OCR Text |
Show which I !hall obferve to you as to the Explication of the Words. II/ 1 dtnotat The word Vntil, doth not import the determination of the thing "'if,;;,.,. tumq; fpoken of, at the time to which it referreth; but often lignifies Pliqu•nJo in- N<vtr ; as where it is faid, Michal had no more children t<Htil the cl:tdit,alig_.an- day of her death. But th'is is a very ordinary Obfervation by them ~ "'1jf!'· which have any thing confidered the particles ufed in holy Writ. .vane •· The Obfcrvation which J flull commend to you, is, That a believing Souls Union with its Beloved tball continue until the day breaks, and the tbadows flee away. Or thus, A belitving SoHI may ~{.now thAt Cbrijl jbaU be hi<, ttnd h1 jbaU bt Chrif/1, u11til the d•y break/, and the ]bad,,., flee a"'ay, tvm for tver. This Propofition hints us two things : r. Chrijl1 Vniun with the Soul, and itJ per/everance with Chrift during aU the fhad•rPJ of this life: yea, and their mutual union for ever. · 2. Secondly, It hinteth the poffibility of the Souls knowledg of its abiding with Chrifi, and Chrift with it: I muft begin with the firfi; for the thing muft be before it can be known. It mufl beatruththatChri{l..,iU beour~,andwe jbaU behif, until the day ~reak, and tbejb.Jdo"'' flu a"'ay,or we cannot fay fo ; Let me fir II fpcak 'a word' or two of that. - ca.. con. Trid. r. The conjug•l Vn!•n which if betwixt Chri/f and every tru.IJ be$ rfj" 6 can. 23• 1ievmg Soul i4 a certam, and ]ball be aa abulmg VitLDn, even ttll the · · day-of Judgment. There is no fuch thing as a falling away from a t!ataof Grace. Here our Advedfties are both, the Papijh and the Arminians :The Papi{ls An.uhematil(.e all that fay., that he wb• .j{ jrtf/ified cannot faU from Grace. Bertill<, a ?,reat man am?ng{! the ArminianJ writes a Book about the Apojlacy of tbe S.Jtntl : A Book whidh King 7ames faith, defer~ed for the very Title to . ~e burned, (for it is not long thofe pmnts have had .any favour '!1 the Univcrfitics, or Church ofE.,gland,) The Papift1 and Armt" i•11r fay that Chrifiians may fall away from Grace both totally& finally. T'he C~thrrans fay,theymay fall away totaUy,butnot ft~~;aUy. we fay they can neither fall away totaUy, nor finaUy._ Our Church Art. 1 -j. cafleth Predcftination &o life, The everlaflmg P"rpo[< •f . God, befure tbe foundation! of the World were -latd? Phereby he hath Ar!ttles ofRc- con/i antly dmud by hif Coun[<l [met lo m, to dtiiVer from curfl and lrgJOn,•s6a; dap~natim thofe n>bom /,hath cbo[tn in Cbrijl out ofmani!Jnd, and · An. •?· lo bri11g them by Cbrijl to evtrlafting Salv4t~IJ, ill Ve.fffls matk to hono•r, '!'he fl...ucfliollfl~tted. 4-99 balfour,&,·, dBut that von may rightly undcdland the Q)ellion : 1d• It mttr• be under(/oud of thnje who h•ve tbe '<ed o" God. We M 1 1 nee not be told b d J ' 1 Mattb "'"· 3· ••· 1 , • Your A verfartes of rhofe that in the Parable, Heb. 6. 4. h r ' , • . reccrved the Word 1\ith )0" yet fell away; nor of I Od •e mif/ entioned bY th e Ap o II.'c . t ha t R" ew.v e fume t.U ummatronJ an ta ~~me finritual gi[11, .md the poweu of the life to came aJtd {t m'(. r1 · • ~way, We know how much H .. od is faid to have done: ow ar •l< went, how abundantly the Scnpture fpeaks of te~~orary Profdfors that yet deny God and forget they are pur~ c rom their old wickednefs. Wed; not fay that all fl.all perevc! c that _ma~e a ll1ew of Chrifls R,lation to them, and therrs to Chnll, Ot hve 1n fome outward profelbon : we may fay of rhefe ~s ~h~ Apo}!le fpeaks, they were not of God1 htrle-llocl< , if they a ecn o them, they had continued with them. And to this purpofe Auf.u}lme fpeaks ingenuoully, Non trant iu Humero filto~ Hm, ~uandoerant in fide fili•rum; they were not in the number of 11?ns _when they bare the profcllion and name of Sons. The que- 1.~0 IS not, whether Hypocrites tball always abide in their hypocrl Je ar:d outward profeffion; but whether Vert fidetu,fuch as are true Believers, {hall abide in their ftate? nor whether the Brij/ulftMt, but wheth~r t~e true Diamond, tballl<eep its glory? b 2 • The Q!!ellwn IS about a Total or a final fdUing away or horh: No one doubts but that an tle{l Vcffil may by llandi~g in 1 e atr of the World become dirty·? Who li~etb and finneth nut~ We a~e fo far from alferting, that a child of God cannot fin· th;t b~ t~~k it very hard to fay, ~hat fin (excepting that againll the 0 Y o~ he may not com_mrt ; and certainly it is hard tor him to detcrmme,that duly conhdcrs the failures of David Solomon Pe~~/ i ~otfl Noah. But we ~ay, ~c cannot fo fin as to fall 'rrom hi; ju- I e ate, or to lofe hts rrght to eternal life. J pray obferve ~fay, .he doth nor lofe his right to Eternal Salvation. I mull di: mgut~ here b_etween, r • A Right to a thing; and 2. A memtrfi for a thtng. Srns efpecially of this nature lo!e a man his fitm[l ~:dHeaven~ but they do not lofe his 71ghtto He.vm. When Dov;d. commm_ed Murther, and before he was convinced of it a~d ~pe~e~ of It, he was not fit for Hea v~n; nor was it poffible he ' ti~~ he ahedcome there,not watb:d and clean fed, but at that very tl a a "f!.ht to II ; and tt was then fure enough that ~ 10dugh firfi wa[hed , and clean led, yet) he {hould cemi~ly b~ •ave • ,. Sff a |