139 / 504
2
7tü1,
E,19,
John
647,38.
Opened.
CAP,
I1I.4:44;
their
Foundation.
The
Purpofe
of
God
is
here called
his Foundation,becaufe
83
of
its Stability
,Abidingneffe,Strength,andVf
in
bearing
up
the.
whole Fabricke
ofthe
Salvation
of
Believers,
not
in refpe&
of
its
lying
in,
or under
the
Ground,
or being made
of
wood,
or
Bone.
And
in
this fence why may
it
not
be
faid
to
be Sealed
Spirituali
Sealing
holds
out two
things: Confirmation,
and Conforming by impreffìon: and
in
them
confiff
the
cheife political
/ufe
of
the
Word
, and thing ,
not
in
being
a
Label/ annexed
to
a
writing.
And
why may
not aPurpofe be
confirmed,
or
be manifefted
to
be
firme,as
well
as a
Contra
&,
or Inftrument
in
Law
?
Having alfo its
conforming
virtue and
Efficacy
(which
is
thenaturalleffe&
of
Sealing)
to
implant the Image
in
the
Seale,
on
thethings
impreffed with
it,
in
rendering them,concerningwhom
the
Purpofe
of
God
is,anfwerable
to
the Image
of
his
Sonne (in whom
the
Purpofe
is
made)
and
that
patterne
which he
bath
Chofen
them
to
,
and
ap-
pointed them for.
What
followeth
to
the
end
of
this
Se&ion,
is
but
a
new
expreon of
what Mr
Goodwin
pretends to be the
fence
of
this place.
The
Foundation
ofGod
is
theGofpell, or the
Promife
of
God
to
fave Believers:
the
Seale
is
his
taking
notice
of
them
to
fave
them, and
to
condemne
them
that
Believe
not:
and therefore queftionleffe
Believers
need
not
feare
that
they
£hall
fall
away,
though
there
be
not the
leaft intimation made
of
any
thing,that
(
hould give them
the
leaft
comfortable or
chearing fecurity
of
pre-
fervation in
Believing: only 'tis faid,
he
that
believeth
Pall
be
faved,(which
yet
is
not an abfolutePromife
of
Salvation
to
Believers
)
and
he
that
believeth
not
/hall
be
damned:
which one disjunetive
Propofition declarative
of
the con-
nexion
that
is
between the
Means
and
the End,
Mr
Goodwin
labours
to
make
comprehenfive
of
all
the
Purpofes
of
God
concerning
Believers,
it
being fuch
as
wherein no oneperfon in the
world,
is
more concerned then another.
If
the
Foundation
herementioned
be
only
God's Purpofe,
(or
rather
declarati-
on)
of
his
Will for the
Saving
of
Believers,
and the Damning ofUnbelievers,
what Confolation could
be
from hence adminiflred
in
particular unto per-
fons
laboring under
the
Scruple
mentioned formerly, hath
not
as
yet been
declared. Let
us
then proceed
to
further proofe
ofthe Truth
in
hand,
and the vindication offome
other
places
of
Scripture whereby
it
is
confir-
med.
That
which
!flail
next
fix
upon,
is
that
eminent
place of'ioh.
6.37,
38,
0.44-
39,
4o
All
that
the
Fathergiveth
me
come to
me,
and
him
that
cometh to
me,
I
will in
no wife
call out:
for
I
came
down
from
Heaven,
nor
to
doe
mine
own
will,
but the will
of
him
thatfeat
me;
and this
is the Fathers
will
which
hath
feat
me,
that
of
all
which he
hath
given
me,
I
fhould
loofe
nothing, butfhould raife
it
up
againe
at
the
laß
day,
and this
is
the
will
of
him
that
feat
mee,
that
every
one
which
feeth
the
Bonne,
and
believeth
on
him,
may
have everlafting
life, and
i
will
raife him
up
at
the
lagt
day.
Our
Saviour acquaints us
with the defìgne,where-
with he
came from
heavens
it
was not to
doe
his
owne
will, that
is,to accom-
plifh, or bring
about,
any private purpofes
of
his
owne
, dif}in&
or
different
from them
of
his
Father,
as
he was Blafpheamoufly
charged by
the
ewes
to
doe:
but
he came
to
doe the
will
of
God,
the
-Will
of
him
that
feat
him'.
The
Will
of
God,
which Chrift came
to
fulfill,
is
fometimes
taken for
the
Comman-
dement,which
he received from the
Father,
for the Accomplifhment
of
his
Will.
So
Heb.
ro.9.
I
come
to
doe thy Will
0
God:
that
is,
to
fulfill
thy Com-
mand;
as
it
is
expreffed,
Pfa.4o. 8.
Thy
Law is
written
in
my
heart;
Thy
Law!
all
that
thou requireft
at
my
hand,
as
Mediator, I
am
ready
to performe.On
this
account
is
Chrift
Paid
to take
on him
the
forme
of
a
Servant Phil.2.7.
that
ís,to
become fo indeed
in
the
affumption
of
his
Humane
nature,that
hemight
doe
the
Will
of
him
that
fent him.
For
which
R.eafon
alto
his
Father
exprefly
M
2
caller