Of E!eClion. And certainly ifyou would attempt to make a Supplement olony other parn- "'-'....vl cular matter, or thing, wherein it mufl be fuppofect God lhould make us per- , , 3 • felt; (And tt mufl be fome parttcular thtng or other, that is intended God ~ lbould make us perfeCl: in~ and by; a.nd it mufl be fuch things alfo as are Sptrttual too, and belongmg to Salvauon after cal!tng) Then if you will joyn any fuch thing', to explain tt by, it mufl be fuch as is in fome other Scripture in~lanced in'. and is.adjoyned to this fame word of perfeElwg us by God, as a thtng wlier&~n God ts fatd fo to make usPerfeEl:And what occurs more plain and futtably , tHan what this unto the Hebr<ws IS fo exprefs,and punctual in? And that which is alfo fo main a matter wherein our perieCl:ion lies: And therefore was fo precifely mentioned in that prayer by the Apo(lle for the He6rews and for all Cbriflians: And itbeing a perfecting in point of Grace, and the working t bereof tn us,wluch 1s cvtdemly mtended tn Peter, and an evaNgelicalperfeElt- ?" i1J Good works, with that allowance of. imperfeCl:ions cleaving to the bell,betng that whtch throughouttheScnptures ts reckoned our ptrjeElio1l; and without which we are not accountedperfeEl in Godsfight: Therefore furely when G11d fays hewitt make us perfeEl,as byPeter he doth,he intends the very fame. But it may be faid, •That there is not the lea(\ mention of any of thefe ca– fes in either of the paffages of thefetwo Apo(lles: And on what Ground then will you apply thefe Scriptures to them? The Apofllc to the He6rtws prays indeed for ptrjeEii1lg them he wrote to, i11 every good work ; but fpeaks nor of this, thot after a remiffnefs, or·difcominuance of good works, he would again perfeCl: them. My Anfwcr is; 1. Who !ball limit the intention of the words, to fay, that in t ile Hebrtws he prays only for t hofe that had continued in all and every Good work, without faltering, or mak1ng halts in their progr~fs; or that in my Text, the promife lbould only be unto fuch, and fo to cxdude thof~ who have not in that conflancy walked in fuch flrictnefs? Thefe Scriptures, each of them, are a comprehenlion, or a General , appliable unto all per– fans that are truly called, and involving all cafes they !ball by Gods permiffion fall into. And as for my Text, if y_ou obferve the Ground of the Promife there, tt ts not founded upon Mens having continued in an exa& walking all along after CalliAg, in e'l!ery goodwork , all along from their Calling, without any fal– terings or incorruption, (which yet was their duty to have done; ) to 6e Jitre there inwmmtio11 of that; But it is founded 11po11 tbis, that tbe God of all Grace having effectually called them, he will fee to it to perfeCl: that work in them, in the end, and to the end ; and (o to bring them back from their wan– derings, and flrayings alide, if they fall out; and to take care not to fuffer them fo far to ftray, as not to be reducible: So as prove the cafe, what it may fall out to be in fonae of thefe Called ( and there is not a greater variation, arid deviation from the North·point in the eompafs, in the feveral Latitudes thofe that fail,run through, than there falls out in variety of cafes to thefe , that yet are a carrying on to Heaven, and will certainly be brought thither, ) over and belides their driving up and down through feveral winds of T emptations , that like Gufls come upon them ; whilfl yet, take the general S.teerage of their Courfe, and itis to their defired Havefl. And the Ground of that toun– dation, namely that they have been called, Iyes yet deeper; eveJJ in the He<1rt of God that calltth (as Rom.9. the ApOJ!lle flares it) even in this, The God of all Grace whobath catted; And the ll:rengthof thatlies in this, thatthe fame Grace that God put forth in Calling them, ":he!' they were utterly _vo1d of all good works at fir(\, and de!litute of the Pnnc1ples thereof , 'Deadm ji11s, and Trefpaffis; hath engaged it felf to perfeCl: tt, (and wtlt do tt, as the promife is, I The(. 5, 14. Faithj11l;, bt that cattnhJOtt, whoa!fo wt!t do tt.) he retaining the fame Grace in his Heart towards them: And Wtth>l, can more ealily do it, although there fall out fuch cafual re~iffneffes in ~ond works, C§c. feeing the pri1lctp!e of Life, the Seed of God fl1ll rematn.eth tn rhcm, thouglt reatly to dye; as in that Rev. l· 1.. wh1chprmczple {hews 1t felf mor~ or kfs, in the worlt of Cafes th~t God fuff<rs to befall them , by lttll exerung f1me A Els,
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