by the other has bore the penalty of it; and by both has given full fatisfaction to it: the form of it is the imputation of righteousness without works, by an act of God's grace: this righteousnefs is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith; and faith is wrought in the foul, to lay hold on it, receive it, and plead it as its justifying righteousness, from whence much peace and comfort flow. Juftification may be confidered as a sentence conceived in the divine mind from eternity; and as pronounced on Chrift, the head and furety of his people, when he rofe from the dead, and upon them in him; and as it is again pronounced in the confcience of a believer, when the righteousness of Chrift is revealed to him, and received by him; and as it will be notified, and be openly and publicly pronounced before angels and men, when all the feed of Ifrael, or the whole elect in a body, shall be justified and fhall glory. This is to be held fast; for, as Luther called it, it is articulus ftantis vel cadentis ecclefiæ, "the article by which the church ftands or falls." Eighthly, The doctrines of pardon, peace, and reconciliation by the blood of Chrift, are parts of this form of found words to be held faft; that the pardon of fin is through the blood of Chrift, which, as it was fhed for the remiffion of fin, through it we have it, and through that only, and not on account of repentance, humiliation and confeffion, as meritorious or procuring causes of it; and that peace is made by the blood of Chrift, from whence peace of conscience flows; and that both reconciliation for our fins, and reconciliation of our perfons to God, is made by the death of Chrift; hence the gospel which publishes this is called the word of reconciliation, and the gospel of peace', which therefore should be held fast. Ninthly, The doctrines of regeneration, effectual calling, converfion, and fanctification by the fpirit, power, and grace of God, are parts of the fame form and fyftem; the neceffity of regeneration, without which there is no feeing nor entering into the kingdom of God, must be afferted; and that it is not of man, of the power and will of man, but of the power and will of God: that effectual vocation is by the grace of God, and not according to the works of men; that converfion is not of him that willeth nor runneth, but of the mighty power of God, who works in men both to will and to do; that fanctification is abfolutely neceffary to falvation, for without holinefs no man fhall fee the Lord; that this is the work of the Spirit of God, and is therefore called the fan&tifica * Rom. v. 9, 19. 12 Cor. v. 19. Ephes. vi. 15. tion tion of the Spirit", and which he gradually carries on, and will perform until the day of Chrift. Wherefore, Tenthly and laftly, and which bring up the rear, the doctrine of the faints final perfeverance is a part of this form of found words to be held faft; even that all that are chofen by the Father, and redeemed by the Son, and fanctified by the Spirit, fhall perfevere in faith and holiness to the end; being incircled in the arms of everlafting love, fecured in the everlasting covenant, united to Chrift their head, furety, and faviour, built on him the rock of ages, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail, and fo are like mount Zion, which can never be removed; and being in the hands of Chrift, out of whofe hands none can pluck, and who is able to keep them from falling; and being kept by the power of God through faith unto falvation. These are at least fome of the principal things which make up the form of found words, which you, my Brother, are to hold fast, maintain and publish in your ministry. What remains now to be confidered are the exhortation to hold it faft, and the manner in which it is to be done, on which I fhall not long dwell, II. The exhortation refpecting the form of found words, hold fast. This fuppoles a man to have it, as all fuch exhortations fuppofe perfons to have what they are exhorted to hold, and hold fast; and which is fometimes expreffed; as, that which ye have already, bold faft till I come; and again, hold that fast which thou baft, that no man take thy crown"; and Timothy, to whom the exhortation in the text is given, was in poffeffion of the form of found words; it was a facred depofitum committed to his truft. Hence it follows, that good thing, which was committed unto thee, keep by the holy Ghost which dwelleth in us; it was in his hand, in his head, and in his heart; the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach°; and whạt is had fhould be held; it should be held forth, bolding forth the word of life", and the word of light. Minifters are lights, and have light communicated to them, which fhould fhine forth, and not be put under a bufhel; what they have freely received they should freely give; what is told them in private in their studies, they should publicly declare, and affirm those things conftantly; they fhould hold faft the faithful word, as they have been taught, and have taught others, and tenaciously abide by it; fo Timothy was exhorted to do, and which will ferve more fully to confirm and explain the exhortation here, continue thou in the things which thou haft learned, and baft been affured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. This exhortation to hold fast the form of found words, is oppofed to dropping or departing from it, which may be done by thofe who have had it; men may m 1 Pet. i. 2. n Rev. ii. 25. and iii. 11. • Rom.x, 8. P Phil. ii. 16. receive 92 Tim. iii. 14 |