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Show H~~ c_h~if}, foe_rJ.~,I~ fl,f!~Ongjf.'t~e Wlu_s. In t"c firll place, you cann,ot but' obferve from hence, tbt dijforen" ~etwi~t Godr workingr in the S01fl}t:1 o~der to itJ Sat.vati011, and it) order, tc;> its collfpla,tion. In hi~ wor.ki~gs ·in order to the Souls Salvation he lflOVeth firll, he loves us before we love him, be chufeth us be(ore we chufe him; we dp not, we ~annot, givefirll unro him, we ha'(e nothing to boall; nothing to glory in. But n6w in order to tbeSouls confolafion,and to our fight ojwha.t God hath freely given us, and done for us, we mu!l.firll "''""'that, we lovt God before we .can know that he loveth us; that we chppfe the t.hings ~hich pleafe God b~~ore 're can know that he hath chofen U? to everlalling life;and therefore the Apollle Pmr minding us of our duty,to afcertain our Spiritual ellate t~ our (elves puts calling before eleCtion, bidding us llrive to make 9ur c•Uing and eleUion fore, • But the A,Pofile Pa~.J, Rom. 8. fpcal1,ing of Gods order in worktng, puts Prede]finatzon fir~; whom he hath pre deft mated, them he bath caUed, Rom. 8. 30. what are' the Jivine4l1r of grace towards us, can be kno)Ynby us, no other wife than by the effeCts, or the tellimony of the Spirit, ( which alone knoweth th~ fecret things of God; as beiqgofcounfel "'ith him, and tl)e Spirits telHmony is always concurrent with the witnefs of our own Spirits. ) • Secondly, This notion of truth eaftly difcovereth the deceit and pre[,.mption of.tbofl w,ho wiU pretend ,to great ajfurance or confidence of their !ntereft in Chrift, while thdr livu proclaim that they are none of hi1. Luther in his till)e complain~d of m~ny thaf did but crepare Cbriftu;,, make a crack, and vain-boa~ing of Chrill. Apd. the Prophet Ifoiab, long beforeLuther'1 time, told us offome that called themfelves by tbr n,ame of l[rael,and were come out ofth• waterJ of 'Jud~b, and[ware by the n~me of the Lord, an~ made 111e11tio~ o( the God oflftael: and v. 2. ~ayed themfelver t~pon the God ofl{rael; yet not in truth nor in rigbteouforfs. I am a_fraid th_ere are too many of thefe in that age of the world wherem we hve ; where a)moll is the man that pLltS not in his clail,Tl to Chrill, efpecially when he is dying? ( as drowning perfons you know is _obfc:rvcd will lay hold on every twig without any du~ confiderauon _whether it will bear them yea or no, ) what man ts nor ~ea<)y ( tf not ro fay (it may be m~ny in this age count that canting ) Cbri/1 u mine,yet)to think fo:And jndeed without fame fuch th~ught~, o~e would wonder how the hearts of any {bould bear up m thm pd· orimage Jivinv in the view of Death and in a profpeCt of an eter" ' " ' nal naj fiat~, every hour they, live in the w0r],j.. Their mirth, !heir 0 quiernefs of Spirit proclaims they fay, Cbri/1 i1 theirr. And there may be Prophets, that thus Prophefy to them. They are Bapti[ed, they are Cbil!lren of the CbJ<rch, they keep their Churcb, join in colifeffion of fins, receive ab{olulion, when they die they receive the SacrameNt. as a villlicum. 1\ll is well doubtlefs, and it is fad that the Lordi 'fr•mpetl !hould give iMcertai/1 {it~ndJ, as to this gr eat Bat tel ; but fulfer me only to allude to a llory yoJJ will fiqd in Jer. 28'. Jeremiah, by warrant from God, had been Prophefying in Zedekjahr time, the going of th~ lfrae/im into Babylo11, al)d abiding t,hete 70 years; which actually came to pafs within 5· years, Chap. 28. v. 1. 8an11aniah, a lhttering falfe Prophet comes and contradiCts Jeremi•h, and tells them that thofe that were. already gone intoCaprivity!hould within two full years return again in !lead of the rell being carried after them. Mark what Jeremi•h fajth unto him,v. 6. faith he, Amen. The Lord dofo,tbe Lord perform the wordr which thou h•ft Propbefjed, & ~. Neverthe-· ·Ids, v. 7, 8. hear now this. 'I be Prophell th.t have bem before me, and thee of old, Prophefjed bQib OJ(.ain(i mauy CoHntries and great Kingdom!, of War, of Evil, and of Prftilence. Tht Propbtl which Prdhefie(h •f Peace, when the word! of that Prophet comer to pa[s,thm fha the l'rophrt be k,.nown. that the Lord h•th J tnt him : Give. me leave to apply it. Have yoll any that tell you, thlt thofe that are Baptifed are regenerated, and that's all the regeneration necelfary: 1;hat if you{tn it is. enough to confefs them, and take the MinifterJ ab[ollltio>t.and t/le S,acrante~fl upon it; and there-is no fear of S~lvarion: That ifyoll be B,aptifed and Children of the Chwch, yoJ:O may fay, C,bri(l ir you~r, in fuch a fen\c as to be confident he will· fave you, Ame11. '[he Lord do fo, tbe ~rd fulfiU tbeir ,.ord1; God forbid that W( !hould no.t will the Salva~ion of all peopl es .Souls. But heatk,vou,friepds,theMiniflersofChrill that have been before us, ond them .too, haye thought orherwife : fo were the Apoflles, who tell us without H1linefi none {hJU fee God ; ,.it bout f aitb it i1 ilf'poffible to pleafr God. Chrltl faith, he that believeth not i4 d•mneJ a(re•dy. In the day, the great day of Judgment, if we .fee thefc reachers words come to pafs, then we !hall believe they were rhe Miniflers ofChrifl. But in the mean time (to ufe rbe cxprcfli-. on of a late eminent Diviue a!1longfills applied by him to a Deatb- bed- repentiJHCe.) If,I ha~ ten thoufand Souls, I would not venture one of them, upon the credit of their DoCtrine. Bur that I may . fhut up this difcourfe in the Ia{) place. Y 9u . |